hey! (tidbit series)

It's no fun being left out.

unstuffed (tidbit series)

I'm suspecting that these two were loved by an animal! Remember the story of the velveteen rabbit? Today's tidbit comes from my favorite passage:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"


“Real isn't how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn't happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”

— Margery Williams Bianco (The Velveteen Rabbit)

flapping (tidbit series)

God made some of us to
flap fast
some to flap
slow

and some not to flap
at
all

charlie (tidbits series)

Dogs look rather sheepish when you dress them up to take their picture.

blurry, (tidbit series)

This is what it looks like when i'm looking for my glasses.

*Well, it’s time to move on to  a new series…….I enjoyed “Off the Beaten Path in Kansas City" as it was a change from my normal nature, country type images. If you like nature/country, never fear, they will reappear I’m sure. As the saying goes, “you can take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl.”  Anway…..this week’s adventure is to share “tidbits”…..small pieces of information that you probably won’t care about knowing or you probably already know but hopefully the series will make you smile. And we all know how nice it is to smile. J

rounding the corner (off the beaten path in KC)

i round the corner
and suddenly see

shapes and shades
exquisite


*This image reminds me of a line our pastor said enthusiastically during last Sunday’s sermon: “Heaven is about JOY. ” I imagine “rounding the final bend” to discover colors, emotions, music, LIFE…..more exquisite than any imaginings we can muster here. I think it will be like taking off really dark glasses. :)

** “But now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face.” ICor. 13:12

carefree decor (off the beaten path in KC)

behind the dusty windowpane
three floors up

i saw these pearls

dangling

*Someone's creativity lent sustenance to mine. Thanks Pearl Hanger!

modern pets (off the beaten path in KC)

as much as i love the country
with her woods, streams,
and valleys of green

i must admit
i would have missed something
special

had i not seen
these soulful eyes
looking out at me

from the window
of a city
gallery

reminded by a building (off the beaten path in KC)

she reminds me
that dreams become reality

brick
by
brick

pestle
in hand


*"Architecture starts when you put two bricks together. There it begins."   ~Ludwig Rohe

**You are God's building.  ~1 Cor. 3:9

sign (off the beaten path in KC)

Private Parking
Private Lives
Private Schools
Private Eyes

Private Sector
Private jokes
Private Property
Private Folks

So many meanings
to this one little word
Secret, Restricted
Privileged, Reserved

Experienced in balance
A very good thing
But to an extreme
Then love, takes wing

behind the scenes (off the beaten path in KC)

and even
on the road less traveled

there are scenes
behind
the scenes

*These images remind me of all that goes on behind the scenes in our lives; the people, events, and experiences that have made us who we are. Learning about and appreciating the “behind the scenes” elements of those we live with and around, is a part of friendship's precious gift.

stairs (off the beaten path in KC series)

stairs:

a set
or several sets
of steps

leading from one level
to
another

climbed any lately?

* "The vision must be followed by the venture.  It is not enough to stare up the steps.....we must step up the stairs."    ~Vance Havner

strawberry wall (off the beaten path in KC)

my first sighting
ever

of a strawberry wall

doing more for my soul
than any

high dollar mall!

What a great idea!

viewed from across the street (off the beaten path in KC series)

fresas and
frutas
and 

fun

Loving the color i see on this block. Someone bought and opened at least three cans of paint to paint this awning and window casing. Bless their hearts. :)

said to a building (off the beaten path in KC series)

it's as if
you are looking
back at me

your eyes are dim
from age

but nonetheless
beautiful

you have witnessed much
in this place

and been a home
to many


*It has been said that "eyes are the windows of the soul". Perhaps, in reverse, "windows are the eyes of a building" and show forth it's essence. :)

playing with fences (off the beaten path in KC series)

i find it quite humorous

that you are there
to stop
and stifle me

when in fact
you lend an opening

to creativity

pink house (off the beaten path in KC series)

i wonder
if whoever painted this house
realized

how pleasing
she would be in spring

with a green ring
around her

but then
i imagine her bubble gum pink
on a cold winter day

and i must say

she
is a house
for all seasons


*While writing this post i was reminded of a passage from the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. The following excerpt fits well with my "pink house musing":

Lily Owens: If your favorite color is blue, why did you paint the house pink?


August Boatwright: [chuckles] That was May's doing. When we went to the paint shop, she latched on to a color called, "Caribbean Pink." She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish Flamenco. I personally thought it was the tackiest color I had ever seen, but I figured if it could lift May's heart, it was good enough to live in.

Lily Owens: That was awfully nice of you.

August Boatwright: Well, I don't know. Some things in life, like the color of a house, don't really matter. But lifting someone's heart? Now, that matters. The whole problem with people is they know what matters, but they don’t choose it. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters.

**Let's "choose what matters" today. :) Have a good one!

musk thistle (off the beaten path in Kansas City series)

and adorning
my beautiful warehouse friend

musk thistle weeds

dad used to send me
scythe in hand

to end their
spread
upon the land

but here they be
next to concrete
and glass

looking fetching
and winsome

as i walk past

panes (off the beaten track in Kansas City)

the old warehouse
stood silent
neglected

and alone

her purpose
supposedly gone

but one spring morning
she caught the eye of a woman
wanting to "see"

*This week’s adventure was a free morning in Kansas City with my camera. I dropped my husband off in an older section of town for an educational seminar at a lumber company. It was my plan to spend a couple of hours with the camera just exploring. I only made it a few blocks before I had to turn around and park beside an old empty warehouse. I probably could have spent the full two hours on that building alone. But, I was also eager to see what lay “beyond”.


This series will feature some shots that I took within a short distance of the lumber company because I just kept seeing such interesting things!! I think I could spend the rest of my life in kansas city and never be finished shooting. :0 (In fact, I could probably spend the rest of my life within a 2 mile radius in Kansas City and still be finding things to “see”.)

**Yesterday there were some problems with blogspot.com thus two postings in one day. :)

color coming together (color speaks series)

one
alone
is astounding

but alongside another

beyond astounding
comes
to be

optimistic yellow (color speaks series)

a faithful friend
when sadness seeks
to settle in

orange (color speaks series)

splish
splash

i see her sprinkled
here and there

as if
nature's favorite complement


*"An artist finds his happiest combination in a play of complementary colors. They are direct contrasts yet do not jar; they awaken the beholder but do not disturb him."  ~Charles Burchfield

magenta (color speaks series)

magical
marvelous
mysterious

magenta

green, (color speaks series)

and you
my favorite

so often in the background

bespeaking
hope
meekness
and

magnificent mercy



*I realized this morning that I had forgotten to share my most recent adventure. Writing about green, hope, and mercy reminded me of it this morning. Last Sunday I was privileged to join some dear friends on an outing to Manhattan for a lovely afternoon filled with beautiful music. My good friend Kathleen and her family had donated their mother’s Steinway piano to the Kansas State University Department of music. The afternoon began by meeting Gary Mortenson , the head of KSU’s music department, at the music building where the six of us were treated to a private concert on the Steinway piano. Slawomir Dobrzanski , a brilliant concert pianist and native of Poland, played two Chopin pieces. The first piece took me to the magnificent ocean, a roaring river, and a rippling waterfall. The second took me to a forest glen where sunshine trickled through fragile leaves. I find it amazing how our senses are all connected. Like color, music too “speaks” and can bring incredible visual images to our minds.


Back to our outing…After the piano concert we drove to a lovely home on the edge of Manhattan where we attended a “salon concert”. We were treated to elegant appetizers on the balcony as we took in the view and warm sunshine. We then heard a woodwind quartet, followed by a brass quartet. The musicians were all KSU professors and were all obviously enjoying themselves. After the music we indulged in luscious strawberry shortcake and great conversation on the deck overlooking rolling hills of green. It was one of my more “cultured” adventures. :) And one I will remember always.

*"Life seems without effort when I am filled with music."
        ~George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss

Happy Mother’s Day, Moms!

red (color speaks series)

oh red,
i see you
thrust your head
above the others

not being shy
you vie
for attention

and make me smile
with your endearing
ambition

pink (color speaks series)

oh brilliant
beautiful pink,

you are a heartbeat
of throbbing
intensity

periwinkle (color speaks series)

some colors
set my heart ablaze

they raise me up
up

but you
my periwinkle blue

soothe
like morning's early
dew

turquoise (color speaks series)

turquoise
christens

with her tantalizing shade
of courage, confidence,
and candor


*Every color speaks a language of her own.   ~t.w.

color (color speaks series)

orange
yellow
turquoise
blue

circle
square
triangle
too

you do
what nothing else
can do

*"I found i could say things with color and shapes, that i couldn't say any other way--things i had no words for."            ~Georgia O'Keeffe

ahhh, life (after the burning series)

oh tender green,
you render
hope that defies
all
reason




*Last week was a week of unexpected loss and tragedy in our circle of family and friends. It seemed to be one of those weeks when each day we received word of tragedy and heartbreak. The tone of the “after burning” series seemed to reflect what was happening. I’m pleased to bring the series to a close on a note of hope.


In the past couple of days, hope has indeed sprung eternal. The green grass of these tiny shoots is beginning to cover the land. Each morning I wake to beautiful birdsong outside my open bedroom window. Babies have been born and beautiful couples married. Life like the stars, is victorious.


*“Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is anitmated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it.” ~Anne De Lenclos


Expect COLOR in this week’s blog. :)

revealed (after the burning)

what lies hidden
before the flames
is laid bare
behind them

*Along with golf balls i found the skeletal remains of two full grown deer. The bones were lying close to a small gulley of water, in a grassy area beneath some trees. (It seemed an oasis in the acres and acres of burned surroundings.) I did not photograph the bones. It didn't feel right to do so. On the walk home, the following words came to mind. I paired them with a photo of the gulley:

Dying Place

if i got to choose
i think i too
would lay me down
in grasses green

where trees
sway in the nighttime breeze
under stars
victorious