Another Sunflower Mailbox Finished!

“Omgosh yaaaayy!!! I’m in love with it!!!” Those were the words tonight from my most recent Etsy “Sunflower Mailbox” customer, Krystal. It always feels good to hear this kind of excited feedback! These painted mailboxes are a bit labor-intensive (and very messy, requiring sign-painter’s oil enamel which can be challenging to work with in a number of ways – fumes, drips, stickiness, mineral spirits, dry time…) but the time and tlc required is rewarded knowing that my customer will feel...

I’ll Take Seven Clones (with magic wands), PLEEEZE??!!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I plan to make this post mainly images (with some narration interspersed). So if my math is right, this post contains at least sixty-thousand words (plus, actual words, ha ha!) __________ But before I begin, I want to tell one of two jokes I’ve ever found memorable enough to memorize. It is unrelated to this post (the joke I will tell) except that my title brought the joke to mind....

Quail, Quizzical Quizzicism, Obstacles, Obstinence and Optimism

Quail. Quizzical Quizzicism: Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??????!!!!!!! Obstacles, Obstinance, Optimisim…Context…Courage. __________ It would seem I’ve been to the Silicon-Valley-of-the-Shadow-of-Death-and-back in the past twelve hours and am still somewhat uncertain if I’m out of these dark, dark sandy, woods! After a wonderful three days of reconnecting with my cousin, Laura, after not seeing her for three years, I returned home last night already resuming my anxiety over the vast amount of needful promotional work and other projects to resume focus on, to find my...

Caricature Fun From My February Visit With My Cousin

In mid-February I got to visit my cousin Laura for a weekend – the first I had seen her and others in her family in about three years. It was a wonderful time of re-connecting and also on the agenda was attending a birthday party at her son Will’s home. My cousin had expressed some interest in learning to draw caricatures, so I had thrown my easel into my van. When I learned that there was a kid’s party, I...

The Hands of Time

(Written January 1, 2019, on Facebook): Visited with my cousin Laura today. Haven’t seen her in two years. She’s an artist, like me. And, she’s a Slifer. So it was a good day of talking and catching up and knowing our shared family traits and history. We Slifer’s seem to be attached to our sentimental things…our homes are filled with knick knacks and other items that tell the story of our lives. Like little markers left along a trail both...

“God-Winks” and The Thirteen Pairs of Cat Socks

Awhile back I was telling some little story to a friend and she said it was a “God-wink.” I liked that thought and it has stuck with me. Winks are small, quick and very personal signs of affection or secret-sharing. I seem to find at least one personal “God-wink” on most days…and some days might be filled with quite a few. But maybe I’m just looking for them, I don’t know… I did think there was a funny one that...

POETRY SLAMS from Broken People in this Broken World

po·et·ry slam noun a competition using elimination rounds for the reading or performance of poetry. __________ I suppose this is a two-blog-post kind of Saturday. Will keep this rather short with my thoughts… Several years ago a friend sent me this link to a young woman reading a poetical expression concerning her depression and anxiety. I must say, her expression and especially, her delivery, lacks proper words that might convey my high applause of this piece. While everyone’s unseen battles...