Raige Creations

photo courtesy of google.ca When life is hard you have to change.                                      ~Blind Melon At this point, one door must close before another can open.  Today marks a huge change for me.  Blue Rage of Asheville will be moving out of it's location downtown, and today is the last full day of business there. W e will continue our website, and plan the best future for the business.  After months of saying 'there's got to be a better way', I am finally on the way to that better way. As hard as it is, if I didn't believe in the change, I wouldn't be able to accept the change. And I am looking forward to the change. Better things are ahead. photo courtesy of Pinterest Don't be afraid of change. It is how we grow, it is how we live.  When the winds of change blow,  some people build walls,  and others build wi...

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...

Move Along ~ great advice for a Monday morning! photo courtesy of Lyrics Pond We all have times that we need this extra push. The reminder to move along. This video is fun to watch with a cup of coffee too. I love the expressions on the lead singer 's face through each scenario. A great little ditty by the All American Rejects to get us all moving. photo courtesy of Fanpop Perhaps it's a good thing when this is the song in your head at 7am. on a Monday. Especially after working all weekend, and the weeks ahead are already full of loads to do. It sure does get you moving, and gives a positive vibe to the day.  This comes at a time when big changes are ahead for me. I am moving along myself, changes at my downtown shop are afoot, and this reminder is perfect to get me through. photo courtesy of Shirtoid When we find it hard to continue, we just have to move along, be strong, and make it through. Better things are sure to be ahead. All you'...

Sometimes the clouds give us peace and clarity.  A cloud happened to pass right through us while we were at the summit of Craggy Pinnacle the other day . The quiet peace at the top of a mountain with the clouds all around is a moment where I found peace, and clarity.  You are quite encased, enclosed, just you and your head. The other clutter is not there, you are free to find out where you really are, and where you really want to be. It is often a moment that passes far too fast.  Don't ever worry of being accused of having your head in the clouds - it is an experience we all should enjoy as much as possible.  After all, Thoreau was onto something. The atmosphere below the clouds is not always paradise ~ the clouds can offer us insight we can achieve no other way.  Have you ever enjoyed your head in the clouds?

When a young girl in Africa heard that her teacher would be leaving their village, she wanted to give her a special gift.  The girl didn't have any money to buy a present for her teacher, but finally she decided what she would do.   The Long Walk photo: Raige Creations at Craggy Pinnacle She was gone for two days and when she returned she was carrying the most exquisite shell anyone in her village had ever seen. Her teacher was amazed.  "Where did you get this?" she asked. The child told her that such shells were found only on a certain faraway beach. The teacher was deeply touched, because she knew that the girl had walked many miles to find the shell. "You shouldn't have traveled so far just to find a gift for me," she said. The girl smiled and explained, "The long walk is part of the gift." The Tree and the Rock photo:  Raige Creations  at  Craggy Pinnacle It is an old story, one I read probably 30 years ago in Reader's Dig...

This song came up over dinner. It is funny how slight word combinations can bring up songs, and then dinner takes a turn.  It happened something like this: I had picked up some macaroni and cheese from the deli at the grocery store for dinner.  (I made a kick-butt Kung-Pao Chicken last night and didn't have the gumption to be too creative for dinner tonight. Thus, it was grocery store deli dinner night) This mac-n-cheese was loaded. It had ham and broccoli in it, which sounded like it would be a hit. But when my son was coerced into trying some, he picked through it to find just the broccoli.  Mind you, the broccoli was well mixed in, and therefore appeared as little green dots throughout the mac-n-cheese. Once in a while, you would get a big chunk of it, but mostly it appeared as little tiny specks.  We knew he loved broccoli, and ham. So we were teasing him for picking through the dish to find the tiny specks of broccoli, and saying after each bite e...

For me, it is hard to find a good recipe I can follow directly. I scoured the internet for chicken and dumpling recipes, but wasn't satisfied with any I found. For one, hubby can't have milk or cream, so that ruled out half of them. Second, I didn't happen to have any biscuit mix and I wasn't about to go to the store at 7:30am to get some. Besides, growing up in the 1970's I have had my fill of Bisquick . (my mother didn't use flour at all that I can remember, only Bisquick .) So I found if I took ideas from these recipes, and tweaked them to suit our needs and tastes, I could create my own perfect homestyle meal, and make my own comfort food recipe.  I love slow cooker meals ( I have raved about them before ). There is nothing better than coming home from work with dinner ready. No stress for me and a wonderful meal to enjoy with the family.  For this meal you will need: Big Ass Chicken One whole Chicken (I got a big ass chicken from Sams Club) salt ...

My daughter is so sweet and thoughtful. When back to school shopping she insisted on buying me a journal. Out of the blue! She brought me over to the journal section in the book store and asked which one I liked. I thought she was getting one for herself. "Well you have to pick honey, it's up to you" , I said.  She said, "No I want you to pick!"   " Why?" I asked.  "Well, I want to get one for you" , she said.  I was confused. " Uh, why?"   Why did I need a journal???  She said, " For you to write in. You want to start writing, Mom, so this will help you.  It will help you write, you can put quotes in there too, and get your ideas down." I mumble...and say "But I write on the computer" ....and she rolls her eyes. She continues, with a hint of disappointment  "I thought sometimes I could write quotes in there too, and you can bring this with you anywhere, and it's pretty isn't it?"   ...

It was time.  I was ready.  Time for change, time for a more focused direction, and I am ready to introduce... Not a different direction really. It is one I have been going for a while now.  As I was growing my other businesses, I was wishing more and more that I could write, share my motivations and insights that I have learned along the way.  Well, the time has come, and my opportunities are changing to allow me to give a more serious effort to writing, blogging, and creating in many different ways.  So I have focused this blog, and my facebook and google pages, to be the Thoughts of Raige; views of life, motivation, and creation. Basically what I have been doing all along, I just didn't realize that the look of my blog had been outdated for quite some time. I will still be selling my creations, as Raige Creations (on Artfire and Zibbet , plus Vintage Rage on Zibbet ), sharing my motivations, getting through life's highs and lows...

via weheartit.com This phrase was muttered to me last Friday by my Dear Hubby:  'Where is the Love?' Of course, this beautiful song by the Black Eyed Peas   (this was  their first hit ) popped into my head. I had missed a call from hubby because I was on the phone with my oldest son. He had called me from college to let me know he had received the package I had sent him.  Hubby said "Why'd he call you? What about me?" Poor hubby felt what I am sure every father feels at one time or another. Mom gets all the love. We were just discussing this fact while watching football the night before. It is most evident with sport stars, who always buy their mothers houses, cars, and say 'HI' to Mom at the camera.  Apparently Dad's start to feel unloved! Where IS the love for the Dads? (And yes, I picked hubby's least favorite QB for this fine example. Sorry hun.) What hubby forgets is that he and my ...

There IS time, you can find it. Be it a small amount in between other things, or an entire afternoon. Find it. It is there.  Thanks to Namaste Cafe , where I get daily inspiration on FB .

Remember ~ you are. 

Here I am, trying again to get back to working out.  To say the least, my workouts have been sporadic. I try, I get out for one walk, then don't again for a week, then two walks with a little running, then nothing.  But I am trying again. Since it is the beginning of a new month, I am trying to keep track, and be more consistent.  Here are my recent workouts. It looks a little scant, there in the line graph. And yes, the previous workout was 2 weeks prior.  But here I am, now with 2 workouts in one week, and now that I am sharing, well if I don't keep at it you all will notice. Plus, today I ran for almost 2 songs, and walked the rest. A little bit more each time.  Whether you like it or not, I am making myself accountable, and will be sharing with you, my new (perhaps unwilling) workout buddies. I will record, share, and hope to make some progress this time. I am trying again. After all, the true failure is not trying.  Plus, seeing ...

A beautiful thing happened this past weekend. I spent a wonderful amount of time with family, and even connected deeper with a new friend. I have started to let the stresses go, tho they do pop up, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel (though it is still quite far away). I have begun to deeply appreciate each moment I feel my future coming into place.  As the lyrics say.... Love is in the water, love is in the air.... Heaven let your light shine on me I'm gonna let it shine It's gonna shine on I am also still loving the new radio station, where I get to hear great songs from back when my life WAS more simple, and less stressful. I strive to get back to a more simple life, where I can enjoy the shine! The song ends with a beautiful suggestion - Well come on and shine. So it's a perfect way to start the week. Shining!  Shine on.