Ornament Swap

I participated in a Christmas Ornament swap set up by Cassandra VanCuren at An Artful Adventure. click here My category was "French Inspired and elegant things" and my colors were ivory and white. I sent three ornaments each to 3 people and they are sending three to me (Kind of like a cookie exchange - I made nine ornaments and will end up with nine)


So far, I have received my first three from JoAnne at Vintage Dragonfly click here.

Aren't they cute?? A winter scene:

A tiny tree:

And a Christmas dove:

Can't wait to receive the rest!

Love, Linda

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!

to you and yours

Love, Linda

Marley D, Sunny Joy and Cassandra Jean

Something Different

Few people have heard of Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy or VAHT. Sarajane Williams, of Planet Harp here in Macungie, has pioneered a new modality which is being used for pain management, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, general relaxation, end of life and hospice care, and many other issues.


Described as a "musical massage," the client lies on a sound table, mat, or sits in a special chair where the sound of the live harp is amplified through the device. As the harpist plays, the vibrations induce a feeling of relaxation, pain reduction and decreased anxiety. About once a year, Sarajane conducts a training course for harpists who want to learn this modality and play for patients in a clinical setting. I am privileged to lecture on "Harps in the Clinical Setting" for this course, and cover topics such as hospital policies, charting, infection control and procedures, dealing with the medical staff, HIPPA, and interpreting monitor readings.

Here are some photos of the latest course, conducted a couple of weeks ago. Getting acquainted with wine and cheese on Friday night. The classes are very small, only 6 to 8 harpists. The practitioners come from all over the world. 

This lady came from Germany. Others in this class came from Canada, Montana, Oklahoma, Georgia - one was local - from Pennsylvania.

Sarajane discussing VAHT.

Hermes is the resident Golden Retriever. He manages to lie in front of whatever harp is playing to feel the vibrations in the floor.

 As you might guess, he is a very mellow guy.

A client receiving harp therapy.

On Sunday, actual "clients" from the community came to receive VAHT. This give the students a chance to practice their new skills and see the great results obtained from a short session of harp therapy. As you can imagine, I love to be a "client." My back pain responds well to VAHT.

It was a fun and informative weekend.

For more information, go to Planet Harp here.

Love, Linda 

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A Day at the Dog Spa

I don't know how many of you bathe your (big) dogs at home. I try to avoid it if at all possible, My groomer Heather is devoting more of her time to her job, which is acclimating golden retriever breeder females to life in a home so they can be adopted earlier. (Yes, admirable I know, but where does that leave me - only saying.)


Having three dogs bathed and groomed costs more than my weekly grocery bill, and Cassie hates new experiences, baths in general, and meeting people. Sunny hates baths as well, Marley isn't thrilled, but he will comply - vocalizing and complaining throughout.


But what do you do when your dogs smell like an old rug, and your rugs smell like dog. Right - do it yourself. This is not a tutorial. This is raw, uncensored photography, and I prefer to draw a tactful veil over the actual process. (Please excuse the photo quality)

The "after" scene of the carnage.

 What you can't see is the thick layer of wet dog hair coating every surface.

Wet Dog A.  Totally pissed.

Wet Dog B.   Ditto.

Wet Dog C.  Same, also traumatized.

You will note that none of them are making eye contact with me.

Also, it is pouring outside - not ideal for the clean dog.

A selection of products, all of which smell nice to me and horrible to them.

The Perpetrator aka Spa Operator

(whose hair looked very nice 2 hours ago - note the steam -

also sprayed in the face when someone stepped on the sprayer -

also after declogging the drain of 4 pounds of dog hair, and scrubbing the bathroom, including the walls. I didn't need to wash the curtains this time.)

Stay clean, Love, Linda

Fall Walk with Marley

After our two-day winter, we are back to fall:

Marley loves to walk. I love this photo because he has golden lights in his fur.

Bambi is safe at our house!

Having a quick salad. Marley loves grass!

After the snow, the fall colors aren't quite the same.

Thanks Mom!

Stay warm! Love, Linda

My Cable is Back!

Weeeee!!!! I have  cable and am online again! Have I ever missed you guys!!
Here are a few photos of our Nor'easter that caused all the trouble:

The problem was - there were still leaves on the trees. When heavy wet snow fell, the branches were weighed down and snapped.

This is (was) my poor magnolia tree!

My driveway.

More of my driveway.

We stayed cozy, though!

After the storm . . . the sky was blue.

Now, it's fall again and 66 degrees!!

Hope everyone is well - and online.

Love, Linda

Nor'easter

I won't be blogging for awhile - the wires leading to my house are buried under a pile of trees and limbs - so I have no electricity and no internet. This is being sent from another location. My three doggies and I braved the storm.

October 30, 2011 The Snowstorm in October.

It is very quiet

The power is off

Snow is falling heavily

I climb out of bed and look out at snow covered piles of broken branches

The trees are bending double

My driveway is blocked

I can’t get out and it will be dark in an hour

No work for me tonight, I make the call

I let the dogs out and feed them

The house is cold, I build a fire in the wood stove

I need more wood

I can hear the tree limbs cracking and crashing as they hit the ground

I move us down to the living room

Blankets on the sofa, warm socks, slippers, my headlamp

A battery radio

The dogs are curling up in front of the stove

Something heavy falls on the roof

It will be dark in half an hour

Still snowing

I go out for wood, down the driveway to the shed

Four trips with the wheeled cart, branches cracking above me

I walk to the end of the drive, and the road is blocked with fallen trees

The wires are almost on the ground.

Limbs, still thick with leaves are lying on the wires

I get the wood into the house

and it’s dark.

I heat water on the stove and make tea

I cook four eggs, one for me and one for each dog, and add cheese

The wood stove cooks very hot

We eat our eggs, listening

The branches are popping and crashing

I add more wood to the fire

The dogs are drowsy and warm

I wake up and the fire is almost out

I build it up again

It has stopped snowing

I listen to the silence

The trees have stopped cracking

I read some poetry, I can almost hear it speaking aloud in my head

Marley barks at something

I call the power company again

A recording

No snowplow

It’s very warm and cozy, Sunny snores

More wood on the fire

My computer battery is almost gone

The news says the turnpike is blocked

Route 309 is blocked

We are urged not to drive

OK

I have ten feet of driving space

I won’t drive

I will drink tea

I will keep the fire burning