Art teaches nothing,

except the significance of life.

- Henry Miller

hello everyone!
it's so good to be back.
I am finally done my office job
and my days are open once again
to be filled with art
and quiet coffee
and good music
and space for breathing.

I have been reminded these past few months

of something rather important in my life:

I value freedom far more than i value money.

I value time far more than i value things.

I am not a material girl. 

I have little patience with routine and boredom.

I am willing to sacrifice new shoes

new clothes,

or dining out in restaurants

for more freedom in my day

to paint & play.

I crave creativity daily,

and when i don't get it,

life is no fun for me.

So these past weeks/months have been a whirlwind,
and working in an office was my choice (temporarily!)
but thankfully - it has all ended and i am gently falling back
into my comfort zone...
my natural strengths...
my happy place,
my heart of art.
Exactly where i belong.

I watch people go sometimes
and think to myself "surely - they have gone completely mad"...
running from work to running errands to going to the gym
to taking kids to endless practices and games
to rushing for groceries and appointments and shopping
and doing more and having more
and buying and buying and buying more.
it makes my own head spin.

It's so easy to get caught up in that race.
One really has to pull back now and then
and ask the question :
Is this what i want?
Is this MY race, or someone else's?

There is very little that is essential
for a good life, really. 
At least for me.
A hot bath.
An afternoon in a used book store.
An evening walk with a good friend.

An afternoon of painting.
$5 in my pocket for a good coffee.
Good music.
A soft place to fall.
Soft pyjamas.
or no pyjamas at all!
(giggle)...

 There is just so much in the world that is free
and beautiful
and at our fingertips
but we miss much of it
because we're cooped up in brick buildings
with fluorescent lighting and grey walls
exchanging time for money.

When we are old & grey,
i doubt that any of us will wish
we spent more time at work,
but i can almost guarantee
that most of us will wish
we had spent more time noticing the sunrise,
or the crickets,
or the moon & stars at night,
or spent more time with family and friends,
giving and getting more hugs
putting our toes in the sand...

(my family, a few years ago, when we were still all here...)
Making good memories...

And because it's mother's day tomorrow -

Mom, at her last Relay for Life,

smiling through it all,

with her matching pink & yellow flower hat. :-)

She taught me to live life to the fullest.

Thanks mom. xx

and this one,
because I adore it so much...
mom, family & friends, when she was a young girl.
Mom is in the front, with the white dress and crooked legs
and the tube around her neck! 
Classic mom!
I love the innocence in this photo
and the obvious great time, despite the poverty.

And since it's mother's day tomorrow...
this young man right here,
makes me who i am today.
My son - graduating from high school this year.

So proud of him...

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for being here with me.

xx