Eve Gaal's Blog, page 24

T is for Toys

I think having toys around can be inspirational. Toys from your childhood can remind you of happy times or inspire you to think about things from a younger perspective. No matter my age, there are some toys I can’t part with and want to live with forever. Sure, they might be collecting dust, but I love them anyway. My first doll is wearing a hat I made(yes, my dog Fiona modeled it once) and a nightgown my mother made from flannel. Her name is Katie. She's also wearing some sort of blue jeans under the nightie but they were never finished. Behind her, is my favorite stuffed animal which is a bunny I used to sleep with. The bunny played Rock-a-bye Baby when it was wound up but it doesn't work anymore. The wooden monkey was a gift from my dad when I was three. He brought it home from San Francisco. The doll on the right side of the angel is a souvenir from New Orleans.  My brother gave me this bear and I made him wear Fiona's raincoat
 since she won't have anything to do with it. This is an antique Hungarian pitcher I found at an antique shop and now it's filled with bears.

Before Minions there was this guy.

                                     Do you love toys?

S is for See Something Funny!

See no evil,Hear no evil,Speak no evil-- Found this at an antique shop in Twenty-nine Palms, CA
and for Heaven's sake--don't do that!
Don't you love monkeys? Have you seen the new movie Monkey Kingdom yet?

R is for Rooster

Not really sure why I love roosters in my kitchen. Maybe because I was born in the year of the rooster?
 Or because rooster in Italian sounds similar to my last name--if my name had an o after it? (Gallo) Gift from brotherOr simply because they make me smile? Hand-painted by husbandAnd smiling is always important! Small one was a gift from my friend Tally H.What objects in your home make you smile?

Q is for Quest

What are you searching for?
Me, I’m searching for peace and yet,living in the desert was almost too much peace.Our neighbors were snowbirds—A sighting was as rare as seeing a White-winged Scoter or a Red-breasted Merganser.The only sounds were golf carts and maintenance men with grass blowers.   (Google images-white winged scoters)Can there be too much peace?
Right now, we live a mile to the freeway and in our bedroom it almost sounds like the ocean. We can walk to the store and many restaurants. A hospital is one mile away. So are traffic filled roads and all kinds of realities. Yes, Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Before we lived in the desert, we lived a few miles from this current location and remember it as bucolic horse ranches. Ancient oaks now only a memory, the builders have stripped this romantic land and filled it with two story homes. Ours of course, is one of them.
While content in the desert, we had to move for personal reasons. Temperatures reaching 129 degrees didn't help my case. I was the ostrich with my head in an air-conditioned home--writing--thinking everything ‘rocks’ but not everyone agreed. We were at least six miles to any store, church or hospital. Oh, and nighttime temperatures didn't cool off. At 120 in the day, it would be 98 at night. The gorgeous clay mountains surrounding our home held onto the heat like an oven. Needless to say, I wasn't complaining. I’d rather be warm than cold but it was never all about me.
Our quest is not over. Perhaps we will find the serenity we're looking for here on Earth and if not, there's that promise of a place in Our Father’s house. I imagine it as peaceful, without any road noise or grass blowers. I imagine the temperature is perfect and the view divine.
 We were searching for something when we came here. Are you on a quest too?

P is for Pinky

Pinky is a playful, 10 yr old puppy.(Notice the active tail in my blurred photo.)She has been rescued twice and sometimes she gets anxious,especially around loud noises and strangers. She has a boisterous,deep bark that belies her 15 pounds. She hates closed doorsbut loves chewing on her toys. They don't last very long. Pinky and my other dog Fiona like to argue. Pinky is resting in the back while Fiona stands guard.
Fiona is only 5 pounds but she scares Pinky.In fact, Fiona scares everyone--even me.  Poor Pinky.

O is for Orange

Okay, all my poetry loving friends.....Drum-roll please....
Did you know that there is a word that rhymes with orange?I didn't, until I wrote this post. Sporange is a sac where spores are made--Verification is here: Oxford Dictionary

N is for Naughty

A bright sunny day is making Fiona squint like Clint.  Famous stars and actresses become the ‘face’ of Lancôme or Revlon cosmetics. Here we have the ‘face’ of naughtiness. Plain and simple—this is it—in case you wondered—and now you know. 

M is Motivational Messages

These motivational messages came from my heart:


1 Listen. Sometimes a stranger can say something remarkable. 2  You are unique and an integral piece of a large puzzle.  3  Change what happens by starting something new today.  4 Perseverance is the only way to reach perfection. 5 Human contact and face-to-face communication is  better than the fastest internet connection or wireless phone.  6 You don’t have to choose between style, beauty and intelligence. Embrace your entire package. 7 Since we have the ability to love, then using our heart should be easy. 8  Keep the sad parts of your life story  for someone  who will listen, care and appreciate your pain. 
9

This morning... the world is waiting for your good ideas. 

10  Plan a strategy for ruling more than your side of the sink.

L is for Love

Love is my prayer
Love inside.Love outside.Love in the front yard.Love in the backyard.Love when it hurts.Love when things are going well.Love in the cold.Love in the heat.Love up.Love down.
Love all around.


Eve Gaal
Inspired by Saint Patrick's famous prayer

K is for Key

I will never forget one aspect about old stories that involved someone looking through a keyhole. 
We can’t look through most keyholes anymore.
In fact, our new home has a modern key contraption that looks like this: 
Tension, drama and scandal were all focused in onesmall area. The key or keyhole was an integral partof the mysterious tales.
Do you remember someone looking through a keyhole?