this land...

in this land of not-bohemia, a land that honors the bohemian spirit, a land of intricate wrought-iron...

where even the bugs wear their most gorgeous colors...

and the friendly faces have a slightly exotic flavor...

and palm tree fronds dance in the soft evening sunset...

where stars cover the floor of teal green seas...

and coral washes to the shore in the shape of hearts...

this land that has been home yet not home for the bohemian for the last two months...
this land has embedded itself deep within her bohemian heart, and shall forever remain,  a land of her dreams.  and land of riotous colors, a thousand shade of greens, and a family so dear to her heart.  and yet, she has missed her sweet fairie grandchildren immensely!  so home she must fly...               home-sweet-home wishes to you and yours today.  don't forget to play!

she went to the beach...

...the beach where the waves were wild and strong.  she didn't brave the water, she's not much of a swimmer.... a mermaid in imagination only...

so she spent her time creating one of her beach collages, this one made of seashells and bits of coral...

right, bottom corner of collage...

and then she took her markers, and drew a fine picture:

this was "the post that did not want to be"...  the bohemian fought the computer to download these pictures.  she is fresh out of patience, so this is all you get today.  p.s. thanks to her lovely editors, C.J. and Faith Wisdom, you got at least THIS much!!   "may waves of patience flow over you today"... (thanks, Faith, for the quote).  the bohemian will be back another, perhaps less challenging, day.

It was an art thing...

First there was gelato from the little Italian neighborhood...

Then there were these incredibly detailed tiny works of art flowering along the path...

Then there was this public building with its detailed mosaic beautifying its outside...

The leaves on the tree were handprints of children...

Some of the mosaic bits were mirror pieces so that the whole thing glittered in the sunlight!!

And this mosaic floated between the building and the sky above it...

The bohemian hopes you'll take your bits and pieces and create something beautiful with them today...

greetings from Costa Rica...

view from the bohemian's ocean bobbing station...

She's still in the far-off land.... taking in the exotic sights of wonder and richness...

the Volcan Arenal

She has created fairly little art but this beach collage was dedicated to the adorable little girl with the sunshine smile, who's life was lost in a tragic car wreck, just recently.






She's wishing you ocean breezes and palm trees swaying, if only in your imagination.  As  she recently read: "Worry is a waste of your imagination."  Don't waste it!!  Use it to make some art and go out and play in this big, beautiful world we live in...

Hola!! from Costa Rica...

the bohemian has been off gallivanting around in Costa Rica.  she and her hubby were team leaders for a 20 person mission team that went to a small village of mostly Nicaraguans, where they worked on a church building, did children's programs, a ministry day to the women in which the team painted fingernails and toenails, washed their feet, performed a drama, gave them snacks and did a craft with them. 

can you tell the team came from Washington state?

this was a sign one of the team members carved and the whole team signed. it went up in the church building.

another carved sign, on beautiful Costa Rican wood...

the boemian is so enthralled with all the flowers here!! the bougainvillea, the hibiscus, the house plants on steroids...

the team's fashionable and appropriate footwear for rainy season in a red dirt village...  the team members all took painty pens to their boots to tell them apart (20 pairs of boots in the entryway!).  of course, the bohemian had bubbles on hers!!

The team got to go on a jungle walk to see howler monkeys, those small monkeys that set the jungle arumble with their grande howls...

and the rain came down, and down, and down.... but in between the downpours, the team got their projects done and a wonderfull time in the little village of Llano Verde... the Green Plain, with the startling red dirt.  Summer wishes to you all, may it never rain on your parade, but rain just enough to send you rainbows!!!
check out the bohemians travel blog for more pictures of her journey... www.weidetravels.blogspot.com

to town with the girls...

it was such a fine autumn day, almost winter, in fact....

it

the bohemian girls went to town... drama queen auntie & the fairy grandchild...

the beautiful mama (and the elfling brother... he got stuck going with the girls...)

they had so much fun window shopping. it's an art, you know, window shopping is...

and O MY GOSH!  there were balloons!!!

and a gelato shop... with a mermaid!

and the fairy grandchild got a magic look through the drama queen auntie's rose colored glasses!

and at the best-bookstore-in-the-world, the auntie read stories to the fairy grandchild in the very best drama queen voice!

the bohemian LOVED this monochrome pattern which God painted on the sidewalk tiles using...

His very own fall leaves, which were brilliant in their colors!!!

,

and then the street lights came on and it was time to head for home, and the comfort of the cottage, warmed by the fire in the woodstove, and lit with the party lights that the bohemian leaves on all year round.  sending you party-light-wishes and hoping rosy-colored-glasses-kind-of-hopes for you, as november turns into december and the christmas magic begins.

Portland sparkled in the sun...

beautiful window in train station

she took the train, along with her sister, to the Women Of Faith conference in Portland.

shadow of beautiful window at train station, cast upon the other wall

the train wandered past mountains that were snowcapped and water that was sparkling in the sunshine. through towns and cities. past big beautiful train stations and past train stations that looked like bus stops.

ceiling tiles and lights in the Portland train station.

it was a rather delicious way to travel! comfy seats and picture windows. gorgeous views and good conversation. and of course, coffee.

they  stepped off the train in Portland to sunshine and mid-seventies weather.  the hotel shuttle picked them up and took them only a few blocks to their comfy hotel.  for naps. then shopping. then hot tubbing and swimming. and a delicious dinner of teriyaki salmon and coconut basmati rice. and, of course, coffee.

clock tower at Portland train station

a day of shopping at Lloyd Center shopping mall, one of the oldest in the pacific northwest, brought back memories. as a kid, coming home from visiting relatives in southern oregon, Lloyd Center was the stop for school coats and shoes. the bohemian remembers it as huge! with a giant ice skating rink in the middle!

in reality...

just a nice mall...

with a little skating rink in it....but the bohemian DID find a pair of beautiful boots. for only $22! and a scarf with colors that go with everything she owns. and, of course, there was coffee!

and the Women Of Faith conference was incredible and wonderful and uplifting in so many ways... the music, the ballet, the laughter, the sharing, the tears... 8500 women with their cell phone lights on in the dark. clapping and whistling as loud in the Garden stadium as when the trailblazers play.  but in tribute to Jesus and His love...  such joy!

and an amazing artist  who painted. while they listened to the most beautiful music!!

.               yes, it was truly one of those most special weekends, on a particularly sunny and warm weekend. in october. in the beautiful city of Portland.   wishing you beautiful autumn days full of Jesus' love...

a journey of hints...

the bohemian traveled into the city by the bay.  it was much earlier than she usually arrived there. she was on a food fast so as to give blood at the laboratory...  it was a misty, slightly eerie morning, putting her in mind of Autumn and Halloween. and vampires, what with the blood-sucking and all that spookiness in the air...

she noticed things she didn't usually... like rusted gates...

and stone steps disappearing into the darkened recesses of old buildings...

and black cats looming out of the mists...

spooky silhouettes and  haunting shadows...

and windows shaped like crystal balls...

but THIS window... oh this window made her smile so big!!!  and she immediately thought of COFFEE!!!  and so her journey into the city by the  bay was sweetly capped off by a tall *bees knees latte at the black drop coffee house...  (more smiling!!!)

* this delectable treat is a coffee latte with honey and essence of roses... oh joy, oh coffee bliss!!!!

  "I know the night is near at hand:

the mists lie low on hill and bay,

the Autumn sheaves are dewless, dry;

But I have had the day..."

-Silas Weir Mitchell

(of course that dewless/dry part isn't really descriptive of this part of bohemia but lately it HAS been pretty dry! the fire-danger-meter stands at HIGH right now...  no end-of-the-summer campfires. no s'mores.  but O! the berries! they are just dripping off the vines!!! grazing along the edges of the property puts a giant smile on the bohemian's face! YUMMY!)  the bohemian is wishing you a lovely fall season with crackly leaf carpets and crunchy brown nuts and late late warmth-of-summer days as the season slowly turns into autumn. and of course: coffee bliss to you all!