Peace & Love, Baby!

  Hey Ya'll!!  Long time, no post!  I've just been busy with taxes, a couple of photo shoots and a few hikes.  The weather has been really nice, but today we woke up to two inches of snow!  It melted quick, but now flurries are flying again...Ozzy and Lita are enjoying it so

Huge flakes are starting to fall...heading out with my camera again.  This was what our road looked like from the freezing rain earlier this week.  Gorgeous!

Hope all is well!  I'll be making some new things today, so stay tuned for that and I'll also be having a give away and a discount coupon code next week!  Just in time for the ides of March!

love & peace always ~ Kathy

"A bird flew by

I said "hi"

how luck you are

to live in the sky." ~ Kathy Hardy 03.02.13

A hike to a mountain top & some more "free" earrings!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous around here lately! So yesterday, we took full advantage of it and went on a hike up to "Stone Mountain"in Dupont Forest. Although the trail was a tad harrowing at times,the whole trek up there was totally worth it!! Absolutely breathtaking! The dogs had a blast!And I got some much needed fresh air & down time. If you are interested in seeing all of my photos from yesterdays hike, you can click here ~ enjoy :)ah...now I can get busy creating again. I did get these made yesterday:they are called "Strawberry Fields Forever" and are for sale in both my Etsy Shop & ArtFire Shop! But, I'm giving a pair of them away on my blog!!! Yes, yes!!! But, instead of you just posting a comment like "I love these", or "I would love to win these", let's make it more fun this time! All you have to do is post a comment about what you like to do to wind down, like hiking, biking, reading, sleeping, etc....I would love to hear what you have to say! Ozzy will be picking the winner Monday ~ good luck!! So Ozzy got is stitches out and he's doing great! The turtleneck shirts worked out perfect and kept him from being able to lick his incision. But, in saying that, Lita was so jealous that we had to put a shirt on her, too! She loved it! She don't know why she had it on, but it ranked her right back up to "boss" status ~ lol

Welp, I'm off to get some things ready for the ArtMart this weekend @ the Transylvania County Arts Council! Come out and see me if you live close enough. The party is tomorrow night from 6 to 8 and the ArtMart Public Sale will be Saturday from 9am until 4pm. It'll be lots of fun and a great opportunity to jump start your holiday shopping!!

Have a great weekend peeps! Don't forget to comment on this post for a chance to win these gorgeous earrings!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The better part of happiness is to wish to be what you are." ~ Desiderius Erasmus

I just see it...

...ugh! I did a show at the mall this weekend and it was terrible!! One of the worst shows I've ever, ever done. I guess "mall shoppers" don't appreciate art or handmade things [for the most part]. The only items I saw selling were those fleece scarves that represented various football teams and these angels:I really don't "get" the hype over an angel with a "John Deere Tractor" dress, but hey, who's judging! To each his own. Besides a lot of "crafters" there were several amazing artists, but the person most talented was a guy named Chris Moffet that has only been creating art for a little over a year now. His woodworking skills are just incredible! So after a boring, boring day, I came home with Jack:

and I LOVE him!!!! I have him hanging up in the stairwell, so I can see him every time I come and go from my studio! He's awesome! The show was to benefit the "Enka Fire Department", so, hopefully, they raised some $$ for that. The kids had fun riding around in the remote control firetruck:I don't know how much trust I would have had in a puppet driving my kid around, but like I said before, to each his own.

And it seemed as though the most interest I got in my work was from other vendors, specifically other jewelry vendors. And it's the same old question time and time again "when you look at a pile of beads, how do you know what you are going to make with them, if you don't follow a pattern, or copy something from a magazine or website" and time and time again, I have the same old answer "I just see it" ~ and that's all it is and all I can say about it.
Oh, and I guess you are wondering who won those awesome earrings from my last post?!? {insert drum roll here} ~ lucky #3, which is Chris!!!!! Yay!!!!! Congratulations!! I'll have these on their way to you in two shakes of a lamb's tail! I hope you love & enjoy them!!! Karen [my sister] will be upset, but I might have to send her a pair for Christmas! Enjoy!!

Gotta wrap it up...almost time to take Ozzy to the vet to get his stitches out! Hooray!!! Life is good for me and my little Ozzy. Hope you're week is off to a great start!! Check back Wednesday for another give away!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"A dog is a smile & a wagging tail. What is in between doesn't matter much." ~ Clara Ortega

Happy November 1st!!

Hello, hello!! I hope everybody had an awesome Halloween!! I certainly did! We went to a great party that had an "Old Gregg" theme. If you don't know who "Old Gregg" is, click here to watch the video. I know, it's somewhat disturbing, but the more you watch it the funnier it gets. The band playing at the party call themselves the "Fishsticks" and they were all dressed in characters from "Old Gregg", with the lead singer [Raymond Rainey] playing the part of "Old Gregg" himself. It was hilarious!!But my friends Mark & Leslie had the best costumes ~ I love it!!They were Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) people. Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday to celebrate the dead. Awesome peeps & costumes!!

And so October has gone with a flash, a bang and lots of fallen leaves...speaking of leaves, #4 [Lindsey] won that gorgeous Maple Leaf Necklace from my last post! Congratulations, Lindsey!! I hope you enjoy it!!

And for those of you concerned [thanks so much], Ozzy's surgery last week went well. The vet removed a huge mass [the size of a softball] from his chest and it was [thank goodness] just a huge mass of fat. They sent him home with a big incision and a drain sticking out of his chest, of which he managed to break off the very first day! So we solved the problem by keeping him in a turtleneck shirt that I cut the sleeves off of. He seems to enjoy it, actually :)

And right now he's laying here looking at me and probably wanting some attention. So I'll cut this off and say goodnight!! Happy November everybody!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito." --Betty Reese

It's Still Winter!

I think Winter decided that it was going to "be Winter" and that was that! We still have snow on the ground from 4 weeks ago! Ozzy & Lita are going crazy being stuck inside. The top of the snow is like a solid block of ice. Hopefully, it will warm up enough today to make the top of the snow a little "crunchy", so you can at least walk on it. Ah....I have faith!!! But yesterday it did warm up to about 50 and we took Ozzy & Lita out on a hike. They had a ball!

Yes, Life is good for Ozzy & Lita :) And me, too! A friend of mine surprised me with this awesome cookbook yesterday:It's awesome! There are so many wonderful stories & recipes in it.....I can't decide which to try first! I'm leaning towards the "Rosemary Lamb Brochettes with Mint Pesto"....I'll keep you posted....It makes my mouth water, just typing it! Yummy! I haven't had Lamb Kabobs since I was in Baton Rouge! A picture share from yesterday! I love the way parts of the rivers and creeks are still frozen solid with ice, while the water underneath continues to rush past. Just seeing it and listening to it, makes you stop and think....wow....I wish we could be more like water and just freeze in time, while the world continues to zip by....how nice that would be...just for a minute, or two though, of course. I'm off to Zumba. Have a wonderful weekend!! I'll be busy make more new things for the shop all weekend long, so please stop in and check it out.

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Hitch your wagon to a star" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Censored Art & Mountain Tops....

Ahhhh....the weather has just been gorgeous here!!! So yesterday, we hiked up to the top of "Black Balsam Knob" with Ozzy & Lita {mistake}. I don't know why Ozzy thinks everything {dogs, people, lizards, cats, etc.} need "herding". We got all the way to the top of Black Balsam Knob and I got someone up there to take our picture for our Christmas Cards this year {which I think turned out really good}:And then Ozzy decided that this little fat Jack Russell Terrier up there somehow needed herding. Well, the Jack Russell wanted no part of Ozzy, or his herding, so he started running and Ozzy started chasing....they went half way back down the trail and then half way up another mountain, with Wayne and the Jack Russell's owner on their tails yelling "stop, sit, stay, wait, etc." to no avail! They finally stopped, on their own, and just stood there, looking at each other. Well, the Jack Russell's owner was very upset {understandably, since Ozzy was about three times his size}. He started yelling at Wayne about keeping the dogs on leashes, if we can't control them, blah de blah. But, his dog wasn't on a leash either and obviously, he couldn't control his dog, so I think he was mad @ Ozzy, Wayne and his own dog. I just kinda giggled to myself, since nobody was hurt and both Ozzy and the Jack Russell certainly could use the exercise {hee hee}. It was a beautiful day, though and Ozzy & Lita had a great time:I think I'm going to get this one printed & framed.

So, the winner of the "Bird Girl Journey" necklace is Jen!!!! Yay!! Ozzy loves you!!! He actually "licked" #1 and then grabbed #2 and tried to eat it! Thanks for posting comments, everybody!! Check back Wednesday for holiday shopping updates/discount codes & shipping information. Plus, another awesome "freebie"!! Ya'll are the best!!!!

Well, I decided NOT to do the after Thanksgiving show in Cashiers @ the cute little cottages. Although, it's cute and a great idea, my art ended up being ridiculously censored. I was told that this venue is geared more towards "upscale" art, rather than "funky" and that they did not want any "New Age" or "Fundamentalist" items there, namely "Skulls, Shrunken Ex-Boyfriends", Peace Signs, Goddesses or Fairies". Well, all of you that know me, know that most of my items would fall in the "funky" category! Actually my banner, my business cards and the sign on my car say "funky jewelry for your inner flower child" ~ so "humph" ~ they can keep their "upscale" clientele and I'll keep my funky peeps, like ya'll!! And this was a "juried" show! So, I don't know why they waited until after they accepted me and then told me what I could and could not sell! Oh well, their loss ~ my gut feeling told me I wouldn't make much money there anyway and end up wasting two whole days right after Thanksgiving, which tends to be the time I get really busy.

So thanks for listening, and loving my funky stuff!!! I love ya'll!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression" ~ First Amendment of the US Constitution

Hunters, Bears & Forest Rangers....

For those of you that don't follow me on "Facebook", I'll give you a quick story of how this post came about. My friend Van and I headed out to Daniel Ridge Loop to go on a hike and use different settings on my new camera. Well, about 1/2 mile into the woods, we encountered three hunters that were dragging a dead bear cub behind them. Of course, I was totally freaked out by the whole thing and one of the guys said "that's damn good eatin" ~ to which I replied, "I wouldn't know and don't care to find out". So the rest of our hike was just a little sad and I couldn't stop thinking about that little baby bear. Then, when we were headed back to the parking lot, we came across a little hunting dog that had no collar, was skinny as could be and clearly had recently given birth to puppies. Nobody was around, so I assumed she had been abandoned by some hunters that didn't want her anymore. I told Van that if she followed us to the car, she was coming with us. But she stayed right on the bridge, like she was waiting for somebody. So all night long I struggled with the decision I made to leave the dog and with the harrowing images stuck in my head from the baby bear and it's killers. So I started writing about my whole experience on facebook and, honestly, was quite surprised by the outpouring of responses I received. Thanks to Debra {whom is awesomely awesome, by the way}. the Transylvania County Forest Ranger caught wind of my story and paid me a visit last night.

First of all, he told me what Debra had already researched and found out {and also mentioned that she knows the law better than him} ~ bear hunting is legal in this county, it's legal in most of Pisgah National Forest, including all the hiking areas, and baby bears can be killed, as long as they weigh over 50 lbs.! BUT, the hunters are only allowed to kill 1 bear each per season and they are supposed to report every kill, so it can be recorded. He said that these bear killers are just a different breed of people and most of them are really rude and obnoxious ~ he said that he was surprised they even spoke to me at all. He said that these guys work in "packs" and carry radios to let each other know when the "rangers" were coming. I printed out the pictures I had taken and he said he could probably identify them, even though the picture was from the back. At a minimum, they would be fined for not wearing "hunter orange" when carrying a gun, which is the law in this county. Also, he was anxious to find out if they had even reported the bear, since they are only allowed 1 each year/per hunter, most hunters save their kill for an adult bear. But, he said that they get everybody and their brother a "hunting license" and then use that person's "punch card" for the bear kill. He thanked both Debra and I and said it takes people like us to put a stop to illegal killings by these guys. And then I asked him about the little dog.....

....He said that as long as he's been a ranger here, which has been many years, he's never seen or heard of these bear hunters abandoning their dogs in the forest. He said all of these guys know each other and know each others dogs, so if that little dog was waiting by the bridge {which is a pick up/drop off point}, her owner, or another hunter would pick her up. He said they wouldn't bother hauling her all the way to the forest, just to leave her there. He also said she was probably younger than she looked, since these dogs have a pretty rough life as bear hunters. He said they get in fights with the bears all the time, trying to tree them. I asked him about her collar being missing and he said that some people don't believe in the way these dogs are being treated and will take their collars off and throw them in the woods. What they don't realize though, is that this usually causes the dog more harm than good, since they are then lost from the hunters and their radios. That's how they get left in the woods. They usually find their way back to the drop off point, or to the campsite, but it can take days sometimes. So, by trying to do these dogs a favor, they are causing them more harm. He also said that these dogs could never make good "pets" because of how they are raised. He said he's picked up some of the dogs before and held them for the hunters. He'll let them know he has them and they'll come pick them up. So, he said I did good by leaving the dog where she was, which made me feel tons better. So, that's that ~ thanks for all the comments everybody! I'm off the Zumba class!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Snakes & Snails & Puppy Dog Tales....

...and little boys ~ My little boy is coming to see me today!!! He'll be flying in from Baton Rouge @ 5:30 this afternoon! I'm soooo excited! He'll be here for a whole week! He's never been to the mountains before, and boy is he going to love it! Especially right now with all of the gorgeous fall colors ~ it's beautiful out there today! Of course, I have to make all of his favorite dishes while he's here ~ his most favorite of ALL being "hamburger packages"! This has been his favorite thing as long as I can remember. You should try it for your kids ~ they'll love it too! Plus, there's no pots and pans to wash! How easy is that! Here's what you do:

Pre-heat oven to 400
Make a hamburger patty ~ you can season it some if you want, I usually don't.
Cut up some potatoes in wedges {like steak fries}
Cut up some carrots in strips, or you can use the peeled baby carrots.
Slice an onion in thin circles.
Take a piece of aluminum foil ~ about 12x12 or so
Put the hamburger patty on the bottom & then top it with a few onion slices
Pile on the carrots & potato wedges
Season to your liking ~ I just use sea salt & cracked black pepper
wrap it up good, so the juices & steam don't escape
put the package right on the oven rack and bake for about 30/45 minutes ~ depending on how thick you made your hamburger patty & how many carrots & potatoes you put in each. You can also check it after 30 minutes to see if it's done enough.
Then ~ enjoy!!!!Several years ago ~ for Mother's day, Broc gave me a "White's Tree Frog". I named him "Skippy" and he lived for about 5 years. When he died, we buried him in a cigar box in the back yard and put this little angel statue on his grave. The statue is a little boy angel, sitting on top of a huge frog {I'll have to post a picture later of the whole statue}. It's really cute! Now I have it sitting in my yard ~ a reminder of little boys and frogs ~ two of my most favorite things ~ besides puppy dogs! Speaking of which, Ozzy got his latest check-up Tuesday and he has lost a total of 21 lbs. on his thyroid meds! He's like a little puppy again ~ running and playing with Lita. His fur is all fluffed out & he looks like a little bear cub ~So the winner of these awesome earrings was lucky #1 ~ Anita!! Congratulations!! I hope you enjoy them ~ check back soon for another awesome "freebie" ~ thanks for reading, everybody! Gotta run for now and pick up a little bit, before I head out to the airport. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"How beautifully everything is arranged by nature: as soon as a child enters the world, it finds a mother ready to take care of it." ~ Jules Michelet

Summertime....

...and the living is easy! Hey everybody! Happy Summer!!! So Sunday was the first day of Summer and it kicked off a chain of events that has started to fill up my calendar. We went to a beautiful "Solstice" wedding Sunday afternoon that was unlike any I had ever attended. I guess you could say that it touched on each persons own individual spirituality, rather than focusing on God and the Bible. I have to say that it is the first wedding I ever attended where the Bible wasn't even present. After the ceremony we all danced in the moonlight until midnight. It was awesome. And then Monday night we went to a dinner party for a friend's birthday and last night we drove up to the highest elevation on the parkway to watch the sun set:We are going to hike to the top of Black Balsam Knob next week to watch it even closer. It was gorgeous!! And we have house guests arriving this weekend and staying through the 4th! And I'm going to have a "surprise" birthday party on July 5th for one of my most special little peeps {I can't say who just yet, in case she reads this post} ~ :)

So tonight will be Wayne's first "Nia" class! My little instructor {Hiro} started teaching night classes, so Wayne and I are going to take the Wednesday night class together. It's 45 minutes of Nia and 45 minutes of core strengthening. So between that and the two Zumba/Core classes I already take on Tuesday and Thursday, I should start noticing some change in my body! I do feel stronger & more balanced, so that's a start. I'll keep you posted on how Wayne does and hopefully, loves it!
In keeping with the "spiritualness" of this blog post, this awesome little Bone Goddess necklace that I named "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is the give away for next Wednesday! All you have to do to win it is comment on this post! That's it!!! Ozzy will be picking the lucky winner ~ good luck! Of course, it's also for sale in the shop, if you don't win it and still would love to have it! It's really awesome :)And, speaking of Ozzy, he's on the road to feeling better!!! After gaining 20 lbs in less than 2 years, the vet did some blood work and found out that his thyroid is really low. She put him on a thyroid supplement and said that the weight he gained should start to come off as fast as it went on. I hope so! He's only been on the meds for a week and seems like he's already feeling much, much better. We're going to take him and Lita on a short hike today so he can get some exercise. So with that said, I need to run and get a few things made for the shop. Thanks for always reading my ramblings......Happy Wednesday & Happy Summer!!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"I would sooner live in a cottage and wonder at everything than live in a castle and wonder at nothing" ~ Joan Winmill Brown

And the winner is {insert drumroll here}....

.....Jen! Yay!!! Lucky you!~ Thanks for your comments everybody! Check back this Friday {May 1st} to see what's up for the next give away. Also, starting today and going through Sunday {May 3rd}, I'm offering "free shipping", "free gift wrap" and a "free personalized card enclosure" for all Mother's Day gifts. Just let me know that your item is a gift for your Mom and what you want your card to say ~ I'll do the rest. I'll refund your shipping payment through PayPal, after your purchase. And this cute little bracelet would make an awesome Mother's Day gift:Speaking of "awesome" & "winners"!!!!!! {insert another drumroll here}:So this is the first time I have ever watched "American Idol" and could say with almost 100% certainty who was going to win! His talents are just untouchable compared to the others. I think he's going to be the next "Michael Jackson" ~ hands down! What do you think? I think he's precious.....almost as precious as this:Another precious Etsy find ~ I love it! To bad I'm already married or this would certainly be on the top of my wedding cake! But it could still work for a birthday, right! And my birthday is Saturday!!! Ozzy's is Sunday ~ whoo hooo ~ Sushi for me and Bluebell Homemade Vanilla Ice-cream for Ozzy {he loves that stuff} And do you know what happens to bad dogs that roll in another dogs poop?Yep, a bath! She didn't like it, either. But, do you think that will teach her a lesson? Hell No! She'll do it again as soon as some other strange dog poops in the yard and we don't catch her in time. Dogs do some really gross stuff ~ but I guess people do, to.

Happy Wednesday!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are right now, and all you are becoming." ~ Melodie Beattie

Puppy Love, Ponds, Pilates & Mermaid Tails...

Lita always looks so sweet in pictures ~ of course, she's very sweet to everyone except Ozzy:But just how can anybody me mean to this sweet little face...mmmmmwah, Ozzy ;)

So one of my new friends, here in Brevard, started making these awesome Raku Clay Pendants. She also makes wonderful soaps from the Waterfall water around here. Please do check out her shop when you get a chance. She's getting ready to start selling her Raku pieces on Etsy, so I'll certainly let you know when that happens! This little necklace is just sooooo sweet ~ the little paw print is just perfect ~ I love it! And, you guessed it, I named it "Puppy Love" ~ of course, it's for Sale in the shop, if you want to grab it up ~:)
This is another one of her pendants ~ it reminds me of a "Mermaid Tail" ~ Isn't it just gorgeous! I love it, too. In fact, I hope it sells pretty quick, or I may end up keeping it for myself. I bought several pendants from her {21 to be exact}, so be on the lookout for the new necklaces.
But necklaces aren't the only things I've been making lately ~ this awesome little bracelet is just so sweet & delicate ~ it incoporates things you would find in a Pond, like frogs, fish & turtles. And the Czech Glass Catherdral beads are just beautiful, so I named this "Magical Pond" ~ and, of course, it's for sale in the shop, too :)
And then, yesterday I started my exercise routine & my Pilates again. I got everything all set up in the basement and it looks like a gym down there! I have a treadmill, a stationary bike, a rowing machine, an ab lounger & a host of DVD's! Oh, and a step, for step aerobics. I decided that I just had to do something, especially after seeing this:

And once I "master" all of my Pilates & Aerobic DVD's, I'll move on to Morrighan's Pole Dancing DVD's ~ she's really quite amazing & wearing my jewelry :) She's another person I miss terribly ~ hopefully, she'll come visit with Charlie!!! {hint, hint}

Happy Sunday! xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy

And a quote that was sent to me from Jen "If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws would evolve"

There's No Place Like Home....

Hello, hello!!! We are back home ~ *Yay* ~ We did have a great time visiting with family & friends, but we are soooooo glad to be back home. Especially Ozzy & Lita, even though Lita slept on top of Wayne most of the time ~ this is a picture of them napping in the back of the car while I was driving:

But the highlight of the whole trip were the awesome fireworks on July 4th:
And spending time with Wayne's family. Don't we look happy!!!

We are!!! Life is good :) So tomorrow I'll start back on my jewelry making, since I can't wait to start making things with those gorgeous glass pendants from my last post. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend last week! But before I go, I just have to share this picture of Suzanne & Jack, two of our favorite people:And a quote from Suzanne last night: "I'm spoiled to death by life" ~ Suzanne Schmitt

Have a happy weekend!!! I'll be back soon ~ promise!

xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy