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This is a small pewter acorn knob and its screw that I found in our hardware drawer.

All caught up with my Everday Matters in May drawings!

Off to do a food shop before my mom and brother arrive.


Nothing is more important than our relationships with the people we love. I just returned from Germany, and feeling so full after my stay with the Falkes, and my long overdue visit back to the beautiful area where we lived tewnty years ago. It was incredibly satisfying to take myself outside of my comfort zone by traveling on my own, however the most valuable part of my trip was the reconnection with old friends after 17 years. I am so much richer for realizing the strength and importance of old friendships and how they survive over time, if you make the effort. Certain people deeply touch you to your core, and it's a wonderful feeling to be aware of, and to reflect on why. I believe many more people could have that connection if we allowed ourselves the time to go there. My German friend, Irmela, has given me two pieces of advise in my past that I have never forgotten. They each give an example of one of the many wonderful ingredients that make up her personality. The first was that I needed to slow down and allow time for myself. We were on vacation on Marthas Vineyard together and she was specifically referring to the morning hour and sitting down to a peaceful breakfast. It's an outlook on life that carries way beyond breakfast, a quality of life that one may or may not choose to control and practice. Her second was in reference to teenage daughters and their emotions. She said to me, "Barbara, I have found that most often all they need is a hug." I know that this also carries far beyond teenage daughters to so many of us and our needs. We get ourselves into trouble when we don't listen and empathize, and when we make assumptions about ourselves and others. Too often the critical task becomes our obsession with fixing something, that may not be our job to repair, but our opinions, judgements, and fears constrict our understanding...I try to remind myself not to control things, but to be open-minded and engaged and to listen and have faith.   

EVERYDAY MATTERS IN MAY DAY # 20      DRAW YOUR FAVORITE DRINK

I am having the most wonderful time in Alsbach, Germany, visiting our dear old friends, Irmela and Reinhard Falke. This is their sweet little Jack Russell, Elisha, who loves to curl up on the pillow on my bed. I feel so at home here. 

 

It is very difficult to do a somewhat respectable drawing everyday. I was totally desperate here with this bandaide, being confined to an overseas flight and having no access to a first aid kit. I should have relied on my imagination, but I was feeling completely cramped in and totally unimaginative.   

 

Alittle behind in sharing my drawings, so I will do a mass posting tonight.

                                                  DRAW A PILLOW

 

 

            NEW NECKLACE

Glass beads and waxed linen.

Made this with my favorite green glass beads, and love the big splash of color!

 

 

Found a photo of this bug online. He's actually much more beautiful than he is creepy, but I'm not so sure I'd still feel that way if he landed on me!

I'm still running one day behind on my "Everyday in May" drawings...need to draw gloves today in order to catch up. Not so sure I'll make it. This is our last night in Boulder and then back to New England. We've been eating way too much good food, but we did make a two hour hike up to the first Flatiron today. Boulder is one of the most beautiful cities anywhere, and the University is such a wonderful wonderful school where the kids seem happy & healthy and engaged. They all seem to love their professors, and if you think about it, who wouldn't want to teach here where the quality of life is so high. Wish we had another week out here. As Julie Andrews said at the end of her commencement speech, " The hills are alive with the sound of CU students!"

My daughter, Anna, graduated yesterday from UC Boulder with a degree in Anthropologie. It was an absolutely perfect day. The graduation took place in the stadium and was truely magnificent with big TV screens showing closeups of all the graduates as they marched in, making wonderful happy gestures and silly faces. Julie Andrews was the commencement speaker, and so much more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. You can watch the live speech online, but below are some of her main important points.  

 

 

 

 --Be an ambassador for 'the kind of world you want to live in'--

"Be a part of all that is decent and be an ambassador for the kind of world that you want to live in," she said.

To help make her point that graduates should "go out and learn something" when faced with adversity, Andrews shared a personal anecdote about a botched throat operation that caused her to lose her singing voice.

At the time, she was writing a children's book with her daughter.

"I was bemoaning my fate and she said, 'Mom, you've simply found a new way of using your voice,'" Andrews recalled. "Suddenly, the weight of sadness fell from my shoulders and I embraced this new learning experience wholeheartedly."

Since then, Andrews and her daughter have together written 30 children's books.

Andrews also made an endearing pitch for the arts during her speech.

"Wherever your path takes you, make the arts a meaningful part of your life in some way. Honestly, they are food for the soul. They revitalize us. They transport us. Inspires us. Shape us. Humble us. They connect us worldwide in ways that nothing else can."