Soon...

The tired leaves of the summer-loving crepe myrtles are turning to vivid gold and red and falling softly to the surface of the deck. On those few precious minutes that I get to sit on my deck at the end of the day, the table is covered with the remnants of the bright pink petals that are now a dark red turning to brown and falling almost like a soft snow. The light reflecting off the buildings as I drive by them on the way home from work is becoming more golden. The air still feels soft with the remnants of summer heat but there is a little tiny edge to it of crispness that hasn't been there before. And the heavy rains, a much needed gift from Hurricane Fay, have cleaned the air of our normal haze and given it such clarity that I can see the north Georgia mountains from our office windows, high up on the 47th floor of our building.

Fall is coming. And soon. And I welcome it and mourn for summer at the same time. But change is natural, both in my life and in the seasons.

Joy Journal: A soft, cool breeze keeping me comfortable while sitting in the sun at lunch.

How Much is Too Much?

As I was packing my bag to go to my mother's tomorrow night, I noticed that I have clothes neatly folded and stacked on top of a dresser because there isn't room for them in my closet or in the dresser. That means I have too many clothes. Ok, I accept that. I need to get rid of the things I don't wear.

Then I looked into my studio/craft room and noticed a similar situation (except not nearly so neat!). And for some reason it suddenly hit me. I have too much STUFF. It's all stuff I want, it's all stuff I like and it's all useful stuff. But a lot of it is stuff I don't use. Granted, the amount of time I've had available to use my stuff has been severely limited over the past few months. But that's not a valid reason. There's stuff in the studio/craft room that I have never used. I have a very creative friend who does a lot of creating with paper, something I also love to do. She bought a Cuttlebug and has really enjoyed using it. So nothing would do but I had to have a Cuttlebug. I've used it one time. I used a few old keys on some collages I did so when I saw a key ring of old skeleton keys at a junk store, I just had to buy them - all 20 of them. And I haven't used a skeleton key on anything since then. But I have 20 keys just in case. I went through a spell of making handmade journals with fabric covers. They were beautiful and I made a lot of them. And I really want to get back to making them. But I have TWO large containers that fit under my bed that are full of fat quarters of fabric and I haven't made a book in over a year. I could probably make 200 books without ever repeating a piece of fabric for the cover. I could probably make 400 books without running out of fabric. And now all of this stuff is beginning to paralyze me. I can't sit down at my craft table and start on something without having to clean it off first. And there is no where to put the things I move off the table. But when I try to decide what to get rid of, my brain shuts down.



And today a friend gave me a $10 gift card for Michaels.

Joy Journal: A friend who will give you gift cards for no reason!

Same, Same

I just can't seem to get enough of pictures of old, rusty, worn-out things. Not sure what the attraction is (and don't you even think it's because I'M old, rusty and worn-out, even though I am!!). But here's a few of my latest efforts:

I'm having some of my rust/junk photos printed at 11x14 to frame and hang on my family room wall. I've already got some 8x10s hanging in a hallway. Hey, I've got to do SOMETHING with them besides store them on my computer.

Hope you enjoy.

Joy Journal: Digital cameras!!

A Brick Wall

Yeah, really, a brick wall. With stairs. I thought the colors, lines and patterns in this were eye-catching. Of course, anything red is bound to be eye-catching, but you know what I mean. I like this one. I like the colors, I like the contrast between the red wall and the black shadow. And I like that I saw it. And I like that I had the chance to take this picture.

Joy Journal: Beautiful clear blue skies, nice temperatures and low humidity again today.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning...

Oh, what a beautiful day!

My husband and I decided to change the weekend he was going to spend with my mother to this weekend and I had total freedom today to relax and do whatever I wanted. And what I wanted to do was take photos and just generally hang out around town. I started the day with a wonderful latte and sitting outside at the coffee shop making tiny little drawings in my sketch journal. The weather was just gorgeous - Bright blue sky with white puffy clouds, low 80s and low humidity. So, of course, I just had to go back to my favorite photo subject, the junked ice cream truck. I won't be able to enjoy this treasure for too much longer, nature is winning the battle and the little truck won't last much longer. The sun is rapidly fading and peeling the paint, the kudzu has invaded the interior and it is beginning to disintegrate. But for right now it is great fun for me. And signs of approaching fall are showing up, too. The sumac is blooming with its incredible colors, the crepe myrtle's leaves are falling and there are very few flowers left anywhere. Had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings at 3 p.m., then went straight to the mall and to Borders and had a mocha while I sat there and made another tiny drawing in my sketch book.

I feel like I've enjoyed today more than I should. My conscience is pricking me a little because I'm taking the time for myself instead of going to my mother's. But I needed this day and I've enjoyed myself immensely and I feel a little renewed.

Joy Journal: The beautiful patterns of peeling paint.

Today Makes 43

Today is my 43rd Wedding Anniversary. Forty-three years with the same man. Me, who never even wanted to get married. And I've managed to stay married, and happily married at that, for forty-three years. FORTY-THREE!! Forty-three very, very, very wonderful years with the only man on earth who could have put up with me for forty-three years. God created this particular man just for me and I'm so glad he did. And that in a moment of temporary sanity I said "Yes" when he proposed. And I love him more now than I did forty-three years ago.

Joy Journal: Saint Gene

Photo Gallery

I had a few spare minutes at work this morning so I took the opportunity to make a small photo gallery of some of the photos from Chattanooga that I thought turned out reasonably well.

And I promise that this will be my last post of pictures from Chattanooga. It's just that I have been feeling so "uncreative" (is that a word?) lately that these pictures are the only things I have to fall back on. But the good news is that I actually remembered to pick up my sketch journal when I left the house this morning. Maybe that means a little creative spark is beginning to shine.

I'm going to take the weekend of August 16-17 off from taking care of my mother - my saint of a husband is going to go down and take my place that weekend - and I'm going to chill out. Well, as much as you can chill out cleaning and working around the house. But it will feel good to get some things done at my house.

Oh, I do have some good news to post!! I've lost 15 pounds.

Now, without further ado, here are the pictures (click on them to see them in a larger format):

Joy Journal: Thank you, Lord, for giving us coffee and Coca Cola.

Above is the beautiful Hunter Museum as seen from the Walnut Bluff pedestrian bridge in Chattanooga. It sits on one of the most prominent and scenic pieces of land on the Tennessee River and is located on the site of a mansion that was once there (and I think is now part of the museum). The rock bluffs must have been even more dramatic looking when just the mansion was there - more stark and eye-catching if possible! And in the bottom portion of the picture you can see part of the River Park. Chattonooga has done a wonderful job with their river location.

No real progress with my mother's situation. Guess we are now just in a holding pattern. Physically she is doing great. Mentally - well, that's a different story. The least little bit of stress causes her to become confused and then the confusion causes a little panic. So right now we are in a holding pattern, just keeping on keeping on and hoping that time (combined with lots of prayers) will help her and us out.

I've signed up for a combination photography/Photoshop class at Callenwolde Fine Arts Center to start on Monday nights at the end of this month. I bought Photoshop CS3 about six months ago and haven't even loaded it on my computer. I'm looking forward to learning this incredibly powerful program - or in this case, to start learning the basics of this incredibly powerful program. It will be interesting to see if there is a major difference between it and Paint Shop Pro, my current graphics program.

Joy Journal: My husband waiting at the door for me with a cup of coffee when I came in from my mother's last night, tired and depressed. What a treasure he is.