Remember the Power of Gratitude

....or Attitude is Everything...

"Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left."

H. Humphrey

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get."

F. Clark

Ultimately-- It is gratitude that opens the door to abundance and paves the way for a life of happiness and prosperity.

The scripture sums it up even more perfectly.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)

A quick list of things to be thankful for an overcast day:

• I am a child of God
• Families that brought both myself and spouse up worshipping Him
• Both a husband and son that are Believers
• Being born an American
• Sisters and a brother that want to include me in their families
• Very dear girl friends
• A God-given appreciation for color, form arrangement and organization

A few More Attitude Quotes to be mined.

And, finally- an image that brings me happiness and for you, too, to enJOY!!

Sadly- I didn't get but 3 pictures the whole weekend. But, suffice it to say.... the countenances on both my grandmothers' and parents' faces was nothing but joy all Thanksgiving weekend.

Art Journals, New Image Sources and Some REALLY Fascinating Artists

Art Journals

Article on Janice Lowery in the Smithsonian magazine. Her blog can be found: here. I've been following her art for quite some time and sadly- she died this year. But, that her work was chosen by the Smithsonian speaks volumes (ha-pun intended) of the incredible amount she produced over the years.





Movie Alert: 1000 Journals. I have this movie in my Netflix queue and will review on it as soon as I see it. The official 1000 Journal website is here.

I understand there is a book to be released as well.

New Blogs to Research and Artists to Admire!

A real treasure of a blog is: Meggie Cat is a delightful new addition with tons of intriguing art links, especially interesting and unusual imagery that is used in her artwork.

One really cool link from her took me to here for whole entire books that have been scanned!! Cool. This is: School Arts, volume 21, circa 1923.

Which lead me to a link from her blog to Agence Eureka. This link translates it into English. Man!! Is she a treasure trove of vintage imagery. Now, I've not delved far enough into her blog to determine whether or not she creates anything with these images (though I would image she does) or just collects and scans it. Regardless- I'm delighted to find it.

Domestic Bliss??

Hmmm...... I think I'd just as soon as stay out of the kitchen-except to decorate it.

But, THIS is the life I'm relegated. Might as well have fun with it.

Smile really big while doing chores. It helps to make them go faster. Or so they say.

Off to make amends to the vacuum. I insulted it when it refused to run itself. I just hope it'll obey me.

I'll See It Through....

Life's hard sometimes. Easy others.

Achieving a goal.

Facing God-given challenges; i.e. natural disasters or global misfortunes (knowing that He is in charge and accompanying us every step of the way)- even then, there's hard and tough times.

Through times of prosperity.

Enduring and pursuing the journey of ups and downs.

Persevering with a mate for life.

These lyrics capture the essence of a tenacious spirit.

I♥U,B!

Now Why Don't She Write??

The simple answer: because everything I attempt to communicate is skewed and it's frustrating.

Sister, Nancy, summed it up one day many years ago when she said "I think a lot".

Yeah. Me, too. Too much.

For some reason God granted me a very fertile imagination. I look at everything (and I do mean everything) with a creative eye and shuffle it around to make it different.

• Sometimes it's better.
• Sometimes it is more appealing.
• Sometimes it's downright crazy.

Rarely is any one of those notions every carried through to fruition. But, always- it's downright maddening to the males (and the occasional female) around me and seen as just another extreme flights of fancy.

The most frustrating part? That I can't communicate well enough to them the abstract idea so that they just visualize it. I'm not demanding that all of these many thoughts be acted upon. Just considered.

It's maddening. And, I'm tired of knocking myself up against that brick wall of communication.

So there ya have it. I'm tired. I'm really really tired. I've tried taking a communications class, read tons of books on how to better communicate and while I love the people in my life- they don't love me back enough to try to even expand their imagination with me.

I don't think I'm going to try much longer.

Oh. The inspiration for the title of today's musings? One-liner wisdom found in the fantasy world of a movie.

"Somebody back east is saying now why don't she write?"

Timmons, the teamster from Dances With Wolves