backyard beauty

I am so thankful for the beauty of nature. These pictures are from my backyard this morning, which just goes to show how close we are to art at any given moment. Enjoy your day!

silly is the new wise

I like to entertain myself by writing silly poems. I mean really silly and really lame poems. Hey, it relieves stress, and is much cheaper than therapy. You should try it. The poems below were written by the eight-year-old who is trapped inside my body. Apparently, she likes it in there, as she shows no sign of leaving. Though that could be due to the daily ice cream she gets. It's not for me, you see. I only do it for the kid.

Anyhow, here's the point: life can get crazy busy and demanding, but it's good to take a break now and then to do something goofy for the child inside. It may be playing a board game, eating ice cream, jotting a silly rhyme, playing catch, going fishing - whatever you like. Your heart and your mind will thank you. Besides, you might just invent something or solve a nagging problem, as studies have shown that eureka moments often hit during idle play when the brain is free to meander. So, kick on back and enjoy a bit of childish summer fun. I won't tell a soul. 

Music Lesson

Rebeca dropped an accordion
from the hundred and fifty first floor,
and now the friendly doorman
isn't anymore.   
     -Kimberly Laustsen

The Cave

Mable hid under the table
insisting that it was a cave.
We never even saw the bear
till it was too late.
     -Kimberly Laustsen

Tears

You shouldn't be ashamed of tears
and here's the reason why -
everyone at sometime or other cries.
     -Kimberly Laustsen

cleaning day

Today, I spent the entire day cleaning and organizing my house. You would think this was a bad thing, but you would be wrong. I am the kind of weirdo that actually enjoys cleaning my house. Ooh, and there is nothing better than when the entire place is clean all at the same time- not that it is all that big. I never wanted a humongous house - just a cozy regular house to keep clean and to relax in.

I guess we grow up wanting what we missed as kids. Growing up, I moved fourteen times, never getting to stay in one house for long. I do not remember my mom ever once cleaning our house or caring about coziness. In fact, she was rarely home, especially the older I got, and when she was there she was usually on the phone.

Back then, my dream was to live in one house for a long, long time - a homey house where people spent time hanging out together and regularly gathered 'round the kitchen table for home-cooked meals. So, cleaning, cooking, and playing cribbage in the evenings with QG are my idea of fun - all are part of my simple American dream.

Happy Friendship Day!

Check out this schweet card from my buddy, Marion. It is a card for Friendship Day - which is today. Marion and I worked together for thirteen years - she is the funnest, nicest and best librarian and co-worker ever! She retired to Austin to be closer to her grandson, who is adorable. Can't say that I blame her, but I miss her lots.

Happy Friendship Day, y'all. This is a good time to thank your friends for being the wonderful and amazing people they are. I have never, since the age of nineteen, lived near family, besides QG and our girls. I believe in the family of friend. Seem like almost everything I know I have learned from friends- gardening, crochet, sewing, cooking, reading, writing, traveling, decorating, the art of bargain hunting, bridge, fitness skills - and more. Friends rock. If you are reading this, I consider you my buddy. Thank you!

behold the butterfly

Monarch

The monarch rests,
arrayed in
glistening shades
of pumpkin, lines,
and polka dots.

How could he
fail to believe
in sunlight?

          -Kimberly Laustsen

one beautiful home

 

Happy Friday! Yesterday, I went to my friend Patricia's house for a luncheon. Patricia was born with a gift. She is a natural designer - she can't help it - she just knows what looks good and how to perfectly arrange a room to the most beautiful, relaxing effect possible. She does design work and staging as well. She was nice enough to let me stay after the luncheon to take a few (hundred) shots. These don't even do the place full justice, as my photography skills are not up to her design talents. (Though I just signed up for my second photography class - yeah! so excited.) Here is some of Patricia's work for your decorating inspiration. PS If you live in the Dallas area, and want her contact info, email me and I'll get it to you.

 

do it anyway

Now that I've had a chance to reflect on the  writer's conference a couple weeks ago, two things stand out. One is that I am so happy that my buddy, Iris, was one of the winners. She wrote her life story. It is good. One of the chapters will now be published in the form of an essay. (With a theme, no doubt!) I am proud of her.

The second thing I think of most often is one of the speakers. This was one guy among a panoply (don't you just love that word) of cool hipster writer types. This dude writes for Esquire magazine (not too shabby), and has been doing so for ten years. He peeled back the veneer to let us know what he really thinks. I always appreciate that.

He said that, even though he is this big bad Esquire writer of a certain renown, he is basically scared crapless on a daily basis that he has no idea what he is doing. He said that every time the magazine's editor calls him in for a meeting, the dude is sure beyond a doubt that he is about to get fired. He always thinks that the next story will be his undoing, that he will come up with a big fat nothing. It was obvious that he was being real. I could tell the dude had suffered.

But here's the thing: he does it anyway. He gets up every day and writes his next story. He keeps trying. This guy is on year ten of feeling inadequate, but he's still writing, still doing it anyway. Yeah, dude!

I often feel clueless, thinking, what the heck am I doing? It is especially hard to try new things, like a blog, or writing a manuscript. But, I'm gonna keep trying. You?