This morning, my friend Maya made this profound statement... 
"Expectations are a powerful thing..."
She's much wiser than her years...

Threshold...
    To recognize it
    gives the impression that there's something more.
    To approach it
    confirms that there is.
    To cross it
    means never turning back.
DDD

Hey I figured out how to create a blog roll!!  There are 2 on it now, but I'll be adding more as I visit and follow more blogs.  Stay tuned!

This photo is of the treehouse I used to live in... where I wrote the poem that follows...

It would be silent, but for the cicada.

The wet ground silences footfall; quiets snapping twig.

Gray sky...solid; no blue, no horizontal shaft.
It's been a stormy day.

I love this light...
a transitional light that humbles the colors of life,

a light not yet twilight,
not yet ready to retire.

One that speaks to spirits lingering after a storm.
A solstice light, worthy of a summer evenfall.
DDD

Spoke to a good friend in Jamaica this morning.  I love her strong and free spirit.  We both agreed that our purpose here on Earth is to pass on kindness, as well as accept it graciously from others. 
Bruce and I spent yesterday with my daughter and her family.  Austin is getting so big and Ansley is holding her own bottle... and teething... so needless to say, her bibs get soaked quickly, except when I put one on her backwards and it just ran down her bib onto her shirt... lol.  Hey, neither I nor her other grandmother could figure out the new fangled diaper pail!  Even after we had figured it out before!  Too funny...  Life is really good when your children are happy and have a good life!  Mine are... and do... and that's a wonderful feeling!

I'm having a Holiday Sale in my Etsy Shop!  All items have been reduced and still no shipping charges!
http://piecesofd.etsy.com/
Here are some of the items...

Well, Thanksgiving is over and it's Black Friday. I don't do the whole shopping thing this weekend... It's just too crazy out there for me. Plus, I'd rather make gifts anyway. So this weekend is always a quiet one for us. This time last year, Bruce and I were separated, I was in a wheelchair from a major motorcycle wreck and my ill and elderly father was living with me (and my dog, Fred) in my 1 bedrrom duplex apt. The only Christmas tree I could manage was the ceramic pinlight tree my mom made for me many years ago. Mom's been gone since 1993. The holidays have never been the same since she passed. For a long time, the holidays were very sad for me. My mom had always made them what they were. I tried to do the same for my daughter and for the most part I think I accomplished that. Now, she and her babies make them for me... without even knowing it. I'm so blessed that she came into my life.
Throughout my healing process (from my accident), Bruce was there for me and we were reconciling. Then, last spring he was diagnosed with cancer and I was not going to let him go through this alone. My father and I moved back into the house with Bruce. He endured 6 months of chemo and is now awaiting tests to see if it worked. It's amazing how life threatening accidents and illnesses will make you re-evaluate your life. Dad is back home now and Bruce and I are stronger than ever. I have much to be thankful for after a rather hellish year. Even during the year, after my father almost died, after my injuries and Bruce's illness, it was always in the back of my mind that there were others out there that had it worse than we did. Dad would recover, Bruce's cancer was caught in time for it not to be terminal and I was alive, not on life support (I wasn't wearing a helmet) and, though mangled a bit, I still had my leg and would walk again. So much to be grateful for.
So I guess my message is... If you think about it... no matter what we are going through, we are all blessed in one way or another. We should remember that... and if we can, go one step more and pay it forward. That's what we are here on this Earth for... to pass on knowledge, kindness and gratitude.

Well, ARTchix didn't go for my class idea.  Oh well, maybe next time... but I'm not giving up!  Yesterday on my way home I stopped and picked some pretty fall leaves.  We do have some leaves that change here in Florida, but most that do change, change later in the year or in January or February.  These were persimmon leaves.  They are bright orange, red and yellow and some are a deep purple.  I'll try to put them in some handmade paper.  That's my next venture, handmade paper.  I do a good job with the mediums I work in now, but I'm looking for something "organic" for lack of a better word.  I used to work with clay... handbuilding pottery, but my arthritic hands couldn't take it.  I do some work with paper clay and I really think that working with pulp would be a great way to get back to my "organnic" roots.  Besides, I want to make my art and craft more green.  I guess that's why I've been trying to recycle cereal boxes and stuff into gift boxes, not to mention my recycled CD clocks.  The office that I work at could supply me with alot of paper for recycling into handmade paper.  This is something I really want to learn and possibly incorporate some of my poetry and prose into the art.  Maybe I could even use my own paper for my pastel paintings.  Here are a few of my paintings...

So, I'm still trying to figure this blog stuff out... but I'll get it... eventually.  I added some of my favorite links.  I want to start a "blog roll" (?)  I'll get to it this weekend, maybe, if I can squeeze it in.  Tomorrow Bruce and I are visiting an old friend for Thanksgiving dinner.  My daughter will be at my ex's mother's with the grandbabies.  So we will have our Thanksgiving on Saturday with them.  It will be so nice spending the day there with them.  I'm sure Ansley has grown since I last saw her and Austin is getting to be such a big boy. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday and don't forget to give thanks for all the blessings in your life.

Austin's shirt says "My Grandma Rides a Harley"

Ansley is wearing her Club Med t-shirt I brought her from my ladies' weekend.

This is the day Ansley came home... they grow so fast.

So... I just submitted a proposal for a class on the ARTchix Studio website!  That's the first class proposal I've ever submitted.  It's for my altered photo slide mount ornaments.  Of course if they accept the class I'll make some from ARTchix collage sheets and use them in the instructions.  Here are some of the ones I made for loved ones and to sell. 

Pretty easy, but you could even make them with your kids photos!  The Cardinals in the snow were the most popular of them all (vintage Santas, angels, Mary and baby Jesus, winter wildlife and Cardinals in the snow).

What do you think?

I helped some Brownies get their "shapes and sizes" patch tonight.  They made 3D package toppers; Christmas trees and stars.  With scrapbook paper, mounting tape and glitter.  They did well.  I posted on Twitter that my recycled gift boxes were a big hit at the craft fair and that I'd post a photo of them here tonight.  So here it is.  The box with the Christams tree checker board is a painted Cherrios box. The checkerboard is made of a recycled mailla envelope with trees stamped on it, glittered, then cut out and adhered to the box.  There are also the bottoms of soda cases and a Cheezits and Slenda box.  A cool way to recycle boxes in your household... not to mention cheaper and more fun than gift bags!

Okay, I just got in from Ft. Myers and Sarasota.  I'm kinda tired, plus I need to get ready for Saturday's craft fair. So, more photos are going to have to wait.

Well... I was going to post more photos of my art, but for some reason, I can't get any to post.  Oh well... I'll be out of town tomorrow night, so I'll try again Thursday night.  See ya soon!
D

Here are a few of my collages and clocks

Vintage Ephemera Cape Florida Collage

Cherish Beauty Mixed Media Collage

Fern Frond Mixed Media Clock

Vintage Glam Recycled CD Clock

Asian Themed Recycled CD Clock

Imagine Recycled CD Clock

Biker Babe Recycled CD Clock

Under Construction!