Savvy Thinker » Nature http://savvythinker.com thinking about life, playing with makeup Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:10:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Clouds http://savvythinker.com/clouds/ http://savvythinker.com/clouds/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:09:23 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/06/30/clouds/

I happen to like clouds, how about you?

As a child, I would lay in the grass face up looking at clouds and find pictures in them. Today, I'm more apt to just appreciate them as I drive along.

I like a cloudy day as it cuts the heat by 10 degrees, and it's rare to have a day that is entirely cloudy. In Michigan, it would be cloudy for days, so we welcomed the sun. Now that I don't sit out in the sun, the clouds are just fine by me.

I had a friend call about a week ago and ask me if it being overcast bothered me. Nope, I like it. (It was bothering her.) (We've needed rain, and it is such a blessing to have it.)

I know I've said before that I like storms. I don't even mind hurricanes so much except for the aftermath with no electricity. (Obviously I take that back for the huge storms that cause loss of life or homes.) (And I don't like wind-swept fire, as a result of lightening strikes on dry flora.)

One of my children was very afraid of storms, the thunder especially. I doubt she'd ever been outside her orphanage until I adopted her. I don't know what kind of storms they had there, if many, but her sense of hearing was acute, so she noticed all the sounds that we know to filter out, because she had never heard them before. Once in a while, even today, she'll say, what is that sound, or look startled, and I'll say, that's the refrigerator, for example.

We would sit on either our front porch or our back porch, where I would rock her and we would watch the rain. I'd make a game of it so she knew I liked the storm and that it would not hurt us.

Today, there was a line of black clouds lying low. At mid point there were some fluffs of white. Peaking at 12 o'clock was a tiny sliver of blue. It's never rained, so far, but it sprinkled.

One time I saw a striking line of clouds, like a V pointed to the earth, but not a tornado.

If you've ever been around tornadoes (thanks to Michigan I have) you know there is a peculiar color to the clouds when one is near. One time I was struck by it here, and I said, there's a tornado close by. Sure enough, there was. But I'm glad we don't have as many as we had in Michigan. There we had a basement; here, we do not.

And one time I saw a fist above the road. It kind of went along with the news that day, which was interesting. I wasn't looking for it, but you couldn't miss it.

I can't say I appreciate the darker clouds of life, when used in a metaphorical sense, but I do appreciate them in the sky.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-06-30 12:27:30.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/clouds/feed/ 2 The inspiration of nature http://savvythinker.com/the-inspiration-of-nature/ http://savvythinker.com/the-inspiration-of-nature/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:48:11 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=1142

I enjoyed this short inspirational movie about the inspiration of nature. It is filled with hopeful quotes that will uplift your day.

One way to watch it is to keep it on your screen, but pause it when it comes to a quote you like. Then restart it after doing a few emails. Stop it again. That way your inspiration is spread out a little and it doesn't take 4 minutes to watch at any one time.

Enjoy!

Karin

Originally posted 2008-11-22 08:39:30.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-inspiration-of-nature/feed/ 0 No FOTD today, but a lotta other stuff… http://savvythinker.com/no-fotd-today-but-a-lotta-other-stuff/ http://savvythinker.com/no-fotd-today-but-a-lotta-other-stuff/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:56:48 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=3494

Today was a lovely, lazy, very busy -- oxymoron, I know -- happy, productive, fun day. I did nothing -- and everything.

Meanwhile some tropical storm or other is likely sitting off the coast because after having no rain for longer than we'd care to remember, we are getting inundated with it. No thunder; no lightening; just lots of glorious, wet weather. Good weather for ducks.

I like rain -- any rain. I like the sound of it. I like the overcast nature of it -- which can be overcast in one place and across the street the sun can be shining. Unlike Michigan where it would be overcast all over for days.

I like it that it breaks the heat and humidity.

The temps dropped from in the high 80s, low 90s, to the high 60s. Glorious weather.

I like the smell of rain. I look for the perfect scent of rain in a fragrance, and I've tried out several. Some I just like to have around to smell when I want that ozone/dirt perfect fragrance. The latest I've tried is Thundra -- a truly lovely, interesting fragrance. I might review it tomorrow.

And I stayed in all day except for all the schlepping of the kids. The 11 yr old had a field trip today in pouring rain. I sent her off with a sweatshirt and an umbrella. She came back wet.

Night products
Admission: generally I don't take my makeup off at night. Bad Karin. But I don't perspire, so my face is still clean. Last night was no exception, but I wanted to use the Arbonne night cream. So after I cleansed my face today -- with the Arbonne samples -- I put on night cream and enjoyed the day. I actually think I could apply my makeup over the top of it, but I never got to it.

When I was in my 20s, night creams were too rich and would break me out. And moisturizer alone, without something to seal it in, wasn't moist enough. I'd wake up drier than I'd like. So, for me, my regimen has been pretty much no night products, unless I wore them in the daytime, or unless I was jump starting my face.

I don't recommend this if you have oily skin or if it doesn't work for you. But whatever works, works!

So what did I do?
You got me, but the day flew!

No, seriously, I did a lot of beading to catch up with projects I had.

Oh! and I started a ning group for serious bead addicts of Trollbeads, Pandora, Chamilia, Biagi, artisan or other beads http:www.addicted2beads.ning.com It will be a place for resources of all kinds, including shops or artists that might want to tell about themselves.

I helped my 13 yo learn to iron so her skirt would look better for school. Schlepped the kids, including waiting at the bus stop until she was picked up -- and again until she was dropped off -- as it was raining too hard to let her stand out there in the elements.

Leave me a message so I know you are out there.

I'm going to enjoy the sound of the pouring rain. How about you? Do you like rain? Is it raining where you are? Do you need rain? We were parched here.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com



Originally posted 2009-05-19 19:25:42.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/no-fotd-today-but-a-lotta-other-stuff/feed/ 1 Hand feeding hummingbirds (and finances) http://savvythinker.com/hand-feeding-hummingbirds-and-finances/ http://savvythinker.com/hand-feeding-hummingbirds-and-finances/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:10:57 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=1114

Just when it seems like a bit of good news would be exceedingly welcomed, comes this true story (I've checked it with Snopes) about a woman hand feeding hummingbirds.

Isn't it great that with the Internet we have a way to easily share these experiences that we might never hear about otherwise?!

Thanks to Cathy for sharing with me in the first place!

It's a reminder to me that "God's in his heaven; all's right with the world."

from "Pippa Passes"

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his Heaven -
All's right with the world!

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Is it possible that in these difficult times we could trust more deeply that God will feed and clothe us, as he does the birds and the lilies? Whether we are literally in need of food, shelter, clothing, water, health, employment or any of a myriad of other needs, the most basic need is for the ideas that will lead us in the right direction and out of limitation.

Ideas are always limitless! (This goes along with the short movie I posted earlier.)

Not too long ago while pondering how I should schedule my day, though my first inclination the night before had been to get on down the road and back home, I felt it was all right to meander a bit. In doing so, I had a number of interesting conversations with strangers, some welcome time with a friend, and a bit of fashion enjoyment, including some time with perfumes.

After I'd been back on the highway for a while, an electronic sign informed me of an accident 26 miles down the road. One lane was closed. (I learned later that it had only cleared about an hour before I got there.) If I had hurried my way home, I would have been stuck for hours while they cleared the road. I was able to get past it without any lost time.

Sometimes we do not know what we or others are protected from, but this time it was apparent. And it could have been far worse, but thankfully wasn't. On this busy stretch of road, many more could have been involved in this accident but were not.

That's just a small example of how ideas will clear our day for us. Expect ideas today and always that will help you!

Karin

Originally posted 2008-09-26 09:26:43.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/hand-feeding-hummingbirds-and-finances/feed/ 0 L’air du desert marocain by Tauer Perfumes http://savvythinker.com/lair-du-desert-marocain-by-tauer-perfumes/ http://savvythinker.com/lair-du-desert-marocain-by-tauer-perfumes/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:58:28 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/02/17/lair-du-desert-marocain-by-tauer-perfumes/

I've heard a lot of good things about Andy Tauer fragrances, originating in Switzerland, and I was excited to finally be able to try several of them thanks to a friend at POL. I will add my reviews as I try each of them. I have added links to both his blog and his website at my link section.

Perfumes are pictures, painted with scents. Tauer Perfumes

I think for my first foray into Tauer Perfumes, L'air du desert marocain was a perfect choice. It is said to be a unisex fragrance, but it is not like any other unisex that I have tried. Tauer Perfumes says it is for 'him or her.' They do not call it unisex.

In general most unisex fragrances on me smell too masculine. It might be that most unisex fragrances are really neither masculine nor feminine which is why I do not like them on me. They have a certain nondesript quality to them, on me, as if one set of notes cancels out the other.

On the other hand, there are men's versions of fragrances that I prefer on me (and maybe I just prefer them on anyone) over the women's (Guerlain's L'instant for men is one of them.) Many fragrances can be enjoyed equally by men or women if the categories of men's or women's are forgotten and one only goes by the scent and how it smells on oneself. I know several men who wear women's fragrances as part of their fragrance wardrobe.

So I was intrigued to see how I would feel about this one. I find it a winner for either a man or a woman, but I would not classify it as unisex.

The scent of desire. Inspired by the fragrant world of the Maghreb desert. Powerful, sensual and pure. Tauer Perfumes

I find this scent to be wonderfully evocative. For me, it does paint a picture with fragrance. It is very paradoxical -- it is both warm and dry; both sweet and non-sweet; incensy and clear; a sensual scent and an intellectual one... I am transported as I wear it.

And the wonderful thing about it is that no note cancels out any other. Each note stands distinct, yet blends with the others in a dance of joy.

I have never been to the Maghreb desert, but if it smells anything like this, I am ready to go. In one sense that is similar to Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil which evokes the area around the Nile.

I was careful my first try to take only the tiniest spritz, because I didn't know what to expect. Not to fear, it is delicious. The dry down is sweet, but not too sweet, full of spicy incense and woods. And the journey from the beginning to the dry down is a lovely bit of travel. The opening is distinct from the drydown. It is not a fragrance that would bore one with sameness in all three stages. A little goes a long ways, and it lasted on me very well. Twelve hours later, it was still strong on my wrists.

For those who fear a cumin note, it is not negative at all.

The elegant head note is based on typical spicy scents of the Maghreb; coriander and cumin, joined with petitgrain. The warm heart note surprises with the fragrance of rock rose and a hint of jasmine. The body note is full of warm woods such as cedar wood, vetiver brilliantly joined with a fine amber background. Tauer Perfumes

Today I tried a bit more, and it is every bit as good. I think of this more as a skin scent, as I don't know if I would want to apply for sillage. Let those who come close to me partake of the pleasure.

It is very sensual, but soothing. I think it is full bottle worthy. It goes for $65 for 1.7 oz at Luckyscent in the US. It is also available in NY.

Have you tried it? do you own it?

Karin

Originally posted 2007-02-17 14:14:56.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/lair-du-desert-marocain-by-tauer-perfumes/feed/ 8 Are the leaves turning where you live? http://savvythinker.com/are-the-leaves-turning-where-you-live/ http://savvythinker.com/are-the-leaves-turning-where-you-live/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:28:51 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/10/05/are-the-leaves-turning-where-you-live/

Where I live, the leaves do not turn, but where I'm visiting, they are just beginning to turn, even though the weather is so hot, it feels like the tropics. Indian Summer, indeed!

I am enjoying looking at the trees. Every window has a new vista. And there are still plenty of flowers. A veritable feast for the eyes. Only a few trees are showing some red or gold, the rest are green as can be.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-10-05 17:03:45.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/are-the-leaves-turning-where-you-live/feed/ 2 How does your garden grow? http://savvythinker.com/how-does-your-garden-grow/ http://savvythinker.com/how-does-your-garden-grow/#comments Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:55:38 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2008/03/17/how-does-your-garden-grow/

I love gardens and beautiful flowers, but I have a black thumb when it comes to outdoors. I can manage violets and some other indoor plants, but outside is a complete bust. I also don't do well in heat, so there you have it, I'm not going to spend time outside once it is hot, hot, hot.

We (college girl, dh and I) did some outside painting (I did the pick up work, no painting). Then I bought some potted plants to put in the garden area. While they all said 'sun', come to find out, they do better in shade or filtered light, so I am moving them around to get them out of the heat of the sun.

Anyway, I can imagine what my garden would look like if I had some success. The pots will do for now. Anything in the ground (I've tried petunias, etc) just dry up (the water runs off.)

How about you? What do you have in your garden? I'd like flowers and fragrance -- is it a surprise?

Karin

Originally posted 2008-03-17 11:35:06.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/how-does-your-garden-grow/feed/ 4 The amazing power of beads http://savvythinker.com/the-amazing-power-of-beads/ http://savvythinker.com/the-amazing-power-of-beads/#comments Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:20:35 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/10/26/the-amazing-power-of-beads/

I received this from Beading Daily. I could not find a link, but if someone provides me with one, I will be glad to change this post. Karin

The Amazing Power of Beads

Topic: People and Events

If there was a fire threatening your home and you had only minutes to grab a few things, what would you take? One Beading Daily reader and Beadwork contributor, Cathi Tessier, knows. Cathi was one of the estimated 500,000 people recently evacuated in the southern California wildfires. As of today, Cathi has still not returned to her home--she's not even sure yet whether there's still a home waiting for her.--Michelle Mach, Beading Daily editor

October 23, 2007

It was Sunday, mid-morning, when my husband called.

"Quick, pack up our important stuff. We're going to evacuate. There's a fire close by.

I live and work for an RV park system, and as employees, we live in the resort in our motor home. Space is tight, and things must be very organized to live 24/7 in this lifestyle. My beads take up a good part of the storage areas. I peeked outside and saw a huge orange sun, smelled the thick smoke, and realized we were in big trouble. With only minutes to pack, I scrambled to sort and decide just what would fit in the trunk of our car.

A couple of folders with the important documents were the first things I grabbed. For my hubby, a couple pair of undies, pj's, and two changes of clothes. For me????? Oh boy! Big problem. Four cases of beads, needles, crimping pliers, eight jumbo spools of FireLine thread sizes 4, 6, 8 in black and also crystal. A couple of beading pads, Fiskar scissors, and oh yeah, one pair of panties, a bra, and an extra pair of jeans.

Ready to go.

Three days later, I am sitting among a sea of people in the parking lot of the local stadium, visiting with other evacuees, listening to their stories. No showers in three days, no changes of clothes, horses, dogs, kids everywhere. Tens of thousands of homeless folks, worrying about their homes, their photos, their heirlooms, their clothes. There are tears, hugs, worry, and sadness. I pop the trunk of my car and look at my stuff. My beads are all there. I open some of the boxes, and just look at them.

I ask myself, "What was I thinking? How could these beads, valued at a couple of hundred dollars mean so much to me?"

I can't explain it. But I'll say this. It gives me comfort to know they are there. I know that if and when we have a home to return to, I will sit at my dining table, pull out a tube of Delica beads, thread up, and make a little bracelet. It will be my "miracles happen" bracelet. A reminder that life can take a turn in a split second, and if we don't take the time to smell the roses, or bead the bead, if we don't follow our hearts and indulge ourselves in our passions, then we are not living.

At this writing I am safe, and while my future is unknown, I take comfort in knowing that although I don't have my pj's, my beads are in the trunk of my car.

Cathi Tessier
Ramona, California

Originally posted 2007-10-26 19:20:09.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-amazing-power-of-beads/feed/ 2 The year of the frog(s) http://savvythinker.com/the-year-of-the-frogs/ http://savvythinker.com/the-year-of-the-frogs/#comments Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:07:05 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/09/04/the-year-of-the-frogs/

I don't know about you, but we have had more frogs this year than I can ever remember.

These are not the tiny tree frogs that make so much noise. These are bigger garden variety frogs and in various colors. I'm not sure if these frogs are akin to the chameleons that are also everywhere.

Last night we had three on our porch, relatively small ones, but we've had two (that we've seen) granddaddy of all frogs, big ones! One was white, sitting on the white arm of a porch chair, and the other one ended up in our bedroom jumping on the curtains not too long ago, to our chagrin. It was green. I managed to catch it in our bathroom and get it outside in a towel.

And no, I did not purposely let it in by holding open the door. No, I did not. What, and let out all the air conditioning!! It is 97 degrees here. Just because I moved some back porch furniture to the front porch, through our bedroom. (My youngest daughter opened and shut the doors for me.) (Won't do that again.)

My sister had one jump on her out by their pool.

The funniest story (so long as it didn't happen to me) was a gf's d-i-l had one jump on her face in the middle of the night. She woke up yelling. Her husband was trying to get her back into bed, telling her it was only a dream. But when they turned on the light, there was the culprit on their wall. She took a shower, washed her hair, washed the wall, did her sheets...the night was practically over! At least ours didn't get up as high as our bed.

The same friend had one in her bathroom.

This morning she called with another frog story, knowing I had been blamed for the one in our bedroom. Her College Girl phoned her early this morning. She said as she was driving to class this morning, her leg felt wet, then the other leg was wet.

"Guess what was in her car," she said to me. Yep, it was a frog. I would have run off the road, likely!

Enough already!

Interestingly, frogs are good omens representing, among other things, wealth and babies, fertility and rain, clearing negativity from an environment, honoring tears that cleanse the soul, cleansing, and the illusion of being separated when really we are together already. Possible negative: settling someone else's quarrel and getting into the line of fire...Take your pick!

When I was waiting for our youngest daughter, I dreamed I gave birth to a frog. It woke me up. My facilitator said it was a good dream, because "in Chinese frog has the same pronounce as baby doll and small baby." And my youngest was small when I got her.

Do you have a frog story to share? Have you had frogs like we have?

Karin

Originally posted 2007-09-04 12:24:50.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-year-of-the-frogs/feed/ 4 Trees, part 2 http://savvythinker.com/trees-part-2/ http://savvythinker.com/trees-part-2/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:17:33 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2007/06/20/trees-part-2/

"Imagine if one of these trees fell on your house," said a visitor one day, his head awkwardly tilted upward, his face screwed up like a man facing into a strong wind.

"I'd rather not make such comments within their range of hearing," I replied, trying to lighten the moment, thinking all the while of the bad taste of my neighbor's remark.

In truth, it has occurred to me, usually when the big trees are in the grip of a high wind off the sea – or during those uncomfortable hours when we are brushed by a hurricane. The first time I experienced that, I was standing by the kitchen counter looking up through the north-facing windows and saw three of the truly old ones swaying so far off the vertical that the possibility was brought home to me they might be in trouble.

But they weren't. Richard O'Mara, for the full article, go here.

The last hurricanes we had here blew quite a few trees off their course. Everywhere one looked there were tree branches, debris, uprooted trees, and bits of leaves. Some streets were not navigable because trees were felled across them. Even so, a friend lost trees in an ice storm. Clean up took both our areas forever. Looking out now, here, you'd never believe what it looked like a couple of years ago.

A neighbor's palm tree, pretty much uprooted, was braced for a while and took firm root again, even centering itself better than the brace had done. At first it looked like it would just continue it's downward path or need this huge brace forever. In the aftermath of the storms another neighbor and his son pushed a jacaranda tree back to more or less center, and it too re-centered itself more firmly and is full of flowers this season.

I think there's a lesson there for lives amidst the trees. Can we center ourselves more perfectly after a storm? Is it possible to once again feel life is lush and full?

I'm always grateful when a tree has the good sense to fall on an empty car, rather than one with occupants, or falling on a house dents a roof, but not the people.

I sit here looking at a neighbor's magnolia tree, which sheds its leaves at the most inopportune time, peppering our yard, not hers, with hundreds of leaves that blow about in the wind, but has glorious, waxy flowers nearly year round.

Isn't it amazing how trees take carbon dioxide and make oxygen? I think I need to be more open to the wonders of the universe. Divine alchemy!

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 55: 12-13 KJV

A few months ago I was gifted with a naked stick, stuck in a rather large plastic pot. I was told that a branch from this tree would root quite easily. I wasn't sure at the time if this wasn't too much responsibility for me. I was unable to plant it for weeks and weeks and wondered if it were truly dead and I had killed it. What water it got was from infrequent rains. Then a week or so ago, it sprouted leaves to my amazement, and I knew it was time to get it in the ground. Now or never. It was planted a bit cockeyed, but has centered itself upright. Frangipani flowers will cover it, but I don't know if it will be this year. I look forward to it!

It reminds me not to give up on people or situations that seem quite dead. There may yet be life in them to grace our days.

Do you have any interesting tree stories?

Karin

Originally posted 2007-06-20 21:09:08.

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