Good morning!
I didn't sleep long at all last night. Thought I'd at least post some pictures this morning while I can still see straight--LOL! I was over to visit McFamily on Wednesday and then again briefly yesterday after a run to the post office. Ian likes dozing in his swing now.
The patio was finally poured but they still have to come back to seal it.
Last week Dagan and Leah and several homes in their neighborhood suffered a brown out and then a huge power surge (construction--hit a power line). The surge killed their microwave, freezer in the garage, and three of their breakers. May have been more, I can't remember. They lost a freezer full of meat! What a hassle! The construction company has to pay everybody back for damages. Leah has had to get people out to see if the microwave and freezer can be repaired and to replace the breakers. Always something, eh? Actually a good thing Leah is home right now, I guess.
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Dagan left last night for Bryan's bachelor party (his half-brother). He'll be gone all weekend so I plan to go see Leah and Ian today or tomorrow for a good long visit. :)
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Say! Did everybody else know that they don't have bachelor (or even the new-to-me bachelorette parties) right before the wedding any more? Their wedding isn't until the beginning of September and that totally baffled me. But I guess it's not uncommon these days. No more bachelor parties the night before the wedding? Or at least within a week of the wedding? Seems strange to me. I'm sure some people still do it the traditional way, right? Or am I just really old? Anyways, makes more sense not to have a hungover wedding party--LOL! People should get married sober and alert.
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I haven't been doing much of anything extra except read (because I believe my library lady is due to come pick up books on Monday). I did try another experiment, though. Forgot to take in-progress pictures--but I took this IKEA platter that I use as a paint palette and used it to soak a paper towel full of the acrylic sprays. Just one paper towel (on the right) and then I used another paper towel to soak up the leftover paint and then sprayed a little dylusions color on it, too. Was trying to go for a tie-dye effect.
I was afraid they might be too thin and tear while wet or after they dried when I peeled them off the cutting mats, but I was careful and they held together. They are Viva, BTW.
Funny--the leftovers one didn't leave as much residue to scrub off.
My camera doesn't show true color shades very well, but this close up is more the real colors.
Now I will either layer these with some more paper towels or just save them to use with mixed media projects. I loved how they turned out.
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A couple days ago I was writing at my table when I saw this girl in her red dress hanging from the two lowest branches of the young tree under my window. She was jerking downward trying to break off the branches and went from one to the other. When she finally got this one branch to crack some she enlisted her brother to help her hang--even bracing her feet against the tree.
They finally broke it down but couldn't extract it from the tree...so she came up with the idea of wrapping it around the trunk to try to tear it off.
The mother just watched them.
She stood right there by that car waiting for somebody...not but a few footsteps away...and never said one word to them...not one single word. She just watched them. Expressionless. Broke my heart. It saddens me deeply to see children not being taught to cherish living things...to respect other people's property...to not be deliberately destructive...
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The man they were waiting for arrived and they all drove away.
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The mangled branch dangled loosely in the wind as the leaves slowly curled and paled.
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I watched the maintenance man, Chris, the next day as he cut the dying branch off the young tree.
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Meanwhile, Miss Karma has been keeping me company.
A girl needs her beauty sleep, eh?
Cats really do have the life, don't they?
Well, at least the loved pet cats sure do.
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Have a great weekend filled with kindness!! :) :)
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"It is not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived."
Anonymous
24 comments:
karma's so cute. ian, too. nice that dagan has a half-brother and can go to the party!
I can't imagine that mother just standing there watching the kids try to destroy the tree. Seems like there is too much of that in our society...but don't get me started ;-) Hope you get some rest and have a good weekend. Regards to Karma and the McFamily!
Ian couldn't be more beautiful. The party the night before the wedding could be problematic. I remember one of my sisters (years ago) was a maid of honor. She got so drunk at the party the night before the wedding that she fell and injured her knee. The wedding party came down a staircase into the chapel. It was not easy for her to walk down the stairs. Poor tree. Happy Karma.
Love,
Janie
Ian and Karma have similar beds!
I've yelled at kids for destroying trees during recess. What's with people??
Hi Rita,
Such a cute baby boy! I would have had to go out and speak to that family, I guess it is not always the safe thing to do these days sadly!
Batchelor parties, well things change so much!
Karma looks so comfy in all her sleeping places!
Cazzy x
Karma looks so comfortable! Love the texture and colors of your artwork.
Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Your blog is always such an interesting mix. I was appalled at the young tree destroyers - the generations pass on to the next what they haven't been taught...sigh.
I agree that kids who are not taught to respect property of others don't have much chance to know why people are angry at them. So sad. Love the pictures of Karma keeping you company. :-)
Ian looks very content in that swing. Adorable little boy. :)
Sorry to hear about Dagan and Leah's electrical problems caused by those construction workers. A whole freezer full of meat? Wow! That accident will cost the company a lot of money. I hope everything works out for the kids without too much hassle.
I feel sorry for that tree. Some kids today can be so destructive, because they aren't taught any differently. It's a sad, sad world we live in these days.
Loved the pics of Karma. :)
Karma is indeed a Princess :) The mother in the picture makes me very angry.... I'll just leave it at that. Electrical surges are such a pain to deal with but so happy they are being taken care of my the company. Sometimes that can be a battle. Ian is so cute in his swing. Hope you have a good week and you get the sleep you need.
Sorry to hear about Dagan and Leah's electrical issues.
Also sorry to hear about the poor tree... I hate how some people are so destructive (kids and adults alike), and how parents will just stand there while their kids destroy things.
Glad your paint experiment worked out well.
Oh man a freezer full of meat! I am so glad that the company has accepted responsibility.
What a little cutie lying there fast asleep. I didn't mean Karma this time :)
I don't get some people not teaching their child to treat all things living and not with respect and not mindlessly destroying the object
What a shame about Dagan and Leah losing all that meat, and possible problems with the appliances due to negligence by the construction company. But I guess that will teach them to better instruct their employees on watching for electrical lines. Hopefully the man who did it was fired.
It is so unfortunate that the mother of those children has as much concern for another living thing as they do. I understand children not knowing better, but it is up to the parents to teach them those things. If they are like this now, what will they be like as teenagers? We have children here who hang and pull on the lower branches of the tree off my balcony, but fortunately it's a little more mature and can handle it. And at least your maintenance guy took care of it. These days I think mine would have just left it there for weeks.
Oh and have I mentioned how adorable Ian is? LOL
I'm a very passive and patient person Rita but seeing that deliberate destruction of a tender young tree made me very angry. I'd have been hammering on the window!
Imagine the Mother's reaction if her little one's had been having their hair pulled out by a bully? Or maybe she'd not react? Who knows?
Anyway...moving on...Gorgeous photos of little cutie Ian having a snoozlet. And then there's Karma...the expert snoozer ^..^
Love the artwork. I use an Ikea platter for a palette too.
Have a wonderful week with all your cuddling.
Enjoy xoxo
Sooooo much to get caught up on! It's been so long - I'm sorry! Your grandson is gorgeous!!!! What a precious gift!
Karma - nothing new there, but she is still a gem of a cat!
How are you feeling? I hope your summer has been cooler for you than it has been over here! We did get a bit of rain yesterday but sure could have used more. Everyone's grass is looking quite brown and I'm almost permanently wilted. Curious to see how you use those paper towels!!!
Golly Rita, I must have been really busy this weekend, because I totally missed this post. Karma is as sweet as ever, and I always love photos of her.
Viva is the ONLY brand of paper towels to use in art. They really hold up well, and you get two when you gently pull them apart. I even sew them.
How sad about the tree. Those children don't have a very good role model, or they would have been more respectful. That really saddened me.
And of course, baby Ian is looking older and older by the day (grin).
Sorry I missed this post. It was a fun read.
I forgot to mention. Leah and Dagan are lucky. We had a power surge in our neighborhood, but it was an electrical problem that the electric company did NOTHING about. One lady lost her AC because of it. No help from anyone, and the insurance didn't cover much after her deductible was met.
Awww - sweet shots.
s you have shots of the culprits why not distribute them to other neighbours?
I think someone should have a word with the family of wreckers.
Just as well that you have your own sweet family and Karma, of course. Wouldn’t forget Karma.
I'd like to use that tree branch and whack the mother on the head with it - repeatedly.
Ian will have to work hard to "carry" the load the two miscreant children will impose on society in a few years.
That little Ian is such a sweetheart. He is looking so much bigger already. I love all the colors in your paper. Just gorgeous. What a society we live in when parents can just sit and watch their children destroy property. Shame on poor parenting!
I see Iggy is violent! Yeah I would like to whop the lady with the branch too! I am mean, I would forward those photos to the apartment manager or better yet the owner of the building.
Your little guy is growing! :)
Baby Ian is adorable!
YAY on the patio being poured at last!
Yep, it pays NOT to be drunk or hung-over at your own wedding. lol I think Michelle and Alex planned theirs a couple of weeks prior to their wedding...even though they had nice, quiet evenings with friends.
The paper towels look wonderful!
OH how maddening that their mother stood by and did not reprimand them for damaging the tree! What is it with some people nowadays? They don't seem to teach their kids anything about respect, compassion, or how to care for nature. She had a perfect opportunity to teach her kids something and she didn't. I feel saddened too. :(
Karma is such a darling, bless her little heart. xo
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