A new twist on BLUE

I absolutely love the color BLUE! I always have and always will. I want to surround myself with blue colors. 

BLUE is..

Serene

Peaceful

Calm

Welcoming

Relaxing

Comforting

Beautiful

Cozy

Inviting

Soft

Like a breath of Fresh air

It is the color in the sky above and the ocean beneath. It wraps you up like a blanket and makes you feel good all over. 

Blue was the main color of my wedding. For my high school graduation in 1975, I asked for Blue Willow plates. It would be only four weeks until I got married. Still have them. Blue jeans are my favorite thing to wear. I have decorated my house with robin egg blue walls, vintage blue cabinets, blue/green furniture and accessories, and decorated my entire library around a patina chandelier. Blue makes me so happy! I can't get enough of it. It has remained my favorite color since I was small. Small splashes of bright colors amongst the blues is all I need to spice up my space.

Library pictured above

Blue Willow dishes for my graduation gift in 1975

With my passion and obsession with blue, my personality must surely be TRUE BLUE!

But then I thought I should be objective and decided to look online for color personality types. 

What a surprise!  I'm a PURPLE personality more than any other color. How could that be?

I have never liked the color PURPLE. In fact, I dislike it. It is my husband's favorite color and I've always tried to do some small thing in the bedroom to bring some purple in, even if it's just an accent. I have never warmed up to it. But, when we built the new house, I decided to be kind and paint our bedroom and sitting room walls PURPLE... yuck! But my warrior was deployed to Afghanistan and I felt like I should do something really special and surprise him when he returned. He was surprised all right.... PURPLE! It was a little overwhelming and took some getting used to. 

I've had such a delima decorating with purple. It's hard. It's not easy. It doesn't fit ME! I tried everything to fit my blue in. I haven't had any such luck at this point. One day, my bedroom will shower me with BLUE. I am going to make it happen. Even if I have to repaint all the walls! But in the meantime I have to accept that I am the color PURPLE.

Master sitting room pictured above

My Grandma Bentley's favorite color was purple and favorite flower... purple iris.

My favorite flower in the spring is Lilac... and it's also my favorite scent! 

A tradition: decorate graves with purple lilacs

Why am I the color PURPLE?

I am gentle

I am a free spirit

Sensitive to hurtful comments

Peaceful; peacemaker

Creative

Inspire others with ideas and creative thinking

Idealistic, and often impractical

Great imagination

Look at life through rose-colored glasses

Deal positively with adversity

Naive 

Seek spiritual fulfillment and meaning in life

Giving

Good news in all this... I'm not entirely PURPLE. Because I'm really not a big fan of PURPLE.

A blue vintage bowl from my mother's collection.

Many salads and vegetables were served out of this bowl growing up.

I'm happy to report that I have a lot of BLUE:

I have a deep need for peace and harmony in my everyday life

I need quiet time for reflection, introspection and self-discovery

Can be rigid and stubborn; I like familiar

Need order in my living space; untidiness and unpredictability overwhelm me

Loyal and faithful marriage partner

Sentimental and love things from the past

Approachable and friendly

Thirst for knowledge and areas of interest

Am spiritual and religious, with a high degree  
of devotion to God and family

I love green in nature. It's all around. It's fresh, clean, and oh, so earthy!

The picture above is of the orchard. Blackberry leaves after a rainstorm and cherries not yet mature.

In my personality, I have some GREEN:

Love nature

Strive for balance

Good citizen

Love for learning

Have high moral standards and doing the right thing is important to me

Am strong-willed and don't like to be told by others what to do

I love brown leather.

Dressing and accessorising in brown.

All things vintage & distressed around the edges. I even distress my scrapbook pages. Brown is so warm and inviting!

BROWN makes up part of my personality:

Honest

Down-to-earth

Friendly

Approachable

Genuine

Sincere

Love home, family life is extremely important  to me

Like physical comfort, simplicity and quality
                                                                                  
Can be quite contemplative, working out problems and becoming quite absorbed until I                                                                            find a solution

I absolutely love tulips. I have them planted all over my yard.

The above pictures were taken at Thanksgiving Point Gardens.

In my personality I have some Yellow:

Happy and cheerful

Creative

Head in the clouds

Independent streak

To me white is pure, clean, refreshing, simple, innocent, and has integrity. I love the color white.

A touch of White:

Far sighted, with a positive and optimistic nature

Appears to be shy, but have strong beliefs about most things and the opportunity to share those beliefs

I have red accents all over the house... red walls and decor. It adds some spice and energy.

Splash of RED:

Optimistic

Control is connected to my basic survival instinct

There's nothing more beautiful than pink peach blossoms in the spring. Picture of the orchard.

Pink is so pretty and girly. I wanted a bright cheerful green and pink for my office. I love it!

Two Times PINK:

Positive outlook on life, I see the good in everyone

Friendly and approachable with a warmth and softness others are drawn to

This writing prompt was difficult and challenging. It was probably more for me and not so much for posting and sharing it. Perceptions about myself led me to discover colors of personality I never would have thought about before. It would be interesting to see how others view me, too. I learned a lot about myself. My personality and characteristics make up all colors of the rainbow. As much as I love the color BLUE, it was exciting to see that every color has a twist to it. As the strands of color intertwine with each other, something very unique and special comes out of it.... PERSONAL CHARACTER!

If you want to explore your personality through colors, I found this link to be very insightful Color Psychology

Writing prompt #3: If you had to select a color to pick your personality, what would it be?

Sunshine

Today is February 2nd. Groundhog's Day! The groundhog saw his shadow in our neck of the woods. And that means only one thing... winter for 6 more weeks! 

I chose sunshine for my quote because I am needing sunshine in my life in the worst way right now. I've been sick, the inversion has been horrible, it's been bitter cold, and the snow just keeps piling up. I've got cabin fever! Today, we are getting a break from winter's fury. The sun is out, the temperature is rising, and we can see blue skies. Yeah! 

Here's another quote I like. 

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

                                                                                                                Maori Proverb 

Sick

I am an optimistic person for the most part. I look at the glass half-full rather than half-empty. I tend to look at the world through rose colored glasses. I don't deal with stress very well. I try to avoid it. Sure, there have been times in my life that are painful to think about, and I wondered at the time if I would ever get through it. But I do. I usually don't write about things that take me into a dark time in life. But, today I will be brave. I will write it and never, ever go there again.

The last time you were sick...

I've been a pretty healthy person most of my life. It was hard to relate to all the commercials advertising the latest and greatest pill for a cure-all. I had really never been sick. Maybe a cold, here or there. Not much else. I am lucky to be married to an agriculturist who has a green thumb. And, I myself, have a Home Economics degree with a minor in food and nutrition. We have always grown a garden, and have a fruit orchard with every fruit we can possibly grow here in the Western U.S. We are surrounded with good things to eat. A healthy diet is one key to good health. So, I really never worried too much about my health. Until...

last year. A nagging UTI led me into surgery to repair my bladder. I had a hard time recovering, and had to continue for another 2 months on antibiotics to rid myself of infection. Another couple of months went by. In December, abdominal pain hit me. Was sent to the hospital for a CT. Di.ver.ti.cu.li.tis. I had a lot to learn about the disease. I would go through another 2 rounds of antibiotics to rid the infection. It was painful. Changed my bowel habits. I was put on a liquid diet. Also... no dairy, no fat, no oils (from gall stones also found during an ultrasound). I lost 20 lbs in two weeks. I was weak and nauseous. I had severe pain and cramping. Couldn't even get to the bathroom on time. All I could do is lay on the bed and stare at the wall. No appetite, food tastes bad. Couldn't even read a few pages from a book or get on the computer. I knew I was sick... really sick. Back to the doctor. Put in the hospital. Extremely dehydrated. Lacked phosphorous, potassium, magnesium. IV fluids in both arms. Put on the nuclear weapons (how my doc put it) of all antibiotics. If this won't kill it once and for all, nothing will. Found out that all the antibiotics I had taken for so long, took all the good bacteria out of my gut and replaced it with the bad stuff. C-dif. A horrible infection I would not wish on my worst enemy (not that I have any). A week long stay in the hospital. Sent home on another 10 days of the strong antibiotics. 

A couple of very early mornings in the hospital I felt so bad I prayed my mother would be allowed to come down from heaven and wrap her loving and comforting arms around me, wipe away my tears, and tell me everything was going to be all right. I cried myself to sleep several times while wishing her there. I knew then and there, I would never be too old to need the comfort of my mother. Oh... if I could just feel her tender touch, I know I would feel better. I yearn for her.

I'm on my third day since coming home from the hospital. I've had extreme nausea, and can hardly get the antibiotics down. But the days are getting a little better. Food is tasting a little better. I'm on a soft diet. And, as much as I love water, it, too, has been a little hard for me to swallow. But it's a little better today, too. Today is the first day getting back on the computer. I even think I will try and read a little today. 

There is always a lesson to be learned from our experiences. I've been in a fog the last month and am not sure what it is that I need to learn. But I hope I do so I never have to come to this dark place again in my life.

On a brighter note, two very sweet and thoughtful daughters, disinfected and cleaned my entire house before I came home from the hospital. Top to bottom. Even the baseboards. And it's a BIG house... almost 8000 square feet. It was so overwhelming when I walked in the house to see the sparkle and shine bounce off the wood floors and counters. The house smelled so fresh and clean. Everything perfect. Everything in order. My husband said he was going downstairs. I said... "I think I'll cry! And I did! The greatest gift a mother could have is good, thoughtful children. A nurse had commented on the good deed, and wondered why they would come without being asked. My daughter's response....

You raised me mom!

So, you can imagine the overwhelming gratitude I felt in my heart when I opened up the door to my house that had been so lovingly scrubbed. Just because they love their mother!

writing prompt #3: The last time you were sick...