On the First day of Christmas...

On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

I thought I would start the First Day of Christmas by Sharing my treasures that I received from friends, far and near.

Of course, Santa did NOT forget about sweet little Charcoal..

EVEN though he was very naughty, he STILL made out like a bandit, proving again, it might not matter if you are naughty or nice, Santa still forgives and delivers...

Never has Charcoal had more than one tennis ball at a time, and he was hilarious!  I took one ball out of the bag, and soon, he had 5 out!  Yep, 2 are who-knows-where...time will tell.

Spoiled baby got some treats from Miss Gloria...so did Mommie! 

Crystal sent me and Charcoal some treats...

Always happy art, a reflection of her!

Jolanda, from the Netherlands, 

sent this hand-painted Charcoal...
LOVE IT!!

Christine, from Germany, sent these beauties for me.  

Beautifully painted and I love the domino!

Sweet Lynn, who sends treasures 

all over the country, 

made this awesome Santa for me.

Now, here is the problem...

I got ready to take the picture 

and a four-legged, furry child, 

STOLE and ATE my candy Cane...

heavy sigh--PAPER and all!!  

This was the only Candy Cane 

I had in the house to use for the photo...

Yeppers, 

He LOOKS all 

sweet and innocent and laid back, 

but I tell ya, he has some "thievin'" in him!!

Miss Linda sent this to me, 

but CHARCOAL thought it was his 

since it has "Labrador" written on it.  

We are still in negotiations...

And then, Wendy sent Summer Sausages...

He is getting his share....

I took time on Christmas eve to do this drawing 

with Prismacolor Pencils.  

It was fun to just play! 

I am getting a bit better, 

but so much more to learn.
Design is by Amy Mogish.

Yes, Charcoal...I SEE YOU...

I brought a little bit of my 

Christmas Tradition with me on Christmas Day. 

 I cooked Country Ham, Biscuits, 
Garlic Cheese Grits, 

Creamed Corn, Fruit Salad 
and a Tomato.

It was so very yummy and brought back precious memories.
Served on Mommas white plate.♡

My friend Wanda brought us this Nativity Flag...

And a bucket of 3 flavors of Popcorn

I love getting Popcorn!

Karalee sent me these cute ornaments!!

I adore them!

Nancy set this pretty ornament with a planning calendar.

 Do I dare TRY to plan?!!  LOL

This is a better picture of the mug.

I got this cute Gingerbread Ornament from Michele...

This is DA Naughty Boy with his haul from Santa...

As we enter the 12 days of Christmas,

 may we NEVER forget to keep the 

Spirit of Christmas Alive all year.

I am beyond blessed for those 
who thought of me.

My prayer is that I will take opportunities 

in this coming year

to Pay it Forward with 

Random Acts of Kindness.

I hope you will each do the same.

I am GRATEFUL and BLESSED!...~charlotte♡

Serendipity Sunday

Ah, Serendipity Sunday!!  My favorite thing to write about!

I love looking for that one moment that is unexpected and just makes me feel so blessed.

Sweet Charcoal sitting at my feet...

I have found that I usually find more than one…funny how that happens, huh?!

Do you ever wonder if what you do makes a difference in the world?

Do you ever wonder why you even try…

Do you just want to throw up your hands and give up because you don’t think anyone is paying attention, and believe me, I get it!

Ah, don't they look sweet.  These two would NEVER get into any trouble!!

We are so busy trying to do our own thing, that we don’t take time to see what others are doing.  We want people to SEE what I DID, and HEAR what I say, and LOOK what I am doing, and HERE, take my idea and make it yours, oh, and look what I am eating at this fancy smansy restaurant…ROFL

We ALL do it, and NOBODY throws a better pity party than me...I even provide refreshments and decorations!!

Chester!!  What are you doing??

I had decided a few years ago, that I was ONLY going to do my own thing. No longer would I buy someone elses pattern or paint the work of someone else...Baby, it is gonna just be ME and ME!

Chester...WHAT did you do to my sign??

Oh, you silly, silly girl...You NEVER for one moment considered WHAT you would be missing...the lessons you would not learn, the JOY you would miss in sharing with others, the FUN in painting something that your friend designed...

I can STILL see you, even with your eyes covered...Don't look surprised...Charlie KNOWS you did it, TOO!

Well, I got over that really fast.  I have probably learned more in the last three years that I have in a long time.  It has felt so good, and NOW, I also have gotten to know the blissful feeling of having someone to paint something that I designed...I have found that it is I that has gotten the most out of this by seeing my vision through the eyes of someone else.  Again, it has taught me that WE have so much to offer each other, and TOGETHER, we are unstoppable!!

The other night, a friend shared one of my blog ideas with me on fb...I cannot begin to really TELL you how happy it made me, and this is not the first time!

This is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!!  Oh my...What an imagination...

To see those little lightening bugs appear on a cookie, moved the corners of my mouth all the way up to my eyeballs!

Little Cookies by Cheryl Jones....oh, so yummy, too!

BUT then, there was more.

I received a message telling me to get to the Postie on Friday...HEY, you don't have to tell me more than two or three or four times!! (cause I forget...)

I DID not hide your sign...quit telling people that...I was Asleep...See me guarding it for YOU?!

I also re-found a gift that another friend had sent me, that got brought into the house, and promptly, he-who-shall-remain-nameless, pushed it under the couch~~out of sight, out of mind!

I love my snowman sign from Crystal...it really does pay to be up early, sometimes.  Charcoal gave his lick and sniff of approval!

On top of all of this, my elves were all acting like BOYS...mischief and mayhem all around...

I KNOW, some think that I am only bragging, and YES, well, I AM...

It finally dawned on me that receiving the many gifts I get from friends, literally, all over the world, has never been because of something I have done...

Um, Chester, I don't think that is the kind of umbrella one puts in their drinks...Another goodie from Cheryl

OH, NO...it is BECAUSE of WHO these people are...They are kind, thoughtful, loving, generous, talented and WELL, I am honored to call them friends...

So, Today, I thank Cheryl of Under the Lemon Tree and Crystal of Backwoods Artists.  You both have brought me more "warm fuzzies" than you will ever know.  Thank you, for well, being YOU!

Cheryl never forgets Charcoal, either...She is a good Auntie...

Please, everybody, go SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS...buy their products...buy their patterns...give them encouragement...Love them...share them...it is NOT about any of us, individually, but about us collectively...we NEED each other.

AND, by all means, ALWAYS pay it Forward and BLOOM!

I LOVE my new sign made by Cheryl and the awesome jar and candy!!

I am simply blessed to create...and I am blessed to feel the love of so many of you...THANK YOU, Thank you, Thank you~~charlotte♡

Whacky Wednesday

Whacky weather we are having!!

We have had those loooooooooong drawn out rolls of thunder, and I just have to smile.

Yep, that is whacky, huh!

It reminds me of my Daddy’s sister, Aunt Lattie, who would say the “tater wagons are rolling.”  Daddy would smile each time he said that, and of course, then I would be smiling.  I often wondered if she learned that phrase from her mother.  I know so little of their mother since she died when Daddy was 22 months old.

Another whacky thing that brings smiles to me, is my friends.  Yes, most of them are CRA CRA…I guess birds of a feather…

I have been way too long in getting my THANK YOUs posted, and I am ashamed, but life has been happening quite a bit, lately…

OR as I have been telling my friends: I am thinking of starting an on-line class on the finer points of Procrastination…I haven’t decided yet if I will do it, I’m just thinking about it and well, I will let you know what I decide, when I decide, and if I decide, but you will be the first to know, I think…maybe…hmmmm….I don’t know…oh, look…a shiny, sparkly SQUIRREL!!  =)

The first item I want to share is a jar painted by my friend, Crystal of Backwoods Artist.  I happened to be awake, still, one morning when she asked who was awake. I answered ME…and because of that, I was rewarded with this awesome painted jar!  HOW COOL IS THAT?  Be sure to ask to join her group, where she sells her painted wares…

Next, a real surprise came from my sweet friend, Maria!  She has had her hands full being a caregiver, and for her to find the time to send me this awesome bowl with a hand painted Santa (design by Prudy Vannier), candy (I have no clue WHERE the candy went) and 2 big ole dog bones for DA BOY from one of his Aunties…oh, and paintbrushes--lots of my favorite filberts! WELL, I am blown away!  What a gift Maria is to this world…

Next, another awesome friend, Sheila, sent me these sheepies to paint…I love to paint sheepies, and she knows it!  Sheila is multi-gifted and is one of the best scroll saw cutters.  I can’t wait to design something extra special to go into these lovely sheep.  If you need some small wooden pieces cut, Sheila is your gal....she sent 6 of the small  ones! 

This last gift is very special, too.  It came from my friend across the Pond, Karen.  Karen is one of the best photographers and her gifts don’t stop there…painting, clay, and well, she has a daughter with a beautiful name!  =)  She saw these napkins and thought about Charcoal.  I am going to decoupage them onto a surface as soon as I can find one that I think will fit…hmmm….might have to draw a puppy shape for it!  AND then, these beautiful charms of pictures she took of the alliums in her garden…and THEN…this adorable card with the tiniest, cutest little mouse EVER…I am at a loss for words!! Oh, her page is Little Tinkers.

These are, yet, another example of what I have gained from painting~~friends from all over the world.  HOW WHACKY awesome is that!  These are people I have never met, and possibly, never will, but I consider them to be friends. 

THIS is one of the many positives I have found about facebook.  We are all drawn together by our love of life, our crafts, our beliefs (sometimes these are challenging, but what good doesn’t have a few challenges), our desire to give a little bit of ourselves to get to know others…Hey, as I say, you find what you are looking to find!  I had no idea what FB was, but I cannot express the joy I feel in finding so many “good eggs”. 

Thank you, my friends…I am once again humbled that you would take your time and money to send me these gifts as a reflection of who you are~~AWESOME PEOPLE!  I hope to live my life as a reflection of your goodness and to be reminded that I must pass this love and unselfishness on to someone else, so they can feel this way, too…See what you have started!  HOW WHACKY!  LOL

Again…I am blessed…May you FIND your blessings and yes, miracles, all around you each day…~charlotte ♡