Gross What?

We have had Blue Grosbeaks (male and female) and a beautiful Rose Breasted Grosbeak at our feeder lately. We also have a Scarlet Tanager that has come back year after year. It is so nice to have those flashes of color!

My jewelry has been following a nature theme lately and the birds inspired me to start on a line of necklaces that will be in the $99-109 range. They are sterling silver with pottery stones and I have added a patina on the chain and center piece.

 With quite a few shows coming up, I am trying to build up my inventory, though I will be taking time off to take a trip to NH and Cape Cod before it all starts. Too much work makes me cranky:)


My web site has recently been updated, so if you need a Mother's Day gift, birthday gift or want to gift yourself, go take a look http://jlkjewelry.com/recently.htm.
 

 

Give It Up to Get It Right

I was reading an article and came across these things to give up to be happy. I have been working on these, and I thought it a good reminder to put down. And never give up treating people the way that you would like to be treated in kind. Is it necessary, is it kind, is it true, good words to remember.

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others.

Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind, how will being right make me feel any better about myself?   

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel. 

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away, start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Yama yama, we have 50,000 thoughts per day. Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating, because if you repeat something 50,000 times you might believe it.  

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place, believe in yourself and that you can do anything, spread your wings and fly!

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, things. Nobody or thing can make you unhappy, sad or miserable unless you choose to allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers the feelings, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, thank goodness, yet we are all the same really. Everyone wants to be happy, to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. Is it necessary, is it true, is it kind?

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you accept and embrace the yourself, you will find people will be drawn to you.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Believe in and ask the universe and it can become yours.

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. 

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.See #9.

12. Give up your excuses. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – we only have so much time, so don't waste it with excuses.

13. Give up the past. When the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so scary, you must take into consideration that the present is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. When you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. When you detach yourself from all things, you become  peaceful, tolerant, kind and serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words. This is something to work towards everyday.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people live their lives according to what others think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling because they are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. Don't forget about what makes you happy, what you want and need. You have one life to live, so make it your own.

Too Nice To Work

 We got back from a very nicely successful Catawba Valley Pottery Festival this past weekend, and I haven't made it back to work yet. But I will, later. My new designs were well received and went off to new homes, so I will continue down that path, and hopefully find many more new and creative ideas along the way. We used the Square for the first time and it is just the best. If you have been considering one, I highly recommend it! I now take AMX as well as Visa, MC and Discover!

We have been working in the garden and visiting some nurseries the past couple of days. So many things are in bloom now, and we have lots of purples...irises, columbine, bachelor buttons, verbena, petunias.

We also have lots of voles. Those little #$%^^s took out 3 newly planted plants within a day. We are treating the beds with a castor oil product, but I think we need a truck load of it. I am going to buy a gallon of castor oil and soak some of our fish food in it and spread that around. If you know of a solution that works (other than cats and dogs.....Rusty got toxoplasmosis from some kind of rodent or bird last year), please let  me know!

 This lovely iris is poking it's head out of the mint. We have loads of apple mint and spearmint. It makes wonderful tea, so if you are a mint tea fan, I am more than happy to pick enough to keep you going for a while. 

We are also still harvesting lettuce, spinach, parsley, chard, kale and mustard from our winter garden. Several are bolting and going to seed, which we will save. The asparagus are popping up now too, and they are delicious. Hopefully those damned voles left a few of the crowns alone last year so that we have a good crop!

We are ordering seeds today from a new company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, www.rareseeds.com. Hopefully it will be a somewhat wet summer this year, and that the vegetables will be bountiful. Wes has a lot of tomato and pepper plants ready, that he started on the sunporch earlier this year. We grow only heirloom varieties and using organic methods.

I love this time of the year. It is such a treat to be outdoors (minus the pollen!). I should be working, I have 6 more shows out of town, starting in June at Blowing Rock's Art in the Park. This is more than I have ever done, but we are looking forward to them.

This is also Jugtown Pottery's 90th year celebration of the stamp (though the pottery was underway closer to 100 years ago, selling and promoting the craft in NY at the tea room in 1918!). There are a lot of special pieces being made and there will be a special exhibit at Jugtown on  April 21 for the Spring Kiln Opening. I hope you will come down and learn about the history of Jugtown while perusing all the beautiful new pieces, and there are some amazing pieces. Pam will be posting more on their webpage www.jugtownware.com and on Jugtown's facebook page. I'll share it on my Facebook page as well.

Well here comes the sun....and I have a lot of pots that need planting out there!

Growing, Living, Loving

February 24, 2012! How fast time goes and what a mild winter we have had. Last year our first asparagus popped up in March. I've had a feeling this year would be different, so I have been walking by the asparagus beds when I am out walking Bacchus. And, voila, numero uno! Not a big, fat one, yet, like last year's, but a brave sole popping it's head up. Life is special, it keeps popping back up, no matter what conditions it falls under. I live in a very special place and am a lucky girl!!

 

 

A spot of purple captured my attention as I stepped onto the patio this morning. We have a lot of columbine growing in all the flower beds. This lone little plant, growing under a beautiful large oak surprised me. The other larger plants are way behind, but this little beauty has opened up and is sharing a gorgeous flower.

Coral bell, already sending up flower shots. Please don't let this one be damaged should the weather turn, but geez it is only February!

Beautiful daffodils all around

Helleborous, now this is what is supposed to be flowering now, along with Daphne, which I neglected to photograph but is doing well after 8 years! (I just read an article that said Daphne won't last more than 3-4 years....mine has been in a pot in the same spot for years. Sitting prettily over my sweet boy Keiko's grave. Keiko was the best and  most wonderful cat, my bestest friend and companion for many years. He taught Tasha, Chester and Rusty to be who they are and left some of himself behind in each.  I am absolutely sure the reason that Daphne is thriving, and the beautiful Jasmine that I bring in each year that flowers in Jan and Feb. Keiko stays with me in plants and memories.

Lettuce in one of the beds. We have eaten really well all winter. This is just an example of what we have been eating since last November...that along with arugula, other mixed lettuces, spinach, chard, kale, Asian greens, the list goes on.

Sweet Toot!

Even the oaxalis is showing it's pretty face.

This is what one would expect to see in February in our yard.

Petunias, verbena bonsaris, mullein campion....this stuff won't stay in the garden, it insists on coming up in between the slate on the patio. Even annual verbena is coming up there. It will be pretty, well some of it! The petunias spread but flower from early spring until frost and spread like mad. What a wonderful surprise they turned out to be!

Beautiful vinca, flowering all month long!

Salsa or Thai anyone? We have loads of cilantro growing, even in here with the beets and  Swiss Chard. As a matter of fact, it is growing everywhere around here, even in the flower beds around the patio. But, since we love cilantro, it is a great thing!

February?? Next year in January??

Giving Back for Valentine's

The Seagrove Potters of Historic Busbee Road will once again present a weekend experience designed for enjoyable Valentine’s Day shopping on Friday and Saturday, the 10th and 11th of February. Refreshments, decorations and Valentine’s colors and festivities will greet shoppers and give them an opportunity to talk to the potters and craft people.

Each artist  is donating 5% of their sales this weekend to a charity of their choice. I selected the Moore County Humane Society. If you know me, you know what a lover of animals I am. My dog and cats are all rescue animals, all found abandoned and all such wonderful personalities.

The other charities include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Sandhills Children’s Center, Brenner Children's Hospital, Humane Society of Moore County, Robbins Area Christian Ministries, National Center for Learning Disabilities and Breast Cancer Research.

This is a great way for you to come out and buy a Valentine's Day gift for your special someone, or a gift for any occasion, including treating yourself, and knowing that you are supporting an artist and small business as well as a charity, while acquiring something handmade in Seagrove.

Pin Holes?



Cone 6, electric firing......I've never seen a stone with holes like the one in the middle???