On Saturday evening I was in the basement, trying to catch up on a lot of things that kind of got ignored while I was in Utah. 

Suddenly I heard the front door slam.

"Mom, quick, there's a good sunset."

"I already got a picture of it, Abby, but thanks for making sure I wouldn't miss it.

“If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.” - Pablo Picasso

“One eye sees, the other feels.” - Paul Klee

“In a way nobody sees a flower really, it is so small, we haven’t the time – to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” - Georgia O’Keeffe

I’ve been thinking a lot about my eyes lately. I’ve reached that awkward middle-aged status where, without glasses I can’t see anything closer than two feet and with them nothing farther.

I dance with my glasses all day,

     Sweep, scoop, on –

     Pause, pull, off.

Working at my desk they are necessity to see the computer screen,

     Read e-mails,

     Send out orders,

     And monitor my online classes.

I’m called down the hall to handle a problem in the lab, and as I’m walking I realize everything is a blur.

     Blurry hands are waving, their faces smudged and unrecognizeable.

     I fan back, not knowing to whom I’m waving.

     Pause, pull, off.

I return to my desk and stare for a moment at the blurry screen.

     Sweep, scoop, on.

I was beginning to accept my readiness for bifocal lenses. Finally I made the appointment. My optometrist is a great guy. He’s personable, flexible, and innovative.

     “Would you like to try monovision?”

Since my distance vision is almost perfect, especially in my right eye, I can wear one contact in my left eye.

     Left eye for close up, right eye for distance.

I’m willing to give it a whirl, and leave with my contact in place.

As an artist I am keenly aware of how much I value my sight. The da Vinci book I am currently reading has a chapter on your senses.

How do you fine-tune your senses? Can you make them MORE sensitive? There is a short quiz for each of the five senses. I was not very surprised to find that I answered yes to all of the questions about sight. What about you?

     - I am sensitive to color harmonies and clashes.

     - I know the color of all my friends' eyes.

     - I look out into the far horizon and up to the sky at least once a day.

     - I am good at describing a scene in detail.

     - I like doodling and drawing.

     - Friends would describe me as alert.

     - I am sensitive to subtle changes in lighting.

     - I can picture things clearly in my mind's eye.

Today, I would like to share a couple of drawings I did in a figure drawing class I took here on campus. Towards the end of the semester we had models come in dressed in costume. I did these drawings with conte’ crayon on canson paper. Digging these out last night made me think it’s about time to sign up for another class.

We are now one week into the summer term here at the university where I work.  Last week was a flurry of preparations and hustle. New students trying to find their classrooms, teachers preparing their syllabi, and I tried to prepare for labs, schedules, and our online classes. 

Now that things have settled into the rhythum of learning that campuses across the continent experience, I have had a few more moments to contemplate a few things.

My musings this morning are spurred on by a great little game my good friend The Great Pretender has hosted today.  Everyone was invited to take a photo of their left hand and send it to her.  She posted these photos today with the challenge to match the hand to the person.

It got me thinking about my hand, which I put in the game.  As I examined my hand, trying to see what the other's would see, I was drawn to the anomolies of it.  My old age spots, my wrinkles, and my scars.

During the first day of class many our professors will try to break the ice by asking students about themselves. They will go around the room volunteering basic data, like a soldier caught in battle, ....name, rank, and serial number.  "My name is Joseph Samuelson, and I'm from New Jersey, and my major is construction management."  The rest of the class has the glassy "first day" stare in their eyes as none of this information penetrates farther than the knowledge that their turn is coming up in 3 more people......2 more people.........1 more person.......okay, now it's my turn. 

I was once in a class where things were a little different.  This was an art class, where you would expect the teacher to be more creative.  I wasn't disappointed.

"Tell us about a scar you have, and how you got it."

For the next 30 minutes we were mesmerized as tales of accidents, trauma, or daring-do were shared. 

One student told about boating and how he fell overboard and in a freak accident had a tangle with the propeller.

One student told us about his surgery to repair a blown-out knee acquired during a high school basketball game.

One student told us about a nasty experience while fly-fishing.

We were all actively engaged in learning about our classmates.  Connections were made as we found people with similar interests. And not one person said, "I don't have a scar."

Scars are proof that we've been living.  Badges of courage that we underwent frightening operations, not knowing the outcome. Impressions left by fun experienced, dangers faced, and lives led.

As I looked at my left hand I noticed two very noticeable scars.  One scar I received one Saturday afternoon  when I was trying to prepare dinner for my family.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like to cook.  I usually don't plan ahead for meals, and found myself in the position of needing hamburger patties that were frozen rock-solid.  With not too much foresight I took a large butcher knife and tried prying the patties apart.  The knife slipped and cut through the skin at the base of my thumb like a hot knife goes through butter.  I could see how deep the cut went and knew I needed to get to the emergency room.  I was very lucky that I didn't cut my tendon. That scar reminds me to not be in such a hurry that I make stupid mistakes. 

My other scar brings a smile to my face.  I earned that one while snorkeling in Hanama Bay in Hawaii.  I'm not really much of a water-lover, but that day has to be one of the high-lights of my life.  I loved being under water with fish so close I could reach out and touch them.  The only sound I could hear besides my own breathing was gurgling and muted splashes.  I was in another world and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  A piece of jagged coral opened up my water-sodden hand, but I didn't even remember it happening.  The price I paid for that wonderful day was a sunburn on my back so severe that I was physically ill for the next couple of days.  I grimace when I remember my burn,

...and I smile when I look at my scar.

My current read is called, How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci - Seven steps to Genius Every Day. by Michael J. Gelb.

Here are the Seven Da Vincian Principles as put forth by Gelb;

1. Curiosity- about the world around you and everything in it.

2. Try things- test what you learn and don't be afraid of making mistakes.

3. Senses- refine and enliven your senses

4. Sfumato- be willing to embrace uncertain ideas

5. Art/Science- unite these two disciplines and embrace "whole-brain" thinking.

6. Physical- cultivate grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.

7. Systems thinking- recognize and appreciate the interconnectedness of all things.

Leonardo was an amazing man:

     40 years before Copernicus he wrote "The sun does not move."

     60 years before Galileo he suggested that "a large magnifying lens" be used to study the surface of the moon and other heavenly bodies.

     200 years before Newton he wrote, "Every weight tends to fall towards the center by the shortest possible way."\

     400 years before Darwin he wrote, "Man does not vary from the animals except in what is accidental."

Surely studying da Vinci's life and manner of living will help us live more richly. 

I think I've got a case of the blues.  At first I thought it was the first week of classes that were getting to me.  I have to do an intro in about 12 lab classes plus all the chaos of first day preparations.  On entire online class disappeared  and had to be re-created, plus urgent requests from professors, students, and lab assistants alike. 

That was Monday.

Tuesday - the horror of the shooting at V.T.  My heart goes out to all the victims.  Those killed, those wounded, those who witnessed, the family of the shooter, and yes, even the shooter himself.  If he really did have a mental illness that was not treated I choose to reserve judgement on his actions.

I'm feeling pressed down and unsettled.  It didn't help when I went to the grocery store just now and saw 2 headlines. "Church Vandalized" and "Son Charged With Raping Mom".

I then talk to my Mom and find out my Dad's white blood cell count is .8.  The normal range is 4.1-10.9.  His chemo is put on hold and he has to wear a mask wherever he goes.  If he can't recover the counts a little by Wednesday I won't be able to take Mom and Dad to my nephew's wedding next week. 

I'm feeling a little bit like crying.

My daughter teaches in the next building over from me.  Quite often we will sneak out and go to lunch at the student union building.  It's close, reasonably priced and yummy. 

On Friday we decided to take our lunch run and went to check out the choices.  Lisa discovered that she had left her money back in her office.  I told her "no big deal, you run and get it and I'll wait for you in the bookstore."  *smile*

By the time she returned I had 3 books in my arms.  These were "must-haves", so I bought them.

     Book #1 - Dancing With Fear by Paul Foxman -A book that teaches high-stress, perfectionistic people how to enjoy life and still excell.  This book was for Joni.  I took it home, told her I had a present for her and made her promise that she would read it over the weekend. She started her nursing classes yesterday and I knew that if I didn't want her (and me) to suffer, she should read that book.  I hope it helps. 

     Book #2 - How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb- Awesome book on opening yourself up to being more creative, sensitive, Etc.  There were some great ideas in it that I can't wait to share here on my space. 

     Book #2 - The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer.  What an inspirational man.  I am always inspired when I read his books. 

It was a great day.  I found 3 more favorite books.  I'll let you know how they go.

Most of the time I really enjoy where I live.  It's about 3 miles from the center of town in an area called Hibbard.  You know how down-home this area is when you go to the one convenience store called "Mother Hibbard's Country Store".  There is a very nice 18-hole golf course about a 1/2 mile from my house.  Every day I head over and walk on the undeveloped center which in a year or two will add another 9 holes to the course.  My oldest son worked grounds at the course in his high school years.  It was great for him.  He could sleep until 5:55 am and be to work on time at 6:00.  My youngest son grew up golfing.  When he was about 3 or 4 years old he was outside puttering around (which he did constantly) and he got out a club and ball.  He took it to the front lawn and started practicing hitting the little ball.  I was in the house when I heard a very large thwack.  Our big picture window on the second level of our house now had an indent in the shape of a golf ball.  My husband gave him the necessary lecture of not trying to hit golf balls over the house, but later told me he was secretly pleased that Andy could hit the ball that hard.  Junior season passes at the course were only $125.00, so Andy spent every summer basically living at the course and coming home to eat.  The pro there let him keep his clubs in the basement of the clubhouse so that Andy could ride his bike over anytime he wanted.  Now Andy and David (my oldest) are best-golfing-buddies, going together at least 3 times a week. The other day they started hunting for balls in the back nine and came home with over 200 balls.  It made me smile to see my 26 year old and 16 year old lay all the balls out on the living room floor and take turns picking balls to divide them up. 

Another awesome thing about country living is the quiet.  We live on a cul-de-sac road.  I never worried about my kids riding there bikes on it, and we've never lost an animal (knock on wood) to a motor vehicle driving by.  At night you can go outside and see a billion stars.  The lights of town are far enough away not to distract.  I love being able to pound on my piano as loud as I want without bothering the neighbors.  I love being able to see the Teton Mountain Range from my front door.  I love that 5 minute drive to town, where sometimes I drive through  the fog that hangs over the river on cold frosty mornings.  I love going into my back 3 acres and getting lost in my stand of cottonwood trees.

But, there are a few things about country living that I could do without.  It is one of these things I would like to share with you today.  Our cul-de-sac road has houses down one side only.  On the other side is a very large potato field.  This field is the only thing between our house and the golf course.  When the wind blows we get a lot of dust blowing into our house.  During "Spud Harvest"? Forget about it.  Just clean your house again in two weeks when it's over.  I can even deal with the dust without too much complaint.  The thing that most irritates me is the potato farmer's sprinkling line.

This is a wheel line.  It is about the length of a football field, maybe longer. In the summer it will stay in one place for about 12 hours sprinkling the ground and potato plants throughly wetting them.  Then someone will come along and move the whole line to the next set, where it will run again for another 12 hours.  I don't really notice the line much until it is on the last set next to our road.  For twelve hours the entire road is under attack.  If you want to avoid hard water spots on your car you get to play an elaborate game of speed up and slow down every time you pass.   An annoyance for sure, but not really damaging anything.

The other time that the sprinkler line causes me stress is when it is windy outside.  We have some fairly strong wind storms in Idaho.  We live in a valley here, with mountain ranges on both sides.  These ranges work very well at funnelling the air through at a very fast clip.  More than a few times the wind has started this long sprinkler line to start rolling.  It's destination is my front yard.  Many times I have been unable to get the car out because of the line going across our driveway.  Our mailbox has been knocked over like a bowling pin so many times  that we don't think it's any big deal to go stick it back in the ground.  The only thing that has saved our house is the metal poles that hold up my two neighbor's mail boxes.  They act as good roadblocks holding the whole line from passing. 

This last Monday was another story, though.  My daughter's boyfriend ran out of gas on Saturday night on the road in front of our house.  He left his pick-up sitting there for a few days. Bad Mistake!  On Monday we had a severe wind storm.  When I looked out my front window at 10:00 in the morning I could see that the sprinkler line had rolled into his pickup.  We all went out to see what the damage was and discovered that we could hardly walk against the wind, it was so strong.  There were two small scratches on the side of the pickup, with the whole sprinkler line still pushing up against it.  I called the neighbor, who came out and checked out his line.  He could not move it because the wind was still so strong.  He decided to wait until the wind died down that evening.  Bad Mistake! The next time I looked out my front window I could see that the sprinkler line had travelled up and over the pickup!  We once again trudged out through the wind to see what the damage was.  There was a pretty good groove, just the width of the sprinkler wheel showing the path the line took in its escape.  Our neighbor said he will cover the cost of the repair.  I felt bad for him.  And I feel a little bit bad for me too, because when I called him the first time to tell him about the runaway line he told me that this was probably the last year this would happen.  He's planning to sell his land next year to a developer.  Suburbia is on its way.  Maybe sprinkler lines aren't that bad.

I'm sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday.  I guess my weird dream scared it out of me. 

Today I would like to share a piece that I did in pen and ink.  It was VERY EASY!!! Anyone could do it if they were shown the steps.  First you take a photograph and shrink it down on a copier.  Then you put that into an opaque projector and project the image onto a prepared canvas.  Using rapidograph pens you ink in the detail on the canvas, seal with several light coats of matte spray and rouge in the color with oil paint mixed with transparency medium. 

Don't tell me you can't do that.  And don't tell me you can't even draw a straight line.  Of course you can't!  That's pretty darn hard!  But really, who wants to draw a straight line.  If you need a line that's straight, USE A RULER!  Why make something that can be easy hard.

Cheers and best wishes to anyone passing through.  I hope you enjoyed my little mini art show.  Leave a comment if you wish, or if you don't wish feel free to "lurk". (Sorry Weimie, I had to borrow your cool term.)

Last night I died.  I was  in a car that my husband was driving.  My parents were driving a couple of cars ahead of us. My husband said he could smell burning and that it was coming from my parent's car.  He seemed to think it was very urgent to catch up to them to let them know.  We were just going over an overpass and couldn't see very far down the road in front of us. He sped up and started to pass the car in front of us.  He was going about 70 miles an hour.  Just as we were even with the car we were passing we could see that there was a car coming straight at us over the overpass, also doing about 70 miles per hour.  I could feel my body tense up as I thought, "I'm going to die!"  Neither car slowed down.  At the moment of impact I felt nothing. It was suddenly very quiet and I thought to myself, "I'm dead."  I started to look around for my husband, because I knew he had to have died too.  I saw a very bright light and tried to open my eyes to see it better.

And that's when I woke up with the light streaming through my window onto my face.

Have you ever had a dream so vivid, so real, and so good or disturbing that you couldn't get it out of your mind all the next day?

I'm a little slow posting my remembrances and gifts from last month.  It is not because I haven't had anything happen worthy of my gratitude.  Just the opposite.  Even though there were some definite downs last month, these only served to remind me how great things are when things are up.  I am slow because the beginning of the month also coincided with the end of our university's semester end, a very busy time for me. Now that finals are over I have a few minutes to contemplate and be grateful.

~ A great trip to Boise for our family.  We watched a lot of basketball, ate a lot of food, and HAD FUN. 

~ I found a great necklace at an antique store in Boise.  They only charged me $7.00.  I love it.  It reminds me of my Grandma Haroldsen and the one necklace I inherited from her.

~ Lisa performed a viola recital at BYU-Idaho titled "The American Viola".  The entire program was pieces by American composers, very 20th century, very hard, and she did very well. The hall was very full of music students wanting to hear their professor perform.  That made it even more fun.

~ Andy made it onto the high school golf team.  That's pretty good considering he had knee surgery at the end of December.  He's been golfing pretty good at the tournaments.

~ My Dad turned 79.  His health has been a rollercoaster ride this month with spontaneous nosebleeds requiring hospitalization, blood and platelet transfusions, a port put into his chest to make giving blood and chemo easier and then the port being removed a week later because of massive infection.  His good humor has mostly remained intact.  His positive mental attitude will pull him through this hard time if anything will.

~ Abby goes to New York City with the high school choir and performs at Carnegie Hall.  What great memories she has for the rest of her life.

~ Lisa finds and buys the perfect wedding dress.  She looks so beautiful in it. 

There was a few downs in my life this month as well.  We had continual car trouble , put the car in the shop multiple times until they could find the problem. (At least I hope they finally found the problem!)  My Dad's health, and our poor neighbor who was diagnosed with brain cancer and given 4 months to live actually only lived 6 days.   When things like that happen it really makes you want to smell a few more roses, hug a little longer, and never ever take life for granted.  So far April has been great.  I'm already making my list.

My first oil painting.  I have painted a lot with acrylics, but this was the first one I attempted in oils.  I did this in a class and was sicker than a mangy dog the whole time.  I just wanted to lay my head on the table and moan, but I managed to get a few brush strokes on the canvas as well.  

Time- an elusive substance. 

If you need a lot of it, it disappears quickly. If you don't have a pressing need for it, you will find it in abundance.

How do you find enough of it to pursue things that are important?  I've learned over the years that you can squeeze time a little bit.  Just like an orange that will yield you it's juices, you can always get a few more drops of time for the things that you REALLY want to do.

 This week is finals week.  Our students are either running around frantically trying to finish up projects and study for tests, or they have a glazed look on their faces, a look I would imagine a shell-shocked soldier might have. I've hear it said that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it.  I believe that to be true.  Busy people know how to squeeze the orange.

These thoughts have been floating through my head the last few days as I've pondered a couple of the remarks on my last post. 

"I wish I had time to read...." 

I consider myself a fairly busy person.  I work 25-30 hours a week, I go to the doctor with my Mom and Dad every week, babysit my grandson twice a week regularly, am repainting and tiling a lot of my house. I walk for 45 minutes everyday at the golf course, teach Sunday School, and attend a lot of games and concerts that my 5 kids are participating in.  My daughter is getting married in 10 weeks, so I am also making 4 bridesmaids dresses on top of all the other preparations.  

I don't FEEL that busy, though.  And I think the reason is that

I - do - things - I - want - to - do.

Every day!

Every day I play ping pong with my son.

Every day I do a little blog-walking.

Every day I draw a little in my picture calendar.

Every day I hunt for golf-balls (my record is 26 for one day).

Every day I watch for a great sunset and run out to photgraph it.

And every day I read.

It is not uncommon for me to read 4 books simultaneously.  I learned this from my daughter, Abby, also a prodigious reader.  I find books of hers all over the house.  When I asked her to put away the book in the living room she would say that she leaves it there for reading when she is upstairs.  The one in her room is for when she reads before bed, and the one in the bathroom is, ...well, you know.

So that's what I do.  I have books all over the place. I don't confuse the stories or feel like I'm not enjoying any of them because I'm so spread out.  I just love to read them, even if only for a few minutes. 

So, I am going to share some of my tips for squeezing a few more drops of juice out of your day so that you, too, can enjoy reading.

~Read while you are waiting for the oatmeal water to boil, or your eggs are frying.

~Read while eating breakfast (if you are alone).

~Read while on the treadmill.

~If you watch TV - read during the commercials.

~Read at the stop light (have someone else in the car watch for the green light unless you don't mind being honked at.

~Read while walking down a sidewalk. (Don't read while walking at a golf course, the ground is too uneven or you may have a lot of time to read while waiting for someone to come rescue you and your broken leg.)

~Read while waiting - in line at the grocery store, in doctor's offices, at the bank, at the post office, Etc.

~Read while waiting for the washer to quit spinning or the dryer to fluff clothes.

~Read while soaking in the bathtub.

~Read before you turn out the light at night.

If you have a little insomnia - turn on your light and read some more.

It is very rare that I just sit on a chair and read.  Once in a while I will read on a Sunday afternoon when things are quiet, but usually there is a lot of family over and I would much rather play with them. 

To me, reading is a joy that I use to fill up my day. Days are like a big bowl filled with fruit. Apples (jobs), bananas (family), oranges (cooking), and lemons (cleaning) seem to fill it up pretty good.  But there is always room for a lot of juice to fill up those spaces.