Stick to what you do well!

  Hubby's been in the yard with the camera again, and I've been inside with my crocheting. I'd love to trade  places with him sometimes and let him do some crocheting while I take the beautiful pictures of the yard, but that's not going to happen anytime soon! He has no interest what-so-ever in learning how to crochet. Although a while back I did get him interesting in Latch-hooking! He made a few little rugs and wall hangings for family members, and then Poof! Just as fast as the interest came...it went!

   And me, in the yard taking pictures?! Ha! First, I'm allergic to everything. My eyes start watering up, my nose starts 'twingling', my skin starts itching, and my stomach starts turning over. And into the house I go!!!...And second, we all know how much I "love"...NOT...that camera!!! So, we'll leave things as they are.

  He does a much better job at this 'Outside' thing anyway!...Here's some more yard pictures he took...

   The only bad picture, in my opinion, was this one (because when he showed it to me he was convinced it was as clear as a bell). It's suppose to be a frog up against the house...that's his story! LOL

Is that what it looks like to you?!.......Whatever!

   I'll stick to what I do...inside! (And I took these pictures myself too!)

It's my new necklace that I just put in the shop today! These pictures came out pretty good, with a bit of cropping thanks to Picassa. I had to weed out my usual funky looking photos.I only kept this one...the best of the worst.

  And I'm leaving you with a poem today that's kind of funky too. It's not one of my sappy cheerful ones...sorry. But it is one that said it all for me when I wrote it. I hope it speaks to some of you too.

For The Pain

For the pain that pulls me-still

(The pain of things I've never done);

There is a aching resoluteness

of a hope, where could be none.

For the pain within my body,

that I feel most every day,

there's a thanks for all the effort,

and the price you gladly pay.

For the pain of family loss

(Relationships that didn't grow),

There is a sadness-but a strength,

because 'Myself' I came to know.

For the pain within my heart,

felt for the world, and things gone wrong,

there is a knowledge of the fact

that they'll  be righted before long.

For the pain I've had to fight,

a victim's safe-less mental reign;

not much love from those who count-

Those are just links within a chain!

For the pain of always knowing

that some think my life mundane,

there is a fight -forever going,

self esteem I must attain.

Maintaining love for life and God;

I'd quickly do it all again.

You might not think it really worth it,

But I'm much stronger for the pain!

THE Button Nut!

I talk about the things I love, but there's one thing I love that I haven't told you about yet. And it's such a biggie that I can't believe they don't have a 12-Step program for people like me who love them..."My name is Debbie, and I'm a button-aholic!!!"

  I'm almost embarrassed to show you all of my buttons! There's enough of them, if one was dropped every 4 seconds, to help Hansel and Gretel find their way out of a 40 mile wood!!! LOL

  My friends and family, instead of helping me get over this addiction, encourage it! They give me all of the buttons off of clothes they're throwing away, find, or spot in a store. They call and say: "Oooooo! Guess what I found?!" I know that it'll be either some new and interesting button....or one of my other addictions.

   OKAY! Buttons is not my only addiction!!!!...*Lowering my head in shame*...Thankfully, my addictions aren't against the law! They include: Buttons...of course...shoes, hats, jewelry (especially necklaces and earrings), purse pulls and pendants, books, board games, recipes, jewelry boxes, and candle holders. That's not all of them, but I just realized while I was listing them JUST HOW SICK I AM!!! LOL

  I get absolutely giddy about them. So you can just about imagine how much fun my tag sale was recently! It took my hubby and friends DAYS to talk me into putting some of the things out for sale. I got such peace when most of it didn't sell and had to come back into the house!!

  My love of these things doesn't have anything to do with their value, necessarily. Everything has a story and a memory. I guess being a poet, I live on the stories behind things...and the people who tell me the stories. You should see the emotion in the face of my friends when they give me a button that came from a collection that used to be owned by their grandmother, or that they saved from when their kids were babies.

   So, you see, buttons are just one avenue for me to collect love!...Enough talking! Let me show you some of them!...It'll be pretty easy to see why I love these...

 ...they're all flower buttons! This one is a particular favorite!

  I love the way it's so airy and easy to sew on...I'm kind of fond of a swirl too!

   And if it's a big wood button...with a swirl...EVEN BETTER!

Truth is, I love both sides of this wood button!

    I guess the flower I make will dictate which side I use. The person who buys the flower brooch I make with it will have to re-collect the button after the flower is unwearable, and make something else with it, showing the other side of the button! (Okay...delusion and wishful thinking creeping in! I keep forgetting that this is MY addiction, not everybody else's!!! LOL)

  Sometimes they're really simple, and not expensive buttons. Sometimes the simplicity doesn't tell the whole story. Look at these. Which ones do you think are the more collectible and expensive?!

  I think you'd be surprised at the answer!...This one IS a collector's item...

  You can just look at it and see the story, can't you?!...This one too.

   With that little bee on it, it looks so simple, but it's REALLY old! I probably should try to find out how much it's worth now, before I put it on one of my $10.00 necklaces!!...It shows how much I love an insect on my button too. Here are some of my Czech Glass rhinestone fly buttons. I have a couple of items in my shop with these buttons on them. They are VERY RARE...and I love them!

   This is what they look like on the other side...

   And last, but not least, is my BIG BOLD button!

   A lot, huh?!...You have NO idea!!! LOL........Oh yeah, I left out my addiction to crocheting!!! Ha! Ha!

Blankets Of Love

I make blankets, in my own time;

putting love in every stitch;

I let no one rush the process;

I'm not concerned with getting rich.

Crocheting brings about a calm

that nothing else quite seems to do;

I get such joy from choosing patterns,

and from choosing colors, too.

The more intricate-the better;

that gives me much more time to think,

'cause I slow down, so I can read it

keeping brain cells in the pink.

Just the steady, jutting motion

of my needle's in and out

makes me remember who its for,

and what the pattern's all about.

I made a blanket for my sister,

with kittens crocheted all around;

and another one, for a friend,

with her name written up and down.

I made a special one one year.

(made lovingly-to give away)

It marked the 20 years of love

that we remembered on that day.

We threw a party for our friends;

We had good food, and dancing too;

and on the blanket, there was written:

'Roses are red, violets are blue'.

That was a special blanket;

but special is always what I say

'cause I put the time into them

so that they won't easily fray.

They are blankets made with love

that I'm proud of-from 'chain one';

To watch the faces of receivers

is, without doubt, half the fun.

So-if I ever make a blanket

for your anniversary,

or your wedding, or engagement,

here's the thought you'll have from me:

That 'I love you very much,

and making it was fun to do;'

and that 'with every single stitch

my every thought had been of you!'

Daisy, Pretty Daisy!

This is another photo that my hubby took the other day of the daisies in our yard. I did a whole post about them yesterday. They made me so happy that last night I wrote a poem about them. I know....I'm sappy. :-) What can I say? That's me!...I'll share that poem at the end of the post today.

    I was so inspired by those gorgeous daisies. I think everybody should have some! And since mine are not for sale, I decided to show you some daisy inspired things on ETSY that 'Are' for sale!

  The first is this "Daisies Print by Todd Young" http://www.etsy.com/listing/41670164/daisies-print-by-todd-young of "ToddYoungArt" http://www.etsy.com/shop/ToddYoungArt

   This "vtg yellow girls dress size 8/10" http://www.etsy.com/listing/50336977/vtg-yellow-girls-dress-size-810 by "86vintage" http://www.etsy.com/shop/86vintage

   These "Vintage Daisy on a Pedestal Mugs-Set of 4" http://www.etsy.com/listing/50295629/vintage-daisy-on-a-pedestal-mugs-set-of  by "melanieperalto28" http://www.etsy.com/shop/melanieperalto28

   This dress, entitled "Vintage 80s junko shimada, sexy little mini-dress with daisies" http://www.etsy.com/listing/49944815/vintage-80s-junko-shimada-sexy-little by "pistolpoppy" http://www.etsy.com/shop/pistolpoppy

    This "Golden Daisy bouquet...fused art glass pendant" http://www.etsy.com/listing/47636104/golden-daisy-bouquetfused-art-glass by "jochris12" http://www.etsy.com/shop/jochris12

   These little "Glow Daisy-Silver Flower Dangle Earrings" http://www.etsy.com/listing/50312570/glow-daisy-silver-flower-dangle-earrings by "SerendipityLicious" http://www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityLicious

   And this "HOME Acessories--White Daisy Spoon Rest" http://www.etsy.com/listing/50316733/h-o-m-e-accessories-white-daisy-spoon by "SincerelyApril" http://www.etsy.com/shop/SincerelyApril

   I love each and every one of these items! And I can't believe how reasonably priced they all are too! So, buy yourself a few daisies! And while you're wearing, looking at, or using them, I hope they make you smile as much as mine have made me smile the last few days.

Daisy, Pretty Daisy

Daisy, pretty daisy,

with your petals all sprawled out;

Making sunshine, bees and children

wonder what you're all about.

All spread out in the garden,

up the sidewalk, down the lane;

So much prettier to look at

than all those street lights down on Main.

Daisy, pretty daisy,

in your red or white or pink.

Letting bees and flies land on you

so that they can take a drink.

It's hard to see you basking

in the sun and not just smile,

'cause you look like friends just hanging out

and talking for a while.

Daisy, pretty daisy,

rain or shine you have no care.

You just smile at passersby

and make us happy that you're there.

♫ A daisy a Day ♫

Some things don't need a lot of words...I don't believe that I, the jabber jabber queen of Massachusetts, said that! :-)) But when I saw these beautiful daisy pictures hubby took from the yard I was just speechless. So my post today will be sheer daisy love!

They don't love them in the same way, but the bees and flies, yes flies, LOVE these daisies!

They just look so happy! They're out there saying "Hello!" to passersby, and soaking up the sun. They don't even need an air conditioner!...Don't get me started with that again!!!

See! Not much talking needed. Just peacefulness for a peaceful day. :-) Reminded me of another peaceful day I had a while back. That day it was the waving treetops that rendered me speechless. I wrote this poem on the spot that day. Guess a daisy poem might be in the works!

~Happy Treetops~

Oh! To be a treetop,

pressed up against the sky;

Waving at the clouds all day,

when breezes trickle by.

Oh! The happy movement,

when a group of trees unite,

and wave at God together,

as they sway with all their might.

Wacky Day!

  Me and hubby woke up sore this morning. No, we didn't go dancing til dawn or anything...although that would have been an interesting under-taking! :-] For me, the soreness has to do with the weather...OF COURSE! We're expecting thunder showers again and my body doesn't like the drop of the barometric pressure right before a storm. I feel like I've been in the pool all day and just coming out. You know that feeling like somebody said: "Oh, you're getting out of the pool now? Here, carry these 100 saddle bags full of bricks and wet sand over to my friend, will ya!"...I'll tell you what happened to him and why the rest of the day was wacky in a minute. First let me show you the new place I'm putting my flowers...on combs!

I put my little necklace loops on the back the same as I always do, so that if someone wants to wear them as a necklace or as a brooch all they have to do is add a chain or a pin. The flower will just slide right off of the comb.

   Okay, back to my wacky day...It started when a load of wash put the washing machine off balance. The 'clumpah-clumpah-clumpah' kept getting louder and louder! No big deal, right?! That happens to everybody. But as I said, that was only the beginning!...

  Then the phone kept ringing with odd numbers from people I don't know, showing states instead of names on my 'Caller I.D.'! I ignored that, turned the sound off...Then the lady that usually comes to clean for me called...I answered that one!...and said she was really sick and wouldn't be coming today. Okay, so I'll have to clean my own dusty house. :-)) No problem.

  Then hubby, on his way into the grocery store, tripped over one of those cement parking bumpers and put a nasty gash in his leg...and everything else took a nose-dive too, including his pride! He says he was more embarrassed than anything. I say SO WHAT if people laughed!  He's in his 50s and can't be expected to remember where his feet are every minute! Ha! Ha!

  By the way, that's why he's sore this morning too. His whole body, because of the fall, feels like he got hit by a Mack truck, he says. GREAT! The two of us are awake, with a Beautiful Saturday morning in front of us...and we can't get out of bed...I should say don't WANT to get out of bed!

  This would have been wacky enough for the day, but it wasn't the end. We also were totally forgotten about by someone who was suppose to call us. We were sitting staring at the phone for 20 minutes before we realized we had been forgotten!...And then, the piste resistance. We were getting ready for bed and WHOA! Out of the other room we heard a loud steady noise, like someone switched the vacuum cleaner on HIGH! It wasn't the vacuum cleaner though. It was the air conditioner! It made that loud noise for a few minutes and then DIED! FINE...JUST FINE! Now, if it wasn't 86 degrees, muggy and humid, there would be no problem. And if the repair person was coming today...even better! But NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! The air conditioner can't be fixed until Monday, right after this current heat wave we're having is going to break.

  So, yea, me and hubby woke up sore this morning...and sweaty. Now we're wondering...in fear!...if that was the end of the wackiness, or just the beginning! UGH!We're kinda wishing we could be babies again. None of this stuff would have phased us then.

First Baby

"Hello! I'm  the first baby ;

First child of my mom and dad;

Before I came into their world

the face of my mom was sad;

Not because she didn't  enjoy her life,

or the pace of life was bad,

But because she wanted a little boy-

one thing she had never had!

Now, I'm  here; and I love to smile,

and love to eat! (I'm  a growing lad!)

Very seldom do you hear me cry;

But, if I do, you know I'm  mad!

My daddy says I'm  really smart.

(But I'm just an 'Imitate-U' grad!)

I love to watch, when he's  watching me,

and giggle just to make him glad.

That's me!-Baby Boy!

Occupation:-Laying on my pad;

and looking out of the window;

and loving my mom and dad!"