It's a party!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What a fun day with y great nieces and nephew!

Save The Sawmill Strays

Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your neighbor.


That is what Beverly does.

I met Bev on a church mission trip to West Virginia. She has the most incredibly clear blue eyes, and I know when you look deep within, you see the face of God.
















Our task was to replace her roof. Which we did, and I thought I would head on home and have happy memories of the trip, but what I found was a "soul sister" as we came to call each other as the week progressed. A city girl and a coal miner's daughter, with so much in common. A love of life, God and animals. Seeking fair play and justice for all of God's creatures.

We took that trip in 2007, and Bev and I continue to remain in contact. I admire her perserverance, love of life, her caring and loving soul.

Bev lives a very simple life, she is a mountain woman with simple needs. She works several jobs to maintain her independence. She adopted 10 dogs from a local shelter when it was closing, knowing that she would be able to handle them and keep them fed and cared for. They each have their own pen, while not fancy, are safe and clean. They are her life.

Now we come to Saving the Sawmill Strays.

Bev lives in Welch, WV, up a mountain road called Sawmill Hollow. Folks there own the house or trailer and lease the land from the owner. An unusal concept for those of us in the city. The lumber company or coal mine or other entity own the land.

One of Bev's neighbors up the hollow have abandoned their "lease", moved out, perhaps there was a divorce, but the people only come by once every month or so. They have left their animals at the lease without food or water.

Most of us might call animal control, knowing that the animals would be picked up and put up for adoption. ( Where does that happen, let me know.) In St. Louis, where I live, I would contact Stray Rescue or the Humane Society of Missouri or The Open Door Animal Shelter. Stray Rescue and Open Door are no-kill shelters. In Welch, there is a dog -catcher who works for the County Commission.Bev does not want to contact them, as they use a gas chamber. Often the animals are just shot by people on the mountain. There is one NO-Kill shelter in her area and it always filled to capacity.

Bev has been going to the "lease" every day and feeding and watering the animals. One of the area animal control groups send food her way and others have donated money to help her feed these abandoned pets. There are 4 adult dogs and 7 puppies, 2 adult cats and 2 kittens. Bev, discovered the puppies in the last few months and has been feeding and caring for them. Since the weather has turned bitter she has decided to bring them to her small home to care for.

How can we help?

My wildest dream is for Bev to be able to start a No-Kill Shelter. That's my wild dream and maybe her's as well, but what she wants to do right now is spay and neuter the 4 adult dogs as soon as possible, and then generate some income to have the pups spay and neutered when they are old enough. Maybe out of this will grow the dream of a No-kill shelter. Perhaps in our semi-wild dreams we can generate income to build some additional kennels on Bev's lease, so that these animals can stay safe.

We are hoping that animal lovers all over the world will help us with a donation to our "Chip-In" account. I trust Bev, but you all don't know her. I am hoping that those of you I have met "on-line" will trust me.

She has discovered a local source that will assist low income families in paying for spay and neutering services. Those funds are drying up, and may not be able to assist with 11 dogs. She is going to check with them. She may be able to afford to pay for one of the dogs surgeries from money she has saved. My plan is to work with Bev, sending her payment for the first surgery and then additional payments after she sends the receipt for the previous surgery. This may not really be necessary, but I wanted the internet community to know that I am making every effort to insure that the money goes for the animals. I know that Bev will use it for the animals. I'm hoping in my wild dreams, for enough money to help build a few more kennels.





But first things first! We hope to raise $1,100 which would be more than enough to cover the surgeries and help with food and gas and a phone card. Bev does not have a phone and uses the phone at one of her part time jobs at a local church. The calls to the vet are long distance. The distance from her home to the vet, not close.

So much to tell.

At the top of the page is a photo of Bev with Samantha ( one of the Sawmill Strays) it was taken in 2007 when we first met Bev, the other shots are very sad and show the condition of the animals after Bev discovered them abandoned. She has since cleaned up the property and area where the pets were kept at the abandoned home.



















You can contact us at sawmillstrays@sbcglobal.net and check out our blog, under construction at http://sawmillstrays.blogspot.com/


PS I've been in communication with Bev ( who checks email at her part time job at the local theater and at the library, computer class, and other venues around town.) and she thinks it would be cool to have each donor submitt a name for the dogs and cats, then we'll have a drawing for naming rights. Great idea, Bev!

PS-2 Chip In Clarification. When you link to chip in it shows my email and Board of Religious Organizations. I also have a chip in for http://www.brostl.org/ a non-profit group I work with. Your donation will go specifically for The Saw Mill Strays, I'll work on cleaning up the link language. Thanks!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Erin Bode - Don't Take Your Time

Wonderful vocalist from St. Louis! Check out her Christmas album.

Check out Susan Tuttle's new book Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations that has just been released in bookstores and online. Susan will be giving away one copy to an eligible person in a random drawing that will be held on Tuesday, December 16th at noon on her blog.

Post about her book on your blog and leave a comment and links, etc, you'll be entered.

In the meantime, check out Chrysti Hydeck's blog, Chrysti is giving away a copy of the book in her 29 Days of giving blog post.

For Chrysti you need to respond to this question. "How does Art play a prominent role in your life".

Here is my answer....

Art is about sharing a part of myself with friends and family and people far and near. It’s an expression of love, anger, politics, history, heritage, and just fun. It’s an escape from reality, it’s reality, it’s perception and impression. It just happens sometimes, other times it doesn’t.

So.....go enter, and you'll have two chances to win this incredible new book!

bonniebluedenim's advent calendar

I miss having an Advent Calendar, so, inspired by my twitter friend http://twitter.com/StephanieInCA who is making this advent calendar for all her online friends, thank you, StephanieInCA http://urbzen.com/urbzen-2008-advent-calendar/


I give you bonniebluedenim's version of a digital advent
calendar.

Day 24: Can your dog/dogs do this? Still time to train them before Christmas? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo

Day 23: Bailey the Unknown reindeer, dog people everywhere will love him http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/

Day 22: Looking for a unique place to spend the holidays, the new year, or summer vacation, check out these places from Jeff at My SuperCharged Life.
http://matadortrips.com/igloos-castles-sewage-pipes-and-survival-pods-the-worlds-10-weirdest-hotels/

Day 21: Fun dancing reindeer and Santa, rated G http://www.glenn.tapley.us/MC.swf


Day 20: Here are some Wacky Santa's you don't want to show up at the kid's party.

http://www.purpleslinky.com/Offbeat/That-Crazy-Claus-13-Wacky-Santas-You-Dont-Want-Coming-Down-Your-Chimney.350245




Day 19: Ok, it's time to play James the Christmas Zebra
Have fun! I scored 500 on my first try. Watch out for the exploding pudding.

Day 18: Send a Holiday Tattoo Santa to all your friends and family.....if you dare.... http://www.rga.com/holiday07/

Day 17: Hello Kitty runs amuck for the holidays. I hope it's not on your preteen's wish list.
http://blameitonthevoices.blogspot.com/2008/01/hello-kitty-m16.html

Day 16: Red or Blue state? You have to love Barney, tour the White House with the Barney Cam http://www.whitehouse.gov/barney/

Day 15 : Which of Santa's Reindeer are you? Take this quiz to find out! http://www.quizopolis.com/santas_reindeer.php



Day 14: Need some glitter for your website, check these out from BlackDog http://blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/glitter/index.html#how

Day 13: Check out Erin Bode http://bonniebluedenim.blogspot.com/2008/12/erin-bode-don-take-your-time.html she also has a new Christmas album, I just heard one of the songs on the radio. Wow! Erin is from St.Louis.

Day 12: Ok, the cat people need equal time. Here is a fun photo http://flickr.com/photos/fathero9/336879255/



Day 11: Everyone needs an interactive Christmas Card.
http://ecard.ashland.edu/index.php?ecardYear=2004adm

Day 10: The lighter side of advent. Check out this blog, dog nativity, ok it's a few years old, but the photo is cute and maybe it's not too late to add your own caption.

http://purgatorio1.blogspot.com/2005/12/christmas-bonus-you-supply-caption.html

Day 9: Eid ul-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, falls approxinatley 70 days after Eid ur Fitr ( End of Ramadan) and is celebrated in honor of the prophet Abrahams's willingness to sacrifice his son as a proof of loyalty to God. Celebrations usually include presenting an animal ( usually a cow or sheep sacrifice) and the meat is shared with family, friends, and those in need.

Click on the link below for some craft ideas to use with children. This holiday is December 8 in 2008.

http://wayfarersjourney.blogspot.com/2007/12/eid-ul-adha-crafts.html

Day 8: Do you remember cutting snowflakes from folded paper? Make a virtual snowflake on this BHG website. You can search for my "virtual flakes" by clicking on "search" and entering bonniebluedenim, Saint Louis, and you'll see them fall from the "virtual" sky. Be sure to try making your own. http://snowflake.bhg.com/?sssdmh=dm17.346653&esrc=nw100dd_09_75&email=1217981904

Day 7: Hanukkah starts on December 22, and I like to coexist and celebrate everything!

Here are some fun do it yourself sites that will be fun and get you ready for the Festival of Lights.

check out these gingerbread Dreidels from the Food Network. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/gingerbread-holiday-cookie-white-snowflakes-dreidel-trios-ornaments-recipe/index.html

or how about this fun R2D2 Droid Dreidel, just print it out on cardstock and fold on the lines! http://makezine.com/pub/tool/Dreidel_Droids

And all of us who are clueless about what to do with a dreidel, should probably watch this video, it looks like fun, enjoy! ( Are those chocolate coins?) http://www.wonderhowto.com/community/member/wonderhowto/playlists/diy-guide-to-hanukkah/


Day 6: Maybe today would be a good day to start making an advent calendar for 2009. Here are some cool on-line instructions.

A cute little chest of drawers...
http://www.scrapsinbloom.com/blog/?p=917


Little hand made envelopes hanging from garland on your mantel....
http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/?p=1244


Here's a fun one for knitters
http://tinyurl.com/5z2l45

Here's a cool altered clipboard version...
http://tinyurl.com/58kqbh

Gather a few nuts and try this one...
http://www.plentymag.com/features/2008/12/diy_natural_advent_calendar.php

Here is an assortment to peruse.
http://www.alphamom.com/buzzoff/2007/11/the_best_diy_advent_calendars.php

Day 5: Ok here it is, CHOCOLATE. Calorie free, guilt free, just plain free.

Day 4: Feeling like getting a puppy for the kids for Christmas, don't forget our shelter friends
http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/, http://www.strayrescue.org/ , or http://www.hsmo.org/


Day 3: Make sure your kids' toys are lead free, use this widget to help you check.


Day 2: It's never to late to send some JibJab's to friends and family.


Day 1: Are you clueless about advent calendars? check out this link. Or this one Christmas Puppy Advent Calendars. How can we live without it?

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

another fun version of the 12 Days of Christmas!

Art In A Carton - Do you want to play?

It came in the mail a few weeks ago. My "Art in a Carton" gift from Susan J. Letham in Rendsburg, Germany. I found out about this 'round robin', of sorts from Mollye Self's blog site. Mollye is a ZNE member living in Shreveport, LA.( I love the wonderful global connections we can make in the Internet art community!)

Here's what Susan says about "Art in A Carton..." What is "Art In A Carton"?"Art In A Carton" is essentially a three-for-three swap. It's an artsy little "Pay It Forward" idea I dreamed up over Christmas, while hunting around for something small and sturdy in which to package and send out an item of art. While surveying my kitchen-come-art-studio, I picked up an empty milk carton. All of a sudden, my mind went "click!", and an idea was born. Standard milk- or fruit juice cartons are a perfect way to package and sent small items of art, and they can be turned into art objects in their own right, too!"

What you do to take part in "Art In A Carton"You find three half-litre or litre (or one-pint or one quart) milk or fruit juice cartons and make sure they are clean. You decorate the outside of the cartons, then fill them with small items of your own art. See the list below for a few starter ideas.You send one "Art In A Carton" package to the person who sent "Art In A Carton" to you.Then you take a look at the address labels, find a label with the oldest date, and send the second "Art In A Carton" package to that person.Send your third "Art In A Carton" package to an artist of your choice. It might be a good idea to ask the person if s/he'd like to play, that way it's more likely they will keep "Art In A Carton" moving along. For this package, choose someone whose label is not already included in the "Art In A Carton" label collection. Along with the third carton (only the third carton), you package up the project description that came in your package, the remaining artist's address labels, and pop in two labels with your own name and address. Remember to write the date on which you package up your project on the back of your labels. At some point a little further down the art line, your labels will carry the oldest date, and other artists will send "Art In A Carton" to you as a gift.You are welcome to make and send more than three "Art In A Carton" packages if you wish. Just make sure each package that you send to a "new" artist (the third and further packages) contains a project information sheet and a set of labels with dates. Make copies of the labels if necessary. Email me if you need a fresh or additional copy of the project information sheet.

The contents of each box will vary, depending on what I feel like making or what I use from my art gift stash. Items might include mini art chests filled with artsy delights, ATC, little art journals, paper dolls, journaling , art clay faces, matchbox art, unused rubber stamps, tags, ornaments, and the like

Ok! Now that's how Susan describes the project. The photos here are the very cool art items I received from Susan, also in the box are the addresses of the two people I am suppose to send art to, as well as two labels that I will forward that the next person will send art to.

Now where do you come in? If you would like to receive an "Art in a Carton" box from me, and are willing to post photos and links on your blog and will be willing to send out three "Art in a Carton" gifts, two addresses which you will receive and one person that you line up.......leave a comment below! I will pick a name from all the comments received and you'll get my box of art and will be included in the game. ( I'm dreaming that lots of folks will want to play.) And you can wait til after the holidays to send your art, as mine may not get to you right away. So leave a comment by December 15.

So if you would like to see a better explaination of the whole thing, visit Susan's blog

I love the work that Susan sent, this very cool folder, a little collaged ornament/box, velvety leaf, a fabulous ribboned and jeweled pyramid box made with origami papers, just beautiful, and a stash of fun fibers. The box is decorated with a very cool Moroccan image and sparkly sequins.

I hope you will play along.



Be sure to check out my non-profit group's blog to see the progress of our toy distribution to families in need in St. Louis. http://bro-saintlouis.blogspot.com/

Jeff Foxworthys 12 days of Christmas

I've been listenin' to the Christmas radio station, can't help it, I get the biggest kick out of this song. There is probably a fine line between "shabby chic" and "redneck" and not sure what it means if you don't know if you have crossed it or not!

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the holidays! Getting ready for toy distribution at BRO
(http://bro-saintlouis.blogspot.com/2008/11/hasbro-gifts-of-play-grant.html.) And hope to get back into some art projects during December!

Six Words For America

Here is your chance. Inspire our new president.

Six words to Inspire a Nation!


SMITH Magazine and the National Constitution Center ask you to help President-elect Obama inspire America.

In six words, give him guidance. Or offer ideas for his inaugural address. Or share six memorable words for January 20th and beyond.

In six words, a President can say a lot: "Malice toward none, charity for all," "Nothing to fear but fear itself," "Like a thousand points of light."

So give your speechwriting a try. Submit your words before January 5, 2009. Thanks to Bernie Berlin of "A Place To Bark" for the link.


Here are my 6 words

"Seek justice, love kindness, walk humbly."

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Veteran's Day 2008 Part 2

I enjoy wandering around the cemetery and reading the stones, imagining what the people were like and what their families were thinking about and remembering when they ordered the stones. Here are a few, humorous, sad, profound, and ordinary.

I'm worried about these two wives being together for all eternity, what were they thinking. But they both loved the same man, I assume, and it at least appears they weren't divorced wives. Can you imagine that,....?

The cemetery gives you a print out of about 50 different religious emblems you can have on your stone, or you can choose to have no emblem. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/funeral_information/authorized_emblems.html . I found this grave way over along the wall, near a back entrance. They bury people, sort of in order as they die. Very military. But makes sense, they work in a section for several weeks, then wander to another. I had a morbid need to watch the progress after my parents died. ( they died about 6 weeks apart) My mother passed away first, they had a temporary marker at first, they would bring in a pallet of markers and install them all at once. I saw my mom's marker on the top of the pallet, then they had them leaning upright against a stone wall, it was very tempting to try to thumb through them like cards, but they must weigh, gosh....a lot....( a technical term). My mom was on the front of the stone for about 2 -3 weeks. Then my dad passed away, and they brought in a whole new stone, putting my dad on the front and my mom on the back.....

I digress as usual, I thought Pershing Flanders sounded very cool, he wouldn't want an identifying mark other than Musician Artist..and a cut above.

I was just sure this read Harley Davidson.

Michael Joseph Blassie had been interred at Arlington National Cemetery in the tomb of the Unknowns, as the Unknown from the VietNam War. His remains were identifed with modern technology, and he was reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

So remember our Veterans and those who serve all of us.

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Veteran's Day 2008

Veteran's Day at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri. My parents are buried here. And it sounds strange, but I enjoy going there. It unfortunately is a very busy cemetery, performing over 30 burials a day. So many WWII veterans. I find it comforting is some strange way, to know they are all watching out for each other. It is interesting to go and see the changes that occur and how folks remember their loved ones. I'm fascinated by some of the things that folks have written on their monuments, and saddened as well at times. You can tell when someone has lived a full long life, or their life was cut short by war, or perhaps they were a child of a veteran. Everyone has a story.

If you wander into the older section, you see that the cemetery overlooks the Mississippi River, in the center of the photo you can almost make out the Gateway Arch. I've altered the lighting on this photo, it was a gray day, with the sun peeking in and out. Pretty typical for St. Louis in November.

I stood around and waited for the sun to come back out at this section, the bright sun glaring on the head stones was wonderful.

More playing with Photo Shop Elements, maybe someday I'll figure out what I am doing, and can do it on purpose.

My dad's stone, my mom is buried here as well, she is memorialized ( is that a word) on the back. Remembering their wedding day, and that they are together forever.

More Ginkgo leaves!

ginkgo biloba leaves

It started off as a gloomy fall day. The weather report grim. A hard freeze is expected this evening and those plants that have been hanging on in the planters are sure to bite the dust tonight. Then after midnight, rain. Rain will mark the end of the fall leaf photos til next October. I wandered out to my non-profit group ( www.brostl.org ) and was struck by the yellow leaves. Driving down the street, there would be a car, covered with yellow leaves, and the contrast with the charcoal asphalt was striking. I didn't have my camera. I took care of my assorted projects, headed back home, and got it. Those darn people cleaned off their car. But all over town, these ginkgo biloba trees were sheddingtheir leaves at precisely the same time, and almost all of them at once. I drove aimlessly through Tower Grove Park ( need to remember there are other drivers, they managed to miss me, whewwww). I stopped and took a couple of photos and one of the ladies from the Knitter's Guild saw me, she was headed to the BRO with Build A Bear bears we gave them last year, that her group knitted little sweaters and hats for. I told her to tell the folks I was distracted and would be back shortly ( I am a volunteer). Then, Eva from church drove by, she was as excited as I was by the leaves. Ok, we were starting to back up traffic. I drove around and got a few more, outside the fence at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The photos don't really do the day justice, the contrast was impressive. So my friend Chrysti at Altered Abbey asked on Twitter today....What did you do that was creative, well here it is.