Merry, Merry, Take a Cherry

“When I sound the fairy call, 
gather here in silent meeting,

Chin to knee on the orchard wall, 
cooled with dew and cherries eating.

Merry, merry, take a cherry, 
mine are sounder, mine are rounder,

Mine are sweeter for the eater, 
when the dews fall, and you'll be fairies all.”

- Emily Dickinson

Today is Rednesday, so I figured I would share a favorite piece of art.  My husband made this for me for valentines day, last year.  Isn't he a sweetie?  He found the cherry cloth at a fabric store, and he stretched it over a huge (4.5' x 3') box canvas.  He got the letters and circle from a craft store and painted them red, himself.  I ended up adding the roses with a gossamer trail, to soften the piece just a little, making it just perfect for my taste.  He hung it above our family room fireplace.  I love it, and everytime I see it, I am reminded that I am loved, too.  It is a very simple piece of art, but its size makes it quite striking.  

And, completely unrelated ~ but there is an awful lot of red in this video, the fabulous Barbe Saint John posted this video on her facebook account today, and I dare you to watch it without bursting out laughing at least once.

If you would like to find more red goodness, check out It's a Very Cherry World and check out all the participants, or blog about your own red love, and join in the fun!

The best things in life.

“The best things in life are silly."  - Scott Adams

Well, when Liz at Brambleberry Cottage invited me to join in the Funny Faux Pas Follies, I am not sure this is what she had in mind, but it was the very first thing that I thought of!  Lol.

Last weekend we had my beautiful nephews Adin and Ellis over, and just look at how cute Ellis's smile is.  I had to grab a quick shot with my phone.  After taking the picture, I took a second look ~ and lo and behold ~ look what the camera caught Adin doing!  I just couldn't stop laughing.

Happy Friday everyone.  I hope you have a great weekend.  For more silly stories, or to join in on the fun and share your own, hop over to Brambleberry Cottage this weekend.  I bet you won't regret it!

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Keep Calm and Blog On

It is Vintage Thingy Thursday and Time Travel Thursday - so I figured I would share a little today, about our "Keep Calm and Carry On" print, which can be seen int he upper right corner of the photo of our living room, above.

Nowadays, you can find this print and variations of the print all over the place.  But the original story is an interesting one.  It's even on Wikipedia now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On):

"Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced by the British government in 1939 during the beginning of World War II, intended to raise the morale of the British public under the threat of impending invasion. It was little known and never used. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private sector companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of other products. There are only two known surviving examples of the poster outside of government archives." (For mor, click on the wikipedia link above.)

Our family particularly likes our Keep Calm print (which is a screen printed onto a canvas box frame) - not only for its bright color and soothing sentiment, but also because my mother-in-law is English, and a sweet trip to Britain is one of the first international trips my husband and I took together.

I also love the many recent variations of the Keep Calm poster.  Some are very sweet:

Some suggest financial freedom:

Some are more likely to keep you calm than others:

And given a real emergency, this one is probably the most realistic:

Hope you all enjoyed this little jog down a vintage highway.  Have a happy Thursday everyone!

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

  http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Yummy Ruby Tuesday!

Woo Hoo!  It is Ruby Tuesday.  I thought I would share this picture I took (and blinged up) of some fresh strawberries that I put out a couple days ago when I had family over.  

 

 http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Here are more pictures from Saturday night.  Ironically, I had my camera on the wrong setting, so all the pictures were fuzzy and red tinted.  Poor picture taking, but apropos for Ruby Tuesday - lol!

Despite it's fuzzyness, I love this picture of my sisters in law.  Both my brother's wife) Katrina (left, and my husband's sister Jennifer.  That's me in the middle:

Here is a picture of my wonderful nephew Adin.  We love having him over - he's so fabulous!

And some pictures of my brother Jesse with Adin's little brother, Ellis:

Here's a shot of my wonderful mother in law, Pam, and my father in law, John.  Butter loves them too!

Here's a shot of my hubby Richard, and my step-daughter Abigail and Pam, my mother in law.  Three beautiful generations in this shot. 

And finally, above - my son RJ.  I can never get a shot of him smiling. Sheesh!  I have one other picture of him.  He looks even more sullen:

Ah well.  He's a teenage boy.

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

The Beautiful Land of Life

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!
 ~Albert Einstein

We are having the family over today.  I'll be making fried chicken and potato salad and corn on the cob.  Apple pie too.  You are all invited too!  I'll take pics and share them tomorrow.  That way you can join in on all the fun.  Until then, another beautiful image from:

I'll post again soon!

Up, up and away!

Woo hoo!  I am actually on the in-flight wireless connection right now.  RJ and I are headed to Michigan to visit with lots of family, and maybe some friends too.  The trip to the airport this morning was totally nutso (why does leaving for the airport always have to be like that?) but we are well on our way now!

I'll check in with pics from the trip soon.  We'll be in the mitten state for two weeks!

Hope you all are having a great summer, too!

Band of Characters!

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Life...

Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life. -Sophocles

Alrighty, bear with me.  Friday freebies is on hiatus for a few more weeks.  Today, the family and I are leaving for a quick weekend away.  We are just going to San Francisco to do the touristy thing.  We are staying at a nice hotel, going to a show, going to a fancy lunch, etc. etc.  We just want to be together.  I am really looking forward to it.

Late next week, my son and I leave for Michigan to visit more family, for a couple of weeks.

Summer is upon us and if it were up to me I'd spend every moment with my wonderful kids and hubby.  I love them all so much.  The picture above is of me and my beautiful step daughter, Abigail.  She looks just like her dad, except she is beautiful and he is a goofball.  What can I say?

I hope you are all out there enjoying the sun and enjoying your families.  This is the life, and it is what true wealth is all about.  I hope you all feel as rich as me!

Our Weekend Trip to SF / WWW and Wordless Wednesday!

http://deyoung.famsf.org/

 

And, before I am off for the day = Shhhhhhh! Check out this picture of me as I was about to enter the De Young:

I am taking  a picture outside, of my reflection in the large mirrored wall of the Museum building.

Do you notice anything spooky?

Look closely.  Is that a ghost...???

Look at the corner.  Look again:

Um.  Yeah.  I don't know what to say.

But, have a great Wednesday!

The Sweetest Sound..

The sweetest sounds to mortals given

Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.

~William Goldsmith Brown

 

Happy Mother's Day, all!

Holding Tight

 

I love you Jenna Marlene Fischer! 

I hold you always, in my hands and my heart.

Ok, so it's Wednesday, and that means it is time for another Wednesday Web Wonder.  Yesterday, Kathryn Antyr - the heart and art behind True North Arts let me know about her Fabulous Friendship Festival:

And of course, I couldn't even begin to discuss my friends - without starting with Jenna.  I am SO  blessed to have had her in my life for 30 years (!).  Last year Jenna coddled me (literally) through all of my petty health issues, while battling breast cancer herself.  But that's just Jenna was there when my son was born.  I managed to miss the birth of her daughter Heather, by minutes.  Jenna was my maid of honor - I lost the address to the lovely house where she held her wedding and was late, late, late...  (Can you imagine having a friend like me? Sheesh.)  And yet, Jenna has never held a grudge, never held my personality against me, and always loved me - exemplifying the term 'unconditional'.

Jenna is beautiful, silly, brilliant, an incredible mother, loving wife, sister, and daughter, and an inspirational friend on every level.

Although, obviously, I could manage to be a better friend, and am inspired to be a better person - because of Jenna - I can tell you this, I couldn't love her any more than I already do.  My heart overfloweth.  (PS, happy birthday wonderful one!)

SO, back to our Wednesday Web Wonder:

Be sure and check out the fabulous True North Arts blog!

It is full of delicious art, wonderful projects, and endless inspiration.   And YOU too can participate in their Fabulous Friendship Festival.

Do any of YOU have a Web Wonder of your own to share? Leave a comment/link for me here, and I'll feature your favorite (and give you a plug too!) on another Wednesday Web Wonder feature, in the not too far off future!

Love, Faith and Trust

Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ~Roger Caras

I was looking for a Monday Meme today, and I found the wonderful 'I Made the World Cuter Today' blog and Monday prompt.

Funny, but for my first post for this meme, I thought of my sweet Sophie - who travelled over the Rainbow Bridge last October.  I miss her every day, and if ever there was a critter who made the world cuter, every day (!) - it was Sophie. 

(Special thanks to the wonderful Miss Mossy for the last picture!)

Happy Monday everyone!