Song for Friday...for fun!

I'm not sure how I found this video...

You know how it is, online day dreaming,

one thing leads to another and, well,...

It's really quite brilliant.

Have a fun weekend all!

Simone...

Did you know that barn owls are in decline?

There are many reasons for this including mechanized farming methods, 

rodent poisoning, loss of habitat due to the popularity of barn conversions

and general environmental conditions...

So I've made a tribute to this beautiful bird...

This is Simone.

A most graceful and mysterious looking owl they do not build a nest but prefer to rear their

young in tree cavities, silos, barns and abandoned buildings.

Barn Owls are considered beneficial to farmers - a family of six young and

two adults can consume over 1000 mice during one nesting season! 

 I love making owls. They take a lot of work because of the detail on their feathers,

but oh so worth the end product.

Fly on over to my etsy shop  for a peek...

 

 

remember "L" ?

Yesterday my friend and creative cohort Norene (mosaic artist extraordinaire)

came by with a lingering birthday gift.

I love spreading things out like this...might as well milk it for all you've got right?

When you see a finished product try to look past it's ending and into it's beginnings.

Long hours collecting just the right pebbles.

Learning to use a different method than the one you're used to.

Transferring the design from a thought to a paper.

Transferring a design from a paper to mesh.

Cutting and hammering hundreds of pieces of tile and rock.

Placing your medium in just the right spot.

Changing your mind and starting all over again.

Grouting, grouting and more grouting.

Wiping grout, polishing stones and marble.

Giving up one of your masterpieces as a gift.

Now, as you give it to your friend, you hope she will catch the significance of the design.

Being joyful that she's old enough to remember her Roman numerals.

Anyone else old enough to remember "L"?

And look at all those lovely Celtic knots?!
Like crowns...fit for a Queen!

Go pop over  here for a peek into what else Norene's been up to...

Cheers my dear!

Who do you think you are?

Today I went to a Celebration of Life of an 80 year old man who I've known for about 7 years.

He was an army man with many medals, titles and years of service behind him.

It was a service where past military paid tribute as well as a Scottish Pipe Band (whom he started)

that played some of his favorite pieces.

Politicians who he had worked with and against came forth with stories of how they knew the man,

what they remembered, how much respect they had for him and what a sense of humor he had.

I didn't know 'Bob' in these respects, I knew him as a walker.

I met him in an area where I walk my dog Griffin daily,  mind you in the past year we

hadn't seen a lot of each other due to life's circumstances but for many years

I would encounter him and his daughter Brenda just about every morning.

We didn't talk much about politics or the military but more about the simple day to day life

we were each living.

We introduced each other to visiting members of our families and kept up on the goings on

of such persons through the years.

As with many funerals / celebrations and remembrances, we begin to see

another side of someone.

A whole other life that you may not of known about.

A side of a person who's not only a father, but a soldier, a buddy, a mentor, even to some, a hero.

We may think we know who we are but it's through the eyes of others in which your

true self may be revealed.

As Jeff Goldblum said in the movie "The Big Chill"

"It's the one great party they throw for you and you can't be there."

But in so many ways we are there.

Through those stories and tales and silly things you may have done, along

with all of the important dates and times that you lived,

that is who you are.

That is how you lived.

So don't ever underestimate your life and those you've touched...

you may well be surprised.
We'll miss you on the trail Bob.

(the dogs will miss the greetings and the cookies as well!)

( seen here with long time pal, Al, his dog Niki and Griffin )