life of a georgia Artist

 So first off, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening (Depending on where you are in the world when you read this post. I have noticed that specific colors stand out when I look through my group of photos. Red is one of those colors, so wanted to share some pictures with you on this lovely relaxing day.  This is the old Clinton NJ red mill. My mother used to live a stone's throw from it and I loved the area. I have so many photos of this mill. I love the juxtaposition of the red and greens. The brick also to the water. There are so many layers to this photo that I have a bunch of them from different angles. Red petals stuck in my fence as the rain fell. Again metal to petals. I seem to find the most impossible combinations and make them work. If I would have zoomed out the photo wouldn't work with these red camellia petals. The color drew me into the fence and I had to take a shot. I love all the water droplets that nature placed upon them. This is Starrs mill in Georgi...

  If you have been following me for some time, you know I am from NJ. The picture above is from an area close to where I grew up. This tree always makes me stop and take notice of it. On this day I stopped to actually photograph it. It is branches and greenery and all on a farm. This is what I think of when I think of NJ. Not what exit on the freeway I am from. A lot of people have the wrong idea in their minds about NJ.  Growing up in Joisey (as my fam and I say it ) I was filled with a desire to travel, but I realize how lucky I was to grow up in this beautiful state. When we moved to this area, we were moving out of a little city to the county and had no idea what was in store for us. One time upon returning home about eight horses were grazing in our side yard. My mom, ever the hoot, pulled the car up to the garage, instructed us all to stay in the car so we didn't get run over, and called 911.  When the cops came they knew whose horses were in our yard. They led us t...

The best-laid plans get off-kilter in a split second. We plan our days, week, and months activities and someone breaks an ankle or perhaps we meal planned and the food store doesn't have the one thing we truly needed to make our favorite dish. We plan our days down to the last minute and something always throws us off.  When my kids were young I always planned activities and the rest of the time I let them play outside or just play in their room or the living room or wherever. I always felt having some free time to play make-believe was crucial to their development. We did a lot of arts and crafts. We did a lot of hiking together.  We would plan day trips. We would plan overnight trips. We planned camping trips. Every one of those activities got screwed up along the way. We pivoted. We adapted. We changed course to encompass the way the children's moods changed. Done with hiking, but still in the woods, sit and have a picnic. Over the camping trip, run home and let the kids sh...

                                  Happy Mother's Day to my Mom who lives in NJ   This is me and my mom a long time ago. I flew up to NJ to surprise her for her birthday. This was when she remembered who I was. She has battled cancer twice and won. She has quit smoking repeatedly throughout life and is finally done. For nine years it was her and I and that is where my story begins. My mom was married to a man in the military when she had me. I was told I was six months old when they separated and my mom and I moved in with my grandparents and my great granny. It was four generations living under one roof. It was mom and I living in one room. Those are some of my favorite memories. She let me try on her wigs. She let me make myself up at her vanity with her makeup. It was just us two. Her mattress fit under my crib partially. I was about 5 and got a canopy bed. Mom's mattress now fits ...

  My baby sister came down to visit. She wanted to get matching inks. So we did. I will upload a photo soon. My sister is the one on the right, I'm on the left. Her first ink, my tenth. We are ten years apart but incredibly close. I would do anything for her and I know her for me. We got to spend five glorious days together. We said next time it wouldn't be 5 years till we see each other again. We grew up together. Me older, her following me. Me getting ready to go out with friends and her at the door with her coat on ready to come with us. My friends were gracious and of course, we took her with us and my friends spoiled her. I was very grateful for them. She decided to come to Georgia to see her big sister. We got to babysit my sweet grandbaby. We got to food shop together. We got to just do fire and make smores. We sat and we talked. We relaxed. We let our anxieties fall to the floor and just be together. She lives far from me, or maybe I live far from her, but no matter the...