did you miss me?

Sheesh, I don't know how it happened but I blinked and a month flew past. It's been a busy one, no doubt -- got the Autumn issue of ARTitude Zine mailed out to all subscribers and put the Winter issue in motion, among other things -- but that's still no excuse for letting so many other things slide. Did I mention that Mom had another surgery and I've got at least one small rodent gnawing my lungs from the inside out (or so it feels)?  Aw, I just thought of my friend Rita's rat Bernadette, who was homeless and had a tumor and Rita saved her life and has some very cute photos. Folks, this is the cough syrup talking, sorry!

  The upside of having neglected the blog for a while is that I now have a nice little backlog of stuff to share. Let's start with the zine, hooray! I'm just thrilled about how the Autumn issue turned out and I hope you all will enjoy it. I know some of you have already received it in the mail but most of you are still waiting. Please hang in there for another couple weeks, everybody! ARTitude is on its way.

Here are a few appetite whetting tidbits -- like this wonderful painting by Jill Jones. Jill is one of the most talented artists and writers I know, and I am thrilled that in this issue of ARTitude Zine she joins us as a regular contributor.

Her ARTsparks column is going to be a juicy one, folks, because Jill is also a talented and effective creativity coach and she's got a LOT of useful suggestions and perspectives to share. You didn't know your subscription to ARTitude was going to come with a side order of free coaching, did you? Talk about value!

In her first installment, Dancing With Creative Possibilities, Jill reflects:

"There is a philosophy that says opportunities present themselves when we are ready for them. Maybe that's true...but I suspect it's more likely that opportunities are actually there all along. We are the ones who must show up. When we finally present ourselves and open our eyes, we can see the opportunities clearly and take advantage of them."

Being a girl who hasn't been showing up for her darn blog, not to mention any number of other opportunities, these words really resonated for me. Read the rest of Jill's article on pages 8-9 and join me in renewing a commitment to Showing Up!