Hats off to the holidays

What we actually have here is a bad angle, or hmmm, could it be a tip of the hat to his lady fair? Those two were sitting on the counter by themselves for quite some time - never know about those snow peeps :)

Look, he moved! And she looks almost like she's going to blush ...

This courtship took place in front of a teeny fiber optic tree, which was the tree two years ago while still living in a hotel. Indeed an improvement over the year before considering the extent of decor was one string of lights and a coupla paper snowflakes, hanging wherever it didn't take a nail. Most of the stuff below is from last year, made from fabric scraps leftover from a quilt. Bub even got creative, note one of his notes to the left and a clef at the right. The cello or mighta been a fiddle was cool too but didn't show up[ well.

That's my Angel Libby, had badges made one year for nursing home residents we visited regularly. Think I'll work on some fabric frames or something to use more pics of critters gone but never forgotten for next year. Two "official" Christmas pics are about 1/4 down the page here: http://www.therealmartha.com/WARjingo/index.htm. That happens to be where the "jingo elves" thing is introduced even though the page was close to Halloween and I used one of the pics, from a birthday, to illustrate a point about unknown fear relevance. Really, it will make sense if you go there.

An appropriate red, white and blue colored scrap for this year - note it matches the snow peeps scarves

More scraps, top is a miniature of new quilt pieces. Lucked into a throw-a-way treasure of ripped camos for most, then found a blue piece in another stash. That's a selvage edge gathered, usually used for flowers on wooden dowel stems with button centers. The quilt squares have button centers too, olive drabs and assortment of metal oddballs. Lost track of where all my packrat/recycled crafty pics are, you'll come across them sooner or later if you dig around my regular pages.

Beads and spools and more scraps under the tree,

hanging from ceiling vent,

stuck into a Styrofoam ball,

and tied around a plastic circle cut from a cottage cheese lid, they make neat little wreaths too.

More ribbons and jingle bells, tied to metal clips holding the garland on door- forgot to get a pic of the same idea done around the patio door with icicle lights.

Of all the ornaments, memorabilia and who-knows-what-else lost in hundreds of moves over the years, these guys have always stayed close by. I was probably about 10 when I first dressed them in felt and flannel for Christmas, then it wasn't all that long ago in Arizona I decided they'd be more comfortable in bandana fashions. That's a little ball holding Grandma's bun :)

So far they haven't complained about the cold here, really should put some thought into that though. Maybe a middle-weight green to match general color scheme - they do stay out all year. Off to the scrap bag ...

Happy New Year!

http://www.therealmartha.com/newyear/index.htm

I think a few people were laughing too hard over the cat graphic - might have missed the New Year's page link that came with it. In any case, more has been added.

http://www.therealmartha.com/WARChristmas/index.htm
http://www.therealmartha.com/PianoDog/index.htm

Bookmark if you're coming back - something is screwy with publisher, can't link this page to those right now. New WAR up soon (I hope), and no doubt more on New Year's thoughts, even if it does have to be a whole new page. These are the most recent, all good thinkers - and doers.

Life is measured not by breaths but by moments.

How To Stay Young

Throw out non-essential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop," the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

Enjoy the simple things. When the children are young, that is all that you can afford. When they are in college, that is all that you can afford. When you are on retirement, that is all that you can afford!

Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.

The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be alive while you are alive, don't put out a mailbox on the highway of death and just wait in residence for your mail.

Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

Don't take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country, but not to guilt country.

Tell the people you love, that you love them, at every opportunity. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

There are two days in every week we should never worry about, two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a
single act we performed, nor erase a single word we've said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance. Tomorrow is beyond our control. Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds - but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

This leaves only one day - today! Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people
mad. It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Make TODAY the best day it can be, and live one day at a time.

Kindness is never wasted. If it has no effect on the recipient, at least it benefits the bestower.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over - smile because it happened.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

The truly successful person doesn't use others, other people use the successful person.

If you can contribute to others, no matter how small your talent, you too can become successful. The measure of anyone is the number of people that they serve.

Service to others is the essence of success. No one achieves success without being of service. All great men and women became successful because they gave some talent or ability in the service of others.

Everybody has to be somebody to somebody else to be anybody.
©2001 by: MotivationMentor@aol.com

The Sculptor's Attitude

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or ... I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or ... I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or ... I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or ... I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or ... I can celebrate that thorns* have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or ... I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or ... I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or ... eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or ... I can appreciate a roof over my head and shelter for my mind and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have! What will you choose to do with today?

Have a great day ... unless you have other plans.
Author Unknown

*My own rose philosophy has to do with appreciating that it takes a lot of you-know-what to grow a rose. Yessiree, digging out of it does tend to add a few barbs (and scratch backs/results) along the way.

On that subject, I have just discovered, while looking for that rose, that due to the whatever Aol chaos was happening at the time, I never linked Feeder's Digest pages past issue #8, so if you happen to recall getting stuck there, here's the rose page, which is actually FD #12 despite the 6 in URL: http://hometown.aol.com/altmartha/page6/index.htm - it does happen to have a lot of links not obvious in other places and you can backtrack or go forward to the Escape from Aol Hell that began here: http://therealmartha.home.mindspring.com/ - thank you very much to whichever pea brain (or should that be sh't-for) eliminated that publishing program, I can't fix old pages.

Is it any wonder I get a little 'fused ...

Oh goodie, even better, "The server is too busy to serve your request at the moment. Please try again later." Got that testing the Flying Pig link in between. Gawd, it never stops, Mindspring mail is screwed up again too. I do wish I had time to go insane right now. Save me spot, OK?

MarthaJones1@aol.com - BTW, you can always request new page notification, but remember I can't promise delivery. Best thing to do is put main Whispering Activist Record (WAR) index in faves and check back now and then. All of the variety stuff I usually use elsewhere is going on those pages for the duration.

Important note: Please use a clearly defined subject line. Junk mail is worse than ever, I have to delete if I don't recognize a return address or name. That would be on top of the unreliable delivery to this end problem.

The Whispering Activist Record
http://www.therealmartha.com/WAR/index.htm
"The Whispering Activist" a.k.a. Martha Jones - Opinions and ideas, mine and from others, that everyone can use to get involved, make a difference and lighten the load. Find hoax busters, media hype alerts, timely info, controversy, common sense, commiseration, empathy, household tips, easy recipes, critter stuff, variety links, and a little humor along the way.

Bright Spots series
http://www.therealmartha.com/brightspots/index.htm
Wit and wisdom gathered from every day goings on, special events, occasions, critters, friends ... real people what-have-yous - includes something for everyone, with special attention paid to the sneakin'-up-on-50 crowd

http://www.therealmartha.com/Granny_Greetings/index.htm
A collection of oldie-goldies, memories, original compositions and personal tributes, humor and happy tears

www.TheRealMartha.com
The waaaay-back-when beginning: real easy recipes for real busy, real people - check it out for holiday goodies