TREES, ROCKS & WATER 14

This week I finished a logo for a local company and in the first time in a long time I'm completely satisfied with it. There is such a difference between painting for myself as opposed to designing for other people. I'm leery of selling art in case I start compromising like I do as a graphic designer. I'm not complaining because I love my job - but that's just part of the job description.

A part of the Green River is just up the road, and of course the name goes along with this month's theme. Although the company hasn't given the final approval yet I'm posting it on my website anyway. If they don't copyright it then I may develop the typeface for commercial use. I think it has a very Grateful Dead retro feel to it. Although this is in black and white I think a teal and black color combination would be interesting.

Jack, Bob, Soph and I are hiking the peaks trail this afternoon- a beautiful hike through a forest that is sadly dying because of the pine beetle infestation. We're enjoying it while we can!

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This is simple verse is from THE PAINTER’S AGONY by Sadiqullah Khan. These simple sketches are of Blue River which runs right through the middle of our town. When Soph and Jack wake up I'm hoping that we will hike beside it, out of town and up to the reservoir.

My association with the river

Many hundreds of memories

Evenings and sunshines

Floods and slow water

I have lived my life

On the bank of this river

I want to paint this river

Paint it with the most beautiful colors

I want to borrow some colors from the colors of paradise

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No trees in these photos as we are above the treeline but there's lots of water in the form of snow and plenty of rocks. Jack and I boarded down a part of Loveland Pass today. Bob and Sophie drove us and took pictures as we hiked up and rode down. Something I've always wanted to do - and now of course I want to do it again! I'm wondering how far into the summer we can go . . .

Loveland Pass is about 12,000 feet and is a site of the continental divide. Some people spit to see which ocean it ends up in and some people pee (not me although I have been tempted). The views of course are expansive and amazing as is everything else about this part of the world.

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I painted this in the Frisco park today. It's still a bit graphic designish and stylized but hopefully my strokes are getting looser.

This outdoor class is so much fun. Every few minutes I feel like putting down my brushes and whirling madly around singing 'The Hills Are Alive' like my childhood idol Julie Andrews. So far I have not given into this impulse since I can only span one octave and couldn't keep a tune if my life depended on it.

One of the best parts about this year's pleine air course is being able to bring Sophie Dog. She gets free belly rubs and general lovin' and attention all morning. At noon we wrap it up and the 12 of us stand in a semi-circle facing our propped up art work. As a group we discuss each painting starting from one end to the other. Sophie actually goes up to the artist who is being critiqued and snuggles against their feet! When that critique is over, she moves to the next person. It's amazing - do you think this little furry faced fuzz bucket may have the soul of an artist?

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This morning I got up early to hike Mount Royal. I joined a group of 11 other volunteers for the ‘Adopt-a-trail’ system that we have in Colorado. In my mind I imagined we would all amble along and enjoy the Colorado sunshine while removing sticks and stones and broken bones. We would leisurely finish our Starbuck’s coffee while making polite conversation along the way.

Wrong Jen, wrong, wrong, wrong!.

Mark the ranger, (a manly gorgeous life sized power ranger) got us organized at once. After an involved speech about trail maintenance tools with ethnic sounding names like Pulaskis, McLeods and Mattlocks- as well as complicated information about erosion, water dam angles, dipping and drainage- we were off. We picked up the heavy as hell steel tipped tools, donned unflattering hard hats with matching orange rubber gloves and marched up the mountain. I could barely finish my Starbuck’s because I was so out of breath before the first switch back. Then Mark announced that we would hike up another hour straight up and THEN begin pick-axing, shoveling and raking.

Although I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, I am a pimple on a flea’s butt compared to these people. Michael complained of the slight twinge in his knee because he had just completed the Denver Century yesterday and he fell over his bike at the finish line (it’s a 100 mile bike race). Mark countered with a story about blowing out his own knee a few weeks ago after skinning up Bear Mountain and Tele-marking down the back. Laura had actually run to our trail head from Copper Mountain this morning (about 15 miles I think). And I especially liked Steve’s story: Steve slept in the woods last night because he had too much Crown Royal and couldn’t remember how to make it back where he was crashing at his buddy’s pad. He’s from Iowa and insisted that he lost his train ticket home. I had to add my two cents worth and mentioned that I tripped over the dog this morning on the way down to make myself a bagel. After that- the gloves were off …

So much fun although I have to go to bed by 8 tonight or I may blow out a knee. xxx

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 9

So far in Colorado Soph and I have managed to hike a trail a day. This is impressive since our legs are not impressive. I have two 30 inch long legs and Soph has four 3 inch long legs - 72 inches total. All the same we've managed to hike Illinois Creek, Blue River, Upper Flume, Lower Flume, Gold Run, The Reservoir, Frisco Trail and Lake Dillon. Early tomorrow I'm attacking Mount Royal without my tiny side kick who will be living at our neighbor's for the day. Ruth is an avid gardener and will be madly trying to get her flowers in. I don't have the heart to tell Ruth that Soph will eat anything including all of Ruth's annuals by noon.

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 8

Our Colorado neighbors, Amy and Rob, have the most adorable children. Grady is seven months old and Clare is almost three. Clare told me today that she loves the 'funny box' I gave her on her first birthday. She couldn't possibly remember this but I know she was prompted by her mum. Also, Clare reminds me of my own girls: she's smart, pretty and a big talker. Anyway, I'm posting some of the cards from my Kids' Box O' Fun that was published when my daughters were little and when they too were jumping up and down about how life is so much fun. They are still jumping of course. And Clare is excited about the beginning avocado tree that just burst forth from its nut. We both agree that it looks like a big yucky brown egg with a tiny branch sticking up. Clare also wanted to know if it hurts and I said sometimes but it's worth it.

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 7

Lake Dillon is amazing! This 250,000 acre reservoir is just moments away from our Colorado place. The reflection of the mountains, rocks and trees in the water is breathtaking. We've boated the lake and biked and hiked the shores often. Lake Dillon is definitely one of my favorite spots to paint.

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 6

I love the Group of Seven! Much of this art was painted in our area of the Canadian wilderness - a lot of it in Algonquin Park. For some people this art is too stylized - probably because most of the artists had a graphic design background. Personally I can't get enough of it. This is a collection of favorite paintings that I put together for a quilt hanging in our cottage. (iron transfers) Lawren Harris is my all time favorite followed closely by Tom Thomson.

From Wikipedia: The Group of Seven was a group of Canadian landscape painters in the 1920's. The Group of Seven is most famous for its paintings of the Canadian landscape. The Group of Seven was strongly influenced by European Impressionism of the late nineteenth century

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 5

This tree from our neighborhood park in Florida is no longer there due to the last hurricane. I know because I went back this year to draw it. In fact, I'm not even sure this IS a tree. It's just so creepy and alive looking.

My beloved 6th grade teacher, Mr. Cooper, used to read books to kids who didn't want to play softball at lunchtime (I throw like a girl). This picture reminds me of being scared out of my mind when he read The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham.

And this afternoon I am going to check it out from the library ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 4

Our lake cottagers often build Inuckshuks down by the shoreline of their cabins. Although in Ontario these structures are strictly decorative, the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic still use Inuckshuks as guides or landmarks. They’re supposed to look like humans from a distance. My friend Mo (who lives in Nunavet) tells me that they are very useful in this barren, sparsely populated tundra. She uses them as markers when she goes snowmobiling. Inuckshuks also mark caribou hunting grounds and sometimes sacred grounds. My goofy brother Chris likes to decorate Inuckshuks with empty Molson Beer cans perched on the outstretched arms – kind of a homage to Canadian beer I guess. Not being a big beer fan myself I removed the beer can before I took this picture.*

* I developed these black & white prints in a dark room. They are sharper in real life but lose something in the translation to digital- especially when photographed through glass

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 3

The scars on the bottom of this aspen tree trunk were made by elk chewing on the bark. In the winter when food is scarce elk will turn to aspen bark for nutrition. A hiking guide once told me that aspen bark has a mild narcotic/pain relieving quality in its chemical make-up. Apparently female elk cows in labor chew the bark to help them through that painful time.

The scars on the top of this aspen tree trunk were carved by humans. I was hoping to find a true arborglyph http://basque.unr.edu/trees/ instead of this schoolyard graffiti.

During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s sheep herding was huge in the west. Like one of the best manlove movies ever - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Ooo that blonde godlike Heath and dark haired Jake chemistry shudder shudder. But I digress...

Anyway, like Heath and Jake were not, most sheepherders were solitary and some carved familiar images in the bark of aspen trees to remind them of home and assuage feelings of isolation and loneliness. Much of this art is quite beautiful. Arborglyphs have been found in Colorado and other western states. They are disappearing though because aspens have short lives, 50-80 years, like birch trees.

I am still searching for tree-writing that is more exotic but this photo is still interesting to me with its plant, animal and human aspects.

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 2

... over and over and over. With a little research I found out that the scars on birch trees are called "lenticels". The horizontal lines become longer with age as the tree gets older and fatter. Come to think of it, this is sounding very much like a human condition as well ...

TREES, ROCKS & WATER 1

I am fascinated by these three aspects of nature and have depicted them over and over and over. This month I’m going to dig through my piles and post some of my favorites.

These birches grow outside of our porch in Canada. In every interpretation the trunks bend and intertwine a little differently. The color varies from harsh white and with vivid black scars, to more diffused tones – depending on the weather, time of day and how the lake is behaving in the background.

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 12

The coincidences, connections and curiosities in my life were very apparent this weekend when the four of us got together in Colorado (Cassie could not be with us but was in our hearts the whole time).

YOUNGER SISTERS VS OLDER SISTERS
Blonde vs Brunette
Ridiculously Sporty vs Ridiculously Arty
Prone to ski jumping off 10 foot cornices vs Wouldn't jump off a cornice for any amount of love or money
Laughs at small dogs vs Worships small dogs

Logical vs Spiritual

Morning People vs Night Owls
Resist being bossed around vs Like to boss around

Adore their older sisters vs Adore their younger sisters

MIDDLE SISTER

a little bit of both ...

Brunette/Ridiculously Arty/Normally wouldn't jump off a cornice but often surprises us all/Laughs at small dogs/Logical and Spiritual/Night Owl/Would like to be boss/Adores older and younger sister

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 11

AN AFTERNOON AT THE ICE RINK . . .

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 10

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

This is my coincidence, connection and curiosity for today. This morning I found a poem that I gave to Robin quite a few years ago. This afternoon Jack and I found these gift tags at the Anthropolgy store in the mall. The tags say "a little birdy told me ..."

The Writer
by Richard Wilbur (b. 1921)

In her room at the prow of the house
Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden,
My daughter is writing a story.
I pause in the stairwell, hearing
From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys
Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.
Young as she is, the stuff
Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy:
I wish her a lucky passage.
But now it is she who pauses,
As if to reject my thought and its easy figure.
A stillness greatens, in which
The whole house seems to be thinking,
And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor
Of strokes, and again is silent.
I remember the dazed starling
Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
How we stole in, lifted a sash
And retreated, not to affright it;
And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
We watched the sleek, wild, dark
And iridescent creature
Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
To the hard floor, or the desk-top,
And wait then, humped and bloody,
For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
Rose when, suddenly sure,
It lifted off from a chair-back,
Beating a smooth course for the right window
And clearing the sill of the world.
It is always a matter, my darling,
Of life or death, as I had forgotten. I wish
What I wished you before, but harder.

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 9

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

Tiny mighty Jack is home from San Francisco for the summer. We’re about to go out west so today I packed up all of my drawing and painting stuff from the kitchen table and ignored the looming design job in my office. Instead I’m indulging in one of my favorite past times. I’m cooking a meal for the three of us with dishes that are connections. I’m also going for a colorful palette. I made San Francisco Cioppino* (black mussels, pink shrimp, white halibut, red crushed tomatoes); Sandy’s green Caesar salad recipe (but without the yucky raw egg); and my mum’s decadent French bread loaf soaked in garlic olive oil and oozing with three types of yellow cheeses.

Even Bob ate everything without succumbing to his usual urge to toss a piece of heifer on the BBQ for back up.

*Wikipedia: Cioppino was developed in the late 1800s by Italian fishermen who settled in the North Beach section of San Francisco. Originally it was made on the boats while out at sea and later became a staple as Italian restaurants proliferated in San Francisco. The name comes from ciuppin, a word in the Ligurian dialect of the port city of Geona, which described the local fish stew. At least one restaurant in San Francisco, the eponymous Cioppino's, describes an apocryphal story in which the name derived from the heavily Italian-accented cry of the wharf cooks for the fishermen to "chip in" some of their catch to the collective soup pot.

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 8

Hmm ... another connection with my curiously wise sister. I asked her once to help me make sense of a difficult situation and she wrote out these bon mots which I have hanging on my office wall. I love the rural reference to 'pumping out the septic' and it makes perfect sense to me.

It's like this:

When the toilet won't flush and the sink won't drain, and you blame the cheap fixtures you've got from Walmart . . . it's really the septic that needs to be pumped.

- Sandy W

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 7

Oh Joy! Today when I was going through my file cabinet looking for an old invoice, I found a forgotten file way in the back. This file is bursting with random stuff. Cards and drawings from the girls, Christmas lists, a letter from my grandmother, newspaper clippings, an envelope of mysterious keys . . .I don’t remember when I did this as I am not a big collector. But all this paraphernalia from the far and near past must of must of meant something to me or I wouldn’t have saved it, right?

A few years I was so despondent and desperate about one of our daughter’s struggles that I found myself constantly seeking solace from my sister Sandy. We communicated by phone calls and emails since we live a few thousand miles apart. I’d appeal to her often several times a day, for some clarity of thought- perspective- consolation- unconditional love. She always came through by lifting up my spirits.

Sandy still lives in Shanty Bay, the tiny rural Canadian hamlet that we grew up in that we like to refer to as the ‘land of the crazies’. This is one of her emails that I printed out and stuffed in the forgotten file.

9/26/03 4:19:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Hi Jen

This should cheer you up - it's a quick synopsis of Kate's wedding last weekend.
So ....
Here are the players: Bubba- Uncle Dunc, Joan the Bone - Aunt Joan, Ben - Kate's 13 year old son, Dunco junior, Maria - Dunco junior’s wife. There were loads and loads of retired Eastview teachers and lots of guests from the groom’s side who were "new" at the Ellis Farm Fests.

Here is the setting: Hurricane Isabel let up just in time for the wedding, and Kate had a great ceremony under beautiful blue skies on the lawn at the Ellis farm – (Oro Line 2). They had the tennis court covered with a massive marquee and had tables set-up for everyone there. They also had a massive bonfire roaring over by the pool.

And then the games began . . .

Here are some highlights:

- Bubba (Uncle Dunc) stood up on a chair near the end of dinner and did a little electrical re- wiring in the ceiling of the tent "to get some more light on the meal". Dunco and Joan heckled him the whole time
- Dunco and Ben (Kate’s 13 year old) looked after the fireworks display later in the evening, and proceeded to set off many pyrotechnics from the deck. Unfortunately Ben and Dunco didn’t have a “master plan” according to Corey. Many of the larger rockets were aimed straight at some unsuspecting guests. Fortunately as well part of the apple orchard still remains and the trees took the majority of the direct hits – apples exploding everywhere. I actually did not set my hair on fire, but it was very, very close.
- There was a bonfire singsong complete with song sheets and a guitar player a little later. Maria and I bet on when Joan the Bone would wrestle the 6 string out of the guitarist’s hands and start playing show tunes. Dunco knew all the songs – no song sheet required – and treated it like a “Rugger Beer-Up”. I knew none of the songs and my drinks kept tipping off the hay bales.
- Bubba rolled out of his chair into the fire a little later. Fortunately, he was hauled out and suffered nothing more than a small head abrasion. This was very exciting for Paul – who was sitting close by at the time and is still talking about it.
- Ben drank wine all through dinner, then knocked back beers late into the evening. This was also very exciting for Paul. He told me that he thought that “Ben was sort of tipsy, but not plastered like his Mom!” (The bride). Goodness.
- I of course was completely out of control and dancing around to tunes on the tennis court like “Flash Dance Revisited”. Absolutely ridiculous! I vaguely remember the looks of shock on the faces of Larry Deneau, Jim Edwards and Dave Palmateer (some old Eastview teachers). Oh well – they’re just … well … they’re just old and they can’t move like I can.
- Uncle Briggs and Mini were there with Bruce – their giant sized son. Brucey is great – he’s now a full time artist in Toronto and is the size of a bus. We had a fantastic visit and they all wanted to know how you were.

Well, you must feel like you were there! Thought you’d like the update and find comfort in knowing that nothing’s changed. Be assured that I was by far the silliest and should probably be remorseful. But I’m not.

Luv sands

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 6

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

I do pay attention to how nature imitates itself. Not in a profound way at all, just ordinary stuff. Cloud banks often look like mountain ranges; seahorses have the curiously same shaped heads of land horses; flowers are shaped like stars or lips or sex organs; clam shells are curved and veined like leaves from mango trees… and on and on. Stuff that we all notice.

Tonight I realized that I have been thinking about this phenomenon for a long time. When I reached for my reading glasses in my bedside drawer, I grasped this small smooth rock. I found this when I was a kid in Canada. Back then I saw a sunrise over a calm lake on one side and a darkening sky over stormy water on the other- and I still see this now. This rock has traveled with me through many moves (parental home, boarding school, college, apartments, condos, homes)

I don’t think about this rock on a daily basis, even a monthly basis mind you. And it always just sort of turns up.

PS: This rock is 2 inches by ¾ inches. I tried to look up the name of it but came up blank. If there are any geologists out there please let me know!

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 5

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

Still obsessing about trees . . . and this is a appropriate connection to Mothers Day as well. These are pastels I did of three banyan tree trunks in a park nearby. Banyans are so organic with all their twisting and weaving and intertwining of limbs. It wasn’t until I finished the drawings and put them side by side that I perceived a pattern. To me, the middle tree with the tiny plant in the cavity, resembles a mother with a baby in her womb. The tree on the left looks phallic and masculine; the tree on the right looks rounded and feminine. I love how nature always imitates itself and I think these trees show this.

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 4

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

To connect to the post before this I have this picture of two flip flops attached to a tree at our cottage. This curious tableau is one that many visitors to our place ask about. This probably won’t translate as well to those who don’t know her, but those who know Cass well will completely understand.

Cass is an uncommonly brilliant person who has that whole absent minded professor thing going on. I could go on and on about lost cell phones, forgotten Ids at the airport, etc. etc. but I don’t want to embarrass her anymore then this blog will. Please don’t be mad at me Cass!

A few years ago we flew up to Canada from Florida in the winter. Though the girls were teenagers I reminded them to bring warm clothes because our drive up to the cottage from Toronto is long and cold. That December day we were experiencing 30 below weather as well as a driving snow storm which dumped an extra eight feet in our driveway. The driveway wasn’t plowed so we all had to make a long walk to our front door. When we finally arrived at our cottage in the dark, Cass announced from the back seat that she had only brought flip flops. We all kind of groaned but weren’t surprised. I told her I would go into the cottage, grab some boots and come back for her. As I was trudging through the white stuff Cassie blew by me yelling “Ow, ow, ow- it hurts, it hurts!” We found the flip flops in the spring.

(A silly story but one that we still laugh about. Sorry Cass- I love you!)

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 3

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

In the Canadian woods I found a long strip of white bark winding away from a fallen birch tree. Birches have a short life span as far as trees go, they live about twenty years where I am from. Sometimes I've heard huge healthy birches fall over with a big cracking sound. In the night this is exciting! And as every seasoned cottager knows, you never hang a swinging tire swing from a brittle birch bough or you will painfully land in a place unplanned which is never in the lake.

The day I found this bark I found a quote that I wrote down on random paper in our cottage: Trees are the earth's way of speaking to heaven. I can't remember when I wrote this down or where it's from. Maybe it was from a book; Poisonwood Bible?

I cut out a piece of the bark, painted on these words and hung it up on our shed. Since I have alot of beautiful birch bark left - I would love some other quotes or ideas to use on this canvas. Also, where did that quote come from?

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 2

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

Driving from our cottage up to Hunstville last weekend I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. In the rear view mirror I saw what looked like a big stuffed animal that someone had propped up at the guardrail. I turned the car around and went back to take a look. A huge porcupine was gnawing on the wood. I rolled down my window to say good morning. He briefly turned to give me a baleful look, then turned his head and went right on with his business. This is the first time that I’ve seen a porcupine in the wild. One of our dogs, a sweet but stupid black lab called Dina, used to challenge the same porcupine every summer. We never saw that guy either. Money used pliers to pull out the quills from Dina’s painfully pin cushioned nose.

CONNECTIONS & CURIOSITIES 1

I'm trying to pay attention to the details of every day. I'm attempting to be more aware of all of it. The more I do this, the more I notice strange and sometimes unsettling coincidences, connections and curiosities.

When we flew down from Canada on Monday, we stopped at a small airport in White Plains New York. It was a beautiful spring day and Soph and I went out for a walk on the lawn outside. I sat while Sophie rolled around and around in the sweet smelling clover. I was thinking about the two or three times that I have found a four leaf clover when I was young; and the thrill of discovering something so rare and powerful. I decided to search for one right there and then. I found one right away!! Both Soph and Bob can confirm this if there are any who doubt. Is this a lucky sign? It is decidely so . . .

DAY 17 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I found out that Lisa, who cleans our house once a month, is 29 years old today. I found this out because I overheard her talking on her cellphone with her boyfriend. Before I left for a meeting I left this on her car. A small gesture which I know that she appreciated because she left me a lovely note.

DAY 16 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I'm not sure that I really feel kind about this, but objectively I think this may be a kindness. Three of my closest friends are suffering from depression. And I mean the real kind, the clinical kind. The kind of depression where one goes through the day like they are wading through thick, mucky, grey sand. I spent most of yesterday with one of these friends. My chest feels like it's in a vise I'm so sad. I cried alot last night and confess that I am crying a little right now. I just don't know how to help. I feel guilty about NOT feeling sad or lonely or depressed and that's just ridiculous. I am also wondering if all the joy and excitement and love in my life, that I can't help showing, is hurtful to these friends. One friend hasn't returned my calls in a week. So confusing . . .

On an upbeat note though, I did find a watercolor tube of PAYNE'S GREY today that has improved my painting tremendously so I won't deny this: life is good

DAY 15 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Today I did a watercolor sketch of the opening between the two islands of Paint Lake. It's from a photo that I took early morning from our canoe, before the sun was fully awake and while the fog was reluctantly lifting from the cold surface of the lake. I made it into a postcard with this beautiful poem. I sent it anonymously to one of the most opposite places in Ontario - the colorless, dismal, crowded and foul smelling Toronto airport. It might improve the spirits of one or two of the hundreds of grumpy airport employees - I've rarely seen one of them smile in all of the countless times I've been there myself.

DAY 14 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I went to a WOMENADE gathering the other night and talked to Maria about starting a chapter in Breckenridge this summer. I'm really excited about this. WOMENADE is a grass roots organization started a few years ago. Its concept is simple- throw a potluck dinner at someone's house where everyone brings a dish and a minimum donation (ours is $35) that goes to a local person, a family or a group that is in need. The Palm Beach County chapter also invites a guest speaker. This meeting we had a breast cancer survivor who spoke about the importance of having a life plan which included daily gratitude- very much my thing. There is no operating costs, the benefits are immediate and it's fun! Check out other WOMENADE groups online when you get the time.

DAY 13 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Recently this large gator has been cruising back and forth a few feet from our backyard. And growing larger by the week. This morning when Soph was making a backyard business call we almost stepped on it. Yikes! For the safety of all local small dogs and children I called PGA security and they wouldn't do anything. So today I hounded fish and wildlife services until they promised to come out and relocate Mr. Croc to the everglades. Would of made a great pair of shoes I admit, but I must be kind to all animals as well...

DAY 12 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

A riddle: Something special from one side of the country was sent to something special on the other side of the country by something special on the other side of the country. All three things are fuzzy, cute, small, make noise and have 12 legs in all. See if you can guess!

DAY 11 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

This rubber bloodshot eye ball ring has been in my office forever. I can't even remember buying it. Maybe it was a just a day when I felt like treating myself to an outstanding bauble! I parted with it today though. Down the street lives a little boy, Jason, who often bikes over after school to regal Sophie and I with his latest breaking news. This usually is about some scary movie or poisonous snakes or the wild ride at Disneyworld that he threw up on last weekend. I left it on his mailbox. I really hope that we get another exciting story out of Jason sometime soon.

DAY 10 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I confess that I have a serious case of Gerontophobia. I'm not sure if this is due to the fear of getting old myself, or if this has developed over years of living in Florida and trying to avoid collisions with short old people driving down the middle of the street peering through the steering wheels of their giant Cadillacs. I try to avoid all contact with this segment of our population.

This morning Soph and I made a quick stop into the Beals department store in Jupiter. I needed a cheap, cool shirt to wear to the dog beach nearby. Beals was having a 50% off sale on everything. This attracted hoards of elderly women. Immediately a couple of wanna-be Centurians noticed Sophie and began fussing over her. I forced myself to linger in the store, lifting Sophie up, politely introducing her and making conversation with any white haired lady who showed interest. And there were many! I started to become engrossed in emotional stories about their own beloved pets - mostly deceased, a few still around. Sophie got many treasured belly rubs and I left with a warm fuzzy feeling in my own stomach as well.

DAY 9 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS






Stars will blossom in the darkness,

Violets bloom beneath the snow.

~ Julia Dorr



This tiny pot of violets from the grocery store reminds me so much of Shanty Bay in the early spring. The aroma of that hill of violets is intoxicating. The scent is not as intimidating as gardenias and much more subtle then roses. It's sugary and makes you take deep hungry breaths until you feel dizzy. I stashed this between snow white reams of paper at Office Depot.

DAY 8 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

DAY 7 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I left this at the PBCC library- hoping to add some levity to some student's studies. I wrapped it up in a piece of paper with this:

This guy found a bottle on the ocean. He opened it and out popped a genie. The genie gave him three wishes. The guy wished for a million dollars, and poof! There was a million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible, and poof! There was a convertible. And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women... poof! He turned into a box of chocolates.

DAY 6 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

This isn't a random act but more of a spontaneous one. Soph and I took over this 'Sophiegram' to cheer up Carmel today. She's had recent major knee surgery and is facing weeks of therapy poor kid. Drop her an encouraging line if you find time!

Also, Bean says that dogs usually are like their owners. So does that mean that I have an oversized head, messy hair, short legs and really bad breath? Hmfph ...

DAY 5 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Three coins in the fountain, through the ripples how they shine
Which one will the fountain bless?
Make it mine! Make it mine! Make it mine!

In the late afternoon the harsh Florida sun finally casts a slanted, gentler light through the side window of our kitchen. Sitting on our kitchen counter is a beautiful glass bowl full of spare coins. As I gaze at it a beam of sunlight runs over and through it. I think of yesterday's act of coins and today's deed finally comes to me. I take the bowl to the bank on the corner, run it through the automatic change sorter, collect $26.89 in an envelope, and make another March of Dimes donation.

DAY 4 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

This was too easy - a March of Dimes donation at the grocery store. However, it's made me think about how fortunate I am to have three healthy children of my own. Although this gratitude is in my daily thanks to God, I still think I take this gift a little to much for granted. So lets all send a message out to the universe to heal and help sick children everywhere.

DAY 3 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

It rained cats and dogs all night so at the risk of making Mr. Cranky Neighbor even crankier by waking up to a mess of soggy doughnuts on his mailbox- I handed over the intact box to the night security guard. He gave me a huge smile! So I had this idea: I cut out all the cartoons and jokes from this months Reader's Digest and mailed them to a random address I picked out of the phone book. Hopefully someone else will get another huge smile out of this as well.

DAY 2 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

There is an old Italian guy across the street who is very cranky. Every time I ask him, rhetorically of course, "How are you?" he answers me with a terse "I could be better." He once told me to get over it when Sophie bolted down Sheldrake and I asked him if he had seen her. Sooooo ... I think he deserves this nice box of yummy Krispy Kremes! I will be leaving it on his mailbox AFTER it gets dark tonight because I don't want him to call the authorities on me. Do you think he will be pleased?

DAY 1 OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I put this HAVE A NICE DAY balloon under the windshield wiper of a car parked in the employee section of our local shopping center. I was going to put some flowers there but was not sure if this random person had a long shift or not. Also, if the flowers wilted in our Florida 85+ heat they would have looked pathetic. I hope I have made this person happy and not frightened like there is some kind of stalker around. (This i