Hallelujah

I know it isn't Christmas but I can listen to this song year round.   I believe it's my favorite song in the whole world.  Enjoy!

Hallelujah

 

Thanks for sending it to me Sandra!

Valentine's Swap

Once upon a time, oh wait this isn't a fairytale - it's real - there was a Valentine swap hosted by the wonderful  Miz Mollye and I received a fabulous swap from Peggy from Day of the Lily   

We were to take a clear 2 liter plastic soda bottle, cut through it enough to fill it with goodies, and send it through the mail.  I was so excited when mine arrived that I forgot to take a picture before I opened it LOL  But here are the goodies

Two pairs of fun Valentine socks, two lovely hearts, some of my favorite kinds of tea bags, and a pretty little crocheted or tatted (sorry Peggy don't know which) cross, wrapped with a beautiful piece of ribbon around a yummy little hand cream.  How lucky am I?  What a fun swap this was and thanks Miz Mollye for thinking of it.  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Listening #2 - The Top Ten

Keep in mind that LISTEN is my word for the year.  Today I'm channeling David Letterman with the top ten things I like to listen to (or as dictionary.com says - "to give attention with the ear") - in no particular order.

the crackling of a fire

 

a baby's laugh

 

water running over stones in a creek

 

a gentle wind rustling leaves in the trees

 

frogs croaking at night when darkness first falls

 

the sizzling of bacon in a cast iron pan

 

birds singing in the yard

 

the quiet of a sunrise

 

the words "I love you" when they mean "you matter"

 

horses nickering

 

 

What is your top one thing you like to listen to?



Drum Roll Please - Giveaway Winner

OK we have a winner for the Grow Your Blog giveaway and it's Ronda from Mountain Delights
Yeaaaaaaaaaaa - clapping and whistling can be heard - cheers all around.  Ronda, I'll be emailing you to get your address and get this

stuffed to the brim with some surprise goodies out to you next week. 

The World From The Side Of The Moon

Now I’m not usually one to be a music groupie although I absolutely love music of all kinds from classic to country to soft rock to jazz.  About the only music I don’t care for is rap (most of it) and hard rock.  I’ve watched American Idol since it began although I don’t always watch all of the shows each season.  But last year it was fantastic and show-cased some of the best singers I’ve seen on a show in a long time. 

One of them, Phillip Phillips, has a very unique sound and with every “theme” Idol threw at him, made the song his own even if it didn’t quite fit.  I really liked him but didn’t think he had much of a chance of winning because he wasn’t so mainstream as some others who had won in the past.  I was beyond pleased when he did win because finally America picked someone who wouldn’t compromise on which music was right for him.

I’ve bought first albums of Idol winners in the past and beyond one or two songs, have usually been disappointed in them (except for Carrie Underwood who is great).  When I saw that yahoo was previewing his album, I went and had a listen – and loved all of the songs. If I had to pick a favorite - which is hard to do on this album - it would be Home.  He has a very jazzy, bluesy sound. So off I went to buy the album and have been enjoying it ever since.  You can preview the songs here 

Phillip Phillips

I would truly like to give this young man a big hug and tell him how proud I am of him. 

It's Grow Your Blog Party Time!

Welcome to my blog and to the Grow Your Blog party  hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.  Click on the Grow Your Blog button on the right and it will take you to the list of party-ers.   I can’t wait to see some blogs I may not have seen before.

I’ve been blogging since 2009 – wow I can’t believe it’s been that long.  And here I thought I’d have nothing to say.  Bwahahaha!  You can’t shut a Southern gal up once she gets started LOL

I love folk art.  The more whimsical, the better!  I’ve crafted since forever and can’t imagine not having creations in my head.  I’m happiest when I’m out in my studio either creating or having friends over and teaching them something they’ve always wanted to learn.  I have more “I want to do that”s on my bucket list than I’ll ever get done but it sure is fun trying.
In honor of Vicki’s party, I’m giving away the creation you see below and it will be stuffed with surprises.

 

This is a wet-felted wool basket with needle-felted locks under the brim.  And nope, not telling you what the surprises will be – you’ll just have to wait for that!  Just leave a comment and be sure you either leave your email address or a link so that I can get in touch with you if you win.  The winner will be chosen with the random generator the evening of Friday, February 1^st    

I recently changed service providers and had to change my email address.  And because I used that address in a previous start-up blog, I can’t seem to figure out how to change things here on blogger.  But I will.  In the meantime, if you need to contact me directly, please email me at whimseyc@yahoo.com

Now go over to Vicki’s blog party and have fun.  But be sure to become a Follower on my blog first so you’ll always know when I have a new post.  Happy partying!

 

The Year of Listening

Listen, can you hear the quiet?  No? 
 

 

Between the never quiet workplace, TVs blaring,  radios playing, phones ringing, text messages dinging, road noise, appliances running, dogs barking, cats meowing, clocks ticking, people talking – and those are just the things that come to mind right now – it is rarely really quiet.  Even when you’re shopping, people seemingly talk to themselves while walking the aisles so that you turn to them thinking they are talking to you – but no, there is a plug in their ear that goes to their phone.

When someone is talking to you - whether in person or on the phone – are you multi-tasking at the same time?  Doing or thinking?  Folding laundry, washing dishes, watching a program on TV?  Maybe thinking of what you will say when they are “done”?  Guilty – I am sooooooo guilty of this.  It doesn’t matter if they can’t SEE us multi-tasking or hear our brains going full speed ahead. 

I believe in my heart that the person conversing with us deserves our full attention – all of it.  If we don’t give our full attention then we also don’t deserve the other person’s full attention.  If we don’t have time to talk, we shouldn’t make the call or pick up the phone when it rings.  If we only have a certain amount of time to spend on a call, then we need to find a way to wind it down gradually  – gracefully - when we know we need to hang up soon. 

Now you might think that is a rant about someone who called me and didn’t give me their full attention  Not so at all.  “LISTEN” is my word for 2013.  Once a month I’ll talk about other kinds of listening, for there are many.  And I intend to master all of them this year.