And then we sat...

Here's to musky summer nights, sitting in the backyard....a fire in the outside fireplace and plenty of laughs. Family, friends, pets...all at your side. Perhaps a bat flies low, perhaps I duck my head quickly! The lightening bugs are dancing across the fields and someone breaks open a bag of marshmallows, followed by a bottle of wine.

(or beer depending who you are in the crowd)

These are chairs that my sister in law has in her backyard. Well, maybe not right at the moment, the snow is higher than the chairs! She has the most beautiful garden and has taken to collecting metal, vintage lawn furniture...which adds even more charm to the amazing garden!

Unknowing

She hangs her head, no longer reaching towards the sky.

Her delicate layers folded downward, no longer to be seen.

Weathered and fading, little did she know

we could still see her spirit, that which she hid within.

Lift up your precious soul , and let the sun again shine on your skin.

There is light and warmth waiting, mourn no more for yesterday,

for it is where it belongs, it can not hurt you again.

Clenched roots open, growing and reaching..

now your moment will begin.

Quiet Awakening

One of my favorite things to do is to jog on the city streets, while the world is just waking up. It gives me time to appreciate what I have and to see all the colors that are offered to us every day. Colors that we just walk on by and don't always notice, myself included! Scents too. The scent of a woodstove, or of breakfast cooking, the smell of bacon or of the wet earth after a rainfall, fresh cut grass,the fall leaves.

A cool or warm breeze encouraging me on, the warmth of the sun, or a fine, misty rain falling lightly on my face. Yes, these are just some of the reasons I love to run outside. The list goes on.

Outside my window

You were outside my window, in another time, bowing down gracefully, sending raindrops traveling back to the earth.

Perhaps I am getting sentimental about spring! I can't wait to hear the first thunderstorm, the rain bouncing off our sky lights...and the awesome earthy smell outside. Well, along with the thunderstorms comes a cry in the dark. Yogi. Yogi, my white fluffy dog, is about ten years old. He still cries and paces when there are thunderstorms. Actually, it doesn't even have to be a thunderstorm..a slight breeze outside sends him into a panic! Absolutely nothing can console him! He hears a storm coming 100 miles away...I swear he does! Yogi crying aside, thunderstorms are one of my favorite things. My mom will say, yeah right Jenn. Well, I used to be terribly scared of them myself, always afraid of the damage they might bring, now I love them. An excuse to sit still and listen to the outside, to keep the lights low and the t.v. off. Hearing only my thoughts, the storm...(and my Yogibear)

The Fall

Looking up, I saw your descent.
your slow and sad fall from grace
With doting eyes, that began to cloud over,
as you floated through the branches
Deflation
My hopes are dashed
Did you ever exist even exist.

Well, that may sound sort of melancholy, but it has been "floating" around in my head in one form or another for a while. I decided to finally type it out. I have been trying, without success obviously, to upload a photo on here. Blogspot seems to have a few glitches this morning. Maybe it is as slow to wake up and move as I am today! I think the midwinter blahs is actually a disease that you can catch! I am getting there, have been up for 3 hours now and finally getting motivated. Some days it just takes longer!
Not to mention I worked this weekend, and it was a long, quiet weekend. Shhh..I am not supposed to say that in regards to the hospital..but, that is what it was.
The longer I am a nurse, the more I learn about people....(or should I say, the more I use that opportunity to learn about others) and the more I am aware that we are just that, people, humans...fallible? Watching how people deal with illness, stress, ect. It amazes me to see some who can be so strong when they are faced with their own demise, and othes can barely deal with a toothache or a long wait in the ER. Sometimes I just want to say to the 'toothache' "Walk in the next room, and look at that person, that person who is dying, way before their time, and can find a reason to smile...and tell me how bad your tooth really feels" But I, we nurses, cannot do that. We can only think it, and maybe make ourselves better, more empathetic nurses, and possibly a better person because of it.

Calling number 13 and 220!!!!

Well, hello all! The time has come to pick two numbers with the assistance of my magic numerator generator,...a.k.a., husband dear. He is eloquently pulling two different numbers out of his head (one at a time mind you)...and they are...... #13..This Muse of Mine, who is the winner of the blue heart pendant shown below...(she also has a beautiful blog that you might like to visit..just click on her name!) ....read on, read on...he is having a hard time pulling this last one out..OH..it is a bigger number, that is why!

Alas...it is # 220 ! Mimi and Moes' Mom, who will be receiving two of my prints, also pictured below!

Thank you for all the lovely comments and all the other beautiful giveaways and participants! I very much enjoyed visiting all the different blogs involved and look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Tending Garden

This is a digital collage that I have been working on today. Funny how you start out doing something totally different than what you end up with. Those are end up being the best projects. The ones that just lead from one idea to another. This little angel has been hanging out in my files forever, and I just love her! The original photograph of her was not that sharp so I haven't done much with it. Well, she now has a new "home" I think she is sweet....sweet, but sad. (Yes, like so much of my work, it just tends to lean that way. This sometimes causes my husband and older son much disturbance!) That is just the feeling I portray sometimes., that is me...slightly disturbing?!!!? I love images that evoke emotion, with an atmospheric quality, so that is what I often create.

Ok...and a little piece of news....I have added the second part of my one world one heart giveaway. It will be official once I have 200 comments! So scroll on down my dear friends!

Broken China

For the one world one heart post, scroll down a few! T.y.

When I first started on my jewelry making journey, I started with just beading. My parents had been making jewelry for a while and always suggested I try it. I honestly never thought I would be interested, but one day I must have been open to new things and bought a few beads and tools. That was it, I couldn't stop! I beaded and wrapped using just beads for a while, but quickly found other avenues I wanted to explore. The first being broken china jewelry. I had been collecting sweet little china plates for a while, that collection soon increased, filling a whole cupboard in my laundry room. I tried to find plates with flaws on them, so I didn't ruin something that was still useful. Many of the plates I just couldn't break, and they are now displayed throughout my house. It has been a while since I have made any new broken china jewelry, mainly because I feel I have run out of room in my current work area...there is a fire hazzard with soldering you know! I do have many pieces hanging around. I pulled this one out this morning. The pattern on this china is just gorgeous. It has orange, red and yellow wildflowers on it, I instantly fell in love with it! Each piece is surrounded by solder, onto which I applied a black patina. It is available for sale in my artfire shop.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=ViewListing&product_id=80991

Above and below the bracelet are a few other broken china pieces I have created. They are available in my etsy shop.

http://distressingdelilah.etsy.com/

My December

My December

Walks in the white, blanketed forrest

Reading a book, all warm and protected from the cold, under piles of blankets

My dogs cuddled up close to me

Baking home made wheat bread, the scent floating through the house

Children with scarlet colored cheeks, wrapped snuggly in their winter wear

Brisk, chilly runs throught the streets, while the rest of the world is waking

The quiet earth, resting beneath the snow.