Flamingo Pond at the National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA
Advice from a Flamingo.
Wade into life.
Stand tall.
Stand out in a crowd.
Hang out with your flock.
Find the right balance.
Keep your beak clean.
Show off your true colors.
Even the pinkest of flamingos starts out gray.
Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet.
Always be yourself!
Unless you can be a flamingo….
then be a flamingo!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
*Inspired by YourTrueNature
On Being an Uncle: A Charlie Guest Post.
As many of you may recall, I became an uncle about nine months ago.
I gotta tell you, this job just gets better and better every week.
“We” are now eating some “solid” foods by “our self” sitting in the “high” chair.
It is very important for me to stay close by during mealtime to catch anything that hits the floor… or happens to be shared by a swinging hand. (And I must say, blueberry puffs with purple sweet potato are quite scrumptious.)
“We” are also now getting much more mobile, and “somebody” likes my squeaky toys, my ears, my tongue, my paws, and my nose. “She” even takes my bones right out of my mouth.
But that’s okay. It’s all in a day’s work of being an uncle. And as long as she tosses me a blueberry puff or two, I’m totally fine with the rest of the havoc!
Mom says I am a really good uncle. I like when she tells me that. It is usually accompanied by a chin scratch or an ear rub or possibly a treat! She really, really likes being a grandma, so I guess its a good thing I like being an uncle…
Woofs & Wags,
Charlie
Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends. Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model. Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, Jaeger the neighbor dog, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house. If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com. If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.
A 60th Birthday Candy Bar Card (in large print for the sight impaired!)
Turning 60 is nothing to SNICKER about.
Your joints may start to CRUNCH,
and your WHATCHAMACALLIT may not work like it used to.
You'll likely have BUTTERFINGERs,
and your mind may play TWIX on you.
We still wouldn't trade you for 100GRAND.
You are a HOT TAMALE and MOUNDS of fun!
Wishing you an EXTRA special birthday!
We celebrated a friend this weekend.
I've known Mary for over 30 years.
What a privilege it is to have "old" friends! :)
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Grass Flip Flops – Don’t let the grass grow under your feet
Don’t Let the Grass Grow Under Your Feet.
After getting a total kick out of these grass flip flops I spotted in a gift shop in Sedona and seeing where someone who lives in the desert southwest might enjoy these, they reminded me of this saying Grandma used to say.
“Don’t let the grass grow under your feet!”
Some of her other favorites included, “Make hay while the sun shines,” and “Work before pleasure.”
I can still hear her saying these in my head, and it makes me smile.
Grandma only went to school until fourth grade before she had to stay home and take care of her brothers after the passing of her mother. At the age of nine, she also did the cooking and cleaning and laundry (long before automatic washers and dryers, microwaves, and vacuum cleaners) while her dad worked in the coal mine.
Can we even image any of our children at the age of 9 doing this today? Not that I would recommend it!
Though she lacked formal education, she had more common sense and a stronger work ethic than anyone I’ve known. There is nothing she wouldn’t try doing – including electrical work!
She taught me many things. Things you don’t learn in school.
She taught me the important “stuff!”
But most of all she loved me with a love I still feel today.
My grandma has been gone for over 20 years, but she is still my guiding light in so many ways every day. Now that I am a grandma, I can only hope that I will have the same impact on my grandchild(ren).
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pittsburgh's Picklesburgh is a Big Dill!
Though I reside in a little town called Mars, our "big city" is Pittsburgh. Just 30 minutes from Mars (hard to believe eh?!), Pittsburgh is really where all the "action" is.
This past weekend (July 28-29, 2017), one of Pittsburgh's 446 bridges (the Roberto Clemente or 6th Street Bridge) was closed down to automobile traffic and opened up for a dill-lightfully dill-licious celebration of all things pickle! Picklesburgh 2017.
So what to do at "life in between?" Why visit Picklesburgh of course!
Why Pickles?
Pittsburgh has a particularly popular pickle-loving history beginning almost 150 years ago when the H. J. Heinz Factory was built. I remember going on a Heinz factory tour as a grade school field trip and receiving one of the now iconic pickle pins. (My granddaughter now has one in her Grandma Memory Jar from our visit to Picklesburgh this past weekend.)
Picklesburgh celebrates EVERYthing pickled! You could find pickle-flavored sodas, pickle beer and moonshine, and pickle-flavored cocktails.
Dill-acacies included pierogies with pickles, pickled funnel cakes, pickle-flavored custard, and deep-fried, bacon-wrapped pickles on a stick. There were pickles and dip and grilled cheese sandwiches with pickles. There was pickle fudge and pickle peanut butter cookies.
There were pickle balloons – small and large – including a giant flying Heinz pickle balloon, custom built by a team that also crafts balloons for Disney and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
There were pickling food demonstrations
And pickle samples from local farm-to-table shop small vendors like Epic Pickles
and the Pittsburgh Pickle Company,
where I bought one of each flavor!
And if you don't have one yet, who could live without a dill pickle talk-to-text Linabag?
It sure was a dill-leriously dill-lectable way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Thanks Picklesburgh! Next year, I may just try that Pickle-flavored Italian Ice……
Maybe….
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Funny Kitchen Dish Towels – A Wedding Shower Gift Idea.
This past weekend, I went to a bridal shower for a sweet young lady who I wanted to get something special for.
Becky has been out on her own for a while, so she has most of the “basics” some brides need when starting out.
One thing she is known for is her an amazing sense of humor, so when I saw these adorable funny kitchen towels on ETSY at WorksOfHeartDesignCo., I just knew I had to get them for her.
In case you can’t read on the photo, they are each personalized with her name and have the following sayings:
I added a few kitchen tools and gadgets, put it all in a fun basket and wrapped with clear cellophane tied with a big bow.
If you are looking for a cute and unique idea for a bridal shower, wedding gift, or someone who loves (or hates) the kitchen, I think these are so cute! (and FYI – I have no relationship to Jess at WorksofHeartDesign Co., nor did I receive any compensation for promoting – I simply just love her products!)
Wishing Becky and Michael a lifetime of happiness and love!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Hal the colorful cow
simply did not know how to smile.
He tried things like raising his brow,
but still there remained a grimacing scowl.
He visited Frau,
who just gave him a meow.
He wandered around here and now,
and sighed and sadly whispered, “wow.”
So he went about his daily plow,
trying and trying to think of somehow.
When it came to him that he would take a vow –
he simply committed he would disallow.
So he took a bow,
and all of the sudden, he was able to smile.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This is one of a series of fun animal watercolor paintings and rhymes I am pursuing.
See the others:
A Rare Hare with Flare
A Duck Named Chuck
A Fawn at Dawn
Rooty the Rooster
A Precocious Pink Pig
#WorldWatercolorMonth
Precious Pink Pig Watercolor 8×10 140lb Saunders Cold Press
A precocious pink pig
with the name of Mig
was happily dancing a jig.
She took a zag and then a zig,
and all at once bumped into a twig.
To her sweet surprise, it was bearing a fig!
She had never seen such a thingamajig,
but it sure smelled good, and it was big,
So she voraciously gulped it down with vig!
YUM YUM – to be a Pig!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This is one of a series of fun animal watercolor paintings and rhymes I am pursuing.
See the others:
A Rare Hare with Flare
A Duck Named Chuck
A Fawn at Dawn
Rooty the Rooster
#WorldWatercolorMonth
Rooty the Rooster Watercolor 6×11 140lb Saunders Cold Press
He married a chick named Judy,
to the envy of the coop – his great booty.
He took very serious his duty
of handsomely being a beauty.
He sang a fine cockle doodle dooty,
which made him even more of a cutie!
To some he appeared a bit snooty,
because he could be so darn moody.
but in truth he was just a tad fruity,
which saved him from being sent to the zooey.
Phew..ey!!!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This is one of a series of fun animal watercolor paintings and rhymes I am pursuing.
See the others:
A Rare Hare with Flare
A Duck Named Chuck
A Fawn at Dawn
PS – Rooty the Rooster is dedicated to my “CreativeLifeinBetween” follower friend Ellen “Gem” and her 3-year old grandson, Benjamin.
This watercolor painting is, in part, inspired by the wonderful, whimsical oil painting work by Roz at drunkencows.
Goldfinch and Grosbeak at the feeder – Mars, PA – June, 2017
Sometimes
I wonder
how you put up
with me.
Then I remember,
oh I put up with you.
So we’re even.
Author unknown
Lovingly dedicated to a guy I call “Merv.”
He calls me “Gert.”
I put up with him.
He puts up with me.
Let’s do it until eternity. ❤
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 