10 Things

i am the lucky recipient of this thoughtful award from the lovely and talented kolleen over at HeartWingSisters.  as part of my acceptance i'm supposed to tell you about 10 things i love right now, so here goes:

1.  the fabulous sunrises we have been having every day (can’t complain about the sunsets either!)

2.  scotland yard, a little neighborhood pub where my hubby takes me at least once a week so we can sit across the table from each other and have a conversation

3.  this song, which i cannot get out of my head

4. beautiful nora, my nephew’s baby, who just turned 1

5. frazier farm’s salad bar – my favorite lunch. the grilled bar-b-qued tofu is awesome!

6. lynda.com for learning all things computer related in a relatively painless way

7. all things cocker spaniel (always!)


8. all the sweet comments you guys have put on my blog

9. my wearable blanket, for sitting outside at night under the stars (great way to “just be”!)

10. cappuccino on my deck with my ipod and my journals (this is pretty much an unbreakable ritual!)

ok, i seriously cannot count!

(11.)  last, but not least, one of my favorite christmas presents, the poo-lar bear. When you press on his behind, he discharges a nice fat brown jelly bean. sorry I can’t show you –i already ate all the beans! (thanks bob and pat!)

ok, now i am supposed to refer you to 10 blogs that i love - this i have trouble with because, seriously, i try not to visit too many because i find it kind of overwhelming.  so here's what i'll do.

here is one you should check out:

Donna just traveled down to san miguel de allende in mexico and is chronicaling her adventures there daily.  she has a way with words, for sure, as well as great photos!

also, if you have not already visited the small is beautiful site, be prepared for some serious blog-hopping since it is a veritable cafeteria of bogs all on one page (talk about overwhelming!) don't say i didn't warn you!

that's the best i can do for now.  thanks again, kolleen - love you!!

Computer Generated Art

don't know if it's the new year (could be because it's the first one that i don't have to go back to work) or the fabulous spring-like weather, but i am pretty jazzed about the future right now! even though i really don't have a clue where it is leading, i'm in my "just be" mode and goin with it.....

over the holidays, i had to give up my little art table to make way for company. i didn't know where to go with everything, so i ended up storing it in the christmas decoration bins. that way i was forced to get it back out again before i could put the holiday stuff away... but now i actually organized things and it will be more user-friendly i hope!

anyway, in the meantime, since i haven't had access to the hands-on stuff, i've been playing around with some computer-generated creations. i normally use photoshop to tweak (or occasionally outright manipulate) my photos, but i decided to start from scratch and make some original creations. having so much FUN with this!!

Just Be

i'm so not what you would call a fad follower or a trend tender. remember when your parents taught you (and maybe you have tried to teach your own kids) that just because everybody is doing it is not a good enough reason to do something? i didn't get that at all at the time, but as i got older, my latent rebel nature started to blossom and i took that idea and ran with it. in other words, whatever everybody else is doing is suspect and should be avoided if at all possible.  ( i realize there is a happy medium in there somewhere.)

 so back to the point of this post - everybody is talking about their "word of the year". so naturally, my first reaction is to run away from the idea - except that, truth be told, i do have one - scratch that, actually it's 2 words (so i'm not really following the crowd, right?)

i started reading this book and realized that i want my focus to be "just be". i'm convinced that many of life's problems can be solved with this simple phrase and keeping it in my consciousness
has already made a difference in my life.




here are some of my favorite "just be" type photos from the last year or so, along with some eckhart tolle quotes from the book:

"the preciousness of being is your true specialness. what the egoic self had been looking for on the level of the story - i want to be special - obscured the fact that you could not be more special than you already are now. not special because you are better or more wretched than someone else, but because you can sense a beauty, a preciousness, an aliveness deep within."

"if you truly look at an oak tree, or a sunset, then what you're looking at goes far beyond being interesting. just be with it, contemplate it, and it is awe inspiring. there is a depth there that defies analysis by the mind".

"see if you can look at these photos with little or no thinking. but don't try not to think. instead, give your complete attention to the act of looking, that is to say, to the perception itself...when you perceive without thought, you are open to the nameless, the deep mystery that pervades all that exists, the presence of the divine."         Eckhart Tolle 

i certainly couldn't have said it better myself!!

Let the Wonders Begin!

let the wonders begin!  it's a quote from the january 1st page of  this new book i am starting.  it's one of those books where you read one page a day for your dose of creaive inspiraton - love it!  it's full of fun and humor and whimsical art as well.

in other news, i did capture the once-in-a-blue-moon.  apparently it only happens on new year's eve something like once every 28 years....

ok - i know it's not supposed to really be blue, but i thought it would be fun to give it a little tint!

this is actually the sunrise on january 1st.  i was taking my morning walk and could have kicked myself that i didn't bring my carera - the skies were all pink and glowy and right smack dab in the middle was this huge full moon!  i hustled back to grab my camera - no time for a zoom, but the best was over - this was just the tail end.  that'll teach me!