Watercolor Playtime

January is good for one thing...I unleash my artistic side.

This year I discovered a fabulous site for those of us budding artists who love watercolor but know pretty much nothing.  Let's Make Art appeared on my Facebook feed around the holidays with subscriptions and kits, and I loved their ebullient paintings.  After the New Year I discovered that they offer tutorials on YouTube AND they have free download outlines.  What a welcome inspiration and an easy way to learn!

Sarah makes me laugh as I paint along. She has a last name and no, I've never met her, but she feels like a friend and I giggle as I paint. She's so positive and upbeat and self-deprecating and supportive. Her motto is "be kind to yourself." A good reminder for me since there is a lot of trial and error as I dive back into watercolor.  I'm happy with my flower-filled truck bed, but I'm not showing you how the VW Bug turned out or the bunny.  Room for improvement!

So, art keeps me sane in the cold January winteriness.  If I must be stuck inside waiting for my garden to stretch and rediscover chlorophyll, then at least I have something fun to work on.

How do you keep you spirits up after the fun, color and festivity all disappear?

Vision 2020

I just plain love the sound of Twenty-twenty and the way it rolls off my tongue.

I can't separate it from the time when it was just a good thing to hear from the optometrist.  Not that I needed one back when I possessed 20/20 vision and reading, threading needles and seeing distant hills clearly was so very easy. (I am grateful for bifocals!)

But onwards to the point:  a New Year needs a new phrase that encapsulates what I hope to achieve this year.  Last year was "complete".  And indeed, I completed many projects that were a long time waiting, and boy, does that feel good!  And I worked on making my personal life more complete.  Only to realize that all of us are a work-in-progress.

Of course.

For Twenty-twenty I've chosen "more or less". This will be a year filled with repeatedly asking myself whether I need more or less.  More of this friend or less?  More of chocolate biscotti or less?  More of couple time or less? More family time or less? More nativity sheep or less?  More spring bulbs or less?

I already find myself looking with fresh eyes and a different point of view as I move through my day.

I suspect that my pile of donation items will grow as I find that I'm happy with the cream of my various obsessions and willing to spread the remainder for treasure hunters at Goodwill or the SPCA Thrift.

I also figure that I will be more aware what people and activities I truly and deeply treasure.

I hope Life surprises me with unexpected choices in 2020. May it be a year of peaceful moments and quiet joy, of deepening love and rewarding friendship, of boisterous laughter and naughty puns, of children's hugs and doggy kisses, of healthy activities and a wealth of character, idealism and altruism.

Change is good, growth is good, as is stability and balance and forgiveness.

Keep the faith,
    Roxie