Sixpence & A Blue mOOn

Incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mann

2012-01-15T17:55:00.000-06:00

1. Allow events to change you.

You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

2. Forget about good.

Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.

3. Process is more important than outcome.

When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).

Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

5. Go deep.

The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

6. Capture accidents.

The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

7. Study.
A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.

8. Drift.

Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

9. Begin anywhere.

John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

10. Everyone is a leader.

Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.

11. Harvest ideas.

Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.

12. Keep moving.

The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.

13. Slow down.

Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.

14.Don’t be cool.

Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

15.Ask stupid questions.

Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

16.Collaborate.

The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

17.____________________.

Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.

18.Stay up late.

Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.

19.Work the metaphor.

Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.

20.Be careful to take risks.
Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.

21.Repeat yourself.
If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.

22.Make your own tools.

Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.

23.Stand on someone’s shoulders.

You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.

24.Avoid software.

The problem with software is that everyone has it.

25.Don’t clean your desk.

You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.

26.Don’t enter awards competitions.

Just don’t. It’s not good for you.

27.Read only left-hand pages.

Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."

28.Make new words.

Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

29.Think with your mind.

Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

30.Organization = Liberty.

Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a ‘charming artifact of the past.’

31.Don’t borrow money.

Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.

32.Listen carefully.

Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.

33.Take field trips.

The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.

34.Make mistakes faster.

This isn’t my idea — I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.

35.Imitate.

Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You’ll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.

36.Scat.

When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else … but not words.

37.Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.

38.Explore the other edge.

Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.

39.Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms.

Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces — what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference — the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

40.Avoid fields.

Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.

41.Laugh.

People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I’ve become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.

42.Remember.

Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.

43.Power to the people.

Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can’t be free agents if we’re not free.

Description:

This design manifesto was first written by Bruce Mau in 1998, articulating his beliefs, strategies, and motivations.

New pages in my journal.

in words

2012-01-14T00:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it is easier to tell our story in words and not in sentences or paragraphs.

Romancing The Ordinary

2012-01-11T23:51:00.000-06:00

Romancing The Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Along with committing to journal on a daily basis this year, I also committed to reading something every day. I had this book on my bookshelf, so pulled it off and placed it where I can get my hands on it any time of day. Not all days allow me the luxury of reading as much as I would like and this book is for daily reading - words worth pondering. Let me tell you, if you do not own this book, find it and buy it - so worth it. If I read from it in the morning, it gives me something to think on during the entire day, and if I read it at night, it gives me something to ponder before going to sleep, either way it’s all good.

Blackeyed Peas, Cooked Cabbage, and homemade dinner rolls were perfect for this winter day.

I am keeping up with my journal, so far. :)

Finished another scarf. Yeah. I will get this listed tomorrow.

You can purchase this lovely scarf for yourself, your friend or realitive here:
Maxie Grace

I'm tired and it's almost midnight - time for a relaxing HOT bath and sleep.

Sweet Dreams to every one out there.

New Notes

2012-01-10T16:38:00.000-06:00

A couple of pages I made last night, it feels very good.

Found this quote and thought it was perfect for beginning a new year.

And what does January hold? Clean account books. Bare diaries. Three hundred and sixty-five new days, neatly parceled into weeks, months, and seasons. A chunk of time, of life...those few first notes like an orchestra tuning up before the play begins.

-Phyllis Nicholson

Country Bouquet (1947)

Made this from a scrap piece of yarn...so much fun to wear. I love it!

Emerging...

2012-01-09T16:29:00.000-06:00

The New Year has me hoping more... longing to emerge from that dark place I have been for too long. I promised myself that "I" would force myself to get back into my hobby room and start working on my visual journal. And, that maybe, just maybe, it would be my ladder to climb out of the dungeon. Yesterday was my first day back to journaling - it felt good. Sometimes I find it hard to write things down, to be real with myself - as if I am afraid that writing it on paper makes the fear and pain even more real. Maybe I am afraid someone will actually read it someday? And frankly, it felt a little awkward and I know I really held back, but with time, I want to shed the fear and allow myself to "walk on water" so to speak. There was a time when I wrote a lot, and wrote a lot of poetry - not afraid of the words and thoughts or, putting them on paper. Maybe this will help to find my way back the feeling the way I used to feel, alive.

You can purchase this beautiful Seashell Crochet Scarf at my Etsy shop.

Also worked on a crochet project and finished it, trying to get my handmade Etsy shop going. Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this scarf!!! I'm finding it hard to list it, but I MUST. :) It is so soft and cozy, long, and the color is delicious!

Good Eats

2012-01-02T11:48:00.001-06:00

Over this past week I cooked a chicken recipe I had eyed on What's Cookin' Chicago? Blog. The Apple-Maple Glazed Chicken is delicious and I have made this twice in the past week. I used chicken tenders because it is what I had and it turned out fantastic. This is easy and doesn't take many ingredients, and is so tasty. Last night, I made a sandwich on fresh homemade wheat bread, some fresh spinach, sliced red onion, with some sweet and spicy dressing that I made with a little of the glaze from the chicken and mayo and a pinch of grainy mustard - it was delicious!

Homemade wheat bread, my own recipe.

Homemade minestrone soup, my own recipe.

Happy New Year Everyone!

2011-12-31T21:43:00.001-06:00

Wishing everyone the best this coming year! May it be a year of good health, prosperity, peace and happiness for all of us!

Unknown Changes

2011-12-30T22:15:00.000-06:00

“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It seems my life changes as quickly as the skies...I feel I am riding a roller coaster of ups and downs. There is so much I have absolutely no control over and I feel so panicky when I feel it is spiraling out of control. I'd like to stand in the middle of the room and scream, but it would be like a tree falling in the forest and no one around to know.

I can only hope 2012 will be a better year.

On The Wings Of A Dove

2011-12-28T20:11:00.001-06:00

Have you ever wished you could hitch a ride on the back of a bird and fly along on the hope and faith of a bird? I have. I do. I thought about this today when I saw a Dove perched on the bird feeder pole. Think of birds flying, they never hesitate when spreading their wings and flying. They travel light - no baggage, no fear, no nagging what ifs, (yes, I am a big “what iffer”.) Just imagine if they took into account all the things that could go wrong…I envy their “no worry” take on the world and life. They don’t worry about whether their belief is the right one, if they are doing things right, or whether the path will be the right or wrong one - if only…

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~Swedish Proverb

Worry is rust upon the blade. ~Henry Ward Hughes

Advice To Live By

2011-12-26T20:11:00.000-06:00

Life is short, live it.

Love is rare, give it.

Anger is bad, release it.

Fear is awful, face it.

Silence is golden. Sit quietly every day & breathe ...

from Love or Above

Life is too short...

2011-12-24T10:37:00.000-06:00

I am applying this to my life in 2012. Life is definitely too short to spend it with or around people who drain you, who do not lift and encourage you.

I believe I got this image from Choose Happiness page.

Inspiration

2011-12-21T15:59:00.000-06:00

Do you ever have days when everything feels and looks square but the world is round and nothing fits? Today I found this beautiful poem by Maya Stein on Patti Digh's blog, and if you are not familiar with her or her writing, check her out. I have one of her books and I find myself picking it up several times a week, finding much needed inspiration.

I want the water to fill your glass the moment
it sees your thirst.
I want the staircase to meet your footfalls.
I want the line to the freeway to move like breath.
I want the wind flattering your hairline, the rainshower
a welcome refreshment. I want the parking space to fit your car.
I want the birds on your back deck to warble in the exact way
they did during your childhood. I want the photographs
of all your holiday dinners buzzing with a certain unnamable
happiness. I want the dry cleaners to understand
your outrageous requests.
I want the man calling your house to survey
your thoughts on phone companies to remember
the evening is precious as silk. I want your new jeans to not
come undone in the wash. I want snow to land on your eyelashes
like it does in the movies, an etheric, slow-moving kiss.
I want a letter to arrive the moment
you feel most unwelcome of your own company.
I want the scent of lemons in the air. I want the power lines
overshadowed by the view your neighborhood offers at twilight.
I want the downtown ice rink to keep your fantasies aloft.
I want the moon to articulate your most punishing silence.
I want the willow tree revived and teeming, the broken daisies
resurrected and obstinate with brightness.
I want the labyrinth of what ifs narrowed
to a single, poignant sentence.
I want the tulips to be wild as clover, as fog, as good intentions.
I want your heart to cut through its own brutality,
for your body to see everything about you that’s beautiful.
I want love to come at you in thick pats of butter,
in strands of spun sugar, heavy and light as cream.
I want it to bathe your skin until you are nothing
but forgiveness, until your shadows have disappeared,
until all of your perfect right angles have collapsed,
until you are a curve of a curve,
and your hands slide forward and open
and are able, at last, to feel everything.
-Maya Stein

Sunday Comfort

2011-12-18T21:51:00.001-06:00

I love homemade bread in the fall and winter! I love the way it makes the house smell. I made a delicious meatloaf, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and homemade wheat bread for Sunday dinner. I'm already looking foward to breakfast toast with butter and homemade strawberry jam - and for lunch, a meatloaf sandwich. Gosh I'm easy to please. :))

I wish I had more time to set up for a nicer photo - considering the light in my kitchen that time of day, I'm pretty happy with the photo I got. :)

Friday

2011-12-16T17:51:00.000-06:00

I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket. ~sylvia plath

Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. ~deepak chopra

The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble. ~henry miller

The Hemingway Pair

2011-11-27T22:52:00.001-06:00

My Zebra Finches, Hadley and Ernest Hemingway

The little basket in the left corner is where they sleep, all snuggled up together - so cute. The antique bird cage is one of my flea market buys from Germany.

“His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless.”

― Ernest Hemingway

Seeing is believing

2011-11-18T14:46:00.001-06:00

"Whatever the reason for wanting to escape, sane or insane, zoo detractors should realize that animals don't escape to somewhere but from something." Life of Pi - Yann Martel

The cardinals were plentiful yesterday, filling the trees with beauty. Even though I have bird feeders up, I don't get a lot of different birds, too many businesses and too many parking lots around. It was delightful to watch them.

Happy Friday!

Far Away Places

2011-11-17T15:35:00.001-06:00

“You’ve gone far away to a place with no horses and very little grass, and you’re studying how to write a story with a happy ending. If you can write that ending for yourself, maybe you can come back.”

― Jennifer Echols, Love Story

Midnight

2011-11-05T23:56:00.000-05:00

You can never tell what people have inside them until you start taking it away, one hope at a time. ~Shantaram

World of Unknown

2011-11-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Today I am exhausted, and my thoughts are running through my mind like a mouse running through a maze looking for a way out.

“We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life!”

~Tennessee Williams

I came home from the hospital last night, feeling so alone and scared. I had trouble sleeping and controlling my thinking, the night was dark and long. I don’t like imposing on people and do not feel comfortable calling on others, not even family. I tried thinking of something that felt safe and secure, something I had not really ever thought about or given thought to came to mind - Growing up my grandma and grandpa’s house was within hollering distance, only a creek and bridge separated us. I could look out our kitchen window and see my grandma’s kitchen window. She was an early riser; she would always be up at 5 a.m. I can remember getting up and it still dark outside, looking out the kitchen window and seeing grandma’s kitchen light on...such comforting sight. I knew for certain she was making coffee and cooking bacon. On her small kitchen table was a lazy susan, which held salt, pepper, homespun honey, grape jelly, and butter, always. I’m not sure why this memory came to mind last night, but it felt safe and comforting.

I am often amazed at how spot-on my messages from The Universe are. This was my message from the Universe today:

It's true, Debra, sometimes when you've had a difficult day, or met difficult people, been let down, disappointed, or heartbroken, it's easy to completely forget the most important thing of all... you're alive.

Without even trying.

Who loves ya?
The Universe

Empty

2011-10-30T23:31:00.001-05:00

Life seems filled with pain and uncertainty.

You look up, down, all around,

still...

no answers to be found.

The whole world

dark and void.

Empty.

Belief

2011-10-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

“If you stumble about believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?”

― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

pain and beauty...

2011-10-28T16:55:00.001-05:00

“Pain and beauty, our constant bedfellows” ― Nick Bantock

! warning

2011-10-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

You think about 60,000 thoughts a day. It's up to you to make sure that you don't use up 59,999 with negative, cynical thinking.

So next time, before you start to think something negative, just think about that...and this: Your brain has 100 billion cells --- and each of these little babies is connected to at least 20,000 other cells. The variety of potential combinations of all these is more multitudinous than the number of molecules existing in the entire universe! So, if you have that many different combinations of brain cells to choose from, why not try a new combo today?

I have owned this little book for quite a while now and I love it as a quick fix, picker-upper... it helps during those moments when my mind is flooded with negative thinking.

(I don''t know about you, but I need all the help available when it comes to positive thinking).

Btw, that's a lot of thoughts to be thinking each day. :)

Where I'd like to be today...

2011-10-21T15:05:00.000-05:00

...and tomorrow...and all future days. I have been blessed and fortunate enough to have spent some time in Italy. While living in Europe, Italy was a monthly visit for 10 years. If I ever get back there, I'll not be getting on a plane to come back.

Yesterday evening I spent an little time on the sofa with a cozy afghan, a cup of hot chai tea, memories, and a picture book of Tuscany. Pure bliss.

Enjoy this beautiful song by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Be Whimsical

2011-10-20T13:55:00.000-05:00

“You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”

― Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

Wanting...

2011-10-17T22:17:00.000-05:00

“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.”

― Sylvia Plath

unchanged

2011-10-15T00:07:00.003-05:00

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Nelson Mandela (1918 - ), 'A Long Walk to Freedom'

Place and Time

2011-10-13T16:29:00.000-05:00

“Space is to place as eternity is to time.”

~Joseph Joubert

Changing Colors

2011-10-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
~Mary Engelbreit

The colors are changing, from beauty to more beauty. Fall is bittersweet - leaving behind the bold and bright colors of summer - falling into a cozy, earthy, trance-like, even somewhat protective state of being. Fall makes me want to settle in - bake some bread, have a pot of soup cooking on the stove, hot cocoa loaded with marshmallows, and a warm cozy afghan to cuddle with, etc. Sooo....it is time for me to embrace the changing season.

Rust

2011-10-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

“Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.”

William Shakespeare

Sunday Muses

2011-10-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

You will never come up against a greater adversary than your own potential, my young friend. ~Michael Pillier and Michael Wagner, Star Trek

Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual: you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

...with an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things. ~ William Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey

shadow effect

2011-10-06T22:43:00.002-05:00

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

Let it be

2011-10-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly. Let the lover be. ~Rumi

...seeing it my way

2011-10-04T13:37:00.000-05:00

I prefer to see things the way I want them to be, not the way they are.

“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

― Bertrand Russell

Beauty

2011-10-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.”

― Mary Oliver

Adversity

2011-10-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all."

— Walt Disney Company (Mulan)

Something like hurt

2011-09-29T23:34:00.001-05:00

“To hurt is as human as to breathe.”

― J.K. Rowling, The Tales of Beedle the Bard

One & Only

2011-09-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

This may be my one and only zucchini for the year. My plants were beautiful, and more blooms than you could count. They just did not produce anything other than this one. And, I think it may be a cross between a yellow squash and a zucchini, not sure. I am still thrilled to have had this one to enjoy, it was delicious! I never fry anything, but thinking this would be the only one, I thought it was time to live a little. I promise you, I enjoyed every single bite. It was really big and I was afraid it would not be good, but boy oh boy was I wrong. I do now have a lot of little ones now growing on the vines??? I fear it is already too cold and late in the season for them to make it to the eating and enjoying stage.

A Happy Monday

2011-09-26T06:59:00.001-05:00

It's Monday, a new week...and a chance to see things in a new way.

Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.”

― Leo Tolstoy

i carry your heart...

2011-09-25T18:27:00.000-05:00

To all the people I love...

“I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)I am never without it (anywhere

I go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)

I fear no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet)I want no world (for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)”

― e.e. cummings

Saturday Morning Brunch

2011-09-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

On Saturday or Sunday morning is about the only time I really like eating breakfast, because I can eat it later. Always taste better to me at later time, with that great cup of French Press Coffee. I love Dutch Baby Pancakes drizzled with lemon juice, honey, and sprinkled with a little powered sugar. This morning I made Dutch Apple Pancakes, using the same simple recipe as Dutch Baby Pancakes; just cooked a delicious golden apple in a tablespoon of sugar, cinnamon, and a little butter. I cook the apples in a skillet to make them syrupy but still firm and crunchy, place them on top of the batter and bake. I save the syrup to drizzle a spoon of it over my piece of the pancake. YUM! Williams Sonoma has a recipe that is the same, except they add butter and sugar to the batter. I do not, makes it to greasy and too sweet for me. I add butter to the baking pan and pour the batter on top. The butter cooks in, and keeps the batter from sticking. (I still recommend using a nonstick pan).

These are great to make when you have company. They are easy to make, and serve with a variety of fruits and small pitchers of flavored syrups.

My simple recipe:

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
teas. vanilla
pinch of salt
half stick butter, melt in pan and pour in batter.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven. Serve immediately.

Marelli

2011-09-22T17:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was grooming day for Portia and Marelli. They always return home exhausted since they leave the house at 6:30 and do not get their usual morning naps. Marelli was just about to attack the camera he was so annoyed with the photo shoot. Portia escaped under the sofa to avoid the camera. I LOVE these two so much!!!! (Even though Portia would not participate in the photo shoot, she's a little doll!)

life is a verb by patti digh

2011-09-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

life is a verb

I've posted about this wonderful book before, but it is one of my favorite books to keep handy, at arms reach. It challenges me to think about things that I do not always want to think about. It is full of wonderful quotes and wisdom.

“Instead of a book, what if we're actually writing (or not writing) in the margins of our lives? What if our lives are books? What is the sign of our presence? Are we pressing into the margins our interpretations and questions? Are we circling offending verbs and drawing furious arrows to the margin where we scrawl "irony," "frustration," "voiceless," "unfair!" Or do we simply turn the pages, passively receiving what's given, furiously disagreeing but remaining silent about it?”

― Patti Digh, Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally

I really do need to buy other Patti Digh books. Someday soon.

On my list of MUST have this.

Becoming the Path [Buddha Quote]

2011-09-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

“You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself”

Buddha

Faith NOT Fear

2011-09-14T23:26:00.001-05:00

I need to go to bed tonight believing in miracles and that tomorrow can and will be a marvelous, extraordinary day. Why is it so easy to believe in miracles for others...but not so much for myself? Forcing myself to think positive, yet, with so much fear swirling about it’s tough. Does fear strangle the little breath of faith breathing inside us? Unlike so many who are certain of what they believe, I am not one.

“Be realistic: Plan for a miracle”

― Osho Rajneesh

Moon Ghost

2011-09-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

I took a photo of the beautiful moon last night, I laughed when I saw the photo. Do you see the "ghost" in the photo? (I swear, all I did was lighten the photo a tiny bit.) :)

O wild and wondrous midnight,

There is a might in thee

To make the charmed body
Almost like spirit be,
And give it some faint glimpses
Of immortality.
~James Russell Lowell, Midnight

Thanksgiving Turkey Decor

2011-09-11T18:36:00.000-05:00

It's almost that time of year, the fall holiday season, when you can use all those beautiful fall colors to decorate your home. I just listed these handsome dudes in my ETSY shop. I've had them for a long time, used to collect them. Some did not make it back from Germany, and some still packed in boxes. I'm clearing out a lot of things, for various reasons. Listed these today, so, if you are in need of some holiday decor, you can find it in my shop.

Vintage Holiday Turkey Planters, Pair

Vintage Holiday Turkey Planter, Bright and Bold Colors

When Frugal Tastes Good

2011-09-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

Here while back I made some bite size cookies from a little leftover pie dough that I did not want to throw out. I rolled out the leftover dough very thin, brushed with butter, sprinkled with a little sugar and lots of Cinnamon, topped with some chopped pecans, slivered almonds, and unsweetened coconut. They turned out delicious. I'm looking forward to fall when I'll be making a pie now and then, giving me the opportunity to make these again.

The second time I made these, I had some white chocolate, peppermint candy bars in the freezer that I had purchased when they went on sale after the Christmas season, I chopped some up and mixed with the same mixture, they were delicious.

With All My Heart

2011-09-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

Today is the anniversary of my father’s death. I do not know that it is a sadder day than any other is, because I have missed him every single minute of every day. Some days, I crave his touch on my shoulder, his voice giving me direction, even those lectures he was so good at giving, so much that I ache in a way that I cannot describe.

I will always wish there could have been one more hug, one more dinner, one more chat, and one more chance to say "I LOVE YOU".

So...just in case, you are listening dad, I LOVE YOU with all my heart!

Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. ~Author Unknown

Etsy Front Page :)

2011-09-08T20:49:00.001-05:00

I feel like I have made it BIG time...Finally, made it to the front page of ETSY.

So excited!

My platter was featured on this beautiful FRONT PAGE TREASURY by MessieJessie. YEAH!!!!

'Free Spirit.' by MesssieJessie

Thank you for the title Shirae : )

Chicadee in the Mar... tammiebowden $28.00	antique hand painte... Harmonicajane $50.00	Love Song MariamSitchina... $35.00	Geometric Metal Arr... RootsJewelry $154.00
Birch bark mask wit... ladyinthetower $49.00	Custom Order - Crea... OurSunshine $63.99	Antique c1870 T. Fu... sixpencebluemo... $58.00	camel tan suede le... tuscada $79.00
Newborn Baby Bear B... Snazzybeans $14.00	Farm Photo Pastoral... lucysnowephoto... $20.00	Frosted Pink Roses ... bbrunophotogra... $28.00	RESERVED for Ayelet... CreoleCollecti... $67.99
Handmade wooden bro... psyboom $9.00	Free Spirit shirae $20.00	Canal House Row - A... ARTISANIEeurop... $140.00	50s Sheer Capelet S... littledeervint... $34.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Enchanted

2011-09-06T18:01:00.000-05:00

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” ~Elizabeth Lawrence

“An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed with beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world or by a spirit or voice speaking from deep within a thing, a place, or a person. Enchantment may be” ~Henry Louis Mencken

“An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love, and union with the world around us. As mystics of many religions have taught, that sense of rapturous union can give a” ~Thomas More

Daily Miracle

2011-09-04T20:57:00.001-05:00

When I see something amazing, I think it is a sign of good things to come, at least it gives me hope that a miracle is on its way. A double-bloom flower was my sign today - one stem, a perfect bloom on each side of the stem.

“Love works in miracles every day: such as weakening the strong, and strengthening the weak; making fools of the wise, and wise men of fools; favouring the passions, destroying reason, and in a word, turning everything topsy-turvy.” ~Marguerite De Valois

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?”
~Henry David Thoreau

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” ~Saint Augustine

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” ~Pablo Casals

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” ~C.S. Lewis

Standing Still

2011-09-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

"Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life." ~ Brian Andreas

Be obscure clearly!

2011-09-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

It has always been a comfort for me to escape reality between the covers of Charlotte’s Web. I love and adore E.B. White’s writing style. When I spotted this creature outside today while watering my plants, I couldn’t help but think of Charlotte. I have no love for spiders; in fact, they give me the creeps. I could not help myself; I had to take a picture, using my zoom of course.

"Be obscure clearly!" — E.B. White (Charlotte's Web)

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."

— E.B. White (Charlotte's Web)

Some Favorite Maya Angelou Qutoes

2011-09-02T12:26:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!

Sharing a few of my favorite Maya Angelou Quotes on this beautiful day.

"Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art."

"You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody."

"Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant."

"Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances. "

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. "

"You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!"

"I am a Woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal Woman,
that's me."

"I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare."

"I sustain myself with the love of family."

"Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning."

One Of A Kind

2011-09-01T11:04:00.003-05:00

Sunday I went out to find some willow branches, as always I took my camera with me and found a few things to photograph. And as always, nature provided so much beauty to gaze upon. Trees stand so confident and majestic, without complaining or boosting. Their conditions are not always perfect - often they are crowded or standing in a field alone. I find even what others would see as ugly trees, to be very beautiful. I'll share those later on this week.

(Sixpence & A Blue mOOn Photo)

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. ~Henry Millel

Thankful

2011-08-31T16:55:00.000-05:00

Sixpence & A Blue mOOn Photo

This guy was on the butterfly bush for several hours today, working hard.

After the bottom falling out of my hot water heater several days ago, I have a new water heater and hot water today. I was a bit disappointed when I knew I would have to dive into the savings I have been saving for what seems like forever, for a new tub, toilet, and flooring for my upstairs bathroom that no longer works. Still, I am thankful I had enough to replace the water heater. At first look, I thought it wasn't too bad, less than $400 for the cheapest hot water heater, but by the time it was installed, it came to $784.00. It will be so nice to be able to take a hot bath tonight. I boiled water a couple of nights; it took forever and many trips up the stairs. I had concluded on Monday night, I was going to have to spray more perfume because I was not spending another night boiling and carrying boiling water up a flight of stairs. I am so happy with the installer - he was fast, kind, and did a great job. I was worried about the rust spilling all over the place by the time he got the old one up the basement stairs and out the door, but very few drops and he cleaned them up. I must go online and leave a very generous comment for him and his company. :)

You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Blooming Perfection

2011-08-30T11:03:00.006-05:00

Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.
~Goethe

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes"

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(Sixpence & A Blue mOOn photos)

Does anyone happen to know the name of this? It is a bush that was on clearance, almost dead. I bought it and planted it in June, and it is thriving right now.

Bold and Beautiful

2011-08-29T06:50:00.001-05:00

"We see in others what we want and what we fear."

— Simon Van Booy (Everything Beautiful Began After)

Fragments of Summer

2011-08-28T11:54:00.000-05:00

I went out yesterday to capture what is left of summer's magnificent beauty.

"When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings."

— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

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If only I could write like Elizabeth Gilbert... I am sure life would throw smoother stones my way. :) I could read her books over and over and over. Probably because I can relate to her in so many ways and that, draws me to her writing. Eat, Pray, Love is a real gem for me, so full of yummy nuggets. I can't believe I do not own the movie. Gosh, I am going to have to remedy this problem and purchase it. It is the perfect movie for a lonely Friday or Saturday night.

Now if only I had the money to travel the world to find myself. :)

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

So hooked on Matt's music right now.

Raw Beauty

2011-08-27T21:36:00.000-05:00

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~Henry David Thoreau

"If you don’t see it, you cannot capture it."- Thomas Leuthard

Dream Catcher

2011-08-26T13:58:00.000-05:00

Too many of my nights are filled with bad dreams - probably because I go to bed so worried about things and my mind is always trying to figure how to work things out. After reading up on dream catchers, I decided to make one for myself. I absolutely love it. I do have to get it hung where is swings freely for the bad dreams to pass through. Since hanging it, I haven’t had a bad dream and I’ve been sleeping better. My first one, I used things I had around the house, going to have to purchase a few things, and, I want to find some willow branches. I like things made from nature, the more natural things are the better. I made one last night for my wonderful friend Susan. I think after I perfect a couple of things in making them that I may start selling them.

Dream Catcher

My first dream catcher

The Legend of the DreamCatcher

Long ago when the word was young, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers,horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web.

He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life; how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle. "But", Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, "in each time of life there are many forces; some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature." While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.

When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, "The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole." The elder passed on his vision to the people and now many Indian people hang a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web and is no longer a part of their lives. It's said that the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future.

Made this one for my wonderful friend Susan.

Yes...I am obsessed with these dream catchers...and the history of them.

May everyone be safe this weekend!

And...a little music for this wonderful Friday.

{Music and Art Friday} The Civil Wars - Poison & Wine

2011-08-19T14:49:00.001-05:00

I just love this duo - I love watching them as much as I enjoy listening to them, so much chemistry between the two of them.

Some beautiful music...

and, some beautiful art...

Beyond the Horizon by Steve Hanks

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. - Robert Frost

Creative Saturday

2011-08-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I was in a mood to have something new to decorate with, so, I found a few items around the house and went to work. Natural always does it for me, and I had some rocks in a pot outside, decided to decorate them with a little paint. They are prettier irl than in the photo, and they are smaller irl. Some other rocks I decoupaged to sit on my desk and remind me to be thankful, forgiving, loving, etc.

I needed "one" more server to find a place to store, which space is something I don't have. Using a cheap glass plate and a candleholder, it turned out quite nice. I used this as a test; I have an old plate from my grandma that I wanted to do this with, but want to test the glue first.

On another note, I want to share a couple of my beautiful zinnias...

Timeless...Natural Beauty

2011-08-11T19:17:00.001-05:00

I will always see Marilyn Monroe as a natural beauty. Never seen this photo before and I love it, she appears so young and innocent. She looks a little like Scarlett Johansson in this photo.

(At the Actor's Studio (photo by Ray Schatt).

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

— Marilyn Monroe

'Casual Living' - Favorite New Decorating Book

2011-08-05T08:36:00.000-05:00

It has been a tough week, my nephew died of a sudden heart attack on Monday. He was far too young to have left this world. Life is full of so much sadness and hurt. I wish everyone could live to be happy, healthy, and old. I wish we lived in a perfect world. :)

I'm trying to think on other things right now, so, I've been looking through a book I purchased last month at Anthropologie. I love looking through this book. Many decorating books decorate my home, some I go through quite often; this one will remain in my reach for a very long time.

I would love to have this patchwork sofa in my living room, and the painting behind it.

Hope you enjoyed a few samples from the book.

A Little Decoupage Never Hurts

2011-07-27T15:20:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy, had company for a week and just not feeling the love for blogging as of late. The heat has been in the triple digits for so long, I do not remember when it was not. Going outside is torture - bug bites and the feel of a heat gun running across your body. I've been watering my plants three times a day, just trying to keep them alive, but the heat is doing extreme damage to them and I'm about to give up on them. I may just start watering the bushes I planted this year, and let everything else go. :(

Showing some projects I completed in the past couple of weeks.

A shelf decoupaged with old pages of Pride and Prejudice for my little Ada;

The book was an old Readers Digest that had a lot of pages missing - so, no book harmed in the making of this functional art piece.

Love Elizabeth Taylor, had a table that was really damaged - used a section on Elizabeth that was in the paper after she passed away. This is lovelier IRL. :) Perfect little table in my walk-in closet.

A crochet purse for Ada. It is just the cutest thing.

Another Ada Purse.

I hope everyone is staying safe and cool in this summer heat.

Thoughts of Innocence

2011-07-04T10:48:00.003-05:00

After having a week of NOT getting any good photos (surely the fault of the camera, huh?) I was playing around with the settings trying to figure them out. Reading a manual is not one of my favorite things to do, so instead, I play around with the camera and still do not know what I did. :)

Anyways, I like these pictures, and quotes.

“Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of to-day. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul.”

~ Francis Thompson

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?"”

~Howard Ikemoto

“The few wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them.”

~Charles de Lint

A HaPpY new week to ALL.
xOx

From The Fridge

2011-07-03T23:23:00.003-05:00

I cooked some awesome tuna steaks last night for dinner, marinated in a homemade marinade. Had one steak leftover, so made this salad from things I had in the fridge. It was awesome delicious!

Mixed up some tuna salad with mayo, relish, red onion, seedless red grapes, sun dried tomatoes, chopped celery, and kalamata olives on a bed of chopped spinach, sliced tomatoes, and clementine segments, topped with feta cheese and chives. Did not add any other seasoning since the tuna was marinated, the flavors were amazing. I did of course, drizzle olive oil on top.

HOT HOT HOT

2011-07-01T16:31:00.001-05:00

Holy Cow! It is really a hot one here today. Too hot to go outside.

Hope everyone is staying cool...and having a wonderful Friday.

The 'Famous' Rocks Story

2011-06-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

I found this little parable here at Robin's Web. And I thoughly enjoyed it.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full?

They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them in to the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full?

They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.

The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks.

The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important.

Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter."

I trust everyone is having a wonderful week. xOx

just because

2011-06-24T15:47:00.000-05:00

Just because...:)

Found this frame in the dumpster. I'm going to make a visual board using it.

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“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

~Buddha

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” ~Buddha

I'm so into this music right now - soothing, relaxing, and so very beautiful.

throwing out the old

2011-06-22T17:58:00.001-05:00

"Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth."

— Rumi

Have you ever wondered why it is that the people we love the most hurt us the most? Or, why we in return hurt those we love the most?

I get annoyed when others try to simplify people and relationships. People and relationships are very complex - always have been, always will be. If it were possible to scratch the surface of a person or relationship, we would never uncover all the different colors that have made us/them into the person we/they are today. Tomorrow, the next day, and until the day we die, we will evolve into someone different. Next year, if we could step outside our own skin and see the person we are today and the person we will be next year, we would see someone all together different. We will think and act differently. My hope is that it will be a progression and not a regression.

I know I will be carrying a new set of baggage and hopefully, I will have left some of the old behind and the new will be a lighter load and a more attractive set.

My goal is to let go and throw out the memories and experiences that have wounded me so deeply (which I am not so good at for some reason). Perhaps I am afraid to let go of the bad and hurtful experiences; maybe I allow them to define me? No longer do I want to define myself or be defined by the memories that haunt me, or, the people who want to define me. I am guilty of trying to see myself through the eyes of family members. NO MORE!!!!

"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet."

— Rumi

"Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death."

— Rumi

Time to bloom

2011-06-21T13:48:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have neglected blogging for a little over a week; had company and we were very busy.

I think I will do a lot of reflecting this week.

A little bouquet I picked from my flowerbed this morning - so bright and cheery. Something about flowers, they give me a sense of life and reason.

"How we remember, what we remember and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality." Christina Baldwin

Friday Reflections

2011-06-10T12:50:00.003-05:00

The weekend looks rather busy for me, I have family coming on Monday. I need to stay in the house and get some things completed, but I am having a problem staying indoors. Maybe I need it to rain. :)

I am very mad at myself right now. I worked on scraping my front porch two days ago and I guess it spooked Merci (the Ferrell Cat) she has moved the kittens. I've never had cats and I guess I have a lot to learn. I keep going to the door to see if she is there for her dinner. I drove all over the neighborhood late at night, thinking, since they come out late at night they might be out somewhere. I have actually said a couple of prayers for them to find their way back. I MISS them like something CRAZY.

It is baffling to me how someone or something can make an appearance into your life and world and you are never again the same. I never got to pet or hold her, yet, she and her kittens stole my heart. :)

Today, I am contemplating... what it was she was sent to teach me?

A couple of pictures I took yesterday.

“Just as your hand has the power to hide the sun, mediocrity has the power to hide your inner light. -Paulo Coelho's Blog

Tiger Lilies blooming.

Puff Pastry Vegetarian Pizza

2011-06-08T22:20:00.001-05:00

It was a good day; after finding a recipe on Sweet Paul’s Blog, I knew I had to make it…and I did. It was so delicious that I will be making it again tomorrow night. I followed the way EASY directions exactly, except…I added a couple of things I needed to use up and some of my fresh herbs, which are in abundance right now - thyme, oregano, rosemary, and at the end of cooking time, some basil dipped in olive oil. Added a couple of chopped green onions and sun dried tomatoes, a few black olives…this was so simple…and too DELICIOUS to be so simple. The puff pastry is now my new favorite pizza crust, tender and flaky. This tasted much more like the European Pizza I used to eat in Germany, no tomato sauce. I love recipes like this, you can use what you have, add extras that you like.

Ready for the oven.

Ready to eat.

Find the recipe on Sweet Paul's Blog

Summer Beauty

2011-06-08T12:11:00.002-05:00

So, I did get most of my porch scraped yesterday. I worked seven hours straight scraping in 100-degree weather. I don't know whether I was so tired I was sick last night, or if I was just too tired. I felt delirious by the time I got ready for bed. There is still more scraping to do today. I need to find some place to plug into an energy outlet, because I seem to be running very low today.

I'll be very happy when I win the lottery so...I can pay people to do these things who know what they're doing. I HATE painting with a passion - I'm not good at painting because I am either just not good at it, or, not good at it because I hate it so much. (Oh yeah, I guess I should buy a lottery ticket in order to have a chance at winning.) lol

More of my beautiful flowers. I am jumping up and down with joy - I planted these seed last year. Always a beautiful thing when seeds turn into beautiful blooming flowers.

A Good Tired

2011-06-07T00:23:00.001-05:00

I'm so tired tonight. I've been working outside almost every second of every day since the weather has cleared - and it's about time to call it a day and take a nice hot bath. I will start scraping my “small” porch tomorrow and try to get it scraped and painted this week. HOA claims to be going to replace some porches and I'm waiting to see if mine will be one of them, so...I don't want to put a lot of time into it. I can't stand looking at the peeling paint; the winter weather seems to have taken its tole on the cosmetic appearance.

Still can't get enough of my blooming flowers.:)

I hope everyone is having a beautiful week.

xOx

Humility

2011-06-03T22:15:00.001-05:00

My Roses have started blooming.

For some reason, my photos will NOT post in the order I post them - Blogger seems to have a mind of its own tonight.

I found this postcard a few years ago and loved the peaceful message; I framed it so I could read it often. Even though I don't do so well at living the message, I like reading it and thinking that some day...I'll do better. The other photos are some I have taken the past couple of days; I thought they were fitting for this post.

One of the liitle ones - I'm in love with them. He or she was hanging out in this flower pot this morning, while mom was waiting for her food.

Hey Mom...

2011-06-02T16:40:00.001-05:00

These guys are taking up many minutes of my days; I just can't help but watch them when they are out. I have named Mom "Merci". She is amazing, so young...but the greatest mom. The way she looks out after her three babies is something to behold. Yesterday, this little one wanted mom's attention; it appeared they gave each other a kiss. (How SWEET and ADORABLE is that?)

My little Portia watching the kittens.

key to my heart keepsake

2011-05-29T12:35:00.001-05:00

I saw some beautiful pictures on Mamie Jane's Blog a few days ago and instantly fell in love with the pictures. I have some keys that belonged to my dad and a crochet heart from my grandma, I figured this would be the best way to display them, and eye pleasing at the same time.

Do check out Mamie Jane's Blog, her ideas and creativity are endless...

I love the "Do Not Duplicate" on the key.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

Strawberry Time

2011-05-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

It's strawberry season and I am taking advantage of putting some in the freezer and making strawberry jam. I put about 45 bags in the freezer yesterday, love using them in smoothies and other recipes. I'll be putting more in the freezer this week. I decided to also make a small batch of strawberry freezer jam (I like freezer jam and jellies much better than cooked; it has a fresher taste, in my opinion.) This morning I made some Coffeehouse Scones to go with my fresh strawberry jam - and my goodness, what a great treat for a Saturday morning.

Coffeehouse Scones:

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
2/3 - 3/4 cup (160 - 180 ml) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently and form into a round that is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet and brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Responsibility

2011-05-27T13:10:00.002-05:00

I cut my first bouquet of roses yesterday. I love having fresh cut flowers in the house, especially when they come from my own yard. One of the things I miss about Germany, are the fresh flowers that are so available everywhere. It is pretty much a standard thing to take fresh flowers when you go to visit someone.

“You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I could not help but think of this little girl when I found the quote to post with my rose photos...She is now mine...I feed her, and though she will not let me close enough to pet her, she is waiting at the front door two -three times a day for her food. She stays under the front porch with her three kittens - and even though she is less than a year old herself, she is the most perfect mom. Now that she is getting food on a regular basis, she is looking much better. And for sure, she has given me more than I can give to her. As soon as they (baby kittens) are weaned from their mom, I’m hoping to catch them so that I can take them in to have them spayed and neutered...and hopefully, homes.

Pefect Day

2011-05-26T14:55:00.002-05:00

It's one of those days...when everything feels and looks perfect. Considering I spent some of the day yesterday in the basement praying that none of the sighted tornadoes would touch down, today feels amazing. All the flowers and greenery seem to be thankful also, appearing bright and perky today. I am doing a little dance that my "little" pond is so crystal clear today, something I crave. Just maybe...I have found a filter system that is working. The fish seem to be doing well, and this is no small thing.:)

My prayers go out to all who have been affected by the horrible storms
.

Snapshot of a moment

2011-05-19T22:44:00.003-05:00

Lately, I have read many comments from various places and sources regarding Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger and one comment I have seen quite often confuses me: "She is a Kennedy after all." I will keep my own personal opinion of Arnold to myself, but I will say that I adore and love Maria Shriver and The Kennedy's and I am not sure how Maria being part Kennedy inoculates her from any hurt and pain of having been cheated on?

I'm not wanting to debate the moral values of The Kennedy's, but it did get me to thinking about how people love to recall mistakes made by others. Frankly, I am busy sweeping around my own front door, I'll leave it to others do their own sweeping.

My heart and prayers go out to all involved.

Photo: Sixpence & A Blue mOOn

Some nice quotes:

All we see of someone at any moment is a snapshot of their life: there in riches or poverty, in joy or despair. Snapshots don't show the million decisions that led to that moment. - R. Bach

Our judgements judge us, and nothing reveals us, exposes our weaknesses, more ingeniously than the attitude of pronouncing upon our fellows. ~ Paul Valéry Flametree

Time will change and even reverse many of your present opinions. Refrain, therefore, awhile from setting yourself up as judge of the highest matters. ~Plato

Lemon Bar with a Ginger Twist

2011-05-18T21:17:00.005-05:00

A few days ago, I found this wonderful blog: Desserts for Breakfast and made this delicious Lemon Bar with Ginger Shortbread today. OMG, it was so delicious - the ginger gave this traditional lemon bar a wonderful zing. My photos do not compare to hers, but here are my attempts at photographing a little of the process. I find it difficult to photograph food and make it look as good as the real thing. You can click on the link and find the recipe (and her wonderful blog).

Finished Product - Yum Yum Yum, was so good with a cup of coffee. Oh yes, the shortbread is the most amazing I have ever made or tasted.

Find the recipe here: Desserts for Breakfast

New "favorite" refreshing drink

2011-05-17T15:55:00.004-05:00

I was introduced to a new drink that I LOVE, VITA Coco 100% Coconut Water. Since it is $2.99 a box, I can't drink it like water. One of my favorite flavors is ginger, and I am always looking for something to add ginger to - I found it. :) I mixed a glass with half coconut water and half with club soda, added some slices of fresh ginger, (amount depends on your liking for ginger) topped with fresh mint leaves. I love the refreshing taste and the sparkling flavor it has. I feel healthier just drinking it. :) I'm thinking a slice of lime might be a nice touch also.

Surprise Surprise

2011-05-16T13:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we found three little kittens in the basement window-well outside. Their mom is wild, not too friendly. I don't know how long they have been there or how old they are, not very since their meow is quite weak. After mom left, we took the screen off and put newspaper on top of the ground, a warm towel from the dryer and a small dish of water. They seem to love the warm towel, and it wasn't long until they were up and moving around a bit and drinking some water. When mom came back, she was quite suspicious but...didn't seem to mind the newspaper and towel, but kept an eagle eye on the window. The sun is out today and it is about 12 degrees warmer than yesterday, which should help a little. I do not want to bother them much, for fear mom will decide to move them and where they are, they are well protected from the elements and other predators. I will call our vet this afternoon and let him know we have them and just maybe...he will know of someone wanting a kitten. I can't have one because someone in the house is extremely allergic to cats, like we'd be at the hospital within five minutes. The mom had been hanging out under the porch during the winter, and I felt so bad for her, it was such a harsh, cold winter. She seems to have survived just fine, but I'd sure like to find a way to get her fixed so she doesn't keep having babies. Still, these little guys are so darn cute! There are three and they all look the same. I took the picture standing on a chair with books piled high; they were up close to the wall so I was not able to angle the camera to get a shot of all three. Maybe later, if they are moving around. I am always in awe of how animals just know what to do without having any books, doctors, or manuals to tell them what to do.

Sunday Morning Dutch Baby Pancakes

2011-05-15T11:38:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things to make and eat on a weekend. I haven't made this in a long time, so it tasted soooo yummy. My favorite way to eat them is drizzled with fresh lemon and honey, sprinkled with a little powdered sugar on top.

Photo Credit: Sixpence & A Blue mOOn

Crepe Cake

2011-05-14T10:23:00.001-05:00

Photo: Country Living

I am in the mood to bake something - found this recipe on Country Living - this Crepe Cake looks different than any cake I have ever made. My love for crepes allows me to tend toward thinking I might really like this. And isn't it pretty!?!

My latest Clematis blooms - they are quite amazing this year. I have been doing a lot of work outside the past week and haven't had time to blog much. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Happy Mom's Day to ALL Mother's

2011-05-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

Wishing all mom's a wonderful day!

My Clematis starting blooming yesterday.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

Sunday quote and a song

2011-05-01T14:23:00.001-05:00

Photo: Sixpence & A Blue mOOn

"Everybody has strange things that mean things to them. ~ Ernest Hemingway

Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love

What do we see...

2011-04-30T19:59:00.003-05:00

Photo by Sixpence & A Blue mOOn

The dark shadow we seem to see in the distance is not really a mountain ahead, but the shadow of the mountain behind - a shadow from the past thrown forward into our future. It is a dark sludge of historical sectarianism. We can leave it behind us if we wish. ~David Trimble

Recycled Hose Wreath

2011-04-29T20:43:00.000-05:00

A wreath I made from a broken water hose. I love recycling. :)

Out of Focus

2011-04-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

Even my camera is seeing things...out of focus.

I like them anyway.:)

So...maybe there is some truth to the saying: The camera can photograph thought.

~Dirk Bogarde

Dream Kitchens

2011-04-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in the house. Growing up, it was where everything good happened - mom and grandma always making delicious food. They were neither one fancy cooks, but they were great cooks. My grandma could make homemade rolls that would melt in your mouth. When company came, everyone gathered in the kitchen. Having a well-stocked and organized kitchen makes cooking easier...and more fun. I found all these kitchens to be one I would love to have, and could feel quite comfortable cooking in.

Wow! I love the rustic, industrial appeal.

I am always a sucker for any room with stone.

This reminds me of a kitchen I saw in Poland, without the fancy range. Love it.

Love the white, though, I proably would have to add color.

Yep, I'm liking this.

Probably my favorite...love that color

Loving the slate and beams. Looks like a fun kitchen to create a delicious meal.

OK, I could live here.

All photos via House to Home

Believing In Your Belief

2011-04-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

The eloquent man is he who is no beautiful speaker, but who is inwardly and desperately drunk with a certain belief. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Loving this: "drunk with a certain belief."

Sunday Thought

2011-04-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Sunday...and a Happy Easter.

"What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it."

— C.S. Lewis

Colors of GREEN...with a song

2011-04-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

Rain has been falling for a couple of days; GREEN is really popping. I couldn't resist taking the camera out yesterday and capturing some of this magical color. Being surrounded by concrete/brick buildings, parking lots and stores, I delight in what little bit of nature forces it way to my front and back door. (However, even living in the city, I seem to have a lot of wildlife coming to my 'tiny' backyard.) :)

While listing some new items to my Etsy Shop today, I was listening to Adele. I hope YOU enjoy this beautiful song.

Easter Table Settings

2011-04-22T12:34:00.003-05:00

An empty table is a blank canvas, waiting to be topped and decorated with loved, passed down and treasured finds, some new, some old. No rules apply for setting a fabulous table, and if you think there are, break them. You can decorate a beautiful table with things found around your house, things can match or NOT! It can be simple or as fancy and elaborate as you want to create. I thought this weekend would be a great time to do a blog on ‘Table Settings‘.

Here are some beautiful examples:

Photo: Southern Living

One of my favorites is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Table Setting.

Photos: Remodelista

Photos: Country Living