SHS 23 June 2013

"A weed is no more than a flower in disguise,

which is seen through at once

if love gives a man eyes.

~James Russell Lowell

Today's scavenger hunt post follows the theme of weeds and grasses that are generally despised and plucked by their roots when discovered in that prized vegetable garden or springing from the cracks in the walkway.  

I am not willing to let them share my limited space in my container garden but I really do see the beauty in their intricate design and peculiar features.

1.  Fun

 I have so much fun playing with colours, hues, and saturations.  

2.  Arts & Crafts

 While this is not very crafty it is quite artsy . . . I think it would make a lovely print.

3.  Messy

 Messy, beautiful clusters of various weeds and grasses are quite prolific down the lane where I walk.

4. Blessing

 For someone who enjoys digital art play as much as I do, photo editing programs are an enormous blessing.  

5.  Effort

Morning Glory vines grow at such an amazing rate that it requires a lot of effort to stay on top of them. 

Joining Ashley and the gang @ 

SHS 16 June 2013

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

~Theodore Roosevelt

I chose this quote because I did not plan very well for the hunt this week and time just got away on me.  I had taken lots of pictures but not specifically to match any of the prompts.  So I did things kind of backwards and wandered through my photos looking for shots that would match the clues  . . . which is sort of like a scavenger hunt, isn't it?

Some of them are a bit of a stretch but such as they are, here's what I got.

1. Summer

 In this last week before the official start of summer I have seen many glorious specimens of beautiful dogwood trees in full bloom.

2. Dance

 Doin' the happy dance  . . . the peonies have burst through their tight bud coverings and have perfumed the air with their signature fragrance.

3.  Laughter

 My girl Gracie brings so much joy and laughter to the household.  The other day my daughter poked her head into my suite saying "Mom, come quick and bring your camera."  My daughter had finished her laundry and two baskets were stacked on top of each other.  The top one was on quite a deep slant and when Gracie jumped in (as cats will do) she went for a little slide.  She thought it was great fun and rolled and flipped around in the basket for quite a while.

4.  Helper

 I was kind of stumped with this one for quite a while and then I realized that I was my sister's helper yesterday when we went furniture shopping.  Her and her hubby have just moved back to BC from Montreal and need to trade in their larger furniture pieces for some condo-sized items.  I pointed out pieces that might work in her space and took photos of them so her husband could have a look, too.

5. Water

This year I departed somewhat from my same old, same old choice of plants.  I put together a couple of succulent planters that I have really been enjoying.  It's just a little different making sure that I don't water them too often.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there . . .
hope you have had a wonder-filled day.

Photo Art Friday - The Child Who Survived

So happy to have Bonnie's Photo Art Friday back after a 2 month hiatus.  She was very busy in her studio as you can see if your pop over to her Pixel Dust Photo Art site.

 I came across a couple of quotes this week that really tie together the images I am submitting . . . hope you all enjoy them.

"Every child is an artist . . . 

the problem is staying an artist when you grow up."

~ Pablo Picasso

When I was a child I was very artistic and often received special mention on report cards regarding my art work.  Then I hit grade eight and my art teacher, who was also my math teacher, shut me down big time.  At the very start of the semester, we were to design a folder that would serve as a portfolio for the terms work.  We were given free rein to do whatever we liked. 

 At the time, my family life was in great turmoil as my parents had split up less than a year ago and there was much sadness and fear and acting out among myself and 4 siblings.  Consequently, my folder design was quite dark and moody and very abstract.  Mr. P. decided that the work did not fit who he felt I was (pretty flowers, ribbons and lace, etc.) and refused to accept it.  I was always very submissive to authority figures and dutifully redid the folder to his liking but my creativity was definitely squelched for some time to come.  

I doodled a little and many years later a Jenny-girl, daughter of a friend would always ask me  . . . 'Can you draw me a girl?' She would colour my creations and always thought they were just beautiful.  The creative juices inside of me had always found a way to come out whether in sewing, crocheting, gardening but I still longed to produce artwork with pencil and paper, pastels and paint.  And then I discovered photography . . .

"The creative adult is the child who survived."

~ Unknown

Working with the prompts "Dreamy" or "Ethereal", here is what I came up with.

 My grand-niece Pippa (again) looking very ethereal as she poses on the deck.
Converted to black and white, some desaturation and a blur filter.

 Here I have combined an image of columbines with a paisley texture I made myself and Bonnie's texture "pdpa Heartache by the Number".  I also ran the image through a cut out filter in Serif PhotoPlus X4 before adding the textures.  I consider this quite "Dreamy" as my dreams often consist of concrete and abstract elements and symbols.

This last image has more of a dreamy quality than the others . . . I love the way this turned out.  The original photo is a bee gathering pollen from a giant allium.  No textures used just various adjustments to brightness, contrast, hue and saturation.

I recall that just a few months ago, I said to my sister and brother-in-law,
 "I am an artist."

I meant it.
 I finally believe it.

I am the child who survived.

Linking with Bonnie and the other children who survived @

SHS 9 June 2013

"Develop an interest in life as you see it;

the people, things, literature, music - 

the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures,

beautiful souls and interesting people.

Forget yourself."

~ Henry Miller

This quote reminds me of the Scavenger Hunt that this post links to.  So many snippets of sweet, funny, crazy, inspiring moments in other peoples lives captured and shared within this community of cyber-friends.

It also reminds me to not focus on how many comments I get but to see how many people I can encourage with kind words.  Looking forward to seeing what rich treasures have been gathered here this week.

1. Dishes

I have a small collection of decorative plates (dishes) which I have tried to whittle down and not add to.  However, this beauty I just could not leave behind.  Love everything about it.

2.  Favourite Colour

No guesswork involved on this one.

3. Sunflare

One from the archives . . . last summer.

4.  Expression

My grand-niece Pippa at a baby shower for her new cousin, Jaeden Anne.  The expression on her face has prompted many of my relatives to note how much she looks like my own daughter at the same age.

5. Sticky

Winged critters with sticky feet collecting sweet and sticky nectar from this lovage flowering seed head.

Linking with Ashley @

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SHS After a Long Break

 So after laying low for a couple of months I have resurfaced.  I had another episode with my heart that put me in the hospital early April and finally got my echo and angiogram done.  They both came back clear which was a major relief and I am so grateful.  My cardiologist is saying that the original ECG and MIBI stress tests which showed a heart attack with significant tissue damage were false positives but I am going with divine intervention.  So many people were praying for me  . . . family,  friends, church family and prayer teams at the Healing Rooms.  As well, the symptoms that troubled me on a daily basis have disappeared with no medical intervention.  

Now it's time to move on with life . . . looking for a job again (overwhelming), and jumping back into things that have been on the shelf a while.  Hopefully I will be posting more regularly going forward . . . the desire is there but I've been coming up blank for ideas lately.  

The prompts for Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week were all Photographer's Choice so I figured that was easy to do on short notice.  I am sharing some of my favourite shots from the month of May.

Dandelion seed head saturated with rain.

Joey, my dad's rescue dog.

 They came for a visit in early May and I was delighted to meet this sweet boy.

 My Mother's Day flowers.

 Lacy fern against the rusting garden shed.

Fat robin found the bird bath and had a splashing good time.

Made my day!

Joining Ashley and the gang @