Favorite {Photo} Friday! #14

HELLO, Friday! I am so happy you're here. Welcome back! Friday means all kinds of good things around here, the first of which is Favorite {Photo} Friday!

I love seeing what my inspiration will be for each Friday's photo! Inspiration could come from a feeling, or a holiday, sometimes it's the weather, and once it's been my doctor's homeland! It's been a now-too-small shirt, a vacation, laughter, and even absurdity. And it's been just photos that I love!


Today it is color and shimmer. Because after I tackle a couple of really boring necessary chores around here I'm using my new colorful and shimmery beads to make some colorful and shimmery and hopefully beautiful jewelry. And that is for sure enough incentive for me to vacuum and mop and all the rest!

This photo is obviously of a peacock. Not so obvious is that this is a Polish peacock! In June 2007 Jason and I and cousin Aaron visited new friend Agnieszka (which sort of sounds like Ag-nee-aysh-ka) and her friends Kamila, Kris (who is really Krzysztof but we couldn't begin to pronounce it correctly), Joanna and Wociech (which we also couldn't get right but we all settled on something that sounds mostly like Vo-Tech, ha ha). We flew into Krakow and lucky us it happened to be the city's 750th birthday celebration; yes, 750 years! It was awesome! Then we all traveled by train up to Warsaw where they all live and they showed us around their town, including a beautiful park with peacocks hiding up in trees and strutting about on the ground and I just couldn't stop taking photos. :) We were so spoiled to be shown around by Polish friends, and I hope that someday we get back to visit them (and that they come visit us here!). I can't say enough about Poland... it's beautiful and wonderful and the food is excellent and the people are kind and welcoming. Oh, I love Poland!

You can see my entire Poland trip slideshow with descriptions here. A little note about that is that a lot of the photos are not excellent, but they still show things I love remembering. I had completely forgotten about the squirrels and now I'm so glad that I made the slideshow right when we got back! Note to self, Dude; you will not remember all the things you think you will remember so write all the cool stuff down (like how to call squirrels in Poland).

I might be back later to post some beauty and/or some hilarity--we'll see how the day goes. Have a super weekend! :)

7 Years

It's a phenomenon of crises that often the people who are most closely involved remain silent and in shock while those on the periphery talk on and on about how they were affected. I was most definitely (very, very, very far out) on the periphery, and to honor those who were truly affected I will not talk about my experience that day. What I will say is that seven years ago today I held my breath for longer than I thought possible. And today, seven years later, remembering that day I still find myself holding my breath.

So today I'm sending thoughts to all of those who were and--let's face it--still are affected. Those who were on the planes and in the towers and in the Pentagon; their families, their friends. Those who saw things that day that no one should ever have to see. Those who responded and rushed towards danger. Those civilians who helped, and those who were paralyzed with fear. Those who have been sent to fight a war in retaliation. Their families, their friends. To everyone who has been affected by that day: today we are all thinking of you all and for you all, and we are still remembering.

C'mon, Fall!

Oh how I love Autumn! Oh how I love Fall! Whatever you call it, bring it on!

Here in Northern Virginia Summer is fading but Fall hasn't quite stepped in yet, either. I've always loved Fall and everything it brings and I'm especially looking forward to these changes here in NoVa; changing leaves, not sweating through my bra, Fall colors, not having sweat drip down unmentionable places, the crispness in the air, fall festivals, not feeling like taking four showers a day, corduroy pants, scarves, not having all my clothes stretch out as I wear them because of the damn humidity, my cute wool jackets, being able to use a hairdryer without undoing the shower I just took, and sweaters!

I've had some Old Navy gift certificates hanging out in my wallet and their Summer clothes just didn't do it for me. Bring on the Fall sweaters, baby!

Today I'm headed to Alexandria for a date with my aunt Susan, yippee!!! We're going up to Georgetown for some window shopping and lunch and some much-needed girl time. And I'm going to Pearl Arts to pick up some of those Neocolor IIs I need for my Donna Downey class in ten days! Woop-woop!

Happy humpday, y'all! :)

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Well let's just get it over with, shall we? THE GAME SUCKED ASS. The Beavs just plain didn't show up. To be honest, I didn't expect them to win; in the past three seasons Penn State has lost at home only twice. But I hoped what I always hope when I watch a football game--to see a good game. And that definitely didn't happen. Buh-mer. It was ugly.

I am nursing a bit of a disillusioned spirit today. It's not that the Beavs lost, really. I realize that anything I say will be can be misinterpreted as the result of a wounded ego from getting trounced (ha! like I have an ego about football!), and I'm still working it all out in my mind so I don't know what to say yet anyway. So for now I'll just say that I am really disappointed in people who don't seem to understand the concept of good sportsmanship. When your team is up by four touchdowns the score speaks for itself; there is no reason to be mean and ugly. I'm bummed out about that. Really, really bummed.

It was good to see so many OSU fans show up for the game, though!


I realize this section may not look like a lot of people, but considering that the stadium holds 107,282 people, this wedge of orange and a few others of us scattered about added up to about 5,000 fans. Pretty good for an underdog from the opposite side of the country!

The B&B where we stayed was also a nice surprise. The House on Top of the Hill is just that! There's a beautiful view of rolling hills and farmland from almost every window of the house. Plus, they just adopted a lovely purr machine kitten who spent her first night in the main house curled up on our bed on Friday night and that just made our stay. :) The proprietress Sharon made us feel almost like family and all of the other guests were great, too. I really enjoyed talking with them over breakfast each morning.

On the way home we decided to drive only back roads and not take any freeways. We stopped at Cowens Gap State Park and had a picnic with the leftover food we'd brought to tailgate, and then took a nice walk around the lake. It was beautiful!


Jason was super patient as I stopped every few minutes to photograph a flower or mushroom or lichen or tree bark or the dappled shadows falling through the trees or... :) It was a good way to end the weekend.

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Today I went to the physical therapist and spent an hour in pain doing exercises and a half hour getting massaged and laying on heat. I will subject myself to this twice a week as well as doing all the exercises by myself at home every day! Yikes! Hopefully this will all help, though.

I'm also loving a necklace I bought at Sugarloaf on Friday!


Isn't this just the cutest, most "Cameron" thing? I adore it! Artist Lori Flanders runs Isabel's Rose and makes the coolest jewelry. Of course I'm more into this cutesy bird on a tree, but she also makes funky skull-and-crossbones pendants, as well as her own invention of the heart-and-crossbones! I thought of Katie when I saw this, and what would be a better gift for Stella than a funky cupcake? The "bondage series" hearts or her "undead undead" hearts would also be great for Halloween next month, or as a gift for someone with a broken heart. :) Go check Lori out at her page or her etsy shop or her blog! Tell her I sent you because I also want to buy the acorn pendant and am hoping she'll give me a discount next month at Art on the Avenue if I send her business I love to help support artists! :)

Favorite {Photo} Friday! #13

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's FRIDAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!

You know what that means! It's Favorite {Photo} Friday!

Since we are going to an Oregon State football game this weekend I searched through old photo boxes last night looking for a photo of the last time we went to an OSU football game, but I couldn't find them. I'm missing most of 1998-2001 (when we were in Las Vegas); I know they're here somewhere, so I'm not worried, but I just couldn't find them last night.

So since several things around here have been rather absurd lately, I thought I'd choose a photo of one of the most absurd things I've ever seen.


We were walking around the streets of Budapest in August 2007 when suddenly this tiny woman with this absolutely preposterous bag came around the corner. I grabbed my camera and snapped a couple of shots... I generally find it rude to photograph people to make fun of them, but I figured that if someone walks around like this then they must be asking for attention! :P Most everyone around stopped in their tracks and stared in awe (and snickered) so I have to assume this is not a normal sight in Budapest. :) She tried to put the bag in the trunk of her car but it was too large so she ended up putting it in the back seat. I just wonder what she was carrying in there!

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This week I ran around to a lot of different appointments and it feels good to know some things now and to have a bunch of things crossed off my To Do list, but I haven't had enough creative time. Buh-mer! I woke up at 3 a.m. yesterday with a necklace idea--a sure sign I need to make some art! So I'm writing down my ideas in a notebook that I'm taking with me this weekend and I'll art my heart out on Monday! :) It's kind of funny because I got to talk to some friends and family this week and they all said they love how much I've been creating--just when I felt like I haven't been making anything. So that was perfect timing and great to hear. :)

Today I'm running around trying to pack and buy a few things we need for our trip, which of course are not available at one store so I will be bopping around; cheapy ponchos from the Dollar Store, huge black and orange markers (to make our OSU sign) from Staples, beer (for tailgating) from the grocery store, etc. Isn't it annoying that it is just as much work to pack for a two-day getaway as it is for a week-long vacation? I always forget that until I try to pack at the last minute! :) My hummingbird feeder is almost empty and I have to keep those babies fed so the sugar syrup is cooling right now. And I'm trying to get everything done as absolutely quickly as possible because this weekend the Sugarloaf Craft Festival is in our very town and I want to spend as much time there today as I can before Jason gets home from work early and we take off for Pennsylvania.

Wish me luck, since I may just pass out upon entering Penn State's stadium tomorrow. A stadium that holds 100,000 people in a town of 38,000 people? Jeez Louise, talk about absurd! Considering how I felt at the Dave Matthews concert, I must really love my husband to agree to this! :)

Have a great weekend and I'll "see" you on Monday!

Beads Beads Beads

Busy, busy! Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment and then drove an hour up into Maryland to get a massage. It was a great massage and lucky lucky me there was a bead store just down the street. Which was having a trunk show and sale. When the lady told me that the huge table of gemstones was 50% off I said, "Pardon? How much?" She said it was the first day of their sale and they hadn't put up the signs yet but yes, 50% as in five-zero. Holy mamma!


Oh, look at those keishi and stick pearls! Check out all those facets on the turquoise, carnelian, amythyst, and aventurine! Can you see the lampwork beads? Oh, they are gorgeous in person and I have a plan for them already! I can't wait to play! Unfortunately today is full of appointments, too, so it will have to wait. Off I go to the dentist!

Back in the Swing of Things (As Usual)

Ciao ciao!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Jason and I hung out with Aunt Susan and Uncle Bob on Saturday, which was awesome because I haven't seen them for far too long. They spoiled us rotten (as usual) and we ate like kings (and brought home leftover peach cobbler, to boot!). Yummmm. We had show-and-tell as I showed them some things I've done and Susan showed me her latest quilting projects, which are fabulous (as usual).


My back was bothering me a lot more than usual so I really took it easy and didn't even attempt to tackle any of the many home projects I'd considered. Jason was super-productive (as usual) and took care of a ton of stuff outside the house and with the cars. He noticed this beauty outside and let me know so I got to snap a few shots in the backyard in my pajamas, as usual.

One of the many things Jason did on Sunday was to fix some part of a car that I'd never even heard of the valve tappets on my 1967 Fiat 500. This car is my baby, and someday I will write all about her. We brought her over from Italy and she is just the cutest thing you ever did see. He also got a shiny new grill-piece for her (if you can call it a grill when it's this small?).


She is very happy with the face-lift and we three went on a little drive out in the country on Monday evening. It was great to be out and about in my beautiful little car, although I imagine some of the drivers in gargantuan vehicles who came upon us were slightly startled at the slow-moving, metallic-green, speed-bump-sized car in front of them. :) Luckily nobody ran us over. :)

When we got home the lovely Katie called and we had a marathon phone session. I haven't talked on the phone that long in a looooooooong time! I went through all three of our cordless phones as I successively used up the battery in each one. Oh, how I adore my Katie! I can't possibly explain what our conversation last night did for me so I will just leave it at this--thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear Katie (as usual)!

Today I bounced around to different appointments and scheduled a bunch more... which is kind of a bummer but kind of exciting to think that I might feel absolutely super sometime soon--on the outside as much as the inside! Tonight I am surfing Etsy for some research and trying to decide what to make and sell first (and not buying anything, can you believe it?). If you love anything I've made and think I should make it/them to sell online, I'd love for you to tell me. :) Top contenders so far: hand-bound star books (blank, to be decorated as you wish) either with or without supplies for decorating (I haven't decided); bamboo-tile pendants; other jewelry; photo cards; mini-books.

Tomorrow I have more appointments, one of which is an hour massage. Sweet! I won the massage at an Avon Walk event for over-achievers (seriously). I got the most questions correct about old movies; it was pure luck that they were all questions for which I happened to know the answers. Making the most of the fact that it is about an hour's drive away and running a ton of other errands on the way up and back if all goes well.

See you soon (as usual)! :)