A little Less Perky

Back in May of 2021 I wrote a post about some fabulous magnolia blooms and created this little montage. 

They appeared to be dancing....and I remember I couldn't stop looking and photographing. I'm not even that big of a fan of magnolia....but the graceful curves and colors were mesmerizing.

Yesterday morning the same thing happened...but this time the magnolia blooms were starting to fade and the background landscape was way more brown. But I had the same feeling I had back in 2021....and I couldn't stop looking and photographing. I was smitten with these wabi-sabi beauties.

I got to chuckling as I was making this montage. If the version back in 2021 reminded me of young ballerinas in their prime....this year's montage is the senior citizen version. Still beautiful and graceful.....but the curves were a little saggy....and overall...just a little less perky.

I can make senior citizen jokes now that I'm 65. I've got a few several brown spots...and I'm a little saggy and less perky myself...and I'm just fine with that. I actually don't mind getting older and all that comes with it.

Paul and I were on the road this afternoon and have landed in Perry, Maine for a few days with our dear friends Patsy and Brian.  We're excited about a change of scenery and time with people we love in their beautiful home on the coast of Maine. I will find nuggets of joy and maybe some color in unexpected places to share here.

But finally....I couldn't help but share this on the heels of yesterday's color post. My neighbor and friend Patty is active in the Portland Rotary and her team recently painted this US map on the playground at the Amanda Rowe Elementary School.  

It's 20' by 30' and will not only be an educational tool but fun for the kids to play on!  Hawaii is there....just didn't make the photo. Well done Patty and your Rotary team!

I'm looking forward to seeing it in person....it's just a few miles away.

Color Week

I turned in my homework for week three of the Conscious Creativity course late last evening and posted it on my Instagram page. One of the suggested exercises was to cut snippets from catalogs in rainbow colors to play around with.  

I do love the mixture of images and words from catalogs...and I will probably continue to add strips to this stash. They will be handy for collage.

I decided to use this photo for the cover of my project this week.

If you have any interest in seeing the whole video reel summarizing my color week you can link to it here: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PxMUarNVW/

But in case you don't...I'll post a few of the pages here.

I made two rainbow montages from my found bits of color. The blue spiral is one of my tops and it's actually a video in the finished project. 

The Unfold app has several layouts including grids with six squares I used above.

But of course I had to add some pink....so it has a page all to itself! 

I also collected blue tones and hues....and this is one of two pages.

I included a few color combos...and a few pages relating colors to the way they make me feel.  These two pages featured close-ups of fire hydrants.

To view the whole color project click on this link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PxMUarNVW/

And speaking of color....I've SLOWLY been working on the colorful marble puzzle starting with the swath of green. It's been slow mostly because there's been a lot going on lately.

Just yesterday I finally connected the top to the bottom.....and since then it's going together pretty quickly.  The second photo is earlier this evening...with my reader in the background.

I had a little moment with these balls this morning on our walk.  They were piled under a hoop on a dead end street...and I could just imagine the the sights and sounds of the kids playing. I absolutely love this unexpected variety of color!

There was such interesting texture close up....and I know the texture lesson is coming!  

Color Memory

One of the places my color journey took me to this week was to the graffiti wall along a walkway between Casco Bay and Portland's Water Treatment Plant. I hadn't been there for years....and I was glad to have the nudge. 

It's a stretch where graffiti artists are encouraged to express themselves....and it's constantly changing. 

It took me back to 2013 when one local artist did a painting in honor of my oldest son Nate when he was going through treatment for cancer.

His friends and family did have his back....

and Nate has been cancer free ever since. 

Feeling joy...with this color memory.

Unexpected Places

Thank you for the birthday greetings and well wishes. I'm still celebrating...I even got a couple more cards today. But I'm also celebrating color today.

It's color week for the Conscious Creativity course......sounds easy right?  I love celebrating the colors of each season...I collect and make colorful things....and I surround myself with color all over my home. 

But I have been charged this week to look for color in unexpected places.  It's been a challenge....and has become a bit of an obsession. In a good way. (Paul is walking in circles a lot on our morning walks.)

There is so much expected spring color...

and I will continue to celebrate that including this lawn of scilla.  This is a different one than the one I've been watching...and it took my breath away.

And I'm going to celebrate the tiny daffodils that are blooming in my garden...

and the grape hyacinths in my neighbor's yard. (There's Paul in the background.)

But I'm doing my homework and looking for color in unexpected places....

and I've become quite taken with the colors and textures on fire hydrants. 

Maybe some of you will find 

pops of color in unexpected places!

Pardon My French!

What a wonderful day this has been!  My joy list is long...but here are a few of the highlights.

Paul and I had a nice walk this morning and it was fun seeing further emergence of pine needles on the hackmatack.

And aren't they adorable!  They look like little brooms.                      

I enjoyed a breakfast with some of the family...

and got a call from my other son during breakfast.

It was warm enough for our first happy hour on the patio! Sam gave me these socks one year for my birthday so I wore them in honor of him today and they're a nice pop of color against the still very brown woods.

According to my socks....and pardon my French....I'm super f#%&*ing awesome!    

   

And today...Sam gave me this little basket of veggie erasers.  Just like me...Sam is a child at heart.  We like colorful little things.

It's going to live right on the window sill for a while right next to "hopeful." Thanks again Patty....I feel hopeful every day!

And finally....I turned 65 today and am officially celebrating Medicare and free passes to State Parks!

I enjoyed calls, texts, cards and a few handmade gifts from family and friends. 

How %&*#$ lucky am I! 

Pardon my French!  😉

Story as Medicine

This past semester Margie (Paul's mom) has been meeting with Alyssa, a student from the University of Southern Maine as part of a collaborative writing program with students and seniors.  The presentation of the essays was today....and Paul and I had the privilege of attending.

Over the semester Alyssa spent time interviewing Margie and listening to her stories about the important events and places in her life. Alyssa drew a literal map...and wove Margie's stories into an essay for the class.  All the essays will be published into a book called Story as Medicine, Now and Then.

Along with the other students and residents,  Alyssa presented part of her essay and Margie read a poem she wrote.

Margie did a fantastic job!  It was an honor to be there! JOY!

Can you believe she is 92 years old! 

OK...now I'm going to embarrass her further. Her hair actually used to be pure white...but is turning back to her original red color.  Maybe she's actually getting younger!  

Margie's poem will be in the book.....layered over one of her coloring pages.

Alyssa did a great job on Margie's map.

Beach and Bottles

I visited Jane today and helped her with a few projects....
and we took a little walk on the beach and around her neighborhood.

And whenever I go to Jane's house....
I fall in love again with her bottle collection in her windows.

Although I really love that wonky purple one above...

I also love the textured clear one in the middle. It's covered in little daisies!      

What a Difference

"The secret, Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It's then, only then, that you'll find Wonderland." Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

What a difference it makes to have my partner back home.  This afternoon we took a walk around Mackworth Island....it's always a bit of a wonderland.

It was a bit windy...but the views and grounds were beautiful as always.

So many spring greens and interesting textures.

 

I did some cleanup in my gardens this morning...and what a difference a little sun and warmth makes. So many things are up or just poking through. 

My bloodroot is about ready to bloom and I love the way the buds poke through the leaves before they unfurl. I just love watching spring emerge.

Thing to Share

I'm sharing today's Story of the Day from Flying Edna:

 "There is something to be said for living quietly and loving the things you love without any explanation."  Kia Skye  

I love this quote. Although I am good at loving the things I love...I often don't do that quietly here.  I usually have an explanation here.  But I think that's my point.

But for everything I share here that I love...there are dozens more each day that I just love quietly.  

I'm sharing this youtube video from Marian that actually made me teary. It's worth watching...this little boy really understands that what you practice you get good at....and you should practice joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMML1jkBePQ

I'm sharing the link to my Rhythm and Movement homework on my Instagram page for the Conscious Creativity course.  Although we looked for implied movement in still lines and images...I've paired many of them with actual videos of movement in my reel.

Philippa sends a personal video with feedback each week and among other things I was charged with being less literal and more abstract. 

I think I accomplished that in some cases....and I'm fairly happy with my results.   Take a look if you're interested....there's a little glimpse of the marbles and balls in motion.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5_9--exaxY/

Dotty has shared examples of rhythm and movement she's noticed on her morning walks.  That brings me joy.

And finally...I'm sharing the fact that Paul gets home late this evening. 

He's been away with friends all week and I've missed him.  We are better together.  And we will have so many things to share with each other.

And I don't think the forsythia was in bloom as you enter our complex before he left...so he's in for a treat!

Is it silly?

 Is it silly that getting Wordle in just two tries makes me kind of giddy? 

I think not.

Is it silly that I celebrated the watercolor residue in the bowl yesterday before I washed up the marbles? The moment I saw the paint was leaving marks in the bowl I started swishing them around to create even more. It's that child thing again!

Is it silly that I played with this basket of found balls today?

If it adds a little joy to my day....I think not!