thanksgiving
…gratitude is as a light…a light of awakening that becomes brighter and ever more hopeful…such a small adjustment to make really…it is right there all the time…available and only waiting on my attention…my heart is overflowing with love…there is so much to give and to share and to hope for and to pause over and notice…the gift of days like these is their service to us…ticklers for our awareness…
…kind words are jewels that live in the heart and soul and remain as blessed memories years after they have been spoken…marvea johnson
never underestimate your importance and the ways you plant seeds of hope and gratitude in others with your words and actions…a kind word of encouragement, an offer of a gentle hand…can change someone’s life…
there are those whose lives affect all others around them…quietly touching one heart, who in turn, touches another…reaching out to ends further than they would ever know…william bradfield
sunday doodling
some days it can feel like life is a constant uphill climb, with no way to catch even a faint glimpse of the top…most days you have the energy to keep on climbing, and then other days, you just sit down on a Sunday afternoon, watch some t.v., draw a circle, and start doodling…
Asian Inspiration
Harmony: Acrylics, Caran d’Ache, photographs, sumi ink on watercolor paper.
Japanese Happiness Book: Decorative papers make up this book displayed in a little stand I found at Linens & Things.
Cover of Japanese Happiness book with medallion from scented candle that reads “Happiness”.
Interior of Japanese Happiness book with kozo paper and velum tabs. Pages stamped with the kanji symbol for “love”
yesterday is today
do you remember your dreams of yesterday? do you remember the days when you would swing high into the air and feel so alive it took your breath away? do you remember the awe of new discoveries made every day? do you remember how it felt to be curious and playful and innocent, without any cares in the world? do you remember giggling and lying down in the grass and staring up at the clouds, losing yourself in their shape and movement? do you remember balloons and pink cotton candy and holding mommy’s protective hand while strolling in the park? do you remember baking cookies with grandma?
i wonder what advice you might give me now, little one. would you tell me to walk barefoot through the park and eat an ice cream cone and run through the sprinklers? would you tell me not to worry about the future and just enjoy today? would you tell me to let my spirit run free and wild and untamed?
would you tell me to remember to keep dreaming?
…or would you simply offer me your hand and ask me to come out with you and play…
taking steps
every journey begins with a single step
there are many paths to choose
always follow your heart
…be yourself…be amazing…be free
the haze
can someone bring news of forever?
i see glimpses of the color you obscure.
while fires may rage all around you, you are beautiful, consistent and blissfully unaware.
love your space
i love the madness of my creative space…it keeps me sane.
These photos show a super easy method I use to make my own foam stamps. Craft stores sell sheets of fun foam in the childrens’ art section for about $1.00 per sheet. I draw my doodles on the fun foam and cut out with an Exacto knife. (This way I also have a stencil to use from the cutout). I then cut up a garden kneeling pad found in any home improvement store and glue the fun foam stamps onto the cut up pieces of the foam garden pads. Voila. My own designs on foam stamps, and very economical.
friend
walking and playing in the park with you showed me a free spirit born into a body made for hard work.
thank you for sitting with me faithfully through illnesses, surgery, lonely times of confusion, and the deepest heartbreak of my life…thank you for pacing the floors in the middle of the night with me when my pain was too much to bear…thank you for walking with me and listening to me and letting me soothe your fears and take care of you…thank you for looking at me with those eyes that never judged me or wanted me to be anything other than your companion.
the sunday morning paper was so much fun to read with you
how could I ever have been too busy to play
thank you for being my friend…i learned from you and i had so much fun with you…your sweetness even in the grip of your deepest terror taught me that when faced with our greatest fears there is an essential part of the heart that remains untouched…
my walks in the park and the nights now remind me of the comfort and peace i once felt just by your company.
i miss you.
word doodle
when servers crash and a hard drive threatens to, the nights are long…sometimes the only thing to do is grab a bag of M&Ms and a sketch notebook and doodle layers and layers of words into the wee hours of the morning…words that remind, that center, that put things into perspective.
begin
the end of a lazy Sunday brought thoughts of the day that passed, and the day that would come…emotions brought both tears and laughter…goodbyes are so very hard…i think to myself, “i will try again tomorrow”.
thank you little Navajo sand man for grabbing my attention before bedtime and making me smile. i know you will hold vigil on the refrigerator door and keep many more smiles in your care…ready for me…just when i need them.