First Post of the New Year, 2014!

I have been neglecting my dear blog over the holidays !

That is maybe because I have been living life in the “real” world so fully.

We had an amazing Christmas in Montreal and La Conception.

Lots of love, laughter and good food.

And yesterday, David and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with my dear friend Suzanne.

We bundled up warmly, donned our silly party hats and grabbed our noise makers

and headed to Hampton Beach, NH to watch the fireworks show

under the stars and over the sea !

Cold, cold, cold (about 16 F) but fun anyway

and there was a great crowd of revelers there !

This morning, David and I did the annual dance in the snow in our bare feet,

inspired by my Mommy, who started this tradition when I was a little kid.

Kooky, cold but invigorating none the less !

My pal Suzy is here for the rest of the week.

Since they are announcing snow and cold for the next few days,

we have planned some fun arty stuff to do together.

Such a great way to launch the new year !

Maybe, as we play,

I will get the message from the Universe

about my Word of the Year.

I started to get a bit of impulses towards it today in fact…

If you would like to keep your Word of the Year in focus

in its very own Word of the Year Rock In a Box,

they are available in my Etsy shop until the end of the month.

I would like to wish all of us a 2014 full of present moment living, hearts full of gratitude and an abundance of love and kindness.

Happy New Year, Beautiful Ones !

I am immersed in Love !

“What do you wish to immerse yourself in ?”

That is the question Jamie had the wishcasters ponder today.

You know the answer that came to me immediately.

Love.

You know what ?

I am already immersed in the Wonder Stuff !

And it is stronger enough to make the crankypants I woke up in this morning disappear when I focus there.

It is easily done, but takes commitment and practice.

You put in out there, loving with all your heart, letting go of judgment and criticism to the best of your ability in the moment, and offering up forgiveness and understanding instead,

and low and behold,

the wave of Love rolls back over you.

And you get immersed in it, the more you do it.

And Baby, living in an Atmosphere of Love is the only way to go once you have been there !

I don’t want to live anywhere else.

The gifts are so bountiful !

Like this amazing love-filled one that arrived from my friend Elena, at My Quest, just yesterday :

(And she didn’t even know that Sandra Boynton has been a huge favorite of mine for many, many years ! Just ask Katie !)

Thank you for the loving gift, My Friend. You have touched my heart more than you could know.

<3 <3 <3

The thought and care that goes into sending a random love gift to someone you have never met in person but know so well by Heart, is what blows me away !

I have done it for others and I know that the giving fills you up in equal measure.

That is how we create an Atmosphere of Love, my friends!

What random Love Gift could you offer up today ?

It doesn’t have to be something you can touch.

A loving word or gesture have the same impact and don’t cost one penny of our tight budgets these days.

Send love out and see how it flows on back to you.

Before you know it, you will be immersed…

Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Ones.

Wishcasting Wednesday–Being Brave

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

I wish to find the courage to be my very best Self.

I wish to be brave enough to bloom.

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

To bring your energy to other wishes, head over to Jamie Ridler’s Wishcasting Wednesday.

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!

Not as Flashy as Some, But I'll Do...

Art Journal Page inspired by Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday

I wish I were more like the me that I am on the inside on the outside.

That said...

The Me I am

Is

Pretty Damn

Good

I think...

Here's some of the beauty in my world this morning.

Those crazy morning glories keep popping up everywhere...

like little messages to say "Go for it ! Bloom just where you are!"

This dahlia is about 6 inches across -

one of the few blooms on my "dinner plate" sized plants

- more like dessert plate because of the crappy July weather,

but so gorgeous and strong and tenacious anyway...

qualities I want to nurture in myself ...

And this one...thanks to my friend beth,

I saw her beauty this morning

though I am usually kind of scared by them - they move too fast...

The camera was my shield this morning I guess..

.

Anyway, I captured her in a still moment

She had built a web from the door knob to the dahlia...

talk about brave and strong and tenacious...

Reminded me of one of my favorite children's books of all time, of course

Looked up quotes from Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

and found this :

"Wilbur: I think you're beautiful.

Charlotte: Well, I am pretty. Nearly all spiders are good looking.

I'm not as flashy as some, but I'll do. "

And that feels like it fits today...

Off to see some more stuff...

Have a beautiful day, Sweet Ones !

Happy Father's Day !

Daddy and Me - Circa 1969

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there ! My father has been gone since March of 1996 - that's twelve years....unbelievable... Today we went out for lunch with the hubby's dad, which is nice but Father's Day is always bittersweet fo me now. I think of all the moments and events that he has missed...he never met the hubby... he never met his two grandsons (he always wanted a boy after having three girls of his own), he never got to walk any of us down the aisle as we married the men of our dreams... so sad... I wish most of all that he could see the artist I am now and that we could talk about and share my art. He was so talented himself, and had such an eye and I know he would just "get" what I do... I wish he could at least come for a visit once in awhile. Wouldn't the loss of a loved one be so much easier to get over if you knew that you could visit with them in person once in awhile ?

So here's my Father's Day Wish for all of you who are still lucky enough to have your dads around - Take a moment to look into his eyes and tell him you love him. Make that moment a memory for both of you. The time we have together in this life is much too short not to !