My flower you will always be...

I walked into the room and smiled, no matter its minimal furnishings, it felt cozy and warm; it always felt cozy and warm, as long as the flower was there.

I breathed in the soft headiness of the blossom’s sweet perfume as it permeated the air; like an essential oil whose scent lingers, lurking in corners, swirling around as though carried upon a gentle breeze, and tickling my nose as it whispered on by.

The flower that had once shone brightly with vibrant colour, now sat faded to a soft milky white with still a hint of the glory it had once been; pure and true, its beauty no less stunning as it graced my eyes. Like all flowers, its uncomplicated enchantment had been easy to admire in every stage of its bloom.

As though light emanated from delicate paper-thin petals, it cast a glow that illuminated the room with its soft haze, filling every nook and cranny, warming the atmosphere, and drawing me towards it like a ship to a beacon; I could not resist the need to touch its lacy fronds, clutch it in my grasp.

With outstretched arms I reached out to cup the delicate blossom in my hands, while petals so fragile, enfolded me like delicate wings, wrapping me in warmth, protecting me, comforting me, showering me with love; and I wanted to be wrapped in its delicate strength, hugged close to its central core and protected within its precious embrace for all time.

This flower is the sunshine in a cold room, the voice of comfort when all seems lost, hope for a blossoming future. This flower can chase the blues away, express regality and simplicity, dignity and grace, joy and sorrow.

And this flower, will always be, pressed between the pages of my heart, forever preserved in my memory, its ever-present existence a thing of beauty, filling glorious chapters within the book of my life.

C Heather Johnsgaard, April 2013

 Happy Mother's Day!

Happy life!

...mind games!

A special gift from a dear friend!

Have you ever wondered about your memory? Do you ever worry about your memory?

We must not let our memories fade!

I like to believe I have been blessed with a wonderful memory; a memory for detail, a memory for remembering words, a memory for being able to replicate in my mind something I have seen, be it in person, from a book, from a monitor, from a photo... and I feel blessed that at my age (which isn't that old really!)  I do have a pretty good memory.

It's not that I remember everything, I don't have a photographic memory or anything, and I may not remember someone's name, but I really seem to have a knack for remembering small details.

Getting older doesn't mean we have to lose our mind!

I don't know what it is, but when I look at things, I really look at them, almost study them, scrutinize them...

...a lot of that comes from being artistic, and the other from the types of careers I have had that have necessitated research and emulation.

I don't give things just a passing glance, I study details and design, how somebody does something, how something is made, how something is laid out... and I remember it, recall it to use at a later date... it's a funny thing! It's not something I consciously do, it just happens..

...and I wonder if this practice will serve me well as I age.

But, there are two things that seem to test my memory, all the time, every day... my keys and my glasses.... I lose them all the time; have absolutely no clue where I saw or put them last! Even to the point that I have found myself hunting all over for my prescription reading glasses, standing there and staring blankly into space trying to remember where they were, only to discover I was wearing them all along, I guess I just couldn't see the clarity for the blur!!

 The mind is a great tool, a funny thing... it may remember, it may not... it may be useful, it may not...

Remember to look after yourself!

I don't know if what we do with our memory plays a part in how our mind will serve us through the years, but I do believe we must nurture it in order for it to stay viable for as long as it can...

We must test our mind, challenge it, practice activities which make us have to use it, do different activities with it... do you think that if the mind is being challenged enough that when it is called upon for something really important, it will be sharp enough? I don't know, I am not a mind specialist... but we do know that as babies and growing children we are challenged to play different games, participate in memory games, fit the shape games. All of these types of things are the basis for opening our mind and keeping it healthy and keeping it growing when we are young, so, why should we stop as we age?

Keep challenging your mind by learning new things, working with hand and eye coordination tasks that will make the brain think, read, test yourself... it's all games for the mind!

The writing says it all!

Happy life!

These absolutely beautiful cards are from Jen at Muddy Boot Dreams who is the most wonderful photographer and sweetest person... visit her blog, or pop over to her Facebook page, and ask her about purchasing some of these beautiful cards in which you can write your own sentiments inside. Thank you Jen!

...searching for angels!

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets her wings...


...is this a saying you have heard before?

It's funny, but that little saying always comes to my mind when I hear the ring of a bell, or the sound of chimes, and I can't help it, I have to chant it to myself... and I always do it... for in my mind, if I do not say it, that angel will not receive their wings.

When you think of angels, do you think of them as celestial beings, messengers of God? ...or do you believe them to be our human counterparts, those who appear to do only good within this world?

Is it is easier to believe in angels as those invisible intangible creatures that we may never see, but who we can feel as being there by our side, guiding us and watching over us... or do you believe angels truly live and walk among us? ... and thus the visions we are led to believe of angels with feathered wings are but a figment of the imagination of mankind?

I like to believe in the unbelievable; finding evidence is like a pot of gold at the end of rainbow!  

Belief of what is and what is not is each our own to embrace, and I do believe in angels... show me an angel and I will see a heart that is pure, and good and kind.


Happy life!

...functionality meets aesthetics!

This doll is known by many names: Sugar Baby, Church Doll, Prairie Doll... see below.

I'm at the age in my life where I am trying to eradicate clutter, trying to get away from having to dust around so many objects....

... I am also so passed the stage where I want "knick knacky" things laying around my house just for looks.

But that's just me!

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little sachet hanging here and there to add a little femininity, but I personally don't want bowls filled with "stuff" all over my house.... they just become dust collectors...

...and well, you know me, housework is not my first love, not what I want to put my time into.

Hidden away in cardboard boxes sit all my once loved ornaments (I really need to purge them, but sentimentality is hard to abandon)....

The problem is, I like to play.... design things... I like to sew, paint, work with wood, create mosaics, even make willow furniture....

...but, I can't keep everything I make for myself.

Designing is a battle for me...

...between colour, style, functionality and aesthetics, I always second guess what I have in mind.

My main goal is functionality , but then again, I love it to be pleasing to the eye...

....sometimes pretty and feminine, sometimes bold and beautiful!

I like what I make to have a purpose, although I am not restricted by that.... but what are people buying these days? What catches people's eye? Framed pictures? Sachets? Tea towels? Pretty pillowcases? Quilts? Clothing? Aprons?

...and in what colours? I mean, hello, there are so many beautiful colour choices out there; some people are into all white, some more natural, some pastels like shabby cottage style, others bold and bright!

I have to create, I have to use my hands, I have to act on the things that are spinning around in my head out.... no matter what, I will always create, it's a part of me.

...understand?

But, I'm begging for some insight!

How about you, do you love bowls filled with handmade sachets, framed goodies, pretties hanging around... or do you only like what you know you will use? ....and what will you use?

These dolls were once made and given to children to play with, especially in church (thusly named Church Doll). The doll was usually made from a tied handkerchief and was made as a way to keep the child busy, but if the doll was dropped, it would not make any noise when it fell, thereby not disturbing the service. Sometimes, cubes of sugar were placed inside the head for the child to suck on and thus it was also called a Sugar Baby. I am unsure where or when the name Praire Doll originated. Traditionally the doll had no face being that it was made "on the spur of the moment"!

I've been asked by a few people if I sell my creations, or if I do consignment work... I have a problem with committing to making something when someone asks; once I commit, then I do not enjoy the process, it becomes a burden and my creativity is stifled... however, I do appreciate ideas or desires, and if and when I have the time and when I find the inspiration you never know what I will come up with. If you request something, I make no promises, but if I make something and you would like to purchase it, then I am willing to sell it... if I make something requested and offer it to you, there is no obligation for you to purchase it... I believe this makes it fair for both you and I, no obligation, no commitment, but if a deal is struck then that is a bonus for us both.... and thank you for asking! All proceeds of any of my sales are my way of earning money to help fund my efforts in rehabilitating injured or orphaned wildlife.

Happy life!

...of zodiacs, horoscopes and time!

Ruffed Grouse - startled!

Time as we know it by the hands of a clock; and the past, the present, and the future is an "entity" as created by man to keep track of something intangible...

Ruffed Grouse

Albert Einstein did not believe in the now... he believed there was no division between past and future, therefore, no existence of now (to my understanding)...

... he also proved that time is relative and not absolute....

...therefore, if time is relative would that then not mean that birthdays are relative too, since birthdays are a measurement of time?

I'm not a big celebrator of birthdays (as in my own)... not because I don't believe in the importance of life and celebrating it, but because if we celebrate birthdays as an age, as in a number, as in length of time, like most people do, we consider ourselves as getting older, our number getting higher, and therefore on the path towards the end of our lives, the end of our time here on earth... and for some, that can prove depressing...

Ruffed Grouse

...as a society we have a conceptual idea (not to mention statistics), that certain "types" of people have a certain "chance" of living to a "certain" age... and realistically, as humans, we usually say "if I live till I'm "XX" number" then I will do this, or feel that, be this,  and accomplish that,  or have this much money... all thoughts based on those ideas and stats... seems to me, when you really think about it, that is a really morbid concept!

I think I'd like to throw that concept out and continue living each and every day as I have; recognizing my birthday as the special day I was born, but not attaching an age to it, not attaching an idea to it, but attaching the relativity of time to it.

Speaking of birthdays, have you studied your Zodiac? I like to read the "characteristics" of my Zodiac and see how closely they relate to my actual personality...

Ruffed Grouse

...and I must say... it is quite accurate... almost uncanny!

So, if you pay attention to Zodiacs, do you then pay attention to horoscopes?

The definition of the horoscope is based on the Zodiacs and is the forecast of a person's future under that sign....

... outside the true definition of a horoscope and what it actually means, do you believe in any of the "horoscopes" you read that others "predict" for you, or do you laugh at them... on any given day, you can read three different papers with three different descriptions of how your day is going to turn out, what your lucky numbers are, and whether or not you will get that next promotion... and none of the predictions from each paper will ever be the same, let alone, how many ever truly come true!

I mean, really? Who writes these things?

Ruffed Grouse - I mean really??

I definitely don't base my life upon a horoscope, I don't even search them out, but I do enjoy the Zodiac and sizing up a person's character with their birth sign, it can give you a little inkling of their personality without ever meeting them... and when you ask most people about their Zodiac, they will tell you that it really does "fit them to a T"... what's your Zodiac, I'd love to know!

Ruffed Grouse

Happy life!

The soul of the spring sun.

I am that soul who caresses your skin

ever so gently,

warming your toes whilst they still dare to stand,

upon white crystals of snow.

I am the soul who makes you smile

as though seeing beauty for the first time,

gently bathing your small world,

in fragile light.

I am the soul who tempts you to shed the dust

from your winter weary shoulders,

beckoning you to step across the boundaries of the seasons,

and feel my warm glow.

I am the soul who lends promise,

of great things to come,

of birth, of growth, of light, and of lifted spirits,

yes, I am the spring sun.

 

c Heather Johnsgaard, 2013

********

I look outside my window and I still see piles of snow... piles so high I wonder if they will ever melt.

But slowly, oh so slowly, I am beginning to see the signs...

The snow is receding from around the base of trees as the sun warms their bark; receding from alongside the wall of the house on the south side where the sun is the warmest.

The birds are not frequenting my feeders as much; the other day I fed my little Whisky Jack... he was tempted by one tiny morsel until a nearby companion caught his attention and he flew of in pursuit of a better prize.

And the wonderful twittering of other tiny birds, flitting through the trees, frolicking, as they enjoy the longer and slightly warmer bright days, are beautiful music to my ears.

It is a long trip for spring to travel to my corner of the world, but its journey has begun, it is looking in my direction and smiling... and I wait patiently.

But the sun is hot, even now; I love the sun, but as I grow older, the temptations of spending so much time in the summer sun has slowly been replaced with seeking out more shade... shade from the heat, and shade from this sun's destructive rays....

My case in point is the lovely bib set in these photos, another UFO of mine which I had designed for my little shoppe; it has sat unfinished since last year, when all it needed were the two turning holes slip stitched, and a button attached...

I had plans for this little set, but sadly, at some point last summer, it must have sat in the line of the sun for a short period of time before I stored it away, and a touch of the pink on the bottom of one end of the burp cloth has faded a little...

What should I do with it... I can't sell it (unless I offer it at a discount), because to me, it is not an "almost perfect" item any longer...



Before I had discovered this problem, I had planned to donate it for an auction, but again, in all good conscience, that would not sit well with me...

I don't want to finish it (no, I still have not finished it) if it not worthy... that would just be a waste of time.

I could give it away...

I mean, it is hardly noticeable, but I know it's there, and if I know, then that is all I need to persuade me it is unworthy....

In the past, I would just have left it unfinished, then when a long time has passed, throw it out... but is is still good...

It is quite plush, two layers of flannel and a cotton top... beautiful silky cotton fabric... oh so feminine...

What would you do with a less than perfect, still useable, pretty, pink, girly, shabby roses bib and burp cloth set??

P.S. Don't forget, Google Reader will be obsolete as of July 1, if you still want to visit my blog, "Follow Me", or follow me on Bloglovin'.

Happy life!

...gears, creativity and success!

I like to call myself a designer, but truly, I spend more time playing around with fabrics, threads, paint wood, anything really, than actually ever getting anything finished...

There are a lot of UFO's  (unfinished objects) and WIP's (works in progress) sitting around in my baskets.... and I mean, a lot!




My attention span can be short sometimes... the gears in my head are always turning...

...the idea for one project pops into my head while I'm working on another...


...when inspiration hits, that idea will sit and fester in my mind, nudging at me until I finally set it free.

But I am not content to just get it down on paper, I actually have to start the creation process...

...jot it down, choose the colours, pick out the accessories, the threads, the paints... give the project life!

And therein lies the problem... one project put down, to let the other one grow...

...too many ideas, never enough time... projects left unfinished until inspiration returns!

But sometimes, there are some successes in the mix!

Original design by moi, background fabric hand dyed with beets

Happy life!