Focus on Life - Week 10: All Wrapped Up

The sound of the ocean, the smell of the sea, 

 hands warming on the first cup of coffee on a cold morning

....all wrapped up in one perfect moment.

“To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh, Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living

Hosted by Sally Russick at the Studio Sublime.

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Focus on Life - Week 9, Doors

I love most old door knobs. These door knobs are on all the doors in the old house we live in. They are tiny though and hard to get a good grip on. So most of the doors in our house remain cracked just a wee bit to make it easier to get them open.

To me the door knob is the potential of the door. It's the thing that can lock us securely inside. With a simple twist, the door knob can reveal what lies on the other side of the door. Metaphorically, the door knob can unleash great potential or it can lock it inside.  Or opening a door can be a simple transition from one moment to the next. I like that our quirky small door knobs leave us no choice but to be suspended on the verge of opening the door. I like being a door opener. 

But that wasn't at all I was thinking of showing you this week. And it wasn't even this door knob in particular that I wanted to photograph. That door knob is part of a bigger picture.

Alice has been sitting in this chair for most of the past two days looking out across the street to where workers are putting a new roof on the neighbor's house. It struck me that Alice really wishes that unlatched door behind her led to the outside. She really really wants to go over and say hello.

She's been begging me. See? Those are the eyes of a dog that is desperate to go and make a nuisance of herself. But I have resisted.

We're taking her and Bob camping on the beach instead. Don't hate me though for going to the beach for 4 days. I'd take you along if I could. But it's only going to be in the 50's and down to the ,brrrrr, 30's at night. You might not like it. I'll catch up with you all when we get back next week!

“Be an opener of doors”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hosted by Sally Russick at The Studio Sublime

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The Beauty of Flowers - Focus on Life Week 7

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change

Jack Kornfield, Buddha's Little Instruction Book

A single hydrangea blossom. The only one left after rains, frost, ice, snow. A survivor. 

This photo was not the image I had in mind when I was thinking of finding one beautiful flower to photograph this week. Clearly, this single blossom has a lot of competition in the beauty arena. But as I was sitting on my porch earlier this week, it's a front porch kind of neighborhood, this lone survivor caught my eye. It resonated with me.

Then I realized that this week, a year ago, was when my biopsy results came back and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Much has happened. Many months of treatment and endless check ups have passed. I am forever changed. I am a survivor.

Hosted by Sally Russick at The Studio Sublime

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Many thanks to all of you for your lovely comments last week. As a little update to that photo, we've found an assist harness for old Bob. Last night he was able to walk up the stairs. He's happier!

An impromptu 'Feel the Love'

Last week's prompt from Sally for Focus on Life - 52 Photos, was 'Feel the Love.' I was so very tempted to blog this photo. But it's not mine. It's my daughter in laws photo and it is very special indeed. I really wanted to share it with you and VDay seemed a good time. That's my grandson reaching out to touch his daddy as they Skype. That's my son and grandson bridging the many miles between here and Afghanistan. My grandson is literally 'feeling the love.' He's smiling at Daddy as Daddy smiles back at him.

It's now a bit over 7 months since my precious grandson was born. He was just 4 months old when my son deployed to Afghanistan. So many changes in the 3 months that my son has been gone. The little guy has gone from tummy play to crawling and pulling himself up to inch his way along the sofa. His first tooth. He laughs the most beautiful deep and all over belly laughs. He laughs the way only small children can laugh, just for the pure and perfect joy of laughing.

Of the many things that my son worried about when he deployed, the worst fear was that his son would no longer know who his Daddy was when he came home. It happens to soldiers. It happens a lot. They spend 9-12 months away and the babies grow up without their daddies. But that photo brings me comfort and happiness. In 6 months when Daddy comes home, they will know each other because it is possible to bridge the miles and feel the love.

Ah,  Valentines Day. Chocolates, hearts, flowers. I hope you have a happy one and that you feel the love deeply in your heart.

Feel the Love - Focussing on Life

Bob can no longer get up the stairs on his own. 

So each night Peter carries him up to our room. 

And each night I love Peter even more for his gentle compassion.

“Compassion is a verb.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh

Hosted by Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime

Captured Heart - Focusing on Life

Heuchera in my garden

The heart has its own language.
The heart knows a hundred thousand

ways to speak.

Rumi

Half Empty or Half Full?

 brass, copper

It all started with this. 

copper, sterling

And proceeded to this.

top: brass, copper 

 bottom: copper, sterling, black onyx

And heck, why not a couple of pendants. The bails are sneakily hidden on the back side. All of these are what I would consider prototypes. Or maybe just an idea seed. I can see all sorts of errors. Things I want to change, improve. But I have loved getting out the metal and fabricating. Playing with fire and solder. Oh fire! I love fire. 

It has my wheels turning. I've even felt a little excited. Not giddy but excited. And after the last 2 months,

 that is a hugely great thing.

You might be asking yourself just what is LeAnn up to? Doesn't she make beads? Well, yes, I do make beads. But after a 6 week rest of my thumb, things have gone quite wrong. A couple of days of trying to make beads and it's shrieking with pain and there is a disgusting huge lump on my tendon. The lump, says my doctor, is my pressure valve. Sort of like the button that pops on a pressure cooker. Ick! So the upshot is, no beads for 2 weeks. No using that thumb to push things. Then we'll see.

But I'm a glass half full kind of girl. OK, I'll admit that earlier my glass was way on the side of being more than half empty. But the sun's been shining. It was even warm yesterday. And I'm feeling like I have an opportunity here to follow some ideas that have been in my head. Things that require very little use of my thumb. Lordy, I even see some beads with the new ideas. I'm learning some new things. Things like letting my tools, rather than my hands, do the work. What a concept.

 My glass might even be more than half full. Not over flowing. Maybe 3/4 full?

So how are you? How full is your glass?