Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May

To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time
by Robbert Herrick
1591-1674

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morroe will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

The age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
 
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.

The Not-So-Merry Month of May

Well, at 5 am. today our puppy dog Ruby went to doggie heaven. I KNOW there is no such thing, but it does help me grieve better.....She's buried out in our own Pet Cemetery down near the garden. We bought a Rose-of-Sharon tree on Friday to place down there to mark Jazz & Briar, never thinking that we'd see another dog go there. She was 5 months old. She was a happy pup; very quick, aggressive, and enjoyed a good run. She found a short tail shrew which she decided to eat and that was her undoing. Our neighbor looked up this shrew on the internet because Dave felt that the pup had been poisoned. The SHREW emits a venom that paralyzes its' victims and then the venom works on the muscles and nervous systems of said victims. It can cause a great deal of pain to humans, too, if they decide to handle the animal. Though Ruby was quite a bit larger than the SHREW, and had regurgitated the meal, the damage was done. Symptoms showed up later and she got to the vet's too late.

Ruby was the "runt" of our past litter. I had decided to keep her because she seemed like such a "lonesome girl" in that she didn't relate to the other nine so quickly. But as the pups went to their new homes, she came out of her "shell" and began to harass the other pups and adult dogs. She was FEARLESS! We are missing her......

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.