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A Christmas Eve selfie brought to 'life' courtesy of Grok :) Hope you’ve had a beautiful Christmas holiday season! For the last several months our focus has been on our pet’s health. As many caregivers know, it’s a labor of love, yet also challenging and at times exhausting. Tater started inhaler treatments for asthma twice/day, Hobbs recently began insulin treatments for diabetes twice/day, and our bunny Mac has ongoing health issues which require nursing care around the clock. Thankfully we have great vets, but we’re late to the pet insurance game. The bills are no joke. If you don’t have pet insurance, I recommend considering it.  Onto more pleasant things! I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen (where Mac is) and worked on several fun creative projects. I made this cake (above) for a friend turning 70 back in November. It’s a gluten free, three layer vanilla cake, with a raspberry filling, two nut crunch layers, and cream cheese frosting. It’s topped with frosted cranberries and rosemary. My original design had much more intricate decorations, yet I greatly underestimated how long things would take!! I had to re-do several aspects because of mistakes. This cake actually took about a week to make, lol! They make it look so easy on TV! Thankfully, my friend loved it, which made it all worth it!! :)   I’m part of a creative group with some church friends who meet monthly. In November we created holiday wreaths. I had gathered several pinecones last year, intending to make Christmas tree decorations. Never got to it, but used them this year to make this wreath (above), along with some frosted pinecone decorations (below). The one above hangs outside on our porch. I made another one for inside (below). I watched this video to learn how to make these easy pinecone wreaths.   Finally made my frosted pinecone decorations! That's it for me! Hope you are well this winter season, and wish you a happy, healthy, and creative New Year! ❤️
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I recently started writing devotionals. If you'd like a word of spiritual encouragement, please read on! The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Yes, and no. Yes, celebrating the birth of our King of King and Lord of Lords-- the magnificent Lord Jesus Christ, who redeems our lives from sin and death. No, because we live in a fallen world with not-so-picture-perfect relationships and circumstances, and a mixed bag of experiences. Things seem to be amplified around the holidays. Especially when gathering with family, we have good memories and sad ones, victories and difficulties, surprises and disappointments. We’re living in a dark world, much like at the time of Jesus’ birth in the town of Bethlehem. As the lyrics of the song O Come O Come Emmanuel suggest, the Israelites were looking for a powerful, conquering King to save them, and the mystery of the Son of God being born in modest circumstances and living the life of a human was utterly unbelievable. What about our circumstances today? I used to think I was an oddball— the rare one who dealt with multiple family losses (through death, divorce in my family, or estrangement). Now, I’m finding many friends are also dealing with the unexpected loss of their loved ones as well. Some losses are more traumatic than others, but all require some type of energy and support to process through. Nothing ever prepares us to deal with death; It’s a thief and foreign to us, probably because when God created us we were never meant to die. Lest this blog post send you in a downward spiral, I wanted to make the point that it is in the very darkness that the Light-- Jesus Himself-- shines brightest, and with Him there is always hope (I Timothy 1:1). It’s in our valleys that we can become more acquainted with Jesus, the Lily of the Valley (Song of Solomon 2:1), as He seeks to draw us to Himself with his fragrant love. After numerous tragic losses, I came to find and cherish many references that refer to God as a perfect father, mother, brother, and sister (as well as best friend and bridegroom)! As the great I AM, He is all about relationships, always drawing us close to receive and experience everything He has for us. I'm glad we have forever to get to know Him! Somehow God promises to work all things together for good, even in our darkest times. One of my favorite names of God is the Holy Spirit referred to as “The Comforter” (John 14:26). Wow - a Holy Comforter! Imagine being wrapped in holy comfort! Another favorite scripture is “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 24:18. We have the promise of his nearness always, even when we’re crushed. God isn’t put off by our breakdowns or neediness, but rather He longs for us to receive and experience the overflowing goodness of His shalom (completeness, wholeness, welfare, prosperity, peace), that His Son, Jesus, died to give us. Let’s pray: Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, reveal yourself to me. I invite you into my heart and ask you to fill me afresh with your presence and goodness. Thank you that your shed blood cleanses me from all sin. In the midst of my tragic circumstances, I receive a holy Comforter hug. Thank you that you wrap me in your arms of love and meet me exactly where I am, especially when I’m hurting. Help me trust that You have a miracle for me. Amen! Thank you that you're working miracles in our dark times, Lord. Believing wonderful things are coming your way in 2025!  If you're interested in receiving daily inspiration in your Inbox, click here!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this video is worth a thousand hugs! Saw this yesterday and felt like I experienced a little slice of heaven. Spring hugs and blessings to you!! :)
Hello All, I hope you've had a great summer! Just wanted to share that since the beginning of the year Mac was diagnosed with glaucoma and a fallen lens in his right eye. Apparently, it’s age related--he’ll be ten years old in December. So, there's some pressure on his eye that may cause pain, it's hard to tell. With regular visits to the vet to test his pressure levels and treatment with medication throughout the day, he seems to be his normal bunny self. Thank God! He’s slowing down a little bit, but I think having Tater for a friend sure helps! As any family with a special needs loved one, we all appreciate your prayers, especially for Mac. Blessings to you!
"There is no possession more valuable than a good and faithful friend." Socrates ...Especially during winter seasons. :) Hope your year is off to a good start!  On these cold days of winter, I pray you have a friend to keep you warm! "There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met."
William Butler Yeats  Purr-Tater does NOT like to be covered up, ever. I walked in on this last week realized I was witnessing a Thanksgiving miracle, LOL! :-) Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed and cozy Thanksgiving weekend!  "To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,
to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." Johannas A. Gaertner German-American art historian, educator, writer, poet
Here are a few of the new pieces I completed in time for the show (many still in progress). My new process includes embellishing traditional and archival digital paintings with collaging of paper, beads, and quilling.
 "To Life" 8 x 8, Mixed Media on Archival Digital Painting  Purr-Tater, my faithful studio companion!  Hope you are enjoying this summer like Mac and Purr-Tater are...  Whether you're chilling, doing something fun with a friend...  or just resting in this heat!  Shalom, shalom! "Summer was our best season:
it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape..." — Harper Lee |
WELCOME to my blog! This a collection of photos, art, poems, thoughts, and other stuff on my creative journey since 2010.
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