Places to Be

Come on over to Inspiration Avenue and play the game of "Where Would You Like to Be"?... here are some places where I might like to live:

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Visit Inspiration Avenue and play the game of Places to Be!

Julia Child would be 100 Today

My brother sent this.


The New York Times  has a researched article worth the read on some of the Julia Child favorites.  It says most of us have cooked (at least once) her famous recipe for coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon or maybe an omelette.  I surely did, back in the day.  We might take a few more short cuts these days.

Do you have a favorite Child recipe?

CASA for Children

Eighteen months ago, I became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children and wrote a post about it HERE.

This past week I took on another case, and while at the CASA office I found this writing:

CASA VOLUNTEERS

We speak for a CHILD 

who wears shoes that are too small

whose nightmares are a reality

who never heard of Mickey Mouse

whose parents ran away

We are the voice of a child

who feels at fault

who lives in fear of daddy coming home

who wonders what it's like to have a friend

who only eats when food can be found

We listen to the children

who don't know what truth is

who are in constant need of a hug

who find freedom only on a swing

who believe they are the parent.

Together we work to make a difference

WE ARE COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES

It was good enough to share. Please think about volunteering your efforts.
Nancy

What a Wonderful World

David Attenborough and BBC presents:

What Day of the Week Were You Born? - Challenge

A new challenge is going on at Inspiration Avenue.  Click on this link to join the challenge.  Here is the deal:

The challenge this week is  "The Days of the Week"  from the age old nursery rhyme that was written to help children to learn the days of the week.  The challenge is not specific to the days of the week, but rather to the actual day of the week that you were born according to the nursery rhyme. 

If you don't know the actual day of the week you were born, I have included a link to a handy dandy birthday calculator that will help you make that determination. 

Here is the Link to the Birthday Calculator to find your day. 

And here ...is an example... of just a few possibilities for each day! Use your imagination according to your day and any medium is a go!

MONDAY'S Child is FAIR OF FACE

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dimestoreemporium

Since I was born on a Thursday, I had "far to go"... my husband was born on a Saturday, and he had to work for his living.  So true for both adages!

So, since it took me a period of 44 years of schooling (off and on, between pregnancies, jobs, health issues, etc.), my challenge incorporated schooling and rough times into my theme of "far to go"... And after those 44 years, I still lack the doctoral degree.  Anyway, since school was always a theme in my life, I took the images of the little girl with an umbrella against the wind,

(Morton's Salt)

(Good Housekeeping)

 and school books, combined them together with a computer cord and came up with this altered image:

















... click on this link to join the fun.

Thanks to Kim from IMGIRL for hosting this at Inspiration Avenue Challenge.

P.S. Post Card Swap

Post Card Swap

What  is it?  Just what it says, Swap A Postcard!

• You make five postcards and mail them. 
• You will receive five postcards from five other people in the swap.

What do you provide?

• Five handmade postcards
• You can draw, paint, cover with fabric, use rick rack, copy images, whatever!
• Anything that will go through the mail will work.

What do you get?

• Five unique postcards from five different members in the swap

How do you sign up?

• Just let us know you are joining the swap by mailing your snail mail address to: inspirationavenuepostcardswap@yahoo.com

Sounds like fun to me! I am in. It starts TOMORROW! All details can be found here TOMORROW!

Inspiration Avenue

Inspiration Avenue.  What is it?  From the Etsy site, this is a brief description of this lively group:

Inspiration Avenue is an interest based global Etsy team wherein we promote, share, and encourage each other’s creative work through a positive environment utilizing the goals we set through our team blog, correspondences, and meetings. 

Our team members are comprised of a diversified selection of artists totaling no more than 25 – 30 actively participating members who work in a wide range of artistic mediums including but not limited to painting, collage art, paper arts, jewelry design, fabric & fiber arts, digital design, photography. 

Our goal is to assist our members in increasing visibility for their handmade creations. We accomplish this by mutually sharing helpful online tools with each other, promoting artisan creations through our weekly inspirational blog challenges, and participating in annual blog parties and charitable events.

Given the small size of our team all of our members are encouraged to participate by helping out with the upkeep of our team Twitter, Facebook, and blog activities, and by joining our administrative team when a position comes available. 

So if you’re looking to get involved with a small, fun, and active team that encourages positive relationships through an environment of artistic inspiration, look not further.

That being said, I am happy to become part of this team of talented individuals.  And I have even re-opened my Etsy shop with a small start.  I'll be adding more items in the near future.  My button, so kindly supplied by Jenn, a superb watercolorist and one of the team members, is on my sidebar and also here:

Jenn can be found here:

The rest of the Inspiration Avenue members are listed on the right side bar of this blog.  Each person has a blog and an Etsy shop, displaying an amazing amount of diversity in their talents.  Visit them all!

And take on an art challenge weekly through Inspiration Avenue.  This week's challenge can be found here...

Every MONDAY a new theme is announced. Participants have one week to complete their submissions. Submissions MUST be added by the next  SUNDAY NOON, EASTERN STANDARD TIME. We are a global team and we work according to EST so, please check our clocks on the front page (right sidebar) to make sure you submit by the deadline.

Professional Looking Postcards @ Low Price

Find of the week: you can order 100 postcards on heavy stock from Postcards.  And they arrive within the week.

A good value for less than $20, including shipping.  They will be used for thank-you cards, invitations and quick hello's to out of town friends.  When you consider you pay over $3 for about any ready-made card, it was a steal.

The image is glossy and looks very professional (it was uploaded from my computer from a watercolor I painted ten years ago in dimensions of 21" x 25").  Postcards even enhanced the colors.

Favorite Image of the Week

Tiny Vignettes of Nature

All pictures are from The Pothole Gardner in London where he creates miniatures of natural delights.

Thank you, Steve, for bringing a smile to all the faces who view your exquisite work.

All pictures from The Pothole Gardner, a guerrilla gardener's blog

The Thrill of What You Already Have

A new blog challenge hosted by Floss in Toulouse, Haute Garonne, France is something that intrigues me. Floss says about her blog challenge:

This is the idea - every month I post a photo from my calendar (this year it's iconic Scottish rail tourism posters from the 1920s and '30s) and we use that photo - colour schemes, shapes, images, location, content - ANY aspect of it - to inspire us. We search through our drawers, boxes, attics, stables etc and make up a display of lovely or surprising things, and then share a photo on our blog. If you're like me, having a monthly excuse to rummage, combine, display and then gloat will be a very enjoyable experience. Sharing our pictures will really give us a chance to thrill over our 'stuff' without any need to go out and buy any more of it. And seeing photos of other people's ideas should give us further inspiration of what we can do ourselves. 

A commenter named Carolyn said about this 2012 blog theme: 

 I think this is an excellent idea, esp as it not only encourages us to be content, to be happy, to appreciate and enjoy what we have; but it will also encourage us to look for things we had forgotten, to tidy out those cupboards, to reclaim old forgotten loves.

What a great challenge: be thankful for what you have, reflect on your blessings, and be aware of the beauty around you.

Here are some things I am thankful for (and yes, I DID clean out the china hutch last week, including taking all the crystal out, washing each piece, and windexing all the glass shelves!)

(A cut glass vase over 100 years old that was a wedding present to my grandmother.  She kept it filled with flowers when I lived with her during my teen years.  The bottom is discolored despite all the vinegar efforts to remove the lime deposits.)

(Cut glass salad bowl my mother received as a wedding present in 1944)

If you are a blogger, swing on over to Floss and join in this challenge.

How to Make Modge Podge

Buying Modge Podge can set you back a few bucks more than making it yourself. Since it is used in the craft room about as frequently as scissors, here is a recipe for a home made brew, courtesy of thekrazycouponlady:

1 jar (An old pasta sauce or salsa jar will work)
1 bottle of Elmer’s glue
 water 

Empty the glue into the jar. Add water; you will need equal parts water and glue, so you can even use the (now) empty glue bottle to measure your water. Now, shake the jar until it’s well blended. You will need to shake it a lot, so pace yourself!! This recipe will make Mod Podge that is a little on the runny side. If you want yours to be a little thicker add more glue.

That's all there is to it!

(All pictures courtesy of Pinterest)

Portraits of Giant Insects

From the Daily Mail in the UK ... fascinating!

The great debate: Grasshoppers meet on the broad leaf of a plant to make a lot of noise together

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2069737/Portraits-giant-insects---actually-stunning-close-ups-tiny-creepy-crawlies.html#ixzz1gKDODfBI

5th Graders: Quinhagak, Alaska - Hallelujah Chorus

Hans Holbein the Elder (c 1460 -1524) Angels

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 minutes

Thanks for sending this, Jean!

Free Book for Kindle

Since it did not cost money and was purported to have 54 pattern instructions, why not get a free book for my Kindle app?  So I did.

But wait, there is even more juicy back content! It was first published in 1864 in Bath in the UK.

The drawbacks were that there were no illustrations, and most of the patterns were for chair covers, which I would not use.  The good thing about this book was that gave insight into how people (women, mostly) had to work hard just to keep some color in their lives.

Check it out for yourself here on Amazon if you want a free download, or pay money for it in paperback, which is probably not worth it unless you are a die hard history buff in the realm of needle art.

There were at least 40 more books available for free download related to knitting, crochet, embroider, tatting, lace making, hat making, cooking,  medicinal plants, tapestry weaving, gardening, dyeing of fibers and the list goes on.... so much information and so little time.

Excerpted from the book "Peace Like a River"

by Leif Enger:

When I was born to Helen and Jeremiah Land, in 1951, my lungs refused to kick in. 

My father wasn't in the delivery room or even in the building; the halls of Wilson Hospital were close and short, and Dad had gone out to pace in the damp September wind. He was praying, rounding the block for the fifth time, when the air quickened.  He opened his eyes and discovered he was running - sprinting across the grass toward the door. 

"How'd you know?" I adored this story, made him tell it all the time. 

"God told me you were in trouble." 

"Out loud? Did you hear Him?" 

"Nope, not out loud. But He made me run, Reuben. I guess I figured it out on the way."

I had, in fact, been delivered some minutes before. My mother was dazed, propped against soggy pillows, unable to comprehend what Dr. Animas Nokes was telling her.

"He still isn't breathing, Mrs. Land."

"Give him to me!"

To this day I'm glad Dr. Nokes did not hand me over on demand. Tired as my mother was, who knows when she would've noticed? Instead he laid me down and rubbed me hard with a towel.. He pounded my back; he rolled me over and massaged my chest. He breathed air into my mouth and nose -- my chest rose, fell with a raspy whine, stayed fallen. Years later Dr. Nokes would tell my brother Davy that my delivery still disturbed his sleep. He's never seen a child with such swampy lungs. 

When Dad skidded into the room, Dr Nokes was sitting on the side of the bed holding my mother's hand. She was wailing -- I picture her as an old woman here, which is funny, since I was never to see her as one --and old Nokes was attempting to ease her grief. It was unavoidable, he was saying; nothing could be done; perhaps it was for the best. 

I was lying uncovered on a metal table across the room. 

Dad lifted me gently. I was very clean from all that rubbing, and I was gray and beginning to cool. A little clay boy is what I was. 

"Breathe," Dad said. 

I lay in his arms. 

Dr Nokes said "Jeremiah, it has been twelve minutes." 

"Breathe!" The picture I see is of Dad, brown hair short and wild, giving this order as if he expected noting but odedience. 

Dr. Nokes approached him. "Jeremiah. There would be brain damage now. His lungs can't fill." 

Dad leaned down, laid me back on the table, took off his jacket and wrapped me in it -- a black canvas jacket with a quilted lining, I have it still. He left my face uncovered. 

"Sometimes," said Dr. Nokes, "there is something unworkable in one of the organs. A ventricle that won't pump correctly. A liver that poisons the blood." Dr. Nokes was a kindly and reasonable man. "Lungs that can't expand to take in air. In these cases," said Dr. Nokes, "we must trust in the Almighty to do what is best."  At which Dad stepped across and smote Dr. Nokes with a right hand, so that the doctor went down and lay on his side with his pupils unfocused. As Mother cried out, Dad turned back to me, a clay child wrapped in a canvas coat, and said in a normal voice, "Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe."

... excerpted not only from Leif Enger's book PEACE LIKE A RIVER, but also from the book AT THE STILL POINT: A LITERARY GUIDE TO PRAYER IN ORDINARY TIME by Sarah Arthur

Just returned from church where this video was shared after the benediction:



Yup, I'm a Lutheran.

Don't Forget to Eat Your Spiders

How cool is this.

Actually, the spiders are plastic rings.  You can read how to make the jello ring here where Brett Bara blogs.  That is her picture, by the way.

Found on Facebook Today

I laughed.

and a baby porcupine: