Time Out

It is vital for one's well being to take time out for fun and new vistas to spark inspiration for creativity.

I just returned from spending time in Whistler, British Columbia, skiing with my good friend, Elaine. Our last day of skiing was absolutely STELLAR! I must share some images of sunshine, new snow, and mountain vistas.

This is the morning view from our window. You can see the snow line and shadow of the mountains behind us as the sun was rising.




I did get a few runs in the fresh powder and can appreciate the tracks down the mountainside off one of the many peaks.


The view from the top of Whistler Mountain.


Here is my friend imitating the Whistler-Blackcomb insignia.


How did she do?


This is my favorite photo of the Whistler-Blackcomb insignia which my son and I took a few years back.



Whistler is one of my favorite places for renewal and inspiration.

And outstanding place to ski!

New Year Collage

In Yesterday's blog, I shared about an Intention Stick.

Another way to focus on the new year ahead is to create a collage. The collage can be made alone or with a group of friends. This year I spent an afternoon by myself contemplating the new year.

I have learned that sometimes images in these collages come to fruition or symbolize a life experience or insight. One time I made a dream collage with images of the Alps in Switzerland. After finally traveling to Switzerland, I skied the Klein Matterhorn in Zermatt, the Kleine Schcidegg Mannlichca, and the Schilthorn in the area of Interlaken. Upon return, I gazed at my collage to find that all the images were of the ski area around the Matterhorn in Zermatt where I went on the spur of the moment - I KNEW ALL THE IMAGES FIRST HAND FROM MY BEING THERE!

How to create a collage:

FIRST, find a bunch of magazines.

SECOND, cut out images and/or words.

THIRD, use a glue stick to paste images anyway you want to a large piece of paper.

TA DA!

New Year Collage 2012


Who knows what meaning this collage has for me in this new year?

Sunday Sketches

Leaving LA after finishing college, I moved to Colorado to be a ski bum; ski everyday and work at night. I graduated to skiing all day when I became a ski instructor.

Living in Colorado, I began a love affair with aspens. In spring, you can watch the bright yellow-green little leaves appear and magically turn large before your eyes. Through the summer, the aspen leaves flutter in the breeze. Many times I sketched their white bark with the circular lines and "eyes". But the fall is awesome when you walk in the woods amongst the glow of the yellow and orange leaves. The leaves then make wonderful patterns on the ground when they fall. What a magnificent tree!

When I was planning what trees to include in my landscape, aspens were a definite. I bought little "twigs" from the conservation district and planted them. Unfortunately, the deer also like my aspens. The first year the little forest of aspens were pruned at the top. This year I put a few in cages, but the ones not caged were pruned by the deer this time the middle leaves as the trees were much taller than last year. I will cage them all! These aspens will definitely have some interesting shapes when they mature due to the selective deer pruning. The most exciting thing this year is that the bark on these aspens have turned white and no longer look like twigs.

I love the shape of the aspen leaves, and recently I noticed something unusual. Two of the leaves on opposite sides of the trunk had wonderful colorful designs; worthy of a painting. Hopefully it is not some sign of a bug. If so, what wonderful creative work the bug does!

Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Wonder where that comment originated? Do you know?

It is so true in respect to this photograph taken at Whistler, British Columbia on this awesome sunny day. I would not know how to describe the incredible vistas nor the phenomenal skiing. I skied five days and spent the time with my good friend, Elaine, and my son, Brian.


Another thousand words later.....





Brian on top of the world