MORE MOSAICS AROUND MY YARD

This plaque is the first one I made. I was really happy with how it turned out. The glass tiles are easy to work with and it was the first time I integrated mirrors which are radiating out from the heart.

This was on the porch of our old house, now I have it hanging in the arbor behind the BBQ.






I have made a few more plaques as gifts. I made the OM symbol to put in the yard of our last home, and haven't hung it here. It is up on my
work bench to remind me of the order the the universe and the need to meditate and clear my mind. There is something about working on a mosaic that does this for me. I frequently lose time when I am working on a project.

The glass in this plaque is black with copper streaks and copper. It has a pretty, sparkly effect in the sun.






I found this little birdhouse at TJMaxx and added some ceramic tile I had. There were just a few pieces from a plate. Someone I bought tile from had added them as a bonus to an order. The birdhouse was a small enough piece that I could use them up. I shouldn't have left it out over the winter, but I found moss inside and didn't want to evict a bird family!

GOT SQUISHED THIS MORNING

Had my annual mammogram this morning!

Have you had yours this year??

WHAT I AM DOING INSTEAD OF BLOGGING

When the weather is nice, I become distracted from many of my responsibilities and normally enjoyable diversions, like blogging.

Pictured here is my mosaic "studio" which is located outdoors on a covered patio located upstairs off the laundry room. Tom put together shelves and workbenches and added lighting so I would have a space for my messy hobby. In cold and otherwise foul weather it is covered with tarps. It took me a couple of weekends to clean it up and get back to creating stuff.

This pot was completed late last fall, but I didn't get around to grouting it until last weekend. I made it for my friend Brenda. It always takes a while to get it cleaned up and sealed and ready to plant.

This is my workbench. I am starting a little pot to send to Maggie. She wanted it to be purple and I had 3 purple tiles left from a trip to the now defunct Tile Seconds in Marin County.

Now I end up buying a lot of my materials online which is expensive because of the shipping - ceramic tile is heavy. I also use glass tile for some projects, but I have not yet learned to cut glass myself. I am on the lookout for a class.

I am self taught. I read some books and spent a lot of time on the Internet learning the ins and outs. I am not an artist, but I love color and design and I just find the process satisfying. I will share some of my other projects in future posts.

PropHate is Upheld

I am very sorry to say that the California Supreme Court has upheld the hateful Proposition 8 which denies civil rights to Gay and Lesbian couples.

The proposition was allowed to overrule the previous decision by the Court which made same sex marriage legal in the state.

The written ruling has may be seen here.

By the way, the 18,000 same sex marriages created by the state will maintain their legal status.

Memorial Day

My parents sent this to me a couple of months ago. I thought it was a good day to share it.

Ed Freeman

You're an 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.


You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.


Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.


Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.


He's coming anyway.


And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses..


And, he kept coming back.... 13 more times..... And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.


Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise, ID . . . May God rest his soul!


I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a whole bunch about some Hip-Hop coward beating the crap out of his "girlfriend.”
Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman!


Shame on the American Media

I AM OUTING MYSELF

I am outing myself as an American Idol viewer. I will not watch during the auditions, I skip over the early "Hollywood" weeks. Once they have settled down to a group of 10 or so singers, then I tune in. My husband watches from the beginning and has even been known to watch reruns of old seasons, but he is happy when I finally join in.

I have enjoyed contestant Adam Lambert from the beginning. While theatrical and a bit too much into the 80's rock - he always did something different and unexpected. He is obviously talented and experienced - but also humble and nice. I especially liked him when he steered clear of the "scream" but recognise that he is good at it.

I always liked Kris Allen, too. He has a John Mayer-like style and his stage presence built as the season went on. He is a talented musician and his arrangements were enjoyable. I know he was considered an underdog when he beat Danny into the final two - but Tom and I both liked him best and Tom managed to get through to vote for him.

For the most part the show last night was very entertaining - we were mostly disappointed that they chose KISS to sing with Adam. We are not now and never have been fans and it was the worst part of the show. Too bad they didn't have him perform with Queen or Santana. I loved what they did with the "awards" and especially when Kara came out to show the Bikini Girl how it is done!

Anyway, we were not unhappy with the outcome. It has been proven over and over that those viewers from the Southern states are voting maniacs and support their singers. Adam will go on to have a great career and as I heard someone say - he won't have to sing that terrible "winners" song for years to come.

Now the show I just love to watch is coming on - So You Think You Can Dance!! If you have not watched this - I highly recommend it. Uplifting, entertaining and inspirational. I realize I would rather be a good dancer than singer ---How about you?

A NICE VISIT

My daughter Maggie came home from Philadelphia for a long weekend. She just finished her junior year at Penn and wanted a break before she starts her 2 jobs for the summer - one an unpaid intership with a company that does food themed tours of the city and one a paid job with the Ronald McDonald Foundation.

She brought her young man (of 6 months) to meet us. They planned a whirl-wind tour of the area including a trip to Monterey to see her twin, Zac. They also spent some time with the parents. We had a nice BBQ last night and sat out on the patio in the warm night air, drinking Sangria and talking.

Aside from the pleasure of seeing our girl, the visit got Tom motiviated to paint the bathroom which had been de-wallpapered about a year ago!

CAN COMPUTERS CATCH SWINE FLU?

My computer is down with a virus. I can get a bit of computer time on our laptop when Ally is not home, but all my bookmarks are missing and my files are gone and I am not used to this little computer screen and no mouse. So I am limited by my limitations.

If the computer guys can't fix the virus - a very smart virus which defeats attempts to get rid of it - then we see if we can clear the hard drive or if we have to buy a new computer. So it may be several more days before I am back to reading my blogs and posting with ease.

IT'S AN HONOR!

The Mom at Attentive Aphorist has rewarded me for " jumping on the issues of the moment" like her. I will proudly post my award and pass the honor on to others per the rules for the Bella Award.


Because I never know what she may write about : small town mom

She is a local : She Says with a Smile

I hope I stay half as sharp as: Margaret and Helen

RELIGION AND TORTURE

CNN did a survey measuring the attitudes on torture based on religious affiliation and church attendance. I think the sample is too small - less than 800 individuals were polled, I wonder how it would hold up with a larger survey.

The numbers of those who attend church frequently and think torture is "often or sometimes" justified was 52%. Of those who attend church seldom or never, only 42% agree with the use of torture.

The survey asked: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?" Nearly half, 49 percent said it is often or sometimes justified, 25% said it never is.

When broken down by religious groups, the Protestants were less likely to agree with the use of torture, the Evangelicals more likely to agree. My guess is the more the liturgical focus is on eye for an eye revenge and fire and brimstone fear - the more it brings out our baser instincts.