"A Run for the Roses..."

...Waterblossoms style, that is...:)

These ATCs were made batik style...using masking fluid and ink

straight in...no pencil.

Hope today brings you some winning smiles...as for me...

I am artfully spending this day at the races

in my "studio".

Hmmmm...

I think..."I'll Have Another One"...:) 

Si!

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby Day!

"I have often said

there is nothing better for the inside of a man

than the outside of a horse."

~Will Rogers

"A Zen Batik..."

...painted with Daniel Smith's magical iridescent sapphire

watercolor.

Tilt it one way and it reads a soft blueish violet

with a rich satiny sheen.

Tilt it the other way...

and it takes on a glowing, sparkling-rich, deep sapphire color.

When digitally scanned

the magic vaporizes and the color become flat and stormy gray.

Such is life, sometimes.

I wish my family and friends on the eastern seaboard

a speedy recovery from any damage

suffered from Irene.

May the palette of your skies and coastlines return to

the sparkly sapphire of summer.

“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime.
Never make a negative decision in the low time.
Never make your most important decisions
when you are in your worst moods.
Wait.
Be patient.
The storm will pass.
The spring will come.”
~Robert H. Schuller

"A Heart...Warming"

Brrrrr...baby, it's c...c...c...old outside!

Here in the "Valley of the Sun"

we hit 75 year old overnight LOW temps

in the "low 20's" this week

and highs only in the lower 40's...

which were actually lower than those in

Anchorage Alaska!

Then...

add in fierce gusty winds, an official "hard" freeze,

and

a record low February dew point

of -18 degrees

and Phoenix was in the deep freeze.

It was soooo dry

the winds sliced like sharp sabers.

The Pro Am of the Phoenix Open was even cancelled

due to the fact that the greens

were tundra-like and could be easily damaged.

Plants and citrus trees everywhere

took on ghostly appearances

covered with sheets and car covers and

towels and rags.

Pool pumps, outdoor spigots, and irrigation systems

suffered heavy damage

from the freeze if not cared for properly.

Fountains and outdoor water features froze

into jeweled lacy ice sculptures.

Today temps are 25 degrees below the seasonal average.

BUT....

this weekend

they are to return to a somewhat normal range

hitting the 70's by Sunday. YAY!

So...

amidst all this chilly frigid blog speak...

I DO realize that

others have had a winter season far worse than I...

and that

I would rather shovel sunshine than snow...

no matter how cold it gets! :)

(Seriously!)

Today I send you sunshine and smiles

from the desert.

I hope that your artistic spirits and your gardens

will slowly begin to warm

to the thoughts and plantings of

a springtime filled with glorious blooms.

Now there's a

heart warming thought for sure!

♥
“All the statistics in the world

can't measure the warmth of a smile.”
~Chris Hart

"For My Midwest Teaching Friends..."

Nothing beats a "Snow Day"...

especially when it is "called" the day before!

Keep warm & snuggly! :)

♥

"Through woods and mountain passes...

The winds, like anthems,

roll."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The 3 Part...12 Card Rainbow Swap.."

...at Illustrated ATCs.

...Hot Pink...
...Hostess Card...
...Red...

...Orange...

...Yellow...

...Green...

...Hostess Card...

...Blue...

...Indigo...

...Hostess Card...

...Purple...

...and lastly, the entire Rainbow...:)

What a beautiful page these made in my collection.

They have now individually flown

to collections

around the world...'tis truly bittersweet...

I miss you girls! :)

"Somewhere over the rainbow,

skies are blue,

and the dreams that you dare to dream

really do come true."
~Lyman Frank Baum

"Happy New Year..."

May your 2011

be fueled with artistic inspiration and energy

and

may it be decorated

with healthy, bountiful days.

♥

May

your breaths be pure and long and deep

and may they

fill your spirit with the exhilarating

"Ahhh's" and "Mmmm's"

of sweet serenity.

♥

May your eyes endlessly feast on

magical moments and miracles of nature...

and

may they sparkle in joy and wonder.

♥

May your heart

nestle softly in smiles and happy memories

and may it

be blanketed in the warmth and coziness

of friendship and love.

♥

These are my wishes for each of you...

from my heart

to yours.

♥

"Just A Few Flakes..."

...to celebrate the magic of the first winter snowfall

today

back "home" in Sycamore, Illinois.

(I just saw the Facebook photos of JGL's backyard...

it is a wonderland! )

Ahhh...

those first gentle snowfalls...this is a time

I really miss the Midwest...:)

♥

However,

interestingly enough...

a serendipitous southwest snow encounter

occurred as

my brother and sister and their families

drove up to the high elevation

of "rim country"

here in Arizona to cut down Christmas trees

today!

They found gorgeous deep snow, beautiful trees,

and 50 degree temperatures.

(And...I just know...

the little ones were in "snow angel" heaven!)

Me?

I chose to stay down here in the west valley...

at a balmy 75 degrees,

no snowfall...

(just a few (watercolored) flakes...)

fresh rosemary in the air...a chair on the patio...

a copy of Eat Pray Love in hand...

the sound of Gambrel quail chatting away.

Mmm...:)

No matter where

friends and loved ones were today

it certainly seems like

a lovely, magical Saturday was had by all...:)

“Begin doing what you want to do now.

We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand...

and melting

like a snowflake.”
~Francis Bacon, Sr

"Happy Thanksgiving..."

...may your heart swell

with

boundless gratitude...

and sing a sweet song of love and joy!

"We can only be said to be alive

in those moments

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

~Thornton Wilder

"Black and Orange Blossoms..."

...a Pumpkin Squash mandala...
...and a funky Halloween bloom...
both
decked out in their seasonal costumes
all ready for treats...no tricks...:)!
Happy Halloween week Blooming Tuesday All! :)

"A Pumpkinized Cactus..."

...perfect for kicking off Halloween Week...:)

♥

Have a Happy Cactus Monday All!

" 'Tis Day One..."

...for me

of yet another sensationally fabulous

"trip around the sun."

YAY! ♥ :)

"Because time itself is like a spiral,

something special happens

on your birthday each year:

The same energy

that God invested in you at birth

is present once again."

~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

"How About..."

...another autumnal heart?

This one is

draped in rich brown suede...(cowgirl style)

and is

all blinged out with a pair of

"flirty-girly"

copper colored cactus flowers.

She rises,

full of energy and curiosity,

in the rosy dawn of another beautiful

Arizona desert morning...:)

Hmmm...

What will this day bring???

♥

Have a "Happy Blooming Tuesday" all! :)

“Slow buds the pink dawn

like a rose

from out night's gray and cloudy sheath;

softly and still it grows and grows,

petal by petal, leaf by leaf.”
~Susan Coolidge

"Canyonland Autumn..."

Here's hoping that the temps this next week will

become a bit more fall-like and cool

here in the desert!

Happy Cactus Monday All! :)

And

in a personal note to JGL:

The Arizona canyons are calling your name!!! :)

“Should you shield the canyons

from the windstorms you would never see

the true beauty of their

carvings.”
~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"An Encore of a Favorite Quote..."

"Winter is an etching...spring a watercolor...

summer an oil painting...

and autumn...a mosaic of them all."
~Stanley Horowitz

"Roadside Lace..."

...in a new golden palette...dressed for the season.

Mmmm...

I love the warmth of the colors of autumn!

Happy first day of fall!

Autumn burned brightly,

a running flame through the mountains,

a torch flung to the trees.

~Faith Baldwin

"Relaxing..."

...in a henna inspired mandala

frame of mind...:)

Ahhhh! :)

"Relaxation means releasing all concern and tension

and letting the natural order of life

flow through one's

being."

~Donald Curtis

"Jellies, Anyone...???"

Are they "beauties" or "beasts"...

...or maybe both??? :)

"He that will not sail till all dangers are over...

must never put to sea."

~Thomas Fuller

"Summery Soft..."

...and somewhat sweet...

these two little succulent inspired rosettes

present themselves

today

to wish you all a happy Cactus Monday

and remind you to
savor each second of your day!

"A Tangerine Sentinel..."

...keeping solitary vigil over an imaginary desert

both day and night...

blooms only in the virtual reality of my blog this

late summer day.

Happy Cactus Monday all...:)

"It is the marriage of the soul with Nature that

makes the intellect fruitful,

and gives birth to imagination."

~Henry David Thoreau

"Ooooh...My Sore Toes...!!!"

“The toe of the star-gazer is often stubbed.”
~Russian Proverb

Illustration Friday: "Star Gazing"