tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13304473843340247432024-03-05T07:15:08.051-08:00DH 2 TravelersDavielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.comBlogger353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-56863134063585274142012-09-08T08:48:00.001-07:002012-09-08T08:48:33.947-07:00ALL THE DANCING BIRDS I want to recommend a book that I just finished last night that has touched me deeply. I suggest you consider reading it just for yourself, and if you are in a book club I recommend you add this book to your "must read" list. Author Auburn McCanta does a poignantly splendid job with a sensitive and timely issue for many of us: dementia / Alzheimer's / early onset memory loss. <br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Praise:</span><br />
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"In <span style="color: red;">All The Dancing Birds</span>, Auburn McCanta accomplishes the near impossible. By allowing Lillie Claire to tell her own story, McCanta gives us an amazing inside glimpse into a disintegrating memory. Truly a touching, disturbing story -- wonderfully told." - Susan Springer Butler, author, daughter <br />
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It was the language Auburn used that captured me; it was the story she wove, making use of the first-person narrative, which included letters writtren by Lillie Claire to her 2 children that she pulled out more & more often as a way to remind herself of who she was, that impressed me; and it was those letters that Lillie Claire would leave behind for Bryan and Allison that humored and touched me with their transparent need to express to her children just WHO she was - and who their already deceased father and maternal grandparents were. <br />
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Auburn's "capture" of the things that many folks with dementia / probable Alzheimer's SAY to themselves, to their caregivers, and to their loved ones caught me so off-guard, I often gasped - having heard my own father say many of the same things. And I felt so convicted when I read some of the things that her children and the doctors said to - and about - Lillie Claire. Once I realized how we must sound to the person with the deteriorating mind - in my case, my father - I began thinking about ways to speak and behave more compassionately and respectfully to a person with dementia. <br />
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I hope that people in denial of their own or a loved ones' diagnosis, who don't believe it's happening because there ARE so many times when the person with dementia has lucid thoughts and expresses their story "just like they used to". <br />
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Many of us have read STILL ALICE (my first read about someone living with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease); in <span style="color: red;">ALL THE DANCING BIRDS</span>, I found more of the emotions and confusing, swirling stories that a person with dementia might experience. <br />
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With all that said, I'll close with <span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">the link</span>: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Dancing-Birds-Auburn-McCanta/dp/0985070013">http://www.amazon.com/All-Dancing-Birds-Auburn-McCanta/dp/0985070013</a> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-72751417394423966432012-01-09T09:42:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:42:55.595-08:00Welcome to 2012<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Happy new year, friends of DH 2 Travelers. We traveled so much in 2011 that I neglected my blog ... I only hope that I can win back your interest and following with what I have in store for this glorious new year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">All the best to you and yours for a blessed, healthy, happy, fun- and adventure-filled 2012!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">~ <em>Davielle</em></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-36460612719013863782011-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:002011-08-25T22:56:05.565-07:00Nostalgia .. My trip down Memory LaneSeveral things have happened lately that all seem determined to make me face, resolve, and heal from things that happened decades ago ... and I just have to blog about it this morning. And it's gonna be a long blog post, so grab your beverage of choice and settle in if you're game enough to read this one!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6mOCVt3Q2YSyaMnta1584iZrF1ZCK2vysshTrZNhnHY2zaaamGEG3DqLnUw8v0QBQxNsheKKx4Bh-wy1e64OF8XTHRgzHDDHoZa61hyphenhyphenYyxLhR9GQZ516IShFWeqcwrs-c0RsAEzESw0X/s1600/davi+and+candia+dec+2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6mOCVt3Q2YSyaMnta1584iZrF1ZCK2vysshTrZNhnHY2zaaamGEG3DqLnUw8v0QBQxNsheKKx4Bh-wy1e64OF8XTHRgzHDDHoZa61hyphenhyphenYyxLhR9GQZ516IShFWeqcwrs-c0RsAEzESw0X/s200/davi+and+candia+dec+2005.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Lately, I've heard a lot of <strong>Fleetwood Mac</strong> on the radio. And those songs take me back to my 9th and 10th grade years in a hurry. My best friend <strong>Candi </strong>{<em>photo, left, 2005</em>} and I wore out our FM albums (<em>yes, albums. how old school is that</em>?). <br />
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<strong><em>So what song do you hear, what scent do you encounter, what old photograph ~ takes you back to decades ago, and you're R.I.G.H.T. there, where you were?</em></strong> <strong>PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS.</strong> <br />
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<strong><em>And which part of your life do you most often "return" to via those flashback memories?</em></strong><br />
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For me, it's high school and a few years after. <br />
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<strong>THE MUSIC:</strong> when I hear the term "oldies" as it pertains to music, I think ... 50s and 60s (even though when I was in high school, we listened to music from the 60s - mostly the Beach Boys - and it didn't seem all so old). Nowadays, music from my entire young-and-younger listening years is already ... an oldie. I'm an 80's music freak, and when I do the math, I can't believe those songs are already 30 years old. THIRTY YEARS OLD. But when I hear a song that I loved in high school, and realize it's 35 years old - yikes. How old does that make me, then? Never mind.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOEK21RpqgFB6dX5IyqJaaYey-If-6KlwP4HJZyw8mbtXa2KfUYFH4cJ-loumSbnjuqiInp7rpUUd37bir9qg4Ktk7gdpceRmqOVFe_T2i3UYraG-0UgiZkcA6ZSRgZgr-_RetEJI6XxH/s1600/davi-lori+mothers+day+1987+la+valencia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOEK21RpqgFB6dX5IyqJaaYey-If-6KlwP4HJZyw8mbtXa2KfUYFH4cJ-loumSbnjuqiInp7rpUUd37bir9qg4Ktk7gdpceRmqOVFe_T2i3UYraG-0UgiZkcA6ZSRgZgr-_RetEJI6XxH/s200/davi-lori+mothers+day+1987+la+valencia.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><strong>The music that takes me back most often has to be from the 1980's, because it makes me happy.</strong> They were fun years, great years, and even as a single mom, they were incredible years ~ due in large part to meeting my soul-sister / best friend Lori Vallas Falk. {<em>photo, left: Mother's Day 1987, La Valencia Hotel</em>}<br />
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But those aren't the old days that keep hitting me in waves lately. <strong>It's the music from my high school years. </strong>And those were awkward years. I meet people who say "oh, to be in high school again" and I cringe. Those were shy, challenging, confusing, unsettled, angst-filled years for me. I did develop some beautiful friendships then, but they too came with a price.<br />
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Anyway. <strong>Music I listened to a lot of in high school (that would be the early/mid-70's)</strong> ... Fleetwood Mac. Dave Mason. ZZ Top. David Bowie. Carole King. Steely Dan. Derek and the Dominos. Cat Stevens. Elton John. Chicago and Bread (yes, even them). America. BTO. ELO. Allman Brothers. Foghat. Edgar Winter Group, and Rick Deringer. Neil Young (SO much Neil Young). The Rolling Stones. Stealer's Wheel. Steve Miller. Jethro Tull. Humble Pie. Grand Funk Railroad. Carly Simon. Golden Earring. The Eagles. Rod Stewart. Paul McCartney & Wings. Loggins & Messina (the first concert I ever went to - they opened for The Allman Brothers, who were followed by B.B. King - <strong><em>and I had no clue who BB was</em></strong>!).<br />
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I could go on longer, but as you can see, I had a wide range of musical favorites. Back then, I couldn't go an hour without music. <br />
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There were the party songs, the ones we danced to. Then there were the "party-ing" songs, the ones we, well, partied to (it WAS high school, after all). And there were the "i am a filled with love angst" songs, the ones we listened to over and over, ad nauseum, because they made us feel ... sentimental and emotional and mellow. And sad. I went for sad a lot - hence all that Neil Young. I only dated 3 guys in high school; one was killed in a car accident. He's the one that set the bar high for how to treat a girl, and I didn't appreciate him enough.<br />
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<strong>So to take me back to High School most often, it has to be ... </strong>Fleetwood Mac, and Foghat, and Steve Miller. And driving through El Cajon, passing my high school (El Cajon Valley) and the high school that many of my friends, including my boyfriend, attended (Granite Hills). Passing old friends' houses. Missing Baker's (the best burgers and shakes ever). <br />
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<strong>After I graduated from high school, I was a mother. I still loved music. There were still 4 years left of the 70's.</strong> The music changed, and I had changed. Although still awkward, and probably more confused and unsure of myself than ever before - I started to experience a confidence that came with being a mother and having to earn a living to support my daughter.<br />
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<strong><em>And the music that I favored from 1976 to 1979 was more along the lines of</em></strong> Earth, Wind and Fire; The Knack; Pat Traverse; more ZZ Top; more David Bowie; Pablo Cruise; Boz Scaggs; Linda Ronstadt; more Rod Stewart; and yes, The Commodores.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhII9wqiIOi7SH-fyVxasWuiqry7pEtC0zKZM4UQJ3ZIJ1o7IfjRc6xF5dUkkBGceV05XIfTy4zx-4PCadtSreNYk1sTp4elkc7yx5okyn6qPHu9w-A5hRE4DqSqYXzcB9-ZYMyoVEvrpaE/s1600/Davielle+and+Sherri+-+12-31-76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhII9wqiIOi7SH-fyVxasWuiqry7pEtC0zKZM4UQJ3ZIJ1o7IfjRc6xF5dUkkBGceV05XIfTy4zx-4PCadtSreNYk1sTp4elkc7yx5okyn6qPHu9w-A5hRE4DqSqYXzcB9-ZYMyoVEvrpaE/s200/Davielle+and+Sherri+-+12-31-76.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>My sister-of-my-heart, Sherri Garman DeMink {<em>photo, me and Sherri, 12-31-76</em>}, introduced me to so much music, and we listened to it for hours together. <br />
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Whenever I hear "My Sharona", or "After the Love is Gone", or "Lady Love" by Lou Rawls ... I am smack dab in the middle of 1979. Those songs, and the smell of a hot day, the car windows rolled down, and the air conditioning full-blast. And the perfume I wore then, Halston. One incredible relationship stands out, I'm right there, and then the pain of its demise hits. Still. <br />
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<strong>So what is the point of today's blog post?</strong> It's this: when we have something tugging at us, quietly or loudly, that feels like we want to 'make it right', or resolve it, or face up to it ~ but we are afraid, or we don't know how ~ it's time to courage-up and just do it. If the person is gone or un-reachable, write a note and get it off your heart and mind. Let it go. And if the person is available to talk to, or meet up with, do it. <br />
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<strong>Say whatever you feel needs to be said.</strong> Forgive them for whatever they may have done to hurt or confuse you. Ask for forgiveness for whatever you may have done to leave them wondering "why did that happen? was it me?". In other words, clean it up so you can breathe easier when those flashbacks hit (and they will), and then you can sit back and really enjoy the memories of those times. <br />
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<strong>From my experience:</strong> In the past 2 years, I have had 2 people tell me they were sorry for things that happened in high school. Call me crazy, but such an emotional sense of peace came over me, both times. And I could sit back, remember, and smile. Finally. What a gift they gave me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk4SxQsRzfX-E6E-Zsytofqj9eDnSClG-YY9TOPj5gcX6NA5UpQprhNfqswPgFKt18t4EXoiNFMjZL8lPesf_g-5CDRe7Q4FV20dWyEoTA7j0U1cNPUgNNMT1LiirezE2q5145U1W3iiw/s1600/Cristie-Davi-Gail-Candi+7-15-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk4SxQsRzfX-E6E-Zsytofqj9eDnSClG-YY9TOPj5gcX6NA5UpQprhNfqswPgFKt18t4EXoiNFMjZL8lPesf_g-5CDRe7Q4FV20dWyEoTA7j0U1cNPUgNNMT1LiirezE2q5145U1W3iiw/s200/Cristie-Davi-Gail-Candi+7-15-06.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINwtconGLG8_VNNIkc-btBPum6t4Ya9yKNSmDF9dbWziKTnGL9RSUuKRpL3wFrzXAuz2-4KoBZitRzOV2dbp2OYhUOynABnz_ihwki0tr634C3T6gAbDVaKo0SMf8riUTgpaVWCGVX6ap/s1600/ECVHS+Reunion+7-15-06+Group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINwtconGLG8_VNNIkc-btBPum6t4Ya9yKNSmDF9dbWziKTnGL9RSUuKRpL3wFrzXAuz2-4KoBZitRzOV2dbp2OYhUOynABnz_ihwki0tr634C3T6gAbDVaKo0SMf8riUTgpaVWCGVX6ap/s200/ECVHS+Reunion+7-15-06+Group.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> And I deeply regret that at my 30th high school reunion, when I had the opportunity to apologize to someone that I had been cold to, and hurt, in the 9th grade, I missed it. I attended that reunion for two reason. One, to make an amend. The moment was interrupted by the call for a photo of the group {<em>that photo, at left</em>}, and when I turned around, he was gone. It still haunts me. Because just before the call for photos, he looked at me and said "isn't it funny how something that happened 30 years ago can still affect us today?". And the other reason I attended was because my closest friend from those years .. asked me to go with her {<em>me, 2nd from left; and Candi, far right in blue</em>}. <br />
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Think on this: <strong>"Nostalgia: A device that removes the ruts and potholes from memory lane."</strong> ~ Doug Larson<br />
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And this: <strong>"What was hard to bear is sweet to remember."</strong> ~ Portugese proverb<br />
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And one final quote on the topic: <strong>"The heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good; and thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burdens of the past."</strong> ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez {author of 'Love in the Time of Cholera'}<br />
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I want to pave over those potholes, and I want to sweetly remember those years. Don't you?<br />
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~ Davielle<br />
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<strong><em>P.S. By the way, </em>FaceBook<em> is a remarkable tool for re-connecting with people.</em></strong>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-80405358602079449982011-06-26T11:43:00.000-07:002011-06-26T11:47:21.991-07:00BLOGGING 101: Blog to the Rescue!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNo5r5Aj4uQKL9AHPGNmMKQZvn19_grsnk9FZaX-LgdY2Vu8SPUN0BWF4t1sSVb1zbdlw79hsd5zPNjTaSnpaAvCz1uLyg-xCbpIwJp3uFj-r79tL1Oj6j8wM-PLrWXHsRAbhIO5I5MDI/s1600/Artful+Blogging+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNo5r5Aj4uQKL9AHPGNmMKQZvn19_grsnk9FZaX-LgdY2Vu8SPUN0BWF4t1sSVb1zbdlw79hsd5zPNjTaSnpaAvCz1uLyg-xCbpIwJp3uFj-r79tL1Oj6j8wM-PLrWXHsRAbhIO5I5MDI/s200/Artful+Blogging+Cover.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Friends, I know I haven't blogged here since March (<em>yes, March</em>!) and I have to say - I miss my blogging time. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">But when I received an e-mail this week from an old family friend, and my beautiful <span style="color: black;"><strong>CAbi</strong> consultant, <strong>Rebecca Oostra</strong></span>, it hit me: a BLOG (<em>and a blog post</em>) can come to the rescue when you least expect it!</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><em>First, let me share this with you all:</em></span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Recently I've done a lot of soul-searching and question-asking, as in ... </span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>"why did I begin my (2) blogs in the first place?" </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>"what did I hope to accomplish - personally or globally - with these blogs?" </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>"did I enjoy putting blog posts together?" ... </strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">And I had the following answers:</span></strong><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"why did I begin my (2) blogs in the first place?" </span></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">BECAUSE I wanted to stay in touch with friends & family, and in the case of the first blog (<em>this one, DH2travelers</em>), share snippets & images of trips we have taken or hope to take some day, etc. And in the case of my second blog, </span><a href="http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> my intent was to share my love of mixed media art - the artists, the techniques, the results - with others of like mind. <strong><em>IN BOTH CASES</em></strong>, the blog became a vehicle for me to speak my mind - to share what I liked and believed and found meaningful & beautiful ... that was the driving force behind my venture into the world of blogging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"what did I hope to accomplish - personally or globally - with these blogs?"</span></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">TO speak up - and out - about things that matter to me, or that I found helpful or amusing or soulful or meaningful or heartbreaking or amazing. And in some cases, all of the above. I also wanted to share beauty and good information with others - my passion for plein air art has been featured on DH2travelers many times, as has fashion and film, recipes and bits about our family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I had also hoped that I would meet and befriend people all over not just the US, but the world, "meeting" people who stumbled across my blog/s just as I had stumbled upon theirs in searches, link-trekking (<em>I think I just coined a phrase there</em>!), referrals from friends who blog and follow blogs, etc.</span><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"did I enjoy putting blog posts together?" ... </span></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Easy, this one: a resounding and emphatic YES YES YES. I loved the time I took to follow my own train of thought(s), to gather images or links to embellish the topic, and the putting it all together. I would hear something on <strong>NPR</strong> (<em>national public radio</em>) and it would stir up an idea, and there I'd be, at the computer, linking not only to the <strong>NPR</strong> coverage of whatever it was, but adding a link to - where the book or music could be found, what I thought about it, etc. {<em>of course, things I found intriguing on NPR often cost me a bit of money, because I'd find myself pulling into <strong>Barnes & Noble</strong> to 'just pick that one up'. ha</em>!}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">In the case of Princess Magpie's blog, the answer was equally crystal clear: YES! I find mixed media art to be - intriguing, mysterious, simple and clean, busy and complicated, freeing, child-like and yet mature, and for me, mixed media art is an answer to my creative prayers. God listened when I told Him that I missed - the creative process. As a (then) retired interior designer, it was December 2008 when I began searching for "mixed media art classes in San Diego", and happened across an old acquaintance, <strong>Jane LaFazio</strong>. Come January 2009, I was enrolled in my first (<em>of eventually, four</em>!) multi-week series with Jane and the rest is history! (<em>but all that's been covered in another blog post, over at </em><a href="http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/2010/08/everythings-coming-up-mixed-media.html"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/2010/08/everythings-coming-up-mixed-media.html</strong></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;"><strong>AND NOW, to the impetus for today's post. This is the note I received from</strong></span> <strong>Rebecca</strong> <span style="color: purple;"><strong>via e-mail this week:</strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"<em>Hi Davi</em>,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I sent Olivia off to the post office today with about 5 priority mailing envelopes with <strong>CAbi</strong> samples in them. She asked me if the postage was taken care of (<em>which it is about 99% of the time, since I am sending something back to CAbi with a postage paid label</em>). I said, "Yes" and off she went. I was a little distracted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A couple of hours later I get a phone call: "Hi Rebecca. This is Sandy from the post office......." Well, Olivia dropped off the packages but never looked at them (<em>okay, that is something I would do</em>). Sandy must have been busy, otherwise she would have informed Olivia. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So, before the packages were picked up by the driver, Sandy noticed that none of my packages had postage. She didn't have my phone number. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">She googled my name and found a 2 year old blog (<em>by you</em>); the one where you talked about cleaning out your closet). You added a link to my CAbi web site and Sandy went there and found my phone number.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">THAT'S service!! To say the least.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Sandy and I laughed about it. I told her to keep me on speed dial. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Well, what do I say? Isn't that wonderful? Thank you for mentioning me. You are an angel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #424242;">REBECCA OOSTRA<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb208c;">•</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c4c4c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb208c;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb208c;">CAbi</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb208c;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;">Fashion Consultant</span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c4c4c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"> "</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span">{<em>you can link directly to Rebecca's CAbi webpage by clicking right here</em>: <strong> </strong><a href="http://www.rebeccaoostra.cabionline.com/"><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;"><strong>www.rebeccaoostra.cabionline.com</strong></span></a> }</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Even CAbi has a blog, and I love getting their link in my e-mail:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong> </strong><a href="http://cabicanary.com/?m=2011&w=25"><strong>http://cabicanary.com/?m=2011&w=25</strong></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #424242;"><span class="Apple-style-span">{<em>and you can read the blog post from 2009 that led Sandy to Rebecca right here</em>: <a href="http://dh2travelers.blogspot.com/2009/03/simple-abundance-for-your-closet.html"><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;"><strong>http://dh2travelers.blogspot.com/2009/03/simple-abundance-for-your-closet.html</strong></span></a> }</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: LucidaSans-Demi;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span">And that, my lovely friends, is another good reason to blog. <strong>And when you blog, be sure to LABEL <em>anyone and everyone</em> that you've mentioned in that post, so that in querying someone's name or business, they have a chance to be discovered, like Rebecca was</strong>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">In closing, I have to thank my dear friend,</span> <strong>ANN DEAKERS </strong></span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUx27XRIhXK85_nvXbqC8fN2V3MJ5ViR-p0lqyMBHh5I_xdevj8ksLpRsu3ENOjGPJ2KuA4VZHuUQMAF9M5c5tpWLvnRBxrFOrf5BHRjjB5Dfw6b9Y-kOJpSeyZ6YyrS_BTRZBWT7hHWv/s1600/Ann+at+Suzi+Blu+class.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUx27XRIhXK85_nvXbqC8fN2V3MJ5ViR-p0lqyMBHh5I_xdevj8ksLpRsu3ENOjGPJ2KuA4VZHuUQMAF9M5c5tpWLvnRBxrFOrf5BHRjjB5Dfw6b9Y-kOJpSeyZ6YyrS_BTRZBWT7hHWv/s200/Ann+at+Suzi+Blu+class.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong> { </strong><a href="http://www.adeakers.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.adeakers.blogspot.com/</span></strong></a> <span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: black;"><strong>}</strong></span>, for encouraging & inspiring me to blog in the first place. She told me it would be easy-peasy and she was right (<em>but then, Ann's always right</em>!). Thank you, Ann. I'm sure Rebecca thanks you, too :-) !!!</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">~ <em><strong>Davielle</strong></em></span> <br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"></span></em></strong> <br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">And for anyone interested in blogging in a big, beautiful way, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of ARTFUL BLOGGING, published by Stampington ... <a href="http://www.stampington.com/artfulblogging/"><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;"><strong>http://www.stampington.com/artfulblogging/</strong></span></a></span></em>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-7209674623396907012011-03-15T10:10:00.000-07:002011-03-15T10:10:04.086-07:00"March Morning - Montecito"<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><strong><em>A few of our favorite things ...</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">plein air art ...</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">the California coast ...</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Montecito, where we celebrated our wedding dinner ...</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">early California artist John Marshall Gamble </span><span style="font-size: small;">(1863-1957 Santa Barbara, CA) ...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d;">And as of this morning, this painting:</span> <strong><em><span style="color: #0b5394;">'March Morning - Montecito'</span></em></strong>.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qiA4shxFjgzMCYF1Iw4rOiSTnEWWpqA-6chXwUNolwajT54CKiQCkZY3Fap3QcqvsxCFHW1qUhNU_1-7aewhd_h3dTk9YbnPYhJF6_gkb7CHkx-52Pu8VxdMc0wE945FWtS_tIZX-Byb/s1600/John+Marshall+Gamble+-+March+Morning+-+Montecito+-+JOHN+MORAN+AUCTIONEERS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qiA4shxFjgzMCYF1Iw4rOiSTnEWWpqA-6chXwUNolwajT54CKiQCkZY3Fap3QcqvsxCFHW1qUhNU_1-7aewhd_h3dTk9YbnPYhJF6_gkb7CHkx-52Pu8VxdMc0wE945FWtS_tIZX-Byb/s320/John+Marshall+Gamble+-+March+Morning+-+Montecito+-+JOHN+MORAN+AUCTIONEERS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">This breathtaking work by Gamble will be on auction at John Moran Auctioneers (Altadena, California) and will go for an estimated $70,000/90,000. And, in my opinion, worth every penny.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">If money were no object, and if I didn't need a new car ... well, the first being the most necessary bit :-) ... this would hang where I could see it every single day for the rest of my life.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Visit John Moran Auctioneers on-line at</span> <a href="http://www.johnmoran.com/">http://www.johnmoran.com/</a> <span style="color: #38761d;">to see more - they also auction estate jewelry and antique furniture. Incredible, delicious things.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><em><strong>~~ Davielle</strong></em></span></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-18026030893327435152011-02-27T10:36:00.000-08:002011-02-27T10:36:22.220-08:00the amazing TRACY PORTER bag giveaway !!!<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">oooh, you have to SEE the bag, right? <em>check it out</em>:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3JdtCbLNAaf6qAQnAiffloCZG1kt5-pG5e4GAV2XEi3Gv5IyLEiwP78Uh62y7mfEGu5oJHOmA7zawk3whRwq9JkC947w2kIfdQGtLxwDNb5PTifM-XYwbFt4emq2Q4IqTKJZmUkEBnDN/s1600/ORANGE+BAG+tracy+porter+2011.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3JdtCbLNAaf6qAQnAiffloCZG1kt5-pG5e4GAV2XEi3Gv5IyLEiwP78Uh62y7mfEGu5oJHOmA7zawk3whRwq9JkC947w2kIfdQGtLxwDNb5PTifM-XYwbFt4emq2Q4IqTKJZmUkEBnDN/s320/ORANGE+BAG+tracy+porter+2011.bmp" width="275" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">wanna see the inside? here you go:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEcFCmMSILs77M0nNGu4Lnh8sehvtcmxpd9YvKB0gmZoK-xKrLguX5kThcW90CGgW9lKsw9OEpI95nbmwEWNfGo9ZkF0qgFKwVItCHtR3TH5fW2eI9VSfh9hgkVpTMu9xdv9RHbc5rLXW/s1600/orange+bag+blue+interior+TRACY+PORTER.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEcFCmMSILs77M0nNGu4Lnh8sehvtcmxpd9YvKB0gmZoK-xKrLguX5kThcW90CGgW9lKsw9OEpI95nbmwEWNfGo9ZkF0qgFKwVItCHtR3TH5fW2eI9VSfh9hgkVpTMu9xdv9RHbc5rLXW/s200/orange+bag+blue+interior+TRACY+PORTER.bmp" width="153" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And here's just one reason why I'm crazy for this purse:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTLZlTYxdVFjtckh0BvxRYwMTXis-qTIJ8g4yE3S_wz_O3FKNHFsVMhyphenhyphenSJlc0Qh9H7nq-TO-ThE9fFHjWCQozZb5Upgm0bc8MlkSfKfm3bJmnVb9wYhMC3YVI1_cOGuXfdIyn_ty8AsSh/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTLZlTYxdVFjtckh0BvxRYwMTXis-qTIJ8g4yE3S_wz_O3FKNHFsVMhyphenhyphenSJlc0Qh9H7nq-TO-ThE9fFHjWCQozZb5Upgm0bc8MlkSfKfm3bJmnVb9wYhMC3YVI1_cOGuXfdIyn_ty8AsSh/s320/IMG_0035.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">... because it reminds me of the blooming California poppies in our yard, posed in front of our blue-trimmed garage windows. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT -- don't you ???</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Visit Tracy's blog to enter to win this gorgeous purse. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">~ Davielle</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">P.S. can you even believe I'm posting about this? doesn't that dilute MY chances for a win?! :-)</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-77385692161750619382011-02-27T10:29:00.000-08:002011-02-27T10:29:13.432-08:00Tracy Porter One-of-a-Kind Bag GiveawayI had to post this today - can you imagine a more magnificent bag to take when traveling? Talk about eye-popping color and style !!! Enter the giveaway over on the Tracy Porter blog (click the link, my pretties) and post your comment. Tracy will announce the winner on her blog TUESDAY, March 1st. Good luck to you all.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.tracyporter.com/more-tracy-porter/tracy-porter-one-of-a-kind-bag-giveaway">Tracy Porter One-of-a-Kind Bag Giveaway</a><br /><br />~~ DavielleDavielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-36131697279409963712011-02-04T16:43:00.000-08:002011-02-04T16:43:48.328-08:00Followers, followers, oh where art thou Followers?<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so I haven't been a faithful blogger for quite a long time now. I admit it, right up front. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But I know that I used to have more followers ... and now, I'm down to just three. THREE. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Should my feelings be hurt, or should I just take it as the LESSON. IT. IS. This is what happens when one doesn't love and care for their blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I do apologize for not being "here" all this time. I am back, I am back, I really am. </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Won't <em>YOU</em> come back now?</span><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">~~ Davielle</span></em></strong>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-78197505322269017242011-02-01T16:52:00.000-08:002011-02-01T16:52:35.059-08:00even MORE techno difficulties today ...<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong><em>Aaarrrggghhhh</em> ....</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>Not only am I having a few little glitches getting my new blog background to look just right over on Princess Magpie ... ( </strong></span><a href="http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong>http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com</strong></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong> ) but now I'm having issues here. Right here.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>I wanted to freshen up THIS blog's background, too - and I always rely on the amazing "cute 'n cool backgrounds" for the best of all backgrounds.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>So for THIS blog, I found a cool, funky background -- and when I copy it's code into my blog, it makes it FLASH on the page for a blip of a moment - and then it reverts back to ... what you'll see here now. </strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>Go figure. And if you DO figure, would you let me know?</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>Yours in getting this figured out,</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong><em>~~ Davielle</em></strong></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-39849851601117800022011-02-01T16:00:00.000-08:002011-02-01T16:37:46.532-08:00Eye Candy - early California plein air art ...<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>Fellow Travelers,</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>Mark and I have been enchanted by (<em>okay, obsessed with</em>) Early California Art for about a decade now. Maybe a tad longer. (<em>what is a "tad", anyway</em>?)</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>We often receive notification from galleries of available art, and we always always pause and heave a big sigh and say "oh my, wouldn't that be perfect in our (<em>fill in the blank</em>) room ??".</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipp8UdyISmiubxarQk2GLPURc9mGgm5H1jDAdUkiBjxPvF5rTMNcLxfSSOWxcMgMPeHw9MS0I4uSjUhysFBwUheDHE73KykcY2PkP_1LX-A18P7KFr7lhB597YsfZB0neGtU8uYczu-rUU/s1600/Maurice+Braun+-+Landscape+with+Stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipp8UdyISmiubxarQk2GLPURc9mGgm5H1jDAdUkiBjxPvF5rTMNcLxfSSOWxcMgMPeHw9MS0I4uSjUhysFBwUheDHE73KykcY2PkP_1LX-A18P7KFr7lhB597YsfZB0neGtU8uYczu-rUU/s200/Maurice+Braun+-+Landscape+with+Stream.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong> This is one of those pieces. Maurice Braun's "<u>Landscape with Stream</u>", circa 1923-25.</strong> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>And I'll fill in that blank for you. It would look perfect in our ... living room.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>Can you hear my big sigh?</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><strong>~~ <em>Davielle</em></strong></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-43247988617185636692011-01-27T07:12:00.000-08:002011-01-27T07:12:22.694-08:00WANTING MORE THAN AVERAGE <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAdHQijh1DTg1Nm6WhajbE89hzWEPRgQXQZIxN-8AGxEWglZFq-KqSoIGCmaCVjChH0BKNcmlGbdiIvo7i9YwSHHV1fWr2YEdIREKsFcqOPIikT3LDZSUlpKPT5_szYYEHppNBKBjALaT/s1600/IMG_8380+Misty+Kristi+on+way+to+Lido+Island+Venice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAdHQijh1DTg1Nm6WhajbE89hzWEPRgQXQZIxN-8AGxEWglZFq-KqSoIGCmaCVjChH0BKNcmlGbdiIvo7i9YwSHHV1fWr2YEdIREKsFcqOPIikT3LDZSUlpKPT5_szYYEHppNBKBjALaT/s320/IMG_8380+Misty+Kristi+on+way+to+Lido+Island+Venice.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Kristina, Venice, Italy ~ July 2009</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our daughter Kristina, a student at Grossmont Community College, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">recently wrote an essay titled "<strong><em><span style="color: blue;">Wanting More Than Average</span></em></strong>", which she submitted to<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"> <span style="color: blue;"><strong>THIS I BELIEVE: A Public Dialogue about Belief, One Essay at a Time</strong>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">I'm so proud of her - for putting her beliefs into words and then sending them out into the world.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Congratulations, honey. This is wonderful !!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">~~ Mom</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-16994682992166956012011-01-21T07:50:00.000-08:002011-01-21T07:50:04.913-08:00I Love Books, too !!!<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">My friend <strong>Karen Caterson</strong> ("<em>Square-Peg People</em>") has a lovely new post up on her blog:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><strong>I LOVE BOOKS!</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">In these busy days (<em>and who doesn't 'suffer' from those</em>?) it's often easy for me to skip reading my friends' blogs - there are so many that I often get overwhelmed and just don't visit ANY of them for weeks on end. This morning, in looking down my list of "<strong><em>Blogs to Read Every Day</em></strong>" (<span style="font-size: small;">I had good intentions, I really did</span>), in my "favorites", there was <strong>SQUARE PEG PEOPLE</strong> and I just knew I had to stop in.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Am I glad I did. Karen and I are so often "on the same page" (<em>get it</em>? the same page!) that it's way cool. She's always spot on, and I can count on Karen to comment on my blog posts, too. <strong>:-)</strong> We're just like that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">I LOVE BOOKS, too. Ask anyone - my family, my friends, my neighbors, my husband, my enemies even know it, I'm sure. I LOVE BOOKS. And yet, I rarely take the time to review them any more. Or to post about them. I've even stopped FaceBook'ing about what I'm reading.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRcbFxeEGopi2QRceyLoLMMMrd6Jh8S0aF4WKZNLQZU9aQgbvZpG6j3JvjsgShrLU50-KjZmioY41Qg6rXbg71rz-mffAJNI53349u82Iv3VRa1JOubol7LwDccr87dfgAYxS30PTnM3_/s1600/prayers+for+sale+book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRcbFxeEGopi2QRceyLoLMMMrd6Jh8S0aF4WKZNLQZU9aQgbvZpG6j3JvjsgShrLU50-KjZmioY41Qg6rXbg71rz-mffAJNI53349u82Iv3VRa1JOubol7LwDccr87dfgAYxS30PTnM3_/s200/prayers+for+sale+book+cover.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Right now, I'm 3/4 of the way through <u><strong>PRAYERS FOR SALE</strong></u> by Sandra Dallas. A new author to me, I'm loving her style and I'm loving this book. I don't want it to end. And then I'm going to find some of her other books. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Thank you, Karen, for reminding me to share. I want to share with others. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">You're the best, KC.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">xo,</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><strong><em>Davielle</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(<span style="font-size: small;">who calls this blog DH2travelers, and coming soon, the list of where we're headed this year</span>)</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-18460415430784424482011-01-15T10:41:00.000-08:002011-01-15T10:47:29.532-08:00Cupcake or Pie ??<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>This story from NPR:</em> </span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">"Cupcakes Are Dead: Long Live The Pie!"</span></strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132477830/cupcakes-are-dead-long-live-the-pie&sc=nl&cc=es-20110109"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><strong>http://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132477830/cupcakes-are-dead-long-live-the-pie&sc=nl&cc=es-20110109</strong></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Oh my !!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">So what is the history of the cupcake, anyway? To answer that question, I turned to <strong>Wikipedia</strong>:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><strong><em>A cupcake <span style="font-size: small;">(</span></em><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;">British Engl<em>ish: fairy cake;</em> Australian English<em>: patty cake or cup cake</em></span></span><em><span style="font-size: small;">)</span> is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes.</em></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong><em>The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of “</em>a cake to be baked in small cups<em>” was written in “</em><u>American Cook</u>ery<em>” by Amelia Simms. The earliest documentation of the term “</em>cupcake<em>” was in “</em><u>Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats</u><em>” in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook.</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<em><strong><span style="color: #a64d79;"></span></strong></em></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong><em>In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name "</em>cup cake<em>" or "</em>cupcake<em>". In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in.</em> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<em><strong><span style="color: #a64d79;"></span></strong></em></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZKW54i0lyajG0EMoA5OkQFUwSX5bRuXhL5MPNO57HXTCUIw5SToa2ptrKxO744FscEhdowWS1kNO6qI8ERnoGyNUVd7wORzA3vey3leXhNsvX54cYpigGS4yTmfqapVpUTYo7QUZcO7F/s1600/Pinkcupcakesprinkles2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZKW54i0lyajG0EMoA5OkQFUwSX5bRuXhL5MPNO57HXTCUIw5SToa2ptrKxO744FscEhdowWS1kNO6qI8ERnoGyNUVd7wORzA3vey3leXhNsvX54cYpigGS4yTmfqapVpUTYo7QUZcO7F/s200/Pinkcupcakesprinkles2005.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong><em>This is the use of the name that has persisted, and the name of "</em>cupcake<em>" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "</em>fairy cake<em>" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share.</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>Personally, though, give me PIE over a CUPCAKE any day.</strong> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">But there is a "<strong><em>however</em></strong> ..."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I must tell you - I had the most delicious <strong><span style="color: #bf9000;">Karma Cupcake</span></strong> on Wednesday, at the end of a committee meeting at <strong><span style="color: blue;">CCI</span></strong> (</span><a href="http://www.cci.org/"><strong><span style="color: blue;">www.cci.org</span></strong></a><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">) for an event I volunteer with, <strong><span style="color: purple;">Balboa Barks</span></strong> ( </span><a href="http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=450430"><strong><span style="color: purple;">http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=450430</span></strong></a><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> ). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Said <strong>Karma Cupcake </strong>was a luscious lemon flavor, and it was terrific. And the best part is that the <strong>KARMA CUPCAKE</strong> sales benefit <span style="color: blue;">CCI</span>, with the flavor changing each month. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">You can get your own Karma Cupcake at my friend Becky's cupcake shop, <strong><span style="color: purple;">LITTLE CAKES CUPCAKES</span></strong> at <span style="color: purple;"><strong>30 Main Street, Suite 180, in Vista, California</strong></span>. Call ahead for hours and the specials-of-the-day: <span style="color: purple;"><strong>(760) 842-5138</strong></span>. You can visit them on-line right here at: <a href="http://littlecakeskitchen.com/"><strong>http://littlecakeskitchen.com/</strong></a> ...</span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Whatever YOUR pleasure is, make the most of it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>Happy New Year ~~</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><em>Davielle</em></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>P.S.</strong> if you click on the link to the NPR story, there's even an option to hear the story ... stream it !!!</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong><em>P.S.S.</em></strong> If you were to ask me which I would choose - I'd have to go with PIE. As the article says<em>, "PIE can be sweet or savory",</em> and yes, some creative cupcake folk are baking "savory cupcakes", but to me, those are just muffins in disguise. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">That's not to say that I might not give a French Toast cupcake a try, but still - that's sweet, isn't it? Just don't wrap my French Toast Cupcake with .... bacon. </span><br />
<em><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLNhTLZrwy62oFqTQJa1NsyeHYvRtt6a1xyZ43qxTdMJuyQ5Rom9Gp0dleuOFO0AnsdCb1O-e933pnThRKBykG35D771GJjBvHa05mwjSUEP8H_qWxeJvKWukdUiw-Cfo0AV-cjKCGP8T/s1600/potluck-peach-pie-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLNhTLZrwy62oFqTQJa1NsyeHYvRtt6a1xyZ43qxTdMJuyQ5Rom9Gp0dleuOFO0AnsdCb1O-e933pnThRKBykG35D771GJjBvHa05mwjSUEP8H_qWxeJvKWukdUiw-Cfo0AV-cjKCGP8T/s200/potluck-peach-pie-l.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Now a PIE, a pie ... give me fresh blueberry or spicy pumpkin pie, oooh, and <strong>fresh peach</strong> in the summer, with crystally sugar sprinkled on the top crust. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">And on the savory side, oooh, I like quiche, and that's like pie, right? And then there's Shepherd's Pie, which isn't really a pie at all, but it sounds like one, and it's got all the food groups in it; well, except for sugar! If you are a savory pie person, and you need to fill your daily sugar requirement, treat yourself to a CUPCAKE. And make sure it's from <strong><span style="color: purple;">Little Cakes Cupcakes</span></strong> :-) !!!</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-54580153100168914612011-01-08T10:25:00.000-08:002011-01-08T10:25:09.781-08:00Our 2010 in Pictures - my photography (and a note on Bigger Camera Envy)<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I may not have blogged on here for almost 90 days now, but I <em><strong>was</strong></em> busy in 2010 with my camera - I still love my <strong>Canon G9</strong>, and although I am sometimes struck with BCE (<em>bigger camera envy</em>), I think I'll stick right here with this little gem. Truth is, I don't really want to learn more advanced photography techniques - I like to <em>think</em> I'd like to learn (<em>and use</em>) them, but honestly - I can only handle so much. My trusty and talented <strong>Canon G9</strong> is my idea of a great camera, it's in my comfort zone, and we're sticking together.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">For any of you that care to look it up, I googled the <strong>G9</strong> this morning and on the Canon site, discovered that because they've come up with the G12 now, the G9 is "no longer available". However, over on Amazon, you can now apparently pay TWICE what I paid for my camera new - to get one. It has been a very very popular camera, and <strong><em>it doesn't surprise me</em></strong> ...</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-G9-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B000V1VG5G"><strong><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-G9-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B000V1VG5G</span></strong></a><br />
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<strong><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">BACK TO THE YEAR IN REVIEW ... <span style="color: #444444;"><em>here it is, a review, for any of you that are interested, of what 2010 looked like for me and my loved ones</em>:</span></span></strong><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoHjyCwJbs7Cu4fjxVOGmyjzO047qRLKXKmn7AvZ6lJB6a0wzp-lc24h0RNprMnk6vsxGRx_WGLzeA1pRez6MyDj3zXb8anCYHF3RN0b5TQD8gHA-EZMh4pfdQYSG8cAoQSHDJOQze3JP/s1600/IMG_6235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoHjyCwJbs7Cu4fjxVOGmyjzO047qRLKXKmn7AvZ6lJB6a0wzp-lc24h0RNprMnk6vsxGRx_WGLzeA1pRez6MyDj3zXb8anCYHF3RN0b5TQD8gHA-EZMh4pfdQYSG8cAoQSHDJOQze3JP/s200/IMG_6235.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">January 2010</span><span style="color: blue;">:</span> </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I began the year in what I call a "State of <em>Tilted</em> Grace" ...</span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK-4Uf9Q4aP6bfkpaw6lT8YlWLtKewBMed_ximuzFapEentgI42BIoKOOIfGouVvCd_CPJpD7813UnsFNv_6YVmh9vaEziYqKg9J3zs9fCPiZqbxrdtdbkBQUTc3-_buBUTmIZu8OAsKN/s1600/IMG_6236+CROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK-4Uf9Q4aP6bfkpaw6lT8YlWLtKewBMed_ximuzFapEentgI42BIoKOOIfGouVvCd_CPJpD7813UnsFNv_6YVmh9vaEziYqKg9J3zs9fCPiZqbxrdtdbkBQUTc3-_buBUTmIZu8OAsKN/s320/IMG_6236+CROPPED.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><em>"You see a cow a day"</em></strong> - <strong>a saying in our family that was beautifully proven on Martin Luther King Jr Day 2010 as I drove home from Borrego, while Mark rode his bike home.</strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aQUUzIrhSyPXhGAHLhRgnW-1CC7vrNj-ZLQhQm70guhIeeTxl5oJuNzrObb7TSUHL7aS2b5JRnR2rH-pzyYZ42uHo6kDCCq7iDt-FU24cKPBQOLco4IRrp2L5K6k_PLv9tB9HLK8x4hJ/s1600/IMG_6341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aQUUzIrhSyPXhGAHLhRgnW-1CC7vrNj-ZLQhQm70guhIeeTxl5oJuNzrObb7TSUHL7aS2b5JRnR2rH-pzyYZ42uHo6kDCCq7iDt-FU24cKPBQOLco4IRrp2L5K6k_PLv9tB9HLK8x4hJ/s200/IMG_6341.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Sunset at Torrey Pines Start Park, January 24, 2010</span></strong></td></tr>
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<strong><span style="color: red;"></span></strong><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="color: red;">February</span></strong><em>, the month of love</em> ...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUdCC7XWg4l-nsnyMOZOPwd9qB2v5svb4y60Q6Po4mD-M1nHUjIlzJJ4eW4bGPPaJFG1jxYYH8lyPDOgoa3Dqul-icuGAepuOTOcu0uqB4_h76OkjiNkHHDMULdgQ3CuPqcP92bQFPkX2/s1600/IMG_6468+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUdCC7XWg4l-nsnyMOZOPwd9qB2v5svb4y60Q6Po4mD-M1nHUjIlzJJ4eW4bGPPaJFG1jxYYH8lyPDOgoa3Dqul-icuGAepuOTOcu0uqB4_h76OkjiNkHHDMULdgQ3CuPqcP92bQFPkX2/s320/IMG_6468+edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Valentine's Day 2010: My Beautiful Family .. Trevor, Cara, Kaia, Kiara, Kristina, and Mark {Cottonwood Creek Park, Encinitas}</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_crDFSP09sEPUP8EJZ9uLeuSNu5ndzlGBiF6iP0GS7AqEWVB4HxdcXTU8dUivOj5A4gDOhlueqrxB8skpvMlaupTBN_9WwdmelJYPrm0OAWtamN_gp3JqvHgt9Xv4GfkvD79fKDXoiaV/s1600/IMG_6677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_crDFSP09sEPUP8EJZ9uLeuSNu5ndzlGBiF6iP0GS7AqEWVB4HxdcXTU8dUivOj5A4gDOhlueqrxB8skpvMlaupTBN_9WwdmelJYPrm0OAWtamN_gp3JqvHgt9Xv4GfkvD79fKDXoiaV/s200/IMG_6677.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">February 2010: I <em><span style="color: red;">LOVED</span></em> taking another series of "Mixed Media with Paper & Cloth" art classes from the talented Jane LaFazio, through La Jolla Athanaeum {<em>this is Jane</em>}</span></strong></td></tr>
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">MARCH 2010 ...</span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wU59S5GNFLXc6u8XuDJ9GDHdIsXkxG0lmiE-o5PTBlhVx_T_fMsz-bh12DAhs0Z9Vu90JMqggoONSfN8SBZ4MPqCl969th0j9dYa180AKP25Eu36tL6y_f_o7sABBZt0XxqmcaiH_9Sd/s1600/IMG_6923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wU59S5GNFLXc6u8XuDJ9GDHdIsXkxG0lmiE-o5PTBlhVx_T_fMsz-bh12DAhs0Z9Vu90JMqggoONSfN8SBZ4MPqCl969th0j9dYa180AKP25Eu36tL6y_f_o7sABBZt0XxqmcaiH_9Sd/s200/IMG_6923.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">"Dark Star" ceanothus (<em>native California lilac</em>) - in full bloom in our yard</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cQq7mI6fxkNcZDSwLZliKcHj6j5oUuwe8CF6AJHGgT1PMAA7tKTYU9Tj9rRLETC_mScmQoyqFWuJeLgstMfTX2AOZaGm_YT2zql0M3mpoPiqQT-HBtQghf1QjQpDm2ZjUX04uR8GHgSS/s1600/IMG_7116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cQq7mI6fxkNcZDSwLZliKcHj6j5oUuwe8CF6AJHGgT1PMAA7tKTYU9Tj9rRLETC_mScmQoyqFWuJeLgstMfTX2AOZaGm_YT2zql0M3mpoPiqQT-HBtQghf1QjQpDm2ZjUX04uR8GHgSS/s200/IMG_7116.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Mark, racing in San Dimas - late March 2010 (FYI, <em>this is NOT a shot of him racing ... this was warmups out of the parking lot</em>!)</span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="color: #38761d;">APRIL 2010:</span> <span style="color: #444444;">we reach the end of tax season and our year officially begins!</span></strong></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIzJPcuPDtsJ8DDOIlX0GAII7kbf52qDqo-tS9DsmwS5__wG9iE8slwJnz62_PkSqtorSmMQFL8XLF2DxgMx491hMGDYXJazJRr08OA9ew0U7PMCMjt9bC1isXQgnHH0AuNiquvqQx7EY/s1600/IMG_7495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIzJPcuPDtsJ8DDOIlX0GAII7kbf52qDqo-tS9DsmwS5__wG9iE8slwJnz62_PkSqtorSmMQFL8XLF2DxgMx491hMGDYXJazJRr08OA9ew0U7PMCMjt9bC1isXQgnHH0AuNiquvqQx7EY/s320/IMG_7495.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
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<strong>home, home on the range ... or on the "<em>inland bluff overlay z</em>one", as it were</strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhjeZDGAy5VZ2ORDje0ogA7ykjo03Sx-ySP_wVwXaWCuVUJsCWsvIfspVo7FcEr-NDt0A_RL3UuUASpXGPi5LBIZC-n2N1aC-koB5YdMMxHGljiCReNLYdB_tsy9ltpihqLpX1R1PJ1oa/s1600/IMG_8020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhjeZDGAy5VZ2ORDje0ogA7ykjo03Sx-ySP_wVwXaWCuVUJsCWsvIfspVo7FcEr-NDt0A_RL3UuUASpXGPi5LBIZC-n2N1aC-koB5YdMMxHGljiCReNLYdB_tsy9ltpihqLpX1R1PJ1oa/s320/IMG_8020.JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Stormy Skies - Solvang: April 2010</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxG8yYKH4_kUsBAhDOnnIEEI__3EQwAZBpUe2WCj0plZzhsE54lElfGoe7BsJxdvUUsrk4pgfHQaB_2FbqfO6QNlj0ox1DyUN3XW-5FlKr7b5w10cn2yas4BhxhUSwGkeEb8GO0pBiaaap/s1600/IMG_8131+manhattan+beach+pier+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxG8yYKH4_kUsBAhDOnnIEEI__3EQwAZBpUe2WCj0plZzhsE54lElfGoe7BsJxdvUUsrk4pgfHQaB_2FbqfO6QNlj0ox1DyUN3XW-5FlKr7b5w10cn2yas4BhxhUSwGkeEb8GO0pBiaaap/s200/IMG_8131+manhattan+beach+pier+cropped.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Manhattan Beach Pier - late April 2010</span></strong></td></tr>
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<strong><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">MAY 2010 - <span style="color: #444444;">Mark's Birthday Month !!!</span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: #444444;">{my Canon g9 captures florals - beautifully ~ you can almost <em>smell </em>them !}</span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyoD3pWq2CW3oRGbJ4lEMETRg9QSHKS1x1EoPGEdrTkyhB-9g3YWJywLDekwyny_orSUywm6TVhp1p2WLiwAAbZPz9_1Fq4hOshG3VUoYr2Ked-BszD9hhY61wNjHFJ8AJ3mn5s4jQ5jM/s1600/IMG_8405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyoD3pWq2CW3oRGbJ4lEMETRg9QSHKS1x1EoPGEdrTkyhB-9g3YWJywLDekwyny_orSUywm6TVhp1p2WLiwAAbZPz9_1Fq4hOshG3VUoYr2Ked-BszD9hhY61wNjHFJ8AJ3mn5s4jQ5jM/s200/IMG_8405.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Graham Thomas Roses - from our garden</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkEsziItr8wUE5bJC970RQ2hTo6sxzHz0ZEGVzH8z_-TBs0bcwgPL-Iq1HvtgQs7z5KLa5TY0GHAU3xZMMh0VP0d78PisZ15pDugoOLUMKckYtYwT4Mm9AJ1MnNym-B4ojkpzw3idUEme/s1600/IMG_8418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkEsziItr8wUE5bJC970RQ2hTo6sxzHz0ZEGVzH8z_-TBs0bcwgPL-Iq1HvtgQs7z5KLa5TY0GHAU3xZMMh0VP0d78PisZ15pDugoOLUMKckYtYwT4Mm9AJ1MnNym-B4ojkpzw3idUEme/s200/IMG_8418.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Mother's Day Bouquet ...</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFkx-g2EWXuhslKe1Hn3QdSNdPOleyVgWN9pzzoOau9-tqg9nB3bm7rLpa4Z1ipegX7hZFF3l7haYRv73k9QJv6QrJxxAJE3f_TVYsmAEo0f5OBMOVZM4loYZK8t4Y9GAgeoPwC35NcS9/s1600/IMG_8794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFkx-g2EWXuhslKe1Hn3QdSNdPOleyVgWN9pzzoOau9-tqg9nB3bm7rLpa4Z1ipegX7hZFF3l7haYRv73k9QJv6QrJxxAJE3f_TVYsmAEo0f5OBMOVZM4loYZK8t4Y9GAgeoPwC35NcS9/s200/IMG_8794.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">my husband MARK - on his birthday</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"> {<em>in Santa Barbara's</em> ALICE KECK PARK GARDEN, <em>where we were married in 19</em>99}</span></strong></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><strong>JUNE 2010 ... <span style="color: #0b5394;"><em>Summer's here</em></span> !!!</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPx2JEa-xnGhtH6Q4Lc9VuO_XRvKuBY-1XdsvWRshL4dzdjCGEOX6yX2RGXLDguKiuL0flp4D9QzxsxqeDqz4CpLyk_F8WBo0BEjjpPtQbXZpwZFbyF4swGHDZNVFt13Z4Z7AXRj2syEk/s1600/IMG_8993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPx2JEa-xnGhtH6Q4Lc9VuO_XRvKuBY-1XdsvWRshL4dzdjCGEOX6yX2RGXLDguKiuL0flp4D9QzxsxqeDqz4CpLyk_F8WBo0BEjjpPtQbXZpwZFbyF4swGHDZNVFt13Z4Z7AXRj2syEk/s200/IMG_8993.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Rocky at Home ... so dashing !!</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4zJL2sSyWhTrHe7CJThzH2_KGClH7dMQ0QXlIjlVlPuOaN61SlotHa9BNzkrYVSIa62qMqNhS-ahjhpZ3o15-0UlrM-UwSjF4hdE-veRpOfuWJ8cMq037-eeBnVJWzNPkpqkdZ1AlJoS/s1600/IMG_9114+trevor+and+mia+cropped+TWO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4zJL2sSyWhTrHe7CJThzH2_KGClH7dMQ0QXlIjlVlPuOaN61SlotHa9BNzkrYVSIa62qMqNhS-ahjhpZ3o15-0UlrM-UwSjF4hdE-veRpOfuWJ8cMq037-eeBnVJWzNPkpqkdZ1AlJoS/s200/IMG_9114+trevor+and+mia+cropped+TWO.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">our grandson TREVOR with Mia ... June 2010</span></strong></td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">JULY 2010 ...</span></strong></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrG1eBQ2MatGJ84eSfWh3IDJ6KrwWtYAmASDxTBvJbC0QztKOT0xGNX5Pkxjc_MPCNBIpsJGh_39phzFa2tiVQOqgL1gBHw9xkH6Hm-VuCp_J3KECKBpyClJsL7oV6MuHC9l0SNGUXe8q/s1600/IMG_9445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrG1eBQ2MatGJ84eSfWh3IDJ6KrwWtYAmASDxTBvJbC0QztKOT0xGNX5Pkxjc_MPCNBIpsJGh_39phzFa2tiVQOqgL1gBHw9xkH6Hm-VuCp_J3KECKBpyClJsL7oV6MuHC9l0SNGUXe8q/s200/IMG_9445.JPG" width="178" /></strong></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">" <em>Summertime ... and the livin' is easy</em> ..." - Mark & Rocky, hammock'ing</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><strong>AUGUST 2010 ... <span style="color: red;"><em>Montana Time</em></span>!</strong></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">We go to visit Mark's parents at their half-year home, </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">the cabin at Flathead Lake, near Bigfork, Montana</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">{<em>here, Marion, Gene, and Sierra</em>}</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Marion's Echinacea in Bloom</span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOzVXILNzDlaVKxaQ2nVCNylktJ8F7YgAuaJkABtbFRY-h0RWdqcduuPat8tndD_-Cmirmq_98R2dyN1T1lYytGJIJGTMhpvOW3P5GeuVCUeSdwP7MwNl3M2JlyhqaFjvZhZ3yZoY_rxi/s1600/IMG_9900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOzVXILNzDlaVKxaQ2nVCNylktJ8F7YgAuaJkABtbFRY-h0RWdqcduuPat8tndD_-Cmirmq_98R2dyN1T1lYytGJIJGTMhpvOW3P5GeuVCUeSdwP7MwNl3M2JlyhqaFjvZhZ3yZoY_rxi/s320/IMG_9900.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">and then there's the crown jewel of the orchard: </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;"> the CHERRIES, August 2010</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">SEPTEMBER 2010 {<em>fall fruits & back to school time</em> ...}</span></strong></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95FVVi9I9yPuxJ4Ain9YCt2Piio_ZprkIHP-vCBwOqNW1K23x-1VC854CUTsjqKPjfoTLOdf51ovh0HgJfme5vNVELy6yr_EuGCyLUfyXHfD6XeZ3nVsBTlqhkQdQV1L8B0NiReAomPs5/s1600/IMG_0430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95FVVi9I9yPuxJ4Ain9YCt2Piio_ZprkIHP-vCBwOqNW1K23x-1VC854CUTsjqKPjfoTLOdf51ovh0HgJfme5vNVELy6yr_EuGCyLUfyXHfD6XeZ3nVsBTlqhkQdQV1L8B0NiReAomPs5/s200/IMG_0430.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">our friends the FULLERs took a cruise - and I got Russian Nesting Dolls !!</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3XbHKNpWVxqisuppg52L5zubU7eiA9xMrXrNO1C9qSqVXF2ZyPKzWxN4vQWC0tlNiFiDzdsP93bHs4h3DbSoCAvURlrMWnXriToTaTuv89HgoiPP5vTV9OglYB5czdEG-cvJGfGQm3-K/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3XbHKNpWVxqisuppg52L5zubU7eiA9xMrXrNO1C9qSqVXF2ZyPKzWxN4vQWC0tlNiFiDzdsP93bHs4h3DbSoCAvURlrMWnXriToTaTuv89HgoiPP5vTV9OglYB5czdEG-cvJGfGQm3-K/s200/IMG_0475.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">CREATIVE IS A VERB by Patti Digh .</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">my copy arrived in September from the publisher</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSGVXUexiXx2y6l_w-C_3MtHrFBIFXJjd1y2M3z3mv2f4riasse6_EUh9-UhgIdCIgD-dhc_hYyHiDbF3oIglNu7esKXjM4ZaRGUf1YwnJJhodfiDeXYhND0iDlq1GcuH-uE54k-V8TjC/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSGVXUexiXx2y6l_w-C_3MtHrFBIFXJjd1y2M3z3mv2f4riasse6_EUh9-UhgIdCIgD-dhc_hYyHiDbF3oIglNu7esKXjM4ZaRGUf1YwnJJhodfiDeXYhND0iDlq1GcuH-uE54k-V8TjC/s200/IMG_0476.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">page 63, CREATIVE IS A VERB</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">artwork {"Airstream in a Cornfield") by me</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>OCTOBER 2010: <span style="color: #b45f06;">Spooky Time</span></strong></span> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51AgSWOChAvT8OzsHYYEbbSXJmFqwCk9IMovZc7xF4K2V42JKtIFKdBbcXPkgFvp-EB3z-Wv7LrBbHdKYr7q4Unof-q0UJs0amD58cOIu3PK99Cc0MuY1hjnok4yDJVolqzWh5zur0mE3/s1600/IMG_0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51AgSWOChAvT8OzsHYYEbbSXJmFqwCk9IMovZc7xF4K2V42JKtIFKdBbcXPkgFvp-EB3z-Wv7LrBbHdKYr7q4Unof-q0UJs0amD58cOIu3PK99Cc0MuY1hjnok4yDJVolqzWh5zur0mE3/s200/IMG_0695.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">my G9 photographing Cara </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">photographing tiny lizard with her phone ...</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugcmabcZPn7_uacHEp9lWoLMXtq6y5w8t2pquBuYS_LKN3gwo_MgHYSBFJYIDShb-A9Vd4R9jmBBQeFSW5oyW5-kuG1NShJtcBuiJBkjWKC72el_iYoJTaoVoM6RcegIq86wZJFDa5Wg6/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugcmabcZPn7_uacHEp9lWoLMXtq6y5w8t2pquBuYS_LKN3gwo_MgHYSBFJYIDShb-A9Vd4R9jmBBQeFSW5oyW5-kuG1NShJtcBuiJBkjWKC72el_iYoJTaoVoM6RcegIq86wZJFDa5Wg6/s200/IMG_0692.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>detail of lizard (aka, "why I love my G9")</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuH78m1mb1Zq1eaQ1NsnYZlHcv0cNz9InRDavF-TNfelBaCaDhNmj-6-HOX__RfC4GboDqNDo873aYcS4ISDwnTOip2wyCBYzf6LnY0Fjq_cXgLIJRnhGJk-mBWaxmegpLKXXtNhLgAt12/s1600/IMG_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuH78m1mb1Zq1eaQ1NsnYZlHcv0cNz9InRDavF-TNfelBaCaDhNmj-6-HOX__RfC4GboDqNDo873aYcS4ISDwnTOip2wyCBYzf6LnY0Fjq_cXgLIJRnhGJk-mBWaxmegpLKXXtNhLgAt12/s320/IMG_0889.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>"<em>House Blessing</em>" art that I created in a class by CHRIS COZEN, at Stamping Details (Halloween, 2010)</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">NOVEMBER 2010: <em>giving thanks for our many blessings</em> ...</span></strong><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuv9HzCHlg-v0uAnWl5lpJ1DVGmzOLzuc8qCE1LjbE1oM-mwbeOkg4RrVbcI4Q0nai_emtG9_JzeOKu2WuC2qBkQFN0a32EI7ZeEBD9h1jA18gDt4onE-AQ8SBvMFmoncAsAEE6t62Rei/s1600/IMG_0920+solo+heart+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuv9HzCHlg-v0uAnWl5lpJ1DVGmzOLzuc8qCE1LjbE1oM-mwbeOkg4RrVbcI4Q0nai_emtG9_JzeOKu2WuC2qBkQFN0a32EI7ZeEBD9h1jA18gDt4onE-AQ8SBvMFmoncAsAEE6t62Rei/s200/IMG_0920+solo+heart+leaf.jpg" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>solo cerces leaf</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHx5KsPzCwzuGWV5leUWJ0dmqpbFLY21LtXOmjgYU-_y0MYXZKawAxL9BXvv7XsaxTx2mhBxHTd-Ld4deKs-TSgVJuWYR76tllQC2Z24iMQjj2L510Fj8VoUicTDiX1yOORoBJOHv55Uq/s1600/IMG_0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHx5KsPzCwzuGWV5leUWJ0dmqpbFLY21LtXOmjgYU-_y0MYXZKawAxL9BXvv7XsaxTx2mhBxHTd-Ld4deKs-TSgVJuWYR76tllQC2Z24iMQjj2L510Fj8VoUicTDiX1yOORoBJOHv55Uq/s320/IMG_0980.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Family Is Everything: Thanksgiving 2010</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8aIyD6gJd0tlqVJvCDlS1au7hp4b6gNDGnYICuqTcM9W2vIfGn8H1lKF_TrOdhv9p2S2RAz0E8TX2a0YTiMbd_YyLJc5qfaKjbR1VvRBMu6J2q7UlVPmNdyYXlmqtgiuVFEyk9Kt5KCar/s1600/IMG_0910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8aIyD6gJd0tlqVJvCDlS1au7hp4b6gNDGnYICuqTcM9W2vIfGn8H1lKF_TrOdhv9p2S2RAz0E8TX2a0YTiMbd_YyLJc5qfaKjbR1VvRBMu6J2q7UlVPmNdyYXlmqtgiuVFEyk9Kt5KCar/s200/IMG_0910.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>a sunset as viewed from outside my home office window ...</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e5OOQIr44zmomHN7QWocnzPv0K2rjoXJNSATh5QHAXynvnk5hJdjvknQ63h922CXhd64aCL1EFHQOAYliP_RI3R_6xt9DOFvGwHqphQh4z-YoLsGPHi_0GSZUnog-ldyj7Y01UlvGE_J/s1600/IMG_0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e5OOQIr44zmomHN7QWocnzPv0K2rjoXJNSATh5QHAXynvnk5hJdjvknQ63h922CXhd64aCL1EFHQOAYliP_RI3R_6xt9DOFvGwHqphQh4z-YoLsGPHi_0GSZUnog-ldyj7Y01UlvGE_J/s200/IMG_0917.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>can you see the rainbow? as seen from our kitchen window</strong><br />
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<div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d;">DECEMBER 2010:</span> <span style="color: #990000;"><em>celebrating Christmas, celebrating life</em></span></span></strong></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">and for the best display of our Christmas Day, see my next post - which includes a Smilebox slideshow!</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><strong>Happy New Year, my friends</strong></span><br />
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<div align="left"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><em><strong>All my best,</strong></em></span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><strong>Davielle</strong></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #444444;"></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-30755994484440181572011-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:002011-01-08T09:33:36.873-08:002011: Color of the Year<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Thanks to my friend <strong>BETH NICHOLLS</strong> of England, who I was fortunate to meet at <em><strong>AN ARTFUL JOURNEY</strong></em> in February 2010 - I've discovered <strong>Pantone's Color of the Year, 2011: <em>Honeysuckle</em>.</strong></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoSOd0FBHUV8LPVfQrZL-ANJQKCYoPZVR5hWQi_TwDplnXrSnYwOyXxbO2zYMWobeyOjlAFS-9tiDUMwr8ZtuevYN3QMZvdxGyfw2CXCb1zo1gaTRkSYs4RE5YfpmLdmyfiHLRNyUtZgp/s1600/pantone+color+of+2011+-+honeysuckle+pink.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="124" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoSOd0FBHUV8LPVfQrZL-ANJQKCYoPZVR5hWQi_TwDplnXrSnYwOyXxbO2zYMWobeyOjlAFS-9tiDUMwr8ZtuevYN3QMZvdxGyfw2CXCb1zo1gaTRkSYs4RE5YfpmLdmyfiHLRNyUtZgp/s320/pantone+color+of+2011+-+honeysuckle+pink.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At first read, you might envision a yellow color - after all, most honeysuckle blooms are yellow.</span> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBH2dUd4ymJ0j-iO6MZvdCeL97OjTPMmaRsxQs1OAx7UqGzCdxZQs07HuG1NNkfrVlBBlBrCqa2HNNNGlKwzoqHwwXnkc-753NgWmebZI7RHxwYn1Hfn_2aRcI0v5cg80FKcV5So9GNWs/s1600/honeysuckle+blossom+image.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="131" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBH2dUd4ymJ0j-iO6MZvdCeL97OjTPMmaRsxQs1OAx7UqGzCdxZQs07HuG1NNkfrVlBBlBrCqa2HNNNGlKwzoqHwwXnkc-753NgWmebZI7RHxwYn1Hfn_2aRcI0v5cg80FKcV5So9GNWs/s200/honeysuckle+blossom+image.bmp" width="200" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But this, THIS color - this engaging and vibrant PINK - is spot on. (or spotT on, with two t's - if your name is Lorrie, with two r's !)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And here in Southern California, I first met a to-die-for honeysuckle variety known as "<strong><em>Pink Lemonade</em></strong>" - isn't this luscious? I still "need" one in my own yard, because the colors & the scents are ... heavenly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEWrEfqfVwicEpvQvMVuXpW8MVvfY9KKcUOSwvXL19by5J7_b6tj2aLntE1ERz1xI3gmn4huPU2iw64FhWpTrtpp5Z7bYAr_WnNNozqiDhq17PJ_pZRpsvsX2QBYDePGgXZZ_yQLPmfH0/s1600/pink+lemonade+honeysuckle+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEWrEfqfVwicEpvQvMVuXpW8MVvfY9KKcUOSwvXL19by5J7_b6tj2aLntE1ERz1xI3gmn4huPU2iw64FhWpTrtpp5Z7bYAr_WnNNozqiDhq17PJ_pZRpsvsX2QBYDePGgXZZ_yQLPmfH0/s200/pink+lemonade+honeysuckle+image.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I pose the question to you, as Beth did to readers of her blog, <strong>DO WHAT YOU LOVE</strong> ... </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>What is YOUR color for this new year, 2011?</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am adopting Pantone's HONEYSUCKLE, paired (<em>pun intended</em>) with a PEAR GREEN of sorts. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq71_t21n02y5b__nv_XbGg0KOXXePFDYu3sJsKkZAN-Vm_T4Vl8Xn5N0p7IThECqtnouoPLFFNVSgx584mhlEDiAQNNyRh64SuX1vYWp3ZMvqruH2XIFAhcW8qlsEEPz4vyjWr2hIN3ul/s1600/nantucket+thank+you+notes+barnes+and+noble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="180" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq71_t21n02y5b__nv_XbGg0KOXXePFDYu3sJsKkZAN-Vm_T4Vl8Xn5N0p7IThECqtnouoPLFFNVSgx584mhlEDiAQNNyRh64SuX1vYWp3ZMvqruH2XIFAhcW8qlsEEPz4vyjWr2hIN3ul/s200/nantucket+thank+you+notes+barnes+and+noble.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coincidentally, I came across my box of these notecards ON MY DESK as I was reading Beth's blog post about color: "<strong>Nantucket</strong>" thank you notes (<em>by Peter Pauper Press, Inc</em>.) available at Barnes & Noble - </span><br />
<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?r=1&isbn=9781593591892&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Search-_-Q000000630-_-Nantucket%20Thank%20You%20Note%20Cards%20Set%20of%2014-_-9781593591892"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?r=1&isbn=9781593591892&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Search-_-Q000000630-_-Nantucket%20Thank%20You%20Note%20Cards%20Set%20of%2014-_-9781593591892</strong></span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">I encourage you to visit Beth at her <strong>DO WHAT YOU LOVE</strong> site/blog <a href="http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/</strong></span></a> - I think you'll be happy you did! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy New Year to you all,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Davielle, </span><em><span style="color: #444444;">aka</span> </em><span style="color: #674ea7;"><strong>PRINCESS MAGPIE</strong></span></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-59304955531603114282010-10-16T12:23:00.000-07:002010-10-16T12:23:13.631-07:00The Thoughts of Floyd Brandt<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">In wanting to share an image today of a man with his mule/mules and plow, I went over to Google. The best image I found, which figuratively leapt off the screen at me and grabbed my attention, came from a blog that I would have never otherwise discovered.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lettersfromapilgrim.com/"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><strong>www.LettersfromaPilgrim.com</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="color: #783f04;">- the memoirs and ramblings of Floyd Brandt - has captured my heart and my attention. He shares his memories of our country going way, way back - it seems he is recording them for his children and grandchildren, and really - for all of us. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">Floyd talks about the harvest season. He talks about coal-and-wood-burning stoves. Floyd shares memories the days of segregation - and the process of de-segregation.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHlGd0w_H9XNWnzfPEMeMtILBobnAI69J4_UHw6dnSxJJJOsi3ZXTQJay03V6EUPKpiQrqjWuojHHfy1FKFH6CpYZGqa-Nh0zBk0CWQnBLbkgIOaEPjIIJ4G9jlrGRKNytc2H5VOGrBD6/s1600/220px-Greensboro_sit-in_counter%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHlGd0w_H9XNWnzfPEMeMtILBobnAI69J4_UHw6dnSxJJJOsi3ZXTQJay03V6EUPKpiQrqjWuojHHfy1FKFH6CpYZGqa-Nh0zBk0CWQnBLbkgIOaEPjIIJ4G9jlrGRKNytc2H5VOGrBD6/s200/220px-Greensboro_sit-in_counter%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lunch counter - Smithsonian</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;">"<em><span style="color: #cc0000;">On that day in 1960, the students first bought some school supplies to prove that the store would sell to them and then sat down at the Woolworth lunch counter and tried to order a hamburger which was against the law. If they bought a hamburger to eat in the store, they were required to stand in the back of the store to eat it. That day Stan, you were not quite eleven months old and Mary, you were just 35 months old, We were living in Arlington Heights, Massachusetts busy completing a doctoral dissertation and four years at Harvard and preparing to depart in four months for a stint on the faculty of Northwestern University. What follows is a mix of a little history and some family memoirs which normally produces both second rate history and family memoirs</span></em>."</span> <span style="color: #783f04;">(<strong><em>from</em> LETTERS FROM A PILGRIM<em>, a blog by Floyd Brandt</em></strong>)</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><strong>And another excerpt from LETTERS FROM A PILGRIM:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">"Dear Gail,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">My memories of holidays and summers at the farm encompass about eight or ten years from approximately 1934 to 1944, the ages five to fifteen for me and nine to nineteen for Fred ending when he enlisted in the Air Force during WW II. But before I begin describing the holidays, a few words about how we traveled to “the farm.”</span></em><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">I hope you will pay a visit to Mr. Brandt's site. I am bookmarking him today, and hope to visit him regularly from now on. Thank you, Floyd, for your memories, your thoughts, and for the gift of prose that you share with us all via this site. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #783f04;">I wish we were family ...</span></span><strong><em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">-- Davielle</span></em></strong>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-84821485714400717332010-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:002010-10-08T19:25:44.530-07:00keep plodding along ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjustaTD5JP4XUPE5Eg-ZECEs3b6NKoUF0CzRK78-3OZnvNwa8V2W4vnEGlNDtttkzHKC1Rce2cm_hdmP5b_UG5HUvtQbtM5qEDGSZJ25m5qItWDLQj-TXURH-8o2p20OPXWW7VoGeCoYt/s1600/IMG_0384+keep+plodding+along.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjustaTD5JP4XUPE5Eg-ZECEs3b6NKoUF0CzRK78-3OZnvNwa8V2W4vnEGlNDtttkzHKC1Rce2cm_hdmP5b_UG5HUvtQbtM5qEDGSZJ25m5qItWDLQj-TXURH-8o2p20OPXWW7VoGeCoYt/s320/IMG_0384+keep+plodding+along.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Sometimes it is all we can manage to do ... to just keep plodding along.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I mayu, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return</strong></em></span>."</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">-- Mary Jean Iron</span></div><div align="left" style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">God bless this - <strong><em>and every single</em></strong> - day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><strong><em>-- Davielle</em></strong></span></div>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-70514307170490458312010-07-17T08:41:00.000-07:002010-07-17T08:41:23.605-07:00LEAVING COMMENTS on This or Any BLOG<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">So many bloggers have the comments left on their posts set to "<strong><em>moderate</em></strong>". I didn't, in the beginning - until I had a comment post that was inappropriate. Ever since then, I've opted to moderate comments to this blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Here's my 'beef' ... when someone leaves a comment IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, how on earth will I know what it says, IF it says anything at all, etc etc etc. It's very frustrating for me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">If the person leaving the comment can READ my blog / blog posts, then I could assume / presume that they read and write English ... right? So why leave a comment that I cannot read? I find it very frustrating.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">For months now, I have received "comments to be moderated" from someone who leaves them in what looks to be Japanese or Chinese ... I can't tell ... I just reject them all. Could they be "spam" comments? They could be. I'll never know, will I ??? It's all Greek to me, as they say.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Okay, for the sake of putting this one to bed, I copied & pasted a recent comment into Google translater - it 'detected' Chinese, and it translated it thus:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">We're too old too fast, but smart too late</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">So was this the commenters 'original' thought, did it have any relativity to the post I had created? I'll have to go back to check.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">And for curiosity's sake, I pulled up another recent comment they left ... it translated to this:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Water is always the same, but they are new every moment</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">These random "comments" are seem to be nothing more than Chinese sayings or proverbs. I find it discouraging that someone is choosing to comment with a non-comment to my posts, or that my blog has been chosen to be spammed. What a poop of a discovery!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">So that's my BLOGGER BEEF of the day. the week. the month. I guess.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Thanks for listening.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>-- Davielle</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">If you should find yourself in need of a good translation now and then, here's the link:</span></em></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://translate.google.com/"><span style="color: red;">http://translate.google.com/</span></a><span style="color: red;">#</span> </span></div>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-63910738214264484482010-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:002010-07-08T20:04:07.799-07:00The Sketchbook Project: 2011 ... will you join me?<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I've joined up to be a part of <strong><span style="color: #666666;">THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT: 2011</span></strong> ... will you join me?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">For details, the scoop, the 4-1-1 -- hop over to my other blog, </span><a href="http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: large;"><strong>http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com</strong></span></a><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> to find out more.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjFwaDc7msnaqjqoXz1Uvf0qC_DYYQuaxpF81-CHRAkjyGPFlnJkfRoAVrhpQ0J9reAg3XSGcD81mOU6fiqz5F31Mbb3n_y-3W3_mwSYyPaGNu7SLGD8IpBFEgcIiOukBb5V7CGBJd4b3/s1600/The+Sketchbook+Project+2011+SPREAD+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjFwaDc7msnaqjqoXz1Uvf0qC_DYYQuaxpF81-CHRAkjyGPFlnJkfRoAVrhpQ0J9reAg3XSGcD81mOU6fiqz5F31Mbb3n_y-3W3_mwSYyPaGNu7SLGD8IpBFEgcIiOukBb5V7CGBJd4b3/s320/The+Sketchbook+Project+2011+SPREAD+image.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I hope you'll sign on with me for this incredible journey.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Together we can have fun, and make the project a wild success. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong><em>:-)</em></strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">-- Davielle</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-10737893585501817012010-07-03T09:37:00.000-07:002010-07-03T09:37:49.423-07:00le Tour de Disgrace ???<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Advance Warning:</strong> you might not like what I have to say when it comes to this particular blog post. If that's the case, DO leave a comment. If you happen to agree with me, DO leave a comment. If you have questions regarding WHY I feel like this ... please, please, please ... LEAVE A COMMENT.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So yesterday over on FaceBook I posted a comment about my "status". I said "<em><strong>doping be damned, I'm watching this year's <span style="background-color: #ffd966;">Tour de France</span></strong></em>". </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That's right. You heard me. {<em>although in retrospect it may sound flippant, given today's </em><strong>WSJ</strong><em> story outlining more & more details about the accusations against Lance Armstrong, et al</em>.}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am so tired of the hypocrisy in sports when it comes to doping. And so, YES, I am going to watch this year's edition of the Tour de France. Between the DVR and <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/">http://www.cyclingnews.com/</a>, I'll get my Tour "fix" (<em>ooh, pardon that pun</em>) as usual this year. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Friends - there are many, many athletes that dope. Accept the fact, then make your choice accordingly. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Will you stop going to <strong>baseball</strong> games, America's Favorite Pasttime, because of stories like this one: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17220752">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17220752</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I rather doubt it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Will you stop watching the <strong>NFL</strong> - on TV or in person - because of stuff like this: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/sports/27iht-nfl.1.9522468.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/sports/27iht-nfl.1.9522468.html</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How about <strong>basketball</strong>: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/sports/basketball/07nba.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/sports/basketball/07nba.html</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So let's look at <strong>CYCLING</strong>. There's not a baseball or football or basketball game in the world that can touch the stamina, endurance, fitness level, and energy needed for a 2,000 (<em>sometimes plus</em>) mile bike race thru hill and dale and mountain pass - over a 3-week period - with just two (yes, 2) rest days. If you know nothing about the sport of cycling, then look into this one, friends. It's for real. It's grueling and gnarly. It's not your Sunday afternoon ride in the park. Hardly.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Take a look at the map of the 2006 Tour de France course ... how could anyone compete well and strong in an event like this ... without doping? I'm just asking out of curiosity. Does that make doping-in-cycling "right"? No way. But the race organizers, if they truly want the sport CLEAN, must stop creating these monstrous races and be reasonable. It just can't be humanly possible, not in my humble opinion, to race a course like this one - clean.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNqtIOjVhQgUsduKnldenHXgy9EFEbvGTND_KQGAr-axX7VlLztXVtNHZNLukXyzjeQa-7uw-ILZ7tyKcHDWazGTlw_blpgZ6K3ZcFZ-0uZ6GTX9nc6nu0cUIP-9aQD4HsyWR_jiDZfKq/s1600/tdf+carte_2006_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNqtIOjVhQgUsduKnldenHXgy9EFEbvGTND_KQGAr-axX7VlLztXVtNHZNLukXyzjeQa-7uw-ILZ7tyKcHDWazGTlw_blpgZ6K3ZcFZ-0uZ6GTX9nc6nu0cUIP-9aQD4HsyWR_jiDZfKq/s320/tdf+carte_2006_big.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, I admit - I used to be offended or disgusted or disappointed if a rider / team was caught doping. Remember the Festina affair back in 1998? here's a link: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_affair"><span style="font-size: large;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_affair</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> I might not have been a Richard Virenque fan - but hey, it made me sad for him and his team - that they would "resort to doping". I was that naive - back then.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I will also say that having a grandson heavily into sports - mostly baseball, with some football and basketball thrown in for good measure - the topic of DOPING IN SPORTS - frightens me. For personal reasons, of course. Doping - the products and the methods - can ruin a person, even kill them. I am <strong>NOT</strong> in support of doping. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am, however, not in DENIAL about the reality of it. What I really, really, really object to is the BLATANT HYPOCRISY of it all. The "oh my goodness, he's a cheater. how could he?!" comments.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When a cyclist goes around blabbing that he's "<em>against doping and will never dope</em>", I now listen with a jaded ear. Eventually, it could - and probably will - come out that they, too - those vocally vociferous anti-doping guys - were, in fact, doping. It does seem to be the reality of the game. Methinks they protesteth ... overly much.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm really on a rant this morning, and I'm just getting started - so grab your coffee & muffin, then settle back into this. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">{Or like they say at the bottom of a forwarded-a-gazillion-times e-mail: <em>IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT HAVING BAD LUCK FOR THE NEXT 382 YEARS, HIT 'DELETE'</em>.}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So the big story in the <strong>WALL STREET JOURNAL</strong> went like this:</span><br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575326753200584006.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection"><span style="font-size: large;">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575326753200584006.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In all fairness to Mr. Lance Armstrong, here's the link to his reaction to the accusations that continue to be lobbed at him by Mr. Floyd Landis:</span><br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703881504575344550619265416.html"><span style="font-size: large;">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703881504575344550619265416.html</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am all about giving both sides a chance to speak their mind, their version of their truth. </span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Landis's credibility has been under fire since the news of his email revelations broke. Until now, he had categorically denied the use of performance enhancing drugs and penned a book entitled "Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France". The book described the cycling world as "a place where athletes are subject to the antiquated science, flawed interpretive protocols, and draconian legal processes of the anti-doping agencies".</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Armstrong fired back before the start of yesterday's <span style="background-color: #f6b26b;">Tour of California</span> stage saying, "<em>With regards to the specific allegations, the specific claims, they're not even worth getting into it. I'm not going to waste my time or your time"</em>.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em>"We have nothing to hide. We have nothing to run from. It's our word against his word</em>," Armstrong said . "<em>I like our word. We like our credibility</em>."</span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Hincapie also commented on the matter in a statement yesterday that said, "<em>I have been a professional on the circuit for 17 years – which is one of the longest careers in the peloton. During that time, I have earned the respect of my peers and a reputation for working hard, honestly and honorably. I'm really disappointed to hear these accusations</em>."</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, George. Really? You're disappointed to "<em>hear these accusations</em>"? What? Because you've never heard them ... before? Is this the first time for you? Give me a break. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"<strong>Landis is part of a long list of former Armstrong teammates and former U.S. Postal Service riders who have either acknowledged or been caught doping. </strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Frankie Andreu has said he used EPO while preparing for the Tour de France on Armstrong’s team in the late 1990s. Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton tested positive after the 2004 Athens Games, kept his medal on what amounted to a technicality, then retired last year after telling the AP he knowingly took a banned steroid. Roberto Heras was stripped of his win at the Spanish Vuelta in 2005 and Spanish rider Manuel Beltran was kicked out of the Tour de France, both found to have used EPO</strong>." {<em>excerpt from article by By Tim Reynolds, Associated Press, updated 8:02 p.m. PT, Thurs., May 20, 2010</em>}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And if anyone believes that George Hincapie hasn't heard this kind of allegation before, well then, I offer up this link: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Andreu"><span style="font-size: large;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Andreu</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Granted, Wikipedia wouldn't be my first choice for having all the facts quite right. So I'll include a link to an interview done on <strong>NPR</strong> that addresses this same situation concerning previous doping habits of Mr. Lance Armstrong: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5516287"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5516287</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If George Hincapie was "disappointed", then I'd have to dub him "out of touch" ... it's nothing new to the sport, George, these accusations and allegations. If George is any kind of professional athlete, then I'd bet my last nickel he stays in close touch with ALL these stories. Disappointed? Maybe because all those years of hard work could be tarnished if there's something true about the Lance story accusations.</span><span style="font-size: large;">I find it interesting that an esteemed publication like the WALL STREET JOURNAL chose to run with this story - talk about credibility! <strong>My money's on the WSJ when it comes to "credibility"</strong>,<strong> </strong>Mr. Armstrong. Way way back when Floyd was charged with using testosterone in the 2006 TdF, and ultimately had the title of TdF Champion stripped from him - the Journal was taking the hard road - they were (<strong>then</strong>) questioning Floyd's credibility.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Interesting, then, that the WSJ is not questioning his credibility now? Rather, they're now questioning Lance Armstrong's credibility? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I will, at this point, remind you all that I posted to this blog earlier this year - a daily reading published in <strong>Living Faith</strong> (<em>a Catholic magazine that Mark and I read each morning</em>) - written by Mr. Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I have a lot of respect and admiration for Kristin Armstrong. If you didn't read that blog post I created - here's the link:</span><br />
<a href="http://dh2travelers.blogspot.com/2010/05/removing-falsehood.html"><span style="font-size: large;">http://dh2travelers.blogspot.com/2010/05/removing-falsehood.html</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe I read too much into Kristin's writing. Maybe she wasn't trying to purge herself of the deceitful life her ex-husband was (now allegedly) leading "back in the days" of their marriage. Maybe those of us who love cycling would be the only ones that would make a connection between what she wrote - and the news that's hitting the world's newstands this morning. Maybe, maybe, maybe. {read: blah, blah, blah}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Personally, for all you naysayers out there, I have this to say - in my opinion, the powers that be in cycling and in sport will have a tough decision to make:</strong> do we take Armstrong down if it can be proven he's been doping? or do sweep this under the rug, because Armstrong has done such a good job promoting the "cancer recovery is possible for anyone - if I can do it, so can you" message ??? Hmmm? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Think about it:</strong> what is going to be "better" for the world's cancer patients - just diagnosed, in treatment, in remission, cured - to have the "hope and inspiration" of a Lance Armstrong dangling out there for them to believe in? Or the truth about doping in cycling coming to light? </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1l614BPZiXeeUrvvSPKODxjav9wPyL4Av-KXc6o_qM3ElZVEnpveHhwBbTv2I-E9efUQw9XzE3_0C56bBbzvKUMuMypEcUt9J3BBlovMEjxeEg7ddIJ4fLVIWrRhVE6liUkXYZ6OEygdv/s1600/Mark-Davi-Lance-Floyd.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1l614BPZiXeeUrvvSPKODxjav9wPyL4Av-KXc6o_qM3ElZVEnpveHhwBbTv2I-E9efUQw9XzE3_0C56bBbzvKUMuMypEcUt9J3BBlovMEjxeEg7ddIJ4fLVIWrRhVE6liUkXYZ6OEygdv/s320/Mark-Davi-Lance-Floyd.jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong><em>{back when I was a believer in the possibility of 'clean cycling'. Floyd's first season with USPS and Lance ... that's us with Floyd AND Lance. do you think I want all this to be true? to be happening? just because I am now a believer that many cyclists dope, doesn't make me happy about it. au contraire.}</em></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My money's on this: It's going to come down to a bit of a moral dilemma, don't you think? A "<em>we should consider the greater good / we should do damage control on this for the good of all the cancer patients out there in the world, who look to Lance for the answer they all want</em>".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And who in their right mind would take all that away from a cancer patient ??? Lance has done a magnificent job of building his empire, my friends. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I COULD GO ON AND ON FOR DAYS, here. I'll leave it at this, though:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Before I hear you all railing against Floyd Landis for deceiving the public about any doping he might have done during his career as a pro cyclist, let me suggest to you: there probably isn't a person in this world that hasn't lied at one time or another. To save a relationship, to save a job, to save their reputation, to protect someone or something so dear and precious to them that they "just had to". Admit it. So please don't get all high and mighty and overly-moral over this one. Just because Floyd's deceit was on an international level, <strong><em>doesn't make it any worse</em></strong> than what you and I have probably done, day in and day out, sooner or later, somewhere along our life's path. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNKEK-JVdPg7_moox4Lb9rjsmtcZO-15dSwVcgRXsRz1NTTZTch5UxSuW3kJnOrUxPlNabIt6lOkDcBiwa164D07H5dRRUBIyt2N3XazPu6gBHUBnOGRUSX6548ZvJybgjADKkXWjY1kQ/s1600/Landis'+%26+HuffmansPARIS-July2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="133" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNKEK-JVdPg7_moox4Lb9rjsmtcZO-15dSwVcgRXsRz1NTTZTch5UxSuW3kJnOrUxPlNabIt6lOkDcBiwa164D07H5dRRUBIyt2N3XazPu6gBHUBnOGRUSX6548ZvJybgjADKkXWjY1kQ/s200/Landis'+%26+HuffmansPARIS-July2002.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>It's no secret: my heart and support go to Floyd on this one, friends.</strong> How could it not? {<strong><em><span style="font-size: small;">This photo of Mark and I, Floyd and Amber, was taken on the Champs Elysees in Paris - at the conclusion of Floyd's very first Tour de France: 2002</span></em></strong>.} </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some will say that I am 'biased'. Believe me, I am not. Anyone who knows me, knows that I consider all angles before taking a stand. Some will even say that I "knew" something all along. Again, not true. Really, doesn't knowledge of an action come down to the person - and their God? They either know what they've done, or others might also know <em>because they witnessed it</em>. Without having witnessed anything relative to this doping matter, what could I have possibly 'known' ???</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>And my heart and support goes out to any and all cancer patients in the world</em> who looked up to Lance for their inspiration, for their "kick some ass, Lance, kick it good and hard for US, Lance" attitude.</strong> They were lifted up by that hope.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now that the 'Emperor' might have just stepped naked out of the team bus into the world - I pray that anyone who looked up to Armstrong will put their faith in something a little more 'not of this world' - after all, we are ALL only human.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And let me add this to my say-so on the topic. I don't want ANY of these athletes to be guilty of doping. But if it IS the reality, then let's shed the light, for everyone's sake, and do what we can to support CLEAN SPORTS going forward. And let's not have one set of rules for most athletes, and an edited version of those rules for the more 'powerful' athletes. That's all I want.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whether or not Lance is found guilty of doping, I want those patients to find their hope, their inspiration in something less 'human'. Get my meaning? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-- <strong><em>Davielle</em></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>and if anyone's got a rebuttal, please, let's start the conversation. I am, after all, about hearing all sides and opinions ...</em></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-56503933637693728812010-06-05T07:20:00.000-07:002010-06-05T07:20:56.937-07:00FLYING LESSONS underway<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbQqRcrkJHpMqhZO3m1z4AEPG6xx-uo3z_BtLM-M4ISU1i4efIGzgLK5oG6SdVRLg0cgcdbiRN2onLipmT2exuj7quzYc1RPiHl8dKgXz5hh7wXRgyR2lPiCKlQLSXKgZuYPaT2Q1_7G8/s1600/IMG_6795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbQqRcrkJHpMqhZO3m1z4AEPG6xx-uo3z_BtLM-M4ISU1i4efIGzgLK5oG6SdVRLg0cgcdbiRN2onLipmT2exuj7quzYc1RPiHl8dKgXz5hh7wXRgyR2lPiCKlQLSXKgZuYPaT2Q1_7G8/s320/IMG_6795.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Friends, I am not about to let my dream for <strong>MAGPIE'S ART NEST</strong> be put on the back burner, as they say, and so I have (a week late) signed up for <span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong>Kelly Rae Robert</strong>'s</span> online class, <strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">FLYING LESSONS: <em>Tips + Tricks to Help Your Creative Business Soar</em></span></strong><em><span style="color: #0b5394;"> ...</span> </em></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong><em>{above, Kelly Rae teaching us at An Artful Journey - February 2010}</em></strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">In case you don't know what <strong>Magpie's Art Nest</strong> is all about, you can visit my other blog at </span><a href="http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">http://iamprincessmagpie.blogspot.com</span></strong></a><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"> for further details.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">I think e-courses are truly the way to go when you want content that you can really ponder. It's online, you can re-visit the information, and if the instructor has made it accessible for printing, you'll have that hard copy that so many of us appreciate months down the road when we need a refresher.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hrLgO7zXyTRQBwGD5k3BK7yUZ1QrXPqIELA5iDYrvTT7HqG8yVFiBjs7p2wj3C9E25v35uuSGQZyawVcxpZfC6nyYlvAQo4NiyRAz0yA5sJLb1Qy4xTHRAiihv2Cp6rqyqqMzgJw1dip/s1600/IMG_6824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hrLgO7zXyTRQBwGD5k3BK7yUZ1QrXPqIELA5iDYrvTT7HqG8yVFiBjs7p2wj3C9E25v35uuSGQZyawVcxpZfC6nyYlvAQo4NiyRAz0yA5sJLb1Qy4xTHRAiihv2Cp6rqyqqMzgJw1dip/s320/IMG_6824.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Kelly Rae</span></strong> and her friend <strong><span style="color: #e06666;">Mati Rose (McDonough)</span> </strong>were co-instructors for the workshop I took earlier this year with my friend, Ann Deakers ... we made our own <strong><span style="color: #38761d;">FUNKY CHUNKY COFFEE TABLE BOOK</span></strong> and what a keepsake it is! Cynthia organized the most amazing Art Retreat (<strong>An Artful Journey</strong>) I can imagine, and Los Gatos was a beautiful setting. Just far enough away from home that we could really feel we got away, and driveable, too.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">But back to <strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">FLYING LESSONS</span></strong>. I've never had a desire to fly an airplane, but these are the kind of flying lessons I can really aspire to.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">If you are so inclined, I invite you to join me on this journey.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Visit Kelly Rae's website by clicking on the title of this blog post - it will take you there in a flash! (or just click on the <strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">FLYING LESSONS</span></strong> button on my sidebar ...)</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><strong><em>-- Davielle</em></strong></span></div>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-7734328554955227952010-05-21T07:42:00.000-07:002010-05-21T07:42:09.841-07:00REMOVING FALSEHOOD<span style="font-size: large;">Last month, I came across a daily reading in our LIVING FAITH (Daily Catholic Devotions) that struck me as ... very heartfelt. As if it were written by someone with ... experience on the topic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was written by Kristin Armstrong, <strong>"<em>mother of three, a writer and a runner. Her fourth book is</em> WORK IN PROGRESS: An Unfinished Woman's Guide to Grace."</strong> Click here to see what her other books are ... and to read a short bio on Kristin.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors_Kristin-Armstrong-(1076472).htm"><strong>http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors_Kristin-Armstrong-(1076472).htm</strong></a> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think you'll find it (somewhat) interesting to learn that she is the former wife of cyclist Lance Armstrong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So when I read this Living Faith "post", I bookmarked it ... and here it is, in its entirety:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>REMOVING FALSEHOOD</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Monday April 19</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em>'Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law.</em>' Psalm 119:29</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We don't make a conscious decision to turn towards the dark path of deceit. We don't wake up one day and decide that being a person of good character is overrated. We don't suddenly develop a penchant for dwelling in a pit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">No, departure from integrity is more subtle and insidious than that, more like taking a wrong turn and ending up lost -- in a bad neighborhood. It's allowing for a small deviation from the truth, rationalizing it and downplaying it, so the next indiscretion seems like no big deal -- and likewise the next and the next, until one can no longer remember how it felt to be clean. It isn't enough to try to avoid deceit; we have to actively pursue truth. We have to be intentional and diligent about seeking God's teaching and living in the light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>Lord, help me become so attuned to your teaching that a subtle tug of your Spirit is enough to turn me around.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-- Kristin Armstrong</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Read what you will here, and take from it what you will. That's all I ask.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>-- Davielle</em></strong></span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-56380071411839600732010-05-13T06:53:00.000-07:002010-05-13T06:53:54.687-07:00Giro d' Italia 2010 - Underway<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Or should I say ... <em>underwear</em>? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">On day 2 / Stage 2 of this year's Giro d' Italia (<em>tour of Italy - first of the year's three Grand Tours - Italy, France, Spain</em>), Mark and I were horrified (<em>although not surprised</em>) at the number of (<em>rather spectacular</em>) crashes. What a day in the saddle for these guys.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Of particular "interest" to both of us were the two NAKED RIDERS that got back on their bikes after one crash in particular -- both were from Team FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI, and we couldn't believe how their "kits" just blew apart in the crash. What a downer, right? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">If you want to know what I'm talkng about, click on the link to a YouTube clip of Stage Two's CRASHES (<em>in the title of this post</em>) ... it's in Italian, so enjoy the language, first of all. Next, watch closely at about 2:56 into the clip -- that's where the crash happens, and although the TV coverage was better - you will get a glimpse of these two poor riders. (<em>what's left of their kit is black</em> ...)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">{and by the way, in this same clip, a rather heartbreaking crash - three guys off the side of the road - never let it be believed that crashing in grass is any better than on the asphalt - this happens at 7:07 in the video}</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Back to naked guys on bikes. Right? Isn't that what we're here for, after all ???</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">So back up a bit, to 5:13 - 5:40 in this clip ... this is the crash that Mark and I just couldn't believe. Okay, so in THIS clip, the close-ups reveal ... somewhat LESS than we could see from a helicopter overhead view, thereby leading us to believe that this guy was HALF NAKED. {<strong><em>Imagine my delight</em></strong> <strong>!!!</strong>} What you're looking for here is <strong>rider # 101</strong> ...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">All right, so after another day of watching the Giro action, we discovered that this team has a "kit" that LOOKS like the guys are half-naked. Honestly. I'm not kidding. It's like the sponsors wanted them to show off ... all their "goods", and I'm not talking about the names of the sponsors.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Last night, watching Stage 4 of the Giro, I finally caught the name of the team in the unusual uniforms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><strong>Footon-Servetto-Fuji</strong>. This morning, I Googled them. Lo and behold, I found photographs of the Team "unveiling" the 2010 kits, and just have to share with you all:</span></span><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">the approach to the unveiling ... notice the one poor guy, with his head hung in ... I don't know, what do YOU think is going through his mind just about now?</span></em></strong><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">and here they are - unveiled for all the world to see. See what, you might ask? Gee ... you tell me.</span></em></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQWu3dgTbk9RphEomMO1xR84Grcj7rLhNvFsHUdvkM7PK1Q1B8cWL-xWZmG-Yr5Fp6dHu96OaYcHUgZU4080O6gGipUcGNNlkB34AGYHWC9Py7XbAi_4L633IfhY7BiFLN-XusbkVRFIE/s1600/footon-servetto-fuji+2010+team+kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQWu3dgTbk9RphEomMO1xR84Grcj7rLhNvFsHUdvkM7PK1Q1B8cWL-xWZmG-Yr5Fp6dHu96OaYcHUgZU4080O6gGipUcGNNlkB34AGYHWC9Py7XbAi_4L633IfhY7BiFLN-XusbkVRFIE/s320/footon-servetto-fuji+2010+team+kit.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Call me juvenile, but when I see a guy in a revealing pair of bike shorts, I can't help but ... stare. There, I've admitted it. Our cycling friends (<em>well, the women anyway </em>) well recall the early days, when I was a newbie to all this ... I had a particular favorite (<em>and I'm serious, here</em>): <strong>Jaan Kirsipuu, the Estonian sprinter</strong>. The highlight of my very first Tour de France (<em>2002, after his stage 5 win in Rouen</em>) was standing up close to Jaan himself. And I have the photos to prove it. Those, and his autograph.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">If you'd like to see the mighty Kirsipuu for yourself, I'm including some of my fave images here ...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vnn9Tb8_BLbyhV47_abVbMGqcEuUD83f81-1G3a83xbFC9y74jFLQfkA3jDcJsb_wCJZDu40bmlOmTZITbZe5HtRFYD_Y6USsv_hGEvXi3-J4aWmRfSK18A_RgO6IJn7Lp8FkNQeDyML/s1600/jaan_kirsipuu3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vnn9Tb8_BLbyhV47_abVbMGqcEuUD83f81-1G3a83xbFC9y74jFLQfkA3jDcJsb_wCJZDu40bmlOmTZITbZe5HtRFYD_Y6USsv_hGEvXi3-J4aWmRfSK18A_RgO6IJn7Lp8FkNQeDyML/s200/jaan_kirsipuu3.jpg" width="155" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><strong><em> <span style="color: black;">his winning style ...</span></em></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirCcPhzoSEBcuYJEcP5A_V2NJX5MN6zPUfZUYFzR7Qk6bNOGqffP4Cd96AEobTF5Z-zl6nts09_dygaTlDptYWaHCWC7BKMdIemp5Qn2lwTYEOaH1a8jqhNTvXf2QdTobx2aJUOPTWVBG/s1600/jaan_kirsipuu1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirCcPhzoSEBcuYJEcP5A_V2NJX5MN6zPUfZUYFzR7Qk6bNOGqffP4Cd96AEobTF5Z-zl6nts09_dygaTlDptYWaHCWC7BKMdIemp5Qn2lwTYEOaH1a8jqhNTvXf2QdTobx2aJUOPTWVBG/s200/jaan_kirsipuu1.jpg" width="170" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><strong><em> <span style="color: black;">and his winning smile ...</span></em></strong></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GqRZ4Mu8F-e5-2t4eChT_xUS-qfitlei__pvzryKOhdwB5R57Rn4QW9YgyhD4R_VpHT7IEoaN3_To1MNU-Y_1JWZfuHhXULJzQ_cVlJa7JHfQcql5hbHO3VA4m4R8YJgUmfCeS0iQ95R/s1600/jaan_kirsipuu_second_again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GqRZ4Mu8F-e5-2t4eChT_xUS-qfitlei__pvzryKOhdwB5R57Rn4QW9YgyhD4R_VpHT7IEoaN3_To1MNU-Y_1JWZfuHhXULJzQ_cVlJa7JHfQcql5hbHO3VA4m4R8YJgUmfCeS0iQ95R/s200/jaan_kirsipuu_second_again.jpg" width="158" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">his humility ... when he took a second instead of a win ...</span></em></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: black;">oh, and lest we forget, the overall Jaan .. it's his podium shots I love the best !!!</span></em></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXgoV4OBAk24tcHNPuq3ZVqATFirdc2tC2NqTRK6HvIpRpYyTLm0fYBup04JxAMRJeVgrs6JwBtvW3IHaDq0eu3fLHhyphenhyphen-wefiqsbRTsxZIq5rC6bujEyrET-KIz-kPwI6FynF-FfgL-IG/s1600/Kirsipuu_podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXgoV4OBAk24tcHNPuq3ZVqATFirdc2tC2NqTRK6HvIpRpYyTLm0fYBup04JxAMRJeVgrs6JwBtvW3IHaDq0eu3fLHhyphenhyphen-wefiqsbRTsxZIq5rC6bujEyrET-KIz-kPwI6FynF-FfgL-IG/s320/Kirsipuu_podium.jpg" width="210" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">But back to this year's Giro d'Italia ... if you, too, would like to follow the 2010 race, it's being covered daily on Universal Sports (<em>television</em>), and the km by km coverage I like the best is still at </span><a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.cyclingnews.com</span></a> . </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">If you'd like to know more about Footon-Servetto-Fuji's 2010 cycling team, click here</span> <a href="http://footon-servetto-fuji.com/en/home/id/1/"><span style="color: blue;">http://footon-servetto-fuji.com/en/home/id/1/</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">-- Davielle</span></em></strong>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-26577513363354890122010-04-26T17:36:00.000-07:002010-04-26T17:36:20.063-07:00Ornithology 101<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So Rule No. 1 of bird-watching is this: <strong><em><span style="color: blue;">ONE MUST BE PATIENT</span></em></strong>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Rule No. 2: <em><strong><span style="color: blue;">One should always have binoculars and/or their camera AT HAND</span></strong></em>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Rule No. 3: <strong><em><span style="color: blue;">One should always proceed S.L.O.W.L.Y. in areas where they usually see ... BIRDS</span></em></strong>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So I'm following all the rules today. I hit the big-time score. First, I followed <strong>Rule No. 3</strong> ... when I got home this afternoon from running all kinds of errands, I drove up our drive ... slowly. I usually do. There's either birds in the birdbath or bunnies in the open spaces, or at the very least, I can delay putting things away for just that much longer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Second, I spy a ****load of birds splashing in our Misty Birdbath. I slow the car even more. I realize that I am now able to say that I followed <strong>Rule No. 2</strong> -- my camera was right next to me (<em>'cause I took Kristi and her friend Jen out to breakfast this morning, and wanted to take photos of them</em>). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">And next: <strong>Rule No. 1</strong>. PATIENCE. It's a virtue, you know. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So. I sit in the car, radio off and a/c turned way down, foot on the brake. I put the camera on "sport" setting and I zoom in as much as I can, still unaware of what a goldmine I've just struck. Still, I'm thinking to myself, "<em>hmm, those birds look rather ... large</em> ..." ???</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Lo and behold -- it was a FLOCK of Cedar Waxwings. OMG, I just scored big-time! I begin very calmly freaking out.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuVSt4M2FgnPus14pn5xNbX4JmA2u5258d4fTcD_PjRiUye7dkM58gvAvoePT1pzjRB7R70_HHGh7qvwyFQF7fjdJKcNcBR9AfKQ1yw8ewepBb2t44C0wFVLn2xFvtkJQTccIiVnqoEh5/s1600/IMG_8151+waxwings+bathing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuVSt4M2FgnPus14pn5xNbX4JmA2u5258d4fTcD_PjRiUye7dkM58gvAvoePT1pzjRB7R70_HHGh7qvwyFQF7fjdJKcNcBR9AfKQ1yw8ewepBb2t44C0wFVLn2xFvtkJQTccIiVnqoEh5/s200/IMG_8151+waxwings+bathing.jpg" tt="true" width="149" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I quickly called Mark on his cell to tell him to fly (<em>get it</em>? fly?!) down the driveway, but no answer. Meanwhile, I'm snapping away and once I realized what I had, there wasn't any way I was taking time to call anyone else to come see. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So look up Cedar Waxwing if you don't know what they are ... <em>Bombycilla cedorum</em> is their Latin name. WAY cool birds.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>IF YOU CLICK ON THE LINK BENEATH THIS POST'S TITLE, </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>you'll be re-directed to a site for Sibley's bird guides.</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iTyipDahfTfA5jUmqmVHQ8Lf68WZPY_QrwbSKnXCMuLos09ipPGLp5W4v_eqNexe49fBi0HYgaJ-1aAVV4eJofL4x1WjCJZ38PITLAyjn2aPQ4cABdtfymRWYJg5oWms0REkmd1X2Fum/s1600/IMG_8153+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iTyipDahfTfA5jUmqmVHQ8Lf68WZPY_QrwbSKnXCMuLos09ipPGLp5W4v_eqNexe49fBi0HYgaJ-1aAVV4eJofL4x1WjCJZ38PITLAyjn2aPQ4cABdtfymRWYJg5oWms0REkmd1X2Fum/s200/IMG_8153+cropped.jpg" tt="true" width="168" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So while I'm snap snap snapping away -- click, click, click -- I try to inch the car a little closer. They're SO on to me, though, that they flitter up into the nearby trees. Trying to blend in. Right, guys. So I keep snapping. I turn the car off. {<em>you can see how <strong>Rule No. 1</strong> is really key here</em> ...}</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkLImBkR1TBpYoMvEglO4ggc8kPqvRrAl2zIhH5qBPTKkqAyq7hIk5P3lagRxZT8zeUKfMRwwIBWT6k9NNH1JJArimn9Hv_gl068S0pDWrj8WO0TCIMjOU0PowZh93mZ7sdFrOee87shA/s1600/IMG_8155+solo+waxwing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkLImBkR1TBpYoMvEglO4ggc8kPqvRrAl2zIhH5qBPTKkqAyq7hIk5P3lagRxZT8zeUKfMRwwIBWT6k9NNH1JJArimn9Hv_gl068S0pDWrj8WO0TCIMjOU0PowZh93mZ7sdFrOee87shA/s320/IMG_8155+solo+waxwing.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">But wait. It gets better. OMG, a small crew of ... oh, they're just house finches. Anyway, too cute, they fly in and bathe and the Waxwings - whether they didn't want to cross-pollinate with the other "lowly" birds, or if I was making them cautious -- the Waxwings just sat up above, PATIENTly waiting for an empty bath OR for me to leave. You see, patience works both ways.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TsEzBj2uMdAbgGlGLV8R0X_M6dEYanNvf9VOcj50ygDFMKIL9xlrdBuTDZrHERyngH1trKmlflMtVM__u-4S83zGs3WYll6Fpwxv8cKVWrlO343K6gRpuw89ltG8NKj4s6H0vqcYUXMD/s1600/IMG_8169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TsEzBj2uMdAbgGlGLV8R0X_M6dEYanNvf9VOcj50ygDFMKIL9xlrdBuTDZrHERyngH1trKmlflMtVM__u-4S83zGs3WYll6Fpwxv8cKVWrlO343K6gRpuw89ltG8NKj4s6H0vqcYUXMD/s200/IMG_8169.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>At left, a House Finch, a White-Crowned Sparrow, a lone Waxwing (all in the lower bath) and up above, one of these cute podgy baby birds and ... hmmm ... something rather brightly colored.</strong></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbyBipdOsTPDXBZPyuxHO0fDwsjcEFtKXw_dZpwC8dJYS4Z3ymoGrU9DGAByCOlOIdfaVeoCldGSlaDhWkL3gOnMlfQkjFmN9dTdJrpshasNlgYagw1AKfMkuYCaS5jRARqJWhHGZZnpc/s1600/IMG_8177+angry+western+tanager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbyBipdOsTPDXBZPyuxHO0fDwsjcEFtKXw_dZpwC8dJYS4Z3ymoGrU9DGAByCOlOIdfaVeoCldGSlaDhWkL3gOnMlfQkjFmN9dTdJrpshasNlgYagw1AKfMkuYCaS5jRARqJWhHGZZnpc/s320/IMG_8177+angry+western+tanager.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So as I sit there, super-duper PATIENTLY waiting for some more Waxwing action ... HOLY COW, some flash of brilliant color flits into view. OMG, it's the first <span style="color: orange;"><strong>Western Tanager</strong></span> (<em>Piranga ludoviciana</em>) of the season. RIGHT into the bath. "<em>Nobody's gonna believe this</em>", I thought to myself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">PATIENCE pays off, my ornithological friends. Get this:</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_BbbVEdqDDh2gAQm2RPvcsUq1-vgmvG0q41zTXXL0jA3fw_v2-ZcRtKCAE3ANwZb1jzP-0x8hkOcMGL-2siLtV4u7zdB5T7MI7LWoMK57sjGfbJy6V469wZHeM9Mj8pPzyf3MfVw82UN/s1600/IMG_8185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_BbbVEdqDDh2gAQm2RPvcsUq1-vgmvG0q41zTXXL0jA3fw_v2-ZcRtKCAE3ANwZb1jzP-0x8hkOcMGL-2siLtV4u7zdB5T7MI7LWoMK57sjGfbJy6V469wZHeM9Mj8pPzyf3MfVw82UN/s200/IMG_8185.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The next flash of color that flies in ... a <strong><span style="color: black;">Hooded Oriole</span></strong> (<em>Icterus cucullatus</em>). Yup, you got it ... the first sighting of them for the season, too. </span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ClrhBZFnOqHRW5bm6TR9VU5VMQAP9-GaVn5HkIEwz6Y6vtk9WfTtIdwrepJDZYJQZ9nzI4_WAjNp3ecevEuaYiI4QPc7m6LoG-Eqeleb5xguAQvS8fnmPJLTs4NMuQIlBXH2VxJeJvkZ/s1600/IMG_8199+hummer+bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ClrhBZFnOqHRW5bm6TR9VU5VMQAP9-GaVn5HkIEwz6Y6vtk9WfTtIdwrepJDZYJQZ9nzI4_WAjNp3ecevEuaYiI4QPc7m6LoG-Eqeleb5xguAQvS8fnmPJLTs4NMuQIlBXH2VxJeJvkZ/s320/IMG_8199+hummer+bath.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">As if it could get any better ... in pops a <span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>hummingbird</strong></span> to the bath. Yeah, </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">sitting right there. I'm going to guess that this was a Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), although I am not certain. We have LOTS of hummingbirds on the property, and I know this is one of our year-round varieties, but I'm not so good at ID'ing the hummers. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Whew. What a day.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrOou0kRrOlOw3IvJnuoh4q6O7n7inn4HweVtJ_3GWyKtS3tXQGiPCPKCaULVxC3bghH2IgEACQb7RTqO6gJVC-W1z7f4BkSWSzyZAapoFWCW8LRLXK7nPiTKKcz1KLg5KOrUzLHjX0FA/s1600/IMG_8186+baby+in+bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrOou0kRrOlOw3IvJnuoh4q6O7n7inn4HweVtJ_3GWyKtS3tXQGiPCPKCaULVxC3bghH2IgEACQb7RTqO6gJVC-W1z7f4BkSWSzyZAapoFWCW8LRLXK7nPiTKKcz1KLg5KOrUzLHjX0FA/s320/IMG_8186+baby+in+bath.jpg" tt="true" width="272" /></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">OH, but wait. One of the most darling bathers this afternoon were these podgy baby birds - and I have no idea what they are, although I might guess they are baby House Sparrows (?) - if someone can enlighten me, I can go to sleep easily tonight.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Ah, now where are our elusive <strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Western Bluebirds</span></strong>? I ask you. Is it too much to ask for them to come back and nest on our property this year? We had them here, one year. Too lovely for words. Oh, and of course, that was the same year that a flock of Indigo Buntings flew on through for a weekend. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Bliss for Birders, 101.</strong></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Yours in Ornithological Ecstasy ...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><em><strong>Davielle</strong></em></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">(oh, and by the way ... all photos in this post - </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">by Moi. </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">Yup, all my own shots. Sigh.)</span></em></strong></div>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330447384334024743.post-40165251795237453892010-04-06T11:28:00.000-07:002010-04-06T11:28:51.926-07:00Reader's Digest Version {or, Davi needs to create shorter blog posts!}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCEEOEcFklBa1fpwea2lyFI6rNXrTolDV_vziuOYZsRGKzuxpyFxwpJdCtqWOPlNFVOd5iWlg6XzHJdAkUkLWt-so1475Xk0X73_F3xQ52E635f4Cz_GXmLrE1rvA37oWA1pqYB1VpO06/s1600/AlphabetSoup_Horse_Racing_Wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCEEOEcFklBa1fpwea2lyFI6rNXrTolDV_vziuOYZsRGKzuxpyFxwpJdCtqWOPlNFVOd5iWlg6XzHJdAkUkLWt-so1475Xk0X73_F3xQ52E635f4Cz_GXmLrE1rvA37oWA1pqYB1VpO06/s320/AlphabetSoup_Horse_Racing_Wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I just went through some of my recent blog posts and WOW, I am embarassed to admit ... I tend to write</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><em>REEEEAAAALLLLLYYYY</em> <em>LLLOOONNNGGGGGG</em></strong> .... posts. I do apologize.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again, right here and right now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I will do my utmost to condense, refine, and shorten - said posts. Going forward, anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yours in brevity,</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Davielle</span>Davielle (aka, Princess Magpie)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11204266750777389037noreply@blogger.com1