Abundance

If I had nothing else to be thankful for - I can always go to the word 'abundance'.  We all have stashes -- but mine seem to grow every fall. That's when the fiber shows appear and all manner of 'goodies' are on display.  Now who am I to deny a person a sale, especially when one can get 28 yards of fair trade silk chiffon strips for $4.  One of my dear friends and I split this find - and still I'll never, ever use all of my share.  In the meantime it hangs above my desk so that I can look at it.  Sometimes that's enough of an excuse to add to my stash - the 'look at factor'.

And then there are the craft shops that have those bins in the back where they sell 'stuff' for $1.  Okay - pretty hard to walk past that.  Who in the world needs a huge bundle of pom-poms?  Certainly not me -- but the colors were fun, the puffy balls fun to touch and well...

Never a knitter nor a crocheter will I be (due to the fact that I lack the dexterity of a walrus) but does that mean I don't have yarn in my stash?  Of course not -- there it is this 'puddle' of softness, sitting in a wire basket along with other acquisitions.  

What can I say?  These things make me happy. Its easy to justify it all as 'pieces of art' in a raw form - many of them destined to never go further than their studio setting. They are doing their job of exciting me each and everyday with the beauty of fiber. 

"Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance." - Epicurus 

Kerry Keyes

Only recently has Kerry moved out of the family  home to live ‘on her own’  - for the very first time I might add. Her very protective parents took a lot of convincing that she could do this. You see  sometimes Kerry is a bit on the befuddled side.

When the boarding house opened she just knew it would be a good place for her.  Oh heaven!  To have her own nest up on the second floor where she can come and go as she pleases.  Yes, It’s only a room in the boarding house – but sometimes that’s all a person needs.  

These days, when she wanders around town, she wears her room key around her neck and carries her map in her pocket -- just in case.

"Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life." - Les Brown

Story Telling

Its magic is it not?  This story telling of ours.  Yes, all of us in blog land are basically story tellers.  Some of us tell factual tales of our life, our loves and the world around us.  Others tell stories through images - of beauty and grace and magical places.  Yet others make up stories - stories of ogres and witches and fairies and princesses -- or even of everyday life in a town like Lickety-Split.  

With each  posting we share a bit about ourselves, even if we don't mean to. And in reading the others' posts we learn what is important to the writer, what is loved and what is hated and where you've been and where you're going and once again its MAGIC!

Keep on spinning the tales and sharing the real...

"I like that 'once upon a time' quality, where the telling of a tale has an elevated sense of story.  There's a whimsical quality to it.  Sometimes in fairy tales more things seem possible, even though often they're real world based." - Erin Morgenstern

Luna Moon

The newest resident in the boarding house is Luna Moon.  She is so thrilled because she was able to rent the attic room - which has a lovely window, high enough that she can see the moon in all its phases.

As a child Luna would look out her bedroom window, which was right beside her bed, and gaze at the silvery orb of the moon.  Many wishes and dreams were carried out before her eyes grew heavy and she went to sleep.

These day she absolutely refuses to believe the stories of men on the moon and that its surface is barren rock.  Luna is caught up in moonlight and no amount of science will dissuade her. I think I might even see a few moonbeams in her hair.  Shhh, please don't take her dreams away. 

"Aim for the moon.  If you miss, you may hit a star." - W. Clement Stone

Playing Around

Sometimes its fun just to mess around with fabric and stuffing.  Making up templates, drawing around them, stitching, cutting, turning, filling.  Wondering if this will work or that will work or if any of it will work.  Trying to imagine these bases turning into the idea that is in my head.  Sometimes getting it out of my head, through my fingers is a lot more difficult than I had anticipated.  But for me,  playtime is essential to creativity -- that's pretty much what its all about.

"Trust that little voice in your head that says 'wouldn't it be interesting if...'; and then do it." - Duane Michals

The Minstrel

Lately the sound of bells has been heard on the streets of Lickety-Split - and not the regular church bells either.

No, it seems that one of the first boarders at The Muddle House is wandering our streets.  Each step produces a slight tinkle of bells.  If you listen closely you might even hear him singing, softly under his breath.

Many of us in the neighborhood are spending more time on our porches these days, listening for his 'joyful noise". 

"A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it, 

A song's not a song 'til you sing it,

Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay,

Love isn't love 'til you give it away." - 

Oscar Hammerstein II

The Land of Make-Believe

Before beginning my recent 'doll blitz' I had forgotten how much fun it was to live in the 'land of make-believe'.  My fondest memories of childhood are those that involved some kind of make-believe world, even if it was in my backyard or in the field across the street from our house. 

To creatively play as an adult is the grandest thing ever.  Each day my head is filled with thoughts and ideas - and most especially how I can represent these ideas to others.

What a gift it is to suspend disbelief and just let your mind roam around possibilities.  So what land of 'make-believe' are you following today?  I'd love to hear your story (or stories).  Let's share a little make-believe, suspending reality just for a little bit.

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.  Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, its a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.  Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities." - Dr. Seuss

The Boarding House

Everyone in Lickety-Split has been very curious about the old "Muddle Mansion".  Someone has been in there fixing it up (and it badly needed it since Mr. Muddle deserted it for the 'old folks home').  Who bought it?  What do you think they're going to do with it? Isn't it looking lovely these days? The questions have been bouncing all over town.

The other day an ad appeared in the back of the Lickety-Split Tribune - complete with picture.  It created quite a stir among the 'proper' ladies around town.

 

Announcing The Opening

            of              

"The Muddle House"

We provide rooming for misfits 

and free spirits.

For a small rent you will have a

private room with bath.

A hot breakfast will be provided every morning.

Only the whimsical need apply.

Now what do you think they mean by that????

"I have fallen in love with the imagination.  And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit.  It will go anywhere, and it can do anything." - Alice Walker