for my HARRY'S BAR (Venice) "friends"

Oh my, I had promised this charming and adorable couple that I would post their photo on my blog - when we met in Venice, at Harrry's Bar. While my father and I were having lunch, and before the dining area became too crowded with lunch-goers, I snapped off some photos ...

And that was also before the waiter told me I could only photograph OURSELVES and FACING TOWARD OUR OWN TABLE, but NOT "outward" at other patrons. Even with their permission!

:-) So glad he did not make me erase this ... it's a great photo. I hope our "friends" do visit this blog and do find this photograph.

Ciao !!!

-- Davielle

TGIF: Trust, Gratitude, Inspiration FRIDAY

I visited Brene Brown's ORDINARY COURAGE web / blog page this morning, but it must be too early yet for her weekly TGIF (Trust,Gratitude, Inspiration Friday)posting. So I decided I would just go ahead and post my TGIF musings here, on my own.

If you've never visited Brene's site, you owe it to yourself if you care at all about ... life, motherhood, shame resilience, parenting issues, etc etc etc. She's full of life & light, love & hope & encouragement for us all. www.ordinarycourage.com

Me, today, I am ...

TRUST: I am trusting that I have made the right choice in rheumatologists. It's not my way to seek a second opinion; I've always trusted my physicians, but as I get older, and as I seek clearer answers, it was suggested to me by an amazing, heart-full doctor friend, that I do just that: seek a 2nd opinion, not just from my rheumatologist, but from my neurologist. So I have done that. I am happy with my new docs, and am hopeful about our new direction.

GRATITUDE: I am grateful that I am in a position to HAVE the choice ... of physicians, of care, of medications, of hospital and lab and radiology and testing facilities ... that I do have. Many in our very own country go without health care at all. I am truly fortunate to be in this position. I am MOST grateful for my husband, Mark, who provides so well for our family ...

INSPIRATION: I am inspired by those who MAKE ART EVERY DAY. Or almost every day. It is my desire, it is my goal, it is my wish -- to be like that. {all I have to do is get beyond the mental and real voices - yes, others do say things to discourage me - that tell me "you can't make art unless your house is all in order", or "you can't make art, because you have too many other tasks to do first", or "you can't make art all the time, because you just aren't that good".) ART every day ... should be PRESCRIBED to any and all who seek it and need it and love it ... like I do ... and/or who could use ART TIME to heal.

So ... "QUIET, voices. I am going to make art today. And Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. And after that ... as OFTEN as I possibly can, and I am promising myself that I will MAKE ART a priority."

I wish you all a beautiful Friday, and a beautiful weekend ...

Davielle

{photo is of a bottle I was washing out; when the bubbles got caught inside, I just had to photograph it}

Le Mont St Michel

My friend Ann posted this to her blog recently, and seeing it, just took me right back to last May, when Mark and Kristina and Cara and I visited (and stayed overnight on) Le Mont St Michel.

This is an amazing photograph, posted to Flickr by one Ludovic Belchior.

I believe, if you'll pardon the oh-so-obvious-and-expected pun here, that this ROCKS.

To see the photograph, I believe you have to click on the "title" of this post to activate the link. Give that a try ...

:-)
Davielle

seeing art everywhere: TAKE THAT CHANCE YOU'VE BEEN CONSIDERING

"Take that chance you've been considering."
titled: LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF WHIMS / artist: Leilani Pierson

At the LONG BEACH QUILT SHOW on Friday, which I thoroughly enjoyed in the company of Ann (a talented artist of many mediums), Cindy (a glassblower; YES, I know a glassblower!), Paula (who quilts and sews, I believe), Chris (who quilts like a Maestro of Quilting),

an overall view in the morning ... oh, where to begin?!

we saw SO MUCH INSPIRATION ...

just look at this beautiful stocking ...

So much CREATIVITY ...

this was the wall of Artist Trading Cards, and show-goers were happily TRADING, just like it was set up to do - leave one of your own, take one in trade. WHAT FUN !! Bernie, you would have loved this :-) ...

So much COLOR ... a stand of the most yummy wool pieces ...

title: GRANDMOTHER'S QUILT/A Cathedral Window

quilter: Manon B. Gagliardi / from: Branford, Connecticut, USA

and BEAUTY ...

glass artists Asho (L) and Mingo (Center), with my friend Cindy

{herself, a glassblower / glass artist extraordinaire}

THIS (at Mingo & Asho's GLASSCAPES) is where I discovered my beautiful HEART, the one that, if you look at it from the "top", as in, you're wearing it and you look down upon it, you see a BIRD ... a little, perfect, GOLDEN bird. And the artist could not have made that happen for all the tea in China - it just DID. Happen.

and TALENT. Oh my !!!

Melanie Testa, at the sewing machine ... up close & personal with show-goers, talking about her fabric art and her little zip-clutch purses, and her methods ... so generous of her time and talent with all ...

While at the Show, I ran into artist friends Linda Blinn and Jane LaFazio, who were both demo'ing their talents & processes at the MAKE IT UNIVERSITY area ...

here's Linda ... demo'ing a fun way to make your own CUSTOM cloth napkins (or whatever) using those beautifully colored / patterned PAPER NAPKINS that we all know, love, and collect ... just hoping for an opportunity to put them out for guests. Right? Well, now you can MAKE SOMETHING WITH THEM, using a product only Linda could have discovered: Aleene's PAPER NAPKIN APPLIQUE GLUE ... yes, folks, you read that right. That's what it is; that's what it does; that's all it's for. Be still my heart !!!

If you'd like to find out more about Linda Blinn and the art workshops she teaches, you can visit a couple of my favorite spots: SAN CLEMENTE ART SUPPLY ( http://www.scartsupply.com/ ); or a brand-new, open-house-today art space known as BRAVO SCHOOL OF ART ( www.bravoschoolofart.com ) down at Liberty Station.

and here's Jane, laughing with friends before her turn at the Demo Zone ... isn't Jane ALWAYS laughing?! I so love her energy and her enthusiasm for life, for art, for everyone.

If you've never taken an art class from Jane LaFazio, treat yourself and DO IT. Visit her website at: www.PlainJaneStudio.com ... but believe me, there's nothing "plain" about it !!!

A favorite publication of mine, CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS, was in attendance ... I loved their colorful booth, and the girls there were so very friendly and helpful. The even had the ORIGINAL ART of the pieces featured in the CPS 2010 calendar on hand for viewing - and drooling over - OH MY, the "eye candy" on hand was remarkable. You could just TASTE the deliciousness of some of these pieces.

And no, they weren't edible creations ... they just LOOKED so amazing, you'd want to absorb them into yourself, making their beauty and their message such a part of you, it was permanent. {does that sound crazy?! then go make a crazy quilt out of it !!}

this is "them" and this is their booth ...

and I even got a happy peek at KELLY RAE ROBERT's book, TAKING FLIGHT, here !!!

An overview of the 2010 CALENDAR ART on display ...

and a close-up detail of some of the art ...

this was the piece that I loved the very mostest MOST at the Show !!!

titled: LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF WHIMS / artist: Leilani Pierson

Maryanne and Ann - who grew up together & Maryanne met us at the Show, and joined us for lunch ...

We saw so much of the above, heck, we even began seeing "art" in the strangest places ...

After lunch, we found a HEART in the sidewalk outside the LB Convention Center.

we took it as a good "sign" that our afternoon would be just as heart-full (and ART-full) as our morning was !!!

The QUILT EXHIBIT, oh my goodness me, what a wealth of imagery ... quilts really are an art form, in case you didn't know it. If you're not convinced of that, then here, take a gander {or a goose, if you prefer} at these, for example:

titled: HERD MENTALITY / quilter: Ferret / from: UK

"YOU SEE A COW A DAY" ...

they say it, I believe it ... and this just proved it !!!

I call him "Norman" ...

title: SILENCE / quilter: Stacy Hurt / from: Orange, CA

One of the Etiquette Rules of Quilt Shows SHOULD be just this ... 'cause regardless of the size of the impassioned crowd, it truly WAS a calm, quiet atmosphere ... lovely!

titled: SPRING IN JAPAN / quilter: Akiko Kawata

from: Osaka, Japan

After our afternoon inside the show, we found no less than a "bird", a "duck", a "dog", and a "city skyline" ... in, of all places, my STARBUCKS ICED MOCHA !!! Yes, we did. Take a look for yourself:

Ann (left) holding my Mocha so I can click the pics !!! Teamwork !!

just about level with Ann's red bracelet, you see the tips of the dog's ears; don't you? He's looking left - he's a Schnauzer-ish kind of a dog. And he's headed into the Big City. See the skyline?!

ah, there's that SKYLINE for you. By this shot, though, it more closely resembles a crumbling French village ... turrets-a-falling-down and all.

So, I ask you: What's in YOUR mocha today?! :-)

Happy Sunday to you,

Davielle

Calling All Hearts - Megan's Story, as shared by Kelly Rae Roberts

As I just posted over on my Princess Magpie blog page, artist & possibilitarian & humanitarian KELLY RAE ROBERTS has shared with us a story of a woman facing devastating health challenges, and to make it worse: healthCARE / insurance challenges.

PLEASE PLEASE, this story could be YOUR story. It could be MY story. It could be your MOTHER's or your SISTER's or your BEST FRIEND's story. It could be your AUNT's story, or your NIECE's story, or your DAUGHTER's story.

Take a moment to read, and if you can, make a donation -- any amount will help. BUT EVEN IF YOU CANNOT DONATE to help Megan ... please, please keep her and her loved ones in your gentle thoughts and in your prayers.

http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/2009/07/calling-all-hearts-we-need-you-again.html

We can all be COMMUNITY for one another, right?

-- Davielle

Re-Prioritizing after Italy

Family and Friends,

It's been a whirlwind month so far, and I know that I've been very remiss in posting things to my blogs ... all three of them !!! so by way of an explanation, here's what I have to offer:

I am settling into a different sort of schedule here at home, especially now that we are back from our Family Reunion trip to Italy. We were away from July 9 to 17, and in that short time, so many things ...

Piled up.
Came up.
Sorted themselves out.
Made themselves unnecessary.
Became important.
Screamed for attention.

Etc Etc Etc.

So ... my buzz-word of the moment is: STREAMLINE.

Between home and health issues, and sorting ourselves out after a trip to Europe with 14 of our relatives (16 all told went from California to Italy for the Reunion -- and all on the same flights!), I have taken on the challenge (to myself, from myself, by myself) of STREAMLINING my world.

My home office is a paperwork disaster -- but it's patiently awaiting my attention, so I am going to give it what it's asking for. More of my time to clear it all up!

My home art studio, my MAS (My Art Space), is waiting for me to re-claim it, to make those cafe curtains to block the afternoon sun, to SPEND TIME IN THERE, Creating. Art.

I have a stack of books so high, it topples. It's now in TWO piles, both resembling, oddly enough, the Leaning Tower of Pisa :-). You all know how I love to read ... never without a book in hand or purse. A day rarely passes that I've not read for pleasure. Since when should I feel GUILTY about all that? Answer: since I have so many in the piles, and since I have a messy office - LOL.

Long explanation short --
here's the bottom line --
the Reader's Digest Condensed Version:

I may not be posting as much as I did before, but I hope that is only temporary. Two weeks, tops. I miss my blogs, I miss all your "visits" and "comments" to them, and I feel the need to continue to express myself -- be it on HERE, about family and friends and our travels; or on PRINCESS MAGPIE, about my creative adventures; and mostly, on the blog for my father's trip to Italy, FRANKIE GOES TO ITALY (unfortunately, the e-account I set it up with has gone dormant and I have to sort all that out before I can post anew to FRANKIE -- grrrrr).

I'll be back soon. I promise!

-- Davielle

short but sweet, from Lainate (Milano) ITALY

Just a qhas uick note to say that we all arrived SAFE AND SOUND to Italy yesterday morning. I'm sitting by the beautiful pool on the patio, because this is the only place at my cousin Guido's hotel that I have INTERNET access. This would be better at night, in the dark, as there's so much glare that all I see onthe monitor is ME in my darling outfit for today :-).

We flew out of SD on thurs am - very comfortable and uneventful flights to JFK and into Malpensa airport here in Milan. Two cousins met us at the airport - Guido and Enrica, and they guided us here to the Hotel. It's been a wonderful experience.

Meeting all this family (my father's mother's side) has been amazing. Very gracious, very loving, very happy to have us all here.

Some pics for now -- the glare is terrible. Today we head into Milan for a very long day of sights and pleasures and meals. THE LAST SUPPER is on our list, and our entire group is the only group going in at our allotted time. ;-)

Ciao for now ...

Davielle & Mark and Family

JAM wings it's way to NEW YORK

Yes, that's right ... I am parting with a lovely little jar of our homemade Apricot Jam ... and it's soon going to be winging it's way to NEW YORK.

I can hardly believe it ... coast-to-coast for my little gem!

During the read-along earlier this year with author BRENE BROWN, and her amazing "I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't)" book, I made several friends ... fellow sojourners on a similar path at this point in our lives. Thank you, Brene, for bringing so many of us together in friendship.

So ... this first jar of jam is heading to Corin ...

And if I get an address from sweet Karen ... she'll get one, too !!!

This is so darn fun; I can't believe it. I think I'm now a JAM & PRESERVE convert. {shhh ... please don't tell my Church ...}

With a happy sigh of contentment, that we can share our gifts with one another ...

-- Davielle