Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

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I’m participating in the Be the Change for Animals Fund-Free Fundraiser.  For every tweet and blog post featuring the #BTC4A hashtag (short for Be the Change for Animals) from October 22-27, Petco will donate $1 for rescue pets – up to $5,000 – at BarkWorld!

You Can Help!

Participating is super-easy!  Here’s what you need to do:

• Tweet this now through Saturday, October 27th at 11 AM (EST) :

Rescue pets receive $1 from @Petco at @BarkWorldExpo for each #BTC4A tweet from Oct 22-27! Learn more: http://ht.ly/eEls7

• Blog about what rescue means to you, now through Saturday, October 27th at 11 AM (EST) and add #BTC4A to your post title. Include your post link (not just your domain) in the blog hop list below to be counted. Bonus: Each time your post is tweeted, you’ll earn another dollar for rescue pets!

• BarkWorld attendees can nominate their favorite no-kill, 501(c)3 rescue or shelter at the Petco booth through Friday, October 26th!

I thought it might be fun to ask Freedom, Casper and Nikki what they thiought were the most important “improvements” to our lives since adding rescue pets to our home.  Here’s what they had to say:

Nikki - You never have to worry about oversleeping.  Every morning at 5 am, I will wake you up.  I promise.  Toss that alarm clock out.

Freedom - You get to add new adjectives to your vocabulary.  I’ve been known to get a little grumpy when Casper trolls my bed, so when mommy gets crabby with daddy, daddy says, “Now don’t go all Freedom-ish on me!” 

Casper - You make new friends and can have sleepovers.  Plus, we have friends all over the world, thanks to blogging.

Nikki - You learn new math… 1 jingled leash (intentional or not) + 3 pairs of dog ears = 3 dogs going crackers.

Freedom - You have a place to funnel all that pesky extra money…toys, collars, coats, leads, beds, greyhound vacations, vehicles large enough to transport 3 dogs in the comfort to which they’ve become accustomed…things like that.

Casper - You become a very good speller.  G-O…T-R-E-A-T…W-A-L-K…O-U-T…words like that.

Nikki - You learn what chillaxin’ looks like.

Freedom - You don’t have to put us through college.  More money for hedgehogs!

Casper - You become the most amazing, incredible, exciting, missed rock star on the planet every time you come home.

Freedom, Casper & Nikki - You truly and deeply get to ponder the question, “Who rescued who?”

Daily Inspiration

 

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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If all goes well, I’ll be painting a few background canvases this weekend.

Bunny, of Tales and Tails, mentioned that she noticed I was missing “pink” backgrounds.  Bunny…you have been heard.  Pink canvases coming up!

Daily Inspiration

 

Pink isn’t just a color, it’s an attitude!

Miley Cyrus

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 I’m putting together a “School Memories” album.  I spent time this week looking at layout templates.  It’s probably just “beginner jitters” but I feel like I need a roadmap.

 

You can make yourself crazy if you look for too long because there are millions of ideas out there.  I found this picture on A Cherry On Top.  Hopefully this will get me started.

Daily Inspiration

 

There is little success where there is little laughter.

Andrew Carnegie

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I’m getting ready for November’s Art Every Day Month.  I plan to paint one girl a day, so I’ve been preparing my background canvases these last two months.

 

I realized I had better step it up  because I would like to have 30 canvases started by November 1st, and I only have 9.  Yikes!  I decided to make 5 canvases this week, using the same 5 colors. 

 

I used four Martha Stewart Satin paints…Beach Glass, Green Curry, Sea Lavender & Pollen and one Ceramcoat paint…Trail Tan.

 

Once I get painting the girls, the backgrounds may change…a little or a lot.

 

This just gets me started.  16 more canvases to go.

Daily Inspiration

 

The wings of hope carry us, soaring high above the driving winds of life.

Ana Jacob 

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I love Susan Boyle’s voice, her music and her story.  Susan Boyle is a Scottish singer who first came to the attention of the world when she auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent in 2009.  As of today, the YouTube video of that audition has 107,000,000+ views.  Currently, Susan has 3 CDs and a new CD Standing Ovation (The Greatest Songs From The Stage) is being released on November 19, 2012.  I can’t wait!

On a funny note…When I first typed this out, I typed “Currently, Susan has 3 albums…”  Albums!

Daily Inspiration

 

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.

Ludwig van Beethoven

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Here’s what’s been going on in my studio since I’ve been back from vacation…

 

My niece hosted a card making workshop. 

We made seven cards.

 

All using Stampin’ Up! products.

Cute.

Each month, I’m making a yarn vase for the 2012 Creative Color Challenge.  The color palette for September was Dusky Sunsets From Spain.

 

Daily Inspiration

 Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.

Carol Bishop Hipps

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What with getting back in the swing of things after vacation, I was thinking maybe an easy little organizing project would get me excited about being at home.  I thought, “What is something that’s bugging me, but would be relatively easy to do and would make me very happy?”  Easy…under the kitchen sink.  Here’s the “Before” photo:

                                                                                                                                           

Who even knows what’s in there.  Not me!  Tune in next Sunday for the “After” photo.

Daily Inspiration

 

The home should be the treasure chest of living.

Le Corbusier

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I have long been a fan of a feature in O Magazine called Books That Made A Difference, where a celebrity lists several books that made a difference in their life.  Recently, I saw a post on Staying Awake where Jan listed her top titles.  She was inspired by a post on The Solitary Walker.  I’ve always wanted to compose my list and here it is (in no particular order)…books that made a difference to me.

1.  The Bible.  Any translation for informing how I live, the King James Version for the majesty of the language.

2.  Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.  The book that made me a life-long reader.

3.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.  My perfect heroine.

4.  Atonement by Ian McEwan.  A beautiful novel that captures the messiness of life and the consequences of our sometimes horrible choices.

5.  Little Golden Book – The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids.  My mom would do the different voices when she read this to me.  My favorite fairy tale.  I wish I still had my copy.

6.  The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  A fascinating story that illustrates how people, place and time help form who we are.

7.  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.  The first Shakespeare play I read and still my favorite.  Who can resist star-crossed lovers and a blood feud.

8.  Anything by Agatha Christie.  I love mysteries.  Agatha Christie introduced me to adult mysteries and is the Grande Dame to me.

9.  Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.  A frightening look at the thin veneer of civilization.

10.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  My favorite tale of redemption.

What are books that made a difference to you?

Daily Inspiration

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.  It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy.

Edward P. Morgan

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Vacation and writing about vacation is over (sigh).  Back to it. 

I’m signed up for a new online class…Capturing the Essence Online Workshop by Katherine Dunn.  Katherine is an artist, writer, novice farmer and angel shepherd to old and neglected animals.  Her blog is Apifera Farm where you can meet her and the residents of the farm…who are her muses.

So far, all I’ve done is pick up a sketch pad and sketching crayons.  Am I moving to fast? (ha).

Let’s hope that I can quit dreaming of vacation and get back to work.

Daily Inspiration

 

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Mark Twain

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Today is the last day I’ll talk about my vacation to Dewey Beach, Delaware, for Greyhounds Reach the Beach.  To finish up, I’ll tell you about one of my favorite outings…to Lewes, Delaware.

I first heard about Lewes in a 2011  Tales and Tails post.  I love history, and this town, which calls itself “the first city in the first state,” was a delight.

Lewes had its beginning in 1631 when the Dutch selected it as an ideal site to establish a whaling station, but as a result of a dispute over a Dutch coat of arms the settlers had mounted on their settlement, all 32 settlers were massacred by a local tribe of the Lenni Lanape Indians.

Lewes is named in honor of a town in Sussex County, England.

I parked at the Lewes Presbyterian Church. 

I LOVE this style of church building.

I walked to the Zwaanendael Museum that was just down the street.  This building was constructed in 1931 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the town’s settlement.

Then, I wandered through the town, stopping in some of the cool shops and the antique mall.

(photo source)

My next stop was St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which calls itself “the first church in the first city in the first state.”  It was fascianting to me how the graveyard surrounds the church, right up to the front door.

My final stop was the Lewes Historical Society.  This historic complex holds 9 historic buildings dating from the mid 1600’s to the late 1800’s. 

With the exception of the Hiram Rodney Burton House, all the buildings have been moved from other locations in Lewes or surrounding communities.

There is so much more to see in Lewes.  I hope to make it back there one day.

Daily Inspiration

 

One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.

Thomas Jefferson