hinge pins standing in for pennies

the sun is just now beginning to break thru the morning mist.. it's going to be a warmish day today.. my house is quiet except for a squirrel that is knocking things over on my [not so] screened in porch.. it just makes me giggle.. not sure how the fella is managing to stay asleep thru the racket.. 

last night i was talking to my sister on the phone and we were talking about a friend [one of the collected coven] and how she had a penny fling itself to the floor while they were in bed.. i thought of "pennies from heaven".. whether or not you believe in heaven, but the gesture [in my belief] is loved ones that are trying to communicate.. those on a different level than us.. and just as we were talking of this, something launched itself noisily to my floor.. she heard it thru the phone.. when i went looking to see what it was, i have a lap tray and it was the hinge pin that ejected itself.. this pin isn't under tension or coiled.. if it had worn itself loose, it would have simply fallen below.. this was launched far away with a very loud clanging.. even scared my kitty.. this tray hadn't been touched in a day.. 

and.. on that thought.. today is my Dad's birthday.. it's been 32 years since i've been in the same tangible space as him..

pennies from heaven, or hinge pins.. yeah.. they have ways of communicating.. 

doodles on a sunday

 

i managed to get a good sleep last night..  the fella crashed on the couch last night.. so ava kitty & i had the bed all to ourselves.. i wonder if it was the lack of snoring? perhaps.. i still prefer to  have him in bed with me.. but with a full 8 hours of sleep, i woke up inspired.. the bedroom faces the morning sun.. so i quietly made my coffee around my slumbering fella without waking him, then i watched the sunrise.. and began some neurographic art.. the drawing part is soothing.. the colouring part always seems to disappoint me tho.. i can't find the right medium that suits the pieces best.. marker is bold but i don't like that it shows each stroke.. colouring pencils show up too grainy & textured.. so far the best is watercolour paints.. [above] but i'm still trying to figure out what works for me.. ah, i shouldn't be so critical of myself.. this type of art is meant to be therapeutic.. it's all about the process of doing.. not trying to make a masterpiece.. so i have to give myself some slack.. 

i spent the better part of the day on the bed with kitty, listening to some podcasts and drawing/painting.. i took a few breaks to throw together a crockpot of what will be baked beans.. soaked dry beans overnight & they've been burbling away for hours in my homemade sauce creation.. i'll post tomorrow if they turn out.. they sure smell good cooking tho.. 

how quickly my landscape changes

took this photo a couple days ago.. the gorgeous colours of autumn.. a very windy day yesterday completely changed my landscape.. sitting here, early morning, it's amazing how much more sky i can see thru the trees, in just one day.. the sky is orange as the sun it just creeping up.. sunrise for me is a little later, as it has to crest the mountains in the east.. 

i'm tired.. i woke up at 3.30a and tried to get back to sleep.. at 4a i came out to the living room, curled up under a heated blanket.. tried again to doze off.. nope.. by 5a, i just got up and made myself a coffee.. it is going to be a beautiful day here in upstate New York.. sunny, warm.. it's only 36 degrees right now, but we are trending to reach 68 degrees.. i am going to sit outside and let the creative parts of me take over.. 

bbq roasted squash seeds

the fella wanted acorn squash & i wanted butternut squash.. so we had a pile of mush that i usually just toss out for the woodland critters to eat, but i thought i might try making a snack for us.. so i washed up the seeds from both squashes.. i dried them in the oven.. but before they were completely cooked, i spritzed them with a little oil, just enough so the spices would stick.. i used powdered garlic, onion, sweet & smoked paprika, cumin, mustard, cayenne & a little salt substitute.. i put the spice blend on near the end of roasting so it wouldn't burn.. these were awesome.. the shells are small & tender enough that they toasted up great.. not hardly woody..

* tasty

* healthy

* vegan

tabby cat - sold

i sold a piece of my art tonight.. tabby cat will be sent out to its new owner tomorrow.. i never thought i would feel something, selling my original work, but i do.. when i paint, i infuse my energy into every stroke of the brush.. i remember what i was doing, where i was sitting, what the weather was like - when i was painting a piece.. 

a photograph, print or scan wouldn't give me that feeling of letting go of a little part of me, but transferring of hands from a OOAK [one of a kind] original feels different.. i have given paintings to friends as gifts.. i've sold a couple tiny ATCs, but this is the first piece of my art that has sold.. i guess it's kind of special.. i have dreamed my whole life of being a paid artist.. i've always been an artist.. i was born an artist.. but i was always scared to put myself and my work out there.. 

i wonder if other artists feel this way.. do they make connections during the creating process? do they simple tuck their works away? or are they like me, to pull them out, revisit them?

i am manifesting my dreams..

 

under the maple tree

i briefly fell asleep and my fingers on the keyboard, backspaced and deleted the whole post.. so.. off to bed i shuffle.. i leave you with this image of today, under the maple tree.. 

daily dose of .. weege - 14october2022

[insert gratitude here]

thoughts on a warm autumn day

 

excerpt from todays journal entry - unedited

12october2022 wednesday

i am finally outside.. ahh, lovely.. out here with my Ava-butts.. i feel so content, so happy these days.. i am blessed.. i am grateful.. yesterday while i was having a late afternoon coffee, i spoke out loud without prior thought "i love you mum," it was a genuine thought.. not one forced.. i think i felt like i was embracing a part of her.. how she loved her sweet cream coffee any time of the day.. hmmm, i think forgiveness is happening as i didn't pull back on my maternal association..

as i write this, a strong breeze blows, i hear a tree crack not so far away.. i will have to look for the limb later.. so many leaves are falling.. it sends Ava into a frenzy.. she stalks & pounces the leaves that swirl down.. i tell her i am proud of her.. this is hunting to her.. it smells like nostalgia out here.. it smells like childhood amazement.. back when i had light brown hair & a birthmark on my calf.. back when i thought i could catch a crow.. i am still that skinny little kid.. i still collect maple leaves & press them into old books.. i didn't know what to do with them then & i don't know what to do with them now.. yet i still gather them up.. 

it's so fluffy!! [said in the voice of Agnes]

this little lady has been a frequent visitor here every twilight. a beautiful striped skunk.. i know the markings look more like a hooded skunk and similar to a hog nosed skunk.. but here in my region, upstate New York, it's a striped skunk.. just a gorgeous colour variation.. 

here she is having a little drink of water.. it rained all day, so the water is murky.. i will refresh it tomorrow.. her little paws are so cute.. 

the fur looks so soft.. a little earlier at twilight, mostly dark outside, but i could see the fur almost glowing, so i opened up my window, leaned out with my camera and she wasn't disturbed at all.. even with the flash going off.. i'm totally within spray range, maybe 4 feet above her, but she was more interested in the scraps on the ground.. 

ah, i love all my woodland critters.. 

i need sleep.. last nights insomnia piggy backed the full moon and invited restless leg syndrome to join.. i'm running on 3 hours of sleep.. so, say good night Gracie.. Good Night Gracie.. 

don't ya know i should be sleeping?

insomnia is a weird sort of lover.. you don't invite her in, but she slithers thru your barely open eyelids.. seeps in like the fog thru the spaces between the logs of your house, that at the right angle, you can see light thru on a sunny day.. where the ladybugs and spiders find their way in.. she nags at you with little tweaking fingers.. she talks to you in the hum of the fan.. so quiet that no one else hears her, but you do.. you ask her to let you sleep.. but she brings upon visions.. or memories.. or dreams.. or nightmares.. it's rarely the slideshow you relish.. you flip the pillow to dull her whispers.. you turn and watch the night sky.. the clouds slowly roll by the nearly full moon.. and then you make the connection.. the approaching full moon.. insomnia always rides in with the moon.. she hangs around for 3 or so nights.. she is so excited that the air is static, she makes your skin tingle with a million plus one fireflies.. lighting up every nerve ending, as if reaching out to meet the magnetized air.. the lure of hide and go seek in the dark.. you give in, on the second hour, you pad barefoot thru your house.. you step into the night air on the porch and watch satellites in the sky.. you hear rustling in the dried leaves of autumn.. and you miss the dude.. near 3 months without the dude and you still can't bring yourself to talk about him.. you felt protected outside on sleepless nights, because that spirit was bigger than his feline body could contain.. 

you know there is a couple more nights with your curious, mysterious insomniac sister.. what kind of night will tonight be? an open book and frenzied pen or a sleeping pill to hush her? 

love for autumn

there isn't an autumn day that passes without me feeling in awe of my surroundings.. i live on a windy road somewhere between the Adirondack Mountains of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont.. 

the above photo is the top of my driveway, seen from the road.. blink and you'd miss it.. there is a twisty driveway that slopes down into a small clearing, where my log cabin house sits..

when it rains, the satellite tv goes out, when it's windy, the power goes out, when it's cold, we bark up the wood stove.. when our water pipes froze, i drew water from the pond.. we don't have cell phones, there is no cell service.. in a world where everyone is living "smartly", we are nurturing our spirits mindfully, naturally.. turning more and more to simplicity..

i interact with nature every day and it truly feeds my soul.. i never take for granted any of the daily interactions i have with nature & the wildlife.. every moment i share space with a deer, a fox, a raccoon - i know i am blessed.. when i hear the coyotes yip and the owls hoot - i know i am blessed.. 

i would never want to live anywhere that didn't have the bold seasons like here.. every seasons change, i am filled with nostalgia.. i get to fall in love with that remembrance and that newness that comes from the onslaught of a new season.. 

ahh.. just spreading some love for autumn..

homemade vegan caponata

 

dinner tonight was homemade caponata on a toasted whole wheat wrap 

this is becoming one of my favourite dishes.. i used to buy these tiny cans of caponata but for a year or so, i haven't been able to find them.. then i decided to recreate it.. and i LOVE it.. mine is a vegan, fat free version, as per my restricted diet right now.. but this doesn't lack a bit of flavour.. the ingredients and recipe is always improvised & never measured.. i'm a "to taste" kinda gal.. 

Eggplant Caponata

1 large eggplant  -  can of diced tomatoes  -  1 large onion  -  a mix of peppers [red, yellow, orange, green] and 3 cloves of garlic.. 

baked in the oven till all veggies are tender and the liquid has cooked out.. i sprinkled some nutritional yeast on top and put it on a toasted whole wheat wrap and mmmm.. it's so rich, from the veggies roasting and caramelizing a bit.. i could see this working with some mushrooms and/or sweet potatoes.. 

leftovers for tomorrow.. yeah me!!!

dwellings - page three

 

got my art on today.. another building.. i started out with coloured pencils, [the roof] but i wasn't getting the look i wanted, so i had to break out the watercolour paints. i know i'm supposed to be breaking out of my comfort zone, but i was getting frustrated & that is NOT what art is about.. anyway, this is what i came up with for my 3rd structure.. i am hoping that by the time i am on the last page of the art book, i will be able to see improvement..

i got my 2nd shingles shot & my flu shot yesterday, i was half expecting to be sickish & blue today, but nope.. woke up all bright eyed & bushy tailed [that is so a mum saying, isn't it?] 

got the Yankees last regular game on right now.. here comes the post season.. Go Yankees!!!

oracle card reading - 02 october 2022

oracle card reading

one card draw

deck:  wisdom of the oracle by colette baron reid

question:  what should i put in my vortex today?

TICK TOCK #30

[jumper]

[a bit of back story]

i mention this because this is where my thoughts went while holding this card.. i have been trying to manifest some extra money.. i have been meditating on it, eft tapping on it, setting new moon intentions.. and so on.. and as the days turn into a new month without any such monies materializing.. i admit that i have become not only a little anxious, but discouraged.. 

so, i feel this card is telling me to slow down girl.. just because you want something, NOW.. doesn't mean the Universe works on your time table.. i stopped finding joy in the process and was living in an anxious state of eager outcome.. and i know perfectly well this isn't the proper way to manifest.. 

want creates more want

wait creates more wait

i was indeed manifesting what my energy was putting out there.. i wanted more and the Universe was keeping me in a state of wanting, waiting, wishing.. 

this card told me today, to relax.. remember to enjoy the process, which goes along with living in the present.. 

BE PRESENT IN MY OWN LIFE

why am i trying so hard to make tomorrow a better day when i can't slow it down and find the joy in today? 

i have been creating art with all the wrong energy.. i truly believe that all artists in all mediums, leave a little piece of themselves in their creations.. their energy is infused in it.. and for the past month, i am sure i have left some anxiety, impatience, yearning & sadly discouragement in mine.. [it would be pure greed and selfishness to put these out there.. ahem, i won't]

so what is my take away from this card? what can i learn from this that will guide me today?  -  create, enjoy the process, be present in the moment.. infuse comfort and satisfaction in my art.. imagine someone seeing my work and it resonates with them on an emotional level.. they want to own it.. the energy i have placed within it, is not only picked up by someone else, but it is fueled and fed by another energy.. and this,  THIS IS MANIFESTING!!

i am a human becoming

i am continually learning

tick tock - stop the cycle of waiting and trying to rush time

put it out there to Spirit and then trust the process

curried squash soup with kale - vegan

 

dinner tonight was this yummy soup.. ingredients - butternut squash, carrot, cauliflower, red & yellow peppers, purple onion, veggie stock, garlic, curry.. cooked then blended.. i love, love, love the texture of kale, so i put that in last.. leftovers for tomorrow.. yum!

so the fella & i got our most recent Covid 19 vax.. not sure if this one is called a booster or not, but it has been the 4th shot in total.. yesterday was rough, we stayed in bed all day yesterday with the chills and aches.. we expected as much.. and today we are mostly back to our normal selves.. 

well enough to whip myself up a batch of soup and some chicken parm with pasta for him.. 

hopefully tomorrow i'll be back to creating some art..