"more precious than rubies"

Sky meets Earth
In a delicate Gesture
Raining diamond teardrops
From Heaven


"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10

Last week i read of these young women in Juárez, because of a special project held here, which i found through DuBuhDu Designs. When first i read these things it started a pendulum swinging mightily upon me, a great weight of fervent deliberation & tremendous prayer. Being a young-ish woman, i know something of the fearful vulnerability that accompanies that role, particularly when walking dark streets at night, or finding yourself isolated in a quiet spot with lurking strangers. i cannot comprehend this horrific situation. but i believe that "Where there is great love, there are always miracles". [Willa Cather] & surely, as women, it is our honour & destiny to be a light of love!


Today i am filled with love & hope for all

tiny waterfalls in silk pockets

i love pockets! especially silk ones! delicate, intricate, petitely precious ones, with coloured ribbons to hold them safely closed...


& today i had this thought..
At every moment the future is perceived by us depending on the cumulation of every moment of our past, and is available to us because of every decision we make in the present.



which made me think of waterfalls: the high ground runs into the pool beneath, a course it is at every moment destined to run, a haven to achieve, & a function to become.

how lovely it would be if we could carry within our pockets always, a tiny waterfall of effervescent tranquility, with its merging fragments of crystal clear beauty, an awakening reservoir that leads us to the mecca of life, & soothes our weary hearts, like these healing waterfalls in the Philliphines

the buffalo seems to have found his way :)

Today i float where oscillating beauty reverberates as thunder.

Rag Doll Challenge...~ Presenting Primrose~

Challenge is the perfect word to describe my journey :) the process seemed fraught with complications from the moment i signed up...but as my teenage brother wisely told me, "The effort is worth the result"{although he was talking about his penmanship}

my hope was to capture the awakenings of spring, when flower petals skip about & blossoming branches seem to dance in the breeze, basking in the warmth of the vibrant sun {from the perspective of an 11 year old girl who loves ballet, aka my sister, the dolls recipient}

& so i began excitedly, cutting sewing cutting some more, & gulp... a little gluing{i love fabric glue!}


& voila a pretty doll with paisley curls, lacey puff sleeves, shiny ribboned pointers & my favourite accesory, her beautiful bonnet...i couldnt get the pattern right, i wanted it more gathered at the top, but the fabric & colours delight me(tho im pretty sure the fabric wrecked the sewing machine, the bobbin moves arond now, hmm)



i had intended to do more to her face...but time outran me


so plan b, a soft shy face ~ the sweetness of springs first hopeful stirring,
with tiny loveheart eyes ~ for seeing the world through love in all its golden hues,
dimpled cheeks ~ the little accents that make the springtime glow with prettiness,
& a gentle smile ~ because spring beckons you to believe












Such a glorious Thank You to our host of Blithe & Blonde for inviting us to create & challenging us to learn!
& a note of appreciation for these rag dolls i happened across...
my very wonderfully favourite & my inspiration for this doll
my favourite colours ~ lemon, apricot, strawberry & lime
these characterizations i adore!
for the faces!
for her coat!

Today i wish you all a sparkly sun-filled day!

Parade of Dolls

Splendour in all its decadence entreats me
& bids me to dream
Parading softly
In a garden of flowers


my very first attempt...eek! inspired by Miss Elizabeth of Pride & Prejudice :)



a doll inspired by my brother, a colossal giant of a mighty man, who is never seen without his bag. it has travelled with him almost as far as his journey has taken him, through wind, hail, sunshine & the afternoon glow. tucked inside & cherished are all his precious things ~ it is something of an ineffable phenomenon


the first doll my little sister made, so sweetly
she is my shadow :)


a glowing moment shared




the most reluctant one i made, yet it seems to be everybody's delight. it would be something though, to glide through crystal waters, scales shining in the sun, pink hair :) flowing majestically about you





a doll i made for someone so dear she's more sister than friend :) Half Maouri & Samoan, she is everything fabulous & glamorous!




a doll inspired by my other sister, from a photo i always thought needed to be painted. cats were her favourite little collectable pieces





for a real sweetheart






probably my favourite doll, inspired by my Mum. with her near black hair & azure eyes, i always thought her akin to Cleopatra :)

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
& the rain fall soft upon your fields
& until we meet Again
May God Hold you, In the palm of His Hand
~An Irish Blessing~

this week: some strivings to remain creatively abundant amid life's precipice
Tonight: a walk under the stars, a dash of cinammon on my soul ~ savoury sweetness enfolds me
my mind, a fountain of tumbling ideas...under an umbrella of hope.
One day id like to return to the Emerald Isle, a piece of my heritage, just think of it, twirling barefoot across fields of softest green, a million wishes waiting to be plucked from the air like apples from an orchard. but until then, may everyone have a week of luck in four leaf clover doses!

most of all

a couple of dolls in the becoming

but most of all

"my heart is made of dawns pink rose"
{sepia-art-studio.typepad.com]


my first attempt at a rag doll im trying to whip up for next saturday's challenge. why does the material on the corners bunch up in puffiness? its a mystery im trying to solve...but in the meantime, it was amazing to me to that although im no expert at sewing, suddenly i was hopping up & down from the floor to the sewing table, whipping up seams...


& all at once, i was experiencing a skill id never thought possible, & it was a quiet joy, & so lovely to know i didnt have to do it perfectly, to establish something beautiful, that i could learn as i go.

penny for your thoughts

"There was a shepherd that did live,
And held his thoughts as high
As were the mounts whereon his flocks
Did hourly feed him by."(11)
What should we think of the shepherd's life if his flocks always wandered to higher pastures than his thoughts? Thoreau

Life's Little Smiles

~ wishing wells that glisten with 1,000 people's hopes
~ flowing feature fountains on crooked cobbled paths
~ sing-a-longs with my brother on guitar & his friend on violin
~ pocketwatches [the first time i ever saw one used was when i asked my 15 year old brother the time & he pulled a pocketwatch out of his trouser pocket, it was something you see in old movies but never in person :)]
~ this song
~ moments of beauty even when stuck in traffic for hours on end{a tiny exaggeration, only one hour}
~ buildings that climb high in the sky, their windows reflecting the heights to which we can soar


"Why are there trees i never walk under but large & melodious thoughts descend upon me?" ~Walt Whitman


Today i think large thoughts

~her heart told her so~

the heart's little dreams

~ soft pink ballet slippers with ribbons to the knees
~ the sewing machine{i just figured out how to thread a bobbin!}
~ flower petals on grains of sand
~ frolicking family photoshoots til early hours of the lighttime
~ snowflakes in springtime{going against the grain :)}
~ awaiting his arrival
~ i remember Mrs Green reading the class 'Goodnight Mister Tom' in her large gruff voice,
& even at that tender age, the sadness seemed to stir me
~ quiet & restful nights curled up at home
~ some special things

Sunshine, my sunshine

i went to a CES Fireside with my brother last week, first one for the year. Afterwards, as usual, alot of mingling, smiles, glances & ~my favourite part~ bumping into absent friends amid squeeling delight. As we were doing the circuit i found a splendorous girl who ~most unexpectedly but oh so welcomingly~ cried "Sunshine!" Then she hugged me & added, "My sunshine!"

Trailing clouds of gold
Billowing like perfume
From the fragrance
Of soft memories

Sweet friendships leave tender footprints on the canvas of our soul
illuminating our heart's patina with a dainty lustre & entreating us to seek a beauty which transcends the everyday...




images via Squint Limited

& suddenly, all the stitches of our lives weave a pattern beyond our imagining.
every moment adding to the patterns glory, the dark times bringing as much as the light, in making our fabric taut & wonderfully woven


& so...
we walk each day,
every step we take leaving a footprint on the thoroughfare of history


& this photo because it tugs my heart.

{images via vi.sualize.us}

Today i appreciate the sentimental.