Reflections of Gratitude

On this day in 2004 I posted my first blog. Since then, the venues have changed a number of times as have the technologies that support them. My early blogs were pure written word, for images weren't even a possibility. A lot has changed over the past eleven years and I am grateful for those changes ~ in my rooted life, as well as those less tangible in my online life.

I reflect back and consider the folks who've been following my follies since those early days, and feel gratitude for the relationships we've forged together over the years. I find myself visiting the blogs of these friends, keeping in touch on Facebook, and in many ways it's like visiting them at their homes, getting glimpses of their daily lives and the passions that fan their heart flames.

I am grateful for the intimacy, the friendship, the love... even if I never meet you in ordinary reality. Thank you for that. You nourish and sustain me ~ and my follies ~ in ways you'll never know. And I am grateful.

And today I'm grateful, too, for our first snow of the season. Peace.

A Pizzelle Pace

This past quarter has been rather grueling... yet quite worthy. My studio move in October and hasty set up for plans-in-place, not to mention "the holidays," combined with a shift in business strategy has been delightfully exhausting. I am glad that I had the foresight to make time to lounge in the mornings, take afternoon naps and retire even earlier in the evenings than is typical for me. And now I look forward to a deliberate pace that will allow me to continue nurturing my studio space, to focus on established plans, to work on projects that have been set aside, and to nurture the dreams that shall make manifest.

I have canvases to procure so I can get together with Nona Muse to work on an Alzheimer's art project, and other painterly endeavors. There's inventory to replenish, and to assess for year-end, for tax preparations are just around the corner. There's my house, my sweet little hut that is in a too-long-lingering state of disharmony that needs my attention and care. And there's my lists born of dreams not yet ripe with importance or urgency that must be revisited. And other stuff that requires energy and action.

I'm glad for winter's full arrival with the solstice. It signals a season that will nurture and support the gentler pace I seek. A pace that allows time and space for giving attention to the little things in life that add value and meaning... like these pizzelles I made yesterday.

So that's what I'm making today... a pizzelle pace that nourishes and sustains me ~ holistically ~ now and in the days to come.

Peace.