This is April I think?

Some weather, we had rain snow and hail today. Hard to believe tomorrow is May 1st.



























After trying Lisa Oceandreamers pastels in Sedona I had to get a set. Don't all the colors look gorgeous. I really like working with these.














I got this little guy in Phoenix, he's got a little votive candle behind him and will go great with my other ocean inspired decor.















I have been wanting this set of stamps for a long time. I found them in an art store in Sedona and grabbed them right away.














I carved these stamps yesterday. The inspiration came from some tiles I took pictures of in Sedona. The big one is a little too big but the smaller one came out great. I have more designs to try.














The red winged black birds have been hanging out at our bird feeder so we bought some cracked corn and put this little feeder out for them. The smaller birds eat there too along with the turtle doves and morning doves. We have a pair of mating hawks in our yard so maybe we will get to see hawk babies this year.

I started a separate blog to chronicle my efforts in manifesting the money for the Taos workshop and travel. This is the biggest thing I have tried to manifest so I feel its worth recording my experiences.

Wolf Watching

I am back from quite a magical weekend. It really feels strange I really hadn't settled back into my life after Sedona before we were off again on an unscheduled trip to Yellowstone. I need some time to process all the experiences and see where they have taken me.














Here is Dave looking out in Lamar valley.














Here I am at the scope looking for wolves. We are in Lamar valley in the territory of the Druid Pack. The Druids were the first pack in the park. Their numbers dwindled the last couple years but they have made a comeback and there are 19 wolves in the pack now. We saw lots of black wolves and grey ones which probably varied in color too. You just can't tell at that distance.












This is the only picture I managed to get of a wolf and it is not very good. We got to the overlook five minutes too late or I would have been able to get a better shot. The wolves from the Druid pack have a den high in the mountains and travel across the road to hunt and so forth. If you are really lucky you can see one. Most we saw through our scope and we don't have a camera or adapter that will work with it yet. Maybe next time. I did see lots of wolves and that is what I wanted. Over the 2 days I probably saw 20 from 2 different packs. The druid and the Slough Creek Pack. We saw some at a carcass eating and others just playing around and greeting each other. Another group was harassing some buffalo moms, they did not succeed at getting a calf but they were entertaining to watch. One of the grey wolves was a little prankster, would just tease and play until the mom had enough and ran after it.















Here are a couple buffalo's and their babies.


















This is a Big Horned Sheep that we saw on a Hillside. There were 3 of them but this is the only one who would pose for a picture.
















A group of Sand hill Cranes, the were talking and they make such interesting sounds. we also saw a Great Blue Heron preening its feathers but too far away for any pictures. This trip seemed all about observing animal behavior in the wild. We saw a bald eagle and ravens on a buffalo carcass and it was interesting to see the interaction between the two. I heard coyote yip and bark and wolves howl that is so cool to witness.
















This is a red shafted northern flicker. It stayed there the longest time, I guess it was waiting for me to take its picture.

It has been a rough winter in Yellowstone. The Elk looked really bad, you could see their ribs. There is a lot of snow still there. More than usually for this time of year. It got really warm on Sunday so hopefully it will melt soon and the animals will be able to find food. This was the first time I saw a buffalo in a full coat. They start shedding part of it real soon. We will be going back at the end of May for a week or two so it will be interesting to see the changes then.

Greetings from Gardiner

I am at the Best Western Hotel in Gardiner Montana and what a day we had. It was an adventure just getting here. When we got in the park we were told the road we needed to go on was closed. So we went to Old Faithful and looked around and asked about the road there. They said it had snowed seven inches and was drifting. we made the decision to take the long way around. This is 4 more hours of driving. So we drove back to West Yellowstone and then found out the road was now open so we headed back there. Then we found the road closed due to a car accident. So we waited another 45 minutes but were happily on our way. we later saw the car, it was a van that went down a ravine. The windshield was shattered and the rest of the vehicle was totaled. I wondered about the people who had been inside.

We saw a lot of wild life today. A fox, 2 coyotes, 3 wolves,sand hill cranes, ravens and eagles, lots of elk and buffalo and Big Horned sheep. I am having trouble uploading any pictures to bloggr so they will have to wait until I get home.

We went to a great little bar for pizza and beer and after a soak in the hot tub we are both feeling pretty mellow. I'll be up at 5 am to go see wolves so I will keep this short. Have a great weekend.

New Adventures

This weekend we are taking a trip up to Yellowstone. Yes it will be cold, I plan to take lots of clothes. We plan to stay in Gardiner, Montana. Two of the wolf packs the Druid and the Slough Creek have there dens in very accessible areas. It should give me a good opportunity to see wolves in the wild. I have my new scope to try out but hope we get close enough to use the camera too. There have been some grizzly sightings too so I may catch a glimpse of a few bears too. Pictures will follow when I return. Have a great weekend.

Sedona Withdrawal

I have been home a couple days and I sure wish I were back in Sedona with my Sisters. To meet all of my friends what really fantastic but to really get to know them a little better was the icing on the cake. From all the Pictures I will post you can see that we really had a wonderful time. Sedona is an amazing place I suggest you all put it on your life list and plan a trip there. We only experienced a small portion of it. In our group we had people from England, Canada and from the US we came from California, S. Carolina, Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Ohio.















Here are Nicci, Violette and Gemma all ready to start their adventure.

















We started it all by meeting a few at the Airport. Gemma and I met in the airport and then we headed over to greet Violette and Nicci as they got off the plain. This photo is courtesy of Nicci. We toasted Our arrival with Mohitos! Then we met Pam since her flight was coming soon. Pam went ot meet Lorraine and Lisa and the rest of us headed to Sedona.


We all made crowns to wear just like in the Ya Ya sisterhood movies. This will show you most of them. Blogger is being difficult right now. I will try to post more pics later.

Writers Spa

I am back and I will let the secret out now. Remember when I wanted to go to the Writers Spa in Taos last year. Once I made the choice it had filled up and I was so disappointed. Well it came up for me again. I listened to a telecast about it and it sounded so wonderful and my desire to go again just flared up. I sat and thought oh how can I pay for this. I spent my tax money to go to Sedona and then my little voice said. Do you believe in the Law of Attraction or not. Its time to start practicing what you preach. So before I went to Sedona I submitted some of my writing and my application to go. I had an email when I got on line this morning that I have been accepted as a participant. I have no idea how I am going to pay for this but I am positive about the whole thing. I know its going to happen and I will have the money to go and it will change my life.














I will be staying here. It is a gorgeous place. I have always wanted to see New Mexico and Taos particularly so I am psyched about this whole event. Here is some information about the Taos Writers Spa for those of you interested.

I will post about Sedona later, yes it was wonderful.

My word for the year

At the beginning of the year a lot of us chose a word to focus on for the year. I chose happiness, it the context where I wanted to find some sort of happiness during each day. I don't know if I have accomplished that but I thought a reminder would help. I took a set of Chipboard letters, painted and stamped on them and mounted them on a piece of foam core board. Now I see the words every time I am in my studio. Hopefully the reminder will help me focus on it.

Well my bags are almost packed. I have to be at the airport at 7:10 in the morning so I won't be blogging tomorrow or in the next week as I soak up that Arizona sun.
I have something new to share that I am really excited about. I really want to be sure about it before I share so that will have to wait until I get back from my travels. I will leave you with a clue it has to do with travel and writing.

See you when I get back....

On a high tonight

I just got back from my second performance today of The Thread Narratives; Real Threads and True Stories. We had a smaller audience this evening but it was still so well received. We had 2 professional actors and the rest newbies like me. The play touched people on many levels. Its so different being the center of attention. Its not a role I generally navigate to. I always think of myself as a behind the scenes kind of gal. When one of the professional actresses said to she was pleased to have met me I felt a little embarrassed. I mean what I did was simple not life changing but in fact I think being involved in the Thread Project really has changed my life so perhaps it is something to be proud of after all. Its not that I do not feel proud about participating I do, it was an honor to be a part of it. Its people's reactions to it that amaze me. Its funny when those little moments come to you. You are just following your desires and you get involved in something that becomes so much bigger than you could have ever thought.

I guess that holds true with the GPS. I first heard of Violette Clark by seeing a article on her in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. I was immediately captivated by her art and lifestyle and really connected with her. Who would have thought that 2 1/2 years later I'd be heading off to meet her and a whole group of Artistic friends in lovely Sedona Arizona. You never really do know where life is going to lead you. Just following a simple idea of a thread involved thousands of people. So if you have a dream or an idea take it to the next step, see where it can lead. I know you will be pleasantly surprised.

More Bird Pages

It feels so good to have gotten some things done today. I did all the pages the in the Round Robin book that is due later this month. I was going to wait till I got back from Sedona but I know then I will be rushed so I took the time today and did them. This is another theme on birds.
















Before I could even work on them I had to clean my studio. There was not a surface anywhere to do any work on. What a mess it has become. I can work in a mess only so long before something has got to give. The rest of my day has been spent doing all these little things for my trip. Its amazing how much time all these little things take.

Back at the cafe

I am at the Villa, I felt the need to watch the art videos again. I really wish I could do it at home. Until I can get a better internet provider this is what I will have to do. I like coming here so its ok.

I started my painting yesterday and felt that old fear come up. It is a fear of beginning and its strange since if its awful I don't have to show it to anyone but still a remnant of fear comes in. I had to tell it to shut up and just begin which I have.

First I prepped the canvas and then I did a background and added the face. The first step is to paint it with fluid acrylic in titanium white and then start adding the flesh tone. I have done the several coats of white needed and now I am ready for the challenging part. I have a tendency to be so sparing in my paint that I never mix up enough and you use a lot of paint in the next step. I need to remember to think big.,

I was working on my crown for the gathering in Sedona and having fun with it. I am taking the crown I had and adding some other fund things to it. I am glad when an idea I have actually works in the way you want it to. You'll see it in the pictures that will be taken later in Sedona.

I had toyed with the idea of altering my suitcase before the trip but now I think I really don't have the time. I need to pick up some of that painters tape to cover up some of the leather and hardware that won't be altered but I keep forgetting to do that. I wanted to put a map on one side but I can not find any map paper anywhere so I will go a different way with it. So many ideas, so little time.

I am so excited

Well its official I have now had the flu for 2 weeks, oh joy. I felt a little better this morning so maybe this is the beginning of the end I sure hope so.

I am sitting in the Villa cafe watching the videos for my painting class. My connection at home is too slow. I really like the video format, its like having the instructor right in your living room. I find myself saying yes i understand. This week we are learning to prep a canvas, transfer a drawing and beginning to paint. It is so exciting. I am waiting for the second video to load and then I am sure I'll want to hurry home and get my canvas prepped and ready to go. Hmmm those errands I was going to do don't seem so important anymore.

I passed the 2 week period on the South Beach Diet, I have to admit it one of the hardest things I have had to do. Now I cans tart adding some food back, like fruit, oh I missed having my fruit juice in the morning. Very little bread is allowed but for some reason Sourdough is acceptable so I am going to get myself a loaf and have some toast, ooh that will be good. I have to say that my glass of OJ this morning was heavenly. Its amazing how good something tastes when you have been denied it.

Oh I just finished watching the second video and oh it was awesome. It just paid for the price of the class for me, the rest is a bonus now. I have discovered everything that I was doing wrong and they are simple things I can easily fix, oh it is so exciting..... I need to go home now and start prepping my canvas.

Healing from Nature

This is the final card that I came of the Healing and Inspiration swap. I can't believe how many different things I tried, I tried an ocean scene and several other depicting nature and this was the one that gave me the most pleasure to do. I was gong to just leave it black and white but with just a little color added I think its nice in its simplicity. Do you think I should add some watercolor where the word are, hmmm I can't remember if I used waterproof ink maybe I will leave as is.

Getting things done

It sure feels good to get some things done that were hanging over my head. I am proud to report I finished the scrapbook page for the Glitter Gals Gathering. I took it to staples to get color copies made and they wanted to charge me $13.00 and I balked at that. Just used my own printer and I will most likely need a new cartridge now but at least that money is going into that and not into Staples pocket. I have been looking at my crown and I think I may add to it but not much since I do like it as is, maybe just a couple things. So now that I am not starting from scratch it will be relatively simple and I am not overwhelmed with having to do it. I got something for Pams birthday, made a card and have them all wrapped and ready to go. My little surprise I am making was giving me fits but I finally figured that out so they are ready to go. Yippee. Now on to other art.

I so enjoyed doing that journal page on Sedona that I think I will make something similar for my last card in the Healing and Inspiration Swap. Then I may start working on the next round robin book. I was going to wait until I got back from Sedona but I may start it before hand, at least get some of the pages done.

I am still feeling poorly, I decided if I don't feel better by Monday I think a trip to the Dr's is in order. I really want to be feeling better by the time I leave for Phoenix and that is only ten days away. I need to be in ship shape for all the partying. The first 2 days I will be visiting my friend Nancy who lives in Phoenix, then I will meet Gemma and then head to Sedona. It is going to be great to be there.

The Journey

I was told about this movie from my friend Kai, thanks Kai it was fantastic. I watched it last night and then told my friend Kay who is leaving on her trip to Mexico today in an old VW bus about it. I drove over to her house last night and watched it with her again. The first time I cried all the stories struck an emotional cord with me. I am definetly going to buy this movie and show it to Sarah.

Here is my favorite quote from Henry Winkler of all people ""Your mind knows only some things. Your inner voice, your instinct, knows everything. If you listen to what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path."

Now you wonder what is this movie about, well its about a journey of course, a documentary where the filmmaker seeks out elders and asks what kind of advice they would offer to young people. Eric interviews some famous and some not so famous, the stories are real and provocative, Its all about following your dreams and believing in yourself at any age. Check it out here
















Here is the journal page I did, I guess Sedona is on my mind. I used soft pastel and watercolor pencils, its color is more vibrant in person.

I got my taxes done and efiled so that feels good to have that done. I hope today to get that personal page finished for my Sedona trip. I have a slew of old pics I've included so now I just need to figure out what else to add. Its supposed to be 50 and sunny today, wow that is like a heat wave, I may have to work out some time on the river. Whatever you are doing have a great time at it.

Ps. I just watched the special features for the Journey and they are great, so don't forget to watch all of them.

Just looking out the window

I am sitting in the library looking out the window and its warm and sunny, finally. I sometimes come here to download things that go just too slow at home. Things have downloaded so I could go home but I seem to be in a nice place here so I think I will stay for awhile.

I have had my first class with Paulette and she is doing a great job. We are drawing faces and face parts for the first week and I figure transferring to the canvas the second week. Probably won't get to painting till the 3 rd week and I will be in Sedona then so it will be postponed a little.

Before I leave on the 15th I need to finish my taxes, finish the picture page for the glitter gathering, make my other card for the healing and inspiration swap and get it mailed, embellish my ya ya crown at least a little bit more. Come up with something for Pam's birthday, and then think about what I am going to take. If I was inspired creatively right now none of this would be a problem but alas the muse is on vacation. I think perhaps a journal page is in order that always seems to help get those creative juices going. I guess now definetly I will need to go home since all my Art supplies are there. Maybe I'll have something to post later.

What your birthdate means

I saw this on another blog and thought I would play along. This makes me sound like a Saint or something.

Your Birthdate: February 27

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I am still feeling crappy and I am tired of having to say that. I completely missed an important meeting tonight. I took a nap around 4 and slept till 730, the meeting was at 7. I really felt like an idiot for missing it. At my church we are doing the play from the Thread Project. Do you remember it Pam, needless to say I am playing the weaver. We perform it a week from Sunday.... so it was a rehearsal that I missed.

Thanks for all the well wishes from all of you. I keep thinking the next day I will feel better but it still has not happened.

My Online painting class started yesterday and its pretty awesome so far. So far I have several new things to try that I had not thought of so that is pretty cool.