Ardith...

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Hello, my dear friends.

Today is a bittersweet day for my family.

It's Ardith's birthday.

This photo of her is sitting on my desk.

Usually, I check in on my computer

the first thing in the morning,

and the last thing at night.

So you see,

she's here to greet me as I start and end each day.

I don't know what it is about dates...

When you lose someone you love,

and those meaningful dates come around,

they seem to make the loss stronger.

Your lost loved one claims that date in your heart.

What a miracle it was that Ardith was born.

Her life led to my dad's life.

Which led to my life.

That circle of life, you know.

For this reason, and many more,

I will celebrate Ardith's life today.

I thought perhaps you'd like to know a few tidbits about her...

She was a magnificent cook and baker.

Her pies were like a poem.

She had a wonderful sense of humor and an easy, contagious laugh.

She had a keen fashion sense and loved Italian shoes.

Her middle name was Belle.

She was a bit of a lead-foot driver.

Her favorite color was green.

She was a voracious reader.

As a young girl, she saved her babysitting money
to buy her little brother his first bicycle.

~

As you've probably already heard,
today is also the last day of Elizabeth Taylor's life.

A woman who never stopped giving. 
Rest in peace, beautiful Liz.

I'll leave my thoughts of her for a future post.

Thank you so much for visiting, lovelies.

You always bring happiness to my day...

xo

A perfect studio...

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Do you ever fall in love with a piece of furniture? 

You see it and feel a pang.

Your heart beats faster.

Even if your home is filled with furniture, you tell yourself,

"I'll find room for it.  Not an issue."

Well, I do. 

I fall deeply in love with old furniture.

Not new furniture though

(with the exception of furniture Ron has made for me).

Odd, perhaps, but that's just me.

The above cabinet is the perfect example.

I saw it in Country Living and immediately felt

the little green monster of envy rise up against

the lucky woman who owns this piece.

I couldn't help myself...

Her studio should belong to me!

So should her study.

Can you imagine having a study and a studio

in your home

filled with these amazing pieces?

French mail bins...swoon!

Evil (I mean lucky) woman's studio.

Annnnnd...Her study.

Apparently, the previous owner left all of this.

Le sigh.

Excuse me while I gather my composure...

P.S.

Thank you ever so much, dear ones, for stopping by...

Much love and thank you for being you.

xo

Farmhouse Style...

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Hello, darling dears!  Happy Monday to you all.

Today my decor feature on Lillyella is up!

I hope you will have time to stop by Nicole's beautiful blog.

My style focus is on

Farmhouse Decor

It was such a delight putting this post together. 

It certainly helps if you love what you're writing about, like I do.

{photos from Country Living}

The combination of textures,

old, worn and weathered objects

and

fresh paint and modern conveniences

 makes Farmhouse Decor the best of both worlds.

At least, in this girl's opinion.

~  ~  ~

A heavy heart...

I know you are all heartbroken over the unbearable loss and devastation in Japan, as I am.  Before we shutdown our minds from tragedy overload,

let's donate:

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 for the Japan disaster. http://bit.ly/cNuH67

Thank you for visiting...

Much love!

xo

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Nine Horses...

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Horse Icon by Kristine Barrett

Nine Horses by Billy Collins

For my birthday,

my wife gave me nine horse heads,

ghostly photographs on squares of black marble,

nine squares set in one large square,

a thing so heavy that the artist himself

volunteered to hang it

from a wood beam against a white stone wall.

Pale heads of horses in profile

as if a flashcube had caught them walking in the night.

Pale horse heads

that overlook my reading chair,

the eyes so hollow they must be weeping,

the mouths so agape they could be dead---

the photographer standing over them

on a floor of straw, his black car parked by the stable door.

Nine white horses,

or one horse the camera has multiplied by nine.

It hardly matters, such sadness is gathered here

in their long white faces

so far from the pasture and the cube of sugar---

the face of St. Bartholomew, the face of St. Anges.

Odd team of horses,

pulling nothing,

look down on these daily proceedings.

Look down upon this table and these glasses,

the furled napkins,

the evening wedding of the knife and fork.

Look down like a nine-headed god

and give us a sign of our displeasure

or our gentle forbearance

so that we may rejoice in the error of our ways.

Look down on this ring

of candles flickering under your pale heads.

Let your suffering eyes

and your anonymous deaths

be the bridle that keeps us from straying from each other

be the cinch that fastens us to the belly of each day

as it gallops away, hooves sparking in to the night.

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A touch of spring at Fringe...

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Hello, sweet friends and welcome!  How is your week going?

  Things are busy and great here.

Except for Ron having a nasty cold.

He's not a good patient.

He won't take his medicine.

He won't rest.

He's a bit of a stinker.

There. I said it.

On a brighter note, our peach tree is beginning to bloom.

Yay!

Also, two more bright spots in my week are of the wearable fiber art variety. 

A new Fringe design that I'm so happy about.

The Brave Feather Lariats.

Perfect for the softening weather.

Lovely, happy colors (more coming soon).

Two sizes to choose from.

Both are long and swingy, sexy and fun.

Go ahead.

Be brave.

Catch someone's eye...

Brave Feather Lariat in chartreuse

Brave Feather Lariat in teal

There are many new Fringe pieces available in my shop.
If you like, you can check them out here.

More to come this week!

Thank you so much for popping in, dear ones.
And thank you for being you...xo



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