Haiku My Heart–Home Making…

 

 

Flotsam and jetsam

Of life gathered in altars

Saying I am here.

 

(Mini-zombie doll by artist Linda Willis)

 

(Painted rocks by the Rock Fairy)

(Star by me, Scarred heart by Alisa Burke)

 

(Mermaid from a Playa del Carmen souvenir shop, Henrietta bobbin doll by Sam Johnson, felted Rock Being by me)

 

(Stitched squares by me, yoyos by my grandmother)

 

Yesterday, while continuing the unpacking process, I finally reached the point where my real stuff, the stuff I love, that I have chosen, that I have gathered along the way,

was emerging from the piles of paper

and

finding new homes in my new home.

I recognized the feeling of placing my stuff just so,

creating little altars everywhere,

of marking the spot

with my very own hand, eye, and heart.

Made me feel like I am here now.

Made me feel at home.

Interesting to acknowledge, appreciate and in fact love,

the fact that

the creation of a home that reflects bits of who I am,

where I have come from,

what I love,

is

Art

from my Heart.

 

Happy Friday, Beautiful Ones!

 

for more beautiful hearts gathering in word and image, visit recuerda mi corazon .

We have arrived !

I am here !

I have been down here in Apollo Beach for just over two weeks now.

The move went very well, in spite of the extreme stresses involved in moving us and our furry kids across country.

My friend Suzanne and I had a very successful road trip down with the dog and two cats.

I will forever be grateful to Suzie for making that trip with me !

David and I and the animals are settling in to our new home.

The house is big, airy and starting to feel more and more comfortable as we unpack and make it ours.

Most of the furniture is in place but there are still a lot of boxes with knick knacks and paintings and decor items that need to be dealt with.

I have kind of run out of steam this week.

Which totally makes sense if I think back and realize that I have been living in limbo land and chaos for quite a few months now.

My body and spirit are reminding me of what I have been through, and I have had to slow down a bit.

The heat of Florida summer is no joke either.

That is helping me slow down too!

This morning at 9:30, it is 85 degrees with 77% humidity which makes it feel like 96.

It means I spend a lot of time indoors in the lovely AC cooled air.

It wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t just leave behind a cruel long winter where I spent a lot of time indoors in the lovely heated warmth of the NH house.

I am craving the outdoors and missing Northern early summer greenery and growth.

But there are things about FL that I love already.

Number 1 is the beach !!!!

David and I have committed to going to the beach as often as we can, like every weekend, maybe ? Please ?!

Last weekend we went to our beloved Fort De Soto, and this weekend we are going to explore the Anna Maria Island beaches near Braedenton.

Even though it is overwhelmingly hot right now, once you get to the gulf waters, the breeze takes over and those turquoise waters are the perfect temp to frolick in all day !

Butter me up with sunscreen and sit me under that umbrella. I am in heaven !

My studio is starting to be a favorite thing in the house too.

I have unpacked a lot of my treasured toys and set them up in my new space.

I still need to find a rug or something to cover the carpet in the room so I can get as messy as I want with paint.

For now I have started back to stitching which doesn’t risk the carpet but gets my create juices flowing again.

I am stitching “quillows” again for a swap with Deb Taylor and other sweet stitching hearts.

Our theme for this swap is “Circles”.

The yoyos in the pic are vintage ones created by my grandmother.

I am including one on each of the 11 quillows I am making,

wanting to spread the circle treasures around, instead of hoarding them in a box just unused.

I hope to get back to blogging more now that things are settling in here.

I miss connections with my artist friends and love seeing what others are working on, and sharing bits of our life loving through photos and words.

For now, from my new home in hot and humid Florida,

Happy Summer, Beautiful Ones !

For today…

It’s Monday, October 21, 2013.

Outside my window... it’s beautiful and sunny, though a little crisp this morning. This is the view from my art journaling position.

I am thinking...that is was a good thing that FB was kind of down this morning so I could concentrate on working in my journal rather than getting distracted by random posts there.

I am thankful...for the creative juices that seem full up right now. I just have to sit down at my work table, and let whatever comes spill out. Love that !

In the kitchen...the clean dishwasher dishes and my grocery list are calling me but the studio feels better!

I am wearing...skinny jeans, a navy tunic t-shirt, pink scarf and cerise Chucks. Chica is wearing her pink collar and checking for squirrels.

I am creating... art journal pages from ink blobs, letting the shapes tell me what they want to be. When these two figures came to be, it reminded me of this dear quote from Ram Dass.

“We’re all just walking each other home.”

How beautiful an image is that?

I am wondering… if you have seen this video ?

It made me cry. It made me remember that Art is Love and Love is Art. It made me want to go and look at a stranger in a new way. There are no strangers, really, are there ? We are all in this together…

One of my favorite things...is stitching randomly as I watch tv at night.

This is a rust stained piece of cotton gauze that I am slowly working on right now…

Letting these shapes speak to me too…

I am going...to have to go grocery shopping in a bit. The fridge is pretty bare. Then, I think a walk in this glorious Fall color will be a must. And maybe some leaf raking too.

 
I am looking forward to...David’s birthday coming up (October 31st, my Halloween Baby !) and also a girls party up at my sister Kristina’s house in a few weeks. It will mean a reunion with an old friend that I haven’t seen in 8 years ! Time goes so fast ! Looking forward to seeing you, Tracy !

Around the house...there seems to be a thousand things to do to get the house ready for the season that shall not be named, and not a lot of energy to do those things !

I am learning…that even baby steps count. Gotta remember that !

Let’s keep putting on foot in front of the other, Beautiful Ones!

Glad to be on the journey with you.

Happy Monday !

Here at home…

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

There is a magnolia softness to the day…

a kind of settling in and maybe pausing a little.

Taking time to be in the moment and sip and savor…

squeezing out and using the lasting imprints

as inspiration.

And also celebrating the newness…

Happy Wednesday from here at home, 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.