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" . . . for all the beauty you add to the world, and to my life especially . . . " I can't imagine a better way to describe Carrie's gift to me than the sentiment she included (above) in the gorgeous card she created. Just look at the way she has packaged these treasures! The attention to detail and the intricate laces are pure delight. A few weeks ago I was painting roses and there was a photograph of the vase Nancy gave me in one of the pictures. Carrie mentioned that she had the tray to match it. It never occurred to me that she would pack it up and send it! She included a card, an embroidered linen doily, a crabapple candle that smells good enough to eat, and a candle holder adorned with stars and berries!
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 Mycenea brought me a gorgeous bouquet of roses! "Orange roses - a literal mixture of yellow and red, orange roses were seen as a bridge between friendship symbolized by yellow roses and love represented by red roses. They can be an expression of fascination, or a gift to say 'I'm proud of you." Aw! Hope so! Mycenea, Nancy and I met for dinner at Rockbass and shared appetizers and desserts as well as lively conversation. The food and view were divine. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Harrisburg.  The Millennium Music Conference featured almost 400 artists and bands through the Harrisburg area. Mycenea's band, Pleiades, with Ross Kennedy and Chuck Kembring, was featured at 10:00 p.m. at the Coliseum on my birthday! A once in a lifetime gift and a memories I cherish!  Our stay at City House Bed and Breakfast gave us easy access to both the east and west shores. There was a peaceful serene feeling throughout with gorgeous views of the beautiful Susquehanna River! Our trip was overflowing with fun that ended much too soon! Thank you to Nancy for planning weeks ahead to ensure that my birthday would be filled with memorable moments! The festivities continues when I returned home! Mycala took me to the Melting Pot for a full course fondue experience! We had cheddar cheese fondue with veggies, breads and applies followed by the house garden salad. Next came surf and turf with a variety of vegetables and six sauces. The meal ended with Pure Chocolate fondue with cookies, cakes, marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple and bananas. Bliss!  This morning I journaled on my new couch, enjoying my roses! One of the best parts about going away is coming home!   Once upon a time, two experienced treasure hunters gathered their flashlights and headed out into the night to search for crabs on the beach. Instead, they found seven star fish! And so began my Search for Stars Won't you join me this month and actively begin to search for stars? August is known as the meteor viewing season, and the next event is the Perseid meteor shower, due to arrive on August 11 and 12, with potentially 20 shooting stars visible per hour if conditions are right! You can find stars any time! They are everywhere! Those of us living in the U. S. find them on our beloved Stars and Stripes, and they can be found on flags representing companies, organizations, states and countries around the world! There are stars through out museums, and antique stores, in traditional and modern quilt patterns, and mosaics and paintings. You'll find them in tiles on the floor, restaurant walls and the hardware store! The star fruit at the market is obvious, but don't miss the star hidden in the apple if you cut it from side to side instead of through the core! Nature is abundant with stars right here on earth! The delicate blue flowers on the herb borage are edible and make a beautiful garnish on a fruit salad or in ice cubes with your favorite summer beverage. You'll find stars on the shells of turtles, the leaves of the sweet gum tree, on seashells and squash blossoms! There are the 'stars' that entertain us! There are sports stars, stars of the silver screen, you'll find stars on broadway, at concerts, There are local unsung heroes, working to make your community and our world a better place to live! They are stars! And we certainly can't forget the sun! It is the ultimate star, giving life and energy to all of us! Our very existence depends on this miraculous golden orb! Searching for stars is wonderful in and of itself, but there is an added bonus! Stars are for making wishes. Use your imagination and makes wishes on every star you see, then prepare to make all of your wishes come true! And the most beautiful stars of all? The stars in the eyes of those you love! May you have an abundance of stars and may your every wish come true! Mikell Coming in September!
Enhancing Your Life with Herbs E-books!  AND there will be a series of books on herbs created for the Enhancing Your Life with Herbs course I'm teaching this fall at the Renaissance Institute at Notre Dame University of Maryland. I find beauty and value in plants that most people pull and discard or step on. At one time they were loved and valued. Join me as I reintroduce these hidden treasures of nature! The herbal e-books will feature water color illustrations, nearly 300 in all, and a fascinating, fun, and sometimes funny look at symbolism, legend and lore. You will learn which herb to use to prevent baldness, predict the future, give you courage or stop bleeding. (All that from just one herb!) You can learn about
 Get ready to be a star in 2013!!! Carry this mini-booklet with you to remind you of your lessons learned, affirmations, blessings and dreams and goals for 2013. To make the mini-book, you'll need
Carry your mini-book with you and look at it daily to remind you of your assets and goals!
"You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star." Friedrich Nietzsche
One of the lessons I'm learning in my (seemingly endless) attempts to rebuild following the flood is to find comfort with chaos. The mixed messages I've received from builders have been astounding! The first quote I received for my 1250 square foot one bedroom cabin was $137,500. It seems a fair price, but sadly, the builder had unforeseen challenges and so I began to look for bids from other builders. The second quote I received was from a builder approved by the bank and he stated that he would be able to build my cabin for $199,000 - an increase of $61,500. The next bid was $215,000, increasing my original bid by $77,500! I already own the land. This is a ONE BEDROOM cabin. The final value of the house would be $259,400 and I would need to find several similar one bedroom houses valued at over $250,000. (I am limited to one bedroom because of my sewage system - very few home owners in our area have that limitation.) The opinion I most respect is from one of our township officials who noted, "Utilizing Building Valuation Data Table from the International Code Council, developer and publisher of the building codes used extensively throughout the US, including PA, the sq. ft. cost for a single family dwelling constructed with a wooden frame should not be much higher than $100K. There would be some additional cost for the reinforced, flood-resistant foundation, but not much." The township uses these BVD tables to check construction cost estimates, and the first estimate I had was very close. If a township official feels that $100,000 "with additional cost for the reinforced, flood-resistant foundation, but not much" is reasonable, then more than double the cost can be viewed as either frustrating or amusing. I've decided to be amused! I could also sell the land and head off to live closer to my friends Carrie and Lisa, and I would only be 45 minutes from the ocean! There is chaos and lack of clarity a fraction of an inch below the surface of a mirror. But everything becomes clear when we move forward that paper thin distance. Regardless of how this plays out, I intend to have faith and to find comfort in the chaos. I'm certain that I will soon be joyously giving birth to yet another dancing star! |
"My mission is to help others see and cherish the beauty, romance and treasures within and around them that are often dismissed or completely overlooked." Categories
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MikellMikell is a writer, artist and professional treasure hunter, finding the greatest treasures in the wonderful people who enter her life! |
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