from the mouth of babes . . .

beside my bed, sits a tiny, handmade wooden music box

it is very precious to me, a present from my dear grandad

and sometimes when it catches my eye it reminds me . .

*

of one wintry evening, many, many long years ago

as i sat mulling & going over so many silly bits & pieces

(i have oft been a bit more of a worrier than i would prefer)

*

my wee boy, cuddled on my knee, softly whispered in my ear

" find a little teeny box in the corner of your mind mommy,

put all your worries inside and they won't bother you there!"

*

so, i imagined a little box, i carefully opened the lid,

i put those worries inside, i turned the tiny key

i forgot all about them, for a little while

*

the next time i took those worries out,

they were not half as bad as i had first imagined

my wee man - he had been so very right

*

i still use that imaginary little box, with its tiny key

*

Children say the most wonderful things, don't they?

Do you have any tales to tell from . . . . the mouth of babes.

from the corner of my eye . . .

slowly & yet oh so surely

my mind kept a-wandering

concentration crept away

industriousness ground to a halt

)(

i sat quietly & watched

from the corner of my eye

how he puffed & he panted

he fidgeted & he fiddled

O

he jumped up & jumped down

he really wanted a little more

more than a look at the world

i downed brushes & we set off

to investigate . . .

Until the call . . .

All is delivered. Designs, information, samples! So, for now

i shall pick up my brushes & loose myself again in painting

O

Until the call.

Hoping i will hear a "yes " when i lift that phone to my ear

the suspense. I sit thinking, how i came to be doing just this,

branching out into wedding design, not what i had in mind.

(Though i really do love doing it, altogether love weddings )

My own wedding design last year, here & here

led to comments, complements, recommendation

so, i thought maybe its not such a bright idea

to look a gift horse in the mouth when starting out

i'm so hoping for my very first "bride" to design for .

a delicious excuse to doodle & draw flowers & lovely things

The above started life as the this below

early/late bird . . . . .

such a ridiculously early time of the morning

even the birds will very soon be waking

yet here am i,

frantically putting finishing touches to my portfolio

from my own lips are uttered the famous words

next time -i will be more organised

next time - i shall not leave things till last moments

but, at last, I am now proud owner of

a range of wedding stationary designs

and . . . (eeek)

in not so very many hours
i am of to visit my very first
(working for myself full-time) client
. . .at best i am hoping that they may think my work looks ok
though my lack of sleep may well cause me to look a fright
(my excuse, i seem for some very odd reason
to work so very much better under pressure!?)
off to sleep.......................

Hope written . . .

O

"Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul

and sings the tune without words

and never stops, at all"

O

Emily Dickinson

me and my three . . .

. . . and, i can hardly believe it

i finally made myself finish this!

" me and my three"

i think i rather like it now

can you tell i have had a wonderfully creative weekend

catching mermaids . . .

mermaids have been swimming through my dreams lately

i have doodled, scribbled & sketched them on & off

but nothing clicked, then all of a sudden

last night for the first time in oh so long

i had such an urge to just paint

and im so very glad i did

photography, pattern, pens & paints

to mention five things I love to do each day

was a request made by Monika over at red2white

it fits perfectly with no 5 of my 5preciousthings

so here we are

every day i love to . . . .

. . . sup a steaming cup of tea first thing in the morn,

it helps waken me to the day

. . capture images from the world i see
finding inspiration everywhere
. . . spend time in the studio

creating something or another

. . sit tucked in a quiet corner
scribbling in my journal
. . . be with my precious family
never a day goes by without them making me smile
in one sweet way or another
(above are notes left by my boy to cheer me one day)

reflections . . .

as always, these long nights & short dark days

they come a creeping up on me and here i sit

my yearning for bright daylight increasing

it keeps me sane & sensible, hale & healthy

and yet i love the wintery light & reflections

in the kitchen, the last of our christmas candles

give a warm & homely glow

in the bedroom, fragile egyptian perfume bottles

sparkle in frosty early morning sun

in the bathroom, minature mirrored mosaics
cast myriad patterns dancing over the walls
in the living room, twinkling stars
catch flickering flames from the cosy fire

oh . . . you caught me

reflecting, with a glass of wine ,
on this first week back . .
does christmas seem so long gone already to others too?

back to work . . .

today we sat & drank hot cups of tea & chatted

walked woodland paths & laughed at coco antics

had a thoroughly relaxing day, but. . big sighs . .

today was the very last day of our christmas hols

so tomorrow it's back to work & school & business

when this day comes around i always feel a little sad

of course life goes on & so does the big wide world

XXX

this same day just a short while ago it seems

26 years ago in fact, i first became a Mom

happy birthdays & huge hugs & buckets of love

are sent over the many miles to my lass

skimming stones & sunsets

out wandering the shoreline today

i remembered what a perfect place is this where i live

simply to open my eyes is to see & feel happy
*

skimming stones in the misty silence of sunset

watching ripples as the pebble skips over the sea

the hauntingly beautiful sound
as swift geese fly honking by overhead
a wind blown tree catching my eye
waiting to be drawn
hiding among the rocks a sea washed stone

with pebble treasure set in its midst

as the sun goes down

on this the first day of a brand new year

***

the shore at mute hill, kirkcudbright