Turned the clock back on the first rainy night of the Fall of 2008. Has it been a year since I updated the blog?

A lot can happen in a year, and a year can go by like a minute. This one did for sure. Autumn and Winter are my creative seasons and I find myself back here today....not really sure why...cause really....no one reads this or ever comes here. What is a Blog and no one visits or comments on?

A personal space, like most areas of my life are. It's that time in my life, the solitary path of the elder who lives with her cat........and it's strangely satisfying and peaceful. Like Stevie says, it's a spititual, learning about life, library, watching the moon and stars and learning the secrets of being, kind of life. For the fitst time this year, I needed another quilt on the bed, and today is a soup day. Life is good.

Fall Equinox

The long awaited day....Autumnal Equinox in Southern California and it is such a surprise. The sky blue and full of clouds after our first rain of the season. It is cool and crisp and I am totally in tune with the energy of nature with my new 12 mega pixel in hand.
My best rainy day subject is my Wilson. I used an overlay from the photo mats first edition, mat #3 by Lori Giles to make this photo look like an Heirloom, which it will be one day.

My beautiful sister came by unannounced today to bring me some home made sweet rolls that she really should be selling, they are so good. She did this on a day when she was in pain due to an upcoming surgery and I realize I am loved......how lucky I am.

I am dreaming on this day of feminine energies, of the time when I can live off of the money I make with my creativity and spend all of my time working on something that is who I really am. If I need to win the lottery or how ever the money wants to come....my doors are open and so is my bank account.

Years ago, my home would fill with like minded travelers and we would have drumming ceremonies and celebrate the changing of the season. I miss those times, but I would not go back to them because my heart is filled with the now.....with the true passing of moments as they come and go and the peace that being here now brings most of the time. I miss Gene and Adam, Carole and Lonnie......I am learning to find the beauty in the unexpected and I would not trade being able to be who I am for any relationship with a man. Now, I could really have a friend who was also a man.....or not. That is not my focus now. I think of all the years that having a relationship was the driving force of life, and they seem far away now. I'm glad I had them, but I am wide awake now and it is Autumn.

Family Tree

Here is the latest collaboration kit that I did with Lori Giles. This is such an honor for me to design a kit with her. She is one of the best designers out there in my opinion. She has a huge body of beautiful work which is what got me addicted to digital scraping in the first place.....her kits! Now here I am part of her design team and sharing the creation of a kit with her.

She did all of the papers and many of the elements and the alphas. Her papers and color scheme are so perfect for a heritage collection.

I contributed elements from my own family tree so this is a very special honor for me.

The Whitman's tin with the design by Alphonse Mucha was my Grandmothers treasure box. No one knew she had it until she passed, and mom found it in her dresser drawer. She kept the things that were important to her tucked away in there. I also used my grandpa's pocket watch and my great grandmothers pocket watch, and old frames that started off containing photos of my elders. The hourglass has been with me for many years and the silver pen was a special gift. One of the keys is to my grandfathers old desk and one is my logo for my photo resoration site. This kit is special to me in many ways and I hope that you love it and enjoy using it.

Don't forget that is FREE with any $8 purchase at http://www.digitalscrapn.com/ for the month of September. You can also purchase this kit at http://www.ndisb.com/. Be sure to check out Lori's blog at http://www.digitalscrapn.blogspot.com/ for more previews of her amazing work.

Thank you Lori, for giving me the chance to do a collab kit with you! I hope there are more in our future.

Autumn Sunflower - My first whole Kit!

Here it is finally, my first whole kit! This is the preview that shows the leaf and flower elements in the kit, plus there are two overlays and 11 papers. This is a hand painted kit that was done with Autumn Rose in mind. This kit can be purchased at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking and also at Digital Scrapin (see links on the left)

This is a layout I did using an overlay, a flower element and a leaf element from this Kit plus some borrowed Autumn Fairy Art by the Amazing Amy Brown. Visit her website at http://www.amybrownart.com/ for more awesome artwork if you love Fairies.

Click on the image to see a larger version of it.

In the midst of it all..........

I'm supposed to be paying bills right now and then I have scrapbooking kits to work on, clothes to mend, groceries to buy and Cinde and Jim's wedding album to create. I stepped outside on a whim. It is hot and muggy, thunderheads showing to the east, tons of stuff I should be doing…….in the midst of it all……I saw this.

I had to stop….no choice in the matter. Lilies of the Nile……they captured me and took me back to a time when Cinde and I sat in her Jacuzzi under the stars with the torches lit and these plants were all around us. We spent many nights just talking and dreaming, both of us on the verge of huge change in our lives.

These Lilies are on both sides of my front porch and they have special meaning. This is the first year they have bloomed like this, the stalks are almost up to my waist.

Thanks to Lori Giles for the Border Jewelry! I am still learning that you should not flatten your image in Photoshop until you are sure you haven't made any mistakes. If you click on the photo you will see it full sized...the details of the lilies and of my mistake with the border......but like everything else, sometimes perfect is just the way it turns out......mistakes and all :)
Thanks to Mother Earth for the Lilies of the Nile.

Memorial Day Project

I couldn't think of a better way to spend memorial day than to get started on my sister's Wedding Album.

Eight hours later I don't know where the time went! I learned a lot and the pages will probably go alot faster now.

Every creative second was a joy. I just hope she likes it!

Cinde and Jim are getting married

His Royal Majesty

This is my companion in life. He came to me at a time when I needed him so much and he has been my best friend ever since.
When he was given to me his name was Oliver, but I wanted to name him Emmett. It seems I have called him by 100 different names but there are two that really stick, Snickets and most of all Wilson.

If you have seen the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks you will understand the meaning behind the name Wilson and what this little guy has meant to me.

Of course as we all know, cats don’t have owners, they have staff. I'm fine with that because he has brought me so much love and joy, and like most people who live with a cat or dog, I think he reads my mind. He has a toy box and when he wants some attention he goes and picks out a toy and brings it to me.

I created this page using Photoshop and a template created by Janna at KB and Friends for a template challenge. The background is an old screen shot I took of a screensaver called Maya Paint Effects. This was my first attempt at using a template and I had fun with it.

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day

Another awesome Sunday morning. I miss you Mom and Grandma, not just today, but everyday.

If your mother is still on the earth, give her an extra loving hug today.

I chose not to have kids this time around, but I have a brother and sister who I co-raised and they have kids, and my sister/daughter is a grandma so I have plenty of kids to love.

I am the first lady of the family at this point in time so I love all of them as my kids.

HUG YOUR MOM :)

Sunday Morning Sure Looks Fine

Sunday Morning Coffee What an amazing time of year this is in Southern California. I have all of my windows open and the wind in the ancient laurels outside is creating that sound of rustling and shusshing that I love.

The chimes are playing, the birds are singing and the coffee tastes so good. This is the kind of day you just want to bottle for later on in August when it is 110 and 98 percent humidity.The view outside my bedroom widow takes my breath away. It is peaceful and I feel full.
Now, time to get busy! There are more digital scrap booking papers packs to upload!

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