I know a place…

So this life has been throwing major loops into the paths of many people I care about.

And a few little ones into my own world.

But in spite of the crappy stuff, the scary stuff, the hard to accept or forgive stuff,

the “makes you feel powerless” stuff,

there is a current of life, light and love that runs so beautifully deep throughout it all.

It blows me away whenever I gather my strength and go to that place of thankfulness instead.

A place of hope :

A place of discovery :

                 

Where peace is possible, even if it is just for a moment or two…

            A place where we can choose how we want to travel through this life…

             

and where Love and connection to other hearts reigns supreme.

A place where little joys are around every corner to celebrate, if we just look for them…

So while this world may not be easy to understand in so many, many ways,

returning to the place of thankfulness over and over again makes this life precious.

And it gives us the strength to get up each day and

Welcome to Summer. May it be a season of thankfulness for your heart.

Big Love, Beautiful Ones!

An Atmosphere of Love…

So the lovely Carmen lives at the opposite side and end of the country from me, in California.

I am not sure how we met in Blogland – perhaps One World One Heart ?

All I know is that I consider this beautiful, imaginative life-lover of a woman a friend.

So when she ordered some Rock My World Rocks from the Etsy shop, I added in some extra bits of Queen of Arts love into her package.

And in return, my friend Carmen treated me to an abundance of sweet gifties all put together with such care that I was completely blown away !

Lovely wishes…

some even carefully wrapped in ribbon and pins…

Stuff gathered by the sea, so different from what I can gather here in New England…

And Carmen’s own handmade goodies :

            

a sweet mermaid pendant (love it !!!) and a perfectly pink bracelet !

Extra bits and bobs to add to collages – so fun  and all packages with an artistic hand ! Love the birdie and all the great tape!

A ton of lovely inspiration…

                

and even a beautiful place to keep it all stored…

Many of the treasures have already joined the good stuff on my altar in the studio…

and the inspiration has already started filling me up and spilling into my own art…

My friend Carmen created an atmosphere of Love in one big juicy envelope !

How can I help but thrive with such gifts ?

She sure knows how to Share the Joy !!!

Thank you, My Friend.

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

I would also like to thank all my friends who sent me such currents of love, prayer and calm last week when I was facing my wisdom teeth extraction and also a lot of fears that welled up from the past.

I ended up going to the appointment in a Zen-like, acceptance mode that was remarkable for me ! I even shared rocks with all the staff there, including Doctor Abel, who took the rock “patience” from my bag.  How funny and appropriate!

There was one moment when I lost it just a bit as we were getting started. The Doc said “Take a deep breath.” and when I did, I closed my eyes, and asked for help from all those who were sending me Love to carry me through.

I felt it. I felt the wave of Love come in and say, “You are okay. You are not alone.”

It was a miracle that I will never forget.

Thank you for our connections and for the Love you put out there for me to receive when I needed it.

Thank you for the joy.

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

For more joy, click on the button :

Haiku My Heart–Black Friday

Clothes worn with bright scarves,

My cat, my India Ink,

That’s my Black Friday.

(Looking for Love – Art journal page from 2009 – nice ink work, Kimbo !)

There will be no shopping for me today.

Instead, a nice sleep in and a cozy, rainy day with my sweet Man, lounging, reading, maybe playing with the India Ink a little…

Still giving thanks for simple joys over here…

Big Love to you, Beautiful Ones!

 

For more Haiku My Heart or to play along, visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon.

Focusing on what is Good and Strong...

So my wonderful Mom/Guru and I were having a chat about forgiveness this morning.

These are her words that ring in my head after our talk...

"Forgive yourself first."

"If you can't forgive yourself, what hope is there for the rest of the world ?"

Her words and the quote from John Ruskin inspired this journal page this morning :

"Do not think of your faults; still less of other's faults.

Look for what is good and strong and try to imitate it.

Your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes."

So the question is now how do you forgive yourself ?

Well, the answer is right there in the quote.

"Look for what is good and strong and try to imitate it."

So on this day, so close to Thanks Giving Day, I decided to look for what is good and strong in my Self and express my gratitude, my thanks, for those qualities. Focus on what is right, and you will get more of it, right ?

Here are a few things on my Good and Strong Kim List :

I am so grateful for the fact that I am learning to focus on what is right with me instead.

I am grateful for how I love with so much of this big heart.

I am grateful that I am always trying to do better.

I am grateful for my openness to see things differently or to take another point of view.

I am grateful for strength that pulled my Soul up out of some pretty dark places and brought it so far into the light.

I am grateful for me, the Child of Light that I am.

Forgive yourself.

Give hope to the rest of the world.

Have a beautiful Tuesday, my wonderful Good and Strong friends !

Big Heart Walking...

art journal page - "Big Heart Walking"
(click to enlarge)

I love this morning.

It is pouring rain here in NH.

David and I are as cozy as can be.

Here's the plan...

Receive the delivery of our brand new Samsung Front Loader, Stackable, Energy Star Washer and Dryer sometime between 10:00 and 2:00 (my first ever brand new appliances!)

Do lots of laundry ! (Why does that sound exciting to me today ? Check back after the third load !)

Make a spaghetti sauce that can simmer all afternoon...

Play in the studio - some gifts to make, some rocks to paint, and some crafty things to get ready to sell at a craft fair in Novemeber

Listening to fine tunes as I play - maybe this or this .....feeling kind of mellow as you can tell ;)

Maybe a little reading and a snuggly nap with my sweet, sweet man in the late afternoon, listening to that pitter patter drip drip outside...

Sounds like heaven, don't you think ?

I am so very grateful for all the wonderful gifts given to me today.

I want to send a big "Thank You !" out to Deb at what's deb doing for her gorgeous love package of goodies that she sent me last week. It had some hand made treasures in it that I just love, love, love ! I will try and set up a nice shot of the treats some time today and share it with you. Thanks, Deb ! You made me feel special, beautiful and appreciated ! What more could a Chickie ask for ?

I hope you Saturday makes your heart feel big and huge !

You Get What You Pray For...

So I was having an okay day on the outside, but my insides where pretty of shaky.

Instead of keeping it all bottled up,

I put it all out there,

I spoke up,

I asked for help,

I prayed.

And it didn't take long until I received exactly what I needed...

There, on the road with me,

was the most glorious field of wildflowers,

offering me comfort,

celebrating how beautiful life can be,

and shining their gorgeous LOVE of life for all to see.

In this crazy world economy,

it sure is nice to know

you can always get what you pray for...

Thank you, Wildflowers !

(EDIT **** Hey Beautiful Ones! You are the Wildflowers !

I guess I was a little too poetic for you to figure it out !

You are the Wildflowers who comforted and surrounded me with love

just when I put the prayers for help out there!

Thank you to you, My Blogland Wildflowers !!!!)

Today is a new day...

Down By the Wild Blue Sea, How Happy We Could Be !

So the package from Arlene containing the apron she made me for our Canadian Chickies Mother of All Apron swaps came yesterday. I deliberately waited until David got home so he could take pictures of me opening the package. It was hard to wait !!!!

Here's me opening the envelop on the kitchen counter and starting my ooo's and ahhh's right away.

I put the beautiful creation over my head immediately, squealing with delight when I saw the mermaid-me on the top !

Even Chica and Azzy came to check out why I was making such and excited fuss !

Check this gorgeous, perfectly me, mermaid-a-riffic thing out !

Looking at it upside down, I started to notice all the little details Arlene has put into my sweet gift. Buttons, shells, pebbles, Spanish Loteria cards, beads, sequins...

This is my face when I read what was stamped in amazingly arty letters at the bottom of the apron.

These are the tears I cried when I explained to David how touched I was by what Arlene has inscribed on her mistress-piece of an apron.

It reads :

"Down By

The Wild

Blue Sea,

A

Mermaid

Came & Spoke

To Me."

Why did that make me cry ?

Because I felt really heard. Arlene knows I love mermaids and the ocean, but she also read and left a sweet comment on my blog post about meeting a mermaid on Hampton Beach. She heard me, she gets me, and she put all of that into a piece of art that she made just for me. All of this from a woman I have never seen in person. It just touched me so much that someone could see and hear my heart so well ! It made me feel so wonderfully loved.

I wiped off the tears and David and I headed outside to get a couple more shots on the back deck.

I am in love with every blue-green, gauzy, luscious, beaded, Arlene-a-fied thread of this apron!

I know I am a lucky, lucky Queen indeed !

Got up this fine Friday morning and put on my coziest sweat pants, my navy blue long sleeved t-shirt and my "Mer-Kim" Apron...oh and a big smile ! That's my uniform today and guess what ?

I feel BEAUTIFUL !

Thank you, my friend, Arlene ! Have a great weekend, all you Beauties !