November? Really?

I can't believe it was November when I last posted. Since that time we have had Thanksgiving, Christmas, lots of snow (yes, even this far south), and now Spring has officially arrived. I have been painting away, along with building websites and trying to make improvements in our massive yard. I will share a few pictures below of what has been keeping me occupied. That way, at least, you will know I haven't just been goofing off these past few months. :)





I have an art show coming up this weekend and have been getting ready for that in the midst of all else that is going on.





So far this spring in our yard we have planted irises, azaleas, phlox, clematis, yellow jessamine, bronze ajuga, hostas, daylilies, 2 winged euonymous bushes, a lorapetalum, a cleyera, and petunias in pots. We have also transplanted three large crepe myrtles. We also have planted a veggie garden with lettuce, potatoes, cabbages, baby tomato plants, peas, and peppers. So far, everything seems to be doing well, and thankfully we dodged a frost last night by a few degrees. The birdsongs are keeping me quite entertained each morning. I have seen numerous redbirds, robins, and even a bluejay or two in our yard. The gentle harbingers of spring never disappoint.





I am also keeping quite busy with a couple of new websites I am working on ... more to come on that in subsequent days. For now, I am just glad to be back. I would love to know what is going on in your part of the world!

A Fresh Wind...

Do you ever feel as if a fresh wind has blown across your life?



In my life there have been times of extreme staleness, where I almost felt as if I were a house that had been closed up with all the doors locked and all the furnishings covered over with dust covers, cobwebs growing in the corners and hardly any light coming in... as if someone had sucked all the fresh air completely out. Then suddenly the doors and windows burst open and sunshine bursts in... a fresh wind blowing through all the staleness, blowing off the dust, letting in the light, allowing me to breathe again.



Today I feel that profoundly. I feel as if spring has brought with it the power to breathe again. I feel creative juices flowing and my spirits rising to the light that radiates outside my windows.



I have just returned from a week in another place ... a blessed change of scenery ... and some very good fellowship. The title of the conference I attended was Overflow 2010, and that is just what I am feeling today. My heart is overflowing with love and gratitude and readiness for whatever comes next in my life.



In my years of knowing Christ there have been times when I especially sensed His presence and times when I haven't, times of drought and times of overflow, times of staleness and times of refreshing. Those are the seasons of a spiritual life, just as we have seasons on this earth. And though my faith does not depend upon my feelings, I am especially thankful for those times when I really sense the nearness of the Lord and the blessings of this life.



I returned home to find some beautiful things happening in my garden... they, too, give a lift to my spirits. The sun is shining brilliantly today, and the Son is shining in my own heart.



I pray that spring has come for you both literally and figuratively with all its beauties and joys!

Blessings,

From my little plot of earth...

Here are some late summer beauties that I wanted to share. I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days of summer.







Happy weekend!

Happy Monday Morning...

11" x 14" watercolor on Arches cold press

More artwork, as promised, and this is one of my happy pieces... a balcony o'er brimmed with flowers and the windows open so that the fresh, crisp breezes can waft inside.

Why "Happy Monday" you may ask... on this Monday I am happy because I am getting a new art space. We have decided to convert our living room, which is hardly ever used, into an art studio for me. Now you would have to understand the space I have been occupying to know how very exciting this is for me. I have had all my paper, pencils, paints, brushes, and art table in a tiny corner of my dining room. Each time we have people over (and we do frequently) I have had to pick up whatever I was working on and stack things up. This is hard on the creativity, as things need to have drying time, and I sometimes need space spread out or to arrange the items I am working on.

So, I have been making all kinds of plans for my new room. I am trying to consider how best to use the new space I will have. At the same time, we will also be rearranging my daughter's room hoping to make her space feel larger... moving furniture, paring down, throwing out, decluttering, etc. So with both of these projects looming ahead, along with the onset of schooling in the next couple of weeks, I am going to be busy "nesting." I am looking forward to it, as it has been a long time since I have done any rearranging around here. We have had our house on the market for several months and have decided to take it off, for now, and remain here. We are making plans for how best to use the space we have here to accomodate our day to day needs. Converting the living room to an art space just seems so practical. I am thankful that my family is so supportive of my artwork that they really see the need for me to have a larger space.

Today I am basking in God's goodness to me and in the blessing of my family. And I am wishing all my blog friends a very blessed week.

Fresh From the Garden... errr, Drawing Board

I will post the artwork from the show in future posts, but thought I would post this piece I just finished yesterday. I have begun experimenting with pastels and love the way they worked for the soft petals of this rose:



I pray that you are all having a blessed week!

Red Flower Day!

Stop, Look, & Listen

Happy Gerbera Daisy Day! (and about that word list)

Aren't they some of the happiest flowers!

And now to the answer to yesterday's mystery word list:

The magazine in question (see yesterday's post) is the much beloved Victoria magazine launched by Hearst Publications in 1987, as a Good Housekeeping "spin off." It went on to be one of the most successful magazines in the shortest amount of time in history. Its editor for nearly 15 years was Nancy Lindemeyer. She was a masterful editor with a magical touch. She and John Mack Carter of Hearst brought together an enormously talented staff of photographers, writers, and creative production team. The result was a magazine without parallel. After changing editors in 2000, we saw the magazine's demise in 2003. Hoffman Media has revived Victoria as of December 2007, and she is again winning a new audience of those who love the beauty, charm, and vibrancy of a bygone era.

As for me, I still have all my issues of the magazine. I have carried them with me through six moves and still pull them out to read sometimes by subject matter (i.e. issues on England or Paris) or sometimes by season (Christmas, summer, fall, etc.) It is the only magazine I don't throw away because it is a visual feast as well as a masterful literary compilation. And even better, it is just plain uplifting... a celebration of life and beauty! Thank you, Victoria, for many happy years of viewing and reading pleasure.

Along the Garden Path

Rose Day!

From a local botanical garden: