bitly breakfast

Have you heard of "bitly"

Well neither did I until about two weeks ago and then the very next minute I was invited to the "bitty breakfast" so I am up early and out the door to New York City to attend this event.

Do more with your links

The new way to bookmark, organize, and share the things you care about online.

Part of doing what I do is learning new things.  I promise I will share with you about bitly and the breakfast.  I am all for learning new ways to bookmark, organize and share things with you that I care about online.

striped awnings

There is a certain charm to that of an awning.

Striped awnings certainly are chic.

Twin striped awnings, twin lanterns and twin topiaries.

I love the storefront of Timothy Corrigan.

So elegant, classical and welcoming.

 A flat striped awning seems so modern to me.

 I would love to have a ladies lunch on this porch.

Is it me or do striped awnings just seem cool?

Winners of the "pet command" -Springer Spaniel pve note cards are;
Debbie Carr
Kelly B.
I decided to select two.
Both ladies have Springer Spaniels.
Congrats to you both.  Contact me where to send the notes to!

a lilac blossom

Artwork of Shanna Aitcheson - High school Senior and Grad 2013

I have been so fortunate to have a wonderful student intern with me.  This marks her third week and yesterday, Shanna completed this lilac blossom.  She will be attending Penn State at the end of the summer to study advertising.  How wonderful to have such a bright student so full of possibilities.

What blossom is your favorite?  Is there one item that you would suggest for Shanna to take to college?
Don't you think that this would be beautiful framed for her dorm room?

pet command

Sit.  Stay. Roll over.  Fetch. Down.

Now that I have your attention, I'd like to share some note cards just added to the etsy pve shop.

This set of 6 is today's give-away of this sweet English Springer Spaniel standing at attention.  I only have 6 of these left so chose to host a give-away.  Have you mastered any commands with your pet?  Do you give a reward for good behavior?

 Leave a comment and I shall select a winner to send the cards to (via random number generator.)
Winner announced thursday.

Memorial day Thanks

photo from Tim Lamorte - photojournalist

How will you give thanks on this Memorial Day?

Will you attend a parade.

Salute a hero.

Raise an American Flag?

 I am giving thanks today on this Memorial day and thinking of all those who have served and fought for freedom.  Thank a veteran today.

Memorial day may mean so many things to each of us.  I give thanks today to all the hero's.  Freedom means so much to each of us, it certainly deserves Thanks and praise.

Hello Darlin

Hello Darlin.

I decided to pop in and let you lovely people know that my daughter is doing fine.

I am on my way back to the hospital and in hopes she will be home today.

Everything went just dandy.  The Doctor told me so.

She is feeling fine.

The paintings of Fairfield Porter make me feel just fine too.

                                                       

 Painting life as it should be.  

People enjoying moments in time outdoors.
Dogs outside. 

Moments that mark the beginning of Summer in my mind.

Boats in the water.
Blue in the sky, where is was meant to be.

Everyone finding a sunny spot to warm up or a shady one to cool down,
or just to drift.

 Wishing a special friend a Happy Birthday and to each of you, Thanks for your kindness and for being such darlin fans and followers.

To me, this weekend always marks the beginning of Summer.
I can hardly wait.

mea culpa

I need to make an apology to you for my weakness of taking too much on and trying to be too perfect.

My Mistake, my fault, my bad, mea culpa.  I take things on, life happens and then I make mistakes and allow my own faults to mess with me.  I am sorry.

Confíteor Deo omnipoténti et vobis, fratres, quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo, ópere et omissióne: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper vírginem, omnes angelos et sanctos, et vos, fratres, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

 It sounds better when I say it in latin.  mea culpa, mea culpa.  mea máxima culpa.

I am sorry. I mean it.

I am not going to let my mistakes define me but I am going to learn from them.  I need to know that I am human and in the future realize that things out of my control, do not determine the final outcome.

Will you grant me permission to make a mistake every now and then.  No, I am not talking mistakes on a regular basis, just once in a while.  I feel better putting this out here.

I also will be taking a blog break as my daughter will be having surgery to remove her appendix which yes, ruptured in February and required an emergency trip to the hospital and a 6 day stay and 3 weeks of school were missed.  Due to the appendix having ruptured, they must wait for the infection to clear before removing the appendix, hence the reason for this surgery.  My 13 year old girl has shown her tenacity, her bravery and her sense of humor and independence.  I her Mother feel so awful that I did not bring her to the Doctor earlier but again, I am not going to let that mistake define me.  It happened.

We are moving onwards.  

mea culpa.

I am sorry.

new koi-joy notes in my shop

Everyone loved this work of art that I created the day of the RiverArts studio tour. Due to the popularity I decided to add these 5x7 notes to my etsy pve shop.  Notes are packaged individually and come in a set of eight. This lovely koi pond was created by blogger Monkey Grass Hill. She's jumping the pond and moving to England.

monday motivation - be daring

Sure, there are many artists who inspire and motivate me to create, but one artist that I just adore is the artwork of Cecil Beaton. Perhaps it was his passion for capturing society in his artwork, his photography or just his innate sense of daring style.  I have looked at this so many times and I adore the reflection of the chandelier in the mirror and all the various vignettes in this room.   What an imagination.

Who motivates you to be daring and different?

sunday - hide and seek

 

Painting by William Merritt Chase - hide and seek

Yesterday we attended a special celebration, a Bat Mitzvah and the Rabbi spoke to us about the game of "hide and seek" and how it can correlate to one's life and living with honesty.  It's true that God watches our every move and we certainly cannot hide from him or ourselves. It is up to us to live our life by owning our actions and not hiding from God.

Take time today to hide and think about what you are seeking in your life?  What are you hoping to find?