It’s Spring!

Welcome to Spring!

Pretty soon, everything will be blooming and nature will put on a vast and varied treat for the eyes.

In fact, my lilac bushes and the trees in my neighborhood are already budding.

The Daffodils and Lilies and Mint are pushing through the recently frozen ground…

and giving way to the promise to perfume the air and color the landscape. (that was rather poetic, was it not?!)

Wow! Those photos make it look like they’re really growing, doesn’t it?

Actually, I laid on the ground (the neighbors didn’t look at me like I was crazy at all) and put the camera down in a low spot.

The plants are 1 – 1.5 inches tall at most.

But after the dreary and colorless (that may be a bit dramatic) end of Winter, they seem like mighty giants!

Yay for Spring!

Thanks for stopping by – come back any time. Cheers!

Tonight’s the Night

Thought I’d take the time to remind you:

…As if anyone actually needs to be reminded!

I mean, it’s not like Spring is just around the corner or anything!

(can you feel it?!)

Anyway, enjoy your [shortened] weekend!

Thanks for stopping by – come back anytime!

 

 

Whew, snow!

Unpopular as it may seem, especially during the season, I happen to like Winter.

And snow.

Oh I mean – And ❊ SNOW! ❊ (insert smiley face here!)

Yes, I do! (another smiley face!)

Seriously, I was beginning to think that Spring came way too soon – the snow we had pretty much all melted, the grass was green, and people weren’t complaining about the weather (yeah, I went there! lol!)

I mean, even I had opened a window not 2 days ago to let the fresh air in. It was almost 50 degrees in January…

which doesn’t seem right…

because it’s not!

‘Cause… see? Pretty!

Even in black & white (maybe more so):

Ok, maybe snow is kinda a downer when I have to drive in it (let’s be honest, that has to do more with other drivers than the snow, itself).

And sure, there is the “too much of a good thing” argument, like high snowfall or below-zero temps.

But we’re supposed to have 4 seasons in this climate – we need to have 4 seasons!

…if only for us to have something to talk about.   (◕‿~)

So like the old saying goes:
When Mother Nature gives you snow, make snowballs!

Thanks for stopping by – Cheers!

Love Life, Be Brave

I like jewelry.

I also like to wear jewelry.

But the funny thing is, I haven’t really been wearing jewelry for the past few years.

It’s possible that some of you are thinking, this is not a huge revelation or deep insight to share. I know.

Anyway, I decided that one of my (easy-to-keep) 2015 resolutions would be to wear jewelry every day, whether or not I had somewhere to go or something special to do.

Now, this may seem trivial (yeah, who cares?!) or maybe even border-line arrogant (oh, look at her, she has jewelry, brag much?! and la-ti-da!)

But for me, this actually does go deeper than the ‘frosting on the cake’ that is rings-and-things. It has meaning and nuance and, ok, it does make me feel happy to match my accessories to my outfit (or pj’s as the case may be…)

And, I don’t know if this is ironic — maybe it’s just a coincidence — but the first ring I picked up at the start of the new year was this one:

A ring. With a simple but powerful message:

“Love Life  —  Be Brave”

I wear it every day as a reminder. And a goal.

And I think you might agree…

It does have a nice RING to it (see what I did there?! lol!!)

Hope you’re all having a great start to this new year.

Thanks for stopping by – Cheers!

Happy 2015!

Hope this is the beginning of a wonderful year for us all!

Thanks for stopping by – Cheers!

Merry Christmas, 2014

As the Christmas holiday draws near, I simply want to extend to all of you:

Hope Santa gets you all exactly what you wish for!

and

May you have the best holiday season yet!

Thanks for stopping by – have a great day!

Halloween

Can’t believe it’s the end of October already – and you know what that means!

Have a spooktacular day!

Hope your day is filled with lots of treats and maybe a few tricks to keep you on your toes

Thanks for stopping by – have a great weekend!

Wednesday Wisdom 2

I started out thinking I’d post a wise quote for today’s Wednesday Wisdom but, no surprise, I got side-tracked.

I got so caught up in enjoying reading Autumn and October quotes that I was more inspired to share something along those lines.

It must be the right decision, otherwise I’d be sharing something else! (there’s some wisdom for ya right there!)

It is the perfect pause…

Thanks for stopping by – have a great day!

Autumn

It’s heee-eerrree!

Welcome to my favorite time of year!

In a few short weeks, the colors of Fall will be painting the trees and shrubs.

The farmers will be out in their fields harvesting their crops.

And there will be a refreshing crispness in the air.

So I thought I’d share a few photos from my trek around during peak colors last year:

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” (Albert Camus)

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall.”  (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Clearly it’s not just my favorite season – other people do get awfully poetic this time of year!

Get ready to go out and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer!

Thanks for stopping by – have a great day!!

 

To purchase these and any photos you see here on my blog, contact me at:  artbycarolcook@yahoo.com  – and also check out my artsite:   www.artbycarol.imagekind.com

World Gratitude Day

World Gratitude Day is today (Sept. 21st)
It’s not a well-known or even particularly observed “holiday”

But that’s okay.

Let’s just make every day “Gratitude Day”!

It begins like this: “I am grateful for…”

See how easy?!

Thanks for stopping by – have a wonderful day!