Life in Black and White

I missed one day of the August Break challenge.

The prompt was “jump” but since I was alone most of the day yesterday, no jumping and no capturing of jumps happened.

Today’s prompt is “Black and White”

 

The kitties look good in any color but what I love most about them in black and white is their whiskers !

I love this shot of Happy too.

My beautiful little Buddha statue that my sweet David bought for me as a surprise after I had told him about falling in love with it at Pier One Imports.

He makes me happy every day.

And the statue does too.

Hee !

Loving this August day.

And excited about having my niece Jessica coming in three days !

Life is good in FLA.

 

Hosted by Susannah Conway

Holding in light…

Happy and I had a “I am sad” party last night.

I had my own sadness…

mostly about some big hurts from a relationship with a friend.

I am sure, too, that I was picking up on the sadness of the mass consciousness,

with the chaos in the world and remembering the losses of 9/11.

Whatever the cause, I was drawn to spending time just feeling those feelings of sadness and loss, rather than running from them or numbing them with some unhealthy balm like Moose Track ice cream.

I put on the mellow tunes,

lit a candle,

and immersed myself in the creative flow of an art journal page.

Hidden behind some of the collage papers on this page are some venting words,

getting the hurt out of my heart in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone else but that helps heal it in me.

Art Journal Page – “I am fine.”, 9/10/13

Creating this page was cathartic.

And I think it is beautiful.

I am proud of myself for actually feeling it all.

And I am grateful to know these creative, healing tools to help me along the journey.

Today, I have the energy to hold myself, and my world in the light…

just as my brilliant friend, Terri St.Cloud of Bone Sigh Arts, and so many other brave and shiny hearts I know are doing.

Light and love, Beautiful Ones.

We are all in this together.

Share the Joy - Journal Rediscovery

This is the second time this week that I have taken an hour or so just for myself and my art journal.

It is coming back to me how important a tool this mediative, creative and self-focused time is for my well being.

This morning was very cool outside so all the windows in the house are open. Glorious fresh air and breezes wafting in.

I had my coffee at hand, tunes on Pandora, Little Happy watching over me, 

and time that I took for my self.

A painted background using stencils, spray inks, glorious Golden fluid acrylics, Faber Castell markers, and a few collage pieces...

turned into this

Moon over Rock Being.

I love it so much !!!

And I have to say that after taking that time for myself, I can already feel my mood improving !

Here's to the joy of creating, and to listening to that artist self loud and clear !

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

For more joy sharing, be sure to visit the marvelous Meri at Love Meri. (http://meriak.blogspot.com/)

Haiku My Heart–This One Sweet Day

 

Take this one sweet day

See, taste, smell, hear, feel, love it.

Your one precious life.

 

************

Happy Friday, Beautiful Ones!

And a wonderful Mother’s Days weekend to all the awesome Moms out there.

Big Love !

 

For more Haiku My Heart, visit the beautiful rebecca at recuerda mi corazon.

Springing back…

Hello there, Beautiful Ones !

I have been away quite awhile !

I spent some marvelous time with my lovely Magic Maker friend, Elizabeth,

tea time,

lake views,

and as always, creative time, savoring the gifts of nature and our imaginations…

Then there was a sweet weekend celebrating my beautiful Mom !

It was a special birthday celebration this year and I am so grateful that she was surrounded with such glowing love by her favorite peeps !

Now, back here at home, spring finally truly sprung !

This luscious bouquet is from my own gardens.

Even the lilacs have joined in the flower song this morning !

Happy and I are breathing it all in !

I am full of inspiration and brave new energy, just like every blossom and bursting leaf.

Feels good and I am grateful that I took some time for me to recharge and energize.

Today it is supposed to reach 80 degrees in Manchester !

I think a visit to the beach with an umbrella, chair and some rocks to paint may be in order this afternoon.

The rest of the week is supposed to bring some very much needed rain so I will happily head back into the studio then.

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones ! It feels good to be back !

Big Love !

Lovely new head gear…

Little Happy will keep my new tiara warm for me

while I head north for some much needed peep-visits.

 

Thanks so much to Lynne Suprock for sharing her skills with us yesterday to make the tiara. It was very fun and she is an awesome teacher ! It was also great to meet her daughter-in-law Joanna, and her 8 week old sweetie, Baby Benjamin. And thanks to my friend Patti for hosting so beautifully as always !

Have a wonderful Easter weekend, Beautiful Ones !

May the Spring be with us !

Haiku My Heart–The Words Said…

The pursuit wears on.

Strive, change, chase, never enough.

Just be happy NOW !

(Little Happy decked out for the day in the studio)

 

This morning I awoke with that striving mode, self-defeating monkey brain crap in my head.

“Yeah, you’re making changes but you have so much to change, you’ll never get there !”

“Other people have the answers and are applying them and having “success”. It must be you who is weak.”

“Weak.”

“Weak.”

Man, it sucks to wake up like that.

I got up, poured myself a cup of coffee and headed to the computer.

One of the first things I read on Facebook was this :

(SheRecovers image)

This morning, these were the exact words I needed to banish the monkey brain and those negative thoughts !

JUST BE HAPPY.

Those words started ringing in my mind like a sweet chime.

I took a bunch of deep breaths and thought “Yes.”

Felt “Yes.”

Phew…

Of course, monkey brain tried a few times to put up a fight, focused on what was “wrong” and “not enough”,

but the real me is finding the strength to tell that pain in the butt part of my brain to f-off !

So the plan for today is focusing on

just

being

happy.

And just maybe,

with a little help from my monkey brain banishing friends,

I can BE there for awhile.

 

**********************

Happy Friday, Beautiful Ones !

For more haiku happiness, visit rebecca at recuerda mi corazon.

Haiku My Heart–Making the choice

Happy sits and waits.

It is up to me to choose.

Let’s hang out today.

Doing my best to hang with Happy today.

He sure is a lot more fun than “Down in the Dumps”.

A whole lot cuter too !

I hope you find your happy to hang with today too, Beautiful Ones !

Happy Friday !

Getting ducks and rocks in a row…

Little Happy and I are enjoying the first week back to a normal routine around here.

I am trying stay present (my word of the year for 2013)

and at the same time, get my ducks in a row,

by getting back into the practice of going for walks, doing meditation, and making plans with friends.

All of  which really help my mental and physical well being in the hard winter months.

I am so happy that my creative energy is still high.

I have been happily stitching up little bag homes for my Rock Beings, using my own hand dyed wool bits and a lovely rainbow of embroidery floss.

Like the rocks, the wool seems to let me know what design it wants.

I am so loving process and the end results !

Some of the Rock Beings

and their sweet little stitched homes

are now available in my Etsy shop

in case you fall in love like I have,

and want some Rock Being magic of your own.

I hope your own start to 2013 is gentle and easy, Beautiful Ones !

Big Love !

Love is still the answer...

I am heart broken.
My heart is broken into pieces by the horrors of last Friday, and the faces of those sweet children, victims of something so evil and horrible...

And yet, in spite of this shattering, I still have faith in the one thing I know.
Love is the answer to every question.

Love may not help us to understand the unthinkable. There is really no understanding this. But is the way for us to come through the heart break. It is the only way, I think.

So I look for ways to apply Love. In small, tender ways, because that is what I have the power to do. And I give gratitude for all that is good and right in my world, however small.
This is how you mend,
slowly...
a broken heart.

Today I love and am grateful for :
- the fact that David had turned on the lights on our Christmas branches first thing this morning so they were aglow when I got up.

- how funny Little Happy looks in his holiday garb !

- having sent several messages of deep love to some other wonderful hearts in my world today, connecting and reaching out in love.

-orders of Rock My World rocks that are heading out in the mail today, spreading love one little rock at a time into our tender world.

- my own faith in Love that unwavering in spite of it all.

Sending big love to you, Beautiful Ones. I am grateful to know you by heart.