Studio Friday - {COLLECTIONS}

Studio Friday topic for October 27th:
This week's topic for Friday October 27th suggested by Silvia:
"MY COLLECTION(S)!"

"Most people collect something, it would be fun to see what others have in their collections."
~ Silvia

Oh boy... are you sure you're ready for ME? Just kiddin'!!
Well this is a topic that's really, really fun and easy for me! My husband and I collect WW2 memorabilia. We own a WW2 museum that houses our personal collection. What we focus most on is USA Army Air Corps and Paratrooper Memorbelia but we have a LOT of stuff from all branches of the US services and also Allied and Axis troops.
Here's part of our reenactment group. My husband is on the far right.

We own a traveling museum. Though we have a complete field hospital, we generally take the smaller, field hospital with us to events. We set up (takes about an hour and 1/2) at out door as well as indoor events. My husband does an excellent Field Surgeon impression and since he is a physician by trade, he is able to answer questions about the equipment and medical supplies. Our display really is very impressive. I wish the photographs did it justice! This particular collection, obviously, focuses on the medical aspect of WW2.

Here are a few photos that just show a small fraction of what our museum has.
Below are 2 photos of our field aid station. A field aid station was the 2nd medical contact that the wounded had. The 1st being the medic. About 90% of wounded men who made it to the field aid station, survived.
The 1st photo is the triage area and often the ONLY area they had.

This next photo is of their aid station. Under the tent would be supplies, a few stretchers (called 'litters') and possibly room for emergency surgery; often done outdoors due to lack of space and light.

Our passion is to display parts of our collection at various events. One of our favourite displays is our Veteran's Day display. We bring a lot of smaller memorabilia such as war time magazines, housewares, uniforms, paper items and general WW2 militaria. We love to set up for WW2 veterans!! The next few photos I took last year at Stonebrige Assisted Living Center. We put up a nice Veteran's Day display for the residents. We LOVE it when Veteran's are present and start telling
us about their war time experiences. They love it when we visit and we love visiting them!

Below is a litter (stretcher) with a bunch of Field hospital memorabilia. Of course you recognise the Medic Helmet. The other various instruments and gadgets would be found in the field hospital. IV pole and Plasma bottle, ether mask,gauze/bandages, syringes, wash basin, medic bag stocked full of bandages and morphine.

On this stretcher are various medical instruments used in the field hospitals of WW2. Some of the instruments are downright scary lookin'!


Here you will see a small display of wooden cases. Inside these are some of my favourite things. Soldiers rations, various insignia, sweetheart jewelry, matchbooks from different bases with various sayings on them. Spotter cards of enemy tanks and planes and lots of other small wartime trinkets. Most of these things we had found at various flea markets, garage sales and of course, ebay!


We not only focus on WW2 Medicine. We also have a pretty intense collection of G.I. memorabilia. Below is a photo of the basic contents of a regular G.I.'s backpack.
Helmet, gas mask, mess kit, shaving kit, 1 morphine syrette, canteen, cigarettes, toilet paper, lighter. K-Rations, comb, flashlight and a few miscellaneous things.


The photo below is a small portion of the collection also. Some of these items belong to some of the members of our WW2 Reenactment group. We had set up a small display at a WW2 Veteran's Conference at Brookdale Community College in NJ.

So here we have it, the collection that I most cherish! We plan to continually add to the collection indefinitely!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!!

If there's one thing I never tire of, it's pumpkin picking. This is a good thing because I never feel the need to hurry the girls along. We take our sweet, sweet time looking over each and every pumpkin, looking for that 'perfect' one.

I actually didn't plan these outfits to coordinate with the pumpkin patch trip, it just sort of worked out that way. My inlaws came up for lunch and we all decided, while at the restaurant, that we'd hit the patch on our way back to the house. It was a splendid idea! The girls looked ever so cute in their matching dresses and it made for such a nice photo shoot
M'Kayla feels the need to hug and touch every single pumpkin, often kissing them and telling them how much she loves them. I love her sensitive, sweet heart. She's a very affectionate child towards people, animals and even, as you see here, vegetation!The moment we parked the car, before she even got out, Ellie had her eye on one specific pumpkin. The moment she was unclipped from her car seat she ran straight for it and picked it up, proclaiming loudly, "I want THIS one!" She walked around the patch, carrying this one pumpkin until her daddy relieved her of it. Even then, she kept an eye on it to be sure it was the SAME one she had originally chosen. It's displayed, proudly, in our foyer and will NOT be carved because it's hers and just too precious to her!
I got a great big pumpkin to carve and can't wait to proudly display it!

(Studio Friday} Autumn Inspiration

This week's Studio Friday topic for October 20th suggested by Kerri: AUTUMN INSPIRATION!

"Autumn inspiration - According to my calendar, (Sept 22) is the "Autumnal Equinox," and it's my favorite season, so show me what you love about the fall - the colors?... the leaves?...etc."
~ Kerri


Autumn is also MY favourite season; precisely October. Not only is it the month of renewal for me, but also Halloween (Samhain) which is my absolute favourite day of the year.
Autumn is my recharging season. I am most creative on a crisp, cool, overcast autumn day. The weather, colours and festive feelings in the air spark my creativity unlike any other season. I think it's because the colours of nature in Fall are the colours that I tend to use the most anyway.

{Scrapbrats Blogring Week 6} "Super Powers"

{SUPER POWERS!}

Scrapbrats Blogring week 6 is as follows:

If I could have one super power to use for one day, it
would be ...

This one really takes no thought whatsoever for me. If I could have ONE superpower for only ONE day, I'd definitely choose the Power to Heal.
The world is full of so much disease and so much heartache that I think it could use a little super power healing, don't you?

Speaking of healing.... I know of a man who has super powers. His name is Andrew Bascue and he's cycling across the USA to raise money for the American Cancer Society. He has an ankle/achilles injury and could sure use some positive thoughts, prayers, whatever you call them, sent his way. Check out his blog and leave a comment. He's in Chicago right now consulting with physicians about the injury and to see what his next step in this journey will be. Keep him in your thoughts please and send him a little encouragement if you have a moment.... Andrew's Blog

The Magickal Cat

There's nothing more fulfilling than to fulfill one of your child's dreams.
My 4 year old has been walking around for a year proclaiming the fact that when she is a teenager, she's getting a kitty. There hasn't been a person that she's met that she hasn't said it to. She wastes no time stating it to check-out clerks, post office employees and cashiers at the grocery store, her teachers, family and anyone who'll listen! "When I'm a teenager, I'm getting a kitty"
Yesterday, delivered to our doorstep was a parcel from South Carolina. This wasn't just your run of the mill parcel. This was a HUGE deal. A life changing ordeal.
My best friend on Earth ( Not to be confused with my best friend on Mars, Venus or Saturn)Beth is moving. Her new landlord is a 'no cats' kinda guy. She automatically wanted to panic! Her cat, 'Rabbi' (pronounced Rabb-eye) is her BABY. She loves him with every stitch of her being and giving him to a shelter or to a stranger was just NOT an option. After we chatted on the phone and talked about it, we realized that the only solution was to have him shipped up here to us. I watched this kitty on the web cam since he was born and I am almos as attached to him as she is.
So, delivered to us was a carry-kennel with one large white cat named, 'Rabbi' inside.
My 2 little girls weren't within ear shot when he was brought into the house and they had NO idea about this so called, Parcel. It was great! My husband had the idea to place a small white resin cat figurine on the carpet in the mudroom. He then took the girls out and had them find 'magickal pinecones' One small, one medium and one large. (This gave me time to set things up and have him have a few minutes to get used to the mud room and being OUT of that freakin' carrier that he had been shipped in!) After about 20 minutes he called my cell to see if I was all set up. I was ready!!
He brought the girls in and they were thinking up magic words. It was very cute. My 4 year old walked in and said 'let's get started. I want to see the surprise already!" She had figured it out already that there was some funky magick going on in the mudroom and that there'd be a cat in there. She's too freakin' smart for her own good is what she is!!!
She made up some magick words "abra-cadabra abra-kazee do your magick, magick key" and we opened the door to the mudroom and LO! and Behold look what we found!

Of course the girls are ELATED and thankfully he's a very personable kitty! He loves us as much as we love him! He's even dog-tolerant! Such a sweet boy he is!
Ok.. yeah, you're thiking.. "ok cool.. now what's with the NAME?!" right?
Rabbi ( pronounced Rabb-eye) was born with a grey spot on the top of his head that looked like a yarmulke (pronounced yommukkah to most) so he reminded Beth's daughter of a Rabbi. Even though the grey spot grew out within a few months after he was born, the name stuck! So that's the story of how Rabbi came to live at our house!

{Studio Friday} ~ FEARS ~

Studio Friday topic for October 13th:
This week's topic for Friday October 13th suggested by Casey: "FEAR!"


"I have been away from Studio Friday for a while, and I really struggled
with the toot your own horn topic. It actually made me do some free-writing
and I thought of another topic that might be helpful for some of the Studio Friday artists: Fear.
~Casey

I have been 'chewing' on this topic for a few days. "FEAR" isn't something that I often think about. Of course I have the normal fears... losing family members, falling behind schedule, disappointing someone and so forth and so on. But those fears aren't something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. I don't have any quirky fears or superstitions such as Triskaidekaphobia or Arachnaphobia or Acrophobia. I don't think I really have any deep-rooted fears at all. I have things that bother me. For instance, I CANNOT STAND anticipation of being scared. Suspense movies are ok but a haunted house walk through at Halloween is just out of the question for me. KNOWING that I am going to be startled is something I can't STAND. If you read my blog entry on October 11th, you'll see that when I get startled or 'scared' if you will, I have a weird defense mechanism where I instantly burst into tears. It's not crying as in "Waaaaa! BOO HOO" Type crying, it's just that my eyes react in such a way that it's an instant waterfall. I HATE it. So I guess you can say I have a fear of being startled!
You can read other people's take on this topic here.

Tag! You're it! {Something light and fun for today}

Tag! You're it!!
List 5 weird things about yourself.
Tag 5 friends and list them.
Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.
Once you blog, lemme know so I can check it out and leave you a comment!!


1. The eyelashes on the ends of my top eyelids grow STRAIGHT down. I have NO curl to them at all and have to use one of those eyelash curler thingies.

2. I MUST rinse my mouth three times after brusing my teeth at night. If I don't, I'll lay in bed and think about it until it drives me nuts.

3. I can't watch anyone working on a bridge, on a telephone pole or on a trapeze at the circus or on a roof. It gives me an instant panic attack and I hold my breath until I almost pass out. I am scared to death that they're going to plummet to their untimely demise.

4. If someone/thing startles me, I burst into tears. Not crying... it just makes my eyes instantly well up. Is that weirdness or what?

5. When we drive over rainroad tracks, I always lift up my feet off the floorboards in the vehicle.

I am tagging.....
Tracie, Paula, Mary Ann, Beth & Samhains....

Paparazzi {Scrapbrats Blogring #5}

"I read a lot of mags, online sites, etc. and I always wonder what ppl think about the celebrities and what they are saying about the paparazzi. Some say they are vicious, others not. What do you think?

Jaq"

Living in Aspen, I have seen a LOT of paparazzi B/S going on. For the most part they are like flies buzzing around your head. You just want to swat them! I was around celebrities all the time since I lived and worked there and so did they. I watched the dynamics of paparazzi vs celebrity and most of the time it wasn't an agreeable partnership. Most of the time you could see the disgrace on the faces of those being hounded by those pesky photographers.
There was an instance in town that I remember, quite vividly. I was at Carl's Pharmacy with John one morning. I took a ride with him into town from Windstar. We went to the pharmacy. I remember going in the back and saying hello to my friend, Marie Kuen. She ran the mini mart in the back of the store. It had snacks, drinks and odds and ends. It was mostly for tourists but I stopped in there every time I was in town. I was addicted to their chocolate milk. Anyway... I heard John raise his voice. It wasn't unpleasantly so, but it was enough that it got my attention so I trotted back up into the front of the store to see what was up. Well it was PAPARAZZI badgering him. I knew them well. They are like wolves, hunting and circling their prey to bring it down for the kill. John was a pro when it came to the paparazzi. He was genuine and he was really a NICE, down to earth guy. What you saw was exactly what you got.
So, knowing that fact, the wolves always took advantage. JD was great. They knew he was a good interview, he always had a smile. I walked up behind him to try and interrupt the moment. I was tryng, I guess, to 'save' him from THEM. I was 16 years old. So I just kept saying, "John can we go? When can we go? We need to go, we're going to be late." The reporter was spewing that something was going on with JD about a moving violation involving him and the reporter was adamantly trying to get JD to make a comment, one way or another, about the situation. At this time I knew nothing of the incident and I knew that he was trying to 'escape' without having to be confronted. It was good that I was there because I was the scapegoat.
After they tried to get him, several times, to talk about the alleged moving violation ( that was the phrase that kept going around and I wondered what the heck a moving violation was!!) he finally had just about enough. I saw his jaw stiffen as he clenched his teeth but he never yelled. He smiled and he softly stated, "If you don't mind, we were just leaving." and he took my hand and we walked out of Carl's Pharmacy, got back in the jeep and drove around the block.
On that ride around the block, he taught me something about journalists that I'll NEVER, EVER, EVER forget. I was angry at the paparazzi for badgering him in the store like that and making him feel so uncomfortable. I asked JD why he didn't get upset and tell the guy to take a hike and he told me this, "Each of us has a job, his job is to take pictures and get a story. If he doesn't, he doesn't get paid. My job is to write and sing songs. If I don't, I don't get paid." I didn't ask him what a 'moving violation' was. I didn't say much at all. I just sort of sat there wondering about what the reporter was trying to get at and WHY. I never did ask JD about the moving violation but I did learn later on that it meant a 'speeding ticket'!!
Paparazzi have a place. They are necessary, but they need to be tactful and respect personal space boundaries. When they step beyond those boundaries is when they become annoying and even dangerous.

2nd Annual Time To Scrap Design Team Retreat

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual 'Time To Scrap' Design Team retreat at the Molotsky beach house on Long Beach Island, NJ. Though we had a Nor'Easter on Friday and Saturday, we all didn't even seem to mind! There was such INCREDIBLE wind and rain that the tide was a little higher than usual and there were some nice sized waves. We didn't, however, trek to the beach during the storm.
Friday night we all hung out and chatted and renewed aquaintances. We had burgers and hotdogs for dinner and Mountain Cookies ( family recipe of Bex's). DELICIOUS!
We hung out and chatted till past 2AM then all retreated to our rooms and got some (very little) sleep. Most of us were up by 7:15. Saturday was another WINDY and rainy day. We did some shopping, had lunch and then went to the scrapbooking store to shop and crop. We ordered pizza and sandwiches for dinner and all hung out at the store and scrapbooked till 11:30pm. I think we were ALL exhaused when we got back to the house but, as the previous night, we were up till atleast 2AM again! The storm tapered off overnight and we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean with crystal blue skies.
We went to the a pancake house for breakfast, headded back to the house, packed, straightened up and headded home!! The weekend was TOO SHORT!!!
It was AWESOME to see the old DT members and meet the new ones!
Thank you Cheryl and the Molotsky family for giving us this opportunity!!!
Here's the Time To Scrap Design Team
Back row:
Katie (owner of TTS), Jayne, Maria, Laura. Lori, Nancy
Front Row:
Sunny, Cheryl, Becca, Carrie
Sitting:
ME

Life Spoke

"On September 8th I started riding a bicycle cross country by myself.
I'll be camping along the way and hope to comeplete the ride in seven weeks.
The ride is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and I'm trying
to raise $25,000. It's something tangible to honor people who have died
of cancer and are close to me.".
~ Andrew Bascue

This man is Andrew Bascue, he is the son of one of my mother's best friends. He started out in Oregon and is riding across the United States to New Jersey. The fundraiser he is doing is legitimate. He is AWESOME! He is riding for all who have lost their lives from and who are battling cancer. If nothing else, just go take a look at his blog and see how far he's ridden so far. His journey is nothing less than Amazing!! I am so excited for him. The journey itself is exciting, but doing it for the good of others at the same time is just awesome. Check out his blog, leave some encouragement and if you're so inclined, you may make a donation.

October is a month of recharging for me. It's my favourite time of the year and I am always in full energy right now. I have noticed that the sky is the deepest blue this month, the trees are displaying the most fantastic colours and the temperatures are exactly what my body craves. It's just MY month and I enjoy every single day of it. Earth tones and oranges are my favourite colours and they are also the ones that suit my skintone and hair colour the best. I LOVE wearing Fall clothes and I LOVE Halloween.
I hardly have had a moment to sit down and update and read everyone's blogs this week! I will do some catching up today.

{Studio Friday}

Studio Friday Week of September 30, 2006
This week's topic was submitted by ME!

" Studio Friday, for me, is a network of Artist from all over the world. It's a fabulous way to communicate with and learn from artists of all backgrounds. With this being said, I would love to see a showcase of what YOUR art is. Are you a scrapbooker? A clay artist? Are you a collage artist or a photographer? Do you paint or work in the fibre arts of Knitting, sewing or enbroidery? Are you a gardener a botanist or an eclectic artist of many trades? I'd love to see a piece that you have created that you are most proud of. SHOW off your STUFF!!"
~Gabi

As an artist, I can't really catagorize myself in one area. I love ALL forms of art and dabble in quite a few different areas. My favourite is scrapbooking. Why do I love scrapbooking so much? That's an easy question for me to answer. It's simply because I can incorporate words and photos on the same 'piece'. For me, scrapbooking is complete freedom to create a look I like that goes with my photos and my thoughts.
You can meet more artists here.

The Praying Mantis

My 4 year old is a self proclaimed 'bug-ologist'
She lets everyone know that she's going to take care of bugs at the zoo when she grows up. She doesn't play favourites either, if it's a bug, insect, arachnid or any type of creepy-crawly, she loves it.
You wouldn't think of her as a bug lover if you looked at her. She looks like a girly-girl with long hair with curls, and she's ALWAYS in a dress, by her own request!
We ran across this Praying Mantis a few days ago on our travels. My 4 year old noticed her here on this newspaper vending box. Of course, striking GREEN on RED will be an attention getter (what WAS the mantis thinking?! They change color from brown to BRIGHT green) After she caught her eye, she immediately wanted to investigate!

Of course, upon immediate sight, Mackie wanted to HOLD the Mantis. Due to her very gentle manner, I allowed her to put her hand out to see if the Mantis wanted anything to do with that. She wasn't having ANYTHING to do with Mackie's hand....

So we figured to find a leaf or something, but there wasn't anything close by. I decided to try my keychain since it was green and, lo and behold! The praying Mantis was interested and decided to check it out.

And up Mackie's arm she began to creep... Mackie was totally focused on it and LOVING every minute of it.

Daddy had to step in and 'help' the praying mantis back down Mackie's arm.

My 2 year old wanted to be part of the scene too. And with her inquisitve manner, moved herself right alongside of her sister to see what all the ruckus was about!

Ellie was as delighted as Mackie was. She wanted to hold the mantis too but when she felt the 'sticky' feet, she didn't like it so decided to let her sister do all the holding!

Mackie was very interested in finding the Praying Mantis a safe place so we looked around and found a barrel garden. (we were in downtown Gettysburg). Mackie commented that she thought that the praying mantis would be happier on the green leaves where she can hide.

We went back the next day and she was STILL there within the green leaves in the barrel garden. Mackie went to hold her again but she disappeared deep into the foliage. What a nice thing for Mackie to experience. She saved the mantis from the sidewalk and found it a lush, green home! I am so glad that my girls are so enfatuated with nature. They are both so gentle and calm with animals and bugs. It makes me feel good that they have respect for life. Even the life of a bitty bug is cherished and dear to them. I am so very proud of my little girls!!

{Pen & Pixel}

As a design team member at Time To Scrap, I have been given an awesome opportunity to write and at that same time, encourage others to embrace writing. The owner of the site and I had a long meeting a few weeks ago to discuss the area which I felt I was most strong. I am not one for uploading layouts... I just can't seem to be a fast enough scrapbooker to keep the gallery fresh. I'm not a 'top' poster. My 2 toddlers keep me too busy to be able to post like a fiend like I used to. BUT, I am rabid about writing. Katie and I sat down and figured out how that could be an asset to the site and came up with "Pen and Pixel"
I am aware that it may take some time to build up, but I feel that it'll eventually have quite a nice group of contributors and that I will be able to bring myself even further into the world of writing, journaling and/or blogging. Come along for the ride and check it out. It's a continuous workshop for writers of all kinds. You can move at your own pace, pick the exercises that you feel would work for you and share your ideas, thoughts and writing if you so desire.

Exercise for the week of September 25, 2006

Do you find it hard to write? If so, why?
Do you find it easy to write? If so, HOW?

I would love to know what issues you may have about writing and hopefully, help you past them. You can learn SO MUCH about yourself by simply choosing a topic and writing about it for 30 minutes a day.

What I want you to do is to pick a topic.... ANY topic. IT can be 'flavors of ice cream' or 'breeds of dogs' or 'family resemblances' or something even deeper like "Democrats" or even "intimacy"

Take 30 minutes and write about it. What you DONT want to do is stiffle yourself. DO NOT scould yourself for writing something that you're thinking, do not stop yourself in mid-thought and restart. Go with the flow, keep writing until 30 minutes is up (or longer if you wish!)

***Once you're finished with this exercise I'd love for you to share the experience. How did the exercise make you feel? Did it turn out differently than you had originally thought? Did it turn out EXACTLY as you had thought? Did you learn anything about yourself during this exercise?***

If you want to BLOG this and share, please share your link here and if you are writing in a journal, you can post here and let us know what your experiences were as you were writing and how the exercise affected you. I would love to see how this exercise works for each individual.

{Scrapbrats Blog Ring Challenge #3}

Scrapbrats Blog Ring #3

This week's question is:

"I feel most at peace when ..."

This topic wasn't hard for me at all. Last week's topic is still in draft form and I will, eventually, embrace it. For now, I'll move on with hopes to un-clutter my brain and WRITE it all out!

I feel most at peace when I am writing. When I am writing, I am at ease, I am totally focused on what I am doing and it seems that my body is harmoniously centered. When I am writing, it's as if I am somewhere else, completely engulfed in confidence, relaxation and balance. I allow my thoughts to flow at whatever rate they wish and my hands always seem to be able to keep up the pace.
If I have a particularly stressful day, I turn, immediately, to my blog or journal to start writing. The moment I start is the moment that my stress, aggravation and dischord start to drain away. Writing is my escape and also my therapy. It allows me to voice my aggrivations and stresses without doing so towards any one person. I can vent here at anytime, know that someone 'hears' me and be done with it. It's said, my way, in my temperment at that time and it's out. Writing is an AWESOME tension reliever for me and something I do, every night before bed. I have never, ever had problems sleeping and I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I do 'check my stresses and tensions at the door' , so to speak before going to bed. It never follows me around because I let it out here or in my journal and once it's out, it's been dealt with and said and there's nothing further I can do. I simply let it go.
I feel most at peace when I am writing.

Gettysburg, PA

We pilgrimaged to the wet, soggy Eisenhower Farm for their annual WW2 Weekend to set up a WW2 Field Hospital. When you arrive, you are immediately immersed in 1940s WW2 culture from soldiers to sailors, homefront to correspondants. It's an amazing display of both the Axis and Allies, open to the public. Here's our Field Hospital.

We joined our buddies, Larry and Fred and put on quite a nice display between us. We had the PERFECT spot to set up as we were right in front of the gate. People who where visiting the display came in the gate right across from us so we had a lot of people paying visits throughout the weekend.

My girls enjoy the weekend excursions as much as we do and love to don their vintage 1940's dresses and play with their vintage 1940's toys as well. They are no stranger to military drills, vehicles and 'friendly' fire. You can almost say they're the youngest WW2 veterans out there!!
We make this annual trip a sort of extended weekend vacation too. We love to drive the roadsides along the battlefields and stop to admire the monuments and lush battlefield views. Gettysburg is rich with Civil War history.

Above is a photo of the Pennsylvania monument. It's MASSIVE and you can't get the feel for it unless there's a person in the photo. It was almost dusk and there wasn't a single person in sight. What a gorgeous, absolutely fantastic monument it is.
The battlefields are full of monuments and markers. There must be thousands of them which makes it impossible to see them ALL. Here's another that caught my eye. This is the monument for Major-General John Fulton Reynolds.

We drove past "Devil's Den" at sunset and had our picture taken by another visitor. (Thanks, Kim!)

There's lots of stuff to do around Gettysburg. We did some antiquing, shopping and we took a Candle-lit walking tour of 'Haunted Gettysburg'.

The photo above is the sign on the porch where we started the walking tour. It came out GREAT! As we walked along the tour, we took a bunch of pictures throughout the walking tour but this one (below) was the only one that came out with orbs. All of the other are pristine without a single orb. This spot that I photographed used to be the stream where the wounded soldiers would wash their wounds and drink. Several were too weak to drink or wash and simply fell in and died there. The tour guide has experienced several sightings here in this area so I decided to snap a pic. I got some orbs.(or are they dust!?)

The day before we went home, we went to "Boyds Bear Country"

The girls were completely overwhelmed and actually wanted to LEAVE a couple of times because it was just that ovewhelming. There isn't a single spot to rest your eye. It's three complete floors, the size of a 3 tiered WAL*Mart, no kidding.

They each got to 'build a stuffed animal' which they thoroughly enjoyed! As you can see below.

Our hotel was very nice and it had an indoor pool which was GREAT! We were lucky and had the pool to ourselves and my girls and I enjoyed winding down there before bed each night.
The trip was very fun, but as most vacations go, much too short! We look forward to returning to Gettysburg in the, not too distant, future for more trekking about and exploring!

Happy Mabon, Autumn Equinox, 1st Day of Fall!

Autumn has finally arrived! I am so excited because this is my very favourite time of the year. I LOVE the weather, the holidays and the landscape.
The 2006 autumn equinox in the northern hemisphere occurs Friday, September 22, at 9:04pm PDT; 00:04 UT 9/23, when the Sun enters Libra.
Equinox, which means "equal night" refers to a time when the length of day and night are equal. As the Sun crosses the celestial equator, the axis of the Earth points neither toward nor away from the Sun resulting in in 12 hours of darkness and light over the planet.

"Mabon (pronounced "MAY-bon") marks the Second Harvest of the Celtic/Pagan year.
It is very much like Thanksgiving. Most of the crops have been reaped and abundance is more noticeable than ever! Mabon is the time when we reap the fruits of our labor and lessons, both crops and experiences. It is a time of joy, to celebrate that which is passing (for why should we mourn the beauty of the year or dwindling sunlight?), looking joyously at the experience the year has shared with us. And it is a time to gaze into the bright future. We are reminded once again of the cyclic universe; endings are merely new beginnings.



Since it is the time of dying sun, effort is also made to celebrate the dead with joyous remembrance. It is considered taboo to pass a burial site and not honor the dead. Natural energies are aligned towards protection, wealth, prosperity, security, and boosting self-confidence. Any spells or rituals centered around balance and harmony are appropriate.

To honor the dead, it is traditional to place apples on burial cairns as symbolism of rebirth and gratitude. Furthermore, it is a time to honor the elders, who have devoted so much time and energy to your growth and development. Something special is in order for these gracious people."
(Parts of this post were excerpts taken from here)

Pen and Pixel

I am the proud moderator of the new journaling thread at Time To Scrap. I am very happy to be taking this on since I am such a writing addict. I hope that it'll be a success. I don't know how many of the members over there are into journaling or blogging but I hope that there'll be, atleast, a handful of 'regulars' who will participate.
I am excited to share my passion with others in hopes to 'jump start' them and get them passionate about writing. Come check it out, it's free. It's on a scrapbooking forum but it's NOT just for scrapbookers! It's for journalers and bloggers too!!

WW2 Weekend at The Eisenhower Farm, Gettysburg, PA

We had such a fantastic turn out! We had a great location for set up (right in front of the in-gate) and it was really a great weekend. We set up with 2 friends and made an awesome Aid Station display (photos to come) The event was sponsored by the National Park service and the Eisenhower Estate. Gettysburg is so rich with war history that if you are a war buff, you HAVE to visit here. It's also a great place for crafters, quilters, Boyd's Bear lovers and hikers. There's really SO MUCH to do around here that just about everyone would love it.
I have some great photos of the event and also of the Gettysburg battlefields. I will upload them as soon as I get home. I forgot my camera-computer cable. DUH!~!!:(

On our way to Gettysburg, PA

We're on the way to Gettysburg, PA! I have my trusty laptop and will be able to (hopefully!!) update as we go along.
1st stop is here at my inlaws! My hubby had to work today so we opted to hang out here and leave from here in the AM to save about 4 hours of time. I am picking him up tomorrow morning from his work and we'll be off on our 3+ hours adventure. Three hours is nothing for us, we LOVE driving and exploring!!!!
I'll check in again tomorrow with some photos.
Have a great weekend!

Mentors

Scrapbrats Blog Ring Challenge #2
Most influential person in our life.

It occurred to me that I haven't really written about mine and that I feel it's high-time that I sit down and do so.

mentor [men-tawr, -ter]
–noun 1. a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

My mentor is Thomas F. Crum.
The man probably has no clue how much he means to me or even how much he changed my life.
I met Tom when I was 16 years old. I happened to be serving a summer internship at Windstar, the same place he was conducting his 'Aiki Week' workshops. My internship sorta intertwined with his workshop and I wound up volunteering at his workshops for the remainder of that summer and 2 more to follow. It was friggin' FANTASTIC.
Tom is a sensei of Aikido (A Japanese martial art). He is also a life coach and a motivational speaker who specializes in Conflict Resolution. His programs are phenominal and I highly recommend them.
I don't think Tom knows to what extent his involvement in my teen years has affected me. I haven't seen him since my mid 20's but his teachings, his words and wisdom are an intricate part of my every day. I live in the moment. I always do. I am always RIGHT HERE and no where else. I rarely daydream about far off events, I am content to be in this moment, in this time, right here, right now.
I always grasp "the strawberry of life" and see the best in things. I DO stop to smell the roses, to call a friend, write a note. I am centered 95% of the time, though I do have a small tendancy to get off-center occasionally. (usually when it has to do with one of my girls having a tantrum!)
I haven't spoken with Tom in years. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that life's journey has brought me to different places and we haven't crossed paths. I think I will write up an email or dial the phone this afternoon.........

What is YOUR family's plan?

On the anniversary of the "9/11" tragedy, I sit here thinking about that question that, undoubtedly, has gone through almost everyone's mind,
"What would WE do if it happened right HERE?"
My dumbfounded answer is, "umm.. I dunno"
We are prepared somewhat in that we do have at least a week's worth supply of food and water. We always have, it's just the way my hasband and I are. We've got a 1st aid kit (yeah..that'll help, right.) 4 flashlights and we have tons of batteries of all sizes. We're prepared with matches, candles, a rope ladder and all the straight forward check list items on the local fire department hand-out. We don't have a generator and hate to think that we actually SHOULD get one but have yet to do so.
We DON'T have an evacuation plan which, sadly, I think we do need. It's said that all families should also have a 'meeting place' in the event that we may be separated. I hate that one too. Horrible thought, but again, necessary.
We live right in the middle between Philly and New York City and there's always news broadcasts about this stuff. Has your news done a special on it?
What I want to know is, do YOU have a family plan? If so, what is it? Have you ever NEEDED to evacuate (We only had to ONCE and it was only for a few hours, thankfully!) What's on your disaster checklist? Are your supplies all stocked? A hard topic, yes, but one that's, sadly, necessary to face.
Tell me about your family's plan in the event of a disaster.

{Bloggin' Brats}

This week's Scrapbrats prompt is "I wish I knew then what I know now......"

I read the prompt last night and decided to sleep on it. (Aside from the fact that my 2 year old was up till MIDNIGHT bouncing off the walls for no known reason!)
Ok, onto the topic...

I thought long and hard and honestly, there's nothing that I would have done or would have wanted to do differently or change if I had today's knowledge 'back then'.
We all move along our timelines accumulating bits and pieces of wisdom and knowledge at a certain pace. If we are wise beyond our years (considerably that is)then the manner in which we move along our timeline would be greatly affected, thus not allowing us to learn certain necessities along the way.
For example, I wonder how many of you will take this prompt and write about ill-fated love. The heartbreaks and love lessons we have suffered are parts of life's lessons. Perhaps if we knew the outcome of a relationship BEFORE we experienced it, maybe it would have kept us from entering that relationship and learning something crucial. Yeah, we get our feelings hurt, heart broken and all that NORMAL stuff, but there are other aspects to the relationship that may have been one of life's great lessons.
I am fortunate to not have anything really 'icky' that bothers me about my past. I enjoy the learning process and think of my life as one huge science experiment. I enjoy going along at my own pace, picking up bits and pieces of knowledge and experience along the way.
I wouldn't change a thing.

{Studio Friday}

"There is such a diverse group here, with such different art forms, I think it would be interesting to see what tools others use on a regular basis to create their art or product."
~Carrie

Ah.. this is a fun one!
Let's see... my primary 'art' is my scrapbooking. There are a few tools that I consider a 'must have' for my artistic endeavours.
1. My 12" Fiskar's Paper Trimmer
This is such an AWESOME trimmer. It cuts so smooth and so crisp. I love it!

Another tool I NEED is my pair of Cutter Bee Scissors. If you have not had the fortune to use a pair of these scissors, you have missed out! I've had several other brands of scissors but none have held up to the abuse and use like my Cutter bee!!

Being a scrapbooker, I rely heavily on my digital camera to take the photos that I so LOVE to scrap! This is a fabulous little Nikon digital camera. It's small, has video capacity, and has many different settings with which you can fiddle and get the exact shot you want. It even has a cool feature that you can use to snap photos instantly one after another in a cool action sequence. (can ya tell I love it!?)

These 2 aren't TOOLS, but they are defintely necessary for the inspiration and creation of my scrapbooking layouts!

Full Moon

I find solace in the full moon. It's a sort of energy cleanser for me. When the skies are clear, I like to sit outside under the glow of the full moon. It couldn't have come at a better time this month.

Do you have anything that recharges your energy? Is there something that you do that helps you when you're 'out of sorts'?

Can't shake it

If you know me, you know I'm all exuberance and sunshine. I am happy-go-lucky, outgoing and optimistic. The death of Steve Irwin is really bothering me. It feels personal. I know, that's really WEIRD since I've never met the man. I really admired him, felt a bond with him for his views of animal conservation and preservation.
Every time I load an internet page or turn on the tv or radio they are talking about it. I keep getting annoyed because it seems that people are so quick with an attitude that he deserved it. NO ONE deserves death like that.
I am annoyed at the media for being so crass and asking STUPID ASS QUESTIONS every 2 seconds. They have NO respect for Steve's grieving family and friends and are in the faces of his colleagues, producer and employees asking such STUPID QUESTIONS. "How do you feel about Steve's death?" One reporter asked. I couldn't believe it. WTF? How do YOU THINK he feels, ASSHOLE! His best friend just DIED! Yeah he feels great, never felt better. DUH MORON. WTF?!
This happened to me after the death of John Denver. I had known him since I was a kid and when he died, I was interviewed by a local source who asked me that very same question. I couldn't believe it. I just sorta looked at her and didn't answer. That STUPID question didn't even merit an answer. I would love to be a journalist. I have been around them long enough to know WHAT NOT to do. These people are out for a buck. They are taking advantage of someone else's heartbreak, someone else's hardship and grief all to try and make a buck. I don't have the insensitive brass balls to be IN someone's face and business who is suffering! I am a sensitive person and feed off of other's emotions. If I had to interview someone who was GRIEVING, I would be a complete wreck. My empathy would kick in and I'd be a weeping mass of flesh in a puddle on the floor.
I don't mean to be dissing journalists. We do NEED journalists but some of them have to learn a little compassion and tact. Asking someone how they FEEL after they lost a family member or friend is just TACTLESS and RUDE. YOU KNOW the answer to that question so why do you feel that you need to ASK IT IN PUBLIC?!
So here I sit, still in shock and disbelief, unable to shake my saddness about the loss of Steve Irwin.

Another great humanitarian, gone.....

At 6AM this morning I was woken, abruptly, by the phone. It was my dear friend in Australia, Nicole. She wanted to give me the news before I saw it on the telly or the computer.
She said, "Take a moment to wake up" and I said in my groggy state, "ok." She then said, "Have you seen the news yet?" and I answered, "Umm no" then she apologised for it being so early and said "I am so terribly sorry, I knew how much you loved him" and then I knew, without further words, exactly what she was telling me.
Steve Irwin was gone.
Of course, still 1/2 asleep and not wanting it to be REAL, It didn't sink in right away. I wanted it to be a dream. I sat there for a few seconds, waiting to wake up but sadly, I was already awake and Steve really IS gone.

On the news they said he died doing what he loved, filming and teaching about wildlife. As much as I KNOW that's true, it doesn't make his death any more easily accepted for me. I have followed his career and life for almost 15 years now and it's just so sad that he's gone. His was such a dedicated family man. His daughter, Bindi Sue is only 8 years old and his son Bob isn't even 3 yet. I feel for his family and friends as I know this will be a very difficult time in their lives. I will miss his exuberance and passion as will the rest of the world.

I Updated the Look of my Blog

Obviously.
I love it. It's very 'ME'. I am one in love with night, the moon and all aspects of it. My favourite month of the year is October because the sky is so velvet BLACK at night and by day so velvet blue.
I get a lot of energy from the night. It's my creative time. I usually sit outside and take in all the energy; the sounds, the breeze, the light of the moon. It's all very inspiring for me. Most of my "Ta-daaaa!" pieces of art (generally scrapbook layouts) are done in the dead of night.

{Studio Friday} Artist's Block

You've heard of writer's block. Well, as an artist I sometimes suffer from Artist's Block. 'What is this' you ask? It's when you sit and sit and can't come up with anything. This can go on for hours, days, weeks and even months sometimes. It's extremely frustrating to the point where I've left my studio, closed the doors and haven't returned for DAYS. I get angry. It feels like my mind is shutting me out and not allowing me to create and enjoy.
When this happens, I generally turn to the design team galleries at various Scrapbooking forums. Being on the design team for Time To Scrap, I do get to see a lot of inspiring layouts and altered projects and they usually can snap me out of my funk.
A long walk along the canal here also snaps me out of my funk.