"Dear Diary..."

12 women...

I received an e-mail today, one of those things that I'm supposed to fwd to 12 women in the next 15 minutes, etc., etc.
I don't normally pay much attention to that kind of thing, but this one also suggested that I should imagine those 12 women together, in the same room, and that as a group, they could accomplish anything.
THAT made me think.
also made me laugh, as in lol.
who would you include in your group of 12?
and remember, they're supposed to accomplish something, and not kill each other in the process!
oh, and it also had a very cool quote at the bottom:
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to
dance in the rain."
I remember as a child, playing in the rain puddles with my mother after stretches of hot, dry summer days.
those warm rains, that brought relief from the heat and humidity of our non-air-conditioned-three-room-upper flat.
when I think back, we had so little, but we had so very much.
it's raining right now, I may have to go find some puddles...

small is beautiful

came across this link on Kathy McCreedy's blog, and I really like the "manifesto" of this group of bloggers.
I was especially struck by "...stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them."
as I get older, I find myself replaying, retelling stories from my past, my childhood, from family members that are long gone from this world, and then often wonder what purpose it serves.
and I feel a bit foolish.
it's part of that only-child-and-feeling-like-an-orphan thing I fight with from time to time.
well, it doesn't have to serve any purpose, the stories themselves are important, no matter how many people hear them.

today, Patrick and I are participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, by counting the birds we see in our yard today for at least 15 minutes.
the project is sponsored in part by the Audubon Society.
we plan to do it several times today and tomorrow, and then enter the results on their web page.
and I'm so glad our frequent pheasant visitor made an appearance during our first count this morning.

the snow is coming down, thick and quite beautiful, and I'm so glad that we do not have to go anywhere today, except dinner at the neighbors' later.
we'll probably spend a good part of tomorrow digging out, so Patrick can get to work Tuesday morning.
time for a cup of tea, and a game of Scrabble with my dear husband.
later,
Patty

more caffeine, please...

well, I think I've finally gone over the edge.
or maybe I just haven't had enough coffee this morning.
either way, I thought I'd share...
I turned on the computer, and opened my e-mail.
wow!
I've never had so many comments to a blog post!
and the ONE World-ONE Heart give-away event has just begun.
well, I published all the comments, one by one, checking for duplicates (Diane, I received three copies of your comment - maybe less caffeine for you! just kidding!), and then thought I would do some exploring to all the new blogs that are now linked with mine.
decided I would be methodical about it, and started with the host of the give-away, Lisa Oceandreamer, on her Heart of the Nest blog.
those of you that have been visiting me here for awhile know that although we have gotten a new computer in the past year, we're still on dial-up internet service, out here in the country, far from high-speed civilization.
it's frustrating at times, but I've learned to be patient with some websites, that it's just going to take a while for the page to load.
as I'm waiting for Lisa's blog to slowly appear, I suddenly hear this "hissing" sound coming from, oh no!, my computer!
wait, there it is again!
I panic.
we have had a lengthy string of unfortunate events over the past year - basically, things keep breaking down, and have to be fixed, taking any cash reserves I once had set aside for just such emergencies.
first, it was the furnace, then the car, then the cat, then the other car, you get the picture.
that's just real life.
I try to remain optimistic, but I'm close to the edge on this, don't know how much more I can deal with right this minute.
certainly not some hideous, hissing virus, that slowly eats my hard drive for breakfast!
thinking I may be able to stop "it" before "it" does any real damage, I close up and shut down.
and wait.
Spike beckons to me, so I take a little pet-the-cat-and-lower-your-blood-pressure break.
deep breath, and we turn it back on.
all seems to be ok, so I go back to Lisa's blog.
suddenly, there's that hissing again!
I decide to wait it out, just see what's going to happen next, if the whole thing comes crashing down and implodes, so be it.
hiss... silence... hiss... silence... hiss... silence...
then the hissing is louder, almost sounded like ocean waves...
(Brenda, I want you to stop laughing, right now!)
and then, the tiniest snippet of, yes, I think that was a guitar!?!
then, a bit more.
I could not have been more relieved, but also could not have felt more stupid.
scrolling down the page, I see the Sonific SongSpot player, and realize that I have been listening to bits and pieces of a very lovely composition, entitled "Wild Mountain Thyme" from Celtic Moods - and my apologies to the artist, Brad Prevedoros, for the "hissing" reference - as it slowly feeds through my phone line, a few notes at a time.
it's just like musical chairs, when you suddenly lift the needle off the turntable, and the music stops.
(yes, I'm that old.)
ok, then, got to get back to work, got to get a high-speed isp.
but first, another cup of coffee.
later,
Patty

birthday snow

today is my birthday.
ta-DAH.
it crept up on me this year, for some reason, and I really didn't mentally or physically prepare for it the way I usually do.
not that I ever do a lot in the way of celebration, but I just feel as if I wasn't ready for this one.
part of it, I think, has been the unseasonably, un-characteristic-for-my-birthday mild weather.
warmer temps. gave way to rain and fog, and when it cleared, all the pretty white snow we'd had for a month or more was gone, leaving behind all the wet, brown leaves I didn't get raked up in October.
basically, it was ugly.
warm, but ugly.
yesterday it got cold again, and today I awoke to the most lovely blanket of snow, it's so pretty!
(yes, I know, get a camera, take a picture, and post it...)
the sun is shining, and everything has a thick coating of white.
it's not typical birthday weather, but I'll take it.
usually, my birthday brings the coldest, most blustery, icy, treacherous-for-travelling crap, that I can't go anywhere, and I sit home and feel old and trapped.
my father used to tell me the story of my arrival into the world.
I had been "attempting to be born" for a couple of days, and the doctor thought it best if my mother came to the hospital.
it was much too soon, by about 8 weeks, and she had been quite sick.
something was wrong.
of course, they were in the midst of a terrible blizzard in Milwaukee, but my father managed to dig the car out, and make the slow trip without incident.
my mother had a kidney infection, running a high fever, and I was complicating matters.
so, it was decided to do a c-section, and I arrived at 9:15 am, Jan. 11th, 1956 - just over 3 lbs.
my father said I looked like a baby robin, no hair, all eyes, obviously not really ready for prime time.
it was touch-and-go for quite a while, for both my mother and me, but we survived.
I had to stay in the hospital for almost six weeks, and spent a lot of time in an incubator (hence, my poor eyesight).
and for many of the 52 birthdays since, the weather on Jan. 11th has absolutely sucked.
but not today, and I'm feeling very optimistic about that.
the celebration will be spread out over the next couple of weeks.
probably a movie tonight, then Patrick is going to go with me for a wheel-thrown pottery class next week (I'll tell you more about that later), and then dinner at Koko's in Green Bay (sushi! yeah!) with good friends on the 25th (it was the only time this month that all six of us could get together!).

I stumbled upon this "make a flake" site yesterday, and in honor of my lovely birthday snow, I made a flake.
as a child, I used to love making paper snowflakes, and taping them to all the windows of our little apartment.
if you'd like to make your own, here's the place.
later,
Patty

tax day joy

their are two good things about April 15th:
1. it only lasts until April 16th.
2. it always reminds me of our wedding day.
no, we weren't married in April, and it has nothing to do with tax deductions.
April 15th is the day I order our flower baskets for the summer.
when we first looked at our house, it was late fall.
but one of the first things I envisioned was flower baskets hanging all along the wrap-around porch.
the pictures below were taken the day after our wedding, July of 2000.
many of our friends & neighbors brought flowers from their gardens, and we filled old canning jars with them, set them on each table.
and I had ordered baskets from Canterbury Farms in Green Bay, to hang on the porch, and they were spectacular!
as they are, every year.
but there has definitely been a learning curve to this process...
like the year we picked them up too early (I wanted them to be in place when my aunt came to visit for Mother's Day), and we had a cold snap the next week. (who knew?! you would think this was WISCONSIN!)
each night for a week, we hauled them inside, and lined them up on the floor in the front hall!
and the eventual determination that only two of the six can be "for full sun," and the other four must be "shade tolerant."
and getting just the right kind of hook, that swivels, so I can easily turn them every few days, rather than having to climb up the step ladder, take them down, and flip them around. (duh.)
anyway, I just placed our order.
that means the taxes are done, filed, and summer will be here before you know it.
happy Tax Day!
later,
Patty

"I should have been a cowboy"

I love it when someone makes a real connection to my work.
sometimes I make something, and I'm not really sure why.
it may have a theme, and a color scheme, and I may like the overall composition, but it may not have any special meaning to me.
but then, someone comes along, and it has real, significant meaning for them - and it's magical!
two years ago I made a piece that started with a faded, red barn-wood frame and a plastic toy horseshoe.
well, it evolved, over time, to include some old pictures of cowboys, and a plastic toy rifle, and some old wooden poker chips, and the title spelled out in old letter tiles of various faded colors.
my only connection to cowboys were the ones I had a crush on from TV and the movies, when I was about 10 or so.
Roy Rogers was my hero, and Little Joe Cartwright was just so darn cute!
but that was about it.
I took the piece to several shows, lots of people commented on it, smiled at it, but no one bought it, no one made that connection.
it's now hanging at the Kavarna show in Green Bay.
and this last week I could slowly feel myself slipping into that old familiar "everything-I-make-is-crap" black hole of emotion.
it always happens when things are "slow."
today I got an e-mail from a woman who wants the cowboy piece.
so I called her, and she's the ONE - she is so thrilled about it - said that everything about the piece IS her grandfather - the cowboys, the barn, the hunting rifle, even the reference to the horseshoe he had hanging above his door.
she's going to give it to her father, and she said he will probably cry.
I might cry, just thinking about it!
I love it when someone makes a real connection to my work.
later,
Patty