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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Not quite....

It seems that the cold hand of winter is loosening it's grip around us...
I spied my little batch of tiny snowdrops coming up...
Their small, nodding heads, so cautious but brave, coming out on a sunny afternoon...
And cautious they should be, because right behind the house, in the hills yesterday morning
was the real thing....fresh snow, only a short  distance from here.
But these little souls keep the faith that, yes, spring is on it's way.
I'll join them in their hopeful show and maybe even start some seeds in the greenhouse tomorrow.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Song for Friday...For History.


February is Black History month and I thought I would honor a woman
who crossed many hurdles during her 92 years.
Lena Horne was of mixed race and struggled to fit in on both sides.
She became a strong advocate for change in the civil rights movement.
Even dating back to WW2, when entertaining the troops for the USO, she refused to perform for segregated audiences or for groups in which German POWs were seated in front of African American servicemen", according to her Kennedy Center biography.
Because the U.S. Army refused to allow integrated audiences, she wound up putting on a show for a mixed audience of black U.S. soldiers and white German POWs.
Seeing the black soldiers had been forced to sit in the back seats, she walked off the stage to the first row where the black troops were seated and performed with the Germans behind her.
Lena Horne died in May of last year, leaving behind an amazing career as a singer and dancer.
One of her best known performances was that of the song "Stormy Weather",
but I thought I would post this lesser known performance.
Here she is with Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street singing
"It ain't easy bein' green"
I think it held a lot of deeper meanings for Lena as well.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

What a day!

Yesterday, there was a lot of commotion in front of the flower shop where I work.
No, it wasn't a line up to buy flowers for Valentines day (although that did happen later!)...
Even the local t.v news station showed up...
Was there a celebrity in town?
Wrong again!
The excitement was building...
And then....
HERE COMES THE BRIDE!!
On Sunday, my boss Karen, proposed to Francis, her partner of 12 years and within 18 hours
the wedding was on!
Friends and family gathered,
giggling in the rain, 
for these two sweethearts to seal the deal.
Exchanging vows...
 Placing rings on fingers...
Kisses...kisses...kisses...
Smiles all around!!!
Here with daughter, Mina...
 ...and the boys, Ben and Peter...
 With the legal stuff out of the way...
The cheers rang out!

 So on a rainy Monday in February...
The skies were full of Joy!
The air was drenched in Love!
 CONGRATULATIONS KAREN AND FRANCIS!!!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day!

Oh! I just can't resist a fun love song...
This one will get you dancing and smiling!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The reveal...

These eyes...
These teeth...
This bumpy body...
Spiny tail...
All belong to the lovely....
Masika!
(Egyptian for 'born in the rainy season')
There's something so content about the smile of a Nile crocodile...
...she's in my Etsy shop, grinning away the day.