Rebecca Sower

whichever way the wind blows

When the winds of March blow through the limbs of my faithful old maple...

 

...she scatters her branches and twigs hodge-podge across the lawn, to be gathered and piled...

  

...and carried to the burn pile up to my studio... 

 

...where they will find their way into who-knows-which project...

  

Weekend blessings to you.

[loving her singing this song today] 

a quick hello

only time for a quick hello, a photo and a shout out to dear Charlotte...please visit her blog today and see the beautiful hand-crafted necklace she is auctioning for our Haiti house.  Thank you, Charlotte!

 

hoping your wednesday is happy! 

as small as the world and as big as alone

...to borrow my favorite line from my favorite e.e. cummings poem.

The kids are back in school from spring break.  I am alone.

So it's possible I may have time to read cummings and a few others from my new and highly-recommended poetry book...

 

...and possibly even some time to tackle this much-dreaded project.  This is for those of you who may have been thinking all in my world and studio are picture-perfect and ideal.  This is my main work table in my studio and can you now see why I haven't been very productive lately?  ugh!

  

But before I tackle that disaster, I would love to shout out a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the auction for the Haiti home.  The winners have been contacted, and with the auction money and donations that I'm aware of we raised over $700 more for this effort.  That brings our total very close to the amount needed to build one home--my heart is warmed!

sending love... 

make one happy

Make Someone Happy

"That is a good day in which you make someone happy.

It is astonishing how little it takes to make one happy.

Feel that the day is wasted in which you have not succeeded in this."

[ t. de witt talmage ]

 

And today my happiness comes from the songbirds outside my window, yes.

But mostly, you make me happy.  The auction is going so well

and so many of you have contacted me about donating directly to the

benevolent housing project.  How can I begin to say thank you?

Well I can't.  I can only tell you that...

You make me happy! 

all i want is a room somewhere...auction for haiti

We cannot turn on the news, have a conversation, listen to the radio, walk down the street, that we are not reminded of the unfortunate economic situation our country is in.  And I know, for many it is very dire.  But we have to remind ourselves that no matter how down we are, there are those who are farther down...

 

You may remember from an earlier post that my husband and daughter traveled to Haiti last fall.  This photo was taken by my daughter at one of the fishing villages. 

While there, my husband helped build a new concrete-block home for one Haitian family.  I was recently privileged to read the letter, in broken English and barely-legible writing, written by the family who moved into that home.  I'm moved to tears again just thinking about it.

In a culture where we are used to paying $60 to go to a pro hockey game, $10 to get into the latest movie, and $6 for a latte, I don't think we really understand how effective those same dollars could be in an impoverished country like Haiti.  It costs less than $3000 to build a home for one of these precious families.

Of course, my daughter left a huge part of her heart down there, in this forgotten place only an hour's plane ride from Miami.

 

And even my husband made new friends that he will never forget.

  

So far, through my art, I have been able to raise almost $1600 to build another home.  Somerset Studio editor, Jenny Doh, became aware of my efforts and she, with artist Cynthia Shaffer, have donated beautiful knitted socks to further the cause.  I'm so excited!  Today I will begin an auction that will end on Monday, March 23 at 12:00 noon CST, with all proceeds going straight to Haiti.

Jenny's socks...

  

  

  

Cynthia's socks...

  

  

  

Here's how to bid:

Leave a comment to this post with the amount you want to bid.  Make sure you indicate whether you are bidding on Jenny's socks or Cynthia's socks.  The highest bidder at the end of the auction will be the winner.  I will directly contact the winners at the auction's end.

Oh and by the way, I am the proud owner of a pair of socks that Jenny knitted for me.  They are so soft and comfy and easy to care for.  And now I am a sock snob...

Okay dear friends, let's go!  A precious child in Haiti needs a roof over her head. 

  

 

staying still

 

This word, my word for 2009, just keep calling to me.  It sounds a little under-ambitious.  And that's okay for me right now.  Maybe my word for next year will be 'go', who knows?  For now, I'll just keep coming back to this one.  It feels comfortable and warm.  It feel like a long, healing visit from an old friend.

Thank you, each of you, who contacted me about the pendants from my last post.  I have more in the works and hope to list them in my shop soon.

Will share my favorite song today. 

And consider today precious, because it is.

words for wednesday (a day late)

"Life is not so short

but that there is always

time enough

for courtesy."

{emerson}

 

Stop by my etsy shop if you'd like to purchase one of these art quilt pendants.

Hope it's a beautiful thursday for you. 

will I miss the melancholy?

I wonder, in my eagerness to usher in Spring...

 

will I miss the bleak mid-winter calm...

  

the comforting solitude of the bare landscape...

  

the sweet melancholy of the pure earth...

  

when it's gone, will I wish for Winter? 

renewing

Outside my window, the sun shines and the world is beginning to come back to life.

And with that new life, I feel new energy.  Maybe even enough to begin some much-needed spring cleaning around here?  We'll see.

Do the first signs of spring do that for you too?

 

I have many pieces in the works in my studio that I'm anxious to finish.  They silently sit and they patiently wait while I put just about everything else before them.  But that's okay, it will have to be okay for now anyway.  What else can I do?

Thank you so very much, each of you, who commented to win the "love" necklace from my last post.  Wow, so many beautiful words of encouragement.  Yes, I read each and every one.  The randomly-chosen winner, Bonnie, has already been contacted and I'm looking forward to hearing back from her.  And for all of you who contacted me about purchasing similar pendants, I am planning to make several to place in my etsy shop so please check back with me.  Wow, I am so grateful to you all.  Truly grateful.

'greatest of these' giveaway

"Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:13)

Last week I mentioned a giveaway and have decided upon this pendant, a tribute to the most important action verb.  The pendant is handcrafted (oh you knew that huh?) and hangs on a silk cord.  And is my gift to one of you, my precious blog friends.  Please leave one comment here sometime before Friday at noon (cst).  I will announce a winner on Monday.

  

  

Have a beautiful rest of the week.