Quick! Contest Entries close at Midnight 11/16/09

WHERE WOMEN CREATE, a fantastic magazine for us crafty gals, is having their FIRST ANNIVERSARY CONTEST ...

click here to go directly to their blog, and to the Contest details.

http://wherewomencreate.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/its-our-first-anniversary-time-for-a-contest-.html#comment-form

I sure hope you're up and reading tonight, 'cause I just found out about this 10 MINUTES AGO over on Facebook, where I am a "fan" of WWC.

-- Davielle
aka, your PRINCESS MAGPIE

Weekend at Dusty's !!!

"What is your hobby? Every woman ought to have some pet interest in life, outside of the everyday routine which composes her regular occupations. What is yours?"
- The Mother's Magazine, January 1915

Well, behind with blog posts or not, I am leaving town tomorrow for an all-girls, all-weekend SCRAPBOOKING and FUN HAVING Retreat at our friend Dusty's home in La Quinta.

above, our hostess-with-the-mostest - Dusty Burgmans

Yup, it's time for my semi-annual RETREAT with some of the most amazing women in my life, at the most amazing Retreat set-up ... Lyn and Willie and Cynthia. All, friends I have made through CCI (Canine Companions for Independence; www.cci.org ), and all, women I've grown much closer to in three full years of monthly BUNCO get-togethers! {I am so, so truly blessed ...}

I mean, WHO can resist a welcoming committee like this?!

If you haven't visited Dusty's website, you can find her at: www.ScrappinatDustys.com ... what she offers is simply beyond description.

Dusty, left, giving me some advice ...

I've posted about her before, on both this and my other blog ( www.DH2travelers.blogspot.com ), including photographs. Will try to take more pics this weekend and post next week about the experience.


a glimpse of how we work ... and the big screen TV that keeps us entertained all weekend { can you say "chick flicks" ?! }

For now, I'm just tickled pink that we're all heading over tomorrow afternoon ... let the fun and games begin! I'll be back on Sunday evening - with a whole lot of scrapbook finished up and pics to show you just how much FUN it is out at Dusty's !!

yes, I realize this ended up sideways ... but it's a tiny idea of the surprises we each find at our individual work tables upon arrival :-) ...

Dusty SPOILS us rotten !!!

-- Princess Magpie

Woman Is Born to Create

My thanks to my Facebook "friend", WHERE WOMEN CREATE (a fabulous magazine that features just that ... spaces 'where women create' ...). They have this posted this evening, and I found it TOTALLY wonderful and encouraging and validating and inspiring. You can read more about WHERE WOMEN CREATE by visiting their website, here: http://www.wherewomencreate.com/ .

And so, I wanted to share this quote with all of you creative Women ....

"Woman is born to create … in creating she becomes herself, accomplishes her destiny. Her whole life is only an initiation into creative power. To create is not merely to produce a work … it is to give out ones own individuality."

- Jeanne de Vietinghoff

-- Princess Magpie

BSM: Best Shot Monday - November 2, 2009

This being the beginning of November, I thought it would be nice to offer up an image taken in our canyon of our ROGERS' RED (California native) Grape (vine) -- turning color. Most of the year, it's green, but here, you can see the leaves are starting to turn ... RED. It produces adorable, tasty, yet seed-filled TINY grapes that are a favorite of not just the neighborhood birds, but our grandkids like them, too.

The birds like them SO much, we've got a 'volunteer' growing along with our climbing white rose up against the chimney, right near our front door - this year, I've been tickled by the little grape cluster that hangs perfectly framed within one of our living room windows. It's charming ...

So there you have my BSM {Best Shot Monday} for this beautiful first Monday of November, 2009.

-- Princess Magpie