winter solstice december 21

the solstice is a'coming in, ring out, ring out, solstice bells

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I AM SINGING THE COLD RAIN
A Cheyenne Poem
I am singing the cold rain 
I am singing the winter dawn 
I am turning in the gray morning 
Of my life 
Toward home.

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solstice

music was still ringing in my ears 

as I stepped out under the stars

silence

sudden silence
black, and frost, and midnight
just the wheel of the world
going round over my head
just space

black space, like rhythm
the space between the notes
the breath before the song
huge space, big as an indrawn breath

the stars shape the space into stories

the stories hang there in the stars

draw breath at midnight
and feel them catch in midwinter's throat

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sleet against the windowpane,
or maybe a mouse in the wall...

I listen...
but silence knows no direction

outside,
heavy pine boughs,
deep in the woods
so quiet, so still
a deer steps…

inside, warm,
the sound of a cat’s paw
disturbs very little
as it hunts in a dream
silent as sleet

by Denis Dunn

Harry at 6 months +/ -

Here's a new pic of our little kitty Harry, but he's not so little now, I tried to get him to sit on that little chair but he wouldn't cooperate :D

Harry before

Harry after

And he is still growing & he still likes to sleep on my pillow around my head except now, my head gets pushed off of the pillow, I swear he must weigh about 15 lbs!  He is a happy boy & still loves to chase all the "girls" around the house. 

We have a very bare Christmas tree this year because we didn't dare hang anything breakable on it.  The 1st day we put it up, he pulled everything off of the lower branches & then he got under the tree skirt & proceeded to scoot around the room under cover.  So, now the tree skirt is put up for this year since we have a wood stove & we were worried that he would move the tree skirt too close one night.

But really, he is a joy, as are all of our kitties!

Faerie slippers

I just finished my set of faerie slippers & whimsy charms in the Wonderland colors of light blue, silver, & whites for an exchange on the Paper Whimsy forum.........

I cut the slipper forms from two sheets of patterned paper and then made the vamp from some vintage off-white anaglypha. I created a little pocket on the vamp and inserted a twist of vintage cloth & paper flowers, velvet leaves, a vintage "pearl, and some tiny "pearls' on a string, with a bit of silver tinsel. I glued silver braid around the edge of the slipper & then topped it off with a cream-colored rose and a fichu of vintage lace tucked into the vamp.  I used a snippet of poetry from Hilda Conkling on the soul of the slipper and then brushed it all with a little gesso & faerie dust.

The little charms were made using PW Genteel Lady #03 digisheet printed on fabric, a little stuffing, a bit of frayed hand-dyed blue fabric, a scalloped paper circle & sewed them all together with a sandwich in between of silver tinsel stems & a vintage flower & leaf then threaded some vintage blue glass garland beads onto the tinsel stems with a bit of a twist on bottom & top and tied a strand of Stef Francis ice blue threads around it all.

I am thank-full......

for Autumn; the crisp air, the dancing leaves, the changing light, the chill, the busy birds, the smell of woodsmoke, the bustle, my happy home.....I love it all and I'm so thank-full that I am able to relish the change in seasons....here are a few Autumnal pix that I wanted to share.....I grew the pumpkins & cornstalks....I love being a farmer.

For a Christmas Book!

Here are some pix of the 14 pages that I created for a cabinet card Christmas Carol book exchange, my song prompt is "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"!   The most talented & sweet Jeri Aaron is the hostess, she will be binding the pages for us all & sending us our books in time for the holiday...what fun!!!

 

 

 

The unifying element for everyone's card will be a Santa cap on the image, I had such fun making these, I hope you enjoy viewing them!!!

A fabulous find on Etsy - Barbara Lewis!

Just had to share this jewelry artist with you all!  Her name is Barbara Lewis and she creates such beautiful art with her enamel & lampwork beads,  her breathtaking flair for color, and her gorgeous metalwork.  Can you tell I'm a fan!  Here's a link to her Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/barbaralewis  You should go and take a peek, better yet, BUY one of her pieces, I know she'll be going places!

For those of you that might be interested in buying a bead or two, she sells those in her other Etsy shop http://paintingwithfire.etsy.com/

She will have an article in the Winter 2010 Belle Armoire Jewelry publication, available December 1 2009, featuring her unique torch-fired enamel technique.

Have a spooktacular day!!!

Hope you enjoyed my pix with a touch of seasonal color!