Dear Neighbors,
It’s another beautiful morning! Cool and breezy and bright. It’s supposed to get up to the 90s this afternoon. Beach time? I’ll be dreaming about it. If you see me in my front yard, wearing my swim suit with a cold drink in my hand, the sprinkler running and my eyes closed, you know where I really am.
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
Today I thought you needed a pink armadillo. I was right, wasn’t I? This is totally what you needed. Enjoy!
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
Whelp, the kids are fighting again. We desperately need a change of scene and an escape from all this togetherness. Oh well, maybe in a year it’ll happen. Until then I’ll plan trips to the ocean, mountains, lakes, and foreign lands. I’ll imagine myself there and do my very best to ignore the howls coming from the next room. It’s peaceful here, in my imagination. You are welcome to join me! I’ll be here all day.
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
It’s a beautiful day! Go outside if you can or open a window. Enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. It will heal your doldrums. But - and I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news - you can’t inject yourself with sunshine to kill the coronavirus. That’s called a fever and your body does it naturally. Also, please ignore President Science. Do NOT huff or inject yourself with bleach. It will kill you. (End of P.S.A.)
Thanks for listening. Have a beautiful, sunny day!
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
I don’t really have anything to write to you about. I worry that I’m running out of things to say. Not to you, specifically. I probably don’t even know you. In general though. I don’t know what to talk about any more that isn’t coronavirus or quarantine related, and that definitely shouldn’t be our only conversation topic. Movies, books, TV shows, blah blah blah. I’ve had those conversations too. I’m think I’m getting boring. Oh goodness, I hope I’m not boring. Yeah, whatever, I’m boring. It’s fine. It’s fine. One day I’ll see all the people, I’ll go to all the places, I’ll do all the things and I’ll have things to talk about! Man, future me is super interesting. I really can’t wait to meet her.
Love and light,
Avery O
P.S. Here’s a wall doodle. It’s more interesting than a blank wall.
Dear Neighbors,
I’ve been feeling quite floral lately. Maybe it’s the warm springtime weather. Maybe I just need a pick-me-up. We’ve really been needing some extra space this week. Just a quiet moment to really get away from each other. Man, we have a lot of love in our house, but all day every day together without and end in sight isn’t easy! I don’t have to tell you. I’m sure you are going through it too. We are all particularly angsty today so I think I need to stop, take a breath, and smell the roses. As frustrating as this endless togetherness is, I’m trapped with the people I absolutely love the most in this world, and that’s pretty damn lucky.
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
Happy Earth Day! I was going to move in from the flowers and birds and butterflies, but today we celebrate the beautiful planet that we live on, so one more. Today’s mural mockup is another @skydancerbook illustration. It was adapted for a mural at the @hillcountrygalleria this past fall and will be adapted again sometime this spring or summer (hopefully soon) for @casamontessoriatx. But since lockdown is making me wait for that, I’ll adapt it again for you, dear neighbor. Enjoy the clean air, the quiet outdoors, plant some flowers, feed some butterflies, thank Mother Nature for all the beauty we have!
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors,
Here you go! More butterflies for you. Another day, another journey. Except, in reality, we are going nowhere and the scenery never changes. So, I continue my daily treks through the neighborhood. Your houses are my scenery and these imagined murals are my destination. I hope you have a destination to get you through all this. If you don’t, send me a photo. I’m happy to make one for you.
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear neighbors,
I watched the tiniest little hummingbird dart around in my front yard yesterday. It was lovely and beautiful to watch. I’d never seen a hummingbird around my house before. Perhaps the new quietness of the world is allowing the birds and animals to breath a little easier, live a little freer. Or perhaps I just never sit still long enough to find those little hummingbirds. Either way, I was grateful for that tiny moment of peace and happiness.
It’s hard to remember when life felt easy and breezy. The world feels so frustrating, sad, boring, exhausting, and terrifying right now. So here you go. Here is a little house doodle to remind us all to keep an eye out for the tiny little moments that aren’t.
Love and light,
Avery O
P.S. These are more of my illustrations from @skydancerbook by @tanialita
Dear Neighbors,
So, about two years ago I stared illustrating my first children’s book, Skydancer (@skydancerbook), by the amazing @tanialita. It is a beautiful story about the annual migration of monarch butterflies and finding strength through a difficult journey. Something about this migratory journey reminds of what we are going through today. The next few months will be long and arduous and we will lose people along the way. But, we will stick together and make it through to the other side. And the other side will be beautiful. And we will know each other better, and we will joyously embrace. This is so so hard, but I’m forever glad that we are in this together.
Love and light,
Avery O
Dear Neighbors...
and dear friends! We are in a global crisis right now. It’s time for us to be serious. So, I need to say something, in all seriousness. I love you, but I WILL NOT PARTAKE IN THE RESURGENCE OF CHAIN MAIL. I won’t do it. I don’t have recipes to share. I don’t have words of wisdom or encouragement. I love you. I really do. I need you to know that. I also need you to know that I didn’t pass on your message. I broke the chain. And I will not apologize. But, I do really really love you.
Love and love and light,
Avery O
P.S. Here’s another house doodle that has nothing to do with chain mail. Bye!
Dear Neighbors,
Okay, okay! It wasn’t fair of me to not finish your house. Yesterday I only doodled on half. I’ll do the rest, but only because you didn’t ask. (And I kinda really love these little birds.) I hope you have a lovely day!
Love and light,
Avery O
