Heading Home for July

I spent most of Tuesday flying from Santo Domingo to Phoenix, or waiting in Atlanta for the lightening to settle down so flights could resume. I've decided anything more than one stop makes the route too long, and the result was that I was less tired this trip than I've ever been when travelling. The fact that the flight left at 2:40 pm and I got a full night's sleep didn't hurt either!

I'm looking forward to a family reunion in Breckenridge, Colorado to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday! At first I wasn't sure my mom would want me telling her age to everybody - but she is so beautiful and youthful in mind, body and spirit that I think she should brag about her age! I brag about her all the time.

While home I'll be visiting friends and family, as well as taking care of a lot of odds and ends, including doing a better job of getting my condominium prepared for potential renters. I had a very successful estate sale prior to leaving (meaning a lot sold - but I was robbed by the estate sale company owner, Alvin Wood - beware to all, do not hire him!) But after the sale I still had lots of clothes I did not take to the Dominican Republic, and more office files than anyone should hold onto. I put them in filing cabinets and my office closet and my mom simply had a lock put on it. I'll see how much of it I can wade through this visit and toss...ughh.

Mom on the Malecon (coastal road and park)

I'm hoping to have more time to catch up on blog posts I should have written about while in the DR, but as usual I will not make many promises about that.

While in Santo Domingo, I've wanted to approach gallery owners about showing my art there, but it's hard to do without any actual art to show them! So I plan to take some of the larger canvases off of the stretcher bars, roll them up and take them with me when I go back, so if you have had your eye on something in particular that I have in my current inventory, like 4daisies on stems or white orchid on black, now is your chance to get it (and many other pieces) at 50% off - until the end of July. Of course if you want them later, you can always get them at full price.

Take a look at my prior inventory that is framed and now half off: www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/currentlyavailable.html

Getting back to coming home to Arizona. Now that I have been home a full 24 hours, what are my favorite things about being back?

At the top of my list is being able to drop the toilet paper right into the toilet, instead of putting it in a garbage can next to me, for others to see and smell. God bless the U.S. sewage system!

Next is how my mom had the condominium prepared for my homecoming. While gone, the remodel to my bathroom was completed, and my mom had new matching towels laid out the way they are in magazine spreads. Beautiful!

On a calendar on the counter she had written "Welcome Home Heather!"

In the kitchen, mom stocked the refrigerator with my favorite foods (flour tortillas, colby cheese, hot sauce, tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, lettuce, a mini pizza and Pepsi). On the counter sat a Hershey's chocolate bar and Ghirardelli chocolate mint squares. On the other counter a few bananas hung, along with a plantain. She asked if I knew how to cook it - the answer is yes, but only maduros, the ripe (sweet) way. I suppose I could learn how to make tostones if I really wanted (fried green plantain slices - smashed and fried again - then salted and sometimes served with garlic infused oil for dipping) - but they take too long, I'm afraid of splashing oil, and it's like cooking your own french fries - for some reason they are always much better in a restaurant.

I love my own bed, my own dark room where I don't have to wear an eye mask to keep out the light while I sleep in until 12 noon, that people drive within the lines on the street and stop at red lights. I loved my home and my city and my country when I left, and I still do. But alas, yes, I bought a round trip ticket and will be going back to my second home, the city of Santo Domingo, which in the last two months have learned to love as well.

I am thankful for the prayers and e-mails of so many people who have supported me on this journey. I am closer to knowing one of the reasons why God may have sent me to the Dominican Republic, but that is someone else's story that I do not have permission to tell. Just know that your prayers and positive thoughts have made a difference in my life, and continued prayers for the reason(s) I was meant to go will perhaps make a huge difference in the lives of many some day.

Thank you and with love and blessings, Heather

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer"We...a spirit seeking harmony for a world that's out of sync" - purchase an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/BooksFind her art at: Fine Art Americaand HeatherJKirk.com