Dory had the right idea

Our new quote is perfect for mid- February.

Or really any time. 

All times, in fact.

It comes from a book in one of my favorite series -the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher- called Death Masks and is self-explanatory:

It isn’t good to hold on too hard to the past. You can’t spend your whole life looking back. Not even when you can’t see what lies ahead. All you can do is keep on keeping on and try to believe that tomorrow will be what it should be – even if it isn’t what you expected. 

fast and easy

Fleet of finger and easy as a breeze, this post for Thesaurus Thursday must rapidly introduce thrip as a simple way to say swift and uncomplicated.

ps - it is an old way to describe snapping your fingers and should not be confused with the icky, invasive insects called thrips ;-)

sometimes eyes are not enough

January is bleak, people, but February is even bleaker.
That's a cheery thought, no?
Grey day after grey day, bracing winds - blech!
Oh, it is gonna get worse before it gets better.
It is so easy to lose your sparkle, to get bogged down with the darkness and weather.
      Sometimes it seems like there is less joy, less laughter, less magic in the world this time of year.
How easy is it to just stop believing that the sun will come back, that flowers will bloom again?
How easy would it be to surrender our belief in wonder? To allow the winter air into our hearts and freeze our souls? To become jaded and hard?
   Joy is easy to come by in Spring, full of rebirth and Summer, blazing with sunshine and Autumn resplendent in color.
     Winter is when we must seek out beauty, search for happiness, put concerted effort into finding our joy. It is hard to see in this grey haze so we have to use all of our senses and our hearts and souls to overcome the mid-winter blahs.

It may be easier to give in to the apathy and stay in bed with fuzzy blankets up to our ears, but it isn't better.
This week's quote from the fabulous Newbery award winning book Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillio speaks to me about the struggle to stay positive in this Winter world:

"Bah, cynics," said Dr. Meescham.

"Cynics are people who are afraid to believe."

Don't be afraid to believe in goodness, in happiness, in sparkle ponies.
Keep your heart open.

psssst: a girl might not just be talking about the seasons  :-)

for anyone who trips over air

I am clumsy.
There is no way around the truth: i bang into things. A lot.
Mostly i am not really awkward, except when dancing and then watch out for the flailing.
It's not like i have long, gangly limbs that i can't control getting in my way and tripping me up or that i lack confidence in myself and end up bumbling about.
Quite the contrary.
Poised and self-assured, completely in control of my faculties, i walk right into things.
And trip over things.
And scrape across things.
And fall down.
It is like an affliction, people.
My brain and my body are just slightly out of synch. I know that i need to walk through the doorway and turn down the hall, but my brain does it faster than my body so that by the time i reach the door my brain is already thinking about going down the hall so i turn a split second too early and smack right into the post.
All of this happens in milliseconds without me being consciously aware it. That is, unaware of it until my hip checks the wood. Owwwww
It has taken me years to figure out the problem.
Folks would helpfully suggest that i pay more attention to my surroundings, but i thought i was.
This tiny body lag is also why i drop words out of sentences when i am writing and interrupt people when they are talking, which is super annoying for my grammar checker and anyone trying to maintain a conversation with me.
Everyone naturally has body lag, of course. Neural impulses travel faster than muscles can contract. But not everyone is clumsy.
I feel like i am somehow physically lagging much further behind my mind than most people. Hence the tripping over the same rug that has been in the same place for years or hitting my toe on the bed leg even though i know exactly where it is.
I am fine as long as i concentrate only on locomoting. And i do mean concentrate.
Don't laugh at me when i go down stairs one step at a time like a toddler, clutching the banister or walls like we are experiencing an earthquake because no matter how ridiculous and feeble i might look, i know that if my concentration slips even for a moment, down i will tumble.
Why am i sharing all of this?
It is Thesaurus Thursday and i have stumbled upon (rimshot) the perfect adjective for me:
 aclumsed.
Why did this gem ever become defunct?
Aclumsed sounds way cooler than clumsy; it is more refined and less clunky, but none the less is still covered in mystery bruises. Like me.
Aclumsed really hits home the sense of  the clumsiness being forced upon one like a curse or a Christmas fruitcake.
Let's bring aclumsed  back into the vernacular so that we can at least sound cool while laying in that puddle.

no time to be bored

Our new Glimpse into the Commonplace book is a quote about boredom from a fine mystery novel i read last week recommended to me by my BFF, The Lake  House by Kate Morton.
I find that there is too much to do, too much to see and too many naps to be had in the Nikiverse for boredom to take hold for long. Sure, there are times when my thoughts wander in an endless loop, but luckily there is always something sparkly or odd about to catch mt attention.

Boredom, as her mother had always told them, was a state to be pitied, the province of the witless.

LOVE this picture. It is SOOC of an approaching rainstorm from last summer - look at how the fluffy white clouds seems to be battling the encroaching dark one.

for whom the snowman bell tolls

You know when you are busy - head down, shoulder to the wheel, getting it done, etc - and you suddenly look around realizing that you have somehow ended up someplace ridiculous?
I am sure it happens to most people, but i think it might happen a bit more often here in the Nikiverse because of the nature of my job.
Okay, and mayhaps because of the nature of me.
A jewelry station of sorts has been fashioned on the breakfast bar of the house i am currently watching so that i can get finished several commissions that are due this week. It is not ideal, but a girl's got to do whatever to get things done.
This morning it occurred to me that i have one more festival this weekend (Saturday at Margaret Brent MS for those of you in Southern MD) and am almost sold out of Christmas and winter Quirkees: YIKES!
A quick trip home to the studio to grab some appropriate charms, beads and bells later, a hodge-podge of merriment has been added to the already questionable work space.
    It is a splayed mess, people.
Anyhoo, i am intensely focused figuring out how many Quirkees i can add to this week's schedule and where to lay them out in this chaos when i hear myself say, Come on Nik, you don't have time to make everything. Santa penguin, Santa cardinal or Santa bluebird? Penguin, cardinal, bluebird, penguin, cardinal, bluebird - they are all birds and all Santas, just pick one.
That is the moment when i had to pause, to reflect on the serious tone of such a ridiculous question.
My life is currently all about choosing an anthropomorphic holiday bird to make into earrings.
Wow. This is not a place i could have imagined for myself.
It isn't a bad place, mind you.
Just a weird one, worthy of a haiku moment.

Bells. Birds. Birds, bells, birds.

Reindeer, snowflake, Santa hat.

Oh my strange, strange life.

Holly and Ivy

November is made for fire

My love of dancing flames is no secret, as is my love for hot dogs and marshmallows.
Put them together with friends, a chill in the air and whittling sticks and you make Niki joy.

First, however, you do need to get a fire going:

Some sort of starter... kindling...aim-n-flame...

Come on people - FIRE!

How many people does it take to light a fire?

Ahhhhhhhh... here we go.

Add some chunks of wood.
          Careful; leave room for oxygen flow.

That's better.





Thanks to Lynn and Shawn for having Betsy, Ron and me over for a campfire.

Considering how much camping Lynn and I did together as children it felt nostalgic to talk and laugh and catch up with friends that have drifted apart while sharpening sticks, grilling doe-dogs and making s'mores.
I love, love the crackling of the wood and the smell of the smoke (when it isn't attacking my eyes, that is - less of a fan then). And i love them even more when surrounded by fun people.

Helllllloooooo October!

It is well documented that October is my favorite month of the year.
LOVE IT!
The humidity finally breaks.
There is a chill in the air.
Jeans and light sweaters emerge from storage.
Punkins appear by the side of the road.
 Apple cider abounds.
Trees put on their autumnal finery.
Pumpkin spice everything!
Yes, there is much to celebrate in October.
Here in the Nikiverse, October is all about doing craft festivals, gearing up for the holiday season and making, making, making, making beautiful and silly things.

However, there are uncomfortable changes as well.
My beloved pink camera has been retired.
Here is the post with the very first picture i ever took with it, in May 2008.  sniff, sniff, sniffle...
After a conservative guess of 14,000 pictures taken, she finally gave up the ghost two weeks ago and refused to turn on, even with much pleading, begging and cajoling.
    It was time to let her rest on a pedestal in the studio, in all of her pink glory.
Luckily, there is a backup camera that Jason and Kate gave me when they upgraded a few years ago.
Now just to find it...
Camera located!  It is a newer version of the pink camera so i already have batteries and memory cards and cases so now we just have to turn it on...
Nothing.
Panic briefly flared in my tummy at the thought that i might be without a camera.  Yes, i realize that in this day and age with cameras on phones and tablets it is certainly possible to take a picture without a camera, but it isn't the same people.
Okay, take a deep breath; maybe the battery needs to be charged. After all, i haven't used the pink camera in weeks. Okay, now just to charge the battery...
Where is the charger?!?
My apartment has been in a sad, sorry state of construction and disarray for a year. Nothing is where it is supposed to be - GAH!
After a few days of searching, the charger was located, the battery was charged and last night - TADA! - the backup camera is working and has graduated from its backup status.

Hazzah!

It is National Poetry day!

...and yes, Rea, haikus do count.  💖

Hola!

achievment unlocked - rose petal puller

I love new experiences and learning new things.
As such, i have accumulated an odd skill set.
Need a wedding dress properly corseted? I can do that.
Need to keep a nail from falling off after smashing your finger? I can do that.
Need to cook food for 150? I can do that.
Need to properly set a balloon drop? I can do that.
Need to mix glitter to exactly match your wall paint? I can do that.
Need to explain why the sky is blue with ordinary household objects? I can do that.
Need to navigate by the stars? I can do that.
Need to cook cauliflower so that it is delicious? I can not do that. Really, can anyone?

Recently i learned how to pull rose petals from the stem without damaging them.
Yes, there is a specific technique for that.
It involves holding the flower and stem in opposite hands with your fingers curled around the base of the bud just past the first few petal layers and then there is a pushing, pulling, pushing, rocking, pushing, slight twist and pull.

Voila! 
You are holding all of the rose's petals without the rest of the flower; now you just have to gently unroll the petals from each other.

Need petals to throw.

Denude the roses gently.

Ow! That's prickly!

PSA: As you finish 20, 30, 40, 50  roses, it is easy to become distracted.
Stay vigilant or you might forget that there are still thorns.

What i really want for my birthday.

I am 46 years old today.
That's 46 trips all the way around the sun.
Today i am starting my 47th.
To mark the occasion i have prepared a haiku about the things that matter to me, the things that i truly and deeply want for my birthday.

May is my second favorite month

Beautiful flowers.
                                              Mother's Day.
                 A multitude of birthdays, including mine.  🎈
                                                                      ➤Mild temperatures.
Yes, May is a great month indeed.

What keeps it from being my favorite?
POLLEN

The scourge of yellow dust everywhere and the reality that right now i am out of Benadryl, Benadryl Sinus, Tylenol Sinus, Claritin and Ny-Quil.
It is such a price to pay for all of the beauty, i'm just saying.

medium level annoyed or mildly angry

My favorite curse word is piddlypot.
I don't know why it is, i don't remember where it came from, but if i am upset enough to call out an expletive it is 8 times out of 10 piddlypot (the other 2 might be too filthy to type here). In fact, i never realized that it was my signature curse until Dash started talking and i confided in JP and Kate that i was worried he would pick up bad language habits from me (i was thinking of that other 20%) and Kate replied, We'll know he is listening closely to you the first time he says piddlypot.
I am also fond of the word crap, normally in conjunction with something else, i.e. crap on a stick, crap on a cracker, crapcakes with a side of tartar sauce.
But i need a curse or expletive that lies somewhere between crap (not good) and piddlypot (really, really not good).  There are two good words that i will say to myself that fit the bill - baldershaft and bagondasheesh - but they come from private jokes and it doesn't feel right using them in public because then i'd have explain all of the backstory and who has time for that when you are already upset about something?
That is where Thesaraus Thursday will come to my rescue!
As i continued to read about words that have fallen out of common use, i came across zooterkins.
Zooterkins!
Yes, it sounds like the name of a fire Pokemon, but in fact zooterkins is a 17th century expletive akin to consarn it, but less 1849 prospector-y. It even feels like a word that would live in the Nikiverse.
Let's try to bring zooterkins back, people. It is a kinder, gentler way to let everyone around you know that something or someone has just stromped on your next to next to (would that be your third to) last nerve and attention needs to be paid to keep the situation from boiling up to piddlypot.
Or that other 20%.

so fun to say

Shuttlecock.
Shuttlecock.
Say it out loud people, shuttlecock.
That is a super fun word to say.
Shuttlecock.
Shuttlecock.

And why do i have badminton on the brain?

And not just any badminton birdie, my friends.
This beauty at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MI is 18 ft tall and FANTASTIC.







Installed in the mid-90's by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, it is one of three shuttlecocks strewn about the grounds making it look like giants were playing a game of badminton with the museum as the net.

BF Suzanne and I visited KC last November and this was the Number One thing on my to-do list.

It did not disappoint. 

You can totally go stand inside of it for pictures.

Totally.

though you might not want to put your foot up on the priceless art, as a nice security guard reminded me 

Giant shuttlecock.

Like a set piece from my dreams.

Thanks, Kansas City!

Not just peanuts

Our new quote comes from George Washington Carver. Though known for inventing 300 uses for the peanut - including peanut butter, which he actually did not invent - Carver's most lasting contribution to America was probably the research and implementation of crop rotation in the South.
  As a professor at Tuskegee University, he encouraged his students (all male at the time) to strive towards gaining eight cardinal virtues:

• Be clean both inside and out
• Look neither up to the rich or down on the poor
• Lose, if needs be, without squealing
• Win without bragging
• Always be considerate of women, children and older people
• Be too brave to lie
• Be too generous to cheat
• Take your share of the world and let others take theirs

Though certainly fine life goals, the list is a bit unwieldy as a quote. Luckily, he nicely summarized that basic philosophy thusly:

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.  

because day after tomorrow is just too many syllables

Poplollies and Bellibones is a fun book by Susan Kelz Sperling about words that have fallen out of use in modern English. I found a copy for a dime a few years ago at a book sale and have been enjoying finding and trying out new (old) words.
I am on a quest to bring overmorrow back to common usage.
It indicates the day after tomorrow and has a commonly used equivalent in German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Afrikaans and French.
Come on people, join me in promoting overmorrow in sentences such as, "Overmorrow is Saturday; let's go dancing" and, "There is no possible way i can have 70 original greeting cards created by overmorrow! Have you gone insane?"

tap-tap... are we live?

it was just sitting there, waiting

Man i love finding things on the side of the road.
Cool things, that is; not roadkill and such.

Getting ready to pull out of my driveway this morning i spotted this chandelier by my neighbor's curb with a FREE sign taped on it.

Free?

Like free to a good home?

Like free to my home?

I don't know why they discarded it.
Maybe it is broken.
Maybe they remodeled.
Maybe they found it in the attic.
Whatever the reason - SCORE!
I mean heck, the crystals alone are worth the price of taking this home and giving it a good cleaning.

OH! I could use it as a display for NikCo.
Or I could see if my awesome electrician brother can get it wired into my house.
Maybe in the photo gallery hall.
Maybe painted copper.
ohhhhhh... the possibilities...