Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wild Horses!



Well, not really wild. Domesticated horses, acting WILD. They spend their days in their stalls, with lots of shade and water and hay. At night, we let them out into the arena - which isn't huge, but it's a whole lot bigger than their stalls. I dream of the day when we have real pasture - fields - lots of space for them to roam.

Once in a while, they go a little nuts. Tonight was one of those nights. The bigger horse is Dozer (the one with the blaze on his face). He's a quarter horse. The smaller horse is a mustang - we do not know her background. I believe that she was born in captivity. But she is a true mustang. Her coloring is called line-back dun. And she is brilliant.
Tonight, Dozer was so wild - he reared up - all the way. And as he was galloping, he kicked Belle. I hope she is ok.

Crazy pictures, because it was dusk, and they were kicking up tons of dust, and I had to use the flash!


Crazy!!





Saturday, September 26, 2009

Waldorf Dolls

I was a tomboy, growing up. I didn't play with a lot of dolls, although I did have one. Her name is Pitiful Pearl. I still have her. Her hair is a little....unusual. I may have had something to do with that...

So now I have a thing for dolls. I DROOL over dolls. Here's a sampling of some of my favorites:


This is Josie. Josie was made for me! by Gopita. I adore Josie; she sleeps on my bed every night. And Yes, I am a grown woman.
:0)

Here's another adorable one:




You can find her at Ruprecht's shop on Etsy.




This georgeous doll is available at Dragonflyshollow.




This little guy would love to come live at your house:


You can find him at PolarbearCreations.



Oritdotandolls makes the most beautiful and engaging dolls.
Hope you enjoy!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Business Travel


I love to travel. Visit wonderful places. That I choose to visit. Like parasailing in San Diego, for instance.


And then there is business travel. Spend a week living in a hotel, far from home. No kids, husband, dogs or cats. No laundry or dishes. Sound idyllic?
No. Let me give you some of the down-side:
Jet lag. Which really makes you almost sick.
Losing 1/2 your weekend, because you live very far away and you must be in town for a Monday morning meeting, so you leave your house at 9am Sunday morning, only to arrive at your hotel in a far away city at midnight. Then you try to go to sleep, but it is only 9pm, according to your body clock. So you lie there, waiting for sleep. Knowing you're going to be exhausted in the morning. And you have to get up and shower and do your hair, and make your pudgy body look presentable. And put on makeup, and lipstick. omg. Oh, and shoes, that are distinctly different from your usual flip flops.
Then you spend HOURS in meetings, trying to look and act perky. And insightful. So you can impress your supervisor, your supervisor's supervisor, and their supervisor. You wonder if it is working.
You make every effort to think, and be smart. And this goes on from the moment you meet your fellow co-workers for breakfast at 7am, until you can finally get back to the joy of your hotel room, at 9pm. Your makeup is blurry, you have been too tired to reapply lipstick for hours. Your bra strap is showing. You look at yourself in the only full length mirror that you've encountered since the last time you were in town. omg.
This routine goes on for days. 1,2,3,4,5 - days, and nights, and breakfast, lunch and dinners. Through meeting after meeting. You wonder who, if anybody, you might be impressing.
omg.
Late this afternoon, I got an email from my airline. I can check in!!!! I can pay $15 for my suitcase to travel in comfort in the luggage area. I can get to the airport hours ahead of time so I can disrobe going through security. I can eat a well balanced meal of swedish fish and peanuts for dinner, again, just like last Sunday. I can wait for hours for my connecting flight at some remote airport, still far from home.
I can go home.
omg.
Am I there yet?

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Win Millie!



You could win this adorable doll!


Head on over to The HandMaiden!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Earring Sale!!


All earrings are on sale at Buster and boo! I only use semi-precious stones and sterling silver, or vintaj brass. I'm going to be phasing out offering earrings for sale, so get these beauties while you can!


You can glance over to the right to see some of them, and click anywhere to go to my shop.


ALL earrings are offered for SALE at TEN DOLLARS! that's right - sterling silver and semi-precious stones or beads for only TEN DOLLARS!


Sale ends Saturday at Midnight.


Thanks !!


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Change your Thinking......



Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.


One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.


The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.


They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..


Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.


The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.


The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.


As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene. <>


One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.



Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.


One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find tlifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.


She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.


As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.








It faced a blank wall.


The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.


The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.


She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'


Epilogue:


There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.


The origin of this story is unknown.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Front Page!



Thank you Etsy, for featuring my harmonica necklace from Buster and boo!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Perception



Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes:The musician played continuously.
Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour:He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
Findings:No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. The questions raised: "In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?
By the way, the Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for a feature article for this story. It is true. Sad, but true.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Uh Oh! A tiny tale of the southwest....

It was dusk - twilight - evening.



Our horses had been in their stalls for 2 days, without being turned loose in the arena, due to thunder and lightning. They were restless, and needed to get out and do a little running. My husband went outside to let them out. He called me, a few minutes later, to come see. I dashed out the kitchen door to go see what was going on.


The horses were in such good spirits, running and snorting and bucking. Dozer, the big quarter horse, reared up on his hind legs. Such fun to watch! I filled their water bucket, and gave them a pat. My husband went to clean stalls (such a good husband). I headed back inside, now it was just about dark.




Just about to set foot on the kitchen door mat. Where I had just run a few minutes before.


UH OH.


What is that?


What do I see?


A Curved Stick?


It's not very big, at all...


It wasn't there a few minutes ago....




I knew right away.




A snake.




I reached inside the nearby garage door, and flipped on a light. I called to my husband. I leaned down to get a better look......




Rattlesnake.

Diamondback.

Poisonous.

And a baby - the worst kind, I've heard. Baby rattlesnakes don't know that it isn't necessary to release ALL their venom to stun the victim. So they release it all. They can also strike from, easily, 3 feet away. I was a few inches away from him.


But he was not poised to strike, he didn't seem to mind my presence.


I would have loved to simply relocate him (as we did another non-poisonous snake recently, pics below), but this is a huge danger to my family, and my animals. And...where did he come from? Was he there just a few minutes before?

We had to kill him. I'm sorry, Mr Snake.

(These are not pics of him, these are borrowed pictures, just so you can see what I saw).

:0(