Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Don't Take Much to Make Me Happy

There was a time when I surrounded myself with music, whether in the car or in our home; rarely did I live with silence. Growing up, music was a natural part of our life with my Mom loving Elvis, so much so that she requested one of his songs at her funeral mass! My Dad was in love with Ella Fitzgerald, although I think Peggy Lee was in contention for his favorite too. I suspect it would have made them so proud to see what an accomplished musician Bill has become, teaching himself other instruments after mastering the guitar in a big way. Exciting news from their household, Fallon has been accepted to Nurse Practitioner's school and will begin in January. We are so proud of her!

What happened? I can't rightly tell you, however, after immersing ourselves in the Ken Burn's documentary, my passion was reignited and I've been listening every chance I get. So it is that I have Mary Chapin Carpenter to thank for today's title, after her song of the same. If you know her music at all, you know that she has a beautiful soothing voice, and when her song came on my playlist, it stopped me in my tracks because it perfectly describes how I feel at this time in my journey through life. Knowing that all four of our sons and their spouses are doing well is first and foremost. Admittedly, I am still grieving the loss of Carol, but knowing she no longer suffers eases the pain. Unfortunately our extended families are not without challenges, but when the circle is so large I guess that is to be expected. 

Otherwise, it takes very little to make me happy, including my love for watches and clocks. What it is about the two that I love so much is not clear to me, but when we saw the clock below at the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival, I fell in love. 
Isn't it just so fun? Handmade by a Winter Springs artist, here is his website with other amazing creations that we could not afford! The clock though, well Merry Christmas Gail, or so I told Bruce, however that was not his idea. It just occurred to me because, at this stage of our life, buying gifts for one another can be challenging. Mostly we've not gone to any art shows because, frankly, when I was doing them, even though I did surprisingly well, I could not always get past the fact that the artists are merely the talent if you will, meaning, most people have no intention of buying anything and merely go for a pleasant outing. I suppose that sounds silly to some, yet after spending hundreds of dollars for your booth space, and countless hours setting up, folks just looking is not what an artist needs. This time, however, we were in search of art for our bedroom, although either things were out of our price range, or we just didn't fall in love. The clock for the kitchen, on the other hand, well, that was just the ticket.

Speaking of doing art shows, while standing in front of Stevotomic's booth, I was overjoyed and embarrassed when Alan Fraser called my name. Embarrassed because we'd spent countless hours together chatting at the Winter Garden market and I did not recognize him! Overjoyed because he looked so well after nearly dying from a bacterial infection that claimed both his legs. Although I'd not seen him in years, I should have recognized him. That said, he is both taller with his prosthetics and buffer, working out every day to keep himself strong. Gosh I liked him so much and was crushed when he was so ill. Well, I still like him, and having now caught up with one another, promises were made to keep in touch.
Tim and Alan are planning a move to Palm Springs next year where my new clock would fit right in.

Living lakeside has given me more joy than I could ever have imagined, watching days unfold, beginning at dawn,
through the sparkling water under the noonday sun.
 Later in the afternoon, puffy clouds appear, mirrored in the lake,    
with the glow of the Hunter's Moon casting crazy bright light shimmering on the lake's surface.
Because the photo above is not much, up very early the next morning, I walked down to the big lake to see it from another perspective. Seriously thrilling watching it move rapidly down the horizon as if it were the setting sun.
Walking back to our place, again the sky was beautiful with the cries of scores of crows filling the air.
See how easily I am pleased? Then there is the quilt I've been working on. Originally designed with our bedroom in mind before changing color schemes, the pieces were all cut to make a queen sized quilt. Somewhat scrappy as is Bruce's preference, it did nothing for me, so I put it all in the baskets under my desk. Now, however, with the need for one for our camping set up, I began piecing them row by row, finishing early Sunday evening. Spreading it out on the living room floor to measure for a backing, for some inexplicable reason, I found the imperfect work of the back interesting. Not all the seams are pressed as they should be, it still brought me happiness. Even more so when I found that the five yards of fabric that I'd purchased at an estate sale would work perfectly for a backing.
The cost of that fabric? $3.00!! That is enough to make anyone happy, spending $3 instead of $50! There are a few weeks before the weather is cool enough to go camping, giving me enough time to do the quilting and bind it, hopefully useful for some years to come. 

Then there was the first deer we saw on our excursion yesterday....
 Oh my goodness!

More to come in my next post and I hope that for you too, it "don't take much to make you happy."

your friend,

Gail

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