Creativity...art...artist?

I have had the best fun preparing for my 3rd Craft show! I'm loving it!  From picking out fabric, designing and sewing my bandannas, making colorful toy tugs and bi-fold pouches for baggies (for doggy clean up, tag silencers and jewelry pouches), deciding how to display my table full of my creations just right to the wonderful people I have met along the way.  It's been plain fun - a labor of love!   IF you're in the Gambier Ohio area stop by the 43rd Annual Christmas Craft Show at the Kenyon College Athletic Center - 11 am to 3:30 pm.

This week as I thought about my display I wondered how I might make my gift bags look a bit more festive.  My thought was to use paper bags as they are easily recyclable.  As I sat down and looked at the many stamps my sister had given me over the years; I decided to use what I have to make my gift bags pretty and here's what I came up with.

As I was having fun creating my bags I thought about the movie, What about Bob? The part where he is strapped to the boat and yelling out, "I'm sailing, I'm a sailor"!  Some might argue that he wasn't quite there yet...but he was definitely on his way of becoming a sailor.  I thought about how much I love creating; whether making a birthday cake for my family, planning a graduation party, a wedding, a theme for a parade or a children's church play - I love creating...cakes, costumes, little gifts, theme ideas!  When someone would say to me; Barbara you are such an artist I always found myself looking over my shoulder and seeking the person they were talking about.  Nah, not me...I would say.  But, as I was creating my little paper gift bags it dawned on me that perhaps maybe "they" were right?  :0)  I create...I'm an artist!

By the way, I want to add another of "my favorite things."   Pictured below are homemade soaps from Dancing Bee Farm (I love that name).  Again, if you should be interested in these lovely soaps, I can get you in touch with the lady who makes them.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite treasures from artists I admire and have purchased from this past year. You may just want to add some of these lovely items to your Christmas list as well!  

Let's get started!

 My friend, Bunny Vance from www.ajillianvancedesign.com made these beauties above. Bunny and her daughter, Jillian are both artists and very creative.  They offer many different items.  Check out their site, you'll be glad you visited!

This is a potholder I purchased from Maria Wulf from www.fullmoonfiberart.com.  She makes potholders, pillows and lovely quilts - original functional art from recycled clothes and fabric. I have to confess I bought this as gift for myself, display it in my kitchen and use it. I love the thought of functional art and recycling!

My good friend Chris Wertz makes these beautiful cross-stitched bookmarks.  If your family is like mine - avid readers of good books -  this would be a great gift.  She doesn't have a website, but if you're interested contact me through my blog and I will get you in touch with her.  I'm really excited about this gift; she is finishing another one for me as I type.

And speaking of good books!  I just finished the book below...written by one of my favorite authors 

Jon Katz

Check out all his books at www.bedlamfarm.com   I give his books as gifts all the time.  I especially enjoyed his newest book, pictured above.  I just finished it and found it an easy and comfortable read.  It's not at all sad, actually celebratory in nature - very healing.  As a dog lover and trainer, I have put this at the top of my list for friends and clients who have lost a best friend (dog, horse, cat...).  

I also enjoy Jon's blog - very encouraging!

And last but certainly not least are my dog bandannas, 2 designs in 1, that fit on your dog's collar - much more comfortable than the old tie on style!  Below is one of my holiday favorites.  You can check out my other designs at www.pawsitivejourney.com  Also, these bandannas benefit Love on a Leash Therapy Dog visits...

I hope you've enjoyed a few of my favorite things.  In the spirit of supporting small businesses, I hope you may think about supporting these artists or small businesses/artists in your community!  If you'd like to share a few of your favorite things...please feel free to leave the information in my comment box.

Happy thoughtful shopping!

Handmade...

I'm determined this Christmas to buy only handmade items from local artists, make my own gifts and shop at small businesses - both local and on-line.  So far it's been going great!  On this wonderful journey, I have visited spectacular crafts shows, met some outstanding artists and enjoyed hearing their stories.  It's like a treasure hunt with unexpected joys along the way, of making new friends and meeting so many talented people living out their dreams. And happily through it all I have found the most wonderful treasures.  

The painted reindeer above is one of my finds.  What a beautiful story surrounds this lovely painted reindeer.  A very nice lady is selling these items for a friend.  Her friend's father made them...apparently he was an artist and very much enjoyed woodworking and painting and obviously combined his two loves.  He has recently passed away and left behind a room full of his beautiful artwork. His daughter didn't know how to market his work and her friend offered to take them to local craft shows to sell the items for her.  How nice...what a good friend!  When I saw this smiling reindeer - I knew he had to be mine. I was warmed by his story and felt privileged to own a piece of this man's artwork.  I will never meet him but what I heard about him made this piece that much more special.  He was a man who loved to share his artwork, taught classes, helped others in their desire to be creative and often times gave his work away...my kind of guy!  I bought another piece of his work for my daughter, Natalie - a beautiful painted picture of Santa sitting at a high desk with feather pen in hand working on "his" Christmas list.  Natalie and I agreed that we would enjoy these pieces for years to come each time we unpacked our Christmas decorations.  What a nice thought, to think that you would leave something behind that others would enjoy long after you passed...  I will think of this gentleman each time I reach for my reindeer and lovingly place him amongst my holiday decorations...and smile. 

So I continue on my journey and search for just the right handmade, locally made gifts for my family.  It's taking me much longer but I think for the first time in a very long time, I'm savoring the true joy of Christmas...it's about people...not corporations...of finding a treasure, lovingly made, for those who mean the most to you.  Merry Christmas!

Love on a Leash Therapy Dog visits and remembering Emma...

Emma (Matabar's Midnite Extravagance, CD, CGC)

1991-2005

The concept of Love on a Leash is lovingly dedicated to Emma.  She is the one who set my feet on this path, who brought to life the concept of "Let the animals teach you...Job 12:7".  Emma was a great teacher...  Emma was a tri-colored collie who burst into our lives in the fall of 1991.  She was our family's very first dog after purchasing our own home.  I'll never forget the day I met Emma...she chose me that day and never looked back.  I was standing in a small shed filled with 11 collie puppies.  I counted only 10 and as I started looking for the 11th one, I peaked around the shed door and there she was.  It seemed as though she were hiding; maybe she had had enough of people tromping through her little home and needed a break or perhaps she just hadn't found the right family yet and was feeling a little despair. Whatever the reason for her hiding behind the door, when she looked up into my eyes, she came out of hiding and sat right by my leg.  As I moved out into the small yard, Emma followed me and sat right by my leg. As I picked up puppies and put them down and wondered around, every time I looked down there she was; this darling little tri-colored collie puppy sitting right by my leg.  We were looking for a sable colored collie - you know the "Lassie look" but when I picked her up, looked into her sweet little face I was smitten...she was to be our new puppy!  Emma agreed as she snuggled in my arms as if she were home at last.
It didn't take us very long to understand that Emma was a very special dog and meant for our family.  She taught us so much; not only about dog ownership and training but about patience, love and trust.  It was very clear to us that Emma's mission was to love everyone.  She seemed to have a wisdom that was uncanny for a dog.  She seemed to know the order of things and was so attentive to us and those around her.  Emma took me so many places that I never dreamed of going. Emma took me to visit the lonely and forgotten and to children in need.  We visited rest homes, schools, preschools and churches sharing her special kind of unconditional love; she would often pick out the most quiet child and try to engage them in some form or fashion - she was always successful!  Emma was so special to my children; always on a mission to love and protect them...  Emma was sent to me to change my life in the most wonderful way, a gift, an angel in collie clothes on a mission of love...  Miss you Emmy!

"When we were young, We were all Artists"

I recently sent a card to my daughter, Natalie - the artist - that had the above quote with a picture of two beautiful young children sitting at an art gallery with the most magical expressions on their faces as they enjoyed the artwork before them.  What truth - when we were young, we were all encouraged to be artists.  We were encouraged to express ourselves through all forms of art...  We were asked to be creative, to explore ourselves, our thoughts, our feelings, our gifts through artwork.  And the best part was...it was all good, there were no incorrect answers.  When and why did that stop?

Why isn't expressions of art in all forms not celebrated or encouraged as we age?  I found my answer from Ian McGilchrist (www.ted.com).  He gave a wonderful presentation at the recent Ted Conference.  It was fascinating and I believe he answered my question.  Our society isn't set up that way, at least, not anymore.  In the 15th - 16th century our societal view was very balanced between our right brain - creativity/imagination and our left brain - concrete reason.  But, sadly ever since the 16th century we have moved more and more out of this balance.  "We pursue happiness that now seems to lead to unhappiness, resentment and an explosion of mental illness."  We've pursued freedom and have less and less true freedom - more government rules and regulations.  We prioritize the virtual over the real - technical becomes important and bureaucracy flourishes - in fact, we ask for it - when something goes wrong or people do wrong we ask for more government regulations; hence the government controls everything.  Einstein said "The intuitive mind (right brain) is a sacred Gift and the rational mind (left brain) is a Faithful Servant."   Ian McGilchrist proposes that "never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little."  He ended his presentation with a statement that was so startling, so true, so poignant - "We have created a society that honors the Servant but has forgotten the Gift!"

So that's why it's so hard in the 21st Century to live creatively...we are literally swimming against the tide, going against the grain of what our society values.  I am determined to life a creative life...to paint the world with the gift God gave me. I truly believe we were made with a purpose in mind...a gift that only we can share with the world.  But, I also believe that we have to pursue it, be focused and determined. My Mom always said that those things that are valuable, important in life aren't easily done!  I told a friend this week that if I won the lottery I wouldn't change what I do.  I love what I do...helping people build relationship with their dogs - teaching them to simply communicate effectively to live a happy and fulfilling life together.  I might build a great big training facility - that would be nice on cold or rainy mornings...but I wouldn't want to do anything else.  So what's your dream...what's your calling - YOUR GIFT? I encourage you today to pursue it...don't listen to the nay sayers (there's lots of them around)...be determined!

In this world you will have trouble...

It's been a week and a half all pushed and shoved into one week...not my best.  Life is not easy.  And there you have it, the Bible promises that "in this world you will have trouble"...not maybe, not perhaps, but will! In the midst of working through some really tough struggles this week...I felt blue and overwhelmed and thought why not just give up - what's the point. But I am thankful I just kept going. Kept reaching for my goals and walking forward. I have been preparing for two spectacular driving events - two lovely driving weekends in a row; events I've been looking forward to all season.  (Of course, right...isn't that how it goes...all swimmingly well and then it comes to the fun events and all hades breaks loose <sigh>).

Reaching for your goals, keeping focused in the midst of trouble is work too...right!?  I don't know about you but nothing has ever just fallen in my lap. I don't think things fall in anyone's lap really?  Maybe a very few...but for the most part we work really hard for the good things in our life.  We reap the rewards of working hard.  Driving a pony or a horse - a  fright flight animal - isn't easy.  To reap the rewards of a great driving pony you have to put in time and miles.  If it's raining (and it's been raaaaiiinnning a lot here - can anyone say MUD), cold, hot or humid...you drive, you spend time with your pony!  I've always had a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of quality time. It doesn't work with training an animal - it's quantities of time. (I may be wrong and trust me I'm rethinking a great many things about parenting; but I never bought that one - quality time with your children - kids take lots and lots of time!)  So I kept pecking away at it; doing what I know, pushing away that whiny voice so happy to tell me I can't...  Coming in from the barn, happily exhausted, enjoying that wonderful feeling of accomplishment.

As I was working hard cleaning all the harness today...in preparation for all the fun this weekend.  Again, with all the work - repeat after me - hard x work = fun! Some may look at this jumbled mess and panic...what goes with what and where???  Help!  But, thankfully I know where all the pieces go. It struck me as I looked down at this maze of harness parts and pieces and I was reminded of the words above..."In this world you WILL have trouble"... yep, that sure looks like trouble!  But thank God that's only the beginning of the verse...it goes on to say "but I (Jesus) have overcome the world!"  He knows how all the pieces fit in my life and in the life of my sweet family!  I am once again reminded that God, because of his great love for us, has made a way to put all the pieces back together...

So here it is...my harness all put back together, packed and ready to go!  I realize you can't see all the pieces fitting together perfectly...but "trust" me - it's just as it should be, I know where all the pieces go!

Libby and Ezra's Excellent Gettysburg Adventure!

Julia Kelly writes: "You never really leave a place you love, you take a part of it with you...and leave a part of you behind."  I love this quote and would like to think it's true.  

I love my hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  I never tire of the rich history of the area.  The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg was fought in this beautiful place on the first 3 days of July in 1863.  As I walk the grounds I've walked, biked and rode horses over so very many times...I am always so struck by the events that took place on this hallowed ground.  From a very young age, I grasped the meaningful loss of life, the hard struggle of the soldiers who met and died here. I am thankful for the way these grounds have been maintained and kept, the monuments that memorialize the brave men who fought here.  The canons that stand today where a canon stood at one point in the three day battle.  This is my hometown...the place I grew and learned and loved...so very much a part of me!  Will my footprints remain here long after I am gone, mingled amongst the footprints of the soldiers who walked here before me?  I truly hope so...

We decided on our recent trip to my hometown that we would take pictures of our favorite spots and include our dogs Libby and Ezra in the pictures.  I have so many pictures of my home and thought this might be a fun twist!  Our visit took place in July and like those first three days of July in 1863 it was hot and humid.  I will try to post pictures in order of the days battle - 1st, 2nd and 3rd day.  So let's get started...

The 1st day...  One of our favorite monuments that we always visit is the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment.  Sallie, the dog is immortalized on the monument (and if we have an extra 'cookie' we leave one for her).  And for those of you who may look for this statue, Sallie is on the opposite side of the monument, not seen from the road.  She was the mascot of the 11th PA Volunteer Infantry.  The story goes that she was brought to the Captain of this newly formed infantry in the spring of 1861.  She was barely four to five weeks old; a pugged nosed brindle bull terrier.  The group of men fell in love with her and named her after a local beauty.  She was described as even tempered and affectionate to all the men.  She could count on the men of the 11th to feed her scraps so she hung around.  Sallie got to know the drum roll for reveille and was said to be the first one out of quarters to attend roll call. She took great joy in marching with the men while practicing their drills. During the 1st day of the Battle of Gettysburg the 11th Pennsylvania saw heavy fighting and were pushed back into the town of Gettysburg. During the chaos Sallie became lost and three days later she was found by a member of the 12th Massachusetts at the original position of her regiment when fighting broke out.  Sallie had found her way back and was standing guard over the bodies of her dead compatriots - neither hunger nor thirst would sway her from watching over her beloved soldiers.

The 2nd day...  The second day of battle saw much of the fighting around Little Round Top and Devil's Den, the Peach Orchard.  Above is a statue of Brig Gen Warren who saw the importance of this hill and quickly directed his troops to take the ground.  He called for reinforcements and the 20th Maine was sent to help secure the high ground.  On the 2nd day of battle the 20th Maine lead by the esteemed Col Joshua Chamberlain held the ground called Little Round Top. They were badly in need of ammunition and when they ran out the order was given by Col Chamberlain for his men to use their bayonets and hold the ground at all costs!  And that they did! Below pictured are Libby and Ezra at the extreme left flank of the 20th Maine.  My daughter Natalie fell in love with Col. Joshua Chamberlain upon hearing his story during her visits to Gettysburg as a young girl.  I can't think of a more deserving hero in the eyes of a young lady. She still has the  posters, pictures, books and even a Christmas ornament of this wonderful man.  He lived through some of the toughest battles at Gettysburg and lived a rewarding and fulfilling life after the Civil War...a true legend of a man!

The dogs are pictured above looking up from Devil's Den toward Little Round Top...the ground that the Union army held on the 2nd day of battle.  Devil's Den is aptly named as it was a place of a great loss of life...the Union sharpshooters on the hill could pick off the Confederate soldiers easily.  It's interesting that the Confederates arrived in the area first...but they hadn't wanted to fight a battle on this ground and were hoping to head towards Washington DC.  The Union army arriving in the town after the Confederates couldn't believe their good fortune that the South hadn't taken the high ground and Brig Gen Warren quickly directed his men to take this vital and important ground and sent for reinforcements. The Confederates first mistake in this historic battle.

Pictured above is Libby and Ezra sitting at the opening of  "the castle" fondly named by my children.  They are looking down toward Devil's Den below. A lovely castle like monument dedicated to the many men who struggled to keep the high ground...Little Round Top.  God bless them!

Pictured above is Libby paying her respects to Col. O'Rourke!  It is tradition for everyone who passes this monument to touch Col. O'Rourke's nose - hence his shiny nose. He was one of our fine Irish Colonels and I suppose by touching his nose you will have good luck. This was such great fun for my son, Nicholas as a kid!  He couldn't wait to visit Little Round Top to 'touch the nose", it wasn't a visit to Gettysburg if we skipped this tradition.  By the way, their is a very good Irish Pub named O'Rourkes on Steinwehr Ave. in Gettysburg...I highly recommend it...wonderful food and great atmosphere!  One of the many men who held Little Round Top through the tough fighting of day 2.

The 3rd day...  The Battle of Pickett's Charge.  Pictured above is Libby and Ezra at a canon that is placed where it was on that day in 1863 - pointed to the Union line across the field.  They say the Confederate canon-aide that started before the battle made the ground tremble and could be heard all the way to Harrisburg.  How horrifying that sound must have been to the inhabits left in the tiny town of Gettysburg.  This day has brought me such grief for so many years.  What was Gen. Lee thinking sending his soldiers into an open field toward the enemy line! It made no sense to me at all until I read Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg by Tom Carhart. Apparently, Jeb Stuart and his Confederate Cavalry were to break the Union line from behind.  Unfortunately, Jeb was held up on the East side of town - right by my childhood home - just down the Hanover Road, by none other than Custer from Ohio!  Custer was in the right place at the right time (I guess depending on which side your rooting for) and spotted Jeb Stuart and his men. There was a skirmish between the two that day that delayed Stuart getting to the battle at Pickett's charge to break the Union line.

 My husband, Matt and I always walk Pickett's charge starting on the Confederate side...pictured above are the dogs at the monument of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The dogs know this area well and cry in anticipation of our walk as we park the car.  As we walk across this battle field I am often in awe of the events of that day...it can be quite overwhelming if I think too much about what happened here.  I try to console myself by thinking about the names and the pictures of soldiers I have seen that fought on that field so long ago.  I think about how I honor them by remembering them and walking where they fought for a cause they so believed in.  I think it's a good thing to honor them in this way and I believe they would be pleased that a girl from the 21st century has not forgotten them...

Some of the beautiful images we see as we walk Pickett's Charge

As we make our way across the field and cross the Emmitsburg Road we stop at the High Water Mark where Col. Armistead and his men broke through the Union line...it's such an amazing thought that they made it through the canon fire!  

We visit the marker where Col. Armistead fell mortally wounded...how brave of him to make it that far against all odds and then to continue fighting with the overwhelming number of Union soldiers surrounding him on all sides!

As we finish our walk across the field of the great Pickett's Charge, my emotions spent, we pay tribute to Gen Meade as he sits on his horse facing Gen Lee across the field.  I am, once again, in awe of these truly brave men.

Thanks for joining Libby and Ezra as they share their view of Gettysburg through the eyes of one who knows and loves this beautiful battlefield...