Have the Terrible Twos become the Techno Twos?

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with family and was astounded at the technology capabilities of my two year old grand niece, Lily.  If you have little ones in your life, you know what I am talking about.  We were playing outside and she said, “I want to take a picture” – so I handed her my BlackBerry.  Immediately, she started trying to use my BlackBerry like an I phone.  She kept pressing the screen (instead of the tracker ball) to take a picture.  She even turned the BlackBerry, trying to get the picture to go from portrait to landscape.  It really gave me pause.

It makes me think of all the things that my Dad has seen.  He just celebrated his 86^th birthday and still tells me stories of the oxen draw wagons that took the timber of South Alabama to the railroad cars and on to market.  There was a time, when the railroad tracks ran through his front yard!  He has seen so much in his life time.  He saw us move from oxen to horse and buggy, tractors, cars, trucks, airplanes and the space shuttle.  I just wonder, what stories my grand niece will tell when she is his age?  What will she observe during her lifetime?  I don’t see any evidence of the terrible twos, I only see a technologically advanced two year old and for her, that is the norm.

Life Sometimes Gets in the Way!

My plans for posting new items on my website have taken a slight detour.  I guess you could say that life got in the way, again.  I have been experimenting with so many new interests.  As always, there is a lot happening on the home front and I realized that My To Do List was way too long! 

When finally getting around to checking in on Facebook, I saw a post by Tina of tinadeandesigns.com about some exciting news - she is participating in the swag bags at the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Gift Lounge through The Artisan Group!  I was so excited for her (I love her eco-friendly tote bags) and wanted to find out more information. 

I am super excited to say, that I applied for membership in The Artisan Group and was accepted to become a part of this talented group.  It has been a warm and welcoming experience and just what I need to get focused.  Oh, and did I mention that my business cards are going to be included in the swag bags at this event??? 

Like I said, sometimes life gets in the way.  This time, it is in a really good way. 

Earrings

I bought the Czech glass daggers quite a while ago. I loved the copper, blue and gold colors. This past week, I was experimenting with a few new designs. Here is one that I will be loading on my ArtFire studio this next week.

Garden

Today, I started the seedlings for my 2011 container garden.  Last year, for the first time, I planted a container garden from seeds that I had saved.  I planted peppers in a variety of colors, butternut squash and spaghetti squash.  It was a great experience, but I started the seedlings a little late and I didn't follow the rules (didn't thin out the plants).  So while my harvest was good (25 peppers) and two squash, I had a lot of really tall plants, but they were too crowded.  I wanted to try starting seedlings from seed packs this year to compare how much of difference there is between planting from seeds you save and planting from seed packs.   

I just finished up planting:  sweet peppers, long sweet peppers, okra, winter squash, cantaloupe, burpless cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce and onions.  Oh, and some cilantro.  I want to try one of those topsy turvy tomato planters too.  Initially, I wanted just a salad garden, but this weekend we bought a garden box, so we could add more options to our container garden.

I'll post photos of the progress as my garden grows!

Happiness

This past weekend, I started reading The Business of Happiness by Ted Leonsis.  I am only about half way through the book, but what an amazing, inspiring story.  I only knew the name Ted Leonsis as the owner of the sports teams, Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards - not that he was an Internet industry pioneer!  Ted's Life List has inspired me to revisit my own bucket list.       

Almost Feels Like Spring - Honoring my Brother's Memory

Yesterday, the temps made it to almost 40 degrees and there was sunshine.  It made me think, or hope, that Spring is really on its way.  This has been a sad and cold winter, so I am ready for warmth and light in my life.  The passing of a loved one makes me pause and reflect.  Of course, there is the sense of emptiness and loss and at times you aren't sure if you will make it through the process.  But you do, and you feel the sunshine on your face and you are grateful that they were a part of your life.  Dear brother, I will remember your dedication and loyalty to the family, but most of all, I will miss our conversations.     

White Christmas

I'll admit it, I have probably watched "White Christmas" more times than any other holiday show.  I love Bing Crosby. After last year's snow events in the DC area, I had pretty much lost my enjoyment of the white stuff.  It snowed maybe twice when I was growing up in Alabama.  Neither of those times were around the holidays.  If we wanted a White Christmas, we went to the beach.  Today the DC area was blanketed with a lovely, fluffy and light snow.  It is the snow of my imagination, a perfect holiday snow.  The kind that only needs a light shovel and a broom to remove. 

The Z dog of course, romped and bounded and played and danced.  There is nothing more beautiful than an Alaskan Malamute in his element, nose in the air, tailed curled high over his back and a smile on his face.  I have been in a reflective mood of late and it made me pause to think - there is magic in this snowfall.  How wonderful if it is someones first snow, how perfect if this is someones last snow.  My favorite time to walk in the snow is at night.  The stillness, the quite, the snow of my mind's eye-that perfect White Christmas.  Happy Holidays to all.