Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you wearing green today? I am. When you think of St. Patrick's Day, do you think of shamrocks and 4-leaf clovers? Rainbows and pots of gold? Leprechauns and green beer? I think of all those, except the beer. I can honestly say I've never thought of beer in my life. But if you want to discuss Fuzzy Navels, I'm your gal.
I can remember wearing green as a child in school to avoid getting pinched. If you're making art today, I hope you'll include lots of green, but don't stop there.

While you're looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, remember rainbows aren't just in the sky. They're in boxes of chalk or crayons, in paints and inks, and so much more.

I love all these colorful fish, so cheerful to look at, and I wonder if they know just how lovely they are, swimming along like that. Do you think they see in color?

I'm inspired by these Rainbow Parrots and their vibrant colors. It makes me want to create art, playing with paints and inks. These birds make me think of the colors of Clearsnap's new Smooch paints. Vivid and fabulous.

And these gumballs remind me of Ranger's new alcohol inks in brights. Last month my stamp club made postcards to swap and I used those inks along with air in a can to create some fabulous postcards on glossy cardstock, just as Tim did at CHA. You know I do love bright colors.

My mother asked me recently if I ever looked for 4-leaf clovers. We don't have any clover in our own yard but I suppose I could venture across the property line to see what the neighbor's yard might yield. It's far too wet today for such endeavors, but I can certainly create a little art with a rainbow of my own. This month's swap for stamp club is to create 12 ATC's (artist trading cards) on the theme "3 of a Kind". That means I can use 3 colors, 3 stamped images, 3 embellishments, etc and I can see the rainbows coming to life already.

Speaking of my mother, we attended a memorial service for an old neighbor over the weekend. When I say old, I mean from the olden days of my childhood, not that he was old. His brothers gave moving eulogies, remembering happier times. They laughingly spoke of being terrors in the neighborhood, driving their mother crazy, to which my mother replied she could still hear her hollering at those 3 boys. Now I just have to say with all the hollering she did at the 4 of us, I can't imagine when she heard anyone else.

Edward spoke of them sitting on a nearby embankment with other neighborhood boys, playing ukuleles and singing Blue Moon as loudly as possible. I'm sorry to say I don't remember that, but sure wish I'd heard them.

A low fence separated our backyards and I can still hear him playing his trombone while I climbed our apple tree, played in the sandbox or on the swings. They were three big boys, much older than us, so we didn't actually play together. Yet when he spoke of playing in another neighbor's yard, I immediately knew the house because we also played in their yard.

You're only as old as you feel after all, so today, I hope you feel like a kid again. Put on something green...pinch anyone not wearing any...look for those 4-leaf clovers and pots of gold. Be a kid again every chance you get.

Here's hoping you find time today for a little play.