Author Archives: explorenewness

a NEW artistic attempt

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happyfallyall

Happy Friday! (AND Happy Fall, Ya’ll!)

Alright, all you artists out there….don’t judge.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned I’m such a wanna-be artist.  But really, I should’ve started years ago!  I need a whole lot of practice! I figured taking an art class might kick me in the pants enough to practice – at least a little bit consistently.  I don’t know what got into me…what I was thinking…but I signed up for an online beginner watercolor course, a beginning fiction writing course, and as I mentioned earlier, I’m obsessed with art journals.  OK…I should really tackle one thing at a time. I know! (I really don’t know where I’m going to find the time to do all this either!)

However, I did find the time to fulfill one of the watercolor assignments.  It was to sketch a drawing and watercolor it…then NOT sketch but paint the same picture.  The pumpkin above was for that assignment – then, after I uploaded it, I couldn’t resist putting some text and texture on it, just for fun.

I can see all my goofy-unprofessional mistakes glaring at me, but I’m trying not to care. One of the online teachers said:  “Don’t let the spirit of comparison kill your spirit of creativity” (or something like that).  I figure I can only improve – I can only get better, right? I want to learn something NEW, so I’m gonna do it!

Have a great day! Now, YOU go do or learn something NEW!

 

 

a NEW photo of my week and a short Sunday sermon

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pumpkinsonwagon

Happy Sunday!

I went out shooting last week and got quite a few NEW fall-ish photos.  Lots or hay, pumpkins, cornstalks, colorful autumn trees etc.  I’ll share more of them in upcoming posts.

And, here is today’s short Sunday sermon:

“Discipleship requires us not only to learn our duty, make correct decisions, and act in accordance with them, but also essential is our developing the willingness and the ability to accept God’s will, even if it does not match our righteous desires or preferences.”

—Jorge F. Zeballos, “If You Will Be Responsible”

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW.

a NEW taste Tuesday

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alligatorjawsfr

Happy Tuesday!

Well, I did it! I had a few free hours, so I made these scrumptious yummies!

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe ever since I saw it HERE. I won’t go into why I wanted to make these, because if you read the linked post I would say the exact same thing. Really…that blogger has the same memories of alligator jaws that my sisters and I have for them!

I’ll have to make them again because the pastry wasn’t as light and fluffy as I would’ve liked. My kitchen was on the chilly side…but Epicurious has a solution for me, so I’ll have to try their suggestion next time.

Have a great day!  Do or learn something NEW!

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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fallfencepost

Happy Monday!

I’m loving the fall colors, the crisp autumn mornings, and simply the change of seasons! How about all of you? Are you loving it or dreading the coming winter?

Alright…on with the randomness:  I consider myself fairly musically literate.  But I recently read of Brentano – Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved” and had to go do some research – because, who was this Brentano? I knew Beethoven never married.  Oh, Beethoven….I wonder how you like people (historians, researchers, nosey-know-it-alls) combing through anything you ever touched, trying to speculate your every intention!

So, do you know what I like to do when I have ordinary/humdrum/boring duties to get done….like house cleaning?  I like to try NEW methods to get those duties done.  Pinterest and YouTube are so kind!…they give me all sorts of NEW ideas to try.  I sprinkled baking soda on my carpet before I vacuumed today (because of THIS video).  I’m not sure if my furniture was really dusty, or if some of the baking soda drifted as I sprinkled.  But if you try this, be sure to vacuum first, dust second!  I tried adding essential oil to my steam mopper to see if my house smelled amazing when I was done (because of THIS video).  It probably did, but silly me, I had candles burning at the same time.  Hmmm..I guess the jury is still out on that one.  And lastly, instead of using a small hand-held scrubber on my shower, I used my sponge mop with attached scrubber (it’s typically meant only for floors I believe). It worked SO GREAT!  And guess what?  I came up with that brilliant idea all on my own. Well, at least I think I did. :)…I haven’t heard of others doing that, haha!

And lastly, here’s what I I’ve been listening to on my commutes lately:

aliceforgot

I listened to the audiobook. Excellent voice (whoever the reader was). I found myself just sitting in my car after arriving at my destination so i could find out what happened next. Other than the numerous F-words, it was a good book. It made me think of my relationships. Usually we think people become better people as they get older and more mature, but this book really questions that assumption. It made me think. If I would have read the actual book, I think it would have been a real page-turner.

I guess that’s it for this Miscellaneous Monday.  Have a terrific day and do or learn something NEW!

 

 

 

 

a NEW photo of my week and a short Sunday sermon

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goodmorning

Happy Sunday!

I love it when I actually have my camera in my car when I see such beauty as this sunrise. I was on my way to work and just had to pull over to get this pic. I agree that “God is the best artist”!

For today’s short sermon, I’ll simple paste a few items from THIS excellent speech by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf:

The Bottom Line

This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:  Stop it!

***

Is this difficult to do?

Yes, of course.

How is it done? Through the love of God.

***

My dear brothers and sisters, consider the following questions as a self-test:

Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?

Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true?

Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done?

Do you secretly envy another?

Do you wish to cause harm to someone?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to apply the two-word sermon from earlier: stop it!