Employment Headline

....but apparently not as headline grammar 

editors.

Esssssssssssssssssssscape.

     Last year it was Zoo Atlanta losssing track of a deadly snake.

     Now it's New York's Bronx Zoo.

     The folks up in NY say they are confident the snake is still inside the viper palace, but that's the same thing the Atlanta folks said and their escaped killer was found on the lawn of a family living nearby.

     Tim's snakeophobe motto is: presume they are all deadly and out to kill you until proven otherwise.



[Thanks to Chief snake correspondent and VP for pay wall development, Jay, for the tip.]

Spring vintage clip, mazes and a Sandra L. Foose bunny project

What a beautiful day!

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

~ Jawaharlal Nehru

This is an illustration from "The Turned-Into's"

vintage book, 1930's

Here is the little poem that goes with it:

Let's have some rainy day activities, and do some exploring!

Sandra Lounsbury Foose is my all time most favorite designer and craft book author. I have every one of her books, and use them frequently. Although a book may be geared for a fabric toy, for example, her designs are so well done that I have adapted many to fit my craft of the moment. Perhaps into a paper card. Or I use the pattern and make a bulletin board decoration instead.
She even has a few books dedicated just for paper - Super Simple Paper is one of them.  Another is Super Simple Greeting Cards.
Here are some Amazon listings that can get you started on your road to a fantastic new scrap-saving adventure:

PAPER:

http://www.amazon.com/Paper-All-Seasons-Projects-Presents/dp/0823038920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301152927&sr=1-1-spell

http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Super-Paper-Projects-Twist/dp/0809228645/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301152852&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Card-Shop-Dazzling-Collection-Greetings/dp/0809225417/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_11

Here are a couple of titles that are Scrap Savers:

http://www.amazon.com/Scrap-Savers-Stitchery-Sandra-Lounsbury/dp/0024966800/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_7

http://www.amazon.com/Scrap-Savers-Hundred-Little-Crafts/dp/0848714199/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_6

Here is a darling bunny basket to make. Very simple, very cute!

I have made this little basket, and changed the ears to fit what I wanted. Using this pattern, I have made them into little kittens, and little bears. I also have made little children ones, each with their own hair style.

Mrs. Foose has another design that are snowmen, with fun black top hats.

What to do with them?

  - jelly bean holders

  - perfect for one special Easter Egg

  - fill with winter mints (snowman)

  - A special place to keep your erasers

  - a barrette holder for little girls

You think of more, and let me know!

dominoes@myinkspired.com

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.

It is already tomorrow in Australia."
~ Charles M. Schulz, creator of 'Peanuts'

"I think that no matter how old or infirm I may become,

 I will always plant a large garden in the spring.
Who can resist the feelings of hope and joy

that one gets from participating in nature's rebirth?"
-   Edward Giobbi

one of my daisy necklaces for sale on etsy

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

c.1918

c.1907

Well, I'm off to meet a friend for brunch, and then we're going to do some errands.

One of my errands is to go pick up a bottle of Modge Podge. Yesterday with my sister I picked up some darling napkins and clear glass items to decoupage on.

I am hopeful that I will be able to take pictures and present my first tutorial with photos soon!

It truly is a beautiful project!

I have to time it, as I hope to teach this at our Village Baptist Church's Women's Retreat, coming up April 30. I need to know if we can do it in the time allowed.

If you're in the area of 128th and Colorado Blvd, Denver, you are welcome to join me April 30!

inkspired

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Civility

I'm not sure if we solved any of the incivility problem, but we certainly did talk about it this morning!

     The David Mathews Center for Civic Life and The Alabama Humanities Foundation invited me to sit on a panel discussing the lack of civility in politics and society, with the centerpiece being an essay written by a University of Alabama-Huntsville professor, Dr.Nick Jones (that's him at the podium in these pictures.)

      Most of the colleges in the state were invited to submit an essay on the topic, and a panel selected his as the best. The six finalists will be published on the Alabama Humanities Foundation website.

     Among those on the panel with me was former For The Record guest and longtime Jacksonville University History professor Harvey "Hardy" Jackson and veteran Birmingham broadcaster Shelley Stewart (the picture of the gentlemen NOT at the podium), who runs a foundation targeting the High School  drop-out rate. Shelly will turn 80 in about two years!

     One of the most interesting questions asked came not during the panel, but after it, by a fella who asked about a disparaging comment I had made about Rush Limbaugh...he pointed out it was not very civic. Hmmm. Good point, I thought. How do you criticise lack of civility without, yourself, being uncivil.

For Rose

Today I am staying home and remembering a friend who died Wednesday night at the hands of her sixteen year old grandson. She was 57, just a few years older than me. I‘ve known Rose almost since we arrived here in Oklahoma in 1998 when my husband was still on active duty in the Air Force and we were members of the Tinker Catholic Parish of St. Francis of Assisi.

Rose got me started in the hospital ministry, visiting and bringing Holy Communion to the sick and dying. I was in a lot pain myself at the time—my psoriatic arthritis was years away from diagnosis and treatment—and Rose helped me find the inner confidence to minister to those more ill than myself.

Rose always ran circles around me in terms of what she could do. She was brash and sometimes loud. Although she rubbed some people the wrong way, she had a heart of gold and would help anyone in need. After my husband retired and we switched to an off-base parish, I saw Rose less but got to know her best friend, who later became my oldest daughter’s Religious Education teacher and Confirmation Sponsor. I kept up with Rose though her. We often got together as a group and went out to dinner after Saturday evening Mass.

The last time I really visited with Rose was at my daughter’s Graduation party. Rose never missed an opportunity to celebrate ‘family’. She believed in God, love and family. She believed in the young grandson¹ who brutally took her and her husband’s² lives two nights ago. This isn’t easy for me to get my mind much less my heart around today.

I think it’s going to take awhile ... to say the least. I have been crying off and on ever since I heard the news.

I have heard and in fact already know all the truisms about such tragedies.

“She’s in a better place.” Yes, I believe she is.

“She isn’t hurting anymore.” Yes, thank God!

“It doesn’t help to dwell on how she died.” No, it never helps to dwell on violence.

“Prayer is a great healer.” It truly is and I have been and am praying.

“You will see her again someday.” Yes, the best thing about our faith is that certainty of eternity with our God.

I'm not looking for answers or quick fixes or even anything to ease the pain. I don’t need to have everything fixed today. I don't need any answers, because anything easy I can think to say just sounds trite. Maybe I just need to remember my friend—as she was—with humble gratitude for the gift of her life and all she gave me; remember her and grieve.

Here’s to Rose ... and Dave

May you live forever with Him Whom you served.

With much love,




¹The grandson is in custody where hopefully he will stay. He needs our prayers more than anyone; however, he also needs to be physically restrained so that he cannot do anyone any more harm.

² I don’t mean to ignore Dave, Rose’s husband, in this post. It’s just that I didn’t know him as well as I did her. But I do know he was a very quiet, gentle man who loved her.

Spring quotes, song sheets, free paper doll and a super chicken recipe

peep, peep, peep - Why, hello Spring!

c.1912

“Springtime is the land awakening.

The March winds are the morning yawn.”

- Lewis Grizzard,

          in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You



Mountain lamb, photo taken in Canada

I am a totally Spring Person! I crave the sun, the warmth.

And yes, I like summer too!

I look forward to seeing the green shoots starting to poke their heads up, like little green thermometers checking the weather.

Once I started planting Spring bulbs in the fall, Spring is that much more wonderful! I adore daffodils of any kind - the big ones, the skinny ones, the plain yellow, the yellow & orange, the white & orange....Love them all!

“Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing.”~Albert Laighton

Here is the wonderful chicken recipe I've been telling you about:

Mrs. Shidlers Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

 a recipe my sister gave me

~3 cans cream of chicken soup

~1 pint sour cream

~8 oz. diced green chilies

~1 lb. grated cheddar cheese (I usually use CoJack cheese)

~tortilla chips, broken

~2 - 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up

Combine soup, sour cream, chilies and chicken in a bowl.

Place layer of broken tortilla chips in bottom of 9x13" pan.

Spoon 1/2 of soup mixture over the chips.

Top with 1/2 of the cheese.

Repeat (chips - soup - cheese).

Bake at 325' for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Yum.

Not too many ingredients, and none of them hard to find.

Delicious.

What a great recipe!

Even Chef Pluto would approve!

“Spring makes its own statement,

So loud and clear that

The gardener seems to be only

One of the instruments,

Not the composer.”

-Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

 c.1909

c.1906

Here is a paperdoll with lovely Little Bo Peep costumes:

A sweet Little Bo Peep Barbie.

I'm working on several projects right now. One of them is reverse decoupage glass plates. Another one is making cards with my kirigami cuttings.

I think we have finally gotten most of the kinks out of our computer vs. camera problems. Who knew a computer could be so snobbish as to not recognize my scanner or my camera downloads?

We finally bowed to the computer and purchased a printer/scanner/fax-in-one that it might deign to recognize.

It will let us know.

It reserves the right to refuse this acknowledgement at any time, with out previous notice.

I think the credit card companies are in cahoots with my computer.....

Theme song for unnamed

(to protect the mmmmm, innocent? nah, to protect the guilty!) 

credit card companies.

On that ducky note, I will bid you adieu.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/principessasweetpea

inkspired

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Ayo its The Pretty Toney Awards nahmean!

Ayo whattup yalls this P-Tone n Imma be yalls host for this shit right here. The first annual Pretty Toney Awards is now in effect namsayin. Basically a nigga limited this shit to jus the most important categories namsayin. So we aint gon cover all them joints a nigga had wanted to but Imma give you the shit that yalls is probably thinkin bout yaselves n shit nahmean. Word. So here we go namsayin. Boom.

    Hottest Chick in The Game Award

    Alicia Keys

Yall already kno what P-Tone be thinkin nahmean....word bond. Ayo Sorry Jay but we kinda off Beyonce  right now namsayin. Not that she aint been no dimepiece or nothin like that. But the competition been gettin kinda stiff for a minute now g. What puts Alicia ahead a her is the fact that homegirl can actually sing nahmean. Her actin aint shit but the girl can sing b. N she be playin instruments n shit. Beyonce been gettin cake n all that but she aint got no actual actual talent like that son. There might be other women thats competin wit Alicia as far as flyness goes but they usually dont got a whole lot else goin for theyselves namsayin.

N no offense but Swizzy is a funny lookin nigga namsayin. He look like he half Snoop n half Joe Budden namsayin. Like if you ever wondered what it would look like if you combined Joey n Snoop this is what the fuck it would look like g....not no pretty sight namsayin. Sometimes he be lookin like a black Adrien Brody n shit...again yo I aint mean that as no compliment or nothin. Either way she looked past that niggas strange appearance n shit n let him put a baby in her n all that so I aint really gon front on the nigga. She aint too hung up on looks or nothin so she get respect for that. Not that Beyonce aint had to look past a couple things herself  tho...

    Baddest White Broad Alive Award

    Christina Hendricks. 

Ayo sorry Scarlett n Angelina. Far as Tone concerned this might be the finest white woman breathin g. The fact that she let that chihuahua lookin ass nigga wife her aint only a damn shame but its proof she aint no shallow ass broad either son. Matter fact she either more blind than Ray Charles was or jus dont give a fuck about looks period...cos that nigga look like a gibbon monkey wit a wig son. Son be makin Swizz look like a normal nigga by comparison. So she really dont be givin a shit. Either that or the nigga jus broke the broads confidence like that nahmean. Ayo maybe he holdin her family members hostage somewhere or some shit like that namsayin. Maybe the nigga a wizard nahmean....bottom line is Tone dont kno what kinda black magic voodoo that nigga usin or what kinda deal the nigga got wit the devil but he landed hisself a AAA grade broad right there wit nice briskets son. N she can act an alla that too. I be hearin broads that look like they should be pullin chuck wagons talkin bout nahhhh she aint all that nahmean....she too pale...she jus fat....she a bitch...or whatever whatever nahmean. Nah you jus a cro magnon broad wit hate in ya heart n cant accept that she look like Godiva n you be lookin like Godzilla namsayin. Fuckouttahere wit all that you hatin ass bitches..

That bein said if this broad right here ever develop any talent...

    ....she might could take that number 1 position over someday nahmean.


   Coyote Ugly Award

    Snooki.

Ayo it aint even like the god be hatin dwarf broads like that nahmean. Even if the bitch wasnt 3'11" n shit it aint like she got other shit goin for her like that namsayin. Ayo I dont care how many yalls is feelin this guido muskrat. Homegirl be makin my didick cry son. She got a nigga thinkin bout abstinence n shit. You could probably jus splash ya dick wit Draino if u gon put ya joint in that goblin namsayin. If me n her was the last 2 muthafuckas on earth she would have to kill a nigga if she was hopin for some intimate relations to pop off  namsayin. Word. No offense tho ma.

    Most Garbage Ass Nigga Breathin Award

    C Breezy!

This nigga got so much failure in his DNA that he thought he was gon rescue his career by dying his hair yellow n leakin phone pics of his dick son. Who the fuck been managin this niggas career? Niggas already wanted to stomp this dude n throw his ass off a bridge after that Rihanna shit but he really be thinkin he invincible like that now. Cos he avoided gettin his ass beat n all that. The only smart thing this nigga ever did was go into hidin after he won that fight against Rihanna nahmean. Then he came back on some humble shit. Ayo I was sayin this nigga wasnt shit before any of that shit even went down namsayin. Son be lookin like the 3rd dude on that evolution chart n shit. I aint even believe in all that shit but son is like living evidence of that shit namsayin. This nigga ever throw a chair around me Imma shove the entire chair up his ass then pull it out of his mouth nahmean. I aint even playin wit yalls.

Not The Worst Song But Still A Wack Nigga Award

Wiz Khalifa - On My Level feat. Too$hort


Too bad eything else on the niggas album was straight Febreze tho namsayin. Watch out cos the nigga gon be rockin crazy maternity wards n nurseries wit this album.


    Gatorade Nigga Of The Year Award

Dammm Wiz u coppin back to back awards n shit! Cmon son....you really on some serious sucka shit rite here tho namsayin duke. How this nigga squeeze so much thirst onto jus one thumb like this g? You been knowin Amber Rose how long now son? Exactly nigga. N you actin like you ready to wife this broad in the worst way. She got you trained little nigga. You probably at her crib wit a windex bottle n a cloth wipin her windows right now son. You was probably only at the dry humpin stage wit her when you went n got this shit tatted on you too. Luckily you aint had no more room on ya body otherwise this shit coulda got way outta control son.

   The Gay Merlin Award

Aubrey

Jus look at the faces this nigga be makin son. If that aint the face of a nigga that wanna fuck other niggas I aint kno what is g. Ayo I feel like son got a flower where his man parts should be namsayin. The nigga cant even do nothin else to make his image more suspect g. Sons whole shit so soft its like he walkin round all day wit a invisible bouquet of dicks nahmean. This nigga was probably dancin on tables at his prom n shit. But got damm he got yall broads fooled! N summa you niggas too. For that accomplishment alone I gotta applaud this nigga. This nigga commited to excellence in gay wizardry nahmean. This nigga probably got a gateway to Narnia in his closet n all that namsayin. Word.


Anyways yall thats all we got for you namsayin. Hope yalls enjoyed the show.
Aight peace.

.