The Gift

I came home from work yesterday and was met by Barney at the door. He gave me a sweet meow while looking up at me with those loving, adoring eyes. I went to step in and just barely avoided stepping on a dead mouse.

Now, I know all of you out there had the same reaction at this as my friends here..."oh, how sweet. He bought you a gift to show you how much he loves you."

Yeah, right. I think he just want the entertainment of watching mom shriek and do the EwwwDance. I swear I heard the sound of kitty laughter as he ran off.

Needless to say the removal of dead mouse fell to snickering male child while I left to go to Micky Ds for a latte to calm my nerves.

Natural Timeless

I just wanted to repost this entry because I have been wondering about the direction of my life and been going over this book again.

I have been introduced to this book called Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte by inkonmyfingers.typepad.com and decided to get it. It suppose to help the reader find their life style, their style statement that relates to all parts of their life. So I read it and did the exercises inside.


Let me tell you now, this book is not for the faint of heart. It forces the reader to really examine themselves. While doing the exercises I have discovered a few things about myself that truly stunned me. I mean, I did not know some of that about me (or I did know and was just denying it).
After I was done I found that I was a…..


Natural Timeless!


Quoted from the book-


Spirit: Natural is genuine, free from artificiality, affectation, and inhibitions. Natural is known for being spontaneous and easygoing. Natural hates to be fenced in and riles against conformity and unreasonable rules., though they are rooted in moral certainty and a strong sense of justice. Very much at ease with their essential selves, Natural is often very instinctive, sensuous, or highly sexual. They are not strangers to hedonism or pleasure seeking. They love to get down to basics and can be graceful and direct communicators. Down to earth, literally and figuratively, Natural has a deep reverence and respect for nature and ecological systems, which delight and replenishes them, and an appreciation of supernatural forces.


Look and feel: All things generated by nature: wood, minerals, gems. Natural coloring, textiles, and produce. Rustic, primitive, flowing, native, or common to it’s surroundings.

How does the commercial song go-"the look, the feel of cotton..."


Definition of timeless from dictionary.com


Without beginning or end, eternal, everlasting, referring to or restricted to no particular time, enduring, abiding, permanent


This is so me! Now I understand my collection of stones (and here everyone thought I was a secret pagan), my dislike of trends, my love of ruins and abandon farmhouses, my need to get away to a spot in nature, my need of space.

You can find out more about all this by visiting stylestatement.com

An Unusual Wake Up Alarm

Crash! Bang!

I jumped up from a dead sleep, ready to yell at the furry boys for breaking something and waking me up. But upon touring the kitchen and living room I couldn't find anything broke. They were actually asleep.

Then I heard shouting and banging outside. I looked out my back window to see what my neighbor was up to.

And got an eyeful.

There was my neighbor in the yard on his stomach in handcuffs while men in black milled around. Inside the house were men in fatiques and black masks carrying guns throwing cushions around and upturning furniture. At that time a man walked underneath MY window and I could see S.W.A.T. on the back of his shirt. He looked up at me and I decided not to investigate further. I don't need that trouble.

I was almost afraid to leave the house to go to my car to go to work. Does the man who owns that house ever check the background of the people he rents to? That's like the second time the police did a bust there. Last year they caught renters there dealing. Those people had about twelve pitbulls! They actually told me that those dogs were so tame I could go pet them whenever I wanted. Like...NO.

I have nothing against pitbulls. My other neighbors has one and she's a sweetheart. I pet her all the time. But not twelve of them. No.

Anyway, that was my morning.

My Furry Sons are 14!

Today is my babies 14th birthday! That is 98 to us humans. They awfully old and not as limber and fast, but they still sweet and can get into things to irritate mom. They really aren't brothers.










I got Barnabas in NC from my uncle. He is so named because the little brat bit me when I reached to pick him up. I named him for Barnabas Collins from the Dark Shadows series (the old one). He's a grouchy old cat who demands the best right then. If he does not get it my art supplies are goners. Everything ends up in the floor and my canvas are used for scratching post. Good thing he's declawed.

Nikademos came from the Virginia side of Bristol. A lady I met in passing at a local restaurant said she had a black kitten she wanted to find a home for. I love black cats so I went to her house and fell in love with the little thing. He was the runt of the litter, nothing but ears and and a nose. He turned out to be the sweetest cat I had ever owned. He talks to me (he's very vocal), and purrs all the time, and wants to meet everyone who comes in my door. He was named for a character in a book I was reading at the time.

I only later realized that both names are also in the Bible.

Opportunities

I was sent a message via Facebook that there will be a booth opening inside a local gallery during our Blue Plum Festival at the first of June. So I said yes and will be working like heck to be ready. A the work has to be small enough to carry and under $50, so I'm thinking magnets, tiles, cards, aceos, etc. More later.

As you can see on my sidebar I'm selling a book. I thought I would like to try digital art, but it is too much sitting and reading for me. Plus, the trial Photoshop expired and I so do not want to spend that much money on a computer program. I had rather hit Cheap Joes in Boone, NC for art supplies or Artopia in JC. I'm offering it to you guys first before listing it on ebay. I'm selling it for $13 which includes postage.

I have a question to put to all of you. I am thinking of adding Google Adsense to my blog. I could really use some extra cash. What do you all think? Would it put off people from wanting to visit my blog? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

This Afternoon-A Bit Of Awesome

He drifted by my window, graceful and silent, oh so beautiful. I watched his path with awestuck wonder as he alighted ,wings spread out, showing off his colors in the late afternoon sunlight. He flipped his wings closed and looked around with haughty eyes, lord of the skies. Then, with a soft cry, the red tailed hawk flew off to who knows where.

One would expect me to see a sight like this as I live in the country on a lake. The wonder I found in this moment was that I was in the middle of downtown, sitting in a bank parking lot and the pole this hawk landed on was a light pole in the mall parking lot next door. Just not something I would expect to see downtown.

I Was Such a Bad Girl

I was downdown again today, on the alley, passing Starbucks with the windows down in the heat. That fappee kept calling to me and when that unique smell of coffee hit as I passed I caved. (Go ahead. slap my hand. I deserve it. The Devil made me do it.)

Hot, Hot, Hot!

It is now 7:03 pm and it is still 84 degrees. I have my air conditioner on (mainly for the boy and the furry ones. He's whining he's burning up and the furry ones have retreated to cool spots with they tongues hanging out.) I love it. If it were up to me all the windows would be open. The ride home from work was in a nice hot car with the windows down through downtown restaurant alley. Ah, the smells. Hamburgers and steaks, Chinese and Mexican, seafood and barbecue. Yum! I guess I was hungry. I did whimper a little as I passed Starbucks. Too house poor this week to indulge in a grande soy caramel extra shot frappachino. *sniff*

I love hot weather! I wish I was at the beach.

The only thing I don't like about the coming of warmth is that all the bugs are coming out. Now, I really don't mind most of them, but I hate spiders. Especially those little black hairy ones that show up in my house every year. Even the cats don't like them. They freak when they see them and meow until I kill the things. (Yes, I know, my cats are arachnophobic.). And then there is those centipedes that get in, oh, and the scorpions, and the army of ants that invade my home. I mean, come on!

*sigh* I guess it all comes with living on a lake.

Well, this was my Happy Monday post and I think hit a few of my happys. So, later, and keep creating.

Easter Morning

I awoken this morning to silence. Both nephews and the cats were all still asleep. The neighbors were probably still sleeping off last night's party run. I was just warm enough to be drowsy. I had no place to go and not really anything to do for a change so I just laid there, reluctant to get up. I wanted to enjoy the quiet.

Then, into that silence, came one sound. One pure note of bird song. I'm not quit sure what bird, but it was a beautiful sound. A song of joy, of life, in celebration of a new morning, a promise of a sunny warm day. As I laid there listening to it's song I realized that today was Easter.

I thought of Easters past. The fun of my childhood on this day. Of me and my siplings finding Easter baskets waiting for us full of candy and toys. Of egg hunts, church services, and family dinners. It was only as an adult that I think back and wonder at my mother finding a way to get us those baskets because there was never really alot of money back then. Our holiday dinners were never big elaborate deals. And I can remember only once getting a new Easter dress thanks to my grandparents. I never understood the need for new clothes to wear to Easter services.

I think that the best thing I remembered about Easter was coloring eggs, of finding new unique colors combinations. Of playing with the dyes and making a really big mess in the kitchen. As my nephews grew up and I began helping them color eggs they of course got new things to play with -glitter, stickers, crayons, pens. I had a blast with them resulting in a mess in my kitchen. And I enjoyed hiding the eggs and watching them run around the yard trying to find them. I added the encouragement of attaching money value to each egg. But nothing made me smile the most then seeing their eyes light up when they got up and saw those brightly colored and stuffed baskets waiting for them. Me and my sister never bought premade baskets. We always bought the things empty and fixed them ourselves, individualizing each one according to the boy.

Of course we made sure the boys knew that Easter was not all about baskets and eggs and bunnies. That Easter was about Christ and His sacrifice for us. All of my boys are good born again Christens. They have their moments when I want to slap them on the back of the head sometimes, but for the most part they are good boys.

I asked Cory if he wanted an Easter basket. He rolled his eyes at me, but did admit that he would like a chocolate bunny. I guess I'll try to find one tomorrow on clearance.

I hope all of you have a Happy Easter and a great week to come.

Loves, Kelly