Thank you to sweet Mary at Little Red House who so generously provides such a lovely meme for our creativity to bloom each week.

With Spring being so reluctant, my guess is that Summer will come in with blazes afire. So, with that hope I will continue to carry my boyfriend with me at all times. (cough… you know, my trusty Canon Rebel) Being creative isn’t something that just happens– it’s making a conscience effort to try (and fail) and try again.

At this weeks end I have planned on participating with so many others in Where Bloggers Create II. You will get a little peek into the space I spend my time being blissfully entertained and others call being creative.   So…I have done a bit of Spring cleaning  and hope to be ready not only for her celebration but our Friday~~Finding Beauty as well.  To me, obviously they are all intertwined.  Please please come join us!

I should have the Link up and ready  Thursday evening by 8:30 (mountain standard time)

Also, just for kicks and giggles there will be a fun GIVE away too! (shhh it’s a surprise)

Enjoy your week and find your beauty every where you go!

The Music selection is Flower Meadow — it makes you want to swat mosquitoes and probably run to the loo after you hear the water tinkling for a while.

TTFN~~Claudia ♥ ♥

Ahhh Spring — it Sprung!

My sister’s  neighbor, a young home owner, worked so very hard last fall and look at his results!

The color groupings and thought he put into this garden is stunning!  

Thank you Patrick!

I am sure all your neighbors thank you for their daily BEAUTY watch.

May you all have a  Beauty-FULL week!

In the mean time – visit sweet Mary and the other Mosaic bloggers.

TTFN~~Claudia

~~ ♥ Happy Spring  ♥ ~~

Visit Mary at Mosaic Monday

TTFN~~Claudia

I have been working on the Easter Swap project– so my mind has been focusing on Spring.

Yesterday was below 30 and snowed – SIGH- I am confident spring will arrive… sure I am … spring has never been skipped before. Has it?

Have a lovely week.

Visit Mary’s Mosaic –at Little Red House.

TTFN ~~ Claudia ♥ ♥

Oh my goodness! Do any of you ever find technical difficulties when you post your blog?? *sigh* lately I think I must not have been fulling paying attention but uggh my apologies for the mess.

BACK to Monday Mosaic — with Mary at Little Red House.  Like many of us she is thinking about Spring.

As you know I do love snow… but lately its just been cold-ish and I am struggling to find something to shoot.

So, I purchased some inspiration. *sigh* I know kinda sad huh?

I want to thank all of you who have so diligently supported me. But I don’t know a lot about you. So If you don’t mind. Come out from behind your anonymous-ness ( is that a word?) and share a bit.

All of us are creative– even if you don’t admit that you are. Each of us have been given talents we seldom tap.

Those of you who blog, are writers; even if you are like me and are reluctant to call ourselves that. Share a little of your creative mind today and tell us… Let’s make a memory

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STOP!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before you leave — be sure to comment on the below questions!! Pleeeease

1- If you were a Disney Character who would you be?

That wonderful dog in Lady and the Tramp that resembled Mae West.

2- In basic Fairy Tale world – who would you be?

One of Sleeping Beauty’s  Fairy God mothers — Flora or Fauna — Wait! Merry weather

3- If you walked into a Piano bar and someone handed you a mic what song would you sing?

Any song from Sleepless in Seattle

Hahha!  Share please! Would love to see the silly side of you.

Have a wonderful week.

TTFN~~ Claudia ♥ ♥

Just playing on this cold evening — with thoughts of spring– Not in color … but Black and White.

Thanks to Mary — for Monday Mosaics — stop by and see her.

TTFN~~Claudia ♥ ♥

I am also joining with Tam on Tues for Three or More Tuesdays. It will be my first time joining in. So I am posting my Clock love of Three or more and will link tomorrow. 

Doesn’t Mother Nature artistry shine once again? As she paints frosty lace on trees and windows.

Everyone seems to have a Cold Weather Story.

My sister in Montana called me saying it was 19 BELOW the other day– that was not the wind chill factored in! Brrrrr

I recall, many years ago,  having to run down the snow filled stairs in Montana, when our cute Cozzette (Bision Frise) went out to do her business and she couldn’t get back up the stairs after her tinkle froze her in place!  Poor Babyyyy.

Make sure to stop by Mary’s Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Also be sure and bundle the kids up! After watching over and over and over one of my favorites The Christmas Movie– don’t let the kids succumb to the “TRIPLE Dog DARE.”

Just for the sake of wonderment– I promise to NOT share this with your kids– Did you ever take a Triple Dog Dare?

This Friday will be my 100th post — I can not believe I have posted that much; but  stop by our Fridays Finding Beauty and see what you could win!  And I promise it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!

TTFN~~  Claudia ♥ ♥

~~All that Glitters ~~

After Christmas there seems to be a quiet in the air that certainly was not there one week ago. I wish you all a recovering holiday– Looking forward to a new year. (now I need a nap)

Visit Mary at Little Red House. Happy Mosaic Monday.

~~TTFN~~ Claudia  ♥ ♥

Thanksgiving week… one of my all time favorites.

Reading through some of my old journals I came upon one of the funnest Thanksgivings I ever had.

Twas 1989 — My mother- in – law was the best entertainer and cook. She decorated her home to the nines and could put on a 5 course meal and never break a sweat and loved every minute of it. I so wanted to be like her in this area, she told me she had total confidence in me… so I volunteered to host TG at our home that year.

I planned the menu for weeks. I shopped and had everything laid out perfectly. I even went to our local Turkey Farm to purchase the “BEAST” as we were feeding over 25+ guests. Our family plus 4 others.

2 days before…I cleaned and decorated and borrowed long banquet tables from our church so we could all sit around one VERY long table. The moms from 3 of the families had volunteered to bring some of the feast so I could have some of my burden eased. My task was potatoes (mashed of course) dressing, drinks and of course the TURKEY…

1 day before… Prepared all the food and had calculated exactly what time in the wee early morning I needed to get up to put the Turkey in the oven. This Bugger weighed over 35 lbs!  I am serious as a heart attack… I scrubbed it and bought a special pan to hold it. I figured 15 minutes per pound… uggh would take about 9 hours to cook. 

I went to bed late — and got up about 5:30  getting it all stuffed thinking I should put it in around 6:30- 7ish to be ready around 5pm. I swear I got a hernia lifting that guy from the fridge. I tried to be as quiet as I could because my family was all still in their beds. I stepped back and smiled at myself — this was going to be a very cool beautiful bird, if I didn’t say so myself!

The oven was set perfect… I opened the oven door and grabbed the handles on the pan… 

OOOOOOOOOOOH my gosh!!

HE was too big to fit in my oven!!!! No matter how I lowered the rack on the bottom he still couldn’t fit in! I had 25 guests coming… WHAT was I going to do? 

I’m guessing I had made a pretty big racket… as when I turned around from the oven  my entire family (2 boys and my daughter and their father) were all standing in their jammies starring at their crazed mother… they knew better than to say a word.

My sweet A (middle son) reminded me that we were “house sitting” for our neighbors across the street… so why didn’t I try their oven? — GREAT IDEA—So we put on our snow boots (still in our jammies) and trekked across the street, through the slushy snow, toting the nekkid bird. We were slipping and sliding– I can only imagine what a sight we would’ve been had anyone been looking out their windows.

I won’t mention that no one had brought the house key of your neighbors on the first trip… but we finally got in– to no avail…NOPE– still tooo big for the oven. I was saying things like… “why would they sell me a bird that I couldn’t cook???” “They must have seen me coming a mile away– I was so naive.”  I had a very smart family — none of them made any comments.

*sigh* It all worked out in the end– We hacked the guy straight down the middle and cooked one half in different ovens. Ok, so the presentation was a little on the non-prefect side. BUT…

One of the best lessons I learned from this event was…  If you want perfect — your life is boring… it’s when everyone freaks out a little bit and works together that memories are made and some day — you too could tell your silly story on your blog!!

Do you have a fun Thanksgiving story? If so I would love to hear it!

Stop by sweet Marys for Monday’s Mosaics.

Susan at Southern DayDreamer is holding her Outdoor Wednesday celebration… visit her.

Have an awesome week… Aren’t you thankful you aren’t a TURKEY? 

TTFN~~ Claudia ♥ ♥

With Autumn bursting with Oranges, Rusts, Browns and Golds — I found some perfect Purples amidst them all.

One of my all time favorite QUOTES:

What if…all the people who come into your life, every single one of them, (even the pesky ones) ASKED to be there… so that YOUR light might brighten their way?

Stop in to say Hi to Mary at Little Red House for her weekly gathering of Mosaic Makers… they are the best!

Have a beautiful week.

TTFN~~ Claudia ♥ ♥