IF Feb 12/2010 Adrift

"Adrift", today's challenge word, from the quote : "I've often been adrift, but I have always stayed afloat." by Dave Berry.

This image came to mind immediately. Although I prefer to draw on the day of, and prefer to see what folks come up with on the fly, this image stayed in my mind.

Spent a lot of my childhood afloat, adrift on night water after a sauna under the stars, or in a rowboat whose oars were slowly inching their way toward the dam where I fervently hoped they'd get caught and not bounce madly over and downstream, so I could recover them - AFTER madly paddling myself to the dock with my hands, of course. Floating with birdsong muffled by water barely heard, eyes closed with sunlight warming the eyelids - I imagined I could fall asleep, and where I might end up if I let myself drift.

Those experiences have shaped my subconscious so much, that I imagine I sometimes do drift, and the water takes me where, aware, I would not choose - or dare - to wander.

IF Feb 5, 2010 "muddy"

"muddy water, let stand, becomes clear" -Lao tzu. And while you let it stand, clouds drift by, schools of fish wiggle through your midriff and your foot goes to sleep. So while you're waiting for clarity in a given muddy puddle, it's a good idea to have room to breathe. And don't think too much about what might have made its home in the mud you stirred up.

Best of Friends

Remembering Brandon. If someone didn't toss the ball for him, Brandon would fling it up over his shoulder at the top of the St. Clair Reservoir and scramble to beat it down the hill, catching it on the way down and trotting back up to do it again, black plume of a tail wagging with pleasure. When early spring came around he'd visit the playground at the top of the Reservoir where the sandy basin was slow to drain. He liked to slop in, belly-deep in the icy water to fetch out the biggest cake of ice he could carry home. Miss you, Buddy.

IF January 29/10 "Focused"

I wouldn't have bet on the little guy - until I saw the magnifying glass in his arsenal. Reminded me of my grandmother - self-sufficient in the face of cataracts and arthritis, slowed down by angina and age, but always focusing her efforts - and getting her greatest enjoyment - from doing what she'd always done: inviting birds to her back window, meeting the challenge of the daily crossword, knitting another row, cooking another meal - and if it took a magnifying glass to get it all done, she was ok with it.

Whatever else you may put off...

Inspired by I.F. Dec. 18.

...make time for joy.

2010 Begins

...and here's the watchdog at my gate.

Entangled - Nov 27

Entangled - Illustration Friday Nov 27/09
Rather than losing one's vision in trying to please others, celebrate that vision by staying clear-minded, making that gift to the world - of the inspiration that drives creation - made available to all.