Note To The World
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*********************************************
Note To The World: Please try not to blow yourself up for the next four years while America takes care of a little business here at home.
See, America is at one of those critical points in her history where she has to decide what she is going to be for a while. This one is a bit more complex than many of America's past dilemmas have proven to be.
America is currently split between freedom-loving citizens and slavery-loving citizens. That may be a bit crude for a description of the facts on the ground in America today, but it IS accurate.
The US of A is split right down the middle as I write. Roughly half her citizens want to remain free while the other half is hell bent on the slavery of socialism.
Our government is in ruins. Oh, I'm not referring to our "form" of government, I'm referring to the mechanics employed and the philosophy of those supposed to be representing US citizens in the Oval Office and the Congress -- and yes, even our screwed-up Supreme Court. The whole thing is an accursed mess ... and THAT is putting it mildly.
Not to worry. America has been here twice before and we managed to pull it out both times. Mind you -- both times required shooting wars on our shores to sort things out, but fortunately for us, and for the remainder of the free world, we Americans are nothing if we aren't warriors.
As I write, the socialist side of our little disagreement are stocking up on ammo and combat weapons and even heavy armored equipment which they are attempting to conceal by spreading it around amongst the various government agencies. (Please see: "DHS To Buy 360,000 More Rounds of Hollow Point Ammunition" at: http://www.infowars.com/dhs-to-buy-360000-more-rounds-of-hollow-point-ammunition/ )
See, the government already knows it cannot depend upon the US military to take the government's side in any future conflict that involves the US government siccing the US military on the citizens of the the US.
One must also understand that the freedom loving citizens of America, too, are armed to the teeth and continue to lay in supplies in preparation for the day the balloon goes up and it becomes necessary to take to the fields, the swamps, the mountains, the streets, and the barricades to defend freedom and the Constitution.
Many have questioned how such a force of citizens could hope to withstand a government military. Well, there's only about 150,000,000 armed citizens, many, many, already trained by the world's foremost military. I'd say they have a better that even chance of bringing any opposing force to a stand still, at the very least. Look at the success of the small forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan against the US Military. THEY are still there and the US is either gone or leaving.
The feeling that a conflict between Americans is coming is growing in intensity among America's citizens -- and the government. The political atmosphere rivals that of the period just prior to the American Civil War in the 1860's. It resembles two freight trains rushing at full speed toward each other on a single track. A collision is inevitable.
Now, you readers in parts of the world other than the USA ought to be aware that those glowing reports on Obama, appearing in the American-based mainstream media, do not accurately reflect the facts on the ground in America today. You should understand that the "Fourth Estate," the press, has utterly abandoned impartiality and adopted a position of advocacy for the Obama administration. In doing so, they have become a "Fifth Column" undermining the nation.
America is a giant pressure cooker today. The pressure within continues to build. At some point the pressure valve will not be able to manage the pressure and there will be an explosion. The higher the pressure the more violent the explosion.
Like a silent game of chess each side moves its pawns, rooks, knights, and bishops around on the board taking care not to divulge it's strategy. Even so, occasionally one side or the other tips its hand. Those of us intently observing the game grasp these little tidbits and mine them for any information we can glean and make every attempt to decipher what we can in order to inform our readers of the REAL state of affairs in America.
So. While the facade of placidity serves, to some degree, to camouflage the inner turmoil in America today, it is quickly crumbling.
Open confrontation IS coming. It is only a matter of time.
Understand: No one else is invited to the party. It will be an American only affair. It is OUR problem and it is we who will have to solve it, else it will NEVER be solved.
OK, world. So now you have had your "heads-up." All we ask is that you maintain some level of "cool" while we sort through our, uh, difference of opinion reference freedom and slavery here in America. If "freedom" wins, then America will be back! If "slavery" wins, well, good luck! You're on your own!
© J. D. Longstreet
favorite room fun
I'm over at Sadie + Stella today talking about my favorite room. (three guess which one it is). Go over and check it out. And I swear this will be the last time we all chat about this room for a while.
Also, be sure to come back on Friday as I have two big things to share. Literally, they are both large in size...and kinda heavy.
Also, be sure to come back on Friday as I have two big things to share. Literally, they are both large in size...and kinda heavy.
Would Jew Believe This? The Story Of Passover.
By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle
For my regular readers:
I have been in the hospital for the last 5 days, missed the first Seder night, and haven't been able to post in all that time. So I'm posting these old posts for the holiday of Passover.
*************************************************************************
Actually I'm not sure that is not the correct story. It could be giving that a certain Time Lord, his TARDIS and a few units of the IDF could have pulled it off.
But perhaps G-d did it this way:
Or maybe not. Any way that G-d performed the miracle of the Passover was the correct story.
Monkey in the Middle
For my regular readers:
I have been in the hospital for the last 5 days, missed the first Seder night, and haven't been able to post in all that time. So I'm posting these old posts for the holiday of Passover.
*************************************************************************
A young boy returned home from Hebrew school, washed his hands and sat down to dinner.***********************************************************************
His father asked him what he learned that day in school.The boy replied that the Rabbi told his class the most amazing story of how the Jews were rescued from the Land of Egypt and brought to the Land of Israel.
His father smiled and asked his son to relate the story the Rabbi told them.
"Sure Dad," the boy said. "Now this story happened a long time ago, before the time of CNN. Before the time of computers, and cell phones. Before even TV. I think it was in the 1920s or so it happened.
"Egypt was ruled by this guy named Pharaoh. I think it means "Nasty Egyptian". And we Jews were his slaves. We didn't like being slaves and prayed to G-d to set us free. G-d heard our prayers and sent us a miracle.
"G-d sent the IDF back in time to rescue the Children of Israel (I think they rescued the parents too.). The Commandos diverted the Egyptian Army while the Children and their parents fled to the Red Sea (It was red because G-d turned the water to blood like in Zombie Killers 3.). There the IDF built Pontoon bridges across the Red Sea for the people to go across. When the Egypt Army tried to follow, the IDF blew up the bridges."Then this guy named Moshe Dayan (He is the head of the IDF, I think. Rabbi said he was G-d's greatest profits.) lead the Children of Israel (and their parents) to Mount Sinai where Moshe lays down the law, destroys the Golden Calf and leads them to Israel.
"But it took them 40 years because nobody had a GPS and Moshe would not ask for directions."
His father had a look upon his face that was a cross between total astonishment and WTF. "Is this what the Rabbi taught you?"
"No Dad," the boy said. "But you wouldn't believe the crazy story he did tell."
Actually I'm not sure that is not the correct story. It could be giving that a certain Time Lord, his TARDIS and a few units of the IDF could have pulled it off.
But perhaps G-d did it this way:
From Chabad*********************************************************************
After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people's distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: "Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me." But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d's command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.
At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the Children of Israel, "passing over" their homes-hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh's resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d's chosen people.
Or maybe not. Any way that G-d performed the miracle of the Passover was the correct story.
A national tragedy: We are learning what is really in Obamacare
Many thanks to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for jamming the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through the House of Representatives so that finally the people could "find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy," as Ms. Pelosi so famously said two years ago. This unintentional revelation of what goes on in Ms. Pelosi's mind came in the heat of the battle between the liberal Congress and the American people, a majority of whom opposed this first step in a government takeover of our healthcare system. The American people lost that battle.
Of course, now that the odious gunk contained in the Affordable Care Act, now affectionately known as "Obamacare," has started oozing out, even the people who voted to approve the measure now realize how little they knew about it when the vote was taken.
Searching President Barack Obama's florid promises for a truthful statement about all the wonderful things the ACA would do for us is more challenging than Diogenes' trying to find an honest man.
Like your doctor? You can keep your doctor. Nope!
Like your insurance? You can keep your insurance. Nope!
It will lower costs. Nope!
After all the broken promises, there are also some new goodies in Obamacare:
There are 18 new taxes, estimated at about $800 billion, that will mostly affect America's middle class. And inflation, the cruelest tax on the poor, will increase as businesses find their operation burdened with added costs brought about by higher taxes and onerous government mandates, and pass those costs along to the consumer in the form of higher prices.
Obamacare will add $6.2 trillion (That's "trillion" with a "t"!) to the long-term deficit, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Medicare providers will be expected to continue to provide services despite a cut of $716 billion in payments. Added bureaucracy will make applying for health care even more burdensome than it already is; worse than that, an estimated 7 million people will lose their employer-provided health insurance; and worse yet, thousands of workers will find their hours cut or will lose their jobs entirely.
Just what we need: another government mandate that keeps unemployment unacceptably high.
Opponents of Obamacare warned that forcing companies employing 50 or more full-time workers to buy health insurance for their employees would result in a loss of jobs overall, and many full-time workers would have their hours reduced below the 30-hour weekly threshold. Even though the employer mandate does not go into effect until next January, employers are required to track worker's hours for up to 12 months prior to that, meaning that job and hours cuts have already begun so that employers can escape the $2,000 per-worker fine for uncovered employees, or have to bear the even higher costs of providing health insurance to full-time workers.
So, rather than increasing the number of employees getting insurance from their employers as advertised, Obamacare has instead caused employees to have their hours reduced, or cost them their jobs entirely.
These decisions are being made by more than a few businesses. The International Franchise Association finds that 31 percent of franchisees plan to cut staff to avoid Obamacare’s 50-employee mandate, and a study by Mercer consulting firm found that half of businesses that don’t presently offer health insurance plan to reduce employee hours to avoid Obamacare’s penalties.
The food industry has been particularly hard hit, including: Kroger, Wendy's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, and Papa John's Pizza. Also affected are government workers across the nation, for the same reasons.
If not keeping your doctor or your insurance policy if you wanted to is not bad enough, or if thousands of Americans losing the jobs or having their hours reduced to less than 30 a week isn't bad enough, how about thousands of doctors taking down their shingles? According to a survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, 6 in 10 physicians said they expect many of their colleagues to retire earlier than planned in the next 1 to 3 years.
Another 55 percent of doctors surveyed believe many of their colleagues will cut back on their hours because of the way medicine is changing, and 75 percent believe the best and brightest may not consider a career in medicine, up from 69 percent in 2011.
How could the smartest man ever to inhabit the Oval Office have been so desperately wrong? Curious people want to know: Did Barack Obama just not have a clue about what the law that now bears his name would actually do, or did he deliberately deceive people about what it would do in order to gain their support for it?
There is a faction that firmly believes that if people lose their private sector insurance coverage, or can't afford it, that is precisely what Mr. Obama wants, thus making his dream of a single-payer government healthcare system a reality.
So, will our public servants act to relieve us of this Obomination? They should remember that there are Senate and House elections in 2014. And so should we.
Birthday trip in New York, outfit nr.3
The weather in New York this time around wasn't that great but I'm not complaining, to me NYC is great no matter what. So, in the 3rd day I was wearing my NEW Joe Fresh graphic coat, striped top and Supermuse leather hat (perfect for the windy weather). Red, black and white fusion is a classic one and I love wearing it!
Coat: Joe Fresh/ I also love this one Here
Leather hat: Supermuse/ Here
Ankle boots: Sam Edelman
Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ option Here
Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren
Top: Jones New York
The Sun King ... J. D. Longstreet
The Sun King
Obama le Roi-Soleil
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
The record of the legacy of America's own Sun King is being written today by those of the left who feel compelled to maintain the "official" record of the United States' history.
With apologies to the people of France, we have chosen to describe our President Obama as their Louis the XIV. At least the official description of him in history books of tomorrow will glow with our Obama's radiance.
See, it makes no difference if the Obama Administration is an abject failure, the history books will present him in much the same way as the Cult of Lincoln does the American tyrant -- Abraham Lincoln.
Look. I'm a southerner, and a student of history ... not an expert on history, not a history "scholar," just a student of history. As such, I have actually been exposed to the painful truth of our history on many occasions -- and it ain't pretty.
The propagandists who write our history books are almost entirely from the leftist sector of the political spectrum. It is the leftist narrative (story line) they will protect and it is from the point of view of that narrative they will write of President Obama for future students of history.
The truth be damned! The narrative is the thing!
To be sure -- Obama is THEIR Sun King.
It matters not that Obama has been one of the worst, if not THE worst President America has ever had ... period. But you will never find any hint of that, or ANY of his short comings, in future history books. Heck, it is nigh on to impossible to find any mention of Obama's less than sterling leadership abilities or his mediocre talent for governance in the leftist press, (otherwise known as the Mainstream Media) today.
One would be hard pressed to think of another president of modern times who enjoyed the life of a "jet-setter" while in office, especially when the country is in such perilous shape. The only other playboy, jet setter, president who comes to mind -- in fairly recent decades -- is JFK. But then JFK came into office riding on a cushion of money from his father's former bootlegging business. (Hey! That's not a put down. MY family had its share of bootleggers, too! Mine even made the stuff they sold! In fact, I'm sorta partial to bootleggers.)
As I said above, I am a southerner. I grew up under an imposed cloud of lies and, even to this day, we southern folk are compelled to defend our families from the stench of the lies surrounding the so-called American Civil War. The REAL history of that war and the reasons for that war bear almost no resemblance to the "official" history of the same event.
Consider this: "Much of Civil War history is untrue. The story is told that millions of southerners went to war over an issue that only affected some 6 percent of the population. Such absurdity is readily seen.
There was no shining Northern force fighting a moral battle for the sake of ending slavery. There was no oppressive southern force fighting to preserve slavery, either. After the south declared its independence, the Union ruthlessly invaded, leaving Southerners no choice but to defend themselves.
Unfortunately the south lost that struggle and has suffered for a century and a half because of it." (Taken from the book "The South Was Right" by James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy published by Pelican.)
It riles me to think, as I sometimes do, that the South contains approximately one-third of the American people. Yet the southern states, even to this day, enjoy less freedom than the remainder of the so-called "United" States. Even our elections, in a number of southern states, are governed by the US Federal Judiciary. And consider this. Only one justice on the US Supreme Court is a southerner. I take great pride in the fact that HE is a southern black man. (You may recall the terrific fight we had getting Clarence Thomas of Georgia seated on that court.)
(As of 2010, the Court has a majority from the Northeastern United States, with seven justices coming from states to the north and east of Washington, D.C.. The remaining two justices come from Georgia and California, respectively.)
The "Cult of Lincoln" has so obscured the deviousness of the man, that modern Americans will never actually know who Lincoln really was -- a lying, two-faced, back stabbing, racist, politician who's mental elevator didn't go all the way to the top. Now, however, he is celebrated as an American demi-god.
We can expect a "Cult of Obama," as well. He cannot be allowed to fail, you see, for the historical record. No matter that our history is, for the most part, revisionist history. But, then again, nearly ALL official history is "revised." Practically all real, un-revised, history (with warts, hairs and all) is deeply hidden. A student of history today MUST be an accomplished researcher.
So, the historical record of America's Sun King will be written in glowing accounts of his accomplishments with no mention of the lasting damage to the constitution and to the generations of Americans yet unborn.
© J. D. Longstreet
Obama le Roi-Soleil
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
The record of the legacy of America's own Sun King is being written today by those of the left who feel compelled to maintain the "official" record of the United States' history.
With apologies to the people of France, we have chosen to describe our President Obama as their Louis the XIV. At least the official description of him in history books of tomorrow will glow with our Obama's radiance.
See, it makes no difference if the Obama Administration is an abject failure, the history books will present him in much the same way as the Cult of Lincoln does the American tyrant -- Abraham Lincoln.
Look. I'm a southerner, and a student of history ... not an expert on history, not a history "scholar," just a student of history. As such, I have actually been exposed to the painful truth of our history on many occasions -- and it ain't pretty.
The propagandists who write our history books are almost entirely from the leftist sector of the political spectrum. It is the leftist narrative (story line) they will protect and it is from the point of view of that narrative they will write of President Obama for future students of history.
The truth be damned! The narrative is the thing!
To be sure -- Obama is THEIR Sun King.
It matters not that Obama has been one of the worst, if not THE worst President America has ever had ... period. But you will never find any hint of that, or ANY of his short comings, in future history books. Heck, it is nigh on to impossible to find any mention of Obama's less than sterling leadership abilities or his mediocre talent for governance in the leftist press, (otherwise known as the Mainstream Media) today.
One would be hard pressed to think of another president of modern times who enjoyed the life of a "jet-setter" while in office, especially when the country is in such perilous shape. The only other playboy, jet setter, president who comes to mind -- in fairly recent decades -- is JFK. But then JFK came into office riding on a cushion of money from his father's former bootlegging business. (Hey! That's not a put down. MY family had its share of bootleggers, too! Mine even made the stuff they sold! In fact, I'm sorta partial to bootleggers.)
As I said above, I am a southerner. I grew up under an imposed cloud of lies and, even to this day, we southern folk are compelled to defend our families from the stench of the lies surrounding the so-called American Civil War. The REAL history of that war and the reasons for that war bear almost no resemblance to the "official" history of the same event.
Consider this: "Much of Civil War history is untrue. The story is told that millions of southerners went to war over an issue that only affected some 6 percent of the population. Such absurdity is readily seen.
There was no shining Northern force fighting a moral battle for the sake of ending slavery. There was no oppressive southern force fighting to preserve slavery, either. After the south declared its independence, the Union ruthlessly invaded, leaving Southerners no choice but to defend themselves.
Unfortunately the south lost that struggle and has suffered for a century and a half because of it." (Taken from the book "The South Was Right" by James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy published by Pelican.)
It riles me to think, as I sometimes do, that the South contains approximately one-third of the American people. Yet the southern states, even to this day, enjoy less freedom than the remainder of the so-called "United" States. Even our elections, in a number of southern states, are governed by the US Federal Judiciary. And consider this. Only one justice on the US Supreme Court is a southerner. I take great pride in the fact that HE is a southern black man. (You may recall the terrific fight we had getting Clarence Thomas of Georgia seated on that court.)
(As of 2010, the Court has a majority from the Northeastern United States, with seven justices coming from states to the north and east of Washington, D.C.. The remaining two justices come from Georgia and California, respectively.)
The "Cult of Lincoln" has so obscured the deviousness of the man, that modern Americans will never actually know who Lincoln really was -- a lying, two-faced, back stabbing, racist, politician who's mental elevator didn't go all the way to the top. Now, however, he is celebrated as an American demi-god.
We can expect a "Cult of Obama," as well. He cannot be allowed to fail, you see, for the historical record. No matter that our history is, for the most part, revisionist history. But, then again, nearly ALL official history is "revised." Practically all real, un-revised, history (with warts, hairs and all) is deeply hidden. A student of history today MUST be an accomplished researcher.
So, the historical record of America's Sun King will be written in glowing accounts of his accomplishments with no mention of the lasting damage to the constitution and to the generations of Americans yet unborn.
© J. D. Longstreet
Lessons of Cyprus
The deal hammered out for Cyprus last night isn't "fair". Angry Cypriots are right about that. In important respects, Cyprus has not received the same treatment as other bailed-out eurozone economies.
That is partly because Cyprus and its banks are an extreme case, but it is also a matter of timing. The brutal truth is that the Cypriots held out too long.
Rightly or wrongly, European officials and the IMF think markets are confident enough now to take a lesson in "creditor responsibility". If Cyprus had gone for help when investors still thought the single currency was about to explode, it would have had a stronger hand.
Robert Peston is right to point out the disastrous consequences of the bailout for the Cyprus economy. Depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($130,000; £85,000) in the bank are going to lose billions.
The fact that the exact penalty won't be known for some time, with many accounts frozen entirely while that is decided, only makes things worse. It is hard to see how anybody is going to get any credit in this country in the foreseeable future, and an economy without credit is an economy that cannot do very much at all.
As I said on the Today programme this morning, the short-term implications for the rest of eurozone are clearly much less serious. Cyprus only accounts for less than one quarter of 1% of eurozone GDP.
Some will obviously be concerned about financial contagion - the risk that depositors and investors in Italy or Spain will look at this deal and wonder if they could also lose out if their bank got into trouble.
The officials who negotiated this deal are pretty sure that the hit to depositor confidence will be less than if the Cypriot government had been able to go ahead with last week's plan and raid the accounts of even small-scale depositors. After a week of foolish wobbling, the eurozone has decided that deposits worth up to 100,000 euros are sacred after all.
However, I'm not sure we're quite back to where we were a few weeks ago. The nasty way that this crisis has been resolved - and the message that has now been sent to private creditors - may well have lasting implications, even if the agonies of the Cyprus economy do not.
To obtain help from its fellow eurozone members, a country has been forced - at financial gunpoint - to destroy the part of its economy that has accounted for most of its growth for more than a generation. It has been told that this has to happen, without even a vote in parliament.
The Irish got a taste of this when they were put under pressure in their bailout negotiations to raise their low rate of corporation tax. Dublin was able to resist. As I said at the start, Cyprus had given itself a weaker hand.
The lesson for governments and ordinary voters is that finance ministers are going to do their best to hold this eurozone together, but it is not going to be pretty - economically, or politically.
The lesson to private creditors from Germany, the IMF and others at the negotiating table last night was that things were getting back to normal, and that normality cannot just mean that stock markets and bond prices continue to go up.
We have had nearly five years when governments were nervous of suggesting that anybody could lose anything they lent to a bank, either as a depositor or an investor. For creditors and depositors with more than 100,000 euros in their account, the message is that this is no longer true.
Officials think the markets are strong enough to take this lesson in creditor responsibility. We'll find out soon enough if they're right.
anatomy of a gallery wall
Happy Monday! I trust that y'all had a splendid weekend. We got pummeled with more snow than we should have for the whole month of December, never mind the fact that it is almost April. Mamma ain't happy. I've got some flip flops burning a hole in my closet. I need spring!
I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the girls' room and all of your great questions. You know how to make a girl blush! There were lots of questions about things on the gallery wall so I thought I would tackle those today.
Here are the specifics on what I included and why.
1. Keep it personal. This is a 'commissioned original'. I wanted something vertical so I asked my uber talented graphic designer bestie to take some lyrics and make them pretty. This is from a song, I Will, by a little band called The Beatles. I sing this each night to the girls (Eve sings along). They are the only ones allowed to hear me sing unless cocktails are involved.
2. Add something with dimension. A craft I did with the girls for Valentine's Day. It is their handy work and they are very proud of it.
3. Humor is important. Let me introduce you to Herb. 'Herbie' to his friends. The hubs got the ceramic dear head for Christmas and as soon as he opened it the girls were smitten. It was Amelia's idea to put Herbie in their room and the hubs was gracious enough to share him. Right now he wears some forsythia for this season I hear we are supposed to get someday called 'spring', but Amelia is on the hunt for the perfect antlers (aka branches) that we can make glittery. Because when you think of a mounted deer head, you think of glitter. At least I do.
4. Art is in the eye of the beholder. An unsolicited piece by Amelia herself. She came into the kitchen one day over the moon to show this off. My favorite is a toss up between the swing on the tree and the paver walk. The girl is a genius obviously.
5. Include something that includes all the colors of your scheme. One of my favorite watercolors from MaiAutumn.
6. More pretty watercolors my parent's gave Eve for her 1st birthday. And yes, the one on the right is in there sideways.
7. You need an 'awww' factor. I keep several pieces of clothes from the early baby days (no matter what my mom might tell you about my sentimentality) and this is one of the few items that both of them wore. This is the hat that both girls had on when they came home from the hospital. How I wish I had better handwriting.
And good gracious, have you ever tried to take a picture of something behind glass?! It isn't pretty, and neither are the pictures.
8. History. The girls' birth announcements. Memories.
9. Add a bit of life. Mean I know as they are no longer alive, but the girls love butterflies. And the yellow ties into the colors of the room. Any random group of things can become cohesive thru color.
10. Break the routine. A vintage oval gold frame from my stash. Something nice and round...or oval, helps to break up all the squares and straight lines.
11. Words to live by. Kate Spade has spoken. Amen Kate.
12. Lessons Learned. I believe I wrote this in sixth grade. There is also an accompanying illustration that severely dates me. Let's just say Benetton was one of the stores featured. They did have great rugbys. I'll keep that little drawing for myself.
13. B. Baumgartner. No expanding on that really.
And yes, I used my tried and true template hanging method and it worked like a charm. Take that plaster.
So that is how I go about picking what little nuggets make it up on the wall. How do you pick what goes on your wall?
I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the girls' room and all of your great questions. You know how to make a girl blush! There were lots of questions about things on the gallery wall so I thought I would tackle those today.
Here are the specifics on what I included and why.
1. Keep it personal. This is a 'commissioned original'. I wanted something vertical so I asked my uber talented graphic designer bestie to take some lyrics and make them pretty. This is from a song, I Will, by a little band called The Beatles. I sing this each night to the girls (Eve sings along). They are the only ones allowed to hear me sing unless cocktails are involved.
2. Add something with dimension. A craft I did with the girls for Valentine's Day. It is their handy work and they are very proud of it.
3. Humor is important. Let me introduce you to Herb. 'Herbie' to his friends. The hubs got the ceramic dear head for Christmas and as soon as he opened it the girls were smitten. It was Amelia's idea to put Herbie in their room and the hubs was gracious enough to share him. Right now he wears some forsythia for this season I hear we are supposed to get someday called 'spring', but Amelia is on the hunt for the perfect antlers (aka branches) that we can make glittery. Because when you think of a mounted deer head, you think of glitter. At least I do.
4. Art is in the eye of the beholder. An unsolicited piece by Amelia herself. She came into the kitchen one day over the moon to show this off. My favorite is a toss up between the swing on the tree and the paver walk. The girl is a genius obviously.
5. Include something that includes all the colors of your scheme. One of my favorite watercolors from MaiAutumn.
6. More pretty watercolors my parent's gave Eve for her 1st birthday. And yes, the one on the right is in there sideways.
7. You need an 'awww' factor. I keep several pieces of clothes from the early baby days (no matter what my mom might tell you about my sentimentality) and this is one of the few items that both of them wore. This is the hat that both girls had on when they came home from the hospital. How I wish I had better handwriting.
And good gracious, have you ever tried to take a picture of something behind glass?! It isn't pretty, and neither are the pictures.
8. History. The girls' birth announcements. Memories.
9. Add a bit of life. Mean I know as they are no longer alive, but the girls love butterflies. And the yellow ties into the colors of the room. Any random group of things can become cohesive thru color.
10. Break the routine. A vintage oval gold frame from my stash. Something nice and round...or oval, helps to break up all the squares and straight lines.
11. Words to live by. Kate Spade has spoken. Amen Kate.
12. Lessons Learned. I believe I wrote this in sixth grade. There is also an accompanying illustration that severely dates me. Let's just say Benetton was one of the stores featured. They did have great rugbys. I'll keep that little drawing for myself.
13. B. Baumgartner. No expanding on that really.
And yes, I used my tried and true template hanging method and it worked like a charm. Take that plaster.
So that is how I go about picking what little nuggets make it up on the wall. How do you pick what goes on your wall?
Are We Being "Set-Up?" ... J. D. Longstreet
Are We Being "Set-Up?"
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************
I can't put my finger on it, but I have this nagging feeling that Senator Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban is not gone. My paranoia tells me the democrats are going to squeeze it through a "back door" somehow.
There are those among gun right's advocates who believe that having Feinstein’s assault weapons ban tacked onto another(a different) gun control bill, of some kind, will make it easier to pass the Senate.
Consider this: "It’s a trap! It’s a non-event. What’s going to happen is they’re going to take another bill, and that could be the veterans’ gun ban and then bring that to the floor,” said Mike Hammond, chief counsel for Gun Owners of America, a pro-Second Amendment group.
Hammond said bringing a less controversial bill to the floor will make it easier to find the 60 votes needed to open debate.
Hammond said Feinstein’s proposed ban on “assault weapons” will be offered as an amendment to Reid’s bill.
“Furthermore, they’ll probably break off a magazine ban and offer that as an amendment to that. Furthermore, they’ll probably take a universal gun registry and offer that as an amendment to that,” Hammond told WND.
“When Harry Reid says he’s dropping Feinstein from the bill, what he means is it’s not going to be in the bill which is reported to the Senate, but it will be offered on the Senate floor,” he said. “So the question we’re asking is, ‘Why in heaven’s name should anyone vote for this underlying vehicle when we’re being told in advance it’s going to be nothing but a vehicle for a gun-control buffet?’” Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/its-a-trap-watch-out-for-gun-safety-bill/#j0wfdKpS4Wl7APpy.99
Just saying "I don't trust the Senate" would be a huge understatement.
Too, I am troubled that Senator Feinstein did not raise a ruckus. You'd think she'd be throwing a conniption fit in front of very camera in sight -- if she were, in fact, REALLY upset that her baby, the Assault Weapons Ban, was killed by Harry Reid. But she hasn't. THAT is truly puzzling. It is very unlike Feinstein to accept defeat so easily. I'm just not buying it.
(Oh. If you are wondering what a conniption fit is, well, it is a regional thing.
Here in the southeastern US a conniption fit is a bit more physical than a hissy fit. Throwing a hissy fit does not require physical gestures including punching something or someone. A conniption fit, on the other hand, is basically a hissy fit with physical gestures, which may, as we said above, include the act of punching someone in the nose. Just thought you ought to know.)
In my opinion, for gun rights folks to claim victory over the assault weapons ban is premature. In fact, now would be the time to really bring the hammer down by increasing the pressure on those senators who might be wavering.
The White House has indicated it has not thrown in the towel on the AWB. I expect we will see a good deal of arm twisting by Obama -- and -- that pressure is certain to change the minds of some of the weaker members of the senate. Remember Obamacare?
Then there is the "wild card." All it will take is for another nut job with a gun to go on a killing spree to resurrect the AWB and get it passed in the senate in the twinkling of an eye.
Even though I am concerned about the AWB, I am equally concerned over the Universal Background Check legislation. So far as I am concerned, the Universal Background Check is a gun registry by another name. If anything gets through the Congress it will be the UBC.
Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, has referred to background checks as the “sweet spot” of gun control legislation. It's THAT important to gun control legislation.
We're now at a critical juncture for gun control legislation in the US Congress. Now is not the time to relax, or let our guards down. The Second Amendment is in peril. It is up to freedom-loving Americans to offer an unflagging defense of the amendment that protects all the rest. If the Second Amendment goes, the entire Bill of Rights and the Constitution will go with it.
© J. D. Longstreet
Birthday trip in New York, outfit nr.2
A great coincidence, is that once again I match my outfit with the location, this time in New York City. The main piece from my second outfit from New York was this J Crew star sweater and the fun part was that we pass by The Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, and we decided to take these photos right there.
Univers, planets and stars...Oh my!
Sweater: J.Crew/ another version Here
Trousers: Express/ option Here
Oxford shoes: Jeffrey Campbell thanks to ShopAKIRA/ Here
Sunglasses: c/o zeroUV
Clutch: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ option Here
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
