It’s been a busy, crazy, fun (and more cool adjectives) summer. I’ve been working a lot on a variety of projects, so my head goes from nonfiction subjects to interviewing people to writing some fiction to planning out art to just finding time to enjoy life. It’s all a blessing, this variety. I cherish it.
I’m working on a new series of art and also varnishing some finished canvases for future sale. (I’ll announce sale dates at a later time in my newsletter.)
The last few months we’ve been volunteering on a weekly basis for a worthy cause and it’s been a joy to devote our time in this way and also a blessing to be able to do it together.
A lot of people write to me to ask about meeting new people, and I always recommend volunteering as one of the best ways. You get out of your own life and see the world from someone else’s perspective while you do new things and expand that comfort level of yours.
We’ve been enjoying farmers markets and long walks and ordinary things that become treasured blessings. Our regular gratitude practice helps with that, I think. We’ve been doing it for three years now and it has definitely changed the way we approach life.
The farmers market by us has the most beautiful flowers. Seriously.
A lot of times we go there, grab some lunch or breakfast, and then come back with flowers and a few veggies to mix up that night. Speaking of flowers, can I just say how grateful I am to the woman who lived in this house before me and planted these lovely tulips:
And as for the walks, we’re not the only ones who get a lot out of them. Genevieve comes back with a happy smile on that cute little puss of hers, too.
And yes, I kicked off summer again this year by making my husby my famous bacon, arugula, and watermelon sandwich.
Want the recipe? Bacon (duh), a small bunch of arugula (baby greens are best), Miracle Whip, a slice of watermelon, and toasted white bread (or sometimes I use Ezekiel bread). You’re welcome.
Naturally, we’re hitting up every estate sale we can find. I love the stuff we find at places like that, especially this stash from last week:
Hello bag of lace for $2! I will use you a zillion times over in my art.
You know I’ve got a thing for clouds and sunsets and sunrises, right? I’m always pulling over to photograph them. The other day I took this at the end of our block, and I swear when I look at this picture, it feels just like a storybook to me. I could enter in and go and on and on until I was fully immersed in the land of make believe, where all the little girls are princesses, all the adults are kind, all the dogs are the non-allergic variety, and the only limitations are dictated by your imagination. Now that’s what summer should be like.
