SHOPPING – JITTERS OR JOY?

Shopping...the place where little blue haired ladies suddenly become battering rams in the parking lot, where mommies gone mad drive baby carriages like entries in a demolition derby and where holding onto to the last sale item requires a grip equal to climbing Everest!  Stressed out shopping takes the joy out giving. And when you get there, you find one hundred of the same item in every store all made in China (no doubt).  Don't follow the sheep line to the gift that everyone else is buying.  Give a gift that is unique, one of a kind and easy to find... one that says you gave it special consideration. 

LET YOUR GIFT STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD... 

Visit Etsy for creations from worldwide artisans and one of a kind retro finds. 
Show off your shopping savvy this year. 

 

 Whether it’s for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, anniversaries, or Christmas gifts…Etsy is the hub for the gift that says “you are special to me".  Give a gift that says you have listened to whatever is special about the person you are buying for and make a statement in a gift that will remind them of you for years to come. 

 Your first and last stop in creative shopping...

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RecycledMadness

 

At Recycled Madness you will find home sewn quilts, entertainment collectibles, retired collectibles,  retro jewelry and clothing, household items and much more.  You never know you will find and new items are being added daily so stop back and shop again and again.  Looking for something in particular, just ask?  Happy Shopping!

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER SHOWDOWN - LAS VEGAS 2012

Las Vegas is normally known for its very dry summer weather conditions but lately it is uncertain what each day will bring.  The week leading up to the 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower brought monsoon-like conditions with thick cloud cover and occasional rain bursts. A few nights prior the clouds split open in spots teasing with views of Venus, Jupiter and a small red constellation forming a triangle pattern.  The night before the Perseid peak, the sky was thick dark cloud cover and light precipitation.  On the early evening of August 12, the night slated as the peak for the Perseids, it was raining off and on and the clouds moved around the sky clearing a patch and then quickly filling in.  By midnight it seemed a lost cause for Las Vegas viewing.  We headed to bed and threw in the towel, until… the phone rang at 1:30 am.  My friend Barbara was on the line and on the job!  'It’s clear to the NW, let’s hit it!'  We piled comforters, chairs and cushions in the car and headed out for the rendezvous point just outside of Redrock Canyon National Conservation Area.  At one time Redrock Canyon was a stretch from town but with the expansion of Las Vegas and the 215 Expressway that wraps itself up against the perimeter, the city is now encroaching on this once remote area.

The immediate concern was the lights of the city which could impair viewing but it was the only cloudless sky.  Our group caravanned up the road …the first turn off to Calico Basin was too narrow to set up, the next exit was the entrance to the Redrock Loop.  This would have been ideal in bygone days but now because it is a ‘National’ park it is gated shut at night.  We knew it would be the same if we continued up the road to the Spring Mountain Ranch area, so we opted to turn off on the side of the road and set up there…mistake!

The light from the city was not the only issue, for 3 a.m., the traffic on the road was like being on the interstate, cars shot by every five minutes throwing blinding headlights our way, not to mention the noise pollution that ruined the peaceful surroundings of the desert.  Coyote howls competed with the engine roars of passing motorists. 

Set up in the back of a pickup truck, we were ready to start counting.  We saw about thirty meteors total up through 5 a.m. with four of them being intense, but it was a far cry from the predicted one hundred per hour.  We were all pretty disappointed.

On the way home, mom and I hit Starbucks and witnessed the most amazing sunrise of melons and pinks with a giant butter colored sun hiding behind tall palm trees.  That was a good memory moment. 

Later I thought about disappointment and how sometimes too high expectations set us up for a fall. Reflecting on the evening…it’s always beautiful to be able to lay back in the open night space of the desert… but impatiently seeking more meteors in the western sky we missed the sky to the east where a crescent moon rested between Jupiter overhead and Venus beneath, we only noticed it as we departed.  Mothers and daughters of four different generations lay together under the glory of God and missed the opportunity to get to know one other in new ways, did we assume we knew enough?  And yet I would not have missed it.  I was glad to be there with my mother, my friend, and her little girl, aka wiggle worm chatter box.  It was not a picture perfect night, but sometimes when you step far enough away from what seems to be an imperfection, the flaws fade and what remains is actually quite beautiful.  Snuggled up against my mother in a pick-up truck, seeing my friend that I’ve known for many years long before she was a mother, now mothering her little girl, and her daughter with her head on my lap.  Perseids you were okay, but family and friends… you were imperfectly perfect. 

PERSEID METEORS 2010 - A PERSONAL VIEW

After two years of milk toast meteor displays, star gazers were more than primed for a good show in 2010.  The Valley of Fire had fizzled out in 2009 so we headed the opposite direction to Sandy Valley located over the hills just southeast of Jean, Nevada.  It was a gamble but coming from the gambling mecca of the west, Las Vegas, this was one bet we were willing to make.

It was a moonless sky, a great backdrop for meteor streakers, but not so great for driving.  Accompanied by friend and cohort in the 2009 blow out, Terese, we turned of the I-15 from Jean onto a two lane road headed toward the Sandy Valley turn off.  Even under high beams the road was only visible a short distance ahead, rabbits and other night critters skittered across the road sometimes held statuesque in a frozen stare as they beamed back at the headlights. Out of the pitch a small sign pointed toward Sandy Valley and onto a gravel road that sidewinded ever upward into the hills.  Engulfed on each side by Mesquite bushes that cast hobo like shadows onto the road, we moved slowly until we arrived at a fork in the road... no directional sign!   We had come too far to turn back and turning around would be a feat.  Neither route looked promising.  We opted to the right.  Soon our gravel trail turned into a blend of sand and soft dirt.  The car lost traction and nothing but dark contours lay ahead.  Now it was a matter of backtracking, only in the dark, every opening looked like the turn off back to our original fork faux pas.  As I assured my trusting friend all was well, I sent up a little prayer and hoped she could not hear my heart's drumming.  Fortunately she was an excellent navigator and recognized landmarks that quickly returned us to our correct course.  We journeyed on, rounding every bend with baited anticipation only to find yet another curve ahead.  Up, up, up we climbed until a halo appeared over the hill.  As we reached the summit, there below spread out like a golden fleece was Sandy Valley.  The lights of the town sparkled against the dark earth competing with a spread of stars overhead that seemed close enough to reach up and touch.











We found a dirt turn off at the top of the hill and found obscurity behind some high mounds of dirt.  There we set up blankets on the hood of the car, snacks in the middle and pillows...the angle was perfect for lying back to take in views from any direction.  The air temp ideal.  We started chatting as girls do when suddenly a bright meteor cut in front of us as if saying, "heads up girls, the show is about to begin!"  From that moment on our eyes were glued to the sky counting down all the meteors… some were so brilliant that the otherwise great ones seemed to pale by comparison.  Pleas for 'just one more really good one' rose to the heavens.  And when one appeared.  The refrain was the same...'just one more..."  

As dawn broke we headed down the hill, a much faster retreat by daylight.  Thoroughly satisfied with the star studded presentation, we were met with an equally dazzling start to the new day as the sun crested the eastern sky silhouetting the mountains ahead.  

There is only one way to accurately describe it all...

The heavens declare the glory of God,
the skies proclaims the work of His hands
day after day they pour forth speech
night after night they display knowledge

There is no language or speech
where their voice is not heard
Their voice goes out into all the earth
their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens He pitches a tent for the sun
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavillion
like a champion rejoicing to run its course
nothing is hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:1-6