Pups (More about these photos soon)

Winnifred and me

Paxton

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Quote

"What we have once enjoyed
we can never loose...
All that We love deeply
becomes a part of us."

- Helen Keller

Well....

How long has it been since I posted something here?

Wow.

I won't bother to explain.

However, a conversation I had yesterday reminded me of another post from a while back:

Cosmic Memory

Anything said or done, creates a memory.

It's been asked, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer is yes. Every thing and every event creates vibratory energy - IS energy. And the cosmos itself is witness to it.

I figure it is so with the events in The Garden of Eden, Before the fall. It was joyous perfection. A cosmic memory was formed. It still exists as a promise for our future. Or so I like to think.


Past Our Past

it rises from the garden
of our mothers and our fathers
reaching the heights of infinite space
in expanding waves
in motion undisturbed
and unhindered

only remnants of ancient dust
can break the roundness of the circle
and slightly only
then as the chorus rises
in tongueless chant
like trumpets
with no need of breath
it is carried away
far beyond this place
even past our past

Rachelle LeCount
February 2012

Paper Pulp (Paper Mache) Bird House

This is made by shredding and boiling old news papers until the fibers break down. Then I mulch it up with a mixer. After draining, I add a little flour and a lot of craft glue, salt and clove oil to help prevent mold during the curing and drying process.

Multiple layers are patted over a milk carton armature, allowing for plenty of drying time in between layers.

Once it's all done, I coat it with many layers of linseed oil, then more sealing with acrylic. I didn't paint this one other than to give it the appearance of having a broken down fence on one side and a tree on the other.

I added a clean out door, plenty of holes for ventilation and drainage. And it will hold up in the weather. Although I'd bring mine in during the harsh winter and I prefer to hang mine under the eave of a barn or shed or off the edge of a porch.

Every batch of this paper pulp is different in color and hue. Occasionally I add dried herbs to the mix if I have something about to go stale in the pantry. You can also use dried onion peels or coffee grounds. There's so much room for imagination.

I totally enjoy working with this medium. It's great for turning old newspapers into something for little critters to live in. It's very dry and cozy inside. The wax-coated soy milk carton adds extra protection.

I'm working on several other projects simultaneously (as they take quite a bit of time). Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

Below, a Peace Sign Wall Hanging, also made from the same materials.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RachellesThings

The Empty Nest

Last year I watched cardinals nest and lay eggs and managed to get some very nice shots through my bathroom window of the tiny little chicks. [See Cardinals Nesting]

The year before I watched mockingbirds nest in the vine arbor off my back porch. Most years, in fact, I am able to enjoy watching birds nest and feed their young.

This year I was happy to discover a Brown Thrasher nest in the Jasmine vines in the back yard. As I usually do when I am able, I took some pictures of the nest and then the eggs that were laid and even managed to get some shots of the newly hatched chicks.

But then... woe is me... I went out a few hours later and all five baby birds were gone. Just like that. Gone!!! 

No way they left the nest. They were only two days old. I checked the ground around the nest wondering if by some odd chance they fell out or were knocked out. Nope. No baby birds.

Later that afternoon I got the answer to the puzzling disappearance. A big fat squirrel was climbing around there, looking for lunch.

{sigh}

Poor birdies.

Though I do like squirrels they are a bother this time of year. They eat all my bird seed and now they've even taken to eating the birds themselves. 

Oh well. There's always next year.

Here are the shots I managed to get, in order, from building of the nest, setting on the nest, five eggs, then five baby birds and finally, the empty nest.

My Etsy Shop

Things on the blog here are slow. I know. I haven't been posting. It's difficult to get motivated to write. Life is hard.

But, on a happy note, I finally opened my Etsy shop. So far there are only a few small things listed. I am currently working on several larger projects. Nonetheless, it's a start.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RachellesThings

To find out more about these items visit my shop at the link above.

 

Busy Busy

I thought I would post a brief note letting you know that I am very involved in various studies right now.

I finished an accounting class and am currently enrolled in an HTML class and a Grammar for Writing Refresher. Also I am in the middle of a class called The Fundamentals of Christian Theology and as well as a very in-depth (year long) certificate course in Biblical Studies.

Between that and other life issues and tasks, my days are pretty full.

Dream Control

"Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.
Because for those who love with heart and soul,
there is no such thing as separation!" 

~ Rumi

Helena Steiner-Hornsteyn

I get an occasional newsletter from Helena Steiner-Hornsteyn. I spoke with her once a few years back and found the experience beyond merely beneficial. It was one of those WOW moments.

So, I got one of her newsletters today and found these two statements, in particular, to be good reminders.

You know, how it goes... you KNOW something to be true. So true that it almost seems cliche or trite, yet you can read it or hear it phrased a little differently or at just the right time and it seems downright profound.

If you start your day with bad thoughts or anger, this is the way the rest of the day most likely is going to be. But if you take that extra minute to feel grateful for what you already have and give thanks for all the good things you would like to come your way during the new day, you are making way for a good day -even a very good day ahead of you. 

It is very important to be grateful for our present blessings before we send new requests to the Universe for more. Remember not only the love and comfort you have experienced in your life, but also those little things we so easily take for granted: walking, talking, hearing and seeing through our own eyes what is going on in our world. 

The Sun is Shining

A very emotional performance by JJ Grey of Mofro.



How many more days can you hold out
How much longer can you wait she asked
There was a time I thought I, I could answer
But my tongue gets tied as my thoughts drift away

Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
The sun is shining, shining down
Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
I'm alive and I'm feeling, feeling fine

All those simple thoughts all those peaceful dreams
Share the space with a hard worked, hard worked day
But it's the little things, the little things not expectation
That make life worth living, worth living
Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
The sun is shining, shining down
Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
And the world Lord, world is fine
Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
The sun is shining, shining down
Glory, Glory – Hallelujah
I'm alive and I'm feeling Lord, feeling, feeling, feeling fine

Here's a short quote from Grantley Morris. I really enjoy reading at this site. this was the quote for today. It really struck a nerve. Though, sometimes, as odd as it may seem, there isn't a lot of choices in this regard but it's true and worth posting.


Grantley Morris
 
To suppress grief is suppressing not just part of
our humanity but a part of us that is in the
image of God. Rocks and robots don't cry. Jesus
did. The one in whom "all the fullness of the
Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9) wept -- often.
 
Taken from
www.net-burst.net/hope/christian_grief.htm : "Real Christians Grieve"
 
© Copyright, Grantley Morris. May be freely
copied PROVIDED the link and this copyright notice is included.

Anniversary

When hubby and I got married, we ended up with two anniversaries.

We got married in a civil ceremony on Friday February 13 and then had a celebration the next day, Valentine's Day, which included a short ceremony called "The Blessing of a Civil Union"

We were together for almost 18 years and would have been married 15 years today. I sure do miss him.

 

Bless his heart. His hands were always cut or scratched or banged up from hard work. I loved those hands. He wasn't the tallest or biggest man around, that's for sure, but those hands were big and strong, nonetheless. Hard working hands, that I appreciated so much.

He loved this song. We used to dance to it sometimes while we were dating and he would play it on the guitar for me.



Song of Solomon 8:6

Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;
Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.

Caught by our own thoughts,
we worry about everything,
But once we get drunk on love,
Whatever will be, will be.

~Rumi

Dreams Do Come True

Someday...




And what a wonderful day that will be.