Rusty Is Keeping an Eye on Me

Sometimes he just makes me smile.

Morning After a Storm

My bike ride this morning became more pleasure than exercise as I kept stopping to gawk in wonder at the glory of the day. The sky, scrubbed clean by last night’s driving wind and rain, is a rich cobalt blue festooned with fluffy, arctic-white clouds. Emerald hills, yellow mustard, orange poppies, a brilliant flash of red on the wing of the blackbird flushed from the shoulder high wildflowers as I pedaled by - nature’s colors seem plucked from a child’s box of crayons today - no shade or subtlety, just pure, saturated hues.

I stopped to check on the family of mallards I have been watching on the canal. The ducklings scooted in and out of the reeds by the bank, as the current was strong from last night’s rain. Along a farther trail an elegant egret and I silently eyed each other until she got spooked and spread her astonishing wings and glided across to the opposite end of the pond.

“Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we see them. The least we can do is be there.” Annie Dillard

Things to be happy about

I have a little book called 14,000 Things to be Happy About. Every once in awhile it’s fun to thumb through it and mentally add my own items to the list, increasing my heart’s measure of gratitude. Here are some random thoughts on happiness:

The Sunday before last, Randy, Alyssa and I got “lost” for three hours at the annual library book sale. Since it was the last day of the sale, a whole Trader Joe’s grocery sack of books/videos/CD’s was only $6.00! After Alyssa filled her bag, she spent the rest of the time helping random strangers find books they were looking for, making unsolicited suggestions, and helping to straighten up the shelves. She was in her element. On the way home she declared, “I love books!” I replied, “You mean you enjoy reading?” Her answer: “No, I just being surrounded by books. I love owning books. Books make me happy!” Well, she certainly comes by that predisposition honestly! We emptied out our bags of “goodies” on the dining room and kitchen tables when we got home, covering both surfaces. So many hours of pleasure to look forward to for a mere $18.00!

Rusty makes me happy (except when he is annoying the heck out of me by absconding with my art tools or jewelry, or knocking things off my work table to get my attention). He loves his colorful collection of plastic balls that jingle when they roll. The slits in each ball are spaced just right for him to be able to pick them up in his teeth and carry them around. Like a dog, he’ll carry one in his mouth and deposit it at my feet so I’ll throw it for him. He has a whole repertoire of games he plays with these balls. He likes to dribble them around the legs of the chess table in the family room. In Iowa he used to carry one to the top of the stairs so he could drop it and chase it down. Now he’s discovered that they’re even more fun in the back yard. He bats them all over the patio – around and under the patio furniture. Then he carries them over and drops them in the decorative grasses so they are partially hidden and then tries to flick them in the air with his extended claws. When he gets bored with that game, he carefully dribbles one over to the edge of the pool and gently putts it in, just so he can hang precariously over the edge and fish it out with his paw. If he carries a wet ball in the house, I know he’s been fishing in the pool again. (Of course, some float beyond his reach and end up in the pool filter. Thus, he watches the periodic check of the filter with great interest, as he has learned that it often contains a multitude of colorful jingle balls.) Watching the simple pleasures that bring him joy makes my heart happy.

Getting Ready for Prom

Junior Prom

Proms have sure changed since I was in high school. My junior prom was held in our high school gym. I was in charge of transforming the gym into a New Orleans street scene. After weeks of searching out wrought iron patio furniture and painting murals of New Orleans' French Quarter. I spent hours the day of prom blowing up balloons and suspending them from the ceiling of the gym, then I rushed home in time to quickly shower, blow dry my hair, put it up in hot rollers and then put on the dress I bought off the clearance rack at a bridal shop just in time for my friend, Larry, to pick me up for the evening.

Fast forward thirty-six years to Emily's Junior Prom. Her date had an afternoon soccer game after which he showered and donned his tux. Thirty minutes, max. Emily, on the other hand, had an itinerary planned for her day, which began very early in the morning with a manicure and pedicure, then to the hair salon for an updo, followed by a tanning session at the video place around the corner. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we picked up the boutoneire at the local florist and were off to Waterloo to have her makeup done, then rushed home so she could get dressed.

This year marked the fourth such "bonding" day I've spent with one of my daughters. Alyssa's had a decidedly "getting by with a little help from my friends" flavor this year. We started our day at the local beauty college for a manicure and pedicure. No "bells or whistles" like whirlpool foot baths with massage chairs, but we had a sweet conversation with Alex, who told us about her dreams and aspirations and about her 26-year-old Polish husband. In the end we decided that nails were not going to be Alex's specialty but, hey, I'm sure it was a better job than I would have done and it was really cheap!

Alyssa is very anti-tanning, so that wasn't in the schedule, but she had forgotten that she needed a clutch purse to go with her dress, so we stopped at the mall and found a cute, inexpensive one at Wet Seal while Alyssa consumed the bowl of chicken noodle soup we grabbed as we passed Grain D'Or, since she hadn't eaten anything yet that day.

We got home just as Nina, Ryan and Malachai arrived, so Nina could do Alyssa's makeup. Nina is an artist who sees applying makeup as another art form. Her array of colors, brushes, powders and more was truly amazing. Alyssa perched on a stool in our dressing area while Nina created "smoky eyes" and I got to play with Malachai and visit with Ryan.

Nina and Ryan left to lead worship and preach at The Gate in SF and Alyssa dashed off to her friend Vicky's to get her hair curled. While she was gone, Randy and I worked on the Italian dinner we would be serving Alyssa and AJ at 6:00.

At 5:25 Alyssa dashed in the door and we zipped her into her dress and were deciding on jewelry just as her friend, Chet, arrived to take photos. AJ arrived soon after with his mom and we all walked over to the park to take photos, where we met Alyssa's friend, Shelby, and her date.

At 6:00 we seated them at our dining room table set with my mom's china, our silver, and my grandma's crystal and served a three course meal, with Randy dressed in his jeans, tweed sport coat and blue velvet wedding bow tie.

At 7:00 their college friend, Alex, arrived to chauffeur them to the dance in our car, and they were off! Whew! I had to smile at the way Alyssa got three of her close guy friends from church involved with her prom: as photographer, escort and chauffeur. All three of them dressed up for the occasion, and had a great time. Now we can breathe easy for another year . . . until it's time for the Senior Ball.

Another finished project

Okay, I'm a little slow. My niece Aimee and her beloved, Patrick, were married last August. I did the sketches for the piece the week before their wedding. I did the background masking, stamping, embellishing about a month ago. Finally, last week, I sat down and did the calligraphy. The center portion of the frame is reserved for their photo. I love the verse they chose for their wedding. Aimee was only 18 when they were married, but she and Patrick have a maturity beyond their years as a result of their love for Jesus. They continue to blossom in the use of their gifts in ministry to other young people. They are a joy and an inspiration.

Celebrating Malachai

Finally! A completed calligraphy piece has emerged from my new studio. I love doing pieces for babies that honor their parents' hopes and prayers for their lives. This one was fun, because I had a chance to combine the the use of masking fluid for the large letters and spray pigments for the background.