Earth's Last Picture

I happened upon a lovely blog this am while "blog surfing"...(http://tinasteelelindseyart.blogspot.com/), ...and copied this Kipling quote from her. She is a very talented artist and I so enjoyed viewing her works, as well as her fathers'.

"When Earth's last picture is painted
and the tubes are twisted and dried
When the oldest colors have faded
and the youngest critic has died
We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it
lie down for an aeon or two
'Till the Master of all good workmen
shall put us to work anew
And those that were good shall be happy
they'll sit in a golden chair
they'll splash at a ten league canvas
with brushes of comet's hair
They'll find real saints to draw from
Magdalene, Peter, and Paul
they'll work for an age at a sitting
and never be tired at all.
And only the Master shall praise us
and only the Master shall blame
And no one will work for the money
no one will work for the fame
But each for the joy of the working,
and each in his separate star,
will draw the thing as he sees it,
for the God of things as they are!"

Rudyard Kipling

unexpected pleasures

It's such a delight to go to the mailbox and find an unexpected gift. Lorie asked for our mailing address some time ago and said that she was sending me "a little something"...but with everything going on the last 10 days I forgot!
So today I found the surprise. A delightful little book titled "A Walk With Me' by Gwen Frostic. It's prose is easily read, understood and appreciated..and it's pictures are gentle and expressive. Here is a sample:

"Follow the path of a stone...that rolls along the beach
Follow the flight of an eagle...as he soars in the sky above
Follow the trail of the wind...that blows through the top of the trees
Follow the song of a thrush...when evening comes to earth
Follow God's moon in the heavens...till it sinks below the lake
and your heart will be filled with wonder...
and your years will be ever inspired"

In other words "Enjoy the little things in life because you may someday look back and realize that they were the big things".
Thank you Lorie for reminding me of that!

Nick and JoAnn come to Dallas

It was a fast weekend that included: Fri: a hamburger and rootbeer at Del's in Richardson (a small, old place that makes great hamburgers and offers lots of "Texas" atmosphere), Sat. Breakfast at Hubbards in Garland (another old place where the main attraction is the cute, young servers) then a 75 mile drive over to Canton to visit the Shireys, Sun: out to DFW for a one hour visit with Greg (who was enroute from Virginia to San Diego) next lunch at Steak and Shake...then the bro and sis were off to Houston...I slept the remainder of the afternoon.
Nick, JoAnn and I stayed at Eddie's..his home is much larger than ours ...he had to go to Austin Fri. am but returned late Sat. night in time to have a little time with Nick and JoAnn. Herk also spent a lot of time with us...it was a nice weekend.

Thought for the day

Age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars invisible by day.

....by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wrinkles

My wrinkles are…
. . . . Every time I squinted to see something just a little better
. . . . Every time I laughed--positive moments
. . . . Every time the warm sun poured over my face
Making me feel full and content

All those roads, valleys, streets, and alleys
Beginning to form on the map of my face
Are all bountiful rivers of my memories and experiences
I love them. I need them. I think I'm going to keep them.

On Aging

The Human Seasons by John Keats

Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span:

He has his Summer, when luxuriously
Spring's honeyed cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
Is nearest unto Heaven: quiet coves

His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness—to let fair things
Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook:—

He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forego his mortal nature.

Here I am in my four seasons of life :)

The boys in my life

Last week they had exams...their schedules were changed and they had a lot of time off. Brian had half day only on Wed. and Thurs. and they both had no school at all on Friday....we drove to Canton and had lunch with Ben, Laura, Heather and Summer...enjoyed that time together.
Monday is another day off for MLK holiday.
They spent Thursday night with us. Brian stayed busy ...putting rope lights over my kitchen cabinets and helping me put up more "wall words"...Bobby stayed entertained on the computer (as usual).

Family

It's All About Me, Me, Me

Top Ten Things I'd like to do.
1. Have an all day shopping spree in Hobby Lobby or Super Target with at least one timeout at Starbucks.
2. Spend hours on my computer without feeling guilty.
3. Know what I'm going to prepare for supper without having to think about it.
4. Visit the Movie Trading Company and buy all the DVD's I'd like.
5. Have a manicure and a pedicure at least once a month.
6. Be able to go to Canton's First Monday and walk instead of ride in a motorized chair.
7. Go back in time (just for a week) to when I first met Bob. (WOW)
8. Eat what I'd like without gaining weight.
9. See my mother again.
10 View what's at the end of the rainbow.