Time for Retreat

405 Queen Elizabeth Avenue

This past weekend was my 53rd birthday getaway.  My husband took me away to Manteo, North Carolina in the Outer Banks.  We stayed in the beautiful Tranquil House Inn, my favorite place to rest and retreat. It sits beautifully on the waterfront surrounded by wooded boardwalks, iron benches and amazing sailboats that sat docked.  The town is quaint, quiet and oh so charming.  Each little shop carries a charm of their own.  My eyes were filled with beautiful colors from plants on the street to the beauty of pottery, paintings, jewelry and art galleries.  I could feel my creative senses in their full awareness!!

Ready for my Birthday weekend!

So many times we let our lives get so filled with what we must do; then when we are home we fill it with the sounds of television and play on our computers, we forget to see the beauty in stillness and quiet. That hurts my heart and I include myself in that statement.  I know I have touched on this subject before, but it keeps returning to my thought process.

This past weekend was truly a gift for me in so many ways.  Of course as I turn another year older, my mind had to settle in to the new year mark and we must sort out any feelings of "getting older" that I needed to.  This year I truly had no problem with the number 53, imagine that!  I am grateful that God has blessed me with a wonderful life.  My children are strong, healthy and self sufficient.  Each one of my boys are now married to wonderful mates, and I have the blessing of being a mom to my wonderful daughter-n-laws.  My husband and I celebrated 33 years of marriage this year and we are both healthy and truly still in love with each other.  That my friends is an accomplishment in this day and time.

So I spent time in retreat this weekend.  Being quiet, sketching, reading, knitting and spending quality time with my husband.  Praying and thinking about my past and how far I had come in this wonderful gift called life.  I took the time with my thoughts about all the things I want to accomplish in the future and thought of the wonderful artwork I wanted to explore!  The list is long but attainable!

A future watercolor!

It is so wonderful to have the opportunity to get away.  What a beautiful place this was and just a few minutes away was the ocean, another retreat place for me.  Walking the beach, hearing the waves roll in, watching the sea gulls....God's world is pretty amazing.  We all have to just take the time to slow down and see it.  My birthday was a beautiful day, my weekend was inspiring and time with my thoughts was immeasurable!  I am ready to return to real life, full of hope and promise for creating some beautiful artwork.  Whether it be with a paintbrush in hand, time in my journal or knitting a lace scarf.  Fall is fast approaching and this is my favorite time of year.  Time to stay home and nest.  Letting your creative spirit retreat and rest is an opportunity to hear what is inside. Try . . . it's amazing!

Sheer Blissfulness!