How to use this Page

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Here it is, 4:30 in the afternoon and I've just now had a moment to sit down and blog. It's been another one of those whirlwind days that seem to be the norm lately!

So, let me begin by saying "I loathe traffic"!! I long for the days when I was a young girl and I walked to the store each day with my mom. You see, my mom didn't know how to drive. She still doesn't, and she has found her way in life without a vehicle. When I was a little girl, I would walk with my mom to "Johnny's" market each day to purchase fresh food for dinner every night. Sometimes I would bring my dolly buggy along. Other times, my mom would let me bring a friend. They loved walking with my mom and me to the store. They actually considered it a treat. We would do our little bit of shopping and carry it home in brown paper bags. Mom always had her purse locked on to one arm and a grocery bag or two balanced on her hips. When I was old enough and strong enough, she would let me carry a bag too.

In comparison, when I go to the grocery store now, I fill up the entire back of my car with, what's probably, excessive amounts of "stuff". I drive everywhere and I buy too much. I've been feeling excessive for some time now, but recently, I just can't seem to shake that unhumbling, almost embarrased feeling I get when I study my own excessive consumerism. Funny thing is, I have so much less than most everyone I know. Well, less in the way of material property and luxurious trips, anyway. Nevertheless, I have this great personal desire to pull back. To live simpler and to abide by a stricter budget.

Looking back over the course of my married life, Gary and I have had our share of terrible lean times and financial hardships. Especially when the kids were toddlers and we lived in Northwest Arkansas. But when I think back to those times, they are the sweetest and most heart-warming times of my life. The struggles and trials aren't what stand out. I remember laughter and closeness and picnics. What more do we, as a human race, need? Do we really NEED jewels, stainless steel appliances, cars that are almost as big as the house that I grew up in, designer label purses and jeans and shoes, and so on and so on and so on....

I want off the merry-go-round. I don't ever want to forget how to smell a storm or listen for the first cricket of the season. Very few things can compare to that first bite of a tart and crunchy Fried Green Tomato. I don't want to lose my desire to dig or my love of the soil. I never, ever, not for one second, want to forget the smell of my newborn babies heads, or the squells of laughter that would overtake them as toddlers while running and reaching to catch fireflies.

These are the things that real and true and gritty life is all about. Love, faith, hope, God, family, smells, storms, trials, brown paper bags, good times, bad times and Fried Green Tomatoes. This is where my truth and my heart is and I intend to keep it this way.

As usual, here is where I include my relentless marketing plug for my newest print listed in My Etsy Shop.

This ACEO is a tribute to the traditional Hispanic families that I grew up around. They so often held tight to their history and priorities.

Jolene: Thanks for understanding my need and desire to include my familiarity to Hispanics in my collage art. I truly appreciate your awareness!!

Beautiful Mexican Girls Of Los Angeles


Thank you so very much for reading through my daily rants and writings. Here's to a calmer tomorrow

Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
gnarly-dolls
Kim's Kandid Kamera