thing one: my dogwood stems are blooming!

i cut them on thanksgiving morning to decorate the table and then kept them for myself. i noticed the fresh green shoots this morning. every time i look at them, i smile ear-to-ear. they are so tiny + sweet + delightful.

thing two: i made a letter from santa claus!

you can download the letter here.

print the letter, write a child’s name in the appropriate spaces, and leave it for them to find.

surprise + delight + magic. (may it be so.)

it’s for you, with love.

p.s. if you have an elf, maybe the elf can deliver the letter. pretty sure that means he doesn’t have to move that night.

in this moment, i am full to the brim.

there is dirt under my fingernails. there is sand between my toes. my body is golden brown from the sun. my hair is wet from the lake. there are probably grass stains on my clothing.

my room is full of wildflowers. my sheets smell like fresh air. the stars will dance above me when i bring atlas out for his middle-of-the-night potty run.

my bowl of (natural) treasures includes dried wild rose petals and an almost perfectly preserved dragonfly – the head & part of one wing are missing – its fragile wings as clear as glass.

in this moment, i am full to the brim with love.

i am in the mood to spread this love around.

if you could use a dose of love, of delight, of magic, send me your mailing address, and i’ll send you a little something in the mail.

from me. to you. with love.

one. a gift.

this image is my computer background. it makes me so happy that i want you to have the image too.

click the image to see the full-size version. right-click + download the linked file to use as you wish. (in full size, you can see a tiny black bug on the daisy. it looks like it is hanging on for dear life.)

two. a sale.

a need inspired me with the idea for a midsummer sale. through this weekend, most everything i offer has a special price. i invite you to wander around the curio cabinet; perhaps there is something that calls to you.

while it is indeed true that you need beauty + wonder + magic, it is also true that i have nothing you need, only things that are a delight + a pleasure.

(here’s what i am delighting in today: wonder + whimsy filled stories that fly swiftly + easily into your email inbox; postcards from the wild, full of wisdom & full of wonder; and yellow roman candles, a photo series depicting a tiny unforgettable moment of magic.

for you, with love.

a few weeks ago, i redecorated my bathroom. i now have a grey linen shower curtain, new art, and nothing on the sink except for a candle, soap, and the occasional flower. it is very calming.

the previous art – a photograph of a fall scene in michigan, a gift from my sister – is in a closet, waiting to be taken to a framer. i love the photograph, but i have never fully appreciated it because i do not like the frame i chose. i went into a store to find a frame and a mat; they didn’t have the right frame; but i didn’t feel like going to another store so i just bought a frame that was sort of ok. it has been bugging me ever since. the little things do make a difference.

after much deliberation, the art i decided on included one of my photographs. as usual, i ordered it from shutterfly. if i am ordering prints for myself, i almost always order them from shutterfly. it’s fast and easy and i am always happy with the result.

i was thinking about this, because when i order prints of my photographs to sell, i order them from a local print shop. i do this partly because i like to support local businesses, partly because i like the quality of their prints, but partly because in the back of my mind, i think of words i see listed in the description of prints for sale from other photographers/artists, words like “premium”, “archival quality”, and “good for 100 years”.

who knows, maybe those same things are true of prints from shutterfly, but i don’t think they are a lab geared toward the professional photographer.

the reason i was thinking about this is because i realized that longevity and the idea of heirloom quality art – something you will pass down to your children – aren’t important to me when it comes to art. in fact, i suspect that thinking about longevity (maybe not in terms of how long it will last, but in terms of how long you will love it) is yet another factor that stops people from purchasing art, especially if they are someone who is learning how to identify and honor their own unique style. if you’re not sure whether you love a piece today, trying to determine whether you’ll love it forever on top of that is a fool-proof recipe for decision paralysis.

our tastes change. what we love and are drawn to today might not be what we love and are drawn to next week or next month or next year.

i might need to write more about this, especially since one objection to honoring this is related to money and there are many ways to take that into consideration.

for now, i just want to wish you permission and courage, so that, as rumi says, you can “be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love”, even (and especially) when it changes.

speaking of art, i have an 8×10 print of my photograph (pictured above). if you want it, leave a comment letting me know, and i’ll draw a name from the responses.

while keeping atlas company on the couch, i am amusing myself by writing tiny stories.

since this week is a holiday week in the states, and i know many children are on vacation, i thought i’d share one of them. it’s about a boy named jack and a wandering tree.

feel free to read it yourself, read it to children you love (or have them read it to you), or pass it along.

children, you know, are the original wide-eyed wonderers.

click on the link below to open the story. it’s in a nice little pdf, ready for reading or saving or printing.

jack and the wandering tree

i don’t say this often enough, but i so appreciate you.

thank you for your presence here. thank you for sharing in my life – and for allowing me to share in yours.

whether you comment or not, whether you visit regularly or occasionally or once-in-a-blue-moon, the gift of your presence is felt and appreciated.

your time and attention is precious. i am honored that you spend some of it here.

as a thank you, i want to offer you a favorite image.

it comes without limitation or restriction. you can use it as a computer background or screensaver. you can print it out and frame it. you can use it in an e-book. you can turn it into a blog header or a business card. you can put it on a postcard and mail it to all of your friends. you can incorporate the image into your own art.

to download the file, right-click the image and select Save Linked File as. if you’re a mac user press control and click the image.

(if, for some reason, that only downloads the smaller version of the image, click the image above to see the full size and then save it.)

merci. gracias. vielen dank. grazie.

thank you.

(apparently atlas is getting ready to help.)

doesn't it feel like it's time for a giveaway? i can't remember when i did my last one, and it occurred to me that i am horribly negligent at celebrating any of my blogging milestones (for example: my blog turned one last july, my blog turned two this july, i wrote my 500th blog post over 100 blog posts ago, et cetera).

yes. it's definitely time for a giveaway.

if you want to enter, leave me a comment. i'll draw two or three names on friday evening and send each of the winners a set of postcards. i am so fond of postcards. they are such a lovely – and easy – way to let someone know you're thinking about them.

(i could use some new quotes so, if you want to share a favorite quote in your comment, i would very much enjoy reading it.)

friday edit: the random number generator picked michelle and kim. thanks, everyone, for playing! and just fyi, it's kim's birthday today, so do pop over and wish her a happy birthday!