As I said in my blog yesterday, now it is Allen’s sister-in-law's turn. Ruth Thompson gets the award for the most energy and biggest grin Ever! One cannot help but be totally and literally swept up into this very special lady’s world. Ruth’s artwork is astounding, her dragons and horses, mythical creatures, knights and angels and all forms of fantasy are so distinctive and beautiful – painted from her heart. (Ruth is also a passionate horsewoman and adores her horses in her real life!) A true sci-fi, fantasy enthusiast, Ruth began her career as an illustrator for gaming companies, but she soon took courage and began to promote herself as an independent artist, her story is so inspirational and great fun to read. This wonderful woman has such a fantastic sense of humour and desire to take us all with her on her fantasy journey - there is a wealth of interesting information on her web site www.tarnishedimages.com including her personal story that is as inspiring as the lovely lady herself. When you meet her, you feel like you’ve know Ruth for years as she has such a warm welcoming way about her and I laugh continuously when I’m with her, she’s gorgeous! This is the kind of person who makes you proud to be a fantasy fan and spends time at the convention and Renasissance Fairs meeting everyone and delighting everybody. With Ruth, you will always find a friendly hello, but be careful, as she may get you hooked on WoW too…

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photos here) Across from our house to the east, is a hill that is home to a group of wild horses. Although from our distance I have never actually seen them up close, from our window I can see them grazing and enjoying the delights that their freedom obviously brings them. When they have foals you can just make them out, keeping so close to their mothers, but occasionally leaping about with the joy that so many young animals have at that age. I have so much respect for these magnificent beasts and, a few years ago, was extremely privileged to be able to watch an amazing Horse Whisperer at work. It was such an important event for me that I even took the boys out of school and together we truly witnessed magic happening. This gentle chap worked with this poor, damaged horse for days and I realised the similarities between what he was doing and the way we all try to bring up our children with respect, trust, firm but fair holding, eye to eye contact, rewarding and praising, being the leader of the pack so that the pressure is not theirs to bear and so on. The transformation in that wonderful horse - rescued from not being allowed outside of his stable for all of his six years - once so wild and hysterical that he used to hurt himself as much as others, was remarkable and breathtaking. A mutual respect was already forming between them and I began to understand some of these miraculous methods and a little of what maybe goes on in their minds. I have looked at horses in a very different way ever since and realise how privileged we are to share this life with them.

Magical Blessings, Be

“Serenity isn’t freedom from the storm, but peace within the storm.”