Catching up on Life

Life has been moving at a rapid pace for me lately. The short version, as to not bore you all, is after the trip to Arkansas, I went to London & Paris with my husband, entertained my family for a week and then flew to NYC for a long weekend, which then turned into a week thanks to being stuck in Chelsea during Hurricane Sandy. I arrived home just in time to make a portrait photo shoot I had to do for my neighbor and her family before turning around again and flying to Arizona for a week of visiting with my friends, family and of course, doing a little birding in Sedona. I've been home for a little over a week and I can't believe how far behind I am on everything. Plus, I had two outings with Lita (one to Key Biscayne, another to Loxahatchee) that yielded even more birds and nature pics! The year is ending and a new one is beginning. This means old goals to try to catch up on, new ones to set for the year.

Birding has been taking up free time. I do so enjoy it. I have plans to begin art projects inspired by all my new feathered friends. I am looking to make 2013 another year of living the best life I can and fitting creativity into my everyday life. I've got some amazing trips scheduled for 2013...both Phoebe and Luke will be coming down to enjoy Florida and Phoebe and I will be hitting Costa Rica together in the early part of summer on a yoga retreat. And finally, my big trek of the Pennine Way is happening in April. I still have in the works, a trip to both NYC and Sedona again next fall for the Fall Migration. We shall see if it pans out, but it's all going on the Dream Board. Also going on there: Peru, Ecuador, New Zealand, Africa and Japan. If you are going to dream, why not dream BIG?  Have you all started your Dream/Vision boards for 2013 yet? Get crackin'! Time is running out! I'll share mine when it's done. ;-)

Until then, It's time to start processing and posting hundreds of photos from all these adventures! Here are just a few from each trip:

 Old World

Visions of Moulin Rouge

Flood Fascination on the Hudson

The day of Sandy's arrival

Naked Cowboy

 Great-tailed Grackle, Thunderbird Mountain, Glendale, Arizona

Lifer #141

 Arizona Sunset

Anna's Hummingbird

Lifer #150

Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with my blog a bit better in 2013. If you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry, I'm just off exploring somewhere. ;-)

The Week in Art & Photography

The week started with creative goal setting and for the most part, I accomplished what I had wanted for the week with art & photography. Earlier in the week I was able to complete Exploration #16 & create a digital image that had been in my head for quite a while. On Friday, I spent the morning photographing a beach that I had never  been to. Of course, life has a way of always interrupting even the best laid plans so not everything got done and some things weren't even attempted. Goals that fell by the wayside were to complete a page in every art journal I have going (I knew that was a lofty goal. I manage a few but not all!) and to work on a Pinterest inspired project and/or start some Bunco decorations. But to quote Scarlett O'Hara: "Tomorrow is another day!"

Watercolor doodle, practicing Linda Davenports way of drawing faces.

The watercolor lessons continued with learning to do grass. For some reason, I found this lesson challenging, more so than doing trees. I think I may need new watercolor brushes!

A page done in my vintage-themed Europe '94 journal.

Pages 3 & 4 of the 2012 Sketchbook Project. I still need to finish painting Sacré-Coeur.

One of my other goals this week was to finish processing all the images from Day 1 of the Cumbria Way. These were my favorite that I processed this week:

Lunch at the wall. After being rained on for two hours. :)

 Osmotherly Ent. It kind of reminded me of the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter.

Purple Trees. My lens had broken and wasn't focusing correctly for most of the trip. However, despite that and the rain, I still managed to snag a few images that will forever remind me of the trek.

I hope everyone one had a creative week! Remember...art is good for the soul!

In the Midnight Hour

In the Midnight Hour

In the midnight hour, he stands in the shadowed corners of the city, waiting, listening. His sense so acute he can hear the sound a mile away. Thump thump, thump thump. Those that troll the darkness  for danger will find him welcoming them with a sharp smile. In the midnight hour, he drains life and soul. In the midnight hour, he waits for you.

Oh vampires. So scary, so fascinating. When I was a little girl, my mother and I would watch the soap opera Dark Shadows every day. Barnabas Collins scared me, yet I was strangely drawn to him and his story about loving a mortal girl named Victoria. Sometimes, I catch myself believing them to be real and will scare my self silly. I've been to Paris twice and both times, visited Père Lachaise, the incredibly sprawling Gothic cemetery. The first trip, I made the mistake of bringing Interview With a Vampire with me to read. Part of the story, with Armand, takes place in Père Lachaise and Montmarte, the very neighborhood I stay whilst in Paris. I had freaked myself out so bad that I couldn't sleep and decided I couldn't read anymore until I was out of Paris.

On the second visit to Paris with my mother, I once again visited the cemetery and stayed in a beautiful B&B that had the most amazing view of the Paris rooftops. During our visit to Père Lachaise, it was a misty, foggy, dreary day. A funeral was taking place. It was cold, gray and we both felt a combined sense of wonder and eeriness.

Later that night, in our room, as we turned off the light and laid down to rest our tired, worn out bodies, a tapping noise began. Tap, tap, tap. "What was that?" I said, my heart racing. "I don't know" replied my mother. It happened again: Tap, tap, tap. "It's coming from the window", pulling the covers higher up over me as if that would offer some sort of armor-like protection. My mom got up and turned on the light. We both sat up and listened, looking towards the curtained window. Tap, tap, tap. "It's definitely coming from the window" I said, as my mom got up and walked towards it. I shouted at her with horror "Don't open it!!!!"

She looked at me with shock and said "Why not?" My explanation was that we had been in Père Lachaise earlier in the day and the Vampires knew I believed in them and that my mind was weak. They wanted us to open the curtains and then they would glamor us and come in and suck our blood. What did my mom do? She looked at me for a second and then burst out in laughter! But, I was dead serious (no pun intended), I would not allow her to open the curtain. Needless to say, I just laid awake all night, listening to the tap, tap, tap continue until sunrise. What it actually was, we'll never know but I don't regret opening that curtain one bit. :)