Do you really want to know?

Why do you read blogs? Do you really want to know what I'm thinking at this moment of the day or are you trying to find some great deal? Maybe you are trying to learn how to sell what you create by reaching the folks who read blogs.

Peering at blogs is sometimes like opening up someone's diary.
eeeewwww! I didn't want to know that!
oooohhhhhh! I didn't know that!
ooooooooooo! I've never thought of that!

Blogs are about revelation. The blogger reveals themselves by what they write and the reader reveals themselves by their reaction to the blog.

Why do we feel the need to open ourselves to folks we don't know well. Do we have this same openness to our intimate circle? Do we have an intimate circle? Is technology forcing us to lose our connection with intimate relationships and we try to replace them with superficial communication on a grand scale.

I just watched RV (the movie) last night. Ipods and blackberries and laptops! A family adrift on the sea of technology who found themselves in an RV.

With whom are you intimate? (Hardhat anyone?)

Happy Epiphany

Epiphany - a divine manifestation. Can one have a happy divine manifestation? Well, maybe I'm not talking about that kind of epiphany.

Today is the Twelfth Day of Christmas when the Episcopal Church (and others) celebrates the occasion of the Three Wise Men bringing gifts to the Christ Child. We celebrated with a feast of Shepherd's Pie, green beans and bread. (Yes, in a 99% gluten free household we had bread.) Also I made a Galette des Rois or Three Kings Cake consisting of puff pastry (more gluten) and almond paste and a bean hidden in it.

Why a bean??? The finder of the bean gets to be king for the day and write the house blessing on the front door. + 20 Christus Mansionem Benedicat 09+ "May Christ Bless this House."

Update on my mother....she stayed in the hospital for 5 days and was allowed to come home when her platelets reached 100,000. She has continued to improve and the bruising was gone by Christmas. She has continued to have her platelets checked weekly while being weaned off her meds and is doing gloriously well. Platelets 300,000 now.

In addition to everything else in my artist life...I'm working almost full time at Target and feel fortunate to have a job in these times.

Now that life has settled a bit...I'll do my best to post more than once a month.

Happy New Year to ALL!!

It's December the what-th!!!!

Since the day after Thanksgiving my life has been anything but normal. As I was returning home from the Dr. with Fiona my brother called and said our Mama was in the emergency room. This was not a surprise. It actually was a relief because I had seen her the day before and didn't like what I had seen. Thousands of what looked like tiny blood blisters just under the skin on her feet and legs.

Well, there is a medical term for this which has about 58 letters and 12 syllables, but the short of it is that her immune system was eating her platelets and she was just about to die. She had 3,000 platelets when she went into the hospital. We are suppose to have somewhere around 200,000.

The good news is she is home with at least 101,000 platelets now and hopefully on her way to making as making as she needs. Praise God!! Feel free to e-mail if you might need details. There are a lot of folks out there with this condition!

So after a day a baking yesterday for the church bazaar to fund our mission programs I'm back in the real world. "Hello, there!!"

Bake sale items I prepared---
Star of Bethlehem Almond Cookies
Lemon Shortbread
Snickerdoodles
Mini Eggnog Pound Cake with Rum Glaze - (YUM!!)

Well, actually they were all quite yummy! Two sticks of butter in each recipe. Not for the those on a diet!

Thanks for listening!!!
~~Karen

It's a Copper Kinda Christmas this year....

So with money tight and the media trying to terrify is daily with more and more and more bad news, I've decided to turn off the news and have a Copper Kinda Christmas this year. It may take a little more effort on our part just like it takes a little more elbow grease to made copper shine.

But copper all shined up is just as beautiful as gold. Actually, maybe a bit warmer, homey-like. (Yep, making up words with this one.) The Christmas tree is gonna glow just the same and I can buy enough $1 and $2 gifts they love and wrap them with paper left over from last year. Fill their stockings with candy and tangerines (maybe coal if they don't act better than they have been lately) and remember that it's really love that makes my world go round.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US of A!! Best Wishes to the rest of the world!!

If you like the sweater pin in the photo click on the picture and it will take you through to my shop. (Thanks Contrariwise!)

What smells transport you??

Funny how a smell can transport you to a different time and place. I walked into school today to eat Thanksgiving Day lunch with my kids and felt like I had just arrived at Halls Elementary School some 40 years ago. Can it really be that long ago???? I need to sit down.

Coal smoke can do the same transporting me back to my Granny's front yard on a cold winter day.

What smells transport you???

Elegant tip of the Day.....Stand up straight!

I LOVE IT!!!!

I've just had one of the most exciting and exhausting weekends of my life. The Foothills Craft Guild had their annual show/sale last weekend. I was listed in the brochure with one those great Chaos necklaces, and I was picked to represent the Guild on a local morning show, WBIR, and I had my best show ever!!!!!!

Saturday, I felt like Celebrity for a Day, because all the folks coming in the booth were saying, "I saw you on TV today" or "You're the lady from TV this morning." Guild members were also happy and giving me compliments.

My kids thought I was great. I think is always important not to embarrass your kids because they have long memories and will keep bringing it up over, and over and over and over. My dad taped it and finally Daryl made me watch it Monday morning. I was glad to know I didn't embarrass myself.

I also got to see some wonderful friends I hadn't seen in a while. Quick hugs and short conversations because I was so covered up. I must have them over for dinner.

So here it is Wednesday and now I'm just some other schmo trying to make a living at my craft. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted.

Don't forget to be elegant today!!!

To the moon, Alice!!

You may be confused by that title if you don't remember the Honeymooner's, but since they don't have a lot to do with this post you won't get too lost.

To the moon.....that is where Daryl is headed today, bipolar-ly speaking that is. At 6:20 am est I staggered into the kitchen to see that all the lights were already on. A peek around the corner to see a perky Daryl sitting at the computer. He turns and says, "I just got up!"

He comes into the kitchen where I'm trying to remember how to make coffee and he starts technobabbling. "I fixed your computer..I was reading a blog last night about this guy who is a survivalist and he has his house all wired to voice recognition and he found that his computer was running too slow so he went in and........" Okay at this point I'm completely overwhelmed with tech speak and Daryl's yet to have taken a breath. I'm making coffee and listening patiently (but ignorantly) waiting for him to take a breath.

"Been awfully busy for a boy who just got up?"

"Oh, I got up at 4, but if fixed your computer last night."

"What time did you go to bed?"

"12:30"

Okay, I've not been able to blast him out of bed for over a week. Usually he's exhausted and incoherent in the mornings and now he's running full blast onless than 4 hours sleep. Oh, GOD!!! how I hate bipolar disorder. But it is nice to have him perky in the mornings and my computer does run better.

Follow up on the flooring episode Saturday. He did manage to piece together that last 4 inch x 4 inch squre. It's twernt the fear of God in him though, it was the fear of his wife.

He also stood between me and the girls yesterday and I was able to get in 6 hours of very product jewelry time.

I'm gonna keep him.