October's Whimsy Hunt (so far) ...

First, one last watercolor ...  

(click to enlarge)

Now to the whimsey hunt...

▢ Something with more confidence than evidence...

☑ A stick, probably enchanted....  

An enchanted dowsing branch, dropped while a
magical small creature ran home in the rain.

☑ Something caught mid- bad idea....

This boy ~ Oliver ~ is obsessed with the 
small Schleich tortoise in my jade plant.

What, ma?  I wasn't dropping
gravel on the floor.

▢ A creature choosing comfort over dignity.

▢ Something outdoors that would make an excellent tiny chair.

▢ A tree being unnecessarily dramatic.

▢ A pumpkin with questionable intentions.

☑ One tiny October mystery.... no photo with this one because I'd have to plead the 5th later, but I saw random Roses of Sharon apparently growing wild on my walk.  Where did they come from?

    I have marked my calendar to "rehome" some of them in the spring to my backyard near my lilac sapling and the forsythia bushes.  Shhhhhhh...

▢ Footprints belonging to someone I did not see.

☑ Something that appears to be hiding, but poorly.... This is a spotted lanternfly ~ an invasive bug ~ that while it poses no danger to humans or animals, it does cause significant harm to plant life, agriculture, and local ecosystems.  I'd never seen a live one, just the warnings for them.  It probably wishes it had hidden better because it is now squished.

Not exactly hiding but might have thought
my door frame was a tree.

☑ The sun clearly showing off....

After nearly 24 hours of rain, a tiny rainbow.

☑ A puddle reflecting something more interesting than itself....

Perhaps a portal to a
forest in another parallel dimension?

⬚ Soup, obviously.

Words on Wednesday ...

     It's been a minute since I joined in... actually, almost a year.

   Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.
    This month, Sean Jeating is providing the prompts which will appear on River's blog.

    I've marked the words/prompts for this week with a bold underline.

    The couple's children, all six of them, had petitioned to become emancipated from their parents the week before which was making their "fun" and "idyllic" holiday in the Maldives quite the opposite.  It was one thing for your 15- and 16-year-olds to say they wanted to be out on their own, but for the five- and six-year-olds to also want to leave their parents was a serious parental ego buster.

    As it happened, the court ordered psychologist agreed that not only would be in the best interest of the children, but also for their parents.

    "Can you just tell me how I'm supposed to explain this to my parents, their grandparents, when we see them over the holidays, Smokey?" Rose whined to her husband.

    "Can you for one small moment in time, not make this all about you?  This was supposed to be a peaceful holiday for all of us, and instead of coming together as a family, things imploded and we're now spending it alone in the lap of luxury while our children are with strangers at Disney World."

    "You don't have to yell at me, Smokey.  I told you from the beginning I wasn't cut out to be a full-time mother, and if not for the nannies, I never would have agreed to adopt the four littles.  I didn't even want that wretched child I had out of wedlock before we met and certainly wouldn't have agreed to marry you if I'd known you came with baggage."

    "Exactly why did you agree to marry me, Rose?"

    "I needed someone who could provide me with the lifestyle I wanted to become accustomed to, of course.  Why else would anyone want to get married?"

    "Uh, love?"

    "Don't be foolish.  That's just an urban myth."

October whimsy hunt

twigandtoad.com

     This came to me courtesy of a message from a friend and is originally from Twig and Toad (<link).  I will be posting my findings on Saturdays instead of watercolor creations because I need a new set of watercolor brushes.  The ones I have are old and are for acrylic paints.

    I already have several ideas (some which involve Oliver and his current favorite thing to do to annoy me ~ boys will be boys, even if they are cats!).

    We did have nearly 24 hours of rain yesterday from now tropical storm Isaias as it moves northeast, so finding a puddle was easy enough to do this morning.

    Other things on the list will be a little more difficult, but challenge accepted!

    Find your whimsy today ~ Ci💚

Bipan ...

Oliver being Oliver
and eating a faux tree.

    It's finally starting to feel like fall.  The gas heater install was finished this week, thankfully.  The outside plants brought inside since we've already had some night lows in the 30s.

    Two job interviews last week that I'm hoping to hear from this week.

    A few bad days of missing Charlie.  It's been almost a month since he died, and I'm still raw when I talk (or write) about it.  He was a good dog and will always be missed.

Bipan

    Some may remember when I had five roommates back in 2023-2024. International culinary students at the Greenbrier resort.  One of them, Bipan from India, stayed after his training ended, seeking asylum.  He eventually settled in Texas after being in California briefly.  

    Unfortunately, he was pulled out in a random ICE stop and was detained on the 26th of August for no other reason than he looked Hispanic and his visa had recently expired.

    Based on the past behavior of ICE, even if he had gone to get a new visa just before or after his expired, he likely would have been taken ~ dare I say kidnapped ~ in an ICE sweep at the courthouse.

    Bipan has no criminal or traffic arrests or citations.  He was a hard worker, sometimes working two jobs.  He sent money home to help his mother with repairs to the family home in India.  He is a good man and was the most courteous and respectful of the roommates.  I wish I'd had four more like him when I was sharing the house with them.

    Bipan has been kept in horrible conditions while he has been detained, unable to eat much at times because of his faith and not eating beef.  Three times his bond hearing was delayed, and he had to stay in those conditions.  Now he has been told that his asylum petition ~ which was done legally and appropriately before the current child took office ~ has been denied.  He is devastated, as am I.

    I hope and pray that he is allowed to return to India and isn't dumped in some other foreign country where he knows no one and doesn't speak the language.

    The current administration shames us all, regardless of what side of the fence you sit on, it will take us decades to recover from one child's tantrums, greed, and foolishness.  This country was founded and built by immigrants.  We live on stolen land.  Some of you have forgotten that.

                    I hope you have the day you voted for .... 💚Ci