And in the end we all come together as a community

 

 

As bloggers we are individuals

in a community of online

enthusiasts who have joined

together to make a enormous

group of talented, caring

people formed with great

compassion, and thoughtfulness.

 

Our strength lies not in

individual stats, or comments,

but in our ability to be

compassionate, nurturing, and

caring as a community when it’s needed.

 

And in the end, we all come together to prove when you blog, you are not alone.

 

 

We tend to long term online friendships with people we might never have a chance to see in person, sharing both the good and the bad in our lives as if we were there face to face. 

We care for each other, support, pray, check up on, send best wishes and healing thoughts to those in our online world. There is always room for more virtual hugs.

 

 

 

 

Bloggers are among the most nurturing, helpful, and wonderful people out there, visit a blog when a crisis hits, and you will understand how we pull together and offer support. It’s a community that cares immensely for it’s members.

 

 

It’s pretty amazing, it’s our online world. 

Aren’t you proud to be part of it?

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Putting off those winter chores

 

 

[All these shots are from last winter, no

real snow yet around here, thankfully].

We all have that list of to do stuff

some of it’s more fun then others:

Since this is our first winter in our

own house, we are dealing with

winterizing chores that we

never had to do before, wrapping

taps, taking in hoses, fall clean-up.

Planting the last of the half price

shrubs into the garden.  Granted

they are still in their pots, and

plunged into the soil, but they are all in, whew….until next spring. 

What upcoming winter chores have you been putting off? Will you get to them? 

 

 

No frost yet, two very light snows, we got the shrubs in under the wire. Getting more soil to top up the garden beds:  Looks like it will probably be next spring for that, with the constant rain, it’s a mud ball out there, I am not into making mud pies in the cold.

My Mom has been squirreling away tulip bulbs, and each time I saw her she had bought more, next spring she will come and visit them in my garden.  “Mom, look it’s your Grand-bulb babies.”

 

 

Next on the list is moving the pumpkin display, away from the front door, so excited “Trick or Treater’s” won’t knock anything down as they deafen the poor cat with the ringing doorbell.  He is going to freak, since he has rarely heard it ring.

 

 

Notice the new badge on my sidebar?  I’m excited to have been invited as a contributor to the Farm Chick Chit Chat blog featuring all things “Farmie”.  Everyone there is very friendly, and I am looking forward to getting to know them. Click through on the badge to visit the blog, and be sure to visit their FB page also.

 

 

So…..I am now going to do a few other off putting winter chores, no really I don’t want to, but I must.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

While a sleeping earthquake rumbles….

 

 

Saturday night, we [well, some of us]

experienced a sensation that we had

moved up here to avoid.  A 7.7

magnitude earthquake that shook

the coast of British Columbia, near

Vancouver Island, the third largest

ever recorded in this area, and

triggered a Tsunami warning across

the ocean.  Only problem it was felt

up here also, over 900 miles away.

It was strong enough to sway the

chandies on the ceiling at our

neighbours house, their little dog unsettled, and barking.

Have you ever been through a earthquake? Did the buildings move, any damage?

It happened around 8:00 pm Saturday night, I was starting to relax on the couch while my nephew showed us his photos which are amazing, the couch was comfy, and warm, dinner was good, and I just drifted off.

I think I fell asleep for a minute, we all missed it completely, and found out about it today.

I’m glad we missed the rumbling, since we moved from the coast to get away from those worries…we were always aware of the possibilities of the earth shaking, and have gone through a few ourselves.

When we lived in the condo by the ocean, those kind of things worried me in the middle of the night. It’s not something to take lightly, and that’s why we decided to move to the Okanagan, and not the Vancouver Island area. 

It was reported on the news that this was larger then the ones that destroyed parts of Haiti, and New Zealand, but because it happened in a relatively isolated area no one was hurt.  It also was a different plate then the South Coast fault that they are keeping a watch on, and for that we are thankful, because that area is highly populated, it would be a disaster.

With hurricane Sandy bearing down on the other side of the country, we realize just how fortunate those on the West Coast are to have gone through this, and had little or no repercussions…my thoughts and prayers go out to those who are going through the hurricane.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Three blogging questions

 

 

It’s late, or I guess rather it’s early, 3 am, and these burning questions are in my head.  So instead of thinking about them the rest of the night, I am posting them, please add your answers. 

 

Type quietly, you will wake the cat, and then he’s going to want breakfast.

 

1. The main reason I blog is _____________________________?

 

2. Blogging is part of my life, how much of a part is it? _____________________.

 

3. I use blogging to ______________________________ in my life?

 

 

My Answers below…..yawn.  And remember there are no right or wrong answers. And yes it’s really 3 am, now I am off to bed again.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

1. to connect, with people and share my creativity.

2. a pretty big part, after all it’s 3 am, and I have to write this post because I can’t sleep.

3. spur creativity, it really helps. 

Jen.

Lemon cookies and damp days

 

It’s been raining here off and on

for over a week, and you won’t

hear me complaining. Although it’s

so needed, there are those who

seem to take the grey skies, and

damp days personally. 

 

When life

hands you lemons, make

lemon

cookies I say. 

 

These turned out delicious, very lemony, with just the right amount of sweet/tart flavour.

It’s a prize winning recipe I found on Pinterest, and you can find it here. The only thing is mine are not quite crinkly enough…maybe I needed more butter.  Or better weather.

I have a sidebar button on my blog, titled “Practically Pinterest” that way if I find something fun, tasty, or great, and have tried it out, I can post it there so if you are interested you can give it a try also. 

This is the first Pin to go up, and I highly recommend giving them a try. They barely made it through the photo shoot. Crinkled or not.

But if you figure out how to make them crinkly, please let me know.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Dropping the ball

 

He says there was talk of a busy day yesterday, a late night, and no time to prepare a blog post, he thinks it’s just pure silliness, and why one earth didn’t someone get up earlier and feed him breakfast, and turn on the heat.  Not to mention that the floors are cold, his paws don’t like it.

In his mind, someone dropped the ball.  Big time.

Servants….you just can’t find good ones nowadays.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Thinking alike, when someone else posts your idea first

 

 

We live in a big inspiring world

the internet is buzzing all the time

the inspiration and creativity that

is out there is amazing but it can

seem that it’s just a tiny village

when someone else posts your

idea before you do. 

 

It’s eerie, and it’s happened

to me a lot lately.

It might even happen to

you. It’s normal, relax no one

is copycatting. It’s just thinking along the same lines.

 

 

A few bloggers have mentioned that it seems we are on the same path, thinking the same thoughts lately.  That’s normal if you think of it, you read other blogs because you like the style of the blogger, it’s usually because there is some familiar threads that you are both connecting to.

 

 

If more then one artist weaves with the same color thread that doesn’t mean that the tapestries will have the same design or even look alike.

So what’s a blogger to do?  I say continue on, this is a big world, and  unless you are copying the text, and photos exactly, it’s your voice and perspective that will shine through.

 

 

I get inspired by so many different influences, we all do, that’s how we create, and we all see it differently, and use different parts of what we see to create.

 

 

Let’s take a closer look at that tapestry that this artist created, there is a rushing stream, the sun is shining through the beautiful leaves in changing colors, the russets, auburns, gold's, and greens just glow.  Did you see the squirrel hiding nuts in the crook of the tree?  Did I?  What about the deer that peeked it’s head over by that bush, oh you saw a rabbit, I missed that. We all get something different from the same scene, and isn’t it wonderful that we do?

 

Keep on posting…..Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

On another note, we have a Snow Daze winner! Congrats to Lady Fi, who was the closest in her first snowfall prediction for the Okanagan ….[sigh, thanks a lot for the early snowfall Lady Fi] …email me with your details and I will send you the pack of Muddy Boot Dreams cards.

 

Blogging with ebb and flow

 

Ebb and flow:

Idioms, and phrases

A decline and increase

constant fluctuations.

You know when it seems

that everything sparks a

new blog post, and you

have papers littered all

over the place, notes to

yourself, thoughts, ideas.

Each one feeding into the

other, pushing that creativity

so far that you seem to hum.

You’re being woken up at 3:00 am writing blog posts in your mind, and it feels like it will never end. 

It does.

Abruptly.

 

 

But only for a while, and then it’s back again.  It’s blogging ebb and flow, creativity creates, and the more you write, the more you create. The more you blog, the better you blog.

 

 

[And…..I found out that the steroids I am taking for the eczema on my face are giving me this hyper energy. I kind of forgot that part…and being sensitive to them, any fluctuation in the dosage makes me hyper, or crash…great choices.]

 

 

Blogging sometimes seems like we can’t get those words and pictures out fast enough, we have so much to say, and other times there is almost nothing. I was joking around with Brenda from Cosy Inspirations that I had all of my blog posts organized and written weeks ahead, as if.   And then right after that, I ebbed, or was it flowed? Total block.  She has some great tips on how to inspire yourself when you encounter writer’s block, check them out here.

 

 

How do you inspire yourself, what encourages you to write that great blog post, to create, to share?  Do you worry when you can’t seem to come up with post topics?

How do you kick start a blog block?  Do you use images to start the process, or are you a written word kind of blogger?

 

Ebbing, and flowing….Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

 

 

The Fog, and the spark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe a lot of our lives are spent asleep, and what I've been trying to do is hold on to those moments when a little spark cuts through the fog and nudges you.

Rufus Wainwright

 

 

I am curious about what this quote means to you?

 

Nudging myself awake…Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Halloween candy, the importance of waiting until the last minute

 

When it comes to Halloween candy

the world is made up of two different

kinds of people. Those who buy early

and spend November onwards

working out as penance for eating

it all before Halloween, and those

who wait until the very last minute

and can’t find the kind that they like

to eat.

I urge you to wait until the

last second to buy your candy

not only is it picked over, it

might even be on sale!!

Chomp, chomp, nummmm…nummmmmmbbbbmmmm

It’s important to fall into the latter category, because if you buy your candy to early there is a larger selection, you are more than likely going to get “just one bag of this kind because _______ insert name here, loves it, and if there aren’t that many kids, then he/she [read I] can have some [all of it, because there is still time to get lots more, and look how small they make them nowadays, they have almost no calories].

Right, as if the kiddies will ever see the creepy orange blood splattered light of your Halloween display glinting off of that chocolate bar before it disappears forever into their poly cotton 50/50 percale blend “Mom it’s not big enough” pillow case. 

Let’s get real. If it is at all edible and purchased sometime before the “oh my gosh did we really forget to get candy 4:30 pm deadline when all the littlest tricksters hit the pavement toward the path of greater sugar consumption, it’s a goner.

A long gone goner.

As in kiss that Hershey goodbye we accidentally opened the package, and look would you here, it’s, there are only a few whoops, were a few, left, mumble, chocolate, sigh, chocolate, mumble mumble mumble…crunch, stuff, crunch. What Hershey?

Nope I don’t like them that much, it’s just that we bought them for _______ insert name here, he/she/ [me].

I don’t even like this kind.

Just imagine if I did.

What category are you, early purchaser, easy eater.

Or I’ll take anything, as long as it’s candy.

 

My mouth is full, can’t talk…..Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

My studio is in bloom

 

Every time I peek through

the doorway, I can’t believe my

eyes, it’s nearly finished, and

I love it.  It’s not just the change

of color, it’s that the entire space

feels different, creative, nurturing

full of possibilities.

My studio is in bloom, and

I can feel my creative

spirit rejuvenating itself.

That color has bothered me

from the first day we saw it.

 

These new changes are feeling great from the wall tattoo over the door, with the quote by Emily Dickenson, “Dwell in possibilities”  to the cute little turquoise bird houses lined up on the shelf, it’s inspiring, calm, and personal, and creative. I love the creamy background, the room feels larger, brighter, and warmer.

 

 

On the wall besides the door there is a mini art gallery space where I can line up my framed photos, I love that idea, and have always wanted to do that.  Behind the door I plan on hanging all of my wrapping supplies so they are ready to use, without any visual clutter.

 

 

My drafting desk sits next to the window, and a Streptocarpus is blooming it’s heart out with the bright light.  Many times I have set up old barn board, or a piece of velvet and used the desk as a quick photo studio.

 

 

The shelving on the wall is more then something pretty to look at.  Ribbons, and crafting pretties are stored in the boxes sitting on the shelves. 

 

 

Paper, oh do I have paper, all stored in the open closet right behind where I sit, easier to be creative when you don’t look at it all day long. 

 

 

Not quite tidy enough to share a photo yet, there are shelves and drawers holding all of my crafting paper, tools, and glues.

 

 

The wall opposite the drafting desk houses an antique zinc topped table with my sewing machine always ready for action.

 

 

Double inspiration boards above that table, are filled with creative bits and pieces, and can be easily changed out should a idea start to take shape.

 

 

From a cold periwinkle, gloomy guest room, to a cheerful, bright inventive room that inspires me, and urges me to sit down and create, it’s amazing what a studio in bloom can do for your heart.

 

 

Happy….Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams