The Apple of My Eye........Tinsel Trading Company!

Yay!!!!!!!! Back from New York, finally after 10 long days. It's really unsettling not to see vines, and open spaces for that long. From this ...........

to this.................
is a real transition.......and now for the real highlight of the trip, .......besides promoting the winery, and tasting New Yorkers on our wines, of course.........I went to Heaven on 37th street..........see if you agree.......yes, there really is a "Santa" for artists.

From the outside looking in the window............I knew I was a "goner".........or at least all of my funds were........ that I had been saving for New York. If you step inside remember to have a paper bag close at hand in case you are prone to hyperventilate...........
Just inside the Easter display.............

I stuffed away some Easter things in my shopping basket.....and I do not even really like the art of Easter.......Oh, my I am in real trouble now.......... picking up things that I don't really collect....
OK... OK one more Easter picture I could not resist.........the drawers every chick should have....
Moving on from Easter to the art of Wendy Addison.......she is a friend of the Tinsel Trading Company, and creates for them..........
More Wendy...............
The antique bead, metallic thread and etc., cart that will hypnotize you into putting something from every section into your basket............
all this and antique lithographs too........

The wall of flowers...........

Black flowers my favorite for Halloween, and do0-dads galore.........

The danger zone...........drawers of every possible button, antique metal, bead, bone, etc.......to adorn any creation you could ever imagine..........pieces of a little bit of everything......


Ribbon.......rolls and rolls of ribbon........

and a cabinet full too.......

TRIM "rows" Lane..........

trim..........up close and personal.........

Much to do about trim.....and meeting Marcia Ceppos generational family member still in the business of selling (as she puts it) passementeries, ribbons, metallic trims, flowers, that are vintage, and new at this location.........1 West 37th St New York.....as they say......... priceless.

.....................Two, or Three in the Bush

OK.......I wish I could say that I am a bird watcher extraordinaire, but that's not exactly true.

I mean I am on the lookout for birds......that have a Halloween flair.

I have to confess that these perfectly Gothic looking birds.........were, and I want you to know

that I risked my life shooting them in their wild habitat.................................................

in the parking lot of Target...............

I had to endure the rigors of dodging parking rage rs trying to find a spot, and the stares.......it was all about the stares........for who stands in the middle of the Target parking lot........setting the scene, getting the light just right, adjusting the camera settings like it's 1999, and I am on a photo shoot for National Geographic. No bare breasted females dancing and chanting native songs ......well, maybe there were a few teens doing so in the background, but I got the shot. I captured the moment, just before a car in the distance backfired and scared them away. You just never know the challenges you might face out there in the asphalt jungle............so you must always have your camera with you, and be prepared for anything.

There is an old saying..........A Bird in the camera lens is Worth Two in the Bush..........

Now, by no means do I want you to think that this was my first foray into uncharted territories to observe nature.......I was on a graphic shoot, as I call it...... not too long ago. I was deep in the Florida everglades in a place called the World of Disney........and I came across this exotic creature......

A native boy that possessed strange super powers............and while on a Safari deeper into the tangle, of bramble and brush......these intriguing species.......mind you .......all the while keeping my trusty camera perfectly poised in the safari jeep.......
Look quick........it's a hippo's rear!

And there's a giraffe rock.

Suddenly, someone screamed.....Look, Look, those look just like flamingos......With my vast wildlife knowledge..I shouted back......they look like them, because they are flamingos. That would have been my daughter who made that scream, and then was quiet the remainder of our journey.

And finally a horse/goat or some combo of something with no ears...we were traveling at such a pace it's hard to know.............
Oh, I could go on with my picture safari, but I don't want to get you overexcited waiting anxiously for each finely executed photograph.......there are many more blurry passing bushes, rocks, and various arms, heads, torsos, and legs etc. to see. I want you to know that each of these photos have not been retouched in any way. They are in their natural state, and as pristine as the day they were taken. One parting shot........ I could not resist..........

an animal send off.....or kiss off........if you will.
If anyone is interested.......I am currently unemployed as a photographer, but call me if you need one, or for a good time. Anyway, you get the picture!

A Road Well Travelled.............

Mustard in Madonna Vineyards

Come up the road towards home with me today.......it's my favorite time of a rainy day when grey sky meets sunset............

My road on the way home, and the road ahead..............both scenes in the recent movie "Bottle Shock"......so familiar to me........
Almost to the creek and the bridge...............

Huichica Creek........Little Ground Owl in the Indian Language.....

Looking up the hill towards home...........

The small barn on the way.........

The Pond..........where on a summer night the only sound is a bull frogs croak........

Home.....nearby the Pompeii garden sleeps...........



The side yards and beyond...........

A Promise in my backyard..........

Sunset at last.........then to travel the road again tomorrow.....with each day a different look..........

Love Tokens

(One World One Heart Giveaway two posts below)

OK.........I am a reluctant romantic.........so why have I already posted two Valentine posts, with a circus knockdown post in between, because I can't ever be too mushy or serious. And now, yet another piece in reference to Valentine's Day.....why......because I find the concept of a love token being something other than the usual card, or flowers interesting, and a challenge. A love token can be anything that has significance to you, and your beloved.

Before cards and flowers, traditionally love tokens were coins that had one side, or both sides smoothed down and engraved with initials, names, phrases and/or scenes. These were often given to young ladies as “tokens of love” by suitors. This practice seemed to have started in England, as early as the fifteenth century.

There are even Love Token Societies today that collect these engraved coins............

But did you know that down through the ages, these tokens below were also given to show one's love and affection..................

These needlework peas woven into fabric, or painted .........to symbolize closeness

Flower holders turned into jewelry, as a reminder of the everlasting beauty of the beloved long after the flowers had wilted away.

An anchor love token necklace.........a sailors way of saying you are mine.....I'm sunk. A fan, a token that communicated the silent language of love........... A dropped fan, was a signal that a lady was interested in the man who retrieved it for her. Rapid fanning indicated great interest, but if she rested it on her lips, she was indicating lack of trust.

A quilt made with love and given as a token of the promise of warmth, and comfort............

I see fun on the horizon. Showing your affection for a certain person , or persons with a token of love can really be anything. I wonder what might be perceived as a most interesting token of affection. You could hold that distinctive honor with a little bit of cleverness.............and imagination. I know what token I gave my then boyfriend, and now husband for our first Valentine's Day celebration. I know he remembers it too.............he still has it tucked away!

Love From of All the Places................You Would Never Expect.....

(Please note One World One Heart Giveaway offering is prior to this post.)

There is photography of life in the moment, and then there is photography in a meditative, still state. Beautiful female figures hint of our collective desire that death be not mere death.................not mourned, but celebrated by beauty.

These female forms are idealized and symbolic for the aspiration for eternal life, not the finality of death. The more beautiful they are the more vigorous life after death will be and the more certain we are of immortality.

In most artistic traditions the ability to master the female figure is what most defines artistic talent.

Those in the Romantic era of the nineteenth century were infatuated with death, for them is was the focus of extreme emotion, and the ultimate expression of love. They felt that to die loving, or loved was better than life itself. Death came to inspire not in horror or fright, but love and desire, so in a way I guess you could say these are images for love and Valentines.

Left wondering.....................