Thank You, John, for the inspiration

This morning my husband came into the house and said, "I have a surprise for you."  

He proceeded to hand me a clump of coal from our chiminea.  

I must have had a quizzical look on my face because he proceeded to tell me 

I could use it for my next drawing.

You know, sometimes, it's those simple things in life that have the grandest impact.

 This was one of those moments. 

 

I did just that.  I used only the charcoal he gave me to draw this lovely lady.

At times it was a little tricky because the charcoal was chunky, 

I found it somewhat of a challenge on the details.

Yet with a little persistence and an eraser I was able to get the job done.

To top it off I drew her on a of piece of textured wall paper that I had stenciled on.

 It did have had tooth to grab the charcoal.

Thank You, John, for the inspiration of Day #13.

Thank You for all of your support and encouragement.

I couldn't do this without YOU! 

sometimes my heart is filled with joy

Over the week-end John was busy with gathering wood, sawing, gluing, and stapling to make me shadow frames for canvas panels.  Not just several, he made 13 in various sizes.   I was on cloud nine!

Then yesterday morning he called me out to the garage.  Lo and Behold!  He found a "rejected" table and is altering it, I will be able to use as a display piece at my upcoming shows.

Today I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

Today I am ready to make some kick-ass art.

Today I am...

this is where I am

This is where you will find me in the wee hours of the morning.

I started meditating in the morning about 3 yrs ago.  It was with Deepak Chopra thru his guided meditation.  It has been a blessing and proven to be a great way, for me, to start my day.  Quieting my mind and setting my intentions each morning have been the cornerstones for my spiritual growth.

The first weekend in June John finally convinced me to let him move a Miss Kim lilac bush to open up what he labeled the "cramped flower bed".  OMGoodness!   I do not have the words to express how much this space means to me now.  It is fondly called my outside studio.  You will often see me drawing there, under the magnolia tree, except in the wee hours (6:30 am) of the morning and early evening of each day you will see me there meditating.  I have switched my meditating practice from the guided version to being in silence and I have incorporated evening meditation, too.  I have been doing this practice for 30 days and I feel it is part of who I am now.  I say the mantra So Hum which means I Am.  It's a technique that uses the breath and the repetition to quiet the mind and relax the body.  It, also, serves as a way to stop the chatter that goes on within your mind.  And boy, oh, boy does my mind like to chatter!!!  The key is once you realize the chatter is going on simply let it go without judgement and continue repeating the mantra.

Anyway... John sneakily took this photo of me one morning while I was meditating.  99% of the time I am out there by 6:30am, in my nightgown and slippers with a T-shirt over me, and if it's chilly I grab a jacket.  There I sit in silence with the birds chirping for 30-45 minuted each morning.  

This is my perfect way to start my day.

he did it again!

John and I  went into the Apple store so I could  ask some questions about their Macs.  I had my list of questions and I was determined to get my answers.  An Apple employee came up to me and asked me if my name was Teresa Cash, I said YES and he said,  "here is your new computer". 

Then I look up and there was John, grinning from ear to ear, taking my picture.  John surprised me again!  I have got to have one of the most loving and supportive husbands in the whole wide world.

Take a look at Ron's face (the Apple employee) he looks like he was having fun with it as well.

what a surprise!