Hello Summer!

Weekend Wrap Up

Hey gang. How goes it? Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I enjoyed mine.  Friday night we didn't get to have a campfire as it was a bit breezy, but lovely just the same. So we sat out on the patio and some of the neighborhoodlums wandered over, Gerry and Sandee to be specific.

Sandee headed home because she was beat after a long day and a road trip, so G, Gerry and I headed inside for a little youtubing. We played some serious throwbacks and great craic!

Saturday, we spent some time in the yard and then I headed to my niece Cait's baby shower. She has a little less than a month to go before baby Olivia Marie arrives.

It was a perfect day for the festivities.

I even won a prize. We had to cut a length of ribbon as long as we thought Cait's baby belly was around. Well, first everyone was telling me I was going way too long so I went short. Then they were all chiming that I'd gone way to short and it would never fit around. Lo and behold, mine was bang on!

My niece Maddie (on the left) came in second with only a tiny gap.

I got to take pictures of some pretty cute munchkins at the shower, including baby Teddy, our niece Nicole's (center above) best friend Abby's latest cherub. We've watched Ab grow up and now she's a mom twice over. Where does the time go.

Cuteness alert! Just look at these toes!

When I got home it was a still a beautiful evening out.

 
G had cut down our dead (insert sad face here) apple tree. It was completely hollow inside and we had milked it as long as we could. So, G built a campfire and threw some of the trunk on.  The flames shot right up through the middle.

Sunday was another glorious day. I spent it working on the pool, which I predict I will be in by the end of today. When I wasn't doing that, I was in the garden. Planting two more potatoes, doing some more mulching, mounding up around my potatoes so they produce more spuds.

Everything is looking good, including the beans.

The cardboard and leaves combo is doing a great job of keeping the weeds down. Can I get an amen on that one?

The weekend ended with great World Cup match against Portugal, who is ranked higher than the USA.  Well, we let them score on a weird bounce of the ball off our defender's leg as he was trying to clear it away from the goal. That was in the first 5 minutes. Bummer. We didn't let it bring us down though. We played great, and our player Jermaine Jones came back and put one in from 64 feet out. It was monstrous. Then, we score another great goal, a real team effort ending with Clint Dempsey hip checking it in. It was classic. We were looking good. We were looking great. And then came 5 minutes of injury time added on. Down the the last 30 or so seconds and we couldn't stop Portugal from scoring. Talk about deflated hearts. That close to a big win. Ugh. But at least we came away with a tie and not a loss.

Then there was sunset meadows to soothe my woes. 

Ah, that's better.
And all was right with the world.

What's on your plate for the week? Mine has lots of collateral design, ad design, some email marketing design and revisions. Full plate for sure.

Make it a good one!

Ciao for now,

Freeform Friday

Sunset Meadows

Since you got to hear me rant about our freezing cold, snowbound wicked winter, it's only right that I tell you this.

The last week of spring has been amazing. Spring has been a bit wishy-washy, not wanting to give up winter, more gray days than I'd like, and a fair bit of rain, so the fact that is has showed it's true colors this past week has been quite welcome. I am enjoying it with a grateful heart.

Last night we sat out and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful end, to a beautiful day with that pretty, spring light streaming across the lawn and sunset meadows. 

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.


Freeform Friday

Now that the World Cup is in full force, I thought an ode to Brazil would be appropriate. You'll probably all remember this version that launched the career of Astrud Gilberto. Well, at least if you're as old as I am. Her vocals are amazing. Click here if you're reading via email. 






Then of course, there is Ms. Warwick. Click here if you're reading via email.






This version I found by chance and I'm glad I did. These kids knock it out of the park. Click here if you're reading via email.




This weekend will be full. Tonight, if the breeze dies down, more than likely a campfire outback to enjoy more of this beautiful weather. Tomorrow is my niece Cait's baby shower. She's got a month to go and we'll be welcoming Miss Olivia.  Sunday I hope to work in the garden and the yard. It would be nice if the pool was ready to go by then, but we will see.  Don't miss the USA v Portugal on in Sunday night World Cup action at 6pm est. It's a big one! Of course, they all are. It's the World Cup.

Got anything planned for the weekend?

Whatever you do, make it a good one.

Ciao for now,

Take A Walk With Us

Spring In Our Step

Hey you guys....Happy Monday!

I have to say, waking up to a bit of sunshine today was quite welcome here.  It's not meant to last so Lucan and I took to the yard for a walk about.  Despite the generally non-cooperative spring weather so far, things are doing their best to pop.

All sorts of tree buds....

.....including the forsythia!

Hello Gorgeous! (didn't need to make one single adjustment to this beauty).

In the woods, the ferns are unfurling and the evergreen remains, green.

And in the yard...........flowers, both gone-by and awakening.

Sunset Meadows

The weekend had a rather interesting end, gray clouds mixed with a bit of sun giving it its best shot.

 

 

I hope you all had a great weekend. I did a pretty good job staying away from the computer (other than spending time deleting a gazillion emails that were slowing my system down....more to do on that front for sure).  It wasn't very nice weather wise so we kind of just hunkered down for the count. Then Sunday, Gar woke up with a cold. So I went into a cleaning frenzy while he watched soccer on the tube.  Then I said, 'that's it. I'm quitting' and played around with watercolors for a couple of hours.  I was finally about to sit and watch some TV around 8, when our cable went out. Talk about timing. Oh well, I went back to sketching and painting. Why fight it?

In other news: I beat G in a game of Yahtzee, made a delicious white sauce veggie lasagna, had some nice toast for saturday brekkie topped with the apple jelly my nephew made and was kind enough to share from his pantry, visited with the neighbors, enjoyed a little bit of youtube singing and dancing, oh............and watched my Bruins beat Detroit to take their first series on the way to the Stanley Cup.  What did you do?

Make it one awesomely spectacular week and I'll do my best to do the same!

Ciao for now,

Take A Walk With Us: After The Storm

Sunset Meadows

Winter keeps rolling on and so do the storms. This past Thursday a good sized storm came through and lasted into Friday.  By the time all was said and done, we had about 12 more inches of snow and a fresh coat of freezing rain that glistened over everything.

The sunsets on these stormy days have been so, so pretty.

Despite the freezing cold, I took to Sunset Meadows with my camera in tow.

 

 

Just as we got cleaned up from that storm, another came in on Saturday and dropped several inches of more snow. This time, wet and sticky............

............making for a winter wonderland of sorts.

I was hoping to get pictures yesterday of all the trees covered in snow, but the wind picked up and blew everything off by morning.

And so it goes.

This week, as always, lots of design projects on my plate - revision rounds on some projects as well as new designs.  I worked on some over the weekend as well to get a head start on the white board list (did I tell you about the white board yet? G bought it for me and I have to say it is working out rather well so far).  I'll also be starting to pull together plans for the next muse online magazine, so be sure to stay tuned. I hope to have even more great content and readership this time around, after such a fantastically positive response to the inaugural issue.  Once again there will be advertising opportunities, which I hope give my sponsors, the chance to reach new people.

What's in the works for you?

Ciao for now,

What Inspires You Wednesday

Snow In Winter

There is something quite magical about how the landscape can change in the matter of hours in the Winter.  Yesterday, sunny blue skies and a field nearly bare of its Winter coat.  Today, snow falling fast, yet sofly. The world muffled and silent except for the sound of fine snow hitting what has already been laid on the ground.

It's quite peaceful.

There is something to take away from it, especially on a very busy day.  

Stop. 

Breathe.

Be mindful of what you are working on at that moment.

Keep your thoughts quiet so you can give full attention to what lays before you.

What is inspiring you today?

Ciao for now,

FREE Friday

Free Printable Wall Art

My walking pal and I have been taking to the field as much as possible since the farmer hayed again. So, so happy about that.

Last night when we took a walk at the end of the day, Sunset Meadows was just beautiful.

It started out very soft.

Minute by minute, it got more vibrant.

Changing in the blink of an eye.

Until I just had to stand there in amazement.

I only had my phone with me last night, but it did a pretty good job of capturing this beautiful sight.  If you're on instagram, you might have seen my post. And if you are on instagram and didn't see it, that's probably because you're not following me yet. In all honesty, I haven't done much with my instagram account in a long time, but now that I updated my phone app, I'm good to go and having fun connecting with you guys there.

I also took a video so you could come along with us.  It stretched around the entire sky. We're so lucky to live where we do.




This morning, we hit the field again only it was the bright light of the sun getting higher in the sky, that was shining for all to see.

So my friends, this is for you. Free printable wall art.

You can download, print it out, hang it on the wall.

Click here to download the pdf.

I hope you enjoy it and put it somewhere to remind yourself that you are brilliant. Shine on!


Freeform Friday

Just to bolster that thought, here's a tune for you. It's a happy little song and though it's from Take That, one of those 'boy bands' that all the teens love, I quite like it. Click here if reading via email.




Any plans for the weekend? It's a bit warmer here today and I'm hoping it stays that way all weekend. We have no plans other than working around the house winterizing, after the brutally cold weather that was with us for a couple of days this week.  Woke to high teens on Tuesday and Wednesday and today is gorgeous. Could hit 60.  We won't be fooled though. No time like the present to winterize, before it's too late. Maybe we'll be lucky and get a campfire in and a game of dominoes or yahtzee. That's about it here.

Enjoy the weekend.

Ciao for now,