What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Again?!

I know, I know, my desk is in this state AGAIN!  I am running out of words to describe it for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Shall I call it "a mess"? I said that last week.  How about "in complete disarray"?  Yup, used that as well.  "Chaotic"?  Done.  Anyway, it is AGAIN, like this...

I am sorting out the brochures I kept getting from the tourist information offices around the places we visited in Europe.  I know, I am a compulsive brochure collector!

At least I can show you the new stamp that my sister Patsy gave me.  Isn't it a beauty? 

And then there is a tin of old accessories, earrings, necklaces, beads, etc that I need to sort out.  But then, I could decide to just close the tin and put it away!

Here is a handmade wedding invitation that I received for my friends' wedding in Ireland...

(the husband-to-be is Filipino and he made this using native Filipino materials (sinamay, a dried sunflower center, wood shaving petals).

And here is my little portion of Paris...

A vintage postcard from the marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen - Porte de Clignancourt, my vintage key on a chain with the cheap Eiffel tower keychain souvenir (maybe I can make a bag charm?), a feather I picked up somewhere, and the clay yoghurt containers that were too cute for me to leave behind.

So, no work in progress on my desk today, hopefully there will be something next week.  For more desks with all sorts of interesting things to see, or to join in the fun, check out the WOYWW list!

And if you are interested to see some pictures of the places I visited around Boston, why not drop by my previous post!

Travel Notes: Boston and Around

I'm amazed at how much traveling I've done these past two months!  My trip to Boston and the surrounding areas seems like ages ago after my trip to Europe but I thought I 'd share with you some of the places there that I visited...

...like the Boston Convention Center (where my hubby and I attended a conference)...

...the beautiful campus of Harvard University (established in 1636)...

...Abbot Hall in Marblehead which houses the famous painting...

 "The Spirit of 76" by Archibald Willard commemorating U.S. independence...

...the House of the Seven Gables, in Salem, Massachusetts, a National Historic Landmark District, which inspired the setting and title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 novel "The House of the Seven Gables"...

...and Gloucester, a popular summer destination on Cape Ann. 
If we had the time, I would have wanted to go on one of the whale watching tours they were offering there.

A lot of boats, my Dad would love it here!

We visited Essex and although there are a lot of wonderful shops there, (Wikipedia says, "The town now boasts of being the municipality with the greatest number of antique shops per square mile in the US.") we only had time to stop by the White Elephant Shop. 

I bought some old and not so old books for only $1 each (I posted some of them for the What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday post after I got back).  Have you noticed how I often come home with old books?

The views in Rockport...

...and Ogunquit, Maine were wonderful...

And so was the lobster!

 

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: My Travel Journal

My desk is again in a whole mess so I took a picture of a just a small part of it (the only part where you can actually see the desk)...

... where, among other things, you can see a wonderful pile of ATCs I won in Sniisk's ATC lottery on ATCs for ALL and my travel journal which I am trying to finish (I didn't have time on the trip so I just kept notes to remind me of where we went and what we did.)

And since Neet already received my PIF for the WOYWW 2nd Anniversary, I can finally share with you the post I deleted when I realized I wasn't supposed to reveal what I was giving away...

"To celebrate WOYWW's 2nd anniversary, I made a set of ATCs, one for each letter...

Do you see the "W"?...

 the "O"?...

 the "Y"?...

 another "W"?...

  and still another "W"?

 Put them all together, and you'll have the WOYWW international village, where, on Wednesdays, bloggers from all over the world ask each other, "What's on your workdesk?"

If you look really closely into the windows, you will see little pictures of actual desks (pictures posted on the week I made my ATCs).  It's hard to see from these pictures but Julia's window (on the 4th card) has a little golden crown (because she's the Queen of WOYWW).

And this ATC set was my "Pay it Forward" gift to Neet who came next to me on the WOYWW 2nd Anniversary list.  For more desks joining in the fun of WOYWW, check out the Julia's Stamping Ground! 

For Father's Day

I hadn't even fully unpacked from my trip to Europe and I was packing a bag again for a Father's Day weekend trip to the beach, my father's favorite place.  At 52 years old, I am so blessed to have both my Mom and my Dad still with us, with my Dad still strong enough to go sailing alone in his boat (like the picture I shared in my post last year).  No internet in the beach and so I was not able to post this wonderful song I first heard from Lani in her blog Healing Expressions...


Belated Happy Father's day to all the wonderful Fathers out there!  Belatedly linking up with Then Sings My Soul Saturday.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Airplane Food

 

Hello, WOYWWers!  By the time Wednesday comes, there won't be anything on my "workdesk" except airplane food because I will be way up in the air flying back home.  And before you get the impression that I fly business class regularly, let me share with you how I got to be reclining in this wonderful Etihad Airways flatbed (this picture was taken on the way to Europe).  

What a wonderful surprise blessing we've had!  My son was assigned to work in Frankfurt for 6 months starting last April. And he found out that he had the privilege to come home every month (6 trips) or fly family members to visit him (Business Class!)  So after working on all the papers to show that we are family members, my hubby, 2 other children and I flew to Europe and spent the next 2 weeks driving around.    A dream come true for me!

For real desks with real works in progress, neat or tidy, go drop by the What's on your Workdesk Wednesday list!

Edit:  Well, I must say the airplane food on Business Class was excellent!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Oh là là

Bonjour, amis!  No desk to show you today, and time for just a short post since I have to share internet time with my hubby and kids.  Je suis allé à un marché aux puces ce week-end (tee hee, I wonder if I said that right) and here are some of my finds!  My favorite, which I wonder how I will bring home since it is so heavy, is a set of 2 books - an old French dictionary with wonderful illustrations!  And some wonderful old keys with lovely designs.

 

I haven't had much time to visit other desks for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday but if you have the time, drop by the wonderful desks from around the world!  And in my case this week, a floor full of flea market finds!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Oooooops, obviously, I didn't read Julia's instructions and had already posted about my WOYWW PiF gift this morning!  Then I visited La-De-Dah and she mentioned we're not supposed to post about it yet!  Delete the post, Peggy, quick!!!!

For more desks joining in the anniversary fun, check out the Stamping Ground!  Congratulations, Julia and Happy Anniversary, everyone!

And the Winner is...

 

I finally found some time to make a post to announce the winner for my Easter giveaway.  Thank you to everyone who left me a comment! I truly appreciate all of you!  And the winner is number...

(I just love having numbered comments!  It makes picking a winner so much easier.  I wrote a post about how I put numbers in case you're interested.)  Anyway...

Congratulations, Sonya!  Sonya has a blog called "Counting My Blessings" where she shares about faith and family, arts and crafts, gardening and thrifty finds.  Go visit her and see the wonderful collages she makes. Again, thank to everyone who joined my giveaway.  Til the next time, hugs and blessings to you!

Edit:  Sonya wrote such a lovely post about  her win!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Goodies in the Mail!

Happy Wednesday, blog friends!  I haven't been that successful in cleaning up my desk.  That's why I'm only showing you a little part of it!  On my desk today are a few pieces of my art (the ATC of the woman and the princess drawing on the left) and some lovely things that arrived in the mail. There's a cuff bracelet that I won as a prize in the One World One Heart event last February.  It is made by Barbara, also known as Lady Faith, of Blossom's Bloomers and she titled this piece "Diamonds are a Steampunkers Best Friend." Pretty!

Then there are some artist trading cards (ATCs) that I received for trades at ATCs for All.  The ATC of the Madonna and Baby was specially made for me.  And I also got some lovely fabric cards that I have put on display before I put them in my ATC album. Aren't they pretty?

For more desks to peek at, drop by Julia's Stamping Ground.  And while you're at it, why not show us your desk, whatever state it's in!

A Joyful Easter Giveaway!

(The Giveaway is now closed.
Thank you for all your comments.
I will announce the winner in the next post.)

 A very blessed and joyful Easter to all of you,
my wonderful blog friends and visitors!  

"Gentle"

St. Augustine once said 

“We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song!”

and indeed, Alleluia is my song!

And to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway!

I was preparing for a 300 follower giveaway, 

until I realized that Easter is an infinitely better reason to celebrate!  

My giveaway for Easter is an original 5.75" x 8" mixed media piece entitled "Gentle."  I made it using colored pencils, watercolors and collage on a gessoed sketchpad background.  The flowers on her hair, the bookpaper leaves, the music sheet heart, the buttlerfly and the lace on her dress is collaged on.

For me, this piece is a reminder and encouragement to focus on things above...

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

It is an encouragement for me to speak with love, to listen, to be gentle... (2 Timothy 2:24)

If you like "Gentle," and would like a chance to win it...

1. For one entry, simply leave a comment on this post.

2. If you are a follower and would like a second entry, please leave a second comment on this post.

3.  If you would like third entry, make a post about the giveaway, or post it on the sidebar of your blog and link it to this post.  Please make a third comment on this post to tell me where you added it to your blog.

You may use this image

I will be using the random number generator, so please make sure you leave me a comment for each entry you make.  Since I will be going out of town, I will pick the winner after May 22. 

May you have a wonderful Easter season!