NEVER ON SUNDAY-21/31/2010

I almost forgot
to not
write
something
today.

The day when I write not
for my blog spot.

Whew!

But I did not
forget
to
Be Grateful!

SEX AND THE KITTY

Oh Dear!


You are not going to believe this.

Yesterday, Miss Daisy suddenly went bonkers. Completely and absolutely. I thought there was something terribly wrong with her. I was really afraid for her. I had no clue what was wrong.

But then, I got a 'clue' and after some internet research, I realized that poor Miss Daisy...our baby kitty...is in heat.

Holy Cow!

Holy caterwauling!

Holy writhing and whining!

Holy begging and pleading to be let out of the house!!!

I might have 'got a clue' earlier in the day when I found three cats on our front porch....all at the same time.

I'm no expert on cats, but I sure wasn't expecting this to happen already. The plan was, to take her to be spayed at about three months. According to our best guess, she won't be three months old for another two weeks, or so.

I will be calling the vet today, just as soon as they are open.

I don't think we can stand much more of this. One day is plenty, thank you. Her 'meow' has become the most horrific, irritating, shrill...I am searching for more adjectives...negative- unpleasant ones....but that word 'caterwauling' pretty much says it all.

Holy ear plugs!

She is reminding me of when I first started going through menopause. Or maybe adolescence.....hormonally induced insanity is what it is. And it isn't fair. To anybody...human or feline!

Sigh.

I am grateful I am NOT Miss Daisy!

I've got the BLUES...COLOR THAT IS.

Blue Moon.

Blue Kentucky Rain.

Blue Christmas.

Blue Velvet.

My all time favorite 'blue' song.......

Blue Bayou!  I could listen to that song, Linda Ronstadt's version, please, over and over and over again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH-SsnsldxY

I should mention that Linda is from Tucson. But after one of those big box stores built their huge store almost in her back yard, she moved to California.  I can't say that I blame her.

I had such fun doing the recent 'orange' post, that I think I'll just go around the color wheel and do them all!
The complimentary color to orange is blue.  So...here we go with the 'blues.'

I love this robe.  But, color me crazy, but I don't like the fact that it simply does NOT go with my bedroom decor.  But it's so warm....so comfy....so sun, moon and stars!

This is a perfect blue flame...perfect for cooking!

I know...I need to clean the stove...so what!

I love this vintage candy dish that belonged to my Aunt Velma.  It was very hard to photograph because it's that carnival glass and the light had to be 'just right.'  So, I took it outside on a grey, rainy day and it worked!

This vintage Navajo doll has a blue velveteen dress.  I have a vintage blue velveteen Navajo skirt.  Maybe I should have taken a picture of that, too.  But, I didn't.

Are you listening to Linda?  I am...for the third time so far.

Are you singing with her?  I am.

 Be glad you can't hear me.

Once upon a time I could sing as well as Linda.  But then I quit singing...don't ask....and my voice 'went away.'  That gives me the blues, for sure.  Use it or lose it, my friends!

Which is why I promised myself that I will never, EVER stop  painting.  No way, Jose!  I don't want this gift to go away.

Which is why I just keep painting...even if it's just a purely-for-fun one, like this one I did last Halloween.  It is called:

"Once in a Luna Azure"

There are so few flowers that are truly blue.  But this one is...and I adore it.  It's a plumbago and it is blooming right now...today...as I write this on Thursday, January 28, 2010.

I have a thing for Mexican and Italian hand-painted pottery.  This one is Italian.  It serves absolutely no purpose other than to please me whenever I look at it.  That is sufficient reason to keep it, don't you think?

Remember Barrio Viejo?  I've blogged about it and used a house from there in my Orange blog.

Here's another prettily painted house from the barrio.

I took a picture of 'my' mountains the other day from someplace besides my back yard so you could see what they look like without all the utility poles, etc. 

They don't look so blue today because they are covered with clouds and my guess is that when the sun comes out, it will be shining on snow-covered peaks again.

I love all my different colored glass bottles in my kitchen window.

And I love my collection of old spatterware.

Last, but not least, I do love our brilliantly blue Arizona skies!

I am grateful for the rain today.

And I will be grateful when the sunny skies return.

BE GRATEFUL

Good morning. 
Good afternoon. 
Good evening.

Whichever fits.

I have a question for you, dear readers.

Are you still 'seeing' those words in blue over on the right of this page?

I sure hope so.

If not, let me help you out.


I believe…..…
……that becoming consciously grateful will absolutely change your life.


I challenge you to start each day by writing at least five things for which you are truly grateful and then as you go through your day, see how many more things you can find that you feel grateful for.


I believe….....
……that the more things you find to be grateful for, the more things you WILL find to be grateful for.

1.  Today I am grateful for Blogspot.  I find it amazing and wonderful that they...and other similar services...provide a place for people such as me to write my drivel and my most profound thoughts and share them with people like you.  To say nothing of having a reason to take and share all these photographs of people, places and things that I love.  And furthermore, they do it for free!

2.  I am, oh so grateful, for each of you who visits SKaySpeak...whether on purpose or by accident.  I hope you continue to come back.  I'm grateful for your computer which makes our connection possible.  And, I am grateful for every comment which is posted.  I mean that in all sincerity.

3.  I am grateful for my computer, too, of course and my Kodak camera and all the necessary gadgetry which makes it possible for me to create this blog.

4.  I am grateful for a sufficiency....no, a veritable abundance of food.  I am saying that partly because of the particularly yummy Mexican food supper we had last night.  I just might have to blog about it...complete with pictures and recipes, just like my blogging hero, The Pioneer Woman!

5.  I remain grateful for my comfy bed and my lovely comforter.  Somehow, that comforter just makes me feel...well, comforted.  It's an old pattern called 'Sedona'.  Is that fitting for me, or what?

Well....already, I have 5. 

But there is so much more that I am grateful for that I'm not sure I can stop just yet.

I don't want to speak too soon, but I do believe it's possible, just maybe, oh I hope...that Miss Daisy's litterbox issue has been resolved.  That, I can assure you, is something I am grateful for!

I am grateful that my friend's humongous painting is very close to finished.  And moreover, I haven't become frustrated and disappointed over it.  As a matter of fact, I am still quite pleased with it.  That is not always the case with a painting I'm working on, so that's really a biggie for me!

I am grateful for the possibility of more rain today which provides for a further possibility of an abundance of wildflowers in the coming months.

And while I'm at it, I am grateful, daily, to love where I live and live where I love!

I hope you've found some things to feel grateful for today.  For when you do, you truly will~

Be Blessed.
Love you all.
Skay

BALANCING ACT

For some reason, I keep thinking of the word ‘balance’ and how important it is to have some in our lives.

I’ve written down these first few words.

I’ll have to let it stew around in my head a little longer to see where this leads.

***************************

I wrote the above several weeks ago. So, the stew has been simmering in my head for quite a while now.

Unfortunately, the thought has produced little, if any, results. I struggle with balance. Always have. I have a tendency to go overboard…to go to extremes…to be manically obsessed with one thing or another.

When I’m painting, I want to paint. That’s all.

When I’m writing, I get completely lost in the words.

When I’m reading, I read one book right after another.

When I’m cleaning, I want EVERYTHING cleaned TODAY!

That’s pretty much my pattern about anything and everything you could name.

That means I’m either creating something or cleaning up something. I am never maintaining anything. I’m just not into maintenance. Or the mundane. Like paying bills. Or dusting. Or doing quick pick ups that would make the house more orderly.

There has only been one time in my life that I was a good housekeeper. And I wasn’t just good…I was darn near perfect! Yes! Me….really.

The only thing is that I was doing it because I was desperately trying to create some portion of my life over which I felt I had some control. That is NOT a good reason to clean house.

I admire and envy people who seem to be able to parcel out hours of their day for different purposes. I just don’t know how they do it. And perhaps, truthfully, I don’t want to know how they do it. I suspect it requires some self-discipline. And restraint. Yuck.

Wouldn't that mean that at a given time, I would have to put down my paintbrush...regardless of what wonderful effects it was producing?

And wouldn't I have to stop a flow of words from spilling out at my fingertips when I am working on a blog entry or a poem?

That is just not something I think I want to do.

My mother taught me...or tried ...to do the maintenance first...before beginning the fun stuff.  My problem with that is that my creative juices run the free-est (I know that's not a word.  Ask me if I care.) and the freshest  first thing in the morning.  Doing the mundane takes my best energy and turns it into nothing more inspiring than an orderly house.  Giving my all to creative endeavors often tires me out before I can get to the mundane.  It's a dilemma.

I watched  my mom sacrifice her creativity to the god of house cleaing.  You know...that whole 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' thing.  That and for crying out loud don't let somebody drop in and catch you with your housework not done- 'cause whatwilltheythink?  And what 'they' thought was REALLY important!

I had a relative who was known to be a very bad housekeeper.  She was much looked down on in the family.  I know nothing about that person except that she wasn't a good housekeeper.  I'm sure the woman had other qualities besides being a bad housekeeper.  As I was growing up, I was 'threatened' with this admonishment whenever I didn't keep my room clean enough.  "If you're not careful, you'll grow up to be just like _____!"  Apparently, that was about the worst possible outcome for my life!

I don't buy the 'cleanliness is next to godliness' idea.  And I would much rather be remembered for something other than my housekeeping abilities...or lack of them.  However, I admit I do care what 'they' think and I am not happy when someone drops in on me.  I want to make the house 'presentable' before I have company. 

 I imagine that I will continue with this lack of balance in my life. I suspect that I will paint and read and write while everything around me goes to hell in a hand basket. And then, once every week or so, I’ll turn into a cleaning machine and stay in that mode until I’ve restored order.

And then……….



I’ll start making more messes.



I am grateful that I am at a time in my life when I am free to be as un-balanced as I want!
Unbalanced, yes, but at least I'm not senile.  Yet.

WHY????

Why????
In the name of all that is holy, is a toilet configured in such a way as to make it as difficult as possible to clean?  Are all those concave and convex surfaces really necessary for the thing to work properly?  My guess is that a  woman-hating, sadistic-to-the-max, male designs them.

Why???

It is freezing outside...we have snow on the mountains...and there are still flies in my house???????

Why????

Does every single cell phone have a different sized/shaped charger?  Wouldn't it make more sense to make them all compatible?

Why????
Do said chargers have to be so blasted difficult to actually insert into the phone?

Why???

Is a stove top made of any material other than cast iron?  It's got to be the easiest to mess up and the hardest to clean thing in the house.  Well...except for toilets.

Why???

Do computers tell you you've performed an 'illegal operation.'  Just what does that mean?  And why doesn't it tell you that instead?

And while I'm at it.......

Why????

Are some of my readers suddenly unable to post any comments on SKaySpeak?

I am grateful to get all that off my chest.
I will be grateful if and when Blogspot fixes the 'comments' issue.

***********************

Whatever the problem was with comments seems to be cleared up.  And yes, I am grateful!

SNOW ON THE DESERT AND OTHER SURPRISES

Yes, we do get snow and we got a bunch, for us, this last week!  At least our mountains got snow and a lot of the higher areas around Tucson.  In the twenty or so years I've lived here, I've seen snow accumulate right here in town on only two occasions, to the best of my recollection.  One of those times, it was on Easter Sunday! 

Hopefully, with all this moisture, we will have an amazing wildflower display this coming spring. 

This afteroon hubby and I took a little drive so I could take some photos without all the utility poles and lines and all my neighbors' rooftops cluttering things up.  Unfortunately, a lot of the snow had already melted.

Here's what it looked like on Saturday morning from our back yard.

A palm tree in the foreground....looks kinda weird with a snowy background, doesn't it?

The snow level was pretty low as you can tell by this picture.

Sunset on snow....how gorgeous!

These are from our Sunday afternoon drive.

This is Mt. Lemmon.  They had 75 mph winds up there which knocked down a lot of big trees and left them with no power.  The folks at the ski resort are probably biting their nails over that!  We wanted to drive further up the mountain but the road was closed due to downed trees.

Brrrrr.

Brrrrr!!!!

This is Thimble Peak.

Here are more of Thimble Peak and other formations...no snow...but I couldn't resist.

It's amazing what a little change in perspective does, isn't it?  Yes, these  pictures were taken the same day as the other ones with the snow in them.  I promise!

I had heard the The Rillito was running so we went to have a look.  We were too late, but it was obvious that a lot of water had run through it yesterday.

We took a walk down in the riverbed.  I love the patterns the moving water made in the sand.

We found some very colorful rocks.

And this one which looks exactly like a piece of bread!

When I was taking pictures of the snow from my back yard on Saturday, I was lucky enough to catch these two Gila woodpeckers.

And while we were at the river, look what we found!  A baby woodpecker!  Well, he is obviously not a tiny baby, but he's a youngster, for sure.  He just wouldn't get into a better position for me but I was delighted to even get this shot!

Snow is wonderful.  Snow is beautiful.

I'm always delighted to look up into our mountains and see it there.

"THERE."

I must admit that I am infinitely grateful not to have to deal with it HERE.

LIGHTING A CANDLE ON SUNDAY

I was driving home from the grocery store yesterday, thinking about a friend who has a critically ill daughter; another friend who is battling cancer, actually, two who are…one is a friend of many years, the other a fairly new e-friend; one sweet friend going through an extremely difficult time financially and emotionally, and of course, other friends and family with their own  problems. Then there is the poor Phoenix area family who lost their 6 year old son, when he was swept away in one of those rain-swollen washes which are so dangerous when the heavy rains come. They were trying to get him to medical help, in spite of road conditions, because he was very sick.


The people of Haiti, and their plight, yes, them, too.  These long, heart-wrenching days, always them.

I keep all these thoughts going in the back of my mind…rather like a candle burning to symbolize my on-going prayers for them all.

I know we all are doing the same because we all know someone who is ‘standing in the need of prayer’ all the time….or at least, most of the time.

We have to be careful not to lose our peace or our joy as we are holding these thoughts. It doesn’t help anyone get less sick, less in pain, less troubled, less afraid or less broke if we get sucked into an abyss of sadness.

So, let’s not let that happen.

Let’s light a candle, if only in our hearts, and send thoughts of ‘all good’ out into our world. And when we do that, let us do it with a heart full of gratitude and joy, knowing that all our thoughts and prayers have power and really do accomplish something…whether we ever know it or not.

I am Grateful for Joy and Peace and Love.

NEVER ON SUNDAY 1/24/10

'Tis Sunday
The one day
I do not write.
Right?


Don't forget to be grateful today.

IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG

Remember, just the other day when I got my studio all cleaned up, straightened up and organized?

One project is all it took to produce this!

Can you believe the mess?

I am going to blame it all on my good friend, Lori. Yes. It is all her fault. Yep, that one….. the one who often comments here. Feel free to chastise her in your comments.

She needed some prints and paintings for some walls in her new home and so we dug through my stash and found her some. Then, we went to a really nice thrift store, here in Tucson, and found enough frames for everything at really low prices! Cool!

But this is what happened to my nice, neat studio in the process of getting all the prints and paintings into the frames.

Sigh. I got it cleaned up again, but guess what?

Now, she wants a huge painting done for their bedroom. It’s happening……but you cannot believe my studio. There is no room to move. There’s nothing but easel and canvas. It’s a monster!

It's so big that I can't even take a picture of it without all the lights in the room being reflected in it.

Hello, you big, beautiful, 3 foot by 4 foot  baby! 

So now, the studio looks like this.

All I can say is that mountains and forests and rivers sure do take up a lot of room!

Seriously, I am having a ball with this big canvas!  And I can hardly wait to get another one and make another mess!

I’m grateful for the opportunity to create mountains, forests and rivers...and another fun mess!