The Merry Month of May

Here we are half way through May 2010! The days move along rather quickly. I've been doing some reading: The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes, The Body of Death by Elizabeth George, and now Preaching to a Postmodern World by Graham Johnston. This last book is a definitive expose' of our world as we live it now; no absolute truth, your truth is for you and not for me. Hard to tell others of Jesus saving Grace in this type of world. However, I am only in the FIRST chapter of this reading, so there is more to come, I can see.

Mother's Day has come and gone; I do not need to celebrate the parents' days now, I guess, but of course, I did pause and think about both Mom & Dad and the TRUE legacy that they left us the siblings. I have come to realize that it is a different legacy for each one of us. It seems that even though all five of us lived in the same house, under the same set of parents, our experiences have had different outlooks as to what really transpired. And my dear Mother told me one time that SHE didn't remember the stuff I talked about, so it didn't happen and I was making it all up! (The key view to postmodern philosophy...denial!) WOW! That set me back for a bit as I protested that these things most certainly happened....I find the things my Father taught me to be the core of my life's beliefs. My Dad was really pretty tolerant of Mother except when she'd tell him ethnic jokes that she'd learned at Syracuse China. Then he didn't want us to hear these and form prejudicial ideas about various peoples; God had created us all and we were to take that into account.

I now wonder what other people are learning in their homes in today's world and what will they take away from their parents that will help them to successfully live/cope with their lives? Our families are being destroyed by the world's views and the pull to "be like everyone else" is very strong in all people. The Jews of Israel wanted to be "like all the nations" instead of being separate and God's chosen people, and look at the heartache and problems they incurred over the centuries because of their choices! So some knowledge of history is necessary if we are to NOT REPEAT the same mistakes that others have made before us.

Well, I need to digress and finish my chores; they are ever with me. LOL....

The Dream Giver

The giver of DREAMS is the Lord HIMSELF! I truly believe it! (He is also the giver of FREEDOMS and NOT the government.) That's why when we trust and believe in Him, we ARE free indeed. His truth makes us free...or "sets" us free as some say. Anyway, I'm wanting to tell the reader (if any) about this book called The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson. The author presents a modern day parable about a dreamer and the obstacles that crop up as soon as one decides to act upon the dream. These obstacles are really opportunities that harden the dreamer and give the dreamer character (often lacking today) in which to pursue said dream.

To pursue the dream, one has to leave his/her comfort zone and do things that they may not normally do. This is scary and others who think they know the dreamer well, may not support the person's desire to reach the dream. Many "border bullies" appear to THWART (there's that word again) the dreamer's desire and to foster NEGATIVITY in the whole plan. Please realize that this dream chasing is a LIFE-LONG JOURNEY. The dream may not succeed; or it may become something else altogether. Some people forget their dreams; some people never realize their dreams/potential because they FEAR the unknown and the road ahead.

Pursuing dreams does not happen automatically. It is HARD WORK and takes PRAYER, and determination to succeed. My dream was to create beautiful artsy "things" and to sell them. I still do the creating part, but the selling part is the hard part. There are many who are "starving artists" and wannabe creators. There is great competition in this creative world. I wonder what will become of my teddy/doll "art" when "I'm gone". Will anyone want it? Our life here is temporary and a journey we all travel individually, wanting to make a "mark" on our lives so that someone knows we were here. I'm glad I have eternity as my GIFT. That fact makes this life journey much more bearable! To all my fellow dreamers, I wish you well and God's success, not necessarily man's. (Read about some of the now famous artists who were not appreciated in their own life times....Van Gogh)

Count it all Joy and be thankful in EVERYTHING....good or bad.

Sunny Saturday, But Cold!

Well, I got in a day of sewing yesterday. I sewed up some bear bodies in preparation for the two bear shows that I'm doing this year. I have not done a marathon bear sewing in quite some time, since I do not like to have unsold stuff hanging around...inventory they call it. But it was nice to get in the groove again. I have lots of "projects" lined up (in my mind) for this year. I have a "fairy" doll to create for CNYDAG due in May; an art doll show to do with this group at the Rome Arts Center in June; a creative piece to do for TBAI in August...the book "Where The Wild Things Are"; and another bear show at Hunt Valley in November. My sister Joan and I are are wanting to make PINCUSHIONS some time soon as well, and I have another show to do in Clayton, NY with the handbags. My sister Risha takes her jewels and we make a fun weekend of it all! So, I'm trying to stay home more and "shop" less using the fabrics etc. that I have on hand already.

The puppies are gone now, except for the two we decided to keep. If all the dogs live, we'll have four! Patch has that collapsing trachea and coughs a bit; we give him Robitussin cough liquid according to the vet's instructions. These dogs are keeping Dave going and in good health for the health he's in. LOL....The pups went to good and caring homes...we know for sure. IVY will meet her destiny next at the vet's soon....within a week or two.

Sorry no new pictures yet of new dolls or bears....we'll catch up soon. Love ya! NEWM

Want to Wreak Havoc??

Probably no one knows what that means..."to wreak havoc", since we do not use the same language any more that our parents used. So find a dictionary! Or....find 10 puppies....we have 9 of them now, as "Hunter" went yesterday to his new parents. I figured I was in great shape for being 65, but these guys have worn me down some. I can only hope that we can find GOOD CARING HOMES for each one of them! This was a "planned pregnancy" since my DH, the OUTDOORSMAN, decided he wanted the perfect bird dog. These pups have lineage that hunt and retrieve waterfowl and also grouse and pheasants. They are VERY loving and social, but they do make a mess! The sire is a Llewellyn Setter...the ORIGINAL English Setter, and the dam is a Black Lab. Patch (sire) has lineage of Hank the TV hunting dog fame and he is working out quite well now at age 3. IVY (dam) has always been an eager-to-please-playful-retrieving girl. She goes EVERYWHERE with Dave....at least she did before puppy-time.  It's hard to get good pictures of anything black, which is the color these guys are fond of; sporting a bit of white blaze on their chests. They are 6 weeks now and just full of fun wreaking havoc everywhere they go!

Cara-Mello: Naughty Bear #2

This bear was created from an imported mohair that was HAND woven and HAND dyed. The mohair nap is stiff. He is fully jointed and contains armature which helps him to stand and also to make the arms more pose-able. I used fabric marking pens to distinguish his facial features. Cara in Italian means "dear, or dear one" according to Lucille; it also denotes his coloring.

Naughty Bears! Or I will NOT Be Thwarted!

Laying in bed last night...er, early am....listening to my poor Patch cough from a partially collapsed trachea and suffering from heart burn myself, I began thinking about this next blog. I had finished two bears this past week, both of which were NOT COOPERATING with their creation! I can remember my mother saying, "I will NOT be thwarted!" any time any one of us balked at what she expected us to do in any situation. Mostly it was because she EXPECTED us to perform at church, in PUBLIC, of all things, and we children were not wanting to display our lack of talents to everyone. Not to be "thwarted" mother would insist. (Her will be done and our will be damned!) I don't know if the thwarting issue came about because she was the ONLY girl in her family and also the YOUNGEST. I've found from my humble experience that the YOUNGEST child carries a lot of weight in any family with his/her demands being met ASAP, while the OLDEST has to acquiesce to these demands. It happens to me still at the old age of 65! (Politicians should be THWARTED, but they aren't any more. It's an interesting word....look it up!)

Anyway, in my desire to create and not to be THWARTED by any inanimate ole bear, you can see the results in the picture below (above?). All I need to create for this ole guy (besides a name) is an old leather book for him to place open on his lap. My other bear creation has not been photoed yet; he needs a name, too.

I must admit to being partial to "art bears" as I call my creations. I never get the faces to look exactly the same on any bear I create, and I have found that if I don't like the face, I need to embellish it to "fix it" until I AM satisfied with the piece. So, I tell myself that people do not look exactly alike (even twins) so why should bears all look exactly alike? So this is where the One-Of-A-Kind comes in. After all, by the time I'm finished with each piece, I am tired (of it) and am moved to go on to something else.

Just a Little "Catsup"....

Today is bright and shiny: February 1, 2010 (2-01-2010). An interesting number to write. I had to write it a few times this morning, as I had fasting blood work, a bone density test, and a mammogram. I figured I might as well get it ALL done in one day! In an hour or so, I'm off to the lawyer's to see about finishing up my duties as Eleanor Button executor. We also have 10 new puppies which came over early Sunday morning....aren't all babies born in the early hours between 12:30 am and 5 am.? Mother and babies are doing fine; a noisy bunch! Well, they can't see or hear, so life is very dependent upon a mother.

I've been finishing up some projects that have been around for several YEARS! Gulp....bears; a bear pincushion.... Getting primed for the bigger stuff: new dolls for the Rome Art Center show in June, and TBAI bear show in August. Since no one else is reading this but me, I'm recording some ideas I'm "toying" with.....Oh! a great PUN! These are for the adult collector and not for children to play with. (1) I Meet Myself Coming and Going(doll) (2) Looking at the World Through Rose Colored Glasses(doll) (3) CNYDAG challenge fairy doll (4) Where the Wild Things Are(bears) (5) I'm a Little Jazz BEARd (Bird), a Gershwin tune complete with saxophone...open mouthed bear....and (6) some smaller Bendi cloth dolls decorated with fibers and beads. Now that it's all down here, one can hope that I don't forget....to check this page for my list. LOL....age, y'know.

Tomorrow the woodchuck sees his shadow and we have 6 more months of winter. That's par for Central New York. I'm trying to think of Sunny Florida and pretend winter's not happening here!