halloween happiness

Wednesday, October 31, 2012











































ahhhh .... halloween - the bane, the delight, the undeniable temptation of oodles & oodles of miniature badness

variety is indeed the spice of life

We've had our big stash of Halloween candy for far too long this year. I insisted we stock up at the big box bargain bin (Walmart) weeks ago when we were in the nearby big town on one of our monthly big shops. Needless to say a little "mouse" in our house (me) has been wittling away quietly, secretly at les stash. At the same time I've also been gradually building back up the stash by buying more ?!? oh Halloween it is a love/hate affair you & I have. Currently our replenished stash is living in our vehicle in the driveway so that the candy mouse in this house has to think twice before dipping in ... yet again. The Prince has no difficulties at all being tempted by Halloween candy. What's up with that ?

We have a lovely variety of treats, some of my favourites (of course) - petite bags of cheesies & cheetos (the crunchier, cheesier cheesy) & plus de tiny bars of kit-kat, coffee crisp, mars, snickers, smarties & aero bars. Delightful ! The Prince & Sam are in charge of dolling out the goodness - they both love all the pageantry, the guessing, the scary-ness, especially the tiniest of revelers. Missy D (who definitely does not enjoy ghosts or goblins) and I will be camped out upstairs at CE* headquarters, hunched at the teak topped desk happily working away & nibbling on our own stash of treats - natch.

What goodness & delights are you handing out this All Hallow's Eve ??
What's your favourite Halloween treat weakness ?

*CE - Creative Empire

bleet loves sam

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Bleet loves Sam
Sam loves Bleet


from bad comes good

Monday, October 29, 2012










































the messy teak topped desk this weekend - working on a very fun, kinda secret typographic illustration project - check out my latest type/illustration for American Greetings here

Take a breath – or three. Let go of any expectations for the moment, let go of a need to control or master this changeable situation. Don’t fight the current, flow with it. 

from Saturday's post

Spent the weekend really pondering the above phrase from my last week's "airy fairy" if you like Tarotscope - ya huh " A combination of Tarot card & Zodiac sign. Hey ! I'll take any advice I can get. Sometimes great advice arrives from the weirdest places. I pondered, I wrestled, I chewed on it for days - this idea of letting go of expectation. I've spent a lifetime clinging, like my life dependended on it, to most all of my expectations. And I have a trunk full. My expectations have sub catagories & chapters. What's left without an expectation ?? I think many of us, though the idea of letting go sounds incredibly appealing, have absolutely no idea how to let go.

take a breath
uncurl those fingers
let it go
let it fall
let it drop
until you lose sight of it 

take another breath
now, how's that feelin'

So much goodness came from a weekend of pain & hurt - isn't that always the way. Good Ness. 
Last week's Tartscope card was the Moon who's wisdom got me through a rough patch. This week's card is the 6 of Cups - perhaps the sweetest card in the deck - oh boy !

Go ahead and be carefree this week – that attitude, that lightness, has a lesson for you. Let yourself play.  

airy fairy

Saturday, October 27, 2012
















































oh my the ocean / pink window box impatience / more puddle skies / our street / seagulls / window box medley at the village hall / asparagus fronds / zinnias blooming still

airy fairy
subtitled Moon Child

I've been in shadow this week - in deep shade. Something's up with me & this made me feel better. I know, I know it's a bit airy fairy - but I like it - it makes me feel relieved Bohemian Tarotscope Cancer edition

The Moon - this card signals a period of Not Knowing. It’s just a phase, but for now things aren’t what they seem. It’s hard to find your bearings in the dark, so slow down. Take a breath – or three. Let go of any expectations for the moment, let go of a need to control or master this changeable situation. Don’t fight the current, flow with it. This is a Yin time, your intuition is a better guide then your senses will be. Know that even common, everyday things appear strange (even scary!) when distorted as they are by shadow. Things will return to their normal shape under the light of the sun…and do trust that the sun will rise again.

Phew ! I say ! Phew, phew, phew ! It's been a very strange, difficult week full of tears & worry & upset I got to thinking, got to worrying that it was me - that it was all about me being, well you know, (politely) messed up. Phew (again) turns out it's just that darn airy fairy Moon. 

this is all there is

Friday, October 26, 2012
















































on the corner of Water & Black 6pm / gulls / flaming maple / hydrangea / more nasturtiums / starlings early morning / clematis seed head / from the boardwalk at dusk

Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

Mary Anne Radmacher

eating - lots of seasonal local apples & pears & the best ugly chicken ! (recipe with photos soon)
sipping on - David's Tea, I'm a recent convert (also more detailed post coming) current fave - Chocolate Rocket
laughing at/with - Tim Minchin introduced to me this past weekend by best friend & designer gal MLou
watching - Next Top Model Cycle 19 (what's up with that) & We Need to Talk About Kevin* - disturbing, disturbing
smelling - new LUSH moisturizer, fancy tea blends & musty fallen leaves - what's better than the smell of Autumn ?
reading - Where'd You Go Bernadette (very Jonathan Franzen & that's a good thing) & The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet  - paints so many angsty things in my life with a fresh perspective
loving - my twice daily photography walks, crunching through leaves with my gal Missy D
listening to - CBC radio 1, especially Q & creative entrepreneur interviews at Smart Creative Women
working on - my new Etsy things including 2013 Botanica calendar and a brand NEW 2013 Lil' Owl calendar
learning - to treat myself with lots of tlc, who'da thought that could be so challenging but I'm finally gettin the hang of it
realizing - (with a big Phew) that most of my work life overwhelm is around the little things - lots of clerical stuff - emails, inventory management, ordering supplies + keeping on top of marketing myself etc ...  I think I can get a handle on it
treating myself to - daily 3pm tea breaks away from my desk & little bits of yoga - ya huh ! feels so good !
signed up for - Deepak Chopra FREE 21 Day Meditation Challenge

* have tried 3 times to read the book - think I'll give it one more shot - I've felt afraid to read it

blueberry fields

Thursday, October 25, 2012













































blueberry fields against fall foliage on the wentworth mountains - bonjour breathtakingly beautiful !

gasp

less is more

Wednesday, October 24, 2012
















































more is more ... more nasturtiums, more geraniums

doing less
being more

It's a very big goal. It's my No.1 goal. It's a daunting goal. But that's because I let it daunt me. What if I just allowed that this goal was entirely achievable & then spent a limited amount of time - say 20 mins. per day) really examining what & how less would look like in my life/creative empire.

when we focus on doing less and doing it well, instead of doing more and assuming it’s better, we’re less scattered, more deliberate, less harried, and more present. And really, isn’t that what we want? It’s not just the goals and the outcomes we visualize; it’s the happiness and satisfaction we imagine we’ll experience when we get there. It may be the biggest advantage to doing less: we create more space to enjoy those things now. 
 tinybuddha.com

I was in Halifax for 2 days on vacation (ha !) though it was tres relaxing in many ways, lots of walking in parks, eating spectacular food, lapping up loads of tlc & tres stimulating conversation,  plus I got to hang with best friend and all round huge support (therapist/coach/business manager/etc) MLou for almost 2 days. I arrived home yesterday after lunch to a giant welcome from les Gang, including the Prince who all missed me tremendously and along with the sweet fanfare a very huge sense of overwhelm. I made myself a cup of Birthday Cake tea in my new glass brewing mug (all from a city stop at David's Tea) and made myself a big, long list - my must do, as fast as possible list and then promptly felt like crawling under my desk into Winnie's bed & waving a big white flag - uncle.

I give in, I give up, I can't do this, I don't wanna do this. whine, winge, whine (all to myself fortunately).

How'd I get this much on my plate and what could I remove ?  A better, more important question might be what would I want more of ? Trouble is it feels like I want everything, all the things that I'm doing ... but I can't do them all well (& happily). With 69 days left in this year (if you count today & I do love to count days) I need, want, think it's a good idea, to try and decide what changes I could make to my current business practices so that I'm not spending so much time treading water in a big pool of overwhelm. It's a big goal. I like big goals.

I don't want to spend too much time trying to figure it out. But I know less will be much more.

Botanica 2013

Sunday, October 21, 2012
































































some shameless self promotion ;-) above MArch, front cover & back cover - Botanica 2013 for sale now in my etsy shop 

2013 - 11x17 Botanica 12 month wall CALENDAR

Have you ever thought about purchasing one of my 11x14 botanical collage giclee prints ? and you couldn't make up your mind - which one you liked best. Here's the perfect solution & a most excellent Christmas gift. 12 of my favourite botanical collages printed on beautiful 11x17 ! paper. 12 months of Botanica love - + each print suitable for framing.

High quality reproductions of 12 of my best loved botanical collages digitally printed on gorgeous, heavy, text weight paper. Front & back covers are printed on a heavier card weight paper. Each calendar comes with a stainless still binder clip for hanging. All 14 sheets come unbound, sealed with love in cellophane & ship in an envelope with bend proof cardboard.

**** Calendars begin shipping November 01 ****

how ?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

















































tiny desk top bouquet of cosmos & nasturtiums / crunching leaves / Miss D meets up with her pals Toby & Brandi / maple / dandelion Dee / burning bush afire / Black Street / Virginia creeper / rainy poplar

I guess you know by now
That we will meet again somehow

How can I forget your love ?
Time can come and take away the pain
But I just want my memories to remain
To hear your voice
To see your face
There’s not one moment I’d erase
You are a guest here now

Regina Spektor

& the most beautiful love song ... sung by an angel ... makes me think of Jake , my last big love lost,
the last time I felt the big sad ache she sings of but time really does take away the pain.






collaboration

Thursday, October 18, 2012













































Thursday's are Bee days - I pick her up at school at 2:50 and depending on the weather we decide Beach Day ? or Art day ?

Bee days are Me days ... another recipe for my self tlc is to spend a few hours every Thursday with my best 7 year old friend - hooray ! She and I have been working on some large scale art collaborations ;-)

Check this out - Christy over at Mrs. Humpal's Art Room turned my lil ' owls Hugo, Joshua & Morella into a kindergarten art lesson - how cool is that ? & WOW ! the kids incredible owl art that resulted. Thanks Christy.