Giveaway Time!!!!

Do you like free stuff as much as I do?

Favecrafts are hosting some amazing giveaways! Favecrafts is a site that give you daily DIY project ideas when you subscribe to their email list, and you can even contact them at http://www.favecrafts.com/index.php/hct/contact_us_page  to have your projects featured on their site for free! Win win? Heck yeah.

Alright, lets get to the point!

Simply go here: http://www.favecrafts.com/index.php/hct/Reviews-and-Giveaways to get your giveaways!! :)

The Governess by Richrad Redgrave

I came across this beautiful painting the other day - The Governess by Richard Redgrave and here's the story behind this painting.

Richard Redgrave was a Victorian Era artist. He depicted a lot Victorian life-styles into his paintings, therefore, his art became much of a study for us to learn about the mysterious era. 

During the Victorian Era, the rich usually lived upstaris while the servants lived below. However, there were yet a group of people who lived an awkward position in the Victorian household. They were the nannies, house keepers, and the governesses. There were neither a servant nor yet a member of the host family. 

A governess is a girl, lady, or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In this case, we see the governess in her black dress. She holds a letter informing a death in her family which she was forced to leave behind for her current job. Behind her is a piano. The title on the music sheets is titled "Home Sweet Home." There is a biscuit not yet finished on the table. As she mourns silently by herself, one single teardrop falls onto her face. The kids playing in the background are totally oblivious to the pain she's going through.

 The painting was done in 1844.

Upcycle Your Wrapping Paper!

I hate to waste. I don't like to waste money. I certainly don't like to waste resources. Comes the holiday, what bothers me a lot is the fact that we use those pretty wrapping paper ONCE. You rip it off, throw it in the trash. I bet you probably didn't even recycle....

Here comes my solution to upcycle those pretty papers and make them live again!!!

SIMPLY -
Take your paper and start ripping them into strips. Roll the strips up one by one. 

Next time when you are grabbing your colorful tissue papers for stuffing, use these rolled up strips instead. Not only have you just saved yourself some money buying those tissue paper, you just helped these little pretty papers live a second life!

cheers to upcycling!!! :)

Help yourself and make a christmas wreath!! :)

Quote That Song - "The Black Keys: Sisters"

Knitted Fishy Skarf

Quote That Song - "Tori Amos: 1000 Oceans"

The Special Meatball In My Life...

4 Days ago, I put Meatball down.

I can't tell you she's any different from other cats. I can't tell you she's friendlier, cuter, funnier, smarter, or even sweeter than you cat, cause she's not. BUT, she only cuddled with me, only followed me around, only slept on my lap... only let me touch her furry belly. The way she looked at me, she gave to no others. When she laid on me, it usually came with drips of drools – from euphoria.

That's a pet, in total trust in you.

4 Days ago, I laid Meatball down on my bed for the last time. That was always her favorite spot. She was unable to move that day. Her eyes wide open, refused to close, as if she knew if she did, that would have been the end of it all. But as I laid behind her, petted her gentle and now fragile bony body, she purred. And purred. And purred. Was that a sign of hope?! And still, hours passed, regardless of the purring, she was still unable to move. The only thing she ever did was putting her little paws on my boyfriend's hand and nothing more, ever again. That night, I put her down, right there, on her favorite spot. I saw that last breath she took as her belly went down.

I can't explain the purring on her dying day. I can't explain her paws on my boyfriend's hand when even lifting her head seemed that hard. I can't explain the silly eyes that wouldn't close when she was obviously so so tired. I can't explain any of it...

Till it all came to me... all that was her way of showing me her love, her farewell to me, her way of telling me not to be sad, and that she was content. It was her way of farewell to my boyfriend and as some others put it, her way of showing the passing of the responsibility to look after me, her trust in him. Ironically enough, during her living days, I always asked her, "Meatball, I don't want to be your mommy, can I be your baby?" It wasn't till after she passed, I realized she did love me and took care of me the way a mother would. 

And yes, I know, this could all be in my head...


To dedicate an entry to Meatball here, I could easily tell you how much I love her or how much I want her back; to tell you how much she loved me, says much more. She was no special cat, as I am no special pet owner. But we sure, were special to each other.

Finger Gloves

My First knitted fingerless gloves :P

Escaping Our Solar System

These days, I've been insanely obsessed with Radiolab. The soft voices of the talk-show hosts, the beautiful music choices that go on in the background, the emotional stories told by the interviewees, intertwine like an elegant dance. And to be more specific, like a contemporary dance piece that triggers the heart to jump a bit 'deeper', or slower...

I was again listening to a podcast today, Escape. One of the stories in that one-hour-episode was about Voyager I  – at the edge of our solar system, and still, flying further away. The interview described it beautifully:

"It would the first ever man-made object to leave ANY star. Voyager I is right there, smelling, touching that boundaries (the edge of the solar system). You know we only do all those things once, like your first kiss, your first taste of alcohol, your first time driving a car, your first time seeing the ocean… These things open up a whole new world; the first time out of a solar system… And this, could happen anytime now..."

This sure IS an exciting moment!

The melancholy I can't stop...

this made me melancholy but i can't stop

http://soundcloud.com/radiolab/radiolab-valentine-simon-and

There's Something About Hats with a Pompom...

 

my new hand-made pompom hat. Big pompom, big fun!

Quote That Song - "Múm: Moon Pulls"

Poem Time

I found this pretty poem today..... no need to say more.

 

I Don't Remember...

by Ash L Bennett

I don't remember, any more,
The exact shape of your hands
As I held them in mine,
Caressed them,
Memorized the length of your fingers,
The depth of your calluses.

I don't remember, any more,
Exactly your height, how much
Taller than me
You were, where
My head rested on your chest
When you held me tightly close.

I don't remember, any more,
Your scent, when we lay together
Creating our own
Magic rhythm,
Matching our heartbeats as we
Touched the sky, together.

I don't remember, any more,
The sound of your voice, calling
My name as though
It were a song
Within itself, a precious treasure
You valued with all your being.

And I don't remember, any more,
The color of your eyes, the shape
Of your lips,
Only...
How your eyes crinkled at the corners
And your laugh, as you told me,

"I love you."

Copyright by Ash L. Bennett, 2011 

 

 

 

Quote That Song - "The Kills: Black Balloon"

knitting myself into a bad hat-hair-day

these are some of the stuff ive been making lately. Im still quite amateur at knitting, but the fun level is professionally.... can't find the right words...oh well.... :P

Quote That Song - "Florence + The Machine: Blinding"

Quote That Song - "The Dodos: Undeclared"

Quote That Song - "Interpol: Memory Serves"

Quote That Song - "The Shins: Australia"