An eclectic mix of life, art & fiction… and a sprinkle of faith.

Dabbling in Drawing


This is SO me. I never really had a word for it until I found the word Dabble… and dabble is what I do.

I dabble in illustration. I’ve dabbled in photography… in sewing… and occasionally I dabble in diet and exercise.

What is it about ‘naming’ something that makes me feel so satisfied? It’s like being formally diagnosed and feeling relieved that you weren’t imagining your symptoms.

Dabble: to casually participate in an activity or hobby without serious commitment, deep involvement, or formal expertise.

It’s like tinkering. I suppose that my humdrums are sometimes caused by feelings of guilt… that I never push myself to pursue my hobbies in a more serious way and possibly make something out of them.

If that isn’t a ‘cultural’ thing I don’t know what is. I have just as much right to dabble as anyone else and… by golly… I am going to stick to my dabbling and enjoy every minute of it!

Boy that felt good.

Anyway, I enjoyed this illustration. I had the girl done for a day or two and could not for the life of me figure out how to design the background until I thought of the paper.

If you look… you’ll see that she is drawing a path. To where I’m not quite sure, but I imagine it’s somewhere happy. Where she can dabble all day.

So, the letter ‘D’ is done. I’ll be working on ‘E’ very soon. Until then, thanks for looking/reading… I hope you enjoyed.

Dabble on!


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Blogging through the Alphabet in 2025

Abundantia

Gratitude is the seed of abundance.


I’ve decided to go ahead with a new game this year, very similar to one I’ve done in the past – a few times. I’m calling this one…

“Blogging Through the Alphabet, 2025.”

So, here we go! I thought of the word abundance for the letter ‘A’ and I decided to explore it a little, just to see what I could find.  

Abundance means having more than what is needed or expected, and when I stop and think about it, I have everything I need… and then some. Remember my stalled attempts to eliminate some of my excess clutter!?

So, when I think of abundance, and realize I have everything I need, it creates in me a sense of gratitude. It also helps lift some of that fog that fills my brain when I focus on what I think I need.

Like courage for example. There are things I’d like to do, but I’m too afraid to try. Sometimes I try to imagine that negativity as a ceiling that sits near the top of my head. When I want more of an “I can do this” attitude – I tell myself to “break the ceiling.” 

Of course, that sometimes makes me think of the song “The Roof is on Fire,” but that’s a detour we don’t want to take right now. 

Anyway. Thinking of the word abundance helps me imagine that there’s no ceiling at all… just the blue sky above. “The sky’s the limit,” as they say.

Removing that ceiling helps me understand that there are no real limits, only what I have imagined, and suddenly I am fearless.


What made the word even more fun, however, was learning that the word abundance comes from the Latin word abundantia, which means fullness, plenty, or overflowing riches – as that’s when I read about Abundantia… the Roman goddess of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune. 

Abundantia was often depicted carrying a cornucopia (the horn of plenty) on artwork and Roman coins, from the 3rd century CE, and I decided it would be fun to illustrate a modern day Abundantia (also known as Lady Fortune) for the first post of twenty-six in my new alphabet series.

I was going to include the horn of plenty, reflected in her glasses, but it seemed out of character – and possibly out of date. This is 2025 after all, and rarely (if ever) do I see cornucopias lying around.

Then I considered adorning her with diamonds and pearls, but abundance isn’t about having or obtaining these types of things, it’s about being grateful for what you have, and knowing that it’s enough. Or more than enough.

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading/viewing… I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,
Peace & Love.

Check out more of Blogging through the Alphabet 2024