IF Asleep

My Great Neice Rosie told her Mother she was going to be asleep in the closet. I was sent a picture that I took this illustration from. Rosalie is too cute and has given me many ideas to work from with her cute little face...She is the baby in the family right now and reminds me of how cute the kids are at this age, she's two. She is the first Grandchild on both sides of her family as I was and what a great place to be. I couldn't have gotten more love if I had tried and have fond memories of all of my Grandparents. The foods I ate, the beds I slept in, and the warm and fuzzy feeling I always had. My Grandparents, even after more children arrived, always made me feel as if I was the most important one and of course I wanted to believe it. I try with my Grandchildren to do the same. It is a bit different as we all live together. We have our own spaces but when they spend the night with me its right next door. I tend to be a little critical of them when they misbehave as I see it. But I really do try to step back and be the fun part of their lives. They are growing so fast and before I know it they will not want to bother with me or their parents. So I will keep a blind eye to their bad deeds(who am I kidding?) and feed them ice cream and cookies and other things their parents don't want them to have. Life is funny and a bit of a tight wire act. We are always looking for balance ...lets hope I can find it....and lets hope Rosie keeps doing cute things I can draw about!

IF Soaked

This little Elephant loves to take hot bubble baths. He gets all the tub toys he can find and anything else he thinks he might need and heads for a long soak. I also like to take a long bath and relax for a while. I don't take the time much anymore to do this and maybe this posting will prompt me to take up the habit again. I don't think we are always as nice to ourselves as we are to others.....I have a nasty headache I can't shake to day so I will write more tomorrow when I feel better I just wanted to get this posted....see you tomorrow... It is now tomorrow...and I feel better. I went to bed and slept whatever it was off. Not quite ready to jump and dance but better is good I will take it. I will be making a plush dog today as I am going to sign with a rep that does the Teddy Bear Shows and works her bottom off to do good for her clients. It has been difficult getting back into the three dimensional projects as I really do love illustrating. But until I get a book published or find some work in that field gotta pay the bills. Gathering the materials for my creations is fun and inspires me onward. ...Well I better go for now but before I say goodbye I want to wish the people the best that are devastated by the Tornadoes in the mid west. I will be thinking about you and wishing I could give you all hugs! As I can't even wrap my mind around what it is like to loose so much of their lives...

IF Safari

This little traveler has decided to make as many friends as she can on her Safari into the jungle. And these little monkeys are delighted to see her and her offerings. She seems unafraid as she approaches these wild animals and they seem unafraid of the HUMAN that is looking at them. Perhaps it is the smile on her face. The calmness she has as she only wants good for the monkeys. I think that sometimes a smile will break down barriers that we humans have put up for one reason or another. I find laughter will also work but I know that some of us are so deeply sadden by life and its ups and downs that nothing at that moment will help! So I keep trying as the pay off for me is the smile on the un expecting victims face. We all just want to be happy and loved and sometimes that in itself is hard to make happen. Today it is rainy and dark. Little patches of blue sky are peeking out at me and the sky is soooo beautiful. I enjoy the different days and try to always find something good in them. The other day I was driving along the road closest to the beach. I looked up and there was three separate groups of Pelicans flying very low in formation along the road. They were soaring and gliding their way South. I was so fascinated I stopped to enjoy the show. My Son had seen the same spectacular site himself last week and we shared in our delight. What wonderful things nature has for us to experience. I hope I never loose the excitement in seeing it. So if you can get out of your own way today try to find something wonderful for you to take in, it might be in your own backyard! Check it out!

IF Beginner

Happy Mother's day to all that might be reading this on Sunday! I had a lovely day with my family just hanging out and eating tacos and other good food. My illo for this weeks topic "beginner" shows a truly beginning eater. I remember the days of Cheerios and milk. It seemed like the tiny round circles ended up everywhere except their mouths. At least the Cheerios were easy to clean up, unlike the baby foods we gave them first. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that my kids were babies (they are now 41 and 45 years old). And other times they seem like they have been my friends as adults for years. Time is passing so fast and we all have our own interest it is getting harder to find the time to spend quality time together. My Granddaughter helped me cook lunch and the others cleaned up and put the leftovers away. I have some beautiful roses to watch grow and the memory of the day. My poor Mother is becoming a shell of her former self. How sad it is to watch her slowly fade away. I wonder what my Father would have been like if he had the chance to grow old as he was taken at the age of 60. Would he be active, all together mentally, oh well we will never know these answers. But life doesn't seem to be getting easier as I get older. It has given me some in sites to the human condition and it has shattered some of my old illusions that I held dear. But tomorrow is another day with more lessons to learn, more hurdles to jump and thank God I have been given the chance to grow every day I am here. I hope your week is good and that you use your time to the fullest and at night when we all look in the mirror, we say "I have done my very best today". After all that is all we CAN do isn't it, don't we owe it to the others that haven't been given the chance.....go hug someone.....

IF Lesson

This strong man and sweet elephant are about to learn a lesson in the fine art of balance with the addition to their act of that tiny butterfly! It is funny how delicate balance can be. Whether it be trying to balance work and family, or friend relationships. I always say that we all do a dance. And what the outcome is depends on who will join our different dances. For example when we find ourselves in a bad mood, who joins us sometimes makes the mood change. If we refuse to join the bad mood dance and choose to change the dance the bad mood person seldom will dance alone. I don't know if we choose to be in a bad mood or if the many ingredients of our lives set the tone. Again comes balance, did we eat and what did we eat, did we get enough sleep. There are so many reasons that a person might feel crabby. I try to fight bad moods and encourage others to SNAP OUT OF IT! But sometimes we have the weight of the world on our backs and as I say "have fallen down the rabbit hole". In my drawing the lesson that anything even something as lovely as a butterfly can change the balance of the day. So we must be aware of the lessons as we trudge along in this silly life. My friend once said "what does it matter, we will all be gone in a hundred years"? Well it matters to me now. I want to live in the moment balancing my players and dancers. I want to help my Granddaughters learn the right lessons from what happens in their lives. How to handle disappointment and even happiness when others around them might not be as happy. How complicated it all is....I know I woke up in a good mood today. I hope I can learn my first lesson of the day patience with my Mother. I will remember how hard it is for her, to be so confused and unaware. Life for her is getting smaller everyday. I will try to balance her life with mine....and if that tiny butterfly lands on us, may it be welcomed with open arms knowing that it will teach us just another lesson in life..........get out there and look out for the butterflies.....

IF Bicycle

When I was drawing this it reminded me of the wonderful feeling that I had riding my bike on the way home from a day of cutting and pasting at my girlfriends house up the street. Her Mother was one of the only Mothers that truly was happy to let us do arts and crafts at the big table in the kitchen. We would paint and draw to our hearts content and then the day became perfect with the bike ride down the hill. I still can feel the wind in my hair and the way I didn't have to stop until I hit my driveway. Her Mother still lives up the street and at 88 is just starting to show her age. I drive, only in my car now, that same route quite often. Many houses have come and gone on the streets along the drive but I still can find a few hold outs that remain standing strong among the new hotel like houses in the neighborhood. I have always to follow in my girlfriends Mother's path and welcome art projects on my large farm table in my kitchen. Paint comes up easy and doesn't hurt the wood. In fact it seems to add to the charm of it...... I hope you all had a pleasant Easter. We ate good food and hit brightly colored Easter eggs and laughed at the kids as they hunted them down. My youngest Granddaughter especially loved the adventure. My Son held her high in the air to reach the eggs hidden in the tree much to her delight. She loved hiding the eggs from her Sister and Cousin and Aunties. And much to my surprise we found all the eggs after we hid them. We usually always have one or two that we can't find and magically appear months later a little worst for wear. We I was small my dog would bury the eggs he found after the hunt and then dig them up later for a real taste treat......ugg....My Mother turned 92 on Saturday so we celebrated her Birthday yesterday too. She has lost her short term memory and gets so offended when we mention anything she had done that needs to be noticed. What a game we play everyday trying not to hurt her feelings and keep her safe, but it is necessary for her well being. Oh well she forgets she was unhappy soon anyway......tee hee....have a great week and I hope the weather gets warm and sunny for all of us soon........

IF Journey

I like to think that everyday when we slide out of bed that we are beginning a new journey! We sometimes have an idea of what we will encounter as we continue on. But then we really don't know what will unfold through out the day.Our house seems to have a revolving door in it. And that is the way I like it. You never know who will come over and what they have on their minds. We live in a city that has grown very sophisticated. There is more money here than our sleepy little town could have ever imagined being. Some of the new people are a bit plastic and seem to have cell phones stuck to their ears. I just want to scream at them when I see them going through the check stand at the market or doing bank transactions without ever making conversation to the checkers or tellers. They have missed the chance to make contact with another human being. I feel they don't want to bother or that they are just too important to deal with such trivial issues. Aside from the snotty ones you can find the Manhattan Beach Natives. Down to earth and just plain happy to be lucky enough to be living in a wonderful beach town. We have been here for years and never forget to be in awe of our surroundings. Many of the parents of the children that my Granddaughters go to school with are surprised to find us when they first come over. I always tell them there are lots of we old timers in town you just have to look for them. So when friends drop over I always learn something new from our conversations. As I said before I feel I learn something new everyday weather it be about myself or others I find that exciting. So I guess to tie this to the IF topic Journey is that my family sharing their journey is something to be thankful for. As each and every person, even if they are irritating also bring something to the table. I find listening more valuable that I did before and try to do that first before I express and idea or opinion.....Oh it is time for me to continue on my life journey..have to run to the market and of course the 99cent store.....good luck on your life's journey and don't forget to listen and take note of what has happened today....it is part of the plan......