Blessings

Angel paintings by my dear friend,
artist Julie-ann Bowden

I must apologize. I've been away too long. But I didn't want this year and this decade to pass by without posting one more time. When I found these Irish blessings, I knew I wanted to share them with all of you.

In the New Year,
may your right hand
always be stretched out in friendship
and never in want.

May the road rise to meet you,
may the wind be always at your back,
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall soft upon your fields and,
until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May God grant you always...
a sunbeam to warm you,
a moonbeam to charm you,
a sheltering angel,
so nothing can harm you.

Speaking of angels, as I seem to do quite often these days, the beautiful angels at the top of this post are just two examples of the outstanding art by the talented British artist Julie-ann Bowden. To see more of her art, be sure to visit her blog Heavenleigh Art (here).

And I have a special request. If you could, would you please put in a special prayer for my dear blogging friend Renee at "Circling My Head." She is having a particularly difficult time right now. Renee has been living with Stage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer for quite a while, and she needs our prayers. While you're at it, please add her sister Jacquie, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, to your list, as well. This family has had more than its share of suffering and tragedy in the last few years.

Remember to be grateful for all your blessings. The big ones, and especially the small ones that we so often overlook. I consider each and every one of you a blessing in my life.

Have a safe holiday, and a Happy New Year.

I'll be back here again in 2010.

Mother-In-Law

There were rumblings for quite a while.

"Keep an eye on that", I said to myself.

The phone call came the day before Halloween...

"COME AND GET ME!", she said.

So we did.

It happens to folks our age. Our parents, once strong and capable, are unable to go it alone.

I called for reinforcement to help move all of our belongings upstairs to Andrew's old room.

Then we prepared our downstairs bedroom and the downstairs in general. Joe's mom has severe Scoliosis and requires a walker to get around.

Back in May we visited Senior living communities at her request. I'm so glad we did, which put us ahead of the game.

She lived with us for the past 7 weeks. We pulled out all the stops and literally put our lives on hold to get her transitioned.

On Monday we officially moved her into a beautiful Senior community, furnishing her new one bedroom apartment from head to toe.

Mission Accomplished!

Christmas is just around the corner. Have a merry one dear bloggers!

Love and all good things,

Ronnie

My holiday wish for you

No matter what you believe or don't believe,
whether this season makes you happy or sad,
wistful or anxious,



I wish you peace and love and joy.



I hope you find some time to relax
and enjoy some simple pleasures.

I hope you remember some of the childlike magic
and wonder of this special time of year.

Angels and Voodoo

Angel #1
watercolor and debossing
on 5 x 7 handmade paper

I've noticed it, too. Several people have mentioned to me recently that I have had a recurring theme of angels in this blog. I seem to be drawn to them and finding them everywhere I look: in thrift stores, in art, in books, on other blogs. And I find myself writing about them often, too. I've even started painting them in the last few months.

Something about this time of year seems to bring out the angelic side of some people, too. There are giveaways everywhere I look in Blogland lately. Have you noticed it, too?

One person is especially generous on her blog. Have you ever visited "Notes From the Voodooo Cafe"? It's written by writer and artist Ricë Freeman-Zachary. Recently I was the lucky winner of the current issue of "Art Doll Quarterly," featuring Ricë's article about the fabulous Judy Wise.

I love this magazine! And I can't wait to sit down with a delicious cup of peppermint tea and savor every word and every gorgeous photo. Thanks Ricë!

She's also been known to give away copies of her most recent book, "Creative Time and Space," as well as copies of the other magazines she writes for, like "Somerset Studio" and "Art Quilting Studio." So be sure to stop by her blog. Her posts are terrific, and you never know what she'll be giving away next!

So I finally did it. I joined Facebook. I'm not totally convinced that it's for me, though, and I still think I prefer having a blog. But why not do both? It might grow on me. Might as well try it, right? I just don't want it to take up too much of my limited creative time.

I'm not sure I'm finished tinkering with the new look of this blog yet, either. So don't be surprised if you don't recognize anything around here for a while. I feel the need for more changes.

Right now I LOVE green and purple and blue! Can you tell?

I also added the labels gadget to my sidebar again. But I've got waaaay too many labels. The list just goes on and on. Don't know what to do about that. I might just delete it again.

Do you like using the label gadget to search for posts on the blogs you read?