joyouslybecoming

life as it is

 Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky

And you lift me up out of the two worlds.

I want your sun to reach my raindrops,

So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud.

--Rumi

I've got plans, lots of them. For the garden, for my art, for this blog, for my health and wellbeing. Boredom is something I'm not familiar with. Ever. I will be working at catching up here, putting up some of the wonderful photos of student artwork that is long overdue. I just find it hard (pun, yes) to sit at the computer these days, my body doesn't like it. I believe I need to come up with a stand-up station for computer work...well, another plan! 

But for now ...

a walk past fragrant mint, soon to be part of a collaboration with water, the sun, a clear tall glass, and cubes of ice 

a glimpse at an adobe fairy house tucked under the old fashioned roses

beautiful, fragrant, and prolific

i so hope these heirloom brandy wine tomatoes produce prolifically despite the cool and cloudy pacific northwest summer

the cabbages, broccoli and brussel sprouts certainly enjoy the weather

as does the kale

the garden is happy, i am happy too; i love working in the garden again after so many years of not having one. And nothing tastes better than homegrown vegies.

I had a fabulous time teaching a 3 day workshop at An Artful Journey in Los Gatos, CA. The venue was beautiful and Cindy had everything planned to make the experience delightful and I got to finally spend some time with a dear friend I roomed with.

 And my class - oh, these women, each brave and daring, sharing their open hearts with one another as they created lovely art. I felt bonded with each of them and I know most if not all of them felt the same. I am grateful for the time there and will post some photos of their art soon.

 

I flew from there to Denver where I spend precious PRECIOUS time with family, including our youngest grandchild Jackson.

and sweet time with my youngest daughter, watching her be the incredible mom she is, warms my heart so

until next time, i leave you with a smile.

xox 

some summer sweetness

my old fashioned yellow roses have been blooming prolifically despite my lack of care. thank you..... 

This summer is jam packed, i knew it would be but i'm in the thick of it now, getting ready for teaching a 3 day workshop at An Artful Journey in CA in just over a week, taking care of the garden, plants, and people in my life and enjoying and being nourished by them as well.

I'm extremely behind, as usual, but i wanted to carve an hour out of my schedule to at least touch base with you all here, show you a few of the things that nourish and sustain me these days.

 

My brother Bob and my sister-in-law Vicki have been staying with us for the past week +, filling the house with music every time one of them picked up their guitars. Violet, Ethan, and Lily loved it too.

and when they played together and sang...well the joy in the room was palpable  

Ethan got a turn to learn some chords

Violet too

there were plenty of smooches

and smiles to go around

they got a very late start because of our cold rainy weather here in the Pacific Northwest, but our heirloom Brandywine tomatoes are looking good now and i'm hoping to get plenty to can this year.

the garden is late but starting to look promising. Next year, since I'll be home more and not traveling so much, we'll be adding on quite a bit more to tend; garden, trees and animals. Chickens in the spring and maybe a nubian goat or three :-)  i also hope to get a little donkey in the next couple years.

the kale looks happy

lots of plants waiting for my time, and for their new home in the garden. 

I find myself more and more unplugged from the computer and instead doing things. I think the universe took me seriously when i said that I'd like to unplug the TV for the summer, see how we'd fill up our time without it (not that it gets used all that much anyway). Well yesterday the TV in my studio just blew a fuse and died. hahaha...i guess the universe thought i was talking out of my hat since i hadn't taken any action and helped move along the process. words and intentions are so powerful.

I finished all the student packets for the upcoming workshop, now I'm working on organizing what to pre-ship and get that done immediately. then creating class samples to freshen my memory on what i'm going to be presenting and how I intend to do that. and a couple hours a day (at least) outside tending the garden and other living things. So, until next time I want to thank you for stopping by, to apologize if I owe you an email and havent done so, like i said, i'm behind and not slightly overwhelmed with all the computer stuff. I still intend to put up my student photos from classes in Colorado at the ARtist's Nook - probably after I get back from California though. 

wishing you happiness 

xoxoxox