Happy Easter!

easter sunrise, originally uploaded by vandirk.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Monday’s Quote

“We come this way but once. We can either tiptoe through life and hope that we get to death without being too badly bruised or we can live a full, complete life achieving our goals and realizing our wildest dreams.” Bob Proctor

I just think Arnold is the ultimate cool guy! Go get bruised this week!!

Inspirational Art

When I was in Santa Fe, I was exploring the plaza area and walked by the Evoke Contemporary Gallery and was stopped dead in tracks by the most amazing paintings. They are the paintings of Louisa Mcelwain. When it comes to art, I have discovered that I really like landscapes rather that paintings of people, and these paintings are everything I love in a painting! Color, movement, and Louisa truly captures the enchanting drama that we have in New Mexico! She paints plein Air from the back of a rigged up pick up, that supports her huge canvas'. The paint is so thick, that her signatures are not written, they are carved!

When I moved to New Mexico from California, the one thing I did miss is the ocean. Growing up on the beach and having the ocean as your backyard, the sea becomes a part of you. But I often think of the huge sky of New Mexico as kind of a replacement for the ocean. Always changing and in constant motion.

Louisa's tool of choice is the knife to "curb my ability to describe objects, and to move paint with velocity, articulate delicacy, and sensuous impasto. I strive to allow the beauty of the paint, moved by the impulse of the Creator's spirit which flows through me, to say something honest, deep and true about my experience of Nature, to make paintings that gratify the mind and nourish the soul." Yeah, nuf said....enjoy

Sorry for the blurry one, but I love the colors!

Loretto Chapel and the mysterious staircase

My husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Santa Fe last week and we stayed in The Inn at Loretto. Next door to the hotel is the Loretto Chapel. The Loretto Chapel is surrounded by the legend of the mysterious staircase. The chapel was built in 1872 and designed by a French architect Antione Mouly in the Gothic Revival style. In those days, it was common not to have a staircase that lead to the loft, because, the patrons would use a ladder, but because this chapel was going to used by nuns, and they wear long habits, they did not feel comfortable climbing a ladder. The solution was to build a staircase………

The Nuns prayed to St. Joseph for an intercession for nine days. At the end of those nine days, and shady looking stranger appeared. He told the nuns that he would build the staircase. He disappeared within the chapel for three months, and using a few very primitive tools, he constructed a spiral staircase for the nuns, and then he vanished. The original staircase did not have railings!! The nuns were so frightened that they had to descend from the loft on their hands and knees. It is also rumored, that because the staircase construction resembled a spring, it indeed acted like a spring when people climbed up and down! adding to the frightening experience of using the staircase. The railings were added a later date.

A Number Five beats a Number 1!

Congratulations to the Arizona Wildcats on such a great victory last night! To have to face Duke is always a daunting task, especially since they were the national champions last year. But that second half for the Wildcats was awesome!! It is such a thrill to watch a sporting event that is close to perfection, when everything is clicking, and that is what I experienced last night. We have all had that feeling of being “in the zone” and performing at our peak, I just wish we could have that feeling more often that not. But for today, and through the weekend, I will try to recall the thrill of watching a team that dug deep and prevailed with dominance!!

Bear Down!

A light staging

This is an example of minimal staging that can produce great results! This home is a modest home that has great light and is in a great neighborhood. I collaborated with a realtor to lightly stage the home for a realtor open house. I staged the mantle, kitchen and two bathrooms, and as you know, kitchens and bathrooms sell houses! We are all craving spring around here, especially after a very cold and dry winter so I really wanted to use colors that would evoke that fresh new feeling that we are all craving! and, It was going to be a gorgeous day. The realtor made green chicken enchiladas (they were outstanding by the way) beans, and tortillas. It was a great experience!

Before

After

Monday’s Quote

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill

I really love this quote, I first saw it in the window of a San Diego retail store while I was shopping on Orange Street. Somehow, I thought it went with the spectacular moon pictures that I took from my back porch! Go have a fantastic Monday!