Where There's a Will...

...there's a way. Imagine my surprise this morning when I looked out my window and saw this scene. We don't have many squirrels around our house because the cat usually keeps them at bay. However, I looked out to check on my birds when the squirrel hanging upside down caught my eye. I did a double take, at first thinking it might be dead, having gotten caught on the suet cage. Then he just curled himself up and grabbed some seed, only to hang again to eat it, very unconcerned about the birds or me watching him. Knocking on the window did not dislodge him. Eventually, I went outside to see what he would do if I approached. I was curious to see how he would get down from this precarious position, as the pole is pretty thin. He did, indeed, scamper down the pole and make his getaway.

This brings to mind a story about my mom and squirrels. She, too, fed the birds, and she had a lovely flower garden. However, the squirrels would get in the garden and eat all the flower bulbs. They also bothered the birds. She would get so frustrated with those squirrels. It was almost comic how it bothered her. One time, she got serious. My dad got a catch-'em-alive cage, and they caught a squirrel. My parents put the cage in the back of their van and headed to the park to set it free in a more appropriate location. My parents lived about 10 minutes away from the park, so they were confident they were doing a good thing for the squirrel as well as for Mom. The caged animal squawked and squeaked away on the way over to the park. Shortly before they got there, the noise from the back of the van stopped abruptly. My dad looked around and saw the poor dead squirrel hanging from the side of the cage, where it had strangled itself in its fury. My mother was horrified by what had happened, as they never expected this outcome to her humane plan. She decided from that time on to live and let live and quit planting bulbs in her garden to feed the squirrels.

Meanwhile, I'll not bother our squirrel. I don't imagine he'll hang around long as soon as he sees our cat. If he does, he will end up on our back porch, but not the way we'd like to see him. I hope he makes his escape before Spot catches him. So far, for him (and me) life is good...

The Pressure Is On...

Before I start, here is the new painting I made for my new living room..I copied it from a picture I saw in this year's Avon calendar, seen above it because I still haven't figured out how to place my pictures in the blog the way I want them. Every time I think I have it figured out, I get it wrong. Oh, well, I never claimed to be a technological genius.

Now for the pressure part. Our new house is progressing very well. Seems that the cabinets will be installed Monday, and then things will really move along from there. This is very exciting, of course, but it means that we will be closing on the house in a month or less, and then it will be time to move out of this house so that Doug and Kellie can start getting it ready for themselves. I was getting a pretty good start at cleaning out closets and sorting stuff, and then my Dad got sick. I started going to the hospital every day as well as the frequent trips to the new house and to places where we needed to choose fixtures for it. Packing was ignored. Then I woke up at the crack of dawn the other morning and realized that I have an awful lot to do in the next month or so. I started making a list--shades of Alissa. I got the list done okay, but I have only done one thing on it so far. I'm hoping to really get busy on packing, but it seems that we go to the new house most every day, and when I get home, I don't feel like digging into stuff. Guess I am going to have to just buckle down and do it. After all, there is 29 years' worth of stuff stored in this house and garage, and we need to either pack what we're going to take or store stuff or get rid of stuff that we're not going to take. I don't seem to be getting much help from the old guy, either, who told me the other day that he just can't get motivated to do much of anything. Most of what's in the garage and outbuildings are his tools and stuff like that, so I'm going to leave it to him, or Doug will have to deal with it. However, the stuff in the house is mostly my responsibility, so tomorrow I will wash and pack my crystal (I hope!). Me and Scarlett O'Hara...

Is It Live or Is It Memorex?

Neither one! It's actually a photo and a painting, obviously, and it's pretty easy to see which one is which, I imagine. However, I did try to reproduce the photo, which is a beautiful one taken by my mother many years ago, as faithfully as possible. I matched the colors pretty well, but I never can get the shapes exactly the same. I guess that's why my work is called impressionist.

I really admire those paintings that are so detailed that they look like they could be photos, but I can't do them. I seem to have a broader stroke, so my paintings are less detailed, and the whole picture looks more accurate when seen at a slight distance. That's why art is so universal, yet so personal. And the beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. That's also why I think everyone is an artist, even though (s)he may not think so. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush and paint, and someone will love his/her work. I am living proof that you don't need special training or talent to produce art. Everyone has his/her own style, and it's all beautiful in its own way. That's why I don't understand it when people tell me that they couldn't do what I do. Believe me, they can. Their finished interpretation of something will look different from mine, but it will still be art and still be appreciated by someone. I think people say that because they haven't tried it and either have no confidence or no desire to do it. And desire to do it is very important. So if you ever thought you might just like to pick up a paintbrush and try to paint, please do. If you are having a good time, you're an artist! Life is good....

Like Grandpa, Like Grandson

If you read Alissa's post today, you saw that she was a LITTLE upset to discover that Nick has pneumonia. His grandpa gets pneumonia a lot. I used to panic over it, but now most of the time we take it in stride. Like today, for example. Terry has been coughing for several weeks, but he said it was not bad enough to go to the doctor. However, things took a turn for the worse on Monday, and he started feeling really bad and unable to sleep or lie down for the coughing. No fever, mind you, just coughing and chest discomfort. I suggested that maybe he had pneumonia like Nick does, but I was told to leave him alone. I suggested going to the doctor, but I was told to leave him alone. Today, I left him alone all morning and much of the afternoon while I took Doug to the doctor for a checkup on his new ACL, went to visit my dad in the hospital, had my monthly bloodwork done, and went to lunch before returning home to have him say, "Maybe I should go to the doctor." Well, DUH. We went to the doctor to find out that he did indeed have pneumonia, and not just a touch of it, either. We came home with lots of medicine, and amazingly enough, he is beginning to show signs of life. The pneumonia is not nearly as bad as some lung infections he has had, so he now thinks he might live. Life is good! :)

Calgon, Take Me Away...

to the place in this painting--Panama City Beach, of course!It sure would be preferable to the now-snowy place I am at the moment. Here it is March 7, and we are getting the largest snowfall of the season. There were three inches earlier in the day, and more is falling now. We are supposed to have about 8-10 inches by the time it is over. I am not a winter person, and it seemed as if we were going to escape the worst this year, but I guess not. The snow is pretty to look at, but it makes getting around a little bit of a challenge for me because I don't like driving in the stuff. I hope it melts off pretty quickly, and it probably will, since it is March, after all. I guess we are paying now for the warm January and early February that we had. Of course, weather like this is typical for the Ohio Valley, and we have had many March snowfalls, some larger than this. We have had snow on Easter before, and I know it could be worse. It could still be December or January with spring far away! I suppose that in a few months it will be hot and humid, and I can hardly wait. Meanwhile, I will try to enjoy the season we are in now. Life is good, after all!