Listen to the Mockingbird, Shoog

The mockingbird is the state bird for Texas.That must be why I have beaucoups of mockingbirds nesting in my yard. Also, there resides a faction of blue jays camping out in my yard. Mockingbirds and blue jays are very similar in their attitudes. When I go outside, both groups  kick up a fuss. I am sure they are worried that I will interfere with their family raising. Of course, I won't. I am their benefactor but they do not realize that. What they really need to be worried about is Mr. Shoog. I see him stalking them constantly. I see mockingbirds making dives at him which send him running for the porch to take cover. It would almost look like a ballet if it was set to music. One day I may turn on the "Flight of the Bumblebee" while watching him out the window. It would be so funny to watch their shenanigans. Remember in those old 3 Stooges shows, they used to call each other "bird brain" in an attempt to insult each other? In my observation, bird brain is not an insult. This mockingbird protecting her nest seems to have a brain capacity that would rival Einstein's. I see her playing all kinds of tricks on Shoog and he falls for them every single time.

I Vow To Thee My Country

I was thinking about a hymn they played at Princess Diana's wedding and funeral called "I Vow to Thee My Country" when I made this in photoshop. It is really a beautiful song. It had not been written yet when she lived but this song would have certainly been a most appropriate song for Queen Elizabeth I coronation as she was so deeply committed to her country. She was an exceptional monarch which is so very ironic considering how desperately her father wanted a son to carry on the House of Tudor. All the while he was scheming and conniving  ways to have a son, he had a diamond right in the palm of his hand with his most intelligent daughter. She loved her father and paid tribute to him when she told her troops "I may not be a lion, but I am a lion's cub, and I have a lion's heart". The ornate tombs of Queen Elizabeth I and her sister Queen Mary are not far from where Prince William and Catherine will be getting married tomorrow inside the Abbey as is the tomb of Mary Queen of Scotts. The Abbey is filled with the tombs of ancient monarchs and other famous people. Isn't history a wonderful thing?

The Dress I Designed For a Fine Lady

I forgot what day it was somehow! I must post my dress design tonight because tomorrow night will be the night of the wedding here or the day of the wedding in London.

For the past week or so, I have been pondering and thinking of how Catherine's dress should look according to how I imagine her. If Catherine complies with the tradition of the Abbey, she will wear a dress that is considered modest at least where skin exposure is concerned. She will respectfully wear a dress that has her shoulders covered.

I have heard her hair stylist say that she will wear her hair down. However, if she complies with the tradition of royalty which I think she will, she will wear her hair up. After all, she really needs to stay in the good graces of her new grandmother-in-law, Her Majesty. If they are anything at all, they are all about tradition.

I believe her dress will have a semi-long train yet will be classic in its design with simple, timeless lines without a lot of feminine embellishments on it. I see the trimmings done in silver and gold brocade. I see the brocade being embellished with pearls and crystals. I see the dress itself in heavy ivory silk. I think the sleeves will be fine hand-made Irish  lace creating when connecting to the bodice a sweetheart neckline. You can be quite sure that Catherine's bouquet will be significantly larger than the small posey my lady is holding.

I am pleased with how my dress design turned out. But overall, I would say I am not so pleased with this piece as a whole. I did not embellish it with a lot of glitter because I do not see Catherine as a glittery woman. I wanted this piece to have a look of antiquity to it hinting at the ribbed vaulting of the Abbey in the background but I did not quite capture that. Instead, it has more of a "shabby" appearance. Shabby is good but it is just not the look I was striving to achieve. It looks well enough to hang up in my office room which is what I intend to do with it. Who knows? Years from now, someone might be rummaging through their attic and find this little homage I did to the royal wedding of 2011.

My Dress Design

Overall Picture

Game of Life

This week is about all things England. Did you know that in 17th century England many board games were played to pass time? This is a picture of one similiar to the game we Americans know as "Life".

Prince Raven

Prince Raven would like to know what you intend to wear to the royal wedding? He intends to wear his crown of course. He has a grand perch from which to watch.

Is Your Home Where Your Heart Is?

I have many friends that did not grow up in the towns they live in as adults. That is the nature of living in an area that is growing. Therefore, this topic gets discussed quite often "Where do you feel at home?". One of my closest friends grew up out of state. She misses her home terribly and returns there frequently as she still has many friends there. I envy her for that. I do not feel at home anywhere that I have ever lived. Does that mean my heart is not in any of those places? I suppose I have never bonded. The places I lived in as a child are in the distant past. It is too late for me to go back to those places. They are not as I remember. The river of time has flowed through them turning, changing, even removing the things I remember.

I love my house structure. I definitely feel home inside of my house but if it was picked up and put somewhere else, I would be okay with that. I often think of moving to places more suitable for me such as a place that is cooler with more hiking trails, where people like to be green, where they drive green cars and build eco-friendly houses. Those are the things I love. Yet, I have been to a place that felt like home to me immediately. It is not even in my state or even in my country. It is London. London is not green. London does not have hiking trails. It has something even better. Key lock parks! It has museums on almost every corner! It has subway. It has trains. It has history. Will I ever live there? Probably not but who knows? Life has a way of throwing odd twists and turns. Even though it is not probable, it could happen so I am not discounting it.

A wedding will be in London this week that may seem like a lot of silly hype to many people. Maybe it is but maybe it is not. Pomp and circumstance are what these people excel in and do like none other. These people understand how to put on a show. It may seem silly to some but this is their history that has been in motion for thousands of years. People will be looking at Kate Middleton's wedding dress 300, 400 years from now if the world lasts that long. In modern times, English history and ceremony are their exports. It is quite awe inspiring actually because England is such a small island. It in no way compares to the size of Texas but the people of this small island have historically conquered the world during certain periods of history. Their history is magnificent and has been preserved from times before Christ. It is ancient. In case you have not noticed, I have an appreciation for it. One could say, my heart is there.

Solemn Reminder

Seeing this for 3 days always makes me sad. Yet, I know it will be gone in the morning next time I see it. It is a wonderful visual reminder.

I find an item in the next picture extremely interesting. I look at it every chance I get. The alter must be cleared of all linens before it is accessible. This is a stone inside our alter from Glastonbury Abbey. It has been there for about 80 years. Another piece of marble fits over this stone making the alter entirely smooth and level. (see the edge of the top stone peeking out from the right) This Glastonbury stone has it own little house.

This is one of my pictures of Glastonbury Abbey. See the stone could have come from this very corner. The abby is almost always shrouded in mists.

It is a wonderfully mystical place. You can read more about Glastonbury Abbey here.



My Cup of Tea May Not Be Made of Mosaic

Just as I said I would post, here are my completed, grouted glass mosaics. One is my house number and one is a flying kite. I put the house number mosaic on a cast iron stand on the front porch. I have not exactly decided what to do with the little kite yet. This was a fun class. However, it may not be exactly my cup of tea. It requires a lot of space for inventory and a special place for cutting. You just cannot take a notion and suddenly decide to make a glass mosaic something with any ease. I bet this house number thing weighs 10 lbs. I did learn a lot. Plus, I was developing my style. For example, I learned that I like for my mosaics to have lots of grout showing.

When Tornados Happen, Find a Bed

Have you ever washed a bath mat just to dry it in the dryer and find that the backing on the mat begins to loosen and fall off? All of these little rubber pieces will be caught in your lint trap. It turns into a real mess not to mention ruining your mat. Therefore, now when I wash a bath mat, I lay it out to dry. It really does not take long just a couple of hours. What does this have to do with anything you might be wondering?

When my kittens were small before they came to me and turned into mine, they all lived out of doors. Therefore as little scuddlers, they became very 'weather savy'. To this day when they hear thunder, they will get under something. They know rain or possibly hail will soon follow a clap of thunder. They will either get under the dining table, the bed or as Nigel likes to do, burrow inside the sofa. Nigel is very frightened by storms. The poor boy must have had a really super bad experience. In fact, it was a rain storm that brought that little pistol to me in the first place. Again, what does any of this have to do with anything you might be wondering?

Yesterday as I was leaving work, I really think I saw a tornado. At least, it looked like a tornado to my mind. What say you?

It looks like it might turn into one of those big super duper things. So what do I do? I rush home thinking I can outrun a tornado, the very thing they tell you NOT to do. Well, I have never been one too much for following the rules anyway.

While I was speeding home, once when I had to go over a bridge, a big strong gust of wind felt like it was going to lift my little car right off the road and I might end up in Oz or Kansas or somewhere far way but not here.

As soon as I got home as always do,  I began checking on those cats. Yep, Nigel is inside the sofa. Henry is under the bed. Where is my Ollie? I cannot find him anywhere. Finally, the last place I look is the laundry room. There he is! Boy has made a bed out of my dishpan and the drying bath mat. Okay, now he loves it and I have to leave it like that. Good thing bath mats are not expensive, right? This looks like a pretty safe place to hang out during a tornado to me. What say you?

Just the Two of Us

Once upon a time, I started a book called "The Story of My Life". I have not given up on it. I have just been musing. Anyway, this part has been made awhile but my camera was lost again. I keep losing it. The constant loss of my camera may merit a couple of pages dedicated to its own topic in the story of my life. I have some stained glass mosaics to show too but not today.

Please enjoy grades 7 and 8 of my life. These two years were very happy for me. They were most possibly the happiest two years of my entire school life. Mom and I were on our own by this time just the two of us. My sisters claim that I am my mother's favorite child. We do have a very special relationship because we know each other so well. But knowing my mom as I do, I know she does not have a favorite child. It is simply easier for her to talk to me largely because we have been so close since this time in my life...grades 7 & 8.

More Stained Glass Mosaics

Okay, yesterday, Mike, Shelly and I went to our second class of stained glass mosaics. We have completed gluing down our first project but have not grouted yet. We will do that next Saturday. Mike and I started our second projects. Shelly was so exhausted after gluing down her first project that she opted out of a second project. However, she is quite the stained glass mosaic artist. She is very good. Mike and I struggle a bit. This is not a surprise to me. I as usual am only mediocre at this craft. I know I will always be a "B" student when it comes to crafts but that is okay. I am just in it for the joy not to create the rose window of Notre Dame Cathedral.

My kite project. Still needs grouting.

The beginnings of my Picasso-esque style house numbers project.

Mike's Second Project
This will be her house numbers when finished. Right now it is sailboat and cloud.



Shelly's tulip project.

The Sizzling Life of a June Bug Beetle

I do not have a crafty entry for the blog today. Instead, I just came in from outside where I was feeding 'the brood'. You see, my neighbor and I decided our brood was becoming too heavy (ie. fat). Those guys were coming to Mom #1 to get breakfast, then, going to Mom #2 to get another breakfast. (I designated myself as Mom #1 because I am doing the writing here. I may have been born at night but not LAST night.) Same thing for dinner. Except they would go to Mom #2 first because she gets home first then when Mom #1 gets home later, they would come to her for another dinner. Instead of cats, they were becoming pigs. So the moms conspired and decided that Mom #1 would feed breakfast and Mom #2 would do dinner. That brood caught on fast. Right at 6 AM they would all show up for breakfast. At night, when I got home, not a cat was to be found here. They were at Mom #2's house eating dinner. Let it be said that a cat surely knows a sucker. Along about 8:30 PM, they all show up at Mom #1's house all ganged up at the back window wanting a 'snack'. Mom #1 is a pushover. It is not enough for her to give them a snack but she must go out and fraternize with them all and make sure they are all okay after the day.

Okay, folks, long story short here. While I was outside with the snackers, I did some of my famous ruminating or pondering. I am well known for  my ponderings. My life assessments are often appreciated for their shall we call it 'uniqueness'? Anyway, I like to observe nature as most who read this blog already know. So while I was listening to the cacophony of  loud cat food munching, I sat and watched a June bug. What is up with that life form anyway? Have you ever watched one? They sizzle around on the ground on their backs in a circle. I call it sizzling because that is what it sounds like. Then, when they do in fact manage to upright themselves, they immediately attempt to fly. They do not fly though. Instead, I would call it more of a launch maneuver. They 'launch' around for about 5-10 seconds, fall back to the ground on their backs, sizzle around and around and around in a circle again, upright themselves and so it goes over and over and over and over again. This is the life of a June bug beetle. What a strange insect, right? Just something to think about next time you see one.

Stained Glass Mosaics

Just because I have not posted in over a week, does not mean that I have not been up to anything. I actually have worked in my life story board book and have almost finished the two years covering 7th and 8th grades.

Plus, today I went to a class with two friends, Shelly and Mike. We are learning how to make stained glass mosaics. For my beginning project, I am making a plaque with a red and white kite on it. I only cut myself two times! We have two more classes and we almost finished one project today. We will be pros by the time we graduate. It was so much fun! I am already looking forward to next week's class.

Mike working away on her project.

Shelly's tulip project. She is scoring a piece of glass.

The beginnings of my kite with a few bloody spots.