Pollyanna Lives!

It’s been so long since I’ve been able to post. So much going on in my head. So much going on in my life. While my body continues to fail me, my efforts to beat the clock have succeeded beyond what I ever dared to hope for, and I’ve somehow managed to continue to grow while dying. (Is that a Dylan song in the making, or what?)

Optimism is an odd but powerful creature and my religion of choice. I’ve been labelled a “Pollyanna” by those who intended it as a derision, but I have always worn that as a badge of honor. To me, the label means that nothing is impossible. Improbable, yeah. But not impossible. Even when I’m overwhelmed, have good reason for feeling sorrowful and afraid, a voice inside nags at me to “just hang on, as this, too, shall pass.“ Without that voice, I would have succumbed long ago. Without that voice, I would not even want to survive. But with that voice, I will always look forward to tomorrow and whatever it may bring.

While I have never really made specific plans for the future, I learned early on the importance of being open to whatever came knocking on my door. It’s taken me in so many directions – wonderful directions – which were well beyond my ability to conceive of beforehand, and led to a rich and enjoyable life filled with interesting and wonderful friends and associates. The only downside (besides my health) has been in trying to keep up with all the plates I’ve got spinning. I have tried to give 100% to everyone and every cause. I know that in my heart, the commitment is there, but have yet to be able to consistently show it. Never enough hours, never enough energy. But as I truly believe that nothing is impossible, I’ll keep on trying and hopefully my friends will continue to understand and put up with my sporadic bursts of activity and periods of quiet.

Free Clip-Art / Icons of the Day: ”Brass Balz” Series, Part 1

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered on this blog are free for your personal use while subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for details)

WHAT’S NEW ON ZAZZLE

Easter Never FELT This Good

Are you up late tonight helping the Easter Bunny to hide his eggs? I remember those years fondly when our (now, 26-year-old) son was at that age when he’d be like a Mexican Jumping Bean, filled with excitement, over the prospect of searching for those wonder of wonders, chocolate and jelly bean EGGS laid ostensibly by a most unusual species of Hare. One of Rob’s favorite things to do from the time he was 3 was to draw all kinds of maps – maps for “Hunting the Elusive Bear”, maps for his Grandma in Cleveland, Ohio to get to our home (at that time) in Winchester, Virginia; and of course, the most important kind of map of all – just ask any pirate – the Treasure Map! But he couldn’t draw a Treasure Map to where that Lop-Ear Minstrel of Merriment had hid her eggs until AFTER he had found them all. I was a real corker of a Momma back then, teasing the boy by coming up with ever more ways to drag out the game so he’d really have to think and search so when he finally found the handful of sweets he’d feel like he had accomplished something worthwhile. So I’d stay up half the night before trying to come up with some kind of clever riddles that when answered correctly, would lead Rob to each of the eggs. The first year we did this, was a breeze but as the years went on it got harder and harder for ME to come up with some place new and, harder yet, come up with a clue that was not too easy, not too hard, and hopefully worth a laugh. I finally got smart the last couple years we did this, though. I’d go hide the treats and then delegate the task of writing the riddles to me Hubby! Hmm, Why didn’t I think of that sooner?

As I mentioned, Robby has outgrown this game (to some extent…) but we’ve got a new twist on it this year. Later this morning we’re going to visit my Hubby’s 92-year old Mother at the Nursing Home she moved to a few months ago. And instead of hunting for Easter Eggs, Don, Rob and I are all going to hunt for Grandma’s dentures, eyeglasses and hearing aids!! Whee! — Well, time does seem to have a way of marching on and no one ever said that getting old is a dignified process. Thank God, we’ve all still got our sense of humor and that Grandma’s being taken such good care of by the Dominican Nuns and lay-people who run the facility she lives at now.

To all of my friends and readers who celebrate Easter and those who celebrate the renewal of life at this season, may you always be joyful and blessed and showered in sunshine and love.

——- Leslie

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered on this blog are free for your personal use while subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for details)

Phil A. O’Fish – Is Grateful That Lent Is Over!

I’ve FELT Spring In The Air!

With the sunshine and warm temperatures this week, we have crocuses in bloom all around the yard and a family of 5 deer arrived to feed on them. As much as I love the blossoms, I just don’t have the heart to shoo the deer away. So much construction in the neighborhood the past 5 years has just about wiped out their feeding grounds and the poor animals are starving. The suburb I live in has made it against the law to feed the deer (along with the occasional bear and mountain lion) because it allows them to survive and proliferate. In other words, they want the wild life to starve to death, else they’ll become “pests” and have to be shot.

Now, I’m not a fanatic by any means and I understand that humans have needs and rights, as well. But the theory behind the law is a lot harder to take when I find myself face to face with a doe and her fawns. Somehow, being near the top of the food chain isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Yeah, I admit it. I’m a wimp when it comes to Bambi and Thumper.

What bugs me most about it though is that while all this “new” construction has replaced what had formerly been woodlands, there are blocks of homes and commercial buildings that stand unwanted, empty, and rotting and attracting their own brand of “wild life” as a result. It seems so wasteful and cruel to allow this sprawl to continue while there already is land to be used. From my experience working in the construction field, I’m well aware of the costs and other possible negatives of having to demolish an existing building and do environmental clean-up. But such endeavors are in the best interests of the whole community so those costs should be off-set in part through tax incentives and other public funds. That’s how it works in some neighborhoods or for certain types of buildings – but not all. And so the creeping blight and hungry deer continue to grow.

Sorry, folks. I hadn’t intended to get into a rant here tonight.

What I did intend to do was to welcome my second favorite season of the year – Spring – and note that Easter is early this year and just around the corner. To celebrate it all, I’ve created a great big icon/clip art set in a style that mimics those felt cut-outs we made back in grade school and bright green felt desktops and scrapbook album pages to serve as a suitable backdrop. Along with the Easter themed images, I’ve included a new alphabet (also felted) that includes all capitals, small letters, numerals, punctuation and some commonly used symbols. Enjoy!

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered on this blog are free for your personal use while subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for details)

Download is a zipped file containing #26 Capital Letters, #26 Lower-Case Letters, #0-9, plus assorted punctuation and common symbols.

Download is a zipped file contains backgrounds in the following sizes: 1920×1200 (px), 1600×1200 (px), and 1024×768 (px).