Inside and Out

Beauty even in the end.

My first lily of the valley blooming.

Love these little bouquets of color on the way.

Proud Mama

Last night, my oldest daughter was among those honored at her school’s academic awards night. There’s not enough words to express how proud I am of her for all her hard work and dedication this year. Congratulations, kiddo! You’re awesome!

She was very excited for the ceremony and also excited to get dressed up.

Her principal presented the awards to the 7th graders who have maintained a 3.5-4.0 GPA for the first three marking periods of the year. (I’m proud to say that she is on track to maintain the GPA through the 4th quarter as well.)

Looking forward to adding this award to her wall and adding the accompanying bumper sticker to the back of my car.

Purple Rose

Love the color in this rose.

Postcard Swap

It has been a lot of fun and a lot of wonderful art has made its way to my mailbox thanks to Kat Sloma and this year’s Liberate Your Art postcard swap.

My first card came all the way from Pam in Wellington, New South Wales, Australia. What a gorgeous sunrise.

Every time we got a notice from Kat that she’d mailed out the next round of postcards, each trip to the mailbox was filled with excitement and anticipation. This next postcard came from Sarah Lynch, a beautiful painting of a morning in fall on the Welland Canal featuring vapor clouds from Niagara Falls. You can see more of Sarah’s work at her Etsy shop.

The variety of art is really inspiring. My next card came from Janet Kemper.

This next beauty came from Linda who you can find here and here.

This next postcard, from Dotti Rinehart, was tasty indeed. You can find Dotti on the Focusing On Life collaborative blog and on her blog.

At the end of the swap, Kat sends a piece of her artwork. I loved this year’s beautiful blue.

It is really hard to have the swap come to an end. I mean, wouldn’t you like to receive art in the mail every week? Of course! The nice thing is that some additional post-swap swapping has gone on. In addition to the official swap cards, I’ve received art from Sonya Versluys,

from Janice,

From Maria,

And from Sherry

It has been a wonderful time, sharing and receiving art around the world. If you want to see even more of the art that was liberated this year, check out the links from the Blog Hop. And if you’re interested in liberating your art into the world, join us in next year’s swap!

Evening Visit

Interesting seeds growing out of the trunk of this tree outside the dance studio.

When I got home, a couple of ducks were hanging out in the back yard. Our mama was on the nest out front, so this must be a pal.

Looking at her face, I wondered if she was one of the two I had an encounter with last spring.

Mini Bouquet

I don’t know what this sweet little flower is, but finding on a walk today put a smile on my face. It’s like a whole bouquet on a single stalk.

Transformed

Spent the morning at my daughter’s middle school for the start of teacher appreciation week. With just a few props,

the transformation.

Concert

From her choir camp a month or so ago, Little Bit was invited to be a part of the choir’s spring concert. She was very excited; she loves to sing! She was also a little bit nervous.

She did a great job and had a great time. The directors raved about her. (That’s her on the right end of the second row.)

She auditioned for the choir yesterday and we are anxiously awaiting the results. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot more singing in her future.

Evening Walk

Looking for the unexpected.

Hearts Abound