Raige Creations

As has been the common popular birthday present for me, this year again I got new running shoes. Yes, I have gone on about new running shoes before.... here .....and here ....to share just a couple.... I am doing more walking instead of running these days, as my legs keep hurting when I tried to run lately, probably from my worn out shoes. So, that is the reason this year I was absolutely thrilled with these new shoes. They hug my heels so nicely and offer some great support for my overpronation and thus will help my sketchy knees and achy legs. My awesome new shoes My double excitement that we could find these shoes on island, where I could try them on and see that they fit nicely. I won't mention the price I had to pay for this convenience, as it was my birthday and I reasoned it was okay to overpay for such wonderful convenience and totally enjoy the instant gratification of getting these shoes. No more waiting for a 'mule' to bring them down to me after ordering...

As if I was actually writing a book.....I am not..... but still consider it a new chapter that has just begun, even if only metaphorically speaking. A new chapter in my little book of life. Source: Pinterest I have embarked on a new adventure, I have embraced the magic of new beginnings. I started a new job. It is a job I really wanted, and was so happy to get. Though, driving in the first day, I was...well there is no one word the word for the feelings. I felt so many things: I felt a little worn out, like ' Here I go again having to start over '. Then switched to ' I am starting something exciting .' Then felt ' How strange to have this new start, excitement like I was just out of college starting a new life '. Then the doubts. ' Can I really do well at all the many and varied aspects of this position? Some I have not done in a long, long time, and some not quite to the depths that is required of this position! Can I really do this? ' Th...

First, let me apologize. I am sorry for subjecting you to The Scorpions . They are far from a band I like, but after this weekend, and until Hurricane Matthew has inched it's way out of the Caribbean, hurricanes have been in the center of our daily activies. What other song could I pick?? I moved to the Caribbean back in 1993. Being from Western New York, I was not familiar with hurricane tracking. Snow storm tracking, yes, hurricanes, no. But over the years, it became a part of daily life during hurricance season. In June, we get the little newpaper insert that has a tracking map, the list of supplies you should have on hand at any given moment, and with each Tropical update you either add the new tropical depression to what is on your radar or you sit and wait until the next one.  There were many times we prepped for whatever storm might pass close by. Got the supplies, moved our 'important' things where we thought safest from wind and water, hunckered down and wat...

Handblown glass has always intrigued me, the process being one that looks incredibly difficult to me. Not to mention the heat and danger associated with this art form. Even calling it an artform can be a cause for debate, because of it's functional capabilities and scientific knowledge that is necessary to make even the simplest and most functional pieces. But creativity has a major role in it as well and that cannot be discredited in the final piece.  Without going into too much history, debate, or critiques, I want to share some of the very beautiful creations my daughter got the chance to make as part of her senior project needed for graduation this upcoming year.  The snake (in the front above is a zig zag of glass with a curious head)  is what they start with, in the torch class, to get a hang of working with glass. Then the pendant, just above the snake here, where she got to add color.  All work done in this class was done with a torch. The Hot Sh...

It can be scary. It can be exciting. It could not work out the way you thought or intended... but... it could be perfect.

Thank you Bob Marley .  Now let's DRIVE!

Then we would cook corn meal porridge Of which I'll share with you....... On the radio today, it is Marley Monday, where they share Bob Marley songs throughout the day. On the way to school, dropping the kids off, we heard this song. My ears picked up the 'corn meal porridge' lyric and instantly I craved it. It was a common breakfast when we lived in the Caribbean, and I haven't had any since we moved from there. Suddenly I was homesick for my old home, and fond memories of our time there flooded my head. We had tough times then, we struggled plenty in our newly married lives, with a young family and stresses much the same as we are faced with now. We plowed on, we figured it out. We had fun still, we had each other. Everything turned out alright. And it will again. 'Nah Cry, we push h'on trew.' Meaning...'Don't cry we always make it through.' Sometimes we forget, we forget we are strong, and we need to be reminded 'Everything's g...

As I mentioned on Monday , my last few months have been filled with feelings of going back and forth with ideas, running 'Hot N Cold' so to speak. One of the few constants I have tried to maintain is running, or at least mixing runs with walking. I even found motivation and groups online to help me through the mornings where it was so hard to get out there and do anything. I tried to share, for me and others, because if it helped me I knew it may help someone else. That's me in the middle there in the green shirt - asking "Why is there always a hill at the finish?" I ran the Shamrock Run back in March, which actually was a very hard race. I felt much more prepared for this race, and was determined to run the entire thing with no walking. Well, I did it, no walking, ran the whole thing, but my time was worse than the Jingle Bell Run, plus I felt worse after the race! My lungs ached, my head ached, and I felt it took me longer to recover from this race.  J...

These thoughts occurred to me today: I cannot help me to the detriment of you and I cannot help you to the detriment of me It also occurred to me I am guilty of both. This is a fine line we all walk - helping others and helping ourselves. It is an ever shifting line, and often we get all tangled up in that line.  It came to my attention that my walks and runs, ever increasing in length and exertion, have taken a small toll on the dog. She seems always starving when it's dinner time. I know, she is a dog and always wants what we are having, but lately her demeanor is urgent. Her vibes are - 'I am SO hungry ... I WANT WHAT YOU ARE MAKING'. So much so I am tripping over her as I prepare dinner!  Also, she no longer pulls me on our walks, well unless a squirrel runs in our path. She walks right beside me, even lags sometimes. That is until we make the turn around to come home, then she is out front again. And today, she looked downright miserable by the time...

Our little lives get complicated It's a simple thing Simple as a flower And that's a complicated thing. When you're down It's a long way up When you're up It's a long way down It's all the same thing No new tale to tell. British alternative rock band Love & Rockets is good in any decade - timeless {except for the hair and clothes}.  Gotta love the 1980's.

This has been circulating and it's pretty neat...the ABCs of you , or in this case me ! Feel free to copy. A. Age: 38 , that's my story and I'm stickin' to it . (it was 29 for several years, then 34 for several more...38 is as high as I am going!) B. Bed size: Queen C. Chore that you hate: mopping, cleaning the cat litter, dishes, dusting, boy I would love a maid ... D. Dogs: One spoiled rotten cocker spaniel who thinks she is a human, about a 2 year old human. E. Essential start to your day: Coffee , a little sweet and creamy F. Favorite color: Purple ! but I like blue too, and red, but mixed together is the best. G. Gold or Silver: gold H. Height: 5' 3 1/2" last I checked, but feeling shorter every day as my kids grow and suddenly I am looking up to them ! I. Instruments you play: should be USED to play: piano and clarinet J. Job title: mother, wife, business owner, creator  K. Kids: 3 teens. now you know part of the reason I post so many '...

I spent the other evening on the computer in the living room with the boys next to me playing video games.  The oldest asked me to play some music because he had Marky Mark 's Good vibrations stuck in his head.  (poor thing!) He said he would rather hear anything besides that....sooo This was the song he requested! Wha? I couldn't believe, first of all, that he knew this song at all, and second, he wanted to hear it and sang along ! The mountain is high, the valley is low And you're confused on which way to go So I've come here to give you a hand And lead you into the promised land So come on and take a free ride He was telling ME about Edgar Winter !  I was 2 years old when this song hit #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but I do remember hearing it on that AM radio always playing in the kitchen when I was growing up. And I am pretty sure this song came blaring out of my brother's room regularly in the late 1970's and early 1980's.  Actually, it...

I am lucky enough to have a guest post today by Diane of Artemis53 on Zibbet . She is a regular walker, finding inspiration and wonder in each walk. In her shop, she brings the ' Best that she has have that will Glow in the Moonlight and bring out the Goddess that Lies within us all .' Today she is sharing her walk that reminded her to embrace the unplanned and keep open minds. She shares so that we may also learn from her lesson. I truly think it amusing as to how things work out the way that They're supposed to despite myself. This morning was once more to be an example of learning to Expect the Unexpected. I was upset with Myself this morning due to the fact that I had awakened at 7:30 am for My walk rather than before dawn as I usually do. Even though I had just gotten off from working 3, twelve hour shifts in a row I was 'kicking myself' for not rising earlier in the darkness to experience that separation of morning and night during my paces that we call ...

the Old Indian Once upon a time ,  a woman was picking up firewood.  She came upon a poisonous snake   frozen in the snow.  She took the snake home  and nursed it back to health.  One day the snake bit her on the cheek.  As she lay dying ,  she asked the snake,  "Why have you done this to me?"   And the snake answered,  "Look, bitch,  you knew I was a  snake." ~ Old Indian  from Natural Born Killers One thing we were afraid of when we moved here  to North Carolina was the snakes. There are poisonous snakes here, like  Copperheads ! Copperhead photo courtesy of  The Biology Department at Davidson And lo and behold, within the first few weeks we were here, this big old black snake slithered on the patio. We remembered that quote from Natural Born Killers ... Not knowing what is was,  hubby 'took care of it'   with a shovel .  Black Rat Snake photo courtesy of The Bio...