Billy Powell

I just had to post a short note about the passing of one of my favorites, Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I've been a huge fan of the Mr. Powell and the whole group since my college days. His music has helped me celebrate some great moments in my life and lifted my spirits when things were rough. Lynyrd Skynyrd was a distinctive band because of Billy Powell's piano and the guitar combo of Gary Rossington and Allan Collins. I was thrilled to see them reunite with my favorite singer, Johnny Van Zant, as lead.

Although I never was lucky enough to meet Mr. Powell, he was a dear to me. His music helped me forget my troubles and truly has been a major part of the soundtrack of my life. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.

Recycled book jacket gift tags.

This is my first project of the year. It's gift tags made from recycled book jackets. It's pretty simple. You just need a template for a tag, some decorative paper, plain paper for the back of the tag, glue, scissors, and string. I really like the designs. I just stamped "to and from" on the backside and used them for the holidays.

Image

Just a quick note to explain the image that I am using at the present. It's a photo that I took last spring. I wanted to catch the dewdrops on some buds and didn't even see the heart shape when I took the photo. This photo made me realize how much I miss every day. I am so concerned with things that don't matter and problems that I think are important that I miss the real beauty of each day and sometimes the love that is there. So I like to use this photo to remind me to slow down and really look around me.

Speaking of beauty. Here's a shot of my cat Annie. She enjoys sleeping under a blanket.

New Year New Ideas

I've always hated new year's resolutions. I always thought they were about what you don't like about your life or yourself and wanted to change. They were always so depressing and overwhelming. I'm gonna lose weight. I'm gonna get a better job, make more money. Yeah, right. I'm gonna beat myself over my failures was more like it. So I stopped many years ago.

Then along came 2009 and I guess I feel optimistic for the first time in many years. Maybe it was the election. Maybe it's the feeling that people are actually beginning to wake up. Maybe it's just hope. For whatever reason I've made ten resolutions this year. Then things I want to do. Then things to challenge me to be more creative and have a little fun this year.

1. 52 weeks of creativity.
I'm going to do something each week to try to jump start my imagination and creativity. This could be a project or an artist day.

2. Complete the Markeroni challenge. Logging 50 historical markers or monuments.

3. Reconnect with my cousins.

4. Read the Classics. There's a collection of Greek and Roman classics in the library where I work. I play to start reading them.

5. See all of John Wayne's movies.

6. Take at least one art class.

7. Go on a real vacation.

8. Utilize my blog more. Actually keep up with updating my blog and exploring other blogs.

9. Become more active in my community

10. Spend more time with my brothers

Okay, that should give me things to do and think about for a bit.

Late at night

Just listening to music and trying to figure out what I want to do. Of course I've been doing that my whole life. You'd think by now I'd actually figured something out. It won't be long until my time runs out. I have never been good at setting goals. My least favorite question in the world is where do you see yourself in five years? Geez, I can't even plan a menu for the upcoming week. How in the world am I going to chart the next five years of my life? I do tend to take each day as it comes and live in the now more than most of my friends. I don't know if I have seen more opportunities or less living this way. I haven't lived the traditional life but I don't know if that is something good or bad. It just is.

I've made a few changes this year. I have a new job. I bought a scooter. It's pink. I didn't initially choose that color. It was actually on sale. Four hundred dollars less than the red one. That was a no brainer!!!! I must be quite a site but at least it's fun.

Etsy: The place for handmade items

I really enjoy Etsy. Whether it's shopping, selling, or just "wasting time" lurking around in the forums. I've learned so much and been inspired by so many people. One of the things I love to do is to look through the treasuries. This is were people pull together some of their favorite pieces usually under some theme. The themes are as varied as the people who make up the treasuries.

Here's my latest treasury:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=11074

It's a good place to get your feet wet if you're thinking about selling your work. I like little fun things like bracelets, magnets, earrings, buttons, etc. I also enjoy traveling and the outdoors. So my shop reflects those ideas.

Check it out if you get the chance:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=23594

Athens Farmer's Market

Saturday I went to the Athens Farmer's Market at their new location (Bishop Park). Yes, I was one of the approximately 2600 people who showed up and I have to say I had mixed feelings. Like most of Athens I was too late to get any produce. They basically sold out within the two hours. I got there by 9:30 and there was very little left. I was a little disappointed that I could not secure anything from my favorite local growers but I have to admit I was thrilled there was such a huge turnout.

Here's the website if you want to check them out: http://www.athensfarmersmarket.net/

The farmer's market won't take the place of Athens Locally Grown for me because I like the convenience of placing my order ahead of time instead of hoping there's some left. In fact my sister-in-law who went with me to the Farmer's Market on Saturday signed up for Locally Grown today. However, I like having another venue for fresh locally grown food.

Here's the locally grown website site: http://athens.locallygrown.net/welcome

Thank you to all the farmers who supply both the Farmer's Market and Locally Grown and thanks to the great people who work so to make this food available to the folks in Athens, Georgia. We really appreciate it. See you guys at Gosford Wines on Thursday and Bishop Park on Saturday.