Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my fellow JOS women and Happy New Year to all our faithful followers. Thank you for all your support and may 2013 be the year we find success and happiness in whatever path we choose to go down.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Handcrafted one of a kind mini accessory bags

I made these mini accessory bags with a see through clear vinyl front from my own fabric designs. Will hold money, change, credit cards, candy, tissues, earrings, safety pins, sewing items or whatever you can think to put in them. They are approximately 6" x 4 1/2". Great little item to put in your pocketbook. I will be putting them on my etsy shop soon.
www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaCapozziDesigns

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Life is Full of Little Surprises


A while back I created a few fabric designs on Spoonflower.  For quite a while I have paid no attention to the website, nor the art of fabric design.  To my surprise and delight I received an email notice that one of my designs had been purchased!  Someone liked my "Whimsical Christmas Trees" and bought a "fat quarter".  Wonder what she's going to do with it!  If you have a moment visit my site Designs by Maggie

Monday, November 26, 2012

Where or where has my creativity gone

How long can someone stare at a blank piece of paper waiting for their creativity to kick in. Yup, I'm having one of those days. Should I take a cleansing walk? Listen to inspirational music? Sit in darkness and channel the spirit of DaVinci? Will that help me find my lost creativity?? Or run to the refrigerator and bury my head in chocolate cake.
Donna C.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Baby bibs, greeting cards, dog scarves equal FUN!

Peggie and I had a fun time at the Middleboro Craft Show yesterday. I sold my baby bids and greeting cards and Peggie sold her dog scarves. Met lots of nice people, heard encouraging comments about our work. On to the next show!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Handmade Christmas Baby Bib and Greeting Card

Santa baby bib and coordinating Christmas card would make an adorable Christmas gift for any baby, Niece, Nephew or Grandchild. Check out more baby bibs at www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaCapozziDesigns
and more greeting cards at www.donnacapozzi.com

Happy Holidays!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

eBay Update

Hi
Well I've been doing eBay for about 5 weeks and I've listed several items and sold about 7.  I am enjoying the process of researching items, similar to mine being sold on eBay, to be able to 'price' them accordingly and then watching to see how many people are interested in my items!  This weekend I'll be busy listing more items getting ready for eBay's Black Friday!  The items will be listed for 10 days instead of the usual 7. I will be relisting and posting some new items so I'm looking forward to it all.
I'll post during the Christmas/Holiday season on how things are going!
pinkserenity16

Santa at South Shore Plaza 2010

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Getting to sew you

Just a few of my baby bib designs I will be making on this windy, rainy day.
I think the baby wearing the Santa hat would look adorable on your baby Christmas morning. www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaCapozziDesigns

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Designs by Peggie on Zazzle


Started another "income stream" on Zazzle.  It's a neat little site where I am having fun designing products, mostly using my photographs, and sometimes my creativity when it sparks!  I opened the site in mid-October but struggled for quite a while with the look and feel.  After playing around, and waiting for that darn creativity spark, I have a pretty decent looking site at the moment.

Here are a couple of samples of the products I have designed.  The bag is a "small messenger bag" with an image of the US Flag that I shot this past Memorial Day in Boston's Public Garden.

The iPhone cover is an abstract of a flower I shot in the Boston Common (I think, LOL).

Anyway, it's fun to come up with designs and ideas.  Stop by and check out Designs by Peggie

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Donna Capozzi Designs Etsy Shop


Finally set up an Etsy shop with some of my baby bibs. Check it out and let me know what you think. Still more items to put on but it's a start.
www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaCapozziDesigns

Friday, October 26, 2012

I Don't Want To Know

Tonight I took a walk after I'd finished work. I telecommuted today so at 5:00pm I felt the need to just get outside and breath some fresh air. There is a very nice 3.2 mile circular walk that I take...sometimes it is just enough.

I was about 1/2 mile from returning to my home when I saw this giant leaf on the sidewalk. I couldn't believe my eyes. How had a leaf grown to such proportions? I picked it up and carried it home with me, all the time marveling at my find. Like a little child who had just found an abandoned kite, I was beaming. The first thing I thought of was that I would go home and Google it...I will find out what type of tree could grow such a fine specimen of a leaf. Then I stopped myself. Isn't that just like us nowadays? We find something wondrous, something we've never seen before, something we don't understand and our first instinct is to 'go home and Google it'.

I decided not to.

I held that leaf by the stem, twirling it in my fingers, and wondered about where it came from. There were no huge maple trees in the area.  I let it dance about in the breeze as I strode down the street. I held it up and it caught the air like a sail. It would have made a beautiful sail for a little boy's wooden boat. Maybe it was a leaf that never fell from the tree last autumn...or the autumn before that...and just kept growing. A strong leaf that didn't want to give in to the inevitable; that loved its life so much it would not give in to the call of Mother Nature. Or, if I were to use that elusive imagination of mine I might believe that it belonged to a giant maple tree in a world hidden by clouds in the sky...and it somehow found its way down to earth...for me to find. I thought it would make a lovely cradle for a pixie baby in the woods, it was certainly large enough. Hmmm, maybe it was the hat from a woodland elf which had blown away and now he was wandering about the mushrooms looking for it.

I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for the leaf, for its size, but I don't care to know it. I loved that feeling of child-like wonder I experienced during that last 1/2 mile of my walk.  Our creativity comes from places we haven't visited in a long time, when we didn't have all the answers, and when we couldn't pull the answers out of cyberspace with a few clicks of a button. It's okay to 'not know' sometimes, to make-believe we have the answer. I think that when we can let go of needing to have all the answers, the door will be open for the answers to find us.

Susan

Friday, October 19, 2012

Bread and Puppet Museum

What can be said about the Bread and Puppet Museum...a lot, but whatever is written about it cannot come close to actually experiencing the museum.  This strange, frightening, yet fascinating museum is located at 753 Heights Road (Route 122) in Glover, a small, winding country road in the Northern Kingdom of Vermont.


Every inch of the museum, including the ceilings, are filled with fascinating puppets, drawings, and carvings - just to name a few.  The puppets range from 5' tall and soar to at least 25'!  On the visit in early October, four of us had the museum all to ourselves, which was great, yet spooky.  Throughout the two-story museum faces peered out and down at us from every angle, such as the two in this photo.  There has never been quite a museum like it that I have ever visited.


If you find yourself in the North Kingdom of Vermont, make this museum a "must stop" destination!  You can read more about this fabulous museum at Bread and Puppet Museum

---Peggie

Monday, October 15, 2012

Update to selling on eBay

Well I've been selling eBay items for about 2 weeks and I've sold 2 items and shipped one out today!  There are a few that I haven't sold but will re-list in a few weeks.  I have other items to put up for sale in the next few days so it will be interesting to see what comes of it all!  I am excited to be a part of this
'extra income' adventure. 
Well off to 'photograph' the next few items that will be up for sale!! Maybe I'll have a cookie or two first!
Chat later.
pinkserenity16
a/k/a Deb

Thursday, October 11, 2012

10/11/12 and the question "Why do I...?".

Today is 10/11/12. I thought that was interesting so just wanted to throw it out there for whatever trivial reasoning there may be. I'm sure I'll get an email today telling me that the next time I see consecutive dates such as this will be 11/12/13 or something like that....oh well, more for the spam folder. But my reason for blogging this morning is not to complain about silly and/or meaningless emails, I do enough of them myself... and many I get are quite thought provoking. Those help to keep my  priorities straight and my complaints about tiredness, financial concerns, time constraints, etc. to a minimum. No, my reason for writing this morning is I need to get my butt off the couch and get back to doing the things I love to do; writing, photography and poetry. What is my problem!! I've been a slacker (my words, not anyone else's). I haven't been a total slug, I've been cleaning...I do this when I can't focus because it requires little of the thinking mechanism in the gray matter.

I just 'organized' my office for the umpteenth time. See the photos below. I purposely took the top 3 photos from a high angle because I didn't want you to see the small pile of 'stuff' I still have in the middle of the floor. That is the last photo. Sure, it doesn't look like much...but those drawers are all the little stuff I might need some day...and need to keep within arm's reach; ribbon, photo corners, red tape, a measuring tape, little tiny notebooks, you get the picture. I figure if I have to keep walking around it, I'll put it away. Hmmm, let's see how that works out.







Also, at one of our JOS meetings, Dianne was talking about how, why was it that we could walk by the same thing (magazine, sweater, notebook, wrapping paper, etc.) in our house...knowing it didn't belong there, and still leave it there for days, even weeks and not put it away!! We all do it...why?? That is kind of up there with my next issue which I realized while cleaning my office.

See these photos below? Three disposable cameras, a black plastic disk with a red plastic overlay, two torn open memory card packages, a Pimsleur marketing insert, and a Braintree Community School brochure. Quite an array of 'what the heck should I do with this' items. These gnats (for lack of a better word for something that keeps picking at you) have been moved from here to there to over there, to inside this to on top of that, hidden in drawers and lying on tabletops. They have no home. Why do I keep them? Will the 'Gods of Clutter' please enlighten me!! 

Let's see...three new disposable cameras (hey, two of them are 800 ISO and the other is a water camera!!) may be useful for ummm, well, a photo project I can give myself when I don't have anything to do...sounds cool, right? And the black plastic disk may be an important piece of equipment that belongs to something I know I haven't used in 7.5 years but will some day and I'll be upset when I can't find the darn piece! And hey, the memory card issue? We all know about the memory cards that disappeared like Houdini's rabbit. Gone!! Vanished!! So I torture myself daily with 'where are they'? Not so much the cost...that has been swallowed up in my ever-increasing debt...it's the idea that I blacked out for five minutes and can't remember what I did with them...back in July!! How long must I torture myself about this? The Pimsleur insert is to remind me to go online and see if there is a vocabulary list for part 2...hmmm, seems simple enough. Be Nike, 'Just Do It'. And the community school brochure...well, there is a Zumba class and a Belly Dancing class there I want to sign up for...I think they already began...but I need the brochure to remind me to sign up before they play the last Salsa or my hip scarf gathers moth holes. I guess I need to wiggle my way over to the school and sign up...or toss the brochure in the recycle. (At least Braintree uses recyclable paper for this).

 So, I think I may have broken my couch potato spell with this post. I hope so. Hey, if anyone has some good ideas about what to do with all my cool stuff shown here, let me know! I'm always open for suggestions. Talk later!


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Found an interest

Hi
My name is Deb and I've been trying for quite a while to figure out what to do with my free time.  I've decided to sell some items, that I have had lying around, on eBay! I posted my very 1st 3 items today!  It's been a challenge learning how to sell on eBay, lots of reading, and following how other people list similar items.  But I think once I've started it should be a little easier to navigate.  I have a daughter who sells on eBay and she's been a help with questions I've had.
If you're curious to see what I've posted and will be posting, you can go to www.ebay.com and when you get into the screen on the top right, down a little you will see Advanced. Click on that and it will bring you to another screen and on the left it will show By seller. Click on that and you will see Enter seller's user id.  Then put pinkserenity16, go down a bit and click search.  Will bring up all, if any, items I've got listed. You can click on the item description to see details!
I'm excited to follow the outcomes!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Organization: Finding My Quinoa

So, there I was trying to find something in one of my 22" deep food cabinets...and frustration set in. I had to pull out no less than a baker's dozen worth of other items to get to the one culprit I was in need of...located at the back of the cabinet. Life was not supposed to be this difficult...something had to be done. How was I to eat healthy if I couldn't find my quinoa! As an avid recycler, I had many spaghetti sauce jars I used for nuts, raisins, rice, sugars, and, yes, quinoa. But they don't make spice racks to fit spaghetti sauce jars...so I got creative and made one of my own. I purchased a wine rack that had a slat to lay the bottle on. This was needed because the spaghetti sauce jars aren't long enough to reach out the back. Then I bought some sheets of black duck tape, cut out circles large enough to cover the jar lids, put then back on the jars and slid them into the rack. Perfect! I have a lovely to look at, easily accessible jar rack that can sit on my counter and fits with my decor. Now when I make breakfast oatmeal, my brown sugar, walnuts and raisins are right there. If I want a snack, I can open a jar and grab some almonds...and, yes, my quinoa is at my fingertips. I found a second rack at a 2nd hand store and am using that one on the top shelf of my cabinet...the shelf here is about 6 feet off the floor and has a slanted back. It makes perfect use of space and nothing is hidden. I was on a roll!

I kept going and bought 2 lazy susans to use for canned goods and small condiment bottles. Now they are all easily accessible and organized...no more reaching into the back of my cabinet and playing "guess the label" ... and there is less chance I'll buy another can of chickpeas since I'll know I already have four. Then, since I started cooking more flavorful food (yup, microwave mama now cooks!!) I've used more spices. But what do you do with all those little jars; parsley flakes, sesame seeds, curry, basil, smoke (yes smoke), oregano, blah, blah, blah... All I wanted was a simple wooden spice rack. I could not find one. So...what I did find were two white wire grid lap trays from Pier 1 at a 2nd hand store for 99 cents each. I wasn't sure what I would use them for but knew, just knew, they could be re-purposed in my little apartment kitchen. And I did; they fit perfectly into a kitchen drawer where I now line up all my spices. The small bottles and jars? I found a drawer insert, black (my kitchen accessory color), and cloth that can stand on its edge quite nicely...and my smaller jars fit into it just like an old-fashioned spice rack. I kept going and straightend out my plastic container cabinet in its wire racks, bought a new cutlery tray that fits the drawer, rearranged by not often used small appliances, etc.

I felt uplifted, almost lighter (well, I did skip lunch as I was so caught up in my quest for a more user-friendly kitchen) and more in control. Being organized has a two-fold effect; first, as was seen here, it mitigated the frustration of finding something I needed to find (and might save me from spending money at the grocery store for something I already have). Second, physical organizing and de-cluttering has an emotional effect, it gives you the feeling of taking charge of your life. It is very freeing, gives you a sense of control and is enabling. If you do enough de-cluttering and re-organizing this feeling of euphoria will escalate. Soon you will feel like you can accomplish anything if you just put your mind to it. And you will...promise.

Happy Organization!!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Quincy Arts Festival-Mentoring Young Artists


I haven't posted on the JOS blog in quite a while so when the events of this weekend unfolded, I thought it might be a good time to get back into the habit. One of my goals is to enter into my photographs into more juried shows. One of the first of the year is the Quincy Arts Festival held at Merrymount Park in Quincy, MA.


This year I entered three images into the Quincy Arts Festival. It was really exciting to see them on display in such a highly visible arena and in such fine company. The three images I entered were "Carriage Ride Through Central Park", "Abandoned Car" and "Gateway To Zion". This was actually the first time I placed images into a show and felt really strong about each of them. I think these three are my best work to date and am quite proud of them. None of the three won anything, but that is okay. They pleasure of seeing them on display was worth it. But I do know two wonderful, very talented young photographers who did win a ribbon!!

My two grandsons had photographs entered. Kameron, who is now 6, took the photo "Hi Little Puppy" when in Lake Placid over a year ago. Richard, who is 14, entered a beautiful shot he took in the Grand Canyon, "Deer at the Grand Canyon". Both boys won an Honorable Mention and the older one also won an Award of Excellence! I was (and am) very proud of both of them...and hope that they will be inspired by this win and enjoy photography for many, many years. And kudos to the Quincy Arts Festival organizers for enabling youngsters like Richard and Kameron to experience art in its many shapes and forms.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

Quincy ArtsFest 2012

Photo by Susan O.
The 15th Annual Quincy ArtsFest is this weekend, September 15 and 16.  Last night was the gala reception for the artists and photographers.

Dew on Lupine
What a fantastic and fun time it was!  We were able to walk around and see all the beautiful work that was submitted, along with those works that had won awards.  In addition, there were over-the-top delicious appetizers, pasta and meatballs provided by the new restaurant at Presidents Golf Course in Quincy, The View Restaurant & Tavern.  I cannot say enough about how delicious this food was.

Cables
These two images are my entries this year, "Cables" and "Dew on Lupine".  Sadly, they didn't place, but the joy at being accepted into a juried show is a thrill (sort of like being nominated for an Academy Award, but not winning).  

If you have some time, stop by the ArtsFest this weekend.  The hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Macro Workshop


Attended a great macro workshop today, taught by a fellow member of the South Shore Camera Club.  We were shown all the various equipment a photographer can utilize for shooting macro and close up images.  Since I don't own a macro lens (yet), I used close-up filters on my 18-55mm lens.  I love this shot of the flower from the underside.  It's not necessarily a "macro" shot, but I like the form, the softness and the colors.  I'll be adding this image to my site on FineArtAmerica.com.  .....Peggie

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Pembroke Arts Festival 2012

Very, very exciting!  This black and white image of the Gloucester Schooner Race has been accepted into the "juried" Pembroke Arts Festival 2012.  It's always fun to take the chance to enter and hope that the judges like what they see!

The Pembroke Arts Festival 2012 is this weekend, August 11 & 12.  For more information check out their website, Pembroke Arts Festival 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Slow the Pace

So this week has not been a good one for me as it relates to short-term memory. I won't go into detail. To be honest, I'm really tired of listening to myself and reliving the trials of the past few days..and I don't want to let minor nuisances mar the memories of the wonderful vacation I just returned from. Let's just say that I need to start paying much more attention to the little, seemingly harmless, details in my life. I feel like I'm soaring over the mountain tops...and ignoring the valleys and rivers below me. Time to slow down the pace and immerse myself in the details of my personal life...the same way I immerse myself into the details of my corporate life. The former is as important, if not more important, than the latter. I want to do so much, see so much, live every minute of every hour that I'm constantly in overdrive. Sooner or later it will catch up, especially as the inevitable era of aging, absent-mindedness and all that comes with it sneaks into our life...and this week it did. So I am making a promise to myself that I will slow the pace, schedule time for rest and/or meditation, and make conscious decisions...even if it is only remembering where I put a memory card.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Out of the Box

Went on a two-hour, leisurely cruise out of Hingham just before sunset.  Hoping for possibly a spectacular sunset and some good shots of the Boston skyline, I took the camera along.  Alas, there was no sunset as the clouds came in, and by the time the "leisurely" cruise made it to Boston night had fallen.  After trying, unsuccessfully, to catch some skyline images, I gave up, until........I thought "out of the box" and discovered that "abstract" night shots were pretty cool.  In this image I see a group of runners, with one prominently in the lead!  What was great was that I took my initial disappointment of not being able to shoot what I thought I would get, and discovered a whole new world of "creativity"!  What do you think and what do you see in the image?    ------ Peggie

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Splash of Flowers

The hardest part of creating these fabric designs was coming up with a name for the collection. Writing makes my head spin. Trying to find words are nearly impossible some days.
Here are some ideas I came up with before I settled on
Splash of Flowers Collection.
Fun Florals Collection, Colorful Florals Collection, Fun Flowers Collection, Fun in the Sun Flowers Collection, Fun and more Fun Flowers Collection, Multi-Colored Flowers Collection, Flower of Flowers Collection, Millions of Flowers Collection, Trillions of Flowers Collection, Cute but Smelly Flowers Collection, No One Really Cares Flowers Collection, Are You Looking at Me Flowers Collection, Stop Looking at Me Flowers Collection, No Name Flowers Collection, Dried Up Flowers Collection, How Long are you Going to Take Naming This Collection Flowers Collection, You Can Draw but You Sure Can't Write Flowers Collection.

I envy writers who find words.

Flowers anyone?

Donna C.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Christmas is coming!

How can you resist smiling Christmas ornaments. These two designs would make cute tree skirts for your Christmas tree.
Donna C.
www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1311559
www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1311553

Friday, July 13, 2012

Floral Fabrics

Here are a couple of floral designs I created. I think they would make pretty Summer dresses.

Donna C.

www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1263165
www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1263143

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Number one of many more to be sewn

My bib material finally arrived and here is one design of the bibs sewn. I decided to use terry cloth for the back of the bids to make it soft and absorbent for all the drooling and spills that will soak through.

Back to sewing!

Till next time,
Donna C

"If you have time to whine and complain about something
then you have the time to do something about it."
Anthony J. D'Angelo

What's In Your Backyard?

Yesterday was the Fourth of July and I went to visit my son and his family for the day. Later in the evening we went to the fireworks display in the harbor.

What was the most fun during the day was walking around my son's backyard with my five-year-old grandson who loves to take photographs. He had my SLR camera strapped around his neck...and I was behind him holding the strap just to be sure there were no accidents. He took many photos, most of which will need to be discarded, but many that I'll save in a file for him. He also 'helped' me take the fireworks image on this page.

He  made a comment when taking a picture of a mushroom in the corner of the yard that I thought worth remembering. He said, "Wow I can really see what's in my backyard now!". Photography makes us slow down, take a deep breath, and see life. How often do we walk through life not noticing the little things around us? We see the forest, but not the trees, we don't notice the bees on the sunflower or the bird with a worm dangling from her beak. This is one of the reasons I love photography. Like everyone else, I'm always rushing here to there, doing this, doing that. Life really is a big, old rat race. Something needs to slow us down so that we can enjoy our lives and soak in all the beauty around us. For me, that medicine is photography.

I hope my grandson continues to love taking photographs and being amazed at the little things he sees through the lens, even tiny mushrooms in the corner of his backyard.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Freedom

Read the quote below this week and thought it was a good one to share as we celebrate our country's Independence Day:

"Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose.  Anything less is a form of slavery."  --Wayne Dyer

Happy 4th of July - and Happy Personal Freedom!


Peggie


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Howling At The Moon

I started reading a book that was recommended to me by Peggie a couple of years ago; "Women Who Run With The Wolves". The book was written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and through stories and tales passed down from generations before her, she helps women reconnect with their true instinctual self, to let women  know it is okay to be who we are naturally and not what society has led us to believe is acceptable.

One of my favorite paragraphs follows: "A healthy woman is much like a wolf; robust, chock-full, strong life force, life-giving, territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving. Yet, separation from the wildish nature causes a woman's personality to become meager, thin, ghosty, spectral. We are not meant to be puny with frail hair and inability to leap up, inability to chase, to birth, to create a life. When women's lives are in stasis, or filled with ennui, it is always time for the wildish woman to emerge; it is time for the creating function of the psyche to flood the delta."

Ok ladies, time to howl at the moon!!

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.  Helen Keller

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Cupcake Photo Shoot


Just wanted to share a couple of photographs from yesterday's Cupcake Photo Shoot for Donna H's upcoming dessert cookbook series.  As a photographer there are just some images that you absolutely end up loving.  The one at left is my favorite "look" of the day. It's colorful, appealing to the eye, and provides a terrific background texture.  Deb, who is a fantastic set coordinator and food stylist, created this wonderful color scheme for these fabulous cupcakes and I just love everything about it!  What do you think?



As for the frosting close-up on the right, I just want to ask:  "Don't you just want to lick off that incredible chocolate swirl?!"  The frosting is homemade, the flavor was pure chocolate heaven, and the consistency was a melt-in-your mouth dream.

Until next time.....Peggie


Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Twins Have Arrived


New twin baby announcement cards have arrived.
Check out the twins and other cards at www.donnacapozzi.com

Friday, June 22, 2012

Little Brewster Sunset Visit

This is Susan. I haven't blogged for a while so I thought I would 'stop by'. 

Last Wednesday evening I went with two of my fellow JOS-ites to a rocky two-acre island called Little Brewster in Boston Harbor.  Donna H, Margie and I left from Rowes Wharf at 6pm and were soon greeted by Sally Snowman, the full-time lightkeeper on Little Brewster. She is the last of her kind as all the other lighthouses in the country are fully automated. The Coast Guard thought it appropriate that due to Little Brewster's historic beginnings and the fact that it is the oldest light station in the country, it was deserving of a full-time keeper. Unfortunately, due to a little scuffle with our friends across the pond, Boston Light is not the oldest lighthouse. It was burned to the ground twice and then rebuilt. During one of these periods, in 1764, Sandy Hook in NJ built what is now considered to be the oldest lighthouse in the country. But I transgress.

We took this little excursion on one of the hottest days we have experienced so far this year. It was well into the 90's. Cool breezes prevailed on the island, however, and the visit was immensely enjoyable. I was excited to go since I need to expand my collection of available images for use in the book on the Boston Harbor Islands I have been working on for some time. The last time I was on Little Brewster, maybe four years ago, my camera battery died...and I had no backup. That will not happen again! We three, and about twenty other folks, roamed the island for about an hour. 

Soon, the red orb gradually, gracefully, began lowering itself into the familiar silhouette of Boston's skyline. It was time for us to head back.  While waiting to board the boat, we couldn't help but be awed by the beauty of this harbor sunset.

I think I now have enough photos to select from for that section of my book that speaks to Little Brewster Island. If not, another visit is just a water taxi ride away!

Friday, June 15, 2012

We Can Do It!

This is Susan. I had a great opportunity on June 8th. My company paid to send me and 15 other women to the DCU Center and attend The Worcester Women's Leadership Conference. It was an exciting event beginning with the 'zero to breakthrough' speaker Vernice "Flygirl" Armour and closing the day with Lee Woodward, wife of Bob Woodward and author of "Perfectly Imperfect". In between there was a luncheon panel moderated by Paula Ebben which included JudyAnn Bigby, Suzanne Bump, and Karen Wells. The contributions these woman have made to society are unprecedented; even more inspiring was the belief each of them had in themselves.

I have always been motivated; I didn't need a conference to get me moving. What I learned at the conference is that all women face the same issues, we aren't alone. When I heard one speaker say, "Men are promoted on potential, women are promoted on performance." I nodded my head. Then another speaker said, "Women do not want to make a public mistake. Men don't seem to care. Again, my head nodded. When a breakout session leader said, "Women don't advocate for themselves, but men will." I fell back in my chair and said, "Wow. That is so true." 

We need to take credit for what we do in the workplace as well as what we do in our own 'life businesses'. If you did the work, let everyone know you did the work...and be sure your name is on top of the list of contributors. Women are taught that being aggressive and wanting to win is not lady-like. Well, you need to forget what you were taught. Your mother meant well but she didn't have to fight for position in a dog eat dog world; you do.We have to learn that winning is a good thing, that it is not un-ladylike and it is okay to aggressively pursue our dreams.

In business, it has always been 'no holds barred'. We were just too busy keeping our legs crossed at the ankles and our hands folded on our laps to notice the boys outside our window. You know who they were, the ones who built a tree house and then tacked up a  'No gIRls AllOwEd' sign on the outside. Well, it's time to climb the tree, ladies.

"You HAVE permission to engage!" Vernice "Flygirl" Armour