I really do need to figure what i am going to do with the titles, being as it were a blog in transition. I know we are gong somewhere new, just not sure where yet. (The blog i mean, Beth is staying pretty much same old, same old.)

HAving been a “close to the equator dweller” for much of my life, I still marvel having found myself in “the land of really long summer days.” LaSt night was another difficult night with the retching, and i looked out of the window at 10:30 and the sky still salmony-peachy-golden hued. The windows were each like framed watercolors.  Truly beautiful, and I was grateful for that beauty in the midst of feeling so lousy.

Besides that the extra daylight comes in handy sometimes, Tony and Joel just finished a huge yard project and are now taking the excess leaves and foliage to the bush. I am watching a movie with the girls. Mary is quite the Harry Potter fan, and a few years back i formed an opinion of the series, but thought if my opinions are going to be formed on 2nd hand info, I should at least allow my gurlie to influence me and my opinions.

I saw Dr. D today. He is the one who oversees the symptoms in my life. Whether the symptoms come from the disease or from the treatment, or perhaps even something new and unrelated, he makes sure they are all in the picture. I appreciate his light sense of humour, his steady reasoned use of knowledge, his compassion. Were the cancer to go in a direction we dont want, he will be the one overseeing palliative care. I trust him, and i am truly grateful. He was pleased with my progress. Melinda asked me why i thought he was pleased. I said, (guessing,) “well maybe because today was the first time in six months that he has seen me out of pajamas. “

Brief return back to Harry Potter, stories about people in search of home, belonging, being known …. hmmm those stories are embedded in us as this hole we want to fill, as wonderful as families can be, short of that union with God… we dont have that hole filled this side of heaven.. AND finding new expressions, new instances of being understood fill us with a deep satisfaction… a few treasures i found in the film

and now back to regularly scheduled programming… after the movie ended, Mary and I chatted about what resonated with her from the series, and I shared how i probably would enjoy the books more, as the lyrical language that comes from these epic tales is so enchanting for me. I crashed during this sweet mother daughter time… Had another heaving event… went back to sleep. I am going to finish up the post > or try anyway… let’s see how far i get.

Months back I used to use the program, One Note that shipped with Microsoft Office. I love this program. For me when i am in a web surfing expedition of possible projects and inspiration i might want to try out, One Note is perfect for keeping images of projects, the program snags the url of the image, and i can make quick notes of what i would want to do differently, what sort of materials i think are being used. I had installed the program on my little netbook, but never used it until last night, and now i have a ton of Christmas gift ideas.

I am going to share one here tonight

long long long time ago, I was really into assemblage, altered books, and shadow boxes… this little craft has elements of all of those art forms. This artist on Etsy used a vintage photo, real sea shells, and a paper cocktail umbrella… with some shabby chic painting techniques. (and asking 17.00 for it also)

I  was thinking to do it with some older family photos both from Tony’s folks and my great aunt and uncle. I would want to use the people printed and cut out, laying them atop a nationally correct background but nonetheless a fantasy background. Tony’s sister told me how their mum was fascinated by Wizard of Oz, the original. I though it would be cool to have her against an Oz backdrop. I probably have confused you, hopefully i will do and then i can post a photo.

And i need to add a note regarding yesterday’s quote… I felt so bad when i read what Nicole wrote. I simply don’t answer the phone when i see a telemarketer is calling. I am never rude to them… that is what i meant when i said i don’t re-arrange my life for their agenda. But Nicole’s comment underscored a thought rumbling around…  how easily misunderstanding occurs. I was touched and impressed with Nicole’s respect for people.

In that vein, today’s bit of randomness is dedicated to Beth’s love of lists. Books to read lists, film lists, items to have in your cosmetic bag…. i love lists… they are at their essence a philosophy of sorts, someone has laid out some priorities of theirs. Another website that I do not endorse it for veracity or wisdom, rather i recommend a looksee because it features some interesting mini-philosophies in the form of lists, MArc and Angel HAck Life. Marc and Angel have a list of 50 things they believe we should all know how to do. I know that this is not the list I would have come up, but I did agree with a few items, well more than a few. Jump start a car (in Canada- boost a car)… change a tire… clean a house… deliver bad news… near the top of the list is to operate a computer…. further down the list are protecting personal identity online, use google effectively, implement basic computer security practices… I was thinking if we didnt operate the computer, then we wouldn’t have to learn the other items.

random, i know but i put that disclaimer in the title of what it is… bit of random for Beth’s blog.

and a ps, i have been telling people chemo starts tomorrow, just kidding… it is on friday.. my mistake, and boy i have made a bunch of them lately.

Tags: Art, assemblage, blog matters, chemo, illness, lists, random

This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Canada, Crafting, Family Life, Figuring Out this Blog, Film, Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.