Fit to be Seen.: June 2009

More Flower Photos

Cosmos (Asteraceae)

Most of my pleasure and happiness lately has come from flowers.
The Beautiful. The Bold. The Bizarre.
Maybe I should go back to school...Then open a flower nursery or shop. Imagine being surrounded by this beauty in the darkest days of winter.

Quotable

It is not the strongest of the
species that survive, nor the
most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change.
- Charles Darwin

Positive Thinkers

On Saturday I went to a Positive Thinkers (buffet breakfast) meeting. It's an organization that has been around in St. John's, Newfoundland for 20 years and is growing stronger and more interesting with age. They have a guest speaker at each monthly meeting and this month it was Gary Summers. I have seen Gary perform as a hypnotist and magician in the past so I was curious to see what direction he would take us in. I am extremely happy I choose to reaquaint myself with Positive Thinkers on Saturday because Gary gave 'me' some insight and knowledge that I believe will help me continue on the path I've already started down.

Some of my favourite points and ideas I plan to incorporate into my life from the meeting were:

Create a vision board of what you want your life to look like. I have done this in the past but I think I am more open now, due to personal growth, to the benefits of these. I am going to make several , covering different areas of my life, over the next few days and will photograph and share them with you. Now I wish I didn't send all those magazines to charity...
The value of goal setting. The action of putting goals down on paper helps to reinforce your commitment and gives you tangible evidence of exactly it is that you want to achieve.
I.Q. vs E.Q. I truly believe that this concept will be more widely regarded as we progress. I feel that most people who have all the answers rarely know the real question. Give me an intuitive, creative fool over a aloof, narrow genius any day.
Letting go of Ego and with it the need to be right. Note to self...Work on this! Oh how many problems we could all avoid, or fix, with this one teaching.
Ask yourself the question "What do I want?"...I did exactly this about 3 days ago. (I love synchronicity!). I wrote the question at the top of a sheet of computer paper...the answer was "Feel better about myself." Then..."How do I do this?"...Then I brain stormed and wrote down everything I could think of. From "Eat well" to "Limit media exposure" to "Find somewhere to volunteer". Try it, you'll be surprised at the answers you get from yourself.
Make these 6 promises to yourself:1. Choose your words carefully. 2. Never make assumptions. 3. Always do your best. 4. Discover your passion. 5. It's not about you (don't take things personally). 6. Never underestimate your ability to change yourself...Never overestimate your ability to change others. These sound like a recipe for a good life to me.

Gary also mentioned the following books, people, concepts, etc. that I thought I could gain more knowledge about...(I've included links to some related web sites.)

RAS
Zig Ziglar
The Power of Now

Stoicism

I hope you had a great weekend!

Scotch Broom from Jen's (and Dad's) Garden

Burkwood, Scotch Broom

I fell in love with this flowering bush as soon as I laid eyes upon it.
I found this quote about it on the net today too...
"...considered a noxious weed in many regions."
Ha.
Like everything in life some people love it and others hate it.

May someone Else's weed be your flower today. :)

xo Have a beautiful weekend. xo

Garden Hopping

Wow! What a Feast of Beauty!

5 Daily Gratitudes

It seems the ball has been dropped on the 5 Daily Gratitudes Blog, and I haven't been posting my 5 because it has not been updated since Monday. So here they are here on my blog...I am grateful for...

My mom is home from the hospital recovering.
I planted flowers in the rain today and it felt wonderful.
Being able to comfort a child through distraction.
Feeling really tired and it is bedtime for me.
Electric fans.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Today was a good day.

A Clothespin by any other name...

One of my favourite things to do is hang clothes out on the clothes line. I feel 'flow' at these beautiful moments...I think it is the combination of; loving my backyard with the huge maple trees and salvaged wooden fence; the sun rippling through the leaves that blow in the breeze; the smell of clean laundry; being kind to mother earth; and the clothespins...I love clothespins!

I use them for a lot more than hanging clothes too. They hold opened bags together in my pantry*, they hold the curtains in front of my desk together in the evening, they hold notes to various slim objetcs around my house...

Here is an homage to the lovely clothespin

Brookish on Etsy has these fantastic Pride and Predudice clothespins. Perfect for holding your spot in an equally absorbing read!

Yaelfran captures the true nature of the clothespin (the work horse that it is) in this amusing print in her Etsy shop.

And for the couple who love clothespins as much as each other there is the customizable wedding cake topper from Lollipop Workshop. So cute!

*pantry is a very loose term here...I am renovating and am using an old shopping cart (yes, like the homeless carry their stuff in...) as my 'pantry' until my real pantry is created!

Snail Mail has Arrived Safely "Across the Pond"

"Across the Pond" = Atlantic Ocean...
is this a common saying?

Parusha of Lewidoo fancies and Goodness Greatness has received her vintage postcard! Not nearly as fast as email but so much classier...

Up with Snail Mail!!

Inertia

I have been feeling pretty low lately. The stresses of being upright have been playing with my humour. I have none and can't abide it in others...Not good!

So I have made a plan to get out of this downward spiral...

To read only inspirational and up lifting things for the duration...
To get out in nature as much as possible...
To eat well...
To take care of my physical self and do the self care regime (nails, hair, etc.)...
Limit media exposure...
Show up to do my creative work...

and to write my

5 Daily Gratitudes...

and if none of that works I guess I'll have to fly off to a deserted island somewhere to spare everyone my furrowed forehead!

I hope you are feeling happy and confident right now and I do accept suggestions. What keeps you moving in the proper direction?

B.S.T #5

Beautiful Simple Things #5

A sunset.
A rocky beach.
A good friend to share it with.

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

I love you!
xo Dee

Side of the Road Photoshoot

A nod to Poppies and their pods...Love, love, love these amazing flowers.

I think I am beginning to trust my own photo taking abilities. Perhaps my CrowNology shop isn't as far away from opening as I had thought!

A new computer is in the works with a certified computer faerie! ;D

Straight from Flickr

Rose Bud 4, originally uploaded by CrowNology.

Wow. My brain is in over drive trying to figure out all these options and gadgets and widgets and such stuff as the internet is made of...
I am posting this from my Flickr account. So neat, I hope so anyway, as I have yet to see it posted!

Yay! It worked!

Click on the photo and jump over to Flickr to take a look at some of the photos I have there.

8 Steps Forward, 6 Steps Back...

Today I received an 8MB card as a gift. I was so excited! I could take more than 2 (highest quality) photos before having to download them unto the computer!!! Yay!

But no...

My camera only supports up to 2MB. :(

Another thing added to my "To Buy" list...

I Love These Bags...

From Dazed Dorothy...
Gorgeous leather bags with vintage trimmings.
Love.

In My Email Box Today

What I aim to not be...

Merriam-Webster’s
Word of the Day

June 13

potboiler

\PAHT-boy-ler\

Meaning

: a usually inferior work (as of art or literature) produced chiefly for profit

Technical Difficulties!!!

Dear Reader,
Oh No! I've gotten in over my head. You may be noticing my blog changing and changing back, then changing into something else again...
I am unhappy with the look of it and wish for it to resemble my personal tastes more. So I am working on it. Unfortunately this requires a little more HTML knowledge than I have. Though I have built basic websites in the past...As they say "Use it or Lose it" and I have lost it. So bear with me. I will have the look I am after and I'm sure it will take longer than I hope! So if this is really ugly, it hopefully isn't the look I want and will change into something more asethetically pleasing in time...
Thanks,
Andrea

Flickr

I am setting up a Flickr account.
It seems people like my photos. :D
I am encouraging Andrew, The Photographer, to set one up too.
He has some awesome photos to share, as I'm sure you've noticed...

B.S.T #4

Beautiful Simple Things #4

New buds and old Flower...

Coffee or Shoes? A Serious Question...

I bought these at a thrift store...For beans, as it is said.

While I was looking at them I was deciding if they were worth the couple of coffees I'd have to give up to cover the cost.

"They are leather, unworn (according to the sticker inside), sexy, cute, high heeled, fun...But do I like the purple? Will I wear them? Are they cheap? (in all senses of the word)" These were the thoughts going through my head as I carried them around the store while looking for vintage dishcloths...

Undecided...

And here they are on Heels.com for $259.00USD...Ack!
Do you know how many coffees that would buy?

Compucide

I am so unhappy with this computer I may just have to kill it! It has no ram, no free hard drive space (after taking most things off of it!) and the 'b' button is sticking. So it makes the sentence "I am so itchy right now" blog appropriate. ;p
I miss Photoshop so much I could cry...I had to print some business cards using 'Word' and I really am disgusted. The font I use isn't available. The photos can't be rotated (!?). The text does weird stuff when I change my mind. There's more but I'll spare you...

Where are you computer fairies?

Real Mail!

Look at what I received in my real mailbox!

Parusha of Lewidoo fancies had a post that invited her readers to recieve a real handmade card from her in London. I promised I'd send her back one of the vintage postcards I showed on one of my first posts.

Like Parusha I'd like to offer you the same except I will send you a vintage postcard instead of a handmade card. If you'd like one, send me your address, through email.
CrowNology@yahoo.ca
There is no expiry so if you happen upon this post a year from now I'll still send you one. I just counted my stocks...35. My 'supplier' re-opens in September, but the first 35 are guaranteed!

Parusha, I'll be dropping your card in the mail tomorrow! Thanks so much. I love all things about this idea!

Authenticity is a daily practice. Living authentically means cultivating the courage to be emotionally honest, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable; exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of light and darkness, strength and struggle; and nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we let go of who we are supposed to be and embrace who we are. Authenticity demands wholehearted living and loving—even when it’s hard, even when it hurts, and especially when we are wrestling with the shame and fear of “not being enough.” Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives.

- Brené Brown, Ph.D.
photos at www.art.com

Opting Out

I have decided to give myself a little break with May's Goal List and be satisfied that I got some things done...
I think I will still focus on those goals that are in process from last month and maybe create a few new ones depending on how "life" treats me as June progresses.

May was unkind!!

So next month I hope to be on top of all things to do with creating and living...

Natural Healers

Yesterday I was sitting out on the deck.
I was crying and feeling pretty sad and alone...
And then out of the sky came the most enormous butterfly I've ever seen.

He pitched on a leaf, I stood up to get a closer look and, as I did, he fluttered and swirled around my head and landed on my shoulder.
He was furry. Tickling.
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (I think).