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Saturday, November 12, 2011

A Blah Down Day


The Wish
by Alexander Pushkin


I shed my tears; my tears – my consolation;
And I am silent; my murmur is dead,
My soul, sunk in a depression’s shade,
Hides in its depths the bitter exultation.
I don’t deplore my passing dream of life --
Vanish in dark, the empty apparition!
I care only for my love’s infliction,
And let me die, but only die in love!



The pain will never go away;
by Nicholas Gordon

The wound will never heal.
The evil that was done to you
Is now your eyes, your heart.

The black will never turn to gray;
The blood will not congeal.
The violence is never through;
The past does not depart.

Time will merely make you whole,
Consuming what you are:
Part sufferer, part comforter,
Part victim, part new song;

Part mother of an angry soul,
Part child of despair,
Part witness and part conqueror
Of all that did you wrong.



Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy Birthday to My First Baby !!!!!!


35 years ago today I had my first of 4 babies.
Little did I know then how my life would change.
Change it did, for the better.
I don't know what I would do without my beautiful children.

Triumphs and tragedies..
we've been through them all.
And they see to be holding me up more with what I'm going through now.

But I regress.


Today is my baby's birthday!!
I am so proud of the man he has become.
Caring, loving, responsible, understanding...
all the qualities a mother could want her son to have.
But he has become my rock as of late..
when it should be the other way around.

Where did the time go?
(seems to be my motto lately)


From my little baby, to toddler, to school
and beyond into a man who now has a beautiful wife.

My wish for him is the moon and more.

BUT one thing I can give him (every year)
are his favorite cookies.

His birthday starts the "baking Season" in our home.
One of our traditions we won't be changing this year.

So without further ado...

Russian Tea Cakes


Made from my Mom's old recipe,
which you can find here 


I think he has a sixth sense when it comes to these cookies.
Yesterday he just happened to pop in for lunch, on the way to a call for his job,
just as I finished them.

No one even knew I had planned to make them yesterday...

hmmm

that's one smart intuitive kid!

We will be celebrating his birthday on Friday at his in-laws with homemade Sopas
and German Chocolate Cake.

I love it!

A blending of the two nationalities together.
Portuguese Sopas (our side is Portuguese)
and
German Chocolate cake (her side is German)

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!!

I love you with all my heart! ♥♥♥♥


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Christmas Clip Art

Sharing some Christmas Clip Art from Dover Publications.
You can sign up for their Newsletters that include free samples for your use.

Enjoy!

Monday, November 7, 2011

That Extra Hour.....

I had a good day yesterday, physically and emotionally...

I don't know if it was the extra hour from setting the clocks back,
or
because I had the best nights sleep in a long while
or
just the fact that I was surrounded by unconditional love....

(())
Cyndar curled around my feet and legs,
and
Katie under the covers snuggled against my tummy,
and 
Bailey nestled in my pillow behind my head.

Whatever the reason,
 I was thankful for being comforted by them.
Not that this was different from any other night,
but just because....

(())

I had the most productive day yesterday...
again, I don't know if it was that extra hour
but it seemed as I was whipping through projects 
and time was standing still.....

I liked this paradoxical universe.


Let me show you a bit of what I got accomplished ---- (Oh Joy another photo laden post)

Not sure if you remember,
 but I hit a great Garage Sale last month and found these babies.


I'm talking about the frames ;)

Since I am making most of my Holiday Gifts this year,
treasures like this make my heart sing...and my mind spin!

See the bright oval gold one in the center?
Well, to 'shiny brite' for me.

I had some gel stain which I tried first.

(Yes, that little pink glittery house, you see in the background,
will make it into my Etsy Shop soon!
 it even lights up)


ehhh, didn't care for it.
 I really wanted the ornate details to pop.
So I went to black paint.
I mixed some of the stain and paint together and slathered it on and in the crevices.
Left it on a few seconds and wiped off;
too light I redid it,
too dark, I used a damp rag to wipe more off.
I did this until I got the look I was going for. 

And no, you didn't see me sanding it...
as well as a lazy gardener, I'm a lazy crafter too.
Hey,
it all works out in the end.
My focus and energy is limited ya know!


Here you can see the comparison of the gel stain (top)
and the black paint mixture (right)


Since this is a Christmas gift, I have to be somewhat discrete about showing you...
someone maybe be peeking
.
But, I had to show you the background I decided to use for this project.
I love it!


Just another peek
I could have spent all day playing with Mom's buttons


Even with the usual interruptions I stayed the course!

Evidently Tilly's wings have grown back, unbeknownst to us.
(We keep them trimmed so she can't fly, to keep her safe..
Painless, just like trimming your nails..which we do for her too *wink*)
Cyndar happened to bark and surprised/scared her.
The next thing we knew she was up on our partial wall.
 

and, of course, too scared to get down.


Mom to the rescue with a (thankfully) long enough dowel to reach her.


Back on her cage with a little smooch



and scratch to calm her down. 


ahh, yeh, right there......


Next thing I see is Bailey eyeing the top of the wall..
I "persuaded" her that she couldn't make that leap in her old age!


Back to sneak peeks of the 2 finished Christmas gifts...


I am so pleased with the way they both turned out.
I hope the recipients feel the same way.


I still had some energy left so I did some "embossing" on velvet ribbon.
It gives it that extra pop in detail.


It's easy to do.
If you've never done it before I'll walk you through it.

Lay a thick towel on your table.
Choose your stamp.
Place stamp upside down on the towel.
Lay the velvet ribbon upside down on the stamp.
Place a damp cloth over velvet ribbon.
Have iron heated on steam.
Iron in place for 8 seconds, making sure not to wiggle the iron.



Remove the iron and turn the fabric over to reveal the pattern embossed into its surface.


I chose a French Script stamp for this gorgeous red velvet ribbon.
Which, by the way, will make it into my Etsy Shop soon.


Here we go again,
Tilly was in a mischievous mood and
had made her way over to T's totes,
 that are full of the vases that were used for the wedding that I still need to list!
Anyone out there need some really nice clear vases??!!. 
Tilly loves to chew up the totes!
I need to get these things listed fast or
there won't be anything left to carry them in
*yikes*


 Sending hugs to all.
Wishing everyone a great week.