"Colored Memories..."

Here she is...

"Seeds, Sprouts, Stems, and Swirls"

all blinged up with color just as you all suggested!

The original B/W illo can be seen here...:)

♥

I am posting this here specially today

in memory of my

Uncle Al...my mom's brother...who passed away

when I was only 10.

Today would have been his 85th birthday!

I find this fact VERY hard to to wrap my head around.

I remember him as a really cool young man...

an adventursome favorite uncle,

filled with wanderlust...

who had an avid love of trains, music,

and

the romance of the old west.

He was someone who trusted me

to play with his phenomenal model train set

all by myself

when

I was just a very little girl.

And, of course, he spoiled me like no other. :)

I remember taking a special train trip,

just he and I,

on the Milwaukee Road train Hiawatha route

to Milwaukee.

We sat in the domed train car,
had lunch in the "fancy smanchy" dining car,

and took pictures from

the special curved glass club car

at the end of the train.

What an adventure for my young imagination.

Now, as I reflect back I simply wonder

in astonishment...

where have all those years gone?

They have passed by in a blur...like colorful scenery

viewed out of an old train window...

unstoppable,

and, yet forever impressed in one's memory.

So...today

let's celebrate those favorite family members,

those unforgettable experiences,

those bright, colorful impressions of our youth,

and

even those flips in our perspectives.

May these kinds of experiences

continue to enhance the chapters of our lives

and help our spirits bloom.

Happy Blooming Tuesday All! :)

♥

"Remembering..."

...with love, honor...and gratitude...

those brave souls who have

fought courageously

guarding the rights and freedoms of

the men, women, and children of our country

for generation upon generation.

♥
"Honor

is the inner garment of the Soul;

the first thing put on by it with the flesh,

and

the last it layeth down

at its separation

from it."
~Akhenaton quotes

(King of Egypt, 14th century BC)

"Seeds, Sprouts..."

...Stems and Swirls...drawn "ink straight in"...

lead free,

classic in black and white.

Now..."to color?"...or..."not to color?"...

That is the question! :)

Any thoughts?

"Drawing is feeling.

Color is an act of reason. "

~Pierre Bonnard

"We are all Energy..."

...my school girl style notes and doodles...flipped digitally

(for a chalkboard style effect)

from the final Oprah show which aired yesterday.

Did you happen to watch?

What was the idea
that seemed to strike home with you the most?

Among other things

I loved the phrase "listen to the whispers of your life..."

What a career!

As always, you can click on image to enlarge...:)

"We all have a calling...

It lights you up and let's you know

that

you are doing what you were meant to do..."

~Oprah Winfrey

"Stickin' it to my Moleskine..."

I just love doing this...but, if asked "Why???"...

I haven't a clue! :)

“The more you reason the less you create.”
~Raymond Chandler

"More Blooming Hearts..."

...in both Daylight...
...and Midnight hour versions...:)

"We need society,
and we need solitude also,
as we need summer and winter,
day and night,
exercise and rest.”
~Philip Gilbert Hamerton

"Southwest Serenity..."

Monument Valley...prickly pear guardian...:)

Happy Cactus Monday!
♥

“These things

I warmly wish for you...

Someone to love, some work to do,

A bit o' sun, a bit o' cheer,

And a guardian angel

always near.”
~Irish Blessings

"Spring Fragrances..."

I breathe them all in...
deeply.

Blossom-laden orchard boughs,

sweet and fluttery yet strong and rich with

promise...

Old fashioned flower gardens,

palettes now popping awake with cheeriness and

hues of hope...

Endless acreages of country fields,

freshly plowed,

moist clumps of bountiful blackness

greeting each sunrise...

Each of these

is pure aromatherapy for my spirit.

A potpourri of these memories will remain
safely bottled away forever

in my Midwest heart of hearts.

Ahhh!

“A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare.

For the most part

we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought;

as if

we could be satisfied

with the dews of the morning or evening

without their colors,

or

the heavens without their azure.”
~Henry David Thoreau

"Some Midwest Musing..."

I was thinking about springtime in Illinois

and

remembering how I once planted my Jonquil bulbs

upside down. :)

It was such a long, long time ago...

in a place which now seems

so very far, far away.

It still

makes me chuckle each time I think about it...:)

Yesterday in the desert

we had rain,

cloudy skies, and temps in the mid seventies...

and, we even landed

a couple of inches of snow up in Flagstaff.

Go figure...It's May!!!

Weather is "off kilter" everywhere it seems!

So, in like form...

I felt like flipping my image today...

no reason...

just must be the season!

:)

“In the Spring,

I have counted 136 different kinds of weather

inside of 24 hours.”
~Mark Twain

"Delightful Doubles..."

"All who would win joy, must share it;

happiness was born a twin.”
~Lord Byron

"Sakura Blossoms..."

...my ATC size take on a springtime view of

Mt. Fuji

is now residing in Germany with Nadine.

Living here in the desert

I really miss

my cherry trees back in Illinois.

There was something magical in their lacy petals

that made my spirits dance.

For now...

I will have to rely on my watercolors and brush

to record memories of

their fluttery light blossoms...mmmm...:)

So...

regardless of whatever spring delight

you might choose to view today

I hope you enjoy a

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

“Nature will bear the closest inspection.

She invites us

to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf,

and take an insect view

of its plain.”
~Henry David Thoreau

"Seriously, Cereus..."

...night blooming in all their glory

these 8+ inch diameter blossoms decorate our

front garden...

blooming on slender cactus arms they stretch 9 feet

into the star studded velvety desert sky.

The next day they vanish...

living on only in digital format patiently awaiting

an artistic transformation

into some watercolored brush strokes

by my ever present Muse.

Ahhh!

"The Thought Process..."

...as scribbled

in my Artful Musings journal/sketchbook.

Click on images to enlarge...:)

"An artist

is a sketchbook with a person attached."

~Irwin Greenberg

"Currents of Starlight..."

..."Sargasso Sea"...
..."Polynesian Reef"...
...and lastly, "Oceania Pacifica"...:)
A new series of
cards made and traded during Artapalooza
at Illustrated ATCs last week.

“On matters of style, swim with the current,

on matters of principle,

stand like a rock.”
~Thomas Jefferson

"Neighborhood Bling..."

...a few Joshua Trees in full bloom!

Mother Nature

surely knows how to decorate the 'hood

in right fine style!!

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

"Bloomin' Beauty..."

Gentle giants

with lush white flower bouquets in hand

stand tall and proud and gallant....

steadfastly guarding their wild desert kingdoms

with a rugged type of kindness

providing perches

and safe havens for those in need.

Sentinels of the sand

they remind us that even in the most austere

moments of life

we can find beauty blossoming.

Happy Cactus Monday!

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

Happy Mother's Day...Mom! ♥

...with love from

Susan, Dave, Joya and Jillian...

Mark, Katie,

Christopher, Courtney and Corey...

Jack, Sharon,

Vanessa, Lauren, Steve and Myles...

and

Peg and Scott!
We love you!

♥
"A mother is a person
who seeing there are only four pieces of pie
for five people,
promptly announces

she never did care for pie. "
~Tenneva Jordan

(Thanks JGL for quote...:)

"From the Vault..."

...My favorite silver cactus charm bracelet makes

an encore this Cactus Monday.

“In two decades

I've lost a total of 789 pounds.

I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.”

~Erma Bombeck