things that make me smile:

i love to smile. and if it leads to a laugh, why that's even better!! these are some of the things around me that prompt that sort of response from me... this little sweet thing is (was) a "giggle ball". it used to giggle the cutest little kid giggle i have ever heard! no one who heard it could keep from laughing. all you had to do was bump it to make it belly laugh. of course, to my deepest regret, we wore the poor thing out! i just couldn't bear to throw it out! so now it just sits and smiles sweetly. i can't help but smile back...

this is one of my little travel make-up bags. i love the black and white contrast and all the swirly-ness of the pattern.

this is my parasol!! my daughter bought a few of those white paper parasols you can decorate yourself. so this is my version...and it makes me smile so BIG! no one esle anywhere on earth has one like mine. it makes me so happy! and my oh my, you should see it twirl!!

yes, i still have a troll. an OLD troll. i hope you're not easily affended by nudity. i have no idea where her clothes are! of course she's a girl...she has pink hair!! look at this face...how can you NOT smile back...

my butterfly pillow. it just makes me want to pick it up and squeeze it every time i walk by it. what things have you surrounded yourself with that make you smile and, better yet, laugh out loud? i'd love to hear about them!

wishing you smiles, giggles, and belly laughs tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow after that...

hazelnut adventures...

while the bohemian was harvesting hazelnuts, the cats were coming up with ideas... ideas about what to do with a paper sack full of hazelnuts. idea #1: try to climb it...

idea #2: wear it...

idea #3: wrestle on it...

idea #4: turn it upside down...

why did the bohemian yell at the cats?

she is picking up the hazelnuts...again...

what cats know: play with anything that comes to hand! fun can spring from anywhere at any time. life is for frolicking. have a lovely frolic of a day...

summer? where did you go?

the bohemian mountain this morning... oh so blue and almost hiding. but the bohemian still got a lot of chores done! she watered the garden, even though it looked like mother nature might take care of that... she emptied her compost bucket into the magic compost pile and turned it over with the royal shovel, to discover new lovely black moist dirt. she plucked hazelnuts from the ground under the royal tree before those evil blue jay-monsters could steal them. she hulled them and hung them in the royal red mesh bag to dry. she took up the royal nutcracker and opened last years stash to use in her banana bread. she stirred and mixed and smashed and splattered, then baked up the banana bread batter. mmmmm... she can smell it baking. she cleaned up the royal kitchen herself, as the kitchen fairies had never once lifted a hand to help in that room. then she cleared out of there so that the royal princess could make a batch of no-bake cookies. you know it! she had to clean again later. but yummy goodness sure makes it worth the effort! hope your day has lots of yummy goodness in it! don't forget to REVEL in it and say YUM! as loud and as many times as you want, no matter what kind of looks you are getting from other people... they are just jealous of your pleasure! one last look at the mountains...is that a tease of clear sky there at the top?! hope so!

time out...

time out for a headache... sunflower love from my daughter... wishing sunflowers and love and sunshine to everyone...

she went to the fair

the bohemian morning had started off so weirdly... the sun came up over the bohemian mountain in a haze of red. everything was strangely red-hued. so the bohemian tried to photograph it but her camera filtered out most of the red (but not the haze, naturally). she was gazing at the most scifi scene she could ever remember. the sun was translucently red, like a jelly bean. but glowing... (insert music from twilight zone here...). the bohemian picked more blueberries and then worked awhile on her outdoor room (pictures will follow when she has it done...) but the heat drove her indoors. she put her achy head on ice and meds, then took a nap. and then it was time..... she went to the fair!!!

first thing she did was watch the horse show. she LOVES the draft horses! aren't they magnificent? these dark ones were her favorite. she loves the way the ground feels when they run them around the arena.... thunderous! and that rhymes with wonderous....

what else she did:

*visited the reptile room and chatted with a hissing cockroach, and various gorgeous pythons and boas. there was even an elf frog who looked for all the world like someone had squished him flat.

*ate a black cherry ice cream cone

*listened to scottish bluegrass

*ate a BBQ beef sandwich and corn on the cob for dinner

*had an iced latte (while watching the horses run)

*marvelled at the llamas and alpacas... some of the coolest animals on earth...

*visually feasted her eyes on the artwork and photography...we humans are oh so creative!!

*wound down the everning with a decaf coffee @ 10pm while waiting for the daughter to be done

things she did not buy but really wanted to:

*light-up bunny ears (her 17 yr. old daughter would disown her...wait till the grandkids come along! she shall have her bunny ears yet!)

*jingle-jangling belly dancing waist scarf

*henna tatoo or airbrushed tatoo

*light saber

*elephant ear

but she DID find this darling pixie who had just won herself a magic wand!

then the pixie went on the carousel with her auntie who happens to be this bohemian's daughter-in-law.

are they not the darling-est?!

the bohemian bid good night to the fair at 11pm and headed home to bed. what a fun-filled day. hope yours was, also. what was your favorite thing at the fair this year? i'd love to hear.

some photo hunt finds:

sky art:

hearts:

a heart waterfall cascading down over our woodpile...

the first sign of fall: baby berries on my tree that decks itself brilliantly every autumn

these berries turn wine red and then the grosbeaks come and feast!!! it is so much fun to watch them. hope you find something FUN to watch today. summer breeze love to you all...

randomness in bohemia

boy does the bohemian feel scattered today! so here's a bunch of randomness for this lovely summer day... RANDOMNESS #1: look at this flower-love the bohemian recieved from her Honey! good thing she got a picture of them! in her Honey's best effort to preserve the life of this gorgeous dahlia plant, he planted it in the garden (our bohemian forgets to water things...) because it's the bohemian's chore to water the garden every day. so they would get water. every day. it was a nice theory. the ugly slug monsters from the neighboring evil kingdom snuck over and devoured the poor things. it's the thought that counts, right!? RANDOMNESS #2:

the lovely musing mermaid, carmen @writing from life (visit her from my "blogs i follow" list at the side of my blog page) chose our bohemian's name for her giveaway! look at all the lovely things she won! plus a lovely blank journal, too... the little fairy in the bottle sits on the windowsill in the bohemian's kitchen and makes her fairy magic every day.... oh, that makes the bohemian smile/giggle/grin!!!

RANDOMNESS #3:

purple in the grass in bohemia... how magical is that? RANDOMNESS #4:

the bohemian takes the time to check the list...

simplify? baby steps, yes.

read? oh, yeah. LOTS of lovely blogs!

use chopsticks? yep.

fill the room with flowers. definately! don't forget to ENJOY? she tries every day...

RANDOMNESS #5:

"she was stranded in a fog of words..." and so the bohemian is off to enjoy the rest of the random day... a nap, the fair, constructing her outdoor room. it's sure to be a lovely day. hope your day is delightful!!!! i'd love to hear about it... bubble magic and sunshine wishes to you all....

journal pages...

there are some days... days where "it is what it is". today is one of those days. dark, gray sky; a little too cool in the house; headache & achy body; dishes piled in the sink; too wet to pick berries; crap on tv... journal page for days like this... remedy: go play in the craft room...cut and paste...have a little eye candy for breakfast...

what' in a big girl's toy box?

why, dress up clothes, of course!!!

now then. i feel so much better! the sky even looks brighter! isn't art divine? have a lovely day, no matter what the weather. don't forget that gratitude list, either. what we have is so much greater than what we don't have. blessings on you all...