happy place

this carnival was set up in a mall parking lot.

even though it was totally empty, it didn't feel deserted like i suppose it could have...

instead, it felt like it was readying itself for an onslaught of happy kids making memories...

i was the only one there, i wandered all over and fell in love with the little happy place :)

hummingbird :)

i spent $3.99 on a plastic hummingbird feeder two days ago.

i hung it where i could see it easily from my couch. 

this morning, my $4 investment paid off :)

post time...

i don't know what happens, but every year, i get to a point where i can't post stuff.
not words.  not pictures.

i feel bad about it, like i am letting myself down.
i resort to nosing around facebook and pinterest...
no disrespect intended, but i feel like i am living on junk food instead of real meals.
when this posting block comes on me, i can barely read blogs. when i do read them, i feel angst, constant angst, like i could have done more...
should have done more...

the good news is i now know this too shall pass.
the bad news is that i don't know when and i don't like the wait.
and also, i end up with a million photos i never get posted.

don't know if i am on the other side of this dry spell yet, but i sure hope so.

i have been busy, despite seemingly being missing in action.
we have officially moved to the cape cod house.   all eleven cats are finally here too.
the condo in CT is staged and on the market.
we are moving forward :)

my sister and i did an art show in hyannis in june. well, really not a show, more like a mini-store...
this was a HUGE deal to me.  it was 3 days long, but took months to get ready.
i learned a lot about what goes into putting yourself out there.
it was gratifying and humbling, all at the same time.   overall, it was a fabulous experience.  we get to do it again in september, that time for a whole week.  luckily, i am almost all prepared for that one already :)

 

i painted the cape house.  i started a photography class with Kim Klassen. i made new friends, re-connected with some old friends, worked on the garden, read some books, took a million peace-out pictures rides and had a wonderful few months. 
but i have missed my blog friends, and the world on flickr. 

i believe it might be post time...

a few random pics from during the dry spell...

 

 

be still...sunrise

i am grateful to be doing this class with kim klassen, be still 52...

i finally committed to going to the sunrise and even though i was late, i got there.

it is not a still life, but the two sandpipers were still.  and alive. 

close enough for me :)

rule of thirds, room to breathe, a moment of mindfulness to myself.

mission accomplished.

and, i got back on track with my picture ride. 

this day is starting off right :)

simplify . .

for a retired girl, i have been way busier than i thought i'd be, this 2 0 1 4

but it has been a productive time, so i am going to cling to the glass-half-full mindset.

the condo is on the market, 

all the cats have settled in to the cape house, 

i am making huge progress on the preparations for the HyArt Artist Shanties

 (http://hyartsdistrict.com/visual-arts/art-shanties )

that i'm doing in june, 

and the gardens in both houses have been worked on (a little bit, at least).

i keep taking pictures, posting on facebook and for the word-of-the-day photo hunt challenge.  

but the blog, my flickr and housecleaning all keep falling off the to-do list.

i hope to S I M P L I F Y this summer.

until then, i added another to-do for my list - 

i started taking a class from Kim Klassen (http://www.kimklassencafe.com/) 

called Be Still and i am very excited about it.  

i know that the first few weeks will be hectic, but the class is for a full year so i will catch up.  

i am longing for the feeling of Be Still.  

and i know i will learn a lot of things, and be inspired. 

it is going to be exactly what i need...

 

meantime May/June will be a little bit crazy.  

i am multi-tasking.  

my head is muddled. 

but a word-of-the-day was CUP this week and i am going with the 

half-full glass mindset 

as i simplify.

so with no textures, no enhancements at all -

here is a simple half full cup.

which i totally love.

be still my heart :)

lost and found...

around 4 months ago, my blog access changed.  

i don't know why it happened but it made it almost impossible to post anything without a bazillion steps. being a lazy girl,  i got lost and drifted away.  however, i missed it alot. 

so i am decided to apply myself, figure out what happened - or at least how to live with it - and come back home...

it is good to be here.

 

i have been crazy busy.  we have the condo in CT on the market, finally.   that was all-consuming and we crossed the finish line on the day before Easter.  oddly enough, last year, on the day before Easter, I retired.  big milestones, back to back :)  

we loved this condo, it was the first place we ever bought and it is hard to move on.  it is also the first place we ever sold and we never knew how much work went into putting something on the market.  wow.

we have moved ten of the eleven cats.  one crazy hold-out - tony baloney - is avoiding capture.  he is missing his cat family and we're all sad over the separation of the gang.  however, a new cat-trap is on the way and we hope to join all the rave reviews and success stories online in about a week.   

get in the cage, tony-the-tiger.   please.  we are begging ya....

it has been a cold spring, both at cape cod and connecticut.  

the trees are starting to flower though and it is a beautiful thing to see.  

 

 

as much as i thought this past winter was just beautiful,

it is so good that spring is here.

 

"Breathless, we flung us on a windy hill, Laughed in the sun, and kissed the lovely grass."
~Rupert Brooke

the lightness of being...

 i am leaving winter behind.

right now.

i need light and color and softness and warmth...

it's not spring yet

but it helps to think ahead...