Summer Treasure Hunting

The time has come!  Spring is here with summer just around the corner and it’s time to start outdoor ‘treasure hunting’ again.  As a mixed-media artist, I just LOVE getting out to flea markets, yard sales, recycling centers and spending hours poking through things!  You never know what treasure will contribute to your next inspiration.  Yes, you may come across a rare {moola making} item but I prefer the fun of finding the perfect colorful fabric, a box of unused watercolors or the ideal frame for my next art design.  What is it about the ‘hunt’ that is so attractive?  Hmmmm, I think it is a combination of many fun things.  The hunt for the best bargain, the hunt for that elusive treasure, the hunt for that rare item to add to your collection, and much more.  This weekend I will start a new hunt and hopefully arrive home with lots of fabulous finds!  What is your favorite treasure found on one of your ‘hunts’?

Happy Hunting!

Artfully Yours,   

Sum, Sum, Summer Time!

I know, I know it is barley Spring but when I look out my window and see the bright sun, summer time just pops into my head!  There are so many wonderful activities that I enjoy during the Spring and Summer months in New England.  Biking on the rail trails, hiking the awesome mountains, soaking up the rays by the ocean’s side, driving on a surprise adventure with my love, feeling the breeze against my cheeks on a sailboat and the list goes on!  I like to re-create, re-live and re-invent adventures of the past as well.  Exempli gratia; reflecting on my fondness for lying in the grass on a warm summers day as a young person turns into lying in the grass on a warm summers day reading to my love with our puppy Tawnie Brie bopping about with her pink bounciness.  The joys of drinking in the summer sun are intensified by the groovy memories of my childhood and it’s all so good!  Do you have a favorite summer pastime you will enjoy this year?     

Some of my summer pastimes … Enjoy L!

Summertime Reading

Biking Rail Trails

Anchorage by The Sea

Ocean Sailing

Some of my favorite childhood memories are times spent on my uncle’s catamaran sailing the lake.  I was fascinated by the skills it took to understand the wind and catching it to propel our sailboat forward.  When I discovered ocean sailing I was even more mesmerized with the dynamics of this vast new world of sailing the ocean.  The smells, salty water, warm winds, invigorating speeds and the complex navigation skills it took to plot a course in this infinite body of water.  Every one of my senses filled to the brim with excitement!  Today I just get filled with love when I anticipate a visit to the ocean or have the knowledge that a day of sailing is right around the corner.  My Vineyard Vines wind jacket is ready, my Sperry Topsiders are standing by and, most of all, my heart is ready to embrace one of my passions, ocean sailing! Here are some sites I found about charters.  There are so many good ones but these are a great start … Enjoy!

 

Boston Sailing

Rhode Island Sailing

Maine Sailing

Summer Breeze

As the spring and summer months approach us here in New England (and boy, do I need some natural vitamin D!) I think about the feelings that surround those months for me.  I was such a ‘tom-boy’ when I was in elementary school.  I loved climbing trees, making discoveries in the woods behind my house, riding bikes and skateboards and, most of all, lying in the grass on a warm summer day looking up at the blue sky filled with puffy white clouds and daydreaming away.  The smells of the fresh cut grass, the warm breeze against my cheek, and the sounds of the birds happily singing to one another – all was right and free and good with my world. 

I think about those happy memories of long ago and, in turn, I am filled with happiness today.  Do you ever notice how easily it is to remember the sad, unpleasant moments in your life?  The goods moments just seem to vanish in the haze of our minds.  I make a very conscious effort every day to bring all of the good memories to the forefront of my mind and let go of the unpleasant ones into that warm breeze of summer.  Then every day I can live in all that is right and free and good with the world around me.

Some of my favorite summer tunes to get you in the ‘summer mood’ … Enjoy!

Summer Breeze

Here Comes The Sun

Seagull