Leading up to Spring Break

First, the sky report.  I never knew how much I loved Spring weather.  Has it always looked like this in the big wonderful sky?  I guess so, only my Silverloop view was blocked by tall trees and a steep hillside.  I only saw directly overhead and between the trees.  (Hmm, this could be a very spiritual parallel).  I appreciated what I did see so very much but this THIS takes my breath away. Funny, because both the older girls have cameras so now I am vying for a position in the doorwell with little photographers snapping pictures all around.  

A friend told me this this week:

  "God gave you the gift of beauty - creating it, seeing it. You share it with the rest of us and we are reminded to stop our busy ness and look around, look up. I know that I have never seen beauty the same way you see it. I don’t see the layers of detail and beauty that your felting work captures. But your pictures, your work, they keep me trying to see it, to look for it. "

I guess I never would have thought of myself in this way but it is probably what I would most want people to know about me.  Honestly, this is one of those most beautiful things I have ever heard about myself.  I so often wish I was a sweet, calm, optimistic, even keeled kind of person, confident...I am none of those things (but I married one!). I often times don't know if I do anything to inspire.  I think I do plenty to uninspire LOL.  To have someone notice and articulate something so beautiful about your Spirit gave me a gratefulness for what God had put there.  But that is this friend to a T!  She sees the beauty in people that I see in God's creation.  I have much appreciation for this friend (my dear Kelly!) because she makes me want to see and look for it.  And this was shared with me right after some struggles over the weekend where I was having a particularly hard time seeing good.  

So this week...well, Friday to Friday.  Friday we had music class at the Richman Farms.  Saturday, was Saint Patrick's Day.  I used to do fun things with the children when they were little and they fondly remember it and always hope that I will do something.  I reminded everyone to wear green, I made a green smoothie for breakfast, we listened to Irish music, and my parents and Alec came to dinner for a sort of traditional Irish dinner.  I am sure the children wished I had done crafts and baking, oh well.  Sunday, we started limbing up the tree block.  It is looking wonderful and I am so excited to see out into the orchard and for the evening sun to filter through instead of being blocked.  Monday came too soon.  Phil was gone Wed-Friday (midnight) last week and we jumped right back into another busy week.  Monday, tutoring and piano lessons.  Tuesday, I had a dentist appointment and then we had a dumptruck full of compost and another of hog's fuel brought in.  Wednesday, I had an appointment at a podiatrist, then we had tutoring, then Awanas.  (I spent 5 1/2 hours in the car that day).  Thursday, I was thankful to just be home. Phil pulled 12 hour work days Wed and Thurs.  We had done school in the car and in a doctor's office 3 days in a row.  Friday, SPRING BREAK began!!!

Incidentally, I now have an official diagnosis of plantar fasciitis on both feet.  I have been in chronic pain for a good year with both feet and probably a year prior to that with my right foot.  I haven't been able to walk and I can't do much rigorous outside work without severe pain after a couple of hours.  It has been very discouraging.  The Dr. was not very good, he did not give me a plan to fix the problem.  I guess I need to research and come up with my own. 

Phil had the day off on Friday and it just so happened that we had scheduled a plant order pick up that day so Tina and my brother each had a trailer and we brought ours and loaded up plants and then took them over to Tina's for a final check.  I am super excited about getting a few more fruit trees, shrubs, and trees for the arboretum.  It was icy cold and spitting thick slushy rain.  Sawyer had an evaluation at the tutor's office (for purposes of measuring progression) and we already had the trailer hooked up so we went up to a nursery in Tigard that I had a gift certificate to.  5 out of the 7 plants, I picked out are blooming!  4 beautiful camellias, a winter daphne, and an edgeworthia.  It was hard to narrow down so many good choices.  

It is Saturday morning, there are a few patches where a little snow stuck to the ground (it was snowing last night at midnight).  It is freezing cold but I have many plants to plant and I want to be outside.  

Learning Irish dancing, I was so proud of my boys.  The other boys did not get up and participate but they did.  I am glad they are not inhibited.

Evi picked clovers for the St. Patrick's Day table.

Wacky night at Awanas.

Best friends...except when they are not.

On the oil pastel front...I found a way to keep the smudging down with a finishing spray but I have to use about 10 layers (and that isn't cheap).  This was all trial and error and now I have several products that I won't use again because they didn't work.  I have a few pieces done in a spiral bound journal.  I didn't want to just have a bunch of loose papers.  I wanted a journal to take on the go and flip through.  I have found that because it is so messy, I need to have a paper envelope that I put the journal in so only the paper I am working on is exposed, otherwise there are smear marks everywhere that then rub off on the art work and borders.  

These two are inspired pictures (meaning I looked at other people's art work for help with composition and color).

I finally felt comfortable enough to try and work off of my own photographs.  I have been frustrated though because ocean scenes are easier to "smear" as I use my finger as the paint brush.  Fine lines and smaller details can't be smudged with a finger width so I have had trouble getting the movement and the detail work of trees and branches.  It quickly becomes "muddy" looking and leaves finger prints.  Not quite sure how to solve those problems.  I am signed up for a workshop with my favorite oil pastel artist, Jane Aukshunas in April.  Hopefully, she can help me.