Connections...nature, frogs and books!

I truly believe this with all of my being! And it dawned on me today that THIS is why I get in such a funk every Winter! It has nothing to do with Winter, but everything to do with my lost connection with Nature, since I barely leave the comfort of my warm house. Perhaps it's because I was raised in the south and not used to being cold, I just cannot bear to be out in it! Thank goodness it's starting to warm up and Spring is nipping at our heels. I never want to "wish it away", since time goes by fast enough, but, I have to admit, Spring puts "spring" in my steps! Of course, I love Winter, too! If it weren't for Winter, there would be no mating Wood Frogs!

And with no mating frogs, there would be no tadpoles...now that would really put me in a funk! Speaking of frogs, how cute are these little frog poems!

They are in a sweet book called "Little Pictures of Japan"

We are lucky enough to have two large book sales here in Brevard every year! One is at the college and one is at the library [which is in itself super awesome]. On the last day of the sale at the college, all the books are 1/2 price. I always go to check out the children's books, especially, so that I can use them to make paper flowers for my little jewelry boxes:

But, of course, I always seem to find several books that I fall in love with and that I just want to keep for myself [another problem I have that I talked about in my last post]! So, on that note, it's time to go outside! Happy Tuesday!

love and peace always ~ Kathy

"Every journey begins with a single hop." ~ Kermit the Frog

Finding love...

...who says it's hard to find love?  It's all in what you're looking for.  I found lots of "love" yesterday, like these awesome books:

and they were only $1 each!  One dollar!  They are so beautiful and fun!  Especially this one:

The illustrations are gorgeous and some of the songs are so funny:

And, as if I didn't find enough "love" just by finding the books, I spotted these next to the parking lot when I was leaving the grocery store:

They were just perfect, standing there all in a row, tall and proud.  I jumped out of my car [leaving it running], laid on the ground and took photos.  To my surprise, I heard a gentleman's voice hollering "hey lady, are you okay" ~ lol, some people just don't "get it".

I'm off to find more "love" today!  Hope you find some, too!

Happy Thursday!!!  xoxoxo ~ Kathy

"I passed my love's window, both early and late,

The look that she gave me, it made my heart ache.

Oh, the look that she gave me was painful to see,

For she loves another one better than me." ~ Green Grow the Lilacs [as sung by Tony Kraber]

I love books & beads & furry things...

...as long as I can remember, I've loved books. My favorite days at school were the ones when the "Book-mobile" would come and we could check out books from the mobile library. My other favorite days were the ones that you could actually buy books. I remember bringing home the booklet and begging my daddy for at least 2 or more books. He usually let me get all the ones I wanted. And when Broc was little, he loved books too, and still does. I think he's worse than me when it comes to loving books. But you know, he and I both grew up in times where there were only 3 channels on the T.V. [in fact, when Broc was little we didn't have a T.V. at all] and we had no video games, VCR's or DVD's and certainly no computers or cell phones. So basically, all we had were books and Saturday morning cartoons. Makes me wonder how many kids still love books these days.

And honestly...how many craft books do I really need! I just love to look at them. Have I ever created anything from any of them? NO. Have I have been inspired by any of them? Maybe. Do I love each and every one of them? YES!! And then there's the "Feng Shui" books?!?I was reading the "K.I.S.S." one a few years ago on the beach and a huge wave came and soaked both me and the book....maybe it was "Feng Shui", or maybe it was Karma!! Hee hee, either way, the book has sand embedded in the pages now. And will I ever part with these books? NO. So over the years, I've accumulated quite a number of books and Wayne just built me some new shelves to house them. And it looks as though I have plenty of room for more!
So before I went to the beach, I ordered some new findings and beads. I just fell in love with these recycled glass beads. They are the color of the sea and just beautiful! These little earrings are the first things I made with them. I named them "Sea Glass" and I'm giving away a pair on this blog!! All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post and tell me the name of your favorite book ever! That's it! Ozzy will pick the winner Monday morning. Good luck! And, of course, these are in the shop if you don't win them and still must have a pair.

hee hee ~ I just had to share this with ya'll. Ozzy & Lita's first time at the beach. Ozzy absolutely loved it!! Lita, on the other hand, did not. In fact, she hated the sand and insisted on sitting in Wayne's beach chair. She's is such a little prissy pot!

Welp, I still have some organizing to do and books to put away and jewelry to make and cloths to fold and things to dust...I need more hours in my day. Good luck winning the earrings and have a most wonderful of Thursdays!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to everyone about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will live." ~ Charles M. Schwab

Old books, bats & birds...

...my finds from the book sale!!! Every year there is a huge book sale @ Brevard College and I just love going there and perusing all of the old books to see what I can find. These were the ones I couldn't resist! The little pink one is from Denmark and looks like a story about a bar room brawl...then there's the one about etiquette [which is down right hilarious], then an old piano book that has really old, wonderful pages of music that I can use for my photography, then a huge book on the life & art of Frida Kahlo [whom I absolutely adore] ~ I will be using her cover picture for my earring prop ~ check it out:

I think she wears the "Crocodile Tears" earrings very, very well. But the book I love the most is "The Limerick" ~ it made me laugh out loud! People were looking at me and I was just giggling and giggling. I'll share one of the limericks, but they are all really, really nasty! I hope nobody gets offended, but I think it will make you giggle, just the same:

There was a young fellow named Goody
Who claimed that he wouldn't, but would he?
If he found himself nude,
with a gal in the mood
The question's not would he, but could he?

hee hee ~ and to think, I got a whole book of that silly stuff for just $1! The way I see it, if something can make you laugh out loud and it only cost one dollar, that's one dollar very well spent!

I'll be at the "Cashiers Mountain Music Festival" tomorrow and then next Sunday, I'll be at "The Big Crafty" ~ if you live close, try to come out and see me. The "special" for both shows will be these awesome little bat necklaces:they come in a variety of finishes and will only be $15 each!! A great necklace for all of you "Twilight & Eclipse" fans, as well as all my homies in "Transylvania County".and before I end this post, I have to share my little mama Robin. She made a nest right next to our deck and now she has some little babies...I haven't seen the babies yet, but I can't wait to!

Have a great 4th of July weekend everybody!!!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth." ~ Chinese Proverb

Books, Geekery and Chicken & Dumplins...

...I don't know what it is about books. I must just love having them, with the hopes of one day reading them all. Seems as though I'm always buying books that are supposed to "teach me something". Of course, I just jump around the pages until I *think* I've learned enough and then I move on to something else, never quite finishing the book in it's entirety. Right now, for instance, I'm reading 4 books ~ one about camping, one about HDR photography, one about PhotoShop Elements 8 and one about my camera [oh yeah, and the one about biodentical hormones that I always tend to start reading again when I have a hot flash - it's always in the stack]. I guess the thing is, they are all interesting enough and I just want to learn everything and read about everything, but only in small bursts ~ * sigh * ~ maybe one day ALL of my books will be read...that is, if I stop buying new ones!

So yesterday, I was missing my Mom and yearning for some of her Chicken & Dumplings. She would always make them for me when I was gloomy, or not feeling good. It's my ultimate "comfort food". I have never, ever made them for myself. I felt as if I did, I would be having a one person "pity party" and nobody would be there to comfort me [or wash my dish!]. I was looking in my refrigerator at that package of chicken breasts [with an expiration date of 04.01.10] and thought, "I really need to cook that chicken today". Then I went and stood inside the pantry to see what I could whip up to go along with it. Low and behold, there on the shelf was an unopened box of Bisquick ~ why the hell I had Bisquick, I'll never know...it's certainly not like I bake, or make pancakes from scratch , or anything like that! I really think my brain subconsciously purchases items in the store that I have no control over or even remember buying. And then, like a light bulb came on over my head, I thought "Chicken & Dumplins" ~ I made them, they were awesome and my Mom would be proud. She said I could make her some next time we visit. They were so good, I had to take a picture! Of course, I also had to throw some "geekery" in ~ look close and you'll see that the picture is actually a jigsaw puzzle! If you're really bored, you can print it out on some card stock, cut it out and put it back together again! I created the picture & puzzle with "Picnik" [of course].My yard is full of daffodils!! They are popping up all over the place! Spring has "officially" arrived! Yay!! And the lucky winner of those awesome earrings from my last post is "Faye"!! Congratulations, Faye!!! Ozzy ran off with #3 this morning! I hope you enjoy your earrings!

I had to go into town this morning to get my "privilege license", so I can sell my jewelry @ the "Transylvania Tailgate Market". I'm not quite sure if that will be my "privilege" or theirs [hee hee]. Then I met my wonderful friend, Paula for lunch @ the Thai restaurant and then I stopped by to visit my awesome friends Mike & Paula and drop off a necklace that I'm donating for a benefit tomorrow night. While I was there, I gobbled up [at least that's what I felt like I was doing ~ grabbing & snatching them out of his hands] some of Mike's new glass pendants!! They are gorgeous!!! Be on the lookout for some new necklaces I'll be making with them for the shop! They will all be a "one of a kind", so save your pennies, I know you'll want at least one!

For all of you on Facebook...I found this awesome site that creates facebook applications. Most of them are "free" and they are wonderful!! I downloaded the "Twitter" one and the "Flickr" one for my "Dornick Designs" Facebook Fan Page. Check it out ~ I promise you'll be smitten!

Welp, I'm off to enjoy the afternoon ~ it's gorgeous outside today!!! I have a new necklace made to list in the shop, too....but that will have to wait until this evening ~ the sunshine don't last long enough. Have a wonderful day everybody!!!!
[wow ~ I sure was talkative today...must be that hot Chai I'm addicted to!]
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." ~ Native American Proverb

Spring, Camping & Some Good Stuff...

....there's a light at the end of the tunnel & it's warmth, green grass & sunshine!! I've never been so ready for winter to be over with! We still have little mounds of snow here and there, but it's all melted for the most part. My little mermaid picture really doesn't have anything to do with this post, other than it's really, really cute! I love the jellyfish! Speaking of jellyfish, my awesome friend, Mike Green, makes these amazing glass jellyfish pendants. Each one is unique. I just love them! If you decide you have to have one, please tell him I sent you. Speaking of amazing stuff:

This little book is the cutest ever!!! I've decided that I want to do some tent camping this year [I'll keep you posted on that idea, for sure]. Susie Ghahremani [boygirlparty.com] is such an amazing and quirky artist! I love her style. I just recently purchased these little journals:

and I love them so much that I just can't bring myself to write in them yet. Maybe I'll take one with me when I go camping...I think the one with the Owls would be most appropriate for that.My wonderful husband made me this awesome breakfast sandwich, which I have named the "Wayne McMuffin" ~ and McDonald's...you have NOTHING on him, nothing! While I was crawling around under my desk this morning, transferring all of my cords [which are a gazillion] to my new surge protector and battery back-up he snuck in the kitchen and whipped this up. He truly makes my heart sing!

Happy Sunday everybody!! So tomorrow is the "Ides Of March"....and the 20% Off Sale in my shop is still good until Midnight Saturday [March 20th]...check it out ~ I just listed several new things that I made yesterday ~
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"So long as you are learning, you are not growing old. It's when a man stops learning that he begins to grow old." ~ Joseph Hergesheimer

I Love Thrift Stores!!!

So I've been reading lots of things on the internet, visiting lots of sites, Etsy top sellers, etc., learning new ways to package things up, recycle, reuse & just basically "cutsie" things up a bit for packaging my items to send out to my customers. One of the things I read, and really really, loved was to use pages from old books for wrapping, making boxes, note cards, etc. Well, even though I have a gazillion books, I couldn't bear the thought of tearing them up. So I went to "Goodwill" today and got 2 old "World Atlas" books {because the maps are just so wonderfully colorful} and I got 1 old dictionary and this:It's called "Fields of Gold" and is an awesome, 155 page book of inspirational quotations from ancient and modern times. Of course, I'm not about to cut this up, but use it for my ending blog quotes. I'm going to go right in order, starting on page 1 {they may not make sense sometimes, but it'll be interesting to see when they do}. And to think, it was .99 cents! I love thrift stores!

I love this, too! It's brand new in the shop and called "Paper-n-things" ~ The pendant is made by my wonderful friend, Susan over at "TV Tray Art". She makes some awesome things. In fact, she's working on something special for me right now ~ hee hee I can't wait to see it!! Of course, it will be shared right here when it's finished.

Speaking of finished, I'm off to make something new!!! I hope you are all having a wonderful week! Happy Thursday!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

This quote is under "Opportunity" ~ the very 1st one in the book ;)

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. We must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures." ~ William Shakespeare

Babies, Books & Broccoli Cornbread.....

....it's official! I'm a Grandmother {as close as I'll ever be, anyway}. My step-daughter, Paulette, gave birth to her first child - a beautiful little boy named Hunter Elliot:

Isn't he the sweetest!!! I can't wait to go see him and kiss him and spoil him. It seems as though Broc {my son} has really stepped up to the plate and loves being an uncle. Actually, Hunter looks like Broc a little and they are not even "blood kin". And just look at that little chin - it's perfect! And everybody is doing just fine.

We went to a "Local Farmers" thing-a-majogie @ Poppies and there were several speakers there, local grown food, local farmers and several people discussing the current status of the economy and the benefits of buying "local". One of the books they were pushing was this:
It's a book about a family that for one whole year only bought & ate local grown food. It's almost like pretending you're an animal. For instance, you'll eat strawberries when they are in season & pumpkins when they are in season. Unlike animals, we as humans are so used to being able to eat whatever we want, whenever we want, that the whole idea of not being able to do that just seems preposterous to us. But if we step back and look at "the big picture", it just may be a way of life we need to start thinking about and getting used to. Eventually the prices of food will be so high, or rationed to a point that we may not be able to afford such luxuries as "choices". Just yesterday, I was limited to the amount of rice I could purchase. Believe me, we're not going to start growing our own food *yet*, but we are trying to buy more local and readily available produce, meats, cheeses & other "local" things. So, we feel like it's a good start. And I'll let you know more about the book when I finish reading it.
This past Monday night was Rainbow's birthday!!! So the hit of the night was the awesome birthday cake that her husband & kids made for her *Happy Birthday Rainbow*. But before the cake was cut, everybody munched on some awesome homemade chili that Mark & Theresa made and my Broccoli Cornbread that is always a hit. By the time I remembered that I wanted to take a picture of it for my blog post, it was all gone. So, as requested {Kaye, you'll love this}, here's the recipe ~ enjoy:

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 stick of butter or margarine - melted {I always use real butter}
8 oz. of Mexican Velveeta cheese, melted
1 cup of chopped onions
1 can of "Mexicorn" - drained
1 box of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & squeezed dry
6 oz. of small curd cottage cheese
1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl....and then pour into an un-greased 9x12 baking dish. Bake in pre-heated oven @ 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until toothpick stuck in middle comes out clean and top is nice & brown.Believe me, if you want a "crowd pleaser" this is it!

Well, my sick little computer should be all well with *new* guts tomorrow. $325+ later, it needed a new mother board & processor, which is what I thought it probably needed. But now, I've kinda gotten used to my little laptop again and am so happy I have it for back-up. That's the reason I try not to use it, unless I have to. So with that being said, I guess I should finish up things I need to do and then shut it down for the night. I hope you are all having a wonderful week & trying to stay *cool*. Wayne is busy putting ceiling fans in every room! Lucky for me, he started with my studio and my fan even has a light dimmer & a remote! I'm one lucky girl, for sure :)

xx00 & peace always ~ Kathy

"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired" ~ Robert Frost

My love for books....

I'm just a nut when it comes to books. I have so many now that I want to read, but never seem to have time to anymore. I just keep buying the ones I want and keeping them in a stack to read one day. I'm going to start taking time to read again, starting today. The first book I want to read {and finish} is "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison. It's a book about manic depression. Sometimes I wonder if something is wrong with me. I never really get depressed, or totally manic, but I think I'm somewhere in between. My mind never stops and when it's going it's usually thinking about 3 or 4 things at once, along with the constant record player that is forever playing songs in my head. At any given time, I have a song playing on the stereo in there. Most of the time it's songs that I never hear, so it's not like I heard one and got it stuck in my head, which also happens and then I'll have 2 songs playing at once. It's quite "maddening" sometimes, especially when I'm trying to read. I have a hard time focusing if the book is not interesting. I can "read" several pages only to realize that I haven't "read" anything.

I really wanted to get some things made today, but ended up working on a website all day for a company I used to work for. Fortunately, I can do it from home, but it still took way longer than I expected and had changes to every page. It's all fixed now though, hopefully :0)

It may rain again this evening. I hope we get a little. Otherwise, I'll be watering plants later on and, I would much rather be reading.

Our diet is going well so far. We decided not to do the South Beach one again, but a low calorie one instead, which I read would be a whole lot easier to stick to forever! A life style change that we really need to make. And so, I got a "book"!!! Hee hee ~ it's on its way. It's the one Oprah is on and she, along with her followers, rave about it. It's "The Best Life Diet":
Of course, Oprah has "people" to help her, as well. Like a chef & personal trainer. If I had that, it would be so much easier. I'm determined, though. My mind is made up. I'll keep you all posted on my progress.

Thanks again everybody, for always stopping by to visit. I hope you are having an awesome Wednesday. I'll leave you with this quote:

"It is never too late to be what you might have been" ~ George Eliot

♥ xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy