Memorial Day Mixed Feelings

I am an Air Force brat and I'm proud of my father's service to the country. I have really mixed feelings about all these days - not because I don't want to honor servicemen and women and their families. I guess it is how we honor them, sometimes.  I don't have much to say about it other than that my father served this country well and I miss him.  I am grateful for the freedoms I have and grateful that I live in this country where we are free to express ourselves.

I hope you all had a happy Memorial Day weekend.

Days off Are Good

Ah...I got up early, but then I went back to sleep for a little while. It was really nice to have the luxury.  I do hope to do some art or something useful today. Maybe I will watch a movie. Or not. :)

P.S. Watched this video and am inspired anew. I'm a little afraid of spray inks, but I think that's where I'm heading...

NaBloPoMo Prompt #25: Gift Giving

NaBloPoMo Prompt:  Do you like to buy presents ahead of time or right when you need to give them?

One year, I decided that I wanted to be done with Christmas shopping early and I started shopping in September - I would just buy things as I saw them for people.  I wanted to buy things people would really, really like.  As the time went on, I kept finding other things. Then I started to question if the first or second or third things were the right things. Ultimately, I ended up spending about 3 times more money than I wanted to because I kept on buying stuff right up until Christmas Eve.  Instead of being smart and spacing the gifts out, I gave them all and it was actually a little embarrassing.  The gigantic pile of gifts really seemed crazy. I loved giving people the gifts but it sort of reset the expectations to quantity when really my goal was quality.

After that experience, I decided that I could start in early December but that was about as good as it gets. If I see something really special, I can buy that, but for the most part, I wait.

As for birthdays and whatnot, I usually wait until close to the event - these days, if you buy something ahead of time that you know someone wants, they usually have purchased it by the time the gift-giving holiday rolls around.  I usually email myself ideas when I see them and then try to check before the holiday to see if they already have the item or not.

No "Black Friday" Shopping This Year

I'm happy to say that I didn't participate in "Black Friday" shopping this year.  I have only done so about twice in my life - the past two years - and the gifts I purchased were for a children's party for Deaf children in the local area.

I'm not morally opposed to shopping, per se.  More than anything, for me personally, I don't need/get a rush from a good deal or from standing in line waiting to buy things or from the crush of people (or their guns or pepper spray this year). I'm hoping to buy more from local folks, artists/writers I know, etc. In addition, I prefer gifts that fit the person.  I don't need someone to give me some big, extravagant thing to show their regard for me. I would rather have something that is meaningful.

So, I spent a quiet day at home. A little shopping on the internet for items I would have purchased anyway.  Nice to have the option to stay home and nice to be able to take it.

Fourth of July and Day 4 of Getting My Art On

Happy Fourth of July!  This flag is from Percy & Bloom who have free vintage clip art pieces.

When I saw the blue eyeshadow on this model, I decided to use her for a patriotic page - use only red, white and blue on the page. And a bee. I hadn't added that when I tool the photo. The pages look so much better in real life than they do in photos. I'm still working on my scanner.

This page is also to celebrate the Fourth of July. It is much more dynamic in the journal than it looks in the photo, particularly the cake. I think the textures of the whites don't photograph well.  Something about this girl is intriguing to me. 

I probably tell this story every year on July 4 (I didn't go back in the blog to check), but I'm going to tell it anyway. When I was a little girl, I always believed that July 4 was my birthday - I knew it was in July and we had a big picnic with friends and/or relatives, there were fireworks, fun. How could it not all be for me? I was disabused of this notion by the time I was 6, but I remember how special and safe I always felt. The Dads did some minor fireworks and then the kids got sparklers. The Moms were close by and there were buckets of water all around the lawn so that when the sparkler was done, we could easily snuff it out.  One year, we went to the local amusement park in Denver (the name escapes me) and they had a fireworks show over the lake. One of the big attractions was a special Snoopy firework in a frame (I didn't know it was in a frame). I loved the reflection of the fireworks in the water.

I have mixed feelings about this holiday because of the politicization of patriotism, but as an Air Force brat, I am always proud to be an American and proud to come from a military family.  We may not always take the right actions at the right times, but we are lucky enough to have so many freedoms. Freedoms that allow me to write here in this blog among other things.

Happy Fourth of July!

Prayers and Thoughts are Welcome

This time of year has all the normal challenges for me - stress from the holidays, overcommitments, shopping, family fun, social engagements, end of the year stuff at work, weather issues, etc. Add to that the anniversaries of the death of Roby, my father, both their birthdays, stir it all up and you get some yuck.

Well, friends, another dark time this year. My friend is in the hospital - CCU and it doesn't look good. She went into the emergency room two weekends ago and was sent home then had to call an ambulance and has been in the hospital since. By the end of the week last week, she was intubated and had paralyzing medicine to keep her calm and comfortable. She is not doing well and they don't know if she will make it. If she does, they don't know if she will ever be able to live independently again or what the quality of her life will be.

Any thoughts and prayers you can spare for her are welcome and needed. Miracles are welcome, too, but I know they are in short supply these days. We are hopeful and watchful. She would leave behind a daughter and two grandchildren.

No art tonight. My heart is too heavy for that.

Expectations for the Season

Well, friends, it's that time of year again.  Right now, I'm planning a "holiday/end of year celebration", a toy collection with an exhibitor's table and a dessert/bingo event that are all supposed to take place in the month of December.  There is Thanksgiving, Roby's birthday, trying to buy the toys for the toy collection, trying to get through the holidays personally.

I don't love this time of year and I don't get how I end up being saddled with all this stuff. Mostly, it is my job to do it but I keep saying it, "I AM NOT A PARTY PLANNER."  I don't know what people like, I want them all to have a good time, I have a fear that if I plan something, people won't attend. I hate that. :(

Wish me luck. And if you want to donate some toys, we are collecting $$ and toys for the Deaf Kids Holiday Party.  The toys should be for kids ages 8-10 and their worth should be about $10.  I have a few ideas that I am investigating and am looking out for good sales between now and the Monday after Thanksgiving. Contact me if you are interested or if you know any families with Deaf or Hard of Hearing children - I want to help the organization get the word out about the party.

HO HO HO

We had our office holiday party. Lots of people, lots of food. Everyone seemed to enjoy. I realized afterwards that I should have talked to all the visitors but I didn't. Many of them, but not all. Is that rude?

Anyway, I'm tired now. Long day. Good night.