Okay!

The sun is shining, a welcome change. I could not resist getting out and (finally) cleaning the flower beds.  Needless to say, I'm sore everywhere and can't help wondering- if I'm this sore after just cleaning the beds, how bad will I be once I extend them and put in a vegetable garden?! Of course, I utter the same sentiment every year.

This spring/summer holds a variety of outdoor projects for me, since this past winter seemed exceedingly hard on our poor ol' house.  While I was examining the yard, I suddenly remembered that I need to buy a new lawn mower.  A fact I thought of only as I realised that I will need to start cutting the grass by next weekend.  [For those of you who may remember, my push mower echoed shades of Steven King's 'Christine' last summer (see my earliest post for more details).  The result was me insisting that my ex-husband be the one to cut the front grass with it (I use a rider in the back).  Luckily, the man is a good sport and took pity on me.]

As for my art, I'm busy with commissions. I always love commissions, and not just because I get paid to paint.  I love being able to feel other people's energy, and relay messages to them.  People are always so appreciative and happy with what I tell them.  It makes me happy to be able to make others happy- even better is the fact that it is my job! How great is that?!

With the children away for the night, I also have the opportunity to get some things around here organised.  Organised, as defined by our family, is the ability to walk through the house and not trip on any of my daughter's things.  God love her, she leaves a trail where ever she goes.  It's part of her charm.  It also creates chaos.  Added to this is the fact that my large Newfoundland dog [see previous posts] is shedding.  By all accounts she really should be bald by now.  I brushed her for 45 minutes the other day, filling a small kitchen garbage bag with her loose hair...only to find clumps of it on the living room floor not an hour later. *sigh* I'm not sure how this is even possible.

THIS ALL SAID, I would rather have a messy house and a happy family than a clean house and no one to share it with.  So, I typically adopt the attitude that while I am here by myself I take the time to enjoy the quiet and the cleanliness.  When my children are home I take the time to enjoy their company, and make messes together.

I was hoping to get more up this week, by way of some of my green endeavours...however, that clearly did not happen.  More to come....Stay tuned.

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!

It's been ages since I've been able to get the time to blog....poor, poor, blog.  SO, over the next week I fully intend to get some photos up and slowly fill you in on the happenings here.  Be patient with me, people.

Recently I've been running a swap over on Milliande's Art Community for Women entitled, 'My Soul Sings'.  It is a 1 for 1 swap, meaning  that for every painting I receive, I send one back.  I've been painting like a mad woman for nearly two months, and happily waved good-bye to a majority of the paintings over the past couple of weeks.

Aside from that, I have had some commissions to work on, and also, smack in the middle of it all, celebrated my daughter's 5th birthday.  The goal was to keep things as 'green' as possible- a difficult task in a culture inundated with plastic party favours, cartoon characters, and a general expectation to spend more than required on one-time use decorations and toys that children don't need or even want.  In spite of this, for a first serious attempt at being more environmentally friendly, I think we did fairly well.  Later this week I'll share some pics and projects on my "Green" page.  

What else has happened?  Good question...it's been crazy around here and I've totally lost track of time.  Hopefully these artsy photos will appease the masses for now.  Until tomorrow, folks!

SWAP PHOTOS

These are some of the paintings I have sent to participants of the 'My Soul Sings Swap'