Vintage Valentines

I collect paper ephemera... 

old letters, old pictures, 

postcards and Valentines 

from years gone by.

There's something about their innocence, 

their graphics 

and the yellowed tone of them 

that I find infinitely appealing.

I picked up 

some 'new' ones 

while antiquing recently -

and if I don't share them now -

 when will I?

 Thought this was appropriate 

for all of us who are getting older 

and losing our minds!

 For all my friends who knit and crochet!

 I sent this one to Art Boy 

since he LOVES all varieties of apples!

Although it's hard to find someone more mellow than him.

 Can't help but wonder about Roger and Grace...

do you think he reciprocated her feelings - 

or was this just a obligatory

"everybody in the class has to get one"

that meant nothing to her

and so much to him that he kept if 'til he died?

Oh come on...

what good is all this material if it doesn't

stimulate the story teller in all of us?

It can't be just me that thinks these things, right???

Right?

Loved the gender bender artitst -

ok, maybe loved it a bit less when the cashier

remarked that it looked like Sarah Palin!

WHAT?

I'll give you a pompadoured Harry Potter -

but NOT Palin!

And there's a special charm 

about homemade Valentines, 

isn't there?

I can just imagine the time 

that went into this one -

with it's multi layers.

This one was easy to do - 

and even easier to email 

to all my family who live out of town.

How times change - 

although love and remembering those you love

NEVER goes out of style!

Valentine fun...

 He'd grown accustomed
to keeping his feelings bottled up.

He rarely let them out.

Contemporary log cabin...

Nope, not this kind... although I would totally take this as well!

I was referring to the new quilt I scored at our church's auction over the weekend - a fundraiser for our Senior High Groups Mission trip to Guatemala this summer.

A quilt made by a fiber artist in our parish and auctioned off a few years ago as a fundraiser for the Senior High trip to Chicago. (Illinois, Land of Lincoln; born in a log cabin - hence the use of the pattern but with a totally new twist w/color and pattern use).

Our senior high goes on a Mission trip every year, with a rotating service theme: rural, urban, Native American and International.

Truth be told, I coveted the quilt then and purchased more than one ticket (ok, maybe more like 10 raffle tickets) and, obviously didn't win it!

The woman who WAS the lucky winner- also a friend of mine - donated it back to the group this year so they could put it in the silent auction last night... and I FINALLY had my opportunity!
Despite a fierce competition, I emerged the victor - and the quilt is now home on my guest bed.

Kim (the quilter) also showed the kids and Leaders  how to make a square and she then put together their offerings for this years quilt - -

Considering that this sold for just under $3,000.00; it was gorgeous but too rich for my blood!

I'm JUST fine with the one I got for a mere pittance - well, comparatively.

Trust me, I won't be donating it back to the group for re-sale.
It's home!

Total win/win - 

for me and our kids

in Senior High!

Just wondering...

a) why some residents of the NorthEast got slammed with a blizzard and THIS is the closest to a winter scene our area could offer up this weekend?

b) why it only takes a small bit of 'green' to bring hope and the promise of new life?

c) why something SO politically and socially incorrect could make me laugh so much?

d) how Obama reconciles his Noble Peace Prize with preemptive drone strikes?

e) how a seafood, spinach, potato and corn chowder can be SO comforting and such a guilty pleasure?

and
f) how this puppy can continue to make me smile so much?

Where did your thoughts take YOU this weekend?

She couldn't deny it...

She was on a roll.

Can't begin to tell you 

how happy I am 

to have a 'good' camera again!

No, mine isn't back from the camera hospital...

I bought a new one - 

'exactly' like my first one...

don't judge.

I don't drink, do drugs, 

go to the boats

or throw money away

on any other manifestation

of 'loose' living!

A girl is allowed at least one vice -

right?

Heartburn

That is all.

"It is hard to believe a man is telling you the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place."-- H. L. Mencken

I testified recently at a molestation case.
That is not noteworthy; it’s an occupational hazard.

However, during my testimony, there was a lot of chatter from the defendant to his attorney and then a request for a recess.
Seems the guy wanted to change his plea to guilty.

Since we all knew he was - yet for 2 years has maintained he wasn’t - it was a bit of a Perry Mason moment.
It was nice. It saved us all from continuing with the legal charade and saved a 7 yr old from having to face him again and testify in open court about how he victimized her.
(Don’t for one minute believe that because a child has a taped interview with a forensic interviewer she is spared from having to face her perpetrator – she isn’t. In our legal system, criminals’ rights are more important than a kids psyche.) 

I don’t know why he reached the conclusion to admit his guilt.
I can’t honestly say I care.
I guarantee it wasn’t due to my testimony; I’m not that powerful a witness.

I was allowed to stay in the room while his lawyer and the prosecutor hammered out a plea – and he allocated.
It was a lot like watching them make sausage… I liked it better before I knew what went into it.

The judge asked him a litany of questions – hand to God about 15” worth – all of which seemed designed to talk him out of saying he was guilty. Do you realize you have a right to a jury trial? Do you realize that 12 people would have to find you guilty before you could be convicted? Do you realize those 12 people would have to agree beyond a reasonable doubt that you did what the Prosecutor is saying you did before they could find you guilty? Do you realize that by pleading guilty you give up the right to a trial? Do you realize that also means you give up the right to appeal? Do you realize…. 

After that list of 45 questions came the 25 questions about the legal representation he received… Did you meet frequently enough with your attorney for him to have a grasp of the circumstances of your case? Are you satisfied with the advice you got from your attorney? Did your attorney do what you wanted him to do? Did your attorney or anyone else in this courtroom promise you anything in exchange for your plea? Ad nauseam.

I get that it’s to protect ‘the system’ from allegations of misconduct.
I get the whole attempt to prevent more lawsuits and insure a criminals rights (although WHY an  undocumented immigrant who comes to this country and perps on our children should have the same legal ‘rights’ as one of our pervy citizens is, disturbingly, still a question in my own head.)

I spent a chunk of my time that evening pondering the litany of questions I’d liked to have asked the victim while she was in the ER –

Do you realize you have the right to be 6 yrs old and not molested by every man who comes into your mother’s home/life as a date? 
Do you realize that it’s a parent’s job to protect you? 
Do you realize that you have the right to have your mother believe you when you tell her you’re being hurt – and not call you names and say you’re mean for trying to ‘ruin her chances for happiness’? 
Do you realize that buying a squeaky bed in the hopes that your mother will wake up when her man gets out of bed to come to your room is NOT a form of love or protection? 
Do you realize that sleeping with your sister (who’s also being abused by him) and putting a sheet over your heads to try to hide so he can’t see you is also not what any decent mother should be telling you to do? 
Do you realize that, with a mother like her, your chances of functioning outside a psych facility in your teens is negligible?

OK, so maybe that last one isn't helpful... true, but not helpful!

I also discovered that INS (Immigration) has a 'hold' on him and, after he serves his 2 10yr consecutive sentences, he'll be deported back to Guatemala. Really?

OUR tax dollars have to pay to house and feed this guy and provide him with free medical care for decades BEFORE we can send him back? Hell, let's do it NOW!

I guarantee you, it's a better deal in 'benefits' to how his victim is going to be living!

I left the courthouse 

knowing exactly why Lady Justice 

prefers to be blind!

Me too, sister!

Look harder...

'They' say there's always a reason to smile.

Even though a weekend of being near death sick on the couch and two days of testifying in court yield few built in 'joy makers', there was a surprise snow storm which, for a few hours, blanketed the world with softness and beauty (and gave me another reason not to even try to venture outdoors)

and this...

on a door on the 8th floor of the courthouse

I can't decide 

if he's the one 

assigned to marrying couples 

this month 

or simply making

 a seasonal statement...

either way,

it was an unexpected 

reason to smile in court yesterday -

for which I was grateful

since there weren't many other things

to recommend for it!

Word play

One of the friends who shares studio space in the garrett with Art Boy always has fun paintings consisting almost exclusively of letters and words...

here, I'll give you a peek...

 I love the range of 'styles' and ideas all in one space.

Hanging out with adult children

is such a treat -

even if it doesn't look like

 any of the fantasies

you had about it

as they were growing up!

Tuning out

I knew there was a reason why I try NOT to listen to network news.

Paying any critical attention, at all, to what’s put out there as being newsworthy is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure and, with my job, I don’t need any other excuses to raise my BP to stroke level -  thank you very much.

Watching the Today show this morning however, it was the juxtaposition of the programming, as much as the content, which pushed my buttons.
Did you see it?

After showing us several minutes of moving testimony from parents who lost children to gun violence during the gun-control hearings - followed by the Second Amendment/NRA talking heads pontificating about why they would work hard to see that every proposed measure failed because it somehow infringed on their ‘rights’ to own an Uzzi - the segue way to a piece about counterfeit NFL merchandise was enough to induce whiplash.

Nice to hear that Federal Prosecutors are going after the sellers of bogus t-shirts to protect us from showing up on ‘Super Sunday’ wearing an oversized  shirt of whatever team we’re rooting for where the profits from the sales aren’t going directly into NFL coffers.

 Clearly we can go about our lives more safely today knowing that our legal system has its priorities in order.

We can’t seem to  do a ‘sting’ on gun shows to get the gun sellers and manufacturers who sell to the mentally deranged with no background check – but by God we can pour our resources into getting the sweat shop owners who produce T-shirts with no NFL tags!
Nice to know.

And, if I hear one more story about the ‘love triangle’ between the Polynesian football player, the stalker with the unpronounceable name and the pretend girlfriend, I think I’ll scream.

Really, he’s an example of the best education Notre Dame can provide?
The guy can make the Deans List of a supposedly prestigious university – yet he can’t distinguish between reality and make-believe?
What’s wrong with this picture?

Obviously, he’s a perfect example of what too much blunt force trauma to the head looks like!

Just as obviously, it’s time for me to turn the TV off again – and go back to just listening to my music in the morning!

Artists garrett

OK, so he's not starving ... 

but his current living space is 5,000 sq feet 

on the top floor of a warehouse. 

Actually his living space, studio, 

studio space for two of his friends 

and a small shared gallery space 

are all in the warehouse. 

Such a change from the environment in which he grew up - 

and I still live.

It suits him though 

and I love to browse around 

when I visit 

and take in the sights...

from the entry way

 (through a wood shop on the ground floor of the warehouse)

to his bedroom

studio

kitchen/living room

and even bathroom, 

paintings done by him and his friends are everywhere.

 I gave up, 

a long time ago, 

trying to make sense 

of what they mean

or represent

Trust me, 

it's easier 

to enjoy them 

that way!

Christmas presents

which neither of us wanted to chance

in the mail

were also exchanged.

Commemorative plates  (of our Jersey shore vacation)

made by him for us

and a lamp made for him

by my nephew

from an old gear

and a truck filter...

all are perfect

for the intended 

recipient!

Maybe not your typical gifts,

maybe not your typical lives,

but accurate reflections

of who we all are!

I wouldn't have it any other way!