Whine? Who, Me?

I have noticed that Fall is the favorite

time of year for so many people.

I used to love Fall.

 Until I realized it is just a big scam by Mother Nature

to distract us from what will be coming next.

Around here ~ which is western Pennsylvania ~

the Autumn vistas are quite spectacular.

Stunning golden trees that look like they

are lit from within. Blazing reds and oranges.

Wood smoke in the crisp, cooler air.

Wonderful displays in front yards

of pumpkins, scarecrows, mums,

and cornstalks placed there by neighbors

who count Fall as their favorite time of year.

And of course, Halloween.

One of the funnest holidays around.

The magnificence of the autumn display

seems to be in direct proportion to the

awfulness of the winter to come.

Look at New England.

I'm sure autumn is even more spectacular

there than here. That's where all the

Leaf Peepers go, isn't it?

And if there's one place I'd dislike

more to spend the winter than here,

it would be there.

On the other hand, what about  Southern California?

I can only say this because
I was one of these people myself ~

Californians desperately pretend autumn

is a season there, trying to get in the spirit.

And moan about how they miss the changing

of the seasons. Then they glide right through

November, December, January, and February

in glorious sunshine with outside temperatures

hovering around what our furnaces are

struggling to maintain inside the house.

I want to go back there!! Please!
I promise to never complain again
about no seasons!

Autumn comes and goes so quickly.

It seems one day you are admiring

the maple tree in the neighbors' yard

and next thing you know,  it's Thanksgiving
and the views outside give new meaning
to the term "monochromatic".
Brown, brown and more brown.
Like a moon landscape, but browner.

Alright, enough whining and whinging.

I love the verb 'to whinge'.

Whinge: Complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way.

It seems more descriptive than 'whine', which

sounds too much like a delightful beverage.

And I realize that is exactly what I'm doing ha!

(Whinging, not drinking wine.)

So. I think I have just enough time to go to
the market, buy some pumpkins and mums,

dig out my Fall decorations, and make
an awesome display in the front yard.

Did I mention I love Autumn?

IA Weekly Challenge

Decisions, Decisions

The theme this week at Inspiration Avenue is

Decide

Does it sometimes seem like there are 

just too many things to think about?

I have to admit, sometimes I have

a harder time with the simple things,

like whether to have a 

Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder. 

The more important decisions 

somehow are actually easier.

I don't mind spending the brain power

on those. The inconsequential decisions

I expect to just solve themselves

with no help from me.

And of course, they don't do that

so they give me a harder time. Ack.

Pop over to Inspiration Avenue

to see the other submissions for the

Decide theme! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

IA Weekly Challenge

Metamorphosis

I've had mermaids on my mind lately.

So when I saw that the challenge at Inspiration Avenue

this week was "Metamorphosis", I thought maybe

a merbaby would fit. I don't know whether

humans turned into mer-people or

mer-people morphed into human form,

but there's some kind of metamorphosis going on!

It's all very mysterious.

I'm taking Suzi Blu's Mermaids class, so I've 

been keeping busy drawing  and painting mermaids 

and haven't had time to research the story. 

But I will, I promise.

Visit Inspiration Avenue by Sunday, September 19

to enter or to view all  of the "Metamorphosis"

entries. You will be enchanted by the creativity!

Some extra incentive to enter:

Each entry makes you eligible

to win the September Giveaway prize!

The Three Muses Challenge

NuMbeRs

For the Three Muses challenge this week,

a girl who loves numbers

Thanks for visiting! 

Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

Simplicity

I was visiting blogs and, in the back of my mind,
pondering what to do for the weekly challenge at
Inspiration Avenue.
Simplicity sometimes is not so simple!

Got an idea while looking at the
photos posted by Lisa at The Wright Stuff.
She has given some newer photos
the look of vintage postcards.
Very cool and full of atmosphere!

I have had this polaroid picture sitting on
my dressing table for years
because I have always wanted to
do a painting just like it.
It's my grandparents, taken in the 60s.
Well, to be accurate, it's my grandmother
and Dave her second husband, whom
we always called Grandad, as we never
knew our real grandfather.

Dave was a gem ~ he collected canes
(one of them in the picture) and
whiskey bottles in fantastical shapes.
If you could think of something
whimsical or just plain crazy,
Dave had a whiskey bottle in that shape.
Hundreds of them, all unopened.
We kids used to marvel at them,
always something new to look at!
I had never seen any bottles like that before.
Or since, for that matter.

Anyway.
Back to the picture.
I've always liked the simplicity of the image.
The light is flat, like it sometimes is
at the beach. And of course, the photo
is faded. There are only a few colors
in it, which is probably characteristic
of old polaroids.

I added a dry brush filter
and then adjusted the contrast a little,
but didn't really do much else to it.
Simple.

Visit Inspiration Avenue to see all

of the entries in this weeks challenge.

If you have time, submit an entry by

noon on Sunday September 12.

You will be eligible to be in the drawing for

a set of 5 tulip notecards from 

the above-mentioned Lisa!

Pretty! 

 

Funny ~

I just looked at the calendar 

to check Sunday's date,

and I see that it's Grandparents Day

in the U.S. How appropriate! 

Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

Finders Keepers

I am just under the wire this time!

My found objects are sand dollars. 

And a Russell Stover heart-shaped chocolate 

box from last Valentine's Day.

Okay, that's not strictly "found", but I rescued it 

off the  "Things to Use Someday" pile. 

Most things on that pile never get used. 

Here is the inside of the box.

I used some vintage images, tissue paper, doilies,

ribbon, and 2 black-eyed susan seed pods,

plus the sand dollars.

I found the sand dollars in Mexico about

five years ago, and they've been sitting around

ever since. Other than displaying them in a jar,

I couldn't think of anything else to do with them.

Enter Angie, of Artangel,
with her Finders Keepers challenge!
So here they are on a heart box,

plus tons more in the photo! 

And tons more in the bag.

There were literally hundreds on the beach ~

I'd never even found a sand dollar at all

until that day. I don't know what event

sparked all those creatures to beach themselves.

But they have finally come in handy on

Inspiration Avenue.

There is some lovely folklore about

sand dollars which I can't remember now,

but I will look it up.

Head over to Inspiration Avenue
to see all of the Finders Keepers
entries! They will be displayed a
little later today, Sunday.

Happy Labor Day to all who are
celebrating it!

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)