Fall All Over

There is more to life 

than increasing its speed.

~ Gandhi

Yes the title of the post has a double meaning ... I fell last week and took a header down a driveway. I'm blaming the whole daylight savings/time change thing (for everything) any chance I get, so let's go with that! It's usually light when I come out of my student's house, and with my arms full of art supplies ... well, you get the idea. Anyway, nothing broken, just a bit bruised so I got lucky! Phew!

So, after two Aleve, a bag of frozen peas on my knees and a little glass ofDon Julio Añjeo I cuddled up, and it felt like fall.

Paradiso, Assisi

I mentioned a few posts ago about looking for signs of fall in Los Angeles, or at least fall colors. On Pinterest I have a board called "Artful Autumn" with various images of paintings and photographs by all sorts of people that speak to me of fall. Sometimes it's just the colors and tones.

Anyway, I decided to go through some of my travel photos and see what I could find, from past trips that I'd taken in the fall (that I hadn't already posted.) Most of the photos are between 2008-2014. 
I threw in a few of my earth toned artworks in the mix as well.

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 

Ojai, California

Happiness is when what you think,

what you say,

and what you do

are in harmony.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 

Ink and conte on paper, 2008

Freedom is not worth having 

if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

~ Gandhi 

Shrewsbury

Lake Como, Italy

Rome, Italy

La Maddelena, Rome

The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Shrewsbury

When I admire the wonders of a sunset

or the beauty of the moon,

my soul expands

in the worship of the creator.

~ Gandhi 

Sancta Santorum, Rome

 Ink and gauche on paper, 2008

Ojai, California (2012)

Piemonte, Italy

 Shrewsbury

Rome

Shrewsbury

Assisi, Italy

King Gilette Ranch, Santa Monica Mountains

You must not lose faith in humanity.

Humanity is an ocean;

if a few drops of the ocean are dirty,

the ocean does not become dirty.

~Gandhi

Cat Sanctuary, Rome

Watercolor on Paper, 2013

Lake Casitas Ojai California

This was the post I was planning to put up over the weekend before the attacks in Paris. So many of the Gandhi quotes synchronistically resonate. Along with all of you, I am continuing to keep Paris in my thoughts and prayers, as well as Beirut, Iraq, Syria, Central Africa, those that lost loved ones in the plane crash in Russia, and the 60 million refugees and internally displaced. My dear friend's family also lost a loved one last week, and they are always in my mind and my heart.

Where love is,

God is also.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Blessings and light
Stay safe
Heart open

October on Cape Cod ~ One Gorgeous Magical Day!

We are tied to the ocean. 

And when we go back to the sea,

whether it is to sail or to watch - 

We are going back from whence we came …

~John F. Kennedy

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

October 20, 2013

It was a Sunday, and it was pure magic … 

the glorious weather made it all the more amazing. 

Seagull Beach, Massachusetts

I'd never been to Cape Cod, or to "the Cape" as Dawn calls it. It's always sounded amazing, from everything I'd heard. I grew up at the beach, but in Southern California. It's difficult to explain, but Cape Cod has a unique energy, and spirit, all it's own.

There was a cool breeze, but on that October day the sand was warm enough to walk in our bare feet. It felt wonderful.

excerpts  from 

Song of the Wave

by Kahlil Gibran

The strong shore is my beloved

And I am his sweetheart

We at last united by love and

Then the moon draws me from him.

I go to him in haste and depart

Reluctantly, with many 

Little farewells.

I steal swiftly from behind the blue horizon to cast the silver of 

My foam upon the gold of his sand, and

We blend in melted brilliance.

I quench his thirst and submerge his Heart; 

He softens my voice and subdues my temper.

At dawn I recite the rules of love upon

His ears, an he embraces me longingly.

Dawn wanted me to see and experience this place, as much as I wanted to see it. She grew up coming out here, and it is a place that holds wonderful memories, as well as an intense emotional connection. I'm so glad I was able to experience it with her. It was perfect.

… As the tide comes we caress each other,

When it withdraws, I drop to his feet in Prayer.

Many times have I danced around mermaids
As they rose from the depths and rested
Upon my crest to watch the stars;
Many times have I heard lovers complain of their 
Of their smallness, and I helped them to sigh.

Many times have I teased the great rocks
And fondled them with a smile, but never
Have I received laughter from them;

Many times have I lifted drowning souls
And carried them tenderly to my beloved Shore. 
He gives them strength as he
Takes mine.

Many times have I stolen gems from the 

Depths and presented them to my beloved Shore.

He takes in silence, but still 

I give for he welcomes me ever.

In the heaviness of night, when all
Creatures seek the ghost of Slumber,
I sit up, singing at one time an sighing
At another. 
I am awake always.
~from Song of the Wave by Kahlil Gibran

Provincetown, Massachusetts

On the Cape

We drove out, about as far as you could go, on the Cape, to Provincetown. It's … darling and charming and unique, with just a teensy bit roughness, from the weather, being right on the Atlantic Ocean. The docks and rusted fishing boats ... I don't know how to explain it, so I will leave it up to the photos.

To me the sea is a continual miracle;

The fishes that swim-the rocks-the motion of the waves-the ships,

with me in them,

What stranger miracles are here?

~Walt Whitman

In one drop of water 

are found all the secrets

of all the oceans.

~Kahlil Gibran

Love the architecture in Provincetown! There are a lot of little shops, restaurants, bookstores and galleries. 

I even found a little silver charm, for my charm bracelet. It was between a little lobster and graceful starfish, but since I hadn't seen a star fish while in Massachusetts, and planned on finding myself some lobster … the lobster won out. ;)

We found this adorable place in Provincetown, called The Canteen, and had our dinner … so yummy! 

Dawn had the best fish and chips I've ever tasted (super crispy and not at all greasy) and I had the lobster roll. Every bite was an amazing taste of light buttery lobster goodness! I chewed the last bite as long as I could, just to savor and make it last. I must say, I will be dreaming of that lobster roll!

My East Coast trip could not have been better and I left feeling incredibly grateful … for my friends, my nieces, my travels and all the beautiful places and things I was able to experience.

Thanks Dawn for being so amazing, making me laugh harder than anyone, and putting a million miles on your car, driving me around New England! Grazie mille!!!! You rock, sister!

Hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving, 

and that you all have a beautiful weekend! 

Blessings and light!

After a visit to the beach, 

it's hard to believe that we live in a material world.

~Pam Shaw