Saturday Snippet 10

This photo was taken on Cape Cod, Brewster, Mass.

It was a perfect, slow drive home from Provincetown.

I popped the butterfly in to break up all that green. Buddha approved ;)

Happy weekend, my friends!

Illustration Friday: Shadows

"We are shaped by our thoughts;

we become what we think.

When the mind is pure,

joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

~Buddha~

for Illustration Friday: shadows

acrylic and colored pencils on patterned paper

Offerings and Gratitude

With all my traditional holiday touches, it seems I left an important feature unadorned. This beautiful statue of Buddha once sat in my zen garden in California. I don't dare place him outside here because a hard freeze could cause him to split, and I can't keep moving him because he weighs over 100 pounds. So here he has sat in a corner of my dining room for the past year.

He's a bit out of place, really. But I get to walk past him every day and when I pause to dust him off a feeling of gratitude always washes over me.

So today I gave him an offering. I was looking for a place to put my dollar store snowflakes and then said, "Aha! A perfect mandala!"

And as for gratitude, much of it stems from my blog relationships that have formed over the years. Some of you I have met in person where hugs sealed special bonds. Some of us have spoken on the phone, shared laughter and tears, exchanged gifts, and sent cards for no reason other than to let the other know they're loved and thought of.

I'm truly grateful for all of you, even occasional visitors and art critics.

May your Christmas, Kwaanza, Hannukah, Buddhist or non-religious winter celebration be all you need it to be.

As for me, I'm just going to continue to appreciate the magic around me and try to keep myself open for an inspiring new year.

~Winter Blessings and Love~

Lolo♥

  

Thankful Thursday: Double Happiness

Another week and another pile of gifts in my mailbox from my blogger girlfriends. Wow you guys, really, I'm so spoiled by you!!

Here's the show and tell part.

This is a wonderful postcard from KJ telling us our new home is ready. It was just the smile I needed in this hectic week.

And I could totally live in this bohemian place. I love it!(That's my old address, no worries.)

These fabulous photo cards were also sent to me from KJ in case I wanted to write letters from the road.

I took these shots of them just now and it's not showing how wonderful her images are. I'm just short on time to scan each of them!

Thanks, dear friend. xxoo!

Soulbrush struck again and sent me 2 gorgeous atc's that I adore. I love the 3 people soaring together. They look great with the firebirds in the other one!

Thank you dearest. You know how special you are to me!

Lynn totally surprised me with one of her latest felted atc's!

That woman is amazing, always trying something new and each new thing is a success in my opinion! Thanks Lynn, I love this!!

Margaret over at waterblossoms gifted me with these 2 wonderful ATC zentangle blossoms on linen paper. The blues and browns are just stunning together! Is it any wonder she's one of my favorite artists?

Thanks so much my friend! Your generosity knows no bounds.

And finally this card from a dear friend of mine who is trying to understand why I spend so much time blogging, and how on earth I could ever make 'real' friendships here. She realized the way she had gone about her questioning had hurt my feelings. The next day I got this wonderful card from her that said "This card says it all." I now realize she's just having a hard time saying goodbye to me, and quite honestly she may be feeling a little abandoned.

I may be moving away, but I'm not leaving friends. You'll always be with me.

I hope I didn't leave anyone out this week. My desk is a mess and I'm too stressed to tidy up. The next step is packing it all up.

Thanks one and all. Friends are just the best medicine! xoxo

Animal Wed-Zen-Day

Deep breath in...

Exhale,

Repeat 3 times.

Feel better now?

Peaceful Animal Wed-Zen-Day my friends :)