The BIG Picture

I bought a 1,000 piece puzzle of this mural mosaic the other day.


From the back of the box:

"The Wildlife Ark" Mural Mosaic project began with an overall design sketch by Lewis Lavoie. From there 216 panels were created, marked with only some lines and color tones. Following these simple guidelines, 140 Canadian wildlife artists without knowing the final image, were free to translate the 16" x 16"  panels to any wildlife-themed painting of their choice.  The completed original paintings were then combined to form the 16 foot by 24 foot Mural Mosaic.  No computers or special effects were required. 

Somehow I get the impression that when the artist conceived this magnificent mural, he realized that those who would give it a glance would no doubt be treated to a feast for the eyes. But some would linger - and look closely enough to see each individual canvas panel for the unique work of art that it is and to realize how, when combined with numerous others, each contributes to "the big picture". For them, for those who would really appreciate his work, the artist would take great pleasure in rewarding them with a depth of understanding limited only by the amount of time they were willing to spend studying the details of his creation. 


And it occurred to me .... that this reminds me of Someone Else I Know.

  The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

² Day after day they pour forth speech; 

   night after night they reveal knowledge. 

³ They have no speech, they use no words; 

   no sound is heard from them. 

⁴ Yet their voice^[b] goes out into all the earth, 

   their words to the ends of the world. 

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 

 ⁵ It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 

   like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens 

   and makes its circuit to the other; 

   nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Psalm 19:1-5

For a closer look at - and better understanding of  the big picture above click here:  http://www.muralmosaic.com/cpaws.html.   And for a closer look at - and better understanding of the Really BIG Picture, go for a walk in the woods - or stand at the edge of the ocean - or look up and into the night sky - or treat yourself to a boquet of flowers ... and study the details.

I'd take great pleasure in...

... serving up a heartwarming treat like this to friends & loved ones.

via

I'd love to learn how to transform a routine cuppa

into a work of heART myself. 

Think of all the potential fun 

one could have personalizing coffee

with other simple designs.

Needless to say....

I'm adding a milk frother to my

 "I really wish I had one of those!" List.  

.

One day...

One day, you're going to learn something that can't be explained with science. And when that happens, your life's going to change in ways you can't imagine.

 True Believer
  By Nicholas Sparks


I'm not halfway thru' the book yet & I'm still not quite sure where it's heading - but nonetheless, the quote above ... resonated with me.

High atop our rooftop yesterday....

We were up there for hours, the two of us. 

But we did it!!  Our roof is clear!  Hooooraaaah!

  

I have not done that much physically exhausting work in a looong time. 

It actually felt good & I reveled for a bit in the sense of accomplishment when we were finally done! 

Whew!

You know you've had too much snow when....

...you call Home Depot and they answer your question before you even ask it! Seriously! Whoever answered basically said  "Welcome to Home Depot! Sorry - we don't have any roof rakes." all in the same breath and before I even had a chance to ask ... or to say "hello" myself!  But ... that was all I needed to know.  Ugh!  If this is the last you hear from me it's most likely because I've been buried alive!

February

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Thanks, Spokes, for changing the colors on my banner!  That was a fun change to wake up to this morning :) It's a sure sign that January is history & we're that much closer to Spring! Ahhh ... that does have has a nice ring to it --  doesn't it?!

Snow Much Snow!!!

The sign on a church marquee I saw on the news this morning reads: 

Whoever is praying for snow....please stop! 

The snow just keeps....snowing!  I've lost track but I believe this is the 5th or 6th snow day we've had in about as many weeks!  Plow drivers must be asking  "How now then to plow?!"  There's no good place to put the snow! The mounds along our driveway are massive. After being forewarned of back to back snowstorms heading our way we raked our roof.   Yes - we, here in New England - out of necessity - occasionally have to rake our roofs to remove some of the weight. My husband borrowed our neighbor's electric snow shovel & used it on our roof too. Kudos to whoever invented that!! Once we get the snow off the roof, what ends up on our driveway then has to be moved again. The frosty white & seemingly endless labyrinth of city streets is challenging to navigate - as often one has no way of really knowing what's around the bend - or if they can make it up that hill - until they've passed the point of no return. My husband's company closed again today due to the weather.  I will say yesterday's snow was beautiful! Light & fluffy as could be. Today tho' it's different. When you can hear the snow ... that's when you know it's icy - & heavier & slicker & ... a long list of other not so nice adjectives. Here. Listen!...

Hmmm... Perhaps this wintery mix of snow & ice 

should be called "snice"?!

So - please excuse me while a take a moment - before heading out again to move snow around - to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. To think sand instead of snow.  Warm water instead of freezing rain.  Sunlight instead of snow white. And to count today as one less day until I will actually be there...

Maho Bay, St. John