Raige Creations

This song brings back memories of Easter and church for me. It was played many Easters at our church when I was growing up. My father was the organ player, and I loved to hear him play this in practice at home, and then again at church. When I heard it playing Cat Sevens version on the radio, I loved it. A church song playing on the radio - how cool. I was then, and still am, a Cat Stevens fan . I was a kid then, I thought AM radio was cool. I still do actually - it WAS cool back in the 70's. Whatever it takes to bring the idea to the masses that we should give thanks. It was said by the editor of the hymnal it was first published in (In 1931) that:  " there was need for a hymn to give thanks for each day ." There IS a need to give thanks each day. A habit I have been trying to keep up with. So give thanks, even though it is Monday. Give thanks that we have..... beautiful music , sunshine , rainfall , wind , chocolate (I am sure you all have...

Thank goodness the rain waited until this morning to come. But cleaning up the leftover moving sale stuff was a bit miserable this morning. Cold, windy, wet. source It is said that in this song, Creedence Clearwater Revival use a metaphor of the rain to speak about seemingly endless times of confusion and misery. That is how I feel after 3 long days of the sale, and weeks of preparation for the sale, and now at least another couple days dealing with the leftovers from the sale.  Seemingly endless times of confusion (what to keep, what to donate, what to try to sell) , and misery (the weather, being outside in cold temps, wind, and rain all weekend, and dealing with 'customers' who want something for nothing, and then a discount on top of that, and when we did not give in to their demands, they left not buying anything!!), and then today the rainy wind while we cleaned up the leftovers just added to it. So, I wonder, who'll stop the rain? When will I be able...

Tuesday, I woke up yesterday, a much needed day off, and got the kids off to school, sat down to check what was going on online, and promptly dozed right off. The phone rang, mostly woke me up, but I soon dozed off again. Most of the morning went this way, in and out of sleep, plenty lazy. The thick fog of the mountains.  Normally, you can see mountains in the background. photo courtesy of   Raige Creations I spent the morning in this hazy foggy dozy state. On a day off, you can allow yourself to be foggy, doze off. No pressing issues, just some quiet time, relaxing time. Perfect for a day off. (Apparently I needed the sleep too. Perhaps I have not been sleeping as good as I thought I was....) Dog saying 'Come on Mom, aren't you coming?' photo courtesy of   Raige Creations The foggy views here are actually from Monday,not Tuesday wehn I really could have used them. Monday was a day I could not allow myself the luxury of such a nice lazy morning, like the wea...

She acts like summer and walks like rain Reminds my that there's time to change Since her return from her stay on the moon She listens like Spring and she talks like June. I think it would be nice to have drops of Jupiter in my hair. I want to take a soul vacation and trace my way through the constellations.  I want to check out Mozart while I do Tae-Bo, because I am reminded there is room to grow.  Imagine if the wind could sweep you off your feet, and we could finally get the chance to dance along the light of day, and then head back to the Milky Way. And then I imagine I would have some deep fried chicken, and a five hour phone conversation, but think I would pass on the soy latte. A good way to get through a Monday. Especially one that started at 4:45am because of the mind that would not sleep.  Now let's sail across the sun, and make it to the Milky Way, hope not all the lights are faded, and that heaven isn't overrated. Let's let Venus...

That is it. Sometimes, just sunshine is enough to make the day great. Add to that 3 days of 2 + miles each day now, and life is pretty good. I thank the return of sunshine for this. Sunshine makes it glow! Yes, simply the sun. Even tho it's January, and the cold has set in, the sun was enough. I don't mind the cold, as long as the sun is out. Seeing what it did to this sculpture, I knew the sun has a profound affect on everyone.  I see people milling about downtown, find that visitors are in fact in Asheville enjoying the mountains in the winter.  They come out when the sun does, walk slower, look around more, bask in the sun basically. Ominous in the grey rain. The sun brings brilliant light, uplifts the mood, and gives a nice golden glow to things we see every day and have blended in with the background.  It had rained for 4 days straight, almost non stop. I gladly took 2 of those days to enjoy the cloudy greyness, but by the 4th day I was more than ready...

We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun A great song for today, as we attack the new week after a wonderful weekend! We went ziplining on Saturday with a friend who was visiting from out of town. WHOO HOO!  If that doesn't make you feel young, I just don't know what will. I am not showing you the next picture of my face as I realize I started braking too soon and was going to land short of the platform..... But what a fun ride.  I also got to celebrate mother's day along with my youngest's 14th birthday. My daughter's gift to him was this: An incredible home made and decorated cake of exactly what he asked for on it. (it's a video game on his wish list - doesn't come out until the fall so he is wishing far in advance...) It was painful to watch the birthday boy cut into that piece of artwork. But he carefully got exactly the piece he wante...

A little browsing is a good thing, especially over a cup of tea, or coffee, or hot chocolate (depending on when and where you are reading this). So sit back, relax, and take a look at what some Zibbeters have been up to.   Citrine Lampwork Earrings by Zoe Zen's Garden Red Heart Brings Love Scarf by Raige Creations Custom Bee Wooden Letters by Dana Railey Winter Themed His and Hers Hand Towels by POP Embroidery Camouflage Wallet by Breitwork Red Crochet Mary Jane Slippers by Mimi & Colette Satin Spirit Rose Clip by Beautiful Swag Store Pouffy Fun Fingerless Gloves by All About the Buttons Coral and Gold Rose Ornament by Hawks Nest Creations Autumn Harvest Fabric by Alpaca Flats Chocolate Candy Hearts by Red Rose Confections Dantes Colors Hand Dyed Silk Scarf by Dante's Spirit Glass Heart Necklace by Dive Dva Spiral Sun Round Magnet by Breath of the Dragon A very special thank you to Sunfi...

It has been so difficult to get back into the swing of things this New Year. I know it will be a good one if I could just fight the urge to go back to bed! It has been tough being that is has been SO cold. Bed was SO warm. I had decided that when the kids went back to school, well I too would get back to work and get things done again! However, I felt like LadyJ (our dog) looks in this picture:  "Huh? I don't think so! " LadyJ says. Yesterday, the decided day of 'getting back to it', turned out to be a snow day for the kids, and thus we all went back to bed after the school called to say it was closed for that day. This set into motion a nice lazy day for Raige. I mean - in pajamas until early afternoon, and getting dressed involved sweatpants and sweatshirt. I didn't even cook dinner! It was a get your own dinner, which started with candy appetizers. You can imagine this didn't help the "go get 'em" plan. Let me tell you, I wanted t...

I have been hearing this song on the radio lately, and it calms me every time I hear it.   And I was just thinking, as we get closer to the holidays, maybe we should all have this song handy, so we don't give in to the stress of the holiday season. Just a thought. We can all sit back for a minute, while listening to this song, and let our dreams take us..... Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole remains one of the major influences in Hawaiian music today, 14 years after his death.

Wear Sunscreen. Okay, not my words here, they are actually those of Mary Schmich . She wrote them as if she had been asked to give a commencement speech, wanting to share her own " Guide to Life for Graduates ". But i t was Baz Luhrmann 's 1998 remix version that made this popular to a wider audience.  I was past 15 years old by a few years (12) , and I thought (still do think) that these are words of wisdom any 15 year old should heed. I even think it is good for a 27 year old me to heed, as I was one when the song came out. And even today , when I am (ahem) just past middle age, these are words we should hear every so often, to remind ourselves first, how naive were were at 15, and second, remind ourselves that we often take life too seriously.  We should never lose the ability to live, laugh, and love.  So, 15 year old self : read this, and comprehend that someday, when you are 40 with 3 kids and a husband, you can look back on these words and unders...

I want to introduce you to Daresa ,  my favorite charm maker.  Green Rose on Black Toekini's You may know Raige's series of Rose Toekini's,  and the Lucky Bug Toekinis,  Red Lucky Bugs on Black Toekini Blue Faith Toekini's and more recently the Cross Toekini's.  These came to life with the wonderfully creative and exceptionally good quality products of Clay Art by Daresa , and Lucky Bugs Collectibles Shop . I was lucky enough to meet Daresa on Zibbet , and I quickly found she can read my mind.  She is so friendly and sweet, and so ready to tackle whatever idea I have. She always delivers JUST what I had in my mind, and usually even better than what was in my mind. Like these charms. Ask and ye shall receive.... I asked her to make butterfly charms, some kind of sun charm, and a Canada Inspired charm; a special request for a Mom and her little girl.  And just look at the butterflies! "Bootiful" was what the little girl said! H...