Haiku My Heart Friday–The Red Tutu

Edited *** A few weeks back, my lovely friend Meri, shared a pic of herself with a beautiful red tutu that she had received from the amazing Deb at Talk at The Table  (not my friend amazing Deb Taylor at Deb Did It  as I originally posted  - Sorry to have gotten my Debs confused but thankful to have discovered Deb C. and her lovely inspiring blog through this !) to celebrate her birthday.

Meri did the sweet deed and then offered to pass the tutu on to someone who had a birthday later in the year.

Guess who jumped on the opportunity to share such a gift ?!

My birthday is on Sunday but I will be away in Canada with my family.

So today seemed like the perfect day top celebrate my Self !

Here I am in my Rock Fairy Uniform, featuring the beautiful, fluffy red tutu hand made by Deb !

David, my best cheerleader, but who I am sure thinks I am just a little nutso, helped me with the photo shoot ! (A little ?)

I even wrote a haiku in celebration of this sweet event :

The Red Tutu came

Full of love, laughter and fun.

My Self wore it well ! 

It was great fun to be silly, to not care about what anyone else thought and to just be me in all my Rock Fairy, Princess in a Tutu, 46 (almost) year old glory !

A funny thing happened too, as I was editing this crazy fun photos.

When I came to this photo, which I love, love, love…

I was instantly reminded of this photo I have blown up and sitting in my studio :

She is still in there, that 5 year old me. Shiny and bright, 41 years later.

Somewhere along the lines, she sure did learn the lesson well.

Use those wings, Beautiful Ones !

And a tutu too, if that works for you !

This is our one, precious life.

Let’s Live It Out LOUD !!!

Big Love !

 

Haiku Lovers, head over to recuerda mi corazon for more lovely word play.

Share the Joy Thursday–Putting the gloves on…

It is 39 degrees this morning.

That about 4 degrees Celsius.

I could let that cold get me down, knowing it is just the beginning of the long,cold, cold-ening ahead.

But just like I am choosing not to let stresses or worries that are all in my head take over my day,

I won’t let the cold steal the wonder of being alive away from me this morning.

I am turning to JOY instead !

These beautiful hand-made felted fingerless gloves appeared to me first thing on my desk in the studio.

My friend Suzy made them for me last year.

I love them.

From the colors, to how they fit me perfectly,

right down to the perfect little heart she added on the bottom inside.

Life is so full of joyous little treats, ready to greet our hearts when we open them, and

let LOVE come in.

Look for, and love those little joys today, Beautiful Ones.

They are nourishment for your heart and Soul !

For more joy inspiration, plus an announcement about an amazing new project called Finally Me, head over to Meri’s Musings.

What a difference time and love can make…

Yesterday…..

Today…

Today’s post is dedicated to my friend Suzanne, who is hurting, and who I love very much. This day is coming for you, my strong and dear Friend. I know it is.

Here’s to a sunshiny new day, Beautiful Ones.

Big Love !

For today, Monday, October 3rd.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it is grey, and probably about to rain. The leaves on our maples are still green for the most part and have just started falling…

I am thinking...about next weekend, Canadian Thanksgiving and my BIRTHDAY !!! Mostly I am thinking about the logistics about travel, dog kenneling, where we are sleeping when we get there, where the turkey will be cooked, etc…

I am thankful...that my cruddy cold that lingered all weekend is easing off today and that I have a bit more energy to get some stuff done !

In the kitchen... Mother Mailhot’s kitchen is bare but I am dreaming of chili with tons of veggies in it, topped with sour cream, cilantro and lime.

I am wearing...a blue cotton nightshirt & flip flops.

I am creating...samples of “car jewelry” that I am making for my annual crafty gifts for the staff at my mom’s office, pages in my Creative Sistah Lori’s sketchbook, and a huge mess on my studio table ! Creating is messy in my world !

I am going...to the post office, to the grocery store (chili ingredients !!!), and then to meditation class tonight.

I am wondering...why the days seem to be flying so very, very quickly…it is almost scary…

I am reading...very little these days, other than Facebook and blogs. I am listening to “Something Borrowed” by Emily Giffin in audiobook format before bed.

I am hoping...I can work through is very achy neck and shoulder to keep up with production needed for crafts fairs, Christmas gifts and Rock Fairy demands.

I am looking forward to... doing a photo shoot of myself this week with a very special prop !

I am hearing...the hum of the computer and the distant roar of the garbage trucks. Quiet Monday morning.

Around the house...it is actually pretty tidy, other than my studio table, as David and I tag-teamed it yesterday and captured all dust kangas in the vacuum cleaner.

I am pondering...how it got to be 10:00am and I am still glued to the computer…again…

One of my favorite things...putting clean sheets on the bed and plugging in the twinkle lights in the bedroom last night. Cozy and romantic. Fall nesting, I think.

A few plans for the rest of the week: lots of stuff in the studio, lunch with Lois on Tuesday, a trip to the beach at low tide for some rock gathering and finally, a drive up to Montreal and La Conception for the long (my birthday!!!) weekend.

Here are some pictures I am sharing...

My two pages in Lori’s sketchbook for the month of September. Man, how that month flew !!! It is off into the mail today to you, Jennifer !

Okay, off of the computer and back to the studio table !

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones !!

Haiku My Heart–Hope-Full

Kindness just because.

Helping hands. Heart Connections.

Morning Light. All hope.

 

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

I hope your weekend brings you all kinds of hopeful stuff, Beautiful Ones.

Happy Friday !

For more Haiku My Heart, visit Rebecca, one of the most beautiful hearts I know, at recuerda mi corazon.

Share the Joy Thursday–Balancing the Shiny

This week has been filled with opportunities to connect, to create, to branch out…

many of which have brought me joy in shining my light.

Art journal page – Balance the Light, September 29, 2011

But in this world, with so many of us looking for light,

it can be hard when you open yourself up, shine that light brightly,

and really share yourself with the world.

Sometimes, people try and take your light away, like a magpie who has noticed something sparkly in its line of vision and wants to take it home to its nest.

Sometimes, those old fear demons that live inside us, rise up and try and squelch the light from within.

And sometimes, the validation of our shiny-ness from outside, which feels so wonderful in many ways, tempts us to stretch ourselves too far,

and to wander away from the true light we are trying to bring to the world.

One of the best joys of  this week has been when I have done something to protect myself and my shiny.

Like saying no when an opportunity comes along but that doesn’t fit with what my heart’s work really is. (This is hard !)

Like making my fear my friend in a way, and acknowledging it but choosing to risk anyway. (Those fears are ugly but they really only want to keep me safe.)

Like taking time to be present and enjoy life exactly where I am ! (The only shiny I know for sure is the one in this moment !)

So this week, I am giving myself a blue 1st place ribbon for the care I have given to my shiny !

My friend Colleen and I with our blue ribbons, yesterday at the Deerfield Fair school building where we served as judges for the student artwork competition.

There is a lot of joy in presenting that kind of prize to your Self.

 

For more joy, make sure and visit the Lovely Meri at Meri’s Musings.

Happy Thursday, Beautiful, Shiny Ones !

Wheeeeee, all the way home !

I find that when I step away from my regularly scheduled life and experience three days of amazing things like I just have, I am challenged by what to exactly to share when there was so very much that happened to me ! It is also a challenge to convey the amazement that I feel about my experiences.

As I sat down to write this post, I was facing that challenge.

I thought I might find some help from the photos that I took.

But it turns out that I actually took very few. And some of the photos I did take were kind of silly or rather mundane. They didn’t seem to have a lot  little “meat” to them.

(The purple ceiling at the Armory Building in Somerville, MA, where the retreat was held.)

(Part of the ceiling and the sign over the Cambridge baaw (in my best Boston accent done by a Canadian) that we went to after the retreat.)

But wait a minute !

(The molten chocolate lava cake that Susie ordered for us from room service at 10:30pm when having some chocolate was absolutely necessary!)

(The amazing Susie Riley in the flesh, with her kooky orange sunglasses purchased on a previous adventure we had together, doing her Susie on a Stick pose.)

Maybe some of those pics are a little meaty for the imagination !!!

But they don’t really convey what I experienced or loved most about the weekend.

In the end, I decided to make a list of the top ten things I came away from the weekend with (in a random order).

Susie and me in the Cambridge Mariott  rooftop garden.

1. The number one thing that I loved about the whole weekend was sharing time with some really, really shiny, talented, open, and brave people. I met so many of them throughout the weekend ! The time with my friends, Susie Riley and Patti Digh, was especially good for my heart. I love those two women a lot.

2. I was moved by how many people came up to me and let me know that a rock that I had marked with a word or two of love had made its way into their life and touched them. Sometimes, very deeply. It made me feel so very grateful to be a part of something so beautiful.

3. I appreciated learning that while writing is an important part of my creative process, I know that I am an Artist first and foremost. That is where my passion lies.

4. I loved sitting at the baw, drinking a cold Stella, with Susie as she sips her Guinness, and tawkin’ and tawkin’…

5. I learned that I really want to work on being a better, more attentive listener.

6. I confirmed, once again,  as a result of this weekend, that I really need a community of like-minded people in my life to keep me well. Sharing and connecting with others fills me up ! I know that I will keep on building that, and being a part of a meaningful, creative community both on-line and in person wherever and whenever I can.

(rock left in the rooftop garden of the Cambridge Marriot)

7. Taking bits and pieces from what three very different but all very creative women  (Jen Louden, Sue Piver and Patti Digh) shared about their own creative process, and seeing where I can improve, or enrich my own.

8. Brainstorming with two women that I really respect as creative beings about where the Rock Fairy will be flying to next…

9. Getting confirmation over and over again that while I cannot control the circumstances of my life, I always have the choice in how I will react to them. Happiness is a choice. And I want to choose it whenever I can.

10. Having a nice long, wonderfully silly lunch with Susie and Patti on Sunday afternoon, and waking up this morning with aching ab muscles (I actually have those. Who knew ??!!) because of all the laughing we did !!!

(Susie, Kim, Patti – photo by Patti Digh and borrowed from 3X3X365)

For those 10 things and all the other ones that are inside of me as a result of my three days away, I am truly grateful.

 

As my wise friend Susie would say,

I am one Lucky Bitch.

 

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones.