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

Photos and Poetry

Yesterday as I was blogging over at Your Creative Connection for my latest installment in our Thankful Thursday series, I promised to tell the back story of the photos I used in my post.  I also mentioned that I have a habit of finding words to accompany many of my photographic images -- it's a fun way to expand my love of poetry, and an interesting way to honor my own creative efforts.  I have included below the poems that capture, for me, the mood of these images.

The Man and I received this Bradford Pear as gift from my grandparents when his mother died.  It has been a source of endless enjoyment throughout the intervening 18 years *I didn't even know that these trees lasted that long (?)*.  It's an expressive barometer of the changing seasons:  resembling a snow laden tree in early Spring, when loaded with tiny white blossoms; lush and green throughout the Summer; ablaze in it's finery in late Autumn; and both majestic and bleak against Winter's sky.  

The photo on the left was taken late in the day on December 3rd.  I headed out to the back yard after being consistently distracted by this gorgeous tree all day   The one on the right was taken on Wednesday of this week (December 21st).  The day before had been grey and dreary, and I was very 'aware' of how bare it had become -- and so quickly!  I can only imagine that my awareness was heightened by the slow and steady rain that fell for the better part of the day.  They were both then 'arted up' by using the Prisma app.  It is currently my favorite tool for enhancing images captured with my cell phone (I recently upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy s7 from an s4).

How about you?  Do you have favorite poets you'd like to share?  ...perhaps favorite poems for certain times of year?  I'd love to check them out -- leave me a comment, and I'll see you here again soon!

Onward and upward,

Words of wisdom for today:

Autumn is a second spring
when every leaf is a flower.
                           ~ Albert Camus

My Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Winter (so far...)

We're not known for particularly harsh winter weather, here in eastern NC.  Mother Nature has decided to pull out all the stops this year, apparently!  A mere three weeks ago, we wandered the waterfront in Hilton Head, SC in nothing more than shirt sleeves!  We had the chance to visit with dear friends we hardly ever see, and reveled in the beautiful weather for our visit.  It was great fun, and as is always the case when spending time with those we love:  not nearly long enough.  'Already looking forward to next time!

A Weekend in Hilton Head, SC
...and a good time was had by all!

All in a Days Work
photo transfer on canvas panel w/ brass hardware

Also at the end of January, I had a piece of new work go to a new home as part of the "Ocracoke Through Your Eyes" Art Auction to benefit our friends at The Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum on Ocracoke Island, here in NC.  I was thrilled to take part as a donating artist, this year; I have high hopes of doing the same again and being there for the event, next year!  My fellow ReMe partners and a handful of other local artist buddies donated work for the event which was proclaimed a rousing success by end the of the evening.  When you are next in the area, please do stop by the OPS Museum for a visit!  They do a wonderful job and preserving and sharing the rich and varied history of Ocracoke.

Productive Tranquility
...the view from the "corner office"

Jean, Jodi, and I managed to nail down a full weekend *minus a wee afternoon of antique/thrift/hardware romping* to do some long-range planning for ReMe Retreats.  This made for a lovely change of pace, as we normally fit this in amongst all of our other responsibilities -- it was ever-so-lovely to have more than a few hours to hammer out some of our ideas, set new goals, and plan even more REmarkable wonders for those attending our events -- and there will be wonders!  Many thanks to our dearest Mary N. (of Mary's Funky Fish) for the lakeside hospitality!  *cough...  CAW!* 

The Long View
...2015 - a work in perpetual progress

*WHAM!*  Then wee, li'l February was fully upon us -- and good googley-moogley, has it boogied on by?!  I had envisioned this month as the proverbial "calm before the storm" -- socked in at the homestead for all manner of preparatory, top-secret, behind-the-scenes goodness taking place prior to the arrival of what promises to be a very merry spring, indeed...  Weeelllllll -- not so much (?)  Don't get me wrong:  things are happening!  ...just not the epic quantity of things that I had feverishly imagined would happen during that idyllic week between Christmas and New Year's when the allure of a vast new year and a shockingly blank calendar were before me! 
*shocker, that -- right!?  weeellll -- not so much!  HA*

A Jaunty Visitor
Winter Storm #1 - February 17, 2015

ANYway...  weather has been a factor, as has a bizarre stomach malady *but I'll spare you that particular [non]delight!*  I suppose, if one isn't paying close enough attention, time does fly indeed!  Hard to believe as we look out on the fluffy blanket of snow that accumulated during the day today that just last week the view was of a different sparkle altogether!  Yeppers -- ICE *ice, baby!*  
It makes for lovely photos, but it also makes for treacherous stairs.  I have discovered in a rather uncomfortable manner that it is also dangerous to be out and about during the thaw!  Trust me when I tell you that large, slushy gobs of ice pack a wallop when they are descending rapidly from the tall, tall pines that surround our driveway.  #liveandlearn

 

Today's view, as captured by
my own Sky King.  Enjoy!

 
Onward & Upward,

Words of Wisdom for Today:

Words ought to be a little wild
for they are the assaults of thought
on the unthinking.
                         - John Maynard Keynes

The Big Thaw

Regular readers to this blog know that weather is one of the few topics never given voice here...  However, if you live anywhere along the eastern seaboard, the past week has been chock full o' weather that spawned multiple *many expletive-laden* discussions across the country!  Sadly, some of our far-flung nor'eastern friends are battening down for even more of this treachery.  *bless their hearts!*

We here in the "Sweet Sunny South" are ne'er prepared for weather the likes of which we saw this past week.  With good reason:  we have not experienced accumulation the likes of thess since 1999*!? 

On a typical afternoon/evening in February, this is what the view from the front porch looks like around here (02/16/14); temperatures ranged from a low of 37 overnight to a high of 55 today:

Early Afternoon                    Late Afternoon/Early Evening
(approx 12:30)                                                                         (approx 5:30)

Two weeks ago, we had what I thought would be our "big winter" weather.  Nestled as we are, along the meteorological mystery land known as The I-95 Corridor, we rarely get any of the forecasted nastiness.  My winter weather anxiety is usually reserved for friends and family further afield who actually do have serious concerns when bad winter weather visits the region.

 

...just two weeks agoI figured that would be it for 'winter'

 
This past week, however, we were on the receiving end of the brunt of the bizarre Winter Weather Marathon.  We ran the gamut:  from snow, to sleet, to freezing rain, to micro-hale-like ice pellets, to more snow, aaand a dash more sleet and freezing rain to top it all off.  It made for quite the anxiety-laden week, to say the least! 

It all started on Tuesday, with swirling snow beginning in the morning and continuing for over 8 hours!?  *yes, gentle reader, this freaked me right out!*  By the end of the day (photographically speaking), we had about 4.5 inches of snow -- and that's a whole bunch for this part of the country, not to mention this part of NC!

The Great 2014 White Out
Day 1 - February 11

Wednesday morning, it started snowing again just before 10:30.  When it stopped just over two hours later, we had another 3 inches of snow.  I watched from my post at the front door as the sidewalk and driveway disappeared under the snow.  Within an hour, it started sleeting; this hellish accumulation continued until just after five o'clock.  By the end of the day, the snow and ice had gathered up to the lip of the 2nd step -- just over 8 inches total...

The Great 2014 White Out
Day 2 - February 12

Things fell into 'wait and see' territory after dark, and we really didn't see anything else until the early hours of Thursday morning.  We awoke to a fine, steady misting of rain that had already glazed the bushes and tree limbs with a coat of ice.  There was also evidence of a shower of micro-hale *quite bizarre!* that had fallen before the freezing rain began, now encapsulated in the ice covering that increased throughout the day into the late afternoon.  The biggest worry, as we entered day 3 was whether or not we would maintain power if the freezing rain lasted too long (?)  We were very fortunate in that regard, as our power never wavered throughout the three day Event.

The Great 2014 White Out
Day 3 - February 13

Never ones to stand on ceremony, we celebrated the end of the storm by enjoying a St. Valentine' s Day Eve dinner fit for Royalty:  grilled rib eye steaks flanked by stuffed, bacon wrapped baked potatoes.  It was divine!  ...and had we not fallen upon the repast like hunger-ravaged beasts, I would share a photo with you *oops!*

Here's to the end of Winter's scorn.
Here's to the coming of Spring!

What was the meteorological highlight of your week?  *inquiring minds want to know!*  I hope that whatever it was, it afforded you the opportunity to feel fortunate in spite of any discomfort or inconvenience.  I know that we were lucky to have the comforts of hearth and home *and a well stocked larder,* throughout the nasty weather that found so many not so well-prepared.

Onward & Upward,

 - p

Words of wisdom for today:

"Winter is the time for comfort,
for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand and
for a talk beside the fire:

it is the time for home. "

                                      - Edith Sitwell

* {ack!} I can NOT find a link to that iconic song, as performed by Prince (?) *you can just hum it to yourself, m'kay?* 

Photo Notes:

   All photos taken with Samsung Galaxy S4
   Edited with Pic Monkey and PhotoGrid; color adjustment in IrfanView

   Winters Wine taken with Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS1 - edited in PaintShop Pro X2

  *All photos can be seen in a larger size by clicking on them*