Today...

(My pink Schwinn Cruiser...:-)
It has been a day of joy...A little sitting out on the lawn in the early morn, sipping coffee, listening to the songbirds...bare toes tickled by the dew damp grass. A little shopping with my honey for new art supplies and a little fresh inspiration...a little meandering about town with my little girl (who is quite suddenly turning ten next weekend, and not so little!)

It has been an afternoon of sweltering heat...a hint of mugginess...telling me that mama nature should delight us with a beautiful light show tonight. I find summer thunderstorms so romantic...

It has been an afternoon of wandering through my yard looking for those little bits of ordinary magic that I sometimes forget about...those little hidden nooks where maybe fairies choose to dwell...



Little places where the light dances...



Oh, and I'm almost finished this...



and working on this...



I've been all about watercolours lately. I'm loving them!


Yes...it has just been one of those rare,perfect days...



and I hope you are having a perfect day today too...:-)

ox

Simply Happy...

Today, I have two of my nieces here. They came into the living room when I was taking this picture...




'Auntie Celeste, why are you laying on the floor taking pictures? That looks fun.' Why yes, honey, yes it is...:-)

As I come here this morning, I have to say that honestly, it doesn't take much to make me happy these days...the chippy green paint on an old screen door hanging on my living room wall...smiley kids...the sweetest husband (who is at work running on less than three hours sleep because he took me to see these guys. There was a wee bit of swwwooooonnnnn-age going on...:-)

And speaking of swooning...



Jon is almost done our greenhouse...I couldn't be happier with it! This weekend we will be putting the stone on the foundation, an I hope to have the interior and exterior painting finished.

I also finished a painting I was working on for a local kids recreation centre fundraiser auction...and I just sent her on her way...



I did something new with this one. I used real flowers...which prompted another little niece to ask me...'Auntie Celeste, what are you doing with those flowers?' Cooking them in the microwave, of course. :-) I think I may have to forewarn my sisters-in-law to keep an eye on their flowers...and microwaves...

Then I had a very sweet lady ask me to please consider teaching a girls yoga/art camp next summer...(Which coincidentally, I'd been pondering for quite awhile anyway.)

All in all it's been a beautiful...NOISY(seriously, kids...could you turn it down a notch.) crazy, busy week...and I am most definitely looking forward to revelling in a quieter weekend.

What are your plans? Whatever you do I hope it is something that brings you joy and nourishes your soul...

Peace and love...
xo

Today....

(Mantra Necklace by Liz)

Simple and true...

(My first Cosmo of summer...)

Hi there! How are you? I came here tonight feeling a little funky...and then I thought of this...

(Dar and I at in her neighborhood antique store...out of focus...:-)

A couple of weekends ago I did something that was a little monumental for me. Okay...to be honest I kicked fear in the ass. I am forty. Yep...4...0. Anyway, I had never, ever taken a solo road trip. You see, I grew up in a family that never owned a car. Getting a licence...a car was never something I ever really thought about...until I was 30. I finally took the plunge, and got my licence...although I still didn't drive that much. So skipping ahead to these past few months...and this shifting (or mid-life crisis?) I've been feeling.

Some people buy sports cars...get tattoos...or end marriages when they hit this time of life, but me...I just wanted to hit the open road sooooo...lllloooo. I kissed my worried husband goodbye, popped in some tunes and started singing at the top of my lungs on the way to a city I didn't know...to meet someone that I've never met in person.

So what happened? Nothing short of pure joy...I have come to not believe in coincidence. I believe that the people and circumstances that come into our lives for a reason...I believe that kindred spirits are drawn to each other.

After navigating my way through Edmonton's crazy busy Saturday traffic following Darlene's (excellent :-)directions I arrived at her sweet cottage, which is nestled on a charming street canopied by the most gorgeous elm trees. From the moment we met, I felt an instant warmth and familiarity. She is one of the most beautiful, genuine people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting...and she has an equally lovely family. Her sister-in-law Suvarna was visiting from Vancouver, and the three of us had such a fun afternoon lunching...shopping...sharing...

It was such a happy day. I came home having connected with a friend. I experienced how being brave doesn't mean doing something without fear...I just didn't let the fear hold me back from doing what I wanted to do.(Huge step!)...and I came home with a couple of trinkets from the Anthropologie store to boot.

What's next??? Being the Wonder Woman that I am...it will have to be conquering my fear of flying. It's kind of funny that I would have this fear...especially because I have been accused of living with my head in the clouds on more than one occasion...:-)

Love and light to you...

Daydream Believing...

(...under our apple tree...)

I love blogging...I really do, and yet I keep struggling with it. So much has been changing that it's hard for me to deal with where it came from, or where it is going. I know somewhere along the line I decided that I didn't want to go through my life not really knowing myself. I decided that I didn't want to keep me tucked away. I also decided that I didn't want to just live on the surface...and it's hard to know how to share this...or know how much to share. I can say that the deeper I go, the more compassion and kindness I feel toward others...and yet, there is the fear that if I lay it out here, there are those who most certainly do not feel the same way. There are those who feel your feelings and views are fair game, and I have a tender heart. So I tread lightly here my friends...

This post was largely inspired by Stacy . Her post kind of stopped me in my tracks...I've been reflecting. I've been contemplating what to do next...and that is the problem. I know full well the joy that comes from bringing a dream to life...and I know I need to immerse myself in the doing. So I will start by spilling my dreams here...(and I prefer to state them as affirmations...because I just have not doubt about them...:-)

*I will earn my living teaching yoga and art. I will have a beautiful website created. I will write children's books...and poetry.

*I will continue studying yoga...art...photography...philosophy...oh, so much more...because I simply love the thrill of learning something new.

*I will live on a beautiful acreage in B.C. with my husband. We will build our own little cabin, and workshop...and grow old together creating. We will have huge gardens. I will have long grey braids, and a clothesline. It will be a magically special space that will be a legacy of love and joy for our family.

*I will continue to live my truth...

*and lastly...I will be able to stand on my head when I am eighty-six.

Now I'm reading back over what I just wrote...thinking it probably looks pretty simple...but honestly...those are my dreams. I think the last one it the most important for me, because if you are capable of standing on your head at eighty-six, how bad could your life possibly be? ;-)

(Bronwyn,2005,Acrylic on Canvas)


To move myself along I hung Jennifer Lee's business plan up on my livingroom wall today, and started working on it. I actually printed it off a few months ago, and it was collecting dust beside my computer. So...ya...it's up on the wall...and being put to task...

And to echo Stacy's sentiment...I too, believe that pursuing our dreams...our passions...only serves to make this world and even more wondrous place.

Happy Weekend...xo

39 Things....

(No.17 on a Spring hike.)

Inspired by this lovely's post I thought this would be a fun thing to help me ease back into blogging again...Be sure to check out her awesome project!


1. I am a child in a woman's body.

2. I love to watch 'Love Actually' so that I can cry at the end...the shots of people greeting their loved ones gets me everytime. I have watched Practical Magic several times purely to look at the house, and garden...the kitchen is to-die-for...and a garden by the sea? Come on...the things dreams are made of...I have watched Pride and Prejudice too many times just to hear the words...'Mrs. Darcy'.

3 . When I was younger (teens and twenties) I put off persuing any dreams because I believed something awful would have to me as a consequence.

4. I have been stalked.

5. I fell in love instantaneously with my husband...He had a good 'vibe'. It was our grade 10 Halloween dance. I was dressed as the 'bad' Sandy from Grease...and he was all bad-ass attitude.

6. I have studied Classical Guitar, and Classical Voice. (I'll sing for you...but I can't play guitar to save my life.)

7. I love to run.

8. My favorite yoga poses are headstand and tree pose.

10. I am a vegetarian living in cattle country.

11. I had a life-threatening complication after giving birth to my first son, which left me extremely weak, and in post-partum depression. It took me five years to get the courage to have another baby.

12. I love to drink tea and read in the bath.

13. I'm not convinced that 'thinking positively' is necessarily a positive thing.

14. I grew up on Vancouver Island, and would move my family back there in a heartbeat, if...(ya, there are lots of if's)

15. I have lived on the same street for almost twenty years, in two different houses. Both of them old...and both of them were purchased primarily because they had a good 'vibe'.

16. I am married to a strong man, who never questions me when I say something has a good 'vibe'. (So far...so good...:-)

17. I love the smell of wet dogs, because I have an almost non-existent sense of smell.

18. I love art. Creating it...looking at it...reading about it...I recently was asked to come in and teach an art lesson to some grade 5 students...and I believe I ended up learning more than they did.

19. I have undergone major shifts in my beliefs and perspectives in the past few months...I have never felt more like 'me' in my whole life more than I do now...I am letting go of old fears...

20. I meditate every morning...There is nothing like that place of stillness.

21. When I was eighteen I was offered modelling jobs...and asked to be the lead singer for a crappy cover band. I turned down both because it would mean leaving home...(and I thought something bad would happen.)

22. I can't dance or turn a cart-wheel.

23. I avoid the news at all costs...

24. I've tried quitting coffee eight times, but I always return to my 'dark master'.

25. I believe in magic...because I have experienced it...

26. At 40, I am at my healthiest, and have never been in better shape.

27. I am passionate about love...kindness...recycling...composting...and creating the perfect dirt. (Seriously, I have been after that 'chocolate cake mix' texture for years.)

28. When I was fifteen I discover Sylvia Plath's poetry...I was captivated, and horrified by her story at the same time.

29. I am a romantic...I believe true love happens far more often than it is given credit...and that too much attention is paid to love gone awry...

30. Speaking of romance...I will visit Robinson Jeffer's Tor House and Hawk Tower soon...I discovered this place about twenty years ago, and have wanted to visit every since. The stuff of fairytales...

31. I can't swim...but I love canoeing and boats...and I will learn.

32. The most amazing place I have ever been was the Redwood Forest...I was awed and humbled by their beauty.

33. My favorite flowers are Cosmos, sweet peas, and gerbera daisies.

34. I have never been on an airplane (See #3) but I will....and I will visit the British Isles...

35. I like to enjoy a glass...or two...or three of red wine...especially Austrailian.

36. I'm not sure what my natural hair colour is anymore...but I think it's dark blonde.

37. My favorite food is fresh berries out of the garden...such a fleeting pleasure...

38. I prefer to wear handmade clothes and jewelry.

39. I can't believe I'm up way past my bedtime, and that I actually thought of this many things...:-)

'Night...

....and the winner is....

Megg! Congratulations! I am sure you will find or create something beautiful to pay forward...:-)