do you like surprises???

A Bubble for Me? a photo by lunahzon on Flickr.

If you are like me, you answered "it depends".

Yesterday my UPS man delivered a box to me...not highly unusual because I'm always ordering something online, right?

But not recently though, hmmmmmm. Maybe it's a mistake and meant for another address. No... it has my name on it. CURIOUS?? I was too!

I opened the box to find a card from a friend and these luscious treats! Let me tell you they are as good as they look! Strawberries + chocolate = YUM.

In all the people we come in contact with over years and years of our complicated lives, I still marvel at the wonderful friends we make - those that stand out and above - who love us in spite of our "uniqueness" - who seem to know just when we need a hand, or a shoulder to lean on - they send special packages wrapped in love - they make us laugh til we cry - they teach us lessons - and allow us to love them back making us both better for having been friends.

I am so blessed to have this person in my life - and no surprise, her name? why...it's "Joy" of course. Thank you my dear friend, you never cease to AMAZE me in so many wonderful ways.

Hug a friend today, surprise her, make her laugh - it makes you both feel good.

Bet you were Wondering....

Bet you're wondering where I've been? Well, I've been here - just feeling under the weather. I couldn't resist sharing with you a sample of the beautiful fresh bouquet I found sitting on my desk Friday morning. A dear friend left them for me, and yes they did wonders for my spirit!! Nature is purest art, each petal a miracle of incredible beauty. The fragrance is very delicate and a treat for the senses. Thank you dear friend ;-)

Inspiration

This is what a best friend looks like! A woman who is not only willing to act silly, but shares my love of art, textiles, and paper. We bounce ideas off each other, oohing an aahing over patterned paper, inks, and LOTS of books and magazines. We have shared many laughs, tears, good news and bad over the last twenty something years. Today was a scorcher (over 90 degrees) so we got together for breakfast to catch up on the past week's news and activities. We went to a few shops and perused the latest magazines at Borders while sharing ideas on products, stamping, inks, and different tools. Such a fun day! We wilted a bit in the heat between stops (even the going in and out was amazingly HOT).....but as always we left each other inspired to go home and CREATE. Thanks for a great day, friend ;-)

Saturday in New Buffalo Michigan

When I need an inspiration fix, artsy phartzy upload, or just a perfect day....I call on my best gal pal Woz. Her name is actually Linda, but we all affectionately call her Woz (a shortened version of her last name). We were praying for a moderate day and we got just what we wished for - it was drizzly and cloudy but the temperature stayed in the 60's. It was perfect for running around in and out and the rain kept the huge crowds away. The day began early as I have a 45 minute drive to her driveway, and we had breakfast plans at a local eatery. Everyone else had the same plan, so we darted over to Starbuck's instead. So much to talk about, and we never shut up for a minute until we returned to her driveway that night! Oops I'm getting ahead of myself...we had a leisurely drive to New Buffalo and it's always amazing to see how many studios, art barns, or businesses fold up, disappear, or pop up each time we visit. We started in town at a cute shop and as you can see I need some practice at taking my own photos, ha. Now of course my plan was to take photos all along the journey: the inspiring pieces of art we saw and certainly the incredible food we would share - but again I failed miserably as a tour guide. I was having way too much fun to document for later and didn't realize it until we had finished our fabulous dinner!! New Buffalo is the beginning of Red Arrow Highway which winds around along the wooded edge of the Lake through 4 towns. This picturesque drive is peppered with bungalows selling old and new decor items, flea markets, antique shops, snack shops, a Roadhouse, art galleries, trendy clothing stores, handmade art, a Swedish Bakery (which closed before we got there) and so many places tucked away filled with treasures. We saw a chair made from luggage pieces, speciality food items like Key Lime Mustard Sauce, nostalgic jewelry and depression glass. We oohed and aahed, and giggled while we sampled veggie dips set out to entice us, tried on clothes, sifted through baskets and boxes of trinkets and finally took a break at our favorite New Buffalo restaurant for "crabbies" (hot crispy won ton balls filled with crab and cream cheese served with a sweet Barney sauce)- it wasn't crowded and we were seated by the huge windows and chatted while we shared a Cobb salad and our personal selections of soup. Yum. Now back to the trail ;-) There is so much to see, and many of the shops have gardens or fabulous landscaping with huge hydrangeas, and baskets filled with a variety of lush overhanging flowers. When they began to roll up the sidewalk we headed up to Michigan City Lighthouse mall and stopped in a couple of stores there. If you are looking for a good summer read, I hear "The Girls from Ames" is a hot choice. It's about a 40 year friendship between several women. Time flies and now we get on Route 12 for a scenic ride home and along the way we should come upon the brand new restaurant Bartlett's - which we did but after 40 other carloads had arrived and been seated LOL....so change of plans we will be forced to eat at our VERY FAVORITE restaurant near home. Which we did and had the most marvelous time catching up and sharing all the little details that only your best gal pal wants to know. When I dropped Linda off at 10 p.m. that night, I waved and said goodbye but not for long as we had already thought up at least 4 other excursions we needed to line up in the near future. I dropped into bed with a bigger smile on my face than I'd been able to muster for months, it was such a great day. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Friends

Yes, usually I would post something I created on my blog, but today is special indeed. This gorgeous display of color is a gift from my friend Pam. It's a Laurel Burch bag with jeweled handles. It's big enough to wag my lunch to work, or take shopping, or use as my regular bag. It was a surprise, for no special reason, except the sharing spirit between good friends. The motif has special meaning for me and shows how connected and thoughtful she is ;-) Isn't it beautiful? Pam moved away and it is really important to stay in touch with those we love whether it is sending an email, a lovely handwritten note, a phone call, or a gift such as this when you see the "perfect thing" that makes you think of them alone. I appreciate it more than she will ever know and am proud to share it with you all. You'll know me if you see me, just look for the orange and purple dog on my arm. I will be smiling, you see these dogs bring out the best in me just like my friend Pam - reach out and touch a friend today, I can tell you it will mean an awful lot to them and none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. Do it soon.