"At 4:44 Am...AZ Time..."

..."Spring has returned.

The Earth is like a child that knows poems."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

"If you've never been thrilled

to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom,

maybe your soul

has never been in bloom."

~Audra Foveo

"In springtime,
love is carried on the breeze.
Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head."
~Emma Racine deFleur

"Spring Fling #7..."

"Everything has rhythm. Everything dances."
~Maya Angelou

"Spring...An experience in immortality."

~Henry David Thoreau

"Spring Fling #6..."

...Take a breath...and exhale a long glorious "Ahhhh!"

"Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer!

I must get out

and breathe the air deeply again."

~Gustav Mahler

"Spring Fling #5..."

...Spreading creative wings...paint first...then ink! :)

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time -

a day to begin transforming winter's dreams

into summer's magic."

~Adrienne Cook

"Spring Fling #4..."

...and this time...it's "Desert style"...:)

"I stuck my head out the window this morning

and spring kissed me bang in the face. "

~Langston Hughes

Hope your Cactus Monday is filled with kisses! XO

Happy day all! :)

"Spring Fling #3..."

...Branching out...

"If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies."
~Nadine Stair

"Spring Fling #2..."

“There aren't enough days in the weekend.” :)
~Rod Schmidt

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
~Hal Borland

"Springtime is Blingtime..."

...so how about a whole week...full of...

...Bits of nature...all bejeweled for our fanciful fling...
each and every day...and all night long! :)

"Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn."
~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard
in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

"What a Treat...!"

Coming all the way from Dubai...to the Valley of the Sun...

...my name "Peg" in Arabic...

along with some very humbling descriptors

written around it which translated read:

"artist, sensitive, humane, beautiful, creative."

This stunningly lovely and generous gift of calligraphic art

was beautifully written by

Fadwa....in Dubai.

Click here to visit her site...it is an inspirational delight!

I love her unique journal pages...and the way she

alters books to write stories.

She also designs gorgeous beaded jewelry...

and you can check that out here. :)

Thanks, again, Fadwa...I am on "cloud nine"!

Blogging is a unique way to share one's little corner of the world.

I think its richness and diversity makes each of us

better citizens of this planet.

I cherish the openness of hearts in our artistic blogging world.

There is a lot of beauty to see, and inspiration to find,

and fabulous people to meet

in this world...

and the best thing about it is that they are all simply

one little mouse click away!

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,

for beauty is God's handwriting."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Petaled Patterns..."

...drawn especially

for my sister-in-law Sue and my niece Kelly

who visited today here yesterday

and "tickled my heart"

with their enjoyment of my little Maruman sketchbook

as we sat in the warm sun

with Doug, Dan, Cole and Scott

experiencing a glorious Arizona spring day.

Love you!

"When angels visit us,

we do not hear the rustle of wings,

nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove;

but we know their presence

by the love they create in our hearts."

~Author Unknown

"Peaceful Thoughts..."

sought a refuge...in his spirit to land...while...

"The night walked down the sky with the

moon

in her hand."
~Frederic Lawrence Knowles

"I've Got The Fever..."

...Spring Fever, that is...

The Sonoran Desert

...is alive and well...and SOON to burst into bloom!
I love this time of year!!!!

And...to top things off...drum roll please...

it's time for the long awaited...

Desert Botanical Garden's

Spring Plant Sale!!!

March 20-21st

Simply click HERE for the info...

and then

scroll to the very bottom of the page

and

click on the plant availability list...it will blow your mind!!!

Wouldn't it be a hoot for all of us to meet here for this...

sketchbooks in hand...

charge cards in pockets...not a care in the world...

Simply

sketching, shopping, and smiling the whole day long...

Ahhh! What a Cactus Monday concept!

Wishes...

wishes...wishes!

:)

Have a

delightfully fabulous

"Spring is in the Air"..."Burst into Bloom"

Cactus Monday all!

"It's spring fever....

You don't quite know what it is you DO want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache,

you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

"Magical Drugs..."

Saturday...March 7th, 2009...marked the 2nd week

of dealing with over the counter

remedies for

my miserable "head-cold-throat-ear-sinus-thingy."

It also marked

the day I "went in" for the SERIOUS drugs!

Our local Walgreens has a "Take Care Clinic"

staffed 7 days a week

by nurse practitioners who are most efficient and very professional!

Plus...get this...it was the weekend...and...NO LINES!!!

(I can't even imagine

how long it would have taken to get an appointment

with my doctor!!!)

I got checked over and prescribed an antibiotic

and I went home happy as a lamb.

I sat outside in the brilliant Arizona sun

with my sketchbook and started drawing away.

I feel like a new woman!

I think that the warm penetrating sun,

(to me a natural drug in itself)

the fresh lemon blossom scented air,

my new Rx,

and a few artsy "Ahhh..." moments enjoying the day

were just the 4 magical drugs I needed

to turn this mess around.

Fingers

and toes crossed!

Now...speaking of "magical drugs"...

and

if you are in the mood for a bit of a irreverent medical "spoof"...

click here

for a hysterical You Tube clip

regarding a new "FDA" approved drug for "cheeriness"...

only two minutes...its worth the time...:)

"You shouldn't be sick

a moment longer than it takes

to get well."

~from the Walgreens Take Care Clinic booklet

"Yet Another..."

... ATC set...my newest...entitled: "Time Zones"

The first of a series 0f 6 cards...

Reminder:
Here in the United States..."Daylight Savings Time" begins
at 2:00 AM Sunday morning...March 8, 2009
Turn your clock ahead one hour
everywhere...
Except here in Arizona...leave your clock alone!
Go figure! :)

“I want to shake off the dust of this one-horse town.
I want to explore the world.
I want to watch TV in a different time zone.
I want to visit strange, exotic malls...
I want to live, Marge!
Won't you let me live?”
~Homer Simpson

"Baubles-n-Baskets..."

"Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket,

then counting your blessings

before they hatch."
~Ramona C. Carroll

"Striking Gold..."

...My newest paint order from Daniel Smith

arrived yesterday!!!

I chose some really fun

amazing colors...some are very granulating ...

some are very iridescent!

Here are some color tests...

This first one is scanned...

This one was photographed...Paper too large for the scanner...

(What!? Pre measure my paper???

Now that's a novel idea! )

LOL :)

This one is the digital flip of the one above it.

Even though

most people prefer the colors of my original pieces best...

I still decided to flip one view

to more deeply portray the layering and glazing of color

that happened here....

(Click on the images to enlarge for the best effect.)

The iridescent colors

float magically...like sheer veils...over the base colors.

They shimmer and sparkle and glisten

and take on a life of their own.

Interesting

how it's the little things make

us smile!

I really struck it "color rich" for sure.

"Some people weave burlap into the fabric of our lives,

and some weave gold thread.

Both contribute to make the whole picture

beautiful and unique."

~Author Unknown

"Deep Purple..."

...Dreams...

...all throughout the stillness of the desert Night.

For:

Lillian Mae Krahenbuhl

June 14, 1920...February 26, 2007

We love you and miss you each and every day.

"Soon as the evening shades prevail,

The moon takes up the wondrous tale,

And nightly to the listening earth

Repeats the story of her birth.

~Joseph Addison

"Late Night Playtime..."

My watercolor paint palette is one big juicy mess...

and

it needs to be cleaned up badly...really badly.

But...alas...

my heart wasn't in it last night...so instead...

I dabbled and doodled

with muddy smeary colors on insanely rough paper

while watching the full 3 hours of the "dramatic" Bachelor Finale

on television...Geesch!

I think I have lost my ever lovin' mind!

I am cleaning my palette

today.

"When television is good, nothing is better.

When it's bad, nothing is worse."
~Newton N. Minow

"Flummoxed...by Technology!"

I have been sent...

...by Lyn in California...
the most delightful Power Point presentation
of blooming cacti that is a "Must-See"
for all you cactus lovers

out there!
The only problem is ...
that

I cannot figure out
how to incorporate it into this post!

But

as a special treat

to those HCM friends whose personal email addy

I already have...

I will be sending it to you

"straight away."

I hope you enjoy immensely!
And...

To anyone else who would love to have it sent...

Let me know...

I need to send it via email...

Crazy technology!

"Technology makes it possible

for people to gain control over everything,

except over technology."
~John Tudor

"Out on a Limb..."

...with my newest series of ATC's entitled

"Branches."

And...

I have no idea whatsoever

as to what I plan on doing with these.

It has been kindly suggested by some fellow bloggers

to join some ATC yahoo groups...

which I may eventually do

once I get enough designed to trade.

The only problem is...I want to keep them all!

Now...isn't that ridiculous!

(Any other ideas??? All suggestions welcome!)

Well until then...

I'll just "keep on a keepin' on"...inspired today by

by the lyrics of a song sung by

one of my favorite cowgirls..."Annie Oakley":

I've

"Got no diamond, got no pearl...

Still I think I'm a lucky girl..

[Cuz]...I've got the sun in the morning...

...and the moon at night!"
~Irving Berlin

"Woo Hoo!"
~Me :)