Sharing the Laughter ~

"A laugh changes everything, at least for a moment. That's because you can't feel two emotions at once. So do something that makes you laugh, or that makes others laugh. It's the most priceless gift." Author Unknown

I saw the above quote this morning and I believe it's so true. I've also heard that even if you don't feel like it, if you force yourself to smile, it can change your entire mood. Children often illustrate this best with complete abandon and unpretentiousness. So, tonight I'm passing along these infectious smiles! Enjoy!

Paintings by British artist Gerritt Vandersyde

Until next time,

Cindy

 

Cats on Tuesday - Buster, The Story of Me

THE STORY OF ME

Friends, this is true story of how I came to live with Mom, Sam and Rudy. Many years ago when I already a grown man cat, I lost my way. Was very cold outside with ice on ground. I decided I need to find new home quick before I freeze in tracks. I watched Mom for a while. When she carry food bags into house, she leave door open long enough for me to run inside. I see food in bowls on floor, so I help myself.

Mom turned around, saw me and said "Well, where did you come from?" I do lots of loud purrs at this point. She pick me up, making cuddle with me. Two other young kitties already there, so I know this is going to be easy job for me. Mom took me around neighborhood, knocking on doors and saying "is this your cat?"  Everyone say "no, we never saw him before." Then she take me home and say " it's so cold outside...you better sleep here tonight." Next day, she called cat shelter and when no one claim me...I have new home with her and 2 young ones she call Sam and Rudy! Then, she give me new name of Buster.

Soon, I'm right at home, playing with fake mousies, eating good food and sleeping in warm house.

I become boss of young ones and keep them in line by biting their ears. I even train Mom to drip faucet in tub so I have fresh water all the time. Life is good. So, friends, moral of this story is: if you ever lose your way, watch for open door and make new life. This is true story of me.

Until next time,

Buster

For more funny cat stories, visit My Cats and Funny Stories HERE.

Friendship ~

Hello Everyone,

Marcia from In Stillness and Simplicity and Jenny from Jenny's Heart are co-hosting a one-time blog party and giveaway, and the subject is friendship. So, I've created this post to honor all the special friendships we're so blessed with in our lives. It's also Jenny's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!

Confidences by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Hazelnuts: The Nut Gatherers by Adolphe William Bouguereau

Afternoon at the Beach by Diane Leonard

Best of Friends by Vernon Emile

Her Best Friend by Emile Munier

Linking to Jenny's Heart and In Stillness and Simplicity

Also linking to Sarah's Homemaking Weekend Link-Up Party at Hope in Every Season



Windows Around the World ~

"Let there be many windows to your soul, that all the glory of the world may beautify it." Ella Wheeler Wilcox

East Hagbourne, Oxfordshire, England

Glencoe, Scotland

Tuscany, Italy

Granada, Mexico

Paris, France

North Waltham, Hampshire, England

Provence, France

Old windows (and doors) hold a fascinating attraction for me. I love the eclectic architectural elements of windows from around the world. I also think of them as "living art," in that they're a small window into the personalities of the people who live there - or lived there, in the case of a historical home. Which of the above windows appeals most to you? The windows in the little cottage in Hampshire, England is my favorite! This small sampling of windows was found on Google Images. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I did! 

Until next time,

Cindy

Linking to Potpourri Friday at 2805
and linking to What's It Wednesday on Ivy and Elephants

Rudy on Sunlit Sunday

Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow. 

 George F. Will

Linking to Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden

                 Cats on Tuesday at My Cats and Funny Stories

Until next time,

Cindy



Altered Ornament/Tag ~

Hello Everyone,

I'm sharing a quick little art project I made last night. I'm calling it my "Dream of Spring" pink ornament/tag. It started out as a wooden, primitive-style Christmas ornament (below.) My niece had a few of these in a garage sale last summer and I "rescued" them! They're nice as they are...but I knew I'd eventually alter them into something new.

I painted it antique white and covered with scrapbook paper in a pink "old roses" design. Added glitter (of course!) and these cute little polka dot buttons, lace, a paper rose and butterfly sticker. Replaced the black cord with a ribbon to hang it. It's the perfect size to hang from a lampshade, in a window...or it could even be used as a gift tag.

Linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

                  Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

           Homemaking Linkup Weekend at Hope in Every Season
               What's It Wednesday on Ivy and Elephants

Have a good weekend!

Cindy

Versatile Blogger Award!

Hello Everyone,

I was graciously awarded The Versatile Blogger Award by not one - but two awesome bloggers! First, by Janice of Bluebell Woods.  Janice is a new Mum at age 65! Yes, that's correct, as she's recently become the guardian to her great-grandson, Tristen. I know she won't mind that I just told her age - as she has it posted on her blog! :) Janice and I first met on a social networking site for Baby Boomers called "Eons." So, although we've never met in person, we've known each other quite a while "virtually." We're both relatively new at blogging and I invite all my followers to visit her beautiful blog, Bluebell Woods by clicking HERE. Second, I was also awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by Tracey of "Breathing English Air."  Both of these women are from England. Now, I think this is a very good sign for me - Anglophile that I am - that I will, indeed, one day visit England (a dream of mine for many, many years!) Tracey posts beautiful photos on her blog of the English countryside. To visit Tracey's blog, click HERE.

Now, here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:



1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 5 bloggers.

Seven Random Things About Me:
1. I've watched the 1998 movie, "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett over 20 times (see above info about being an Anglophile!)
2. I'm the youngest of four sisters.
3. I've lived in Ohio, California, West Virginia and Texas.
4. I'm 57 years old - for approximately another month!
5. When I was little, I wanted to fly like a bird and would practice by jumping off our front porch, flapping my arms like crazy. Thankfully, I never broke any bones in the process.
6. I've watched the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" since I was a teenager.
7. I don't have children of my own, but have 12 nieces and nephews, and I'm "great-auntie" many times over. I love being an aunt.

The bloggers I'm awarding are:
1. Hope in Every Season
2. Pat's Pink Apron
3. Pink in the City
4. Jenny's Heart
5. Two Cottages and Tea

Cats on Tuesday ~ Happy Valentine's Day!

OMC!! What a handsome man-cat I am! Look at shape of face, long whiskers and fine white bib! I love looking at myself in mirror!

Oh...hello everyone, Today is called Valentine Day. Is day of love when humans give presents to those they love and tell them "I love you" - just like that - and everyone get hugs and big kisses. Cats can give Valentine Day presents, too. I think this very good present for our Mom. What do you think?

Friends, if you looking for present for your pawrents, this website have good ones for all cat lovers. They don't take too many of your dollars either. This picture is one of my favorites. MOL!!

Click HERE to visit website cafepress.com cat page.

Now here is present for you.

We love you, Blogging Friends!

Happy Valentine Day!

From Buster, Sam and Rudy

For more funny cat stories, visit Gatinna's blog, My Cats and Funny Stories: HERE.

Author Interview with Sunny Lockwood

Hello Everyone,
Happy Valentine's Day! Here on "Art, Books, Tea," I've decided to start a new feature of author interviews. My first interview is with author, blogger and newspaper writer, Sunny Lockwood, whose ebook "Shades of Love, Stories From the Heart" is available on Amazon.com. Just in time for Valentine's Day, Sunny is offering the book for only .99! It would make a great gift for your loved ones - or a treat for yourself! If you don't have a Kindle, or other e-reader, no problem. You can read them right on your computer by downloading a free app from Amazon by clicking HERE.  Now, on with the interview!  

Q: Where do you live?

A. I live with my husband in the Gold Rush foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in north-central California. We have 22 acres that look out (this time of year) on the snowy peaks of the high Sierra.

 

 

Q. Did you always want to be a writer?

A. I've always liked reading. My mother read to me when I was too young to read to myself. As soon as I could read, I was taking out stacks of books from the library.  One day when I was about 15 years old, I was in the city library, just wandering among the stacks of books and my eye came upon a little orange hard-back book with the title: How to write and sell fact and fiction. Until that moment I'd never thought much about writing as an occupation. But the moment I realized people actually got paid to write, I started writing and sending my work off. Within a year I was being published. There's something pretty affirming about receiving a check for a story or article that you've researched and written. My work has been published in Good Housekeeping, Ms, New Woman, Self, The Chronicle of Higher Education and numerous smaller magazines and dozens of newspapers up and down the West Coast. And now I'm publishing on the Internet. And meeting all kinds of interesting writers and readers. How wonderful is that!

Q. What inspired you to write Shades of Love, Stories From the Heart?

A. I put together this ebook as an experiment. I wanted to see if I could do a book of short stories that people would like to read. I've made a living writing nonfiction..and this was sort of an exciting step away from that and into the creativity of fiction. The book has received such heart-warming reviews & comments from readers that I'm thrilled!

Q. How did you come up with the title?

A. Each story in the collection is significantly different from all the others. There's a story about a lonely career woman seeking love, a story about a domineering mother and her shy daughter and their boundary issues, a story about a long marriage that is coming to an end, a story about a settled and loving marriage and so on. And the core of each story is love...how love works out the challenges life presents. So as I tried to come up with a title that indicated both the variety of stories and the common theme of them all, I thought "Shades of Love" was perfect. But then I wanted people to know it was a short-story collection, not a novel, so I added the subtitle "stories from the heart."

Q. Who are some of your favorite authors?

A. I have oodles. I think Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of the finest writers of the 20th Century. Although her books are considered children's books..they are fascinating and educational for anyone who dips into them. I love the work of Loren Eiseley and Carl Sagan and Rachel Carson (although they're all non fiction writers). For short stories, I love Flannery O'Connor, D. H. Lawrence and Katherine Anne Porter. For more contemporary writers, my husband and I have enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith, Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Lamott. In my early adulthood, I was very inspired by the Irish writer George Target. He lived in England, wrote for the BBC & he wrote novels that were published in the UK. He liked my writing a lot and we carried on quite a lively correspondence for a few brief years (before he died). His encouragement went a long way in helping me develop my work.

Thank you very much, Sunny, for this interview! To visit Sunny Lockwood's website, click HERE. To order her book, "Shades of Love, Stories From the Heart," click on the book icon below.

Until next time,

Cindy
Linking to the special Valentine's Day Pink Saturday on How Sweet the Sound!
                                and A Woman Thing: The Link Party at Whimsical Musings!

Cats on Tuesday ~ Rudy's Update

Please...do not disturb me. I'm meditating...Om...Ommm...

Hello friends, 
Rudy here. I am spokescat for this week - Buster too busy doing he daily meditations. I have to tell you about something - I been getting irritated at Mom lately because she keep trying to comb through my fur. I try to take comb thingy away from her and bite it!

Doesn't she know kitties clean their own fur? I don't need comb!! She say it will make me more handsome! I think I handsome enough already, don't you? Here I am:

Ok, let's see what other kitties are doing. Sam sleeping...as usual. Sam, wake up...oh, Sammy...wake up, Mom got fresh chicken for us. Me and Buster eat it all if you don't wake up!!

Oh well, I tried! He still sleeping...now, let's go see if Buster finish with meditations...

Omm...Ommm...

No...not yet. He must have lots of stresses to be meditating so long. He probably meditating on that fresh chicken in fridge! MOL!!  Well, friends, it's been nice visiting with you. See you next time,

Rudy

For more funny cat stories, click HERE to visit Gattina's blog My Cats and Funny Stories.

Polka Dots and Cherry Blossoms ~

Who are these beautiful young girls? They're my grandnieces! From the left; Lauren, Katelynn and Carmen. Lauren and Katelynn are sisters and Carmen is their cousin. I love their matching pink polka dot dresses!!

We're still having plenty of sunshine and above normal temperatures. I've never experienced a February like this in northern Ohio before, and I'm not complaining! It has me thinking of flowering trees and all the gorgeous pink blossoms and flowers to come. Spring is my favorite season...until autumn arrives - then that's my favorite season! Nothing says spring like cherry blossoms!

All images of cherry blossoms: Wikipedia Images

Until next time,

Cindy

Update: The morning after I wrote this post, I awoke to this (unpredicted) snowfall!!

Linking to Pink Saturday on How Sweet the Sound