The Life of Mrs. Miles

" OUT FOR BREAKFAST" CLIPART-DOODLES

download

First of all I need to let you all know that your comments are so encouraging to me! Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time. I do have to make something clear about our new home. I only go out once a week, not even for the full day - to HELP our friends Roman and Bonnie as they prepare our new home for us. The work that I'm doing there is nothing compared to the countless hours they are putting into this place. I can't take any credit at all. So, just wanted to make that clear, cuz I could not accept any praise for that when it's them there doing all the hard stuff!

I took the weekend off. Things were just looking too busy and were moving too fast for me, so I decided it would be better to take some down-time and enjoy myself. Saturday morning was wonderful. Miles and I slept in for a change and then he took me out for Dim Sum. I know, how spoiled am I – Dim Sum twice in one week! Afterward, we went to a few stores (walking) and picked up a few supplies and then enjoyed a nice, long leisurely walk.

On Friday we visited our friends Marie and Roger and their loverly alpaca's... thus the sweet pics in the next day or two. Marie prepared us tea – very special tea which came in little rolled up balls! Have you seen these sorts of teas before?

LATE FOR THE OPENING... sigh!

Oh, but I have to tell you about Friday night and the opening of the “Eyes of March” gallery show. I submitted my two paintings and so we worked swinging by there into our plans, along with our friend Nathan who we had invited to dinner. Luckily he's pretty easy going and allowed us to persuade him to come along, promising him there's usually good snacks and desserts there... Well... I seem to be messing up on times a lot lately, and we arrived at the tail end of it. We arrived when it was closing, basically. There were a few good scraps left though and the paintings and pottery alone were well worth the visit!

"THE LESSON" Collage - Painting by FAIGEE NIEBOW

One artist in our group who's style delights me is the work of Faigee Niebow. Faigee's work is a marriage of painting and collage. For instance, when you first glance at her painting, above, you clearly see the woman and young girl doing a lesson. What you don't realize until you look closer is that parts of the painting are not what they appear -for example, the woman's bun in her hair is actually a bagel and the young girl's hair is made of chocolates! Amazing and magical.


So, back to Saturday now, we had a nice easy day and even watched a movie. We chose A Night With the King. When we first read the title we had our doubts but after researching we realized its the story of Esther from the Bible. The movie has a bit of cheesy acting in it – especially at the beginning, but the message is clear and the set and scenery are stunning. Well worth the rent.

I found some time to do some digital painting as well... using a combination of Art Rage and using my trial of Corel Painter X... will have that posted too, when it's all polished!

Sunday we were bad and skipped church. We intended to go to a photography shoot at the local museum but – gulp – yep, did it again, I messed up on the times and we arrived just as they were shutting the doors. My husband is used t to this by now. I was sad to have missed the opportunity. We walked home again and I spent the afternoon on kitchen duty – peeling and chopping carrots and asparagus for our annual church family supper which was held last night. It's always good to gather our church family together.

LAYOUT BY READER LORI M

This boy -assuming its your son, looks well bundled against the cold. I like how you draped the ice ontop of those text – or did they come that way?

(Thanks for sharing Lori – I love to post reader's layouts!)

Lori used Barb Derksen's Chillin' Elements.
I'm not sure of the other elements.

TEA AT MARIE'S

notice the rolled up balls of tea!

Speaking of my friend Marie Richardson, she recently sent me one of those forwarded emails... you know the sort. Every once in a while one really touches me. I would like to share this one with you:

HOW OLD IS GRANDPA?

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and
the pill

There were no:
credit cards, laser beams or, ball-point pens

Man had not invented:
pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers & clothes washers and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . . and then lived together.

Every family had a father and a mother, mother did the only baby care, and didn't get the government to pay her for doing that.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir".
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir."

We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . . but who could afford one?

Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:

"grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in and "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby. "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office, " chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store and "software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap... and how old do you think I am?

I bet you have an OLD MAN in mind after reading this... you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you Ready?

This man would be only 59 years old.

BARB'S HANDY TIP #210
Go Orchestral! (Your kids, that is)

Today's tip was passed along to me by blog reader Josey (thx Josey – I love receiving tips and sites from readers!)

"Introduce your children to orchestral sounds via the internet. The San Francisco Symphony hosts an interactive website where visitors can learn about the instruments and sounds of the orchestra and create their own music in the Music Lab. Check it out here: