The Eye of an Apple

This is the one and only apple that was left in my fruit bowl.  I ate it, and it was delicious.

*After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost : a reading

*After Apple-Picking : poem analysis and essay 

Daily Something #3: My Thoughts for the Night

There is beauty in life, beauty in love, and beauty in sharing.

I think it's sometimes difficult to realize this in the craziness of our hectic days and the unexpected events over which we have no control.  We do; however, have the opportunity to control our attitude and how we react to what is happening around us.  I share this with you, not because of something I've read or something that sounds good, but because it's something I have to constantly keep in the forefront of my mind.   

Spyglass

From the Outside

Looking In

Glimpses of reality through refracted glass distorts what truth is and what it is not.  When our focus is misaligned, we can choose to stop looking and form our own opinion about what we see, or we can investigate further to try and find a larger truth.

Adornment

By itself, a necklace is little more than a pile of pretty stones and shiny metal.  When placed upon a woman's neck; however, the jewelry is dignified, and even the most perfect female form is complemented.  Here are three of my favorite necklaces.    

My pearls

Black Onyx (2008) by Lora Gill 

My Stone Necklace

  

The other night while I was fastening one of my necklaces, I started thinking about how we choose to adorn ourselves.  With that thought, I found out some interesting facts related to the necklace:  the oldest gold  necklace in the Americas was discovered a few years ago in Peru; one of the most famous necklaces is associated with Marie Antoinette and she never wore it; and there are six different variations of the necklace categorized by length. 

The Swirls that Lead to the Dust of the Road

I'm not exactly sure what this ornamental grass is called, but I like its stiff stalks and the fluff and swirls of its seed pods.  I was thinking about how strong the wind would have to be if these seeds were going to blow anywhere, and then started thinking about tumbleweed and how it looks when it's rolling around in the desert sand, and that reminded me of dust.

And then...I thought of a poem by W.S. Merwin.  It's called To the Dust of the Road.

And in the morning you are up again

with the way leading through you for a while

longer if the wind is motionless when

the cars reach where the asphalt ends a mile

or so below the main road and the wave

you rise into is different every time

and you are one with it until you have

made your way up to the top of your climb

and brightened in that moment of that day

and then you turn as when you rose before

in fire or wind from the ends of the earth

to pause here and you seem to drift away

on into nothing to lie down once more

until another breath brings you to birth

Daily Something #2: My New Year's Challenge

It was my original intention that my daily something would be written "daily"; however, as you can see, I was a bit overzealous in my planning.  Thus, I have been contemplating if I should change the title, write a bit every day, or keep it "as is" and write a daily something whenever I get the chance.  But, this is digressive, so I will simply continue to share with you what I was originally thinking when I sat down tonight to write.

New beginnings are a blessing:  the chance to start over, the opportunity to discover something new about yourself that you've never known, or the chance to discover and explore something that you've always wanted to do - and what better time to experience a "new beginning" than the new year.   I've not been much into making new year's resolutions and have on several occasions started a new endeavor only to give up on it or turn my focus onto something else shortly after the enterprise has started, or half way in between.  So, I've decided that instead of setting a new year's resolution, I'm going to present myself with a challenge, and make it such that people hold me accountable to my goal.

Here it is:  I want to do something that stimulates my mind and/or creativity for at least thirty minutes a day.  I was going to shoot for an hour, but I think with the busyness of my life, thirty minutes is more within the realm of the possible.  At first, I'm going to be very lenient in terms of what is acceptable and hope that by the end of the year I will be involved in something that is greater than I could have ever thought imaginable - preferably the start of a new show, or taking art classes at WKU and broadening my horizons.

I'm excited about sharing with you and hope as well that you will enjoy the things I have to share. Happy 2011!  I hope you will discover something new and exciting about yourself and find the time to discover something beautiful about the world around us.