and the rain keeps coming...

It's been raining for nearly three days now. But I'm not complaining, we needed the rain. And Saturday was a beautiful day. Mark and Liam did some running. Mark ran the ten-miler and Liam ran the four-miler. Erica and I walked at least four miles, as we had to drive and walk between the two different finish points. We went to Cassidy's band competition Saturday evening. Their show this year is Journey - with songs from their Escape album. It is just awesome - they have a rock band and strings playing in the back, as well as the rest of the marching band. The picture above is just a small part of the band - I had to get Cassidy playing her tuba. They won all the awards in their class and the grand championship! The violin pictures are actually from a couple of weeks ago. Jacob and Erica played at Day in the Park, which is a nice family oriented day of fun in one of our local parks. I managed to zoom in on Jacob, but Erica ended up in the back, because she is so tall. And that's just a little bit of what I've been up to lately.

colorful and not so colorful...

A couple of recent projects. So very, very different. The colorful mandala is actually a birthday gift for my daughters friend. She admired a large mandala that I painted last year and have hanging in my kitchen. I tried to choose elements that would be relevant for her. The music paper, for her love of music, flowers and lace for her feminine side, a little heart for love, a butterfly because her life is just taking flight... My favorite part is the sides. I used one of those chunky canvases. The sides are 1-1/2" thick and the words are from some tissue paper that came in a Starbucks gift. I love mandalas and all of their symbolism. If you want to see some really lovely mandalas, go here.

The second piece is a shrine of sorts that was inspired by one of my favorite books, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kid. I have been done with it for several weeks and I've kept it on my work table, because I love it so much. I'm finally ready to list it in my shop. I think the lack of color makes it very peaceful. I found the old letter in an antique shop a while ago and I decided to use the original in this piece. It was written with pen and ink and the handwriting is so beautiful. And the heart is a piece of sea glass found on the shores of Lake Ontario.

And now, I'm off to work on some new things. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

a silly story about a little magenta flower and a serenade at Walmart...

Today I went to Walmart to buy a new coffeemaker. Going to Walmart usually makes me feel glum, but I really needed to get a coffeemaker for cheap, as I give up trying to make my Black and Decker coffeemaker pour coffee without leaking half the contents all over my counter, which has been going on since I bought it on April 1st, which, by the way, is April Fools Day, and a fool I was to buy that one. But that's all water under the bridge now. I chose a nice, no-frills, cheap Mr. Coffee coffeemaker, which, by the way, I have a neighbor named Mr. Coffee, and my kids were in his house and, "yes", they reported, "he does have a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker". But back to my silly story. I was checked out by a diminutive (good word huh) man with a very nice accent, which, on it's own would make him sweet, but he also sang a little happy song and did a little dance while ringing up my items. This is true! So, after checking out and being serenaded by Gil, I was heading out the door when a glimpse of color on the dull colored floor caught my eye. When I looked down, there was this perfect, tiny little magenta flower, all alone, looking up at me, as if to say, "wait, don't leave me here". It didn't actually say that, but if it spoke I think that's what it would say. Would you want to be left on the floor at Walmart? So, I picked it up and brought it home with me. And this little magenta flower, which is now sitting on my work table in a little teacup, is making me most cheery today and feeling not glum at all after my trip to Walmart. And the moral of this story, not that it needs one, because it is after all just a silly little story, is to always, always stop to pick up tiny little flowers that get separated from their bunch. And if you are ever at the Walmart on Old Forest Road in Lynchburg, make sure you go in Gil's line.

fall is in the air...

My 9 year old came home from school yesterday and announced, "Fall is here". "Well", I said, "according to my calendar, the first day of fall is actually the 23rd". To which he replied, "No Mom. The reason I know fall is here is because it was kind of windy today and all day long I could hear acorns plopping on the roof and anyway, have you looked outside? There are acorns all over the place". Oh. Well, I had started a small collection of acorns on my front table, but I guess I hadn't noticed just how many were out there. And, as if to prove it, my daughter went outside and about 10 minutes later, came in to show me a large bucket of acorns she had collected. Now that's a lot of acorns! And further investigation revealed some multi-colored leaves. OK, fall is here. I love fall. The days are sunny and just the right temperature, the nights are cool and lovely, the colorful leaves are so pretty, the acorns so plentiful...Oh, and I love crisp, sweet New York State apples...What you see above is an apple, but it is not a New York State apple and it's just not the same. It is one of the things I miss most about my old home (besides my family of course). When the kids were small, we took many trips to the orchard to pick apples. The best part was picking one of those apples off the tree and eating it right then and there. So, so good. Somebody, please send me some apples!

special...

I wrote this little reminder on my new chalkboard door, in my freshly re-done studio...which I still have to show you... and if you are reading this, you are very special too!

Some lovely little religious medals and a sweet little cherub. They will find their way into my art someday.

This gorgeous bundle of silk, purchased here, gave me the inspiration to make the journal seen below.

I've been so very busy lately. Driving kids all over, attending school activities, sports... And blissful moments of creativity in between all of that. Hope your world is a happy place...

happy birthday mom...

happy birthday mom...

teacups, because I miss having tea with you...

a butterfly, because you're pretty...

a heart, because I love you...

a flower for your special day...

words to live by...