jaunty plume

 I had the pleasure of creating these illustrations for a fine lady with a jaunty plume.

Please welcome Pound Ridge Plume.

In the early evening, she carefully crafted and hosted readings from her salon with raspberry red walls.

The next day she took a moment to admire her secretary and personal affects.

The window was open and the birds were chirping quite a cacophony which she found one part pleasant and the other annoying.

She closed the window to listen to her own thoughts and rearranged the objects while she tidied up.

She knew that it was time to write and to work.

 

The words poured out from her fingers onto the screen.

Then she decided after several hours had lapsed from staring at the screen of her lap top to call it a day.

She knew that it was time to prepare a meal for her family and to give thanks for another splendid day.

Her jaunty plume would anxiously await her return.

monday motivation - cultivate change

Just a little monday motivation for you to inspire you to "float on, dear one, towards your newest possibility."

It is true, "Nobody likes a rut, except, perhaps, a seed."

Do you take time to explore and try something different?

Are you setting an example that you would like to follow?

Do you offer to help, more?

What about going out on a limb and consider a bit of change in your life?

 

Very often in order to grow and to cultivate change, we need to start with tending to our heart's needs.
We can be our own best friends and give ourselves time to write our own heart a letter, buy a gift for ourselves.  I think when we set goals or cultivate a change, we deserve a kiss or a charm.

Waxing Poetic has lots of goodies to motivate one, or at least to plant a little seed of change.

"Everything is up to you."

sunday summer salad

Try this lovely salad from smitten kitchen.

 During the Summer, I just love salads.

The truth is that I love them all year.

Washing lettuce can be very therapeutic.

olympics in us

 Do you have the Olympics in you?

After seeing the parade of Athletes last night, I am feeling incredibly proud of all the Athletes who are there representing their country.  Will you be there or be watching from home?  I guess we all have a bit of the olympics in each of us.

dog-in-the-window

As we drove many miles and stopped to re-fuel along the way I noticed some funny dogs at rest stops and in many a window.  How fun for a dog to travel with the family which made me miss my buddy Bentley all the more.  Happy Friday to each of you.  Go ahead and roll that window down and have a great weekend.

howdy

 Howdy, I am back after a pleasant but long drive.  We drove down to Kentucky to visit family and there is something so wonderful about seeing family, farm land and wide open spaces.
It was hot.  So much hotter than I remember growing up.

Even though this artist painted these images from an aerial perspective - there is such an appreciation for the patchwork of fields and water that make up this land.  

Driving also gives one a chance to meet various people along the way and greet them with a "hey" or a "howdy."  

landscape paintings of kentucky by lynn dunbar

summer wildflowers

Nothing beats a beautiful bouquet of summer wildflowers from the garden or on canvas by one of my favorite artists Lulie Wallace.  Remember to make a summer bouquet with wild flowers.  I passed a field of Queen Anne's Lace the other day and it made me think of my childhood and picking those lacy flowers for my Mom.  I shall be taking a wee blog break to smell the summer flowers and enjoy time with my family and hard working husband who is taking a few days off.  Happy Summer.  Back soon.

funny friends

Our funny son is home from Africa and he has lots of fun stories that he is sharing with us.  He makes us laugh so much.  Here he is with his sister at our first lunch together which was pizza at one of our favorite spots.  We are in hopes his baggage will be arriving soon as it was lost in transit.  I am a little anxious to get to the laundry as we leave for a family trip soon.

Be back soon, taking a break for some family time.  Enjoy life, laughter and love.

summer house friends

For some, Summer time usually means sharing summer houses with family and friends.

A "Summer House schedule" helps everyone to keep track of what needs to be done.

Having a fully stocked cleaning bucket and supplies at the ready also helps.

Do you have plans to visit friends with Summer Homes?

Thanks for all your kind wishes, my son is home now.

After a long day of flight delays and cancelled flights he plodded in at 3 in the morning and I literally thought I was dreaming.

illustrations for Sheridan Road Magazine

far-away friends

 My son returns home today after a wonderful trip to Africa.  He shall be a sophomore in college and this trip was part of an ROTC program called CULP.  He applied last year all by himself for this trip and the good news came last Christmas that he would be traveling to Tanzania.  He taught 3 classes of English a day to students.  They played basketball, soccer and other games to connect with the students.

 Part of the programs philosophy is to create a classroom as they travel, learning along the way.

He went on a Safari, toured Africa, a trip to Zanzibar where he stayed in a tropical spot and he told me the flowers were incredible.  He told me he is bringing saffron.

 Visiting historic ruins as a group and learning about the culture, the history directly from the native people.

Here is a shot of the classroom.  Pretty simple compared to our classrooms in America.  We kept in contact via e-mail and he told me each time how honored to be a part of this trip.  I cannot wait to see him and to hear all about his trip, his new far-away friends and to see what souvenirs he brings home.