happiest halloween to all...

it's dark and spooky in bohemian... perfect for the day. the bohemian isn't thrilled about driving on such a day... but of course, there is the magical brew (coffee) in her enchanted (keeps hot things hot!) mug! the mountains are in hiding and the clouds are low and menacing. she is considering making up her face by copying her black/white mask. hmm... no gold makeup. maybe her magic teapot (the magical lamp's cousin) can help her with her halloween costume. but unfortunately, you'll have to wait till later posts for pictures! (patience, my dearies...) ghost cat wishes all of you a spectacular and festively fun-filled evening... BOO!

put on the party lights and dance...

on a dreary friday afternoon in a nearby country, the bohemian got a creative assignment finished up to her satisfaction. the "challenge" was "your choice". the bohemian would FAR rather be given an actual challenge than such a general, uninspiring subject. but she had these cards laying around from ages ago, so she decided to use them. six of them, one for each member of her stamping exchange group...she had been saving this particular piece of paper for something special and liked it so much against the background of this cardstock color. it just seemed to say halloween... her sister had the punches: corner cobweb, black cat, leaves; also the cobweb stamp. the sparkly pumpkin was a new stamp the bohemian had just newly acquired and was wanting to USE. the right-hand side is perforated and tears off to become a bookmark. fun, huh? so yea! a mission accomplished... (don't know why this card pic looks so purple...actual color is better in above pictures...) and then, on this dreary day, what else was there to do but.... put on the party lights and dance!! there, that's better. hope you have party lights to cheer those dark, dreary days. let it shine!

this new day dawning...

when the bohmeian awoke, not ready for the day, she took one look out her window and her attitude was immediately adjusted! dawn rising over the bohemain mountain... spectacular!!! the bohemian sky was a jubilant song, a dance with wild abandon... gladness burst in her bohemian heart at the realization of what a gift it was just to be alive on such a day... lunch at a tiny cafe: homemade french toast with real maple syrup and a long conversation with her sister. lovely. the above picture is of an old advertising sign on the outside of this tiny cafe. dekalb was the married name of her great aunt. this brand name apparently belongs to a corn product but this sign always makes her smile... created: a halloween gift box... ooooh! spooky! created: pages in a friend's altered round robin book, themed "lighthouses". wish for you: that the dawning of each day brings glorious sunrises and lots of time for creating...

autumn outside my window...

living room... living room... dining room... kitchen.... kitchen... hope your window on the world looks this cool... autumn blessings to you.

photo hunt: splashes of color

on a grey foggy day, one DOES need to see SPLASHES OF COLOR!!! (above pic: my thermal-lined fleece couch cuddly blanket) fuzzy indian-pattern blanket... mexican blanket over the old antique oak rocking chair... bistro cafe bowls and cups... mugs in the cupboard... my lovely never-ever to die, always there to cheer me, flower... holiday kitchen towels!!! rugs on the wood floors... always look for the colors around you and let them soak into your soul. it's like filling your belly when you're hungry... yum! i hope there is a vibrant patchwork of color around you today!

spooky beauty

in bohemia today... traces of spookiness. the bohemian daughter's witch hat. gothic arches in shades of spooky grey. black cat: "okay already, with the photos and the witch's black cat thing..." once again, the bohemian traveled to the wayside rest area and spent the weekend serving coffee to the weary travelers. she left her cottage home in her stormy and rainy valley driving very carefully through the pouring rain and the standing water on the dark roadway. rest stop coffee was sounding so enticing after white knuckle driving... but lo and behold, once out of the valley, the sunshine was attempting to drive away the dark clouds and rain! sunshine prevailed for awhile before the darkness came and, with it, more rain. but as always she enjoyed the conversations with travelers from all parts of the globe before traveling back to the dark rainy valley. the next day, she caught all kinds of signs of autumn around her cottage... remember her peaceful summer bower? look what autumn has done to her gorgeous sheltering green tree!! sigh. she especially loves the nature collages she finds everywhere. here, her ginkgo leaves that were so recently dancing and shimmying, now lie fading into the grass, having been dashed from their stems by the autumn wind... and her sunny yellow summer flowers' stems are wearing the winter death-yellow. a ghost cat has come to live around the edges of her cottage. no matter that he's so cute she wants to cuddle him... he doesn't trust her one bit. but he WILL eat the cat food along with her cats... and last but not least by any means: HALLOWEEN SOCKS!!!! aren't they just for SMILING?! the bohemian wishes the best of the season to everyone... leaf-pile-burning incense; vibrant color feasts for the eyes; impish jack'o'lantern smiles; and lots and lots of cute costumed monster smiles and laughs... happy halloween!

"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

the bohemian is today mourning the turn of the weather. it's true the day is warmer than the last, glorious, frosted mornings but with the warmer temperature comes clouds and dark days and, yes, rain. so today she turns her thoughts toward the small pleasures of her days, which pleasures she truly has in abundance. small pleasure #1: as always, her bohemian mountains small pleasure #2: brilliant fall colors small pleasure #3: her happy scarecrow (and ALL the fall decorations) small pleasure #4: holiday craft shows small pleasure #5: sky art (more angel wings) small pleasure #6: COLORS!!! this particular example of riotous color happens to be the bohemian daughter's african sarong, the most beautiful one the bohemian has ever seen. such a small portion of the pleasures of the bohemian's world. she hopes you'll make your own list and smile over it all day long... happy pleasure hunting!!!