Waiting...

"Waiting for the Phone to Ring"...surely I'm not the only one who has experienced this!

I've done all the work I can do - now tag, wrap, box up paintings, note card, Christmas ornaments for the Christmas bazaar this weekend.

Fading beauty...

The older she gets, the more she feels like she is fading into the background...

My Blue Zone...

Have you heard of the Blue Zone project?  I'm not much into having city/county officials trying to influence one's choices over what to eat, how to exercise...blah, blah, blah

I think I know better than anyone what is healthy for me.  I prefer having control over my own lifestyle choices!

Small 5/7 canvas depicting my blue zone!

Offerings...

Drawing done and painting begun....it's warm in my studio today and paints are drying quickly on my palette!

something is off with the perspective of the gift box :-( !!

I need to step away for a day or so before I pick this up again

Linking to:

Katherine's Corner

Little Things Thursday

Friday Photo Journal

Photo Friday

Too Tall...

My third and final drawing in the series.  I wrote my second short story to go along with it.

Too Tall

I think I was born tall!  I have a twin brother and until we were about 16 years old I was taller than him.  We went to a Catholic grammar school.  At our 8th grade graduation the students had to process down the church aisle in pairs boys on the right, girls on the left.  Myself and two other eighth grade girls marched in last, three abreast, because there were no boys as tall as we.  I was the tallest, walking between the other two.  At 14, that was embarrassing.  I felt like a gawky giraffe.

I remember my mother constantly nagged me “to stand up straight - shoulders back - head up”.  This annoyed me to no end.  She threatened to make me wear a shoulder brace.  Thankfully, that never happened.  She just didn’t get it - I was too tall!

I remember going to the local pizza parlor when I was supposed to be at the library studying.  This is where the cool kids hung out, drank cokes, joked with each other and danced to the music on the juke box.  The few times I was asked to dance, I would take off my shoes and slouch so that I wouldn’t be taller than the unwitting boy who invited me onto the tiny dance floor.  It’s a memory I wish I could forget.

Trying on dresses one day at a local department store in the mall - I had already graduated high school by that time - I looked at myself in the full length mirror.  Really looked at myself and was appalled.  In my head I could hear my mother telling me to “stand up straight - shoulders back - head up”. So I did.  What an eye opener - the dress looked so much better.  I actually felt pretty.  I didn’t feel gawky at all.  

Somewhere along the way, the men I dated grew up.  No more reasons for me to slouch.  My mother was so wise.  I wished I had listened to her sooner. 

Oddly, now that I’m approaching 70, I find that I’m not as tall as I once was.  I’m not too happy about it either.  I continue to try and stand up straight - shoulders back - head up AND hold my stomach in!  

Now I preach this mantra to my granddaughters and they just roll their eyes...

Linking to:

Friday Photo Journal

Photo Friday

Friends Meet Friends

Just a Slip of a Girl...

2nd in the series of stories.  I painted it first and was at a loss as to the story it might tell until I overheard a snippet of conversation between two ladies in the grocery store...and got an idea.

High Anxiety

There sat Muriel feeling miserable in Dillard’s dressing room surrounded by an assortment of one-piece swimsuits.    The overzealous salesclerk with the toothy grin and lipstick on her teeth was hovering around willing to tell her she looked fantastic in anything she tried on.  Muriel was embarrassed to ask the clerk to bring suits in a larger size.  She felt so alone and wished she had brought a friend to help her. She also hated the thought of getting dressed again to look for herself and go through the contortions of squeezing into another suit.  Why oh why does clothes shopping have to be such a bother she thought.  A size, no matter the number, should fit the same across brands - it would save so much time!

Still sitting there trying decide what to do, Muriel’s cell phone rang.  It was American Express telling her that a $2100 charge had been made for an on-line purchase at a site she had never heard of.   She was told to hang up and call the phone number on the back of her credit card to either confirm or deny the charge.  Things weren’t bad enough - now this.  Actually, it was a good thing.   She explained to the credit card agent what she was doing at the time she received the call.  They both had a good laugh.  The credit card agent completely understood her angst.

Feeling better, Muriel again scoured through the racks of swimsuits and found a pretty one in blue which fit nicely she thought.  After she made the purchase, Muriel was fairly certain this would be the last swimsuit she would ever buy.

Linking to:

Katherine's Corner
Little Things Thursday

1st of the series

I’m getting tired fussing with this one - I may come back to it…anyway it’s the first one of the three

Here's the story to go with the painting:

Daily Rituals

As usual she awakes early to the red glow of the digital clock - 4:45AM - time to rise and shine. Even though she took an early retirement from her day job over twenty-five years ago and could sleep in, she can’t break the habit. Mornings are the best time of day!

Tiptoeing so as not to waken her husband, she quickly pulls on clean but raggedy t-shirt and shorts and does her daily Classical Stretch workout. Twenty-five minutes of bending, stretching, and reaching loosen up her sore back muscles and hip joints. She then laces up the neon orange Asics walking shoes, grabs the i-Pod and ear buds and is out the door. Before setting out, she picks up the newspaper and places it inside the kitchen door. Her husband is always grateful to find the newspaper handy when he gets up. It’s a beautiful cool morning - no mosquitos yet. The sky is filled with stars. No one else is up yet except for a neighbor’s cat who is roaming around. Compulsively she sets the timer on her i-watch then it’s ready, set, go!

She power walks to the beat of the BeeGees, Neil Diamond and some rap. Her body is on autopilot - no thinking - just being. Sometimes she looks up and isn’t sure where she is. It’s wonderful to be out early walking in the dark. No one can see that she hasn’t combed her hair or that she is wearing clothes with holes in them. Four miles and an hour later, she’s home again ready for that first cup of coffee - heavenly!

Her morning exercise is complete. She has read the newspaper; eaten breakfast; showered, dressed and put on her “war paint.” Now she looks in the mirror and goes through a litany of daily reminders - be kind, gentle, understanding, polite, encouraging to herself and others. Slow down and be grateful for this day.

Linking to:

Inspire Me Monday

Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

working in a series

I'm working on a series of small paintings to hang in our newly remodeled bathroom.  I haven't decided whether these will be hang worthy yet - that decision will come later.

drawing and start of underpainting

Linking to:

Friday Photo Journal
Photo Friday
Friends Meet Friends

One of those days...

It's one of those days where my hands ache so bad I could weep.  TMB (too many birthdays!) degenerative arthritis - on top of that I caught my husband's cold!  I'm trying working through my discomfort because keeping my mind off of it usually helps.   What do you do to get past the pain?

Linking to:

Friday Photo Journal
Photo Friday
Friends Meet Friends

Woman Unleashed - Day 14

This is the last day of Woman Unleashed 2016 retreat.  It was a blast.  Thank you to all the generous women who guided us through the retreat and a special thank you to Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici for putting this all together.  I loved every minute of it!

Woman Unleashed - Day 13

Here is it, New's Years Day 2016 - it's hard to believe how quickly time is flying by.  Today's guide, Rhonda Britten, was a hoot.  She mentioned a "love tooter" and I was off and running - not sure if I heard anything else she had to say.  I plan to go back and listen again.

I had so much fun creating my love tooter!

Woman Unleashed - Day 12

Day 11 guide, Tulasi Adeva, talked about yoga as well as "Return to Center - a Rhythmic Homecoming Ritual."  Something Tulasi said made me think "heart in hand".

Woman Unleashed - Day 11

Today's guide, Amber Jean, talked about "Creating a Reliquary: Honor the Energy of a meaningful object by creating a small shrine to house a personal relic."

I chose to make a small shrine to fit inside my Woman Unleashed journal.  I had a little charm that fit the theme of Woman Unleashed perfectly!

Woman Unleashed - Day 10

Day 10 brings us two guides.  Karen Rauch Carter - "How to Create Spaces to Restore, Revive, Rejuvenate and Rest "(that's a lot of Rs!!) your basic everyday Feng Shui, which I know little about and Mellissa Bottalli - "Heal Anything with the Power of Re-Nature-Ing" - more Rs!!

I incorporated the five elements of Feng Shui - earth (yellow squares), fire (red triangles), metal (gold/brass circles), water (dark tones free flow shapes), wood (green rectangles).

As far as healing myself, I need to learn to let go of the things that keep me awake at night!

Woman Unleashed - Day 9

One of today's guides was Whitney Freya - founder of The Creatively Fit Coaching Certification. Whitney suggested we close our eyes and draw a line with any tool.  Once the line has been drawn, see what can be made of it.

The green marker line was my starting point...it was fun to just let my imagination run wild.

Woman Unleashed - Day 8

Two guides led Day 8 - Alexandra Pope (A woman's inner retreat - an exploration of menstruation as a woman's natural time of rest, renewal and visioning) and Laurie Wagner (Wild Writing).

I must admit, I've never considered menstruation  as a special time - I'm so happy, at my age, NOT to have to deal with that now...Alexandra had many positive and thoughtful things to say about it.

Woman Unleashed - Day 7

Day 7's guide is Tamara Laporte.  Her theme is self empathy.

I purposely did not finish this piece as I consider myself a work in progress...

Linking to:

Inspire Me Monday

Woman Unleashed - Day 5

It's Christmas Eve.  Day 5 guide is Chris Zydel - her theme is "Sacred Power of Self Forgiveness."  I needed to hear Chris' message.  I'm giving myself the gift of Self Forgiveness for Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Woman Unleashed - Day 4

Two guides today.  First up was Lisa Schrader sharing her insight on "awakening your sacred sensual power" of the Divine Feminine.  I love the whole concept of this!  Our second guide was Char Tosi explaining the concept of "archetypes to empower your life with woman."  Who couldn't love that topic!

My drawings reflect my thoughts on what these two women shared.

Linking to:

Katherine's Corner
Little Things Thursday

Woman Unleashed - Day 3

Day 3 - Painting intuitively led by Alena Hennessey.  I'm more of a realist, but it is fun to just be free and go with the flow...thus my offering today.