Category Archives: Drawings

What soothes your soul?

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Always a good question to think about… What makes you stop, breath deep, and creates some inner peace for you?

For me it’s (in no particular order) friends, family, flowers, yoga, my dogs, and “creating” – like a new drawing or an art/craft “object,” sunshine, fresh air, and then maybe some more flowers…… or at least those things are some of list toppers!

Since Mable (or if you prefer you can call her Mabel – she likes to mix it up a bit)  is CEO of Emos, and Emos manufacture Smiles, it seemed fitting that she get to hold the giant flower and stand in one of my favorite flowers – a Poppy. You will have to use your imaginations to see all the other “soul soothing pieces”  here with Mabel, but I can assure you they are like water drops and are sitting on top of those flowers too!  Even better…. use your imagination and think about what ever your pieces are and insert them into your mind and reality. If you are really lucky, maybe Mabel can hold some of your too!

Mabel with Flowers

Helping hands….

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Everyone needs some help at times of the day, the year, or even in a moment.

We all know it’s spring thank goodness it’s time for flowers and herbs and gardening again! Peaceful. Healthy. Beauty. Color. Meditative. Calming. Soothing – those all words I associate with gardens and gardening. Here in my little piece of the world I have a back deck that turns into a little piece of all those words for me each year. It is a deck that I surround with “window boxes” or in this case rail boxes, that I mostly fill with Herbs. I use the herbs for cooking, ice tea (yes I grow many mints,) and just because I love being able to go out there and have all these possible scents surround me. There are naturally flowers too…but enough about what I personally plant.  The real point of this story is helping hands…..so…. I was at my local garden center to buy the soil for the boxes. There was even a special deal price of my favorite soil in a 2 1/4 cubic feet bag.  Great! Now, you need to know that I am pretty strong and about 5 foot 8, so I am not a small weak wisp of grass…. these bags are HEAVY! I struggled to get the first on my cart. Then the helping hand came. A couple came walking by, the man asked if I was getting another bag. I said yes, and he (with some effort too I may add) put the second one on cart. FAB! Then to add to the goodness, they were right behind in line to pay, and he offered to put them in my car for me. A big win for Kindness and for me. Thanks you universe for that helping hand when I needed it.

Helping Hands image

Helping hands…holding hands… the two often mix. That’s a very good thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for fun & what to do? We can help!

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Not one but TWO chances to greet, meet, see, say hi, enjoy, buy cool art things, do good, and smile this weekend!

April 27 – Celebrate Earth day: See over 75 exhibitors including local artisans, green products, alternative energy, community groups, health+fitness, home improvement, food, music and more!    Click here for the full listing! ( You can even do some ‘big time’ recycling at the event! Check it out! ) 11 AM -3 PM Framingham Centre Village Green on the Common, Framingham MA.

April 28 -Art In The Garden is this Sunday! 11am-4pm at Weston Nurseries is Hopkinton. In its 6th year, Art In The Garden will host 50 local artisans exhibiting their handmade wares on the beautiful grounds of Weston Nurseries.
You will find stained glass, pottery, jewelry, etched slates, bath & body products, candles, handbags, tote bags, furniture, clothing, garden art, paintings, note cards, birdhouses, winds chimes, pillows, dog collars and leashes, pet clothing, blown glass infusion jars, beaded belt buckles, scarves, honey, pickles, chocolates, pizza and more! $3 admission will benefit One Fund Boston, Mazie Memorial Foundation and Project Just Because.
April 27&28 shows

Earth Day

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That about says it all from us here at Botanical Beauties & Beasties.
Do Earth a favor, pick up a few extra pieces of litter today.

Earth Day

Spring?

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I would like to be seeing flowers…instead I am seeing a blizzard!
I guess the only way to hurry it along is to draw it!

flower

Snow…gazillions of tiny little crystals that stopped us in our tracks!

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Do you like the snow… the quietness it creates? The Beauty of the shimmering white? The blanket of white that all those tiny little crystals make?

  • Does it create peace or havoc on your world?
  • It is beauty or just a “bother?”
  • Does the power of the ‘Force of Nature’ that can bing us to a stand still awe or annoy you?
  • Does it drive you crazy that you are stuck, or is a good thing that you don’t have to go anywhere?
  • Can you get outside with out shoveling? Does that make you feel trapped or snug?

I think for many of us it is probably a mix of much of the above. If you have to get somewhere it certainly can make it difficult. Then I have to think about who really has to get someplace. Clearly medical issues need to, and a few others… but really, do the rest of really have to move around so much? How about a little more quiet time…what do you think? Maybe we could take a hint form the kids and Wellie that are so happy to have a new playground that magically appears. Magical wonderland?

Wellie in the snow

Wellie in the snow

Hold Your Space

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Hold Your Space

Hold Your Space – palms up and out!

Another week and another sunday morning yoga class gave Birdelini and I food for thought. This times it’s about holding on to your own space, owning and nourishing  that space however expansive or tiny it may be. It refers not to marking out your territory but to truly  holding your own self/space with no harsh negative judgments, an acceptance of your space and peace with your space. In the winter “our space” sometimes feels tighter and more constricted. It’s not really.  It’s our innate human nature of “winterizing”- we tend to stand less tall, fold into ourselves more, rounded shoulders and slouching.  In the cold we bundle up, look down, and walk fast to our destinations. That’s pretty close to tight-fisted living. (see last weeks post). Holding your own space  goes hand in hand (all puns intended) with open palm living. You need to understand you can’t  micro manage your space, you need to let is be, to fill, expand, and contract as needed. You certainly don’t need to try to control anyones else’s space, for that is really fruitless. Your space is what it is- your space, don’t judge it or others and the sides of your space will be so much smoother.

I poked around on-line a bit and found this at Spiritual Awaking Process. I thought he did a nice job of talking about this issue.

“Holding Space: Some Key Attributes
Let me try to break this down a little bit. Here are a couple key characteristics to holding space, and I’ll give an example to help solidify what I’m talking about. Some components are:

    • Letting go of judgment
    • Opening your heart
    • Allowing another to have whatever experience they’re having
    • Giving your complete undivided attention to the situation/other person

Those are really the key elements of holding space. You’re not trying to influence the situation. You’re not trying to fix it, win at it, or affect any kind of outcome. You are simply being with it fully so that it can work itself out. This doesn’t mean becoming a victim to it. Quite the contrary actually, you’re very powerful in this space, and it certainly doesn’t mean being hurt physically by another. By when you’re deep into a space like this, you are far more immune to any “emotional” hurt than you might realize…” ( read more) 

Groundhog day…

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Izzy and the Groundhog

Izzy and the Groundhog in the South. This is NOT  New England in February with those flowers! Or… we have a bigger climate change problem than we knew!

Izzy escaped the winter and went south to work on her art for a bit. However, she did her part for those us up North,  found the local Groundhog…and asked…  6 more weeks or not? 

Info from National Geographic- Groundhog…. click here

“The groundhog, or woodchuck, is one of 14 species of marmots. These rodents live a feast-or-famine lifestyle and gorge themselves all summer to build up plentiful reserves of fat. After the first frost, they retreat to their underground burrows and snooze until spring, drawing their sustenance from body fat. (Maybe they have it all figured out? Eat eat eat, hide, dissolve the fat and reappear! ) While hibernating, the animal’s heart rate plunges, and its body temperature is not much warmer than the temperature inside its burrow.

Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular American custom of Groundhog Day, held on the second of February every year. Tradition dictates that if a groundhog sees its shadow that day, there will be six more weeks of winter, though such a prediction seems a sure bet over much of the groundhog’s North American range.

In the spring, females welcome a litter of perhaps a half-dozen newborns, which stay with their mother for several months.

Groundhogs are the largest members of the squirrel family. Though they are usually seen on the ground, they can climb trees and are also capable swimmers. These rodents frequent the areas where woodlands meet open spaces, like fields, roads, or streams. Here they eat grasses and plants as well as fruits and tree bark. Groundhogs are the bane of many a gardener. They can decimate a plot while voraciously feeding during the summer and fall seasons.” -Info from National Geographic- Groundhog…. click here

 

The Wisdom of an open palm, in Yoga and life.

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Sunday mornings I often have a small argument with myself, there are three parts to this “conversations.” The first part is: I am most likely lying in bed, snug and comfortable, and since it’s winter the outside is cold and my bed is warm. Leaving it seems silly.  The second part is from my body:  It is often just plain old tired and going back to sleep is pretty much always tempting. The third part is my mind: You see, the ideal, and the goal is, to get up, get moving, and go to Sunday morning yoga class. The mind says: Go- you will be glad you did…Go-it is always a good idea to go to yoga …Go-you will learn something new, whether it be a corrected pose or a thought. … Go- it’s exercise and stretching, and especially in the winter it’s important to keep the body moving! … Go-you love it when you do. Go-you feel better after class/practice. Go-its self kindness. Im glad to say the mind usually wins these days, and I do get up and go!

This past Sunday my teacher brought  up a topic she has mentioned a few times lately. It’s the wisdom of an open palm. Birdelini and I love this and keep thinking about it.  Read on and we think you will too.

Lets try something. Stop reading for about 30 seconds and make two tight fists. Clamp your hands as hard as you can. Breathe in and out. Hold another bit. Now think about that for a moment. It doesn’t feel very good, your muscles tend to tense up, you may have even scrunched up your face muscles. Did you feel the tension that came with that? Thats a fist that lets nothing in! Now, just put your hands out and open your palms up to the ceiling. …. Breathe in and out. Stay there another bit….Kind of amazing the difference in feelings! One is tight, controlling and stressful to hold. The other is almost relaxing! That’s the beauty of open palm living! An open palm, lets the day take its course it doesn’t need to control everything, for an open palm is open for giving and receiving. “Often we are focused on what we can get for ourselves out of the fear that if we don’t get all we can then someone else will get it and we will be missing out.  We clench our fist and hold on tight.  The Open Palm knows that there is much for everyone…” -http://www.balancedlifeyoga.ca/the-wisdom-of-an-open-palm-finding-balance/.  Open palm living lets it “be” – ebbing and flowing, giving and taking in an open manner.

Birdelini and I continue in our yoga practice….we’re loving the open palm thoughts, and trying to be open to all that comes our way. How about you?

Birdelini Yoga Warrior Pose

open palms here…

camel pose
camel pose-Heart Opening – relieve tension and stress.

 

 

The Great White North

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The Botanical Beauties & Beasties have just returned from The Great White North. It was the perfect way for us to bring in 2013. We were in gorgeous Vermont and the Stunning Adirondack Mountains near Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

We had a lot of fun, did a little snow showing, laughed and cried with friends, partook in Saranac Lake First Night, and viewed and enjoyed the local art scene. BIG NEWS - if you find yourself in Lake Placid, or need another reason to go to Lake Placid,  stop in the very wonderful “The Bookstore Plus” (2491 Main Street, Lake Placid, NY 12946) and browse all the great things INCLUDING our Cards! www.thebookstoreplus.com.  It is a great store, their web site says it all - ”Providing personalized customer service to help our customers reach their imaginations though reading, creating or writing.  Your source for the latest bestsellers and Adirondack books. We keep a wide selection of all Indie Next List and New York Times bestsellers. Come  in to see what is new on both of these great lists! We have an extensive collection of Adirondack titles and often have signed copies as well.”  The owners are delightful, the shop is a joy, and you get to support a  2nd generation, family owned and operated local independent book store, read, write and draw…How can you not love that! ( …and by the way they will ship for free on orders over $50 right now!)

Well, back to winter wonderland…the trees are majestic, the mountains are strong,  our friends are “tried and true” and we love them all. The  Adirondack Park weather makes Vermont feel like it is sunny Florida! What ever it is in Burlington VT  ( which is pretty far and up there in VT, yes, like almost Canada) you can count on it being colder and snowier across the lake! When we came back “home” across and had a grand time in our old stomping grounds it was practically balmy in comparison! However, we love them both, the landscape is soothing, the meeting of the mountains and the lakes never stops amazing.