Zinnias

What a glorious showing of Zinnias I saw yesterday while driving past a home in my neighborhood! The entire length of the driveway was a burst of color and the fence background really made them pop. Aren't they beautiful?

And The Winner Is.............

Good evening Friends.

I want to thank each of you who entered my 100th Blog Post Give-Away and thank you for the congratulations that you sent. Thank you, also, to those of you who mentioned the give-away on your personal blogs.

I am enjoying blogging and I hope to keep it up for a long time to come. I still have things to learn, paintings to paint, and quotes and thoughts to share with you. I thoroughly enjoy visiting your Blogs, seeing what you have created and reading your thoughts. You are all so talented and it is wonderful that you can share that talent.

I put each of your names in a bowl (twice for those of you who mentioned my give-away) and pulled out the winner............. ***CONGRATULATIONS*** to gallagherassoc. My email address is moonsfolly@comcast.net. Please send me your information and I will ship the prizes off to you.

I will definitely have another give-away before my 200th posting! It was fun!

Audrey

Lost in the Grass

Could someone please mow this grass? I'm having a hard time finding the worms.

Sunday Morning

Getting cleaned up for the day!

Butterfly Bush

I thought I would share photos of my butterfly bush. This is the first one that has ever grown so large for me and it is loaded with blooms. I had to trim many branches off so we could walk down our path ~ they were hanging over the path and out into the grass. The butterflies are happy and I love watching them dance around the blooms. Isn't it wonderful that we can experience so much joy from just one plant?

Thought For The Day

"YOU CAN'T STAY IN YOUR CORNER OF THE FOREST WAITING FOR OTHERS TO COME TO YOU. YOU HAVE TO GO TO THEM SOMETIMES."

~Winnie the Pooh Quote

Haitian Proverb

"THE STONE IN THE WATER

CAN NEVER KNOW

THE SUFFERING OF

THE STONE IN THE SUN."

(no one can understand the suffering of another person)

~Haitian Proverb

100TH POST GIVE-AWAY!!!

100th POST GIVE-AWAY

Today, I entered my 100th blog post. To celebrate, I am having a give-away.

The winner will receive all three of the items pictured. The paisley chocolate journal was handcrafted in Nepal for Barnes & Noble. The beautiful vintage crocheted doily is from a local consignment shop. The art card I painted today and it is titled "Mountain Sky". It is signed and dated on the back.

Just write a comment to this post. I will randomly choose a winner on Monday, June 22nd, and I will post the winner on my Blog that evening. Mention my give-away on your Blog and I will put an extra entry in with your name. Just let me know that you mentioned it.

GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE PASS THE WORD!

Audrey

FLAG DAY

Today is FLAG DAY. June 14 is observed in the United States in commemoration of the adoption in 1777 of the official U.S. Flag.

Let us all fly this wonderful symbol of freedom, not only today, but everyday.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Hungry Deer

I got lucky this evening ~ this deer must have been too hungry to run. He let me get close enough to take a few good photos before he took off. I am still in pursuit of the perfect deer picture. One of these days.......

A Little Visitor

This little one comes visiting quite often but always eludes my camera. This week, I snapped the picture just as he turned to vanish into the woods.

FULL MOON

Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons. Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

The other night I took these photographs of the June FULL STRAWBERRY MOON. The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Hot Moon.

~2009 Old Farmer's Almanac

Gratitude

I received this in an email the other day. I hesitate to post anything when there is no author name associated with it. However, I really liked this and thought you might too.

A Drink of Water

According to legend, a young man, while roaming the desert, came across a spring of delicious crystal clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey, he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked the student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart. Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving kindness and nothing could be sweeter."

Self motivation without gratitude is impossible. Our energy is "sapped" when our entire focus is on what's wrong instead of what is right with our lives. One of our greatest challenges is to live and love in spite of pain and disappointment ~ to find gratitude in the midst of it all.

Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Simple Beauty

Only minutes from the rat race you can find some very tranquil spots to breath in the simple beauty of an evening in Roanoke.

Thought For The Day

CREATIVITY
Clutter is what silts up exactly like silt in a flowing stream when the current, the free flow of the mind, is held up by an obstruction.
~May Sarton

Clutter seems like a constant in our lives. Our houses are cluttered, our desks are cluttered, our minds are cluttered, and our lives are cluttered. This is the curse of women who do too much.
We can never find our creative selves unless we reduce some of the clutter in our lives. The mind must have the opportunity to flow freely if we are to be healthy.
We are such strong, powerful, beautiful, and intelligent women. The world needs what we have to offer.
~From: Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef

Thought For The Day

"ALL THAT TRULY MATTERS IN THE END IS THAT YOU LOVED."

~Regina Brett

Thought For The Day

"GET OUTSIDE EVERY DAY. MIRACLES ARE WAITING EVERYWHERE."

~Regina Brett

Daily Visit

This sweet little bluebird comes to my birdbath everyday. The mockingbirds are very territorial and sometimes aggressively chase other birds away. If I ever see the mockingbirds chase the bluebirds away, they will no longer be welcome here.

Mockingbird

"Everybody have you heard

He's gonna buy me a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird don't sing

He's gonna buy me a diamong ring

And if that diamond ring don't shine

Surely gonna break this heart of mine."

After watching intently and doing some research, I now know that the bird I talked about the other day that sings so much and jumps up and down, is a Northern Mockingbird. I have two or three of them living in and around my yard. These slender-bodied grey birds sing almost endlessly and they flaunt their bright white wing patches. They sit atop the roof peaks, singing their hearts out, bolting several feet into the air in a looping motion, with wings outstretched to display their white underside. I enjoy watching them fly from one rooftop to the next and back and then to the streetlight and back to the roof. They prance around in the grass foraging for insects, all the while singing nonstop.

Some people find them to be an annoyance. Others find joy in their constant singing. At this point, I am enjoying their presence.

I did my best to photograph one of them jumping. The picture will at least give you an idea. I also took a picture from inside my studio, looking out, to show you how I manage to see all this activity.

Memorial Day 2009

During our Memorial Day celebrations today, let us take the time to really remember what Memorial Day is all about ~ take a minute to think about those men and women who have fought in the name of our country and sacrificed their lives so that we can live in freedom. We are so blessed to live in this great nation.

Settled In

"SERENITY DOES NOT CANCEL HOPE OR ADVENTURE, WORK OR LOVE. IT FLOWS THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR BUSY LIVES, QUIET AND STRONG. CLEAR AND GENTLE. REFRESHING ALL WE DO OR DREAM."
~Pam Brown

At last, the moving process is over and we are settled back in beautiful Virginia. The best description I can give for how I am now feeling is "serene".
Things are in good enough order for us to live comfortably. I still have boxes to empty and all the little things that go along with a move, but I am happy, content, and calm. There is no hurry to put things in their place.
I started that exercise program I have been wanting to tackle and I am walking in the yard everyday soaking in the beauty of the flowers, the trees, the mountains and the birds. I have learned that some things are more important than others and I intend to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of life and leave the unimportant things for later. In a short time, my studio will be ready for me to start painting again.
I will leave you with a few photos that I took since being back. The flowers are self explanatory as is the sky over the mountains. This bird comes to the house everyday and sings his heart out. He jumps up and down and turns around and sings and sings. I do believe he might be doing some kind of mating dance. All I can say about the view from my back porch is that it is a gift from God.
Have a blessed day!!!
Audrey

Mother's Day

I just want to wish everyone a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

ENJOY!

Virginia

WE ARE HERE! Waiting for the moving van to pull in! YAY!!
It rained hard most of the way here yesterday and it is dark, gloomy and rainy today. But even that cannot take away the joy of being back.

MOVING DAY HAS ARRIVED!!

Finally, we will be on our way to Virginia in the morning. The truck left this afternoon after loading all day yesterday and this morning.

Said some goodbyes to neighbors, had lunch with my son, and spent the rest of the afternoon doing a final cleaning of the house. I have worked so hard the past 3-4 days ~ I don't remember ever being SO tired.

The cable people are coming to the house on Friday, so I should be up and running in no time!!

VIRGINIA HERE WE COME!!

Afternoon At The Beach

ISLE OF PALMS, South Carolina

The Beach

I went to the beach this afternoon for 2 hours.... walked, took many pictures, and watched the waves in the awesome ocean. It is a little sad to think I am this close to the beach and now I am moving away. But once I get to Virginia, any sadness will quickly leave the minute I see those mountains that I love so much. Later tonight, I will post some pictures I took today.