Still I Rise

I’m reading a fascinating book at the moment by Dr. Susan Forward and Joan Torres, written way back in 1988 on the subject of mental, emotional and physical abuse. The men who do it and the women who love them. Although this book is aimed at women I know just as many men that suffer at the hands of women, who do virtually the same thing. It’s an emotional journey reading some of the case studies and the verbalisation that these men inflict on their partners to gain control. Quite an eye opener and hopefully it will prevent me from being attracted to this kind of man again.
It took me way back to a piece of work that I did when I first opened the studio in Darlington in 1999. The old studio had the ability to attract people in need of some sort of shoulder to lean on or someone to listen while they one after the other spilled their life stories. I am not a trained counsellor, nor would I want to be, but I have always had time and patience for those in need and I’m there with either the tissues or the cuppa or even a bed for the night.

It was a warm day and the woman fell into the studio in just this way. She looked bewildered, lost and in pain. She stood there (as did many) and shouted out that she could feel waves of energy running up her legs. She said she had never felt this before. We got her a chair, made her a cuppa and started to chat. She had no idea what I did in the studio as I worked upstairs, but as her story unfolded I listened to tell the about the most horrendous acts of mental and physical abuse that I had ever heard. She wept buckets and as the story went on I felt for a woman who was feeling the pain herself so badly, but this was not happening to her, it was happening to her daughter. A mothers pain and anguish that only another mother could understand. Eventually the tears dried up. Her daughter had found the courage to leave this poor excuse for a man (if he could call himself that) and she wanted something for her daughters new house that would give her strength to get over the suffering she had endured. I hugged her and told her to go away and have a think and the hugs and coffees were free at any time.

She returned a few days later, looking 10 years younger and this is what she gave me to write out:

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom? '
Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard '
Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

It was a huge piece of work. I never got a photograph of it but I did take a print done by a local architect with a scanner and printer large enough to take it.

I really must make an effort to do this piece again and donate copies to Women’s Centres around the country. So many people stay in abusive relationship, thinking that they can make things alright. The tactics used can take many years to heal…. Some never do. A couple of years later and just before I left Darlington, the lady turned up again. Her daughter was fine, had met an amazing guy who put her first, spent many hours building her confidence back up and they were expecting their first child. It just goes to show what is possible with the right man (or woman) behind you. In the wrong hands your life can be fatal!

With love to all victims of abuse and lighting a candle to give you strength to leave it behind and face the future with courage and strength. xxx

Remember - People who use abuse, verbal, emotional, mental or physical are insecure and the only way they can feel important and feed their own ego's is to try to control you and the way you behave. You are not alone. Many of us have fallen victim to this at some time in our lives. Do not feel isolated and do not be intimidated. If you would like the title of the book then please send me a private email where I will be happy to help. Email me at: opalsky2001 (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk
It was printed in 1988 but I'm sure you would still be able to get a copy even if only from the library. I got mine second had and totally a coincidence - I certainly wasn't looking for it. Funny how these things fond you sometimes.

My 2009 Wish List

I didn't publish this at the beginning of the year.... but want to share it with you. for all those sceptic that don't believe in what you get is equal to what you put out there....take a look at this. The list consists of some (would prefer to keep a couple private - you never know who's reading this blog - lol) but the ones highlighted in red are the ones that have happened already and the ones in green are semi sorted so far! Ahhhh the joys of positive thinking.

1) Grow my own veg - YEAH! I heard last weekend that me and 4 friends with the same idea have been given a plot FOUR the size of the ground floor area of my house! And all for FREE! We have a couple of strong, fit, guys who are part of this group and who are willing and keen to do the heaviest work, then we're ready to go! We plan to grow organicallyy and as naturally as possible, Should keep me busy!

2) Find and Join 3 local, social networking groups to meet people with the same outlook and interests in life - Well, I;ve joined 2 which fell at my feet, didn't need to look for them. First meeting next month and a lovely guy has given me his mobile in case I get lost - lol

3) Travel Alone more often - One of the greatest difficulties when you loose your sight is the need to have to rely on people. Your self esteem and self confidence takes a sever bashing. Only by facing our fears can we conquer them. Many people do not drive, so I am not alone there, but I really would like to be at least confident enough to go places alone if necessary. Although I still believe that things are better done in two's or as a group. Hopefully my meeting with one of the groups listed in no. 2 above will see me beating this fear.

4) Visit Glastonbury, my spiritual home at least twice this year.
Well already got a visit planned in the near future with a friend who has never been there and is keen to take me there. I'm sure we'll both get a lot out of the experience :o)

5) Reconnect with old friends - How easy we loose touch when in a relationship and focus on that as the most important thing. Ironic, but these people have contacted me, totally out of the blue - It's good to hear from them again, proving that while our lives take very separate paths sometimes, true friends are there for life. We have basically reconnected where we left off. Great news!

6) To decorate the house and shift the crap -I need to have a grand clear out of things from my past lives. At the end of any relationship there are reminders that need to go to make way for the new. I don't want someone elses clutter, clogging up my home and my spirit! Photos, gifts and reminders have to go. I'm on my way with this one. Bad chi in my book!

And I have had offers of help on this one. I used to love decorating, but poor vision makes it impossible to paint without catching the ceiling and skirting boards. I've got help whenever I need it so I figure if I paint the walls myself, then someone will come and do the glossing.

7) Hold an exhibition -

8) Gain 3 new outlets for my work - Well I've got 1

9) Live a more Eco-Friendly and natural way of life, therefor being true to my Pagan Path - This will probably now fit in with my Organic Gardening bit and other projects in the pipeline.
Surely this is what being a Pagan really is? Well, I think so.

10) Make 3 new friends - Well I've made 2 new friends already. we'll have to see how many more come along. I'm a sociable person so people are important to me. My belief is there's no such thing as too many friends but to have a friend you have to be one!

The other wishes are private, and just between me and my closest friends. If I can achieve half the things I set out for this year I will consider it a job well done. Seems like I'm well on the way!

At the moment I feel like I've got a spring in my step, more energy than ever before and more time and freedom to do the things I truly want to do. My focus is on my business and my life....and I'm loving every minute of it. I feel a buzz in the air and it's not even Spring yet! Bring it on!

Invitation to The Fourth Annual Brigid in the Blogosphere Poetry Slam

To buy this print click on the link http://www.enchantedtattoos.com/artist.php?category=56

What a beautiful painting!

Think I may just have to treat myself.

I found the following on Moonroots Blog. What a great idea! I'm up for it!

Moonroot says:

Feel free to copy the following to your blog and spread the word. Let poetry bless the blogosphere once again!

WHAT: A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2009

WHERE: Your blog

WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Brigid, aka Groundhog Day
HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.

RSVP: If you plan to publish, feel free to leave a comment and link on this post, where the Slam originated. Or link to whoever you hear about this from and a mighty web of poetry will be spun.

Feel free to pass this invitation on to any and all bloggers. Thanks to Reya, who began what is now an annual event, and Deborah Oak for continuing it.

Blindness Cure in Sight?

Loosing your sight is probably one of the most devastating things to come to terms with., both on a practical and emotional level. I was however heartened by this report found on the http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090119/tuk-trial-seeks-blindness-cure-scientist-a7ad41d.html website.

British scientists will soon begin trialling a cutting-edge treatment using adult stem cells that could help cure certain types of blindness, they announced Monday. The two-year trial, to be conducted at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh and the Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow, will begin this month and involve 20 patients with corneal blindness. The treatment being used involves using the stem cells of dead adult donors, rather than the more controversial research involving embryonic stem cells, and if successful could help millions of people around the world who suffer from corneal blindness, around 80 percent of whom are elderly. As part of the process, adult stem cells are cultivated and then transplanted onto the cornea's surface. "This study is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and it is exciting to be involved in such groundbreaking work," said Professor Bal Dhillon, who is heading the trial. "I probably see two or three new cases of corneal disease every month. On a larger scale, it's a significant problem." A similar study by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States last year found that people with inherited blindness saw dramatic improvements in their vision when a corrective gene was injected into their eyes. Scientists believe stem cells, which are capable of developing into almost every tissue of the body, could prove key in finding a cure for a number of serious diseases, including also diabetes and cancer.

It won't cure me and my condition, but offers hope to those who have corneal blindness.. Excellent news!

The 3rd runway has been approved - Fight it!

The 3rd runway has been approved for Heathrow. Once again this damn Government has disregarded the protests of people from all around the world and especially in the UK and done whatever it wants to do....it's going ahead regardless! Well, we'll see. If it does go ahead, it's not going ahead without a fight!
Not only will a whole village be flattened and people loose their homes, but also the graveyard will be buried under a mound of concrete. this is not some old, disused graveyard...one guy on the video only buried hos wife at the end of last year!

Please watch the video here

Looks like the residents of Sipson are not going down without a fight, and you have many more people on your side! One things for sure, I PREDICT A RIOT! It's waaayyy too long since I got involved with serious campaigns, perhaps it's time to get off my butt and get active again!

Mr. Brown you have put the final nail in your coffin. Your so called GREEN Policies stink! You care not a jot for people and the land we live on. The sooner you are out and a REAL green government comes in the better! Heathrow will be the largest producer of CO2 em missions in the UK! Mr. Brown you idiot, YOU ARE POISONING OUR PLANET, OUR KIDS and FUTURE GENERATIONS! Wake up and smell the coffee!
Don't worry about people loosing their homes, village life or the desecration of graves and the fact that you are polluting the planet to death....yeah just think of the money and how many more planes will land - GET A GRIP!

Subscribe to Greenpeace (it's FREE) for updates and details of how you can help. Think of your children and your children's children!

And lobby your local MP. speak up and be counted, it's your human right! Grrrr can you tell I'm steaming????

OK.... jumping off my soapbox to go and do something a little more sedate....off to do a little more digging in my wonderful garden, while the sun shines. I need to connect with the Goddess!

More Synchronicity

Ho hum....seems like Me and Mr. Carr-Goom are working in synchronicity again when I blogged this long blog here on 13th January, and he blogged this on the 17th here. seems a lot of us are thinking on the same lines again. I'm really think that facing a life threatening or altering situation is a good thing to make us change perspective, realise just what is REALLY important, and helps us perhaps take more risks. Most of us think we will live forever and are always putting things off thinking we have plenty of time to do the things that really matter to us. I would not ask people what they would change if they only had a year to live, I would perhaps give them a time of 3 months, that would spur people into action a lot more quickly and things would perhaps become more urgent, perhaps we would not so readily sweat the small stuff!
What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?

And I just love the post by Violette about The Good Wolf and the Bad Wolf, you can read it at this link http://www.violette.ca/blog.html scroll down till you see the heading 'good Wolf, Bad Wolf'

Following is the reply I sent her and my advice....

Hi you glittery people….my 2 penneth worth (or should that now be Euros? – whatever)

WARNING THIS POST IS LONG – And MAY damage your health! At the very least you’ll be as mad as me!
Welcome to my world. hehehe

Great idea to call our two sides Good Wolf, Bad Wolf…Oh I do like that Violette – lol

News, we are bombarded with bad news from all directions. TV, Newspapers and Radio, sometimes seems the world is obsessed and where I think we should be kept ‘aware’ of things (caused usually by power crazed governments and religious leaders) we really should not dwell on them too much. Every now and then I want to run to the hills, live in a cave and come out only when the world seems a bit more sensible. Times are changing. No longer are we stupid enough to swallow these so called ‘leaders’ crap. But put another way, you have to also realise that ‘you’ are not the world. You are you and each and every one of us, I believe can make a difference, just by being ourselves, a little mad, a little crazy, but WE still know how to laugh when it matters, and empathise and sympathies when it matters. What IS important is that we build up a network of supportive people, who will gee us up when we need it and catch us when we fall. The world problems can only be solved one person at a time. What is important is that we realise that we as artists and creative people are probably more sensitive than your average man on the street.
And, I’ve been thinking, if you believe in collective consciousness, then surely putting out negative vibes can just as easily affect the vibration of the earth and this is easily done by the fear caused by the press and the media drip feeding us this rubbish! We should campaign for the right to have only good news! But then as they say, only bad news sells, no wonder the world is in the state it’s in.

PHEW! Have I got a lot to get off my chest girls lol.
Anyway, my advice is – If all else fails and your Bad Wolf is coming out do one of two things.
1) Roll on your back with your arms and legs waving in the airs and scream out – Arrrggghhhh stop the world I wanna get off! (I did this outside my studio once -the lads in the garage next door thought I was having a breakdown – But hey who cares lol)
2) Or the second idea – ala Jack Canfield – Throw your arms up in the air, lean back in your chair, throw your head back and shout – Ohhhh whaaaat the helll!
Try it – it works honestly.

I’m sure I posted on my blog this year on this very same subject.

and anyone who knows me will verify that YES, I really HAVE been known to roll on my back, with my hands and arms in the air, screaming and kicking and shouting...
Arrrrggghhh STOP the world I wanna get off! Great for stress relief when thing get too much....Try it...you 'might' just like it!

OK...It's lvery ate.... and my new feather duvet awaits....so this sleepy Pixie is off to bed.
In love, light and all good thoughts xxx

Amazing People -Part 1- Martin J. Allen Botanical Artist

In my L O N G blog from last night I was telling you of the people who have some back into my life...people from the past. I was overjoyed when one of those friends paid me a surprise visit to the studio last week. We had a lot of catching up to do! I met Bev....oh must have been almost 20 years ago now....although neither of us would like to admit it. Anyway, we went on a Botanical Illustration course together run by a guy who also turned out to be close to me called Colin Swinton. I went to prove I couldn't paint or draw and actually turned out something that I could hardly believe was mine. Anyway, another chap went on his course called Martin J. Allen. Martin was ill at the time with M.E. and really didn't know if he would manage the two days course. He did, and between bouts of being ill, he painted. He went on to submit work in the R.H.S. show of his paintings and won a Gold Medal! Anyway, I asked Bev how he was doing and he's just put on an exhibition and just to show you how absolutely fantastic this guy is go to his website at

http://www.martinjallen.com/pageID_3967352.html

to see how truly amazing these paintings are go to this link here http://www.martinjallen.com/pageID_3967355.html How anyone can paint in 3 dimensions like this, i'll never know!

Quite by accident I came across this piece of work that I had done some years before. It's a quotation by Georgia O'Keeffe the famous flower painter that painted larger than life flowers, which made you feel oh so small. Sadly she died in 1986 aged 99. The quotation reads:

Nobody sees a flower, really,

it is so small. We haven't time -

and to see takes time

like to have a friend takes time.

The quotations continues:

If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself - I'll paint what I see - what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers. ...Well, I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower - and I don't.

I've seen Georgia's work and I have seen Martins catalogue. The catalogue does not do the paintings justice. You can see every little hair on the flower. The painting takes your eyes into the very core of the flower. The picture is in sharp and soft focus as if it has been taken with a camera. Amazing!

2 very different painter with 2 very different styles, but both with the ability to make you connect with nature in a way you never thought possible. Well done Martin! I hope your exhibition is a sell out and I know how very hard you have struggled against your illness to overcome and achieve what you have today! Your a star!

By the way folks, the paintings are selling fast so get your orders in!

Own Some Land - Sign Up Now

Whhheeeyyyy heyyyy! Want to know more?
Click here to go to the Greenpeace Site
and see how you can own some too!

Thank you Ceri and Mrs. Compostbin for pointing me to this cause....now if we girls get together I'm sure there will be enough room for my bell tent. you girls up for it? It's a L-O-N-G time since my activist days! lol

Please everyone, do your bit. Sign the petitions, get involved in your local group and please lobby your MP! The idiots want to cut down on carbon emissions and are taxing everyone left, right and centre....THEN agreeing to more runways!!!! Huh??? Hello you brainless morons that call yourself politicians it;s NOT rocket science is it? Lobby those people who are there to listen to your views and represent your opinions. DO IT NOW!

What is this life if full of care, I have no time to stand and stare - Words of Wisdom

Much of what we see,

depends on what we are looking for

This X is the sign of Gyfu

the meaning of which can be found at

http://www.mystic-mouse.co.uk/Runes/Gebo.htm

Is it any wonder it is used as a sign of the kiss?

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago at the start of the New Year and there was not just one but several of these cross signs in the sky!

It never ceases to amaze me about the enormous amount of synchronicity that happens in my life. How easily one thing can lead to another, one chance meeting or event can lead you in a certain direction, which could not have been planned if you tried. I believe that all events and meeting with people happen for a reason. Perhaps it’s to learn something from that experience or person, sometimes it’s to lead you down a different path than the one you are taking. Events no matter how tragic and hopeless at the time can end up being the start of something very big and important in your life.
Do you ever pan right back in your past and think about what has led you to where you are today? How different your life would have been without that synchronicity?

Often I sit and muse about my past and realise that an amazing chain of events led me to where I am today, despite life’s trials and tribulations. We just have to be open to the signs and go with the flow, fighting against something may be the worst decision of your life. This may be your moment for a miracle!

24 years ago now I was diagnosed with Cancer of the cervix. For 3 years the hospital did nothing, telling me it was only slight changes and nothing to worry about. 3 years later they had to admit they made a mistake and I was at the stage of CIN3. They wanted to give me a hysterectomy, I refused, I had a young son and although I didn’t want any more children I wasn’t going under the knife without a fight and ONLY as a last resort. The hospital told me it was a stupid decision and I should reconsider. I compromised and told them that I would do it my way for a year, then I would hand over to them. I went to the library and became obsessed with alternative medicines and therapies. I read a book by the title of ‘Does your diet cure cancer’. I turned vegetarian, fed myself a cocktail of vitamins and minerals, took Bach Flower Remedies (which I still swear by today) and hit the self help section in the book store. I was treating not only my body but my mind. It was then that I became interested in my thought process and thinking patterns that had shaped my life up until that point. I learnt about myself, my actions and reactions to things around me. I had to look at how I verbalised my feelings to others, and how I reacted to what they said to me. From there I looked into Buddhism, philosophy and psychology.

I then decided that if I was going to die I may as well do what I wanted to and take more risks in life, and although I am a pragmatist at heart, I still to this day take risks (probably a little more subtle these days), but anyway, I took out a bank loan and started my own business, never thinking I would be around long enough to pay the darn thing off!!!!
(For the record, a year later and with the minimal treatment I was given the all clear and the hospital had to eat their words!)
I took up Quilling and was one of one 3 suppliers of the cut paper in the country. I needed a job that would fit around my sons schooling and started to teach at the local college. It was only when I was asked to teach ‘Quilling’ at my local college the following September and everyone turned up with a pen! Did I take up calligraphy? I basically taught myself out of books all week, top teach the 2 hours a week on an evening. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing, but the students were patent and were adamant that they didn’t want to play with rolled up strip[s of paper called Quilling, they wanted to write! I didn’t know then that it would take me many hours and the next 10 years of my life to actually be anywhere near good at it, and probably if I knew that I wouldn’t have even started.
And can I just add here (for those who are still awake! Lol) if you’re one of those who don’t believe in synchronicity, then how do you explain it when you suddenly get someone in your head and then the phone rings and it’s that person? Possibly someone you haven’t thought about or seen for some years? Or a though comes to you, quite out of the blue and just won’t leave….then something happens that gives you the AHA factor. Quite different to coincidence. When and where and how to so see those signs and symbols?

Strangely enough it took another major health scare to drive me into action again, this time it was to be the loss of my centre vision in one of my eyes which was to propel me into starting my own business again. I decided that time was short and I had nothing to loose but everything to regret if I didn’t use the sight I had and create as much as I could while my other eye was ok. I worked with one ‘good’ eye, 3 days before I opened my new studio I had bleeds on the back of my good eye which made me loose the centre vision in that eye too, although not to the extent of the other. I (somehow – and sometimes with greater difficulty than I care to admit) manage to work with high powered magnification, really frustrating at times when you need to get close to your work and can’t because your fat head is in the way! And there are lots of things I can no longer do. I used to love Gilding and painting, I’m not an artist but could trace and paint if I put my mind to it. Now I can’t paint between 2 lines to save my life! But hey… never say never. Now crazy that this might sound (and its ok to be a crazy thinking when you are an artist – it’s what makes us creative!) but had I never had the cancer I would not be doing what I am doing today and probably on the job scrap heap for the rest of my life (my eyes are really not much use in the conventional world). Yikes! Can you imagine I would actually have to be really good at housework or something like that! The many Philosophers, who’s books I read and words of wisdom gave me hope during my darkest times have put me on my spiritual path and are the life blood of my business, as well as making me the person I am today. How crazy is life?
This year so far has been very odd for me and what I believe in. I have had no less that 6 people come back into my life from waaaayyy back. Then I’ve found work in the studio that I had totally forgotten about….again from waaaayyy back. And there are amazing amounts of stuff going on, like it’s all part of the past and has to be brought to the future. Don’t understand this right now, but I will, things just take time to germinate. Everything becomes clear eventually. If you’re following a road and it happens to be the wrong one, something will happen to make you stop and think. Try to over analyse it and you’re on a looser. Just go with it. Ignore it and sure as eggs is eggs something will happen so big you can’t avoid noticing it.

I have said that I don’t make New Year Resolutions. These are something you need to give up. I make wishes to myself. I write them down and practically forget about them. I’m usually amazed by the end of the year how near I am to achieving what I set out for the year, and this is without setting check list and going back over them. If you have read The Secret or The Laws of Attraction, it’s that kind of thing without bombarding yourself with the whys and wherefores. Some of us have been doing this for years…. We just never thought of writing a $1,000,000 best seller!!!!
Anyway, the point of this blog posting is never to give up your dreams. Take more risks, your time on earth is short. Create Art – EVERYONE is creative! Don’t sweat the small stuff. Change what you can and leave the rest alone, it will take care of itself. Be strong, knowing that you are the best person you can be. Above all, just do it now, it’s no good sitting in your rocking chair ‘wishing’ you had done things differently.

I am told that the best bloggers keep on topic and to decide what my blog is about. Is it about my work, my spiritually, my beliefs, animals, nature, philosophy???? Well I hope the above has explained that it's really hard to define where one part of my life starts and the other ends. The above makes up the whole of me. So I guess that this blog is just about that....me, myself and I. A human being with human feelings. It's my opinion that people will only read what they want to read, the decision to turn off and tune out is entirely their decision and nothing is against their free will.

In love and light and brightest blessings,

Sue xxx

New Year, New Start and Woes

Well, I seem to be just about back in the stride of things at the studio. I was really ill during Christmas and New Year with this wretched flu that seems to have hit almost everyone in the UK. I never really get ill, but everyone was forbidden to come and see me as I didn’t want to pass it on! Ironic really, I live alone and work alone and managed to avoid it, 2 days Christmas shopping and I went down like a ton of bricks, that’s what happens when people who are ill decide to fight on. However, there are always plus points to life’s downers, and it gave me plenty of time to rest, put my feet up and think about the year ahead.
I have made plans both for myself and my business and we will see what happens on that front. Work seems to be picking up nicely and hopefully this year will be a good one.
T and I finally ended the relationship at the beginning of December. After trying for a year and a half after his initial walk out I realised that there was not enough room in his life for me and I really need someone who at least is a big part of my life, not someone who steps in and out at will. In hindsight we are very different people and it’s not fair on either of us to try to fit in with someone who is quite different. Isn't it strange that you can think someone is so perfect for you and then things can turn out quite the opposite. Perhaps we go into a relationship seeing what we want to see and then as time goes on see things as they really are. Ah well, all part of life's learning curve, and we learn more from our failures than we can ever learn from our successes. It's all part of the 'Mystery'.

I had planned to go into the studio between Christmas and New Year to make my sons Wedding Invitations, but could hardly find the energy to get off the settee so I started them this week…..here are the photos……

Envelopes and Invites

Outside detail

Inside detail


Invite and RSVP Card

The only real downer this year is that my Website, which T spent so much time and energy building is due to run out and as I haven’t got the passwords and haven’t the first idea on how to go about renewals etc. it looks like I will disappear. Unfortunately T decided that there was no point in staying friends, so can’t even ring him to ask for help. that's what happen when you don't do something yourself. Hopefully a meeting with my business advisor will come up with some bright ideas, even if I have to pay for it.
Such is life, lol.

But if anyone has any wise suggestions as to self build sites that are user friendly, I would very much appreciate it.

If off to my sons tonight for a takeaway....it's his 28th Birthday! And I', so looking forward to it. Can it really be 28 years since I was lying there wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with that little vulnerable bundle in my arms? My how quickly time flies!

True Love Never Dies

Awwww.... I'm trying to play catch up with some of my friends blogs and found this on Philip Carr-Gomm's weblog.
WATCH THIS

During my time taking in can caring for waifs and strays of the four legged variety has always left me with a sense of great joy and amusement. They love unconditionally and time spent with them is never wasted. They ask for very little in life, but give so much. Their needs are not based on power or control and they make excellent feet warmers in the Winter.

Playing for Change!

I just bet you can't watch this video without at least tapping you foot!
Click the following link to see 'Playing For Change'
http://www.playingforchange.org/

Music washes away from the soul,

the dust of everyday life!

Turn up the volume FULL BLAST and listen to this

Stand By Me

It’s not usual for me to make New Year Resolutions, but this year I plan to make an exception: I intend to Simplify my life.

I intend to grow my own veg, spend more time doing the things I want and less of the things I don't, give more back to the world I live in and try and get involved in a project that will benefit those less fortunate, in whatever way presents itself. I will be more aware of my footprint on this planet and become as self sufficient as possible and love and laugh more and perhaps try to worry a little less about the small insignificant things that happen unless it becomes a life or death situation! .... yeah, no big changes there then, just more of the same really lol.

HOWEVER.......

In these days of perhaps impending doom and gloom, the closing of many businesses both large and small and the subsequent loosing of peoples jobs and dignity that will go with it, I think the most we can hope for in the coming year is the same as we have had over the last…..the love and support of friends and family, in return for the same.
Despite the ridiculous situation our economy seems to be heading for, I wish you hope, peace, love and friendship for the coming year ahead. Hold on to your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but know that everything is easier if you have people to share it with.
For this reason, I offer the following video, sent from the heart.

Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Stand By Me"

And if I can put a teeny, tiny request out there to the universe for this coming year.... if there's a single guy out there like Mark Johnson.......I WANT ONE!!!!!! lol

Please watch this video One Love - Interview + an Unforgettable Rendition of "One Love" and pass it on.

Remember folks, at the end of our days, we will not be remembered for how much money we have accumulated, or what we have achieved, we will be remembered by what we GAVE to others. Lets at least pray for Peace, Love and One World, One Heart. Everyone enters the world being loved and the only thing we can take with us and leave behind is love....simple as that.

People come into our lives,

and softly go,

for whatever reason,

True friends are with us

forever.

To all my Blogging friends far and wide,

for your continued support and encouraging messages

both in comments and by email, I wish you

Peace, Hope and Love for 2009,

and i'll leave you with a quotation by Roald Dahl:

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic

will never find it.'.......

Brightest of Blessings,

Sue - Aka The Purple Pixie! xxx

What's going on? Religion, Politics and Money! Be awake, be VERY afraid! lol Or at least be VERY aware and informed

Religion, Politics and Money! well worth watching, takes a few minutes to get into but please dear people, bear with it....it's well worth your time.
But be warned, you may have to pause a few times to pop that kettle on..... it's long
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-594683847743189197


And if you need to see more, this is a great website
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/

Hand Made Greeting Cards

It’s easy to think from my website that I only make a few cards SEE THIS LINK HERE but this was perhaps an oversight on my part of not getting my full catalogue of over 150 designs added. It’s one of those things that I was always going to get round to but for whatever reason, it never got done. After an enquiry from a client and because I haven’t a clue about adding these to my website I have added them to my other blog HERE which deals only with the business side of my life. I am in the process of finding someone who can update my website as I really need to get round to adding commissions done and my concertina card collection also other items completed for sale but which have never reached the website.

Hopefully, it will not be too far in the future, but in the meantime the blog will serve as a current and more up to date record of work. Anyone interested can reach me by my email at inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Hand Made Cards, Love

AWAITING PICTURE

GC/L/1
I love you not for what you are, but for what I am when I’m with you

GC/L/2
To love is to place the happiness in the happiness of others

GC/L/3
Love works in a different way in different minds, the fool it enlightens and the wise it blinds

GC/L/4
Life is strewn with miracles, for which people who love can always hope

GC/L/5
Love makes the wildest spirit tame and the tamest spirit wild

GC/L/6
People love others not for what they are, but for how they make them
feel.
GC/L/7
Love talked about is easily turned aside, but love demonstrated is irresistible

GC/L/8
Two souls with a single thought, two hearts that beat as one

GC/L/9
Love is….two hearts connected by a one thread

GC/L/10
Love is true when you don’t see eye to eye, but can still walk hand in hand

Greeting Cards Mind, Body and Spirit

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

GC/MBS/1
The nature of happiness is a circle where the centre is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere

GC/MBS/2
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and it’s life will not be shortened. Likewise, happiness never decreases by being shared.

GC/MBS/3
You, yourself as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection

GC/MBS/4
Anything can be achieved in small deliberate steps. But there are times when you need the courage to take a leap. You can’t cross a chasm in two small steps

GC/MBS/5
Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

GC/MBS/6
A thing of beauty is a joy forever, it’s loveliness increases. It will never pass into nothingness

GC/MBS/7
The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams

GC/MBS/8
Though we travel the world over, to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not

GC/MBS/9
You are never given a wish or a dream, without also been given the power to make it come true

GCMBS/10
To live the life you want, you must do the work you love

GCMBS/11
In your heart, keep a special place where dreams may go

GCMBS/12
There are only two ways to live your life, one as though nothing is a miracle, the other as if everything is

GCMBS/13
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by hugging each other

GCMBS/14
We are each others angels in the way we answer each others prayers

GCMBS/15
There isn't a valley deep enough, that an angel can’t carry you through

GCMBS/16
Angels give themselves fully, for they have seen that face of love

GCMBS/17
Angels are all around us, as far as the heart can see

GCMBS/18
Angels help us from our darkness, into diving light

GCMBS/19
No you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other.

GCMBS/20
The soul would have no rainbow, if the eyes would have no tears

GCMBS/21
We will be known forever, by the tracks we leave

GCMBS/22
The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves

GCMBS/23
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can be as gentle as a dove

Greeting Cards Celtic

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

GC/C/1
Deep peace pure white of the moon to you (full version)

GC/C/2
Deep peace of the running wave to you (full version)

GC/C/3
Deep peace pure white of the moon to you

GC/C/4
Deep peace pure brown of the earth to you

GC/C/5
Deep peace pure blue of the sky to you

GC/C/6
Deep peace of the flowing air to you

GC/C/7
Deep peace pure green of the grass to you

Greeting Cards Sisters

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

GC/S/1
Whether or not you look alike, talk alike or act alike, sisters share common experiences that create a bond that cannot be broken

GC/S/2
Though friends may come and go, a sister is with you forever

GC/S/3
Something softens, something leaps forward, when I look into your eyes of a sister and see an understanding heart

GC/S/4
The best thing about having a sister, is that I always have a friend

GC/S/5
A sister is a great support line

GC/S/6
As sisters with completely different natures, we’re a pretty amazing pair!

GC/S/7
A sister knows all about you, but likes you anyway

GC/S/8
There’s no friend like a sister

GC/S/9
To have a loving relationship with a sister, is not simply to have a buddy or a confident, it is to have a soul mate for life

GC/S/10
There is no situation in life, in which the conversation of my sister will not administer some comfort

GC/S/11
Like branches of a tree, we grow in different directions, yet our root remain as one. Each of our lives will always be a part of the other

GC/S/12
Sisters share a common bond, that united them from the start. Soul and minds together, with a bridge between their hearts

GC/S/13
A sister is a true friend who remains by your side, to comfort and guide, no matter what the challenge

GC/S/14
A sister is like a beautifully carved walking stick, You don’t need her every step, but she certainly provides welcome support on the days when your step is a little uncertain.

GC/S/15
A sisters unwavering love is a star in the darkness of night. With a twinkling of it’s light, your life is blessed forever

Hand Made Greeting Cards Friends

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

GC/F/1
Friends are the family we choose for ourselves

GC/F/2
A friend is one who knows all about you, but likes you anyway

GC/F/3
A rare friends is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out

GC/F/4
The value of friendship cannot be measured only treasured

GC/F/5
Friends, those that matter don’t judge, and those that judge, don’t matter

GC/F/6
Like branches of a tree, we grow in different directions, yet our root remain as one. Each of our lives will always be a part of the other

GC/F/7
It’s friends and not places that make a world

GC/F/8
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere, before him I may think aloud

GC/F/9
A friend is a person who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words

GC/F/10
Hearts are happy when friends are together

GC/F/11
The value of friendship cannot be measured, only treasured

GC/F/12
Friendship is a rainbow between two people

GC/F/13
Wishing you butterfly mornings and wildflower afternoons

GC/F/14
One does not make friends, one recognises them

GC/F/15
Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world

For all you animal lovers out there...

Couldn't resist sharing this with you all....

Isn't it amazing that people have the camera at the ready, just at the right time. Whenever I get mine out, my kids are all asleep!

And a final one....for good measure....

'When I get out, someone's gonna DIE!'

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hand Made Cards Mother

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

MO/1
Mum…..your hands held mine until I could walk alone. You taught me freedom and when the time had come, you let me go

MO/2
All mothers are rich when they love their children. There are no poor mothers, no ugly ones. Their love is always the most beautiful of their joys

MO/3
If evolution really works, how comes mothers have only two hands

MO/4
Mum….she is the person you come to for comfort when all hope is lost, like an old teddy bear with one eye and half an ear

GC/MO/5
Mum…..you are the light in the dark, like a candle flame forever glowing and guiding the way

GC/MO/6
Mum….you give me unconditional love and never ask anything in return

MO/7
To a special mum who is worth a $1,000,000

MO/8
Mum, you are the one I can count on for the things that matter most of all. You are my food, my shelter, my warmth, and the one I want to be with most of all when I cry

MO/9
There is no-one else like you mum. You are like the earth, full of goodness and strength.

MO/10
A mother is a woman with a twenty-five hour day, who can still find an hour to talk with her family

MO/11
Mum….Thank you for being there come fire, flood or penury. Thank you for being ready to lend anything and give anything that will help me through

MO/12
Thank you mum for a life of experiences to see me through life’s challenges.

MO/13
All that I am or hope to be, I learned from my wonderful mother

Hand Made Greeting Cards Marriage

Hand Made Greeting Cards
Catalogue Page
£2.95 inc. P&P to UK
Click on image to enlarge

MA/1
Marriage, joy is the start of it, sharing is part of it, love is the heart of it

MA/2
Marriage should be a duet, when one sings, the other plays

MA/3
Marriages may be made in heaven, but man is responsible for the maintenance work

MA/4
To have and to hold……..

MA/5
Congratulations on your Wedding Day

MA/6
To my wonderful husband on our Anniversary

MA/7
To my wonderful wife on our Anniversary

MA/8
To my son and his wife on your Wedding Day

MA/9
To my daughter and her husband on your Wedding Day

GC/MA/10
Here’s wishing you both many happy, magical years together

MA/11
Eat well, sleep deeply, for tomorrow comes…..and it’s all yours!

MA/12
Congratulations on your silver wedding anniversary

GC/MA/13
Congratulations on your golden wedding anniversary

MA/14
Wedding day wishes….Two souls with a single thought, two hearts that beat as one

MA/15
Wedding day wishes…..Two hearts connected by one thread

Hand Made Baby Greeting Cards

Hand Made Greeting Cards

Catalogue Page

£2.95 inc. P&P to UK

Click on image to enlarge

B/1
They are lovely once they are actually in their beds, it’s just getting them there than can be such murder

B/2
What feeling is so nice as a child’s hand in yours, so small, so soft, like a little kitten huddling in the shelter of your grasp

B/3
He makes me laugh and I feel through him that the world can be a wonderful place

B/4
A sleeping child gives me the impression of a traveller in a far off country

B/5
Sleep little baby sleep. The holy angels love thee, and guard thy bed, and keep a blessed watch above thee. The shepherd of the sheep in perfect love have found thee

B/6
Thou, my babe! Shall wander like a breeze, by lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags of ancient mountain and beneath the clouds. ….so shalt thou see and hear the lovely shapes and sounds, intelligible language

B/7
Babies are born with a need to be loved, and never grow out of it

B/8
Babies are stardust sprinkled from the hand of God

B/9
Let him grow gently Lord, hold his hand and lead him to the light

B/10
Dear Lord, touch him with gentle breezes, hazy days, golden hours

B/11
Scoop up the oceans for her in a shell. Let her riches be remembered. Happy days.

B/12
Dear Lord, give her rainbows. Live merry, love deep. Show her a nest full of sky blue promises.

B/13
Scoop up the oceans for her in a shell. Let her riches be remembered. Happy days.

B/14
Dear Lord, give her rainbows. Live merry, love deep. Show her a nest full of sky blue promises.

'Nigerian' money scam: What happens when you reply?

For anyone and everyone who has had an email offering you pots of money in return for your bank details.... you really MUST read this! lol. Nice one! my sense of humour...Wish I had thought of it first!

The Scam Report Website

Hmmmm wonder what happens when you reply to the ones offering you a larger....errr.... male appendage!



On a more serious note, my brother had an email from his bank (he does a lot of online banking transactions), you think your money and details are safe? NOT SO!
His bank details, his date of birth, national insurance number along with his ID and passwords of every site he had joined was found ready for use by the Mafia in Russia!
This virus was not picked up by his 3 virus and anti spy software programmes, lurks in the background and stores and saves EVERYTHING you type into your computer. The ONLY time his national insurance number had been entered was to check for eligibility of Child Tax Credits, but his bank details were there too. While it is east to change our ID's and Passwords and even email and bank accounts, Name, Addresses and National Insurance numbers along with personal details CANNOT be changed.
Please dear people think very, very carefully before you enter any of this information on the Internet.
The virus is called: the sinowal trojan and was picked up by his bank! I would advise people to do a Google search for it.

This is what his IT guy had to say:
Because it involves the MBR, this comes with the health warning that it MIGHT screw the hard disk and lose all your data so anything important should be backed up first.

Back up and think twice before entering any personal details on line.

To be nobody – but yourself –

Another quotation in my ever growing list that I find 'speaks to me' or is useful for someone close to me that would perhaps gain some wisdom from it....

To be nobody - but yourself -
in a world which is doing its best,
night and day,
to make you everybody else -
means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight,
and never stop fighting.
e.e. cummings

At times in our lives it's hard for us to just 'be' ourselves. We want to be what we consider ourselves, but society 'expects' us to look, act and behave in a certain way. Our job titles predetermine how we should act. I am one of the lucky ones, I'm sure that nutty and artist go hand in hand and could not even consider what my life would be like if I had to sit in an office all day.
To be alternative is only OK with those closest to you and others with similar alternative views.

How often are you really free to be yourself? People love you for 'who' you are not 'what you do', but in today's mixed up society, very often success is measured by wealth and possessions not personality, not unconditional love and caring for our fellow man.
Bring on the old ways. Feel free to be yourself (if you dare), make someone laugh or smile, give them a hug is they need it, and wear the clothes that reflect you! We are on this earth for such a short time, we are here to make the most of things, embrace and grab at every little piece of joy and happiness life can throw at us, so at the end we can look back and know that we lived it to the full.
Love often, play like a child, splash in puddles, roll down hills....
Ask yourself.... how differently would I live if I knew I only had 3 months to live?

You have the freedom to be yourself, who dares wins!

In love and light,
Sue xxx

Quotation

Another Quote came in early this morning....never a true word spoken....

Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy.
Dean Koontz

On my last post I recieved a comment from Denise she says...
Came across your blog because of the google alert service, but just wanted to suggest you try a Bioflow magnetic therapy collar for your dog.

Thanks Demise for being so kind and thoughtfuk. I have contacts in the Natural/Alternative Therapy circles and will get on to this one straight away.
Love and brightest blessings to you,
Sue xxx

Friendship Calligraphy in Frame

It always makes a refreshing change, when a client rings you enough not to need a long and lengthy consultation that we, as calligraphers, never got paid for. Very often it takes longer to discuss a job that the actual execution.
Once again I had a regular on the phone, the brief was simple: This quotation, Golds and silvers as usual and in a gold/silver frame. Oh yes… and this is my budget (ALWAYS HELPFUL to know)

I have put pictures on my blog before of pieces that I have one for her and usually the request is the same, I do however, try to keep them similar, but all different from each other.
One thing is certain… they all contain my trademark ‘squares’.

The mount board was spattered using a toothbrush, with gold and copper gouache paint, then the sprinkling of squares tumbled from the mount, through the work and back on the mount again. Making the mount and work ‘As One’.

And here it is in the frame.

You know you have done a good job

when you are loathed for the piece to go!

Wedding Calligraphy

I don’t know where the time goes to thee days.
As the nights grow shorter my life seems to be hurtling past at the rate of knots.
In this time of economic crisis, I’ve been even more grateful of the work coming in, and far from slowing down it’s got busier!

My latest commission has been the place cards, seating plan and Alphabetical list, as well as the table names. I thought I’d share them with you. Nothing too spectacular, unfortunately Weddings being fairly formal and brides in the Uk still liking the ‘traditional’ rather than contemporary, there is little room for creativity. Still, as long as it keeps the wolves from the door, I’m happy to do this day in and day out if necessary!

Below are the place cards

Large Italic Christian names

with tiny capital surnames.

This solves the problem so often faced by calligraphers of the place cards being far too small for surnames!

Below is the Seating Plan,

there were 2 boards exactly the same, only 1 had an extra table on.

I managed to scan and print the monogram onto a card the same size as the tables so that when they stand together they will look balanced.

and a 3rd board completes the set.
To give you some idea of scale,
the word Alphabet is around 1" high.

Close Up Detail

And this must be my favourite job of all

The Table Names. Also VERY large letters, always a bonus when partially sighted. These are double sided and when you do them you really must make sure they can be read from some distance away.