This is life

The joy of getting older, is getting wiser and for me that  means  knowing  oneself better  . I know what  makes me happy, what makes  me stressed  ( the phone for one thing - Tee hee) , what brings me peace, joy and energy . The thing is I  feel  I am  still not mature  enough to figure out how to quiet the voices in my head. The ones that  say you  " should" as in you "should" be doing this or  that  you "should" have  done  certain things  at this point  in your life , etc....  The endless lists I make for myself  that never get done . Well this past week I have  spent my time  doing just  what makes me happy.  These things are - Being kind to my husband , spending time with my pups , making art , sitting in the  sun , walks , hot baths , hot chocolate , warm  fires and reading. I have not been able to read in years. I just have not been able to quite my mind enough to comprehend what I am trying to  read .  This last week I read an  entire  book . I am truly  at  peace, just  for now. Just this  moment, that  is all one can  ask for, just  the   precious  present.   Here I am content   . Here in  Bisbee this  tiny little mountain town  nestled in a deep  canyon  . Merry Christmas  to all . Hugs Julie

A good book- Charming Billy ...

"The one that got away" made this week for  Kim's Husband ....

 I also created  another "Heart in Home"  .....

and Peanut seems at peace too!!!

winter escape

Cal and I packed the truck tuesday , loaded with tons of art supplies including  Scooter , Peanut , Cal's golf  clubs ,  good reading  books, the 4th  season of Dexter  and headed for a special  winter get away for 5 weeks in the old mining town turned artistic  enclave of Bisbee Arizona . I had never heard of this place but Cal had and he has a special eye for finding wonderful places to visit. I am smitten!!! The climate is  perfect so far , sixties  during the day and perfectly cool  at night  for warm fires .The town is  charmingly nestled in a deep canyon high in the mountains ( 6000 feet) .It resembles  a European village,  the homes are built just about anywhere they can safely perch one  .Long  Staircases  and   winding  roads  connect  owners  to  their homes. The style is Victorian/ bungalow/ cottage early last  century in style . So much charm and not much change except  for a  bright coat of paint  here and there. In it's  hey day the town   was a bustling  copper mine  town of 20 thousand . Now it boast about 6000. Which is much better then most mining towns   can say  these days . I hope to post many  pictures in the next weeks to  give each of you a feel and hopefully the bug to visit this enduring little bit of history.

 Oh the color!!!

Give me a hammer and some paint.....

....then  just add a  little  lace in the windows 

and I am in love,

Scooty and Peanut are a perfect fit .

Love  the local wild life .

Getting exercise is not a problem here.....

 

and treasure  hunting is at a premium !!

This fence rail was  just leaning on an

 old  abandoned building of which there seems to be many . 

Update on Jan 21 22 23 Classes

Terri and I have moved our  Jan 21 22 23  teaching venue to the Urban Barn in Escondido CA. It will be  a bigger space so more room to make a  creative mess !!  It will be so fun, just look at this space all in beautiful southern CA. I cannot  wait as I hope to see many of you I have not seen in a while!

"The Pitch"

Boy do I hate pitching myself. Don't we all, but on the other hand I try to tell people to go out with confidence  and tell others about themselves .Try your best to  push yourself to succeed no matter how hard  it  may be to do so .  Practice self confidence as  it is very becoming. We women must do this  and try especially hard   if  we are artist who tend to be a bit shy by nature  . It is also nice to support each other by spreading the word about others we know and what they do . It helps us all as women to  network and   succeed . So here I go practicing what I preach .Here is an  image of  my newsletter for the coming year which I just sent out   this A.M . I made it on my soft ware  I -Works in" Pages" .  I also  just signed up with Terri Brush to do a duo 3 day retreat at the  Urban Barn In Escondido Ca Jan 21, 22 23 we will each teach  3 classes in 3 days with  meals included .   I am doing" memories of the Heart " , "Just Bee" and "Hanging Around" I fun mix of many of my techniques. Here is the link to see more detail.http://www.juliehaymaker.com/site/Classes.html

                                                     Hanging Around

                                                     Memories of the Heart            

The is " Just Bee" I just  made for Jill and also decided to teach it as a class!

My news letter.

Just Bee

 Well I leave in the A.M. for Home!!! It has been a very intense 7 weeks . Mom has been home from treatment  for 2 weeks  and in her new home .She is doing amazing. She is a changed woman and making her continued recovery from hoarding and other problems her priority. I am filled with so much joy and peace for her and my family.  I am also filled with much hope for her continued recovery and that will depend  on if she stays with her healing program .It is now in her hands .She has the tools and support . One day at a time. All this  just goes to  show us  that we  are never to old to change. Just  Bee --- the person we want to be . Just Bee   is a   commission I squeezed in  for Jill  this last week   while in   the midst of the whirl  wind of  helping Mom make the change .  It was great to be creative . Art is my saving grace as I am sure it is for  many of you too.

Inspired

Just for today be grateful for what you do have .

The pups are waiting for me to come home

My blog , home and art life has been collecting dust  again but this time for a good cause !! I have been doing another family project !! It is for  my Mom  as she has taken a major step  in seeking help with her  self destructive patterns . 2  1/2 weeks ago she entered  a 4 week retreat program to  seek  help in becoming a more whole and healthy person !!! I could  not be prouder. In exchange for her willingness to do this work on her self  I  am willing and agreed  to be there for  her  and give her the support she needs through the process, which so far has been  being  with her  for 1 week before she went into the program , moving  her into a smaller home and  getting rid of the millions of  hoarded  boxes of   clutter at her old home. I did and am  doing this  while she  is  in the program . This week ( week 3 ) of her program  I am  also doing a  4 day   family week with her to help us both  learn  to communicate better , It has been good, but hard .  I then go back  friday to her home and  finish up more move details  like the estate sale details at her old house  . Hopefully I will have time to  pop home for a visit next week  and then back again  to bring her home and   spend   the first  2 weeks  with her at her  new home in  order to help her  make the adjustment to her new patterns of living and life style . I am sure it will take another life time of work but 2 weeks should help a  bit and many more visit in the future  IF she stays  healthy, but IF not then back to tough love. What more could a daughter  ask of her 73 year old mother but to have the courage to change  and make these  changes at 73 !!! Yippee!!!!! What a great gift she is giving her self and her loved ones !!!  I am so hopeful and happy for her and the family as my Mom has been in crisis  mode for some time and  many family members have been heavy hearted . Please all rejoice with me and remember -As long as there is life their is hope !!Now  the other side of this is my artwork  business and home life have  had to take a major back seat . So  please say a prayer that all will be ok with those things  when I get back to my life again  . And  I want to say  a" Big Thanks "to Cal for being so supportive and helping my Mom with the move too!! Love you Sweetie!!!You have come a long way too!! And I know Peanut and Scooter miss me too and wait patiently for me to arrive back home with them where I belong.