Soul Blooming…

It’s been a quiet week.

Cool weather for Florida but still sunny.

 

Last weekend, David and I found annuals at the Home Depot

full of colors that we associate with summer up north.

 

I filled a few pots with some of my favs !

Cosmos, marigolds and geraniums.

 

Their bright color makes my back lanai even more comfy.

Love that the indoor kitties can come and share the space too.

Safe from the huge hawks that are flying around but

able to watch, listen and talk to the other birdies without putting them in danger either !

Next plant I get will be a big one that I can put in front of that doggie door before the cats figure out how to use it !

My old dog, Chica, doesn’t want to learn a new trick and use the thing,

even with cookies or cheese as a reward !

She just doesn’t like how it swings back on her at all !

I’m going to be using my own wings this weekend, and head over to Melbourne, FL

to teach my Soul Beings Collage and Paint class at Art More Place.

It felt really good to get this class ready, putting my old teacher skills together to plan things out and make it a fun and creative experience for my participants there!

Can’t wait to play!

Plus I get to hang with my dear friend, Sherri, who owns the studio.

She is a hostess with the mostest and a big huge heart.

Love spending time with her !

Off I fly !

Have a great weekend, beautiful Ones !

Big Love to you !

Sharing my Florida Life Joy

 

I am here.

 

I have to say that winter in Florida has been the best gift ever !

 

I recommend sunshine and warmth to all people who suffer with depression and seasonal mood disorders.

 

I wish I could give it as  gift to all of my loved ones who hate winter.

 

I do have a guest room to share !

 

I still have my hard days, but being in a place where it is green, warm, sunny and that has no snow

has made a huge difference in how deep I go into a funky mood.

 

 

I am working on finding friends near by to play with.

 

I have a new tribe of incredible hearts in Melbourne, FL, which is about two hours away.

 

In fact, I will be teaching eucalyptus eco-dyeing and some other mixed media classes at my new friend, Sherri's art studio, Art More Place.

 

 

But here on my western coast, I haven't really met any friends yet.

 

It is on the to do list/must have because I do have days where I am very lonely and miss my peeps a lot.

 

 

I have been rooting myself in my new studio slowly too.

 
 

 

Little altars and inspiration from gifties from friends make it feel more like home,

 

 

 

The screened in back lanai is lovely in the afternoons and into the sunset hours on warmer days.

The animals can all join me out there, even my indoor kitties !

 

That is where I stitch quite often, listening to audio books or tunes and feeling so very blessed for the place I live in.

 

 

This Florida life is a good thing for this Rock Fairy girl.

 

I am so very grateful !

Removing Obstacles, Ready for Fun !

Things have been a bit messy in the studio since my Mom left last week.

Not that Pumpkin cares.

She just lies down on top of the piles and settles in to keep me company.

There have been Rock My World orders to fulfill.

And fun stitching swap bits to stitch on.

Now it’s time to tidy things up a bit.

Ganesh emerged from a box of treasures

just in time to help me remove some obstacles.

My dear old friend Tracy,

who I have know since I was 8 years old,

and her man, Craig,

are coming to spend a few days with us.

They arrive tomorrow and David has a few days off too.

On the agenda ?

A Dolphin/Manatee watch cruise, good food, some cocktails, the beach, and lots of love and laughter!

Bring it on !

Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Ones !

A sweet Gathering…

I got my brave on and contacted some Digh-Hard friends from my area of Florida and asked them to meet up for lunch today.

I made some gifts to tell them how excited I was to have them close by.

I drove off this morning, heading from Apollo Beach to Pass-a-grille,

looking at these…

But by the time I got to the beautiful strip of land jutting into the Gulf of Mexico,

The clouds were a little less ominous.

And just perfect for an afternoon of hanging out.

A delicious lunch at Sea Critters and a glass of Sangria

were the icing on the cake of a sweet gathering.

Lynne, Maria, Frankie and I felt like new friends who had known each other for a long time.

Doesn’t make sense but that’s how it felt.

Really comfortable and fun !

We had the waitress take this pic wishing Patti a happy birthday today!

She is the one who brought us all together !

A visit to a local gallery,

and some key lime pie on the upper deck of the Brass Monkey

kept us sheltered from the spitting rain

and let us have some more girl talk.

Being Brave makes for some pretty pictures!

Even our feet look good together when we posed for this “Looking Down” prompt shot for August Break!

Thanks, Ladies, for my sweet welcome to Florida outing.

The first of many sweet gatherings, I hope !

 

 

Hosted by Susannah Conway

Good Morning, Blue.

August Break Prompt : Blue

No blues skies in Apollo Beach today.

Big boomers and close lightening strikes have been the order of the day since about 5:00am.

Finding other ways to let the sun shine through.

Tomorrow, meeting up with three new potential girlfriends !

I reached out to some fellow Patti Digh-Hards, as my hubby calls them, Facebook friends who leave relatively close by,

and asked them to meet me for lunch.

Needing new tribe members here in FL !

We meet in St. Pete’s tomorrow.

A little nervous and a lot excited.

Proud of my brave self.

 

Happy Friday to you, Beautiful Ones !

Hope the weekend has some brave, nervous, excited moments in it for you too !

 

Hosted by Susannah Conway

Reflecting on the day…

August Break Prompt – Reflections

Digital art piece by Linda Davies.

 

I had my first house guest in the new Apollo Beach house.

My dear friend Linda is here in FL staying with her mom about two hours south of us.

She made the drive up to have a day of girl friend time and art making.

We reconnected, chatted a lot, had a lovely lunch,

played in our art journals side my side,

and ended the day with a yummy BBQ dinner at a local restaurant with My sweet Hubby David.

It was so nice to have a playmate here !

I have got to get to work on building a tribe here. I love sharing my space with good friends!

Linda gifted me a lovely framed piece of her digital art (Vision – shown above).

It fits in beautifully with my new seaside(ish) home. I love it !

This is the page I worked on in my art journal while we hung out together:

It started out as a kind of mono print spread created with glimmer mist and spray inks and some stencils as well as some india ink dripped on the page with an eye dropper.

Now I have two cool backgrounds to work on.

This first page was done with Sepia India ink and a dip pen and some Distress Ink markers and a blending pen.

Some very cool doodle stories emerging here…

Love the worlds that get created when I let go and let the pen and imagination take me…

 

I hope this fine Wednesday is treating you well, Beautiful Ones !

Big love !

 

Hosted by Susannah Conway

Sharing the Joy–What April Brought…

April 2014 was a busy month !

Full of beautiful people that I love

and experiences I will cherish always !

I made a girlfriend trip with my dear Linda to Saratoga Springs, NY,

where we saw, savored, stitched, spoke, listened and enjoyed.

I had a return visit from my sweet Jayden boy and his Momma !

He’s getting so big and strong ! Love those guys and miss having them close !

David and I traveled to Montreal for an Easter, Katie turns 6, we’re moving to Florida party, lovingly hosted by my sister, Natalie.

Lots of tears on my part, knowing I will be so far from my family soon.

But lots of joys too, as there always is when we spend time together as a family.

One of the best moments was watching Miss Katie ride her new big girl bike, a gift from us, without training wheels ! She is awesome !

Then David and I flew to Tampa, FL, for a whirlwind house hunting, meet and greet visit!

With the help of a great real estate agent, we saw a ton of houses but found the right transitional home for us!

It is a lovely, airy home with a screened in lanai and a perfect yard for Chica.

It backs onto conservation land and is close to Dave’s office and our favorite beaches !

Can’t wait to make it our home !

After the house hunting and meeting people at Dave’s new office was done, we had a little time to enjoy the perks of our new state.

Welcome to my new beach….

Heaven !!!

Today is May 1st.

If everything goes as planned, we will be moving in 6 weeks.

Wowza !

Still so much to do !

And it will all get done !

Somehow…

But as we go along,

I have promised myself some creative, rejuvenating time every day.

Otherwise, I will have nothing to give, and be one grumpy girl !

The studio will be the last room to pack,

and yesterday, I set up the space for some big canvas painting.

This work in progress is a 24 X 48” canvas that is a kind of commission for my friend Suzanne.

 

But the paint sloshing and meditative painting time

is

 all for me !

 

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

Happy May, Beautiful Ones !

May the sweet new beginnings be rich with joy for you !

 

(I am rejoining Meri for some joy sharing. Miss this blogging love !)