Love Echoes...

David and I and Chica made the trip up North this weekend. It was a few days filled with sweet, sweet moments. You know the kind that just keep playing over and over in your mind and fill your heart with joy at being alive, and loved and loving ?

Love echoes you could call them...

Like witnessing the first snow of the season (way up North in La Conception, Quebec!)

No rush down here in Manchester, Momma Nature !

Or noticing that lilac leaves look a lot like hearts!

And feeling the love that happens between two hearts, in this case mine...

and his...

Or moments where you snuggle and hug and kiss and play with angels like this

in spite of runny noses, and coughs and media hyped up germs...

And get close to those you love,

the ones facing big changes and going through rough times...

or the ones in celebration,

like sisters turing 40 and getting blown away by the surprise !

Colorful celebrations

with many warm wishes,

a few tears of joy,

and of course, the loads of laughter !

Yes, I had myself a big dose of

love echoes this weekend...

and they are still ringing in my heart today...

Had a great weekend ! Attended my sister Natalie's 40th Surprise Birthday Bash on Friday, thrown by her best friend, Cindy, and her Man, Dave (Nat's Dave!). It was a sweet blast with lots of family and friends !(her actual birthday is November 29th)

Spent Sat. with my sister Kristina and her hubby John and Thomas and Kate (all of who have been feeling icky and under the weather but were not too bad when Uncle David and Auntie Kimmy spent the day there !)

Spent Sunday Brunch at my beautiful friend Andrea's house with her hubby James, and my gorgeous Darlene friend and her two boys. Yummy food and lovely chatting time.

David and I got home late last night...Monday has me feeling a little draggy and with tons of odds and ends to do...

But it is all good...

as I have all those sweet moments,

those love echoes...

to get me through...

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones !

Meet You at the Deli Counter...

(Art journal page - "It happened at the deli counter")

(November 2, 2009)

So there has been a story in my head since Monday morning. This is what happened. I had a nice exchange with a lady in the produce section of the grocery store. I don't remember what I said, but I know I spoke first - probably something about the beautiful day outside or the condition of the produce or something. She gave me a smile and a nod of agreement and we both continued on our way.

(Bottom half of journal page tells the story...)

Then we met again in line at the deli counter. She was ordering turkey breast. The deli guy offered her a piece of the turkey to try. She took the piece of limp beige in between her fingers to check the thickness, told the guy it was fine and then proceeded to check in her purse for somewhere to put the turkey, grimacing big as she did. I caught her eye and laughed ! "No way do you want to eat that piece of turkey right now !" I said. She laughed too, and replied "I like turkey but it is a little early for me !" (It was about 9:30 am).

A moment or two later, she asked me a question - "Are you new to the area ?" Startled, I replied, "No, I have lived here for almost 10 years....Why ?". "Well," she said "You are just so nice!"

I have to say that I have found this town to be a hard one to be a Big Heart Walking in at times. People are close-knit, clique-ish I guess you could say. Oh, they can be friendly if you make the first move but rarely does the level on friendliness go beyond really common courtesy.

So this lady's comment gels with what I kind of know about where I live already, but at the same time, what she said has been ringing in my head all week. It made me very sad on one hand, pretty proud on the other, and it also made me hopeful in my heart.

Sad that we have lost the common action of showing kindness, connection and friendliness to our fellow women and men; so much so that when one person acts that way, it comes as a surprise to another.

(Top half of journal page - spread the love !)

Proud because I have been living my life this was for a while now, showing kindness and love whenever I can, and worrying so much less about what people think or being rejected or getting embarrassed if I get ignored. I do it because I have learned that when I spread the love, even just a little, I get rewarded with wonderful exchanges with people I would normally never have connected with. I have also learned that life is too damn short to worry about looking stupid !

Finally, this little exchange at the deli counter one Monday morning has made my heart hopeful because for that moment, there were two more people connecting and sharing the present moment and spreading the love. And if we cool, somewhat distant Manchesterites can do it, so can you !

"The best portion of a good man's life - his nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." - Wordsworth

"A little bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses."

- A Chinese Proverb

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile."- Mother Teresa

Plant kindness and gather love. - Unknown

"Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair., but manifestations of strength and resolution." - Kahlil Gibran

(Busy getting stuff ready for a weekend away. I am leaving tomorrow and will be back Monday. Only one week until the craft fair and I still have lots to do. Next week is going to be a busy one ! I hope your weekend is filled with love and kindness and just the right amount of silly fun too !Big Love, beautiful Ones !)

A Circus of My Very Own !

Have you visited Teesha Moore's blog "teesha's circus" lately ? She posted a ton of videos this weekend on her art journal techniques. Free, available to everyone and wonderfully descriptive videos showing Teesha's art journal process every step of the way !

I spent most of the morning watching the videos today. I got so inspired to try things the teesha-way that I spend the rest the morning playing away in my art journal. I learned a lot and it was very fun to try new techniques out, guided by teesha's own words.

Here is where my page is at now :

This is very different for me but I am liking it. I don't know that I will adopt too much of teesha's techniques into my usual stuff but I think it is so fun to just be loose and relaxed and try things out and see what happens. I love that Teesha uses the word "intuitive" a lot. Just following your gut, letting the inner artist place things where you want to, avoided that nay saying voice that says "but that looks weird !!!" and just going for it ! I love it ! Fearless creating by the Queen !

The next series of videos Teesha shares will be about lettering. I will then work on completing this page with some journaling. I love, love, love Teesha's lettering style! It is very distinctive. I would love to really develop a lettering style of my own. I think that experimenting with someone else's style and taking little bits I like from here and there may just bring me where I want to go !

I added a Rock My World rock in these shots of the page. It was the one that jumped out of the bowl for me this morning.

Kind of fitting, don't you think ?

I love it when those little messages keep coming !

I hope you find some time to play and open your mind to some new possibilities this week, Beautiful Ones !

Happy Monday !

The leaves of my Heart are changing...

So the other morning, the talented and oh so inspiring Connie at Dirty Footprints Studios wrote a beautiful post about Autumn through the senses of a true morning person. I so related to her poetic words. The post made me sigh with understanding...

One line in the post really resonated with me - like a line of the sweetest poetry really. It just went to what I am feeling at the end of this Fall season, as the leaves are blowing off the trees and the branches are being struck bare, and changes are happening within and outside of me at a pace that I feel unprepared for.

One line that Connie wrote, and my soul read, inspired me to clear the desk of all things crafty and grab my journal and my paints and get the stuff onto the page...

And here are the results :

"Leaves of the Heart" - art journal page

October 31, 2009

(click any images to enlarge)

(acrylic paints, Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels, India Ink with dip pen)

These are the words that Connie wrote that touched me so much :

The leaves of my heart are changing. That is what I am feeling. That uncertainty, not bad and not good, just different,

that feeling that some things are ending and other things are beginning,

that desire to go inward yet knowing that that means letting go of some things...

The leaves are changing and falling away...

And I need to remember to be kind to myself

as I make my way through...

This beautiful heart deserves that.

(Thanks to Connie for the inspiration and for the permission to use her words here.)

Enjoy this Autumn Sunday, beautiful Ones !

The Sweet Sweet Man...

So today it is time to

and celebrate because this is the day that this guy :

came into the world !

Happy Birthday, My Sweet, Sweet Man !

This One's for you !

I know you're the one,

now and forever.

I am thankful everyday that we are on this journey together.

May this celebration day be full of love and laughter !

I love you, David.

Blue Birds, Paul's Wings, Black Cats and Other Queenly Silliness

So the question for today is :

"Can repeating the same activity over and over and over again lead to insanity ?"

You be the judge.

(Turn up your speakers a little and play the soundtrack now.)

Pause here until music starts...

Scroll down really slowly - to the beat if you can...

Okay, you have enough info to make your decision now. :)

Turn down the tune and check out the sunlight photo session Cosmo and I had in the bay window in the studio...

crazy crossed eyes

sweet little boy (when he is sleeping or snuggling)

"No, Mama, I won't eat the leaves or dig in the dirt. No, no, nono no !"

And "THE" shot - the beautiful and silky soft Cosmo Kitty, also known as Little Boo.


I have decided to move on, leave the birdies aside and work on other things

as I get stuff together for my Craft Fair on November 14th.

I think it was a sound decision, don't you ? ;)

(The Lovebirds are still available in the Etsy Shop - if you want a Blue one, just let me know in a comment. ;) )

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

Big Heart Walking Gets Rocked !

So I have this new ritual that I have started in my studio ever since I bought that new great dresser from the thrift store and I have a little more surface space to play with. I created a little altar space. I have a gorgeous-smelling soy candle that my aunt Lise gave me for my birthday there, along with a silver bowl of Rock My World rocks and some other little objects that mean a lot to me. I also have some of my favorite painting and art objects hanging on the wall above the altar.

I have been trying to start my creative time in the studio by lighting a candle and then picking a couple of rocks to set the mood for the day. It feels good - like a little prayer time - and somehow prepares the space for my creative expression and play.

These were the rocks that picked me today. ;)

I think I can work with those - lots of juicy stuff there!

Speaking of juicy stuff, I have to share a gift I received unexpectedly in the mail last week. It made me cry when I opened it. I felt so special, so loved and so cared about. A true gift in every sense of the word !

It has been over a month since Squam. Some days it feels like it never happened, like it was all just a dream. But then, I think of the people I connected with, the people I will know for ever, even if we never get to physically meet again.

Corrine and Me - Sept.2009

One special person I connected with was Corrine. She lives in MA so there is a very, very good chance that we will be getting together asap to play. In fact, I am working on making it happen as we speak !

Corrine was my housemate in Porter's Lodge and we also took both of Judy Wise's class together. You can learn more about her at her blog : dos fishes. I shared lots of good stuff with this talented and very loving lady during our Squam adventures and she comes to my mind often. Well, I guess I come to her mind too, because look at what she send me in a box just about the size of a bread box last week:

There was a canvas piece of her wonderful collage art with it's awesome sewn paper in it, adding that amazing texture and line...

And there was a golden box that held a gift from Nature that Corrine knew would

touch my heart big time !

How beautiful a Heart Rock is that !!! I love, love love it !

What touches me the most was that this kind, wonderful woman thought about me, knew that receiving such a perfectly thoughtful gift would touch me immeasurably and that she took the time to package up all that love and send it to me courtesy of the US Postal Service so that it would arrive as a surprise at my door ! That just blows me away ! It makes my heart sing with joy. So thank you, thank you Corrine, for this love-filled gift. It rocked my world in a beautiful way !

PS:(Corrine is an amazing animal lover and has rescued many furry friends from horrible ends. She recently lost her beloved 14 year old dog, Blossom, and I know she could use some loving vibes and thoughts sent her way as she goes through this mourning, so if you can add her to your loving list today, that would be so wonderful.)

As my friend Patti would say, be someone's angel today !

Big love, Beautiful Ones !