The word harmony originates in a pair of old Greek words - one a noun that defines a joint agreement, the other a verb that means to fit or join together.
Normally, when we think of harmony, we think of the way music sounds - of contrasted notes and vertical progressions - one higher, one lower - blending together to create a single element of beautiful sound. The melodies may be different, but the music that the contrasting notes follow along their separate paths fits together in a perfect way.
I can think of no better way to describe my parents relationship. They are very different people, my mom and my dad, but they complement one another in a way that fits together in a beautiful example of what a marriage should be.
The church my parents attend updates the church photo directory every couple of years. This year was an update year, so I have this wonderful photo. They'll celebrate their 57th anniversary this year.
Mom, Dad, this one is for you. I love you both!
Harmony
Wow. It's Monday, and it's another blog post from ME! Unbelievable.
I wanted to post my most recent project for Nuts About Sketches. I haven't been very faithful to Shawn on this blog - neglecting to put my DT work up here. She's got my scrapbook.com gallery linked on the NAS site, so it's not been too big a deal. And besides, I know that this blog doesn't see a whole lot of traffic, so I've not been too concerned about it.
But I think, now that I'll have Paper Mixing Bowl duties starting in January, I'd best get IN the habit of dropping my projects here, and probably doing a little more in the way of photographing them instead of just "point and shoot and upload."
Here's Sketch #242
And here's what I did with it.
The papers are Prima's Almanac Collection. The little crochet fan came from Mandy Harrell's etsy shop.
I took the little fan apart and put my own handmade floral on it so it would match my page a little better. Then I created a sort of vine of similar buds with some floral wire and stuck them in behind the fan.
The right hand photo has some text work done on the bricks - nothing amazing, just an invisible text box and some black text before printing.
Thanks for taking a stop by. I'd love to hear comments - the crickets are chirping pretty loud in the room here.
This horse was a throw-away. You can read his story in my Scrapbook Dot Com gallery under the photo "Pasture Ornament." Go ahead, I'll wait. It's kind of important background to understand this photograph.
Pasture Ornament
My mom is a breast cancer survivor, but the treatments to save her life ravaged her body. She now has neuropathy (damage to nerves of the peripheral nervous system), tremors, and add to all that, she's 74 years old.
She has begun developing an interest in my horses and I've sort of hoped that I could offer her an opportunity to ride at some point. But horses are ... horses, which means anything can happen, and usually does, so I've not really felt comfortable with the idea. Much as I love Java and Charlie, she's my MOM, right?
Well, a few weeks before Thanksgiving, I decided that I would get on Buddy and see just how broke he was. And in short - he's amazing. Sane, quiet, unflappable. Just like I hoped he would be. In fact, he's BETTER than I hoped he would be. I called mom and told her, "I finally have a horse that I can trust with you. His name is Buddy, and if you want to, you can ride him this Thanksgiving."
Thanksgiving dinner came, and after the dishes were cleaned up and the men were watching football, Mom said, "let's go out and see Buddy." And on the way to the pasture she said, "if you'll saddle him, I'll ride him." She told my niece, "you better take a good picture because this is the last time I'll ever ride a horse."
I helped her up onto the mounting block and helped her get into the saddle. I handed her the reins and explained that all she needed to do was point her thumb the direction she wanted to go and give him a hug with her legs. Her first words were, "He does what I TELL him!"
If you're a horse person, you'll probably notice that she's riding this horse with nothing but a halter and some reins hooked into the nose band. And her shoes aren't "regulation" or the least appropriate. And no helmet - I know.
But - the photo doesn't show EVERYTHING. I Photo Shopped out the lead rope and my right leg. The truth is, neither me nor the lead rope was the least bit necessary. Buddy took care of my mom as if he were walking on eggshells. He was - he IS - an unbelievable soul.
Mom had a great time. I know because she called me yesterday and said, "you know, I'd really like to come ride Buddy again." I said, "anytime. He's here for the rest of his life. I promise."
As if there were ever any doubt.
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This layout used the Nuts About Sketches Sketch #240. Come check out the NAS website and see how much fun you can have with a sketch a week!
