Lessons Learned

Lesson number 1: You know when those nice people on the weather channels tell you that there is a storm of epic proportion coming your way ~ listen! I, for one, did not. I was all set to go away on Friday morning to a little retreat up in the hills of Shenandoah for a much needed bit of R&R. My girl friends and I had been planning this trip for weeks: a bit of arting, food, wine, chatting and generally just to get away from the stresses of the world and Zen out! Come Wednesday the weather forecast was for heavy snow in northern Virginia and the D.C. area, somewhere between 12 and 24 inches. I was having none of it and insisted to everyone that it would all be okay, just being hyped up and we should still go. Along comes Thursday with even more panic and frantic calls to call off the whole thing, we can always plan another trip when the weather gets better. No, not me, I was still having none of it. Mmm ~ bad idea. When I eventually admitted defeat on Thursday evening and fell into a sulk, I had really not planned on getting supplies in for being housebound for an indefinite period because I was so annoyed at the inconvenience. So Friday it snowed and snowed and snowed! And Saturday it continued relentlessly. When all was said and done, Gainesville had managed to accumulate 31 inches on top of the 6 inches from the Tuesday before. I was stranded ~ alone ~ with no milk for my tea! I spent the best part of 5 hours yesterday trying to unearth my car and make an escape route to civilization! But even today (Monday) the roads are treacherous, there are still over 100,000 people without electricity and I still have no milk! I have severe cabin fever and knew it was getting worse today when I started making my cat some 'kitten mittens' out of duct tape so he get out to pee! So lessons learned from this past weekend: Be prepared and listen to the weather forecast!

My backyard

Ice in my bird bath

And on a more somber note ~ Below is the most recent photo my husband sent to me from Haiti. I think this says it all really. He will be coming back home some time in early March so that will be somewhat of a relief for me. He says things are moving very slowly over there at the moment. Supplies are very limited and disease is everywhere. My heart goes out to the people suffering this tragic disaster.

Haiti


I'm sure I will have plenty of more time on my hands over the next few days to update my blog. We have another snow storm coming this way tomorrow afternoon through Wednesday! Yippee!!!

Have a great week everyone!

Don't Count Your Chickens...

A New Day Dawns

And now it is suddenly January 24th and I did not, for one moment, stick to my new years resolution! I had every intention mind you, but things come along in life so unexpectedly and we are powerless to change them.
When I first heard about the earthquake in Haiti my first thoughts were 'how could this happen and what can I do to help'. I think everyone felt the same at the time but little did I realize that my husband would be whisked away to help with the relief effort - indefinitely. I am so glad that he had the opportunity to do his bit but I must admit (and I am being a bit selfish here) I am constantly worried about his safety. I feel that I have spent the last few months in a state of disbelief and this just adds to my state of mind. During the frenzy of trying to get him ready and on a plane, a very close friend of mine was taken seriously ill and was on life support. I spent a lot of time trying to contact her friends, letting them know her condition, as I felt they would want to send out some positive energy and prayers for her and her family. All I can say is that thank god, after three soul searching days - she woke up. She will be fine but she has a lot of recovering to do and a very long road to travel. I only hope that her family and friends will be allowed to travel it with her.
So, with all my good intentions out the window I think I will just have to come up with a new resolution. One that is very flexible and I don't feel guilty about if I break it! Maybe I will just learn to knit or crochet... on second thoughts.
I did manage to do some digital artwork during my week of mayhem and I must admit I am very chuffed with it. While I was back in the U.K. I managed to scan lots of old family photos and send them to myself via email for when I got back home. I then cropped and re sized and played around with the resolution and saturation and made them into a family tree. I started this project weeks ago and was so glad when I finally got around to finishing it last week. I think it is such a lovely keepsake for my family and is so much nicer than keeping those memories in a shoe box!
If enough people are interested I will try and write a tutorial on how to do it in Photo Shop but as you may have figured out by now - nothing ever really goes the way I plan it so don't hold your breath!

Reflection

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Love Anji

Tribute

The Lights Are On But No One's Home

Well it seems the last time I posted was way back in November and oh what a horrible few months it has been since then. My sister Sue had been ill for quite a long time but I never expected the call I received on November 21. She had slipped into a coma and was not expected to last through the week. I immediately took a flight to the U.K. but did not make it in time. She passed away whilst I was flying. The following day was one I am still in denial about - her son Ben (my nephew) took his own life. The thought of living life without his mum was too much for him to bare. This has had such a profound affect on me and the rest of my family. When something like this happens it leaves you cold, wondering if there was anything you could have done or said. Since my return to the states in late December I have found it hard to focus on much of anything really, but know that life must go on and I try and console myself in the fact that they are both at peace and in a much happier place. I could spend my days wondering 'what if?' but I have chosen to be thankful for having these loved ones in my life and to have had the privilege of knowing them. I will hold dear the wonderful memories we shared; giggling under our bedsheets every night in the room we shared, staying up way too late and watching scary movies, the excitement of when Sue announced she was pregnant, the birth of Ben, picnics in the park on lazy Sunday afternoons, shopping till our feet ached, and so many other wonderful events we shared in our lives. I am one of the luckiest people on earth.

New Direction

It is hard to say that I will start afresh this year ~ but I will try. I plan on creating a lot more artwork and not worry about housework. Eat things I love and not things I should. Cry when I feel like it and not hold it in. Pay it forward as much as I can. And I will try and update my blog more often even if no one reads it!
I will be sharing a lot of tips on all the things I get my hands into; furniture refinishing, faux finish paint techniques, interior decorating, painting, and numerous other projects that I love to do. So stay tuned (you one fan you!) as I may be posting something you have always wanted to know about.
But for today I will just upload a few of the digital art pieces I have worked on since I arrived back.

Grounded

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and peaceful new year ahead.

Anji

Not A Trick In Sight!

Unfortunately Halloween came and went with not ONE trick or treater! I was quite disappointed. Our little townhouse culdesac, on a golf course, really doesn't have that sense of community that I am so used to. After living overseas for many years and knowing every neighbour, coming back to the states has been somewhat of a letdown. As much as I try and get involved in things nothing ever seems to be going on. It's a shame that all of us live such transient lifestyles nowadays. Gone are the family get togethers on a Sunday, popping over for a cup of tea on a whim, and the simple pleasure of chatting to a complete stranger in the queue at the supermarket. I think we are all guilty of having to get things done yesterday and no longer take the time to be in the moment. So, time for some reflection on my part and think about how to make a change...that will follow on another post when I have an epiphany! Any suggestions are welcome though!

I had a few commissioned pieces to work on this weekend but because my computer is from the ark I have only managed to get a bit done. I thought I'd share what I have been up to regardless.

These are the photos I had to work with

This is little Michaela who I met and photographed for the first time last week.
What a little angel she is

...and this is what I ended up with

I'm not sure I'm happy with any of them yet . Any critique is very welcome though so please tell me what you think! (but be nice!)
Off to use my coupon at Micheal's before it expires and buy a bunch of stuff I don't need - hey - that's what Sunday's are all about right?!

Have a great week!

The Power Of Mother Nature

It's been a quite busy and hectic week for me this week, what with a visit from my mother-in-law, lots of new work in the pipeline, and a lot of traveling to and from jobs. But I did manage to take some time for myself last Sunday and catch the last of the fall foliage on the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia. From start to finish along Skyline Drive my jaw was on the floor. The beauty I was surrounded by was so breathtaking I ended up taking over 400 photos! Of course, not all of them came out the way I had anticipated but I had to share some of them with you.






Bountiful harvests of apples were everywhere



...and the light at the end of the day was heaven sent.












I suppose this will be the end of my foliage images. Every morning as I head off to work there seems to be less and less vibrancy on the trees and the nights draw darker so much earlier. But I am so glad that I was able to witness this beauty first hand and will cherish each and every image that captured mother nature at her finest.

The weather is so miserable here today so I have decided not to do any 'real' work and just fiddle around on my computer. I have taken so many photos over the last few weeks it's been wonderful to be able just to play around with them all day even though my ancient computer was being extremely temperamental. Still - I think the results of these two images below didn't come out half bad! I will be adding them to my Red Bubble, Flickr, and Imagekind sites so if you would like to purchase either of them just jot me an e-mail.

Winds Of Change

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Upward and Onward!

I decided to leave the pity party that I held for my self Saturday night (no one turned up to that either!) and venture out Sunday morning and explore places in Virginia that I had not seen before. The first part of my exploration was to Sky Meadows National Park which I didn't realize was so close to my house in Gainesville. What a beautiful place! The weather could not have been better ~ a sunny, crisp, autumnal day ~ and the fall colours are just about ready to 'pop'. It was a rather steep hike to get to the overlook but so worth it. I now have aspirations to move to Sky Meadows with my tent, paints and canvases and paint with wild abandon all day! Unfortunately I don't think it is for sale.

This is the spectacular view from the top of the overlook

Ahhh... a perfect Sunday afternoon!

I then ventured on to Paris (yes - Paris,Virginia - no passport required!) a very small village (population 51) with some gorgeous, period houses and a very well known restaurant named The Ashby Inn. Not too much happening there so back onto route 50 and and few side roads later I found Upperville. I happened upon my dream house - a renovated church in the most picturesque setting - which again was not for sale. But we can always dream...

Can you imagine looking out at this view every morning! Pure bliss!

And one last photo op before I went home ...how could I resist!

It's amazing that just a few hours outside, exploring your surroundings, can lift your spirits to no end and put a new spin on what is important in life - I'll be doing it more often.

Have a great week!