GUESS WHO

                                                  It is said that he claimed,
"when I arrived it was made of brick, when I left it was made of marble."
post guesses por favor?

SHORT MAN WITH LARGE HEAD/Serendipity Photo

I just have to post this picture. Jonathan is learning to take pictures with his new camera/panorama's. Check out how the camera got a shot of a man's head and it ''just so happened'' someone in the distance was at the appropriate point to place the man's head on another persons legs!!! (are they the legs of a woman?) What a serendipity shot.

PART OF ME LIVES IN SHANGHAI

                  One of our sons now lives in Shanghai as of Monday, January 4th 2010.

I was not expecting to talk with him for quite some time. When I got on to check my mail I found he was on line and I tried video chat. Isn't video chat THE BEST!!!  Before we had to wait months to
get news from a loved one, photos, etc. across the miles. And there he was as clear as day; we talked and talked. I am so thrilled for him to have this experience. He has always been interested in going to China.
Now he needs a job; ha ha ha.!

Apparently China does not allow people to access blogs; Jonathan cannot access my blog from China.

So I will, for now, see Shanghai through Jonathan's eyes and words. My hope is, by May or June to visit for a couple of weeks. First he needs to find a job and find his way around so he can give us the quintessential tour. (don't know if I spelled that word correctly/oh well too bad.) Maybe I should start a blog here
about China. Will think on that.

FOR UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN

                      There are so many creative ways to adorn a mantle for Christmas. 
I have found over the years most of my decorations I have made; usually, made items go to family and friends. All the angels pictured I have made except for the small clay angel (center left) with the horn and the stuffed canvas angel (far right front). One angel was made to enter a competition, another made with a group of friends for a fun craft day. Two angels were made for my mother and sister who are now deceased; so, these angels are special to me.
                    THE BIG SURPRISE WHEN DOING THIS PROJECT WAS ''NO WREATH!!!!"

After putting together the mantle I considered the wreath I'd decorate for the wall but decided I liked the blank wall thinking I'd put up an angel ''perhaps." Well, she was just hanging there on the nail for awhile with her legs dangling down for a day. (When I reach an impasse I wait a day or to and walk by, glance at or sit and stare at the entire area.) All of sudden an idea will come to me and in my head, for some reason, I say ''presto anti-freeze!!" aka: ''that's it, that's what I'll do." The idea that popped in my head was to adhere her legs in a flying position. A day later I was glancing at the angel and the thought came, "FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN." The candles still need some work as you can tell. The gold cups near the center are candles as well.
  
How To: Print out the necessary letters in black from the computer. Cut out the letters and trace on white paper. Mount on wall with "Handi-tak." (craft store or possibly office supply store) The angels are made corn husks, fabric, lace, etc. For whimsy I cross the angels legs in different positions. Greenery is always fresh mixed with mini-lights and/or baby's breath, holly, ribbon. Keep it simple not fussy.

(Left/Right) I am posting smaller pics of the same mantle;the living room. This room I always use ANGELS as the theme for some reason. I will be posting at a later date the other two arrangements below.

#2 January 25th, 2010:  The Nativity below was made from muslin and acrylic paints; some are embroidered. Then I made wooden stands for each; they were supposed to hang from a mobile but I wanted mine to stand. Not all the sheep are in this picture. I don't know what it is about this set but it is one of the favorite things I have made. I was surprised that I could paint and draw faces way back when. You cannot see it but baby Jesus sits on a wooden manger I made as well. The pattern came from:  (will look this up and entered later so the co. gets the credit)

You can't see but the scene is set in a large bay window with fresh evergreens, pinecones, and berries, little birds, candles and tiny white lights complete the background. The urn has ivy growing from it which usually sits on the mini-grand. I don't know, there is something I just love about this scene; warm and inviting I guess.

A beautiful wreath to make for Christmas

http://blogs.scottarboretum.org/gardenseeds/2009/12/greens-for-wreaths/
to view site: copy/paste

A WINTER WALK before the SNOW

Imagine: Whirling winds, the scent of grass still hangs in the air, bird calls unrecognizable, gray and slightly damp, a friend (Carol) by your side feverish with her binoculars, you are the Canon SLR individual but are satisfied in scents, sounds and scenery, the earth beneath your feet. There are some scenic views but primarily woodland, fields and fields of wild grasses, birds taking flight and constant calls, the fox is hiding, ...............(i need to look up the name of this Land Trust-I love it)

(photo top right) The two milk pods appeared to me as ''birds in flight"......I really like this picture.

(photo middle right)???DOES ANYONE KNOW THE IDENTITY OF THE ''PINECONES'' ABOVE? I HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE. THEY APPEAR TO BE ON A WHITE or SCRUBBY PINE???

Copenhagen climate change conference: countries most at risk from the effects of global warming

Copenhagen climate change conference: countries most at risk from the effects of global warming

A TRIBUTE TO GREEN

   FAREWELL TO GREEN FOR A LITTLE WHILE.....
(writing a little poem soon here to say goodbye to summer and fall)
November 27, 2009 For some reason I have not been able to write any poems/ditties for some
months now; nothing comes to me. So, I am going to publish something I wrote a while back which still needs to be tweaked here and there. But, here it is for today. 

A CERTAIN BEGINNING, A CERTAIN END

 Born to Earth we crawl we stand,

For some they choose to walk to dance.

For others life is strife and thorns,  
And those we love have left too soon!

For some colors are bright and full,

yet others tremble, lost to fears.

Life surely has harsh twists and turns,

tastes of summer and winter storm.      
Breezes blow, some topple down,      
others rise to brace the storm.          
Yes the life here holds twists and turns     
amid, fragrant tender showers.  

Is life a problem solving paradox,

an Earth without stability, truth?    
As assuredly here, a beginning, an end,  
                                The only One Truth, the Lord's Son.  -suzie 09'                               

                           

    synonyms for ''certain" from Webster's Dictionary as follows:   

fixed, settled, dependable, reliable, indisputable,

inevitable, destined 

 

WELKINWEIR: Green Valley Association: 1368 Prizer Road, Pottstown PA 19465.

Took a walk today at Welkinweir. I love this place. A nature preserve, 197 acres of ponds, wetlands, meadows, and woodlands offer a diverse setting for many ''critters and birds." Took my Canon SLR hoping to take shots of flora and fauna but had forgotten to charge the battery! Ding dong! (photos: Oakleaf Hydrangea)

I was not aware of this until today that the trails "connect to the Horse-Shoe Trail for longer hikes to nearby parks, preserves, and         historic sites." http://www.greenvalleys.org/welkinweir.asp

A SCHOOL TEACHER HAS IDENTIFIED AN OBJECT IN OUTER SPACE THAT NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN/IDENTIFIED.** GALAXY ZOO invites you, the public, to classify a million galaxies!!! Is that exciting or what?

                               Galaxy Zoo invites YOU to help astronomers
                                                   explore the universe.
                             The following link helps you get started. http://www.galaxyzoo.org/ 
WHAT exactly is GALAXY ZOO?

Galaxy Zoo "is a scientific project that has invited members of the public to help classify a million galaxies. Those involved are directly contributing to scientific research, while getting an opportunity to view the beautiful and varied galaxies that inhabit our universe. Why do we need people to do this, rather than just using a computer?".....check it out at  http://www.galaxyzooblog.org/about/ 

                              According to Daniel Goldbloom and I quote: (Galaxy Zoo) "Launched last year by a team of scientists from the U.K. and the U.S., Galaxy Zoo harnesses the curiosity and seemingly endless free time of regular people to make deep space discoveries. The site invites users to browse through images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey — a project begun in 2000 that seeks to map a quarter of the sky (or around one million galaxies) — and categorize them according to the different types of galaxies or stars pictured therein."  http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/08/13/daniel-goldbloom-s-click-here-travel-the-universe-with-galaxyzoo-get-great-stories-at-themoth.aspx

 Galaxy Zoo was featured on APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
                                            go to: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091026.html

**"teacher has identified an object in outer space..." I read the article in a National Geographic magazine last month and loaned it to a friend. (oops) Will update the details about this article when I get the magazine back. If you want to search it out right now, it was posted on Galaxy Zoo but I am not sure what month. (sorry about that)
**today, 11/17/09 looked for article on google; although I did not find the orginal article by Nat.'l Geographic I did find the following reported by: Reuter's: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN0535229720080805