Friday's Special Moment of Gratitude

Yes, it is that time of the week.  It is time to join the artists at Paint Party Friday and time to share with the world the things that I am grateful for this week.  This has been another beautiful spring week filled with lots of time to read, paint,and take pictures.  Because the weather has been so beautiful, the construction work that we are having done has gone smoothly this week.  Noone brought red Georgia clay into the house and for that I am so grateful.  Everything should be completed in three to four weeks and it is nice to see an end in sight.

 I know I have mentioned several times that my husband  has severe breathing problems.  I am so grateful to the kind, talented, and caring doctors that have helped him so much. This is the first spring in many years that he has really been able to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. 

Jessie reappeared in my paintings this week.  She is still shopping for an Easter bonnet.  She is usually a pretty traditional person but she really wants to branch out a little so this week she added flowers to her hat.  She realizes that she still needs to work on her style a little (actually a lot) but she knows that for her change doesn't happen overnight so she is enjoying the journey and learning a lot in the process.

 
Jessie and I hope you have a wonderful spring weekend.  Don't forget to join the other artists at Paint Party Friday.  You will be amazed at all of the talented people you will meet and how much fun you will have.
 
And one last thing. Don't forget to share with the world what you are most grateful for this week.  The world really is a positive place.  We just have to make time to look for and share all the beautiful things that surround us each day.
                                             What are you most grateful for this week?

Sunday's Quote

                          An optimist is the human personification of spring.
                                                                               Susan J. Bissonette

It is hard not to be positive when everywhere you look the world is full of color.  Now that the yellow pollen has been washed away, the greens look greener, the  whites whiter, and the pinks pinker.  Spring is such a happy time of the year.  It is the perfect time to go for a walk, meet with friends, and of course take pictures.  Nature is just there in all of her beauty ready and waiting to have her picture taken.  I hope that you have a wonderful  week filled with bright happy spring adventures. 

Friday's Special Moments of Gratitude

Years ago my husband and brother-in-law went fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on a cold winter morning.  I decided to try to recreate that morning in this simple watercolor painting.  It is this type of experience that means so much to me as I look back over the years.  It is also the shared cup of coffee with family and friends, the long telephone calls to solve a problem, or a laugh over a ridiculous situation that only my sister would find funny that means so much.  It is the hugs, the smiles, the family dinners and celebrations that stand out in my mind as what is most important to me. 
Tonight we helped to celebrate our oldest grandson's sixth birthday.  It was so much fun to watch him as he opened his presents and shared his new things with his brother.  It is such a joy to watch my son and his wife with their three sons.  They are creating their own traditions and memories with their family just as I was able to do with my mine.  I am so grateful that I get to see so many traditions continue from one generation to another while at the same time I get to be there as new traditions develop.  This truly is a special time!
                                             What are you most grateful for this week?

 

I am linking this post to Paint Party Friday. 

If you would like to meet some wonderful artists,  please join us! 

 

Nature's Inspiration

                 Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
                                                                                   Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I was looking for  a quote to inspire me this morning and when I opened my book this was one of the first things I read.  I do find that when I am engaged in something creative I feel happier especially when I see some improvement in my work.  This is the perfect time of year to be outside taking pictures or sketching. The sky is blue, the grass is turning a deep green, and all of the trees in our neighborhood are covered with beautiful white blossoms.  It truly is a time to enjoy the beauty of nature.  I hope you have a wonderful week filled with happy creative moments.

Friday's Special Moment of Gratitude

It's Friday, time to reflect upon all of the things that I am grateful for this week.  It has been wonderful to hear the birds sing in the morning. to see the new family of ducks on the pond, and to feel the sun on my face each day.  After a winter of lots and lots of rain, it has been so uplifting to look up into the sky and see nothing but blue skies.  I am really glad that I live where I can enjoy the four seasons. Spring and fall have always been my favorite time of the year and so this week I am really grateful that spring has finally arrived.  To celebrate the arrival of spring, I painted my friend Jessie in her new spring hat.  It is not a very fancy hat but I am sure that as she evolves her hats will become prettier and prettier.  It will be fun to see what Jessie's hats look like by summer.  I hope that you had a wonderful week and would love to hear what things you are most grateful for this week.

              I've linked this post to Paint Party Friday an event which I look forward to each week.
  If you are looking for a place to meet wonderful artists who will support and inspire you, Paint Party Friday is the place to be.

                                    They conquer who believe they can.
                                                             John Dryden
                               What would you like to conquer this week?

Photo-Heart Connection - Quiet

 

I have taken several of Kat Sloma's online photography classes.  Now I am hoping to participate in her monthly photo-heart connection which she hosts the first week of each month.  When I was looking for a picture that I truly connected to this month I kept coming back to the above picture.  I'd look at it and then think there has got to be a picture that I took that I connect to more than this but I came back to it again and again so this must be it.  I realize when I look at it I get a sense of calm and peacefulness which is something I am craving right now.  For the next sixty days, my backyard will be filled with construction workers, my dogs will be barking, and my house will not be the quiet oasis I like it to be.  My home usually is my sanctuary but when that is not the case such as now, I can always find  a peaceful feeling by looking at water.  This picture was taken at the lake which is close to our house.  Nothing in our part of the world has been particulary pretty this month but this picture offers me the simple quiet reflective feeling that I am craving so I take it out and look at it quite frequently.  That is why I offer it as my photo-heart connection this month!