Self Portrait Friday

Self portrait Fridays are hard! I am the person who hates having her picture taken, who turns away from the camera, who takes pictures of others. I am the one who never wants her image captured on film but something that Nina Bagley said on her blog, about loving yourself, appreciating your wisdom, makes me want to continue this journey of self discovery. I am ..... learning .... to love me ... to know me... to be worthy of myself ... my age is a badge of honor worn with courage and conviction and ... wisdom.

This is the view from above of the lobby area to my shops. I refer to it as the embellishment shop and it is its' own little nest of texture and design and inspiration. I love my shops. Spending time there is not work, it is play and delight and socializing with friends and people soon to become friends. I hope that I make everyone a friend and welcome them to their creativity when they enter my playground.





When I spend my days working in the bead store; everything is up close and personal. Last night looking down from the mezzanine above the shop, everything looked different. A new perspective. I thought you might like my bird's eye view, too.






Last night at the shop we had our annual trunk show in our classroom upstairs from the bead store. All the amazing stones and pearls and silver and glass and other fabulous trinkets were on display that I purchased in Tucson and beyond.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy day of the green and may the luck of the Irish always be with you , may you never know hunger, may you always love and be loved and may you already be in Heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead! My mom had that last part of a plaque she kept in the kitchen.

p.s. This is my four leaf clover charm.

Kitty Totem

Self Portrait Friday but Posting on Saturday

Another blog that I read frequently, Nina Bagley at Ornamental challenged her readers to post pictures of themselves on Fridays. I am going to try and participate in this activity as maybe it will help me love my body, love myself and be a better person to friends, family and coworkers. It has always been hard to allow pictures of myself to be taken. I always say to the photographer,
" No, don't. I hate the way I photograph. " It is time to stop this and appreciate myself for the person I am, the person who looks back at me in the mirror, the person who knows my yesterdays and looks forward to my tomorrows. The person who appreciates her body, the way it works and moves and sees. The person who needs nurturing from herself. Stay tuned.

This Face

This face belonging to this old dog loves me. She does not care if I am overweight, over stressed or over tired. She would do anything for me. Anything to make me happy. I love her with all my heart and know that her days with me are drawing to a close. The cold rainy weather this morning made her groan in pain with getting up from the floor. Her tail never stops its happy thumping. She understands what I am saying when I speak to her. She will still try to dance with me when I play music for us. She will sleep all day contentedly in front of the heater in the studio while I move about making things. She is a joy to behold, a delight in my life, a laugh when I am troubled. The best friend ever a girl could have!

A Doodle a Day...

I have decided that I need to do a doodle a day to keep myself feeling creative, energized and alive. They may not all become major works of Lois art but they will keep me limber in ways that only another creative person could understand. Viewing doodling as a daily vitamin will keep me healthy in my soul.