In memory of ...

The way things happen ... Robin gave me St. Francis (the "poor man from Assisi") a while back. He was in her garden when they bought their new house. He needed some work. The woodpeckers were eating him away. Robin's dad was worried about him and didn't want to see him end up at the dump. Rog and I rescued him and I was so excited to save him.

He's almost restored! Patched his woodpecker holes and repainted his face. Repainted his robes. His feet are still at the podiartist's (cute huh?) almost ready so he can stand on his own two feet. Made him a new cincture (the cord around his waist) ... didn't even know what a cincture was! Even learned how to tie a cincture barrel knot. A cincture knot might remind you of a vow that you took. St. Francis was the model of humility and faith. The wearing of a cincture has always been a sign of chastity and humility.

Rog made him a new tray and he has two permanent birds always perched there. The root cross I dug from the ground some time ago seemed perfect tucked safely against him.

Robin's dad's name is Roger too. Robin lost her big brother, Randy on June 25th 2011. Her dad lost his son. The doctors could not save him from the cancer that spread throughout his body. I wanted to fix and restore St. Francis so Robin's dad would not worry. That was my plan ... pretty easy ... that was all I COULD fix ... now that barrel knot will forever remind me of Randy.

prayers for comfort for my forever friend, Robin,

and her family

in the loss of a brother, father, husband, son, uncle and friend.

In Memory of

Randy A. Brunelle

August 20, 1957 - June 25th, 2011

prayer written by St. Francis in the 13th century

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Remember my POST from back in April about the vintage chair that I was going to repurpose into garden art? Promised you I'd share pics when it made it to the garden. Well here she is brightening up the front yard garden hugging my Variegated Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis).

playing with my photos ...
it will even look good in the Fall ...

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

~ Henry David Thoreau

think twice before you throw it away :)

so cute it hurts & PPF #13

... bought the sweetest 'believe' brooch from Jacqueline Low (so cute it hurts) on Etsy. I had to sign for my sweet little package and was not home the day my mail carrier tried to deliver. So it was off to the post office the next day. Opened my little treasure in the parking lot of the post office and couldn't believe all the love, care and inspiration that poured out of that tiny package from Malaysia. Okay ... so now I am actually crying in the parking lot of the post office because it was the perfect message for me on that day and Jqline is so incredibly talented and so very sweet!

"may this 'I believe' brooch always remind you

of the sweet sentiment to believe in yourself ..."
so i met with my boss and told her i was wearing my 'i believe' brooch, because "i believe you can get me a team leader", i said, ... she laughed (don't think that's going to happen) ... Oh well ... it's all about what i believe and
"i still believe" (not about the team lead part though) ... anyways, thank YOU Jqline so very much!

... oh the paint part ... here are some old barrel staves i had Rog cut into arrows and i painted some of my favorite places along with how many miles (as the crow flies) that it would take me to get there ... OZ is right over the rainbow!

if you haven't been to the party yet today,

head on over to PPF ... great stuff going on there!

PPF #12 and frustration

Nothing is working :( Didn't get to paint this week and tried a bunch of times to leave a comment on Kristin & Eva's PPF blog, but it won't let me. I still can't leave comments intermittently everywhere ... I don't get it! After I type 5 or 6 sentences I want it to stay where I want to share it. I'm crabby and frustrated and I'm walking away from this computer ... I'm also very Blessed that a tornado did not land on my house so I am going to stop whining :) Have a great weekend friends!

xoxo