the world's trash ...

... is no one's treasure

this is some of the plastic I collected on a beach on the eastern shore of Kaua'i:

beach plastic washes ashore after swirling through the ocean currents for several years

Hawaii's beach plastic washes in from the Pacific Gyre

where does it all come from?

let's just say it can't blamed on cruise ships or cargo ships

it's where all the world's litter ends up - in the ocean - honest to God

so I sit in the comfort of my kitchen with clean water for my flowers and clean water for my tea

I wonder:

what will change our course or change our minds?

and then I make art that tells my children and their children's children the story of it

if the subject of ocean plastic interests you, here are some good links to follow:

Judith and Richard Lang's art made from beach plastic

NOAA's web page about marine debris

Greenpeace Intl's page on the world's oceans 

recent news about plastic pollution in the Great Lakes

recent news about plastic pollution in Antarctica

And from you:
Amelia's link to artist Steve McPherson (marine plastic art)

Gayle's link to youTube video by Chris Jordan: Message from the Gyre (this made me cry)

just a cuppa thoughts

having my second cup (always constant comment)

with a slice of barm brack

and thinking these things ...

... how lovely to have sunshine,

the trees are nearly leafed out,

and Dad's key collection will make an awesome windchime

*

what are your random thoughts today?

inspiration

a recent conversation posed the question,

what do you do when you're needing inspiration?

my answer was 

getting out in nature

today, it was a 30 minute walk on the trail

and I took my camera

so, if I were to revisit that original conversation,

the more complete answer would be

getting out in nature with my camera

life has been 

T O O

hectic lately

time to slow down and take time to see

journaling

it has been a very busy week

now it's friday, and I feel the need to string at least one cohesive thought together

my journal is a good place to go for that

lately I've been using a large sized spiral notebook

(instead of the mini moleskine I've used before)

*

I begin with covering every bit of the lined paper with something

(torn up bits from magazines and my clipping stash)

my glue is

my ever present jar of mod podge

applied with a cruddy but big paint brush

(usually I use matte instead of gloss, but I happened to grab this one today)

for my "thought"

I like to take a paragraph of text and circle the words that mean something to me

then I block out the rest

and finally I gesso and pretty it up with pencil or paint

my words today:

silent

past

hope

share

who

memory

place

     step 1: circle words                                   step 2: block out the rest                           step 3: gesso and pretty it up 

then I take those words and use them to string my thought:

I add some more bits and scraps

pretty it up with gesso, paint, pencil, etc.

and in about an hour I have some of my sanity restored

:)

happy friday

we're skidding into the home stretch here

hopefully you are too

:)

reflected

in the dragonfly's eye -

mountains

- Kobayashi Issa

small & fragile

small things bring the greatest wonder

&

fragile ones need the greatest protection

more than words

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 

*

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend. 

*

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon.

 It cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. 

It is a sword that heals. 

*

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. 

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

wishing you ...

a daffy dipsy daffodil sort of day

and a happy daylight savings time :)

... oh and ....

... this is the book I read yesterday, in honor of MLK.

My 4th grader is reading it with her class.

It is a very very good (and important) story.

work or play?

I thought I'd be real transparent and show you my work space

we are friends, right?

so I know you won't be horrified at the mess

sometimes I have to thank God for doors that shut

and a table to call my own

***

My work space is in a corner of the family room.

That is a huge improvement over where it used to be.

... in the laundry room ....

(my very 1st blog post about that).

The cupboard was a wedding gift from my very best friends in the whole world.

They must have had an instinct that I would one day NEED a cupboard that is off limits to everyone but me .....

"ask me first before you go in there looking for tape, glue or a stapler!!!"

on sweetness

Today is "tea on tuesday," but I just wasn't much in the mood for tea.

It's Hot Cocoa instead.

This morning I got to thinking about my blog(s), what does it all mean to me, why do I do it, and the evolution of it all.

I guess what got the wheels turning was listening to the radio while driving around this morning. KUOW is our local NPR station and this mornings guests were local women with food blogs. They were talking about blogging and the weirdness of it, the love of it, the compulsion of it, the community of it, the evolution of it.

Why blog?

Oh it's just so sweet!

Maybe it's weird taking pictures of tea, spiderwebs, summer flowers, art and other homemade things .... but it's all for love.

And the result?

evolution (aka personal growth)

community (aka friendships)

and sweetness.

Sweetness like this Hot Cocoa:

(recipe is from Jamie Oliver "The Naked Chef")

• Put some milk on to boil (but don't boil it)
• Add 1 tablespoon each of cocoa powder and sugar to a mug.
• Pour some of the milk, at the "warm" stage, in the mug to dissolve the cocoa and sugar.
• Plop in a marshmallow or two.
• At the "almost boiling" stage, froth the rest of the milk with a whisk.
• Pour into your mug, being careful to spoon the froth in over the top of it all.

***

Please visit these other lovely bloggers for their tea on tuesday:

Pat

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

the fire poppy

This miraculous flower is among a precious few species that ONLY emerge and carpet the ground following a wildfire - specifically a wildfire of the California type - burned chaparral and sagebrush overgrowth. They are called "fire annuals" or "fire followers," and their seeds will lie dormant in the soil for 50 years or longer - and only germinate after a fire. Fire poppies will grow profusely for several years but will eventually disappear again as the chaparral plants return.

The regular chaparral plants such as sagebrush, black sage and laurel have very strong toxins which permeate the soil around the plant and act as germination inhibitors. But these toxins burn away in a fire and other plants seeds will flourish - this is what gives a "fire scar" bounteous flowers that haven't been seen in years.

There was a house fire in our neighborhood this weekend - fortunately no one was hurt - but the house is a "total loss."

Have you got something in your life that is or was a "total loss?"

Watch for those precious miraculous things that will germinate ONLY in those conditions.

I know that might sound preachy - especially if you're in the thick of things right now - but just try to remember the fire poppy .......

down for the count

no fever though ....

.... just a real danger of OD'ing on tea, soup, cable news, and a Ken Follett mystery.

hoping you're in better shape :)

Happy Birthday to the Bagginses

Today just so happens to be Bilbo and Frodo Baggins' Birthdays -

as well as the autumnal equinox.

The Road Goes Ever On
The road goes ever on and onDown from the door where it began.Now far ahead the road has gone,And I must follow, if I can,Pursuing it with eager feet,Until it joins some larger wayWhere many paths and errands meet.And whither then? I cannot say.
JRR Tolkien

8 years ago

we had a newborn baby ....

blessing on your day as you celebrate life among you

Tea and Free Speech

I got to listen to President Obama speak to schoolkids because I have a computer.

I'm going to rant now.

What is the good of free speech without the ability to hear it?

We have the cheapest cable pkge we can get.

I could not find his speech anywhere on tv.

We're not poor, but we have the cheapest pkge.

Lots of cartoon channels, shopping channels and televangelists.

No news unless it's network news.

We have enough money to have a computer.

That was the only way I could get a transcript of the speech (I'm seriously doubting it will be printed in the newspaper).

That was the only way I could watch the speech.

My kids don't start school until tomorrow.

Will they watch it at school?

Probably not.

I wrote a very nice e-mail to the principal strongly encouraging him to show it to the kids.

"Your kids will really get it. He's talking right to them," is what I said.

And what does President Obama say?

Discover what you're good at.

Don't give up or quit.

There are no excuses.

You make your own future.

Set your own goals for your education.

Resolve. Commit. Work.

Being successful is hard.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Don't ever give up on yourself.

I expect you to get serious.

I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.

Make us all proud.

God bless you.

God bless America.

another kind of stash

..... did you know some vegetables LOVE cooler weather?

.... I made space behind the strawberry patch for carrots, broccoli and lettuce.

... I'll be pulling out carrots all winter long. The ground is no different than the refrigerator.

what do you do when you're...

.... feeling stuck and that creative feeling is on vacation?

I sort my stash .....

shells, rocks, coral, beach glass and bits of plastic from "down under:"

bottle caps found on sidewalks, streets and parking lots all summer long (northern & southern hemispheres):

beach pottery sent all the way from Scotland:

shells, rocks, and beach glass from local waters:

... what helps you feel better about a little down time creatively?

Happy Earth Day

........ we have a beautiful home planet .......

please join in helping to take better care of our home

Communication Rant

This is the backside of an old post card. I should have taken a picture of it before I went after it with my thoughts and rubber stamps. I got to thinking about communicating by (post cards in the old days) e-mail, facebook, myspace, twitter, voice mail .... all the ways we avoid saying too much and get away with saying very little. And still we mess it up. The fine art of communication - is it a lost art?

I made this in participation with Wednesday Stamper: alter the back of a post card. I used all stamps and a little bit of Krylon pen.