A Mother's Love - Love for Mother

This picture, taken on the kitten's 21st day of life, and Mama Cat's 21st day of Motherhood, illustrates the adoring love shared between them.

Mother's Day is May 10, 2009

These cute little 5" x 5" matted quotes are sure to touch your Mother's heart this Mother's Day. They're $7.00 each and come with their own envelope and choice of mat colors. They're also available in the 5" x 7" size for $12 each - same choices. And then there are magnets and posters too. (Note: Everything in my online store is alphabetical by first word so scroll down to find the one you want.)

Mother's Day is coming up soon. Be ready! Call me for special requests: 941-993-7001. - Raphaella

Serendipity: Okoboji to Venice

It's a small world. Here's a picture of Nicole and myself in front of my home in Venice. The photo of her fridge shows my magnets and postcard among her treasures there - I'm honored and so happy to create art that inspires people like that. She and her mother used to shop for my Heartful Art at a store in Okoboji, Iowa (then owned by Waxela Sananda who now lives and creates "Spirit Mama" art in Austin, TX).

How we made the connection: One Saturday morning in February, Nicole's mother came upon my art at the Venice Cat Coalition booth at the Venice Farmer's Market. She recognized my cute little inspirational magnets and voila! she remembered where she had found them in years gone by. Fun!

Nicole came to visit her parents a few weeks later and they all (including her father) came to meet me at my studio to buy art, share our stories, and meet the little kittens I was fostering (the 3 tabby brothers). Back home in the midwest, Nicole now has a kitty of her own and she is, herself an artist. We plan to keep in touch on Facebook.

Heartful Art is available in over a hundred stores in the USA, on the internet and also in Femail Creations catalog. Destiny happens. We never know when paths will cross and serendipity lights up our world to remind us ... we are all One.

Twitter 101 - Charlotte-Anne Lucas

This post (Twitter 101) was written over a year ago, which I find interesting in itself for the retrospective. I just discovered Charlotte on Twitter. Enjoy.

Social Media Tips by iiG - Interactive Insights Group

If you're as curious as I am about social media, check out this list of information compiled by iiG:
http://tinyurl.com/dlldn2 and have fun!

www.heartfulart.com - Studios & Office in Venice, FL

Where I love to work - out in the lanai with Princess Diana on her castle. She follows me from room to room as I switch from laptop to desktop, making art to making phonecalls - which I LOVE. Muffy used to do that, whereas Apache (God bless her) mostly stays in her closet "apartment" ... Diana reminds me a lot of Muffy. Her small body, her intelligence and her soft fur.

Kittens now 16 days old

Here they are at 16 days old. I managed to get them away from their mother for the quick 5-minute photo shoot by bribing her with delicious kitty morsels in gravy. The kitties are still a little wobbly but they can see and hear now I think. They notice me when I come by to check on them. Meanwhile, Princess Diana hisses when she sees them and Apache hisses when she sees Diana. The kitty drama continues at my house but I am loving it.

September 20, 2008 when I was still living in California. Fun.

clipped from myfirsttweet.com My First Tweet heartfulart: Finished resting from a big day in San Francisco - Now I'm getting back to packing for my move to Florida next week. Yippee! 2008-09-20 03:29:30

Earth Day 2009 - festivites at Oscar Scherer State Park

Heartful Art, Hypnosis Venice, The Key West Cat Society and The Venice Cat Coalition will celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 19th (10am - 5pm) at the 20th Annual Earth Day Festival at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, Florida.

FYI:

Earth Day is always observed on April 22. International Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox.

Reason We Celebrate Earth Day: To call attention to the environment.

History of Earth Day:
- Former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson was Earth Day's co-founder.
- The first Earth Day was in April 22, 1970.
- Senator Nelson got the name after reading about San Francisco’s Earth Day celebration which was held on March 21, 1970.

Cats, Cats, Cats

I'm loving being a Feline Foster Mom. Diana, my amber angel, is a sweet, sweet being. She's learning to trust me and getting to know how to hang out with me (right by my laptop where Muffy used to sit) while I work. We take breaks to play and I feed her yummy things as part of her taming-training.

The kittens are nine days old today. They can't walk very well yet, or hold up their heads for more than a few seconds at a time but they sure are cute!

Update on Foster Kittens and Princess Diana

What a great day. It's my birthday. First of all, I'm 62 this year so my social security checks start coming in June. Yippee!!!

Second, I am having a potluck party tonight to celebrate all of the new friends I've met since moving to the Gulf Coast of Florida six months ago. I'm celebrating my old friends as well. To quote an old girl scout song about making new friends and keeping the old: "One is silver and the other gold."

Third, Princess Diana, the 6 month old foster kitten who might be a permanent part of my family, came to me to ask for a treat today. She's been following me around for weeks but afraid to let me touch her or pick her up. Theresa Foley, of the Key West Cat Society, taught me that to "tame her up" I should sit with a towel on my lap and a feather or some yummy cat food in my hand and let her come to me to eat. Then I would touch her and pet her while she was eating. Well... it's working. Two days of that and today she made the connection. We'll keep up the training until she knows she can come to me for love and treats and I can enjoy her sweet presence close to me. She's also feeling more comfortable exploring the house.

Fourth, my little foster kittens are opening their eyes today - they are 8 days old. I'm so excited to see their little eyes. How precious they are.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Northshore Education Consortium - a Recovery High School in Beverly, Massachusetts

I just saw a news story on CNN about a Recovery High School in Beverly, Massachusetts (about 30 miles north of Boston). Their Mission Statement: Education, Community & Accountability is
"Providing sober students a high school environment that is free of alcohol and drugs while fostering an ethic of honesty and mutual respect, promoting accountability to oneself and to the community, and helping to prepare students for higher education, military service or employment."

Mother Cat Gives Birth at My House

This beautiful (and maybe exhausted) mommy arrived at my house last night for me to take care of her during her pregnancy. We figured it would be two weeks. But around 4 am this morning she began birthing the first of her four little kittens. All is well. The kitties are 12 hours old in this picture.