...a thousand words...

Greetings! It is rather warm and a bit overcast in Chester County, PA today. The park was busier than usual as was traffic and I can see that people are back to their usual patterns after the holidays. Today's photo is from a client who purchased some accessories from me. This client also stopped into my shop with a Holiday ornament for me that matches perfectly my aqua and cream color theme. I posted a photo for you a few blogs back of my tree with said ornament and am still touched that some people are so thoughtful. Pictures are worth at least a thousand words, but I will try to keep it to under 500 here for your reading (and boredom) limitations. Interestingly, on this day in 1896 an Austrian newspaper reported that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays. Talk about a thousand words! X-rays are measured in nanometers. I am guessing that on the old show 'Mork and Mindy' that's where nanu nanu was derived, but I could be wrong. Cradle of Filth covered the theme song and I have linked it for your listening pleasure. Yesterday was so productive downstairs that I sort of lost track of time. Luckily the animals brought me back to reality at suppertime and everything got handled but not without a little bit of 'tude. I received the most beautiful card this morning in the mail with a great photo. It is from the Mazzoni Center and it was thanking me for my contribution in their annual toy drive. There are so many centers in need of financial aid that it is sometimes hard to choose as I am not (yet) a billionaire. This organization doesn't forget about the children with HIV and they ( hint, hint) accept donations year 'round. The photo on the thank you card had a bunch of beaming faces smiling back at me. Yesterday as I was working an astute and humane gal phoned me to locate a no kill animal rescue and I thought that I would post some information on here today just in case someone out there has that need. Glance at the pictures on this site and try your best not to adopt any of them. Good luck with that! I need to run to the gym now and get those endorphins going. I still have bed hair and am hoping that no photogs are about. Getting a pic of this mug at this hour is not worth a thousand words...well, not any nice ones.Yikes. and LOL. Have a great day and do yourselves a favor and mentally picture this: Expect the best, Live in Abundance and Know that something great is going to happen.

"Entertainment is in art like color in pictures." Martin Kippenberger

Footnote: I never give out people's personal info on my blog unless they agree to it and it is a positive thing. I do need to tell you that today's topic is 'pictures' and I just checked my website for orders and one order is from a person in Illinois with an email address of (and I changed it a bit but you will get the gist...) Photonut. Isn't the Universe a kewl thing???

...nice call...

Good day everyone! I am writing from home and yes I have High Speed Internet again from this account. Yippee. Yesterday's Internet supervisor was on the mark and it was a nice phone call as well as a successful one. Just be straight with me and I mean that in a good way! It is a clear, cold Sunday morning and we took a walk in the park, washed the truck and visited a local Baptist Church to get the day going. I will be productive today, working in my basement. Last night's dinner at Caruso's was more than decent and I wish the new server much luck. We stopped at Amelia's grocery Store on the way home to grab a couple of weeks worth of Boo Koo and Tattoo energy drinks. Breakfast of Champions, I must agree. Thomas Edison is a genius and that we can all agree on, but sometimes good people do crappy things even if they think it necessary at the time. In my opinion this was not a nice call as on this day in 1903 he filmed the electrocution of an elephant named Topsy. This animal was domesticated and performed at Coney Island and reportedly killed three men in three years. One of those men was his trainer who was an abusive SOB who tried to feed Topsy a lit cigarette. I think, instead of electrocuting Topsy, they should have filmed the trainer eating lit cigarettes and then spanking his cruel bottom for the film going world to see. Then give it a rating of R which back then could have stood for Ridicule. Just an idea. Here in Chester County, PA there seem to be a couple of flu's going around and I wonder just how these strains keep adjusting and morphing into stronger ones. Survival of the fittest???Yikes. I sure hope that doesn't mean viruses will be the last man/woman standing. I will get off that topic and think nice thoughts now. Sunshine, lollipops, roses, custom drapery and prosperity and great health for all! Anyway, back to nice calls. Elvis Presley recorded a ten minute demo on this day in 1954 and that was one of the nicest calls in recording history. Wouldn't it be great to be able to change the course of music? We sometimes never know what differences we make in the world or with people both near and far so let's all keep our noses clean, attempt patience and kindness and do not feed lit cigarettes to animals. Today's photo is of my new blue and brown tote bags made of synthetics so they are easily wipeable and can be used for groceries, the beach and keeping that cute little terrier hidden when hopping on trains, planes and into Aunt Hilda's roadster. Like William Christopher Handy said: Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it. I hope you get a rise out of the last link. It is one of my favorite songs of all time. Have a great day.

... bridge over troubled waters...

Greetings! I am again on phone hold with my high speed Internet provider regarding a problem that apparently doesn't exist. I have been trying to fix this issue for a week now. I did get a supervisor who finally let me know that there was indeed a problem, which is supposedly now fixed. I am at my shop and am referring to the separate high speed Internet account that I have at home so have to wait now and hope that when I return home I don't have to invest another several hours trying to communicate with (Bahrain) Georgia. Differences in dialect tend to pose a problem; a different set of ears would be a nice bridge in alleviating that type of communication difficulty.Once in contact with a supervisor, he was well spoken and polite even with my ahem insistence in remedying this matter in an efficient way. He was trying to tell both myself and my neighbor, (she was on my cell line) that there was no problem (yikes) and if that is the case I have a bridge to sell you! Thankfully it isn't this day in 1870 because on this day construction of the Brooklyn Bridge first began. Think of how many years people couldn't use that clever phrase. Update! My neighbor just called. We have HSI at home. I can look forward to resetting passwords etc. when I return home later today. Someone just bought the Hanging Metal Cutwork Lantern from my websites 'Lighting' section. I have sold this only twice before so it's not like it has become common. We don't like common unless we are using our math skills i.e. common denominator. Much math was required when planning the Brooklyn Bridge and it is constantly being used in my profession also. [slamming segue] Jennifer Warnes is one of my top two favorite vocalists of all time as you all know by now. She got together with Lennie Cohen and produced a track entitled 'Joan of Arc' that is a must-have for any audiophile. On this day in 1431 she was handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. (Joan of Arc, NOT Miss Jennifer Warnes). She claimed divine guidance throughout her short life (burned at the stake at age 19) and I totally believe in this also. The divine guidance part. For example, just this morning my friend called me from Naples by the pool to chat a bit since it was me who was at her outside well early this morning helping to fix a water dilemma. She needed a plumping pump piece, (how is my alliteration) a rare one at that and lo and behold an acquaintance had that specific piece in his truck! What are the odds? Please. The universe responded to her need and it happens a whole lot from what I can tell. I am joining a dear friend for dinner this evening and we will go out for a nice change of pace. We have both been so darned busy (and who isn't) that a few hours out will be a wonderful break. By the way, I was in the company of a few small children recently and delicately corrected them. Joan of Arc was not Noah's wife. Sometimes names get confused. We have now covered arks, plumbing and bridges. I could say something tedious and dramatic to add teardrops to this blog but that would seem a bit contrived, eh? We don't want to stoop to that level (get it). Save the waterworks people. That goes for bridges, arks, plumbing and saline tears. Have a great day, keep dry unless you are in a pool, stay away from open flames unless you are barbecuing, build bridges rather than tearing them down and if you see a large floating vessel with twins hopping aboard, well, then definitely bring on the waterworks.

...speed...

Greetings and please remember to date things 2009 for the next several months, almost 12! I hope that everyone awoke on January 1st feeling relaxed, invigorated and ready to start a new year. If not, aspirin and a few hours of quiet are also nice. My high speed internet has been down at home for the past week and I hope they get it repaired soon. I was told another 48 hours and thats totally do-able. I can almost remember when I had dial-up and don't know how I survived the slow speed. I can barely withstand the slow speed driving to my Aunts and down to Virginia when it is under 65 mph when in a vehicle. The brilliant and underrated Richard Nixon signed a bill on this day in 1974 lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 mph in order to conserve gas during an OPEC embargo. I'm sure that was a resounding success. I took down all ornaments yesterday and am already counting the days until next year when they can go up again. I absolutely love the Holidays even though they can be somewhat of a blur regarding all of the tasks that need to be performed. I shop throughout the year, keep everything labeled and wrapped decoration-wise and am rarely at a loss when the time does come around again. I tend to be speedy due to business which is necessary but after so many years of handling it all, it is down to a science. I have to improve my party attendance record though, as I was unable to attend a few and wish that I could have. Hey clone scientists, speed up that process, at least for the Holidays, ok! Speaking of speedy, Brigham Young must have been speedy in at least one department and that is not always a good thing! On this day in 1872 he was arrested on charges of bigamy for having 25 wives. That's a whole lot of nice Holiday presents right there!!! I may have to play plumber later today as friends in Naples need some help in their well. Oh, well. Hope I can figure it out and do it in a flash! Today's photo is of a new arrival. It is an Estate Tray and is quite good looking. Have a great day, a great 2009 and let's keep together. And not to speed the year away, but does anyone know how many days until Christmas?