A Secret.....

This sweet cat, Tink and this darling pooch Lucy Lu..put up with each other. Well to be honest..Tink puts up with Lucy Lu. I think Lucy Lu would dearly love to be best buddies with the kit. Oh she is a terrible tease...rubs up around Lucy's legs and then boxes her nose.


So anyone watching these two on a daily basis....might wonder if they love each other or not. Guess what I caught today?


Under the porch away from human eyes...these two were having a secret kiss! They love each other after all. Go figure!! Silly humans..we really are are clueless LOL!

Have a wonderful Thurday evening all!! Hugs, Sarah

Wishcast Wednesday

Our Jamie has asked us this morning. What do you wish to give yourself permission for? Ok well there is a huge loaded question!I am in the last week of my "Unravelling" class with Susannah Conway. A wonderful gift from Karen D..I was a lucky winner of her giveaway! I was just posting this morning there..that one of the things I have learned was this....

I do not let myself play and have fun like I should. I am way over serious theses days and have not been Letting Fly like I should!! I also discovered that I have not been taking care of me as well as I should physically, emotionally or spiritually.
So here is what I need to give myself permission to do...

1. I am writing this here..I am telling you all today...I will be 50 this Fall and I am going to loose 35 pounds between now and then. I am going to get back into shape, get moving. I am going to have fun doing it!! I had a body like that one once...I want it back! I want to give myslef permission to look smoking hot again even at 50! I am going to get my annual exams and get my teeth and eyes taken care of.

2. I am going to review my boundaries with the people around me..my tribe. I am going to make sure that my boundaries are cared for and kept. I want to make sure that I am not being treated in any other way that what I deserve.

3. I need to give myself permission to take the time to journal, meditate, pray, do Reiki on myself and take time daily to find my balance with the Universe. To do things daily to remind me of my place in the world and what I have to offer up.

4. I guess the very last thing I would like to give myself permission to do is to try new things..really Let Fly with new ideas. I truly believe that we are given these ideas so we can turn them into something wonderful. Only fear keeps us from acting on them. I want to give myself permission to act even through fear and Let Fly with new directions in my life!!

So there is is...the things I need to Let Fly with for me! What do you wish to give yourself permission to do today?? Hugs and Namaste, Sarah

Some New Work and a WIP

"Puss in Boots"

Although my heart is still heavy and my thoughts are with Renee and her family..I know she would tell me to get on with it already. So I have been getting a bit of work done these last few days. Some I was finishing up from last week. I have several in the wings and will be starting them now. But I thought I would perk myself up a bit and change my header and background and show you a bit of what I have been working on.

"The Master"

A bit of "Spring Fever"

Here is a work in progress...I think I will add some color to this one...what do ya think?

Hugs and Happy Tuesday all, Sarah

Quilting Bee #44.. For Renee..

Good morning all..it is with great sadness that I meet with you today..I am heartbroken and having trouble seeing the keyboard. Our sweet Renee is in the process of leaving this life. So I will offer up some thoughts about what this amazing woman has meant to me here today if you do not mind to awfully much. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and join me in celebrating this amazing woman I love so very much.

I met Renee a little over a year back now, I happened to stumble across her blog. A very strange thing happened that day. There was just something about Renee that drew me in..I spent two hours reading all the back posts on her blog..I cried, I laughed I blew coffee out my nose..I adored her from the start. So I left a comment about how touched I was by her writing and pimped her on my blog..she wrote me back.

Way back a year ago I had no way of knowing what a profound effect she would have on my life. She came to visit me often and always encouraged me. She was straight up and told me what she thought in her comments and email...she did not hesitate to let me know she adored me back. I owe Renee a great deal of credit for where I am with not only my artwork..but also the person I have grown into today. Because of Renee, I am now that girl that can step out and be brave..the girl that can Let Fly. You see Renee offered up the gentle strength to me to allow me to do this..she gently took me to the edge of the cliff and told me to spread my swan wings and take flight. She has been my courage and my greatest fan. She has given me one of the greatest gifts ...belief in myself. She loves me for who I am and only sees the beautiful swan when for so long all I saw was an ugly duck.

We were emailing each other back and forth about the fact that I had been considered the dumb one in the family..but had recently found that I was a relatively intelligent woman..this came as a bit of a shock to me..as I had played my roll for years. Renee said something to me that will stick with me forever..and forever changed how I think about myself...a simple,small thought..so typical of Renee,
"Sarah you have gone from Mental Duck to Mental Swan!" I was from then on her swan. This is where my award sprang from..the love of Renee.

She is my dear friend, my confidant, my gypsy sister, my comforter, my biggest fan, my Reiki patient, my soul friend. She is without doubt one of the most amazing women I have ever known. Her strength amazes me, her attitude forever changed me. She will forever be in my heart! She is someone who I deeply love and will deeply miss.

I want to be selfish and wish her to stay here with us..to remain here and be my loving friend. But because I love her so..I cannot bear the thought of her being in pain and suffering. I take comfort in the fact that so many who adore her are waiting for her to join them. Her Mother and Father and of course her dear Sheldon..waiting to welcome here home. Do the angels know what a gift they are getting I wonder..do they?

So today would you please join me in celebrating Renee..because I know this is what she would want from us...to be feisty and celebrate every day, to say Fuck when it suits us and love unconditionally. To be honest and kind with our words and open with our love. To be the very best we can be and help others to find that too! This Swan will try very hard too offer up all of the amazing lessons she has been taught to her by dear Renee. I love her so...I will miss her so. May your passing be gentle. May your family be comforted. You are loved my friend.
Love and Namaste, Sarah

Boing...boing...roll..bounce..boing....

Every Friday I volunteer at Fox and Nonni's school. Whatever their teachers need me to do..that's my job. Reading help, copies, correcting papers, laminating, giving spelling tests..you name it. But by far my very favorite job this year is being the unofficial photographer for Nonni's Kindergarten class.


This month a local gymnastics club offered our Kindergartners a class every week for free! So yesterday I went off with the crew to The Flip Factory to take some photos of the class in action. Boing...

I have a new lens and the lighting was poor..add that to lots of action shots and well ....I was challenged! I managed to get better as I went along. Twirl..

Can you say..how much fun is this??? Boing..boing

Bounce....

Am thinkin' I may be shelling out for some gymnastics classes. What do ya think?

Wishcast Wednesday....

Our wishcast Mistress Jamie has asked us this morning...Where do you wish to make a difference? Wow now there is a question. I did something different this morning..something in a year or more of wishcasting..I have never done...I went off and read a few of yours first. Not because I didn't know what to write...but I was curious. I was also fascinated by what I read.

I will be turning 50 this Fall..I am ok with that I am. It has given me alot of fodder for thought though. Who am I, what am I good for, what have I done that is good, what am I capable of, what do I want to come to me, what do I want to offer up to the world, my family, my friends? I will always be working on myself and looking to improve my parenting skills..this is a given for me. So the question is now..what do I offer the world. I do believe you can make a difference in a bigger way..I do. I am not out to save people or change them or to gather people to me for that matter. But I truly believe that we come into contact with certain people for a reason. That we have something to offer up from our hearts and experiences, that they have something to offer us.

I have been through some very rough times. Painful, life changing, down on your knees stuff. It has given me a perspective that I treasure. I could never have looked at the world as I do without these experiences. They sucked..but they also gave me something to work with..something to offer others..they gave me the me that I am now. I still struggle with life, challenges, pain and hurt. It is life. I am a work in progress.

So what difference do I want to make? I want to show others that there is a life during and after pain, that there is a path to being happy and strong. I want them to find the magic and the bravery inside them. I want to show them how to Let Fly with all the wonderfulness they have been gifted with. This is where I want to make a difference. What do you wish today? Hugs, Sarah

Quilting Bee # 43

Hello everyone!! So glad you popped in and joined me! Being Valentines was Sunday and The OWOH giveaway was today...I thought I would post the Bee tonight instead. Back to regular scheduled programing next week! I have something yummy to serve up today....waffles...delicious, yummy waffles. There is whip cream and vanilla ice cream if you would like. There are strawberries, blueberries, real maple syrup, bananas, walnuts, chocolate chips...you name it we have it! There is also a selection of delicious healthy cereals and yogurt if you would prefer. I have asked Sarah to pop by and serve up her delicious lattes and chai if you would prefer. So come pull up a chair and join me!

Most of you who know me are aware that I am a very up person..pretty positive, cup half full kinda gal. I think the key to being happy in life is being happy in the moment..not letting things get you down..or pull you down. Generally it takes a lot to make me angry or depressed. For this I feel extremely blessed. It is a blessing to feel this way most of the time..it is and I know it. Often when I speak here you hear me talking about ways to find balance and peace or joy in your life and in mine. Today, I thought I would turn the tables a bit and talk about being blue. Because I think there is a place in our lives for this color..blue.

The media is full of feel good stuff these days. I like that..I do, but sometimes we need a day away from the sunshine yellow that is in the forefront of everything these days. Even being the happy person I am..I even get a bit tired of having it shoved in my face...that I must be balanced and happy at all times. Because the reality is this...we need some balance. Sometimes things are not happy and balanced. Sometimes they are sad and unbalanced. Sometimes we need to acknowledge that we are just sad. We are blue and that this is ok. I don't mean wallow in it or let it take over..but to embrace the blue..experience it and let it go.

When I feel this way, blue...I often just fight it. I don't want to give in to it..like it is wrong somehow. I choke down the sadness, the tears. It makes my chest hurt..that chakra does not like it at all. So what do I do when it finally hits me that I need a day of blue. That I need to just sit and be sad and embrace it, cry & sob? I let my family know that I need some time and I go hide in my room and watch something that will let that dam of tears break. I watch Steel Magnolias, or P.S. I Love You...and Let Fly with the tears. I take a hot bath and do something nice for myself. I take care of me. Often this is why my blues come on anyway...I have neglected myself. Frequently something in my life has made me feel pain or sadness and I choose in my busy life to avoid it and not take care of my own needs...the need to feel the blue. So a good blue day seems to fix me up and let me move on and breathe again without that pain in my chest. Sometimes we have to just be sad and know that this is ok.

So today I am asking you to share what you do when you feel blue. Do you have a movie you watch? Do you know when you are blue? Do you allow yourself to feel it and let it flow? Do you allow yourself to feel balance here? Tell me what you think about what I have said here! Thank you for coming to see me today and pulling up a chair. You bless me every week...thank you!

I think I will have a bit of granola with yogurt this morning...had waffles yesterday LOL! I would like a skinny, hot, 20 oz latte light on the foam please!
What can I get for you today? Hugs and Namaste, Sarah

We Have a Wiiiiiiiiinnnnnner in OWOH....

We have a winnnnnnnner!! Whoot. But first...I would like to thank Lisa for all of her amazingly hard work in putting together this wonderful event each year! I have again found some wonderful new friends this year! What fun it is to visit everyone! I have had so much fun seeing all of the amazing artwork, jewelry, sewing, fiber arts, crafts and altered artwork everyone has offered up! I even found some wonderful gardening giveaways...how fun is that! I would also like to send a great big thank you to all of you that came by my blog and left a comment...I read every single one...it made my heart sing..Thank you so very much!! So without further adieu ....drum roll please..................... the winner of my Unicorn piece is...........
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Megan Chamberlain Congratulations Megan...please email me at cottagegardenstudio@gmail.com with you addy! You might want to pop by her amazing blog...she is the creator of the cutest little teddy bears you have ever seen!! I soooooo want one!! Thank you everyone I will be doing another giveaway soon!! Hugs, Sarah

PS - I will be posting the Quilting Bee tomorrow morning:)

Happy Valentines Day All!!

Happy Valentine's day all!!! I do love most any day that I can give treats..today is one of my favorites. Small sweet treats work just fine on this day and I love that. I enjoy giving gifts. I am married to a Virgo man who thinks that the fact that he adores me is all the gift I need..which of course it is. But this Libra girl is deeply romantic and loves romantic gestures. Jim...not so much. Every now and again though he gets the gift giving thing just so amazingly right..I am well...totally, completely blown away.



Last year in January he found this for me...he was so excited he couldn't wait to give it to me and presented it to me in the middle of the grocery store. So freaking cute! I loved that! Later he said..."Maybe I should have saved this for Valentines Day!" Yeah ....not so much..the effect was priceless!!



This year he did wait though! The UPS guy showed up with a big long box. Nothing new in that, as Jim gets rocks from around the world often. What was different about this box you ask? There were flowers on the box and my name on it!!!!!!!!! Whoot. OMG the boy scored in such a huge way.. a dozen stunningly delicious roses!



Oh my goodness...be still my heart..look at those colors! Delicious..my very favorite rose color...peachy orange...oh oh oh..catch me please!


I hope you have a sweet day too!! Hugs, Sarah

A Few New Pieces ...

The Seahorse Whisperer...

My wishcast this week sent me to the ocean and of course this is what happened when I started dreaming about the water..mermaids.
A Mermaid Princess..


Most of you know that my one vice/passion is a good latte. Being from the Pacific North West..this is not surprising. The java craze started in Seattle or there abouts and just spread from there. So when you have you cup from Starbucks..you can think of me up here in java mecca - LOL!

Did you ever wonder why that first cup of coffee tastes so good? Well java fairies of course!!

Happy Friday all:) Hugs, Sarah

Wishcast Wednesday

I was going to skip today ..am wicked busy..but when I read Jamie's question today, well I just had to join in! You see she asked us today..."Where do you wish to Travel?". I just couldn't resist this one..I couldn't. I have been wanting to travel for a while now. It has been a VERY long time since we have spent the night anywhere but at home. I love to travel and search out new places to tootle through. I am not one for organized tours, I like to wander around and find my own fun.

So what drew me to wish today...more of a need than a want. I want to go to the beaches on the coast of the Pacific North West. I need to go to the beach. It has been calling me for a while now. I love the ocean. The smells and sounds, the light is somehow different there. I miss it, I need to go there. I want to play in the tide pools and show my children all the amazing life there. I want to just walk on the sand and let the wind touch my face. That lovely salty air. I want to take my camera and play with the water and light. Seriously...I think I just need to play.


I know you are thinking..but Sarah your lake is amazing and stunning. Yes it is and I do so love and appreciate that I live in a place of such beauty. But somehow the ocean is different. It brings me a peace I cannot find anywhere else. A calm.
So my wish today is that I can go play on the beach this year.

What are you wishing today? Hugs, Sarah

Quilting Bee #42

Hello all!! I hope you all had a wonderful week!! I thought we might do a bit of light Spring like food today, as many of you are shoulder deep in snow! Out here it was nearly 50 again. Very light winter here. I am not bragging..honestly I miss the snow. So how about some crepes with a light sweet sauce and all the fruit you can handle? Bananas, berries, mango, peaches, pineapple, melon on the side? What would you like to refresh you from your winter blues? I have set out several pitchers of fresh squeezed juices..orange and pineapple, apple, grapefruit and mixed blends...can you smell the strawberries...yummmmm. Kona coffee of course and any tea you might like. I have added some yogurt and granola if you would rather have that!

Please make yourself at home. Sit by the window where the sun is shining in.
I have racked a quilt full of wonder, please join me and pull up a chair!
So glad you are here today!

Wonder is a good word..I like that word. If conjures up delight and new experiences in my head. That deep down wonderful feeling that warms the whole soul. As grownups I think we are prone to being all too serious..I think I mentioned this last week. Sometimes we feel like we have to finish all the work before we can play. I know myself...this is often my point of view..no play until the house is clean, or the dishes washed, or the bills paid...yeah. Well the only problem with that..all of the "work" is never, ever all done. There is always something to clean, to wash, to pay, to complete..always. It is easy to miss things that create wonder and joy when you are busy worrying about the dust bunnies. Ok, so mine are more like giant dust rabbits. I swear I could make a whole new dog every week out of the hair that Lucy Lu sheds!! See what I mean...worrying about dust critters.

A very wise woman once told me..."The dust will be there tomorrow and the day after that. Your children are only young once. Don't miss life while you are busy." Yup being present is a constant struggle for me..to step out of my box and enjoy the now. Last week I had one of those moments that made me stop and contemplate where my head was right now.

In 2005 we were living in a very small house. Really it was a converted garage behind an old house. It was in an area of town that isn't the best and although it was all we could afford at the time it was a bit pride sucking. But we made due. We didn't have a car at the time and I walked back and forth to the college every day. About three miles in all kinds of weather, day and night. One of my classmates in an evening class offered to drop me off after class each week. This was huge in the dead of winter at 9pm. It was scary and wickedly cold. It was a blessing to have Jenn do this for me.

Several years have passed and now and again I would see her in passing around town. This year though our kiddos are in the same class together. Jenn has not seen our new home, or maybe even knew that we had moved out of the hole we were living in and into this Cottage I love so in the garden district. She surprised me the other day when she dropped off one of my after school kiddos for the kiddos mom. I of course welcomed her into my home..she was a bit shocked I think. We have come a long way. But my point.. was where my head was. I was a bit thrown and upset. My house was a bit of a mess. Fridays are the day we regroup and put stuff back in order after a week filled with children playing and making fun messes everywhere. Things are out of place and well, basically everywhere.

As I watched Jenn look around my main room ..what I saw was mess. I am guessing what she saw was the whole new life we have made for ourselves. She even said how cute our house was! For a couple of days I beat myself up about how I had not had a clean house to offer up to my friend. You see of all of the folks who know me now..Jenn is one of only three people who had ever seen where I lived before. I was ashamed, I was embarrassed that there was clutter. It was clean, it was lived in. There are lots of fun things to look at. The room full of children were very happily playing and her kids were wanting to stay and play for a bit too. My home is warm and inviting and a safe, wonderful place to be for us and the children who visit us. But when she walked in my front door..all I saw were my imperfections. It took me a couple of days to see how hard on myself I was being. To see that in my need to stay on top of all of the work I had missed something very important. I was so busy worrying about the clutter..I did not enjoy her visit..I stressed myself out completely over clutter. I spent most of Saturday playing keep up with the Jones's. Cleaning and redoing my main living area.

Late in the day it hit me, that I had taken for granted the gifts I have been given. The huge leap that we have taken from where we were to where we are. I had become ungrateful and lost the wonder that is our lives right now. I had lost my wonder in the midst of being busy and not being present.

So I decided I needed to find something to do yesterday for the remaining part of the day that was out of the ordinary... not work. That I needed to remind myself that things are good and I can relax now and again and breathe! So, I made bread from scratch, I played some music that made my heart sing, I stood outside and wondered at the warm weather and the sunshine on my face. I even watched a movie on pay per view last night. Ok, well I should not have watched "Paranormal Activity" because it scared the crap out of me. But in the middle of it at a very tense moment in the movie, Jim scared me!I jumped a foot and screamed! We laughed for ten minutes because we haven't done that in years. I usually scare him! I was reminded this weekend that sometimes in the middle of working and artwork and cleaning and family and life..I forget to live..really live like we are intended to. A joyful, wonder filled life.

So today I am asking you to share with me one thing that you have been wanting to do that you have not. Maybe because you don't think you deserve the treat, or you need to finish some work or project or whatever first. This week I want you to do that thing that you have been withholding from yourself. Something that will add joy and wonderful to your week! Something that will remind you what a gift you are!
I think I will have some strawberries and light creme on a crepe...Mmmmmmm! I think I will have some hot peach tea also! What can I get for you this morning?
Thank you for coming by... you always bless me when you do! Thanks for pulling up a chair. Namaste, Sarah

Something different... a Wip.

I haven't offered up a whip in a while...so here is one I am working on this week. A bit different for me...but kinda fun. A bit of forbidden love... a bit of skin. So what do ya think....Have a wonderful Sunday all, Sarah

Some More New work...

So I have been playing with the Corel program a bit..just having some fun. I created the template for these tags last year...filled them in with a bit of digital water colors and there ya go. Easy peasy...and wickedly fun. Art sorta..kinda I guess..more like coloring and manipulating. But all in all the original art is my pen and ink and the colors...I looooved. So here are some new hang tags I will be offering on Esty. I will also be putting the "Fairy Om" prints up on Etsy today also. Off to do some non digital artwork and I think I will hit a couple of thrift shops for frames today..whoot!!
Have a great Saturday all! Namaste, Sarah

Could you please...for me.....

I know...two posts, one on top of the other..but I need to share something with you today.
Renee's Mama has passed and I would be so grateful if you headed on over to her blog and gave her a hug. It has been a wickedly horrid year for her and her family. Having lost my Mom myself..I know the pain involved here..the loss. So if you would please take a moment and comfort her, I know it would mean the world to her! Love you Renee..big gentle Swan hugs.
My thanks and love, Sarah

Some New Work....

I did the sketch for this piece about a year ago..funny how you keep looking at a sketch and it says...not just yet...wait a bit. I did..until I rediscovered it again last weekend. It was ready to be worked. So here is a bit of "Fairy Om". Hope ya like her..I kinda do.

I have also had several requests for more Scotties..so here is one. I love doing these little guys, soooo much expression..blame Holly! So here is a young Scottie and a new friend. Well maybe....


I made a new discovery this week...OMG be still my heart..I am in love..I am enchanted...I may faint. I need a photo editing program..I have been searching Photoshop Elements and CS4 (too expensive sadly), Lightroom...etc. I also purchased a book containing Fantasy artwork..many of them use Photoshop and Corel. Being an artist..I was curious about what I was missing here in graphic arts. I prefer the real thing..but I like to play a bit too.

I was missing this...Corel Paint 11 Program...OMG OMG OMG!! I was able to download a trial. Wowowowowowowowowowow! I know I may be coming very late to the show...but seriously I am amazed! I played with the above digital image for a bit last night..just to mess around with the tools..nothing fancy or precise..but gave me a wee taste of what this badboy program can do!


About two years back a fellow I know showed me some artwork he had done with a graphics program...really cool stuff. I asked him what program he was using...he told me it was too complicated for me and I couldn't afford it. Despite asking several times..he refused to tell me. Did that piss me off..uhhmm yup. Just an end note...not to long ago he came to me after loosing his very lucrative job and asked me for help getting going selling online as he was a bit lost..blog..etc...not so stupid after all;)

Have a good Thursday all! Namaste, Sarah

Wishcast Wednesday..

Our Jamie is asking us this week...What story do you wish to live or let go of? Ooooh Jamie...wonderful question! I have been pondering this idea..it has been percolating in my soul for weeks now. I talked about it this week in my Quilting Bee.. I want to reinforce my wantings today... I want to fill my life with magic..delightful, delicious, joyful magic from the heart and soul of me.

I want the magic that fills children's hearts to fill me again. I want it to infuse my artwork and have my artwork find others and add magic to their lives also. I want to believe again, in what I am capable of offering myself and others. I want to inspire others to seek out and find their magic, grab it and let it take them for a wondrous ride! I want to live a life filled with wonder and joy and magic! I think this last week I have uncovered my pouch of magic dust...would you like a sprinkle?? Hugs, Sarah

Lucy Lu and a Game of Toe Tag...

So this totally cracks me up..hope it gives you a smile today. Lucy Lu does the bumble bee dance when she wants to play..little figure eights. Then she will step on your shoe and tag you. If you wait long enough she will talk with you too...giggle!! So here is my Lucy Lu for your enjoyment. Happy Tuesday all! Hugs, Sarah