How in the world

did I get here? Thanksgiving is already over, my first child just turned an age that stuns me, my youngest grand is turning 3 and I am now, according to the government who labeled me "adult" at 21, officially "old" having just turned 65!

Thought I'd better take a minute to post before the Christmas madness begins and I wake up in 2013.

           

I have still been painting! Regularly! with the most amazing women. Our most awesome (as my friend Nancy calls her) teacher is Charlotte Backman, a painter of mandala.

I previously shared the first one she guided me through and here is what I am currently working on.

I'm not sure what will establish it as "done" but I know I'm not there yet. I have plans for more dots, lines and a nice boarder. Mandala painting has really slowed me down. They are a meditation aid and I find myself really getting into the flow when working on one. It's a good thing.

And, as it seems to go in my life, one good things leads me to another. A few weeks back I had the opportunity to spend a day at Charlotte's taking a Thangka painting class from a delightful Tibetan monk, Yeshi Dorjee.  Do yourself a favor and visit him on Facebook.

This is going to take awhile to complete and I am looking forward to every moment. If you go to Yeshi's page you will see wonderful work. Also google Thangka and you will get a good idea of what I am undertaking!

Light is such a funny thing. The golden dragons at the top are actually the same gold paint as the diamond at the bottom. As you can see, I will be busy. There will also be waves around the fish. I learned many new techniques in this class that will apply to all of my art. But I have to say, the real life changer for me was the teaching and meditation that Yeshi did with us in preparation for painting. He shared processes for achieving happiness that I have been working on with dramatic results. 

I am getting a bit more settled in my art room. I was, in fact, all settled until the husband and I found a little dining set; table, chairs and buffet at a super bargain price. The tables I had were either too big or two small to make me happy and this table was just right. Now I am moving my considerable stash of paper and ephemera of all kinds from bins to my lovely new storage. THEN I will be DONE! I will!

It is good to be able to get my hands on my toys and I have returned to my habit of snapping little vignettes around the house. Here is one in the kitchen.

Over the years I have collected quite a few chickens. One of the things that made me sure this was the house for us was the kitchen drapes. They have chickens on them! Don't know about you, but it's not every day that I see drapes with chickens on them.

This was one of my favorite things at the ranch.

After a huge wild fire went through most of our property, taking out several structures but sparing the house, we commissioned this painting from Joy McAllister, an accomplished artist who is part of the Pomona Artists Colony. For many years it was the focal point of our veranda. We brought it with us to the new house, although at 4'x8' and very heavy, we knew it would be a challenge to find a sheltered place to hang it that would support it. 

We thought and we thought, we measured wall after wall. Outdoors was no longer an option. There are no walls under enough cover to shelter it and the sea air would surely ruin it. Inside we discovered two possible place, both of which were high up and difficult to get to. 

But, we underestimated the resourcefulness and the helpfulness of our son! He and his long time friend rigged ladders and risked their necks to hang our lovely lady over the back staircase. This photo depicts how well this location showcases our painting but it does not begin to demonstrate the daredevil feat of getting it up there.

Now, I just have to find a good place for this beauty languishing in the garage.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Every moment of our lives brings change. Hopefully I can learn what to let go and what treasures to bring to my new adventures. And if life has taught me nothing else, I have learned that there is always another adventure and more treasure on the horizon.