So, I Was Thinking………

Husband hates when I say this because it usually involves something for him to do.

But this time it doesn’t require anything from him at all! LOL

I had an idea…….

I started making the bits and pieces that the idea required.

And of course I had ‘extra’ material, so while I was at it I figured I might as well use it up and make extra’s (just in case.)

As they piled up and I tossed them onto the table this little tableau formed.

I kind of liked it so I started to fool around.

I’ve always been drawn to the combination of black and white and red.

I like how the three red lips formed abstract eyes and mouth. It was totally unintentional!

I didn’t even see it until I started to photograph them.

Stay tuned………………..

The ‘Lip’

My mother could get me to do anything.

She played me like a violin.

I tend to be stubborn (LOL) and when I dig my heels in it takes dynamite to get me to change my mind.

But all she had to do was quiver her bottom lip and I was putty in her hands.

No amount of cajoling or discussion could sway me once I made up my mind, but the second that lip started to tremble I was done for!

I don’t know how she hit upon this little trick, but she used it sparingly.

With power comes great responsibility and she used hers wisely.

She used it mostly when I was a kid but I do remember one time when she was ill and wanted me to do something for her.  I was torn between doing it or going home to Husband and the boys. I said I’d do it the next day, which apparently didn’t sit well with her so she employed the ‘lip’.

Keep in mind I was a full grown woman with a husband and two kids of my own but the second I saw the ‘lip’ I was immediately transformed into a petulant six year old feeling guilty that I was letting my mommy down!

We always laughed after she employed her little trick, (which worked every time) but on this occasion she saw the look on my face and instantly stopped. She said she didn’t know it would still work and she was sorry for making me feel guilty!

I did do whatever it was she had asked, but after going home to see Husband and the kids! 

I’m not my mother’s daughter for nothing! J

The Ear Bully

The Place: school playground

The Time: fifth grade

Eddie was the class nerd.

He wore glasses, was small and shy and had some strange habits that would have been better left to private times.

In other words he was the perfect target for the class Bully.

For some reason the Bully honed in on Eddies ears. (Not the nose picking and other gross things he did!)

Go figure!

He was always pointing to Eddie’s ears and saying how BIG they were.

How FAR and WIDE they reached.

How GIGANTIC they were.

You get the idea.

On the playground the Bully would circle around Eddie and taunt him, usually drawing a crowd.

I guess our teacher finally had enough.

When the Bully started his routine, she intervened, but instead of just scolding or punishing the Bully, she pulled out a ruler and measured his ears.

Then she measured Eddie's.

Then she turned to the students who had gathered around this littler scene and announced in a loud voice the measurements of each of their ears.

And it turned out that the Bully’s ears were in actuality MUCH larger than Eddie’s!

Boy did we laugh!

The Bully slinked away, and Eddie was victorious that day!

I regret to say that Eddie’s victory didn’t last.

But it did cut down of the teasing he got and the Bully never mentioned ANY trait that could be measured again!

Brave

I have chosen 'Brave' as my word for 2013.

(We'll see how long it lasts! LOL)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

These things, I warmly wish for you-

Someone to love, some work to do,
A bit of o' sun, a bit o' cheer.
And a guardian angel always near.

I hope the New Year brings you everything you wish for!

Speaking of Betrayal

I guess I sympathize with how Susan felt when she discovered my treachery because I still remember how I felt when my friends betrayed me.

We had moved; again.

Even back then I was an aspiring writer and I kept a diary.

My deepest, darkest thoughts and secrets.

One day while playing with my three new best friends they started making comments that referenced things I had only shared in my diary.

And the more they made comments the harder they laughed at me.

I was devastated.

How could they betray me that way?

Weren’t they my friends?

Didn’t they understand the sanctity of a LOCKED diary?

I eventually forgave them (it was either that or become the scorn of the neighborhood!)

And I learned NEVER to put into writing anything you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of the New York Times!

DISLOYALTY

I was eight years old when we moved to Pennsylvania.

I still played with dolls.

Then I met Susan.

I adored Susan. We were the same age but she seemed so much older and much worldlier.

And she was a tomboy.

I wanted to be just like her in every way.

She thought playing with dolls was babyish and stupid so I put them away.

My mother helped me arrange a little ‘house’ for them in a cupboard in my room, behind closed doors so Susan wouldn’t know when she came over to play.

Occasionally I would open the cupboard to visit (okay, to play) with them.

They weren’t baby dolls but sophisticated Barbie’s and one doll named Robin Jr. because she looked just like me!

One winter day as I was playing with my dolls, surreptitiously of course, Susan snuck up to my bedroom window (which just happened to be a picture window that faced the front yard.)

My curtains were open and the snow was high enough to give Susan a perch for a full and unobstructed view into my room and what I was doing.

You know that feeling you get that someone is watching you? I got that feeling and I turned to see Susan looking through the window.

I’ll never forget the look of disappointment, disdain, and betrayal on her face.

It took me months to win back her trust.

I even went so far as to take horseback riding lessons with her, even though the horses scared the crap out of me!

I don’t think she ever fully forgave the duplicity.

It is a Little Known Fact

It is a little known fact King Leer has an identical twin brother named Lester.

Unlike his ‘older’ brother (by three minutes) Lester likes to party!

He is quite the ladies’ man, a gourmand and a licensed sommelier. 

Ready at the drop of a hat for any exploit you can imagine!

(I also suspect he might be a spy for the CIA, which explains the music in this little video!)

As I type this he is off to his new home with Katie Gardenia. 

A wonderful and inspiring fiber artist I had the pleasure to meet and ‘work’ next to at the Explosion.

She has written a unique book about how she started one of the most famous restaurants on Captiva Island called The Bubble Room. Not only is it an interesting story about the restaurant and the characters that frequented it, but she has added her artistic and personal touch throughout by including little tucks-ins and surprises. Each is totally one of a kind!

I highly recommend it! You can order a copy from her website here.

I’m sure she and Lester are going to have an interesting and fun filled journey together! (They are kindred spirits!)

{‘King’ (as he prefers to be addressed) went home from the Explosion with Debby from Dlynne Designs. Now that the brothers are both living in the same city maybe they will get together for drinks occasionally!}

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I’ve been to the North Pole

Yup, it’s true. I’ve been to the North Pole. 

I saw Santa, his elves, his reindeer and his workshop!

And I’m here to tell you that the North Pole is ACTUALLY a pole! 

Made of ice. 

And every child licks it!

YUCK!

I can’t even begin to imagine the germs on that thing. But it was all part of the experience when you went to the North Pole, which was a sort of amusement park in New York State when I was a kid. (I'm not sure but it might still be there!)

Looking back I’m surprised the health department didn’t at least put a fence around the pole so we couldn’t lick it! LOL

Santa, me  and an elf.
(I have no idea who the other kids are! LOL)
 the date on the back says  7/'58
(Geez I'm old!)