It started with an incredible sunrise....

Magic was in the air....
and with the gift of another "spring" day here, off we went for a drive to the small, charming town of St. Helena, nestled in the wine country of Napa Valley.
It's such a cute town, dating from the early 1800's and the stores have the flair of french style and design.

One of my most favorite stores has a big M on the front window....meaning of course...
My store...for Me...Marilyn's place. :)






Everything in this store/gallery amazes me. The way things are placed...
the juxtaposition of texture, form, and design.
I LOVE this store!
























Here is my deep concern....I absolutely LOVE these pieces of art shown in the photos below.
They thrill me in their bizarreness...in their "out of the boxness"...in their simplicity. I LOVE the bone and skeletal look. The texture...the starkness.
Why then...does my art look so tame...so predictable...so...sweet?!
There appears to be a great distance between what lifts me up, personally, into inspiration and what I express through my fingers. This is of great concern to me!








Look at these great windows....I felt like I was in France....
so inspiring!





















On our way out of town, in the darkening sky, we passed an old cemetary and had to get out and walk around, with the just passing full moon rising to light our way.....













I was surprised....and delighted....that my Shadow revealed herself...finally, at the end of the day....in a most unlikely of places. Or is it?

A Sunday Shadow outing.....

Another spectacular day and my shadow will not stay indoors.....








Off we go down pathways and through fields....and along the way I found the cutest little shop here in Sebastopol. Let me introduce you to Gerrie.
This little store is called P&G Art and Gerrie has a fun blog.
I just LOVE her Phooey Lion Dog and the blue bird.
The great thing about these are that they are made to fit onto a fence post.
I think a blue bird has to fly back to Hawaii with me!

Me and my shadow......

My shadow took me on a fabulous hike today.
We hiked to "Sound of Music" hill ( as we have named it ) where we climb up out of the redwood forests to look out to the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Marin headlands to the south.

Fabulous views.





From the top of the hills you can see so far.

And look! I found a cow's skull!

 Hmmmm.....a dolphin skull on Holbox and now a cattle skull in Sonoma county.

We stop for a rest on the hilltop.....pouring a glass of cold bubbly cider to make a toast to our wildest dreams for 2009.

My question is.......

What would your wildest dream be, for this new year?

 
What makes your tummy quiver and goose bumps break out on your skin.....and you know it's beyond your abilities and it would be way too much to expect of yourself and it could never happen....and it would be just too amazing if it did...and you couldn't really even imagine that it would??  

No reality.....just pure wild wish.....

Mine is this......

....to be able to actually speak French (an impossible wish, I am convinced )...to live in a fabulous 14th or 15th century castle somewhere in Provence....for 3 months....... and have my friends and family come to stay with my love and me. 

Wow! That makes me tingle!
A whole new doorway that opens to a totally new experience....a French experience!

Impossible, I say.......but I am willing. :)

What would your wildest dream be?????? Come on....share.... :) Speak it!  Make it a wild dream that you can't imagine happening....but you would be willing to experience!


We walk on and find Fern Springs and a little circle of stones left as a offering.... or a symbol of....something sweet and pure.... to someone.

Gosh...we've walked miles and miles!

Time to go home to rest....

What a beautiful day!

My shadow has finally returned from Holbox Island...

I have been sinking into my sofa, hidden under blankets to keep warm. Spending hours on my computer, sipping soup and munching cookies.....when today the clouds parted and the sun appeared!

I am so happy to have my shadow back!!



And so, my friends and I went for a wonderful 6 mile walk. What a beautiful day!! What a difference the sun makes to my spirit and sense of well-being.







After walking for an hour we stopped in a little town for a mocha..... and while we were there, an artist came in with a basket full of blackbirds!

They were wonderful creations....created from paper mache. The artist's name is Mary Livingston and if you like more information on her artwork, let me know.






After coffee and the blackbird encounter, we continued on our walk.....happy to be able to do just that...walk and see the blue sky and bright sun....and meet some blackbirds along the way.

From turquoise to steely grey......

We have returned from a turquoise warm world to the stark beauty of cold winter grey in Northern California......
I have left my shadow behind and I feel suspended between these two worlds.
Memories fill my mind but slowly daily "to dos" pull me up and out the door.....

Happy New Year everyone!