Knowing When It’s Time

September 9, 2025September 9, 2025 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

There’s a saying, “All good things must come to an end.” Well, maybe not all good things, but surely, some. Coming to an end this month is the better part of my French Bulldog art business.

Inspired by so much appreciation of all the illustration I contributed to Just Frenchies magazine, I embarked on a small business on my website, selling French Bulldog cards. As time went on, I expanded to a shop on Etsy, where I’ve sold everyday blank note cards, holiday/Christmas cards, and a journal.

Little by little, I introduced new designs, and gained a small but loyal band of followers who loved and purchased my art. But then … I couldn’t seem to muster the excitement I once had for drawing these adorable dogs. I wanted to, but it wasn’t happening.

There came a point when I realized that I couldn’t see new additions being a reality, and then further on, a kind of guilt every time I’d be in my studio, looking at all the boxes of these lovely cards I’d created. It was time.

For a while now, ideas of something new have been twinkling in my brain. I realize how far I’ve come from the opening of my Etsy shop, and I need something now that sparks my excitement, that will utilize my talents in art, photography, and writing. I don’t have a clear idea of what they will be yet, but it will excite me. And I want it to touch, inspire, and excite others.

But the first step? Let go of what no longer resonates with my heart and make room for what’s to come. THIS is what is exciting me right now – making room for the unknown.

I’m doing that with a 60% off and final sale of all my Frenchie cards (journals, above, will stay). If interested, please stop by in my shop and share in my last hurrah with me.

When Pen and Paper Heal

September 7, 2025September 7, 2025 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Journaling is a highly underrated tool in the toolbox of wellness. Do you write daily?

There is something about putting words to your thoughts and emotions that can not only lift your spirits and lighten your mental load for the day ahead, but also provide insight into so much of your life.

Once written down, the words offer us, now or later, a chance to get to know ourselves better, to find ways to heal and become more of who we’d like to be. Journaling is actually pretty powerful.

I’ve been journaling faithfully every morning for decades. There are days when it feels like a much-needed dump of the clutter in my head, but more often, it’s a way for me to sort things out, see where I am and where I’m going.

All you need is a journal or notebook and a pen. What’s to lose?

Fearless

August 31, 2025August 31, 2025 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Look at that little guy … a young praying mantis, sitting next to Pumpkin (R.I.P.), one of the most fearless animals I have ever known.

How is the mantis so brave? Is this innate to his species, or an individual who takes risks or is just naive and inexperienced?

Looking at ourselves, if we aren’t fearless like the mantis, how did we get this way? Perhaps the bigger question is can we become more brave?

I believe there are two core emotions – fear and love, the opposite of one another. To become fearless, or start heading in that direction, we need to love ourselves more, to tip the scales. We need to let go of things we were told that we were. These often had nothing to do with us, but more to do with the individuals that told us. Think about it.

Many of our behaviors that make us unhappy today were once developed as children because we needed them in order to cope or survive, whether to make others happy or comfortable or just to leave us alone. But we can look at ourselves now, at our fears, our outer coats of beliefs that no longer work in our lives, and release them.

It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Looking and seeing who we are underneath those once-needed layers, we can love and accept ourselves for what we find, forgive ourselves for behaving in ways we have not understood. And we can change. It takes time, and it’s not always easy, but we are capable of change.

We are always braver than we believe.

p.s. As for the yet-unnoticed, young praying mantis … I called Pumpkin over to my back door for a snack, and the little one, apparently having made his point (to me), quickly disappeared.

Ocean Poem

August 27, 2025 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

It’s the last hurrah of summer. I rarely share my poetry online, but … here I am.

Ocean

Foam, waves, tripple around my feet
now gloriously raw from the pebbles and shell bits.
White bubbling sea patterns
rushing up cold to catch me
in their beckoning game,
spitting up dares from amidst green breakers
and blended from a cerulean horizon.
Yes, I’m red-raw, but come `round me,
I see you so little, my friend.

Find Someplace Beautiful

August 11, 2025 / still a dreamer / 9 Comments

My guess is that there is someplace beautiful within walking distance or a short drive from where you live.

This is one of the views walking along the bike/footpath in Frenchtown. So gorgeous. A friend and I had stopped in to The Bridge Cafe for coffee and some pastry, and decided to walk.

We can all get stuck in our homes and/or digital lives and forget that it’s not all that far to find some beauty. It doesn’t have to be nature; it can just as easily be in the city, in a park, or a walk in the neighborhood.

Get outside and look around. Find someplace beautiful. Take pictures. Enjoy your life.