The (Hefty) Possibility of Summer

August 15, 2016 | Coleen Patrick

One of my favorite summer memories involves a garbage bag.

Classic summer, right? 😉

Okay so maybe not. But if you will, picture two large plastic bags on the grass, with a green garden hose coiled nearby.

And these two ~~trouble makers problem solvers~~ pursuers of possibility (who did not live near a pool at the time)

My sister B and me, Lake Michigan

Then add water. Up to our chins. Until we are blowing bubbles across the surface of our

non-Olympic regulation size Hefty pools.

And we’re grinning.

Because we really, really wanted to go swimming.

And so we found a way. Mostly. Even if that meant we gripped the edges of our bags

to keep our personal pools intact.

Ah, summer and possibility. They go together like garbage bags and swimming.

Even now I feel there’s something about the sun popping up early and sticking around way after dinner that promotes more adventure.

“Hey, you wanna go swimming?”

But this summer I keep thinking, do it for the process

Because it’s nice to swim (whatever your pool may be)

and blow bubbles on the surface

or go for a hike, or take photos of hummingbirds in your backyard

or write a story, draw a picture

just because

Sure I’m mostly still a problem solving, direction oriented, check off the box on my to do list kind of person…

Here are some of my drawings turned greeting cards in my new Etsy Shop

…but it’s really nice to let summer take over for a bit.

Do you have a favorite summer memory?

Happy Monday!

Bird Watching and My Scattered Thoughts

February 26, 2016 | Coleen Patrick

Last month I tried meditating.

The kind where you sit in a quiet place and repeat a mantra.

It didn’t go so well.

Maybe I was a little too desperate for it to work, or maybe it was because my brain likes to tell stories and refute mantras in quiet moments. Either way it was kind of like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach while watching and waiting for a pot of water to boil.

I felt more anxious.

In the past, I found yoga calming, but sometimes those “yoga clouds” were not in fact carrying away my thoughts, but sorting into my to do list.

A black-capped chickadee slinging seeds (and perhaps thoughts).

And walking. I love walking. But I like to go over projects and stuff. Or whatever. I just like to break stuff down when I walk, not push it away.

Then last week I wanted to take some pics of the birds in our backyard. So I sat on my deck, about ten feet from the bird feeder. I had to sit still while holding my camera and somehow that stance forced me to keep an even breathing rhythm.

And so I watched the birds.

Or did they watch me?

I was still. Breathing nicely. And my thoughts were…I don’t know. Like scattered seeds on the ground? Because wherever they were they weren’t bothering me.

Do you meditate?

HAPPY WEEKEND! xo

The One Where I Compare Myself to a Prickly Porcupine

January 22, 2016 | Coleen Patrick

This week I spent hours researching website logos.

I already have a logo, but I just wanted to tweak mine, maybe find a little inspiration, make it somehow more representative of me.

Well, at least that’s what I told myself. I’m pretty sure though that I went looking for validation.

On the internet. *sigh*

Yup. I went against all my Poltergeist quoting and went directly into the internet light.

But it’s so shiny (and don’t forget the entertaining cat around the bend).

And of course, I find super amazing, beautiful mind-blowing websites that make me wonder why am I not a marine biologist who takes her flying ship into the sky to paint sparkly whales swimming with the clouds?

Um yeah.

Sometimes I forget that I get to be me.

This is me. The smaller 1970s version. But a lot is still the same.

Obviously blue haired dolls make me smile/feel grateful/feel as if I have a special super power. But so does writing for kids and teens. And drawing. Then there are cookies and Scottish Breakfast tea and of course my family and road trips, and taking pictures, and people who are funny.

Okay so I’m also stubborn. And prickly, especially before I have my coffee (but I’m still a morning person, just don’t try to have a conversation with me). But there are advantages to these powers. I’m sure of it.

Porcupine in a snowstorm (I added snow to this drawing due to current snowmageddon forecast)

I love feeling inspired by the world around me (including stuff on the internet), but Teddy (Mr. Roosevelt or President, if you’re feeling proper) said it best:

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

So for the sake of blue haired dolls and cookies everywhere (and YAY joy!), it’s for the best that I get back to writing and drawing and other stuff, i.e. being me.

#grateful

Do you ever forget that you get to be you? Are you a morning person?

We Bought a House! With an Inside Barn Door!

December 10, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

We bought a house!
It’s kind of in the country (or country-ish, as we’ve been saying).

So now we have a city and a country house. Not on purpose though. We actually need to sell the city house. Anyone looking for a big house in the capital city of Virginia?

It’s got refinished hardwood floors…

HGTV moment when we discovered we had hardwood under the vinyl in our foyer. #InstantCharacter
So in addition to the downsizing and the painting I mentioned last time I posted, we’ve been updating, renovating, cleaning, and moving.

And there’s been lots and lots of road trips, if you count driving 45 miles round trip between houses as a road trip (or the 60 miles round-trip to the large metro shopping area). Oh and if you count the many times I’ve accidentally passed our new exit. Because I’m not used to driving so many highway miles just to go home, I get in a zone, like I’m headed to Key West or something. And every time I do that, it’s a 12 mile mistake…with no beach or mojito.

Was probably thinking about Key West when I painted this canvas.

But our new house is cool. It’s smaller and has one less bathroom to clean, Yay!

Plus, IT HAS A BARN DOOR.

INSIDE!

It’s like my Pinterest boards came to life!

I’ve posted about my fascination with barns, I love them. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s like my main character Grace from my Chasing Normal series said:

There’s just something so stable about barns. 😉

So lately we’ve been living life like an episode of Property Brothers meets Fixer Upper. And it’s been fun and exciting, but a MAJOR change.

Dear hub likes to say, There’s no crying in moving/renovating. Oh but there’s been tears. Happy. Sad. All kinds. So much is different. After 20 years in the same house, we’re in a new one.
And get this, I have an outside mailbox.
Ok so most people probably do. But in our old house we had one of those mail slots in our front door, so basically I tripped over the mail every day.

Now I forget that I need to check the mail box.
Oh and I don’t know if this is a country-ish thing, but we have this spider that can play dead. And she’s living in our mailbox. She rolls onto her back when I open the mailbox. Of course I told her she can’t live in the mailbox and carefully prodded her with a leaf until she left.

But the next day I met her kids.
So I don’t get the mail if the sun has gone down.

Sunset behind our new country-ish neighborhood.

And considering I broke a finger when I was 18 during a spider encounter, I’d say this is PROGRESS.
And progress is good.

So is having my kids home for the holidays.

A Happy Thanksgiving photo op.

And planning a real road trip—we’re going to New York City in a couple of weeks to visit dear daughter and have some family fun.

Plus I’m making time to be creative. I’ve got a new book coming out soon and I’ve been doodling.

A doodle for Hanukkah

And painting. And decorating. And baking. And button gluing (turns out this is meditation for me).

I just like to make stuff.
That’s one thing that hasn’t changed at all.

What’s new with you?

Also, if you go outside to get your mail, are mailbox tenants something to be expected?

Happy Thursday!

Attitude and Success (at the Zoo and Beyond)

May 28, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

According to a recent article at Time.com, the number one thing that holds people back from success is…

*half-hearted drumroll*

ATTITUDE.

*sigh*

I SO get this.

There are days I know I need to rally. I want to rally.

But then you know, you’re tired.

Anyone else up for being carried around?

Or distracted. Somewhere else.

I’m sure you’ve seen this before.

Or felt this:

You’re frustrated. You’ve lost your focus.

You need an attitude metamorphosis.

So get ready.

Here’s some baby attitude to get you started.

It’s go time.

**Thank you to the lovely creatures at the Richmond Metro Zoo, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, and the ones I’m related to (note: not the giraffe, I don’t have that graceful of a neck) for their camera ready looks.

Happy Thursday!

Any of you lovelies have a tried and true method for regaining your spunky attitudes??

The Joy of Discovery (Chocolate Included)

April 13, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

I love how even the tiniest of discoveries can uplift

Tiny turtle power.

We discovered this little guy on the Greensprings trail in Williamsburg, VA.

And just last weekend I left the house and saw this:

The cherry blossom trees are blooming!

It seemed like they bloomed overnight.

(Much like my kids.)

We also found Edvard Munch’s Scream in the James River. Can you see it?

Oh and he’s in this doodle too.

Just kidding.

Here’s some chocolate.

Did you know that you can put the chocolate on the inside of the strawberry?!

Oh the freedom,right?

Hey, look at me doodling on the definition of writing. 😉

Although,

I have to say I could’ve done without this discovery when I walked in the door at work last week:

Dummy at work.

Note: Mannequins are not a typical sight in a library office.

Hey, after this surprise, who needs coffee?

But back to a slightly lower level of adrenaline,

I got the proofs of the illustrated covers that I designed for my Chasing Normal series

and I discovered I’m pretty excited with the way they’re turning out!

What have you discovered lately?

Happy Monday!!

Miles of (Mostly) Irish Smiles

March 17, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

Today at the library where I work, a patron read my name tag and then asked if I’d been brought in for St. Patrick’s day.

Yup.

All Coleens must pass a rigorous mascot training. It’s not enough to have the Gaelic name or the Irish heritage.

There’s tons of other factors. Other (mostly) Irish things about me that are maybe not so obvious.

I eat St. Patty’s Day themed treats.

(Although, I also do the same for most other holidays.)

I doodle Shamrocks.

I make friends with mules.

Now, I don’t think Hamilton (of Meadow Farm) is actually Irish, but he’s silly and stubborn. And silly and stubborn are traits that are very dominant in my Irish family.

So… let’s call Hamilton mostly Irish.

I married this guy. He’s not Irish either, but we met on St. Patrick’s day 25 years ago.

So again, mostly Irish (especially when you factor in that he’s also stubborn and silly).

So many factors. It’s not easy being green.

Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What is Irish (or mostly Irish) in your life?

Wishing you miles of smiles!

Winter Fun: A Truffle and a Snow Day

February 26, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

Honestly, I hesitated over the word fun in my blog title. Like lots of people (who aren’t kids) I’m kind of done with winter.

But we’ve got another snow day here in central Virginia.

And just as nature teased us with some thaw.

I decided not to wear my boots this day. Soaked my sneakers and socks. I was just a tad too optimistic.

But I have been finding some fun (I am, a kid at heart, I suppose).

A winter scene by Cold Fingers (aka me)

A walk at the mall. The frozen fountain was kind of awesome.

Finding a sunny spot to read.

I wish. This was me reading at the beach in 2013. #ThrowbackThursday

(I like to keep my fiction skills simmering.)

This cookie truffle has nothing to do with winter. I just like how it turned out.

And it’s kind of snowball-ish.

No caption necessary.

Me sledding last week.

In my own backyard.

What happens when a writer and an engineer are home for a snow day?

Check out the video!

What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day? And if it’s summer where you are, tell me something warm. 🙂

Happy Thursday!

The Surprising Taste of Change (and NYC)

January 5, 2015 | Coleen Patrick

Did you know that if you rub essential peppermint oil on the soft middle of the bottom of your foot that you will eventually taste that peppermint in your mouth?
This was news to me. I heard this random tidbit in yoga class, and while I haven’t tried it yet, I keep thinking about that unexpected, surprising minty sensation (and also wondered if they make chocolate peanut butter essential oils).

Surprising cereal and marshmallow coated cones at Emack & Bolio’s, New York City

2014 was a big year of change here at my house. Everything seemed to challenge my role in Life As I Knew It. My kids moved out, my mom got sick (thankfully she is better). Most of the change, like my kids moving out, I expected, even planned for, imagined. I knew there would be sadness, excitement, new freedoms and the like. But what I didn’t expect was to find myself constantly questioning my purpose the moment my kids left.

Together at 2nd Ave Deli in NYC.

For so many years, my family has been my priority. Everything else I did was “just work”.

Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, NYC

Sure that work was important, necessary, enjoyable, etc., but never assigned the significance of what I did for my family.

So this new questioning, it’s a strange taste, and it’s got me feeling pretty damn insecure.

A misty Central Park, NYC

In many ways I feel like a teenager again. New independence, lots of insecurity, and even more indecision, but then there’s also an excitement that I can fill and assign priority to these wide open spaces however I see fit.

And sometimes that unexpected result is something sweet. I had no idea that the research I would do on art and doodling for my character Grace Callahan in my young adult book, The Art of Chasing Normal, would lead to my own drawing finding a way into a really awesome art book.

North Light has tons of really fun and inspirational art books. Check it out!

With change, though, there’s a lot of heart work to do. I’m figuring it out, and I know there will be more strange and unexpected minty sensations along the way.

But for me, it helps to believe, that even when we feel vulnerable and stripped to the bone, there’s still something strong and fierce (in the best possible way) inside of us.

American Museum of Natural History, New York City

Wishing you the best for 2015!

HAPPY NEW YEAR,