My Shining Lights......

First off, I am so grossly overdue on new WELCOMES to the blog, I am quite mortified! Normally I have that up after one or two new faces join......and I do apologize with all my heart. It has been extremely hectic here, and yes, Blogger still is throwing me curveballs whenever it is most inconvenient!!! Please make yourselves at home....we sometimes lose our marbles, but eventually they are found through a lot of laughter!

As I have been too lax of late with my blog and visiting others, this post is dedicated to my blog friends. The ones who, without any cajoling, visit and comment even when I am in a blur of too much to do. The hearty souls who have been with me since day one and still continue on this wondrous and delightful ride called BLOGGING! The people who may wonder if I will ever post art again, but come back anyway for the brain dribblings in between. Those who know my taciturn moments and send me a silly e-mail to make me laugh until my sides split. Those who really know me, deeper than the words on this blog page because they can see past the words on the blog page. Those who respect my silence and know that there is something going on either in real life or in my studio that demands my full attention (which, by the way, seems to be getting shorter as I age!). Those who have respect for me as I have for them; that indeed, it is a two way street. Those who hold me up when I need it most, even if I don't really know I need it!

Friends are treasures more valuable than any precious metal, warmer than the crackle of a winter fireplace, more delightful than a summer's night with the moon illuminating the landscape and fireflies dancing in the velvet darkness.

Friends are my compass, my plumb line, my sounding board.

And above all, they are the bright lights in my life.

I am blessed.

And perhaps I do not say *thank you* enough, because everything else gets in the way......which is no excuse.

So for you all, thank you for being my true, honest friends here at El Milagro. And in e-mail. And on the phone. And through art we share. And letters. And Facebook. And just being there!

You are blessings.

Mille Grazie!

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!  ;-)