A Sad Week: Then a mermaid appeared

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"Pretty Mermaid" by Sarah Kiser

"Pretty Mermaid" by Sarah Kiser

It was the saddest of weeks.  

Sad.  Heartbreaking.  Gut-wrenching.  We all know that life sometimes is just not fair and can change in a moment. 

So, my week could not have been much worse.  And then a mermaid appeared.

My husband, who has always been good at trying (and almost always succeeding) to make things better, even it if it is just for a moment, gave me my Christmas present early.

It is a mermaid by Sarah Kiser, a wonderful southwest Florida artist who displays her work at the Island Visions Gallery in the quaint little artist colony of Matlacha.  She does whimsical, beautiful mermaids that will capture your heart.  I have wanted one fora long time.  Little did I know that my husband had one hidden away for Christmas.  He decided to make today Christmas.

She is beautiful as you see in the photo.  Her name is "Pretty Mermaid," and that is just what she is with long flowing blond hair, pearls and limey green and blue vines and willowy things floating around her. 

So, Sarah Kiser, if you are listening: thank you for your mermaids and for giving me a happy escape from the sadness of loss.  My mermaid appeared at just the right time.  

Changing seasons and thinking of North Carolina

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Photo of a Louisburg College SignThis is the time of year in southwest Florida when we eagerly await any sign whatsoever of a change in seasons.  Although temperatures are dropping and leaves are turning in other parts of the country, we are still basking in the summer sun.  Instead of picking up beautiful leaves for arrangements, we are happily picking up shells on the beach.  But long for a peek at fall.

This is when I always think of North Carolina.  My first two years of college were spent at Louisburg College near Raleigh.  Fall was beautiful with cool breezes, football games, homecoming, friends and the excitement of the beginning of another college year.  I remember walking to classes and just taking in “fall.”  I felt such a sense of place those fall seasons in North

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Welcome home.

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How do you say it?

There are lots of ways to make someone feel welcome.

Think about how you feel when you walk into a business establishment, social event, restaurant or store.  Does what you see make you want to stay or do you want to run for the nearest exit?

When you open the front door to your home, how do you feel?

Does what you see make you happy?  Or do you wish you could start over with a new decorating scheme?

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