Haiku My Heart Friday–Celebrating Myself !

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My heart smiles gently.

Just look at how far I’ve come.

This path is so good.

Everyone seems in a rush to leave 2010 behind and embrace the New Year.

Well, I am not rushing.

The thing is that I haven’t completely celebrated what I have accomplished in this last year yet.

It feels kind of like I need a little limbo space in between where I can focus where I have arrived at in this very moment before I jump into the New Year and new words or plans or dreams…

I plan on spending this New Year’s Eve right where I am.

It is a good place.

I will catch up to 2011 eventually.

My friend Patti Digh says she asks herself two questions as the end of the year arrives.

1) What do I want to create in the new year?

and

2) What do I want or need to let go of ?

I am going to add a third one for myself.

3) What have I accomplished that needs to be celebrated ?

I figure I will give myself at least a month to find the answers to these questions.

January 2011 will be all about making friends with the new.

It looks like it will be the start of a really good friendship…

Wishing you the happiest of New Year’s, Beautiful Ones !

Big, big love to you !

Ten years ago today…

 

I got married to the love of my life.

Saturday, December 30th, 2000.

Lots of things have changed since then.

Middles are a little thicker, hair a little greyer,

new homes have been settled into,

trips have been taken, and our two hearts have been challenged and tested…

(October, 2010)

but the thing that has stayed is the Love and the laughter.

We laugh every single day, my Love and I – even on the really hard ones.

And we Love fiercely every step of the way.

Some may say that Love isn’t enough,

but for us, it is the answer to every question.

Happy Anniversary to the Love of my life, David.

You will always feel like home to me.

 

This Artist’s Christmas Wish

“I am an aspirant.”

(Art Journal page done with love and gratitude yesterday, December 22, 2010)

From my aspiring heart to yours,

Merry Christmas and may the Bright Light and Joyous Love and of the Season fill you and yours up to the brim, Beautiful Ones!

And may 2011 find us all striving towards something higher…

One Big Love !

Wishcasting Wednesday – Winter Wishes

Jamie Ridler asked “What is Your Winter Wish ?”

Mine has been made for a while now.

But I would love to have the fabulous energy of my Wishcasting friends added to it !

My winter wish is for quiet, hibernating, creative time.

Where I can reconnect with my Artist-Self.

Spend time playing with my glorious Artist Toys.

Recommit myself to the ritual of my Art Journal.

And mostly watch the Winter season happen from the cozy warmth of my Artist Studio.

That sounds like a perfectly Peaceful Winter to me…

And I plan on making this wish come true !

Wishing you moments of divine Light and Love, Beautiful Ones !

Merry Christmas!

T’was the weekend before Christmas…

So it was a busy weekend before Christmas at the Queen’s palace.

It was Day 7 of the Canadian Chickie Christmas Swap and our Mother Hen, Hostess Extraordinaire, Dawn was the gift maker.

Brown paper packages recycling sewing patterns ! Ingenious !

Gorgeous attention to detail…

Sweet swap key…

and this beautiful, beautiful Hang Up, made just for me !!!

I love the quote – it so reflects how I feel about Winter too !

Thank you, Dawn. I have hung my Hang Up right in front of my computer so I can enjoy gazing at it every day !

Now, it wasn’t only about opening gifts. It was about making them too.

The Rock Fairy was almost as busy as Santa…

She doesn’t do the whole sleigh/reindeer delivery thing but has to rely on getting things to the post office and allowing the wonderful USPS Elves to get the gifts to the rock lovers on time !

Keeping up with orders and having enough rocks to decorate for the whole winter meant one last trip here :

to North Beach in Hampton Beach, NH before the snow comes and covers her supplier !

It was cold but not too bad. Only about 34 degrees F and not too windy ! A perfect December Rock Picking day for the Rock Fairy and her hunky Man.

These nutters seemed to think it was also a perfect day for surfing ! Me, not so much !

We also did a little hall decking…

Here is the tree. I went with colored lights this year. I usually always do white lights and most of my ornaments are traditional green, white and red or natural fiber tones.

I think I like the white lights better but I remember that our trees when I was a kid were always lit up on color so I thought I would try it.

It ended up looking very old fashioned to me, but pretty…

These fun little bubbling ornaments that shine blue look right at home!

The gorgeous stained glass star on the top that David and I made looks beautiful on any tree !

as does the gorgeous white doggie sitting the the twinkle light glow…

Today, Monday, is Day 8 of the swap and Heather’s beautifully wrapped gift was up.

The wonderful collaged book mark on the front gives a hint to the beauty inside…

This beautiful collaged writing journal ready to fill with doodles and words in the New Year !

Thanks so much for this lovely gifty, Heather ! You did such a beautiful job !

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So it is Monday, 5 days before Christmas Eve.

The week will be filled with baking, wrapping, last minute errands and a 7 hour trip way up North to share Christmas morning with my side of the family.

I am feeling like I have it under control, like I have set expectations low enough that I can get to everything, and that it will be filled with sweet moments of joy and gratitude along the way.

One thing though !

I miss my ART !!!

I am so looking forward to January and February where all I have scheduled is creative time for myself !!! Arty hibernation, here I come…

My beautiful Muse and my abundance of toys await me…

In the mean time, I have visions of silliness dancing in my head…

I just signed up for this fabulously silly class with Carla Sonheim that starts January 5th.

A gift for myself ! Merry Christmas to me !

Maybe I will see you there, Beautiful Silly Ones !

Happy Holiday Making !

I am HERE.

6 Days until Christmas Eve.

Wowza!

Feeling a little bit like I need a break from the computer to really get into the spirit of it in our home.

I will pop in now and again and share bits of what is going on (like maybe a photo of my tree when I finally decorate it today !) and do want to share the lovely Canadian Chickies gifts with you all.

But I think I need to focus more on the right here in front of me for a bit.

I hope that all of you preparing for the holidays are enjoying the process and

send you big, big Christmas Love !

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Canadian Chickies Christmas Swap Day 5 – The extremely talented Martha Brown !

The brown paper package tied up with love !

And inside…

Lovely handmade JOY !!!!

Thanks so much, Martha, for the JOY pennant. I will be putting it in the tree today ! I really love it !

And Day 6 of our Swap comes from the lovely Sabina in Edmonton!

I will definitely be recycling this gorgeous blue sparkly wrapping !

And inside this this precious, precious jarred fairy, captured to bring wintery beauty my way !

We had a talk when I opened her and she has said she would like to hang out through the New Year and then I have promised to set her free…

I love her so much. I hope I can keep my promise !

Thank you so much, Sabina, for sharing her beauty with me !

Have a great weekend, Beautiful Ones !