Two - Take a Word Art Challenge

Our challenge this week at Take A Word is Two.  Two of anything, so I decided to do a cat and bird.  A cat lounging in the bird's feeder.  The Red-Winged Blackbird is giving the cat quite a lecture!

Actually the cat is mine - Baxter.  (I lifted him from the original photo and placed him in this beautiful scene.)  I had Baxter when I lived on the western slope of the Sierras in Northern California.  This is the house I had there, I just loved it:

I loved the way the sunshine filtered through the trees. 

Funny story - It had a ton of cedar trees front and back and all around it.  One winter we had an enormous snow storm and the top of one of the cedar trees broke off and fell, pointed top first, like an arrow into my roof, through the roof and the ceiling, and hung there, a real cedar tree hanging upside down from the living room ceiling.

It was super early in the morning and made quite a loud crash.  The master bedroom is below the living room, and we ran up the stairs to see what the crash was, and imagine our surprise when we saw the tree top there.  It was three or so feet long that we could see.  Stunned silence.

Anyway, on the left side - in the photo - was a deck on the second story accessible from the living room.  One morning I went out to the deck to water some plants, and this is what I saw in the bird feeder which was nailed onto the corner of the deck railing:

After that day, Baxter often made himself comfortable in the bird feeder.  He was such a beautiful cat and had great personality.  😍😀😗

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...

Faces - Sunday Postcard Art Challenge

Our challenge this week at Sunday Postcard Art is Faces.

Many years ago when I lived in Placerville, CA, my friends and I drove to Folsom to attend a Psychic Fair.  I'd never heard of such a thing, but it was really fun and fascinating. There was one woman there who, for a nominal fee, would study you and "see your guide."  And then she would do a chalk drawing of the guide she saw.

When it was my turn, she said I had many guides, and she wasn't sure which one to choose, but there was a young Indian warrior who seemed to be strongest, and asked if I wanted her to draw him.

I was clueless and said, sure.  She asked me what color I wanted her to use, and since I had just decorated my bedroom in pink flowers - my only "girlie bedroom" ever (and I LOVED it!) - I said pink.

She said, "Well, he's a very masculine presence, but okay, let's use pink.  That will work."

I've always loved this chalk portrait, it's pretty old now and the pink colors are faded.  It's the only framed item I brought when I started full-timing in my motor home.  I took photos of everything hanging on the walls that I loved.  Somehow I feel protected with him looking over me.  Like a Guardian Angel.  Who knows if the whole "guide" thing is true, but wouldn't it be nice if it is?

So, this is from a photo I took before leaving home, and I added a few elements to it.

My Guide.

Thanks for visiting...  see you next time!

Clowns - Sunday Postcard Art Challenge

Our challenge this week at Sunday Postcard Art is Clowns. 

You know what?  I hate clowns!  But I found so many really nice clown elements to use in this challenge that weren't ugly or scary.  I was surprised.  I guess I don't hate clowns.  Just the ugly, scary ones.

Stephen King said, "Nobody likes a clown at midnight."  And I guess that just about sums it up for me. 

Thanks for stopping by - see you next time...

Balloons - Take a Word Art Challenge

Our challenge this week at Take a Word is Balloons.

This is a photo of my motor home on Forest Road 525 in Sedona, AZ in the fall of 2016.  I was lucky to get the only campsite with a tree!  Yay!  There were cows in the area, and hot air balloons landed right near us almost daily.  It was a really fun campsite that year!

So this is an actual photograph which I ran through an app to give it more texture, then added some elements for more interest.  That's my trusty travel companion, Katie, in the lower left corner.  LOL

Thanks for visiting - see you next time!

Renaissance Woman, Sunday Postcard Art Challenge

Our challenge this week at Sunday Postcard Art is Renaissance Woman.   As usual, I really enjoyed this challenge, and not surprisingly, I've learned a lot while figuring out how to join in the challenge.

I hate to admit I wasn't sure exactly what Renaissance Woman meant.  I had only a vague idea so I did some research, and I found two descriptions, one the original and the other a current description. 

1.  This is the older description from Merriam Webster: 

Renaissance - capitalized  The transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science.

So I guess a Renaissance Woman is one who lived during these times.  And from the photos I found, they seem to have dressed very well, with lots of velvet, fur, and shiny gold materials.  Or at least the rich ladies who had portraits done...

There's lots of information online about this period in history and all the changes that occurred during the Renaissance. 

Or

2.  The modern description: 

Noun, (sometimes lowercase)  A woman who has acquired profound knowledge or proficiency in more than one field.

The amazing thing is:  I've discovered I am a Renaissance Woman. And many of my female friends are, as well.  Here are some of the things I found that I answer YES to: 

7 Signs You May be a Modern-Day Renaissance Woman 

1.    You still don’t know what you want to be when you grow up—not because nothing interests you, but because so many things interest you. 

2.    You can think of at least three ways to earn a living, and the idea of having to choose one feels suffocating to you.  You love the idea of having multiple streams of income. 

3.    You’ve worried you may be a Jack-of-all-Trades, even though you’ve developed a level of mastery in many or even all of your areas of interest.  You sometimes feel like a fraud. 

4.    You’ve felt ashamed about your inability to choose one thing, lest you’d appear scattered or unfocused. 

5.    You’re a natural multi-tasker.  You’d think nothing of doing one thing from nine to noon, another from one to three, and a third from four to six.  You love variety in your work. 

6.    You want more freedom.  You gave up something you enjoyed because your full-time job and personal responsibilities left no room in your life to pursue it.  Yet, it’s always on your mind—a subtle, but ever-present reminder that makes you think it’s not meant to be forgotten.

7.    You’ve often wondered if have ADD.  In fact you’d almost welcome the diagnosis because it would explain why you can’t pick something.  The trouble is, you really don’t have a problem with focus.  You generally finish what you set out to do.

I've never thought I had ADD, so that one doesn't apply to me, but the rest of them do.

I love it!  I'm a Renaissance Woman!  Are you?  (You know what they say about believing everything you read on the Internet - but I LIKE the idea of being a modern Renaissance Woman!)

Thanks for visiting - see you next time...

Book Cover - The Three Muses

This week's challenge at The Three Muses is Book Cover - with humorous title or author name.  

The Painted Ladies of San Francisco popped into my mind at once - with Sam Francisco as the author.  Funny how sometimes ideas just happen, and other times it takes some work to figure out how to put the challenge together.  This one was easy peasy!

"Back in the day" I used to have a beautiful coffee table book of the Painted Ladies that included their history with lots of pictures.  A very enjoyable read. 

I bet if these Painted Ladies wrote a memoir, it would be sizzling!  Imagine the history they've seen.  😍

Thanks for stopping by - see you next time...

It's Showtime - The Three Muses

The theme this week at Three Muses is It's Showtime!  

This little happy band of skeletons is putting on a SHOW in this old ratty theater, but one of them just couldn't put up with the makeup any more.  She says, "I'm getting too old for this!"  

Looks like the rest of them are having a good time!

Thanks for stopping by.  See you next time...