So you say you believe in fairies do ya?
Would you say there are fairies spreading fairy dust in all sorts of venues? Like, let's seeeeee, ummm... Hotels maybe?
Remember when you were at that nice hotel and stole (I mean, borrowed forever) a lovely hard cover book that talked about local and statewide delights? All those nice glossy pages?? I have a collection of San Diego ones myself ;) Even one from Santa Fe & I think I have one from New York too...
Well, you can imagine my surprise, when a certain LA based art director contacted me from the creative hub of such books. Nah, I thought. It ain't for real, it just is not. Must be a scam. They must want to bill me for all the books I have collected from hotel to hotel... Yep, that must be it.
But this certain art director, I'll call him Mister M, seemed very serious. He had a list of all my photos and creations he liked. He wanted them, to use. To use, asked I? Hmmmm, what's it gonna cost me? Asks me ;)
Now that I look back on it, he must have thought I was a certified nutcake. I sounded like that kid in home alone, asking oodles of questions, and the guy he is asking questions to, is like, "get lost kid..."
So, I pondered and pondered. And finally, went for it. I didn't understand how they wanted to use my photos, but I obliged. Maybe they would just scatter them around I thought? So, I got all FTP savvy, and got ready to upload my photos to their server. Although, I think I e-mailed them in the end. Either way, I sent them off and that was that...
I didn't let it enter my mind again. Until I got an e-mail from the delightful Miss L (Editor-in-chief from the Scottsdale branch). Who informed me that, the photos were for an article about art and craft in the Arizona Guidebook. (by the way, Mr. M and Miss L, were beyond super delightful to work with)
OH me oh my, says I ;) There really must be fairies!
Miss L asks for my address to send a copy when the 2009 book comes out, and I go one with my day to day activities for a couple of months ;) Like, saving Mister Lovee from well, himself really (ya, I didn't tell you about how he set himself on fire and was covered in it from head to toe all over the back of his robe did I? Umm yep, that is his version of making breakfast, teppanyaki show style I guess - oh and ps, don't turn on the stove when you have threads hanging off the cuff of your robe), and quail eggs from the dog, and bunnies from the dog, and puppies from the dog...
And, and and... Somewhere in there I get in some painting and creating, and squeezing limequats... Hey, speaking of fairies, seems I am like the fairy of our dirt parcel to Mister Lovee and the creatures, or maybe, the creatures here see me more as a Garden Gnome? Who knows...
Anyhow, fast forward to Tuesday. Off I go a merrily skipping along in 3 night gowns and 4 crooked crowns, in the dirt, and check my mailbox. Only to find a parcel so lovely, I squeal. Mister Lovee is driving down the driveway towards me as he is leaving for the office, and I throw myself on his car, I roll over it, and wonder if I should roll in the dirt too?
I skip and squeal, and exclaim, "I want to roll in the dirt!!" Of course, if there was grass, I would opt for that, but since there is only dirt, you get the picture...
So, I am overreacting, because this is what I see when I rip open Miss L's lovely packaging and open the book to the smack center...
WHAT? I never, not ever, not in a million years, expected THIS!
Wholey Guacamole, it's my BABIES!! What, who, where?? Oh goodness me, I must roll in the dirt out of glee!
There are a couple of snippets of my verbage throughout, and even an plug for wonderful magnificent Etsy!!
And, really, all I have to say for today is that, I am tickled to no end, but the one thing that really comes to mind is this...
I believe! I believe in magic and working hard, and holding on to your dreams. I believe in love and life, and even through loss, I believe in the enchantment of memories and heart strings and hope and SMILES...
In my late teens and early twenties, lots of people I met in the world, tried to break me down. Tried to hurt my soul, tried to tell me what I did or what I made, wasn't good, just to be mean. Sometimes I fell, and cried, and got incredibly hurt, but I always got up, and kept holding on to art and creatures and ideas. I learned how to nix the negative out of my life. I built my life around art, made all my life's decisions with art in mind. Art saves me, little faces save me. So, when I see my creatures in a little book as such I smile, and it fills my soul with such bursting joy.
In my humble way, I say, we should try to never let go of our dreams.
And above all, we should smile & believe...
My little dream in life has always been, peace in my soul, slices of happiness, health for my family, not too much worry, and a little space to make things that I enjoy, and perhaps others might enjoy too... I clasp my hands tight in prayer before I go to bed. I repeat my little dream like a mantra, I give huge thanks...
Today, I am sending all the fairies in my neck of the woods your way... Let me know if they arrive ;)
♥ , V
ps: So, if you read a few paragraphs above, I eluded to Misters Lovee's fire incident (it happened last year). Can I just tell you what he did? Please don't tell him I am outing him here like this. So, there he is making a simple dish called, Oatmeal a la fireball. I am sitting at the computer, where I can see into the kitchen. All of a sudden, I notice the entire back of his robe is bright orange with a blue glow over the top, and flames around his neck. And I scream, LOVEE YOU ARE ON FIRE!! YOU ARE ON FIRE!!! He looks at me, puzzled, wide eyed. Then realizes what I am saying, and rips off his robe. Luckily, it was when he had that long ponytail last year, and so, he just lost a bit off the bottom... He had some threads hanging off the terry cloth robe, that I guess caught on fire, and traveled up the back of his robe, from top to bottom. I guess Ralph Lauren doesn't believe in fire resistant night garb?
Anyhow, do you concur, Mister Lovee will be the death of me via heart stopping freak out? ;)
Please tell me your plus one gives you scares too? Poor Mister Lovee, he isn't that bad. 3 stresses a year is okay. But only three ;)
pss: Did you watch Marley and Me? Oh goodness, I cried so hard last night, my heart felt like it was cracking. Off I go to hug my pooch til she begs me to leave her alone.
Although, the good thing about her, she just can't get enough...
psss: To answer the question on where to find this book: I am told you can find it in nice hotels around Arizona :)
