FAR AWAY....

SUSAN ~ I LOVE

my adorable paperweight!

What does FAR AWAY mean to YOU?

:: a distance ::

200 miles from home?

a hop, skip & a jump?

the next state?

a bicycle ride to the store?

another country?

a 3 mile walk?

:: a period of time ::

when I'm -- years old?

when I graduate from college?

on my next vacation?

when I retire?

when the kids are grown?

after {insert your sport} basketball... season?

:: a situational condition ::

when I get in physical shape?

after I save enough money?

when I have a traveling partner?

when I get over my fear of flying?

I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about...

:: LIFE is SHORT ::

A dear, dear friend passed away last weekend!

I can see her desk from my desk!

I can still hear her voice - helping anyone who asked!

but, better yet, asking, "what can I help you with?"

I can see her beautiful smile & sparkling eyes!

and remember her excitement in recounting tales

of her four-legged encounters!

{dogs were her favorite, followed by cats}

A quiet person, a talented pianist,

& a fabulous hugger!!!

This week has been incredibly difficult for everyone at work!

Waves of emotion hit each of us at different times...

Sometimes FAR AWAY

gets in the way of living LIFE!

She was full of LIFE!

but, her FAR AWAY came too early!

{52 is way too early}

I miss you! dear Ruthie!

NO WOLF...

Wolf Moon ~ 1.12.12 ~ 6:50am

Didn't capture the Wolf Moon last night! 


A long & difficult day at work. No - this doesn't have to do with the next round of budget cuts to education... but the loss of a dear, dear friend. 


Life is precious - don't forget to share your hugs, words of friendship & love, and model kindness for all...

WOLF MOON...

Tonight's the FULL MOON...

I have a meeting until 7pm, but will be checking out the moon, as soon as I leave the meeting.

Did you know the FULL MOON in the month of January

is called a WOLF MOON?

It was believed that medieval Europeans & Native

 Americans named the January moon for the howling

 from hungry wolves. As you can imagine, there

 are fewer food sources mid-winter and animals have

 difficulty finding something to eat.

Other names for this month's FULL MOON include

OLD MOON & ICE MOON. 

info: National Geographic

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/full-moon-article/

TONIGHT I'm going to

"FOCUS"


{OLW for 2012}

on the beauty of the FULL MOON...

& Look

for the 

EXTRAORDINARY...

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 1.8.12

tin of homemade Christmas cookies 

It's back! SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY! Wanna participate?

Check in with ASHLEY @ RAMBLING & PHOTOS!

This week's words: One Color, Laundry, Empty, One Dozen, & Soft.

"ONE COLOR" 
red accents ~ living room

"LAUNDRY"

It's embarrassing... LAUNDRY sits in the dryer, while I play Words with Friends. Poor quality picture... but I'm too distracted with my camera & new i-Phone! best get the sheets on the bed so JPE's not laying on just the mattress pad.

"EMPTY"

We got a tin of homemade cookies from Patty! Her stash was lovingly baked by her mother, Olina... I didn't get around to baking my cut-out Christmas cookies this year {deleted from my to-do-list when I was recuperating from my sinus infection}... so, these were a welcome addition to our afternoon tea time! YUMMY! all that's left --- an EMPTY tin.

"ONE DOZEN"

Actually, ONE DOZEN x four... 48 ZIG ColorTwin Markers. A Christmas present from SLE & ACE!

The Zig colored markers came in this cute suitcase with a black handle on top! I'm pretty obsessed with these pens & have blogged about them HERE & also, HERE.

"SOFT"

ummm... a SOFT pillow! {pillowcase blog post HERE}... my bed is calling me! But, before I head to bed...

It's not too late to participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY! 

Get out your camera & snap some pictures, post them on your blog, then check in with ASHLEY to add the link to the list. What could be easier than that? Didn't you say you wanted to "kick your creativity" up a notch in 2012?

ROSEMARY...

all pics taken 1.7.12 @ home

I need like to have fresh flowers, a succulent or greenery in my living room...


In the off-season, I buy something at Trader Joe's... From March-October, we display small vases of our fragrant roses cut from the garden. JPE & I returned to work this week, so with the busy-ness of a work schedule, I haven't taken the time to buy something GREEN.


My fall-back GREENERY is R-O-S-E-M-A-R-Y... OUR NEIGHBOR, JEAN, planted the entire length of her condo fence with Rosemary. This morning, while JPE was watering outside, I had him cut some sprigs to freshen the air & add some color.

three sprigs ~ guest bathroom

Origin: Rosemary comes from the Latin word, rosmarinus, meaning "mist of the sea" or "dew of the sea" {well, we live a few miles from the ocean, so perhaps that's the reason it's easy to grow in our area}!!


Medicinal fact: In the 16th century, Rosemary was often burned in sickrooms as a disinfectant to kill germs. {I love the fresh, fragrant, almost antiseptic smell}

dried rosemary ~ living room bookcase

Long lasting: Dried Rosemary is able to retain most of its fragrance & flavor. {these dried sprigs were dropped in this container at the beginning of December - if you rub them between your fingers, you'll release the fragrance, even though they are a month old}.


Scientific: Ancient Greeks believed that Rosemary was a magical plant that could strengthen memory. I've also read that smelling Rosemary before you take a test can increase your concentration... Japanese scientists confirmed Rosemary is a brain stimulant. {gosh, I may need to keep some sprigs on my desk at work}.


Trivial Pursuit fact: During the English Tudor era, Rosemary symbolized fidelity, and brides would give sprigs of Rosemary to bridegroom as a tradition {ummm... food for thought}.

Final comment: Rosemary is also considered to increase creativity {when I started this post, I planned to plop some pictures onto my blog & head for the shower - yep! still in my jammies! My post has morphed into research, with the afternoon disappearing}.

JPE's roses ~ April 2011

Gotta get moving - check back tomorrow! it's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY over at Ashley's!

A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD...

birthday & special interest
{2011}
Mattie's 5th Birthday - he had a PIRATE Party!

~~ MY MOM ~~

{called Nana by her 7 grandchildren &
GiGi by her 5 great-grandchildren}

sews

PILLOWCASES!!!

They're generally a SURPRISE!

you can never tell when you will get one

{or two if you are a married couple}...

You might get one in the mail or as a present:

 to commemorate a holiday...

{Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, 4th of July}

as a remembrance of a hobby or special interest...

{surfing, snowboarding, knitting, dancing, computers, baseball,

for your birthday or Christmas...

or to celebrate a special time in your life...

{wedding, graduation, Daisy-to-Brownie fly-up}

special interest: Katie LOVED Dora!
{2007}

holiday: Lydia's first Christmas pillow case
{2005}
snowmen w/green stocking caps & Santa hats

holiday: Christmas pillow case
first Christmas {2004} w/new husband, JPE
red horns w/red, glittery gold pine cone band

holiday: our new set of Christmas pillowcases
{2011}
Yippee!!
Doesn't our bed look cozy?

special interest: knitting
{2010}
ACE & Lola napping
balls of yarn against a yellow background

special interest: cartoon characters
{2007}
Mattie reminded us of Charlie Brown!
here's a Snoopy-like puppy dog pillowcase

Several guests at our Christmas celebration received a PILLOWCASE this year... I hope they realize how SPECIAL these PILLOWCASES are?

FYI: the grandkids have been known to "let it slip" when they received a pillowcase in the mail (& none of them live in close proximity to each other)!

Rumor is: ACE might have the largest inventory of PILLOWCASES!

MOM may have to do a "recall" to inventory her gift-giving list!!! ha! ha!

BTW: I'm confessing... I have 7 {seven pillowcases}

holiday: single king-size Christmas case {1998 - year I was divorced}

special occasion: set of wedding pillowcases {November 2004}

holiday: set of Christmas pillowcases w/French horns {December 2003}

special: set of yellow/green floral print {why? I'm special - ha! forgot year}

holiday: set of Christmas pillowcases (Christmas 2011}

JPE has a couple of pillowcases...

special interest: loves coffee {cups of java 2003?}

hobby: loves camping {moons & stars 2006?}

Okay - 'fess up ---- the rest of you!!!

Kidding aside {really --- I don't want to start a family war}... 

                                      these pillowcases are adorable!

                                        treasures that are well-used!

                                          a true LABOR-OF-LOVE!

                       THANKS!!! MOM / NANA / GIGI


psst! HAppY BiRthDaY Daisy!!!  ummm... did you get a pillowcase for your birthday? just checking!