~ Sunday ~

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.



It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home...
...a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today

and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~Melody Beattie

~ Happy Halloween! ~

Working on a special Halloween card today ~ not entirely finished, but thought I'd share it with you anyway... some old photos just beg to be used for projects like these, don't you think? Wait 'til you see the baby I have in mind for another card...spooooky!!

On an ill-fated attempt to go to the pumpkin patch last weekend (on word: downpour) we passed this fellow. Made the hubby back up and turn around so I could get a photo. How funny is that!?

Happy Halloween!

~ Wednesday ~

"Do not cringe and make yourself small if you are called the black sheep ... the lone wolf. Those with slow seeing say a nonconformist is a blight on society. But it has been proven over the centuries that being different means standing at the edge, means one is practically guaranteed to make an original contribution, a useful and stunning contribution, to her culture.

When seeking guidance, don't ever listen to the tiny-hearted. Be kind to them, heap them with blessing, cajole them, but do not follow their advice. If you have ever been called defiant, incorrigible, forward, cunning, insurgent, unruly, rebellious, you're on the right track...

If you have never been called these things, there is still time."

~Clarissa Pinkola Estes

~ Saturday ~

What Kind of Mistress He would Have
by Robert Herrick

Be the mistress of my choice,
Clean in manners, clear in voice;
Be she witty, more than wise,
Pure enough, though not precise;
Be she showing in her dress,
Like a civil wilderness,
That the curious may detect
Order in a sweet neglect;
Be she rolling in her eye,
Tempting all the passers by;
And each ringlet of her hair,
An enchantment, or a snare,
For to catch the lookers on;
But herself held fast by none.
Let her Lucrece all day be,
Thais in the night, to me.
Be she such, as neither will
Famish me, nor overfill.

Hope you have a good Saturday. Nothing too inspiring on the books today; we're heading into the season of what seems to be too much to do in too little time. Needing a little shot in the arm recently of more joy for my journey. I'm hoping to find it in some small way today. I hope you do, too.

~ Sunday ~

A day

in which I don't wish to find anything.

I should gather it up

And keep it safe.

~Petra von Morstein

~ Thursday ~

"Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness

we return to books:

to find words for what we already know."
~Alberto Manguel

~ Ed ~

Ed was in love with a cocktail waitress,

but Ed's family, and his friends, didn't approve. So he broke it off.

He married a respectable woman

who played the piano. She played well enough

to have been a professional.

Ed's wife left him...

Years later, at a family gathering

Ed got drunk and made a fool of himself.

He said, "I should have married Doreen."

"Well," they said, "why didn't you?"

~ Louis Simpson

~ Saturday ~

I have been neglecting my crafting, and my blog lately. Have you ever been so busy, but when you sit down to retell what you've been busy doing, it's a lot of .... nothing? Not nothing. Our kitchen is finally coming back together, school is picking up, we're busy with activities, but pretty much just run-of-the-mill things. And yet that's how time slips by un-noticed. Lately I was lecturing a friend about how she can't do her writing and crafting in 'left over' time; that she has to carve it out and stick to it. Yet, I do the same thing! You may also. It reminds me of why friends are so important. To keep us balanced and centered.

And so perhaps you will understand today and my somewhat funky feeling of not knowing which way is up or down.

The Wordsworth Effect

Is when you return to a place

and it's not nearly as amazing

as you once thought it was,

or when you remember how you felt

about something (or someone) but you know

you'll never feel that way again.

It's when you notice someone has turned

down the volume, and you realize

it was you; when you have the

suspicion that you've met the enemy

and you are it, or when you get

your best ideas from your sister's journal.

Is also-to be fair-the thing that enables

you to walk for miles and miles chanting to

yourself in iambic pentameter

and to travel through Europe with

only a clean shirt, a change of

underwear, a notebook and a pen.

And yes: is when you stretch out

on your couch and summon up ten thousand

daffodils, all dancing in the breeze.

-Joyce Sutphen

~ Some Weekend Crafting of the Tiny Type ~

~ She's Got the Whole World...~

Friday night...whew! Boy, was I wiped. The storm was coming through, and I had a major barometric pressure headache. I drug myself to the gym. Luckily, hubby had a great idea - taking the kids and I out to the Paper Moon Cafe. Located downtown in a funky section of town with lots of college kids, it never fails. Here are our menus, made from old books. What could be better...?The kids played a game of 'guess the Pez character'.
I can't even begin to show you all the things crammed in this small restaurant. People were starting to think I was a little weird, what with my camera and all! But I couldn't let you down...

A good time was had by all...

~ Sunday ~

A friend of mine request a paperweight with a vintage beach theme. Paperweights can be tricky because the space is soooo small (for me, anyway). I am not entirely happy with how it turned out, but it does make me smile!

I made this image to put on a tag for a friend of mine; it was attached to her "Back to School' gift. We teachers have to work hard to keep morale high, and Mrs. Batman (real name) does just that for me!

I got the idea for this simple card - made from a tag -from Somerset. I tried it, and it really worked great, plus it was an excuse to buy a bone folder! You can't really tell, but I glued down half of the butterfly, and folded him so that his wing stands up like he's flying. I am not the queen of rubber stamping - I always think it's so much harder than it looks! I saw that it was "Be Kind to Writers Month", and as Juli is an aspiring writer, I thought it deserved to be recognized! (Hence the butterfly made of words!

Speaking of things to try, have you ever been here? This catalogue of blogs is a great place to poke around when you're feeling a little bored, or wanting to spice things up a bit on your blog 'travel log'!

Have a great week!

~Monday~

Can you read it? I made this box a few weeks ago (!) to hold a hopefully inspiration bracelet I was giving to a friend. It says - "A quiet valley with no man's footprints,/An empty garden lit by the moon./Suddenly my dog barks and I know/ A friend with a bottle is knocking at the gate." It's from a thousands year old chinese poet, but still rings true today. Which got me thinking...
...about all the special women in my life, and about how despite our romantic notions of love and marriage, they are the ones that truly hold me up thorugh life's downturns, and are the ones who truly rejoice with me in the happy times. These beautiful flowers are from a friend at work who had noticed I had a rough week. I am glad I took some time to think about the people who make my world.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,

if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,

think about these things."

~Phil 4:8

My Cup Runneth Over...

Two wonderful honors bestowed upon me! Earlier this month, my application for the Daughters of the American Revolution was approved. I get my national number in October! A friend of mine encouraged me to do it, and I am sure glad she did. I feel like it is a small way that I can honor the sacrifices and courage of my ancestors.

And then this little beauty came along!

Many thanks to LindaJo. Linda pointed out that I have been a little quiet this summer, which is true. She has made me remember how important my bloglife is to me, and what powerful friendships there are out there in blogland! Linda Jo's blog is a must-stop-by, and I am so grateful that she tossed me this joy for my journey!

So here are some other places you must visit - there are so many, it is impossible to choose. Like trying to decide which of your children you like best! But here goes. I will try and point out some new friends that I haven't mentioned before ~

Vintage Flair ~ this woman knocks my socks off, and she does it with kids and a job!
Anahata Katkin ~ words can't describe. Just stop by and you'll see what I mean!
A Cottage Industry ~ the queen of making lemons from lemonade, this lady never stops! There's always something fun goin' on at her place.
Paper Crown Queen ~ the name says it all! Craftiness + history= wow!
Vintage Lilly - she's cute with a capital 'c'!
And of course let's not forget Miss Mendy Texas. You'll feel like you've been hanging out with her at her house each and every time you stop by.
Of course, those are just a few of the lovely ladies that bring inspiration to my day. Here's to you!

~Wednesday~

"Occasionally, her afternoon tea ran right into cocktail hour,

and there was just nothing she could do about it."

~ The Beauty of Summer ~

Went to the Farm Fair this weekend, where summer beauty abounds!Enjoy the beauty of summer in your neck of the woods.