Enjoying Silliness... Eerie cat's eyes

I hope to soon have photos of sewing projects to share with you.

Until then... how about some silliness!?

I get such a big kick out of what my partner's iPhone flash does to our cat's eyes in photos and I thought... well... maybe some of you may get a laugh out of it too!
So here are some crappy quality silly cat photos for you:

That pillow was placed vertically to prevent cats from sitting on it and covering it in fur...
... but Spooky was unfoiled in her pillow-sitting plans!

Ninja loves it when we decide to reorganise the pantry.

I just love how Ninja's two differently coloured eyes match the orange and blue fabrics on the chair!

Are there any silly things you like that make you laugh?

Thoughts on how joy and passion connect me to Divinity

Thoughts about divine, spirit, god/dess energy...

...a few days ago I went for short visit to the fabric store. It's far away and I don't drive so on the occasion that I get a ride there, it's an exciting thing! I walk in and feel like a 'kid in a candy store'.
It was a short visit, about 15 minutes, and I managed to find exactly what I was looking for... which is pretty neat considering I went in wanting "something satiny and slippery to make a scarf from... in colours I like" ... but didn't even have any colours in mind. ☺

I got 4 pieces of fabric and a bias tape maker and came back out to the truck with a huge grin on my face. I kept touching the fabrics on the way home and feeling so excited about working with them.

What does this have to do with divinity?

I have noticed that when I feel good, excited or passionate, about anything, I feel connected to the divinity within me and around me.
It doesn't matter what I'm feeling passionate about. It doesn't need to be something 'spiritual'. Last week we had a mild spell and I was on top of the world to be out on the deck, blowing bubbles. Yesterday I had great fun giggling with my partner over the antics and idiosyncrasies of our cats. Both of those got me connected to that divine spark within me, the spark that I believe is connected to the great, cosmic divine energy, that I believe we are all part of.

I have also noticed that when I feel down, depressed, sad or despairing, I feel disconnected from that spark. I know it's still there, but it feels like I'm wrapped up in layers of heavier emotions that come in between me and that spark.

I feel like the disconnection from divine is what makes me feel so down, so heavy... and yet at the same time, I feel that it is the very feeling down and heavy that disconnects me. So it's kind of confusing to know which comes first, or how it comes about.

The important thing in this, for me, is knowing that feeling joy, passion and love coincide with feeling connected to divine. It doesn't matter which comes first... just knowing that they happen together for me means that I can feel more connected by purposely doing things I love, doing things that excite me or inflame my passion.
I think I'd like to make a list of things that elicit love or joy in me.

A few that come to mind:
blowing bubbles
painting

rainbows of all kinds

talking to trees, plants and animals
sewing
dancing to a song I love
being in nature
doing or saying something that makes another person feel good
swimming in lakes
planning creative projects
gardening
singing to my cat (he loves it :)

What are some things on your joy list?
I'd love if you shared in the comments. It is so wonderful to read others' joys, loves (and I often get great inspiration!).
~☼~

My New Year's wish for you

May you find joy in the simple things in life
>^..^<
A very Happy New Year to you all!

feline model: my cat Ninja

Lovely Autumn Shadows

On sunny mornings lately I have been loving the shadows on my dining room wall. ♥
They are created by the sun shining through dried up flowers outside my patio door window... and also a few butterfly 'window clings' I have on the glass.

I still don't have a camera so these are taken with a video camera that has just one quality setting: 'sure-to-make-you-wish-you-had-a-real-camera!'.  That's not the official name of course... but it should be LOL!

Here's the view looking out the window showing what's creating those shadows (in the background you can see the pink sweet peas that have only succumbed to cold weather in the last couple of days!):

 

I also enjoy these shadows created by brass bells amidst leftover morning glory vines.  I played around a bit in my photo editor to give it an antique look.  Sometimes it doesn't look like shadows on a wall at all to me but rather objects seen through heavy fog:

One of my cats likes to 'help' with the photos  >^..^<

6 Random Things About Me

Random piece in progress

1. I never get tired of Terry Pratchett books (NFI) - they are the one thing guaranteed to make me laugh out loud every time.  I love laughing out loud :-)
2. I love storms - whether white-out blizzards or torrential rain.
3. I hold back from trying to draw/paint/create more than 75% of the things I want to because I know I will not be able to make them 100% symmetrical.  The thing I do create never are symmetrical and no one else seems to mind... I so want to get over this!
4. I still don't have my driver's license (I'm 34).
5. Unless I have guests, I eat cake and pie right out of the pans I bake them in (I'm thinking a lot about baking yummy things now that it's cooling off enough to use the oven).
6. I sing to my cat... and he loves it   >^..^<

Under the Shagbark Hickory Tree

A provincial park near me has a wonderful tree that I love to sit under.

It's a huge, mature Shagbark Hickory that takes a while each spring to fill out... but when it does... it's glorious!

Lush, thick leaves tower toward the sky, providing welcome shade on hot summer days.  It has a nice amount of space under it where there are no branches - more than 8 feet of clearance.

I take a chair, blanket, snacks, book and camera and can happily spend a day there.
Some lovely sights within a few feet of my chair:

This is the sunny St. John's/Joan's Wort, the plant that helps keep my mood balanced without side effects since I've become sensitive to pharmaceuticals. It works best for mild to moderate depression but I have found that it does help lessen my severe depression and SAD, especially now that I've discovered some other supplements that help including (but not limited to :) folic acid, selenium, B12, vitamin D and 5HTP.

One of these days I'd love to grow and harvest it myself instead of buying it.

(please consult health care provider before using anything I mention :)

Does anyone know what kind of butterfly that is? 

P.S.

Just for fun... here's a photo of my cat sitting on a box... why not!?  ☺☺☺  He loves boxes and was a bit put out that 'his box' had been turned on it's side so he could no longer do his fancy leap into it.  But he made it work for him this way too ;-)

Finding Beauty In Everyday Things

I try to notice the beautiful in everyday things - pleasing colours, shapes, textures and light.
Here are some pictures of things that have made me smile recently (apologies for the poor photo quality - neither my camera or editing program are great):

Vibrant pollen on Jacob's Ladder stamens - these smell divine!

Variegated yellow corn on the cob dripping with butter looked so wonderful against the blues of this awesome plate my mom made (she's a potter)

Both of the cats fit together on the tiny stool!  Which is more impressive if you know how... erm... wide the cat on the left actually is :-)   The cats love open windows.

I loved the contrast of the purple and green on this spring violet.

Luscious buttercup soaking up the sun.

I couldn't resist another photo of this amazing plate.  It is the most perfect toast plate ever!  I eat some pretty curious food - that's gluten-free toast and sunflower seed 'butter' with stevia sprinkled on top (to make it sweet) and sliced organic banana on the sides.