miscellaneous monday

happy anniversary to the whimsey project!

solitude sunday

we spent time with a book on solitude sunday. i begin a new book today, brilliant green: the surprising history and science of  plant intelligence by stefano mancuso and alessandra viola. as the title of the book implies, this is an exploration into the hidden complexity of plants. 

silly saturday

from snippets.com:

Q: how do lightning bugs start a race?
A: ready, set, glow!

photo friday

introducing the newest member of the farm's kitty family!

thoughtful thursday

unknown:

promises mean everything but after they are broken, sorry means nothing.

whimsical wednesday

enjoy whimsical moments this 4th of july!

trivia tuesday

from constitutionfacts.com:

the declaration of independence was declared july 2, 1776. the text was approved by 12 of the 13 colonies on july 4, 1776, however, it was not signed until august 2, 1776.

miscellaneous monday

let's share a whimsical moment from our whimsey notebooks. you don't have a whimsey notebook? today is a good day to begin one. get yourself a pocket calendar or whatever you prefer. each day note in the notebook a whimsical moment. at the end of each month go back and read the moments you recorded in your notebook. it will make you smile!

on wednesday, april 18th i wrote: the dandelions in the grass looks like yellow polka dots on a green background!

share a whimsical moment from your notebook with the whimsey project!

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my current book is stronger by jeff bauman with bret witter. stronger is the account of one of the 2013 boston marathon bombing victims. he was face-to-face with one of the terrorists as he was standing next to one of the brothers who committed the terrorist act. when the terrorist walked away, after a stare down with jeff, he left behind the backpack. before jeff could do anything, the bomb exploded. even through losing both legs at the knee and several other injuries, jeff worked with the fbi to help them identify the terrorist who, as he stood beside him, he described as "all business".  borrowed from a friend, i wasn't sure i would like this book. however, it is riveting. but a quick read as it's written style is very conversational.

silly saturday

a day at the beach! (artist unknown)

photo friday

photo and painting of windy by sam howard. 

thoughtful thursday

dough green:

i am more myself in a garden than anywhere else on earth.

whimsical wednesday

it's puzzle day for whimsical wednesday! the word ladder puzzle we are solving today is taken from word puzzles: 10 minute puzzle fun.  

use the clues to change just one letter on each line to go from the top word to the bottom word. do not change the order of the letters. a common english word must be used at each step.

BATTER

________  witty exchange

________  to haggle

________  holds up your stocking

________  to gather

________  person who makes silly faces

BURNER

share your answers with the whimsey project!

 

trivia tuesday

from planet green:

giraffes hum to each other.

miscellaneous monday

life lasts a lifetime! the artist featured in this article is a testament to such. enjoy:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-painter-etel-adnans-career-eighties-inspiration-young-artists?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=editorial

solitude sunday

the book i am spending time with for solitude sunday is strings attached: one tough teacher and the gift of great expectations by joanne lipman and melanie kupchynsky.

this book tells the story of a high school orchestra director jerry kupchynaky. it is told, in alternating voices, by his daughter, melanie and pupil (and friend of melanie), joanne. as a teacher and orchestra director, mr k as he's known to students, demands excellence from his students. his high expectations for their success kept him always prodding them to give their best efforts and beyond what they thought was their best efforts. the story reveals a tough task master who also has a very good heart. 

silly saturday

caption this photo!

photo friday

welcoming committee

thoughtful thursday

unknown:

wake up each morning and tell yourself, "i can do this".

whimsical wednesday

it's whimsical wednesday! today's activity is for you to do something you enjoy but haven't done for at least 6 months to a year! share your activity with the whimsey project.

my activity was to play the piano, something i haven't done in a long time. it was most enjoyable and no doubt all the kitties and the dog enjoyed my concert!

trivia tuesday

from history lovers club @historylvrsclub:

the t-shirt was invented in 1904. it was marketed to batchelors who could not sew or replace buttons.

miscellaneous monday

yesterday i discovered that i was using normal size font instead of large. oh! how excited i was to learn that i could increase the font size so as to make reading the whimsey project blog easier on the eyes! silly me! i thought i was using the large font size...

not long ago i posted open culture's link to free books to download. i also discovered, recently, a website that offers very inexpensive books for devices such as kindle. one sets up an account and book genre preferences and each day an email arrives in the inbox to alert to selections. books seem to run about $1.99 and there have been a few for $2.99.  there are also free books. here's the link to book bub:

https://www.bookbub.com/welcome

solitude sunday

happy father's day! follow the link to see an awesome dad in action:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5820683/Father-does-ballet-stage-daughter-gets-stage-fright.html 

silly saturday

from 1027kord.com:

it's sooooo hot that you can make instant sun tea!

photo friday

across the meadow (photo by libby) 

thoughtful thursday

mnraccon proverb:

those who say it can not be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

whimsical wednesday

sunday is father's day so we will prepare something special for dad(s) this whimsical wednesday. maybe, like for mother's day, you will plan to make dinner or take dad out for dinner. maybe you will shop for a gift or make a gift. maybe you'll send a card if he is far away; maybe you'll make the card you send him. maybe you no longer have your dad so you will do something to honor his memory. share your preparations with the whimsey project.

my father is no longer with us so i will be funding a tree for a national park as i did for mom in her memory on mother's day. there's something quite special about trees. they last for a very, very long time, they are beautiful and the help protect the eco-balance of the earth. trees are good for memorials and for the living.

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

the flute was invented before the wheel.

miscellaneous monday

in keeping with the book i just finished reading, this mental floss article is awesome! enjoy!

http://mentalfloss.com/article/91414/artist-transforms-sentences-classic-literature-constellations

solitude sunday

solitude sunday is our day to spend time with a book. my journey with shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks by keith houston is completed with today's chapter about irony and sarcasm.  h.l. manken stated that there should be punctuation for irony/sarcasm because readers were too clueless to understand when writers were being such. the symbols proposed for irony/sarcasm were the forerunners to the modern emoticons. in fact, emoticons are very old! the first such characters to express emotion were published in PUCK magazine march 30, 1881. they characters were hand drawn as there was no typeface yet for emoticons. but the point was made and the rest is, as is said, history.

silly saturday

from @americanindian8 via twitter:

photo friday

fdr in the shoe box.

thoughtful thursday

robert kennedy:

some men see things as they are and ask why. i dream of things that never were and ask why not.

whimsical wednesday

it's the first whimsical wednesday of june so it's our day to work on our own projects! i will be working on a tiny booklet that i have put off making for several months.  what project will you work on for "do your own thing" whimsical wednesday?

trivia tuesday

from wikipedia:

karam and kartari chand hold the record for the world's longest married couple. married december 11, 1925, they were wed for 90 years and 291 days before karma died at age 110.

miscellaneous monday

windy and sam were married yesterday.  the bride's bouquet, created by windy and libby,  was composed of jewelry of both the mother of the bride and mother of the groom. it was awesome, as was the wedding and reception. (photo by windy).

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my visit continues with keith houston's, shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols &other typographical marks. today i read about the quotation mark or as the author pointed out, marks, as the quotation mark(s) always comes in pairs. the quotation mark began life as a diple  ">" as far back into history at the library of alexandria. the purpose of the diple was to mark an important point in text.

silly saturday

seen on twitter by@rabilalameddine

photo friday

greetings!

thoughtful thursday

irish proverb:

it's all or nothing. you take the small potatoes along with the big.

whimsical wednesday

it's national creative day as well as national mint julep day so we are celebrating both for whimsical wednesday! being creative covers just about everything and anything so have at it.  maybe you'll just be creative with making a mint julep! share your activities with the whimsey project.

my plan is to work a craft area re-do. that will take creative re-organization. there'll be mint julep sipping on the porch afterward. to those who don't know about mint juleps, they are simple to make and just as enjoyable spirit-less as with.  a mint julep consists of sugar, water, spirits if desired and a sprig of mint. make a simple syrup (water and sugar boiled together). pour over ice, add crushed mint sprigs.  no fresh mint? have mint tea? make mint tea! 

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

the word poodle is derived from the german word for splash.

miscellaneous monday

do you enjoy reading via kindle or other electronic devise? here's a link to open culture; listing over 800 free ebooks!

http://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks

solitude sunday

solitude sunday is our day to spend time with a book. my time with shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols and other typographical marks by keith houston continues. the manicule was the focus of today's chapter. what is a manicule? that wee hand with the pointing finger in the margin of a page. it's pointing to something of significance, either by the writer or reader.

silly saturday

as seen on a vivid lime green tee-shirt:

MY SHIRT IS BRIGHTER THAN YOUR FUTURE!

photo friday

new art installation! birthday celebration activity yielded awesomeness!

thoughtful thursday

indian proverb:

why seek the key to an open door?

whimsical wednesday

the article about ordinary things posted for miscellaneous monday got me to thinking about ordinary as a whimsical wednesday activity so here goes! if you haven't read monday's post about ordinary things do so to get in the spirit of whimsical wednesday. after reading the article, create a list of your top five ordinary things to do, in no particular order. then do at least one of them today! share your list and ordinary activity with the whimsey project!

my top five ordinary activities:

1. stay at home
2. sit on the porch
3. chop vegetables
4. watch old episodes of gunsmoke and perry mason on tv
5. give the dog and kitties treats

it's not even nine a.m. and i have already done three of the five. maybe i'll do the other two as well.

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

barry manilow did not write his song "i write the songs".

miscellaneous monday

we live life in the ordinary, do we not? it's not boring or unremarkable. it's life. here's an article from atlas obscura that demonstrates how extraordinary ordinary is. enjoy!

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hversdagssafn-museum-of-everyday-life?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=atlas-page

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my visit with keith houston's shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks continues. the hyphen and dash were featured in the chapters i read today. i came away thinking, "how could a simple, short, straight line have so many meanings as well as configurations?".

silly saturday

i want one.

photo friday

the season of roses has begun!

thoughtful thursday

brian thompson:

talk less. listen more.

whimsical wednesday

we'll be writing in our journals for whimsical wednesday! we do so in months with five wednesdays.
what journals would one write in? any type of journal that one would enjoy. if you haven't any journals, today would be a great day to begin!

mine are many and each will receive attention today:
*personal journal
*themed journal, for me a farm journal
*memories journal in which to record random memories
*notable notebook in which to record random quotes, ideas and neat stuff
*whimsical moment notebook in which to record the day's most whimsical moment
*art journal(s) which are a blend of art and words; ongoing most days for me

trivia tuesday

from merriam-webster:

squdge is a real word. it means "to slosh around in mud or ooze" as in, "to squdge mud between one's toes".  a real bonus word for scrabble players!

miscellaneous monday

books! the article linked below from openculture.com lists books that brian eno thinks everyone should read. discussed is his own memoir by the article's author. i want to read that book as well as those on the list!

http://www.openculture.com/2015/08/brian-eno-book-lists.html

solitude sunday

happy mother's day!

silly saturday

from redtri.com:

Q: what did one plate say to the other?
A: dinner is on me!

photo friday

may's flower: lily of the valley

thoughtful thursday

roald dahl:

a little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.

whimsical wednesday

we are preparing for mother's day this whimsical wednesday! you can make something for your mom, shop for your mom, make plans for a meal at home or out to eat on mother's day. send your mom a card even if you will be with her. happy mail is always good to receive.  if your mother is no longer living, do something in her memory or do something for another mother that is special to you. share your mother's day preparation with the whimsey project.

this morning i made two memorials for my mother. one to an organization that helps single mothers and one to the arbor day foundation.  a tree will be planted in a national park in honor of mom.

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

in french crescent moons are called croissants.

miscellaneous monday

an article from bored panda: creativity with mailboxes!  here's the link:

https://www.boredpanda.com/creative-mailbox-ideas/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BPTwitter

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. i am spending time with keith houston's shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks. today's reading was about the asterick and dagger. the asterick is the oldest punctuation mark in existence, having been first used five millennia ago. the dagger evolved from a strike mark used in editing text. interestingly, in gregorian chants, the asterick and dagger were musical notations for long and short pauses, respectively. 

silly saturday

from wildbirds.com:

Q: what happens when a duck flies upside down?
A: he quacks up!

photo friday

waif doggie and burlap kitty

thoughtful thursday

abraham lincoln:

be sure to put your feet in the right place and then stand firm.

whimsical wednesday

it's the first whimsical wednesday of the month of may! you know what that means, fellow whimzees! it's work on your own projects day. this is the day of the month for you to pay attention to projects you have in progress and want to complete. have at it and report your project activity to the whimsey project.

this morning i added to a collage that was finished with a picture that shouted, "put me in the collage!" so i did. it turned out to be a great addition to the art journal page.  i paused from project number two to write today's post. i'm working on something i was given for christmas.  film at 11.

trivia tuesday

from perkypet.com:

hummingbirds have an excellent memory. they remember every flower and feeder they have eaten at. they even remember how long it takes for a flower to refill with nectar.

miscellaneous monday

one of the happiest events of spring is the return of the hummingbirds. our feeders are new this year. we made sure to get the feeders that have perches. the birds seem to like the perches as they are able to rest while they dine. having had a feeder with a perch previously, it has been our experience that the birds linger when they have a place to alight. we hung our feeders by the dining room windows friday evening. saturday, while eating lunch, we looked up and there they were! the hummingbirds were having lunch too. the three that visit on a regular basis have returned. we are watching for more. observing the hummingbirds and the other birds that come to the farm never grows boring or tiresome. each sighting is a delightful, whimsical surprise.  do you feed hummingbirds and the other birds? what is your favorite, if you have one?

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. i am spending time with shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks by keith houston. the punctuation mark read about today was the @ symbol; denoting the word at. it began life as a pricing tool "at the rate of"; as in "3 apples @ 50 cents each". it became very famous when the internet became the world wild web and the @ symbol was used in web addresses as in "thewhimseyproject@gmail.com".

silly saturday

first grade crazy hair day!

photo friday

enjoying the view.

thoughtful thursday

pope john XXIII:

concern yourself not with what you failed in but what with is still possible to do.

whimsical wednesday

we are tearing paper for whimsical wednesday. tear paper? yes, tear paper. tear as much as you wish in whatever shape or size that appeals to you. what to do with it when you have torn it? recycle it, use it in an art project, homemade confetti! the possibilities are endless. share your paper tearing experience with the whimsey project.

my torn paper to be used in an art journal.

trivia tuesday

quite interesting @qikipedia:

over the course of about a mile, the carrier pigeon is faster than the fax machine.

miscellaneous monday

the metropolitan art museum offers free art books online.  take a peek:

https://mymodernmet.com/free-books-online-met-museum/

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my time with shady characters, the secret life of punctuation, symbols and other typographical marks by keith houston continues. today's chapter detailed the history of the ampersand, the symbol for the word and. it's origins lie in the greek word for and: et.

silly saturday

from funkidjokes,com:

Q: what do you call a rooster that wakes you up in the morning?
A: an alarm cluck!

photo friday

thank goodness it's friday!

thoughtful thursday

claude monet:

i must have flowers, always and always.

whimsical wednesday

it's whimsical wednesday! we are folding a single sheet of paper into a wee book. my sister taught me how to do this, even provided a folded piece of paper as an example! but i have never put the instructions into action. today is the day.  use pretty paper after practicing on sheet of copy paper or a page out of a magazine. an internet search found the following folding instructions:

http://www.laurenstringer.com/uploads/2/5/6/4/25641572/make_a_six-page_book_out_of_one_sheet_of_paper.pdf

my efforts included a large flyer page, a pocket calendar page and a notepad page for small, medium and large books.

trivia tuesday

from postcrossing.com:

the postcard exchange program currently has 724,922 participants with 46,408,954 postcards received to members in 213 countries. and counting...

miscellaneous monday

it's april, mid-april to be precise! for miscellaneous monday let's check out a day or two from our "whimsical moment of the day" notebook. a whimsical moment notebook is any notebook, calendar, index cards, whatever in which to record a daily whimsical moment. if you haven't started keeping a daily whimsical moment notebook, today is a great day to begin!

february 9th i wrote that i looked out the window and saw a kitty sitting in the birdbath. that was funny because the kitty looked like she was perched on a throne! on march 5th i wrote the sound of tape being unrolled. you know that funny sound you hear when cellophane tape gets unrolled from the dispenser. it was a long piece of tape so i laughed at the lingering unrolling sound.  if you don't know what i mean about the sound of tape being unrolled from the dispenser, dig out your tape and unroll a long piece to hear it for yourself! 

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my time with shady characters; the secret life of punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks by keith houston. today's chapter highlighted the octothorpe aka the #, the pound sign, hashtag. the octothorpe has it roots in the symbols for money. 

silly saturday

when horses frolic!

photo friday

buc, buc, buc...

thoughtful thursday

master sheng-yen:

there is no need to be worried about having flaws because knowing we have them can help us to improve!

whimsical wednesday

we're playing a memory game for whimsical wednesday!

quick! without looking! list five items on your refrigerator!

here's mine:
1. photo of my house.
2. recipe of a drink
3. receipts of plants purchased for the landscape
4. kid art depicting a bowl of spaghetti
5. a pineapple shaped magnet from hawaii

now you! post your list for whimsical wednesday!

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

a group of pugs is called a grumble.

miscellaneous monday

delancy place is a website that offers book excerpts.  the site offers subscriptions to have daily offerings to appear in the email inbox. or the book snippets can be read at the website. it's really interesting to read a small part of a book each day. sometimes that is enough and sometimes i want to read the book. perhaps fellow whimsees would enjoy doing the same! follow the link to delancy place:

https://delanceyplace.com/

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. i am reading shady characters: the secret life of punctuation, symbols and other typographical marks by keith houston.  the chapter just completed detailed the history of the interrobang; the punctuation mark that combines the question mark and the exclamation mark.

silly saturday

caption this picture for silly saturday!

photo friday

my wassily kandinsky or jackson pollock; whichever you prefer.

thoughtful thursday

vincent van gogh:

great things are not by impulse but come by a series of small acts brought together.

whimsical wednesday

it's the first whimsical wednesday of april! our day to work on our own projects! what did you work on? share your efforts with the whimsey project!

i'll be practicing a few origami folds that were left undone from my origami folding session several months ago.  also, i'll be doing paint blending exercises from an online art journaling course i am taking. i have been putting off the exercises for what reason i have no clue. however, today is the day i blend!

trivia tuesday

from quite interesting @qikipedia:

burning mountain in australia is a natural coal fire that has been burning for 6,000 years.

miscellaneous monday

easter was also april fool's day. it would be fun to declare that it snowed on easter and then exclaim, "april fool's day"! but it was no joke. it snowed on easter. the weather provides the opportunity to practice many important aspects of being human: patience, flexibility, preparedness, managing disappointment, humor and resilience. the lesson of weather, if we pay attention, is to work with conditions as they exist instead of working against them; especially when dealing with conditions over that which we have no control.

solitude sunday

happy easter!