she who blogs

Meet LJ

Isn't she cute?

This is Dixie - also a cutie.

You can read about their adventures in New York here

LJ writes restaurant reviews at the Neighborbee blog

and does fun photo memes like this

 

 

Midnight Musings: Javier Arias & The Lady in Red

About 17 years ago (during that time, cause my husband was still alive) I took a business course, and sat next to this young man. I believe he was from Equador…and his name was Javier Arias. Spoke broken english, and as we sat in class, we developed a friendship. He had long wild hair, curly…We became good friends, and the teacher ended up separating us because we were always giggling. As we began to learn about each other, I learned that he was gay…and that was okay…because we were friends…never anything more…loved laughing with one another. We were on the telephone ALL the time, as I learned stuff about the guy he was living with who was horrible to him. And about his mother who practically disowned him because of his lifestyle.

Our conversations and sharing stories about one another is very important - because, well…you’ll see in a moment.

My husband didn’t feel threatened by Javier, used to laugh at us cause we used to sit on the couch like silly school girls…and I would just run my fingers through Javier’s hair…and all we really did was laugh…at life, at his mother, at his horrible living situation with this guy who was really treating him like ish, but he had nowhere else to go…ergo, the business school so he could make a better living for himself.

One day, Javier just dropped off the face of the earth. About two weeks went by - and I didn’t know where he was - until a phone call awakened me from my sleep - and it was Javier’s voice…asking me who I was? I kept saying to him, Javier, it is me..Andrena…and he didn’t have a clue. He didn’t even know that Javier was his name! Told me that he woke up in the hospital and was told that he was found on the subway platform. And that he was at this woman’s house who told him that she was his mother…and that he was calling everyone in his phone book to try and find out who he was.

Javier had amnesia! It was the most amazing experience I have ever had! I couldn’t believe it.

We began from scratch…and this is where all the stuff he told me came in handy…because I was able to tell him about everyone in his life that he had told me about…it was simply heartwrenching. We became friends all over again…

and he would call me and sing: Lady in Red….”all the time” At least once a week…he sang that song to me.

We remained friends until my husband got sick and I became so overwhelmed in hubby’s sickness and my own diagnosis…and somehow I lost track of Javier….but I always think about him and where he is.

Visit Andrena at Getting a Grip On Grace where she often Muses at Midnight

The Value of a Diary

 I am blessed to have many good friends that I have known for a long, long time. They can best be described as falling into a couple of different groups, one of which I refer to as the “Delta Drama Gang” because we got acquainted when we attended San Joaquin Delta College in the mid-1970’s and participated in the drama program there. We performed together in numerous productions before transferring to four-year colleges, getting married, and establishing ourselves professionally. We have wonderful shared memories — and a few photographs — about those crazy times.

In recent years, we have made a deliberate attempt to be better at staying in touch and spending time together, a direct reaction to losing a couple of our members far too early.

I know that I am getting older, as evidenced by the increasing frequency with which I have “senior moments.” Those are the very frustrating times when I simply cannot remember something — usually it is a name, but it could be a date, occurrence, or even appointment if I neglect to note it on my calendar. Last year, I apparently had a major “senior moment” and my friends are still teasing me about it.

The first time I got serious about writing in a diary was when I was in high school. I had a good friend named Kathy who was a gifted artist. She carried a sketch book everywhere she went in which she not only logged quick pencil sketches of anything and everything, but also wrote about daily events and her feelings, thoughts, and dreams. She was eccentric and introspective, so when she urged me to begin writing in a diary each day, I complied.

And for several years, I recorded details about anyone and anything in my life. However, I eventually became too busy and fell out of the habit and when I went away to college, I left several volumes of journals behind. I distinctly recall the day I was home for a visit and my mother asked me to sort out some of my belongings so that she could make use of some shelf space. I was horrified to realize that my journals were still here in my parents’ house and wondered if my mother had read any of the entries. Rather than take those diaries back to my apartment with me, I ripped them up and threw away the pieces (we did not have shredders in those days). At the time, I thought the detail I had recorded so diligently about my high school days and the couple of years immediately following was pretentiously immature and would hold no interest for me in the ensuing years.

Boy, was I wrong! Because if I had those diaries now and could refer back to them, I could prove to my friends that I never had a crush on our friend Steven. They insist that I did which would have been ridiculous because, even then, it was common knowledge that I would never be his “type.” We were simply very good friends and spent a lot of time together, so I think that our friends merely misinterpreted the parameters of our relationship.

Increasingly-frequent “senior moments” prohibit me from remembering many of the details about those 18-hour days spent attending classes after which every evening and weekend was devoted to rehearsing the latest production.

But a crush on one of my best friends? A core member of our precious little gang? Surely I would remember that, right?

If only I hadn’t destroyed those old journals . . .

Do you maintain a diary? How long have you been writing in a journl? Have you ever destroyed an entire or portion of a diary? Why?

Visit Janie at Colloquium

Flickr Photo Memes (2)

Madame Meow

Lissa

Nona

Flickr Photo Memes

 Carrie

Frances

Sognatrice

Site of the Week June 15th 2008

The Blog

The Blogger

When did you begin blogging? 
I started blogging in early 2006 and officially moved over to Blogger in October 2006.  I started with a MSN Space because I had a Hotmail account.  But I didn’t really get in to blogging until I went to Blogger and started discovering all of the other wonderful blogs out there.

Have you always been an artsy craftsy kind of girl? 
I think so.  Growing up we didn’t get to watch a lot of TV – only Mr. Rogers & Sesame Street, we were a PBS family.  My Mom taught me how to sew & crochet.  I love trying new things like making jewelry, I actually got my Mom hooked on that and she is very talented.

Tell us about Etsy.  How you found out about it.  What you enjoy most.  Suggest three people on there we should check out.
Oh, Etsy, how I love thee.  I found out about Etsy while browsing other blogs.  I had sold “garage sale treasures” and used books on eBay before, but Etsy was a whole new world.  Filled with handmade treasures from all over the world, it was and is like a little slice of heaven on Earth.  I especially love the Pounce feature… this is literally hours of fun!  I have two accounts on Etsy, one I use for buying stuff and one for selling.  I can be found at www.sweetfaeriedesigns.etsy.com.  I have a lot of favorite sellers but 3 you should check out are www.oktak.etsy.com {my next purchase}, www.pikapeeks.etsy.com {I have a lovely makeup bag & she has the best service – all the way from France }, and www.annieandolive.etsy.com {great customer service and her products are adorable, I have my eye on the new fabric bracelets she has.}

You use Blogger - tell us what you like best about it.
 Free!

Is your talent as a designer/crafts person inherited?  Who inspired you? 
The need to be artistic is definitely inherited.  Both of my parents are hobby painters, my Aunt is a professional tole painter, and my Mom taught me almost everything I know – well, all of the basics.

Are there any crafts out there that you haven't tried but would like to tackle? 
I would love to learn how to knit.

Is your first blog post ever still available somewhere? 
My first posts were very random and didn’t really speak about anything in particular.  I started a blog just to keep in touch with family, which all live on the west coast.  Being on the east coast I wanted a place to post pictures and give updates about my family.  My first post, after my post announcing I was moving to Blogger, is here.

Have you met any of your blog buddies?  If you did - how did it go? 
Sadly, no.  I was on Bossy’s roadtrip, but her stop was too far away (in another state), and in the middle of the week for me to travel to. 

One look at your blog tells us you're a working mom and designer who’s very involved in her children's lives.  Any time management tips or tricks for the rest of us? 
Well, I do work from home so that helps a lot!  I try to stay as organized as possible by using a weekly planner.  It sits right next to my keyboard and I note everything that’s coming up.  The kids always stop by to see what’s going on, it works for us very well.

Do you think that there are certain subjects that shouldn't be blogged about? 
No, not really.  To each there own is my motto.  If I don’t like something I just close the browser and don’t go back.  I started blogging for personal reasons like keeping in touch with family and friends, this is why my name is in the title of the blog.  But my blogging has changed since I started.  I participate in contests, memes, swaps, etc.  But even though I get a lot of visitors I still don’t feel I need to change the name, though I am sure other bloggers might feel differently.  I don’t think my blogging or blogging habits attract the crazies (knock on wood.)

You're asked to teach artsy craftsy women such as yourself how to set up blogs.  Tell us the subjects you would cover.
 Oh, great question!  I would probably go over what HTML I know & understand and also equip them with the websites I use to get my answers for.  How to change a 2 column layout to 3 columns; How to create a banner and install it without the borders sticking out (I see that a lot); How to create a favicon, the little picture next to the URL in the address bar; And, to be sure to check both IE and FireFox to see how your blog looks in both browsers!  You’d be surprised at how differently they can appear.

a few of her lovely designs

Visit Carrie

She Who Designs.org

She Who Designs.org was created and launched by Lissa a SWB member.

Her welcome message reads as follows:

shewhodesigns.org- a place for designers and photographers

This not-for-profit blog's purpose is to connect female designers and photograhers of all genres.

All females are welcome to join by leaving a comment. You'll receive an invite which will allow you to become a contributor/member of this blog. An easy to create Blogger account is necessary for posting, but not to join. You may also e-mail your material to me for posting.

Members are encouraged to post about design in general along with photography, ideas and helpful tips and how-to's -- pretty much anything to do with design and photography.

There are no rules as of yet but some may turn up as we move along. This is only the beginning. I'm still trying to decide what to do here but I hope you can bear with me as I sort things out.


"Sometimes creativity is a compulsion, not an ambition."
Ed Norton, Entertainment Weekly

Lissa has two personal blogs:

Postcards from the Cards - photos

Just Write - creative writing

A collaborative photo blog with Susan

2 Lives

And

Recently Lissa offered SWB members makeovers for their blogs.

Avert Your Eyes

Candid Karina

Life isn't about finding yourself...

as well as redoing our SWB logo and creating all the graphics for our 1st anniversary.

You can see more of her makeover magic at:

just design blogs

Goodnight Mariannina, until tomorrow

Mariannina Letta and Nino Paolini were to be married.

One evening in 1915, they said good night, probably sneaking a kiss, excited at the thought that they would be travelling to Sulmona the next day to buy the confetti, the sugared almonds for their wedding.
At dawn the next morning Mariannina’s house was destroyed by an earthquake.
Nino dug with his bare hands for hours on end until he found her, wrapped in a sheet, her arm over her head as if to protect herself.
They buried her in her wedding gown and Nino played his violin for Mariannina as they buried her.
For years afterward, every night at the same time, Nino went to Mariannina’s tomb and serenaded her with his violin. And every night he left her with these words:
Buona notte Mariannina, a domani
When after many years, Nino’s destiny took him away from Celano, he had a statue made that immortalized Mariannina, wrapped in a sheet, her arm over her head as if to protect herself.

Goodnight Mariannina, until tomorrow.

Visit Joanne at Frutto della Passione & Much Ado About Pictures

Dona Nobis Pacem

It's that time of year again!  On June 4th, 2008, hundreds of bloggers around the world will be blogging for peace.  Visit Mimi's to read about how it got started, read about what others have said, and then get your own globe, send your globe in and join others in blogging your desire for peace....

here are a few links from the previous years that I have participated:

http://heavenlyankh.com/public_html/?p=1133

 

http://heavenlyankh.com/public_html/?p=1069

 

http://heavenlyankh.com/public_html/?p=1052

 

http://heavenlyankh.com/public_html/?p=987

--
sheep beget sheep & are cared for by the shepherd. .

 

Visit Andrena at Getting a Grip On Grace

Happy Birthday To Us

established May 24th 2007

Check Out Our Anniversary Page

Special thanks to Lissa who designed our new logo & anniversary graphic