Candle in the Night

Have you ever awoken in the middle of the night and had to get up out of bed to check out a noise, soothe a crying baby, or regret that last minute glass of water before you went to sleep? If you're like most modern day people, you probably have the glow of an alarm clock or even a night light or flashlight at the ready to help you navigate your course. But imagine if it were truly pitch black how many things you might bump into or stub your toe on in just the short distance from one place to another in your home.

Very few of us have had much experience with situations where there was no light anywhere around us, unless of course you live in or enjoy going to remote areas, far away from the light pollution of the nearest city or town. Imagine life before electricity, before sonar, before GPS... and imagine how very dark the night was. Now imagine you're out on the sea, or even a large lake... and the night sky is filled with the clouds or a brewing storm, blocking out the silver of the moon, hiding the stars - those pinpoints of navigation - from your view. There is nothing to guide you but your gut until you see a tiny point of light flashing in the distance. You steer your vessel toward it, a candle in the night, a beacon of light warning you of shallow shoals or rocky cliffs. You've been saved by a lighthouse.

They've been in existence for thousands of years, the earliest known being the Lighthouse at Alexandria in Egypt believed to have been completed around 280 BC. The typical structure that most people associate with a lighthouse - the tall cylindrical structure - was designed for its ability to withstand high winds and is the type usually built in areas with rocky shoals rather than high cliffs. Lighthouses with their lights built closer to the ground were more suited to high cliffs, since dense shoreline fog could obstruct a light raised too high above the level of the water. In a bittersweet turn of events, modern technology, with great strides being made in the development of satellite based navigational systems, has all but made these historic and romantic "candles in the night" all but useless for much more than a landmark.

I'm not sure why I happen to love lighthouses, but I do. In fact, the lighthouse that you see at the beginning of this article is a large lighthouse mural that I did on a narrow wall in the "corner" of our office here at home. The remainder of the mural, which stretches above the cabinets that circle the room on 3 sides, also includes smaller lighthouses... and even the holiday decorations we put up at Christmastime have a seaside theme with several lighthouses included. For day to day, we have several photos and miniature lighthouses sprinkled around the room, definitely a lighthouse lover's dream come true!


Now, if I could only find the opportunity to actually visit one of these beauties some day! And I'm obviously not the only one with a penchant for these pillars of light - when I searched for lighthouses on Etsy, the results turned up over 2500 lighthouse related items... my favorites are those you see here! So, if you're a lighthouse lover like me, or are looking for the perfect gift for someone who is, be sure to make Etsy your first stop for shopping for the perfect addition to your collection of these "candles in the night!" Happy National Lighthouse Day... and for more fascinating information about lighthouses by the people who know them best or to find out what you can do to help preserve these historical landmarks, visit some great links here.

Thank you to the following Etsy shops for allowing me to display their great lighthouse products in this post!

the Sailor's Guardian- MountainNavy
Small Lighthouse Mosaic Focal Tile - gottahaveitcreations
Carolina Light Houses Message Box - TandTDesignCompany
Nautical Lighthouse Hobo bag - sewinggreen
Safe Sailing - naturesnurturelamps

Call Me Old Fashioned - Part 2

Please take the time to really take in both this post and the one immediately before it... The Great WOO received this AARP video from his son Zach this morning and the timing couldn't have been more perfect for what I hope you will glean from my rant... Listen to the whole thing, it was incredibly well conceived and definitely makes you think! This is what I hope the future generations will come to believe and make their decisions on...

Call Me Old Fashioned

Ok, this is my first official blog "rant". So, what the hell has happened to the world in the past 40 years??? Alright, I know we've had our issues for forever, but seriously... how has life as we know it managed to become so out of control? Before I continue, please know that I know that this doesn't apply to everyone, but it seems to be the rule rather than the exception. To those of you who do the right things, take responsibility, and contribute to the greater good, thank you.

Here is my official list of things that I'm tired of...
Lack of principles.
Lack of common sense.
Apathy.
Laziness.
Greed.
Apathy.
Entitlement.
Self centeredness.
Oh, and did I mention apathy?

Everyone is quick to point fingers and blame others for the state of society, the grim series of events that has effected the decline in our world economy, jobless rates, obesity and all those other things that the media loves to force feed us. In my [very humble] opinion, we need to forget about trying to figure out where to place the blame and just start working on coming up with a better way to live. It needs to be an effort that begins inside the heart and mind of each individual, and it means changing our expectations on pretty much everything.

Here in the states, we hear a lot about government intervention into our personal lives and whether different things should be privatized vs. mandated and run under the government's hand. I think either solution just puts a band aid on a gaping wound. The problem isn't really with whether the government is doing their job, but rather with whether or not individual citizens are acting responsibly. People should come to the realization that they are ultimately responsible (and rightfully so) for their own situations... and they also need to realize that no one man (or single family) is an island. Since the dawn of humanity, people have come together to rely on each other to work together to achieve what was needed to meet the needs of the whole. When did that cease to be a fact of life?
I can acknowledge the need for social programs because sometimes doodle happens and people have nowhere else to turn. What I'm against is the downright dishonesty of people who scam the system, taking benefits away from people who really need them. I found out today that a member of my former family is taking advantage of public housing by providing fraudulent information about her marital status and job status... and that's not even the 20th case I've heard of over the course of my lifetime where someone I knew personally was doing that. Where did the mindset come from of "Hey, if I can get away with it, why not let someone else bear the burden?" And you know these are the same people who scream "unfair" when the programs run out of money, cut benefits, and all of a sudden they're faced with having to be what they should have had the scruples to be in the first place... responsible.

The "good life" isn't free. And no one is entitled to something for nothing. It just seems like over the past 40 years or so (and I can only judge based on my own experiences), so many people have grown lazy and greedy and self-centered to the point of apathy. The sense of entitlement that exists today is amazing in my mind.

In the "old days" not every young couple starting out could afford a home of their own and there was no shame in that. Children were raised by their parents with some help from the extended family, and not some stranger in a daycare. If you were lucky, you had a family car, one color TV (with about 5 channels) and a phone in the house... teenagers rarely had their own cars (unless they were 10 year old clunkers), and you knew your family was rich if you had an extension in your room, although your parents still made you walk down to your friends' houses to talk to them. As kids, not only did we survive the "simple life", we were probably a lot happier than today's kids with all of the "necessities" that they have.

The doctor down the street came to your home when you or your child were sick because that's what being a doctor was about...treating sick people... not about cramming as many patients as possible into a day, or trying to figure out how to maximize payments from the insurance company by upcoding or cutting care. Doctors were doctors first, now they are business men and women first. The sad part of that is that they really have to be... (We just lost our second PCP in 3 years because being a PCP isn't "profitable")

Thanks to a society which has become comfortable with suing over a hangnail and expecting millions for anything that even closely resemble an accident or error in action by doctors, employers, schools, media, etc., costs to run any kind of business continue to skyrocket, and greedy lawyers keep padding their pockets seeking out frivolous lawsuits, chasing ambulances, and driving costs skyrocketing. We send jobs overseas, we buy from countries that produce items with substandard methods, we don't take care of ourselves... and then we cry that we are unemployed, that our children's toys are dangerous or the goods we buy aren't tested... and that we're entitled to strain the medical system with preventable disorders and disease. And this is because? We demand high wages, we expect low prices, and we are in denial that we're at least somewhat in charge of our own health and well being... the list goes on.

People aren't perfect, but I think we all should be held responsible for the results of our actions. Why are some of us held so much more accountable when things go wrong than others? When did we get to the point of having to attach a dollar amount to everything? What happened to taking pride in what you do, and doing your job in a manner that would stand up under scrutiny, instead of doing the minimum for the maximum pay you could command? At what point did society decide it was easier to "just look the other way" rather than to demand proper behavior from others? When did parents become afraid to parent? Or is it that many of them also just want to look the other way rather than deal with the responsibility of handling a difficult situation in a parental capacity? How else do children learn that every action has a consequence? When did "do-overs" become the norm for children - even though in the adult world there are no do-overs? When did "showing up" rather than working hard become enough? Why doesn't spelling and grammar count anymore?

We've become a society of two types of people - those who are either too apathetic or too intimidated to stand up for what is right, what makes sense in the long term, those who are willing to accept life without actually getting involved in it or taking responsibility for it... or those who take advantage at every opportunity, those who feel entitled to have everything they want simply because they want it, not because they have earned it - those who can look no further than their immediate desires for this moment, yet refuse to realize that someone, somewhere, is footing the bill for them.

If we want the world to be a better place, we need to work hard at being better people. I guess I'm a believer that there is always something you can do to make the world a better place and life just a little bit easier for your fellow man. It may mean learning to be happier with less, living smarter, considering the consequences of our actions as the defining factor of where our lives head, and realizing that the time for change is long overdue. Don't be someone who just sits around grumbling about the sorry state of the world... ask yourself what you personally can do to effect a positive change, no matter how small that change is. If everyone just made one small positive change every day, even every week, imagine the snowball effect it would have!

Everyone has something to contribute - what are you willing to give, what actions can you incorporate in your life to get things back on track and make the world a better place? As Lao Tzu said... "The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." We have a long road to travel to get back to a solid foundation. Take no more than you give, give more than you need...Take that first step... but continue walking and growing and contributing along the way.

I think this quote by Mary Kay Ash sums it up pretty well... There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be. I have always chosen to be in the first group. - Mary Kay Ash

I'll add to that first group... those who do things because they're the right things to do. Thanks for reading... comments are SOOOOO welcome!

Liv'n Good

Today's Totally Trendy Tuesday featured shop is lilesj on Etsy. Jill, the owner of Liv'nGood Jewelry (the official shop name) combines silversmithing, copper etching, beading, resin collage, and wire wrapping with the historic allure of chainmaille to create her one of a kind jewelry designs. Her passion for jewelry design found itself as part of an ongoing exploration of crafting which included fiber crafts, glass crafts, and painting... giving her the experience and tools in working with different materials, lines, and perspective - a helpful edge in being able to visualize and create the many finishes and styles Jill now specializes in!

Her designs are lovely examples of texture, pattern and color - some intricate and varied, some simple and classic... with enough variety that you're likely to find something perfect to add to your jewelry wardrobe!

Here are Jill's responses to the interview questions I asked...

My husband and I both love the Medieval and Renaissance periods of history. In fact, we attend a Renaissance Festival every spring dressed in costume and we both think chainmaille is amazing. What sparked your initial interest in creating chainmaille jewelry among all of the other amazing designs you've worked with? My first chainmaille piece was from a Byzantine bracelet kit from Urban Maille. After I had about an inch done, I looked up at my hubby with a goofy grin and said "look what I made!" It was the first time I felt like I was making "real" jewelry - something I would buy from a store. From there I was hooked.

I've always been a mix of creative and analytical. Chainmaille appeals to both of these sides of my nature. It's open enough that you can do almost anything you can imagine, but there are some weaves that you have to have the math and aspect ration exactly right or it just won't work.

Add on to that, the idea of creating something beautiful, using the same techniques that were once used to make something used for war, and well, I'm stuck on it.

Now that I've told you my favorite style in your shop - what's yours? Why? That's a really tough one for me. I try to only make things that I would wear personally, so it's really ALL my style. If I had to pick favorites it would be the Timeless necklace and either the Jenny Squared or Queens Snake bracelets.

I've always like the steampunk esthetic (even back before I had a name for it!) but while I love the really hard core pieces that Jen Hilton and Insectus create, I don't feel they're as "wearable" every day. So in my "steampunk lite" pieces I try to tone back on that.

The two bracelets are just exactly what I'd buy for myself - stacks of chunky sterling bracelets have always been my favorite accessory.

Everyone I know who lives in North Carolina raves about their home state - here's your chance... what is the best thing about North Carolina in your opinion? North Carolina is truly an amazing state, as a born and bred resident I may be a little biased though. (PS - Please note that I did not say I was a Tarheeler - my dad worked at NCSU for 40+ years so UNC's tarheels are the enemy.)

North Carolina is the ultimate "all in one" state. Like the mountains? Got 'em. More of a beach bum? Got those too.

Into high tech? Check out RTP where Cisco, Glaxo Smith Kline, Lenovo, and IBM all have campuses. Prefer the arty type? Go to Asheville for world class artisans or Seagrove for the famous pottery.

If you're a history buff we've got Revolutionary & Civil war battlefields, amazing mansions (palaces, really - see the Biltmore Estate), and Blackbeard's ship. If looking towards the future is more your thing we have one of the highest number of colleges per capita in the country (in my home city alone there are 2 women-only colleges, 2 historically black universities, the first land-grant college in the state, and one of the best technical colleges).
If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Telekinesis, hands down (no pun intended). At my core I'm lazy, so the ability to clean the house without leaving the sofa sounds pretty darn good.

What's a typical "day off" involve for you? Unfortunately I don't make a living from jewelry, so I have a real job. Days off from that are pretty much spent working on the jewelry business. Fortunately, jewelry making is still a hobby for me, so it serves a dual purpose of relaxing & making money.

What advice would you give an aspiring jewelry designer on Etsy? Don't expect people to find & buy your pieces just because you put them on Etsy. I see so many people upset that they haven't sold anything in their first month, but when you ask how they promote the shop, their only answer is posting/renewing.

If I could tell every new Etsy vendor (jewelry or otherwise) one thing it's this: Etsy is just a "mall" in cyberspace. I did a whole post on this on my blog (click here) that boils down to this:

In reality [Etsy/Artfire/1000markets] are simply virtual real estate - and just like with physical real estate, just because you build it doesn't mean they'll come.

****
I hope you'll take a moment and click on some of the great pieces here from Jill's shop and that, once you get there, you'll spend some time browsing and reading thru the colorful descriptions that Jill included with her pieces. It will give you a greater feel for the creative process and inspiration that all artisans use in their work!

A Search for Sisterhood

Thought it would be nice to share my thoughts on sisterhood today, first because it's Sisters Day, and secondly, because I am fortunate enough to be both a sister and have a sister! So... what is a sister? The dictionary primarily defines a sister as a female sibling who shares one or both parents' bloodline with another sibling. This would account for sisters and half sisters - but there are expanded definitions...step sisters, sisters-in-law, sorority sisters, sisters in faith, religious sisters, women brought together by a cause, and even sister cities. So I guess you could say that sisterhood has probably touched your life in some way even if you're an only child!

Technically, I'm a "half-sister"... and I actually have/had 3 half sisters and 2 half brothers...and I'll explain that a little bit to give you a sense of how differently sisterhood can play out in life. (This is the part that used to drive the nuns where I went to school crazy when they gave us assignments on family type subjects...lol...definitely not your typical catholic family) Both of my parents had children from previous marriages before they had me. My dad, who happened to be 18 years older than my mother, actually had a daughter from his first marriage who was only a couple years younger than my mom. He also had been married a second time and had a daughter and son from that relationship as well. My mother had been married once before and had a daughter and son from that marriage... which left me as technically an only child with 5 half siblings. Still with me??

Since I was raised in the same home that my mother's older kids lived in, we have always had that more traditional sibling relationship and when you hear me speak of my sister and brother, they are the ones I'm talking about. It's probably no surprise that there's a pretty significant age gap between me and my sister and brother - my sister is about 15 years older than me and my brother is about 10 years older than me...and that, in and of itself, has had an effect on our relationship with each other, but the gap has definitely narrowed as the age difference has proportionately narrowed. Distance has also played a part since my sister moved away when I was about 9 and I moved away from the midwest in my early 20's. We are still very much part of each other's lives and my sister and I especially stay in pretty close touch.

On my dad's side of the family, the reverse is unfortunately true. His other children always remained distanced from his "new family" although I do remember Saturdays spent with my half brother Bill when I was little. I was never privy to my father's relationship issues with his children, and although we were invited to their weddings, that was pretty much the extent of my contact with them - and after my father passed away when I was 24, the rift had grown much wider and deeper unfortunately.

A few years ago, shortly after I married my hubby, he got me interested in genealogy and we started to look into searching down my siblings... a task that has proven frustrating and saddening and somewhat fruitless - perhaps because I'm not one of those people who feels comfortable taking a chance on opening up old wounds... and I've never really gotten the sense that I was a welcome part of their lives, for whatever reason.


But there was still a curiosity to find out whatever I could. When we started our search, we did it the typical way. I was pretty confident in being able to narrow down locations for both of my dads' daughters so we hit the phone directory... thanks to unlisted numbers, that came up dry. So, being the google search guru that I am, I took a chance on typing in their names. I was met with a long list of hits for the younger sister - including her obituary... I must admit I was a little stunned considering she had died only 2 years earlier at a very young 57 years of age. But the obituary was somewhat bittersweet, since it listed the rest of us siblings with vague information on where everyone lived (mine was wrong of course, because my life had gone thru many changes in the 20+ years since my dad died). But I knew that my oldest sister was probably still alive and that my brother Bill had achieved his dream of becoming a pharmacist and lived in Washington State. I guess a part of me wishes I was brave enough to delve deeper into my search and let this extended family of mine know that I would love to be a part of their world - to be able to get to know my nieces and nephews (and grandnieces and nephews) just as I've been able to be a part of my (by my mom) sister and brother's life. I guess time will tell... Recently I've gotten a little bolder and actually left subtle marks like guestbook signatures on websites that they might see. I'm such a wimp at some things!

In addition to being the "little sister" to my "sister " Diana, and my "brother" Allen, (and a half sister, but sister nonetheless, to Margaret, Beverly and Bill) I've been blessed with several wonderful sisters and brothers-in-law, and I've watched my own children in their brotherly/sisterly relationships... and as more grandchildren join the world, I get to watch their families grow and those relationships budding in yet another generation.

In researching my "today is" feature, I ran across a couple of really great quotes about sisters that definitely reflect my thoughts on both being and having sisters... I'd like to share them with you here... and invite you to visit the many great Etsy shops that I've featured in this article - all of which are run by... you guessed it - sisters! If you're lucky enough to have a sister, give her a call today and tell her how special she is in your world... and if you're lucky enough to have brothers, call them and remind them of how special you are in their lives . {wink} And even if the only "sister" you have fits one of the other sisterhood categories, take a moment to say thank you to the universe for letting your paths cross! I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on being/having a sister, so please feel free to leave a comment...Happy Sisters Day!

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child." ~Barbara Alpert

"Sister to sister we will always be, A couple of nuts off the family tree."~Author Unknown

"Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers." ~Pam Brown

"Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister." ~Katherine Mansfield

"I'm smiling because your my sister, I'm laughing because there is nothing you can do about it! " ~Author Unknown

A huge thank you to these great sisterly Etsy shops featured in this article!
Raggedy Ann Americana Angel Doll - sistersscrapping (sisters Deana, Kelli, and Cassie)
Knitted Beanie Hat and Leg Warmers Set for Baby-- Debbie Bliss Yarn - sistersluvcrafts (sisters Alicia and Ginny)
Set of 3 Embroidered Newborn Baby Bib Wash Cloth Burpee Cloth - sistersluvcrafts (sisters Alicia and Ginny)
In the Cottage - Blue and Cream Bolster - Sister2SisterDesign (twin sisters Lisa and Teresa)
Texas Hill Country Cottage - Sister2SisterDesign (twin sisters Lisa and Teresa)
Blue butterfly box - Sisters2 (sisters Laura and Sharon)
Pink poncho plus size - Sisters2 (sisters Laura and Sharon)
Tropical Indulgence- Glycerin Soap -TwinDreamCreations (twin sisters Cathy and Carol)
Scent of Morocco - Batik style Glycerin Soap - TwinDreamCreations (twin sisters Cathy and Carol)
Best Friends Pre-Designed Photo Scrapbook - sistersscrapping (sisters Deana, Kelli, and Cassie)
Baked Honey Bun Candles - sistersscrapping (sisters Deana, Kelli, and Cassie)

I Was In the Neighborhood

I think it's so exciting when I run across an Etsy shop that is owned by someone who lives"right next door (city-wise at least) in my neighborhood"... and today's featured shop, CraftedByDesign, belongs to someone who lives in my old stomping grounds of Mesa, AZ. Mesa was actually the first city I lived in when I moved here back in 1982 and 2 of my 3 children still (or again) call it home! One of the things that I loved about the city when I lived there was the neighborly attitude so many of the people that live there have... the values tend to be traditional, the people tend to be very genuine, and I can honestly say that many of the people that I know from there are hard working, down to earth, honest, and well...nice people! KeriAnne, who owns CraftedByDesign, with her husband Shaun, is no exception.

This new Etsy shop is definitely a family affair. While Shaun does the woodcrafting, KeriAnne does the majority of the rest of the varied crafts you'll find in their shop... although she admits that she does occasionally get some help from their brood of five, count them, five children! As you can see by the pictures of her studio/work area, this mom combines creativity with family life and I'm sure gets quite a bit of her inspiration from everyday life in a busy family. From the versatile and oh-so-handy ring slings to the beautiful turned wood pens, CraftedByDesign has so many useful and lovely items... and thanks to KeriAnne's penchant for trying new things, there are sure to be new things coming along all the time!

Kerianne shared these answers to the questions I sent her...

I love shops that offer a variety of items - it's like a one-stop shopping trip! What's usually the deciding factor in determining what you might want to list - or are you likely to try different things just to see what sells? The deciding factors for me are:
1~Is this something I can finish in one sitting, or easily pick up and start again?
2~Is this something I would either use myself or for someone in my family?
If someone would like a custom job, I'm up for anything once!

Since your shop is primarily a husband and wife team effort, who likes to make what crafts or is it a collaborative effort divided between creative and administrative duties? I enjoy doing all the sewing and crocheting, and my husband does all the woodworking. Woodworking is one craft I haven't even attempted yet. We do ask the others opinions for color choices and material combinations.
Could you share a little bit about what a typical "day in the life of" your family is like with 5 children? INSANE! Really. It is almost never quiet in my house, and everyone wants to go somewhere. Summertime is pure chaos, but once school starts, we'll get back into a routine. I typically spend a little bit of time every day at the elementary school, as I work as a substitute aide, and am Vice President on the PTO there. In fact, my youngest is fondly known as the school mascot!

Do you have any family traditions that you hope are carried thru to future generations? The only real tradition I can think of is making cinnamon rolls for Christmas. We give them away, and, of course, eat them for breakfast Christmas morning. When my children move away, I hope they'll be close enough to have a weekly dinner with everyone together.

What's your favorite outdoor activity? Camping is my favorite thing to do outdoors. It is work, but relaxing at the same time. And the kids get to be kids with no regular chores to do.

What would be a better weekend getaway for you - Cabin in the woods on a wintry day or a romp on the beach on a warm sunny day? Cabin in the woods, as long as I'm well stocked with food, books, and yarn!

I hope you'll take a peek at CraftedByDesign - there are some great items available there and new treasures making their appearance all the time!