Texas Summer

As the dry temps rise above the 100 degree mark everyday, without rain for a couple months, I am parched! The fun word collage is from Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds Go have some fun. Keep your cool. Make lemonade. Wear wet bandannas around your neck. Suck on Popsicles. Pray for sundown!

"ah, summer...what power you have to make us suffer and like it!" Russell Baker

goodbye Florida

My heart is heavy as I say goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean. The local flavor always whets my appetite for living near the sea again. When I lived in Isla, I was only a stones throw from the waters edge. Here it can be a short bike ride. In Texas it is a long car ride. But my heart floats when I am near Meteo, no matter where, when nor why.

a love poem

"Like my patient heart, waiting for the perfect love...

I have bloomed once and for all."

Deb Taylor July 23, 2008

after doing research on this interesting Night Blooming Cactus "Cereus" I feel so much more priveledged to experience this event. The above is what blossomed from my heart, willing to share honestly, so openly, just as this brave flower displays on such a rare ocasion, I have fallen, opened, and blossomed in love with Matt, once and for all.

~Spectacular flower of mystical power

Only open for eyes

On this dark midnight hour

A nocturnal surprise

Under soft moonlight showers~

"The dead of midnight is the noon of thought." Anna Barbauld

Twleve Hour Flower

Cereus. The 5 foot cactus in my Moms yard, put on a show for me last night. I had been watching the blooms all week get bigger and bigger. Jack told us that last night would be the opening, and during the twelve hours that followed from sunset to sunrise, look at the beauty. It only blooms once, and I am in awe of the short, yet sweet life of this beauitful bloom.Thank you for waiting for me!

flora, fauna and feet in Florida!

my busy hands

here are a few projects my hands are playing with this week.

The heart pillow is one I made to cradle a Pocket Goddess. The Healing Doll is for my Mom. The tiny basket is my new project for the day to match my Popsicle Toes!

Popsicle toes

Jack treated me and my Mom today with a manicure for her, and pedicure for me! Now I had no idea what I was in for. First of all after a hot soak, rub & scrub, my toes probably shed some Mexican dirt from the Carribean Ocean when I lived there almost 2 years ago! Then the lower leg massage...ooh la la! Then the hot wax dip....HOLY COW! What else are they going to do to me? I sat there with plastic bags on my feet, enjoying the roly-bumpies going up and down my spine in the massage chair that I would give anything to have in my home. Now comes the most stressful moment...WHAT COLOR TO PAINT MY TOENAILS? The little man already tried to talk me into Frenchy things....HELL NO....so since it's a Florida thing, I had to have PINK. And since I couldn't decide for sure, I chose orange, green & yellow too! I never get pedicures, but now I gotta tell ya something, honestly when you are walking around with shiny toes like this you end up having such a sassy sashay in your walk and a silly grin on your face! That was fun.

Full Moon thoughts

Tonight as the Full Moon casts that luminescent glow near the waters edge, my heart is full of LOVE. My time spent here with Mom & Jack is endearing, a labor of love, a privilege and honor to care for the one who gave me the blood and breath to live my life here on Earth. I love you Mom. But step aside for just one moment as I pay tribute to your beloved husband, Jack.

My Mom. 69 years of age. Jack. 78 years of age. LOVE. True love. Found each other via Internet. Lived together 11 years, married two years.His nickname for her is "Peanut" when he is feeling the swell of Love in his chest. He honors her. He adores her. He says she is the "easiest, low-key woman he has ever lived with," as he pats her thigh under the table. He was her Knight in shining armour (so to speak) as she was landlocked in Fort Worth, Texas, with Mermaid dreams to live near the Sea. Without knowing the penpal Jack Keil was her future husband, they decided to meet. She called me one day with giddy tone in her voice that he bought his plane ticket to Texas without even seeing a photograph of her yet!! He showed up with tomato plants and a willing hand to help with household repairs! Soon she quit her job, sold her house and moved to Merritt Island, Florida. Let me tell you more. They walked the beach every Sunday. He would place her coffee mug in the freezer, so her first cup of coffee would be just the right temperature for her first sip. She never likes "hot coffee." He packed her lunch everyday for work. He hates eggplant, but roasts it perfectly for her to enjoy whenever she craves it. He pokes his head into the door to say "Hello Beautiful. I LOVE YOU." She speaks loudly and slowly as his hearing has become a challenge. He bows his head and grins, with acknowledgement of her efforts to communicate. He spends all day on his knees, working in the yard..."Geezing" as we call it. Doing the things "Old Geezers" do all day long. He might spend 8 hours repairing the sprinkler head, changing the boat cover or sifting the dirt for the tomato plants that really don't need repotting. And he always has a cheerful word. Always a story to tell, and re-tell! He polishes his black shoes for dinner, tucks in his blue collared shirt and opens the wine. We sit and share stories of old times. His stories are older than mine, as his leathery brown hand ocasionally cradles the crook of my Moms elbow. She tells me that he thinks I hung the Moon. But honestly, it must have been a team effort, because I think he hung the Moon. He takes care of my Mom. He loves her in such an endearing manner and cares for her, and strips her toenails before surgery! PS...he has never had surgery. And the doctor says he is in perfect health, although it is my mission to feed him until he gains 10 pounds. Go have a gaze at the full moon tonight, and ask yourself...WHO HUNG YOURS?

Matt, you hung my Moon, the Planets and all the stars in my sky. And I am grateful for the wonderful men in my life.

Art by the Sea

Nansea Mehlert. Artist. Mom.Wife. Breast cancer survivor. Lover of music, wine, champagne, travel. She is my friend who taught me the stainglass mosaic Palm Tree. She is the one who loves the SEA. Her backyard is Paradise on the Banana River.Her home is full of art, everywhere you look is a feast for your eyes and your soul is fed with lively color and jubilation! YES! I felt jubilated as we sat for hours talking. I watched the bird sanctuary all evening as the Roseate Spoonbill fished for dinner in such passionate fashion. I snapped photos of beautiful Plumeria blooms, bananas and her artwork with such passionate fashion! Check out her websight to fashion more of her passion! http://nansea.com/

simple gestures

I have been thinking alot about something all day, after I rode in the Fourth of July Parade in Round Top, Texas. Oh sure, it was fun, sitting on top of the Tijuana Taxi with my Calendar Girls, throwing candy, soaking up some July sunshine, sipping Mexican cocktails, waving at the crowds. THAT'S IT! Waving. Not the Queenly parade wave with perfect cupped, closed finger hand...but the big ol open handed, arm flapping "howdy y'all" wave. The kind like I was flagging down my brother at a crowded airport! Or maybe guiding a jet down the runway. This is it. This is what I noticed. People of all ages, the young and old and all in between wanted to be noticed. It was pure delight in their face to make eye contact and experience that human connection with a smile and a wave custom made just for them! Oh sure, the kids ran for candy, but what really made them smile, blush and giggle was when you selected just them out of the crowd and tossed one piece of gum in their lap. Or the old man barely standing, with a tiny flag in one hand and waving the other leathery hand at us. Seems like his day was complete. He was satisfied. Did he go home alone? Was this the highlight of his day? One will never know, but what I know now is that I can't wait to wave again next year, to meet again with all those funny big red-white-blue striped -hat- wearing folks sitting under a shade tree, watching the parade go by, waiting for that special look, that wave, that smile...custom made just for them! Simple. Free. Harmless. And just a bit of historical trivia, the Round Top Independence Day parade is the longest, oldest ongoing parade West of the Mississippi. This was the 158th year, with 143 entries, and The Tijuana Taxi won second prize! Thanks Daniel and MaryLou for the ride!

Happy Independence Day

Grandmother Torrance and Scooter, twenty four years ago!

106

Today is my friends birthday. Frances was born 56 years ago and although I was born 6 years later, she is convinced that we were separated at birth. We are sisters, in so many ways. ART is what brought us together and we still continue to make art together once a week! Two years ago when I was working at Starbucks in Brenham, I did not know a single soul within a sixty mile radius. I handed her that latte one morning as she placed her own personal handsewn coffee cuff, like the ones in CLOTH , PAPER , SCISSORS around her cup. IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! I knew I had a friend. Anyone with permanent artwork all over her body who uses her own handmade coffee cuff is one cool chick! Next thing I know we are sending each other Mail Art and exchanging art treasures we make for each other. We run to the mailbox like kids on Christmas morning. Frances always looks at life as if it were a blank canvas waiting for splashes of paint, whip cream waiting for sprinkles of chocolate or a dinner table waiting for candles and cilantro. CILANTRO? Yes, of course, cilantro, her favorite herb. She know how to spice up ANYTHING! She is the Hula Hoop of the party, the Tiara of a celebration, the Icing on a cake, the Pepper in your pot and in the lawn of life, she is the Flamingo! Today I celebrate you Frances and I want to thank you for waiting for me, as together we celebrate 106 years of OH WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE ! and thank you Alan for sharing your beautiful wife with us all!