"Mom...N...Me"...

...just the two of us... 

having a zen filled artistic play date with our Muses...

painting

whimsical butterflies

and

making special memories

to decorate our

hearts.

Love you, Mom!

;)

"Happiness is a butterfly,
which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp,
but which, if you will sit down quietly,
may alight upon you."
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Aspen Starfall...Remembering Sue

Susan V. Krahenbuhl

November 26, 1960-March 23, 2012

We continue to hold you gently in our hearts

and
think of you with a smile
each time
we remember the sparkle in your eyes...
the love in your heart...
and
the never ending strength in your spirit.
We see
you in the twinkling stars of the desert night sky...
we hear you
in the soft rustle of the Colorado aspens...
we feel you
in the soothing warmth of the western sun.
You are always with us.
We will
always love you.

"To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die."
~Thomas Campbell,
Hallowed Ground

Play Ball!

Spending a sunny spring afternoon

in the Arizona desert

with

Scott...

my brother, Jack...and his wife, Sharon.

What fun!

The beer was icy cold, the sun was burning hot...

the company was terrific.

Add to that

the best hot dog I have had in a long time!

Yummy!

Cactus League spring training

really IS

all it is cracked up to be...

(sorry about the score, all you Sox fans out there.)

 

"A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz." 

~Humphrey Bogart



Life's Special Moments...

Thinking about you with love and joy

Lillian May Krahenbuhl...

an angel in heaven for seven years today.

 

"I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day and through.

 

In that small cafe
The park across the way
The children's carousel
The chestnut trees, the wishing well...

 

I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way...

 

I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you."

"I'll be Seeing You"

Lyrics by: 

Brian Andrew Leisner & Hugh Thomas Morgan

Recorded by Billie Holliday



Happy "91st" Mom...!

Simple things...

a homemade luncheon...

carrot cake...a candle...some apple fritters...

a 73 degree sunny, bright December Arizona day...

quality time spent together

laughing...talking...remembering...sharing...

 the love of family...

What lovely birthday presents, indeed...;)

xoxoxo

"Your birthday

is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world."

~Author Unknown

A Bit of a Holiday Kick-Off...

...spent with my family

celebrating the beginning of the Christmas season

 Arizona desert style...;)

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!"

 ~Albert Einstein

Nothing Like the Birth of a Baby...

...to make the collectives hearts of a family

go "pitter-patter".

Congratulations Grandpa Scott on #3.

“A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure,

a messenger of peace and love,

a resting place for innocence on earth,

 a link

between angels and men.”

~Martin Fraquhar Tupper

September...Already????

...Just how can this really be???

As you may have noticed...or NOT noticed...

 there has been an enormous

lack of any kind of activity here on my blog...

even

 after I faithfully PROMISED to you all

that this year would be different.

Well, in reality, it actually has been...different...

...sort of.

There have been a number of remarkable "firsts" that

have occurred during the past 30 days.

The past month has found me driving a couple of

thousand miles...(a recent "first")...

and seeing a region named after a couple of thousand islands

(an actual real "first").

It has found me

drawing and painting a "bajillion" artist trading cards...

(not really a "first"),

and...best of all...it had found me

visiting family in beautiful upstate New York...

(definitely the BEST "first" of them all!).

The artist trading card above was inspired by

 my grape loving cousin Cathy

and the glory of being in a Cranberry Lake

"state of mind".

I find...blessed by the golden wisdom age provides...

that

there are those special moments in our lives

when the stars seem to align

 and

all seems perfectly right...

the exact way it was somehow destined to be..

from the beginning of time.

Cranberry Lake made that happen for me

and

 memories of my short time there

will bring a warm happy smile to my heart...

for a long, long, long, long time.

"What is the definition of a good wine?

It should start and end

with a smile.”

~William Sokolin 

Rest in Peace...my dear aunt

GRETCHEN EVELYN STORER

     On Tuesday, June 25, 2013,

Gretchen Evelyn Storer (nee Leichtfried), 77,

daughter of the late William and Eva Leichtfried,

beloved wife of Gerard Xavier Storer of Centreville, MD;

loving mother of Diana Haussmann (Kevin) of Laurel, MD,

Suzanne Johnston (Bill) of Huntington, MD

and Jennifer Perlin (Andrew) of Laurel, MD;

dear grandmother of Matthew, Heidi (Eric), Greta, Gabrielle, Morgan,

Ryan, Nick, Julia, Matthew,

Zachary and Drew.

    Funeral Mass at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church,

Centreville, MD

on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 12 p.m.,

where friends may call from 10:30 to 12 p.m.

   Burial will be at Crownsville Veteran Cemetery,

on Friday, July 5, 2013 at 10:45 a.m.

     Memorial donations

may be made to the Hospice of Queen Anne's Inc.,

55 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617

and the

Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart,

1001 W. Joppa Road,

Baltimore, MD 21204. 

 “Life is a pilgrimage.

The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns.

He marches direct

to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss,

his ultimate destination.”

~Swami Sivananda...Indian Yoga Master

The Flutter of an Angel's Wings...

Heaven holds one more angel tonight...my dearest aunt Gretchen.

Knowing her made one feel blessed.

Sending thoughts of peace and love to my uncle Skip

and

their beautiful family.

"May we live in peace without weeping.

May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing.

And may our love fill the world,

angel wings tenderly beating.”

~An Irish Blessing

Happy Father's Day...

...to the man I have been in love with

for over 65 years...:)

"I love my father
as the stars...he's a bright shining example
and
a happy twinkling in my heart."
~Terri Guillemets

A Woven Prayer Basket...

 to gather healing thoughts...peaceful, serene spirits...

positive energies...and love filled wishes

for my dear aunt,

her loving husband, and her beautiful family. 

"God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom

to know the difference.”

~Reinhold Niebuhr

Doing What One Loves...

...must run in the family this weekend.
Pictured above is

my brother Mark at Soldier Field in Chicago today

on the ice...

15 degrees F...snow gently falling...
a big smile in his heart.

 From the hand made back yard ice ponds

my dad

would make us whe we were kids...

to the most

legendary sports venue of Chicago...truly

living the dream...

and

bringing home a trophy to boot!

Ahhhh!

Love you, Mark!
Pssst...Thanks for the photos, Katie...:)

Hot chocolate anyone?

"Four out of five dentists surveyed recommended playing hockey."

~Author Unknown

Sometimes...

...whether it be day...or night...
one just needs

"To breathe deeply...and move in curves."

~Katie's Grandma

Looking Back...

...in an attempt to clear the air...

to purge...

to tie up loose ends...to close the books...

to try to bind everything together.
Whew!

What we have here is
 one big "sketchbook dump"...
a plethora

of thoughts and illos and attempts to maintain my sanity.
You know...

I have been "here"...but, not really.

I feel badly about that.

This is only my 71st post of the year..

barely one quarter of what I have posted in years past.

The reason?
I haven't a clue...
other than the fact that this year
has certainly thrown a few curve balls my way.

Fortunately,

I have been able to turn to my Muse

for a wee bit of artistic therapy and spirit building.

Some of the pieces here will definitely

allude to that.

The above entry was blogged about here

and was drawn ink straight in...lead free...over a series of days.

Seeking a bit of bi-monthly resbit with my art tangling friends here.

My notes are hopefully self explanatory...just click on any image

to enlarge

for better viewing. :)

Sue's passing was bittersweet and difficult for all of us...

she was my sister-in-law.

She suffered for so long...was so young...and was loved by so many.

The trip back to Illinois left our hearts heavy.

I am blessed to have still have my parents with me...

we have had several close calls this year.

I am also blessed to be able

to let my soul breathe and grow through my art.

Waiting and being hopeful and calm have been a challenge.

Patience and the art of developing keen observation skills

have been my frequent companions.

I wonder what challenges will face me in 2013?

I surely hope I will be able to handle them

with a certain amount of

grace and hope and creativity.

Thank you,

each and every one of you,

for checking in on me...

and

even leaving a note

every once and a while.

I love that.:)

I plan to really BE HERE this next year...

I really do!

“The object of a new year

is not that we should have a new year.

It is that we should have

 a new soul.”

~G.K.Chesterton