LOUD MOUTH BLOOMS

When I walked outside this morning there was a chorus of

"HEY, over here"

"Psst look at me " 

Each corner of the garden displaying color
that was absent just two days prior.

All the pinks, yellows and purples,
missing since late fall, now awake and shouting.

Reaching to be higher, fuller and brighter than all the rest.

Vines, Annuals, Perennials, no matter, all clamoring for attention.

The Prim and Proper gossiping
about the lowly Mock Orange

But even she is showing off her new babies,
her buds of growth with pride.

Makes it hard for a gal to hear herself think.

HEY GUYS! Keep it down would ya?

FRIDAY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Point and shoot

Fade Out Color

Playing

Favorite

Joining Chania at Razmataz for 

the Friday Photo Challenge, "PERFUME"

I do not wish to "wax poetic" today after 

watching hours of devastation across the seas. 

Watching the waves approach those vehicles and homes 

and overtake those unsuspecting people

 weighs heavy on my heart.

Knowing that so many will worry for days, 

weeks, or possibly forever to learn what 

has happened to their loved ones, 

makes me incredibly, breaking-heart sad.

We are all in this together, no matter

our country, our age, our politics, our religion.

 None of us gets out of here alive, 

but we all pray for long lives spent with those we love. 

Caught up in the mundane stuff, we are always caught 

by surprise when our mortality and 

vulnerability slams into our daily life. 

Lessons learned my dear friends,

focus on the essentials, pay attention 

to the wake up calls, and hug your family close.

Suzan

Pay It Forward

Now I am all about my fellow man

and if you visit often enough,

you know I put my wallet and my time 

where my mouth is.

It is great to occasionally participate

 in something just for the 

fun of it, and so I am

Paying It Forward

because of Sue at Zueeuz

Here's how it works....

The first five people who comment on this blog post will receive a handmade gift from me.

In return, you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011. Then.... send out a handmade gift to the first 5 visitors who leave a comment on your post. Take your time...you don't need to send them all today or tomorrow.  

This is such a sweet way to connect with friends or meet new ones, by sharing things we create with our hearts.

"It's not the size of the gift that matters, but the spirit 

of paying it forward."

These are troubled times, and a little 

indulgent sharing may be good for the soul.

It's either this or chocolate cake and 

heaven knows if I'm going to eat cake,

I may as well just rub it on my thighs, 'cause that's where it's going anyway.

READY- SET- GO!


postscript
So I have JoJo, Char, Erin,
 Connie, and Susie.


Little surprise coming your way!

Surprise!

My dear friend Theresa, and many of you know

 and love her too,

surprised me with this lovely charm last week.

 She wanted to take note of a special day in my life. 

I adore surprises, and when you head to the mailbox

 to pull out bills and receive this instead well, 

your entire day is lifted up,

and so in turn are you. Thank you Theresa again.

Be sure and visit and see all the lovelies she makes.

 I forgot to shoot the back which is equally lovely.

I am forgetful of late as you will see here below.

White Wednesday Bears

SALE

Got carried away doing a special order and made

4 too many. Sewing at 2 am means

 I lose the ability to count.

Visit these guys here

Joining White Wednesday hosted by the incomparable Kathleen

Also please stop by today to shop Bloggers Bodega

I Am So Blessed

See this beautiful woman?

She is the mother of six.

Don't hate her because she is beautiful,

love her because she is a wonderful dear friend whom I love.

I am old enough to be her mother (YIKES) but when

 we met while working together a few years back,

 we just connected.

  In the years that have followed we have been 

 separated by mileage and by busy lives,

but when we call after months and months have gone by,

 we pick up right where we left off. 

We had one of those calls this evening

 and I am ending my day with that warm fuzzy feeling

 you only get after a long (very long) chat with a good bud.

She is a wonderful Mother, a beloved wife,

a caring and charitable human being.

She is my friend.

Kristin

I am blessed to have you in my life.

Life is yin and yang

up and down

good and bad

The events of last Sunday threw me a bit I must confess,

but were book-ended with a brunch on Saturday with 

friends wishing me congratulations

 and lovely presents from two gal pals;

followed by today with a wonderful visit with Kristin.

It's all a teeter totter, and just when I think 

I am going to get slammed down hard to the ground, 

a balance is struck and I gently bounce back into rhythm.

Events can knock us off kilter, but those we love

 and who return our love, ground us,

keep us strong, give us hope.

I am so blessed.

Suzan

MISC

So....update on earlier post today

Coroner vans came shortly after.

We may never know what happened.

scary, awful, disheartening, sorrowful

*************

************

Several blog issues

that may have affected you.

Thumbnail pics missing from your post updates:

Info Via Sharon

Blogger/Picasa have moved the goalposts on this one - again, and without warning -  and it's up to us to come running up behind. Why did they do this? - DUH ... I don't know.

I've had a couple of mails on this one so I thought I'd share the solution which was brought to me by the kind Gina of Art and Alfalfa  and Mark of All Things Ruffnerian

Here we go!

To have the first picture of your blogpost showing as a thumbnail on other blogrolls, you go back into Edit post and click the HTML button, Scroll down until you find the HTML code for the first picture in your post. Within that code you will find, once or twice this:

- https://...googleusercontent.com.

You need to make a couple of modifications, this is what you want -

http://...ggpht.com....

To RECAP https becomes http:/ / and googleusercontent.com becomes ggpht.com 

Follower Numbers:

As you know, I do not show my numbers.

Recently blogger made it harder to do this. 

If you too wish to exit the competition,

while still loving your followers here is how:

info via Julie

You have to delete your followers gadget you have now.. and then set up a new one as an HTML gadget using code specific to your blog... 

The code can be found at the Friend's Connect Site.. 

http://www.google.com/friendconnect/admin/site/overview?id=15844234346815985257&hl=en

When you get to this page.. it will have a list of things you can do.. ie ADD MEMBERS GADGET... before you select this make sure you have selected the blog you want to do it for.. [eg if you have more than one blog you need to select the blog from the list on the left hand side of page.. you will know you have the correct one when the Title of you blog and number of followers shows above the ADD MEMBERS GADGET box

Step one allows you to change the width and how many rows of faces will show

Step 2: Click on  Add Member's Gadet .. this will pop up with all the options for colours/hex codes etc and you can change them as you please [ie I just change all text and backgrounds to be the same as my blog background.. ]

Step 3 will then generate the code with all your chosen options and also code specific to your blog and you ID.... 

Copy and past this code into a NEW HTML gadget on your blog... you may want to add a title.. 'Follower's' etc.. or not.. 

Thank you Julie and Sharon!

Thank goodness for help from friends.

I have not tried the first yet, but easily

 and successfully completed the second after 

my numbers magically popped back up again.

Here's hoping for a calm, safe week for all of us.

Lovely Sunday Morn

Not what you expected?

Neither did I.

My phone rang-"from the City Of ..."

There is an emergency in your neighborhood,

please stay in your homes.

So instead of showing you these

I spent the morning listening to bullhorns, 

what we think were tear gas explosions and 

battering rams or whatever they use to blow off doors.

It has been quiet for about 30 minutes and I just saw an

ambulance slowly leaving and officers walking back

 toward their vehicles. Over 25 vehicles mind you.

Now, what occurred to me while I was sitting 

observing this, while being a mite rattled, is 

that many people in this world live with 

extreme violence every day of their lives. 

Small children, the elderly,

not just the perpetrators or the defenders, but 

women like you and me, just going about  

their lives, making coffee in the morning,

headed to the studio to make some totes to sell.

Puts it all in BIG FAT perspective doesn't it?

I have concerns with health care and education

and gas prices and corruption and the economy,

just like everyone else....

but right this minute I feel so fortunate,

 that I live in a country where this many individuals 

are willing to put themselves in harms way 

to protect a few others.

So if you are safe, and your loved ones are safe,

drop to your knees, or thank your lucky stars.

I need another cup of coffee and will post the totes 

in the shop later.

Suzan

Baby Bear Picnic

There were years when baby bears 

 were created as quickly as possible and out the door 

they went to shows and shops.

I missed these lovable guys and decided yesterday to 

whip up some in luscious felted wool and over-dyed wools.

I call them baby bears because a wee chubby hand

 can grab a leg, a paw or ear, and nibble 

on another part or easily carry or wave around.

Of course many were adopted by those 

"young at heart".

A few have already left the den last evening.

I love seeing them enjoying the morning rays.
Available in my shop.

More cream roses are now back in the shop.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Visit my shop here:

 A Mare Of A Different Color

MEMORABLE GUESTS

 Where Women Create

visited the Old Grey Mare yesterday

I am still processing the entire experience.

Jo and Ryne are simply wonderful. I need not search

for additional adjectives.

Here sits Jo, so very pretty, and she is just kickin' back in MY 

easy chair. C'mon how cool is that!

I tried to snap some shots without getting in

the way but Ryne is a blur of motion and I got this..

The only other clear one is this:

I warned them it was a tight space.

I am actually standing outside the room!

I have searched for words to describe 

this experience but all I really want to express is

my gratitude and my joy.

Jo is admirable for many reasons, but 

what became most clear to me

 as the hours progressed, was that she is a true

champion of women. 

It is not just about spaces, or magazines, or art,

those things we all share and love,

it is about the people on both sides of the camera.

Thank you Jo and Ryne.

Yesterday will always be a precious memory for me.

Suzan