Happy Halloween!!!

I have been collecting skull beads for a long time, intending to make a necklace out of them - which I will do someday.  

One of my favorite things (although I haven't done it much lately) is photographing markers in cemeteries.  I find them to be peaceful places.  People used to picnic in cemeteries before there were parks.  Hard to imagine, isn't it?

This marker is from Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery - where the Davidsons of Harley Davidson fame were laid to rest (why do we use those phrases?) along with some of Milwaukee's brewers (not the baseball team but the guys who brewed "What Made Milwaukee
Famous"). 

Someone loved this person very much - from Chicago's Graceland Cemetery.  It is a great cemetery to visit.  Mr. Fields of Marshall Fields fame is buried there, along with many other great Chicagoans.  Monuments in Graceland are, well, monumental.

When I go on road trips, I often see little cemeteries and wish I had a moment to stop and take photographs which I will - someday.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Today's quote comes from Theodosia Garrison:  At first cock-crow the ghosts must go back to their quiet graves below.

A Day that Dad Would Have Liked

10-10-10.  


I think my father would have liked today - a warm sunny fall day with beautiful colors and the date.  I like to think that I note things like that because of my father.

Lake Superior in late September.

My Dad died in late June and I have found grief to be a tough thing to pass through.  I didn't do anything creative for a long time.

Another Lake Superior view in late September.

Then I decided to knit a baby blanket for a coworker who was due in late August.  I found knitting to be very therapeutic and meditative.  It was something for me to do instead of doing nothing.

Lake Superior sunrise.  

As I knit, I found that making something for someone else was a good way to rid myself of a lot of my grief.  Oh, it's still there and I expect it will continue to rear it's ugly head every now and then, but for the most part it has abated.

Then I went on to decorate a bra for my cousin to either keep or auction off for Breast Cancer research if she so chose.  She said that she was going to keep it which made me very happy.

"I Never Promised You a Rose Garden"

I got some help from artists at work on the structure and armature.  Thanks Lynn and Marsha.

For a while I thought I'd never blog again.  A wise friend told me "it's there waiting for you when you are ready."  So here I am, blogging again.

I have been quite prolific lately which has made me feel a lot better.

A friend came over to help me design this awesome necklace to wear to a wedding.  Wearing it makes me feel really good.  Thanks for your eyes, Susan.  She taught me a lot when we worked together to make this design.  My sister did the awesome wire work.  I love this necklace and had been collecting things to make it with for a long time.

Two of my favorite ingredients are the raw tourmaline (black rocks) and the most awesome Anne Choi bead.  The bling is also a favorite.

I also made a necklace with skulls - from a prayer necklace - and I enjoy wearing that as well.

I am so happy to be creating again.  My father was always interested in what I created.  I suppose in many ways he is my muse.  I was so very lucky to have a father who understood creativity and encouraged me to create.  He was also an artist and I am designing some things that were inspired by him.

Today's quote comes from an unknown author:  Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow, May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.