I’m ready for a beautiful spring day, but I’m watching rain fall and wearing a hoodie because it’s a little chilly for April.  I normally cheer on these last gasps of winter, but I am itching to work on some landscaping projects!  It will all happen in good time.  When we have the long, sunny summer days, I’m sure I’ll be longing for the cooler temperatures of fall.  I need to focus on enjoying each day I’m given instead of always looking ahead to the next thing!  I’m sure I’m not alone in that. Here are my four things for this week – Bringing France home, catching up on an old favorite, the best swimwear is on sale, and I’m pecking away on my neck book. what I’m reading I just got a book I’ve been waiting for this week – French at Heart.  It’s the second book by the

I was sick in bed last week, and the gunkiness and low energy have been hanging on!  Someone called it the yucks, and that’s exactly what it is.  I have been looking out my studio window at the garden bed, which has been covered in black plastic since last spring, and I am eager to get out there and start landscaping.  I’m just trying to be patient with myself and getting the rest I need.  I’m hoping I’m back to my old self by next week. Anyway, here are my four things for this week – Crafting a life beyond productivity, a race across the world, on limits and lack, and watching the garden wake up. what I’m reading I started listening to the audiobook Making Time by Maria Bowler and it’s so good so far!  I’ve followed Maria on Instagram for a while and feel like we’re on the same

Well, unfortunately, the virus that has passed through our household, taking us down one by one over the last few weeks finally landed on me this week and I’ve spent most of the last few days in bed!  I feel the pull of gardening work, I’m excited about doing some Spring Cleaning and home projects, and I have dozens of panels and reference photos waiting to be painted and instead I’ve been littering my bedside with spent tissues.  Well, this too shall pass. I didn’t have the mental clarity to write a blog post yesterday, but I already had this one partially done so it was pretty easy to polish it off. As a reminder, my next original art sale goes live tomorrow, Friday, March 28, 2025, at 1:00 pm Eastern.  You can find the sale preview HERE. what I’m reading I shared earlier in the week about the new

I was planning on writing a Four Things post when I was at the beach but then, well, I was at the beach and decided against it!  But, I have some good things to share today.  Having a short memory in order to do scary things, the best thing on television, the bit of mystery involved in great works, and catching up… what I’m reading I read several books at the beach, but most of them were to study art or to do research for the current book I’m writing, so I was mostly hunting and pecking, reading pages here and there and taking notes.  On the ride home, though, we listened to the audio book His Majesty’s Airship by SC Gwynne.  While I love novels, I find it hard to beat historical non-fiction and biographies.  In many cases, true life is more interesting, textured, and inspiring than fiction.  I also

Whew, it’s been a busy week for me!  For that reason, my four things post has been bumped to Friday, but I didn’t want to miss it entirely.  So, this week – books in my beach bag, freediving, words about mastery, and working ahead. If you missed my announcement yesterday about the upcoming fall creative lifestyle retreat in Tuscany, you can find the details HERE. what I’m reading I haven’t had a ton of time for reading since I’ve had a heavy workload this week, but I have a huge bag of books I’m taking to the beach and plan to spend some time sitting on the porch reading.  I’ll certainly give you a report.  Here is a peek in my bag… what I’m watching I watched this documentary a while ago, but I decided to share it this week because I haven’t been watching a lot of interesting TV

I had to take yesterday a bit easier after working on glue removal with my mom on Tuesday.  It’s not that it’s physically demanding, but the process requires a repetitive motion while kneeling on the floor.  That means everything hurts after you work on it for an hour or two!  Your hands, shoulders, knees, back, and hips are all complaining.  It worked itself out and I wasn’t as stiff as I initially thought I would be, but I still needed to give myself a break!  We’ve had some lovely early Spring weather, though, and that’s gotten me out on some longer walks, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Here are my four things for the week… what I’m reading I recently bought the newly-released Gustave Caillebotte Painting Men and it’s an excellent book about his work.  He really was revolutionary when it came to painting ordinary people and even working people,