Warm thoughts

Full Pots

Original oil painting by Susan Roux

January is quickly coming to an end. A substantial chunk of winter is behind us. We awoke to "0" degrees. That's fahrenheit. For all my foreign readers, -17.7 c. is the equivalent! Brrrrrrrr...

I hope you're all keeping warm!

Anyone want to move to Maine? In all fairness the temperatures are predicted to rebound to 17 (-8c.) in full sun later. For most of the year, its a great place to be... Plus with these cold temperatures, its the perfect excuse to curl up to someone you love in front of the fire. Just don't forget your gloves when you go out!

I choose to think warm thoughts. Join me? After yesterdays post with tiny petunias and Rahina q.h. commenting from Scotland's deep freeze, I've decided warm thoughts are needed in many places. Of course Australia may be commenting on how its mid-summer, to rub it in... (but we can pay them back come July)

I chose to post two images for warm thoughts. The first, Full Pots, is a painting I finished with a class this fall. I have to say, not only was it a challenge for me to simplify it for them, it was also a challenge for them to paint! We worked a long time on it and their results were wonderful! After stringy petunias, I was ready to see robust reds exploding out of their pots. A pleasant reminder that summer returns...

The second image is a candle and a fire. No this is not my home. Its an image from one of the spectacular "cottages" we stayed in while in Ireland. Nearly the whole wall was stone. Beautiful!

So now you can imagine your heat anyway you'd like. A sunny summer's day or curled up by a warm fire. Either way, I wish you warm thoughts, warmth in your heart, and a creative spirit that helps you produce exciting things to warm the hearts of your viewers.

Stay warm my friends and remember. We could be at the start of winter rather than well into it...

(photographs by Michael McAllister)