If Anyone has Any Doubt that It's Spring

There are those who think that the last couple of days here on the east coast were a mere anomaly, a fluke. Well all I have to say is that you should come to my back yard. Last week rains served to provide my bulbs with a much needed drink of water.

And these April showers are indeed producing the most gorgeous May flowers.

I also suspect that the predicted rains of next week will do the same for the seed I hope to get in the ground tomorrow!

There is another reason that I know we have turned the corner. The resident papa goldfinch have put on there golden yellow coats and are devouring the Niger seed. And the robins and cardinals have been very busy gathering twigs to build their nests.

Also, I received a question about what kind of camera I used. It's a digital. Canon S3IS. It's a 35mm, auto focus with manual override. I LOVE IT!!!

I've also started on a new doll and have been working on children and adult "Retread Threads". More about that another time. I've been experimenting with armatures and my impatience is getting the best of me. I took some pictures to post and will definitely get to it this week. Wednesday is Opera day(last for this season). But other than that I should be able to squeeze out a post or two. Happy Spring.

Breast Cancer, Service Dogs and Spring

What do these 3 things have in common? They occupy a significant amount of my space in my cranial storage bank. So much so that there is limited amount of space for anything else. As a matter of fact, when I am consumed with anyone of them, I have to put the other 2 on a back burner. I can think about one of them and other less consuming things: walking, swimming, driving, what we're going to have for dinner. But when I'm full tilt into any of one of these areas, nothing else that requires thinking, can penetrate.

This is Amanee. She's named after Amanee Scott who does quite a bit of walking for a cure. I wrote about Amanee and you can find her here. You can also help her by contributing to her walk this year. She's a pretty remarkable young lady and this is her cause. She has accumulated quite a few miles over the past few years doing the 3 day walk. This does not include the mileage she racks up doing fundraisers throughout the year


I found the fabric for these dolls online at eQuilter. They have a full line of breast cancer awareness fabrics; and they also contribute 2% of your purchases to the charity of your choice. Take a look. These are the ones that I bought.

I got this one in pink not blue . I'm not sure if they still have it. I do like the blue and may go back for it.

I admired the work of Gilda Radner from the old days of SNL. Rose Ann Roseannadanna is a classic. Her exit appeared so sudden to me. Though I imagine it really wasn't. Was I preoccupied with other things? I remember being terribly sad and waiting for someone/s to do something. Something BIG. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Every time I see Gene Wilder in one of those old comedies I wonder how he is doing. How he deals with that loss. Even though it is many years later. It also seems like I have more conversations with folks who are spending a great deal of time at our local Gilda's House for one reason or another(their own illness or that of a loved one). Maybe Gilda's House is the big thing I thought I was waiting for. It is probably what she would have wanted and how she would want to be remembered. It may even be what gives her love ones a sense of peace.

This is Gilda's House:

...a symbol of her transformation:

and this is Gilda:

I used the same fabrics on Gilda's House. Her face and hands are sculpted from polymer clay. Her body is fiber. The skirt is a combination of paper mache and fiber dipped in paverpol over wire. The house I picked up at AC Moore (an unfinished birdhouse). Paint, beads, ribbons and a little llama's wool for hair were the balance of the ingredients that went together for this doll. I'm pretty happy with how both of these 2 dolls came out. I do think that I will change the ribbon used to tie the wrists on her blouse. We'll see...

And the Winner Is...


Cindy Celusta at Oops! Desperate Blogger has won this doll and her companion in my giveaway as a part of One World One Heart Blog Event! The irony is that Cindy happens to be a dollmaker also!





If you haven't heard of the One World One Heart Blog Event hosted by Lisa Swifka at the A Whimsical Bohemian, then do yourself a favor and jump on over tothis site. All of the 900+ bloggers who participated are still posted. And you will find that there is a diverse group of artists from all mediums represented. All of them very talented and all very interesting.

WHAT A BLAST

I don't know about anyone else but the past month or so has been a real blast for me. I have had the opportunity to meet the most gifted, talented and generous people. I explored the beaches of Hawaii (thank you Concetta @ Cetta Cheese Chatter), and delved into the wonderful world of Anime (thanks to Ichigo Fields Forever). My palate has been introduced to the wonders of extraordinarily delicious recipes like the spicy Thai Fish Broth over at An Aerial Armadillo, and a fattening Lamington sponge cake dipped in chocolate and coconut (Like the Paisley girl, I'm no fan of sponge cake. But by substituting, a slice of pound cake... OMG!!!) And my next challenge is going be tatting, thanks to the Tatting Chick.

Tomorrow I will announce the winners of my blog giveaways. Since it is Thursday, I will be visiting my grandsons and my daughters (we have a standing date). But on Friday I plan to share with you some more of the highlights from my experiences on the gypsy caravan. There were many 3am excursions. It was an experience that I will not soon forget. Cyber space and virtual travel can be exhausting. I think that I visited almost all of the 900+ blogs. And, those that I missed I will be visiting within the next week or so. Kudos to you Lisa. A tip of the hat, and my open heart goes out to you~

TIMES UP FOLKS

ONE WORLD, ONE HEART BLOG EVENT

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME

I missed this last year, but was determined to get in on time this year. it's the "One World One Heart" great blog event. It's the third year that Lisa "Oceandreamer" Swifka has hosted this event. For more information about it head on over to this site: One World One Heart. You'll find out about this wonderful event and it will also point you to the 400 plus bloggers who are participating.

As a part of this event each of the bloggers participating is offering a gift to at least one person selected from those who leave a comment on their blogs. As for me, I am offering one gift for every 100 comments left on this site. There are others who are awarding multiples also. I will use a random number generator to select the individuals.

It's a great way to meet new folks and see the great blogs out there.

So, what am I giving away? DOLLS!! What else? These are some that I am working on now. I will pot the give away dolls later on this week. The drawing will be on February 12th. at midnight (Eastern), so I'm cutting off entries at midnight February 11th

So, leave a comment, and make sure you leave contact info. You can enter even if you don't have a blog. Just leave an email address. Now get over there to Lisa's site so you can visit some other sites!

I really am glad that you chose to visit my blog. I hope that you will come back again soon!