This is the time of year that I call transient.

Tran·sient   /ˈtran(t)SHənt/ adjective.  Lasting only for a short time; impermanent.

For those of you down south (Ivor) it is summer winding down, beautiful colors and cool mornings and warm afternoons. For those a little more north (Darlene) most are waiting to hear birds singing and walk around in shorts.

But why is it transient?

Besides the obvious fact that life itself  is transient, its more of an overall movement of uneasiness. A self-diagnosed A.D.D. or a feeling like you’re sitting on the stove, waiting for the burner to be turned on. You can’t sit still. You have no idea what you really want (or want to get rid of) but your mind is still running, running, running, getting ready for the next step.

This too shall pass, but what do we do while we’re percolating?

It’s not nice enough outside to start gardening. There are no craft fairs in the near future, nor vacations planned nor dinner dates with friends in the in the next few months.

How do we scratch that itch? Fill that empty pail?

Keep moving. Both physically and mentally.

There is no time like the present to do a little research on topics you’ve always had interest in. Learn something. Plan something.

There’s so much out there to explore!

You can go on virtual tours of museums like the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. or the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. You can research and travel through the galaxy at Nasa or mark out a tour route at Quilt Museums on Our Must-Visit List.

You can watch the history of King Henry VIII on You Tube or read up on the conqueror Charlemagne on the History Channel Website, or find a website to  learn something at Newsweek.

I myself am currently on a King Henry VIII kick. The world and the man is fascinating. (Henry VIII: Man, Monarch, Monster on free Tubi)

All I’m saying is that this lull, this hush over the learning world, is only temporary. Being tired, sleepy, lazy, will pass.

In the meantime, go exploring. Don’t get stale! Check out the world! Don’t be afraid to learn something new.

Keep those synapses firing!

I thought I’d share a post written by a friend who seems to go through the same anxieties as the rest of us. They do say misery loves company; although I hope no one is in real misery, it’s sometimes good to know others can be as overly anxious as we are!

Anxieties

What makes you most anxious?

Absolutely everything, and absolutely nothing.

As with most people and things, my anxiety is triggered almost at random. I could be sweating bullets and anxious beyond belief because I’m running 2 or 3 minutes late; I could be going to the same place to meet the same person a day, week, month later, be running the same amount late and simply not care…….

Anxiety Created, Anxiety Controlled — Marla’s World

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

~ Catherine the Great

A delightful way to find your way back … we all need to find our source again!

The good news — well, I guess it’s good — is that I’m getting back to the studio. I’ve been thinking about picking up a paintbrush again, thinking about putting a bit of paint on a palette, thinking about painting clouds and skies, trees and rivers… you know, all those landscape elements that I love. […]

Starting With Something Simple — Artistcoveries

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
~ Abraham Lincoln

You all have been very generous with your comments through the years. I don’t get many responses, but the ones I do I love.

So now I’m going to ask for your opinions again.

I have a ton of unique artists and their artwork in the wings, just waiting for their chance to have a Gallery of their own. There is so much marvelous art out there that the sources are endless.

But I was wondering if you had any suggestions for the Gallery.

Unique art, unusual art, amazing art.

Art that lies hidden in small galleries or websites or museums. Art from any genre. I love them all.

jeffw5382, one of my followers, suggested the artist Guy Buffet. Following up on the suggestion, I find him creative and unique and so good at creating worlds for chefs and waiters and all in-between. So I hope to add him to a future Gallery.

I am always open to suggestions and ideas. Maybe there’s an artist you’ve always loved that crocheted or painted or made things out of unusual materials. Maybe it’s new twists on old ideas. Maybe it’s one of the masters from the past that have slipped through public attention. Let me know what you’ve found.

I love sharing with you all as much as you all enjoy the art.

Art is meant to be shared. Let’s share.

The idea hovered and shimmered delicately, like a soap bubble, and she dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But she was familiar with the way of ideas, and she let it shimmer, looking away, thinking about something else. ~ Philip Pullman

It was a long weekend away, skiing in Michigan.

Of course, I didn’t ski. I watched. 

It was our annual get away weekend with family and friends. The 24th anniversary for the grandparents that started it, about 10 or 12 years for us newbies. We kinda mooched our way in when our son married their daughter, and it’s been fun ever since.

We missed one special couple, one special skier in particular, but he was somehow there on the slopes and in front of the fire and right in the middle of the wild card games. 

Home again, I’m rushing to fill out a gift that my daughter-in-law gave me LAST CHRISTMAS. Like Christmas 2021. It’s from Storyworth, a company that sends you a question a week about yourself, your life, and at the end compiles your answers and makes a book for both you and your giver.

LAST CHRISTMAS 2021.

And I’m only starting yesterday when the questions have stopped coming and the deadline is approaching.

I don’t even have a good reason why I left this to the last minute. I’m not really a procrastinator, but more like scattered. I start something then get distracted by 10 more things and often forget the first thing I was working on.

No excuse.

It has some strange questions, like they were struggling to find 52 common items to talk about. (Where were you when Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon? What is your favorite drink?) Some I deleted, other questions I thought more pertinent to my grandkid’s informational scale (do you have brothers and sisters? Where have you lived?) and which I think are much more important than what my favorite drink is (chocolate milk.)

It comes down to — what do I want my kids to know about me? My grandkids?

I knew very little about my parents. Enough to pass basic information, but nothing intimate. Nothing personal. My parents were of the World War II generation. My dad had three tours in the Army, yet talked very little (if at all) about his experiences. My mother had a child out of wedlock when she was young who was raised by one of her sisters, but I only met her once (when I was about 10) when she stopped by our house and introduced her husband and new baby. 

My generation seems to be more open-mouthed. My kids know pretty much about me. Not everything, but face it… some of the things that made you grow up either aren’t very interesting or are quite uncomfortable.

So how do I answer questions about my brothers (which I never talk to) or the farthest I’ve traveled (Cancun) or my favorite artists (painters, writers, composers, infinity room makers, the whole shebang).

I answer with heart and honesty. I want my kids and grandkids to know where my heart was and is at all times.

For that is the real history of all of us.