Contemplating ...

 

    the need to love and to be loved.                   

    

                  Any comment?

                           

This is not a kitchen cabinet ...

     It's been months since I've taken time to think of anything besides work, that's why there have been so few entries here in Rain.

                      

     I have not been taking much time to delight in the simple things around me. This entry is a baby step in that direction.

     The photo above is of one of the bouquets of flowers my sister placed around the house before leaving on vacation last week.

     I stayed with the fish and the dogs while she was away and as busy as I was, it was impossible not to take at least a few photos of the beautiful flowers she left scattered around.

                                                                     

The closest thing ...

   to an entry I've posted in weeks, is a comment I left in La Chunk's journal today. Some of you already know Chunk, he's Mort's room mate and writer of ... "Chunkie's Atlantic City Journal" (photo below) 

       I took this photo in December when he and Mort were here for a visit. But ... my favorite La Chunk photo can be found at the end of THIS ENTRY<-- click

     I was catching up HERE <-click on the drama surrounding his Mother's hip surgery and it reminded me a bit of what it's been like around here after my Mom's surgery on her arm.

     I'm posting the comment I left in his journal in lieu of writing a real entry. Here goes ...

        In April my Mom fell in the parking lot at work and ended up having to have shoulder surgery (they gave her a pin). She's progressing pretty well but ... there were some pretty trying times along the way. No evil twin or anything but let's just say she was verrrrrry high maintenance for a while. Thank God for my step father.
     He took most of the responsibility when she needed help with everything including bathing and getting dressed, he even cut the seams down the sides of several of her blouses and hand sewed in velcro, so she could get dressed for hair appointments and Dr visits with her arm still in a sling. That's gotta be true love. Trust me ... the old girl had no intention of wearing a muu muu, not even in her condition.
     I remember over hearing one hysterical conversation when he was helping her get dressed and she said ... Dad, why are they both pointing in different directions? Guess helping with the bra was one of the more challenging issues.
    Anyway, she's back to work full time and right on track as far as recovery goes. Hoping everything goes equally as wellfor your Mom.
    BTW ... if your travels bring you back to South Florida let me know!

     Oh and ... Brittney if you are reading this, do not tell your Grandmother that I told her bra story ;-)

                                            

                                         

An unexpected day off ...

                               

    Got an E-mail last night that said some of us would have a day off today, this never happens. So, I made a list of some of the things I could do with an entire day to myself, like ...

     Wash and vacuum my car and then take it in to be serviced.

    Go to the beach (Delray or Lauderdale by the Sea) enjoy the sun, sand and surf then shop for the perfect birthday present for my sister. Her birthday is June 14th. (BTW ... I love shopping in my beach clothes and flip flops.)

     Curl up in bed all day with tons of my favorite books, paint a new watercolor, practice my guitar, catch up on journals and maybe even post a new entry and take a nap in the middle of the afternoon.

     Go to the gym, it really only takes walking back through that door one time to get a whole new rhythm started of going every day again.

     Go to Butterfly World, take lot's of beautiful photos of flowers and butterflies.

     Drive through Lion Country Safari and take photos of really cute animals, picnic in their park, stretch out on a blanket on the grass with a good book.

     Spend the afternoon at City Place in West Palm Beach and have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Mmmm ... grilled artichokes.

     Go to Barnes & Noble, pile up dozens of books all around me. Read some of them, flip through others, write down inspiring thoughts and pick the perfect one to take home with me.

     Visit an art museum. Maybe the museum of Cartoon Art, I've never been there before.

     Visit my friend Ellen at the Youth Activity Center and surround myself with active and energetic little kids that might want to go on a photoshoot. I love seeing the world through their eyes.

     Go to the Sea Gardens and hang out in their beautiful gardens by the pool, catch up on some reading and take a walk on the beach.

     I figured I would call my friend Marylou to see if any of these things were of interest to her and thought maybe she would be able to think of something even better that's not on my list, that we could do today.

     Marylou is the only real spur of the moment friend I have right now, everyone else I know works as much as I do so I need to make an appointment with most of them to even hang out for an hour or two.

     Remember back to a time when things were so much less complicated? This reminds me of an old Carly Simon Song ...

                                         BTW ... I got another E mail this morning letting me know I was not one of the ones that would have the day off today. It's all good, I need the $$$ anyway!

 

Carly Simon lyrics

"Carly Simon It Was So Easy lyrics"

(carly simon/jacob brackman)

I remember a time, rompin’ through the woods
Sun against our skin instead of clothes
When we felt hungry we would eat, when we felt glad we would dance
And whenever we felt drowsy we would doze

It was so easy then never takin’ any stands
It was so easy then, holdin’ hands

I remember a time when our fears could be named
And courage meant not refusing dares
I remember when we took such cares to step never on the cracks,
No only on the squares
Or else we’d be abducted by the bears

It was so easy then never makin’ any plans
It was so easy then, holdin’ hands
It was so easy then never makin’ any plans
It was so easy then, holdin’ hands

And now we are grown, with debts and regrets
And broken hearts and sentimental schemes
Now every tender failure seems to overthrow old dreams
Love can lead a normal woman to extremes

It was so easy once, holdin’ hands without a plan
It was so easy once holdin’ hands
Just holdin’ hands

 

     What would you do with an unexpected day off all to your self?

 

I've always felt ...

     that a man/woman's word is their bond. If you tell someone you are going to do something then do it. If you are not going to do it then you better give some advanced notice and have a pretty good reason.

 

     For instance ... when you schedule a meeting, you are making a commitment to be there on time. If you are not on time then you are disrespecting the other person or people in the meeting, this is the same as saying that you think your time is much more valuable than their time.

     Any comment?

                                             

You thought I was kidding about ...

                                           kitchen cabinet art.

    If you can call it art when it's created by one of us ordinary non art school geeks that are just in it for the journey. I'm posting this because of an entry I read written by an old friend who is now at blogspot.

     I actually had the luxury of having a few minutes to myself over the weekend and made time to post an entry and to do a little blog jogging. I stopped by to see what was going on with GiGi at Lotus Martinis and this is what I found there. Please click here --> It's good to be bad.

    This is an entry about art and peoples fear of being judged. There she links Robbie's journal, who links to an entry written by Danny Gregory. There he tells us to relax and not judge our work so hard. He says others are judging us much less than we think they are, mainly because they are so busy and preoccupied with judging themselves.

    If you already read the Lotus Martines journal then you know that GiGi is one of the most talented artists and writers here in our little community that used to be called J-Land (and she's funny too). If you are not a reader the by all means, go HERE now to see what you've been missing. 

    We are still a community you know, even though we are all spread out and most of us are posting much less than before. It's quite comforting to know that there are so many ofyou still out there finding the time, the energy and the inspiration to do what we do the way we do it.

     Thanks GiGi and Robbie for sharing your art with us and for not being afraid that people might think your work sucks. You both are among the most artsy gals I know.

     Just so you know, the water color above does not claim to be any good nor does it ask to be judged. It is just a personal reminder of a recent moment in time when a close friend helped me learn the 20 page script for my new job in yes "Kitchen Cabinet Refacing." That is soooo what his kitchen looks like, well sort of. Thanks for that by the way DV.

                         

                                        

This little piece ...

     of GLINKA is no longer for sale, because I bought it and have no intentions of letting go of it any time soon. Don't worry though, there is still plenty of GLINKA left on the market. Go HERE <-click to see for your self and to get your own! 

 

     BTW ... have you ever noticed the window in the throat of the butterfly on my signature? That was another GLINKA creation sent to me by Albert last year and another reason that I wanted to own this piece.

     I know it's been nearly a month since I've posted. Still very busy with my new job. Rain has always been an artistic outlet for me and I have been feeling anything but artsy these days.

      Nearly all of the photos I've taken lately are of kitchen cabinets both in training and in the actual homes that I've been visiting. Even the few times when I've set aside time to try to sketch or paint something, kitchen cabinets seem to keep getting in the way. Hoping this is only temporary.