Two Letters

Dear Papa B.

Best wishes on your retirement!  We love you, and we are grateful for your prayers.
Respectfully,

J.

Dear Secular Media Who Have Been Speculating about the Aforementioned Event:

Shouldn't you at least entertain the possibility that a man who has devoted himself to the service of God and His people, and who has sought holiness with zeal since his youth might, just possibly, be telling the truth when he explains why he wishes to retire?

Yours truly,

J.

Quotables

Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight  upon you.

-- Nathaniel Hawthorne

I came across this quote and it got me thinking.  As a go-getter, I'm tempted to dismiss it as pretty imagery.  I don't wait for things to happen to me, usually.  At the very least, I take whatever steps I can at the time to get the things I want, even if I know that the filling a particular ambition may be years away.  But I think this quote is true in at least one sense: to realize how much we already have often means being still.  It means pausing to be grateful.

Shhh!

I want to assure my gentle readers that I am still playing in my studio.  

Right now I am working on a gift for someone who actually reads my blog, so it is going to be a secret until it is done.  It has six main parts and 12 subparts, and I finished work on two of the subparts today.  (There.  I don't think that gave anything away...)

Angel Mosaic Done!

Snow Day Today!

And what did I make in my studio?

I finished the angel mosaic:

I'm really pleased with how it came out.  Now I just need to afix something wherein I can hang it on the wall and it is ready to give the expectant parents.

To see how I did it, step-by-step, check out my tutorial on one of my favorite websites, Cut Out + Keep.

Don't Throw Away... Used Chapstick Tubes

This is probably a the most cheapskate thing I have ever done.  It was kind of fun, though.

I have been saving my used chapstick containers for a couple of years because The Magician has been talking about making our own chapstick for a while.  I gathered together all of my chapstick, and just counting Burt's Bees, I had 37 empty tubes.  (You can see why he is interested in making our own since one tube costs $2.99.)  I had discovered, however, in the mad hunt through the house for chapstick, that I had lots of non-Burt's bees tubes of chapstick that could still be used.  So I thought we should go ahead and put off making our own big batch, especially since the supplies were going to come out to about $50.  (This seemed like a lot to me, until my beloved pointed out that those 37 tubes of chapstick had cost $110.63.)

 

So anyway, we decided to melt the chapstick that remained in the tubes and see if we could replenish any of the empty tubes.

First, we removed the labels.

Rocks - Part II

After my recent post on Rock Balancing, I thought I'd give it a try. Success!..


 

Be sure to read through this neat interview with a Rock Balancer.

And check out this YouTube video documentary on another one:




 

Click HERE for the definitive book on this art.

Zen and the Art of "Rock On!"

Today I'd like to introduce you to your next hobby.  A hobby both fascinating and tranquil.  One that requires little expense and puts you in contact with Mother Nature and science...

It's Rock Balancing.  Yes, you heard me right, stacking rocks upon other rocks.  I know, I know... you think I'm absolutely bonkers.  But give me a minute or two to convince you.  Take a look at the following images and remember that the only thing holding these sculptural pieces together is gravity.

Remember, these are not glued in any way.  All this takes is a wee bit of patience and time out in nature near a source of rocks.

Want to learn more and learn from an expert?  You can obtain the NEW BOOK by Peter Juhl and learn every facet of this fantastic art (and just imagine the conversations that will start if you leave this out in the open on your coffee table!!).

Then you can officially belong to this society, just like me :-)




You can find more mesmerizing photos and videos at GravityGlue.com and Greenwichpointrocks.com