somepinkflowers

tourist tuesday and my stay in the medina pavilion at peacock pavilions

From my library's dormer window I see five grey squirrels scampering up the oak trees in the front yard. They seem busy  and filled with earnest purpose.

It is April in north Florida and some serious squirrel*nest building is going on in a location Up High.

Serious house*nest cleaning and re-organization is going on inside my home, too. 

My spring cleaning happens like clock~work every April as I prepare to fly the coop in May for my vacation.

I want everything spiffy before I leave town. If my plane goes down and I end up LOST on some deserted island, I want my family & crew to find a clean place to gather whilst awaiting my return.

:-)

May is the best month to be in FLorida if the wild fires have not yet gone raging mad.

I know, I know.

Why do I leave my home just when plants are staring to green up, before Mr. Humidity moves in & smothers the entire state and before Hurricane Season sneaks in with all her windy baggage?

I paint such a fine picture of Florida one can not WAIT to visit!

May is the best time to be most any place on the map as far as I am concerned.

Hotels have been spruced up for the season, students are not clogging the beaches and airplane fares have not sky-rocketed through the roof, waiting as they usually do for June.

Last May it took me over 36 hours to travel from my front door in Florida to the front door of Peacock Pavilion in Marrakesh.

I arrived in the middle of the night, delivered by a polite young driver from the airport, to find Maryam & others waiting up for me.

Maryam & I both started our blogs in August of 2006. I followed her straight away as she & her handsome, architect husband Chris Redecke built their dream~come~true home in Peacock Pavilion.

I looonged to travel to this place, to look up into the grand domed ceilings of the salons, but saw no way for it to happen logically.

I sent these encouraging words in an email to Maryam in 2007 when delays were plaguing the completion date of Peacock Pavilion {{ I only last week  rediscovered the message saved in the Wrong Folder on my Old Computer. Go figure! }}

""I am a BIG believer

that we each move toward our Dominate Thought,

and that we draw things to us in this fashion.""

Why, I had no idea!
Peacock Pavilion must have become a Dominate Thought for me...

Peacock Pavilion is divided into several stand~alone buildings.

When I made my journey to Marrakesh last May, one might say it actually took me 4+ years to get there, I ended up staying in the very room I had imagined all along as being mine in the Medina Pavilion.

I love how these things happen, don't you?

The photos I share with you here are of the Medina Pavilion taken by me last spring.

Clearly, Maryam's eye for Morocan design detail is above reproach.

Perhaps you have seen photos of Peacock Pavilion on other blogs as it has become THE travel destination of many who seek yoga and art retreats of the highest quality.

While the top-notch B&B accommodations and exotic location are beyond stellar, the cuisine is the best you will find anywhere in the world. Many of  the fresh herbs & vegetables are grown on the grounds.

Yes.
It is here you will find Charming Luxury in Marrakesh.

At these risk of sounding like a advert, I have to share this news with you.

If you enjoy the photos here, you might enjoy Maryam's new book, Marrakesh By Design,  which will be available in the states on May 1st.

I have pre~ordered mine on Amazon.com.

Hopefully my copy will be waiting for me when I return from my vacation in June.

What is your Dominate Thought, travel*wize?

for rebecca because she is so persistent

dear rebecca,
i am sending you a Postcard from Paradise which doth feature one of my  plaster*pieces from the online Plaster Workshop over here. 

some of us are Trying to get over to the Beach, but here you go, insistant missy.

as you will note, this bird is NOT lifting 'the hem of night' but instead is looking for some lunch. i go now to see if i can help him out.

sincerely,
somepinkflowers
who is Also trying to Follow the Light
but not THAT light, if you know what i mean

if i do not answer my cell very quickly these days

...it is because I am up to my elbows in plaster this week
thanks to Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee and their new book.

Plus, I have been reading Benjamin Franklin.
Today is all about Temperance...

I know, I know...
Nothing like getting plastered with one of our Founding Fathers on the weekend.

All things in moderation, right. But not art because today Art is My Paradise.

We will see about Mr. Temperance...

tourist tuesday and pioneer square in seattle

I looooooove surprises of the Good kind.
Don't you?

I think how wonderful it would to be present during a flash mob. Everytime I go to the airport in a Major City I sit and wait for one to happen.

I am that kind of ever~hopeful girl.

For the longest time I have followed this fabric artist religiously as she makes her way from one yarn adventure to another.

Whilst walking around Seattle town recently with these two we came upon a magically~striped site.

My first thought was---> How did my knitting hero from Australia somehow end up in Seattle?

But NO! that was not the case. 

Have you ever been to Seattle?
Well, this was my first time and soon I discovered every corner of that place is frosted in art*work.

Thank goodness.

I do not knit one little bit but I am a Grand Appreciator of yarn.

I collect many fine colors and place them here and there around my space in roundy bowls and accommodating baskets.

My thinking on this is The Process of Osmosis.

If I live with A Thing long enough, how to do it will come to me in my sleep.

So far this idea has not come to fruition as I sleep with an Italian dictionary under my bed and still my command of Italian is limited to ordering simple food.

But,
I digress...

Like a pileated woodpeaker spotted in the woods pecking, we found the Master Knitter at her toil.

So friendly was Suzanne Tidwell and happy to share information, we chatted for a bit and found she had made all these colorful and warming sleeves herself...

...except maybe for this one which seems to me to be crocheted.

But I could be wrong, as I told you earlier, all my personal yarn sits rolled ball~like and patiently waiting in sweet anticipation.

Anyhoo, this is how it is done.
The secret is out.
Knitters do NOT stanad up on ladders knitting the cozies in place round and round and round the tree for days on end.

Here pre~knitted purpley pieces wait--near the ubiquitous seattle coffee--to clad long, tall things in need of covering.

Will someone please hand this one her pink~striped beach towel?

{{ I am not one bit surprized that cutting~edge Seattle allows nude sun bathing in city parks. }}

sketchbooks in seattle

Maybe you remember the day last summer when my Sketchbook came walking up my front steps.

I was so excited to be part of this Project.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think some day I would be sharing my Sketchbook with friends in Seattle.

Jenny made it possible for Stephanie and me to plop down in her city for a few days to Sketchbook~look and city~explore.

When I sent my Sketchbook off to the Brooklyn Art Library in January I was one worried mother.

Would my art~baby make it there and tour the country with all the others without ending up in Timbuktu?

The Sketchbook folks are so organized and they think to do everything under the sun.

When I walked into the space I simply want to explore each shelf looking for treasures which, I must say, were sitting every where waiting to be discovered.

Here is Jenny's Sketchbook where she plots her next fanciful tin piece.

Her brain never stops, I can tell you that. Thank goodness.

Here is clever Stephanie's last page where after teasing your eye she offers up Moo Cards in a helpful manner so as you can easily locate her blog out there in the ever~expanding internet.

{{ I took two cards, missy. Hope that was OK. }}

Every cover was such a treat!

The runners would bring you what you wanted after you checked it out with your official library card.

Truly we were not to remove the Sketchbooks from the space as each one had its own worried mother some place out there in the world.

Still,  many of us ended up outside in the clear Seattle air. We were all so  eager and polite and happy to be art*appreciating there together.

Life being different, I might be sitting there now drinking it all in.

Here Stephanie enjoys visiting with her baby on the left whilst I visit with the art~baby belonging to Parabolic Muse.

I have not yet met Chris in person but I have held her baby carefully with eager and heartfelt awe.

After you looking at one Sketchbook you could return it and check out another...if you did not mind all the other excited people in line...who were so happy to share, too.

Everything moved along swimmingly with smiles and high energy all around.

Next we located the Sketchbook belonging to Ms. OceanDreamer, the Whimsical Bohemian.

Lisa included helpful Moo cards, also.

{{ I took two cards, missy. Hope that was OK. }}

I touched each colorful page carefully with tenderness and pleasure.

"Your momma sends her sweet love!," I whispered to each art*baby I touched, knowing it was true.

Sometimes I would check out a book randomly as I love how the world gives us what we need when we do this, don't you?

Which is how I discovered this interesting and oh~so charming work. The universe randomly put her in my hands.

We were not served up wine and cheese but little blue stickers instead which made us feel special.

I was a Participating Artist. Oh happy day! You can go look, too!

When it came time to say good-by to my Sketchbook I felt like one proud mom.

Every time my Sketchbook~baby is checked out I receive a little email telling me hello, there and that things are going well. How lovely to think it is traveling the USA in the company of my friend's Sketchbooks!

Plus, I just might see my lamb~covered babe over here later this summer in Winter Park, Florida.

We will just see how the world turns.

 

tourist tuesday and earth angels in sanford, florida

Some days it feels plum good to run away.

Here in Florida there are tons of places to run to.

Last Saturday I snuck away to Sanford, Florida to see the ~heART of winter~ art show presented by Earth Angels.

That Jen really knows how to pull Talent & A Good Time together for the betterment of a grand Saturday afternoon.

Many of the artist who were showcased in Sanford have been featured in Where Woman Create, the magazine which takes you behind the scenes of art*pieces, putting you smack~dab into each artist's own studio.

I love this glance behind the curtain that WWC provides, don't you?

To find Magda Trzaski's amazing artwork  you simply look for red balloons.

To find somepinkflowers you easily follow Jennifer Lanne's contagious smile.

Besides charming & stylish people and lush & extravagant flowers enjoying this event, there were flocks/herds/packs of fasinating critters in attendance.

I love seeing an occassional squirrel  holding court, don' you?

Flying tin fish...

A pup that looked amazingly real & lifelike...

All fashions of foks strolled in...

Some hung out all the day long making bemused faces...

This large gallery had plenty of space for local artist and their creatures, too.

Never enough flowers in my world...

And me sneaking a peek as I am known to do....

Some days it feels plum good to run away and see new things.

Some days it feels plum good to run away and find a place where others are playing, too.

Some days is feels plum good to run away close to home and buy cutie*pie things.

{{ PS: Here is me with a plum tree growing outta my head last Saturday when I ran away from home. }}

somepinkflowers and the mad tea party 2010

You are invited to

The Mad Tea Party 2010
Annual Festivity of Madness

hosted by
A Fanciful Twist

Pop 'round to Vanessa's
and
follow the links!

Everyone is welcome!

You will not want to miss a thing!

{{ I may be late
whilst I obtain my parade permit. }}

tourist tuesday and the endless garden of surprises

You know how these things go.
You are in town for 2 weeks and your hotel is just off the main drag .

Every afternoon, after early~morning walking and touring, you pop in here for some little treat to get your tummy past siesta.

Dinner time is not until deep into the night, until it is practically the next day.

You are bound to meet someone who works nearby. The same person everyday picking out his own fruit. You know how these things go.

"There is to be a cultural workshop," he explains.
"You should be a guest presenter. I will take charge of everything."

"Come early and meet me in my office," he continues. "After there will be a gathering with cheese and wine."

I could see he has it planned. Clearly someone else had canceled at the last moment or why else would he want me?

Because I did not speak the language  I had my concerns.
In the end I was charmed into acquiescence.
I blame it now on intense solar activity.

Two days later I arrived too, too early.
I poked my nose into things because I could. It was a cultural arts center, after all.

You know how I am. I do not like to miss a thing.
I became lost in my back~stage good fortune.

"Who will attend?" I had asked, looking for appropriate loop~holes.

"Students yearning for information," he had dismissed with a shrug, leaving me large in my own world of possibilities.

"They love all things American," he explained. "You will see."

So too, too early here I was. Ripe with excitement. Wearing a dash of fear of the unknown tossed around my neck like a scarf flowing, I was ripe with ambiguous feeling.

I poked around and peeked. I walked high and low inside this near~empty building.

Looking everywhere for a sign telling me to do this thing, this presentation, I walked on.

I still had time to bale.  Options can be such a comfort in times of ambiguity.

And then I saw it.  My 'sign' painted on the wall to the right in the next room...

Was that a silhouette from Charlies' Angels?

Yes. Yes, it was! Three American can~do~it women, I must say!
I could not let Charlies' Angels down.
I would do the presentation.

Then straight ahead what did I see?
Students were already here. Looking.

And more people came in. And more. And more.

I looked up and saw this on the wall: somepinkflowers .

"Quick!" I thought to myself as people looked back and forth from the~me~on~the~wall to the real me standing there, "Quick! Run through that door! It is not too late to escape!"

But you know I did not. I did not escape. I did not run at all.

I had fun. I had vivid fun of the near~spontaneous type.
And after there was a gathering with cheese and wine.

You know how these things go.
You are in town for 2 weeks and so you just go ahead and live your life.

one world one heart 2010

Sometimes Mother Nature reaches down and stirs up a bit of troublesome wind. She stirs too roughly and a tornado is born.

When she is out of control she can plum whip up a hurricane of magnificent proportions.

Sometimes she gives a simple shudder and the land tumbles beyond recognition. I so hate when that happens.

A few weeks ago Mother Nature shivered the south into the coldest days we have seen in quite sometimes.  Strawberries froze on the ground. Oranges froze on the tree.

I did my darnest not to wish too strongly for snow where it did not belong.

Last Thursday, a plain enough day starting out, Mother Nature tore through my little town. She traveled in a thunderous manner frowning the sky black at mid~day.

Mother Nature flooded the roads with so much rain the ditches are still over~flowing days and days later. Cabbage fields are under water.

If it is not one thing, well, you know the name of that tune...

Here in my shady and somewhat scrubby back yard--home to all manner of wild things-- Mother Nature whipped around and pulled all the dead branches straight out of the oaks. She combed them clean.

I cannot complain, really. She cleaned the tree tops where I cannot normally reach. She pruned up high and come this Spring bright green baby~leaves will burst out in glory against the blue~blue sky.

Mother Nature put us all to work this sunny week~end, cleaning up oak~flotsam and pine~jetsam. Mossy debris of the branchy kind.

Bend and stretch. Bend and stretch. That was me.

But do look! Like a magic carpet set gently down in my own back yard!

Look at what I found! In my back yard. Sitting on my wooden plain~bench, not the fancy one painted with a green sit~down part, but the sand~covered one that sits near the bluff overlooking the wee winding creek. Where I sit to watch these.

Tucked under palmettos where the armadillo live there on my plain~bench sat a fancy~smancy, garnet~hued, silk pillow with ivory thread embroidered with  somecreamyflowers.

On the tippy~top waiting patiently perched a small package wrapped in crinkly tissue paper and tied with red and golden threads.

Carefully, carefully I unwrapped the tender surprise and here is what I found inside--->

I am not saying I found rubies and gold in my back yard sitting on a fancy~smancy, garnet~hued, silk pillow with ivory thread embroidered into somecreamyflowers.

Not rubies and gold but still...

Straight away I knew what must be done.

Mother Nature was testing my heart. No virgin jumping into the volcano to appease the gods down here in Florida. Well, at least not in MY back yard.

No. A different test of sorts. A test of my spirit and good*will.
Would I be generous enough to give away such a glowing treasure?

Here in Florida, where the temperature may be 75 degrees one day and then a few days later drop down and measure in at 18, I have learned the lesson of easy come, easy go.

In my heart I long for black and glossy knee~high boots but Life normally gives me warm and sunny days in amazing abundance. {{ Think how silly I would look at the beach!}} For our short but often moody winter weather I have a closet full of these. My life is satisfying and full.

Truthfully I have glowing treasures all around me and I do so love to share.

So.
Think quickly of your own life.
What makes you  glow warm and sunny even on a cold and dreary January day?
Leave a comment below describing what warms you ruby heart, what puts a golden twinkle in your eye.

Share HERE below and you will be entered into my giveaway for this necklace prize from Mother Nature. {{ I am keeping the pillow as it matches these. }}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My giveaway-- part of  Lisa's One World One Heart initiative--stops February 15th at NOON. Winner MUST play along with the rules by answering my red question above! Be certain I can reach you by email. I will also announce the winner here as soon as I am able. Most-likely I will still be busy eating Valentine candy so do be patient. I am just saying...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a hauntingly magical celebration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

If you think life is grand, if you do not want to miss a thing, then go to Vanessa's Hauntingly Magical Celebration.

She was so thoughtful to dream up this stellar event. We all do love her so!

Then pop in here and here and here and here...

Oh. Yes. Sign my guest book and leave a wish. It might come true.
Who is to say?

isaiah zagar, the steve miller band and me

'Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.'

So the song goes.

One day I am making up my list of Things To Do:

1. Clean out the attic and sell old stuff on eBay.
2. Take the money and go to Italy for a month.
3. Come home and set up a blog for Creative Inspiration.

And so I did that. All the things on my list. 1,2,3

Well, it did take a bit of time.

I have a HUGE attic, BTW...

I cleaned and sold and traveled for a while.

I came home and set up my blog.

Slowly things began to happen...

After a while I met other bloggers.

I popped into a blog and it fit right. And then I found another and another and so on.

{{ Maybe this has happened to you. }}

I was hooked...

People were reading great books that I liked, too.

They were shooting amazing photographs that inspired me to use my camera more. They were creating like crazy. Whipping up my imagination with words.

I was thrilled...

After a while it was bound to happen.

I meet up with a blogger~friend and we had a swell time talking blog~chat and about things and people we both liked.

It was as if we were long~time friends from 3rd grade, as if we had camped out together in Girl Scouts.

Then I was fortunate enough to meet another blogging friend.

We had a camera~shooting adventure together and did lunch and so on.

A perfectly perfect day!

Let me say this, just in case you did not know---->No one uses a camera like a fellow blogger.

Not one single non~blogger I have ever met.

Click times 10 on steroids. Click, click, CLICK...

The next thing I knew, time was slipping, slipping, into the future.

I was on a plane flying to Philly to meet up with more camera~shooting bloggers.

Even thought it is not specifically on my list of Things To~Do, I am always up for making new friends.

Especially friends who know how to kitchen dance, friends with whom I can create.

We had the best time ever...

'I want to fly like an eagle to the sea' because I do not want to miss a thing.

I cannot be everywhere, but now I have the eyes of my friends to capture things for me to enjoy.

The whole wide world is mine...

Click, click, click...

Sometimes I can jump on an airplane or in my jeep and zoom off to see different places for myself.

I can click, click, click and then come home and share  with others who also do not want to miss a thing either.

It makes me so happy to take you places with me.

Isn't life grand!

Because you cannot be everywhere, now you have the eyes of  friends to capture things for you to see.

The whole wide world is yours...

Together we can give each other the whole wide world.

Sometimes I cannot believe my good fortune to have met you all, to travel your world, to see your art, to read your words.

Thank you ever~so...

For sharing both the process and the journey.

I am so inspired.

'Let my spirit carry me'

"Check this out!" one dear friend did say.

And even though one year ago I did not know her, now I do.

If her eyes catch something for me to see, I will not want to miss it...

Happy Birthday to my Blog!

It has taken me everywhere. It has taken me by surprise. It has taken me to you.

'I want to fly like an eagle til I'm free...'

somepinkflowers and the mad tea party

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

  

 

  

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

If you do not want to miss a thing, please drop in over here for the Mad Tea Party.

It does not matter what you wear {{ oh no! }} or who you bring with you as long as your imagination comes along for the ride. Hope to see you there but please do leave a comment here, because, well, you never know...

Last year we had such fun and this kind of Madness only happens once a year. OK, well, maybe only once every other month or maybe every week in some places but I cannot speak for everybody...

Isn't life grand!

♥♥♥for Amazing Alice Wonders click here!

♥♥♥for Mad Tea Party Style click here!

♥♥♥for a Teeny Tea Party click here!

sweets on pine street and an invitation, too

I don't know about over there at your house but over here we believe strongly that enchantment is good for the soul.

In the same way I know that biodiversity is good for the pond, I know that logic and magic hold hands and take turns pushing each other on the swing.

I just know it. For a fact. We should all dip our toes into many different oceans.

Or something like that...

About enchantment. I am not saying that unicorns frolic down by the creek but from my front porch everyday I see dogs walking around smiling to beat the band.

Clearly their eyes twinkle, they look at me and they smile. All dogs just know things.

Do not even get me started on the mystical ways of my cat...

I do not have a fairy~godmother but I do have several friends that are sharp with needle and thread and could whip me up a ball gown in the blink of an eye.

If I should need one. Which I do not.

Those that live among us have their super powers and their wondrous ways...

If you have been out and about over here or over here or over here you might have noticed the invitations to Vanessa's Mad Tea Party.

When Vanessa is not sharing her amazing adventures and painting yummy treats, she gives the best parties, I must say!

All sorts of cutie creatures zoom in from miles around.

Why, even her cupcakes will make you swoooon....

Last year at the Mad Tea Party we had the best time visiting each other. Sharing festive tea~time snacks and colorful sweets. Some folks dressed to high heaven and some did not.

Here is the best part---> You are invited. I know. Isn't it wonderful!

Vanessa is an equal~opportunity, come~one, come~all, kind of hostess...

 

Over here on Pine Street we are getting ready for the party.

Mark your calendar, please. The Mad Tea Party is next Saturday and this social event will not be complete without you {{it never is}} so do join us.

I would find it so enchanting if you did...

oh happy day for random good luck

Dear Mr. Random Number Generator,

Hi, there! How you doing?

It's me, somepinkflowers.

Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.

Me?

I am great. Things are wonderful.

Loving the beach here during the glorious Florida spring~time weather.

Say, I have been meaning to drop you a line.

Thanks to you and your cousin, Luck~of~the~Draw, I have been making out like a bandit over here for quite sometime.

Yes, I know...

For the longest time it was me griping about never winning anything.

It did seem that way. I guess we all go through a dry spell every now and then.

Sorry about that.

Normally I am like Pollyanna counting her blessings.

"Isn't life grand!" I have been know to say on more than one occasion.

"Wow! Wow! Wow!" I have been known to exclaim at the drop of a sunset.

Any little sparkly little thing can set me off.

Seriously. ♥♥♥

You know me...

I never want to miss anything.

I do try to look  on the bright side of most streets I walk down.

I love to sing in the rain providing it does not occur in the midst of a hurricane.

My personal mantra is --->Oh happy day.

{{ But you knew that, didn't you? }}

Anyway, this is about you not me.

Or, rather, about how you have been so kind to me, how you have included me in your warm embrace of luckiness.

I am so thankful, I can not even tell you.

I think it started a few years ago when I won this. 

Man! I was so surprised. You could have knocked me over with a feather!

And, Lord knows, I need all the $$$ help I can in the dental expense department.

So, yes, thanks for that, RNG.

Then I started popping in here to Blog World where I have won so many lovely hand~made treasures that I am afraid to list them or I may seem all braggy, or even somewhat greedy.

Yikes!

How can anypinkflower be so fortunate?

Why, I have no idea.

Mostly, I do not want to change the tide of good fortune that has been coming my way..I am just saying....

As it is, I am looking around now for wood to knock on so my stellar good luck does not change one little bit.

{{ thank goodness for this genuine little wooden box sitting right here:  knock, knock, knock... }}

I love how life comes rushing at you from around a corner.

I just never know what I will find delivered to my door, what will end up sitting on the wall of my garden.

I love how far, far away someone can draw my name out of a hat and then wondrous shiny things arrive and glow into my appreciative heart.

A lovely striped bit of ribbon. A sparkle on a butterfly's wing.

A random name selected with a silent touch.

A piece of paper gently unfolding into the sweet surprise that is my name.

Thanks to you, Mr. Random Number Generator, and  to your cousin, Luck~of~the~Draw!

Thank you both ever~so much. {{ Would you like a fruit basket? I am wondering... }}

Always know that you are both more than welcome at my house any time of the day, any day of the week as long as your gift is a happy one.

Just drop right on in. No need to call ahead. Mi casa su casa, you all.

Sincerely your friend for life,
somepinkflowers

PS--I only wish the entire world could be so lucky but I guess that would take A Fanciful Twist ♥of fate.....

one world~one heart & all the world hearts a winner

I love how things happen out of the clear blue sky.

So today under the clear blue sky here in Florida I visited my Random Number Generator down by the creek. Today was the day to select the winner of the verdant necklace. And so I did.

Do you remember that I asked you to tell me where you would wear the verdant necklace if you won? Do you remember?

Well, I love how you put your imagination to work and how you gave me yummy stories to nibble on. You fed my travel soul with tales of this place and that place and all the while I wanted you each to win. I did.

I wanted to make 500 verdant necklaces so everyone could win. But that is just me and my way. I always want everyone to win everything. But I could not make 500 verdant necklaces.

Plus it was my birthday last week and I was away. {{ And my sweet dad has not been at his best health so my heart was not into jewelry making, if you get my drift. }}

Still. 

All in all, I discovered new places to visit and poke around and explore and so on.  Man, did you have any idea how many creative ones would be a part of Miss OceanDreamer's One World One Heart dream?

Me neither.

Thanks ever~so much again to all who played my story telling game of where to wear the verdant necklace. I feel I am the winner for having you come to visit my garden wall and entertain me with your talk of parties and vacation holidays and such.

But you want to know who won, don't you?

The winner of the verdant necklace is------> Tumble Fish Studio.

Why don't you drop in and see the new home of the verdant necklace and tell Tumble Fish Studio  that somepinkflowers  sent you.

Oh Happy Day!

Oh Happy One World~One Heart Winner Day!

one world~one heart, somepinkflowers and the verdant necklace

My name is somepinkflowers and I am ever~so glad you dropped in for One World~One Heart.

Come with me into my back yard where we have parties at the drop of a hat and where music grows like mushrooms after the rain,

Where the moss sprouts up fluently in several  languages on my old coquina wall.

This is Florida, after all, where Humidity keeps her summer palace...

If you have ever wondered where worn~out butterfly wings might go to rest, where the too~small~casings from an aging lizard might find refuge....

If you have ever wondered where flashy minnows hide from hungry blue herons on hot, steamy summer days ...

If you have ever wondered where broken bottles bloom into baby glass flowers, where these guys hide from Cajun cooks...

If you care about such things...

If you mind does wander and wonder as mine is apt to do...

Well, often these bits of flotsam, jetsam and detritus end up here in my back yard...

Down the shady ravine, near the narrow creek where the pileated woodpeckers satisfy their hunger...

Where the hooty owls make their nests in live~oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Noisy, dating, mating owls that keep me up all hours of the night with their shenanigans. Man!

But that is another story.

Anyway.

Here is where I keep my verdant necklace. On the lichen bed.

My verdant necklace is the treasure I will give away as part of One World~One Heart.

If you are ~lucky~ you might win the verdant necklace.

I do hope YOU win...

I am not saying the verdant necklace is magic, or that it will change your life.

But who is to say?

Certainly I believe in such things. If the moon is full, for instance, or if you make a wish...

Must you slay a dragon to win the necklace? Give me tickets to a rock concert? Name a lovely shade of nail~polish in my honor, perhaps?

Nooooooo...

So simple to win really.

Leave me a comment telling me please, where you would wear the verdant necklace if it were to make it's way to your neck of the woods.

Tell me, please, where would my treasure travel? What state? What county? What party? What event of global importance?

The winner will be drawn randomly and announced here on February 12, 2009.

I will do my best to contact you from your comment but it would be lovely if you popped in again to visit.

One World~One Heart

A little treasure made here by me and sent there to you.

Random connections made...

Oh happy day!

Isn't life grand.

Thanks ever~so,  Miss OceanDreamer.

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Dear One World~One Heart Participants,

Welcome! I am so glad you dropped by to visit but do know this----->I am on holiday and, while your comments are being collected with gentle~care, none will be posted until I return which will be in plenty of time for the drawing on February 12, 2009. Please post your comment only once as my small mail box tends to over~flow when left alone. {{ Who knows what is going on in my absence...Keep an eye open, will you, please....}}

Oh happy day! Isn't life grand!

* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~

Note on February 12th, way early in the morning, sort of...

Oh My Goodness!

Look at all the names! I am off to pick the winner which may take all day as my Random Number Generator is down near the creek. Hang on and come back in time for tea!

somepinkflowers **~

because it makes me happy

What if birds sing because they are happy?

What do you think? Do birds feel joy?

Scientist know that birds sing sometimes because they are looking for a temporary hot date for Saturday night.

A few sing because they are ready to make a commitment for a life~time.

Birds also sing to let other birds know where the good stuff is.

"Seed, seed," the ever~present cardinals in my backyard cheep. "Get your bird seed over here, everybody. Plenty for all. Fly on over."

But I am asking what do you think about this---> What if birds sing because they are happy?

"That somepinkflowers! " you are thinking. Does she not have enough to do down there in Florida with hurricanes coming at her left and right?

One, two, three BAM! Or, one, two, three almost BAM! Some hurricanes barely sliding by to the left, some to the right.

Suffice to say, I am a busy bee but my brain races and I do wonder about such things as the happiness of flying, chirping things.

This book came across the desk in my direction last week at The Library. Two-hundred thirty six pages about why birds sing. At first I thought the book was someone's dissertation topic. Maybe it was a publish or perish piece.

Rothenberg is a professor here after all so it would be understandable.

I checked out Why Birds Sing for several shallow reasons, including these two--->

• there was a charming watercolor of a bird on the cover
• which was accompanied by a  CD, also featuring that same attractive bird on the label.

I have been told not judge a book by its cover but slap an attractive drawing of a bird on the cover and I'll check it out ever time. Every. Time.

Anyway, after I got the book home I notice 4 pages of Suggested Reading, 12 pages of Chapter Notes, 2 pages of Illustration Credits (!), 8 pages of Index and 7 pages marked CD Listening Guide which included credits like this---> Recorded live at the Tampere College of Arts, Finland, October 2003.

Also, sprinkled throughout the discourse are line-drawing and charts with captions like this ----->

• various duets of the male and female bou bou shirkes
• the major neural pathways of the song system in the brains of birds

See what I mean about dissertation topic?

Still, there was that attractive drawing of a bird on the cover.

So my question to your remains---> What if birds sing because they are happy?

Well, I would be happy if they did.   :-)

I am an unlikely candidate for such philosophical questions and, yet, I do wonder about such things.

I do know this. Artists often create because it makes them happy.

Some artists I know will travel great distances  in order to gather around a table to create.

Under the tutelage of a talented one , several did write and paint and cut and paste and fold and tape to create.

A person could write a book about how all this writing and painting and cutting and, well, you get the idea, could make certain artists happy.

As if in a meditative state these certain artists created. To the mantra of 'please pass the scissors' they did art all the day long.

And, at the end of their time together, these artist stacked their folded booklets, lined them up between flip~flopped feet  and photographed the results.

With energy and amazement for what they had accomplished, their collective hearts did fly.

Each page different but holding images shared from one's distant past or another wished~for future.

"Here take this idea, this schemata, and make it your own," we said to each other. " I gift it to you, my art.  I insist upon it."

And in the end, pleased beyond imagination, with surroundings in complete disarray, these certain artists were happy. Yes, they were.

I should know because, like a bird singing her happy song, I relinquish my little booklet here for your perusal.

No Chapter Notes,  Index or Suggested Reading will follow. Just this---> myriad thanks to my generous, artistic friends who helped me sing with joy, helped  me fly home with my creative souvenir.

I am beside myself with good fortune. I am one happy bird singing.

in the whole wide world

In the whole wide world there must be at least 501 destinations on my To Go To List .

That number may seem excessive to you and, yet, I might actually be under estimating here.

You know me. I do not want to miss a thing. I am madly in love  with life and all the good~stuff it has to offer.

It is a daunting task but I aim to travel to those places that call my name.

"somepinkflowers," the world calls, "please drop in here  and visit my holy sights."

And so I do. You can imagine what happens. Once is never enough.

For every new place I visit, I want to return there again and again.  I want my past journey over again plus more for I am an oh~so~greedy traveler.

I would not have it any other way.

Once I watched an interview on television with this prolific author.  He wrote and wrote so many books and each one was mighty thick and involved a ton of  research.

"Aren't you running out of ideas?" the bland and uninspiring interviewer asked him, as if such a talented writer would ever have his river go bone dry. As if.

"Oh, no!" replied the wise sage, "I could never live long enough to write all the stories I have within my head."

When this writer died at the ripe-but-still-youthful age of 90 we all lost out as his head was still full. One can only imagine tales left unwritten.

As with so many folks that died young  or died old, we have all lost out.

Well, I have nothing much to leave the world but still I want to see it all, to hold the images until the end of my time.

My list goes on and on while time runs out and out. I could never live long enough to visit all the places I have within my heart.

If you had asked me one year ago, "somepinkflowers, do you plan to visit Philadelphia? The very heart of your own democratic country?"

I would have answered, "No."

Nothing personal, dear Philly. You just did not seem sexy enough to fit my needs.

Recently  I was invited to Philly to meet with a group of women who I knew in Bloglandia but not in real life.

Ah, the world is so amazing. Truly.

I have known this creative, dancing one and her family from afar--through her blog-- for almost two years. And this oh~so~talented {and color~loving} one, too. And this thoughtful, match~making sweetie.

And so on, I have known for a while across internet space this dear with the amazing eye for light and shadow  and this gentle one with the smooth skill to capture baby smiles and puppy grins.

Through this generous~hearted, multi~media artist  we were invited to Philly and we jumped on the chance to gather, to view art  and make some art of our very own.

I made new friends who love words and make lovely photographs and who love to travel, too.

How can I tell you how special it was? Well, I cannot. 

Instead, here,  I share with you some of my new eyes.

While I cannot be every place I long to be, I now have extensions of myself who will show me a few  sights I cannot visit on my own.

I will not tease you or taunt you with my good fortune, just let me say this: I have added extra eyes so I can see the whole wide world. A travel~slut like myself can never be everywhere, can never see it all.

Or can she?

You know me. I do not want to miss a thing.

For the longest time I wondered how I would see it all and now I know.

Here I am piecing it all together.

The blue~sharpy bits of my past and the smooth~pinky bits of my future are joining up with my expanded team, here and now. It feels so comfortable to know I have my peeps catching things with their little Kodaks for my eyes and yours.

In the whole wide world there must be at least 501 destinations on my To Go To List and for the first time I understand how all these places will be mine.

Gee whiz, thanks, yous guys! So nice to hug your sister~neck, to hear your accented voices , to gaze into your simpatico~eyes, which are now my eyes, too.

Carry on, all of you, my missies. Carry on...

 

water~logged and hitting the road, jack

In order not to float plum away from all this rain, I  am going on a vacation for a few days. Unless that Fay messes things up.  {{ In which case, I'll just hang out at the airport or maybe go here. HA! }}

What is my longed~for destination? Well, I am not saying but it rhymes with Biladelphia.

I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

pink and green serendipitously visiting

Sometimes you can just be sitting around doing nothing and good things come to you. It happens to me all the time.

Those charming somepinkflower earrings above came to me in the mail today.

Whatever did I do to deserve them?

Well, I dropped in over here for a tea party last week. One thing lead to another and I won these delicate sweeties. They arrived today and I am thrilled!

The amazing thing is that 2 weeks ago I made the simple beaded necklace above to wear with a new flax v-neck blouse.

Just stringing up some plain little glass beads to wear. Nothing fancy, just adding a bit of color.

So here we go.

One plain, one floral, both in pink and green. To wear together or apart. To sit side by side in perfect serendipitous harmony.

Thanks ever-so, Kate! The earrings are lovely. I think it was meant to be.

Yes, this posting is about me and Kate but what do I have for you?

Well, if you enjoy playing with color, you might want to  hop over here. But take care. You might be there all day.

I am just saying...