4-23-18


This weekend was my birthday. I normally do NOT celebrate.
However, my brother brought me a home-made pie...
My hubby got me some fabulous moonstone beads to work with...
my daughter started working in the garden and was preparing it for planting season...
there were over 200 well wishes on my facebook page!!!
---and I had friends come over with well wishes and apple cake.

I also was gifted a couple hours in the studio while my hubby watched movies with my mom.
All in all... excellent. (and made a couple pair of earrings -- below).



4-20-18


One of the things I love to do; is to make original and one-of-a-kind pieces. 
That is one of the things I love about PMC silver clay. With it, I am able to mold and sculpt pieces directly from nature. 
For example, here is a mold that I made today from a Scottish sea urchin shell.
I wanted to test the mold making compound, because it's been awhile since I used it... and I wanted to make sure it was ok. (it's perfect).
Now, I can put the clay in the mold, fire it in the kiln, and make a very cool pendant!

The reason I wanted to test it.. was because I want to get back into making these special kinds of pieces.
I have a friend, whose dog is getting older, and she wants me to make a mold of her pup's nose... 
and then make a PMC silver piece so she can wear it on a chain. Isn't that sweet?

4-18-18


Back in June 2016, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will... 
 And so on Wednesdays; I've been posting an old photograph to inspire your creativity.
Write a poem!   
 Plot out a short story.
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.
--and occasionally I write my own sordid story or poem. 
 (you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

I don't have a story for today...
But I do love this photograph. I picked it up at a local antique shop; along with a few others.
There are no names, and no dates... but it's just amazing.
Hope you are all doing well today... and this photo inspires you to do something creative.

4-17-18


I had stopped at my mom's house yesterday to check on things.... 
and I picked a handful of the daffodils I had helped plant years ago. 
I sure am glad I picked them...

4-16-18


It's been an incredibly difficult day... as we had a much beloved family member pass away today.
It's been rough trying to explain things to my mom, and very sad to see her struggling with both comprehension and retention.... as well as not wanting to believe certain things have happened, even issues that happened 20years ago..... and the subsequent anger and despair when she does understand. But we are all warm... fed.... the taxes are done... and mom is tucked safely in bed.
So... I am off to make tea and try to relax.

4-13-18


#rightNow.

Today I got my hair cut, ran a couple errands... enjoyed a nice iced tea and home-made bread from a local shop... and some fabulous poetry books and incense from another shop... and ordered dinner from a great local restaurant.
It's wonderful.

4-12-18


Today there are brief flashes of sunshine ... in an otherwise very cloudy day.
Mom is very restless... and confused... which must be frustrating for her. 
I have been extremely anxious as well... although I do not know exactly why.

I've been working on getting a few small projects done around the house (with help)...
We changed out the lights in the bedrooms. They used to be these copper lanterns, that while pretty...didn't really suit the period of the house.



And we've set up an office area for Jim in the bedroom... 
and are still working on hanging some art and such around. It feels much better in there now.
Small things that are really making a big difference, at least for me.
Onward... see you all tomorrow.

4-11-18


Back in June 2016, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will... 
 And so on Wednesdays; I've been posting an old photograph to inspire your creativity.
Write a poem!   
 Plot out a short story.
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.
--and occasionally I write my own sordid story or poem. 
 (you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

Dixie Jean Johnson was born in Picayune, Mississippi.
From the time she could walk, she was always helping out in her parent's grocery store... bagging items, arranging things on shelves, working in the deli. She always had a smile and a joke for everyone who came in. She never imagined leaving her small town.
She was content. Happy. Settled.
She married her high school sweetheart, Beau... and when her parent's retired, they took over the shop. It was a lazy summer night back in 1962. Beau was sipping a cold one on the front stoop. Dixie was wiping off the counters when she decided... quite out of the blue... to play a lottery scratcher game. They won. Not a HUGE amount mind you... but enough to go traveling if they were careful.
And so they did.
They spent the entire remainder of the year meandering across Europe, riding by train through China and across India... and all around the Mediterranean. From their they took a ship down alongside Africa across to South America..... hiked through Central America and flew back to Mississippi.
It was a glorious trip.
The trip of a lifetime. 

4-9-18


These flowers sit on my kitchen table... a gift from my daughter to her grandmother for Easter.
They have held up amazingly well. 
Today I am a jumble of nerves .... and so I will catch you all tomorrow.

for the weekend


...and now we have snow (again)... and while it is gorgeous... it feels a bit like it must be the 97th of January... and this rather never-ending-winter. ZeeZe is as befuddled as I, and when we went out early this am... the yard was littered with bunny prints... deer prints... and a meandering and lumbering set of bear tracks that went through the back yard.. to the birdhouse.... to the front deck... to the burn barrel... and off to the woods. Seems like there was a bit of a party in the yard last night.
May you all have a great weekend 💙

4-5-18


The weather has been completely and utterly bizarre for a couple days now... 
and this was my view out the front door yesterday (briefly) during the afternoon.
Today... other than an errand I have to do... I am hoping to just hide away with a good book.
See you all tomorrow.

4-4-18


Back in June 2016, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will... 
 And so on Wednesdays; I've been posting an old photograph to inspire your creativity.
Write a poem!   
 Plot out a short story.
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.
--and occasionally I write my own sordid story or poem. 
 (you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

I had a story planned around this photo... and then I realized that there was more in the photo than I initially thought.
See... I was going to write something about the couple in the horse drawn wagon. Something sort of romantic... maybe a little sad... perhaps a bit mysterious. After all.. where are they? What prompted them to take a ride in the far bottoms of a canyon?

But then I saw the other woman.
Far right at the bottom of the photos... emerging from the rocks.. is a lady walking in high heels.
At first, my thought was ... perhaps she was a ghost. And then I thought...
would any self-respecting ghost be 'caught dead' in those heels? walking about in a rocky canyon?!
Anyway... something to ponder on this week....

3-30-18


I am taking a few days off.
Hope you all have a blessed and restful Easter holiday.

3-28-18


Back in June 2016, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will... 
 And so on Wednesdays; I've been posting an old photograph to inspire your creativity.
Write a poem!   
 Plot out a short story.
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.
--and occasionally I write my own sordid story or poem. 
 (you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

This is a love story.
You'd probably think it was the love of a young boy and his dog... but you'd be wrong.
For it's a love story of the 2 pups.
The black one is Randy, and the golden one is Ronnie (short for Rhonda).

It started one fine summer day. The boy... Jake... was out fishing with Randy.
Randy loved to go 'fishing' with Jake. They would often go to the groupings of ponds way out back of the house. Randy loved to splash around in the water while Jake tried his best to snag the brown trout that swam there. Today was no different. Jake didn't get a fish... Randy was covered in mud. They were thinking of heading home when they both heard a soft 'yelp' in the distance.
Going into HUNTING mode, Randy started off at a run, with Jake quickly following. They went over the small hill behind the last pond, when they heard the roar of a wild cat. Picking up speed, Randy took off. Jake stopped to get a big stick... and then sprang back into a run. Down the hill and across the field they could see a bobcat. It was ready to pounce... but on what, they couldn't see. Jake started hollering and waving his hands madly, as Randy started to snarl and growl... puffing up his chest to be more impressive. The cat took off.... but was it too late for his prey?
Cautiously, they both came closer to where the big cat had been, but they couldn't see anything.
Upon closer inspection... they realized there was a hole in the ground, and a small little nose was bobbing up out of the hole... testing the air. Jake bent down and reached in. He could feel fur, and it was warm. Whatever it was, it was alive... but seemed stuck! Randy started digging.... and the yelps grew louder. Soon, they realized it was a puppy! Just a little golden pup... who had somehow gotten stuck in a hole, and couldn't get out. They worked harder, and soon the little pup was free!

She grew fast and furious, little golden Ronnie, and she was a beauty.
But she only had 'eyes' for her rescuer Randy. They were inseparable,
and theirs was a lifetime love.

If there is a moral to this story... it is probably to never give up...
For love can find you...  even when you are in the depths of a deep, dark hole.