Forget not!

Halloo!

Your quote for the week: 

Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair --Khalil Gibran

I'm pretty sure that's from his work The Prophet. At any rate, he is a wonderful author if you are interested in poetry and/or spirituality.

And I really enjoy the phrase "forget not!" in lieu of "remember".

Also: GO OUTSIDE. The weather is beginning to tip towards fall. You can see it in the seed pods being created by flowers, the ripening apples and pears, the tiny acorns that are forming on the oak trees. Go look!  I'd like to say this is my favorite part of the year, but honestly I love all of the year and how you can see the seasons flow into each other. Well, all of the year with the exception of the very coldest winter days. This Thursday is Lammas, the first of three harvest festivals. There's an interesting article over on the Project Britain site that gives a little history. We will be celebrating with fresh baked bread and a walk around the neighborhood to look for signs of Fall approaching.

The weather here has been truly bizarre. I find myself reaching for blue jeans instead of my usual late-summer dresses. The benefits to the cooler temperatures are that it's easier to shoo the kids outside and we don't have to run the air. 

Last week I officially registered for my classes.Woohoo! I will be taking: Intro to Library and Information Science, Organization of Knowledge, Reference and Online Services, and Management of Library and Information Centers. I am anxious to start classes but I still have a month to wait. 

This week I am finishing up some art for a mail swap I am doing, trying to get my excessively loud car in at the mechanic's*, and working on a present for my sweet niece's first birthday. 

What are your plans for the week?

* Seriously, unnecessarily loud. It sounds like I am driving a fleet of motorcycles. 

Busy Friday!

I have a tutorial up on The Pagan Village http://www.thepaganvillage.com/2013/07/story-tiles/

And I have been painting & collage-ing. 

And I made some ah-mazing vanilla cookies, loaded with sugar and butter. 

Hope you are set to have an awesome weekend!!

For my next trick...

I seem to have lost my sense of fun, which is a giant load of crap. I love to laugh and to hear the people around me laugh, and I feel like there hasn't been nearly enough goofy silliness this summer.

I think it comes from having to make good choices for myself and two little people. As summer wears on, they get stir crazy and start making me wholly crazy. Constantly playing Jimminy Cricket has me wore out. 

This week's quote is a reminder to myself: do something goofy, weird, and altogether unexpected. 

I invite you to join me in my quest for mischief.

Friday Sketchbook

Still slogging through my trip photos and trying to get everything down before it gets lost in my brain. 

Today I captured some of the colors of the Dominican

More art journal

I was overwhelmed by the textures and patterns in the Dominican. Too many for the eye to capture!

I have returned!

Did you miss me? 

We were supposed to fly in on July 10, but got delayed by tropical storm Chantal. We arrived home on the 11th, and I have determined that 8 days abroad is too much for all of us. 

The kids had a great time, the wedding was beautiful, we are glad we went and glad to be home. I'm art journaling my way through the trip as I am able to snag time. That whole eating/sleeping/parenting thing keeps getting in the way...as do the giant stack of books I borrowed from the library. 

Here's a page I finished. The landscaping at the resort (Dreams La Romana) was gorgeous. I was struck by the variety and quantity of the plant life. 

The typing here is slow going, as I have a small furry assistant trying to lay on the keyboard...or the book I am reading...or the page that I am painting. 

When we got home Thursday, I opened the circulars and saw that peaches were on sale for 79 cents a pound. Naturally, canning was in order. And while I was at it, I canned some cherries too. The pear tree is laden with tiny fruits, but I suspect that the squirrels and the birds will destroy the crop before we can get to them. What I need is a falcon for the backyard. 

Back to the journal, before this week's craziness descends upon me. 

Later, lovelies!

Bon Voyage...almost.

Here's your quote of the week! It's the first page in my art journal. 

I have my stuff packed, Fiona's stuff packed, and the instructions for the house sitter typed up.

I still have to pack for Adrian and clean the house.

Strangely I am struck with the desire to bake cookies instead of do any of that. 

If I can get the kids to cooperate (ha ha) I may be able to accomplish both my to do list and bake cookies.