50 things that make me happy

dispense as written / in random order / nonprioritized

1. rain –sound, smell and feel
2. fire –sound, sight and smell
3. magazines –mainly scrap and art- smell and paper type are important
4. cool weather – 50-60 degrees and breezy
5. snow
6. big mountains and woods, i love trees
7. my kids' running and laughing
8. christmas cards with glitter – glitter is uber cool
9. hersheys milk chocolate – mostly with jif creamy
10. good music by talented musicians
11. 30's and 40's music
12. 50's, 60's and 70's styles, kitsch, furniture
13. fonts - free fonts
14. high mass at rosary cathedral + large choirs
15. forensic and crime shows
16. being up post-dusk to pre-dawn
17. writing – journaling, papermate pens, thin paper
18. thrift stores
19. estate sales
20. rummage sales
21. birds and crickets and frogs singing
22. art, art, more art, creating, enjoying and living it
23. skipping around online, finding art and weird sites
24. tiny wood, glass and metal containers, boxes, vials
25. old medical, art, science and lit books with lots of old pics
26. photographs – taking, viewing and messing with digitally
27. down-time and naps, coool showers
28. a really good meal, mostly comfort food
29. beeeeeeeads...........odder+older=better
30. tiny fantasy worlds : fairies & dragons
31. "reality" shows: top chef, project runway, ID channel, house
32. movies – drama, disney + pixar, funny, suspense, indies, fantasy
33. popcorn, corn on the cob, corn nuts!
34. paranormal, ghosts, unexplained mysteries
35. old rosaries, medals, angels and holy cards
36. christmas lights – mini, multi, blinking, big bulbs, any kind, any time
37. sticks and stones, twigs and rocks
38. waterfalls, the sound of water in brooks and streams
39. my blanket and pillow, and cool, crisp fresh sheets
40. scrapbooking, reading about scrapbooking, buying scrap stuff
41. little, old, toys or toy pieces, broken or not
42. vintage ephemera, postcards, weird ads
43. collaging – cutting and pasting (since forever) –titanium or fiskars microtip scissors
44. turkey hill philadelphia style vanilla bean ice cream, or breyers vanilla bean since i can't get turkey hill
45. dill pickles (mt olive), black and green olives, green olives stuffed with garlic, dilled brussel sprouts, mild dilled cauliflower, tony packos chunky garlic pickles
46. moon, clouds, stars (and vintage glittery stars)
47. getting packages and hand-written mail ( hand-signed cards are a treat anymore!)
48. childrens' art, art done as therapy by anyone
49. psychology, especially abnormal and criminal
50. daydreaming

i am constantly making lists of stuff to buy, to do, to make, to send, i guess to feel like i am in control of something, even if the crap never gets done. i also make lists of stuff the kids do and say, and their achievements, but then i lose them in my piles, my chaos. here they might be safe. for awhile, til this site becomes a mess too. then there are the lists about me. i do these lists only to have a record for my children of my semi-sane side. i want them to know normal things about me, that they might not just remember difficult days and---

other stuff i'm doing....

stuff i have been addicted to this month: downloading and organizing new free fonts (no reason), sucking-in pictures of vintage seahorses and mermaids (off ebay) - for inspiration - ....and searching for stuff i've not searched before for mix-media art: gumball charms-vintage mostly, old flash cards or game cards with cool pictures, german scrap - silver, mardi-gras beads, and vintage japanese plastic cabochons.......oooooh, want to expand my room full of little boxes full of joy....

doing it..............

finally getting some art done.......using fine-line archival pigment pens - black - and drawing on pieces of archival paper. this is to make it all feel official, and in case i like something it will last a while! i have been coming up with stuff i used to draw as a kid. some of my favorite things to draw are very detailed, small decorative designs. they look like lace sometimes, but i am trying to get subject matter to at least make some ATC's. i used to color these extremely detailed coloring pictures that would take weeks to finish and lots of fine markers-- fairies, mushrooms, nature. so far i have also drawn a dragon, skulls, and lots of textural inchies for practice.
i am actually pretty proud of myself.....i have been drawing every day!!!!!!!! i need complete uninterrupted time to work. i have the tv on for company, but like to just dive-in and get absorbed. it's very therapeutic, esp when i come up with stuff i like. some of the things remind me of the drawings i did when i was really manic, but that's ok, right now it's relaxing......
i will try to photo these and post them.......
not using my scrap space, BTW, just my corner of the couch where i have a tiny workspace set up, it's my fave spot in the house, maybe i'll take a pic of that too.