Twice Blessed....

From Ces, in honor of Renee's Birthday, March 28th

Read the history of this award by clicking HERE

After several days of vacillating between work and being in a funk from the rain, I get one of Ces's comments that brings me to my feet...she always does! For the very few people in blogland that have not had the delight of visiting Ces and Her Dishes, you really need to pay a visit. Besides being a Mental Ninja, as opposed to my just being mental on any given day, she is a phenomenal artist and I firmly believe that she draws in her sleep.

No exaggeration......go look at the prolific amount of work the dear little Oak Nymph cranks out. It shames me.....well.....about as much as anything can shame me at my age! LOL!!!

At any rate, I'm wandering. Sorry.

I received this yesterday, Renee's birthday, and found myself trolling blogs with wonderful posts about Renee's life, especially one written by her sister at Circling My Head which Renee had kept up until her final passage into the light.

I felt completely inadequate to comment yesterday. Today, I can only say thank you with a humble heart. This is the second time I have received this award; the first time being from my dear friend Tristan at Enchanted Revelry. To be included in this circle of incredible people in blogdom, with others who have accomplished more than I have, to have the opportunity to meet all the wonderful souls I have here, to feel I have contributed to any creative sort, spurring them on in any way.....that leaves me speechless.

I had recently read an article by a 20-something, saying that bloggers are not real friends, just people who post, blah blah blah, and I thought WHAT???? What planet are YOU from??? The corner of Blogland where I live is full of loving, funny, caring, creative spirits, with all different views and people you can count on to send you an e-mail when you've been off blog to find out how in the HELL you are! (or have you been having too much fun.....) We live in a totally different section of this cyberworld, and boy oh boy, am I glad!

And that circles back to the award.......our circle, as it ever spirals out from that very first acorn, continues to give and give and give. Even when the mother tree is gone.....a new acorn finds coddling warm soil, is fed, and sprouts.

I am a sprout.

I am proud.

I stand with some taller than me, but that is fine......we all support each other in this forest of life. No tree falls that we do not hear and mourn, but also know it is going back to it's real home.

Thank you Ces for bestowing this award to me again, on a meaningful day, and damn it, you almost made me cry too.

So look out, I'll be coming to leave a comment.......

To all my blogfriends, and those who read that I do not know, I bid you.....

Pax.

New Blogger To Visit......

......Let me be the first to publicly mortify my dear friend Jan Brattain, and introduce you to her reasonably new blog, Laughing Dog Arts. No, I did not tell her I was doing this post, so I am sliding on the ice with no drawers on!!! LOL!!!

(this IS the Laughing Dog!!! it's not just a studio or blog name!)

There's substance here, folks.

A little backstory; Jan and I have known each other through the internet for years. I believe we met via the Fabric Forum at eQuilter and casually struck up conversation after conversation. (a disclaimer: with my *anesthetic-head* of late, we could have met on Mars and I would not know the difference! yes, it could have been extra-terrestrial contact....but I don't think so....) A friendship built, we quit commenting on the Forum, as we gradually moved our fiber posts to Yahoo Groups, as both of us became Fiber Pirates, and we still kept in contact via e-mail.
During this communication, Jan would describe where she lived in the deep and old woods of Oregon, and occasionally send pictures. I was smitten. Not only did we share a love of fiber art and art in general (and music) but of the outdoors and I have to admit that more than once I was envious of the exceptional area that she called home.
Old growth forests are pretty much a thing of the past in my neck of the woods---pun intended!---and the gentle and sometimes frantic pace of her life tied in with the seasons made me remember halcyon days spent on my grandfather's farm; where life was dictated by the rising and setting of the sun, and the time of year. I miss that......so much.
I often commented in letters how the way of life she led daily was something that was disappearing at a rapid rate, and for me, how incredible it was to peer into it. Things that were routine for her were triggering all types of wonderful memories for me, and an urge to find a way to pare down this life of mine that was running out of control. Jan's letters put everything into perspective.
I still have a file folder in the computer of photos she had sent; birds, dogs, flowers, Mr. Mel the Peacock, etc. My little glimpse of Oregon.
I once casually suggested a blog but hey, you have to feel that in your bones and know the time is right to start one. I did it on a whim (my normal status for important, time consuming life decisions!) and was happy with how it turned out. But it's work......at least for obsessive/compulsive ME. LOL!!! If I don't post frequently, I am sure my head will explode....
Seriously, it's okay. Laugh!
At any rate, I was feeling in the dumps the other day and get a letter from Jan saying to check a link to cheer me up.
She had started a blog!!! And not told me!!!
I found, illustrated, some of the things we shared in conversations; beautiful nature pictures, fiber art, her group she meets with weekly for art and sewing related items.....it was all there!
So, at the risk of having my friendship skewered onto a lightening rod, I would like to request all who read this to go visit Jan's blog by clicking the link at the top of this post, and it would be very nice if you chose to follow too, because we all have been through that first part of blogdom where each day you're peeking to see if there is a new follower.
Heck, I still do and am still as excited as the first day when someone new signs up to follow!
You will find a gentle and delightful read, exquisite photos of wildlife and the hawk pictures alone are worth the trip over.
And now that she officially has a blog, it is with great delight that I can present her with an award made specifically for a friend like her, a sister friend, a long time, long-suffering being my friend award:

"Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest,

but who came and never left your side."

Because Jan came, and has never left my side. And I am grateful. So please post this to your sidebar proudly!

You are an exceptional friend Jan......and I hope your internet is back up to read this!!! (or maybe not.....LOL!!!)

Now, gentle readers, go make a new friend, and enjoy a wonderful pastoral blog that will calm you from the bedlam of the everyday ruckus we call life.

Jan, are we still friends????   :-D   We are....right? RIGHT???

Pax.

A Lovely Award, A Surprise, And A Big Honking Art Haul

First, thanks so much to Silke at Metamorphosis for this award! It was a lovely surprise, and I've been having more surprises of late that have been...hmmmm.....less than lovely; in fact, plain not nice! It is the small things that make you smile that always put life back on the right track when the world is determined to pull you in another direction!

I have to list ten things that make me happy: can I limit this to ten????

1. Bloggers, because they are the nicest people out there and writing this blog for the followers as much as myself makes me very happy!

2. Being back on my feet enough to create some minor art and feel like a human being again; that is a biggie and makes me smile....  :-)

3. Getting to have Big Macs two days in a row! I KNOW!!!! They are not good for me but my craving for meat since surgery has been unbelievable......

4. Finding, on the Robert Genn Twice Weekly Newsletter site a reply to one of his letters, from *MOI* with my entwined hearts accompanying the text!

That was a great surprise that made me very happy! You can find it HERE if you feel inclined to read...half way down the page.

5. My little bellowing Budgies, that keep me on my toes and are a constant source of amazement. (How can all that "PEEP!" come out of that tiny body??? Earplugs, anyone?)

6. Walking again without knee pain. The hip surgery straightened the leg, and thus removed the knee pain, and the pricey cortisone shots. How good is that???

7. Some cool tattoo-style designed t-shirts I picked up on sale! With hearts on them! 

8. My art haul from Hobby Lobby today, pictured below. Things like metallic printed vellum was on sale for 15 cents a sheet, media to carve stamps from @ $1.79 on clearance, other goodies, and the Raisinets are, of course, for ENERGY to make art!  ;-)

Click the pic if you feel the need for more details......this was my first art shopping trip since being laid up! I was happy......oh yeah! Ask my plastic!!! LOL!!!

9. Getting in before the bad weather that is predicted hit. Ice does not make me happy when driving in it. No. Not at all, so my cozy home with a cup of hot tea makes me exceedingly happy.

10. Everyone who made a purchase from my Zazzle store....you made me happy!

And an extra, because I don't follow rules too good.......heehee!

11. Passing this on to ANY FOLLOWER who wishes to pick it up. I think everyone who reads and comments are worthy of an award for diligence, honesty and humor (or commisseration, as the case may be!), and y'all start my day off great. So click that award pic, save it, and make your own list of ten things that make you happy! Then pass it on to ten fellow bloggers, or do what I did and leave the joy there to be grabbed! MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY!!!!

As I sit in the mornings with my coffee, in the dark quiet before the hustle and bustle of the day in the outside world, hearing the little sound of mail coming in and replying to comments and visiting blogs, I couldn't be happier or more content.

Life can be so simple, and so extremely good. To all my friends......

Pax.

P.S. I posted this last evening. This morning, the *bad weather* I mentioned is here, howling like a banshee and making me even more thankful for being in. Everything is delayed due to ice on the roads and I have not yet ventured to the National Weather Service site to see what delights are out there. And I'm not opening the door either..... unitl poor DH has to go out to work.
For any of you who live where it is fairly warm and have decent weather, pluck the award and just put you're thankful for your lovely skies ten times. The rest of us will understand!  ;-)

I always suspected it but.......

....I've got style!

Thanks to Marilyn at Our Victorian Cottage  for this lovely surprise!

With both of us being fans of Marilyn, it is even more special, and particularly at this time of year when everyone is going too many directions at once!

Soooooo.....who shall I pass this to as all my blog-friends have their own particular style that I so love, but I think this one has to go to girly-girl, Marilynesque type style.....

Hmmmmmmm.......

How about.......

gypsylulu delights

and

Midlife Poet

I'm going small on this one, because I have tried to figure through comments and life experiences shared which of us would put on the stillettoes and tight dresses like Marilyn wore, and yep, I know these two girls would!

Congrats, post it somewhere prominent and I hope you have a great bit of fun telling the world what we all know, that;

"You've Got Style!!!"

Oh, and now the best part, pass it on to friends whom you know *have style*!!! ;-)

XXOO!!!
Anne

P.S. You'll get art tomorrow......I needed a day to pout and snooze. I have no guilt! heehee!

From Tammy @ A Stitch In Thyme

I had the delightful surprise of receiving this award from Tammy, on Saturday afternoon when I was feeling completely wiped out and it certainly brightened my day! Thank you Dear!
Having received this, I have to:
Write 10 honest things about myself, and pass on the award to 10 honest bloggers, and of course, mention and link who gave it to me.
Well, I'm never too under the table about what I think, but this is a tough one for me......so I'm going to try and just write what comes to mind. The honest part, of course! ;-)

1) I detest Political Correctness. Usually it is a sweet glaze for what, when I was being raised, were referred to as LIES.

2) I find it appalling that any group can quote Holy Text for the reason of harming another, be it a single person or a large group. Somehow, that always has seemed to me to garner them a special corner in Hades.......

3) Honest work is honest work. I like being able to seal a commission with a handshake and my word. In most cases, I can still do that.

4) My life has changed so much this past year that without the people who read this blog, I do not know where I would be. Yes, YOU ALL are important to me and have kept me going more than you know.

5) I have no hesitation of speaking my mind when I felt it necessary eventhough it has gotten me into trouble more than once and no doubt will again.

6) In doing the moral, ethical thing I have lost *friends*. So be it. I would not go back and change my decisions to be swayed by the pack.

7) Theft of intellectual property is still theft (there is a great mess going on with copyright laws at present)---call it what you want, borrowing, etc. If someone else designed it, wrote it, or made it, and it was taken and a one tiny bit was changed, and you claim it as your own work, that is THEFT. As in THIEF. Not a charming word, eh?

8) I try to keep my art as original as possible considering all the work that is out there. I want my personal voice to come through....not someone elses. With all the media focusing on Art now, this is very hard. Keeping it real becomes more of a challenge each day.

9) I continue to educate myself in a lot of areas, and feel anyone who has the opportunity to should also. Knowledge is a great gift; why waste time on stupidity?

10) Sometimes it is easy for me to push to the back, out of view, my ability for kindness and empathy. To truly embrace those qualities, one must open themselves to the feelings and needs of others, and occasionally that means opening yourself to their hurt as well and taking it on and carrying it a while until they are able to endure life's load.

And now, who to pass this to, because I feel most of my blogfriends are quite frank or I would not read them, and picking 10 makes it worse.....because someone will feel shorted..... <:-{

Ces and Her Trees
Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
The Magic, Miracles, and Joy of an Artist
La Llorona Arts
Marbled Musings
Uncommon Threads
Leslie's New Works And Thoughts
Our Victorian Cottage
marianne's art blog
Midlife Poet

Now, I have either flattered you all, or have created a list of bloggers willing to travel to swat me in the head with a rock, or steal my keyboard so I can't type and post! (I have a spare....of course!)
I love honesty, and y'all have it.
Now to the day at hand....and the banner delivery.....pics tomorrow! I hope! Yeah!

Pax.

300th Post, A Most Lovely Award, Welcomes....Oh Yes, and a Blog Give-Away!!!

A few days off from the blog and what happens? Wonderful things! First, a most heartfelt thank you to Ces for the above honor. Please click the image and go read the post behind the creation of the award. It is a marvelous history of how this came about and needs to be read and savoured. To say I was speechless and stunned is mild. I had even debated, before receiving this, about not posting yet because I felt at 300 posts, you should have something of importance to say. And I was not feeling particularly important word-wise, or even remotely intelligent. I wanted something really soulfully good for my readers.

Maybe I have done a bit of that already.......I hope so.

I truly DO.

Another delightful duty on the blog is when I welcome another follower here, and a hearty WELCOME goes out to Sophia, who has joined our little band of mirthful mixed media miscreants! (just kidding...we encompass a LOT of different types besides mixed media and miscreants; even normal people are most welcome here! LOL!!!) Join in when you feel like it......

And now to what I hope will make me worthy of the above award. I had debated doing a give-away of a piece of art, wanted to do it before Halloween, which I knew wasn't going to happen and then it struck me...why not share some of the items I make art from, and see what happens? Why not put together a mixed media goodie box and let another artist do their thing, or share the contents with one of their friends, or just have fun pilfering the contents?

I believe artists have a responsibility to pass things to other artists; knowledge, joy, support, advice, information, love, care, and in this staggeringly tight economy, if you can do it....supplies. Now, when I buy things, I....ummmmmm....usually get a little TOO MUCH. So sharing eases my wallet's guilt pangs and makes my soul a bit lighter knowing that ALL ARTISTS are like little kids when it comes to supplies......it's Christmas morning and we're ripping into the packages at warp speed!

Therefore, I present to you:

"El Milagro's Milagro-Box-Mixed-Media-Supply-Give-Away!!!"

I know....it's a long title, so you can whack it down to fit your side bar. There are papers and fancy napkins and paint and oddities; canvas and pearls, bottle caps, things that may not be in the photo too, because I want to have a good, healthy box to ship! Oh yes, if you look close, there are 5 real milagros! (that's like parting with blood for me......)
So here's the rules to play:

1. Leave a comment and it's one entry. Same goes if you are on Facebook and don't blog, but see this. Leave a comment there, I'll count you in.
2. If you leave a comment and then have a link and pic on your blog, that's two entries.
3. If you leave a comment, link and pic on your blog, and become a new follower, THREE chances to win this.
4. The winner will be chosen by my fancy schmancy Random Number Generator (thank you Random.org!) so it is all legit.

Naturally, I won't be replying to the entry comments as I normally do others......I will be keeping count on everything fair and square, and I may be off blog as far as new posts for a bit to get some work caught up. I've not abandoned nor forgotten y'all! And I will try and visit your blogs to leave comments..... ;-)
I want everyone to have fun, and I especially want to make sure the contents go to an artist who works with mixed media, or to someone who might know another artist who would like to try it but just can't come up with all the supplies from the staggering lists of things we use.
We've all been there; one item shy for a project, and an artist friend comes by and says, oh, use some of mine. Encourage people to enter!
So please my dear blog sisters and brothers, let's get this give away info around and find the box a good home, and let the creativity begin!!!
I will draw the winning number on November 1st, All Saints Day.....because I have had the privilege of meeting so many good people in this blogosphere we call home.
Until we chat here again, which no doubt won't be long.....I bid you, most humbly.....

Pax.

"Friendship Isn't About Who You Have Known The Longest, But Those Who Came And Never Left Your Side"

Received with great honor and humility from:

"Ces And Her Dishes"

Quercus shumardii or Shumard Oak

Dear readers, as you most have figured out by this point, there is little that leaves me speechless. I always have something to say---right, wrong, amusing, stupid, moments when the mouth goes far faster than the brain and the result ends up here. Therefore, the other evening when I received a comment from Ces to go to her blog to pick up an award, I was more than a little stunned. Ces is a phenomenal artist and extremely prolific and I have been blessed with meeting her here in the blogosphere. She is so prolific in her work, both as a nurse and artist, I'm not sure she sleeps........ ;-)

To learn the real significance of the award I highly encourage you to read her whole post; just click on her beautiful drawing and it will take you there. And you also need to read about Deborah, for whom the award is named, as she is a pillar of strength. I still need to comment on her blog, but being married to the military, my heart ached so when I saw photos of her sending her son, in the Army (where I grew up), off to war. I can't touch that right now. My husband has done media escort on med-evacs out of Baghdad, and I know what the risk is for our soldiers, and the strength it requires to be family here at home.

The award is about true friendship, of not leaving when the going gets rough. To quote Ces:

"Loyal friends regardless of race, creed, political affiliations and geography. Here, I honor womanhood and friendship and there is nothing more wondrous a blessing for anyone than for a friend who came and never left your side."

And I have discovered that more than once this year, when days were long after surgery, when I was not doing well, when cards and letters and gifts and e-mails and comments came from my blog-friends. I know what friends are.....I am blessed.

So now I have to pass this on, to truly loyal friends who have stood by me despite how long we have or have not known each other.

However, I have two male friends that have done the same on my blog and in my life, and I am hoping Ces will forgive me for being the *sturdy unbending oak* that I am and include them also in my list, as they have been as honest and faithful and as humorous as my girlfriends. (guys, that's the highest compliment you could get!)

And so.............I start..........in no particular order.

Mary Helen

Lynn

Audrey

Pam

Jean

Teri

Georgina

Linda

Gayle

Vicki

Tammy

Leslie

And my two male friends without whom I could not function, who support me like the grand oak pictured in the award:

Tristan

who very much helped me start this blog

made me laugh way too much,

encouraging me all along the way,

and to

Tallboy

who is my spiritual guide & center,

my common sense when I have none,

and like my family I

grew up with.

To all of you; thank you, bless you, know that you are being recognized for what you freely give of your hearts to others and may you feel that joy in return.

You are truly FRIENDS.

Now pass this on to your friends, those who fit the bill, who are there for you no matter what and know they always will be.

I bid you all, most sincerely......

In spiritu humilitatis, Pax.

Welcomes, a *major award*, and yes---I took Sunday off!

I'm still here; I just needed a break yesterday. Allergies are in full swing and I had killed myself working in the studio on Saturday, and enjoying the Open Studio On Line! What fun! Two new followers to welcome to the madness here---sometimes things calm down and I get to make art; it's just not often enough.

I have to thank Georgina at La Llorona Arts for the Kreativ Blogger Award! Now I have to do two things to totally *earn* this.....I have to come up with 7 things people don't know about me and I also have to pass it on to seven other deserving bloggers.

Let's do the blogs FIRST so they can kill me...ahem....THANK ME for passing to them the honor of displaying the award!

1.Lynn Devine McDonald

2.gypsylulu delights

3.Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

4.marianne's art blog

5.Marbled Musings

6.Uncommon Threads

7.The Quilt Rat

These are all creative people who do diverse things and hopefully don't live close enough to come after me....okay Gayle, you probably do but I know you're busy and Lynn, you love me too much....right??? :-)

Now, seven things y'all don't know about me (or really could care less about; yes, it's okay to pick that option!):

1. I was born in Vicenza Italy in 1959.

2. I used to be utterly TERRIFIED of skeletons. Now I practically have a collection of anything with bones.......and save them for artwork.

3. I dated an Undertaker and am acquainted with how a Jewish corpse is treated due to their religious guidelines, and also how their caskets are made.

4. I love reading medical texts for the fun of it.

5. I am trying hard to relearn the Latin I knew as a child from Mass, though there is a difference between *pure* Latin and *church* Latin---the latter being referred to as the vulgate.

6. I regret not having seriously pursued some sort of art/medical related career when I was young, smart and mobile.

7. I lived in California twice and was stupid enough to return to the Midwest the last time.....OY!!!! That comes back to haunt me frequently.......

Well, save and print that for those night of heinous insomnia, read through a few times and you'll be nodding off to snoozy-poo land in no time flat!

Now I'm off to work, and call for repair on my dishwasher, whose motor decided it needed a vacation. While the dishwasher was full of water. Of course. Grrrrrrr.......

Have a happy and productive Monday and may you see all the little blessings about you that we tend to ignore daily.

Life is good!

Pax.

P.S. For a neat tutorial on how to reuse plastic cookie trays, go here! See what Robinsunne has done with what we would normally throw away. This rocks and is better than buying the expensive kind of shrinking plastic!