Helping Haiti

The devastation from the Haiti earthquake remains strongly in my mind - and each small victory a cause for celebrations of the heart!


I happened to stumble across this blog, Haiti By Hand
Here is a partial description:

"Haiti By Hand is an artisan group of Haitian women begun by Rebecca Sower. Just days before the earthquakes of January 2010, Rebecca was in Haiti working with this group of women. . . ."

Through this blog, Rebecca has begun an Etsy Shop, Haiti By Hand, Artist Auctions, Quilt Haiti, and the possibility for many more ways to help Haitians rebuild and establish themselves once more after the devastation of the earthquake.

I am proud to have two of my favorite post card sets listed on the etsy site:
Antique Waterfowl Print Post Cards
Antique Fern Print Post Cards

Please take a moment to visit this blog and discover ways that you can get involved!

VALENTINE'S DAY

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day the teacher would give each child a brown paper bag to decorate and add a name. All the decorated bags would be taped to the edge of the black board in anticipation of giving a receiving all those lovely Valentines.

I remember gleefully picking out my Valentines and then agonizing over each one in my collection, picking out just the right Valentine for each child in my class (I had to be very careful not to give a boy one with "Love" on it!)

And then the big day would come, a party with cookies, punch and of course, the long waited for Valentines! Excitement, laughter, and the shy sharing of a smile from someone across the room. Is it any wonder Valentine's Day remains my favorite holiday?

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO YOU, MAY YOUR LIFE BE FILLED WITH LOVE!

Help in the New Year

Well, here we are, one week into the new year, and new decade!

Over the holiday season, it is a tradition to think of others and a time to give to benefit our favorite charities.

Let's not quit now! Here is a simple way you can help to feed our precious cats and dogs who are waiting in shelters to find their own people!
Please visit Freekibble.com

Freekibble.com is a really fun website to visit. Each day two new trivia games are provided, Bow Wow Trivia, and Meow Trivia. Each time you play, 10 pieces of kibble are donated to feed the dogs, and 10 pieces are donated to feed the cats. You don't even have to get the trivia questions right! And you may also learn some interesting new facts about our furry friends.

Freekibble.com's primary mission is to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats living in shelters.

The idea for this site started with a 12 year old girl from Bend, Oregon. She wanted to help feed hungry animals at her local shelter. Freekibble.com began by providing free kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, but have expanded to provide food to 13 shelters from Oregon to Florida and they plan to expand the program to many more.


So, give it a try! And - while you're there, you can sign up to have a reminder sent to your email address each day to make it super simple to remember to go to the site.

All in all - it's a fun and feel good experience and only takes a couple of minutes of your time in order to do a good deed!
All in All, a pretty good deal!

New Year - New Beginnings - New Resolutions

I love the ritual of making New Year's Resolutions! There is something hopeful about starting new, starting over, having a whole new year in order to make my dreams come true!

It can, however, get pretty overwhelming - one long list of dreams and only one short year in which to fulfill them (and that year keeps getting shorter as more and more are added)!

Perhaps this year I will do something different, I will spread my list over twelve months, hmmm, seems more do-able, and I can have twelve mini-celebrations! This is getting fun!

My New Year's wish for you - may all you hopes and dreams come true!

Happy New Year from Blue Canyon Arts!

A Treasured Christmas Tradition

We do not remember days, we remember moments.
~Cesare Pavre

One of my most treasured Christmas traditions is reconnecting with family and friends. I hear from so many friends during the holidays - letters, Christmas cards, emails, phone calls - I especially love to get the annual Christmas greetings telling all that the past year has brought!

As the years have gone by, and my family has moved from place to place, new friends made have become old friends with shared memories, and are woven into the tapestry of my life, and my heart.

Each one has added their own special love, friendship and wisdom that has given immeasurable richness and joy to my life.

Thank you all, dear friends, old and new, and a very Merry Christmas and Joyful New Year to All!

I wish you all the happiest of holidays!

Thanksgiving came and went is such a flash - and now I'm having so much fun finishing up all my holiday gift making. It seems that once again, I'm quickly becoming one of the "last minute" people.

I'm continuing my personal crusade this year to convince family and friends that a beautiful, hand-written note can be much much better than an email or tweet! Making note cards with a special person in mind in challenging and rewarding at the same time.

This year is especially fun since I have some nieces and nephews who are just beginning to write so I had so much fun designing note cards for first timers, and I'm including stamps so they (and their moms and dads) will have an easier time getting their first notes mailed - hmmmm - maybe I should do this for all my special people this year.

I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season, with many, many reasons to be jolly!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has so many meanings, each one of us has our own special meanings and memories for this holiday. I have heard people comment that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday because there is no emphasis on gifts, only good food, and good family and friends.


For me Thanksgiving has many different memories and meanings, and many different things to be so grateful for.

My wish is for each and every one to have a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving with many, many reasons to give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving All!