today i am grateful for

mindy lacefield.

it was pure kismet that we were assigned the little room downstairs in the big beach divas house at squam by the sea.  it was pure love in action that grew our instant connection.

mindy is an artist and a dreamer and a sensitive wise soul.  her sense of whimsy is contagious and it serves as a technicolor dream coat over her mad wit and brilliant mind.  i am so lucky to know her.

mindy was in a few of my art workshops at squam.  it's fascinating to watch her create a piece.  she moves with speed and instinct and magic.  the art in my photo above is her signature little girl.  i fell in love with it just as i fell in love with her.  because mindy has such a big sweet heart, the art came home with me. 

see mindy's space and work here.  you won't regret it.

happy friday loves!

today i am grateful for

moments of "exercise".

i abhor the gym.  all the sweat and grunting and bad music and silicone can ruin my day in the blink of an eye.  and the shots i had to have during batgate 2010 left my joints stiff and unpredictable.  and in all honesty, i just flat-out neglect my yoga class and really any regular fitness program. 

so when i have the opportunity to take a walk up to court during my work day, i jump on it.  it's two blocks straight up from my office and then 200-some steps. 

of course, i'm even more grateful for the walk back to the office.

p.s.  there are so many projects to make with japanese masking tape!  i'm primarily using them in some mixed media work i'm doing right now, but i also covered a plastic headband to make perfect stripes.  google "japanese masking tape projects"...there are so many wonderful ways to use it.

today i am grateful for

japanese masking tape.

is it weird to say that tape changed my life?

today i am grateful for

autumn.

and stripey socks.

today i am grateful for

having to make this choice:  paris or prague?

if you've been around here a while, you know i've been crazy-planning my paris trip.  as usual in the curious casa, something came up to get in the way.  but this time, it was another destination...ken is taking his theatre students to the prague quadrennial exhibition of theatre design. 

at first i was all pissy.  and i was resentful because ken suggested we just do both (oh, the unlimited summer thinking of a teacher...). 

then i got a grip.

and i remembered the 24 year old me who sat in the public library reading travel books.  and i reminded myself that i'm trying to be more flexible and spontaneous and adventurous.  and then i thought that prague seems like a darker, less-cliche version of paris, so it just might be the city for me.

i am so thankful that i get to go to places i used to just dream about. 

{flickr artists here.}

today i am grateful for

the oatmeal meditation.

on quiet and still-dark weekend mornings, i stand alone at the stove and take the time to cook steel cut oats.  my stove is old and emits a gentle hum when turned on.  the twenty-three minutes of stirring engage just enough physical activity to distract me into stillness.  the steam breaks loose hard emotions like anxiety, anger, shame and pulls them away and out the vent.  i breathe in the scent of cinammon, honey and vanilla and am replenished with a sense of boldness and warmth. 

i add walnuts and dried berries (lately i'm into goji berries...have you tried these?) and my hands surround the warm fullness of the bowl.  with each lift of the spoon, i am nourished, filled, loved.

grace in a bowl.

seriously, it's the closest thing i have to a regular meditation practice.