Go ahead, Stick out your tongue!

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue...If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.


S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.


A dear friend just recently sent me an email with some of this info listed. I think I blogged about this a few years ago, but, guess what? I am doing it again. These are such simple tasks we take for granted. And it's good to remember these signs. Blessings to everyone today. I will be back with a blogaversary post later. I promise.

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.

More tantalizing tidbits!

Have you ever thought, gee which came first the chicken or the egg? Well, folksies, we at the Humble Arts have got all the bases covered. We have hens, roosters, eggs - the whole gambit of goodies for you to choose from come May 1.
BUT WAIT!
For those of you who like to play to win doorprizes, this tv commercial shows you just a sampling of the goodies YOU can WIN by doing a few simple things.
First, you can get one entry in the drawing for one of these goodies by putting our fun little banner on your blog.
Secondly, you can get yet another entry in by promoting our Wing Ding Chicken Fling on your own blog.
Lastly, you can find a feather on each of the participating member's blogs - find the feather, email the member blogger with WHERE you found the feather.
BUT WAIT!
On May 1, we will also have a few feathers flying around The Humble Arts. Find those and you will get YET ANOTHER entry! Wee Dawgies!

If you have just arrived and are wondering how to go about getting the banners and links, please read the thread below. Any questions? Email me.

Giveaways

Okay folks
Here is the first rule of the Humble Arts Wing Ding Chicken Fling giveaways.
Take either picture below and post it to your blog. Leave a comment here, letting me know that you have done so. That is one automatic name in the pot for the drawings.
I will be posting some pics of the giveaways later.
If you would be so kind as to place this in your sidebar with a html/javascript, linking it to
http://www.thehumblearts.com/ with the ((a href="")) link, we will all be clucking like hens together! Yippee! Let the fun begin. If you aren't sure what the heckfire shoot I am talking about, just email me and I will walk you through it. Easy Peasy.

Here a chick, there a chick, and Giveaways

My gal pals at The Humble Arts have challenged each other to creating chickens for our May edition. We've been clucking around some ideas and have decided that we want to do some giveaways as well. There will be plenty of goodies to go around.

Now to qualify for the giveaways, we will be hiding feathers within the blogs of the Humble Artists blogs. (You will find the links in my right hand column.)

Check back later for more details . . .

Spring has really Sprung

Hello Folksies
I finally saw something today that I thought had vanished from my world. The sun. Yep. The actual, honest to goodness SUN came out today. I hated that I had to work! I wanted to be home playing, frolicking, dancing in the great outdoors. But I did the next best thing. When I got home just a wee bit ago, I took some pics to share with you. Things are really starting to come alive and bloom. It is still pretty chilly here most mornings and evenings (and some days too!) But these brave flora and fauna have been waking up and unfurling their beautimous bounty for me to see.
Below is my first azalea to bloom each year. It's in the front yard under my huge old oak tree. This was the first plant I put in the ground when I moved in this house 16 years ago. Yeah, it was one of those almost free because it's almost dead plants. My yard is full of those~


Above is my oregano already poking back up next to my trusty rusty old victory garden shovel.


Now this little lilac is very special to me. Both of my grannies are long, long gone. They loved each other as kindred spirits as soon as they met. They shared their love of family, stitching and gardening. They often exchanged seeds, starts, etc. This lilac was one of the sprigs that my NY Granny gave my hillbilly granny 62 years ago. I thought it was lost to me three years ago as it got all woody, no blooms and in general, doing it's swan song. One of my dear clients, a master gardener at 95 years young, told me to cut it back quite severely. I figured, what the heck. I did, it lived and is growing back nicely these days.

Here is some more of my hillbilly granny - This little patch of phlox has been salvaged and brought back to life recently. I am tickled!

Okay, you KNOW that I had to stick a weed in here. But I loves me some ajuga or commonly known as bugle weed. It is quite regal and proud. I dig it up wherever I see it in the yard and
place it where I want. I hate for it to be cut down. It only blooms a short while.

Okie Dokie, that's my blurb of happiness for the day. Hope everyone else starts to get some
good things blooming.

He is Risen.

I'm a Winner!

Well hush my mouth! I am one lucky girlie today! Got online and the first email I see is from lovely and talented Mary of Something about Mary C.
Mary was having a giveaway for visiting her blog. Guess what? I won! Yippee.
Thank you MaryC! Friends, she is a must read each day. I must admit to reading all her archives once I discovered her. Which is a domino effect; I found Mary through: Nicola.

You know folksies, we are all winners in this blogging thing. I mean, people find their way to your blog, read about your thoughts, and sometimes they will respond. When they do, you have made a new acquaintance. I have been online for about 12 years or more. During that time I have made some great acquaintances and some very true and real friends.

Anyhoo, thanks MaryC. If you really KNEW how MUCH coffee I actually consume, you would know for certain that the random generator could smell it brewing from here.

A new language

I know that it's said you can't teach an old dog new tricks but I just refuse to believe it! For pete's sake, I learn new stuff every day. For example, I am learning a new language. Actually been learning it for a few years. I call it googlish. Each time I visit someone's blog I must enter a new word. I find it most amusing. That's better than being aggravated. I have even begun to understand some of this new googlish. Take this one:
phently - It could mean many things but looks like faintly to me. How about quatibil -
that one could be trickier. Could it mean gullible or another expletive expression for What? Another bill???

When I was a kid, my folks would speak pig latin at the dinner table. Quite infuriating to nosey 8 year olds. Well sir, we bloggers now have our own form of pig latin and no one will know our secret language but us. How about some whown dical tyang undepre ilicalim to go with your ssesl tohoo cedntes. Reati?

Betcha I could finally win a scrabble game with any given letter in my tray these days! Oh wait a minute! So that's how they come up with these words!

The Humble Arts April Edition is now Available!

Friends we have some talented artists on The Humble Arts. This month we have some crackerjack offerings that we sure would be humbled to have you take a peek at! Head on over to our site and if you don't already receive our monthly newsletter, be sure and sign up. We won't spam you!
Clicking herewill bring you there. Poof! It's magic!
Now here's a sneak peek at some of it:

Something fun

Hi folksies!
Another banner event; a few posts consecutively! Spring must be affecting more than my allergies!
I took a few pics this morning to share with my HARTS sisters of a project that I am working on. It is a scrappy string quilt. I am wanting to use up scraps that I have collected and this works perfectly as a means of getting rid of them. I was inpsired by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville - (the link is on my right panel for anyone interested in this fun and productive way of getting rid of scraps.) While this is not a new way of quilting, it is definintely a marvel for those of us who are scrambled in the brain. I love to see how the colors move together. I generally grab any random scrap from my box and that is what gets sewn next.


On the block above, I appliqued a flower for fun. I like having fun.

Of Tulip Trees, Magnolias and Poplars

I am so very excited. The tulip tree bud(s) are starting to really open. Now mind you, this is a wee bitty tree. It began life as a shoot off of a HUGE tree at my uncle's house in Yonkers, NY three years ago. That I even got it to root, much less LIVE and now grow, is amazing to this gal. Guess it likes the South!
It stands about 5 ft tall right now. This is the second year it has bloomed. I am thrilled.
For those who have asked, it is also known as a Japanese Magnolia.
Other trees, which are also called American Tulip trees are the Poplar. My granny always called them cup and saucers. That is what they look like when they bloom:


American Poplars are fairly common on our property. I love them for their blooms and fragrance. My allergies don't like them, along with all the other fauna I so enjoy. Zyrtec works well for me and hey! as an added bonus this week, the generic of it is on sale at Rite Aid. Yippee.
Poplars are nice trees. Just sort of prone to lightning strikes on my property for some reason.
They grow very fast. Which is why I am hoping that this tulip tree in the back will grow fast! Of course, considering I rooted it three years ago and it is currently 5 ft tall, I would say that it is fast growing.
Thanks for reading, folksies.

Today was a day for being lazy. I have certainly enjoyed the weather today - a wee bit of sun after several days of gloomy rain. I know, I know, April showers bring May flowers. To which I say humbug- I am ready for some sun with an occasional shower to help the flowers.


Calamity Kim is having a great giveaway! I loves this blog and if you haven't visited there, you really need to:

http://calamitykim.typepad.com/calamity_kim/2009/03/calamity-kims-apron-celebration-giveaway.html

Her work is always fun inspired.


Also, wanted to remind everyone that The Humble Arts will be updated on April 1st!

Sneek Peek

Here's a sneak peek at what I will be offering on the Humble Arts next week . . . shhhh!

The Truth about Annie . . .

Well, it's official. All my much heralded anticipation and excitement about Spring arriving - and it's sprung already!
I am the type of person that always walks with my head up with a smile on. I was always told that a smile is the best thing a person could wear. I was also taught to walk with a book on my head for practicing good posture; some things just stick. Of course, in the Spring, I walk around my garden with my head facing the earth and bending/stooping quite often looking for Annie. Sweet Annie that is. You see, the truth about Sweet Annie is that it is a weed. I don't say that loud enough to offend the sweet thing. But shhhhhh, weed she is. She never grows where sowed, I have learned. Instead, in her whimsical way, she grows wherever the wind or birds may leave her and that is generally where you don't want her to be.
Stealthily each spring I walk around much like a gardening Sherlock Holmes, stalking the Annie . . .
Today I have found some already peeking up. I am certain that as the days grow even warmer and the sun shines even brighter that I shall be rewarded with more.

After a few more warm days, I shall dig this up and transplant it where I want her to be. I won't wait for her to grow much more; she likes to stay put to grow gracefully and fragrantly.

So what is the truth about Annie? The truth is, I never know where she will grow, I am just glad that she visits me each year.

Here is what else is blooming in my yard today:

Quince

This Pussy Willow already has opened it's little paws. I started this tree from
a sprig five years ago. It is very happy!


My baby tulip tree! Yea! It is getting ready
to bloom! I can hardly wait.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Another Spring Is Coming Post . . .

Yesterday was another lovely day in my corner of the universe. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing at dark thirty and the temps got close to 80. Almost too warm for an almost Spring day, but, I won't complain too loudly since last week we had snow.
As I am sitting here drinking my first cuppa strong black coffee, I began looking through some of my older posts. I started to get excited while looking at the dates of these posts. What excited me was the pictures I posted of my flowers and veggies starting. It reminded me that while I can't see them yet, they will be returning SOON.
Like these pretties from spring last year:

wild fragrant rose on my little yellow picket fence

echinecea in all it's glory

catmint, peonies and bouncing bet

my beloved black hollyhocks!

fragrant sweet annie

wild chicory (I loves me some weeds)

tansy

And oh, so many others waiting for the warmth of the sun to wake them up. Thank you Lord
for the renewal that Spring brings.