My hands at work

November 2008, Bedwell Harbour, Pender Island, BC

Moon Jellies

A year like no other …

Strange/ironic that this year is 2020, a number, when stacked is an indicator of perfect vision. This is NOT lost on most people, I know! But here we are, being asked to look at everything around and inside us, yet right now, where I live, there is smoke from wildfires preventing visibility. 

I remember this happening (with fog), on a trip to Poet’s Cove, Bedwell Harbour, Pender Island, BC, in November 2008. At first I remember a sense of disappointment that the weather was “lousy”. Then Mary Ann and I quickly recognized the gifts. Unbelievable quiet. Seeing things in the water we certainly would have missed under sunny conditions. The moonjellies! The “shooting star” fish. The beautiful tones in the worn and damp wood on the docks. 

We might have missed the sea lions frolicking just off shore, highlighted by the dense grey behind them, and the flat calm waters. 

With no float planes or boats around, we could hear them diving and surfacing, and we were entranced. 

Left to observe only the world directly in front of us, we discovered a richness, lots of calm and a whole bunch of magic!

This is what I look for as we reside under similar conditions in the middle of September, a time when we would natually have sun and blue skies. 

Perhaps, more than ever before, I am aware of what nature is trying to show and tell us. PAY ATTENTION. STOP. LOOK. Take in what is happening and change the things you can. 

Keep it simple

Sometimes I have really crazy expectations of myself …

The one that crops up most often lately is: I must do EVERYTHING I have to do, RIGHT NOW!

I am working on changing that … getting rid of my somewhat rigid and illogical attachment to time.

Stay tuned on my success story!

sarah at work on a piece

vestiges continue …

It’s that time thing again … everything is taking longer than my wee brain thinks it should. But I know if I just do a little bit at a time, I end up with a better outcome.

Sometimes this feels frustrating, but when I surrender to this being the natural rhythm of how I work best, it is the most enjoyable experience. Ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there. Noticing someting that will work really well on a piece that previously wasn’t “letting me in”.  It’s a dance, and I am still learning the steps.

photo by Wendy Morisseau

create beauty said the world

I write stuff to myself all the time

I am not sure if this is from years of doodling words, but I seem to write things now to remind myself of what is sometimes pretty obvious!

Words on paper have a definite impact on me, especially if I have written them with a nice pen. It’s a nice way to access my higher-self wisdom, which of course is right there … I just like to bring it out every once in awhile and see it on paper!

Izzy in the garden
what?

Seeing the garden through a my cat’s wonder

For the first time in 7 years, I am intentionally letting my younger cat outside to explore the garden. It’s fascinating. She moves so slowly and intentionally. She is in awe of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! What a treat for me to witness.

I sit quietly on the porch step and watch her, and give her time and space to smell everything. Her sense of wonder is infectious. It makes me look at the garden in a whole new way.

I love how she goes from a timid being, tentatively moving through the plants, to stealthily stalking a tumbling leaf.

She will never be an “outside” cat … let out to wander on her own, we already have one of those, and one is enough. She will be escorted each time and supervised so that neither she nor any wildlife come to any harm!

compendium 7 cover

compendium 7 is coming along … in its own time!

As with all previous issues of compendium, it is morphing and changing as I create it. Even the cover, which I quite liked, changed. It continues to be a most fascinating journey for me … a sort of wander though my world, through words and images. I can’t wait to see where it’s taking me next!

Me and Squeak

photo by Wendy Morisseau

May a sense of wonder permeate your days and offer new possibilities always!

~sarah