Sweet Sleep

Sweet Sleep

I arise from dreams of thee

In the first sweet sleep of night,

When the winds are breathing low,

And the stars are shining bright

I arise from dreams of thee,

And a spirit in my feet

Shelley

This is the painting I did the study Good Night Moon for. Sweet Sleep is an 11x11 acrylic on primed watercolor paper. The photo of it framed is not as good of the painting.

But it looks so beautiful in this frame. This painting is available either framed or unframed here.



Naming Paintings

Wild and Free

sold

I named these two paintings Wild and Free after the Thoreau quote "All good things are wild and free." I was thinking of the mustangs.
When I posted them on my website they were posted as a pair, but I also said I would split them up if someone only wanted one.
I was working on the website and happen to notice a message I got that did not come through on my email. Barb had wanted to purchase Free with subject line Wild and Free. I pop on over to my email and there it is two days old and in my junk file. I find it rather strange cause I get all the other messages. I email her with the subject line the same.
I ponder over this curiosity for a bit and have an epiphany. (It's one of those things I have a lot but can't spell.) It was the word free in the subject line that got it throwed out. So I send her another email without the offending word.
So she bought Free and Wild is going to another home.

Naming paintings is usually pretty easy. They tell me sometimes from the idea (vision) and often from the first sketch what they want to be called. I do have paintings that won't give up their secrets but that is pretty rare. I keep feeding my soul, hanging out with the horses and listening. That is my method.

I wonder what Thoreau would think about this.

Chickens and Snow

Good Night Moon

sold

My chickens have been unhappy with the 8" of snow we got. They finally ventured out after two days and went to the barn.

When I fed the chickens only half were there. At sunset I head back down and half a dozen chickens were still at the barn not wanting to cross the snow to get back to the chicken house.

I did not want to catch them all and wade through the snow so I called them and figured they would be OK at the barn if they didn't make it to the chicken house.

I get halfway back and my little tame hen Lucy runs up to me and wants me to carry her to the hen house. I do.

I need to get a life.

:)

Inner Peace

Snow Horses sold

We got so much snow yesterday it was over the top of my boots. Have decided to either get taller boots or snow shoes for next year.

Here's a little somethng I saw today that I thought was so cute and true.

What Is Inner Peace?

If you can start the day without caffeine,



If you can always be cheerful and ignore aches and pains,



If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,



If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,



If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you anytime,



If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,



If you can conquer tension without medical help,



If you can relax without liquor,



If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,



...Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!



Making the Decision to Send Dad to the Nursing Home

A Gentle Hand prints in two different sizes now available here.

Last week we put Dad in the nursing home. It was a difficult choice but one long over due. Lots of people I know are dealing with this very issue as our parents age.



Dad has been in poor health now for 6 or 7 years. My step brother and I moved in about the same time to care for our parents and my grandmother as well.



It has been difficult. For a long time now I have thought it was a mistake to keep him at home. He was isolated and unhappy. He considered us his jailers mainly because we kept him from driving. He even went as far as secretly getting a lawyer to try to escape.



My step mother is his guardian so my attempts to change the situation in the past met with failure. This time however was different. Part of the change was due to her heart attack in the fall and other health issues she faced last year. The rest of it was Dad’s mini strokes and lessening mobility.



My step brother and I made a plan to force the issue. We spoke to the rest of the family and made sure we had their support. We did. My sis joined us as we did what we called “our intervention”. She saw we were not going to take no for an answer and her son’s threat to move out was probably not even necessary.



It seemed I would have been OK with this choice and I anticipated the feeling of a weight lifting off me but that is not what happened. I just got a pit of sadness in my gut. It freaked me out and made me doubt my decision. I took Tonka out on the river trail and we took a nice long hike to clear my head. When I returned I looked at my feelings and decided it was grief. Once recognized it passed quickly.



Dad said he felt like we had dropped him off at the pound the first day, but that has also passed quickly. Most of the patients and employees are women so he is in his element. He seems very happy now and he is getting 24 hour skilled nursing that he needs.



The stress level here has dropped considerably. He being just a few miles away makes it possible for us to see him at least once a day and take his dog to see him too.



See that wasn’t so hard…..

( Yes it was.)