Serendipity Sunday On Monday

Glory Be…IF there is a mosquito carrying Zika or West Nile in my yard, then, I am certain to have it!!  Man, this white flesh just fed the mosquitoes WELL, and I was only outside for less than 5 minutes~~probably less than 3 minutes.

I just went out to turn the antennae around~~again, so I could get the Channel 2 morning news~~I have developed a tolerance for them, but can’t hang with the other 3 stations…LOL  I should have doused myself in mosquito spray.  I know better.

BUT during this mad dash, I made a pretty awesome discovery.  I would go take a picture, but I might be a quart low of blood already this morning!  HA HA HA HA

In my yard, we have always had a couple of small peach trees that My Aunt Jenny used to make pickled peaches.  They are TINY little things, and the worms LOVE them.  I don’t like to spray stuff because of the danger it causes to the food chain, so we have just enjoyed their beautiful flowers in the spring and their shade in the summer.

I saw one behind the cabin, but I left it instead of cutting it down, because it was pretty.  Today, as I made the mad dash to the back, I saw a rotting peach on the ground and it was a regular sized peach.  I wondered where in the world it came from, and so I looked up to see several, not tons, but a few REGULAR sized peaches.  I grabbed one and popped that beauty open and took a bite of a REAL PEACH…

God provides for us, in so many ways.  Even when I don’t feel I can afford the “luxury” of buying fresh peaches, God placed one right in front of my face…HOW blessed I am, again.

Speaking of Blessed, again, I knew that I was getting a surprise in the mail, and I was so excited to find this awesome bowl that my friend, Crystal, painted.  There were treats for me and treats for Charcoal and this beautiful bowl that has great meaning.

I know, being redundant, I share that Mother hardly ever (and never on purpose) left the house without a butterfly pinned to her left shoulder.  I remember her with each glace of those beautiful creatures.  This bowl will hold many memories for me…

Thank you, Crystal…if we all spent HALF the time trying to make others smile, the way that Crystal does, our world WOULD be different.

Charcoal took the treat and said he didn't need help getting it out of the plastic. 

That package was expected and was surely enough to make my little corner of the world a bright place…

Charlie! Do NOT put Chester in the box!!

BUT, there was another note in my PO Box from the Postie Man that said I had a package TOO BIG to fit…well, it could be 6 inches and be too big to fit~~ROFL…

This however, was no exaggeration…it was TOO big to fit!

Yowzers…I gathered it and went on my way to the car when I had to see who sent me this TOO BIG package and WAS it a mistake…Yep, mistakes happen sometimes, as I handed the envelop belonging to “Mr. Willie” to the postie person…not a big issue (and yes, that letter appeared right back in my box—lol)

Charcoal wanted in on the action

WHY was I not surprised to see that Miss Lynnie POO POO, aka, Lynn Barbadora, had sent the package~~that GIRL!  (oh, my word, I just heard my MOTHER coming out of that statement!)

 

I am posting this on my blog, because I know that Miss Ramona doesn’t read this, and I am SAFE from her yelling to “SEND IT TO ME”!!

The boys love boxes!

Inside were several gifts, all generous in their own right, and the BIG show piece was a sweet girl holding a pot of flowers~~ another reminder to BLOOM.

This had been painted for her daughter’s room that was garden themed and had remained in their “other home” until it sold.  She wanted ME to have it…ME!

Charlie, let Chester out of the box!!

How thankful I am to receive this from a beautiful lady~~gorgeous actions/thoughts and a lovely face that radiates JOY~~when on so many days, I know she just wants to crawl in the corner and cry, but who charges ONWARD planting seed of happiness, kindness and HOPE.

I am so glad to have people like this in my life and it has NOTHING to do with WHAT I have done to deserve it, but has everything to do with them BEING those kind of people who have a desire to make the world a better place.

I smile as I remember Lynn sending me requests to LIKE her facebook page, and I KNEW I had, so I ignored them, until ONE day, I went and there was NO LIKE…we laughed…

Lynn is the reason I have Prince Charlie, the fairest in all the land, and Chester the Jester Elf…she was the reason we all wanted to have fun with our mischievous elves…

Lynn taught me to say POSTIE…

Lynn has NO clue that I am NOT the reason that Santa has a Naughty List and that I am one of the VERY FEW on FB that NEEDS to choose the NICE button, and it does not work!!  (her solution was simply to remove it!!  Hey, that is how I FIX stuff, these days…)

I seldom eat a peanut butter M&M without thinking of her…

SO what that we have never met in person…she is a friend~~as real as any friend I have ever had!

Thank you, Lynnie Poo-Poo…thanks for allowing me to be me and NOT having to pretend that I am something better than I am…and for not taking me too seriously, but instead, looking to see the REAL me, and liking me anyway…I keep HOPE that one day, your story will have a happily ever after and all the chairs will be filled, as they should…

Well, now, enough SAP for one day…

I know we need to TREAT THE WORLD WITH KINDNESS…do what YOU can to make ONE PERSON smile…

We all think we need LOTS of money…need to make GRAND gestures…need to do GREAT productions of HEY~~look what I sacrificed…

For some reason, we discount the SMALL ways we EACH can make this world better…

I am amazed at how others have embraced BLOOM this year…I think we were all needing a gentle reminder to turn our faces to the sun and to show our beauty…

We are ALL beautiful…We ALL have something BEAUTIFUL to share, but with that, comes the realization that the seeds we plant must be seeds to grow KINDNESS, POSITIVE THOUGHTS and messages of encouragement....We have to leave those comments of complaint behind us and to work so much harder on improving things and realizing that WE are the CHANGE and that change can be negative or positive.  It is a lesson that I struggle to learn DAILY…

So, as you can see, I have had several serendipitous moments this week.  Shame racks my body when I fail to recognize that in my struggles, I STILL am blessed beyond measure.  THANK YOU all who make my world a kinder, gentler place…I am blessed to create~~charlotte♡

Serendipity Sunday

Bee Humble

Bee Kind

Bee Joyful All the Time!

These words have been running in my head for the past week.  I even awakened with these words in my head and vowed to get this put into a pattern TODAY.

I LOVE the message.

I have also been obsessed with the seeds that we are planting.

As I have stated dozens of times, I was raised by a Mother who did NOT believe in coincidence.

These two thoughts that have been running in my mind, amongst the clutter o’ crap in there, have given me great encouragement to be better.

I am working, oh, so hard, on removing the “clutter o’ crap” from my mind and filling it with ideas, messages, and words of GOODNESS, KINDNESS and HOPE…

I want to be a beautiful flower who BLOOMS with possibilities.

I want to plant SEEDS of KINDNESS…HOPE…GOODNESS…POSSIBILITY…

Choosing BLOOM as my “word” of 2016 has caused me great pause in many areas of my life.

I have spent time contemplating WHAT it is that I want.

My “wants” have changed greatly, in some ways, since being a kid of 21 to an “old maid” of 53, BUT at the basis of my desires, I SIMPLY, like most everyone else, WANT TO BE HAPPY.

I CANNOT buy into, nor WILL I buy into this “crap” of America NOT being great.  Can we improve?  You bet your bottom dollar, we can, and should, But to imply that we are not great, is WRONG.

NOTHING I do or say will ever make one bit of difference in the world, as a whole, BUT it is making a difference in me, and by CHANGING ME, I am changing my little corner of the world, and WHO KNOWS, maybe those seeds I plant will grow MORE beautiful FLOWERS of peeps!

As I scuttled to meet deadlines this week, I found myself, again, THINKING what I want to accomplish with designing patterns.  I joked that I KNOW I will never be a BIG BRUSH, but I do hope, in some way, to be a small 20/0 Liner in this decorative art world.  I have absolutely no desire to travel teach, or to be “famous”, I just want to spread JOY in my little quick and easy designs, and to spread the message that there is PLENTY of room for all of us and that ANYONE who wishes to paint, CAN paint.  I don’t want to be in the middle of “You STOLE my design” or “THAT is my idea” or “don’t PAY to have someone cut your wood because THAT is wrong”, “You DID NOT pay to teach this”…sigh…

DON’T send me nasty comments, because I think, I know as well as anyone, about Copyright, but at the end of the day, is THAT how you want to spend a chunk of your time SCREAMING and sending nasty VAGUE COMMENTS across social media???  I ALSO understand this being a livelihood for MANY artists, and I UNDERSTAND that everyone deserves to be paid, BUT again, at the end of the day, You will NEVER change one single person who THINKS they are entitled, and THAT applies to the designer as WELL as to the customer.

Let’s face it…THERE are ONLY so many ways to paint a SHEEP….to paint a SNOWMAN…to paint a SANTA…to paint EYES…to paint a HOUSE…and on and on…WE ALL are THIEVES who steal our ideas from the MASTER DESIGNER!  WE copy His work each time we lift a brush, and you don’t hear HIM complaining…NO, He encourages us to go “deeper” and to “learn from HIM”…

AND again, I understand, IF you came up with an ORIGINAL and UNIQUE idea, then YES, you SHOULD be able to get your due credit, but ONCE an idea is put into SPACE, it is out there to take on a life of its own…SO, We must ALL decide how we want to spend our time…

AND HEY, in MY WORLD, a 20/0 liner, although small and unassuming, is one of the most important brushes an artist can own!  ROFL…NO, again, I am NOT saying I am ALL THAT and a BAG OF CHIPS, but I AM important, because GOD created me in HIS OWN IMAGE, and that makes me pretty special, AND makes you JUST as special.  WE ALL are SO VERY LOVED!

So, Today, I give GREAT THANKS for the ability to paint—in my own style—in my own way—on my own level—through my own eyes as I see things.

Also, I give GREAT THANKS for those who have encouraged me.  Susan Kelley of PUDDLES OF PAINT has been a great help.  Her kind words and suggestions of improvement mean so much to me.  To take time from her busy schedule, means so much.  Yep, I am certain I have caused her more confusion that she deserves, but sometimes we NEED someone to slow us down!  ROFL….ok, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

And that brings up another thought in my head.

Last night, I did my monthly grocery shopping at Walmart.  The cashier was an older lady, whose skin was wrinkled from the sun.  She was SLOW.  I kept feeling empathy for all of us as we waited and for those behind my VERY FULL buggy.

BUT as I thought about the moment, I realized that there was absolutely NOTHING for me to get angry about.  I DID NOT need to run to FB and tell everyone what a HORRIBLY SLOW cashier I had and how WALMART needs to get its act together, and on and on…PLANTING SEEDS OF ANGER…

AND yes, I realize many of you will say ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW? 

No, hang with me for a moment…

The cashier, as I said, was an older lady.  I can only make assumptions that she has probably had a life filled with struggles, as I concluded by the lines on her face and her working at an older age, BUT then, NONE of that MIGHT be true.  IT is simply MY analysis.  I spoke to her and asked HOW she was doing.  Her face brightened with the most BEAUTIFUL SMILE I have ever seen.  SHE RADIATED JOY.  I watched as she would struggle to find the bar codes, but she would find them and carefully bag the items.  I asked her jokingly, if it was HOT enough for her, and again, that beautiful smile appeared.  I sensed she was NOT a BIG MOUTH like me, and I decided to not chat and confuse her, and simply helped to keep the items on the belt in order and to get the bags into my cart.  I smiled at her, and at the others who stood in line, as I wondered WHERE are we going in SUCH a hurry at 10:45 at night?  SERIOUSLY??

She was lovely.  She did a good job.  Yes, I think she did the BEST SHE COULD do.  Here is my question:  WHY is it so frustrating for us to accept someone’s BEST as inferior?

THIS is HOW I think we can make our COUNTRY GREATER—accepting people as PEOPLE.  WE are in a rat race to be the BEST…the FASTEST…the FIRST…

We have thrown these unrealistic standards onto our poor, sweet children and our expectations, while well-intended, have children NOT getting to be CHILDREN…

We extol the “good ole days” as we YELL and SCREAM at each other to HURRY UP…We don’t take time to KNOW each other…SOOOOOOOO…

TA DAH…

As my Serendipity Moment of the week, I want to give THANKS for that sweet little lady at Walmart, who gave me the biggest, brightest and most beautiful smile that I have seen in a long time, for ALLOWING me, YES, giving me an opportunity to STOP and THINK for just a moment about HOW we treat those who give us their best.  This unexpected blessing to be reminded that LIFE goes too quickly is a lesson I, again, needed to re-learn.

When we are STOPPED in traffic, instead of worrying that WE will be late, give THANKS for the moment to sit and BREATHE.  There is not one single thing your anger will change except for making yourself sick! Also, think about the person who caused the stop~~PRAY for them and the responders and for the families…be THANKFUL you are safe…and REMEMBER, things HAPPEN and sometimes you have to plan better and leave earlier.  Oh, HOW we HATE to be reminded that WE MAKE MISTAKES, too!  Oh, how we LOVE to point that old proverbial finger at others who CAUSED our frustration.  Oh, how we HATE to be “called out” for planting “seeds of hate”.  I promise, in 10 years, you will probably not remember that moment…

When you get behind someone taking too long, at whatever it is that YOU are doing, talk to the person behind you, if there is someone around.  Take that moment to BREATHE and give thanks for ALL the blessings that YOU have…LOOK around you and SEE what is in your little corner of the world.  I can almost promise you that you will SEE something you haven’t noticed before.  Fill your mind with POSITIVE thoughts...get rid of those ugly thoughts that have no place, other than to SPUR you on to GOODNESS…

BLOOM…BE in FULL BLOOM…LIVE your life in FULL BLOOM…Plant Seeds of kindness…of JOY…of HOPE…of TOLERANCE…

BE a REFLECTION of HIS LOVE…~I am SIMPLY Blessed to create…charlotte♡

I finally wrote the pattern for this piece that has been sitting around for probably 2 years, maybe more, maybe less, but it is now In my etsy shop (click here to magically appear there!)—both the original piece and the pattern!  The pattern includes 3 small bonus projects, too, because, THAT is a kind thing to do~~LOL

Whacky Wednesday

Wednesday already?  NOW, THAT is WHACKY!

Don't worry Mom, I am watching the fan...you are safe!

Poor Charcoal has had a tough week getting used to the fan, because his mean ole Momma doesn’t want to turn on the air conditioning until June.

Happy now?  The top is OFF!!

He was pointing at the calendar a few minutes ago…hmmmmmm…

Seriously, Mom, STOP taking my picture!

The good news is that he stopped growling at it, and now, once again, can roam the floor fearlessly without much notice given to the fan; however, he does take the opportunity to stand behind it and sniff…Hey, Superman had HIS own problems, too, you know!  =)

I am HOT!!

Today marks the beginning of the meteorological summer.  It seems it is going to be a hot summer, but we were blessed last year, so we will endure.  PLEASE keep in mind, those who can’t afford to pay their higher electric bills that an air conditioner can cause, and so, they will not turn it on…KEEP your eyes peeled for small ways you can help…don’t ever discount the importance of taking a slushy to a friend to share on these hot days.

Watching the news has brought a mix of emotions, already, and as I type this, it is only 5am!

I felt sad as I watched an angry man pay his ticket in change that was dumped on the window ledge of the clerk, who had absolutely nothing to do with the incident~~she was simply doing her job and garnered the anger of this disgruntled man.  I said a quick prayer for him to turn to things that MATTER…

I was brought to tears as I heard of a lady in Nashville who was fighting aggressive breast cancer, and winning the battle, even though she was faced with struggles.  Her employee, for an unknown reason to me, took her off of salary, and changed her to an hourly wage, cutting her pay in half, and losing her health insurance.  This could have sent her into a tantrum, as the “change man” above, but no, she was sharing her JOY and how a scholarship fund at the hospital, called TEAM CHAD had championed her, and had even helped pay her mortgage, even though she was a total stranger…SHE understood THINGS THAT MATTER…Another fulfillment of God’s promise to PROVIDE our every need IF we ask and IF we believe!

I have been making a conscientious effort to share my journey to better living through my thoughts and actions.  Words that I used to say without thought, now cause me to pause.  My favorite phrase has long been, “that’s stupid” and appeared too many times in my work evaluations to count, but now, it is placed on my heart to SEARCH why some people DO stupid things.  I no longer feel the inward laughter I used to experience when I see people called idiots, stupid, and such…Look at your facebook wall today, and see how many posts similar to “you can’t fix stupid” that will cross your feed.

Someone added me to a group of “things overheard at craft shows” and it makes me feel awkward…One man said that he HATED it when people left his booth without buying and said, “thanks for sharing your art.” 

Honestly, WHAT in the world is wrong with that?  I think it is awesome that a person would take their time to say something, because we have all watched non-customers come and go without a word, and I have done the same.

I would laugh with a friend in our booths, each time someone said “that’s cute.” 

I look back at those times with great shame.  Instead of rejoicing at the compliment, I came to loathe those words…WHY??

We are walking around with a chip on our shoulder, and I have been exploring my own life to find out WHY…AND when we form groups to BASH, we crawl deeper into that ole rabbit hole, and our hearts become darker…I have said it before, IF you want to get a post with LOTS of comments, post something negative…just watch it explode!

We call people who DARE to disagree with us, IDIOTS…

Last I heard, we ALL have a right to our OWN OPINIONS, and they are simply that~~OUR opinions…As a matter of fact, we just Honored the men/women who gave their lives to ensure that we have that right!

Shouldn’t we honor these heroes with a better attitude?  With more gratitude?  With kindness to our fellow man?

Have you EVER said anything that was stupid or asked a question that was so obvious?  Does that moment define WHO YOU ARE?

We need to start practicing KINDESS, COMPASSION, GRATITUDE…

I flashback to when I was so exhausted taking care of my Mother, and there were moments when I couldn’t put together a logical sentence because my mind was going in so many different directions…I would go days without speaking to anyone, and when I opened my mouth, forming a sentence of conversation was a struggle. I KNOW that I am not the only one!

Again, I ask you to WATCH your news feed the next few days and be aware of what you LIKE…IS THAT how you want to be known?  Does it make you kinder…more compassionate…more grateful…does it promote good?

No, I am not saying to stop laughing, because I have too much mischief inside of me.  I am just asking you to be AWARE…start paying attention to HOW we speak of others, and REMEMBER, we have no idea what is going on in that person’s life.  Fake smiles are everywhere. 

I am amazed at the talent of this artist...go to her site to get her posts in your email every morning:  www.princesssassypants.com

Let’s start caring about each other more. 

Let’s be careful and think WHAT IF IT WERE ME?

Now, isn’t that whacky?

I hope that the rest of your week is wonderful.  Stop, and think on the things that MATTER.  Are you spending too much energy thinking about silly stuff.  Are you promoting GOODNESS?

Oh, to have a heart like God…that is my goal…

Grab those blessings that are in plain view and enjoy them, because they were placed there JUST FOR YOU!  Know that you are loved and that you are beautiful and possess the ability to make a change in the world!  YOU MATTER…~charlotte♡