music, therapy, and me

This is MY tree. I have no idea what it's address is or who actually is responsible for this actual tree, but it is MINE ! Several years ago, I was driving along a stretch of highway and noticed this proud tree sitting in the middle of a field. It was sitting there, leaves gone, in all its glorious skeletal structure! I became obsessed with this tree. At the time, I was trying to figure out how to make my Grandmother a family tree of some sort for her birthday. I really wanted to make a tree - not paint or a drawing - but something actually made that represented our family. My tree became my inspiration and led to this tree... This tree has the names of my great-grandparents as the roots along with my grandparents' siblings, my grandparents' names are on the trunk, and the various branches of our family are on the limbs of the tree. The grandkids and great-grands are listed on the tree as well. The entire thing is rooted on a piece of Kansas granite that I purlo...

It is that time of year, here in the United States, for all of us to stop and think about the things that are in our lives. For several years, I listed something that I was thankful for every day on Facebook, but since that is now the popular thing to do, I refuse to follow a trend! So, here are all of the things that I am thankful for in one fell swoop!! I am thankful for this sweet face that yells at me, frisks around our home, sleeps on top of me, hogs the covers, bites me when I'm trying to play, and is obsessed with white plastic bags! There are lots of things that pets bring into our lives. Bella definitely enriches my life in many ways. Her purr (especially the monster purr) makes my bad days a bit more bearable! This is a mandala that I drew in 2011 for one of my family members. I don't know which one yet. I kind of matches my sister's decor, but it seems more like my mom's type of thing. Anyway, I am thankful for the creativity that my mother and fathe...