My Wee Movies

Rachel & Pia's Cottage Giveaway!!

Chasing Claire de Lune has included a link to their blog at the bottom of this post so you can easily participate in this Blingtastic Giveaway!!

Original post as per Rachel & Pia's Cottage:

I am excited to announce my 

2nd blog give-away!

This pretty vintage Coro pin could be 

yours by doing just a couple of things. 

 It measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter 

and is bright and sparkly!  I couldn't 

really capture it in the photo. 

 You will love it !

All you have to do is FOLLOW my blog 

and MAKE A COMMENT that you did.

~~~~~~~~~~

TO FOLLOW, just click on the button

 at the upper right that says "Join this 

site" and remember to leave me a 

comment too.

TO GET 2 ADDITIONAL CHANCES OF 

WINNING, please share this post

 (or make your own) on your blog and 

link back here.  Let me know you did so

 I can add your name 2 more times!

IF YOU ARE ALREADY A FOLLOWER,

please make a comment so I 

know you want in on the action.  :o)

Once I get to 60 FOLLOWERS

I will pick a winner!

http://www.rachel-and-pias-cottage.blogspot.com/2013/09/free-give-away-vintage-coro-pin.html

Dog Days

HAPPY SUMMER!!

It's not even 9am here & the temp is high

& the air is thick.

There is a sporadic breeze that passes through

cooling your damp body

swaying the trees

& the netting on the gazebo.

But it is not nearly enough to keep

one comfortable. 

...or should I say keep this human comfortable

For most of the birds are singing choruses

while others hop about my lawn picking

up breakfast provided by last nights rain

& my cats climb the fence posts,

 jumping & chasing

one another

their fur coats shinning in the sun

completely unfettered by the heat. 

New Hampshire is an odd place when it comes

to it's inhabitants & the weather

It is a general practice to wish for the heat in the deep

of winter snow & cold

&

complain about the mugginess

(cuz it's never the heat always the humidity)

at the height of summer.

BUT if it rains

that's not right either

people here will say that we didn't

have much of a summer at all.

The weather is the common bond among the natives.

But the summer is indeed beautiful here.

Green

Green

GREEEN

Lawns the size of fields surround older homes

where one would almost expect to see ladies in white victorian

garb under parasols enjoying a summer picnic.

The Old Atlantic, known for it's dark, cold, angry waters

glistens in the summer sun while cooling it's people

with lapping waves along the coastline.

If you think I romanticize my home
you are correct.
I Am In Love 
with
The gathering, cracking & savoring of Tiny Pine Nuts come Fall,
with
Deeply breathing in the sweet perfume of burning oak in Winter
& the heady scented, rain soaked earth of Spring,

this is not my image the owner is unknown to me
please let me know if it's yours & I'll give credit.

and lastly I am
Passionately in Love
with the 95 degree days that puddles the flesh,
keeps slumber at bay, and burns the soles
during the lovely fleeting Summer.

Down The Rabbit Hole

I'm  not very good at blogging,

As you may have surmised by now.

I like to write, but

I tend to write like I talk

Short Bursts

(that doesn't mean I'm not long winded, cuz I am)

It's more like prose I think

not that it rhymes

or is in any way lyrical, 

but because I love to use language

in as many non-traditional ways

that I can think of....

Like spelling words the way I think they look cool

instead of spelling them correctly

I only really use punctuation if it helps emphasize what has been written

& it looks cool.!?":';.

Always Liking The Cool

I'm completely addicted to the ellipsis........

My Very First Ever Animated Gif
& Still One of My Faves

So it's quite possible that my blog

isn't every one's cup of tea

&

of course it doesn't help

that I am consistently inconsistent

in keeping up with it.

The oddity about all this is

that for over the past 18 months or so

I have found myself designing blogs.

Yeah,

Sure,

I had put together a few blogs for friends & myself before then,

 but I had always used graphics & artwork I had purchased.

Or

even better using freebies

 from sites like the wonderful

 Graphics Fairy

(who I still visit often.....hee hee)

and many others the like.

BUT in January of 2012

a Newly Found Sista, Geanie Finley, 

asked me to create a blog for her

WHAT??

No Way

NO NO NO

Not

for someone who doesn't already know & love me

despite my eccentricities

&

 This bog would need to be very different

Geanie had told me she had always wanted a blog.

She wanted it to be an expression of herself,

Of Her Gypsy Soul

This girl was definite about what she liked

&

what she liked

was anything but 

stock graphics & neutral colors

"I don't know," I told her, "I can try."

OMG!!!!

 I'd never done any original work before

at least not for anyone but myself....

I was feeling completely screwed at this point.

I didn't even know...

How am I going to....

I mean I.......

(eyes watering, heart racing, dry mouth)

PANIC!!!!

I didn't have any computer programs for that kind of thing

&

even if I did

I wouldn't know how to use them to create

 any part of the ideas I had in my head.

So I...

Googled

Googled

Googled

Googled

until my googler

was pooped.

I downloaded

GIMP

&

Photoscape

&

bookmarked endless pages on how to use: 

Layers

Masks

Filters

Scripts

yada

yada

yada

all of this 

just to create the artwork only.

My second attempt at animated gifs. This one was for the JuJu blog.
Gif's have become quite the addiction for me...

Then I was back to bookmarking pages again.

This time I wanted to find out

how to write "code" for Blogger

so I could make the artwork

I had designed

Fit & Perform 

As I envisioned..

&

of course, there was always

trial & error, trial & error, trial & error

It took me FOREVER..

well almost forever

4 months actually

but

it was original.

JuJu is Geanie Finley's Beloved Business.
This is her blog Header.

Why am I telling you all this?

Well,

Because My Friends

I Just Finished

 My 4th 

"Original Design" blog

&

with every new one I create

I get a little better

 & 

a little more knowledgeable

The Blog of Brenda Braun An Artist & Owner of Decadence
My second blog creation...

Original Graphic for the Link to Brenda's Etsy Shop
This girl makes GORGEOUS jewelry!

My Latest Client,

the sweetest & kindest & most PATIENT

Person on the Face of the Planet

Ms. Jackie McMullen of 

Jaidyn Pearl Diaries

had to wait almost as long as Geanie.

However Folks......

Geanie's Blog.

My First Blog.

"ONE PAGE"

that's it.

This Time

 Jackies Blog

"8 PAGES"

Woooo Hoooo People!! 

Jaidyn Pearl Diaries

Most of Jackies Blog Pages Have

Backgrounds & Graphics

Completely Different from the Home Page (above)

Each with their Own Individual Look.

All My Designs are Still created in GIMP & Photoscape

(Although I have recently acquired 

Photo Shop Creative Suite 5 & am eager to start learning how to use it)

Everything I designed for this blog

needed to speak about  Jackie

while speaking to her readers as well. 

She is a multi-talented girl

working her artistry in several different mediums,

writing, photography, painting furniture, cooking  

& the sculpting of her family.

A true artistic life

Jax's Blog Button

I wrote 8 pages of CSS code

&

This Time Around 

I started teaching myself to write Java Script.

(scary stuff, forget a semi-colon or bracket & nothing will work.

For someone easily distracted like me with my A.D.D. ,

{yes it's true, I'm a real diagnosed space-shot,} it's definitely scary stuff.)

I know that to some of you

what I'm describing sounds

A Lot Like Greek, 

 and it is.

kinda

Cuz it's definitely a foreign language,

one that I didn't know how to read

much less write 18 months ago.

I'm pretty sure that I don't do things the correct & proper way

&

I'm Okay With That

I am Basically a Digital Collage Artist

NOT a traditional graphic artist...

Wouldn't really know how to be a traditional anything

Never Have

So I know that

"once again"

I won't be everyone's cup of tea

& I still have miles to go before I sleep....

So This Is My Thank You Note

to ALL of my clients.

Whether you had a blog designed & built,

 business cards or labels designed,

Facebook Covers or Etsy Banners created

Photo Editing, Videos, Marketing,

 any & all work that I may have 

done for you in the last year & a half,

Thank You 

Thank You

Thank You

Thank You

 for not running in the other direction

when I told you I was self taught,

Thank You 

for accepting that my learning curve

would be a part of my scheduling

&

Thank You 

for actually paying me well 

(despite my lack of credentials or artistic education)

for working at something I love to do.

I Feel Suitably Blessed!!

xoxoxo

"Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game.

It's such a surprise." ~Under the Tuscan Sun

PS~

If you make a visit to my business blog

please excuse the mess...

no time lately to work on my own space.

But that's kind of a good thing.

Right?

The Magnolia Pearl Ranch is Heaven For Sale!!

I just enjoyed a fab blog post from 

Anne Christian Lorys of

Fiona and Twig

one my most fave blogs!

  The post is filled with Anne's 

beautiful images of the

 Magnolia Pearl Ranch

that is up for sale!!

I have been in love with this place

for as long as I can remember. 

Anne Lorys Photography

The Ranch has a magical quality

 that leaves you believing

 you could never be unhappy in such a place. 

Of course I've never been there personally, 

but I have been a mental visitor 

through the web & the many times 

it has been featured in magazine publications.

Anne Lorys Photography

Robin Brown and John Gray

of Magnolia Pearl Clothing 

are selling their 

beautiful Ranch located in

the Bandera countryside

of the Texas Hill Country

Anne Lorys Photography

It is 38 acres with

3 complete homes,

18 external structures,

Anne Lorys Photography

3 outdoor shower & baths 
which are supplied by on demand hot water heaters.

Anne Lorys Photography

Among the many features of the 3 homes
 there are 25 chandeliers,
 iron beds, 3 clawfoot tubs,
 stone fireplaces and spacious porches 
as well as many outdoor structures
like a chicken coop with
a chandelier!    

Anne Lorys Photography

Anne Lorys Photography

Courtesy of Magnolia Pearl

Offered at $695,000, this property 
is centrally located one hour
from San Antonio, Texas
and 7 miles from Bandera.

Grab Up this Heavenly Place for Yourself

For inquiries,  contact John Gray at  210-508-9552 or 830-990-9600  or by e-mail, pearl@magnoliapearl.com


GIVEAWAY

 These 2 gorgeous Magnolia Pearl Ensembles 

are being offered by Robin & John as a "to die for" GIVEAWAY. 

Visit "Fiona & Twig" 

for information on how to win this GIVEAWAY.  

&

 Even more beautiful images

of The Magnolia Pearl Ranch

by Anne Lorys.

 

No Regrets.....

Last year one of my kindred spirits, Geanie Finley, 

wrote a tremendously inspiring blog post about turning 50.

I'm not entirely sure that what I'm going to write will be inspiring, 

but it is what's under my top hat,

 so here it goes......

 This week I became 50 years old

 I can say it.

 I can write it.

BUT
It Feels Like A Mistake

 Like some sort of mathematical miscalculation has occurred
OR

 One of those horrid dreams

 in which you find you are still in High School
You don't know where you're supposed to be
You don't recognize anyone

PANIC

( I hate that dream....  

Am I the only one who has that dream??

Sorry. I digress.....)

I've been on this planet since 1963 

So Why Do I feel like I just got here?

 When I see a wide open grassy area

 I still have that urge to turn cartwheels across it

 I still scrutinize a tree's branch configuration

 looking for the best path to climb it.

&

Every Time I'm Near A School Yard Playground

 I HAVE TO SWING

 There seems to be so much child inside me, 

 Everyday I Find

Something new to learn

 Something new I want to try.

So How Can It Be That I'm "50"

I Mean...

Okay Fine 
I'm Flippin' 50

If I Look Back....

Have I wasted time?

There will likely be much less of it in my future.

Have I worried too much about things I can't change?

There is so much beyond my control.

Have I made the same mistakes time after time?

Nothing will ever change, if nothing changes.

Have I lived the standard American dream?

I'm not even sure I've paid attention to what that was.

I guess it comes down to this one answer

I'm Happy!!

And That's Good
Right?? 

Isn't that all any of us truly want??

~To be happy with ourselves

at any given moment.
 ~Loving where we've been &

Embracing the road ahead

~Peace in knowing that you are
Always where you're supposed to be.

~Gratitude for a Life 

Full of, Love, Friendship & Beauty

It's been an evolution
 through all 50 years
through mistakes
through mishaps
through missing out
through.....

 

Getting to Know Myself
finding my imperfect but "true" self
 Liking Who I Found

  

Marrying the Man "I Loved"

not the one with the biggest bank account

 I'd Marry Him All Over Again Too. 

Being Someones Parent

something I swore I'd never do

It Made Me A Better Person
 





Working at Stifling Office Jobs For Years

Hated It....Seriously Hated It

I Changed, Started Anew
Now My Passion is My Job



    

I'm always Afraid

 when I change direction in my life....
BUT

I have always chosen to change anyway

I Just Do It Afraid.

And That is What I Am Most Proud of.

That Little Girl

 who never left me

has served me well.

She whispers to me, encouraging me

to take chances, 

to be brave,

 to go ahead & do it

Everything will be all right

Some might say my attitude is naive

 for a Woman of 50

Perhaps It Is

But so far

I Have No Regrets

Can they say as much??