Listing Saturday:: Reasons to prepare ahead of time for Christmas

Stores close early on Christmas Eve.

Santa has gotten older and likes to get to bed earlier.

Target bags are not acceptable as Christmas wrapping.

(I wish they were.)

Food doesn't cook itself.

You can listen to Christmas Carols while you get ready.

Newspaper stars for the tree are a true no no, unless the children have made them.

You can only watch so many Christmas moves before your head explodes.  Excuse yourself and get ready for Xmas.

If you're ready early enough, you can gather the family and go to church. 

Even the kid in you wants a present.

Christmas is really more than just a day.

There is beauty in remembering.  You're making memories.  What kind of memories do you want your children to hold near to their hearts.

If you're ready in time for Christmas, you can enjoy yourself. 

In the end, it's all about love, not the rush.

Day 25:: 31 Day Writing Challenge:: Listing Saturday:: Why I Love Fall

1) The colors

2) The Contrast in colors

3) The cooling down of the weather

4) The knowledge that spring will come again.

5) Yellow, Red, Green all in one

6) Leaves that crunch on the ground

7) The smell of fireplaces burning

8) A chance to light the fireplace

9) Sleeping an hour longer

10) Lighting the firepot for a few precious hours outside

11) New jackets

12) Jeans

13) Sweaters

14) The warm weather following a killing frost

15) Flowers that survive a frost

What do you like best about the Fall?

Would You Give My Etsy Store Some Love?

As of last night,

these items had zero, 0, nada 

views.

Would you give them some love, please?

I love these beads!

Click

HERE

to give them some love, please!

I think this pin would be fun to wear!

Click

HERE

to give this pin some love, please!

Here's Shep.

Please click 

HERE

to give him some love!

These headpins are lovely!

Click

HERE

to see these headpins.

 

 Click

HERE

to see this murrini!

Thank you!

They do need a little bit of love!

Words of Blessing

Wikipedia defines the word blessing in this way:

The infusion of or bestowing of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.

So, no matter how you define the word, in secular or divine terms, a blessing is a gift of love from one person to another or from God to a human being. 

"Love never Fails."

Here are some of my favorite words of blessing:

God Bless You.
I love you.
Peace.
May you be blessed.
For you
Blessings
I give you my love.
I hold you in my heart.
I am with you always.
I hope you feel better.
Let me hold you.
I give you my heart.
I want to help you.
May I help you.
Listen to me.
May I help you find a seat?
May I carry that for you?
How was your day?
Let's do this together.
Are you all right?
My heart is in your heart.
I will never forget you.


What are some of your favorite words of blessing?

I Heart Macro! - The Great Chile Cook Off Jewelry

I HEART MACRO
I was number 11.  Number 9 won.  Oh, so close!

Chili Cook Off Jewelry! 


Memories are made by doing, then preserved with love!

Who said that?  ooops!  I did!

Normally,

I am not a person who enjoys making jewelry.

I'd rather make beads and enjoy what designers make with them.

However, when an event is at hand that sounds like fun,

I love to make jewelry that will make me smile when I remember that special event.

I've already talked about the 

Great Chile Cook Off.

Being from the Southwest, that was an event I wanted to preserve.

So, I did make jewelry.

 There was the necklace with the chile peppers.

(I made all the beads!)

I added matching earrings to the necklace.

Could any jewelry collection be complete without a bracelet for one arm and

bangles for the other arm?

Here's what the jewelry looked like on.

 I really like it,

and I smile when I remember the fun of the

Great Chile Cook Off!

I Heart Macro!

On Being a Fairy Princess

Do you see that little girl?

When she was six,

or, 

maybe a little before,

she realized that she was a fairy princess!

She loved to dance,

and 

she loved to sing.

Isn't that what all fairy princesses do?

She ruled over a kingdom

where there was so much love and laughter

that she was never sad.

She was loved by her subjects beyond measure.

She loved them back.

When she grew up,

she knew that she would always be a 

fairy princess,

and so it is today.

Because of love,

Because of joy,

Because of hope,

She is a fairy princess!

Dreams do come true!

Are you a fairy princess, too?

I Love it! I Hate it! Yesterday, I loved it!

I pulled out the Chalcedony glass again.
If you know me, you know I, both, love and hate this glass!
If I can make it strike, I LOVE IT!
If not, well, you know.
Yesterday, I absolutely, unconditionally loved this glass!
Isn't this tab beautiful?
(Before I forget, if you would like a chance to win this tab, go to
Facebook,
make sure you "Like" my page,
Then leave a comment.
On Halloween night,
I will choose one lucky winner for the Trick or Treat Giveaway.
Read more about it there.

More love here! There are some really pretty colors in this bead!
Nummy!
This photo does not show all the beautiful colors in this bead!
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh, my!

Even though these flowers didn't strike, I LOVE THEM!
They have such a wooden texture to them.
The rings remind me of an ancient tree.
When I made these flowers, I knew there was a good chance that they wouldn't strike
because of the heat control and the flower shape.
Doesn't matter.
I really like them.

It was a very, good day!
I wubs Chalcedony today!

Play on Words Lampwork Challenge

Play on Words Lampwork Challenge

This week's word is:

LOVE

This is my entry.

Do you see what I put in there?

Here's a clue:

The Greatest of these is love.

This is so sweet!

Just when you think it can't happen,
When things are too difficult for you to bear,
You find the joy of being unique
When the unbelievable is real.

All That Love!

I am amazed! How could all of that love fit in such a tiny box?

I brought Spike home. He is now buried where he loved to be the most--by his tree. I'm not sure, but when I placed Spike's ashes in the ground, I thought I felt the brush of angel wings near my face as a gentle breeze began to blow.

How could all of that unconditional love fit in that tiny box? I'll never know.




























My neighbors gave me this tombstone for his grave. He'll always be remembered. I just looked outside, and there was a squirrel running over Spike's tombstone. Life goes on. I still wonder how all that love could fit in the ground under that tombstone?

Before I took him outside to rest under his tree forever, I made 3 memory stones. Each one contains a tiny bit of Spike's ashes. There are none to see on the surface. Spike's ashes are contained in the heart of each bead.





















Each bead is unique and full of texture. Each side is unique. There will never be any other memory stones like these.





















There will never be another Spike!

Spike, I love you, but now I have to let you go. I am moving on. You will always have a special place in my heart. I will never forget you and how you brought us so much joy and so much love when we needed it. Thank you for being such a gift to us and helping us move on when we had to get on with our lives. Now, you are always a puppy. Have fun, my sweet big puppy. Enjoy running without pain and without feeling sick. Thank you for all the blessings you brought to us. Good bye, my Spike.

Happy Easter!

May
the
Peace
of the
Risen Christ
be
with you
Always!

And it came to pass!