See the beauty

 I named my blog young-eclectic-encounters because I have many different interests and experiences to share.  Although I do tend to be easily bored and have a little ADHD you will find that there will be common threads throughout my posts.  As I mentioned in my last post I have been working on improving my health and have found this to be a fascinating subject, so there will be lots of these.  I am also a lover of good books, as I have learned much from them, both lessons from life and information to improve my life.  Most of what you will see is my artistic strivings.  I draw, paint, art journal, quilt, design my own clothes, but my first love is photography so you will be seeing lots of photos.

My description for my blog is "See the beauty- a survivors art journal" more than anything else learning photography has made me really look around to find the beauty that surrounds me.  It has kept my spirits high, fought off depression and generally kept my life hopeful and moving forward.  The photo above is a good example of seeing the beauty around me.  I saw these beautiful roses on trip just out running errands.  I enjoyed them then and am enjoying them now having captured their beauty with my camera.  But, guess where I found them?  They were part of the drive-thru at Burger King. 

How much do we miss of this beautiful world when we go about our daily lives?  Did this person in the car even notice the roses? Think about this over the next week, notice, share you observations in the comments or write a blog post about the beauty that surrounds us and share it in the comments, too.  One other thing I have found is that when we share the beauty of this world with others we help to make this world a more welcoming place and we humans much more cheerful.  So join me and encounter this world it's many beauties and pass the word.

Enjoy

Johnina

Great Halloween idea

Niel Gaiman is one of my favorite authors (Stardust, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens and many more) and I came across this wonderful idea that he is promoting.  Hope you enjoy the idea and particapate.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

They make great Christmas gifts, too

Eye in the Sky

This cloud formation reminds me so much of a friendly version of  the eye from Lord of the Rings.  I was so glad that I had my camera with me this morning and all ready to shot when I saw this as I am a big fan of Lord of the Rings
I really loved the books and the movie did a wonderful job of portraying the characters and the vision of the books.  When we first bought a copy of the Fellowship of the Ring it was on VHS tape; we didn't own a DVD player yet.  Then we bought it on DVD.  Although we have yet to get Blu-ray player, the movie has been recently re-released on Blu ray, so I guess we will have to buy that version in the not to distant future.   This is one of those rare movies that lived up to the books.  I've read the books so much I wore out my first copy that I bought as a teenager.  I've read my second copy several times now. This is a true classic that never gets old.  As an artist  I've also enjoyed the books that depict how they came up with the artwork for the film.  I was amazed when I typed in Lord of the Rings on amazon at the number of items available there.  Lots to enjoy.
Below is just another sky scene that I took this morning for you to enjoy.

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Every cloud has a silver lining

Last Christmas I got my husband a subscription to Netflix.  He has never ordered a movie and very rarely watches the movies I pick; however I have enjoyed it and it has saved me some money.  I use it to check out movies before I purchase them and that has been real handy as some movies only last about 15 min before I eject them.  We very seldom go to the movies due to the cost; maybe once a year for something special (Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR and an occasional other).  I would much rather spend my entertainment money on books and music and movies I will watch over and over again.  I also use Netflix to play movies on my computer when I am working on a project (sewing, inside gardening, or other such things).  I feel bad when my presents are not useful or enjoyed by those that they are intended for, but I have enjoyed this one, and the kids have too.  It gets used and enjoyed even more when kids and grandkids visit.  So silver lining.
I think the best of the silver lining is I get to try movies that I might otherwise never have watched.  I can even watch a chick flick while Tom is at work without worrying about being teased about the sniffles.  I can lean back and enjoy.  Maybe even enjoy some chocolate, be the typically decadent housewife. LOL.  Anyway with the change of season crud, you know the stomach bug going around or the sinus problems or the cold that seems to show up when the first weather changes, going around the house and sending me to the doctors, I actually watched a movie all the way through without ever pausing or falling asleep or being distracted and having to rewind.  For me this is something of a miracle.  There are still movies that I have 'watched' many times and we've had for years that I am surprised to find scenes that I had never seen before.  The nice thing, the best thing about the movie is I really liked it and hopefully someone this Christmas will give it to me.  Below is the Trailer:



                       It's about the many different aspects of love and forgiveness in many different relationships.  The Last Song was very enjoyable, not a movie I would have bought without seeing first.  It just happened to be here when I was sick enough to actually watch it, but not so sick that I fell asleep watching.  I also usually don't watch a movie if I have read the book first.  My philosophy about that is the movie can never live up to the book or at least there are few exceptions to this.  I think I now need to read the book.
Hope all is well at you house and you can find some time to find an unexpected pleasure, a silver lining if need be in you life.
Johnina  :^A

Walden

In running my errands yesterday which included both the bookstore and the library, I realized that I did not own a copy of Walden and in fact had never read all of it.  So this being earth week I decided it would be a very appropriate book to read, a classic to make me think or so I've been lead to believe from the many quotes I have heard that have been taken from it.  So I am going to read it in fact I started to read it last night.  In going to the bookstore which was going out of business :^C  :^C (double sad face) I was able to get this new hardback copy for only $3.  I would rather have paid full price than have the bookstore go out of business but than again I probably would not have bought it which is probably one reason they were closing.  Economics is kind of a vicious circle isn't it?

Progress

I finally feel like I am making progress in the right direction. I accomplished more yesterday than I have in any day for months. I washed 2 loads of laundry, clipped the nails and brushed out Felicity our 100# very fluffy shedding dog. Her fur gets confused because she lives inside when it gets cold outside we turn on the heat so she sheds, she sheds puppy size hair balls. However she looks so much better when she's brushed and it keeps that hair from turning the carpet white, clogging the drains when Jeremy bathes her or keeps her from gagging up hairballs from licking herself. It needed to be done and I was glad that I was able to do it. I took some still life pics and edited a photo. I also wrote my blog. I know this does not sound like a whole lot to accomplish but for me these were MAJOR accomplishments even if I was not able to go on MSS or Facebook except to post the picture I edited. I remember when these were minor things squeezed in amongst all the other things I had to do that day.
However, there is something I realized today that make me feel great about the progress I have made. I have made great stride in my reading abilities. I used to keep anywhere from 3 to 4 books stashed around the house so that whenever I had a few minutes I had a book nearby that I could just pick up and read. I was able to keep all the plots straight and know what was going on in each book without backtracking. Then medications and fibro-fog hit. Fibromyalsia doesn't just make you hurt it also causes many other symptoms among them confusion, forgetfulness, and other mental conditions. In my case forgetfulness and confusion were real bad. At one time I ran into a friend (no I didn't hurt her ha-ha) at the store and she was in a panic because she could not remember were her car was. I had the same problem but had learned to hit the panic button on my key ring as I wandered the parking lot till I heard my car alarm go off. She thought that was a wonderful idea and it helped her calm down. It's amazing all the little coping skills one can learn to help keep oneself functioning.
My fibro-fog problem that bothered me the most was not being able to read I could not keep track of what was going on in one book much less 3 or 4. I would have to backtrack and reread many times to understand a book. So what I did was I started reading for my grandchildren more than I had in the past. In fact I didn't read hardly anything above a fourth or fifth grade level, because it was nearly impossible. Yesterday while I was taking my photos of my still lifes which was of what I am currently reading; I realized that I was reading adult books and three of them. I am reading "The Story of Pi" because Emily recommended it and was planning to read it this weekend and I wanted to be able to talk to her intelligently about it. I am rereading "The Light Fantastic" as my practice book for speed reading that Emily taught my how to do over the Holidays. You are supposed to read a book you have previously read to start out your speed reading practice. You will notice that I said I am learning to speed read quite an accomplishment even without the fibro-fog. Then I am also reading a book on perspective in drawing and I will have a picture of the book and a drawing to show you when I am done with that one.
I am so glad to have had this realization; It has definitely buoyed my spirits.
Photo edit notes:
My hands shake a lot and the book pic are done in HDR so they are pictures that are aligned and layered. The first attempt at this I could not get the pictures to line up even though I was using a tripod. I tried again using the tripod but also using the cameras timer set at 2 seconds so my hands were no where near the camera when it took the photo. This worked. I was using the free trial of Corel Paint Shop Pro Ultimate for the HDR process

Doctor then fun

Today I had a doctor appointment in Fayetteville, which is 45 min. away on a good day or an hour away if there is traffic or I get stuck behind a school bus. Luckily the trip can be made worthwhile because they have a greater variety of stores there. It's a bigger town. Hopefully when I see a doctor there I'm feeling good enough afterward to run some errands and than go to stores that I just plain enjoy browsing through. Today just happened to be one of those days. The doctor had good news and bad news. Yes my hemoglobin was going down, but I was not anemic yet. So not so bad. Then I went looking for an exercise machine to keep my blood flowing in my legs while I sit at the computer; not such good luck there, but eventually I'll find something. Then I went to the bookstore, I love bookstores. I worked in one for several years in spite of the low pay just because I love books. I love being around them, talking to people about them, reading them, escaping into them either in the stories or the photographs. I could always tell a true book-lover when they walked into the store because they would take a big breath in; true book-lovers even enjoy the smell of books. I especially like this bookstore because the employees really seem to care. The store is always neat and clean, with busy employees, not the ones who goof around. They are willing to help and ask before you get a chance to ask them. If you ask for help they immediately put down what they are doing and go help with whatever you need, not just point you in the right direction; they take you there. How nice, it makes for pleasant shopping. These are real people who love what they do, they certainly don't do it for the money because it's not there.
This was a first for me in that it was the first time I've taken pictures in a very public place, a store, and it's the first time I've taken candid shots of people. I did ask for permission, but then had them go about what they were doing. I was real glad to find someone of my own heart, I used to sit on the floor of whatever section and look through the books to help me make my choice. I can't do that anymore. I think the pictures came out rather well. I also took pictures of some of my favorite spots to browse through. Actually this gave me an idea for Christmas. I can take pics of what I think my grandchildren might like, choose an isle for them to look down and have them pick out a few things they want. Since they live so far away from me I don't get to go shopping with them and maybe this will be the next best thing to doing that. Might be fun as long as nobody expects everything. My kids always wonder what to get me so a wish list might be fun. I could take pictures of what I want and make a collage and let them pick. They could do the same.
While I was at the bookstore I found a cute little quote book called "Wisdom of Frogs". My quote for the day today came out of there. I splurged because it had some really nice quotes and pictures to match in it so from now on you can wonder if the quote came from a frog.
After I left the store I noticed these beautiful orange and yellow trees in the

parking lot. One thing about living in Georgia is there are plants everywhere, trees, flowers and bushes and people seem to take pride in landscaping everything including parking lots.

It was a long day because I fit even more in but I enjoyed it and when the song "That Old Time Rock and Roll" came on the radio on the way home I turned it way up and sang along even though my feet hurt like crazy. The singing along helps take the pain away. All in all a day to enjoy. Hope you enjoyed yours, too.

Small miracles

Last Fri night I was in so much pain, I could not sleep, it was hard to edit cause it hurt so bad just to sit up. Normally editing distracts me from the pain, but this time the pain was so bad that it was distracting me from the editing. So I did something mindless and cleared out double files and pictures from my folders. But I was thinking how nice it would be to have a new book to read. Now I have plenty of books some I've read and some I haven't, but I wanted something new, something that I didn't have any idea what it was going to be about to distract me from my pain.
Next morning one of my friends who works at a book store called and she had gotten a copy of a new series from one of my favorite authors and all I had to do was come and pick it up. To me this could be serendipity or a blessing or a small miracle or just the kindness of a nice friend. It may not have been the big miracle of being completely healed but it did qualify as a small miracle to me to make my life more comfortable.

Mushroom Serendipity

I have loved the word serendipity for many years now, ever since they came out with a series of kids books called "Serendipity Tales". They were sweet little stories where things may not have turned out as the characters wished but they always had happy endings with good lessons. My kids loved them and we are now looking diligently thru thrift stores trying to find them. By now you may be wondering what mushrooms have to do with kid books, weeell Sat I went to the Pharmacy to pick up a prescription and picked one up and went home only to discover at home that it was the wrong prescription. It was one they owed me but I wasn't out of yet. So I called the Pharmacy and they still had the presription I was out of and needed, so back to the Pharmacy I went. When I got there I had to park in another spot but what did I see was the BIGGEST pile of mushrooms I've ever seen. Photo OP. What could have been an annoyance turned out to be a delightful experience. Serendipity! I gave them a prescription that could not be filled till today and the mushroom piles had started forming a HUGE fairy ring. Again serendipity. Many times if we just go with the flow and look around we will find annoyances turn into delight and learn to love the word SERENDIPITY.