Florida, lovely Florida!

I like it here, the weather is perfect...today!
This is the most amazing sky. The colors are almost unreal.
It seems as if you can reach out and touch these clouds.
So grateful to be here now!
Florida, lovely Florida!!

Happy Monday

Did you have a nice Mother's day and at least spend time with your family, furry or otherwise?
Family is such a broad term these days.
There are many ways to translate that word.
Interpret it the way that makes you happy, makes you whole, and makes you... family!!
Love is the bottom line.
It is OK to make your own.

I worked a lot over the weekend.



Makin's Clay cutter sets

 I edited pictures and finished the MOM plaque I put up on the blog yesterday. I worked on the Etsy stores and loaded up a ton of stuff in The Hoarders Closet. Some pearl-ex sets and a cutter set with 7 Makin's clay cutter sets. Some more findings.




Pearl-ex powders, a versatile artist's tool. Mix with gum arabic to make your own paints, lacquer, liquid clay, and resins.
They can also be brushed right on to the surface of raw clay!
The possibilities are endless.


I took and edited the pictures for those too. I have to do as much as I can on the weekend. So much for sleeping till noon and doing absolutely nothing, LOL!



These are the interference colors. They are like magic and the color they are shows up best on black but they will let any color they are painted over give them a different cast!
They are great for painters and will make awesome highlights in eyes and on lips.



Yesterday Madi, me and the hubs and my two girls went out to lunch for mom's day.
Killer Pizza from Mars, yum, good pizza and nice people and great big huge salads. It was nice, they even made me a gluten free pizza no crust, sauce, cheese and pepperoni. It was so good but a lot of cheese and pepperoni. I won't eat a ton of those and if I do, I will definitely have to add a ton of veggies. It was yummy, and I got to eat "Pizza" with everyone else.
My daughter said that is probably what most people do, add a ton of veggies. I just thought I would get the pizza I like.
How can it get any better than this?
I love pepperoni pizza, so much that I will even eat what most consider bad pepperoni pizza, I do prefer the good kind though. Being on a gluten free diet has definitely put a cramp in that one.
Except for Udi's pizza crusts I would never get to eat pizza and now I have another alternative available.
It was a good day, and I had a blast with my family.
I am still not feeling the best.
Getting better everyday though.
Have a great week!!

Monday Updates- drip drip drip

It seems as if it has been raining for days. I am a bit melancholy these holidays, I am missing parts of my family. Oh, I have my kids, my hubby, and Madi and some very dear friends, but I am missing ones that have moved and ones that have died.

Thank you all for your well wishes and kind thoughts last time I posted, it made me feel so much better.

I am trying to make my Christmas presents as fast as I can, but I feel that time is running out and I might never complete everything. My get up and go, got up, and left.
At what point should I give up?
I guess I should just keep plugging away until the final hour, the last moment, and the ending second.

I have been stitching a bit, it seems to calm me a little.
I made these sachets and stuffed them with lavender.
This is the first one I made, it is not very good, it was a trial run. It is going to stay with me now.
I used the printable cotton, some images from Dover, and some clay pieces I made, ribbon, embroidery thread, and felt.
You can sign up for free samples from Dover on that opening page down on the left a little.

This one is a color image from a Dover sample and I did a much better job on this one.

I am thoroughly enjoying how these are coming out and it is good TV sitting work.

I hope you all are doing much better than I am and if you have any ideas on how to beat the holiday blues, I would sure love to hear them.

Thankfulness

Today in the US is a holiday called Thanksgiving. The 4th Thursday of the month of November.
It has been traditionally a harvest holiday and it is celebrated in several places.
In Canada it is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October.
Although we Americans claim the holiday, there are historical references to the holiday being celebrated earlier in Canada.
It is also celebrated in a Gothic church in Leiden in the Netherlands on the morning of the day commemorated in America.  It is to acknowledge the hospitality the pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.
Grenada also has a holiday that is also known as Thanksgiving day that is celebrated on the 25th day of October.
Liberia also celebrates a Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November.

I suggest we take this day to realize the things we are thankful for. I also think that we should take this day and bring a little of it in to each and everyday of our lives, 365 days a year.

If you have a roof over your head, be thankful.
If you have family you love, be thankful.
If you have any food to eat, be thankful.
If you have friends to love and cherish, be thankful.
If you have love in your heart, be thankful.
If you have family and friends that love you, be thankful.
If you are alive today, be thankful.

There are many stories of this Holiday and how it was celebrated, that are easy to find all over the web and in our schools.
There are also other stories that can be found that may be the true ones, no one really knows, because none of us were there.
I did enjoy reading this side of the story too.
I have a friend that told me one time that History is always written by the victors.

So, I am thankful for all of you! Thank you for reading this page in my world.
May you have food to eat, family and friends to love and that love you, may you have a place to sleep and rest your head, and may you be healthy and strong.
Blessings all over all of you!!
Gobble till you wobble and if there is no turkey, eat chicken!

Lady Liberty

"Statue of Liberty Liberty Enlightening the World", which is the full title of Bartholdi's work was fashioned in the style of Greco-Roman art.

I love the Statue of Liberty. Really, how can I not fall in love with 60,000 pounds of repousse patina copper?

Not only is it a monumental work of art, it is a symbol of America, of freedom, and of potential.

I got to see the lady in 1997. I did not want to see it the tourist way. I wanted to feel it.






I first saw it from across the water at night. In a way similar to the way my family would have seen it coming in to the harbor. After weeks of traveling on the water.
I tried to imagine what they would have felt, the smell of the air, and the freedom of land. They had made it.

Photo September 18, en:2006 by Nightscream

Would they have almost forgotten why the hell they did this in the first place? Then, to see her there in all her glory. Emotional... yes!


I wonder if after they got here, if it was truly worth the journey, the hardship, and the heartache?
My hat is off to you Giuseppe, this is big!

Goddess

Happy Thanksgiving

Life is interesting and we live in interesting times. But this American Holiday reminds me that I am grateful for my family and friends, my creativity, my art, my home, and my business and to be able to make it through some very trying times with all of these things still intact, different, but still intact and even better than before. I am grateful for that, so grateful and I am grateful for all of you and your friendship. Thanksgiving should be everyday, Blessings all over you all,

Love is all there is.

Marie



Try a little of what has been a thanksgiving holiday event for my family for many years as we made our way through horrible traffic to stuff our face.

Alice's Restaurant