Don't Send in the Clowns

Paint Party Friday

I must have hidden my dislike of clowns really well,
because those  closest to me never knew it!

  It was a shocking surprise when my ex after

  probably fifteen years together gifted me a

 clown brooch.  I wore it with reluctance.

The last pages from my friend little booklet!

 Always a bit of a goofball clowning around it
  was no wonder people assumed I liked them!

 One Christmas soon after my daughter was 
born my mother bought her a little clown doll....
Not knowing my particular disdain for clowns, 
 Cupcake also  had an aversion to clowns 
and never liked that doll!

 Years later someone else gifted me another

  clown brooch  feeling it matched my colourful
 self! It was gaudy and scary,   I never

  wore it! Although I did appreciate the kind

 gesture of love! 

Of course I too have given many a gift over
the years that may not have been fitting for 
the receiver. One year I bought the family
funny bird slippers that chirped when you
walked. I thought it would be funny but no 
one was impressed except Cupcake!! I still 
have a set in a Halloween box! Today it would
 be an instagram hit!! Maybe I was a little
ahead of my time!!

 When I was very young  I crocheted a large
blue pillow for my friends new apartment!
 In retrospect it was probably not exactly 
what she was expecting since she gave 
me a beautiful bottle of perfume! I still feel
 embarrassed about that! I always did 
things on a budget, but that time I had
regrets that have lasted thirty five years!!

As time went on I became a better gift giver!
Of course having more money to spend
really helped!! Now when in doubt it's 
booze, good chocolate or money!!

Lap desk in 2015 then it was smeared with paint so I redid it!

Lately there is that ugly clown making the rounds

all over the net. It's impossible to avoid seeing it

somewhere! I have no idea why I dislike them so 

much. Maybe it's because it's so easy to hide

something nefarious behind all the makeup!

Repainted it in Dec 2016, then vanished it!!

Is there something about you 

those closest to you never knew

until late in the relationship?

Full of paint splatters this is Sept 2017 lap desk make over!!

 

Have you ever given or received a 
a gift you really regretted?

Dumb Smart People!

Paint Party Friday

I was the five year old who got pneumonia  during 
a summer hot spell. Incapacitated, on the patio, 
placed between two Adirondack chairs pushed
 together with a pillow for comfort.Not surprising
 I have been discombobulated during our 
recent heat wave!

Before the smoke returned from the wildfires. Two weeks ago.

Wafting smoke sneaks through open windows.
Bothersome for breathing I was in somewhat
of a state of Zombism for several weeks as
I tried to stay hydrated!! Attempting to  rework
older canvases in the evenings. The weather has
cooled and cleared. I 'm now pushing myself
out of complacency in hopes of accomplishing
more!!

This is the afternoon sun, hazed over with smoke two weeks ago.

This blog post was written last week but for some
reason I wasn't comfortable posting it as is! So I'm 
revisiting it to post today!

As a former Jill of all trades I often took for
granted my personal variety of gifts. Such
as practicality, intuition, frugality and cooking.
Assuming everyone was capable of the
same skills as me if they only put their mind
to it! I was so wrong! I'm learning we all have
our own aptitude for certain things! I'm pretty 
much a math and geometry idiot except when 
it comes to money!! So I can't really expect
others to be able to time a meal as
perfectly as I could  from the age 
of thirteen! 

Always a kind fair man, it was unusually to hear 

dad jokingly refer to out neighbour as a dumb smart

person. Highly educated, with a great job, she did some

very unwise things! Dad would shake his head in 

disbelief! Especially when it came to her son who

was my brothers childhood best friend!

My fathers observation proved accurate  too many times!
She even boasted to neighbors that for only twenty five
cents an hour they could hire me as a babysitter and
get a house cleaner too!! 

Still sharing more pages from the book I made for my friend!!

  I  did her dishes, tidied up, swept, fold laundry, played with

her children like I was taught!  Sitters rates were fifty cents

per hour. Underpaying me, then belittling my kindness was

unfair and not very smart either! I never babysat for her again

I remember feeling betrayed and hurt when I learned that 

difficult embarrassing childhood lesson! A few of her kids

were unruly and her place was notably sticky and harder 

to clean than most! It was her loss!

 

 Albeit very capable of absorbing grandiose amounts of text

she was lacking in some social norms.... gratitude for one!

The ability to multitask, organize or give proper direction

was lacking too! I have known so many people so much

 smarter and more educated yet so lacking in other areas

of their life!  I'm flummoxed when a middle aged person

  lives on only ramen noodles during a fiscal down turn.

 Oblivious that it takes four minutes in a microwave 

to cook a potato! Or that you can create a  healthy

  cheap soup for pennies that  fills bellies for days!

Some skills we are gifted with, some  are passed on
 through generations, others are resourced as a means of
 necessity. We definitely are a sum  of our influences, 
inspirations as well as good and bad experiences! 
 There's so much to learn between the lines. It still
 surprises me those who miss the most cost effective 
ideas along the way! I guess it's like couponing, we 
don't all grasp the concept, if we do, it's a gift! 

 Long before google was our indoor library, I'd research
the best way to do things. Today the need for a good
cookbook is nearing extinction. One has only to put
"best" in front of any desired recipe to get an amazing
selection. I still have my tried and true books that 
Cupcake now uses but they are barely necessary! 
You tube is a sensation for learning how to fix almost
anything in your home!

Credit cards jammed up,  business degree, making
 a six figure salary, unable to save even a dime,
 it's perplexing to read them comment on
 provincial finances as though they're qualified!
Do middle schools need to teach more basic
living skills?

 Lately I've noticed some of the most successful 
twenty and thirty something crowd were not 
necessarily the most educated.   However 
they are well rounded kids, diverse and prudent.
They work tirelessly at a skill, have a great 
sense of purpose no matter the adversity!

It amazes me when a person has ten or more years of
education but can't hang a curtain, Or a person with a
masters degree in Marine biology   facilitating  an
environmental program yet ignores blatant 
unsafe disrepair of their home!

It's not always those with the  best skills that are the most 
successful either. Sometimes it's the ones who have the
  tenacity to see things through, use their common
sense and give it  a plain old try! 

Stanley Park, my childhood stomping grounds was a bus ride from home!!

Dad wasn't far off, albeit crass, when he 
 said there are a lot of dumb smart people 
out there!! I've met several along the way that
left me shaking my head too! We have a vessel
 of skills we may not yet have  requisitioned.
Some things we may be completely inept at!
However digging in, helping others, looking
around for new things to do, and reading
 was my way of learning to improve my life!

  I've never been the smartest, and I haven't

  always made the best choices.  However  

I do have a lot of  common sense...

and sometimes I use it! 

However it seems,

  "Common sense is a flower

 that does not grow in everyone's garden!"

Does it grow in your garden and do

you always heed it? 

Enjoying a Fleetfoxes concert at Stanley park Sept 13th 2017

Concert in  Stanley park photo credit Cupcake...

Messy Fun Creativity

Paint Party Friday

I've been secretly working on a little booklet 

for my Friends Birthday which is today!

I was inspired Piaroms Art Blog,

Connys art always thrills me and fills 

me  with so much joy!! 

 

There are twenty eight pages to my little booklet. 

Plus  a removable cover with my personal

message inside, which is another two pages!

This is the cardboard cover which can be removed!!

Today I am sharing my favorite pages. The

rest of the book will be featured over the next few

weeks! It's taken several nights to complete this

  mixed media project!  It was a very relaxing,

intuitive compilation of  collage, paint, 

inktense pencils, and vanish! Messy fun
creativity!

 There is nothing more I enjoy than laughing with

my Dear friend! She has the most amazing wit!

I love her humour except for this one time when

we took our kids camping. I was returning home

  early. Hitting up the washrooms before we left!

  Written many moons ago in poem form,
this is what happened!!

Me and my friend 26 years ago on my 35th Birthday...I'm hamming it up as usual!

Composed Hysterics 

  Huge spider hugs
My windshield
Terror evokes
Wiper activated
Motionless it clings

Inhaling fear
Knowing my child
Will soon return
Panic ensues

 I search for a branch

Circling the car
Stranger notes my anxiety
Offers assistance
Relieved I consent

Chuckling he removes
The fake culprit 

  Lurking in the woods
My friend
The instigator
Awaits a reaction

 I bellow her name
In a screech of contempt

 As I belly laugh into hysterics

Then compose
Jolted emotions
For the drive home 

Digital card I made her for social media!!  

Yes my dear friend knew of my fears and thought it

 funny to prank me with a large plastic wolfie

spider!! We laughed about it for years!!

Did I say I hate pranks!! This one 

reason why!!

The kids had fish and chips from a place I started going to in 1973

 My former sister in law once attached an elastic
 to the dish  sprayer on my sink, the water
 went everywhere!! I was no impressed.

  Just happy I wasn't part of her soccer team.

She once soaked and froze all the girls bras

the night before a big tournament game!
Another year she cut off all the straps!

  I'd have been livid for the expense alone!

Photo by Cupcake.... Same evening at White Rock Beach

  I have to admit I once drew black 

mustaches on a group of eleven year old

 girls while they were sleeping. I was cabin

supervisor on a school camping trip!

They all  loved me, thought it was funny,

because I was the mom who broke the 

rules and brought candy!!

My daughter has enjoyed this beach for 31 years now!!

 Not usually a prankster it was my bestie

who originally gave me the idea 

to mustache the kids when

it happened at her sons school!

You can see the  U.S. Border over their shoulders. I  haven't been there in 25 years!

The sky has cleared,  the heat has diminished thank goodness!!

We had a rough few weeks with several hiccups in our life. 

It forced us to get things done! 
Two weeks left of summer and I finally changed 
my blog banner, dressing old characters in 
Canadian summer garb...Made me laugh....

Don't you just love all the different shapes and sizes of beach bodies!!

 Here's a really quick 51 second video of the book I made..

sorry quality isn't the best I'm working on it. 

I was trying to keep my hands out of it!! 

Are you a prankster?

Do you hate pranks as much as I do? 

All the photos are credited to Cupcake!

Smoke, Concerts and Slurpee Adventures!

Paint Party Friday

First time having alphabet pretzels, I made this for the kids.....always looking for giggle!

 I haven't  been on my  upstairs pc. much this week!
It's super hot,  and gradually getting hotter daily! 
 I  hadn't planned to blog this week, but changed my
mind last minute!! I'm busy with a bunch of wip.

I'll have a lot more art to show in Sept...for now just happily creating...

Love how blue and sparkly Cupcakes eyes are in this photo!!

It's Beardos Birthday on Saturday! I wrote him a long 

personal loving letter instead of doing a post for him!

As you may know we don't exchange gifts. I do however
pay for a concert or two. This week Cupcake got tickets
to Neil Diamond, day of, and they were really reasonable!
 Beardos brothers happen to take their 70  year old old mom, as
  it's her favourite artist! We all love Neils music and it was
  his 50th anniversary tour, so the kids were excited to see
him a second time!!! Not much into crowds I am 
always happier just to listen to the album and spend
my money on art supplies!!

The kids painted the large bathroom in the heat all weekend  then two concerts this week.

 The next day the kids went to  Bob Dylan whom they have 
seen two other times!!  It's my era yet I've never seen him or
most of the other shows they've seen live. This concert I am happy to
 report was excellent! As the last one fell a bit short compared
 to their first Dylan experience!!

These two are fabulous as delayed gratification as they
await concert dates often months after their Celebrations!
Fortunately there is a Rodriguez concert right on 
Beardos Birthday that he's absolutely thrilled about
  seeing. The movie Searching for Sugarman
is a fabulous story about Rodriguez's life!
We loved the movie and the music. 

Love their sparkly happiness...concerts are truly their forte!! 

Changing colours when it's a good combination make me so happy!!

 Not everything is always roses and buttercups, although
I do try to highlight that!! Sometimes people Cupcake

let heavy juicy watermelons roll out of the fridge  on their watch.

Having it smash to the floor leaving sticky juicy bits everywhere!

Check out how the " H" on my Laugh above the stove is  cut off....

Sometimes all you can do is Laugh and drink the
 remaining juice out of the watermelon! Then
help your partner clean up the mess! That's
what I call messy fun!! Glad I didn't have to
clean it up!!

Heres a photo a day before the deep smoke 

haze set into the lower mainland!!

British Columbia has had nearly one million acres burn 
 since all the fires started up country.  Not since I was five
has this happened. All the smoke has wafted all the
way down the coast to Vancouver!!  Many of the fires
are a 5 to 8 hour drive away from us!!

Hazy Sunset in Crescent Beach photo credit Cupcake!

There are many weather advisories and you can
smell it even thought it's hundreds of miles away!
 It hasn't bothered me so far but I have
stayed in the house!

Thick smoke haze from way up country!!

Todays weather!! double that and add 30 or  92F

This night they got dinner and brought it to the beach!!

Last Saturday Cupcake wanted to take a photo of the 
mariachi band playing at the opening of  a new family
 owned taco place  in our area!! She would have 

have delighted in trying their home style tacos had 

she not had food poisoning from Chipolte two days

 before her deviated septum surgery a few years  

ago. Ever since, the thought of anything taco,

 or black bean related is nauseating for her!

After taking a few photos  she headed to meet Beardo 
at seven eleven, where he was filling their two  huge 
thermoses with Slurpee's. Liquid sustenance  sugar  
to tied them over while painting the hot  upstairs 
bathroom! Cupcake grabbed the Slurpees 
to pay while Beardo quickly used the washroom. At

the register a man behind her asked if both

 cups/thermoses were filled with liquid.

They are quite a sight to see!! Meanwhile the

 cashier kept asking her if she would like a

  " (*&$%^;((*&@#$;*@##$*(;(^%%$ "

she said pardon several times!! Then finally

figured out he was asking  if she wanted

a punch card for her Slurpee's. At least

that's what she figured he said, after an 

embarrassing amount of "pardons?"

The man behind her volunteered, "He asked

 if you'd  like some wings!" A bit flabbergasted

 Cupcake  let out an embarrassing giggle!

 "Oh I thought he asked if I wanted a punch 

card!! The persistent Cashier asked once again

 if she wanted to try a  chicken wing.... "No thank-you" 
she responded in kind, still a bit embarrassed.

As she walked out the door two mugs in hand

an old man scratching lottery tickets said

  " Wow those are the biggest jugs I have

 ever seen!" She giggled wishing she had 

been quicker  on her feet and said," That's a first"

That's one area she is NOT her mothers daughter!!

She left giggling.......

Some how truth is stranger than fiction 

on their seven eleven adventures!! 

Jugs on the beach!!

Other than art supplies and shoes,

what is your favourite thing to spend 

money on?