life of a georgia Artist

 There is a lot of pressure on people this time of year. We need to buy the perfect gifts and remember everyone on our list. We need to buy food but consider everyone's dietary needs. We need drinks on hand for people who drink alcohol and for those who do not. We need to do this, this, this, AND that. How is this conducive to having a Merry & Bright Christmas? This year I went small. My sister and I exchange a mug and give my adult children cash because the lord knows what they need or want this time of year. I baked my apple pie, I made my sugar cookies and the birds in the oven. This year is going to be light. This year, if you read my last post you know, that my mom passed away. She loved the music, the lights, the twinkle, and being with all her loved ones. Mom dressed in the nines for the holidays. She would wear her holiday vest. She would jingle as she walked. Antlers on her head and bells on her feet. My mom hugely celebrated every holiday, birthday, and birth of a gra

 My Mom passed away on November 17th, 2023. I have noticed there is a divide. My life is now full of when mom was alive and now after she passed away. Literally, my life has been split into two pieces. Two fragments. Two pieces to make up a whole. This photo is from Clinton NJ. My mom lived there for some years and I loved walking around the town with her. One time I left early to go take morning photos and I came back before she was even awake. I told her about a coffee shop downtown, and she mentioned she had coffee at home. I made her come with me. We got coffee. I bought her a bag to take home to make her coffee at home. We got bagels and chatted and watched the people walk by the windows. She loved people and would wave to anyone walking by. My mom died at 77. She was a heavy smoker for decades and had COPD and Afib. In the end, her heart just gave out. She could not do a lot and it was hard when she fell and we needed to scoop her up. When she got to 77 she told us kids she was r

 My Mom, I have been silent here for a while. My mom lived in NJ and I was going back and forth. November 17th she passed away. I have no words to describe my life right now. I traveled back to NJ to help with everything from cleaning her room to calling banks where she had accounts. This photo is of her and one of her granddaughters sharing pizza. It was about five years ago. she could still walk on her own and I shall not tell you all the personal details, but after lots of hospital visits she said no more and Hospice was called. Once they were involved she passed two weeks later.  To say me and my siblings are heart broken is an understatement , We .are running around lost. We have discovered we all have good and bad things and the ones who can do A, go and do it well, those who can do B, get it done! C waffles between A & B . Between the three of us we have gotten a lot accomplished. I have been reading a lot about grief lately and I have learned there is not one single right n

 Greetings all, Life has been challenging me lately so I apologize for being slack on my blog. My mom has been in and out of the hospitals, yes numerous ones. At the end of the day, we do not know how much time she has left, but do any of us know? This photo is in Clinton NJ. See NJ isn't all what exit are you from? Its water, its lakes, it is an old red historic mill. Clinton is a cute lil town. It has art galleries, mills, bridges, ice cream, the best subs on the planet, and coffee.  My mom used to live here and has since moved, but I am still drawn to this place. I love the area. I love exploring and this down is such a great place to wander around in. In and out of stores, and more stores. Candles, books, subs, coffee, bakery items, and the most adorable red mill.  To quote Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail, this town is Enchanting. It's fall time in this photo and full of mums and fall colors. Have a seat, sit with a friend, or make a new one. I miss this place and while I a

So Crazy Love Coffee in Roswell Georgia has been on my list for years to visit. This weekend I got to go. I bought my son and myself an iced coffee and giant blueberry muffins. This coffee was smooth. The service fast and friendly.  There was a considerable line; I was not in a line long. The staff hustled to get everyone's orders done. They asked what you wanted and listened. They recommended products based on what their customers were describing. They had books for sale, cards, bags, toys, all sorts of note cards, and cute stationary. This place did not disappoint.  I must have been the 20th person in this long line, but 15 min later, coffee in hand, I was on my way out the door to give my kiddo his coffee. I had an iced coffee and the flavor of the coffee was smooth and sweet and tingled the tastebuds. The atmosphere was relaxed. The light was on point in this big area. See those bags in the photo, I had to fight the urge to get one.  Crazy Love coffee is family oriented, perfec

Us At Cathedral Coffee This is the coffee shop   Yesterday was a day well spent. We drove thirty miles to a local church, with a coffee house in it. The coffee tasted so smooth and wonderful dancing on my tongue. I was told about the breakfast biscuits that were almost sold out. We, my husband and I each ordered one. We got the last two biscuits, and they did not disappoint and were only $4 each, so for  $12, we got a great breakfast and coffee. We spent an hour sitting, sipping, eating and chatting. It was a great slow start to what was quickly going to become a busy day. Thank you  Cathedral Coffee  for fueling our day.  Secondly, we hit a local convention. Spend $7 to get in and $7 on things we bought. It was full of artists we love, with jewelry and hand-drawn art. We spent maybe an hour at this convention, which was local, and we walked through it a few times. Since we are not going to Dragoncon this year, this little convention was perfect. Another hour was well spent.  After thi

  If you have been following me for a while, you know I am in love with the third-place concept. Don't know what it is? Let me fill you in. You need a home place, a workplace, and a third place within the community where you can go and chat, read, have a beverage, and feel safe. For me that is always a coffee house. A few years ago I went around to some of Georgia's coffee houses and I wrote about them. Always seems to happen in the Summer. Seems the perfect time to travel and see the coffee houses of Georgia.  This summer we start with Labrador Coffee House in Kennesaw Ga. This cute house is turned into a two-story coffee house. The smell of intoxicating coffee welcomes you inside, but have a poochie? No problem, there are bowls of water all over the porch for puppy doggies. They are welcome on the porch, but not in the cafe. Gotta keep that fur out of our food you know. :)  The Labrador is dog friendly. The doggies are welcome everywhere else. The tiny fire hydrant to sniff a

 I am a massive believer in connecting with nature. I love hiking all the state parks within about two to three hours from my home. I love the sounds. I like sitting still and having deer cross my path when I stand silently and still. I love the smell of fresh air outside city limits. The leaves crunch under my feet. I love the outdoors and feel better when I spend time in it. It is Summer in Georgia, and the heat is unbearable. I am going still going hiking. I take ice water. I bring frozen grapes to keep me cool. I wear light clothing. I bring a Macintosh apple to snack on. I need to feel connected to the earth again. I need to take off my shoes and squish my toes in the dirt below my feet. I long to feel the pulse of the earth running through me. I have watched Down to Earth with Zac Efron and Darin Olien so many times that I have lost count. There is a scene where Darin gets out and takes off his socks and shoes and gets grounded to the new time zone they are in. Zac feeling a litt

 Spreading his wings, this hawk flies free. Summer allows us to feel more free. All the laundry still needs to be done. All the chores remain unfinished. Red white and blue bomb pops call us. Lemonade is made and poured. Popsicle sticks dropped on the back steps. It is a hole called life. Summer we come out of that hole and say HELLO WORLD LET'S DO THIS! We used to have inflatable pools for all the neighbor kids to come over and enjoy, which ended up in tons of towels on the line to dry. The backyard was dotted with pool toys. More drinks were poured and snacks were shared. Stories were told on towels when everyone was catching their breath.  Summer is here. It is hot and bright and demands your attention. The yard needs to be mowed. The bushes need to be trimmed, but the Bocchi ball calls us. Ring toss challenges issued. Races across the yard called out as the first person is always sprinting toward the imaginary finish line.  As Summer, you entice me to your rays. You summon me o

  What happens when you encounter a Negative Nancy combined with a Karen?  Well, I will tell you, she will call you names, she will put you down, and try to make herself feel better. She is not worth the breath in your lungs. She is not worth getting upset over; trust me, that is way easier said than done.  Recently this bipolar person was on my property and as much as I wanted to monkey-stomp her, I just made her leave as quickly as possible. I work very hard not to have this kind of energy around me. Negativity is a soul sucker. It sucks your joy, it turns you dark, it takes you to places you never thought you would go. What can be done? This person is surprised I cannot stand her or want to be around her, but she is one of many negative people who want to suck my joy and happiness away. So she is banned from this house, this property and no longer welcome to come around for holidays or anything really. What or who do you know who is this kind of person. A basket that is empty of tru

                                                    Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash I have been watching a series about happiness, questioning why some people are happy and others are not. I have battled depression. I have battled demons. I consider myself a happy person. How do you find happiness when life is so complicated and you feel pressured? Life has some good things and some not-so-good things. It is not always filled with joy. Sometimes it is filled with us questioning our own lives. Are you happy? Money does not buy happiness, as a country song says, but then it goes on to say, it can buy a boat, which is the same thing as happiness. This I doubt. Material possessions have never made me happy. Time with my loved ones, my friends, and my family, has made me happy. My life is sometimes a struggle to pay the bills, balancing what I can get done, what I think I can do, and what I can actually accomplish.  Reading books makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. Songs make me happ

Photo by me. Life is filled with colors, but sometimes we are so busy hurrying from one thing to another that we miss the beautiful wonders this world has for us. Blues filled with tints of indigo, gray, and greens.   Sometimes it is browns, whites, and blues. The world is spinning fast and we miss so much because we are on our phones, we are binge-watching another show. We are busy every day and so the world in all its colorfulness changes and we missed it.  Life is so right now, so oh you didn't text me, you didn't see my call, it's all instant gratification. I have been reading about slow living a lot lately. I make time to look at the birds, which seem to be a lot of red robins lately. It is about taking the time to wake up slowly and listen to the bird's songs as they sing to wake us up.  It is about being present in a life that passes us by, so we feel when we are not running in the rat race of life. We do not feel we can get off the hamster wheel. We will miss so

                                               Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash What stops you from submitting your writing ? There are a ton of magazines on the stands filled with words. There are numerous online sites wanting your writing, and there are people like you hoovering over the submit button. What is stopping you? Self-esteem - This is one of the worst fears. It rears its ugly head when you type when you look for places to submit to, and it talks you out of sharing your work at all. You type or write your piece to submit but you feel you are not good enough. You feel you haven't written as long as others and you should keep reading and not writing to submit, but let me say this, you will not know if you will get published if you do not try. Our self-esteem can stop us or it can take a bump and say, you CAN do it! Turn that fear down into background noise, rise above it, write your best piece, and submit. Judgment from others - Your friends laugh and ask if you are s

  Photo by me Have you ever seen something and thought, oh that's a sign? Don't believe in signs ok. I do. No one's belief is correct. It is each of our own personal views so please don't have me for my own views. I see signs on daily calendar pages. I hear it in others' conversations. I hear them in a song at the right time. I see them all over, every day, all day.  From when I was a baby to the age of nine, my mom and I shared a room. We moved in with my grandparents till I was 9 years old. It was peaceful and bliss for a lil one who was madly in love with her grandfather. I followed him everywhere and God rest his soul for not killing me off. I was annoying at best, but my grandpa was my dad figure as well and he thought me a lot.  He taught me to swing by placing an inner tube under my feet so when I swung down I was to kick it and I did over and over and he kept placing it under me. The man was a saint. He worked jobs as a truck driver, as a police officer, and

  Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Time is a fleeting thing. Life is a blur sometimes. Sometimes we waste time. Other times we rush through time, ignore time, or fake we have more time, but life has a way of kicking you in the teeth and reminding you time is fast and you have to move to keep up, but on Sundays, I intentionally slow down.  I need one day a week where I am not rushing. A day to light a candle read a book, listen to the morning birds sing, and recharge. This day is not for errands, chores, or anything else. It is simple to be. To drink my coffee slowly. To make a Sunday breakfast. To enjoy the food, read a book, or simply sit staring out the window. I get up early, even if it is a Sunday. I want the most out of my day. I grab my yogurt, I make my coffee, I feed the cats, and I write. I rest in my writing. I'm relaxed. I'm awake, I am ready for the day. Today I do have a few things to tidy up, but most of the day is for nothing. I go nowhere, I do nothing, I acco

    Photo by me, Debbie Life feels like it is in bokeh. It's a blur. We get up, and we are still trudging forward, Covid is still with us, but lil by lil we are pushing back into our normal lives. I'm on the peripheral watching the world live. I'm just observing.  I do not have a clue what normal is. I try to do my best to stay healthy and to do what is right for me, but at the end of the day, I am befuddled about what is right. What is normal?  Through this entire chaotic world of Covid I have worked. I have my own office, I closed my door, I wore my masks. Most of my coworkers went to work from home while I tried to stay safe and back from my remaining co-workers. Now with trying to move back to shopping in person, not wearing masks as much and still washing my hands like I am getting ready for surgery, I wonder, am I doing enough?  I love hiking. I can do that safely through covid, I can still get outside and enjoy nature. I can walk around my neighborhood and wave to ne

  Sometimes life seems like it is spinning out of control. Our Anxiety rises about what could happen. Our life seems like it's going up and down on a roller coaster and we have no control. This is especially true since the pandemic. It has caused anxiety and depression and stress for all of us. Now that we are in 2023 some of us feel the pandemic was years and years ago. Others are still in the thick of it. They are dealing with sick loved ones still. Losing loved ones without saying goodbye. I know this last one firsthand. I just finished Dave Hollis's new book. I finished it right after he passed away. His words in his second book hit me differently. Where did I see myself going and what was my purpose. What did I want to get done in this one precious life? His life was too quick, dying at 47. His legacy is his amazing four children but also his voice. He used his voice to champion for all to be equal and to all have found their purpose in life. He encouraged us to learn, adv

  Happy Sunday to you all. This week has been a roller coaster and I am learning to let go of the bar and put my hands up. I have surrendered too many things and feel exhilarated and depleted all at once. I feel rested and exhausted. I am happy and grieving. Life has a way of mixing all these things together and letting us sift out what we want. Life is challenging at best and brutal at its worst.  2019 tested us all, 2020 depressed us, and 2021, and 2022, have tried to revive us without life support paddles. We have collectively held our breath. We have stayed in and had food delivered to our homes. We have learned new trades, we have pivoted and we have stood up to only be knocked down again. Food is out of reach for so many, living in a home, is now a distant dream while apartments know you need them and they jack up the rent prices. Where do we go from here? I'd like to say I am ok, but I am not. I am disheartened. I am full of anxiety about even going out. My heart races when

  Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash the quiet sat on me like a heavy blanket. It felt as if it was trying to suffocate me. I needed a day, but this gray one was no good. It felt like it was pushing me down farther into a void. I was being sucked in. I woke with a start. I had terrible dreams. They started my day off by my waking and feeling depleted.  Sundays were days of rest, but I woke restless and anxious. I read until I finished a book, thinking it would lift my mood. The gray outside had other ideas. The sun never emerged. Apparently, it was banished for the day.  Candles lit, coffee drank, Bella Grace pulled out to enjoy this slow day. I decided I needed to bake some cookies. It worked. Cookies and milk can lift anyone's spirits, not permanently but for a while, the bleak day did not seem so bad.  It was not rainy or windy or anything other than gray. It was made worse by the barren trees this time of year outside my window. They seemed to beg for their leaves to come back,