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Home & Poms

6/10/2026 10:20:00 AM

Getting my head down with my pomegranate painting, along with some admiring of the local peacock's feathers that are in full "Look at me" mode! Loving my summertime here with hiking and gym/yoga/swim time. Feeling relieved to be able to enjoy Texas life at an easy pace, knowing I am off come September for more worldly travels.

Since October, when I finished my esthetician license certification, and after a guest in November then the joys of Christmas in my home for the 1st time since 2009, I have been 180-ing it with decisions. For now, I'll keep the home and re-rent and come back when I am at a more "retired" age. I feel that this area is a more slow pace than I require and the social life is very minimum. I look forward to expanding my world knowledge and travels and resting again here in something like...2032!!!

This piece will be my final piece here for now, I'll be spending August packing and a fun USA Colorado/Taos trip with a favorite family member.

Au'revoir!

Kona Girl

5/19/2026 2:55:19 AM

Just back from Kailua-Kona Hawaii, 2 weeks now. I had a glorious month rediscovering my old haunting grounds. Living in Kona in the 90's, and a few times in 2010 when finishing up my botanical illustration diploma, which was based on the main Hawaiian tropical plants, it was an amazing time all 'round. It isn't what is was, nothing ever is, but it still holds a magic over me, and through me, that I will always relish to have in my life now & again.

I enjoyed some dabbling in acrylics and a few swims of course but mostly just spent time "hanging out" at smoothie bowl places, coffee cafe's and the random grassy parks and flower walks. An artisanal market is going strong at The Outrigger Hotel still with live music from an old friend of mine back in 1991. Bosco, The One Man band. He is wonderful! I also saw a few old artist friends and massage peeps from the past that I didn't know still lived there. I even made quite a number of new friends. :-) 

The village of Kailua-Kona is going through a revival of sorts, it won't be finished for another 2-3 years or so I feel, however, the warmth in the air with loud crashing Pacific Ocean waves consistently in the background, well, that combined with Plumaria and Pikaki flowers, Hibiscus colour blasting in your face and dripping Heliconia's, one can't help but feel they are on a different planet than the normal USA life.

However, with costs there and splurging 100%, I am happy to be home back into my Texas life, painting new works and enjoying the springtime. Aloha and Adios!

Fantastical Fig In Fruit

2/6/2026 8:50:12 AM

Looking back, I started this Dec 6th, so 2 months exactly! Not a money making profession...! But, it is a way to express my traveling creative life on paper. Every piece reflects where I am in my life at the time and what I have discovered in the place of that travel space.

Next painting, the trim and doors in my home!

New Career; Texas

10/14/2025 7:43:30 AM

Last I did a blog was back in February, this whole time having been dedicated to getting my esthetician license in Texas while repairing my home from all the rental and various issues since 2018. I guess you could say I am fairly rooting so far, bought a car, financing furniture and have been working at spa and massage jobs while going to school. The program was 5.5 months and tomorrow is actually my last day! Then I have some laser apprentice stuff to do but that can also be continued within my new job if they supply lasers. 

ART has not been in my life nor much of anything else during this time. I have put most of my physical activities on hold also, barely having time even chat on phone to anyone or do any social things. Non actually. So, this time of ending couldn't come soon enough.

The esti training is something I have done to transfer from massage to something easier on my body as I age if I need work or want to work in the USA or UK. I may set up my own thing if I sell up and buy a home where there is no HOA. My ideas of living back in the 1st world countries earning a decent living are always creative so I can enjoy my life. I can live out of a tent a lot of the time and be just if not more happy with not all the weight of costs and constant upkeep. Who knows, I do not. I can only feel it day by day. I do know I am enjoying being back in my own home immensely. Such a peaceful feeling in this home, I have the privacy of 1/2 an acre and double paned windows for quiet with strategic trees and bushes placed for complete privacy so yeah, it is worth the effort. 

There is a HUGE art scene here in the Texas Hill Country. I have been a part of it before. I may be diving back into that sooner rather than later. I've got to have balance. I feel giving this area a few years is good, gets me back on top of my home with experience as an esthetician, then I can re-assess again. My life is a never ending changing experience and I wouldn't want it any other way. There are still places to live and feel, ways of life to learn and live to deeply connect with nature more-so than the common world working ways. I crave tropics and green, water and earth...Texas is a stop-over most likely, yet again, however I will use it well!

Living my life to the best I can, day by day in every way!

New Phase

2/16/2025 3:55:20 AM

Landing in Bali 2 wks ago from my amazing NZ adventure, I have 100% dove into yoga at Yoga Barn including lots of sidelines like: sound healing, kundalini, sharing circles and dance. All the vinyasa/ashtanga/Iyengar has loosened up my semi-tight bod from the bus travel with backpack and not having real space to stretch for 3 months. Limber is my middle name again and it feels great!

I have some vision of getting back into my botanical illustration skills and will get to do that with my next works with the cherry blossom I plan on doing back in my own proper studio space in my Texas home, however, I may join a diploma program I have had my eye on, and been accepted to, since 2011; the SBA online program (Society of Botanical Artists). It is a UK program with a 2 year timeline ending in showing at Westminster and being able to have a certain "panache" to my name when entering expos/competitions and gallery shows. It's pricey and I don't know for sure but it may be on the cards. If I do it, I would like to do this while living in Sommerset countryside of the UK, however, I could very well choose to do it in Hawaii! The Big Island is that place when people ask me "what is my favorite place so far I have lived or visited", it comes out on top for many reasons. I love my exotic lifestyle however the comfort and ease of shopping at Costco and having a car appeals to me along with the island style living...plus, I have my Hawaiian massage license already. I know the island well and feel akin to it.

Lots of decisions coming up for me in March...centered and calm is my way forward.

Cherri-O Next Up!

1/21/2025 10:39:04 PM

I'm starting this here but finishing back in Bali (surprise surprise ), yet up north, in a space to absorb all I have experienced here in quiet solitude and time to settle before heading to Texas.

North Island; NZ

1/21/2025 3:09:31 PM

Continuing on from the South Island after the holidays, I enjoyed 6 more places!!  Starting with Auckland and walking Parnell Rd., I admired the architecture; Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and Modern.  Heading up to Paihia I spent time cruising to Russel, the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand, lots of history there.  Seeing the inlets and islands, bays and estuaries made for an amazing time and appreciation of a different landscape than the South Island.  I then headed back to Auckland stopping off at Whangarei and seeing the Whangarei Heads, an amazing place where one can walk up and over rolling hills with cows and pathways that lead to incredible beaches.  I loved standing on the top of one hill looking both ways to see the sea with the various inlets that are created.

Time for some city and then head down to Rotorua, a Māori area, so was excited to see some of their culture.  I enjoyed the Hamilton Gardens where one can admire various semi over-the-top examples of world gardens and spent the most time in the English Garden.  Rotorua is a place I would like to revisit with more personal interaction for I was only able to do the very touristy section, however, what I saw I did enjoy.  There was an Arts & Crafts Center with old traditional Māori crafts being taught and practiced; weaving along with stone, bone and wood carving.

I am now back in Nelson and feel I have made a good trip all round of getting to see New Zealand.  I have one more exciting event occurring...taking a train with my friend here in Nelson from Christchurch to Greymouth across the South Island next weekend.  It will be a first for my friend also so it will be fun for us both!

A total of 2 months here in this beautiful country, I feel very blessed.  Changing my plan a bit to paint my next works back in Bali in the quiet solitude of the north part of the island, I am excited to allow that piece to flow.  It is a new try for me with a long thin works made from 2 pieces of paper, a Cherry Blossom branch with some petals floating into the air...more on that later!

Continuing the Dream

1/5/2025 5:59:59 PM

From South to the North Island tomorrow. My last blog post I was in the middle of my South Island journey and still had the gorgeous glacial lake (Lake Tekapo), Christchurch with its beautiful rose gardens and whale watching Kaikoura left...and am now in Nelson setting off tomorrow for a 2 week exploration of all things north! The pics here show a few of the sights I saw.

Most of my time has been hanging with a good friend here in Nelson and her lovely family, enjoying Christmas and New Year's, ringing in 2025 with high spirits and an outdoorsy vibe!  Everyday over the last few weeks has been packed with friends and family, food, film, hikes, bike rides and music. Amazing really!

I am looking forward to The Bay of Islands and the city of Auckland before meeting up with two more friends here that I also met in S.E. Asia! One in the north of the north and one on the outskirts of Hamilton. Two days with one, 5 days with the other before heading back to Nelson for a 3 week sojourn of painting for my friend here something to grace her new home's elegant wall...the pressure is on!

The New Zealand people are very open and friendly. I have felt nothing but real joy emanating from them when hearing how much I have admired their country. The people here are working on transitioning from Kiwi names to original Māori names of places so I have to get my pronunciations correct when looking for places or discussing areas I will be or have visited. It truly feels like there is a lot of land here still to dream about having a farm, growing fruit trees or creating a gorgeous private home space even with just 1/2 an acre. It is easy to create future fantasies of living here! One never knows where that wind will blow...

A Lifelong Dream is HERE

12/13/2024 9:11:31 PM

NEW ZEALAND!

Need I say anymore to those lucky enough to of visited this "grand land"! It truly IS such a gorgeous country. New Zealand has always seemed like such a far-off place to me, and that's saying a lot when I have roamed the northern reaches of India and all over Nepal! Getting to Cape Town has been easy for me due to being in the UK often but for some reason, NZ has always eluded me, even basing myself out of Bali for 7 years. I think it was the distance and the cost together that has deterred me but I am pleased I finally allowed myself the time.

I am here for 2.5 months, having a semi-base in a much loved town called Nelson, many people seem to know of it. I have a friend here I met in Bali in 2017 and we kept in light touch thinking one day I might show up!! It is great having an active fit buddy here for when I am in Nelson, lots of paddleboarding/beach walks, however, I am mainly spending the time hitting both north and south islands. Christmas and New Years with her and her friends' and during her Christmas break we will no doubt get up to some adventures.

I started out in Wellington, the capitol, and went to the museums and the Parliament House, learning about the culture and history. Then progressed to Nelson for the friend/her family reunion, stayed in both Greymouth and Franz Joseph and now on the road in the very center of the south island at a lake called Wanaka. Tomorrow I get to go to Queensway and over a few days see Milford Sound; "Milford Sound is often referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" due to its breathtaking landscapes; towering cliffs, dramatic waterfalls, lush rainforests, and crystal-clear waters create a mesmerizing and picturesque environment."

Eventually, I will head back to Nelson through Lake Tekapo, Christchurch and Kaikoura. One can say it is quite the trip! I have something similar planned for the north island after the holiday season so stay tuned, follow along on my FB: Margaret Elizabeth Johnston ND and/or my Travel Insta: @enlightenedwonderings

You can always join my quarterly newsletter also, I am all over the world slowly but surely, finding the magic along the way in a variety of of lifestyle days!

Calendar Out; 2025

11/28/2024 6:56:50 PM

A selection of my most "Wow-factor" paintings to carry you through the year. Be vibrant in life and as you bloom into the next year, make sure to stop and admire the flowers along the way!

BLOOM WITH ME ALL YEAR; BE ALIVE IN 25!