Heading the the Cardinal's game in St. Louis tonight, so Merry Monday will be posted on Tuesday (again!).

Word Wednesday- Humble

Humble. I like the sound of this word. And I like that it's one of those words whose meaning is a bit mixed. It could be good thing. Or, it could be bad thing. It all depends why, where and when one is considering it. And, especially, who is considering it. Humble is defined (by freeonlinedictionary.com) as:

hum·ble  

adj. hum·bler, hum·blest

1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful.

2. Showing deferential or submissive respect: a humble apology.

3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly: a humble cottage.

I think being humble is a good thing. I mean, who would actually want to be prideful or arrogant? Don't we all want a little bit of humble? If not all humble?  

If there are people out there who want nothing to do with being humble, it must come from a fear of being "less" or having "less".  Don't you think?

Our current "humble abode".

Anywho... the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "humble" is "humble abode". I think homes say a lot about the person, or people, who live there.  I have always lived in "humble" homes. And I thank my parents for that. I grew up in an 800 square foot home with one bathroom and five family members.  I never, ever thought of us as being "less than" or that we needed "more of" anything. I liked it that I had to share a tiny room with my sister for most of my childhood. I liked it that we only had air conditioning in the kitchen (a window unit) and to stay cool enough to sleep at night, my brother, sister and I had to share one fan by sleeping on the floor in the doorway of  our rooms. I liked it that my mom made a lot of our clothes. (Okay, maybe I didn't like that so much then, but I love it now!) And I like it that these good memories are what makes me value having a humble home of my own. Nothing over the top. Not a lot of extra space. No "fancy" anything. Just what we need.

Our current home is probably one of the largest I've ever lived in. And, believe me, it's not large, by any means! But my goal is to go back to my humble roots. 800 square feet sounds perfect to me now. Maybe even a little much.  I've actually been kind of obsessed with the thought of getting rid of "stuff" and living with a lot less.  So, I'll leave you today with links to these wonderful blogs that celebrate living humbly.  Enjoy!

http://www.houseofhumble.com/

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

http://www.slowyourhome.com/

Merry Monday

A few things making me merry on this Monday...

Working on a new onesie design. This one is for a co-workers new baby girl.

Finishing another "word" hanky.

(I love the way this looks so different, depending on the light.)

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I'll soon part ways with this not-so-pretty chicken and rooster set that belonged to my grandma. Their tail feathers are chipped and broken and they've just really seen better days,

soooo...Ill be using these photographs to turn them into a still life painting (or two). I think my grandma would approve :)

And having fresh basil growing on my windowsill. Why didn't I think of this before?

I had a "computer free day" yesterday. Absolutely no computer time at all. None.  It was amazing what I accomplished. Most of these accomplishments were not the fun kind (think laundry, cleaning out old purses and book bags, cleaning the deck, etc), but they are things that make you feel really good when you knock them off of your to-do list. And it's really cool when you find something kind of important and expensive that you thought you had lost- hello, black-framed glasses that I haven't seen in weeks!
Anyway, the fun stuff  from "computer free day" is shown above. The onesie will be available as a custom order item in my Etsy shop, along with a few others that were listed last year. And there will be three "word" hankies listed as well. I think the one above would be perfect for a wedding, as honesty is the "word" and it's embroidered in shades of very pale, variegated blue thread. I kinda like it!

Well, I hope you are having a merry Monday! Until Word Wednesday~ Juli

Word Wednesday- Lackey

So, the other night it happened again. My son and I were talking and the subject of friends came up. We reminisced for a while about how the characters on the show "Friends" were his only friends for some time, as he was always so much of a homebody as a kid. Since he lost his dad, though, he suddenly began branching out and now has a really wide circle of awesome friends. Anyway....in the middle of the conversation he asked my husband about his friends and his response was,in a kidding tone "Ha! I don't have any friends, just lackeys." Again, there was a pause. Then came the question, "And another word for that would be.....???" His response, "like a minion, you know." What???!!! Oh, my! No, we don't know! And again, a word lesson for us on that Sunday evening :)


lack·ey

1. A liveried male servant; a footman.

2. A servile follower; a toady.

min·ion  

n.

1. An obsequious follower or dependent; a sycophant.

2. A subordinate official, especially a servile one.

3. One who is highly esteemed or favored; a darling.

*from freeonlinedictionary.com

So, of course, my husband was kidding when he said this. He owns a small business, so I'm sure his first thought was that he really doesn't have any friends-because he is always (and I mean ALWAYS!) at work. But, I'm also sure that on second thought he realized that the people who he jokingly called his lackeys are, in fact, very good friends. These "lackeys" have been working for him for many years and are some of the kindest, most honest and thoughtful people he could ever have hoped for...as lackeys, employees, minions or otherwise. Most of all... they are  highly esteemed, favored and darling friends. Yeah, that's it. Those would be his lackeys! Pretty lucky guy.

Blumenhof Winery, Dutzow, MO, my husband's business, on a busy October day.

A painting of mine, with an image of the winery in the background.

Merry Monday

Well, more losses for my kids makes it hard to see the merry in this Monday, but I'm trying. I know the losses lately are just material things, so I'm trying to look at the bright side of things. It's just really hard watching your kids get knocked down time and time again, especially when you know you can't do anything to help them. But, again, it's just stuff. (But some "stuff" brings about a lot of emotions and memories and it's really hard to let go, you know?) Still, though- just stuff.

Sooo...these are the things that really matter:

Knowing that, even though they've experienced a huge loss, my kids still have so much support from grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Here, Little Man spends some time bonding with his Grandpa, watching the Master's.

Watching this boy grow up, watching him explore everything...

saying so many new words and just being his cute, handsome little self!

Knowing that Eddie is doing something he was obviously meant to do (this is Christmas 1993, already saluting!)...

and even though we hate it when he goes on these training stints for months at a time, we know we'll soon see his smiling face again and be able to listen to all of his stories.

And having step dads, girlfriends, husbands and babies to fill the void after loss. Knowing they (and I!) have these new people in their lives makes me so happy. 

So, a personal post today. A lot of personal stuff going on lately and not much making in the studio. I'll hopefully get back to that in a few days.

Have a merry Monday!  Juli

Word Wednesday- Skinflint

Skinflint. Doesn't that sound like a bad word? Something at least "R" rated, if not worse?

My husband and I heard this word on TV the other night (I have since forgotten what it was that we were watching) and he immediately said, "hmmm...skinflint. Now, that's a word you don't hear very often anymore". And, of course, my response was, " What are you talking about?  I've NEVER heard that word! What the heck is it?" My thoughts- pornography? a skin condition? But, no. Not even close.

The definition, according to freedictionary.com:

skin·flint

n.

One who is very reluctant to spend money; a miser.

Who would have thought? It's not anything to be embarrassed about or hide. Nothing "X" rated. Nothing gross. I actually want to be a skinflint! Not so much a "miser", but "one who is reluctant to spend money". Yeah, that probably would have been a good thing for me. Or at least to have had some knowledge about how and when to save and how and when to spend. That would have nipped some hard life lessons in the bud!

In all honesty, though, I have started to gain a bit of  perspective and insight about money over the last few years.  About what I need and don't need. About what's important to me and not important to me. I guess sometimes it takes a life changing event (or two) to do this to a person. But, in any case, I'm glad it finally happened. Now, maybe I'll be able to retire before the age of  80!!

So, I'll leave you with an image from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. This is definitely not the image that I thought I would be using to coincide with the word 'skinflint', but it's very fitting, don't you think?

I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday~ Juli

Merry Monday (posted on Tuesday!)

Okay, Merry Monday- finally! I can tell it's springtime because I'm getting home later and staying busy until the sun goes down every night lately. But that is actually one of the things that is making me merry on this Monday. Being productive and energetic is a very good thing.
Especially after the winter we've had around here!
A few more things making me merry today:

Having time over the weekend to start a new painting.

And  working on a blanket for Peanut's room. This is the first one I've made from 100% cotton yarn, so I'm anxious to see how it wears.

 

And shipping my Cynthiana painting to the winner of the very first Olive and Ash 'share and win' contest.

And having our blue jays out and about again, which means it's almost time for our spring fundraiser.

And introducing the newest member of our family- Si. Eddie and Felicia's first "baby"! I have yet to meet him, but I can't wait :) Photo by Alicia Marie

Many things to be merry about lately, don't you think?



I hit the 1000th page view on the blog this morning, which may not be that much to some people, but it seemed pretty significant to me. Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you are merry on this Monday~ Juli

Word Wednesday- Dawdle

Dawdle seems to, literally, be my word of the week. Just the other day, I used the word dawdle with my son, reminding him not to "dawdle" because I didn't want to wait around too long for him to get going that particular morning.  Then, with my students. For some reason this week "don't dawdle" seems to be the theme. The end of the school year is right around the corner (yay!) and we don't have much time to finish the projects that I have planned for them. Definitely no time for dawdling!
So, when I chose this word for today's post (honestly, only because I like the way it sounds) and looked up the formal definition and this is what I found:

daw·dle  

v. daw·dled, daw·dling, daw·dles

v.intr.

1. To take more time than necessary: dawdled through breakfast.

2. To move aimlessly or lackadaisically: dawdling on the way to work.

v.tr.

To waste (time) by idling: dawdling the hours away.

Now, I have always considered dawdling a negative activity- wasting time. Who would want to waste time? Certainly not me! I never seem to have enough. But, really, how bad would it be "to take more time than necessary" to, as stated above, have breakfast? Or, to sleep? Or, to read a book? Or, to take a walk? Or, to create a work of art? In these cases, dawdling seems like a good idea. It actually sounds like something that more people should try to do more of.  So, I'm going to try use this word in a positive way and see what happens- encouraging people in my life to dawdle- on purpose! I think it would be a good thing. What do you think?

One of the best dawdlers, Marty McFly, dawdling in his favorite spot.

I think I'll go dawdle through dinner now :)  Happy Wednesday!  Juli

P.S. Isn't "lackadaisically" (shown above) a great word?! I have a feeling that word will show up again one of these Wednesdays :) 

And the winner is...

And the winner of the "Cynthiana" painting is Ace and Tabitha Hand! Congratulations! Keep reading, as there will be another giveaway very soon!

Merry Monday

Lots of family time and a very productive 'post-holiday' day today is making me merry on this Monday.

Watching my three grown kids coloring Easter eggs made me extremely merry :)

On the way to Great Grandma's house in his favorite new hat

and learning new colors while he decorated eggs for the first time.

Little Man helping Peanut find his eggs.

Olive and Ash basket, finally finished.

And finding more yellow eggs with Sister (who is actually his Mommy!).

Post holiday activities included spending the day with Eddie, cleaning out a storage unit. Normally this would be a drag, but hanging out with this boy is pretty entertaining. Plus, we got to reminisce a little as we went along, which is always fun for me. I love going through boxes that I haven't seen in years and finding little, long lost treasures here and there. The find of the day today, a stick. Yes... a stick! The story behind this... I wouldn't allow Eddie to have toy guns when he was a little boy, so he made due with what he could find. Which in one particular case was a stick that he found in the woods, shaped exactly like a gun. And that stick started it all; Eddies long, intense obsession with guns and anything related to guns. As in hunting and the military- not the bad stuff! So, anyway, when I found the stick, I actually screamed because I thought it had been lost a long time ago. Pretty neat!
Considering all of this time spent with my favorite people - I'm pretty merry this Monday.

 Very tired, but very merry :)  Juli