Patty Rose Design

Just Maybe....

Just maybe while we are in France we will run across a little authentic French flea market.  I would love to find some vintage beads, lace, postcards, notions, or some other wonderful little ditty from France that I could use in my art.  I'm reading this now....

Maybe I'll find something like this...

That I will have to pay to have shipped home since I'm sure it would never fit in the car...

Maybe I'll find these...

Or maybe something like this...oh la la....

Or these...
Or some of this...

And after a long afternoon browsing somewhere like here....

We can warm up with a cup of cafe' somewhere like this...

Are we there yet?

 

Hilarious

via violamahr.typepad.com

Okay, call me crazy, but my twisted little art mind thought this was hilarious.

Moved

Last night I came home to a little red, white and blue, Priority Mail envelope. 

I wasn't really thinking about what might be inside.  I order a lot of things through the mail so I was thinking it was probably my latest little Etsy treasure.  Then I saw the return address. "US Government Official Mail."

My heart skipped a beat.  I didn't expect the emotion.  It's just a document technically.  I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the most exciting little blue book in the world!  My very first US passport!

 
I opened it up and saw the first few pages with my name, place of birth and photo and I was moved. I'm not sure I can really explain it, but I felt such gratitude.  Gratefulness to the point of tears.  I felt gratitude for the gift of this trip.  Gratitude for my health to enjoy it.  Gratitude for the security I feel in my life that allows me such blessings.  Gratitude that I live in this beautiful country and am free to visit another country if I so choose.  Grateful that my passport arrived without delay or complication so that I will be able to experience a trip of a lifetime. I knew at that very moment that this little blue book would be taking me on more amazing journeys, that this was just the beginning... 

Getting Ready for France

I can hardly believe it is only 47 days away.  I've gathered all of my clothes, shoes and gear for the trip.  The passport should be arriving any day (finger's crossed).  I've studied the maps and enjoyed the email frenzy of planning and preparing.  The place we are staying in Paris is a dream, check it out here.  A view from the window.  Look how beautiful the light and the sky is over Paris....

And the street scene:

Last night Mr. Rose taped an episode of Samantha Brown in Monaco and Nice.  I was so overcome with emotion that this is really happening that I couldn't even speak.  I am so THANKFUL for this opportunity that I cried.  I get it.  I know what a blessing and gift it is to be able to experience this trip.  I will not take one moment for granted. 

Italy is on the agenda too.  More on that a little later.  I am immersed in France and all things French at the moment.

(***UPDATE***  I have to give my friend Kate credit for the following paragraph of information regarding trip journals.  This is her system which has been developed after logging hundreds of thousands of miles traveling to exotic places.)

I created a little journal to take on the trip. Trip journals are a tricky sort.  They have to be just the right size for easily tucking into a bag.  They should lay flat if possible for easy writing.  There should be a lot of spare space for tucking in tickets and brochures and all other matters of ephemera and travel tokens.  Lots of clips, rubber bands, ties and what nots for holding all the booty.  I gathered together a lot of nothings and created this little ditty.  It's approximately 6 x 8, perfect for tucking in my bag, along with a few other goodies for filling the journal with all my joy, musings, experiences, and memories.

The front cover....

Lots of pages for writing....

And places for tucking....

 
There are lots of little handmade details....

And a few spots to tuck away treasures..

 

It was free to make and its green because I used a bunch of scraps, old pieces of cardstock, book covers, mismatched envelopes, wrapping paper samples, tags, old stationary, cut up calendars and old book pages, anything that said "French" to me.  It has a little of everything....

It's simply contructed using a hole punch, two sturdy covers and two large binder rings.  Simple and efficient....

 
I enjoyed it so much, I made another one...

And I'd be willing to bet there are a dozen more in the making...

 

Dream Big

Everyone who really knows me, knows that I am a dreamer.  Dreaming is like oxygen to me.  I know it sounds so cliche, so I won't even give you the dream phrases.  If I could wish one wish to come true right this instance, it would be the wish to instill into everyone I know just how possible things are when you dream. 

There is a trick however.  You can't just dream.  You have to dream AND believe.  Believing is the hard part.  That pesky voice that tells you, "It's impossible!"  How about, "Who are you kidding?", or "Maybe one day if you are really lucky and play your cards right."  My personally favorite, "You really need to take care of the responsibilities first."  I am here to tell you that dreams fit exactly into the space of faith alotted.  To the Universe, there are no measurements.  A dream is a dream.  Big, small, "impossible", possible, $100, or a $100,000, it is all the same. 

Now, don't confuse faith-space with faith-intensity.  Intensity-wise, it just takes a tiny amount of wholesome, blind, I'm-jumping-off-the-cliff-growing-wings-on-the-way-down faith. Just like the Good Word says, "the faith of a mustard seed."  Mustard seeds are TINY.  Space- wise, we are talking the space in your heart for possibilities.  Open it wide.  Don't be afraid and don't be stingy with yourself.  Don't set parameters or limits or even specifics.  Hope big.  Hope huge.  Hope wide open.  Ever been in a cave where they turn the lights out and then light a match?  One tiny little spark of flame can light thousands of square feet.  It's like that with faith and your heart.  Allow yourself that tiny little spark of belief to light that big, giant, wide-open space in your heart. That's all it takes for magic to happen.  

A few weeks ago Paris seemed out of the realm of possibilities, in the short term anyway.  But I never stopped believing.  I kept my Paris dream fed with photos, clipart, learning French, a little Eiffel Tower on my desk and a big giant space in my heart for possibilities.  I believed that I would get there someday .  And then the magic happened.  A close friend has a friend.  She's going.  You should go.  Give her a call.  A fourth person would be great, it would round everything out.  Timing is good.  Airline points enough for a free ticket.  Budget fits.  And hey, let's throw Italy in too.  Magic. Done.  To the Universe, easy-peasy.  After all, it's The Energy that Creates Worlds.  What's a little trip to Europe? 

Thanks Mike Dooley for helping me to tune into the Magic.  Paris here I come.