Another sweet face to take your breath away - feel free to take her home and use her image in your artwork!

Gathering Leaves Sunday Afternoon

A Letter from Home by Mary Oliver

She sends me news of blue jays, frost,
Of stars and now the harvest moon
That rides above the stricken hills.
Lightly, she speaks of cold, of pain,
And lists what is already lost.
Here where my life seems hard and slow,
I read of glowing melons piled
Beside the door, and baskets filled
With fennel, rosemary, and dill,
While all she could not gather in
Or hid in leaves, grow black and falls.
Here where my life seems hard and strange,
I read her wild excitement when
Stars climb, frost comes, and blue jays sing.
The broken year will make no change
Upon her wise and whirling heart; -
She knows how people always plan
To live their lives, and never do.
She will not tell me if she cries.

I touch the crosses by her name;
I fold the pages as I rise,
And tip the envelope, from which
Drift scraps of borage, woodbine, rue.

The mixed media artists of the Melange Team on ETSY.com from youtube

A Fellow Etsian, LoopyBoopy

I plan to introduce you periodically to some of my ETSY finds or fellow Etsians. I love that word, Etsian, it sounds like we should always follow it with "Beam me up Scottie!" When you consider there are over 300,000 Etsians, artists, vintage collectors and suppliers, I could present you with a new one everyday for years and not duplicate anyone. Today I am showcasing LoopyBoopy because I love her work and it suits the season. Her little creatures are hauntingly unique! See her shop at http://loopyboopy.etsy.com

The mixed media artists of the Melange Team on ETSY.com from youtube

Notes from the War on Women

I want to take a serious moment to bring attention to domestic violence in this country. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month so I want to present everyone with some alarming statistics. According to the FBI, Supplementary Homicides Report for 1976-2005, for the year 2005 as to homicides in the United States the total number of men murdered was 13,122 of which 329 were killed by their intimate partner, or 2.5%. In that same year there were a total of 3,545 women murdered in the U.S. of which a whopping 1,181 or 33.3% were killed by their intimate partner. The year 2005 was not a significant year in the number of homicides but rather the norm. And from the American Pregnancy Association, every year in the U.S. 240,000 pregnant women are subject to domestic violence of which 40% of the assaults begin during the first pregnancy. The study states pregnant women are at twice the risk of battery than non-pregnant women. Many studies attest that homicide is the number one cause of maternal death during   pregnancy and the period right after childbirth. So many movies and television shows have plots dealing with the rape and murder of women. Why is it that this country considers that entertainment and why do we never see a truce in this country's War on Women?