Sharing the joy–Welcome, Brave Ones !

From this week’s joy list…

1.The green eyes of this Pumpkin cat and her beautiful bitchy kitty face.

2.Chickadees et al. at the brand new bird feeder on the back deck. After three days of empty, they finally showed up !

Those sweet little black headed guys are the bravest!

3.New 3.5X4.75” watercolor book that feels just the right size to play in, no matter what else is going on or has to be done.

4.Bizarre creatures from my imagination that come to life with a bit of time and my hand.

5.Returning to my meditation class after over a year away.

It felt so good to be physically in a group of people who all had the intention of being in the moment and radiating love and gratitude out into the world.

I need more of this.

 

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

For more joy sharing, visit Meri at Love, Meri.

Share the Joy Thursday–Round here…

From this week’s Joy List :

1. Princess Chumba Whumba, (Pumpkin), the bedroom cat, who gives the best nose to nose kisses ev’ah!

2. Azzy ,(Aslan) who is Puss in Boots cute even upside down !

3. Boo, (Cosmos), my talking Black Beauty of a kitty, who loves to join me in the studio, whether I like it or not.

4. The beautiful Chica-leeka-lulu,(Chiquitita), who dreams of squirrel catching through the closed studio doors.

(Why do we bother giving our pets real names when we end up having a bazillion nick names for them ?!)

5. Having creative time in the studio and being visited by new Rock Beings !

It feels good to have some new things in my Etsy shop as well.

Rock Being – Who Are You ? (SOLD)

Rock Being – Little Wise One 

(Available in my Etsy shop)

6. Finding beauty in the darkening season, even if it isn’t my favorite !

Moon through the bare trees, 4:30 pm yesterday afternoon. (toooooo early for dark!)

 

Focusing on the joy and small graces is such a comfort in these chaotic, challenging times. I think it is actually our biggest, most important work during our time here on the planet.

Thanks to my friend Meri for bringing joy into focus every Thursday !

Share the Joy Thursday at Love, Meri.

Have a joyous Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

Semi-Wordless Wednesday–That kind of day ?

Ever have days when you want to

pull the covers over your head

and hide out ?

It would seem that silly black cats do as well.

Happy Wednesday from Boo and me, Beautiful Ones!

The Joys of a Staycation

From this week’s Joy List…

David and I were supposed to be on vacation at a camper in Maine this week.

But Issac’s leftovers and a forecast of rainy weather discouraged us.

We decided on a staycation instead.

It has ended up being a sweet mixture of stuff, including beginning some bathroom reno,

a beach outing on our sunny Monday, naps in the pm in the rain and things like :

Two kitty cats sleeping together on the daybed

(rare as the black one, Boo, is usually attacking the old softy, Azzy.)

Starting my artwork to be submitted for Patti Digh’s next book, the Geography of Loss that is being released in June 2013.

Making a bouquet of the last of my summer flowers

to put on the table on the back deck,

where we enjoyed a lovely evening with my Aunt Lise and Uncle Charlie from Montreal, who made a stop here on their way to the seacoast. It was a treat to have them here !

There was tender moments like keeping the love light burning as John Ptak, Patti Digh’s husband, underwent his kidney surgery. Being a part of the unbelievably loving community, sending healing and prayers to the whole Ptak-Digh family was a joy and an honor for me.

This photo I took from Patti’s facebook page shows her and John after he made it through the surgery really well and was recovering, still feeling the waves of love…

Then there was the arrival of Little Happy.

I saw him a while back at Pier One Imports and have been stopping at the store every two weeks or so to see if he would be on sale.

I have been looking for a Buddha figurine that could go in my garden or in my studio and when I saw this guy, I was completely in love. He is just the right mixture of happy and serene that touches me.

I told my honey, David about him, and how he had made me smile when I saw him.

I also said I didn’t feel right buying him as he was kind of expensive and I have a lot of expenses coming up this fall with workshops and art materials I need to buy.

Then yesterday, when David went out to Home Depot to get some stuff for the bathroom reno,

he walked back into the house carrying my little monk !!!!

I was so surprised and tickled !!!

Isn’t he the cutest ?

And the little Monk rocks too !

I will be rearranging the bay window in my studio to find the perfect place where I can look at Little Happy and smile everyday.

Isn’t it cute how we both have a dimple in the exact same place !

I hope that your week was full of joyful moments, Beautiful Ones !

 

For more joyous stories, head over to Meri’s Musings today and every Thursday.

Share the Joy Thursday–Gifts to Give and Receive…

From this week’s Joy List…

Visiting the Rock Fairy’s supplier. How blessed am I that rock picking takes place at the beach ?

This cat is the softest kitty in the Universe. And she loves me !

Our beautiful Rose of Sharon plant is in full bloom.

My sweet hubby ordered me this very cool microwave flower press that my friend Colleen introduced me to…

so now I can preserve some of the beauty and add it into my art work !

The orders for 37 Days Rock My World rocks have been amazingly abundant ! It is a little overwhelming, in fact. I never thought it would get quite this big ! I have received orders for about 100 bags of rocks so far !

But I have a great team of people that are going to help me reach my goal to help out with the financial challenges that John and Patti are facing. My husband David is just amazing and is working as hard as I am to get this heart work done ! Thank you so much, my Hunny Bunny. 

If you would like to help Patti and John as well, there is now a site organized their friends by Amy McCracken and Colleen Wainwright where you can make a financial contribution and/or leave a note of love and support.

 

Visit the John F. Ptak Relief Fund site.

I hope your week is full of joy, to give and to receive.

Big Love, Beautiful Ones !

For more love sharing, visit Meri’s Musings.

Share the Joy Thursday Ain’t Always Easy

Some days, it is so damn hard to focus on the joy.

Monkey brain greeted me this morning.

Hate that. Hate that. Hate that.

When I spoke to my mom, she reminded me that random acts of kindness are a great way to chase the negative thoughts away.

I also remembered that returning to that attitude of gratitude helps a great deal too.

It seems that staying in a joyful place is going to be work today.

But I am so grateful for the tools.

Kitty cat snuggles.

Finding beauty all around you like :

Johnny Jump Ups !

(What a great name for a flower so cute !)

and African Daisies.

All on my very own front porch !

Or finding beauty in my own studio

and my own creations…

A doodle

that slowly got filled in

with color

and the sweet spots

that emerged

when I took time be let my mind quiet and my Artist Self take over for a while.

(Art journal page, Pitt artist pen doodle drawing, filled in with some shading from  a Pro Art Water Soluble Sketching pencil and a blending brush, Twinkling H2O watercolors, a white gel pen and Lettraset Pro Markers.)

An inspirational quote that resonates deeply with me

that landed in my inbox

from Christine Mason Miller’s newsletter

When it's over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder

if I have made of my life

something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened

or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

~ Mary Oliver ~

Excerpt from When Death Comes

Put onto a colorful page with a dip pen and some magenta ink

documenting a “particular” and “real” bit of my Self in every mark.

The tools to finding joy are so abundant.

Just have to remember to pick them up and use them, right ?

May the joy come easily to you today, Beautiful Ones !

Big Love !

For more Thursday Joy, visit Meri’s Musings.