A Ticket Outta Here?

To anyone who reads this blog and/or follows my work via facebook, the following will come as no surprise.

Still, I am gonna go out on a limb here and let you all into my personal life, a bit:
(As if it's not already spelled out blatantly in nearly all of my art pieces; haha!)

We have been longing to move from where wecurrently reside off and on for quite a bit now, but our desire has intensified immensely in the last year or so.  Great little town I live in, sweet old houses with character and that great sense of community that seems to always be present in small towns.  And it has actually afforded me some great experiences with like minded artists like me (My Chicks are some of my most treasured friends) but there is still much lacking, especially for the other members of the family.

Take for instance, my dear sweet husband, who has for nearly 12 years now, has arisen way before the sun, traveled the distance of 75 miles (an hour and 10 min drive) to and from work 5, sometimes 6, days a week.  Not to mention that there is the fuel costs and the tolls to consider.  Yikes!

My kids, who despite Mom's best efforts in reaching out, have only a very small amount of friends with whom to socialize with on a regular basis and amongst the other kids in town, feel a bit like foreigners with very different interests than most.  The reason: We are only 1 of 3 other homeschooling families and the only free learning/unschoolers.   Not many free spirits my kids' ages.  And though both of my kids are mature for their age and  therefore do well in associating with individuals of all ages (through their volunteer/community work), they long to connect and forge a lifelong friendship with someone who shares their ideals and passions.  Though I know of places where there are apt to be more like us, there appear to be very few like that here.

And finally, there's the weather here.  Cold so much of the time (and I'm a total t-shirt and flip flop gal) but worse yet is the constant doom and gloom weather we have here on the East Coast.  I am a California girl and I need my sun!!!  All of us are affected by the lack of sun and warmth we experience here.  We are ready to find our sunny location and we have somewhere in mind that fits our ideal, somewhere that has been in our hearts for a long time.  Somewhere, we have always dismissed as not being practical, and in the past, thought outright impossible.  But, I for my part, am done thinking that way, too much thinking if you ask me! And I am done allowing my mind to drown out my heart!  I think that is evident in my art more than anywhere else.

Just check out my last three pieces and you will see for yourself:

(Can you guess my dream location?)

Now, if only I can find my ticket outta here! Since I won't be the only one ultimately doing the choosing, let's hope we pick the right one!