Showing posts with label Kara's Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kara's Art. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

New in Kara's Shop - Memories of Barbados





Tug of War - a Toe in Three Worlds

June 19, 2016

It's 6:49am. I'm on a plane to Miami, then Barbados, for my first vacation in 5 years, alone with my husband, without pregnancy or babies. Life is good.



After navigating the inevitable tears, (mine, not theirs) I feel myself sinking deep into this gift of rest. An entire week. My body has almost forgotten, but is ready to remember, sucking in this oxygen of freedom to fill every cell from my fingertips to my toes.

🎶 "Toes in the water...tush in the sand..." 🎶

Where's the RV? It's waiting for us, forlorn, at Camping World... on hold while we finish two other adventures and reunite in July for one last RV adventure of summer 2016.

We disappeared from this blog over the last month, caught up in the excitement and charm of our new house. Our furniture arrived and we couldn't help abandoning the RV to unpack box after box, reuniting with little treasures that remind us of Home. It was better than Christmas Morning. We LOVE our new nest. 

The delight, which charms us most at our new address, is the tree swing. We are IN LOVE with our big backyard, rider mower for Mama and tree swing for Samantha. Massive trees give character and shelter to a welcoming neighborhood, walking distance to Daddy's new college campus.






This is the first neighborhood I've ever lived in which feels like a neighborhood is supposed to feel; it's a community that cares for one-another. Within our first week we had more interactions and had already made more friends than we ever did in any previous house, even the house we lived in for 7 years!

In June, after a two month RV adventure, we were ready to be seduced by the warm embrace of our new home. We have come to the conclusion that we love RVing and exploring the U.S.A, but we also love a sprawling house and patio and the familiarity of one location. We enjoy both lifestyles. As the years go by, we plan to indulge in a mixture of both.


June 26, 11:30pm

Barbados was incredible. I've never been so grateful for a vacation in my entire life. 




I swam with sea turtles, became deeply tan, talking with two of my favorite vacation buddies, (you girls know who you are) I drank more local rum than I ever knew I could, I twisted and stretched in outdoor yoga class, tucked in gorgeous, tropical woods (where we were warned that if a monkey showed up we would need to vacate the area quickly as they are pesky little trouble makers). I danced with locals and tourists alike, outdoors, at Oistens Fish Fry, til 11:00, when a fight broke out and 50 cab drivers were lined up ready to whisk us away to the safety of our hotels and homes. 
Last, but not least, I discovered that while I may have Caucasian skin, my soul far more resembles a dark skinned Barbadian, than any of the light skinned people from the many light skinned countries I've visited. 

I'm now on a plane, ears popping as we descend, destined to crawl into bed next to my beloved little girls in the middle of the night. My three year old has put on a brave face, but I can see she doesn't fully understand my need for a full week away from her and my ten month old is 100% confused by the whole thing, but they will understand someday and they will also be grateful. In the meantime, they are about to get more kisses than they ever knew possible. 

Til next time....

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Northward Bound - Highway Pictures - Goodbye, Georgia!

What a gorgeous day to be on the road. Blue sky and cool breeze pave the road ahead as I write to you now. Below is the view from my windshield!


We're pressing Northward. You'll never believe the beautiful location waiting for us in North Carolina. In the meantime, where have we been the last 5 days?

Saturday, our journey began in Southeastern Georgia.

It all started with an early morning discussion over cheerios. 



It was our first major drive from one location to another. During projects like this, both Chris and I tend to focus on a task list and end goal and become stressed and snippy with one another. We often miss joy available in the journey. We've both heard that the journey is equally important as the destination. Nonetheless, we get emotionally attached to a time frame in which we want to accomplish a goal (such as arriving at the next campground by a certain time - Chris) or we rush through the "mundane tasks" to hurry up and get to the "fun part" (Kara). For example, I detest packing and unpacking, but I've been trying to view this task as an enjoyable life experience. I didn't manage to stay in this lovely frame of mind all day, but for a moment, at the start of the day, I paused my morning dishes to dance with Annabelle.

The freedom to "meander" is, after all, one of the reasons to go RVing. We must be getting better at this, because, literally, as I'm writing this, we just passed a sign for strawberries. I casually commented, as I usually would, "awww, we could pick strawberries," not actually expecting to stop. About 30 seconds later Chris says, "you wanna stop?" 
That did it. My heart is what stopped. We've arrived! We have officially entered the spirit of RVing. "Yes!" was my enthusiastic response.


As it turns out, they aren't open today. But at least we stopped. It's a start. Next time we will have the full unplanned experience. This time I'm satisfied because I chatted with a local for 5 minutes on the side of the road. He wanted to hear all about our RV trip, something he's dreamed of doing for years. Perhaps our detour lit another spark to push him towards his dreams.

Every time I have one of these impromptu conversations, I'm reminded of my Dad who never met a stranger. He didn't do small talk. Every day with him was an opportunity to inspire people to love Jesus, fix social injustice and pursue worthy dreams.

But I digress. We stopped for strawberries today. We were at Stone Mountain, in Northern Georgia for the last three nights between Jekyll Island and our next location. Stone Mountain attractions were mostly closed for the slow season, so we didn't end up doing much there, other than enjoying the playground, which was enough to thrill our three year old. We also surprised her with a trip to the Atlanta Zoo where she met up with her best friend, Mari. Samantha and Mari have been neighbors for 2 years, which amounts to the majority of their lives. Mari will return to Japan at the end of 2016 and we will move to Virginia, but Samantha and Mari are deeply sad to be separated. Samantha does not miss the "Birmingham house," but she does miss Mari. I wish you could have seen them spot one another at the Zoo entrance, shout one another's names, and run, like a scene from a movie, falling into a delighted embrace. Samantha and Mari led us four parents through the park to point out each new animal with squeals. The highlight? Panda Bears. In the evening, as this glorious day slipped into memory, I was inspired to "computer paint" the following for the girls to save and remember always.


The location we have just pulled into now is a place I've dreamed of visiting for twenty years. I will post more tomorrow... right now I need to soak up this moment...







Friday, April 29, 2016

Art on the Road




We are packing up and wheeling out. Today we are disassembling the outdoor living space and securing loose items inside the "house." Tomorrow we will fire up the engine, say goodbye to Jekyll Island and watch the open road rolling beneath us with expectant eyes and hearts through our enormous "picture window" windshield, ready for the next adventure. We are following 75 degree weather as it works it's way up the U.S. East Coast.

Jekyll Island was the perfect location for our first month as rookie RVers. I am excited for the new environment of our next location, but I will miss the trees here. The entire campground is canopied by great, towering live oaks. Spanish moss drips off hundred year old giants who guard the campground like strong, welcoming angels. On a historic carriage ride, we learned there are several trees on the Island over 600 years old!

 Highlights of our first month RVing can be read here. Photos too!

My artistic inspiration is flowing. I've created two pieces of art to commemorate our time on Jekyll Island and I intend to do the same at each location we visit. Prints on Canvas are available in my shop.






Stay tuned for our next location!

But first... catch up on what you've missed.