Happy Birthday to My Sweetie! (And Virgos Everywhere!)

Keith's birthday is today, and I made a special "banner" for him. When he woke up this morning, it was sitting out for him on his desk...

I painted some watercolor paper, made a heart template, traced the hearts out... one for each letter. I partially cut them out with an X-acto knife, not all the way through, but enough so I could see where the outline of the heart was on the other side, too. Then I used ink and a calligraphy pen to write out the letters on both sides of the hearts. After it was all dry, I cut them out and punched small holes in the top of each one.

I used baker's twine to tie them onto the branch that I put into a tall, straight glass vase filled with marbles. I also made a little owl to sit on the opposite branch.

I hope he likes the beginning of his birthday! Today I'm making him his favorite pie (lemon meringue) that we're going to have after dinner at our favorite restaurant, Apollo Grill. Last year, he only shared that pie with me. Ha ha. He's very protective of that lemon meringue pie! Probably because he only gets to have it on his birthday!! 

I hope that he feels super special on his birthday... he deserves it. He makes me feel super special every day of my life. xox

Some Randomness...

There are a few things I wanted to tell you about, which didn't really fit in with my planned posts. 


First, my sister visiting suddenly was a wonderful surprise, and I loved being able to show her around Bethlehem! We did a lot of walking, and quite a bit of eating, and of course, photo-taking! I found some more hearts for you...

Sweet grate

Latte during our Kenyan lunch

Found during an evening walk

I took her to the cemetery, too, of course. She's heard a lot about my cemetery walks, and wanted to see it for herself. She agreed that it's a beautiful place. Also, I saw this butterfly that I tried to get a good photo of, but they're just notoriously difficult to take a good picture of. 

Taken with my iPhone, so not great

After she left on Saturday morning, I had an artist meet and greet to attend, for the gallery that my books will be shown in. I had such a great time meeting some of the artists and craftspeople from the area! They were very friendly, interesting to talk to, and they were also interested in getting together for group critiques of each other's works! I'm so excited by this! Mostly, I just enjoyed getting out of the house and mingling with creative people. It's always fun!


Lastly, I started a bizarre project that really feeds the inner archaeologist and forensic anthropologist in me. I bought some owl pellets to dissect! (In case you don't know what they are, they are the remains that owls can't digest and so they barf them out. Gross, right? The ones you buy online are usually decontaminated.) I am hoping to find either a rodent or bird skull. So far, I've found a lot of tiny vertebrae, some rib bones, what may be a partial mouse skull, and a very sore neck and shoulders... it's harder than I thought... very painstaking and delicate work! If I find anything photo-worthy, believe me, I'll show you.


I hope you're finding things around you that draw you in, inspire you and make you happy! 

Hearts All Around

Lover's heart in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Seaweed heart on a beach in Northern California

Tide pool heart in Santa Cruz, CA

Wood chip heart on West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA

Heart opening at a cemetery in Fremont, CA

Heart stones found in Yosemite, CA

Seaweed pod heart

Heart-shaped face

Latte heart

Cloud hearts in Stresa, Italy

Two hearts in Monterosso al Mare, Italy

Graffiti heart in Italy

Fallen leaf  heart

Little leaf heart

Hawaiian beach heart within a heart

I am always seeing hearts (love?) everywhere I go. I wanted to share them with you in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Maybe to remind you that love is all around, if only you keep your eyes (and heart) open...

Love and blessings.

xoxo