Soul Humming

Escape

  Mixed-media original

for sale in my Etsy store

Special day

Happy Birthday to my littlest sweetheart.

 
  So curious...

So funny...

So adventurous...

So loved.

Happy Birthday darling boy!

The View

If you must go early in the morning to the oncologist's office for your check-up, it is best to get good news, which, thankfully, I did. But, the news is even sweeter when the view outside looks like this.

 

 

the rain is coming soon enough, but i believe i will not mind it since i started out my day with good news and a lovely walk by the sea. i hope that wherever you find yourself this day, the view is spectacular.

"love of beauty is taste. creation of beauty is art."

- ralph waldo emerson

One World One Heart - 2010

 

"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart there is the power to do it." - Marianne Williamson

 

Today is the beginning of One World One Heart. If you aren't familiar with Lisa Swifka's wonderful, world-wide blogging community event, click on the link or logo above to read more about it. As I write this, there are already more than 500 participants with many more to come!

As for me, OWOH is about a community of people the world over who are sharing from their hearts via their blogs. Many tell their own stories, some share their hobbies, their expertise, passions, and amusements. And during this event everyone has a chance to visit new blogs, make new friends, find inspiration, be entertained, and possibly win a treasure or two.

My treasure that I am offering to one lucky winner is a necklace that I made today. It features a 2.5" hand-made enameled pendant which can be worn on either side.

One side is dark...

and one side is light.

From the pendant hangs a large, faceted stone of natural fluorite and two teardrops of turquoise.The necklace has a chunky chain, more turquoise and a simple hand-forged steel clasp.

In order to win this necklace, please leave a comment on this post by 9:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, February 15th, 2010.

And now for the fine print:  Please do not leave more than one comment nor any advertisements. Comments with spam will be removed. Be sure that your comment will connect me to your blog or email so that I may contact you should you win. If I am unable to contact you, it will be necessary to draw another winner. The winner is chosen by random number generator and will be posted on February 16th barring any unforeseen problems such as oversleeping, sudden road trips, alien abduction or a long stint in the poky.

I hope you will visit my other blog posts. You will see that in addition to making jewelry I have co-authored a book about making jewelry called A Charming Exchange. You can also check out the book blog for additional information about the book, the artists, and projects. And I love photography, painting, dancing, drawing then coloring digitally, my family and pets, Etsy and playing all the time.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the other 500+ blogs. You might get lucky and win something amazing.

“Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t'were his own.” - Goethe

more clinky

a new keyboard feels so peculiar. the clicking of the keys sounds different. it is more plastic sounding, more clinky. it is all so odd. this new computer. shiny and black. and very powerful. but i am missing my photos and my photoshop. i am finding empty jewel cases and wondering where the programs are. this is the story of my life. lost things. missing things. curiously misplaced things. i don't have one single email address. and i'm trying to remember all my passwords. a friend of ours assures me that he can quickly copy all my data from my old computer to this new one. i miss that bombing monstrosity. i miss the familiarity of it. i never have been one whom is resistant to change but it is queer to try to learn so much all at once. new operating system, new versions of email and the internet browser.

 

and more rain is quickly coming. this will give me a good reason to tuck myself in the house and learn how to best navigate all that is new.

 

and take some painting breaks to keep working on this piece. either way, it is so good to be able to get back on the computer and have it stay on. i'm very grateful.

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." - denis waitley

 

we are all made of stars

 

many women today feel a sadness we cannot name. though we accomplish much of what we set out to do, we sense that something is missing in our lives and -- fruitlessly -- search "out there" for the answers. what's often wrong is that we are disconnected from an authentic sense of self. - emily hancock

 

watercolor and colored pencils

i love moby. i was listening to this song (music starts at 1:20) when i started doodling my little star girl/boy. my computer is still trying to drive me insane by not turning on. but sitting next to it, in a big box, is a new fast nice not naughty computer. the only thing more scary than a bombing computer is the thought of setting up a new one. :0) 'hopefully i can be back more regularly soon!

600 shadows and rain

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

it's raining like crazy here today. the kids are home from school for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. it's pretty calm here. we elected to stay indoors with so much rain falling down. it feels silly to hide from the rain. we so seldom see the rain it feels like we should be out in the midst of the downpour celebrating it with wild puddle dancing. but the wind is blowing and it is all gray. so we're inside for the duration.

my computer is still not working (although, shhh, it is working Right Now. let's not tell it that we realize it isn't bombing. this is the longest it has stayed on since last week. prior to this moment it wouldn't even get past the start-up window). computer repair person is expected some time tomorrow during a four hour window. i cannot wait to have a computer that zips along smoothly. fingers crossed that it can be forced into submission.

the boys have been playing video games and drawing in this awesome book. i highly recommend these squiggles books if you have kids. i recommend them even more if you are going on a car trip. they're a little big for the airplane but if your kids love them as much as mine do, you will want to make room for them. they are so much fun that my husband and i have to draw in them as well. use the search inside feature at amazon to see some of the fun.

hard for me to believe but this is my 600th post. i can't say that this one is especially memorable. not even much to look at. i'm concerned that if i open too many programs the computer will shut down. but, i'll take the risk and leave you with some funny photos of faelan from last week. it was his first time to be in the back yard when the sprinklers came on. i was surprised by his boldness based on his terror of so many innocuous things. he's a funny little dog who really is not little at all any more.

 

 

   

and, before i go, i'm curious how you interpret the MLK quote above? what do you think he means? xo-k

not yet

 

my computer is still not working. i'm getting suspicious that my son may be right. he says that i am cursed.

he walked in, turned the computer on, and it acted fine and dandy. he called to me from down the hall to tell me that it was working. i walked to the office, crossed the threshold of the room, and the computer immediately shut down. i think it saw me coming and said, unh-unh!

this morning i got online via my husband's laptop to check my mail. it never feels right to me. i am a very speedy typist. but this laptop doesn't fit my long fingers. i feel lost and everything is in the wrong place. but it's a working computer so no complaining.

i went to my email provider where i can luckily view my email. i don't have an address book there but if someone writes to me then i can at least reply. but when i tried to write responses to messages, the lap top started acting completely bizaare. first,it froze up and wouldn't load. i logged off and restarted. then, when i was writing a message, the cursor would suddenly leap to a different random position in another part of the paragraph. and, as i'm a speedy typer, i wouldn't even realize this had happened until i suddenly had thoughts inside of thoughts where they didn't belong.

so i am going to listen to the computer and stay away. and, if you know me, you knowi really detest the phone. so unless it is dire, don't call me. lol!

doug, aka faelan, is biting my hair/ear/face. i am squealing. it looks demented so i thought i should explain. 

i painted yesterday with my new friend, liz (hi liz!!). i gardened today. i walked the puplet twice for a half an hour each trip. this afternoon i'm going to make chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting with the boys. we will follow this with massive dancing to keep the balance. we love playing just dance on the wii. great exercise, great music, so much laughing.

How? Now.

my computer will not even turn on. so i'm doodling. and doing laundry. and briefly feeling much less crabby in spite of it all. but i don't have access to anyone's email address. so if you don't hear from me, that's why. i'm writing this on my husband's laptop which is void of photoshop and my plethera of images. the computer repair person will either show up today (it seems doubtful) or next week. it's probably for the best. now it will finally get fixed and i will be forced to paint instead. and take photographs. and dance. and play. and not get online. 'miss you until then!

digi girl

you know that expression, if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything? hence, so much silence. i'll be back when i'm less crabby.