Mr. French, Revisited a.k.a Progress Report Part II

I knew that I had been missing some pretty priceless pictures, but I did not know that they were so easily accessible.  These coveted pictures were hiding on my ancient digital camera, which had a dead battery for approximately seven months.  Oh, the joy of joyous occasions it was when I discovered the most pricelessest of priceless pictures; the one and only, Mr. French.  You may recall from some very old posts, that I was doing a portrait for some friends of mine, of their beloved pooch.  Here, finally, eight months after the painting was completed and happily hanging in it's new home, is the finished product!  Hooray! 

p.s.  Congratulations to Momma and Papa French, they are tying the knot!

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Deals...

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.  ~Albert Einstein

~o~o~o~  10% off Entire Etsy Shop ~o~o~o~

Okay, here's what's up - from now through Valentines Day everything in my Etsy Shop is 10% off when you enter CANDY HEARTS into the notes to seller.  Get your sweetie something fuzzy, or your kiddo a huggable critter or show that co-worker how much you care.  Custom orders are available, just comment on this post or send me a message on my Etsy site.  

If you're driving into town
With a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number
Who's bound to love you 

-Joni Mitchell

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Here's the smell of the blood still: 

all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.  

Lady Macbeth, Act V. Scene 1

In honor of Halloween or perhaps because of my own Scottish lineage or maybe just to sound ever-so-slightly different from all the other spooky stuff out there, I have decided to do a small tribute to Macbeth (that's right... I said it... Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth).

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell; 

Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, 

Yet grace must still look so. 

Malcolm. Act IV. Scene 3

'The Scottish Play' or 'The Bard's Play' is surrounded by superstitions and, according to many acting troupes, a whole lot of bad luck.  Reports of faulty scenery, injured players and even deaths are said to surround the play.  It's no wonder that this Shakespearean tragedy (which happens to be filled with murders, deceit and even witches) is the perfect Halloween companion.

Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
First Witch. Act IV. Scene 1.

Greeting card companies tend to borrow lines from the famous play - "Double double toil and trouble." And I believe the Harry Potter movies quote the line "something wicked this way comes" in a Hogwarts song.  Macbeth holds a macabre appeal that every b-rated horror flick dreams of achieving and to top it off, eight deaths over the course of the show.  Talk about seeing dead people...

Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it; he died
As one that had been studied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,
As 'twere a careless trifle.   

Malcolm. Act I. Scene 4

If you haven't read the play, or seen one of the many film versions (Patrick Stewart does a particularly nice job, but the Ian Mckellen/Judi Dench version is impeccable) then I would highly recommend it.  Just be careful not to quote any lines while you are in the theater.   

Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee; 

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 

To feeling as to sight? or art thou but 

A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw.

Macbeth. Act II, Scene 1

Thanks to the following Etsy Sellers: Azrail's Accomplice Designs,  Medieval Reproduction Carvings, Alaska Laser Maid, Chez Vous!, and Acrylic and Steel

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

Well if you want to sing out, sing out

and if you want to be free be free

'cause there's a million ways to be

you know that there are.  

- Cat Stevens

 

Harold and Maude, a film from 1971 starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Court, is one of my favorite films of all time.  I saw the film as a Sophomore in high-school (thanks Amy!) and I have loved it ever since.  It may be, perhaps, that the soundtrack is done by one of my favorite artists, Cat Stevens (a.k.a Yusuf Islam).  Or, it may be the simple, yet totally unconventional love story.  Whatever the case may be, the film is exquisite.  In honor of this wonderful film, I've managed to dig up some handmade and vintage items from the clever folks on Etsy so if you want to be me, be me or if you want to be you, be you, 'cause there's a million things to do, you know that there are.  

A Brief Synopsis:
Harold, a lonely rich kid, plagued by his Mother who has indulged him and nagged him his entire life, entertains himself by going to funerals and staging elaborate suicides.  One day as he is enjoy a funeral service he meets Maude, a 79 year old spit-fire who also frequents funerals but has a rather sunny outlook and a zest for life.  The fun that follows includes stolen cars, rescued trees, bubbles, a priest, a shrink, and a banjo.   

The soundtrack for Harold and Maude doesn't exactly exist, so here's a list of the songs as they appear in the movie and the albums where you can find them:

Don't Be Shy

   from: Footsteps in the Dark

On the Road to Find Out                     

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
I Wish, I Wish                                          

   from: Mona Bone Jakon
Miles from Nowhere                           

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
Tea for the Tillerman                          

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
I Think I See the Light                            

   from: Mona Bone Jakon
Where do the Children Play?              

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out    

   from: Footsteps in the Dark
Trouble                                                   

   from: Mona Bone Jackon

So, if I haven't sold you on the film yet, here are some of my favorite quotes to round out my gushing tribute to a truly one of a kind film...

Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much life. Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you’re bound to live life fully. - Maude

A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an "L". Give me an "I". Give me a "V". Give me an "E". L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room. - Maude

You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage. - Maude

Special thanks to: Celentano Woodworks, Naked Vintage and The Fox and the Apple 

Free Shipping on Stuffies!!!

Good news! From now until Valentine's Day I'm offering free shipping on every Stuffie in my Etsy Shop. Stuffies are one of a kind, hand sewn little critters made of recycled socks, sweaters and the like. To sweeten the deal, if you mention this post in the "notes to seller section" I will take an additional 7% off your total purchase. Spread the love...

P.S. This is Margot the Jellyfish and she wants you to take her home with you.