The "naked ladies" Are Blooming

The Amaryllis bulbs are blooming outside my back door. These beautiful tall flowers are also known as Belladonna Lillie's or "naked ladies". The greenery sprouts up in February with no blooms and then dies off with the summer heat. Then in mid August they suddenly appear, tall and beautiful with no leaves or "dresses" one may say; thus the name "naked ladies". I love these beautiful flowers and wish they lasted longer than just a few weeks each August. When these bloom I know Fall is not far behind. You may view more of my Amaryllis photos by viewing my slideshow on Associated Contnet here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/6504/amaryllis_belladonna_lily_or.html?cat=32

Shine Quote

Greetings to all,

I found a new site today that I may check back on frequently. Self portrait challenges are something I feel I would have trouble with and yet I think a self portrait challenge could be interesting and help one learn about oneself. The August challenge is get your shine on or shine. Visit http://www.selfportaitchallenge.net/ to find out more.



I found this site through Misty Mawn's website. Misty is a wonderful mixed media collage artist and she is featured in the September/October issue of Somerset Studio. I love the faces in her art work. They are so expressive and evoke such emotion within the viewer. Her blog is at http://mistymawn.typepad.com/my_weblog/ I loved the post she made to articulate the challenge.



I leave you with a wonderful quote found posted on spc. I love this quote and am very pleased to have found it:



“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.” ~ Emily Dickinson

Clothes Shopping for School

Happy Monday, what's left of it anyway.

What a weekend! I took my granddaughter clothes shopping for school. As her mom lost her job and dad is losing 8 hours a week it didn't look as if they were going to be able to do much for her for starting school this year. So....

I picked up Raven on Sunday and took her to Goody's. With a promise of ice cream after she was really good considering I think I had her try on about 50 outfits just to find 5 that fit right. She's a bit chunky in the middle and wide shoulders so the traditional little girls sizes don't fit her any more. We did find one t-shirt dress that fit her comfortably that she loves. It's pink, of course she loves it, pink is her favorite color. Buying from the teen section for an almost 9 year old is like finding a needle in a hay stack. The sizes are cut to be tight fitting or they plunge to her navel. This year there seemed to be more rounded necklines than in past years so those were the ones we picked the most. My granddaughter has short legs so the capri styles fit her as long pants and the longer legged shorts fit her as capri's. I love playing dress up with her and seeing her face light up with the styles she likes and the horrible grimace she makes with the ones she hates. She definitely prefers solid colors on the bottom and bright pinks and blues on top. She was really into the lace and floral this year. In years past she only seemed to want to try on the t-shirts and didn't much care about the comfort factor. So many of the teen t-shirts had lovely designs with glitter and sequins but fit her skin tight. I hated having to say no. We tried finding some like that in the petite women's dept. but no such luck. Nothing that was suitable for a 9 year old anyway. She was easy to steer to other things though, grab a pink top, hey Raven look. Oh grandma that's the one! Yep, easy to steer her mind in another direction. They had all of the shoes on sale so I was able to get her a pair of nice Sketchers for dressier days and a pair of Nike for PE. Oh, I almost forgot, she says it's called gym in her school. I even found a pair of blue jeans, Ashley Judd, that not only fit her waist but weren't miles too long. She didn't like that they weren't all fancy but she did admit they fit so, in the cart they went.

All in all I think we did pretty good. We bought 2 skirts, 3 pairs slacks, 1 pair jeans, 5 tops and 1 dress. Plus the shoes and I only spent $267.00 and some change. We shopped only from the sales racks and discount racks. Usually we have to hit the boys section because of her body shape but we didn't have to this year. My receipt said I saved $126.00. So, if you have a Goody's Store in your area and haven't done your school clothes shopping yet I would suggest you give them a look see. It was well worth it for us this year. I don't think I've ever managed a weeks clothes from one store before. And never this cheap. Oh and today is her birthday, so she is officially 9 now. I've been hearing "Grandma, did you know I'm almost 9 years old?" for months now. I sure do love that child and I hope she doesn't grow up too fast!

Happy Birthday Raven, grandma loves you!!

My Grandmothers Hands

I've been missing my grandmothers lately. Sadly they are all deceased. But I remember them well. I found a photo on wikimedia by Ilona Eggers that is the way I picture my grandmothers hands; rough, calloused and wrinkled. I altared it a bit to make it fit more into how I wanted it to appear here. (Wikimedia is great for copyright free images.)

I wrote this poem one day while thinking of one of my grandmothers.

***

My Grandmothers Hands

Those hands were often rough and calloused

From digging in her garden.

Those hands were working hands.

They kneaded dough to make us bread,

And snapped many bushels of beans.

Those hands would swat us when we needed,

And serve up candies from her apron when we were good.

Those hands taught us how to fold ours,

In prayer,

And turned the pages of the big hymnal.

Those hands cared for babies,

Hers and others.

They cooked and cleaned and washed daily.

Those hands never ceased to work,

To care for her family.

Those were my grandmothers hands.

copyrighted

July 2008

I wrote a whole article about what I remember most about my grandmothers. Describing the wonderful qualities they had, the things I loved about them. I published the article on AC. I want my daughters to know about them. They only new one of my grandmothers and by the time they came to meet her she had alzheimers. They missed out on knowing a wonderful woman. You may read the article here.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/905657/my_grandmothers_hands.html?page=2&cat=25

Have you told your granmother how much she means to you lately? Have you shared with your children her wonderful qualities if she is no longer here on this earth?

You should.....

Altered

Alter, Altered, Alters, Altering

Consider the word altered. Seven letters beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. The word altered can be the beginning of something new and different. The American Heritage Dictionary describes altered as an adjective. The definition used is to change or make different. With Altered Art for instance the artist will take something that already exists and alter it to make it her own. Adding paint, glue, beads, found objects to a car tag for instance, alters the tag and makes it a work of art, possibly a wall hanging. This is done many times throughout ones life. We alter our clothing, our hair, our surroundings. We are forever changing the look of things, walls, furniture; altering our belongings has become a favorite past time for many.

Often we are altered through no circumstances of our own. Something will happen that will forever alter the way we see ourselves or another. This altering may take years, sometimes a lifetime to undo. Sometimes the altering is for the best and should be left undone. Often I wonder if what I see before me is real and unchanged or if it has been altered in some way to present an expected or unexpected view.

Consider the word altered. Have you altered something or someone lately?

Altered States

Sometimes beneath
The manicure and press,
Beyond the eyes
So well dressed,
Lies the venom of
A devoured whole.

Sometimes beneath
The grime of city slime,
Beyond the eyes
Past their prime,
Lies the beauty of
A loving soul.

Dancing

Greetings Sunday,

While browsing the net and checking e-mails last night I came across a post from Eileen Brown. Eileen is the moderator of the A.B.H.P. Network on www.ryze.com among many other things. A copywriter, web designer, etc., she is a professional extraordinaire. You can find out more about Eileen by visiting her Ryze website: http://www.ryze.com/view.php?who=VerbatimEB

But Eileen is not what today's post is about. Through Eileen I found http://actionbites.blogspot.com/. Actionbites is a blog by Lindy Asimus. I had not been to her site before and did look around a bit. This is an amazing woman also. What did attract me to click on the link for actionbites in Eileen's post was the mention of Matt's video. I had heard of the "Where the hell is Matt" video before but had never seen it.

Who is Matt? Why Matt Harding of course. To be honest I don't know who he is but I do know he created a great video on youtube. In his video Matt is dancing in some of the most beautiful, far away places I have never seen, except through his video. Dancing! Yes dancing, and not just Matt but in some of the clips he is dancing with Monks in Laos and children in Mulindi, Rwanda. Even the seals on South Shetland Island seemed to be dancing with Matt. He dances with many in Spain, Ireland, Zambi, Kyrgyrzstan, Poland and many other wonderfully exotic places. He is even shown in the United States with some very beautiful scenery of places I have been to.

While watching these video clips (I ended up going to his youtube site) I wondered has Matt found the solution to World Peace? Is dancing together, laughing, smiling, wiggling; is this what is needed more of to conquer the woos of this world? I don't know about that but it sure is obvious Matt Harding has found the universal language to conquer all barriers wherever he may be, dance. See his videos here on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/mattharding2718

I pray you all are having and will continue to have a wonderful Sunday.
To the dance,
Tess

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is My Mothers Birthday


Greetings everyone,

Today is a very special day. It is my mothers birthday. I wanted to mark her special day by posting something here just for her. Something that not only she would see but everyone would see. My mother and I have not always had the best of relationships. For many years we were completely apart. I found out though that she never gave up on me, not really, not like I had thought. And I thank her for that.



So today I want to wish her not only a Happy Birthday,

but many other things as well.

I could wish that we had never been separated like we were,

but so many lives would be altered if I wish for that, so I can't.

I could wish that she lived closer to me,

but she loves her quiet country home, so I shan't.

So instead I wish for her-

many sunny days to warm her face,

many friends to cheer her when she's down,

good health to keep her active,

enough in her bank account to satisfy her needs-

and a bit more to play with,

enough love to spill out of her heart-

for both her and others,

but most of all,

I wish for her many more lovely years

here with us on this earth.



Happy Birthday Mom, I love you !!!!

Words

Do You Call Your Children Names When You Are Angry or Frustrated?
I wrote this poem many years ago after hearing a father do just that. I hope this poem will give someone the opportunity to think and to change the way they deal with their child and anger.

Words

YOU BRAT!
CUT IT OUT!
WOULD YOU SHUT UP!
YOU UGLY MESS!
BE QUIET!
SIT DOWN...NOW...

Don't yell at me,
Don't scream or shout,
I'm just a child-
An angel in God's eyes,
I look to you for guidance,
A safe comforting voice.
I listen to every word you speak,
And hear you with my heart.
I'm but a child-
And you are my hero,
A giant angel in my eyes.
Please
Don't yell at me,
Don't scream or shout.
I'm just a child-
You're child,
A gift from God,
And I believe-
Every Word You Say!

Now read that last line again. Children really do believe every word we adults use. Our words can lift up a child or tear that child down. It is the same with many adults. We look to each other for guidance, inspiration, acceptance, love; and we can tear each other down with mere words. Let's use kind words today towards ourselves and towards others.