Art Imitating Life

I got this birthday card from Rachel. It's beyond perfect. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say she had it commissioned just for my special day. The story that goes with this is a bit long and has been told before. But it's so damn funny, I think it just needs to be shared again. Actually, I looked for the original story and couldn't find it. So, I'll attempt to retell it. Rachel and I were on our way to a Mom's Club meeting. I was driving. We were talking and laughing, as is always the case. I have a very hard time walking and chewing gum much less driving and talking/laughing. We approach an intersection and I breeze right through. Rachel comments that perhaps I should have stopped at the red light. This makes me laugh harder and reminds me of a joke. "Two old ladies are driving along. Let's call them Thelma and Louise. Thelma is driving. Louise notices that they are not slowing down for a red light. Thelma whizzes right through. Then it happens again and again. Louise finally asks Thelma why she isn't stopping for the red lights. Thelma screams "Holy Shit, I thought you were driving!". So I can see Rachel standing in front of the card display, then this little gem pops out at her. The laughter would ring through the store and of course, the rule is, if it makes you laugh out loud, you must buy it. Also, if it makes me laugh out loud I must blog it.

Thanks Rach. It's perfectly US.

What the heck?

Me? At a loss for words? Totally. I've been on a quest. Reading an awesome book. Getting in touch with that thing we all want to get in touch with. It's left me speechless. It's also sucked most of the creative energy out of me and left me not quite knowing what's going on.

The book is "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. It's way deep. Way Big. For me anyway. I'm actually on my second read through. I've joined a bookclub and am taking an online "class" to help to process it all. As a side effect of this whole thing, I don't have much to say. Remember how I've said that I talk to hear my own voice, therefore I must blog to read my own thoughts? I think I've been cured, or am at least in recovery from that disorder. This isn't to say I'm done blogging. I'm so not done blogging. This also isn't to say that this blog will turn into some kind of weird "follow me to the light" sort of thing. So not my style. This is just a sharing moment. That's all. If you are so inclined to read the book, it's worth it. If you are not so inclined, that's cool too. It's not for everyone. But man, when it hits you, it hits right between the eyes.

Scrappy Stuff

More sharing and some scary kinds scrappy fun. It's the beginning of a new circle journal round and I've been working on Lisa's CJ this month. So Lisa is one of those magical types. Sit down, swirl some stuff around and POOF, art. So her CJ theme is "Just have fun" or something to that effect. Wait! What? No rules? No guidelines? WTH? Now what am I supposed to do? So, I unpack the cutest little altered book you ever saw. Totally cute, totally Lisa. And I start turning pages and then it hits me. Like a ton of bricks. I have to put something in there. Something even remotely cool. Crap. I had made a deal with myself at the beginning of this round. No buying new stuff for the CJs. No shopping. Use what you have. So now I've got this deal that I really feel like pretending never happened. But before I head to the store, let's just go through the stuff that's gathering dust and see what comes of it. So I find a ton of Asian stuff that I've been collecting and saving and not using. Then I find more stuff to go with that stuff. I made a pile on the table and just kept adding to it. It's a little shameful how big that pile got and how much of it I still have left over. Anyway, I thought I could make something happen from that stuff. It was Feb. and the beginning of Chinese New Year and I was sort of in that frame of mind anyway. Cool. But what does it all mean and what does it have to do with me, the Irish girl from MT? Then I thought, "quit thinking". I almost pulled a muscle, but I was able to stop thinking for just a sec. So I started cutting and tearing and inking and rearranging and it just all sat there on my desk. Looking at me. It sat for days and days. Then one day I read a passage in a book about the dragons in our lives, ie; the fears and worries. Ah, there it is. That connecting thread. I was born under the sign of the dragon. I was on this quest...(see above). Using only the most minimum of cerebral effort, it all came together. Oh, and the Irish believe in dragons too. The knot in the end of the thread.