We've made up...

this girl and I. When I first created her, I just couldn't get happy for some reason. She showed no emotion, the color palette didn't seem to gel. I just wasn't satisfied. Period.
But I kept working on her a little at a time. I redid her mouth and worked a little more on her eyes. Added elements like the birdcage and the banner... Found "her" words inside me.

We may not be finished with each other, but we're getting there.

Keeping the Tradition

We live near my husband's parents, so Thanksgiving for us takes place at their dining room table. Usually there are six of us there: My husband and daughter, my mother- and father-in-law, and their other son who flies in from California. This year, he's going to be a day late, so our Thanksgiving dinner with the family will be on Friday instead. I was ready to roll with the flow, but my daughter had strong ideas of her own.

"What?! We're not having Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving? But it's our tradition!" she exclaimed in desperation. Not only was it marking the end of a tradition for her, but it was also jeapordizing her plans for a little Black Friday shopping.

During the past few days, my kitchen has transformed. A few items stockpiled around the stove. Grocery bags laying empty and ready for recycling. A pile of groceries and a stack of recipes commandeering the counter top.

We will still have Thanksgiving dinner with my husband's family. But my husband made sure the tradition of a Thanksgiving feast would not be lost in our household. My daughter and I will sit at our kitchen table with the chef of the family and enjoy our Thanksgiving meal. On Thanksgiving, by the way, because a bountiful Thanksgiving meal is a tradition. (Just ask my daughter.)

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your day is full of blessings and good food, too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Telephoto Tuesday: Canyon Hopping

My mother-in-law and I went on a road trip yesterday to visit a canyon.

Although much smaller than the one out West,
it was still pretty amazing to find this out
in the middle of nowhere.

Then we stopped by a former prisoner-of-war camp and National cemetery.
"Peaceful" is the best word to describe the cemetery today
although it was a place of sadness and death
during the Civil War.

Something's not right...

Chaos. Bad energy. I don't know what it is, but emotions are running high around here. Maybe it's because I have a teenager in the house, or that I'm a slightly neurotic worrier with a teenager in the house, or that I have too much work on my plate, which may be spilling into my home life more than usual. Whatever it is, I'm ready for peace and calm to return to my home.

Balance.

Good karma.

On another note, my computer does not have a treasure trove of fonts at my disposal, so when I need words for my mixed media art, I end up using picmonkey. I have to upload a photo, cover it with a rectangle, then type the words. It's annoying, because I'm never quite sure what size fonts I need. The final step is to open a Word file and insert the "picture." The word art above is from two different pieces of art I was working on. I just add more to the space until I run out of room. The bad thing is, my printer is crap and won't print color well, at all. So, I couldn't actually use the cool background that shows up here.

It is the weekend, at this very moment at least. Enjoy yours! I'm going to try to shove all the negative energy that's flying around here under a rug somewhere. Or under the house if it will fit.

But That Can Wait

I've had words tumbling over in my head during this past week, but I'm just not ready to share them yet. Words about family and grief. Loss. Old wounds that haven't quite healed. Coming to grips with what was and what wasn't.

I'm not even sure that they belong here on my blog. Those words. Because for the most part I have kept the feelings associated with them at arms length, not really letting them be a part of my life. But there comes a time when it's okay to share and let the feelings go. Truly go. But for now, it can wait.

I stopped by my sweet in-laws' house today and saw that my mother-in-law's roses are still blooming, bigger than ever it seems. She and I gingerly stepped into the garden to get closer to the flowers, swatting bees away when they seemed a little too interested in us.

Summer, it seems, doesn't want to leave just yet.