5

In many ways, it's hard to believe that you left us 5 years ago today.  Today is the 1st time this anniversary has fallen on the actual day -- that has made it harder, somehow...

I will never stop missing you -- nor will I ever cease to be grateful.  I am so very thankful for all that we had, for what and who you allowed me to be, and for all of the memories that we made.

I encountered this quotation this week.  I can think of no better words to mark this day:

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

― L.R. Knost

I remain amazed that love found us and sheltered us for the many years we had together.  I am likewise amazed that love has found me again.  I carry you with me today and every day ❤

Onward and upward!

New – Now – Neat-o

     Greetings folk of the online realm!  Am I the only one who has trouble believing that today is the last day of January?  *2018!?!*  I suppose that time flies whether you are having fun or not (?)  Luckily, I have been doing much work and having much fun – in spite of some wildly wacky weather for January, in these parts…

     After much planning, and putting off – hemming and hawing – pondering and dismissal, the time has finally come!  …yep, Yep, YEP!  Gentle readers of Blog-land-ia, I offer you *insert drumroll and/or maniacal laughter, here*:  ART PAPER LOVE (AKA my latest love-child OR a newly minted wonderland of visual merriments -- with more goodness arriving weekly, for the foreseeable future)!  I am immensely grateful to the eagle eyes of MDP and mi madre!  Lucky am I to have such vigilant editors in my corner.

     Over the course of the next few weeks, visitors will be treated to loads of new stuff including, but not limited to:  new Blog posts (to further highlight the joys of web-based wonderments), the addition of an interactive Events calendar, and the arrival of an actual purchasing portal (with work, by me, for sale)  *…hey:  Go BIG, or go home – right?*

     More big news is in store with regard to my latest collaborative creative endeavor:  Your Creative Connection.  If you haven’t yet, please do visit our nook on the ‘net for additional information about this unique, creative experience.  …and if you want to be among the very first to know the all of the latest news and developments, remember to sign up for our Newsletter!

     What else is New, Now, and Neat-O in my neck of the woods?  Well:  *thanks for asking!* I will be back at the Demo Table at Jerry’s Artarama Raleigh in the coming months, I have been invited to teach in a new *to me* venue this Summer/Fall (The Yadkin Valley Fiber Room), and I have scheduled what I hope to be the first of many Private Engagements this year *this one a Birthday Party for a CMMAG chum*  So…  as 2018 continues to un-spool before me, I look forward to having even more neat, new, and nifty creative happenings to share with you *some of which are so close I can taste them*!  What has kept you busy throughout the 1^st parcel of this most amazing New Year?  I’d love to know!  Drop me a line, or leave a comment.

     The worktable is calling, and so I must go!  Thanks for visiting with me here – I hope you enjoy the new website as much as I have enjoyed *at long last* making it happen. 

Onward & upward,

Words of wisdom for today:

Progress means getting

nearer to the place you want to be.

And if you have taken a wrong turning,

then to go forward does not get you any nearer.
If you are on the wrong road,

progress means doing an about-turn

and walking back to the right road;

and in that case the man who turns back soonest

is the most progressive man.
                           ~ C. S. Lewis

Mea culpa...

Hale and hearty greetings, Blog Land!

In my last post, I enthused o'er my new-found technological doo-dad that would allow me to blog from my travels across the sea to Seoul.  Upon landing and getting settled in, I realized that the doo-dad was at home -- many miles/hours away *oops!*  "No worries," I said to myself upon returning home, "I'll get a post up before the next Big Thing (a.k.a. the inaugural gathering of ReMe students/guests in Ocracoke)."  Alas, time did fly amidst the preparations for said Big Thing, and no post was forthcoming.

I have now returned from THAT adventure with even MORE goodness to share, and felt it only right and proper to let you know that it is coming -- all in good time *or...  all in my best efforts to be timely (?)*

It would appear that my 46th year is to be A Year of Great Firsts!  I look forward to sharing each of them with you, right here!  One of them is actually happening right now *multitasking to the Nth degree, today!*  So...  I will leave you with a few 'sneak peeks' of the visual merriments that are to come, and we can look forward to a lengthier visit in the not too distant future!

Magical Moments with Meggie
...snippets of the time spent in Seoul with our sweet girl!

Scenes from ReMe - Ocracoke, May '14
...barely scratching the surface of the wonderments of the week!

More coming, soon!  

Onward & Upward,

Words of wisdom for today:

"I am not the same having seen the moon shine
on the other side of the world."

                                    - Mary Anne Radmacher

Photo Notes:

    All Photos  - taken with Samsung Galaxy S4

    ReMe Group Shot - by Deborah Belica

...and Staying Uplugged

*whew!*  This week has been a whirlwind of catching up, figuring out, and planning for what comes next!  I have discovered a few things along the way...  I will have to share those with you a bit later, as I am off -- on the road, again!  This weekend holds a much anticipated (and looong overdue) visit with The Girl!

...but I encountered a poem this morning that yearned to be shared:

     The dignity of desire

      Dive into the thin air of hope
      long for it
      like a tree's roots dig
      for drink       don't pretend
      you don't need it
      you need it
      but don't expect it to look
      like the movie that plays
      on the screen
      of your skull
      your job is not to find it
      only to let yourself
      be found
      to find strength
      in begging
      for love.
                  -Samantha Reynolds, Bentlily.com 

I love that as I make my way along this Journey there are signposts from those who have gone before...  Just last night, as I spoke to my Auntie V to wish her a happy birthday (71 -- how did THAT happen!?), we talked about how the older one gets the faster the time seems to pass.  Are you taking time to look for the 'signposts'?  Are you dragging your heels at every opportunity to make each little happiness, each gift of beauty/love/grace last as long as possible?  Savor!  Treasure!  Hold tight!  There is incredible goodness in this world -- our only task is to be as 'open' to it as we are to all the horrific news that churns on and on and on.

Here is a sampling of some goodness that gave me hope, this week:  hope for our youth (we need more news of 'good guys' like these!),  hope for greater kindness (we need more news of bravery/kindness like this!), and hope for us all (because love IS for everyone!).

SO...  What has given you hope, this week?  Have you experienced something that made you feel more hopeful, or reaffirmed your own vision?  Share it with me!  In this world that has become so connected to the next news cycle, what little thing(s) bring its beauty and magic back to you?

I'd love to hear what the signposts look like on your part of the trail!

Onward & Upward!
 - pla

Words of wisdom for today:

"Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good.."

                                      - as sung by Nina Simone

p.s. - I'll be back with all of the aforementioned 'shareable goods' in the next week or so...  For right now, "I'm flyin' high.  ...and I'm feelin' good."