My Grama's Soul

Cute......huh? Have a fabulous upcoming week. xo Jo Photo:  Style Carrot

Remember these? I imagine some of you younger bloggers don't....but I do.   Nothing stirs memories like downsizing, packing and moving.  As you look at each item deciding what to keep...what to discard...one cannot help but be reminded of earlier times and places. These are old radios left to both Brad and me from our long deceased parents.   The Farnsworth in the first pic belonged to his parents.  I  can just imagine the family gathered around it listening with anticipation to favorite programs and imaging the happenings in their mind's eye.  The second radio..belonged to my mom and dad...perhaps it came down from my grandmother...who knows.  Anyway, I can envision my mom listening to events about the war while my dad was stationed elsewhere.  We actually had this radio while we lived in Germany because I have seen it in a few photos taken during my time there as a small child. These are treasures we will never part with.  They have moved with us

I am a firm believer in displaying the art you, yourself, make.  It doesn't matter whether it is fabric art, painted art, mosaic art, jewelry art, junk art or any other kind of art you can think of. By having your personal pieces around you it gives you inspiration to create additional pieces.  It doesn't matter whether the piece is great or mediocre ...... JUST PUT IT OUT THERE SO YOU CAN VIEW IT... I may have shared these pieces before.....made from old junk wire found in my Father-in-Laws tool box....incorporated long beads I made and other pieces of junk earrings.  Milagro....made totally from recycled material (sounds so much better than......junk.....doesn't it?). Each time I pass this little display in my home it encourages me to think creatively.....I often can't go to my studio to work then and there....but it does get those "juices" flowing.   How about you.....do you display your creativity around your s

Found this today while going through stuff.... wanted to share it with all of you. xo Jo

As I am getting our home staged to put on the market.....I have been busy going through things and moving things around.  While doing this I realized that this particular piece of art speaks volumes about who I am.  This piece is not an original it is a copy.  The artist is dead now....he was brutally murdered on the streets of Paris.....of all places...such a tragedy.  When Brad and I first saw this piece we really tried to buy the original, but it had been sold. Of course, it was love at first sight for me . Having my name on a piece of art work and labeling it "Josette Fleuriste" absolutely thrilled me to pieces.  The artist certainly did not know me..or my love of flowers...but somethings are just meant to be...and this was one of them! I will never part with it until it is passed onto some friend or family member.  Just me pondering how things work out in life sometimes.. stay happy, Jo So sorry about the glare on these photos....art was

so simple...so true. Also made me chuckle! xo Jo

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions~~ but in having few wants." Epictetus Right now as I'm going through our home and purging things ...... it has occurred to me that we spend most of our younger years acquiring things and a good part of our older years trying to rid ourselves of all the "stuff" we have managed to accumulate. I don't know if it is keeping up appearances or just the human desire to have "more".  I had a very dear friend once say to me that "it is good for the soul NOT TO GET EVERYTHING one wants".  At this stage I would more than agree with her...because as you collect and collect...there will come a day when you will have to give away and give away. In fact, when you really think about it..  "LIFE" IS A LOT LIKE THIS.  In your younger years you are vibrant and healthy and as you get older...more and more of your body betrays you....you cannot hold onto your looks

You know what they say......"one man's trash is another man's treasure". Wanted to show you what could be done with an old farm implement gear from a tractor or combine...not sure... This particular piece is way to big and heavy for any jewelry making....so I thought it would make a wonderful candle holder.  No worries if the wax melts on it.....it will even become more "funky". Just me "out pickin'". xo Jo

"I wanted a perfect ending.  Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme and some stories don't have a clear  beginning, middle and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change.  Taking the moment and making the best of it..without knowing what is going to happen next." "Delicious Ambiguity" Gilda Radner I don't know about you....but as I have advanced in age, I am certainly more introspective than when I was younger. Not so much looking at regrets but looking at all the miraculous things that have happened during this time I have been here.   I have almost always thought that "CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION"....in fact....I firmly believe that the only one you can control is YOURSELF and your actions.  Oh I believe in planning for an outcome...but one must always be ready for an alternative ending....just in case. Now, mind you, that doesn't always mean I don't fume and fret over someone or something...b