Merry Christmas!

May we always remember
the true meanings of Christmas
as we celebrate the season:

Love and Charity

Wishing everyone
the gift of time
to treasure

family and friends.

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Snowflakes

Falling snow always inspires me to create my own replicas, even though they can't compare to the real thing. I learned how to cut snowflakes in the fourth grade, (thanks Mrs. Voss!) and I loved it immediately. I remember helping other kids fold the paper the correct way, experimenting with extra folds and lots of additional cuts.

For several years we decorated the kitchen cabinets with snowflakes that I cut, we saved them every year to tape up the next year. Similarly, at one job I taught my co-workers how to cut snowflakes. We created so many that I decided to tape on varying lengths of white sewing thread and then I hung them from the drop ceiling--it was beautiful! The other departments were envious of our decorations, and following my mother's lead, we saved them and created our snowflake ceiling for many years.

I have often made tiny snowflakes to decorate the corners of my computer, I have even tried to make huge snowflakes out of butcher paper. I don't think a year has gone by that I haven't created paper snowflakes. It is so easy and yet so lovely, I love making them.

I guess it is a tradition of sorts...so, if you know how and the sparkling snowflakes outside motivates you, join me in cutting a few snowflakes and decorating your home or office!

Barber in Training

Paul David, fourth child out of nine, third boy, born on December 11, 1966--an early Christmas present for my parents.

Paul and I always seemed to get along, have fun, and occasionally get into trouble.


<<--Always smiling! Paul, three months old.

My parents didn't go out that often due to time and finances, but one time stands out in my memory. A teenage neighbor girl was babysitting us; I believe Paul and I were maybe 11 and 12 years old, but probably younger. Being some of the older children Paul and I were to help the sitter with our younger siblings, including the youngest, a baby at the time.

12th birthday

So, of course a bit of a drama occurred. Paul was chewing gum and somehow managed to get some in his hair, no big deal right? Wrong! Paul tried to get the gum out on his own by using scissors! Paul gave himself a very creative haircut--jagged and missing chunks.

Happy Birthday Paul David "Fruit Loops", Polly-wogs, Pablo, brother, friend, and partner in crime, enjoy!

Christmas Ornaments

Angels we have heard on high

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I hope you enjoy the ornament slideshow of our family's ornaments.

Craft Night - Ribbon Tree

'Twas three weeks before Christmas, when all at the table,

The ladies were crafting, even those who weren't normally able (Barb!);

The ribbons were laid out on a tray with care,

Some wanted to begin a bit early, but they didn't dare;

Raviolis, Chicken Kabobs, Red Potatoes and more comprised the buffet,

The live Christmas tree and scented candles created a nice bouquet;

We washed everything down with a festive Sherbet punch,

But wait, we still had tartlets, pie, and cheescake to munch!

With our bellies full and lots of chatter, we went straight to work,

Only stopping for advice, our tasks we did not shirk;

We folded, pinned, glued, and added sparkly puffs,

Everyone agreed, making ribbon trees wasn't so tough!

Laying her finger aside her nose, a gift Mom did bestow,

Darling holiday pails, filled with candy, Oh, how yummy ho-ho-ho;

With trees and gifts in hand, our guests traveled off into the night,

"Merry Christmas" they exclaimed, "to return for another Craft Night would be a delight!"

Thank you family and friends for making our 2nd Craft Night such a success! Mom and Sue

Birthdays and Blessings

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad. It conveys how I always felt: loved, comforted, and secure. I continue to feel that way. My parents have a knack for creating a loving home and making each child feel special, no matter how many years have passed.

Life changes all of us, but the most important things about my dad have remained the same, his good nature, his devotion to faith and family, his story-telling ability (even though we've heard them all before--many times), and his loving heart. Thanks Dad--Happy Birthday!

Mom celebrated her 75th birthday yesterday and I think the quote from Abraham Lincoln applies “And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”. It is an achievement to have lived 75 years but to look back on a life well-lived, such as my mom's, is truly remarkable.

Mom's life is a testiment of generosity. She not only has physically given life to her children, but helped to give our lives direction, focus, and meaning. Mom has freely given of her time, laughter, wit, and love to her friends and family. The road of life brings many gifts and troubles along the way, my mom just seems to acknowledge the troubles and moves on, not letting them weigh her down. Thank you Mom for showing me how to add life to my years, love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Lucky Number 7

I have six brothers and two sisters, my youngest sister, Renee, is the seventh child born in the eleventh month on the eleventh day.

Peek-a-boo!

Little Renee was always happy and smiling. I think her love of being a "girlie-girl" began early when Renee would toddle and dance around in ruffled underpants, earning her the nickname "Ruffle Butt"!

1st Grade photo, please note, the ruffles continued.

Birthdays were always lovingly celebrated with gifts, homemade cakes, and singing. Today, on your special day, Renee, let us celebrate the loving, joyful, caring person that you have become. Our family is lucky to call you daughter, sister, and friend.  Happy Birthday!

Autumn Sunset

I was lucky to catch some of the quickly fading red streaks that graced the sky tonight. The crimson colors add a stark beauty to the leafless trees, the trees that only last week wore the same colors that the sky now flaunts. Breathtaking!

Colors of the Season

For the past couple of weeks I have been snapping photos of the changing colors, it has been a nice slow progression.

The leaves have been lingering on the trees, only in the last several days has there been some serious falling foliage.

To the right of this post I have added a slideshow of my favorite pictures. I hope you enjoy the show as well as the colors in your hometowns.

Craft Night - Christmas Ornament

Mom and I wanted to share our crafting knowledge, so we held our first Craft Night. Our guests feasted upon a buffet of meatballs, cheese tortellini, mini cheese pizzas, veggies, and our famous Tuna Snack Spread and then they quickly went to work.

Each crafter created a custom mix of seed beads from our bead stockpile, Mom offered color suggestions to assist the crafters. Using a scooping motion the crafters strung beads onto a fine beading needle and thread. Beautiful, long beaded strands were swiftly created.

The next step required spreading a thick craft glue on a styrofoam ball and slowly wrapping the beads around and around.

This can be a little tricky to keep the rows in place without sliding or lumping up, but our crafters persevered!

These gorgeous ornaments were created in only about two hours. They are all unique and will be stunning additions to our crafters' Christmas trees.

Our crafters also enjoyed a homemade dessert of Devil's Food Cupcakes w/Chocolate Ganache frosting--I shall quote my mom, "Scrumptious!"

Recipe Link: Cupcakes & Frosting

We all had so much fun eating, talking, laughing and of course crafting. As a thank you to our guests, Mom created individual Halloween bowls filled with candy and a light-up pen.

We can't wait for the next Craft Night, thank you everyone!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

The sun is shining, the sky is beautifully blue, and our Maple tree is proudly showing off its colors! Today is such a gorgeous day after a long string of cold, rainy ones. We couldn't have asked for a better Autumn day.
Enjoy my friends, enjoy!

I'm still baking!

Today's delicious homemade treat is Pumkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

I had some pumpkin puree left over from my bread baking day and I thought I would try these muffins. I have to say, "yummy"! The recipe yields a spicy, tender muffin combined with a hint of sweetness from the semi-sweet chocolate chips. The muffins remind me a bit of a cookie that my sister-in-law Becca makes, but being muffins they are lighter. The muffins go together very quickly, so if you've got the inclination this recipe is definitely worth making.

Muffin Recipe link Note: the on-line recipe ingredients don't include the chocolate chips, I added 2/3 Cup mini semi-sweet chips.

Tried, True and New

Today turned into a baking day. I started with plans only to make one quick bread and went on to make two more, much to the delight of my family.

Pictured on the cutting board, the Tried loaf  is Banana Bread. I have made many banana breads over the years using several recipes. I recently tried my grandmother's recipe, the first time I made it the center was a little soft but otherwise quite tasty. Adding several minutes to the baking time worked out well, delivering a crunchy crust and a tender interior that was not overly moist.

On the pedestal is the True loaf, my mother's favorite recipe for Pumpkin Bread. My family has been using this recipe for twenty plus years and it never fails to produce delicately spiced bread that is delicious with or without butter. This is a good bread to make several days in advance of a party; just wrap in foil and keep in the refrigerator, allow it to warm to room temperature before serving.

Last but not least is the New loaf of Cherry and Golden Raisin Bread. I found this recipe on-line at Better Homes and Gardens.  The bread is lightly flavored with lemon rind, accented with dried cherries, golden raisins and drizzled with a lemon glaze. A yummy bread you should definitely try and one I will keep in my recipe book. Cherry and Golden Raisin Bread Recipe

Playtime

My siblings and I were encouraged to be creative, such as drawing, coloring books, board games, and lots of playing outside. We would play what we called "pretend" and we would play house, school, doctor, etc. with us acting out the roles and using ordinary household items to accessorize our pretend worlds. Our china cabinet would become the kitchen; we would raid my mother's Tupperware and wooden spoons, prepare pretend meals and then serve them to our children/siblings. I took things further by occasionally writing small plays and creating costumes for my younger siblings, then we would perform for our parents--our acting troupe was always well received. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

In 1976, I was captivated by the Summer Olympic Games. It was amazing--all the different sports I had never seen and all the different countries I had never heard of before! I loved watching the games and cheering on the athletes, so much so that I decided we should have our own Olympics. My brothers, sisters, and some of our neighborhood friends competed in events that I created to mimic the real ones. One of the events was an obstacle course that included jumping over a stone bench! I wanted our Olympics be as real as possible, so of course I made medals. Lacking precious metals but not creativity, the medals were made out of cardboard, crayons, and crepe paper.

I think, in the hopes of keeping her sanity intact, my mother often encouraged us to play outside. When the TV volume and kids talking (screaming) would reach a certain level we could count on Mom calling out, "Go outside and play!". So we would troupe outside and play. Play included jump rope games, Tag, Red Rover, hopscotch, Dodge ball, Red Light-Green Light, baseball, football, badmiton, volleyball, Cops and Robbers with twigs for guns, Lawn Jarts-the ones with sharp metal ends-we never got hurt!, Slip and Slide, making snowmen, snowball fights, snow mazes, riding bikes and skateboards, Monkey in the Middle, and a summertime favorite Ghosts in the Graveyard. We didn't get to play Ghosts often because of our bedtime during the school year was 8:00 pm, but during the summer we could stay outside a little later and when it became dark enough, it was time for Ghosts in the Graveyard!

Childhood playtime, such great fun and memories!

Summer's Bounty

Isn't Mother Nature wonderful! It has been a good summer for the vegetable garden. Although I planted later than I wanted, the produce has been bountiful and delicious.  The heirloom tomato plants have been very vigorous and prolific in their fruits. All have been tasty but two favorites are Red Brandywine and Green Zebra. I was able to get multiple plantings of green beans to supplement many dinners. I still have a couple of rows in raised beds that should be protected from any frost.

Thanks to my Mom's suggestion, I tried growing potatoes for the first time. It was very successful and a lot of fun. Don't these potatoes look great! They were so fresh, pulled right from the soil, cleaned, boiled, and simply served with butter, salt and pepper. Yummmm! I will definitely grow potatoes next year and I'll try another variety or two. We have also enjoyed radishes-both red and white varieties, green onions, and carrots. In the Spring I thought I would like to expand the vegetable garden to grow more things, but current size has been enough for me to handle as well as very bountiful.

Check out this picture of a bushel basket full of tomatoes--20 lbs! This is not a onetime occurrence; I have picked that amount of tomatoes several times, much to the delight of neighbors and friends who have shared in our abundance. The growing season is coming to a close--it has been fantastic and I can't wait to do it all again next year!

Everyday Miracles

As today is the first full day of Autumn, I thought it was a good day to finally get off my butt and restart this blog!

I also truly believe the message in this photo. We have the chance to be witnesses to life's everyday miracles if only we would pay attention. One example of such a miracle is my Mom's recovery and continuing improvement. God's handiwork is evident in her life. May your day be blessed with miracles, I thank God mine has been!

Word Wednesday

Discombobulate - a slang word meaning to confuse or upset.

I like the way it bounces around my mouth as I pronounce it. It is a good word for early April as the weather is very confusing to people, plants, and animals. Cold, frosty mornings that still demand a warm jacket, hat, and gloves. The mercurial sun that teases us with glimpses of warmth that we have yearned for during our snowy winter.

I find the struggling economy and strife very discombobulating too. But I don't want to dwell on it as the media circus certainly makes sure we're aware of all the dread details.

So here's hoping your days and your lives are not too discombobulating, but that you might have an opportunity to interject today's new word into conversation. (:

Igpay Atinlay

Oday ouyay eakspay igpay atinlay? You may not recognize this strange language in its written form but if you heard it, you would understand it to be Pig Latin. I think it must be the non-bilingual's poor attempt at a second language. However, when I was young, I thought it was cool!

My mother and her mom would speak in Pig Latin. Of course they used the language to speak about adult things or something we children weren't supposed to know. They would carry on whole conversations in Pig Latin, or perhaps a few key words to confuse us. As we children got older we began to understand the "secret language" and we began to try to figure out the adult conversation. Victory was within our grasp--almost--then my mom and grandmother started speaking Pig Latin faster. Curses, foiled again!

As we got older we were able to follow most of the Pig Latin talk, so that it only became effective to use in front of the younger children. Eventually, I became fluent in Pig Latin. My mom and I would use the language to speak in front of my youngest siblings (victory at last!) and even some of the older kids couldn't follow a fast-paced Pig Latin conversation. My youngest brother, Glenn, became so tired of hearing Pig Latin and being out-of-the-loop that he started to mimic the language: "Oopday, Poopday, Shoopday!" He would crack us up and then tell us to talk in private if we couldn't speak openly in front of him. True, perhaps, but not as much fun as speaking Pig Latin.

Once in a while my mom and I will have a few words in Pig Latin just to drive my brother crazy--so much fun to tease him, hee hee!

Opehay ouyay avehay aay eatgray ayday!

Take me out to the ballgame...

The White Sox home opener was delayed by one day due to the rain and snow that came sweeping in last night. I don't think a one day delay will help much, it will still be very COLD.

My favorite game that I attended was when the White Sox clinched the American League West Division title. My mom and dad purchased tickets for most of the family to go to a game months in advance as part of a Commonwealth Edison company group discount plan. It was just luck or fate that we were at the September 17th game. Old Comiskey Park was packed! The crowd was absolutely crazy, loud, and so excited for our team. We cheered for all of our players, but we loved chanting "Harold, Harold, Harold!" for Harold Baines.

The game was great and we all went wild when we won the game and clinched the title! The best part of that or any game was spending the time and sharing the day with my family.

Spring Warm Up?

April 5th and it is snowing. According to the calendar the first day of Spring was 16 days ago, someone forgot to inform Mother Nature. It is not the first time we have had snow in April but it is still disappointing. I think it is more of shock for the early flower bulbs, budding trees, and the birds.

As the saying goes, "This too shall pass.". The snow won't last long, but it will still be a chilly morning and probably slow commuter driving. So how about starting your day out with a nice bowl of oatmeal. I made this bowl extra special by sauteing Granny Smith apple and raisins in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. I promise it is yummy!

"Hey, Kool-Aid!"

In our large family of nine kids, soda was a luxury. The regular kid beverages were either milk or Wyler's or Kool-Aid drink mixes made in empty plastic gallon milk jugs.

There were two unofficial rules for the jugs of Kool-Aid: don't drink directly from the jug--use a glass, and whomever finishes the jug makes the next jug. Both of these rules were routinely abused by both boys and girls alike. I think all of us kids at one time or another took a quick chug of Kool-Aid when we were thirsty. Of course the trick was not to get caught in the act!

I don't know why but it always seemed to be such a big chore to make the Kool-Aid, so we became creative or maybe a better word is evasive. When the jug was full, no problem--big drinks. But as the liquid level began drop, smaller drinks, because as long as there was one glass of drink left in the jug it wasn't empty! So everyone became good at leaving "just enough" liquid in the jug. It started out that one glass meant regular 10-12 ounce drinking glass until one clever sibling upon being challenged about the jug amount, poured the jug contents into a 4 ounce juice glass. Thus demonstrating that indeed one glass of drink was left in the jug.

More often than not, the empty jug would be left on the counter where the next thirsty child would find it and yell out "Who emptied the Kool-Aid jug?!". The only answer ever received was dead air and the thirsty child was left to make the jug, or do the unthinkable--drink plain water!

Angels Among Us

When the Angels arrive, the devils leaves.

~Egyptian Proverb

May you know that angels are around you everyday, may they guide you in all your endeavors.

Wii Wee!

A recent purchase of Summer Sports - Paradise Island for the Wii system has been entertaining my family quite a bit. As I have mentioned in a previous post, my family has a bit of a competitive streak.

So far we have played Lawn Darts, Basketball/Horse, Horseshoes, Miniature Golf, and Croquet all set in a tropical setting. The graphics are good and the control functions aren't too complicated. I have had some successes in Horse like making a Trick Shot from behind the basket! I have also had some notable losses in Lawn Darts and Horseshoes to my brothers Glenn and Scott. My sister Renee and I teamed up in Horseshoes to play Scott and Renee's finance Larry, I was less than stellar leaving Renee to carry our team. But her work was in vain and we lost to the guys.

The most contested game was the Croquet game between Scott, Glenn and myself. We were doing fairly well, we thought we all had good control of our mallet swings--then things got crazy! Suddenly we all had trouble hitting the croquet balls; too hard, not hard enough, bouncing off the wickets. We started hitting a competitor's croquet ball to gain extra strokes to advance in the game. The game has a Taunt function where you can harass competitors with annoying sound effects, which we did, but Taunts really didn't compare to our own verbal insults and rants at the game when play didn't go our way. I thoroughly enjoyed croquet, especially since I came from behind and won the game!

I look forward to some re-match games as well as playing the other sports. Badminton anyone?

Something New

Today I'm starting a new item, da, da, da, daaahh....WORD WEDNESDAY! (Can you tell I like alliteration! :)

This will be a regular feature where I discuss a favorite or a topical word. This week's word is in honor of the first day of April is: Fool.

Fool - to act unwisely; to be deficient in judgement; to trick; or to have an affinity for, ie. "a singing fool". There are so many meanings as well as synonyms like clown, birdbrain, boob, dope, jerk, jester, or perhaps nincompoop. That's a great word, nincompoop! How long has it been since you said nincompoop? It's funny and not too harsh!

Did you know that fool is a type of dessert? It is made of pureed fruit that is folded into whipped cream or custard. Sounds good, I'll have to try it.

What would April Fool's Day be without a trick. I didn't pull any tricks today, but one of my past favorites was on a co-worker, Danny. He had been warned that I liked to play tricks on April 1st, so he warily sat at his desk that day. As I watched from a slight distance, Danny scanned his work area looking for anything that was out of place. Next he began his routine, with his right hand he opened an overhead bin, then he started looking at the binders in the bin for any sign of mischief while at the same time reaching behind his back with his left hand to open a drawer to get out his glasses. As soon as the drawer was open a couple of inches a wind-up noise maker I had placed in the drawer was triggered, made a huge noise, and Danny screamed and jumped out of his chair! He was so startled but he was laughing too. Danny was a good sport, especially as I pulled another trick on him later that day.

I think we should all be comfortable enough to be the fool every once and awhile and not feel foolish about it.

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.

~Yiddish Proverb

What's a Walkman?

Do you remember in the late 70's the debut of the Sony Walkman? It was the latest and greatest in audio technology. You could play cassette tapes when you were on the go, not just at home or in your car. Wow, weren't we cool!

Now we have the Apple iPod that is so sleek and thin and can store 1,000 songs. It is so much smaller, lightweight, and truly portable. We download songs from the internet to compile lists of all our favorites, old or new.

Back in the 1970's there was no such thing as the internet, or downloading, or personal computers, or cell phones, etc. Technology changes so fast, what seems state of the art when we buy it is quickly replaced by something new. It boggles the mind as well as drains our wallets. So, as we continue to purchase newer, better, faster technology, let's take a moment to fondly remember LPs, 8-track tapes, and cassette tapes...ah, those were the days (:

Snow, snow, go away--come again another day!

"Snowflakes keep falling on my head, just like the..." oops, wrong words! I thought if March came in like a lion (which it did) it was supposed to go out like a lamb. I guess Mother Nature had other plans. The snow was actually quite beautiful, carefully coating every little branch on our birch trees.

Our burgeoning tulips were covered in snow, I hope that they're not permanently damaged. The snow was melting quickly today so I think the flowers will be fine at least from the snow, from the bunnies is another story. The rotten rabbits are after the tulips, nibbling their tender leaves down to the nubbins. Not this year I cry! I am trying to foil the rabbits efforts this year by protecting them with cages made from old plastic pots. I have been successful so far, but as we all know rabbits are rascally, I will have to be vigilant.

Although pretty, I hope Mother Nature is done with snow, I'm ready for Spring!

Nail polish isn't just for ladies.

It's such a girlie thing to paint our finger and toe nails. A bright bit of color that sparkles as we go about our daily routines. I have never routinely painted my nails, but only dabbled it on when the mood strikes me.

When I was a teenager and I was painting my nails, my dad happened to be taking a nap in the recliner. My dad always said he never napped, "he was just resting his eyes". So to test his napping ability I decided to see if I could paint at least one nail without waking him up.

I was quite stealthy and I carefully applied a coat of clear nail polish to his right thumb. Dad didn't wake up. Dad didn't notice the polish on his thumb at all that day. In fact it wasn't until the next morning as my dad was standing in church that he noticed his thumbnail looked shiny, and upon further inspection the shininess wasn't rubbing off!

We were all amused at my dad's shiny thumbnail. I took pity on him later that day and removed the polish and all was right with the world.

Joys of Jell-O

Did you know that Jell-O Gelatin has been around since 1897? It is has been around 112 years, I think that it is amazing! My mom would often make it for dessert. It always tasted good and was economical for our large family. We would have it plain or sometimes mom would add fruit, and one of our holiday favorites had orange juice and ginger ale! (More on that in a future post.)

Some people don't care for Jell-O Gelatin but I like it and enjoy how creative you can be with it. And so I begin my campaign to introduce you to the Joys of Jell-O!

This book belongs to my mom and is from 1962 and is full of great gelatin recipes, it is also full of pencil scribblings from some young artist sibling. Looking beyond the pencil marks, I found a recipe for Pineapple Snow. How intriguing! The recipe was simple and sounded tasty, I just had to try it. It turned out great, a just a bit tangy and so airy and light. I will definitely make it again and try other flavor combinations.

Pineapple Snow

1 pkg (3 oz.) Jell-O Orange-Pineapple Gelatin (I don't know if this is available anymore, I used Orange Sugar-Free)

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

1 cup canned pineapple juice*

1 egg white

*for a firmer snow, use only 3/4 cup juice. (I used 3/4 cup.)

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water. Add pineapple juice. chill until very thick, about an hour an a half. Then add egg white and whip until fluffy using beaters in an electric mixer. Pile lightly in sherbet glasses or pour into an 8-inch square pan. Chill until firm. If chilled in pan, cut in squares or spoon into dessert dishes. Serve with whipped cream. Makes about 5 cups or 6 servings.

A Little Cutie

This is my mom in 1935 when she was one year old. It is one of my favorite pictures of her, a hand colored black and white photo, very state of the art at the time.

It is amazing to look back and see how much of a person's features are already defined and retained into adulthood. My mom was born with soft, pale blond hair--a towhead and she turned into a lovely brunette. Otherwise most of that cute baby face can be seen in my mom right now, especially that look! It cracks me up, because I have seen that look so many times. In fact I have been on the receiving end often too. It is a very expressive glance, ranging from "What are you doing?", "I don't think so!", "Don't make me tell you again!", or "What did you say?".

Such a little cutie that was already making people take notice!

Paperweight

This paperweight combines several of my favorite things: rainbows, hearts, and glass.

Rainbows are full of color, stretching out across the sky. They always make me smile when I see one, I just have to stop and admire it. Rainbows are wonderfully random and fleeting. I don't need a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, for me the rainbow is the prize.

Hearts are so expressive, usually associated with love themes, but can you can have heartache, heartburn, or a heart attack. I like to think about the positive heart metaphors: giving your heart to someone, your heart's desire, heart and soul, learning something by heart, keeping someone or something near to your heart, to take heart, or perhaps to do something to your heart's content. When was the last time you did something until your heart was content? It sounds so warm and comforting. We make oaths on our hearts too. So, for me, hearts are places of love, joy, solace, friendship, hope, and occasional ache; a place to keep my family and friends close.

Glass exhibits qualities of strength and weakness. It is commonplace but it can also be an art form. It is in art that glass captures my attention, stained glass and blown glass art. Stained glass windows adorn churches of many faiths to aid in contemplation and story telling. Stained glass windows can also be found in businesses and homes to add beauty and design. I love the creativity and range of colors used in the windows. I have been privileged to watch several blown glass artists at work in their studios. I am always amazed at the skill, strength, and stamina that it takes to shape their pieces.

I think about all these things when I admire my glass rainbow heart paperweight.