I'm on the road....again!

I know the title of my post makes me sound like a really whiny person...but hey...I have been on the road far too much. Since the beginning of November I have traveled so much I am blue in the face. Two times I have been out of the country. Have these trips been positive and rewarding experiences....ABSOLUTELY...but when my entire family decided on spring break 2010 I just really wanted to stay home. NOT...we are leaving in just a short while for Gulf Shores, Alabama. Welcome to my Spring Break destination. Actually, this trip will give me a little much needed R&R.


The tranquility of the beaches alone gives me peace. I want to curl up with some good books, of course all my Somerset magazines will be going with me. Vacations are usually where my creative juices really start flowing. I will also take along some sort of crafting materials. I haven't decided on the ones I am taking yet...but I am speculating that it will be a large assortment of fresh water pearls. I am really loving those gorgeous pastel colors and I am a pearl freak. Of course I will also take with me my sampler that I have been working on for six years....it is my travel sampler and I work on it only during travel...my kids love the thought of where mom has worked on it. This year I have stitched in Canada & Poland and many U.S. states.

While I think these jelly fish are absolutely gorgeous to look at...I hope I don't see many. I love the translucency of them against the sand. I am such a beach seeker...I love what comes from the ocean floor and I love to go shelling. I don't find it much...but I love sea glass. Some beaches give you a lot, while other beaches it is none existent.

Our trip would not be complete if we didn't get to go to Lambert's....Home of the throwed rolls. Now these rolls practically melt in your mouth. When I was growing up...we didn't frequent billboard attractions...but Jeff & I love to pump the kids up for these things. I always wanted to go to the billboard attractions when I was a kid. The signs like "See Rock City" or "Stuckey's" to get a pecan roll or how about "See Ruby Falls"....never saw those things as a child, but I can tell you...I am seeing those billboard attractions as an adult. I am eating those pecan rolls, and it's not because I especially like them...it's just that the billboard made me do it! So, when we see the first sign for Lambert's....home of the throwed rolls, I will be dreaming of their mouth watering rolls and getting hit in the head with one. See you when I get back!

I Love Collecting!

I just love to collect things. I don't collect these silver mirrors, but who knows, someday I just might. I think they would be so pretty sitting in the bathroom. Or even hung on the wall in a grouping. I love to group interesting objects. The more the merrier for me.

I can just imagine what the worn beauty would look like on these vintage mirrors. All faded with brown marks where the mirror has worn off. I don't even think there could be anything more lovely than a worn old mirror. The patina is what I am about.

I also love old monograms. I don't even care if they match mine. I just like to pretend it is an old relative or an old friend. Part of the beauty of finding an old beauty like one of these mirrors is thinking about a more grand time when it might have been used. Was she getting ready for a first date....or was she getting ready to go to her first dance...maybe her wedding...or mayber her daughters wedding? That is so fun for me. Life isn't so grand these days...but I bet these mirrors were adored. So who knows where my next antique adventure might take me...but maybe just maybe I might find a beauty similar to one of these. After all the hunt is half the fun.

Auschwich Revisited

As many of you know I recently traveled to Poland as a parent chaperon for a class field trip. I had great expectations of a wonderful post to my blog when I returned. Well I posted and let's just say that the content was great...but the photos lacked shall we say SIZE. You couldn't even really tell what they were. Many of you were nice enough to read and comment but wished my photos were larger. Shall we say...I am learning every day in this wonderful land of BLOG. So...I figured it out with much anguish & turmoil and lo and behold we have some...let's say sizable photos. My son Lincoln was invited to participate on this class field trip back in early fall. He was the only 7th grader chosen. We flew to Warsaw, Poland and then onto Krakow. We traveled daily to film and capture one of the worlds most gruesome atrocities....the slaughter of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. We went to Auschwich & Auschwich II better known as Birkenau. We filmed the 65th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwich...the ceremony. We stood outside with no shelter, no food, no water & no seating for 7 hours. Did I mention that the ground was covered by 18 inches of snow and it was 7 degrees outside. Not one person complained...how could you at the sight where millions of people perished in way worse conditions. In the above photo you see many suitcases, nicely labeled, and probably filled with wonderful family heirlooms. Family treasures confiscated by the Nazis with the promise they would shortly be returned. A promise never intended or kept as the owners were probably sent straight to the gas chambers for extermination.





...and the massive quantities of shoe brushes. Let's just say that the Nazis didn't let anything go to waste....except the millions of Jewish people who died at their hand Auschwich. Imagine looking into a large window display that is say....the size of a large living room. Filled to capacity with shoe brushes. It is really hard to fathom & that is why I try to give you a comparison.






I am weeping now. Looking at the vast amount of baby shoes in this photo one can only imagine the horror that must have been present in these killing fields. Mommies separated from their babies...the horrific cries. The helpless anguish felt as the mothers realize the fate that will soon squelch the very life from them. What might these infants have become? What great things might we have received from these precious souls? I weep when think about it. These images are in my mind forever...I will never forget what I have seen...but I leave the memory at just the right place as to not cry forever.







....the toys & the wonderfully knit woolens. I can't even begin to describe the sadness I feel when I think about the lost owners of these precious pieces. One can only hope that maybe they weren't all destroyed...maybe just maybe they were taken home by one of the Nazi soldiers and given to one of their daughters....as they were innocents too. It is hard to call a Nazi child an innocent but after really talking to people you know that they too were innocents. War is atrocious. Lives lost....lives stolen.







....oh my goodness....I would be remiss if I didn't mention the hair. Seeing a large window display utterly filled to the rim with tons of hair. Hair bagged like a crop of cotton...used in much the same way except taken not from a living plant...but from a lifeless human. The images...many too horrific to show or to comment on are imprinted in my brain....the suffering of the millions of Jews imprinted in my heart. May you all rest in peace and may your lives lost be a constant reminder that we must all fight for life....we must all fight for peace...Tikkun Olam.

....It's Almost Here

I was really happy when I came home from church today. The snow has really been melting here. This is what I saw peeking up through the ground.




Spring is right around the corner. I can't remember whose blog I was perusing last week and I commented to her...'It won't be long as soon as that snow melts we will have spring bulbs popping up.' The tips are bright yellow because the sun hasn't been able to hit them yet. I am feeling recharged. I am feeling happy.




The strange thing is...we are expecting more snow tonight...and I have a big pot of chili on the stove. I know it is still winter...but I see the spring coming right around the corner. So...even though I will still be wearing my winter coat...and not my flip flops and still be wearing the wool sweaters...and the Uggs...I know that soon it will be spring!!

Tussie Mussie Swap

I joined the Tussie Mussie Swap...okay...I jumped the gun a little bit and am posting about this before I am actually approved. Linda over at A Swap for all Season's is hosting this one. I think it is lovely. I am hoping that Linda will let me in as I really want to participate. I used all the pull I know and even told her I was one of Stephanie Oyler's (over at Crown's & Pearls) closest friends. Some times you have to use your big guns.




I traveled in the wonderful world of inspiration and found this lovely example. I don't know what I will do for my Tussie Mussie. The idea of making one really makes me happy. I have put this lovely task off for far too long. In the Victorian Era flower giving was an art. It was common practice at the start of a courtship for the suitor to give their intended a Tussie Mussie. I think that practice is so special. Was I born in the wrong era??




I can't wait to get started on this project. Ours will be a little different than of times past because we get to add trinkets and baubles. If anyone has swapped with me...then they know that I love this part! I am already wondering what types of goodies I will add...maybe some frozen charlottes or some french dominoes...of course there will be some old lace and lot's of other goodies too. Then I get the task of arranging flowers & herbs on top that will compose a special message to my swap partner who ever she might be.

I am a Give Away Winner....Loving It!!!

I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I just found out that I have won a give away. Nicki over at 58 Cherries hosted this give away. I was able to pick two of these adorable silhouette ornaments. Can you believe this. They are so cute and I will rush to put them on my Valentine's Day tree when I receive them.




Look at this lovely lady. I am so happy that I won. Little does Nicki know....but I am the queen of silhouettes. I love to cut them. I have never seen stenciled ones. At least that is what they look like to me.





Isn't the vintage pink script paper wonderful. I bet they are even better in person...things always are. You just can't even begin to know how truly special this is for me. I hope you all have special Valentine's you can treasure...because I will treasure these always. Thanks so much Nicki.

Craft Room Organization 101

We are in the midst of The Blizzard of 2010 so we are snow bound. Well not really thanks to my 4x4...but I am pretending and really staying home. I am loving it. I am purging my craft room and re-organizing. I have to do this periodically so I can regroup...recharge...and re-dedicate myself to creating. Now...my craft room won't look like the photo from Country Living because my room isn't like this one. But with a little creativity from my mother who has been helping me...mine will look really wonderful. Most people that visit me think my craft room is the best in the house...let's just say there is lot's to look at and some neat stuff if I do say so myself.




I have this accoutrement. Now I just need to put it to 'cute' use. Mine was more for function in the past...but the 'cute' affect really inspires me. Sometime aesthetically pleasing is more important than function. The visual stimulus really helps inspire me. I like to look at beauty. So...this little piece will definitely be coming back into the craft room.




And I love this inspiration room. This is my friend Jen's craft room (The Cottage Nest) and really the reason it is inspirational and special is because I have actually created in this craft space. We got together before Silver Bella and had a craft and shopping day. It was an awesome day. So...I have my work cut out for me on this wonderfully snowy day. Hope you have a productive & creative day.