rusty chair

 

Still snowing, I keep seeing all the stuff about Art Fest. I remember I went to the North West Book Fest about 5 years ago maybe longer. But I went to a class there about journaling and creating your own journal and the teacher was Tracy Moore. It was really fun and we played with lots of different papers, pens, inks, stamps etc. It is interesting to see how far that they have come with all thier great art work.

snow

It is snowing outside now. Yesterday, I thought that spring was on the way. There were so many robins in the trees, blue sky, no heavy coats and just a beautiful feeling out. Today the snow started and has not ended. It is cold and icy. But as the night fell and the sky became dark and there was a layer of white on the trees, the fence and ground, you could feel the calm that came with it. As I look out the window now I feel a sense of peace. A peace that I so need at times.
So, even though, the sunshine is the best for me, I can stop and appreciate what is right before me.

I am thankful that I can appreciate my surroundings
I am thankful for the silence
I am thankful that when I just went to answer the door for the UPS guy, it was my friend jon, who had finally got a full time job and was beaming and ready with the biggest hug while he asked for directions so he could deliver one of his first packages.
I am thankful that I made him smile
I am thankful for the life that I have

Frozen Roses

 

Thursday, February 22, 2007 – Release

Thursday, February 22, 2007 – Release

“If you don’t like where you are in life, there comes a point when you must give up the part of you that’s keeping you back.”
~Dr. Sonya Friedman

How true is that. Just what I need to repeat every day..

Five more things

Thursday, almost Friday. YAY

The five things that I am grateful for today.

1. Sunshine after 5 pm
2. Being able to take a walk wether it is raining, snowing, windy or just plain nice out.
3. TJ MAX
4. Understanding that I have the ability to forgive
5. Accupuncture

grattitude

For the last 6 years or more I have been taking some type of anit depressant. In the last 4 weeks I have been suffering with a kidney stone that would not pass, yikes, is that not fun...Anyway, while I was in taking pain meds for the kidney stone, I decided to quit taking the antidepressats. I was worried that i was taking too many chemicals for my body. In order to feel ok about stoppping the wellbutrin I have had to make myself go outside for at least 1/2 hour of sunshine, since I suffer from light deprivation, also to walk and to focus on the good things in my life. So, once again I want to start to keep track of five things each day that I am grateful for. So here goes;
1. My daughter, who just turned 15 and still wants (or has to be) tucked in each night or she can't sleep
2. My husband, who doesn't mind reading aloud to us each night and is always loving and kind
3. My friend, who care about me and keep me feeling as though I belong
4. Having a job and insurance
5. Knowing who I am and being willing to keep improving on that.

and one extra...John Waites new album...:)

Buddhism: Your Daily Meditation

Buddhism: Your Daily Meditation
Reality is all-encompassing: the absolute nature is one. Although we may feel separate from the original uncreated reality - whether we call it 'God,' 'peak experience,' or 'enlightened mind' - through awareness we can contact this essential part of ourselves. - Tarthang Tulku

Beach finds

Here is some of the stuff that I have found at the lake when the water is down. We go in the spring and the fall and walk and walk and search search and we always find something great.
There have been a few fights, especially over porcelain doll parts!!

PS, I started to clean my studio and made some great progress. Pictures when it is all done.

Buddhism: Your Daily Meditation

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. - The Beatles

gammel dansk, anyone????

????

I can not believe no one liked my "how to French kiss"...
I thought it was very entertaining.

Today Meditation

Thursday, February 15, 2007 – Sweet Silence

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"
~J. B. Priestley

Today's Affirmation

I take advantage of every opportunity to experience the peace of God.
Today's Meditation

Holy Spirit,

Thank You for this snowy day and the opportunities for peace that it contains.
Our world is wrapped in a thick blanket of quiet.
For a while, we abandon our schedules and take the time to be still.
We open ourselves to the wonder and magic of this moment.
Thank You for speaking to us through the silence and beauty of falling snow.

How to French Kiss

Please 'click' on the link above and you will have full instructions for a lovely valentines kiss!!

You can learn anything on the
Wiki how page...

VALENITINES DAY

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."
~Rumi

Another thought for a day

Buddhism: Your Daily Meditation

The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Views, Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.

Another thought for a day

“How can you move through a sticky situation? By letting it move through you, unencumbered by your beliefs or fears. ‘I am not in it’ is Maya Angelou’s favorite affirmation and can go a long way towards unsticking yourself from the Velcro of attachment to circumstances. There is nothing in it that is a part of you. Say ‘I am not in it’…and set yourself free.”
~Greg Barrette

Kidney stone

I have been home since Thursday on the couch with hydrocodone and a heating pad with a kidney stone. I finally am back at work but still feeling a little uncomfortable.

So the weekend was not very fun. I did get a bunch more books on jewelry making and other fun types of crafts. I read them and all my old magazines.

Watched a funny foreign film, 'Kinky Boot Factory', it was a real cute movie.

Pretty much a boring weekend.

Answer to my question

Isn't that weird, just what I was asking myself and here come the answer.
these quotes and affirmations come to me every day from Renaissance Unity.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 – Perseverance

“In order to hear your calling and answer it, you must generously give yourself the gift of time. It’s not how fast you make your dreams come true, but how steadily you pursue it.”
~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Wednesday

Wonder

If it is true that we can become anything we want, then why don't we?
We, well most of us, just do what is the easiest and then we spend the rest of the time wishing that we would have followed our dreams. Can we really do what ever we want? Are we the ones that hold ourselves back. Do we really believe that we are not good enough?
Is that why we all have blogs? We are just looking for some type of recognition? We need to be validated by any means by anyone?
Are we shouting, look what I can do, look what I have done, notice me, be my friend?
I love looking through the internet, finding new people, people with the same interests as i have.
I want to divulge some information but not too much.
I just wonder what made all these people start something so personal in an arena that is so public?

Road Sign

thought for the day

Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. -Albert Einstein

My Tarot Reading for today 2/5

February 5, 2007




Love
Touchstone
Career


Love: The Pope

Touchstone: Strength

Career: The Hanged Man

As far as matters of the heart are concerned, you are charismatic and inspired today, dear DENISE… Under the influence of Strength and the Pope, your sincerity and kindness of heart will draw people close to you and win their affection. They’ll listen to you, respect you, and go along with you… have clear ideas and you are using your diplomatic skills and your powers of observation. All qualities that will stand you in good stead. At work, put your faith in those around you to support you and open up new opportunities. Under the auspices of Strength, the professional environment is in your favor provided you’re prepared to stop struggling and let out your fears to someone who’s willing to listen. There’s no shame in taking a bit of a break and allowing your guard to drop a little. Work out whom to call, and talk it over until things seem clearer…

More Snow

 

Beach house in Sweden

Just wishing for Summer.
The snow keeps falling and then the rain comes and washes it all away.
I am anxious for the sun.

 

He is Back

Ok, my all time favorite
singer john waite the one I have loved since 1979 and still love today is back. He has a new Album (cd)out. He still looks as cute as ever. I used to want to marry him, deep down I still might want to...(don't worry Dave, it is just a dream!!)

Thought for a day

It is starting to snow again today. I like the snow better than the freezing cold and icy weather. Can you see the snowflakes.



“However many holy words you read, however many you speak,
what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? “
~Buddha

Thursday

 

Wednesday

 

Last Supper

Last night was the 'last' night at Connie's Diner. So we had to go and have a wildly unhealthy dinner just for old times sake. I have had countless orders of French Fries and Ranch Dressing, at this diner, in my lifetime. Dates, After a day at the beach, after a day of skiing, after school, after Christmas shopping, almost any occasion called for a quick order of fries and ranch at Connies. The end of an era as they say...
I took my little family to celebrate and to say Goodbye.

Anthony Hamilton

http://www.strippedmusic.com/arch_anthonyhamilton.html

You have got to love this guy...He is soooo good.

Thought for a day

"Love is a state of Being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you.
You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you.
It is not dependent on some other body, some other external form."
~Eckhart Tolle

Arnie's Boots

 

I took this picture of my Brother-in-law's cowboy boots and put them on a black mug for Christmas.
I kind of liked it.

weekend

Sunny beautiful day today. I must make Emmy go outside for awhile. She could go for a short snow shoe with me, or just a walk. It is Saturday and we are both in our jammies and it is 11 am. We are slow movers on the weekends. But we usually pull it together and do something fun... last weekend we went to 'Stichin' Sisters' and Emmy bought some pretty wool yarn and some new knitting needles so she could make a new hat.

The kids all went to see Dream Girls last night, they brought back a great report..I will have to go to see for myself.

Tonight we are all going to the Banf Film Festival, I actually love going. the films are very exciting and usually moving in some way. There are three nights of films, we will just go to one since they sold out pretty fast.


I am waiting for my new book from Amazon to arrive so I can start reading it for our book club. the book is The Painted Drum. Book club is usually fun, good food, good wine and sometimes some lively conversation...Especially when someone does not like the book.

The girls are fighting over the game Mad Gabs game, Cheating is really what they are doing. While they watch videos from the Movie Step Up, another teen dance movie that is watched over and over at our house.

Well, it is time for me to play my part in the dance video, I need to find my hair brush microphone and start shakin' my 'groove thing'

Finally

 
 
 
 
Hey, I finally made some more bracelets this weekend. Not too many, but I had to make some for the Swap.
Here they are.




“By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love and kindness he may rule the world forever.”
~Lao Tsu - Chinese Philosopher

Thought for a day

"Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now; you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality."

wayne dyer

"There's nothing like turning on the radio and listening to the high-speed chase that you're leading police on!"

danny bonaduce

ME

I sometime wonder how much information should be entered on a blog. I mean mine especially. How much do I want people to know about me?
I could write down my feelings and philosophical ideas. There are two sides to me. But what if I write down how I feel about the world, the things that mean a lot to me, my thoughts on spirituality and then someone I know reads it and says..."My God, what is she doing??? Why isn't she telling them that she loves to watch 'Breaking Bonaduce', 'Gene Simmon's Family Jewels' and American Idol...

OK, I do love those TV shows, I can not explain why Danny Bonaduce, his addictions and his bacon wrapped dog or Gene Simmons, and his wife are so intriguingto me. I have to admit that I like to catch up once in awhile with the boys on Jack Ass, I know, I know, it makes no sense.
But I also love Sherman Alexie, Marriane Williamson, Truman Capote, T.C. Boyle and Keith Lee Morris. Acutally there are many authors that I love. Reading is something that I really enjoy, but there are those days when I need to escape, to see if Danny is going to head but the cameraman, or if he is really becoming a christian...



I always say that I am 1/2 my father and 1/2 my mother, and if you knew either of them you would totally understand what I mean.
So, maybe I will start to divulge a little more about myself. Don't expect too much too soon though.

Tam O'Shanter

 

Connies

Another landmark that may soon be gone.

OH MY GOD, Clean this up!!!

 

This is the area where we have our dark room, craft room. My desk is really messy.. that is bad, very bad!

Snowy day for a mouse

 

This little guy was burrowing his way through the snow. I saw him when I was out snow shoeing in the field.
I felt so sorry for him, alone in the snow.

Spam email

This is an email I received today.



"the pimp needed to dance, so conformists should never self-destruct and could do party tricks.
Furthermore, a mortician hesitates, and a grain of sand is a big fan of the bartender toward the senator. A crank case toward a hockey player feverishly throws a mating ritual at some cheese wheel."

My Neighbor

 

Meet my neighbor.

St. Joseph's in the snow

 

This is where my Grandmother, my mom, me and my daughter all had our first communion. The plan is to tear it down and turn the whole block into Condos.
This town in which I live has been invaded by devolpers, and people wanting to make it big in real estate. Everything that meant something is slowly going away.

Snow Geese

 

These guys were walking down by the lake as the snow fell.

Tea Brick

The Tea Block that I have. This is how they used to transport tea. You can just scrape off what you need for your cup of tea. I have never done that, the brick is too pretty to use.

swap stuff

Here are some of the wine glass charms I am making for a swap. Hopefully they won't be seen before I send them.

Sometimes winter is so pretty.

Looking down at the Lake..I live in a beautiful area.

weekend and good music coming click here

I did take some pictures of my tea brick, but I forgot my camera today.
I have signed up for a swap which looks like it might be fun, I have never done that.
Now that gives me an excuse to slow down on the other things going on in my life and concentrate on making some items. I can't wait.

This weekend we went to the new wine bar here, Dolce, and it was very nice. They had 3oo+ varieties of wine and really good appetizers. So we sat there for awhile and then headed down to the Coldwater Creek wine bar and had a glass of wine there, Ok maybe two. The new building is nice and is right downtown looking down on 1st street.
Maybe the next type of party that Risa has should be a wine party.!! that would be really fun.

Also Ruthie Foster will be playing at DiLuna's
sometime soon. Try her website and listen to a little sample I think you will really like it. If I knew how to highlight her name and take you directly there I would. But you just have to click on the web site posted on this post.

Monday 2/15/06

Thank you so much Risa for the tea party. It was really fun, as soon as I have some time I will put up some pictures of my collection of tea pots, tea cups and tea bricks.

What a fun way to meet and see other people. Thanks so much.

Now it is Monday, and back to work!

Tea Party-bubble tea

I have a great collection of tea pots and tea cups. I love vintage tea and saucer sets. I guess my favorite tea pot is the one that looks like Glinda the good witch from The Wizard of Oz. I also have one that looks like Dorothy.
I love buying all the different types of teas and testing them out. I do have to admit, I make iced tea out of all of them. I love iced tea, even when it is -2 degrees, like it is this morning...YIKES!
Here is a recipe that I found for Bubble Tea. I keep hearing everyone talk about it. I am not sure that I would like anything with Tapioca in it!!

The beauty of Bubble Tea is the versatility of this drink. Please play with the recipes and come up with your own creations. You can substitute milk, cream, half n half, sweetened and condensed milk, and the like instead of non dairy creamer. This way you can see how creamy, thick or strong the differences are and what you prefer. You can use tea or water for the powder drinks. You can blend your drink with ice and make a smoothie. Play with the sugar syrup recipe or use a pre-made syrup like fructose or simple Hawaiian cane sugar. The only limit to this drink is our own imaginations. If you come up with something spectacular and want to share it, please email us and we will post it on our site. Good luck and enjoy!

How to cook Tapioca Pearls for Bubble Tea:
1 cup Tapioca Pearls (Bubble Tea Supply of course)6-8 cups water
Approximately 6-10 servings
The ratio should be a minimum of 7:1, water to tapioca pearls.
Boil water in a large pot.
Add in the tapioca pearls to boiling water.
The tapioca pearls should float in the water.
Boil for about 25 minutes depending on the tapioca pearl with the cover on.
Turn the heat off and let the tapioca sit in the water for 25 minutes.
Rinse the cooked tapioca pearls in warm water and drain out the water.
Cover with bubble tea sugar syrup or brown sugar and serve.
Note: This is for those that want to make Bubble Tea at home and don't want to wait an hour. What I do is boil the tapioca pearls for 20 minutes and let it sit for 15 minutes. I rinse the tapioca pearls and then place in a container in the refrigerator. When I get the urge, I boil a cup of water and put some refrigerated tapioca pearls in for about 3-5 minutes. Rinse, cover in sugar syrup and serve. It usually lasts a few days before it gets too mushy. Enjoy!
*This is not recommended for bubble tea shops.
Top

How to cook Bubble Tea Sugar Syrup:
1 cup white sugar1 cup brown sugar2 cups water
Approximately 32-35 sixteen ounce servings
Mix sugar and water in a large pot.
Cook at medium to high heat.
Once the mixture boils remove from stove immediately.
Let cool and serve.
*Refrigerate any excess

no computer.

My computer has been down and now I found out that the hard drive is ruined. I lost all my pictures, personal emails, music.

That is really going to be hard to replace.

New Year

Friday, five days into the new year. So far there have only been a few bumps a long way. Felt completely out of control one day and then fine the next..Said things that maybe I should have said in a better way, learned some things about myself and about people close to me.
I hope that this year will be a year of growing, learning and creating a healthy environment for me and for my family. I hope that I can be better at letting people know what I need and how I feel, instead of holding it all in. That I can conquer the fears that hold me back, that I will take more risks, and realize that Yes, you really only have one life and you better take advantage of every single minute.

Had a Bad Day

Yesterday was the worst day. I think I cried most of the day. My daughter got home from school and she was in a blue mood too. She said that she just wanted to cry. I wonder why some days are worse than others. What is it that causes us to feel so sad certain times when the day really isn't that different then the one before.

Could it have been the full moon? The rain that has not let up for the last 3 days, the grey color of outdoors or the first day back to school after the Holdiays?
I really was barely able to function all day. I went through the motions, but couldn't wait to go home and take a hot bath and go to bed.

I feel a lot better today, I go to bed early and slept great. Maybe that is just what I needed. I have swithced up on my depression medicine, that could be side affects as I get used to it.

Anyway, I hope today goes better than yesterday!!

Book's into clocks

This is the clock I made from a book that came in one of the 3 boxes I purchased for $2.00. There were some very cool books in the lot.

I have lots of other ideas, but some of the books are so old and cool, it will be hard to alter them.

Poem for the young mom in all of us

you shave your legs
you cut your hair
you wax your lip
but you still aren't there

you pierce your ears
and then your navel
there are other places
but you just aren't able

you can't find your keys
where are your glasses
is that all you get
as the time passes

you're not ready for purple
the red hat is a sin
you've got to be kidding
is that a third chin

you accept the wrinkle
put the bronzer away
you look at your daughter
today is her day


Denise Marley
2006