Oregon Preview

it’s raining again.... i’ve got warm slippers and sweats on and i’m not complaining because i realize most of the country is sweltering right now.  hard to imagine but i know it’s true.  as a get older i seem to have less tolerance for heat.  it zaps my energy and i like my energy.....

 this is the first time we have had wifi so i thought i would use the opportunity to post a few random oregon pics.  hard to choose from the thousand or so i have already, but here is a tiny sampling.  i continue to be utterly amazed at this magnificent state.  hope you are all staying cool as well and enjoying the best the summer has to offer!!

Journey

just a little reminder for you.... hope you are finding joy on your journey!!

Freedom!

Utah

 that’s really what motorhome travel is about for me.  not that my life is so restrictive anyway these days…. but something about getting up, hitting the road in a new area abundant with nature and beauty and not having any real agenda at all… no deadlines or obligations...  it’s just the most amazing thing!

Diaz Lake - Northern CA

Oregon

Mammoth (Sierras)

we never make reservations…. too confining… we just go to areas that are not normally crowded and usually do not have any problem.  we like national forests, state parks and county parks.  oh, the places we have seen!!

 so we are off –  where are we going you ask?  well, we are heading north – rivers, lakes, forests, ocean…. all of that.   and hoping that both the weather and the motorhome cooperate.  we tend to end up off from grid, but i will try to check in once in a while!  Thanks for visiting!!

Salton Sea

Western Colorado

Idaho

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Many Pics!!

it’s true i’ve been a little distant from this space lately…. there are several reasons , one of which is instagram!  i’ve shifted quite a bit of time and attention over there and i don’t feel that it’s necessarily a bad thing.  

 it has really ramped up my O.Q. and has me taking more pics than ever!  i’m using my slr less these days in favor of the iphone.  maybe its’ just a phase… i really don’t know but i am having fun for the moment and as long as that’s the case i will probably keep going with it!

 

 besides the endless array of apps i am experimenting with, there are iphone lenses!  i really like the macro and fisheye lenses, don’t use the wide-angle or telephoto as much at the moment.

anyway, today is the day i hang at the new gallery and launch my new summer retreat.  we are running around like crazy hoping to be on the road in just 2 days.  happy summer!!!

 (all photos taken with iphone4)

In Other News....

Seek Beauty

yikes – lots going on over here…

 

today i will present my first ever inside out workshop to a group of teens… so excited - this is a dream come true!!   just found out there may be BOYS besides the girls.  no, not what i envisioned…. i’m just not sure they will be comfortable with it, but i’m keeping an open mind!

The Weir

Love Valley Barn

Sierra Cabin

Rusty Pick Up

The Ancients

 i have been busier than ever in my studio creating new mixed media art and loving it.  this week i will hang some of my pieces in a brand new gallery: artbeat on mainstreet.  there is a lot of positive energy going into this… very exciting!!

 we are starting a new landscape project and are having a design drawn up for this area that used to be lovely lawn until the gophers and rabbits got ahold of it.  obviously something different (water efficient) is needed!

Back yard - used to be green!

 next week we are leaving on a motorhome trip.  we can’t seem to decide exactly where… i guess that’s part of the fun – figuring it out as we go!  miss bailey is going to love this!!

Comparison Demon

have you ever been struggling with an issue, picked up a book and laid your eyes upon the exact words that you needed to hear??  i don’t know about you, but this has happened to me many times!

i had been dealing with that pesky old comparison demon.  do you know the one??  the one that gets in your face when others are successful and, instead of allowing you to be happy for their success, catapults you into comparison mode.

whispers messages like, “everyone else is selling their work (or getting published, or getting recognition, or having sold-out workshops….)  what’s wrong with you?” or “look at that person’s work, or blog, or writing, or ideas, or clothes….. blah, blah, blah”.

 

i mean sometimes i can be really happy for the success of others – no problem at all.  but other times…. i think it’s when others are finding seemingly effortless (yes, i know that’s not true!) success with the exact things that i have tried and tried and failed at that it gets painful for me.   

and i don’t want to be that way – i want to be able to be happy for any success my friends and colleagues are able to enjoy.  i want to move in that direction, but i’m not quite there yet....

 so…. i was just struggling with this very thing and 2 things happened: 

1)   i heard oprah on the radio talking about her experience with the color purple.  how she thought she had not gotten the part she so wanted and was trying to move in the direction of being happy for the actress who had.  the moment she LET GO of her desires and surrendered completely, she found out she actually HAD the part.  very interesting

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        2)  i opened “a path with heart” (a book by jack kornfield that i am very slowly reading) and these were the exact next words:   the “near enemy” of sympathetic joy (the joy in the happiness of others) is comparison, which looks to see if we have more of, the same as, or less than another.  instead of rejoicing with them, a subtle voice asks, “is mine as good as hers?  when will it be my turn?" – again creating separation

the perfect words for me to ponder…. and hopefully prompt me to continue to move in the right direction...