We get to the beach at least once a week, and really enjoy walking in the waves at the water’s edge.  The icy waters are invigorating and the landscapes are inspiring!

My paintings are now on display at the Bank of America building in York Harbor, Maine.  They’ll be there through August.

We’re still in a ’summer rental’ near Portsmouth, but we’ll be moving to something more permanent in late July.  Moving 2000+ miles is a step-by-step process, but we’re getting settled more quickly than I’d dared to hope.

Now that the poll results are in, I’m looking at my collection of vintage images.  As time permits, I’ll be scanning them in themed groups, creating new clipart sheets and CDs.

I’m also working on the idea of an art zine. This would be a traditional art zine, plus a digital version for immediate download.

I have a lot to think about while we’re getting settled, and I’m very excited about the future.

You’d like more vintage images such as photos, ads and illustrations.  The second most popular request was Gothic images and clipart.  You’d also like zines and ebooks, and some ecourses in art.

These sound like really exciting projects to work on!

In addition, only about 15% of voters selected “anything as long as it’s free,” which encourages me to work on new products for you.  (Frankly, if the results had favored only freebies, Santa Flamingo would have to be a spare time project for me.)

So, though we’re still getting settled in New England (and loving every minute of it), I’m looking forward to creating new products for you.

Thanks again for voting!

We just had to take this chance, because coastal New England is where we want to live.

So far, it’s been a fabulous adventure!

After we’re a little more settled, I’ll be working on projects to build this website with the kinds of products you’ve asked for in the poll.  Right now, we’re in a summer rental near Portsmouth, NH, and looking for more permanent digs.

For news about what’s next, plus subscriber-only specials, sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  Use the subscription form in the right column.

My first project will be illustrations from vintage and antique fairy tales.

(That’s the first new project because I carried those files with me when we drove from Houston to New England.)

Until the new art is online, be sure to see Santa Flamingo’s most popular clipart from 2007. And, subscribe to my free newsletter (see the form in the right column) for announcements of new projects.

That said, he is considering a short-term job working with print media (ads, newsletters, direct mail, etc.) for the upcoming (November) elections.  He’s always been a bit of an activist, so this could be a great opportunity to get involved and use his professional skills as well.

I’m feeling a glorious resurgence of creativity and optimism, with lots of a-ha! moments along the way.

This weekend, I’m shopping for a monitor for my desktop computer. (We didn’t bother moving our old CRTs.)  With the desktop computer set up, I can scan vintage images for digital products and a new, royalty-free CD.  I can also resume my podcasts.

I’m also preparing to launch a publishing company.  (It’s logical, since HT has worked in pre-press for over a dozen years.)  I’ll also be looking for submissions for a zine, and many of the best art & articles will go into a book about paper arts.

The first zine issue will be about steampunk art and art nouveau, individually or combined.   Think in terms of b&w and drama… contrast, line drawings, b&w collage, photography, and so on.  I want to start with that.

I’ll let you know as soon as I’m ready to accept submissions.  You will be able to send it via email or snail mail… whichever is easier for you.

All in all, I feel as if this return to New England is a sort of creative Renaissance for me, and I’m very pleased!

Yesterday, HT did some job hunting and then we went to Odiorne Point in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  (One of my letterboxes is there.)  After hiking to the top of one of the bunkers, we strolled along the coastline, listening to the waves crash over the rocks.

It was amazing, refreshing and glorious!

We’ve had the most amazing string of sunny days since we arrived in New England.  That’s given us a chance to spend time outdoors daily.  We’ve explored everything from Sugarloaf (the spectacular Maine ski area, which — even in May — still has snow-covered trails) to Camden harbor.

We’re planning to stay along New Hampshire’s coastline next week.  Every day is wonderful here!

Here’s what I’ve seen:

Daily visitors surged, and each of them downloaded at least one freebie daily.

(People who subscribe to my newsletter had access to additional freebies. Sign up using the form in the right sidebar, if you’d like to receive it. It’s free.)

Less than 1% of those who downloaded freebies bought a product or donated anything to our moving fund.

But hey, only about 10% even clicked on the poll to let me know what they’re looking for in the future. (That percentage is even lower if this weeks’ visitors weren’t the exact same people every day.)

I have to accept that, for most people, this was a “Sure, why not?” opportunity to snag something free, period.

On the very positive side, nobody — not one person — bought an item for just one cent. Everyone paid the suggested price, or more. (Thank you, that is greatly appreciated!)

I’ve learned a lot from this. Part of it is extreme gratitude to those who donated to the moving fund, bought anything, linked to this site, or left a comment to say, “Thanks.”

Thank you, thank you, to everyone who helped us this week… and who’ve helped us at other times, as well. HT and I are enormously thankful for friends like you!

Now, I’m looking at what I can improve.

Part of my current review is painful 20/20 hindsight. For example, when I split up Aisling.net (my original behemoth of a website) and created sites that weren’t necessarily associated with my name… I think I lost a big piece of my online identity.

The plan had been to make it easier for people to find the hundreds of free how-to articles I’d put online.

It’s now looking like, to many people, I became “Aisling… who?”

What’s most important is to learn from this mistake (and many others), fix what I can, and move forward.

Ultimately, I can only hope for “a little help from my friends” if people actually think of me as a friend. If this website (and my other sites, and my podcasts) aren’t cohesive and don’t lead people to connect with me as a friend and fellow artist… well, these are just a bunch of random websites.

I’m rethinking a lot of this. Big time. I thought I knew where I was going with my websites, including Santa Flamingo, but my plan may not have been well considered.

If I’m going to continue as Aisling D’Art — which is a pen name adopted in the early/mid-1990s when I was one of the first bloggers online — I need to rebuild name recognition.

I’ll be thinking about this when I’m on the road, next week, driving from Texas to Maine.

Speaking of that… I’ll be on the road (and offline) during the first week of May. Between now and then, and while we are getting settled (probably most of May), I won’t be online very much. This is a huge move for us.

Meanwhile, thank you so much to those who gave something in return for the freebies. Whether it was a purchase, a donation, a link back to this site or a comment saying, “Thanks,” I really appreciate your friendship and support.

I also printed our driving directions, and it’s slowly becoming real that we’re really doing this.  2100+ miles…  In some ways, it’s a long distance.  In others, it’s the simplest move in the world.  I’m going back to a climate and a culture in which I thrive… and where HT doesn’t wheeze when he sleeps.

However, there are enough unknowns in this move that it’s a little scary.

It’s not as if this is an overnight decision.  We decided on this move about a year ago.  But, there’s always been a certain unreality to it, y’know?  I mean, people talk about moving all the time, and then they don’t… the same as people talk about leaving spouses, and then they don’t do that, either.

I know that people thought I’d never actually leave the (now ex-) husband.   After 20 years of marriage, that seemed like an abrupt move.

Then, as now, I didn’t see any choice. HT and I are in total agreement that this move is imperative for us.  So, though we’re not really ready for the move, we’re going anyway.

It’s like that cliche about not waiting for all the traffic lights to turn green before you set out for errands, or work, or whatever.

Certain things require trust.  This move is one of them.

Meanwhile, the packing is back on track after yesterday’s speed bump with the soggy boxes.  The moving container arrives tomorrow (Friday) and we’ll be filling it over the weekend.

But, apparently they power washed the driveway, as well.  That’s the driveway next to our garage. The one where about 2/3 of our belongings are.  The one that has a small gap below the door; leaves keep blowing in when the landscapers are using leaf blowers. (Yes, I’d mentioned that at the office.)

From the stains on our boxes and the garage floor, the water flooded in just as the leaves do.

Many of our regular moving boxes got soaked.  So did the three leaves to my antique mahogany table, a large box filled with antique quilts and collectible dolls from the 1950s, and some of my posters and art.

It could have been far worse.  HT returned home in time to note the damage last night, and he stayed up and repacked every box that had gotten soaked.  (He’s my hero.)

That prevented the damage from spreading further.

This morning, I took photos of the worst damage, before dragging one of the water-soaked boxes to the apartment office to show them what had happened.   They say they’ve filed a report with their regional office; I’m not sure if I should call a lawyer about this, myself.

But really, it could have been worse.  Most of our books were packed in plastic-lined boxes. Replacing those would have been unthinkable.

One thing that I learned this morning:  Renters’ insurance generally doesn’t cover this sort of thing.  If a roof leaks, a pipe bursts or a sprinkler douses your belongings with water, you’re covered.

Water entering from side/outside — especially if the access is from underneath a door –  is called “rising water.”  It’s in the same category as flood damage, meaning that it’s not covered by normal renters’ insurance.  That’s worth noting if you’re a renter with, oh, an  overzealous maintenance staff who’ve never operated a power washer before.

In much happier news… I’ve figured our driving route, stopping about every 500 miles between here and New Hampshire.  La Quinta is generally a pet-friendly motel, so I’m planning our stops for their locations.  (We have two cats.)

Now, I’m resuming moving preparations.  I didn’t like using my morning to document the damage to our belongings.  It makes me feel angry and sad, and a little frustrated because I don’t have time to pursue this legally, locally.  I mean, the moving container arrives the day after tomorrow.  There are still a bazillion things to do.

Meanwhile, the cats are blissed out.  On the recommendation of other pet lovers, we’ve been trying Rescue Remedy (a health food floral mix) in their drinking water, to see if it sedates them enough for the drive.  It doesn’t knock them out, but it certainly makes them more relaxed and they take more naps.   That’s a good choice for the trip.

So, I’m getting back to work now, and I’m glad that  I’d paced myself so that I could use this morning to document the damage in the garage.

Moving back to New England has some scary aspects.  No job, no real savings, and no idea where we’ll be living… except that we want to be close to the coast and north of Massachusetts.

We just know that we have to do this, and — with current economic trends — this won’t become easier if we wait.   It’s a necessary leap of faith.  Our apartment lease concludes at the end of this month (April), and so we leave then.

The vast majority of our moving boxes are books.  We’re both in love with books.  HT has taken about a dozen boxes of books to the local half-price, and we’re still weeding out books.

The rest of the boxes are mostly (in order of volume) family heirlooms (I’m saving them for when my kids get settled), art supplies, fabric, and holiday decor.

My current busy-ness is a good thing.  I’m so busy packing and raising money to finance this move, I’m not as stressed as if I had time to think about the risks.

I just know that we have to live where we have four seasons, can grow a lot of our own food, and outdoor recreation is more of an option… mountains to climb, trails to ski on, icy waters to wade in on hot summer days, and so on.