quotes
Head full of songbirds
Listening to the trees
Twofer Tuesday: prairie dog wisdom
Twofer Tuesday
I can imagine no more comfortable frame of mind for the conduct of life than a humorous resignation. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
As documented earlier, Marcel and Loki “cooperated” with Zippy for a very good cause in that photo session and no felines were injured in the making of this photo.
Few clever enough
If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
Unfortunately, that also goes for many women. I don’t see crows mucking up things and then gaslighting everyone into thinking stuff’s just dandy. That’s purely the province of rich and powerful men/women.
Wrinkles and torn wings
As much as I loathe this aging thing, I’m beginning to recognize that I am now a healthier person in terms of self-worth and knowing who I am and where I fit in the world. That’s been a good trade-off for the wrinkles. ~ Patty Duke
Life does have a way of leaving its mark upon the body. But hey, it’s good to know we can still fly, torn wings or not.
Autumnal state of mind
Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Telling it slant
#Caturday wisdom
Light my fire
In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~ Albert Schweitzer
I’d also extend thanks to autumn’s vibrant foliage for doing the same.
Love is a rose
My most recent post was about the cat card I made for my neighbor’s birthday over the weekend. Turns out, she received yellow roses from her sister. And then an identical delivery of yellow roses due to florist error. Instead of keeping all that glory for herself, my generous neighbor offered me one of the bouquets. I just collected it from her and decided I wanted to document it on this ol’ blog, so set it on the floor in a patch of natural light.
Marcel immediately came to investigate.
“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.” – Kahlil Gibran
And Marcel? Well, he sees the rose and its thorns, then proceeds to snack on the surrounding foliage.
#Caturday
Creepy is better than just plain scary because you can’t look away from creepy – you want to know the truth! ~ Ransom Riggs
The truth? Marcel is an exceedingly sweet cat with a penchant for creepy and just because it looks as if he’d eat a corpse, I really don’t believe he’d follow through.
The best reward
All those who love Nature she loves in return, and will richly reward, not perhaps with the good things they are commonly called, but with the best things, of this world–not with money and titles, horses and carriages, but with bright and happy thoughts, contentment and peace of mind. ~ John Lubbock
Pressing pause
Three perspectives on shut-eye
An artist’s perspective: I shut my eyes in order to see. ~ Paul Gauguin
A dog’s perspective: I shut my eyes in order to better feel the breeze and smell the odors. ~ Emma Jean-Jean
A woman’s perspective: I shut my eyes in order to momentarily pretend all the horribleness in the world isn’t happening. ~ Tracy
Increasingly true
Taking refuge
Sunday Confessional: stealthy art
I get where Patti Smith is coming from in this quote: “In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.” And I think when I originally drafted my work-in-progress, I did approach my art with abandon.
But today, as I continue to revise, I’m feeling a bit stealthy as I sow bits and pieces of backstory throughout the first 50 pages of this middle grade novel. I need the reader to know certain things, but I don’t want the reader aware of my presence. I very much do NOT want those bits and pieces to scream
BACKSTORY!
INFO DUMP!
WARNING: HEAVY-HANDED AUTHOR ON THE LOOSE!
Instead, I’m trying my best to adopt this squirrel’s attitude.
No sudden moves. Only careful and deliberate revisions that I hope won’t call attention to my presence.
(Note: Patti’s quote resonates with me so much I previously used it here.)
All in a day
Truth
Mutualism
Short answer: trouble
Kindred spirits
Walking that fine line
You have to believe in yourself. But you know what? There’s a fine line between believing in yourself and being delusional. ~ Mick Foley
Lately, the nasty voice in my head is firmly on the side of “delusional” and it’s getting harder and harder to believe in myself.
Wonder if it’s too late to pivot toward professional wrestling.