I will always be with you…

Monday morning means a settling back into the home routine after being away most of the week last week.

I took some time to record some of what my trip meant to me in my journal.

Heading up north to be there for my friend Darlene’s Dad’s funeral ended up being combined with a lot of sweet friend time.

Not only with Dar, but with Suzanne, Andrea, my Mom and Kim.

There were some moments during the week that felt like “memory makers”.

You know, ones that you will never forget.

That become part of the tapestry that makes you.

My time with my friends made me so grateful.

Grateful for friendships and the gifts that they bring.

But also deeply grateful for my own wonderful ability to let them in.

To feel, appreciate and celebrate those connections so essential to my Being.

My friends and I, we love BIG.

And that is some good stuff in this bittersweet life !

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I’ll hold on to you.

You hold on to me.

The winter long.

I will always be with you.

(lyrics from Winter Long, by Strawbs, 1974)

 

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Big love and happy Monday to you, Beautiful Ones !

Determine Your Living…

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
Khalil Gibran

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So I have finally finished my November entry for Nicola’s book in our Sistahhood of the Traveling Sketchbook project.

Life happened while we were all making plans. But now, we are all trying hard to get our swap back on track.

Thinking back to November from January was harder than it should have been,

but there was a lot of living in between, I think.

This piece does represent how I felt in November when the last of the brilliant Fall leaves were gone and the bare branches I would be looking at for the next 6 months were exposed.

The crow is bringing her the message that winter is on its way and the time for nesting is here.

It also shows how I am still feeling as we live in January; that desire to bundle up against the barren elements is still very present.

I imagine that under her cloak is all the color needed to fill her up and keep her well until Spring.

The second spread includes the photo that inspired the pages,

taken back in November, when the branches went bare…

I have to say I am a little sad that these pages are in Nicola’s book, and not in my own journal.

It will be hard to bundle them up and send them on their way.

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This week is going to be all about friends and being there for one another, in the good and the bad.

Tomorrow, I head up north again. One of my dear friend’s lost her Dad last week and I am heading up to be there at the visitation and the funeral, and to give her some extra big loving as she faces this sad, sad loss.

I called some other friends when I found out I would be making an unexpected trip to Montreal. Now, I will be sleeping in 4 different places between Tuesday and Saturday, and seeing quite a few of my favorite non-family peeps back home. Of course, I will squeeze in a big hugging session with my Mom, as well. Putting out love and getting some of that rich medicine back as well.

David will keep the home fires burning and the furry kids well while the Rogue-y and I head out on the highway.

Life is a bittersweet journey, isn’t it, Beautiful Ones ?

But I am grateful everyday to be traveling it…

Big Love !

Haiku My Heart–Ice Blue

Icy Winter Blues

These bones ache at their beauty.

Blues so wicked cold.

 

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I am trying really hard not to hate it.

It held off this year, coming so late, for here we are in mid-January and it really just arrived.

The thing is, I think that delay made my inner clock think it wasn’t going to come this year.

I was enjoying the soft, thick sweaters instead of bulky, down-filled coats.

The well-soles walking shoes instead of fake-fur lined boots.

The way your cheeks got just pink with the above freezing coolness, instead of burnt red from the wind chill’s bite. Oh, and those tears coming out of the corners of your eyes, from the pain …

I swear I am part bear.

Meant to hold up in my cave.

Snuggled in a cozy ball, dreaming in bright colors,

of green, green grass,

bright red flowers,

and sunshiny, warm light on my cheeks.

But those Icy Winter Blues are hanging around for a while, it would seem.

Better break out the “Make it Bearable” toolbox !

Stay cozy, Beautiful Ones.

Happy Friday !

 

Share the Joy Thursday–The Space Between

From this week’s Joy List :

1. Being there for a friend who really needs an ear and some extra love.

2. Pride in a hard-working husband who received some much deserved recognition.

3. Kitty Cats, kitty cats, everywhere ! Their purrs are music to my heart.

4. Sharing Rock My World rocks in new ways – this time through a high school guidance counselor who wants to share them with her kids.

5. A return to the Artist in me – I am in love with my journal !!!

So if you remember, the page in my beautiful Moleskine started like this…

And when last we saw it, it looked like this :

                            

The last stamp to use on the page was this Invoke Arts “Art Queen” stamp.

So, with some sweet tunes on Pandora, ink and a dip pen, Twinkling H2O’s, acrylic paints and some great play time

(you can tell it was great but the mess !),

this is where we ended up…

The fold of the page actually falls along the nose of the large face.

And the Art Queen stamp forms part of the “vision” in the eye.

I ended up cutting a window into the page.

I love how the purple “rock wall”

becomes a frame around the first two “ladies” when you turn the page.

I added some paint, stenciling and ink work onto the second page spread…

And now it is ready for more art journaling play !

The journal entry I wrote says it all for me right now.

I am choosing to LIVE in this space between, and be as present as I can be in this one precious life.

And soak up the joys of this place.

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

 

More joyous musing can be found here.

Haiku My Heart– Love is right.

I want to be right.

But I want to dwell in Love.

Love wins every time.

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Something I am working on.

This inner battle between wanting to be right and

wanting to come from a place of Love in the decisions I make.

It comes up a lot in marriage, I find.

Going back to the roots,

back to Love,

feels a lot sweeter than being right does.

Once you swallow that lump.

 

The piece above comes from the second section of the journal page I started  and posted about yesterday.

Blank page divided up…

Michael’s $1.50 butterfly stamp…

Some playful thought…

a lot of India ink and dip pen work,

plus some Inktense pencils and Twinkling H2O’s

and section two looks like this…

Lady Metamorphosis reminding me to be the change I want to see in the world.

Baby steps, Beautiful Ones, baby steps…

Happy Friday !

 

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Friday means there is more haiku to enjoy at recuerda mi corazon. See you there !

Share the Joy Thursday - Give it wings…

It is a snowy day today. Our first since October so no complaints here.

In fact, I am a little joyful about it, as I have no where I have to be,

and other than some house work,

nothing I have to do !

I am still trying to get back into the swing of working in my art journal more often.

I have to admit that while the paper in this meaty Moleskine Watercolor journal is delicious,

the size of it (81/2 X 11 or 8X1/2 X 22 full page spreads)

is a little intimidating, even to the fearless paint slapper in me !

I decided to do a few pages sliced up into sections…

three per page.

I also wanted to make use of some of the stamps I have been buying but never using…

Believe it or not, this funky winged pen stamp is from Michael’s $1.50 bin !

As is this gorgeous butterfly stamp.

I bought this Invoke Arts “Art Queen” stamp from the awesome Absolutely Everything store in Topsfield, Mass., way back when but it had never been used until today !

I like Stazon ink, since it doesn’t run with watercolors…

Rather than think too much, I just stamped them wherever, one in each section, as a jumping off place.

The pens and wings looked like a body to me.

I added a head, cut out from an old dictionary page.

I added some color with Twinking H2O’s.

While I was painting her, I was thinking about what kind of angel she was,

and what would she would be writing…

Love note…? Messages of kindness…?

I added in some printed words in little boxes with wings.

And then a little phrase to bring it together, written by hand with my dip pen.

Okay so she isn’t anything fancy or really profound,

but

I took the time to play and experiment.

And now, I am taking the time to share it.

That brings JOY to my artist heart !

As do these next sections in my journal, ready for me to play with when the time comes around again.

I hope you are finding many little things that bring you to a joyful place, Beautiful Ones.

Happy Thursday !

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Meri and the gang have more joy to share here.

Slapping some paint down !

FINALLY !

A little art !

Today, my to-do list includes a post office run, the grocery store, the Pet food store,

plus I think it would be a good idea if I took the time to make myself presentable to head out on all those errands, ie :  shower and blow dry my hair.

But I decided it was all going to wait !

Wait until I had taken some time to get some art out of me and onto a page.

I wasn’t even sure what would come, I was feeling so rusty !

But no expectations other than filling the page resulted in this.

The red flowers remind me of these red and white placemats we used to have when we were kids.

Vinyl ones with a design by the artist Eva Zeisel.

I remember her simple “Eva” signature on them.

She passed way at the age of 105 in December.

Maybe her design spirit was visiting me a little as I played ?

Whatever spirits were there to play with me, it sure felt good to take this hour for myself, for some therapy, if you will.

This week has be a little wonky, hormonally, emotionally and physically.

I suppose that makes sense for January, if I think about it.

But I need to get back into the practice of art making to help maintain some better balance when these wonky times hit !

Well, the arty part of me feels a little more satisfied.

Off to fulfill my other duties !

Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Ones !

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PS : It was nice to have Miss Pumpkin in the studio with me while I was playing.

She is still adjusting slowly to the other cats…okay, she hates them!!!

But she lets the big white pooch hang out beside her, no problem !

She knows the sweetest heart in the house, I guess.

Meow, meow, meow, woof woof, from here !