Water off a ducks back.

We have all heard the saying "Water off a ducks back". 
Do you know what that means?
I have always thought it meant something like; not able to penetrate and not affect.
I think I was right.
But when you see it, it makes  ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Today I will give you just a taste of what a duck thinks.......

As if I would know....

But I did get to watch a few of them and boy was I impressed.

They look so calm on the surface, but they are paddling like mad underneath the water.
They are in The Snake River, a river which is vicious and beautiful.
The current is strong.
The water is deep and powerful.

And these beautiful creatures are paddling UP stream.
They make it look so effortless.....
I know people who do that, too.  They make is seem effortless.

Even when there are rocks, some hidden and some apparent.  Yet they keep paddling.
They teach us a lesson by the example they set. 
No matter what it may appear to be, that isn't always the way it is.
We might not be in the Snake River, we might just be living our daily lives and have to paddle hard.
But no one realizes how hard we are working.
Our feet are out of sight, so we might appear to be floating.  Like we aren't working hard.
But we would be miles downstream if that were the case, and we weren't paddling HARD.

Especially if we are the mom.

Our little chicks just play and frolic around us.

There are mud puddles that lure our chicks and we have to keep the eyes in the back of our head open.

We can't ever stop watching them.

We have guide and direct and teach every minute of our lives.

Because we are the mom.

Because we love our chicks.

We can get help from our neighbors or a similar species....but....

We can't let up our watch and care, not even for a minute.

Dad's have to do this too.

Dad's have to be tough and kind, and strong and sensitive......

Sometimes we parents have to kick a little hinney....

And act like it doesn't effect us...

That we are strong....

We put our heads down and run like mad.....

and hope we are doing the right thing.

As parents (or ducks) sometimes we just have to say,

"BOTTOMS UP".

.........and make it look tireless, too.

Concert on the River

The Snake River runs through the heart of Idaho Falls.  That river is the reason Idaho Falls is where it is.  The Snake River is a tourist attraction to many people who travel through this town as they visit many nearby natural wonders of the west.  We are only a short drive away from West Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Sun Valley Idaho, and many other less famous places, which are just as beautiful.

The Snake River is known as "the river" by those who live here.  The river is a peaceful reminder to all of the people who live here that our water supply is adequate.  Farmers draw water from this river to irrigate their fields and water their livestock.  Many people boat on the river.  They find places where the water runs deep and smooth.  Many, many people fish this river.  Kids fish from the bridges, men wade the shallow banks and fish, and other fish from boats.

Idaho Falls has spent the past few years in making the river a beautiful place to walk, ride bikes, jog, and a place to gather.  The city has groomed the banks and yet left the natural wonders for us to see the water in its natural state.

As part of this development the city council and the parks and recreation has organized events to be on the banks of the river.  One of those events that I love to attend is the free concerts.  Each week there is a free concert put on by local talent in the area.  They are usually held on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm.  However, if there is an event during the week, such as an art show on the river, the concert is changed to coincide with those events.

This week the concert was changed to Thursday evening to coincide with an art showing.  The concert was to be the sounds of "the big  band" era.

We planned our day accordingly. We got our check list completed early.  We bought Chicken and packed our dinner.  We put our lawn chairs in the car.  We got the camera, our water, our "pop" (also known as soda in other parts of the country) and a blanket and drove to "the river".

The sky was getting dark, but we were sure the little clouds would not produce enough rain to interfere with the concert.... it might delay it, but that would be all.  We had faith.  We know the weather in Idaho changes every 5 minutes so we were not giving into the negative idea we could be wrong.

We arrived at 6:59 and parked our car.  The sky was dark.  We carried our picnic, our chairs, the camera, the blanket and walked just a short distance to the place of the concert.  As we walked we could hear the artists warming up their instruments.  There were trombones, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, trumpets.  Each made its distinct sound through the trees, with the water of the river in the back ground.

We felt a few sprinkles of rain just as we reach the location.  We were not discouraged.  There was a wonderfully large pine tree that we put our chairs under.  We sat down.

POW!  Lightening and thunder, and the sky opened up and let the rain come down.

I grabbed my camera, and got a few shots of the band....here are just a few.

Did you know that shinny instruments don't like water to be on them....?

And band members run for cover when it rains?

But spectators don't mind the rain.  They come prepared.

However, the band members run for their cars, and safety, and dry ground.

And I send my dear husband for my car... while I wait under the pine tree, in the rain, with the lightening.

I am no fool.

I wait.

He carries the chairs and the picnic.

I carry my camera and the blanket.

He picks me up at the curb.

I am dry.

And we hope the Big Band Sounds will be rescheduled because I really wanted to hear it.

Maybe next time my mom and dad can join us.

Maybe next time we will be earlier and get front row.

But either way..... there will be a next time.

Every week I will be on the river listening to the free concerts.

Life is GOOD!

The Casserole Dish

When I was a little girl my mom had a really cool greenish/turquoise casserole dish.  I loved it.

I remember looking at the feet of the dish and thinking it was the neatest thing I had ever seen.  Regular casserole dishes didn't have feet like that and I had never seen one like it anyplace before.

When my mom and dad retired they moved to a different house, and got rid of some of the "old stuff".  That old casserole dish was one of the things that had to find a new home.  And you know me...... I am a sucker to take in an orphan of sorts and give it a "new home".

I have had the casserole dish for years and years.  I have had it on a top shelf in my kitchen for as long as I can remember.  I have never used it!  How could I?  It is priceless and I couldn't risk having one of my off spring  break it.  It was irreplaceable.  Maybe the only one like it in the world. So, it collected dust on a top shelf.

As I was packing my "extra things" getting ready for our move I came across the casserole dish.  I stared at it.  The feet, they hadn't changed a bit.  The darling handle on the lid was still just right for my fingers.  I held it.  I caressed it.  I drooled at the color of it.

That color!  I love that color!

It was an inspiration to me.  It looks so modern.  So hip. So.... "right out of a magazine"!

It is an inspiration for me. 

My studio will have this color.

This is it!

What color would you call it?

Take a guess....

Is it green..

turquoise..?

Well, I am going to take this dish to the big box store, where they can put it under the little device and match the color.  Yep... I am.  Then I will have paint this color.

The little sewing machine table this is sitting on is bright yellow. I inherited this very old sewing machine from my Aunt Erma when she died.  It is a black 1950 Singer.  It is so cool. It does straight stitches and zigzag stitches.  Nothing else.  Nothing fancy.   Aunt Erma sewed thousands of miles on this sewing machine. ( I will take it's picture some day.)  The sewing machine is in a nice wooden cabinet which my Aunt painted bright Yellow many years ago.  The bright yellow just doesn't do it for me, so I am going to paint the cabinet.  What color do you think I will paint it? 

Nope,......... because I don't know what color I am going to paint it....but it will look great with this darling casserole dish on it!!!!!  It has to be a color to "show off"  color of the dish.  To make it shine!

I have a few pieces that I want to have this color.  I want my studio the "happiest place on earth" with this color.  Maybe picture frames...a cork board frame... maybe some lace, or ribbon here or there to match...the possibilities are endless. 

Hummm, I am going to think a while on this one.... got any ideas for me?  Please feel free to tell me.

All I know is this little casserole dish, which I cherish is going to be very special to me for a very long time.

Deseret Industries

Yep, I found a little table to refinish.

It was $5.00 and no body wanted it. 

It needed a home......like mine, where it would be loved and adored.

But first, I had to "rough" it up a little.

That way the dust would look like part of the sanding I did on it. I just did a little and got bored.

I also used some Liquid Sandpaper.

It helped to degloss the little bit of varnish that was still on the tiny little table.

Then I wiped it off with a clean cloth.

I chose Behr Espresso Brown to use as the Primer/Paint.

That killed two birds with one stone.

I gave it a nice even coat all over the table.

Sorry, no picture...

Then I gave it a base coat to match an airmoire I have inherited.

The Primer/Paint made the paint go on fairly easy, but it needed two coats.

I heard the little table sigh as I finished the second coat.

It knew it was sheltered and loved at my house.

I think I saw it wink* at me.

I knew it had to have a little distressing or it wouldn't fit in with the other studio furniture.

So I gently sanded off the corners and obvious places where paint would wear away.

The little table is done.

It will sit at the end of my studio table. 

I will clutter it up in no time.

I will put inspirational magazines in the end,

and more magazines or paper or stuff on the bottom shelf.

The top will hold needed supplies for the projects as they come and go.

I am of the opinion that a studio can NEVER have too much horizonal surface.

Welcome to my home little $5.00 table.

(I won't tell anyone how much the new finger nails cost.

Next time I will wear gloves.)

What day of the week is it?

This past weekend I got my days mixed up.

Does that ever happen to you?

I don't know how, but on Thursday I got up and dressed and invited my sweet daughter to join me and visit some garage sales.  She was thrilled.  She hurried herself to make ready. She never questioned me.

We filled our water bottles, made sure we had small bills, a smallish purse (yes that is a word in my world) , out the door we went.

We didn't have any special place we wanted to go, but we knew we would see "yard sale" signs......

About a mile on the road I had a brain cell fire into place. It was quick, and painless.

I said "What day is it?"

Daughter, after a pause....."umm, Thursday".

Then we both cracked up laughing!!!

$1.00

We couldn't believe we were capable of such a mistake!!

So, not undaunted, we decided to visit thrift stores instead....

$5.00

The Desert Industries was our first stop, which I was so disappointed in.

I feel they over price everything.

Little glass dishes can be $2.00 to $5.00.

That is not acceptable to my budget.

On Friday we made it to the "yard sales".

I got this great wicker basket.....

and it was filled with Cross Stitch stuff...

No I don't cross stitch, but I do embroidery, and can always

use more embroidery floss, and hoops....

$4.00

Yep, that makes me happy.

$2.00

It was full of old permanent rods..

I dumped the rods in the garbage, and found the insides to be clean

and ready to hold my treasures or a "work in progress".

I like to keep something to work on while I watch TV..

Which isn't often these days, but it never hurts to be prepared.

$10.00

It swings, plays music, is adjustable in height.

My "Peanut" will be here in September,

so this was a thrilling find!

$.50 cents for the board and glass cover.

Yep.

It is for the studio.

$4.00

The quart bottle was packed full of vintage buttons.

I cut the buttons off the paper cards (they were stinky).

I have some darling little jars with the cutest tops, so the buttons found

a temporary home in the little glass jars.

So I have started to sand the wooden pieces, and I am almost ready to paint.

I bought the paint, the sand paper, the tack cloths... just need an extra day in the week.

I think I will redo my calendar...

Make another day...

We all could use another day in the week...

A day, special, just for the day before yard sales...

Just to get in the mood,

to collect ones thoughts.

A day just to spend doing what we want to do, and not what we should be doing.

Yep.

What should we call this new day...

This great special extra day....

???

Gray skies....

I thought I would share with your the important photos I took of our last storm.

You remember, the storm that I thought was so important......

Yeah, that one.....

The one where I deleted all the photos of my family....

The photos of the kids, the smiles the eyes.......

The storm was pretty awesome.

There was thunder and lightening.

If you know me even a little bit, you know I should have been a meteorologist.

I can't predict the weather, but I can tell you when it is going to change.

I have the most sophisticated weather prediction instruments.

I have arthritis .

In every joint.

And at times is can be rather annoying,

but it can be good, as well.

It tells me the sky is changing,

and it could look like this....

So, although I will never replace the lost photos of those darling children, or the

one of my brother and his wife...

I can take others...

more of them at a different time.

Those pictures won't be the same,

but then,

if I took pictures of the sky again,

the sky would look different, too.

And I think this sky is amazing.

I am an artist.

I can paint.

But I can't paint like God does.

This is a one and only.

And I love this sky.

Lost Photos

I am near tears.

Yep, giant, ocean size tears.

Not my eyes, but my heart is sobbing today.

I spent 48 hours with my brother and his wife and their wonderful children in Island Park, at their "lodge" (which they call a cabin) earlier this week.

I took 300 photos.

I put my scan disk into my computer and was deleting and editing the photos.  They were fabulous!  They were one of a kind....... and I lost them.

See, I was interrupted by a storm.
A really good Idaho storm.
The kind with thunder, lightening and wonderful black clouds.

So, being the photographer that I am, I ejected my scan disk from my computer and put it back into my camera.
Knowing there were over 300 photos on my card, I DELETED THEM!!!
I THOUGHT THEY WERE SAVED ON MY COMPUTER.

I went outside and I took fabulous photos of the black sky, the rain, my wet car, ..... you know the kind of photos....the ones I won't save, I won't ever look at again.  The kind of photos that don't matter.

AURGH!  I am in pain as I think of the photos I hadn't saved:
*  The one with my brother holding his newest grandson.
*  The one of my niece's husband playing with that same baby.
*  The one of the little kids playing "kitty" in the dog pen, on the deck.
*  The close up faces and those precious expressions.... (I can't stand the pain I feel)
*  The faces, the eyes, the innocence.  (Oh, the pain...)
*  The picture of my brother and his wife.  Yep, the one that showed how much they love each other.

OH, the hard lessons we learn while growing old and trying to learn new tricks... technology is not for the faint of heart!

So I will leave you with a selected few ( some of the unimportant ones are saved... ^(*&(%*) of those precious 48 hours...

Watching Pre-dawn, waiting for the sun to rise... 5:30 ish in the A.M.

My sister in law and her oldest grand daughter... Can't you just feel the love?

The mother of the oldest grand daughter.

Same oldest grand daughter and youngest addition to their family..

Second child of same family... I love this face... and I had some "really special" photos... that are gone, gone, gone, forever......

And child # 3 of the same family..

She was a preemie...and is still very small...

and hasn't grown into her eyes yet...

those photos of those eyes...

You will never see those photos,

but I see them in my memory,

and they were fabulous!!!

And this is the boat dock.  My son in law would love to water ski here....if he would ever come with his family and find out for himself....

The sun coming up is reflected in the water....the smooth as glass water.....the water which is the home to fish...... the water, the sky, the peace, the tranquillity....

Yep, I love being in Idaho, and I love going to Island Park and sharing the beauty with my family.

So, I am planning a trip back, like, SOON, so I can try and recapture some of those faces.... and I will save them FIRST thing ..... before I edit, or anything...... and I will show you those faces.  And I will show you the love.  And I will show you the inside of my heart through those photos.

Those photos will look something like these:

These two kids are my heat, the inside and the outside.

I love them now and forever.

I miss them, and they are still in Idaho,

AND  I MISS THEM!!!!!

I LOVE THEM!!!!

FOREVER!!!