The Humble Arts, WINNERS and a Blogaversary!

Friends,
The Humble Arts June edition is now up and ready for your viewing and purchasing pleasure! Below is a small taste of what is available there.

We had lots of fun last month with feather finding and have some winners to announce on the website as well.
The winners of the drawings are as follows:
Nicola Callow
Susan Minor
Jody Sullivan
Doralyn Andrews
Chandra Koresh
Laura/ Our Lady of Grace
Donna/Cottage Days and Journeys
If you see your name here and haven't received a newsletter, let me know! You will be receiving your prize as soon as we get your info.

My own offerings are:
Bo Peep and her little Sheep

I made this doll specifically to be held and played with by small hands. She comes with a little quilt or play mat if you prefer. It is a very special set and I am certain that it will be treasured for many years to come.
I also am offering a Goldie and Momma Bear - same style - love the vintage look of embroidered faces and vintage clothing.

Sounds SO trite to say, but pictures don't really do these sets justice.

Come to The Humble Arts and find me there!
The girls and I have lots of goodies to show you.

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On a different note, I am celebrating my blogaversary as well! Not only is it my birthday blog, but I have passed a personal goal of over 20,000 visitors. Wow. That's a lot of clickers!

I will write more this week and be thinking of a giveaway. be sure to check back and be ready to send your friends too.

Happy Memorial Day

The First Official Memorial Day
May 30, 1868
Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the end of the Civil War. After the war, a women's memorial association in Columbus, Mississippi, put flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers in 1866, an act of generosity that inspired the poem by Francis Miles Finch, "The Blue and the Grey," published in the Atlantic Monthly.
The founder of the Federal Memorial Day, Gen. John A. Logan (Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic), was so impressed with the way the South honored their dead with a special day, he became convinced that such a day must be created to honor Union dead. The battlefield graves all around Richmond could be seen "marked with little white flags, faded wreaths of laurel" where family and friends of Confederate soldiers had placed them. Logan is reported to have been "deeply touched" and said "it was most fitting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead, particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of every soldier in this land, and if he could he would have made it a holiday." This of course was done at a later date, thus our National Memorial Day.

To our Heroes, none are so small as those who haven't served - with their heart, soul and body. Our Heroes presence is felt in every wave of every flag on every day - it is seen in the ripples as the wind unfurls their colors. It is heard in the shared stories of lives lived and lost.

Thank you Daddy, for being my Hero.

Blast from the Past

I was looking for a few things in my junk room and found this old photo from the 80's in there. I sat down at stared at these faces. And I began to think:
Did I ever begin to imagine how my children would grow up? Did I ever envision who they would become? And what of me? Did I ever think of where or what I would be in 20 years? Certainly not. To be specific this photo was taken in November 1988. Must've been close to Thanksgiving if I can surmise by the little Christmas tree apron my daughter is wearing. And I always wore that apron. I still have it, although it doesn't drape as sveltly these days. hahaha

We were living in Orlando Florida at the time. You know, the land where you need to run the A/C 365 - 24/7 ? We had a huge live oak in our backyard and lots of flowers that I wish I could grow in here in N.C. Down there they were perrenials; here at home they are annuals if I can even find them.



At this time, I was home schooling my children. Today they are grown. One is married and one is about to be married and the other one is studying on getting married.

I was still the center of their world, the master of their universe. Back then, every day was Mother's Day, for all the charming little gifts I would receive. I was in awe of these children and so very aware of the true gift from the Lord that they were and are.

I wanted to make their childhood magical. I wanted to capture them in a time bubble so they would always be this age. I wished more than once that I could take them all to Neverland so they would never grow up. I was Wendy to their Pan. I would read them stories each nite and each nite it never failed that I had to go into their room and warn them repeatedly to be still and go to sleep. I say their room because at this particular time, they all wanted to sleep in the same room. They loved each other's company so very much and didn't want to miss a moment of each other's thoughts and dreams. Sometimes I would stand outside that door and dream right along with them.

Today, my oldest one is a professor of science at a college in NY State. He still loves fairy tales, and that is evident in his pursuit of the science of skepticism.


Paul will be married this August to a lovely girl. I couldn't have chosen a better mate for him.


Joshua is working on getting his license for Massage Therapy. His soul mate is a wonderful girl that could have been one of mine. Just the right mixture of mischief and sweetness. He was the one that was always bringing home critters. Every family has one of those. And some things never change. He is still finding critters and bringing them home.


Sarah is married to the quietest man next to my Luscious that I have ever known. I keep telling her that still waters run deep. Sarah was the quintessential baby sister. And she ruled the roost. Come to think of it, she is STILL the ring leader.



If someone told me 20 years ago that my children would be marvelous adults I would have agreed with a certainty.
If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would be married again and be happy, I would have said they were telling a whopper. What a special gift my Luscious is to me. God always saves the best for last! It's a good thing we can't really see the future. Having always believed in happy endings, I know that the best is yet to come.

Pet Diaries

I couldn't help posting this fwd here from my gal pal, Khris - I have laughed myself silly. This is a keeper. Thanks Khris! This is for the animal lover and observer in each of you. CAUTION: No food or drink while reading this.
WHAT PETS WRITE IN THEIR DIARIES
Excerpts from a Dog's Diary.......


8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary...

Day 983 of my captivity....

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet..

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bastards.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now.....

How I spend my time

Okay, let's be honest here for a moment. We all know ourselves pretty darn well. I mean after all, who knows us better than ourselves? Now I am not getting esoteric here, just being me. I am a deep thinker. Truly I am. I wonder why God chose to place the sun and moon where He did. And while I am not a astronomer, I wonder about the importance of constellations. And I wonder things like what possessed my parents to give me my name. Oh yeah, I was named after my Mom's baby sister who died of rheumatic fever when she was only 13.

I take the usual email quizzes and those sent to me on Facebook. So, it came as a surprise to me that my parents should have really named me:




You are nice, caring, and you love being with your friends. Boys drool over you and you are hot stuff.

Why does every personality test say basically the same thing? Although, the hot stuff thing is a new twist and something I haven't heard in a long time.

I remember Irene

Irena Sendler - who recently died at 98 years of age, was a 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee


During WWII, Irena was given permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a plumbing/sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive.

Being German, Irena knew what the Nazi plan was for Jews.

Irena smuggled out infants in the bottom of a tool box she carried in the back of her truck. She used a burlap sack for bigger children.

She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with her dog. The barking covered noises of the infants and children.

Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 infants and children, before she was caught! The Nazi's broke both her legs and arms, and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record in a jar buried under a tree in her back yard of all the children she smuggled out.

After the war, she tried to locate all parents that may have survived to reunite families, but most had been gassed.

The children she could not reunite were placed with foster families or adopted.

Irena was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won for a slide show on Global Warming.

Music and Me

After a few days of silence on my blog and receiving a LOT of private emails, I have put the music back up on my blog. If you find music slows you down, please feel free to shut it off. I have moved the music bar to the top, so there is NO surprise at where to find it. I don't have my own personal PC speakers set very loudly, do not personally care or responsible for those who keep theirs set on loud. I am heartily sorry for those who have difficulty with music, slideshows, large images slowing their computer down.
I do this blogging for my own self. I know that you guys read it. That is fun for me and for you. Music is part of my own personal muse. There have been many days a song has prompted me to blog. And BTW, I get many private emails and some occasional post, that the song they heard when they arrived made their day. The music on my playlist happen to be some of my personal favorites and I rearrange them now and then. This music always makes me happy and I likes being happy! If you smile a lot, you will have less wrinkles.



On another note - we are having a ball with all of you collecting feathers! When you get to The Humble Arts website, there are a bunch of feathers hidden within the pages there. This will be a month long event, so keep searching! And be sure to tell your friends. We have some great items at even greater prices available this month.

The feathers are flying!

Wow, Our Wacky Wild Wing Ding Fling has officially started over at The Humble Arts ! Be sure to take a peek around,
find feathers and let me know through here or at my email addy. It's sure to be finger licking good.
Here are some of my offerings for the month:



I am so humbled to be featured on a dear friend's blog! She does features on Fridays and picked "moi" for this week. Tina is a terrific blogger herself and is the most amazing and prolific scrap-booker I know! Check her out at:
Mommy Complex You may think you already know everything about me, since my life is an open book, but, I feel almost famous. LOL. Thank you Tina for seeing something in me that you found worthy. God is always good.