Hello again

Hello again.
Am I still your friend?
I've been gone a long while
but I've been through a trial...
                    or two
how about you?

My husband couldn't seem
to stop the threats he'd scream.
And his micromanaging
was rather damaging...
                   to me
can't you see?

I couldn't ever please him.
I'd apologize and appease him.
I tried to keep my joy,
not let his hate destroy...
                   my heart
I fell apart.

I walked away...
I couldn't stay.
I've taken time to heal,
to find my way, to feel...
                  again
Am I still your friend?

the other side

I've walked through a lot of doors the past few years... some of them difficult, some overwhelmingly sad, some lovely, some joyful and most of which I wasn't sure where I'd be on the other side.

But here I am, and that is the way life is. And after feeling lost and empty and excited and afraid, I am learning to trust. To trust that God has me in His hands and that it'll all be okay. That it's okay not to have it all figured out.

And I'm finally drawing and painting again. That's good because it means I'm finding my way again. Peace. A sense of self.

so, what's that saying about, if God closes a door, He opens a window somewhere?

well, i have a new door.

it has been over a year since i last posted and there has been a flood going under the bridge of my life. some of it i could get all weepy about, but i think it's best to take things from where they are and look forward. do your best, do the right thing, and when possible, do art :)

today

“You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” 

― C.S. Lewis

new things :)

a busy summer has kept me away from blog land, but i am learning and growing with my tech and design class, as well as an order for custom artwork for a website. this was very satisfying for me to do, and hopefully i'll have more and more opportunities to do new things!

thanks for your patience while i learn, kate :)

i'm looking forward to more graphic design classes next month. i do miss my visits with my followers and those whom i follow, though. i learn so much from the creative and talented examples of others! i will try to spend more time in this neighborhood with you all :)

learning new things

i am so absolutely out of the loop! i'm not blogging or reading my favorites, not painting, i'm hardly even on facebook! i have yet to get to the beach or go camping yet this summer! what on earth am i doing?!

i am learning adobe cs5.
taking a real college class, even.
besides learning the software, i'm beginning to understand all the different kinds of file formats, image size, and i now know what a vector image is. wow, this is awesome! and fun!

alright, i'm ready to tell you...

what a sweet little being; after a few days he was learning to eat solid food and to fly... capt jack would chirp softly back to me, watch me paint, and land on my head.
i am afraid that my tiny, feathered jack sparrow was not charmed like the johnny depp version...
remember this little girl?

shelby like squeak toys!
oh, no... you guessed it... i couldn't talk to her for two days...

but on our front door, apparently an annual vacation spot, our happy couple is back...

thankfully, life moves on...

captain jack sparrow

was found on monday

on my walk...

no nest to be found

so i brought him home

and slowly started feeding him.

at first, all he would take was a little water...

tuesday...

he ate LOTS of canned dog food and cottage cheese puree 

images from the ranch

spent the weekend at the ranch...

found on friday

finally warming up! one of the first flowers you'll see EVERYWHERE here is the california poppy

and i found a happy bumblebee bumbling around inside them

everyone is so happy to feel the warm, golden california sunshine again...

it's alive!

what can i say?
life just sort of steam-rolled over me and i took an unexpected sabbatical.
but i am SO ready to start finding time for art and my blog world again.

at the moment, northern california is taking her sweet time warming up to the idea of summer and everyone around here is a bit annoyed by the delay. poor us... we are SO spoiled. but the long growing season is threatened and my little seedlings look awfully pathetic in my garden window. they're all sideways and scrawny, just desperate for a little sunlight. the tomatoes i put out in the garden a month ago are simply cowering against the chilly breezes, waiting for summer's soft, warm kisses.

i kinda feel the same way.

besides the garden, i have taken on a few spring projects, like a mosaic top for a wine rack a neighbor was throwing out...

and i've been putting reminders of summer's treasures around the house to keep me :)

what makes YOU think of summer?

our new baby has been keeping us very busy...

found on friday

alright, first of all, i found my camera in the absolute sorry mess that is piled around my laptop. no, i won't go into that, i'm done whining...

now, the first thing i found is downright strange. but amazing. i was tickled. a tree growing in my sink!

okay, you're humoring me... but there's also something amazing happening to the trees in the yard... look!

ahhh... now that's beautiful! you can't believe the cherry blossoms here in the spring.

to what extent will my son ignore that smell?

i'm inspired by and linking up with this week's prompt from the sunday creative:

extent 

definition…noun; 1. The range or space over which something extends 2. The point or degree to which something extends

yes, yes, this is a blog about my art... but i've been whining lately about how i have so little time for that part of me. so, in response to this week's prompt, and with a nod to the wit of one of my favorite bloggers who has recently shared one of her clever solutions to no clean underwear...
i bring you:


















the miasma emanating from one of the bedrooms overpowers the enticing aroma of sauteed garlic...
and no one wants to eat :(
...to what extent will my son ignore that smell? and what is the furthest extent of that fetor?
your turn...
you know it's time to do laundry when ________________.

virtual coffee

if we were actually sitting down for coffee together today, i'd want to be sitting outside in the sunshine. it's a bit chilly, by our standards here, but to me it's gorgeous and sunny and we both need a bit of vitamin d, eh?

i'd want to show you some of the pictures of the dog show we went to over the weekend. no, we aren't dog show people, but we are dog people. my family's most precious companion died a bit over a year ago and we have been so heartbroken. indie was a "rescue" dog (meaning rescued from an animal shelter), the sweetest australian shepherd ever... but now we are in DESPERATE need of a "magic puppy head" (too much explaining, coined by a friend of ours). we know we want another australian shepherd, and i promised my sons that we'd get a puppy this time. i mean, how often do you get the chance? do you have any idea how ADORABLE an aussie puppy is? so on saturday we meet lots of wonderful doggie people and dogs; i'll let you know how the hunt progresses. and we just got so many kisses from so many precious friends! (i love how dogs will be your instant friend).

i'd also tell you how i can't even keep track of all the things i'm "in the process" of doing. my husband's contracting business has books that must be straightened up for the end of the year, and that's my job, my oldest son is a junior, so there's lots of college, SAT, etc. pieces to investigate, sign up for, follow up on, as well as who's getting a summer job and who's going to camp and who's serving at vacation bible school and where are we going to go camping, and there's substitute teaching, which isn't bringing in enough money, so i need to find more work, and my car isn't running and i never have any time for art. and all that means i probably ought to get going already, even though you've barely peeped a word!

but remember last week... i did all the listening :)
hugs til our next virtual coffee!

restocking the shelves

in between the other bits of my life, i have been painting and playing...
and there are a few new items in my etsy shop!

indoor garden and stylin' thoughts

a mere $5 can provide such pleasure...

i bought two tulip pots, pulled out some spanish moss, and made terrariums in some big glass vases that i have.

the house is smiling :)

i may have to paint them!

and i am SO incredibly flattered and encouraged!
paula of mindful drawing, who lives in belgium (i just think it is so absolutely COOL that our world is so connected), has given me a stylish blogger award. woo-woo-la-la! thank you, paula!



in the interest of promoting world peace and stylish blogs, i get to share the honors with other bloggers...

• for having such a personal and almost "retro" quality to her photographs, the first award goes to Amy at LuckyNumber13. I also love, love, love her style of sharing her world and her very worthwhile thoughts.
• jacilyn at blue china studio captures my heart, particularly with her absolutely charming art, and her sense of natural, simple beauty. 
• lindsay at banter has a guileless and basic style of her own. she shares real life.
• now, when someone say "stylish", i generally think of visual qualities... but i'm thinking a bit outside the box with kim of the bodhi chicklet. this woman's brain and sense of humor are absolutely stylin'! i love every word i read; sometimes she waxes poetic, sometimes she is artistic, or contemplative, and sometimes she just makes me blurt out laughing! bahahahaha!
• and simone of serendipity has a simple, elegant style that lets her gorgeous photography take the spotlight on her blog.

my intention is to pass this award on to bloggers that don't yet have GOBS of readers... but ought to! (although i have no idea about bodhi chicklet, cuz there's no "followers" thingy on her site) and these are the women whose styles are unique and particularly special to me.

i'm also supposed to tell you seven things about myself, but i have waaaaay too many other things to do with my day, so you'll just have to come back another time!

ttfn

busy, busy, busy...

dearest visitor,
don't give up on me...
life has been wonderfully busy and full.
met an old friend and made a new one up in san francisco; they're visiting from down undah,
substitute teaching,
clothing and feeding and caring for my family,
and i'm trying desperately to avoid the bookkeeping that needs to be done this time of year
because my etsy shop is nearly empty and i want to put wonderful new things there!!!

no time to say hello, goodbye...

i have spent too much time listening to joelle and katy and kim...
i just soak up such warmth...
if you don't already, i suggest you make a regular date with all the amazing people who sit down to share virtual coffee on tuesdays.

today i'll just take my thoughts on the brilliant conversation with me and ponder as i head off to my day...

see you all next week.