Inspired

The First Day

 

Arched Boveda ceiling in the bedroom of our Ajijic "home".  On the first day of 2014, I lay under this ceiling feeling such gratitude that I could travel to enjoy the warmth, sunshine and culture of Mexico.

 

Hello friends...I honestly wondered if I'd ever be back here but here I am, so maybe I just needed a break.  My word for 2013 really should have been "wordless"!  

I've decided to take part in Bella's 52 Photo's "word prompt" project this year to help inspire and motivate me.  In the interest of keeping it quick and simple, I'll be using my iphone and there may be weeks when I don't get the pictures posted here but I'm letting go of any expectations.  This weeks prompt was "First Day"

A quick catch-up...

...I'm now in Ajijic, Mexico for 7 weeks.  The sun is shining, I have a great internet connection and I plan on doing some painting with friends, so things are looking bright!

...Since returning from Turkey, I've been busy designing websites...one for my youngest daughter's CrossFit gym and the other for an esthetician and business coach client of my older daughter.  I love doing website design and plan to do more of it.

...An image of mine was published in Patti Digh's new book which has just been released...The Geography of Loss.

...Another in my "She Art" series was recently used in promotional material by Judi Kettlier (Cincinnati Copywriter).  It's exciting and fun for me to see my work going out into the world and I plan to do more with these images later this year.

 

...and in a nutshell...that's it!  Happy New Year to everyone and I'll be back next week!

 

 

 

 

The Treasure Hunt of Life

It would be an understatement to say that the past two months have been busy, but dear friends...so much has happened!

There's been lots and lots of travel...a retreat in California, a family wedding in the Rocky Mountains and then a mad-cap turn around to leap half way around the world into the lands and cultures of Greece and Turkey for five weeks...and I'm still trying to sort this experience out in my head.  It was not at all what I had anticipated and yet...it was so, so much more.

 

the view from our bedroom on Santorini, Greece

 

While coming home has been mind-bending and the jet lag difficult, the miracle of modern jet travel is always mind-boggling to me.  We take the ease with which we slip through the sky for granted, completely forgetting that not so very long ago, this very trip would have taken months, if not years.  My gratitude for this ability to travel with comparative ease is immense.  My gratitude for both the time and the financial means to travel is even more immense...there was a time in my life when it seemed that it would remain unatainable.

 

Bob and I at the volcanic caldera, Santerini, Greece

 

I've been thinking recently of the idea of living life like I'm on a treasure hunt...finding things, moments and experiences each day to pick up and drop into my sack of treasures. Everything is an opportunity for me to discover what it is I that I want more of in my life.  It's a mind game yes, but one that helps me to be aware of what it is that I treasure and how often these moments happen.

 

Sailing the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey

This trip to Turkey was an immense gift...a true treasure...to myself and one that I've wanted to take for many years.  Within the trip itself, there were several things I experienced that were very meaningful for me...flying over Cappadocia, Turkey in a hot air balloon, experiencing the spiritual dancing of the Whirling Dervishes and one other beautiful blessing... that I'll keep close to my heart. 

 

Ballooning over Cappadocia, Turkey

 

This morning I was listening to a recording by Abraham/Esther Hicks, and it echoed the gratitude I've been feeling...

We would awaken in the morning and speak our appreciation for the sun coming up, whether you can see it or not.  We would acknowlege the perfection of your planet spinning in it's orbit, whether you can see any other planets at that moment or not.  We would feel appreciation for the intelligence of our physical body and for what the cells are doing, for what they know how to do.  We would feel appreciation for the bed upon which we had slept and the pillow beneath our head.  And we would bask in the deliciousness of the coverings upon our body and we would acknowledge at the beginning of every day:

This is a good day, I have such a good basis from which to begin, All is well with me, Source energy is aware of me and has my back, and everything that matters to me is known and all things are lined up and I'm on an eternal treasure hunt of treasures because the Universe knows what I seek and knows where those treasures are and is pointing me on the Path of Least Resistance to the adventure and the fun and the thrill that I have defined as my desire.

...all along what you were seeking was your natural and well deserved... JOY.

(if you have a few minutes to listen to the recording, it's a lovely energy)

Wishing you all the discovery of your own treasures as you go through your days.

Blessings,

 

 

Rolling On...

Hello lovely friends...I promised myself that I wouldn't say anything about not blogging, time speeding past so quickly and "what on earth has happened to summer"...and this sentence doesn't count does it? (smile)

All I have to say about all of that is that while I've been away...for a month!...from my virtual home, I've been excited, busy, productive, planning...and just a little "off".  I have so much to tell you about that I'm going to have to divide it up into a couple of posts!

The "exciting" event that happened this month was a wedding.  My oldest daughter Kirsten, was married on the beach near their home.  She and her new husband have blended a lovely family and they were all a part of the beach ceremony.

 

They exchanged vows in flip flops while the whole family held hands in a circle...

and then we all celebrated in a transformed back yard. (I had fun with the decorations :) ) It was small, happy and absolutely perfect!

And you might remember that I've mentioned I've been occupied for much of the past couple of months with creating cards for Veronica Torres/Eloheim.  We collaborated; my designs + her quotes = 18 cards.

 

We found a printer that we're happy with and they'll soon be for sale on her website. I'm thrilled that I actually pulled this project off as there were days when I didn't think I'd ever get to push the "send" button to the printer and I learned so much in the process! Colour calibration between the colours on my computer and what was printed was a huge challenge!

They're sweet little cards...playing card size...and are sold as a set of 18. I'll be creating more of these over the next year which will be added to the "deck".

The other project that's been brewing on the back burner for the past year was to create a web page for myself...Inspired Design.  This was spurred on by the Eloheim cards and I also plan to have some cards and prints available for purchase sometime in the future that are soley my own work. (not making any time commitments here as travel seems to feature largely in my future as well...but more on that in another post!

 

My website was created on WIX.com...an amazing site that I highly recommend if anyone needs or would like, their own website!  No more "code", no more CSS...it's all created with templates that can be used "as is" or completely redesigned (very easy) to suite individual needs.  

I'll be keeping my Typepad blog (linked to it) or I'd lose all my posts but Wix also has their own blogs to attach to a web page.  It's great for a small business that doesn't have much start-up cash and lets face it, most don't!

I'll be back here in a few days with more "catch up".  The heat is on now...there's lots going on and it's all good!

 

 

 

 

 

Five Senses Friday

Hello my friends...I haven't done a "5" in ages and I find these prompts a good way to get me going.  I first found this idea of journaling the week through the senses, several years ago via Abby Try Again...who has since stopped blogging.  I like the prompts and I like that the prompts are about the senses, as that's mainly how I live my life.

 

A wacky shot of my living room with the sun shining in through the windows.

Seeing:  Sunshine, oh heavenly sunshine!  This may not be a big deal for some of you...in fact I know that many hide away from it because of the intensely hot climates you live in but here on the west coast of Canada...when the sun shines, we all walk around with huge smiles on our faces!  

Strangers on the street stop and talk to each other about the absolute glorious perfection of life and the refrain of "isn't it just PERFECT!!" is commonly heard at store checkouts.  Spring almost didn't exist this year but summer...well, so far summer is more than making up the spring's elusiveness.  I love waking up to sunshine and blue skies...day after day after day.  Sunshine makes me very, very happy. (just incase you didn't get that!)

We finished the 2nd floor deck this spring and love to sit out here in the morning before the day begins.  We have one more deck to go...on the rooftop...but that one will be waiting for next year.

Hearing:  With the aforementioned warmth and sunshine, the windows are wide open and the sounds of summer in the neighbourhood are loud and clear.  Last night an owl was hooting loudly outside my window and this morning I woke to the sounds of a raven scolding an eagle and both were very vocal about it.

 

enjoying my morning tea while listening to all the neighbourhood early birds (literally and figuratively!).

Two homes are under construction across the street so the sounds of hammers, cement trucks and drills are always rumbling in the back ground but I seem to be able to tune it out.  On CBC Radio (Radio Canada) today, I listened to an hour long retrospective of Canadian Folk singer Gordon Lightfoot.  I love his music and it always takes me back to a time and place (think "young" and "far north") when everything was in front of me.  (Sweet, but a little bittersweet too.)

 

Tasting:  Speaking of sweet...I've written several times about the changes I've made to my diet over the past few years...eliminating wheat has been the big one.

Two months ago I made the decision to cut sugar out of my diet.  I didn't think I ate much anymore but I've cut back even more drastically...no honey in my tea, no chocolate, no ice cream, no alcohol and even cutting back on fruit.  Surprisingly, it hasn't been difficult and I don't have any sweet cravings.  What I am craving are fresh salads. I'm losing weight (gradually) and feeling much better.  (This change was prompted by a pre-diabetic condition.  I had become insulin resistant and it was simply time to make the changes to stay healthy.)

Feeling:  I've been feeling wool running through my fingers.  The evenings find me knitting while I watch Netflicks...(we ran all the way through ten seasons of MI 5 and are scouting for another great British Drama...any suggestions?).  

And the knitting?  A shawl in a coral bamboo and silk.  I was intrigued with this pattern when I saw the lovely shawl that Tanna knitted at The Brick Street Bungalow.  Tanna's knitting inspires me!

 

Smelling:  Just one word...lavender.  It's lavender season here and it's blooming all around me.  I. Love. It.

 

Thanks for visiting and hugs to all!

 

 

 

Opportunities and Discernment

A digitally manipulated photograph of foxgloves in my garden. The dragonfly is a digitally manipulated stock photo.

This is an expansion on my last post...you know...the "never enough time" one!

 

There are often so many options and opportunities presenting themselves to me, that I feel paralyzed and overwhelmed when I think about it. I tend to be easily distracted by the multitude of creative projects that I see and I want to try them all!  Fun?...yes, but it also dilutes my focus. This may not be a problem for some but I end up feeling scattered, unfocused and overwhelmed.  The opportunities are all amazing but restrictions on time require clarity.  Clarity of the heart.

This is where discernment has had to kick in.  The evaluation of what's important to me. The paring down of my "want to do's" to my "must do's"...in the sense of what my heart desires.  I've started making lists, prioritizing, crossing off the not-so-important and taking it from 50+ things to 5 or 10.  

 

Clarity requires priorities...and my priorities right now?  

Health and fitness: The older I get, the more time this seems to take!

Spiritual life and personal growth:  This is a moment-by-moment practice of  self responsibility and awareness of life as a series of personal choices.  (That's the simple version!)

Relationship and family: I have an amazing, husband whose company I thoroughly enjoy so it's no hardship to be with this man!  I'm fortunate to have family living in the same small town that I do and I value my close proximity to them. I also have family living much further away and it's more difficult but still possible, to stay connected) 

Friendships: Friendships will often ebb and flow but those that nourish and enrich are important and I gratefully give my time and energy to nurture these connections.

Creative life:  Focusing now on just one or two projects at a time.  My creative goals (writing, painting, card design and creating a new website) never get any closer to completion when my energy is scattered.  My new found enjoyment of knitting isn't exactly a goal, but more of a zen activity that relaxes me...the relaxation is the goal!

Travel:  At this time in my life, travel is a major focus for me and I'm planning several trips for this fall and winter.

I can't really prioritize this list with a 1, 2, 3 value.  At different times, different things rise to the top for attention but just being conscious of my priorities, observant to opportunities and aware of the choices of my heart, is bringing me more clarity and peace.

 

Sending hugs and blowing kisses to all who stop by!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're Already There

 

This is what my life has been feeling like recently...a bit jumbled, going off in all directions and fractured in that "start...stop...start...stop...start...stop" way.  A definite lack of flow.  And energy.  And even sleep. 

The theme that keeps running through my head is that there's not enough time to get it all done and yet I know my life is quiet compared to most...I'm retired, I don't have to get up in the morning and throw myself into a busy day of children, school, work and all that it entails.  So I've been wondering...what's up with this?

I know from talking to others, that I'm not the only one feeling this rush...this pressure to squeeze it all in...that time seems to be shooting by at warp speed and leaving me in it's dust. There are days when I yearn for the life of a hermit and yet I love people and everything that being connected to others brings...the sharing, the laughter, the love.  Maybe it's just my age but I know others (much younger "others") who've been feeling the same way.

 

Last night...via Facebook...I was sent a quote that was just what I needed to hear...sometimes the epiphany happens as simply as that!

 

The Sidney walking pier

"You get there by realizing you're already there".  

Yes.  Of course.  I knew that.  I know that.  I'd just forgotten.  I AM peace...I don't have to find peace. I'm peace at the core of my being and anything else is just an illusion that I'm tempted to believe.  When I relax into the knowing that the things that are important to me will get done (but maybe not on my schedule!), then it happens with ease and in ways often completely unexpected...ways that could never be anticipated.  I make way for Grace.

 

 

One of the many things I've been busy with recently has been to resize some of the images that I produced for Veronica Torres/Eloheim last winter. We're having several printed as cards which entails resizing the images (and every element within each image individually) to ensure that the proportions still work.  I'm excited about this project even though it's picky and yes...it "takes time".

I've also been creating an outdoor mosaic wall hanging and have started knitting a new shawl project.  More on those to come.

(Sending a huge hug and thank you to sweet Tanna at The Brick Street Bungalow for tapping me on my virtual shoulder and gently nudging me back here.)

Blessings dear friends and thank you for visiting...and for hanging in here in my absence,

 

It's been a busy month and once again, blogging has taken a back seat 

I think (a small part of) my absence has been due to the fact that I'm just not taking any photographs.  The Nikon SLR just feels too big and cumbersome to carry around and my iphone camera isn't working either (long story).  I feel a new camera creeping up on me but not sure if I'll splurge for the lovely, yet tiny, Lumix DSLR or if it will be a new iphone...or both.  I love a phone camera for the ease of uploading to the computer but I do miss the lenses and the ability to use the focus and depth of field that's available on an SLR.

 

 

Coming home on the ferry

Life has been busy with lots of fun things...gardening, decorating, visiting with family from the UK and travelling to the interior of the province...and the one creative thing I've been able to do through it all, is knit.  Nothing big or exciting but the process of knitting gives me pleasure and centers me.  I've discovered that I can knit in the car without getting sick...which makes me wonder why I can knit in the car but can't read?

 

 

This is my latest project...a shawl collared cowl for wearing under a jacket/coat. I'm hoping not to be around here too much in the cold weather, so it may well be redundant but it could work for the spring/fall "shoulder season" too.

I found this pattern on Never Not Knitting via Pinterest.  It was a good one for me as I didn't want a huge project but wanted to expand my knitting knowledge and expertise...I learned how to do "short rows" and create a collar with this pattern.

 

 

I still need to add buttons but other than that, it's done...and not without lots of knitting, unravelling, knitting and unravelling!

I also found some creative inspiration on a trip to Salt Spring Island a couple of weeks ago...an artist who works with plaster and acrylic paint.  I'm just itching to get into that medium!  But before that I've got an outdoor mosaic wall hanging in the planning stages and I'm super excited about diving into this...another first for me.  I love the feeling of stretching my comfort zone creatively and am thankful for the many artists who share their processes and techniques on Youtube!!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

7 years

It occurred to me a few days ago that I've been blogging for seven years.  My first blog post was published on April 17, 2006 on Thru My Lens Lightly (much to my amazement, I'm still getting an average of 30 hits a day on that blog! I think it's mostly from my photographs that float around out there forever, on sites like Google Images).  

My focus at that time was my new Nikon SLR camera (yes...before digital!) and I was just dipping my toes into Photoshop and image manipulation.  It's amazing to see just how far technology has come in such a short time.  All cameras are digital now and my iphone camera has more memory than my first DSLR!

 

I think it's time to update my profile pic...my hair gets whiter lighter every year!

Although my passion for photography has waned somewhat and blogging itself has also changed...it seems to be used much more as a business tool now...I'm not quite ready to give it up yet.  In the past 3 or 4 months, I've been posting more on Facebook and damnit...it's just so easy that the slacker part of me likes that.  I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  There's not much depth to it but it does keep people connected and I love that.  (I'm here if you'd like to connect via FB).

 

Bob, Ethan and Molly looking for starfish in Deep Cove...where I live.

Shedio update:  We now have one window and a door installed in the "shedio/studio" and one more window ordered...progress is being made.  I've begun the spring weeding/clean out in the garden (I now ache all over) and the cushions for the patio furniture are coming out of storage tomorrow...after a slow start, it's begining to feel like spring!  Leaving home for three months in the winter is an amazing and beautiful thing but the resulting "catch up" leaves me feeling just a little breathless.

Creatively, I'm still working with Veronica Torres/Eloheim Channel, designing posters and I'm also working with my daughter Kirsten, designing two ebook covers for her business coaching website...Re:freshed Businesses.  

 

created for Veronica Torres/Eloheim.  

The context here is to be concious of leaving everything...every conversation, every business interaction (even every Facebook comment)...more concious than when we came to it.

 

I hope your world is filled with amazement and wonder at the beauty of life dear friends.  It's always, always there when we look for it.  Sending hugs and blowing kisses,

Be Yourself...

I had a quiet morning to myself today so I stayed in bed with my computer and got creative...pure indulgence!  It's been a busy time playing catch-up since we've been home...a big change from the gentle Mexican life we left behind.

I was inspired by words that I saw on Kal Barteski's site many months ago and finally decided to create with them myself.  Kal's work with words is created in her own beautiful natural brush script.  The font I used is Bebas Neue which is great for posters.

 

 

...and in slightly less "girly" colours...

 

I think I might print and frame one for myself and hang it in the bathroom...it would be great for a child's room too.

Sending hugs and blowing kisses to all you brave and beautiful people!!

 

 

Fabulosa

Hello dear friends...I've never, in all seven years that I've been blogging, been away from here for this long.  It's a bit shocking to me and yet my mind, my heart and even my hands have been occupied with other things.

I've been home for a few days now and am settling into the "home" routine.  It feels good to be here after almost 3 months away, but oh, what a happy holiday I had!  So much feels new for me in my life right now and that's always hard to put into words but I would (attempt to) describe it as a feeling of clarity and sense of presence.  I feel more present...more attentive...to myself.

My mantra these days is "step by step".  I'm (finally) understanding that I can only live one moment at a time.  I always knew the "brainiac" version of that but now it's a knowing in my heart which shows up as living the truth of it.  Coming from that perspective, there's no overwhelm and nothing seems to be too much to deal with.

It's a very good place to be!

 

The entrance to our bungalow in San Pancho.  This feels like a perfect analagy to me...a doorway to living life in a new way.

I've been continuing along with the painting I started in Ajijic.  I started with random lines and shapes and moved onward from the original "marks". It looks very different from start to finish but it was an evolution...I had no concept of what it would be from the beginning...it just evolved.  Its been painted over and then painted over some more and will likely have still more work done with it. 

Interestingly, since coming home and looking at it from here, I can see that I unconciously painted a portal/doorway into it that reflects the doorway above (even the colour) and I hadn't noticed that before.  It's not finished yet...there's still more that wants to be here!  (I seem to be really drawn to seed pods and botanicals right now). 

 

After noticing the "doorway" in the painting, I looked up some of the "meanings" of other elements in the painting...

red = fire/earth energy = grounded

blue = water/the unconscious and spirituality, truth

lotus flower= with its roots in the mud, the lotus rises through the murky water to blossom clean and bright, symbolizing purity, resurrection and the enlightened being who emerges undefiled from the chaos and illusion of the world. (I love painting the lotus!) 

seed pods = fertility.  A pod contains multiple seeds which have gone out in the world to rebirth and repopulate and this could have many meanings...the birthings of thoughts and ideas, creativity...even love.

 

I also signed up for a video project last month through Skillshare, called Muse: A Video Portrait Workshop.  The class teaches the basics of how to make a short (5 min) video of your "muse"...someone or something that inspires you.  I completed the filming in Mexico and am putting it all together now, so more on that in a later post.  Although the learning curve for this is slowing me down, I'm having a blast with it!!

 

 

And I've also been continuing on with the graphics that I'm doing for Veronica Torres/Eloheim.  This is a wonderful process for me to go through as I focus on the words of each quote as I'm working on them and by the time I'm finished, it feels like the words have entered my heart and become so much more meaningful than if I just read them.  I often work on them while I'm lying in bed in the evening and it feels like a lovely way to end my day as I'm drifting off to sleep.

 

 

 

I'll leave you with a very short video...taken at sunset just before we left San Pancho.  Sunset was the main event of the day and everyone heads to the beach to gather and often cheer and clap, as the sun disapears once again.

Sending hugs and blowing kisses to each and every one of you!