Lovely Boot

On Christmas a lovely little sister of mine gave me purple leg warmers. They were neatly packaged on a piece of boot shaped cardboard. As I was tossing all the wrapping paper and packaging away, I couldn't toss the boot. Sometimes being an artistic person comes with a cost, the inability to throw away garbage, but then again, what is the definition of garbage? So the boot shaped cardboard was transformed into a beautiful boot (now I want a real pair). During the transformation the realization hit me, so this is why artist have studios, so their bedroom isn't covered in tissue paper, paper, glue and paint!

"In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love." -MARC CHAGALL

Pretty Toes, Blue Sky and Leaves

"I don't espire to be an especially great artist, being an artist is great enough for me."

-Someone

Sugar bags!

Here is my creation, a lunch bag made from sugar bags.

Fall hayride

We waited excitedly for our neighbor's hay wagon to stop at our house. Finally farmer Bob pulled up and everyone rushed onto the wagon. Greated by our neighbors with cheerful hellos as we climbed abord. Everyone moved over to make room for more blankets and chattering children. We soon spied to basket of cookies and thermos of hot chocolate in the corner, everyone's face lit up even brighter. After a slightly frightening turn around by our house we started off on our fall hayride. We rode smothly past cows and pastures, and then bounched through the state forest with the sun glittering through the trees. Everyone was smiling and talking about school, their children and life. All was as bright as the day around us. Eventually we stopped in the woods and jumped out of the wagon to eat cookies and drink hot chocolate. "Lids for the little children to keep them from spilling on themselves," I was told. The sun was sinking slowly as we stopped at our house and climbed back down out of the wagon. Happy for having such a wonderful time, sorry to see it end. I jumped out last because I was stopped by our neighbor and my arms were filled with cookies. "I hope it is enough." She said. "I think it is," I said, I couldn't possibly have carried more. "Don't take them all!" Cried my friend Transformer. "Don't worry," we all assured him, "there are plenty more." Fall makes me think of plenty, plenty of sweet things that make my life cheerful and bright. Plenty of friends, plenty of cookies, plenty of love filtering in through the dismal parts of life.

Fall Joy

Take joy home and make a place in thy heart for her. -Socrates

The cutest alien in the galaxy and the itsy-bitsy spider

College...

I am liking Davis College, it seems like no matter who you start a converstion with, it is always interesting and unique. My friend G.M.A. and I are trying to start a praise dance team. The trouble is there is sort of an unwritten rule concerning dancing at Davis. We are working on a missions statement, hoping that we can be able to use dance to minister and praise God at Davis College! Our trouble is that we don't want to come across as if we are opposed to the authority at Davis, so fashioning a missions statement that is direct but completely respectfull is proving to be a challenge. Plus we are both slight procrastinators, and are a still deciding how to take on this project. Even still, I think that we are off to a good start.

Besides school I have been busy with artsy stuff, as usual. Right now I am collecting tea bags and organic sugar bags. What I will make, that is a surpise! (mostly because I am not entirely certain myself) I love being able to drive myself around, I went shopping and bought stuff to make Jewel's and Bug's trick-or-treat costumes. I was kind of fun to walk around the mall scouting out random things to incorporate into an itsy-bitsy spider and alien costume. The itsy-bitsy spider costume came out sort of steam punk, and the alien was probably the cutest alien in the galaxy. While we were trick-or-treating two people commented on Bug and her alien costume. As we walked away Bug sighs, "Those people were so nice to me, they said I am cute." Bug's two nice friends were not the only ones who thought she was cute. A polite cowboy, probably a little, but not much older than Bug, kept giving her piece of candy after piece of candy, smiling at her the whole time. It was very sweet.

Rose Water

I need to get into the habit of blogging, I love to actually write, so it seems I spend my free time doing that instead of blogging. I made lovely, smelling rose water in June. I gathered up all the little people, and we took a trip down our road, swinging plastic bags and calculating just how much rose water we could make. We stripped the Hedge roses of their blossoms and started home. The little people stayed and watched excitedly while I made the first batch, but by the second their attention spans were expired, and they trotted off to do whatever. I stayed and worked on.To make rose water is quite simple, all you really need is a stove, a pot, a clean, new brick, two bowls and ice. The first thing to do is put the brick in the bottom of the pot, put the roses around the brick, almost to the top. Add water, just enough to cover the roses. Put a small bowl on top of the brick, put a large bowl over the top of the pot. Fill the large bowl with ice, and turn on the stove. The condensation drips down the the large bowl and gathers into the small bowl. That is the rose water! Put it sterilized jars and you have lovely smelling rose water to use as a body splash, cleanser, or just to smell nice! Imagination girl made a couple batches while I was at work one day. We did a total of about a gallon of rose water. The whole house smelled delicious!

Summer Thoughts

You love being barefoot, wear light, summery clothes, sleep outside, swing, eat cold ice cream from the Highway Dairy Bar and warm, sunny tomatoes, fresh from the garden. Sleep with the windows open, lay in the grass and listen to the birds, the sweet, warm breeze blow through the trees. Wade with nub toes down in the creek, feel the warm-cold-in-spots water close over me in the pond. Bonfires, chasing fireflies, worrying acessively about actually remembering to shave my legs. Work, lots of it-moving sheep, sweating out in the hot, hot sun, getting burned, chasing sheep, smelling like stuborn sheep, finally see momma sheep and baby sheep peacefuly grazing in their new pasture. Now, taking a refreshing, temper cooling shower, the cool stones of the out door shower massaging sore, swollen feet. And silly thoughts of someday not being the only person in the shower, of prince -sheep-expert-wrestler-charming (if you ever have sheep of course) Who's idea was it any way to start a flock of sheep? Not yours-cough, cough. Blackberry scratches all over your legs, feet sinking deeply into wet, cold, oozing moss as you twirl in the gathering dusk. You feel so close to heaven, yet so small and far away. Breath in the scent of your horse, he smells like grass and summer. Wish on the soft glow of the first star, give up wishing and start praying because your so close and you don't want to let go.

Gypsies/ momma throws rocks at racoons

We have a beautiful gypsy cart, made, and designed by our family. Just recently we moved it to a shady spot in our yard. I suddenly realized everyone in my family has had a delightful camp out in the gypsy cart, except for me. So, I asked my sister, imagination girl, to sleep out with me in the gypsy cart. Of course she said "yes." We got quite adventurous and decided to dress up in scarves, bangles, big rings and and flowy night gowns, and pretend we were real gypsy girls. We were silly and talked until it was really late. Just as we were finally drifting off to sleep we heared a bunch of raquet outside. I was half asleep, forgot I was in the gypsy cart, and thought, "wow, Imagination girl's bird is really loud." Then Imagination girl sprang out of bed, (I was now awake for real). We both rushed to the window to see daddy jump out the door of the house, flashlight in hand, and momma right behind him. Imagination girl and I ran out to see what was going on, I was asking "what is it?" Imagination girl said, "racoons." Momma and daddy were shining the flashlight up into one of the trees by our creek. "I'll get the gun and shoot it." Daddy said "No!" momma cried. "You ca't even tell where it is up there!" Momma picked up some rocks out of the driveway and chucked them into the tree, "get out of here!" Daddy mention the gun again, but momma said "no, just throw rocks at them." We all laughed. Imagination girl and I went back to the gypsy cart, carefully locked the door, and went to sleep. I guess two racoons decided to have a show down in our yard last night, I hope they can work out their differences someplace else from now on!

My sisters are helping me set up this blog, which means them telling me crazy stuff I should say. We are all debating on what my first post should be, which so far, is nothing worth puting out for the world to read. Most of the ideas being tossed around have to do with the bird screaming, us being lazzy because it's Friday night, we just got through a "DEEP" discussion about where our future husbands are going to take us on our honeymoons, and what manner of honeymoon it will be. My brother is declaring he will never have a girlfriend, and we are all saying "yah, yah." I suppose I should explain my name, Blackberry Scratched Legs, it isn't really complicated. We have sheep. And a field full of blackberry bushes and other prickly things. Thus Blackberry Scratched Legs.