My friend Jerry recently got a 2nd chance of having his quality life boosted because someone somewhere had become an organ donor so Jerry received a new lung. My Friend Anette tells her story of receiving two lungs about 8 years ago. I have another friend who gave his boss a Kidney. Organ donors are wonderful people. We should have a memorial somewhere for the people who thought ahead and understood the impact they would have others when saying yes to being an organ donor!

When I was young I was an organ donor and for some reason which I am not sure of for the past 15 years I have not been a donor. Maybe I feared that my organs would be taken instead of my life being saved, which in realty is not how it all works.

I took the plunge a month ago when I renewed my licence and became a donor again. Just a week later my friend Jerry was gifted a new lung! I am not ready to give my organs yet so I have decided to paint for fun and give my paintings away. If you are not a donor now please consider becoming a donor. Why not give someone else something you know longer need.

How many lives can be saved by one organ donor?
One organ donor can save up to eight lives. The same donor can also save or improve the lives of up to 50 people by donating tissues and eyes. More than 120,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants. [Solid Organs: Hearts, kidneys, pancreases, lungs, livers and intestines].

“Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.”
– Erich Fromm
About Erich Fromm
Erich Fromm, the humanist German psychoanalyst and author, is best known for his book, The Art of Loving, which describes love as care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge. Born in Germany in 1900, he emigrated to the United States in 1934, fleeing Hitler’s regime. He taught at a number of universities in the U.S. and Mexico and wrote eight books delineating his view of human nature. He believed that modern society makes us feel isolated and long to reach out to others. He died in 1980.

Today I decided to post some work on our local Buy Nothing Page. It was wonderful to be able to gift people works of original art! Over all I gifted 9 works!

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$250 each normally $425 – $800

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
– Anatole France
About Anatole France
Anatole France was the pen name of Nobel Prize–winning French author Jacques Anatole François Thibault. He was born in 1844 in Paris. His father was a book dealer, and France spent his life among books, including 14 years as assistant librarian to the French Senate. His novels, including the Contemporary History series and The Gods Are Athirst, often use allegory and religious symbolism as vehicles for moral questions. He died in 1924.

I thought I would be supervising the painters at work today so I dressed for the occasion. They finished early so I took advantage of the extra time alone. I can’t seem to escape working with metal.

It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.”
– Winston Churchill

About Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill was an extraordinary British prime minister; he laid the groundwork for welfare in England, helped set the boundaries in the Middle East, became a symbol of the resistance against the Nazis in Europe, and was a central force in the Allied victory in World War II. He was born in 1874 near Oxford. He was known for his courage, his stubbornness, and his powerful personality. He was also an accomplished painter and writer. He died in 1965.

Sometimes when I am out on an adventure the landscape is so lovely that I pinch myself to see if I am dreaming.

“Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”
– John Updike
About John Updike
John Updike, the Pulitzer Prize–winning American novelist known for his careful craftsmanship and small-town settings, published more than 60 books before his death in 2009. Born in Pennsylvania in 1932, he suffered from stammering as a child and was encouraged by his mother to write. After college, he joined The New Yorker as a regular contributor. He is best known for his series of novels about a fictional alter ego, including Rabbit, Run and Rabbit at Rest.

We were pretty excited to be getting a sprinkler system installed. That was last week.
The first red flag should have been the red flags with the crew of men digging trenches before we even had a chance to ask questions. If I was writing a yelp review this company would get a Zero in communication! They could have gotten the job done on time if they had just taken a few minutes to ask me some questions.

As you look at the above photo and the two lower photos do you think it would be easier to dig along the house or along the rocks?

I even offered to move all the ferns along the house and the storage shed, I told the lead that I could have everything moved in an hour!

They preferred to dig in the rocks even after I told them that there was a drain field there. The workers are paid by the hour , I was told multiple times. I was also told they did not want to go under the walk way in the back…

Well guess what? As you get around the backside of the house there is a small flower bed so they still have to go under the side walk?

On the backside of the house they stick these little sprinklers heads up against our desk it does not make since to me especially since we are planing to extend the deck?

I have know clue why this little succulent needs its own sprinkler head? Succulents hardly need dirt or water to survive.

As I look at the above photo I am not sure why there are not raised heads in this bed as all the plants are tall?
Below you would never know that we have been working extra hard this year on your front yard and edging. So what do they do, they stick 3-4 sprinkler heads one inch in the lawn when they could have just made them 1 or 2 inches longer and not messed with the edging.

I have a seating area here and they moved the bench which was fine but then they put a sprinkler where the bench sat. I had to explain that it is there job to design the system around our landscaping not re design our landscaping.

In the front our your house we had a lovely Camilla bush it was dug out and tossed in the neighbors yard we found it the next day and put it in water. Apparently we did not need to know it was being replaced with a green box.

my last rant for the nigth , only because I need to stop someplace , is this grean box that was installed right smack in the middle of my nature path. It would have been simple to come in behind the heather on the leftand have it hidden?

The good news is that the job is still in progress but now off schedule.

I can hardly wait for the owner to come pick you her bottle tree! After I figured out what I was doing I started to have fun making this I might have to make a few more!

Today’s Quote

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.”
– Isak Dinesen
About Isak Dinesen
Isak Dinesen was the pen name of Karen Blixen, the Danish author famously portrayed by Meryl Streep in the film of her best-selling memoir, Out of Africa. She was born near Copenhagen in 1885. In 1914, she and her new husband moved to Kenya to run a coffee plantation. She stayed on after divorcing her husband ten years later, living an unusually independent life. Her book of stories, Seven Gothic Tales, sold well, but Out of Africa made her a worldwide success. She died in 1962.