clearing my head

with a hundred things on my mind

classes to take (at the creative festival) and

teach  (encaustic at busy b's and christmas tree pin at john bead),

 which also includes lesson plans, kits and samples

crocheting, putting the garden to bed and

all my regular chores and work

i needed a little break

and nothing works better than a walk on the beach

the water always sooths my soul

above a photo taken on my iphone of the luety lifeguard station

using the "hefe" action in instagram

clouds and reflections

last week i was down at ontario place waiting for the gates to open

bored, i started taking pictures of the clouds and their reflection in the water

what a difference a few minutes can make

as each day comes to us refreshed and anew,

 so does my gratitude renew itself daily

the breaking of the sun over the horizon

 is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world

terri guillemets

as we express our gratitude,

 we must never forget that

the highest appreciation is not to utter words,

 but to live by them

john fitzgerald kennedy

grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal

it's a way to live

attributed to jacqueline winspear

every moment is a fresh beginning

t.s.eliot
(photo of the pond at lisa's new farm)

i will spend lots of time here

peace and tranquility

i really enjoyed my stay at the

woodstock inn on the millstream

i love being near the water, it sooths my soul

my first afternoon was spent soaking my feet

and taking photos

every morning and evening i would take in the view

before and after classes

-----

above, the inn sign and a view of the millstream

a close up of the falls

dogwood and a statue from town

rain on the water and

my reflection in a local store

------

visit my flickr page for more from woodstock

sunrise, sunset

what a wonderful weekend

to be able to wake up in the morning

and see this view

life couldn't get any better!!

listening to the waves all nite and being

this close to the water sooths my soul

and i love how the early morning light

reflex's off the waves

we had to drive a few kilometres around the bluff
to see the sunset
gorgeous!
-----
a special thank-you to my friends dede and mary
for a spectacular weekend filled with
laughs, art and friendship

--------
photos take between owen sound and wiarton
on georgian bay

r & r

i'm off to georgian bay
for a little r & r
be back monday
---
above photos taken last visit

encaustic class

For whatever we lose

(like a you or a me),

It's always our self

we find in the sea.

~e.e. cummings

my favorite place to be is near water

above are two shots

one of the luety life guard station

near my home

and the second of a light house

in pacifica, california

just outside san francisco

for the background i used

sounding maps from lake ontario

then added some clear wax and cheesecloth

and some umber oil paint to

highlight the texture

reflections

it's been 3 weeks since my ny weekend

i haven't had much time to sit and play

with my photos until today

my first morning was spend

walking through bryant park

it was so quiet!

which is hard to imagine!

just a few workers, tourists , homeless people

and me, taking shots of the amazing refection's

after the evening rain

one of my favorite blogs to read is

a new york magpie's eye

judy has a wonderful eye for photography

and lives and works in manhattan

she finds so much beauty on her walks to work

and inspired me to take these shots

so next time your out

remember

look up, look down, look back

just a few miles up the road

is a marina and park

i like to visit as often as i can

it's a great escape in the big city

the water really soothes my soul

and i get to

visit with the wildlife

above is one of the many photos i took yesterday

played in ps, added a few filters and a frame

it's a new dawn, it's a new day

when i'm blocked or frustrated

i sit and look through my photos

with my itunes playing in the background

usually it's motown or r&r

this time it was my mellow playlist

maybe it was listening to michael buble's

"feeling good"

that inspired me

above is a photo taken of mirror lake

in lake placid, ny
last fall on a road trip

i got up with the rising up

wondered along the lake

me and the loones and a few joggers

the peaceful lake

it was so beautiful

today is my day off

so i will work on some art

a day of sharing words

"we get so caught up in the furry of our lives

that we forget the essential thing about art-

that the act of creating is a healing gesture,

as sacred as prayer,

as essential to the spirit as food is to the body

our creative work reveals us to ourselves,

allows to transform our experience

and imagination into forms that

sing back to us in a language of

symbol of who we are,

what we are becoming,

what we have loved and feared.

this is the alchemy of creation:

that as i attempt to transmute a feeling or a thought

into and artistic form that can be

experienced by another,

i myself am added to,

change in the process."

jan phillips

photos from my weekend trip to owen sound

it was truly a creative time which changed me

thanks to lk ludwig for starting this idea

(see previous post)

blue

thursdays challenge

the topic "blue"

and since my head is still in cold mode

i've posted something simple

the tide coming into kingsville, ontario

water has always been very soothing to me

i've always lived near water and love the sound,

the smell and everything else it brings

feeling under the weather since i returned home from my long weekend visit with my sister

i've been playing around with some of my photos taken during my stay on lake erie

i don't know why i like this one, maybe its all the cold meds ,

or the ttv i found while looking through flickr

either way, i like it, something very calming about the whole thing

so i decided to use some of the photos in my new header

i'm back

thanks to my sister de and her man greg

i had a wonderful long weekend

its nice to just hang out and enjoy each others company

summer seems to be "flying" by too quickly!

stroll on the beach

i love the water

the sound of the waves have a way of soothing me

it's a great place for me to "be"