FIT Early and a History lesson for Me:)...

I am posting the FIT early because I will be busy with appointments on Tuesday.
I found this photo almost a year ago and since Mardi Gras had already passed I filed it away until this year. I thought it would make an awesome Mardi Gras collage.

When I pulled it back out last week and scanned it I was able to get a clear close up of the words written at the bottom of the woman on the right hand side's dress. I had always assumed the origin of the photo was France, but it's not. The words say, "Grand Ball of the Philharmonic Society of Hanoi". Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina from 1887 to 1954. The French occupied Vietnam until after WWII. During the years of 1901 through 1911 the French built an opera house that was a smaller scale copy of the Palais Garner, one of Paris' famous opera houses. That is now called the Hanoi Opera House.

I wonder where the Ball was held? Was the photographer set up at the ball to take everyone's photos? I bet everyone was so excited to be getting the Opera house which would remind them of home. It's a very cool piece of French Colonialist history. The lady in the Mardi Gras dress is named Madame Laurent and I can not clearly read her "Queen of Spades" girlfriend. I will post the names in case one of you can:)

I Got Issues...

Apparently I need to Art. My wrapping just gets more and more complicated! LOL!! Thank you everyone for your continued concern about the boys. They are not well yet but hopefully a few more days will take care of that:) We are going on little sleep and lots of hot chocolate. Hugs to all and I will be posting FIT early tomorrow and it is really lovely:)

Step 1

Step 2

Lesson Learned....

"The silly when deceived exclaim loudly; the fool complains; the honest man walks away and is silent."

[Fr., Le bruit est pour le fat, la plainte pour le sot; L'honnete homme trompe s'eloigne et ne dit mot.] Author: Francois de la Noue ("Bras de Fer")Source: La Coquette Corrigee (I, 3)

Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks...

Ok. I thought it would be romantic to learn how to use a fountain pen. So I bought a set with instruction books and practice paper and pens. Yeah. Not so much romantic and more like NOT fun at all! Maybe I should give it some more time and I am being a perfectionist and too impatient. I just had notions about how my pen would flow over the page and create wonderful letters. It is really closer to fits and starts with a lot of blotting in between, oh, and the cramping from trying to hold your hand at a constant 45 degree angle. All I can say is thank goodness for computer fonts, 'cause I don't really see me mastering this craft! LOL!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday. We are staying inside out of the cold (high today in the 30's!) and continuing to recuperate. Thank you everyone for all your sweet get well notes:) The boys are holding steady which is good and I slept through the night last night which is beyond good:)

"...for a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served or a debt to be paid. THEN life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

~Daisaku Ikeda

We Are Not FIT, but Here is Your FIT!

BOTH of the boys are sick!!! They were sick last week, but I was just thinking it was a cold. They both became worse over the weekend. I took them in yesterday to the doctors and James has bronchitis and David has pneumonia! Poor buddies:( I have not slept since Saturday night. Poor Mommy:( So now they BOTH get breathing treatments, steroids and antibiotics. I have to admit that hearing David wheezing for the first time was really scary. I am used to James wheezing with the asthma, but not David. So here we are all tired and resting:) There was a little girl in the doctor's waiting room yesterday throwing up with the stomach flu, so I am waiting on that too! That chicken soup is as close as I am getting to homemade. We picked it up at the deli yesterday:)

Here is the FIT for the week. I found this about a month ago. I am still on the fence about the gender of this cutie. I can't tell, so I am researching the clothing. This is a Carte de Vista photo from the civil war. I am really in love with it. It seems very ethereal to me.

Happy Monday!

"And the day came

When the risk

To remain tight in a bud

Was more painful

Than the risk it took to

Blossom."

~Anais Nin

Have a Happy Monday Everyone!

Love, Jamie

How In the Heck Do You Take Your Own Picture?!!!!

I won't tell you how many bad words I have said tonight!!! These are the best I can do for now. I have taken about a bajillion pictures, cussed them all and had a full blown temper tantrum! LOL!! Any way, it's nice to meet you. This is me. Warts and all:) Except, I usually wear glasses. But every time the flash... Oh! Nevermind!! I finally gave up and took them off because it just wasn't working out.

I wanted to post again because I forgot some really lovely Victorian Calling cards that I should have posted this morning. I want my own calling card. Maybe I should make one. One of the ladies is named Ida Bean. Like, "I'da bean here on time but the carriage was late." BaBumBump!I bet she heard some dumb jokes about her name. Feel free to use these in your art, make tags with them or labels with them. I love them.

Ps-My son; he's no dummy. He just saw the blog and said, "Mom, why did you take a picture of yourself?" and I said so people who visit the blog can know what I look like. And THEN he said, "Well, what if they think you just put a beautiful woman in front the camera?" God, I love that kid:)

Here is the lovely Fit for this week. I love how the baby is so alert and staring straight at the camera. This also has a nice example of a "hidden mother". She is under that blanket to the left of the baby and her arm is outstretched holding on to the back of the baby. In earlier photos that I have (mainly tintypes) the baby will be sitting on the mother's lap and the mom is completely covered from head to toe in a blanket. It can look a little creepy. It is definitely a person shaped lump under there:) There are groups of antique photo collectors who only collect Hidden Mother examples.

Here is what I have been working on this past week and this week house wise. I redid the kitchen and made myself a little home office area to keep up with ETSY and what-not. Then, of course, I had to go back and redo everything else in the kitchen:) I even made a matching calendar and magnets for the fridge and recovered my cookbooks. So silly! But, fun!

I also finally found THE painting for the livingroom. We have been staring at a blank wall for a year. The interior decorator brought in a huge oil painting of the Tuscan seaside villages. Yeah, uummm, not us sweetie. Anyhoo, I had been keeping my eye open and this painting just blew me away. Amazing how an object can make us happy, but that's what I feel every time I look at this lovely piece. It is entitled " Parchment" and it is actually painted on parchment. Which was one of the first forms of paper and you know how I love me some paper:) The artist, Matthew Menger, is really into old and aged objects and loves to work with metallic paints. The canvas is so touchable. Rough where the parchment is and smooth where his paint begins. I can't keep my hands off of it! LOL!!

'Twas two weeks after Christmas, and all through the house,
not a wee one was stirring, not even my spouse.
The stockings were packed, the chimney was bare,
The tree was recycled, it's stand stored for next year.

The children were packed and sent off to school,
I'd practically shoved them, totally NOT cool.
And I in my sweatpants and elastic headband,
Had just hunkered down for a trip thru Blogland.

I had just hit sign in, when I heard a terrible noise,
I jumped from the chair thinking it was the boys!
But, Wait. It's just me, alone, free and clear,
But then, I knew, was over come by fear.

The dust, as it settled in my art closet reveled great distress,
The shelves had collapsed and Oh, what a mess!
I said some choice words, which I won't repeat to you,
got down on my knees and began to sort through.

The treasures lay helpless, a mess on the floor,
So jumbled and crumbled and pretty no more.
And just when I thought "Why bother! I can't win, I just lose!"
I spied in the pile my lovely, sweet Muse.

She, forgotten so long ago, lie on the floor; waiting.
Her silence spoke volumes, admonishing me for not creating.
"Where have you been?" she asked, hurt and alone,
"I have been here, waiting for answers and there have been none".

She was right to be angry, stored up on a shelf,
And I cried when I saw her, in spite of myself;
I'd missed her so and tried explaining all the reasons;
The husband, the boys, the holiday season.

But really, the excuses, rang false in my ear,
And the real reason was that I was blocked by fear.
Fear of failure and not measuring up sounded more true,
And I realized then that I had to push through.

My fears were my own and needed attention,
And working them out seemed like the best prescription.
So I dusted her off, placed her back in my heart,
And there she'll reside, gently guiding my art.
~Jamie Miller





Thank you for your sweet emails of concern. Everything is fine. I am just arting/organizing like mad and it is consuming my free time. Balance is an art in itself. I am learning in fits and starts.