Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~ Dr. Seuss

~ What I always think at the end of the week
as I finish my IA challenge :)

 

The theme this week at  Inspiration Avenue is 

The Power of Words

 I think the quote above is so true. 

My son left for college this week, and is now

officially on his own.  Only about 50 miles

away, so not so far.

Far enough for him to feel independent,

and far enough for me to throw out

all the shoes he left behind! Yucky shoes!

To pretend his room is now a guest room?

Nah, I think (hope) he'll still be using it

from time to time.

Speaking of words,

I'll leave you with some quotes I like:

Of course there's a lot of knowledge in universities:  

the freshmen bring a little in; 

the seniors don't take much away, 

so knowledge sort of accumulates.  

~Abbott Lawrence Lowell

Twenty years from now you will be more 

disappointed by the things you didn't do 

than by the ones you did. 

So throw off the bowlines,
sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover.
~ Mark Twain

It is always sad when someone leaves home, 

unless they are simply going around the corner 

and will return in a few minutes 
with ice-cream sandwiches.
~ Lemony Snicket

A professor is one who
talks in someone else's sleep.  

~W.H. Auden 

And finally:

If at first you don't succeed, 

do it like your mother told you.  
 ~Author Unknown

(Quote on the door above by

John Ed Pearce) 

The Three Muses

World of Zetti

I love The Three Muses blog and the challenges, 

and each week I try to make time to enter.

Usually to no avail.

I adore everything Zetti, so this week

there was no turning back!

I was compelled to create something!

Here is my entry.

I was tempted to use this piece for the

Inspiration Avenue challenge

which is "The Power of Words"

but I'm going to think of something different

for that challenge. However, 

powerful words are eluding me at the moment . . .

IA Weekly Challenge

Let Them Drink Tea

I have to admit I was stumped by my own challenge.

Even though I'm a coffee drinker,

when I found an image of a posh lady

pouring tea I knew I had to enter a digital piece.

I gave her some Marie hair
and fancied her up with color.  

I think she'd better sit down

before she has an accident with that tray. . .

To play, visit  Inspiration Avenue before Sunday 

August 22 at 12 noon (edt).  Just leave a comment
with a link to your Coffee or Tea creation.

Just like to see all of the submissions? 

Visit on Sunday afternoon to see all of

the entries posted together.
Plus, you can visit each blog to read about
each artist's creative process. 

Now, it's time to go get a little caffeine. . .

Holy Petunias!

Abundance and Balance

It's been a pretty good year in the flower garden.

I didn't plant a vegetable garden this year (first time in 15 years!)

Nobody cared in May when I said
'The weeds are out of control ~ does anyone want to help
me clear out and enlarge the veggie garden

so we can have a proper garden instead of just squeezing in

some tomato and pepper plants?'

Nobody wanted to.

So I said OK, we'll just not do a veggie garden this year.

It's alright with me. Now Mr. Magpie is saying,

'Why don't we have any tomatoes this year?'

And I have to refresh his memory.

But the flowers have been abundant and pretty this summer.

It's been the best summer ever for petunias.

But just to keep things in balance,
it must have been a good year for the little

white butterflies (moths?) too, because now

I am fighting with their offspring, the cabbage worms,

for control of the petunias. Ugh!

These little buggers eat voraciously!

They can carve their way through a whole pot
of petunias in one night. I've seen them eating
during the day too. I don't think they ever stop.

See him sleeping peacefully after a night
of debauchery in the petunias?

 They are so hard to find nestled in the

leaves and stems. But I'll continue to
hunt them down and pick them off
cos I won't spread poison around
the entire garden just to get these
little critters. I feel like Elmer Fudd
chasing after that wascaly wabbit.
And we all know how that story always come out.

For some reason they have left

this pot of white petunias alone.

I apologize for the blurry photos.
(I actually took some very nice pictures but
you would not know it from looking at these)
I am blaming it on Blogger.
Suddenly, the photo uploader option
is not working and I had to go back to
the old editor. (Don't ask, I only found all this out
after many wasted hours in the Help forum)
It allowed me to upload photos with the old, old
uploader which you have probably forgotten about
but would recognize if you ever had
the misfortune to use it again.

If (when) the problem is straightened out,
I'll replace these photos with the good ones.

Update August 20: Blogger is now cooperating 

with me again, so I've replaced the pictures.

Maybe you can't even tell, but I can!  *sigh*

Happy gardening!

IA Weekly Challenge

Hope

This is an image that I posted as a "freebie"

on my blog, On the House.

I think the young girl's face looks very hopeful.

Who knows what she is hoping or praying for,

but one's imagination can go in many directions. . .

I thought it was perfect for the weekly challenge

at Inspiration Avenue, which is, of course,  Hope.

(If you would like to download the high resolution

version of the image, you can do so  here.)

Visit Inspiration Avenue to enter the weekly challenge,

or just to view all of the entries. You have until Sunday

August 15 to submit your entry. And stop back Sunday afternoon

to see all of the submissions posted together!

Waiting for Mermaids

I'm excited to be taking Suzi Blu's new mermaid class, 

La Sirena

It starts August 15, but in true Suzi fashion, she has us 

students collecting bits and pieces of inspiration well

ahead of time. These are some things I found

that speak mermaid to me! 

I'm sure I'll find more in the days ahead.

The GORGEOUS mermaid face above

is by CampbellJane, an artist and Etsy seller.

Visit her shop and you will be amazed at her work!

The little mermie baby I put together as a digital collage.

The other things are odds and ends of inspiration.

I'm sure mermaids love jewels and sparkly things.

How else to entice those sailors, sinking their ships?

Well their singing and irresistible beauty also help, I imagine.

On a slightly different note:

Serendipity

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.

3. An instance of making such a discovery.

While looking for an old post today, I just discovered that 

my very first blog post was one year ago today, August 11.

I was pretty sure I started my blog in August but

didn't have a clue on which day!

So, in true clueless Magpie fashion, I have not planned a 

celebration or a giveaway or anything like that.

But, who knows, before the month is over there

may still be time for something fun!

IA Weekly Challenge

In Another World . . .

A digital collage from my Etsy shop.

Do you believe in FAeRiEs?

The theme this week at Inspiration Avenue is "Other Worlds"

and technically, faeries are believed to reside among

us in this world. But they are so elusive and difficult to see

that I am giving them Other World status!

You may think of the tooth fairy or fairy godmothers

when someone mentions faeries.

But throughout the ages, faeries have been known more

for mischief and downright dirty deeds, and

there are many invocations, spells, and superstitions

meant to ward off their evil-doings.

 

Running water, church bells, four leaf clovers,

St. John's Wort, cold iron, and bread

have all been used to protect from faeries.

Avoid digging in faery hills at all costs,

and don't travel on the paths that faeries use!

Home-owners have knocked corners from houses because the corner blocked the fairy path, and cottages have been built with the front and back doors in line, so that the owners could, in need, leave them both open and let the fairies troop through all night. Locations such as fairy forts were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act. Fairy trees, such as thorn trees, were dangerous to chop down; one such tree was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road being widened for seventy years. [source]

 Make no mistake, just like all forces of nature, faeries can be both good and bad.

. . . like nature itself, fairies may be dark or light, gentle or violent, benevolent or cruel, beautiful or grotesque. They may not only be any size, but may also take any shape. [source]

Gnomes are known for their kindness to animals.

Gnomes are the guardians of animal kind and show little preference for their animal friends, not withstanding their aversion to cats both wild and domesticated. They are known for freeing wildlife from man's traps and for operating on farm animals whose owners have neglected them or who are simply too poor to afford a veterinarian. Their enemies are mainly Trolls, and other beings who would try to destroy them or their homes. Otherwise, they are mostly peaceful beings.

Most Gnomes are 7 times stronger than a man, can run at speeds of 35 miles per hour, and have better sight than a hawk. These abilities help the Gnome to do many things, such as find wounded, dying animals for which they feel they are responsible. Because of their love for animals, all the animals of the forest are the Gnome's friends and are willing to help him at any time. Many people say that gnomes have elevated practical jokes to an art form. But most especially they love gems and jewelry and are considered by many to be the best gem cutters and jewelers in existence. [source]

Have you ever seen a  faery?

Visit Inspiration Avenue this week to see the 

interpretations of the theme, Other Worlds! 

All entries will be in by Sunday evening (edt) and 

soon thereafter will all be displayed together. 

Enter a creation yourself if you have 

something other-worldly to share!

Each entry for the month will be eligible for 

a chance at the August Giveaway!

Going, Going . . . Gone

I wanted to let you in on a secret before it's too late...

What a Sale! 

My friend Sharon has an Etsy shop that is quickly selling out!

These are some beautiful pieces I bought from her that I adore. 

Her attention to quality and sense of style and color are amazing.

Mana Moon Studios will soon be sold out.

All of her remaining inventory is 75% off! 

Sharon has decided to focus on her 

graphics business, Plumrose Lane, instead of jewelry.

Head on over to Mana Moon Studios 

to snap up some exquisite pieces! You'll still find

an amazing selection if you hurry!