Saturday, February 28, 2009

snippets (number 1)

of "happyment"
This post is inspired by a post on Rasa's blog Happyment.
I just love that word because it is a combination of the words happy and content. Sometimes something small can just fill your soul with a thrill. So, from time to time, I will capture one snippet of happyment and post it here.
Rasa was inspired by an art class assignment to write down 100 things she sees in a week. This she has now translated into capturing with a camera instead of words. She has a visual diary called Pieces of Happyment.
Oh you're wondering what that is, are you?! That is the fire in my, yes, wood-burning, fireplace yesterday at the end of my birthday night.
photo by me
PS the Curious Rabbit has a wonderful post about "Lots of Little Things that make me smile everyday." http://http://thecuriousrabbit.blogspot.com/2009/02/lots-of-little-things.html

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

loving old cameras

This month's featured Etsy Blogger is Donna Pool. She has a love affair with things of yesteryear including old cameras. As you probably realize from my blog by now, I love photography. I think I had a camera like the first one below when I was a kid. I used to take photos of my stuffed animals, my cousins, my friends, my cats.
Look at these great photos of old cameras:

Donna sells photographs, handmade buttons, pocket mirrors, key chains, magnets, and plush toys. She has a wonderful artistic photographic eye and a sense of fun. She says to think of her shop as a place to find something traditional with a twist.
Check out her wonderful photographs of cats, too. Oh yeah, and her vintage items...and....
Photos on this post are property of Donna Pool.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

escape

mountains....
Ophir Pass, Colorado, on the road between Telluride and Silverton through the San Juan Mountains



Wild Goose Island, Glacier National Park, Montana



LINKS to other photos:

Glacier National Park, trail along Logan Pass to Hidden Lake http://http://www.takemytrip.com/06glacier/06_16a.htm


 

Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park


Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park

This post was inspired by Chrisy's blog post "Escape" at Sophism Press: http://sophismpress.blogspot.com/2009/02/escape.html

These are places of wonder and awe. I have been to many of the national parks in the US, but went to Glacier for the first time last September. It is a magnificant, majestic place. There are no words to describe its awesome beauty.
 
LINKS (Glacier National Park):
some outstanding photos of Grinnell Glacier: http://http//www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.glacier.7.html

A glacier forms when more snow and ice accumulates than melts. This accumulation of ice and snow presses down on the more flexible layers below. This flexible layer allows the ice to move. Depending on the amount of ice, the angle of the slope, and the pull of gravity, the ice may start to move downhill. Once this mass of snow and ice begins to move, it is called a glacier.
The distinctive blue color of glacial ice is actually created by the slight absorption of red light.

LINKS (about glaciers):


all photos taken by me 'cause I was there--© 2007-2008

Monday, February 23, 2009

etsy love

Here's the main reason why etsy is so great...people !

custom little yellow hearts made for me

I met Moon Dog Farm on a forum where she posted a helpful hint about Indie Public, a networking site for the independent art and design community.
MoondogFarm's etsy shop: http://www.moondogfarm.etsy.com/

Nikki then became my first blog follower! She lives on Happytown Road (seriously!) on 15 acres in the woods of Main with her family--husband, 2 little girls, dogs, kitty, chickens... In the summer she markets on Mount Desert Island, food that she has grown. In the winter, she likes to needlefelt, knit, and make necklaces. A photo of her little red felted heart was featured in a Stork article which greatly increased her sales.

here she is--Owlie Emma
Vivikas posted a helpful hint in the forums about Indie Spotting where you can submit an item to be displayed on their site for free.

vivkas' etsy shop: http://www.vivikas.etsy.com

Vivikas aka Vivian loves to transform her ideas and crazy thoughts into toys that can be weird or cute depending on her mood.

Shaving Kit Suppplies included my sky blue earrings (below) in a treasury when I was 2 days old! In her shop there's a mish-mashy little home-brewed blend of art, vintage, stationery and handmade. She loves old things, books, and making things out of paper.
ShavingKitSuppplies' etsy shop: http://http//www.shavingkitsuppplies.etsy.com
(note 3 ps!)

I opened actually 2 shops on etsy because I love to create, and in the past 15+ years, I have loved meeting people who have loved my items, AND there is no room in my house for all my creations AND me. What has surprised me is the comraderie and the willingness to share among etsians. That has been great fun. Now to make a sale.....
This one's for the etsy blogger's street team's blog carnival.
The above photos are not mine and belong to the individual shop owners, except for the 2 yellow hearts and the sky blue earrings which ARE mine.

Friday, February 20, 2009

the miracle of flowers

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. ~ Buddha


photo taken by me--©2008

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Love is the energy of life

~quote by Robert Browning

To be loved for what one is, is the greatest exception. The great majority love in others only what they lend him, their own selves, their version of him. ~Goethe

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love grace, and gratitude. ~Denis Waitley

photo taken by me--©2008

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Ode to Bread

ODE: a lyric poem
BREAD: created from a tiny seed sown in the earth
nurtured by sunlight, air, and water.
risen from flour, water, and fire.

My son and I were in the Dayton, Ohio area searching for lunch, when we happened upon this gem of a bakery.



Boosalis on Springboro Pike

This little heart is lavosh, Armenian cracker bread, and the "stalk" is about 15" long.
YUM!


Matthew, the owner and baker extraordinaire, offered up sample after sample of his wonderful creations. I don't believe I have ever tasted a better croissant. The cranberry walnut bread was amazing.

LINKS:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com recipes and forums

photos taken by me--©2009

Friday, February 6, 2009

a frozen landscape

Winter came quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow.
(adapted from a quote by Bill Moran, Jr)
Winter Morning Poem
Ogden Nash
Winter is the king of showmen
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes
Smooth and clean and frosty white
The world looks good enough to bite
That's the season to be young
Catching snowflakes on your tongue
Snow is snowy when it's snowing
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going

photos taken by me--©2009