my day at the market

my day at the market in the glorious rain
wind
and spatterings/smatterings of sun the slid in
quite noticed and welcome

birthday celebrations for sis and I have already begun
and this market visit was just part
of the plans
set in motion
fun

get a little flustered in the gut when i eat this favorite fall meal treat
all the more reason to laugh at the gila monster
he speaks my brussel sprout truth
ouch!
i willingly endure pain for the privilege of eating these mothers

a rose by any other name, except when grown in a cabbage patch
but still beautiful in a bouquet
and quietly residing in my bedroom now
festooning a dresser
and reminding me of birthday wishes
given by sis

message for the blogosphere:
someone comes swiftly, head the change of wind and the plowing through old ways to new destinations. not a time for relying on staid and true methods - creative new winds are in gale force, and you'd best hold on for the ride commences... now

making sweet head coverings

i wanna thank you all for hanging in there
and letting me know
what the bleep in the blogger world
little madlycreative
brings to and stirs your pot with

cupcake hats, more sweet somethings
for the adultsized kid
who wants to look super delectable
in the cooler months ahead
yeah

look familiar? you know i love the baked goods
and some fiber too
these will go on sale in my town/in my little store/in the shop where all the handmade things are
as i cobble together an existence
as i try to read the stars and search my soul
i keep on ticking
kicking
and creating
for therein, lies the fun

message to the blogosphere:
sign of the scorpio. messages of death and rebirth. time to look deeply and stave off the fear. rebirthing is right around the corner, baby...

meandering back into the room

i wandered off and left for awhile
i don't like showing up without direction
just because
those days should be over at this stage of my life
should be

full into fall
sometimes blustery, leaf ridden days of cool
or sunshine forced through layers of reds and golds
welcomed with ease and the barest bit of surprise
and a sense of reprieve

this is my and my sister's birth month
don't hold our sultry and deep Scorpio side against us
we're just loyal to a fault
and acerbic in tongue when on the wrong side of the bed
or issue
sensuous and sometimes serious
but way fun

the scarf slash stole is handknit by big sis me, for my little sis for her day of birth
sweet remembrances
and the bench
is where i have been mentally these days
reconsidering life
my craft (s)
and wondering what it all means
to be
me

love reading what my longtime friend and astrologer, Molly Hall has to say
and the great link to author Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat,Drink Pray, Love" that really rocked my boat yesterday


If you wouldn't mind - can you tell me why you come to visit my blog? what is it that makes a trip here worthwhile for you? i have had creator's/bloggers block - and i would love to know what i might be bringing to the table
for all of you

i spy some more halloween pie

such a funfilled time of autumnal cool
and deep russet sighs
warming the kitchen and
stirring your internal pot

witchy warrior women
brew up trouble
and take to the skies

lattes come spiced
cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg
cling to the rim of porcelain
and lips

oh Great Pumpkin
rise
and bless the weary, wonderful
and eternally hopeful
send orange marmalade manna
and crisp crunch footfall
smooth over what the wind
has shaken loose and sometimes
broken

what i saw today

the colors are bursting all over
saturation of deep and vibrant tones
i look and fall in love with fall

holiday halloween

grrrrrr i can't get to everything
i could screaaaaamm
bear with me as i try to keep it clean here
hapless, helpless in the week's routine
i am soo off my mark
but it could be worse than what it seems

just enough time to fit in a few pics of the neighbors cool place
brew up something spicy to make me step up my pace

rats! nearly forgot that i have projects up my sleeve

nothing you haven't figured on
you who are regular to the scene
but i am keeping it seasonal
you know me
it's like i'm a halloween teen

my first at making cards for this scary fun time
must say that i am partial
to the most witchy of kinds


my visitor, Flat Moogie who hails from another land
is hanging with some creepsters
as only she can
she is drinking far too much grog
keeps me up late at night
and my candycorn goes missing
morning, noon and night

message to the blogosphere:
don't despair, even though you feel that you are wearing down
take special care, the change is in the wind
felt in the very air
but you just need to bear and grin it for the moment
cuz that is what is here
(but nothing is forever, and don't we all know it)

wormy and squirmy came to rest upon a cake

the worms crawl in
the worms crawl out
if you want a cute cupcake
you are in the wrong crowd

some visitors fly in the face of squirmy, wormy fare
Flat Moogie, visiting from moogieland
is completely aware
and still has not a care
as long as she gets chocolate on demand
and all rights to the licking spoon

this is where the ucky, yucky baked cakes met their final resting place
the festivities were on and the crowd was smacking their lips
many of the cup sized morsels would be but a brief but sinfully sweet memory

wanna make some of these graveyard delights?

First -
use a cake mix, follow the directions for cupcakes, but put some LUV into it girls, add chocolate milk instead of water, or buttermilk and when it comes to the oil - maybe use that stuff we call butter

Then -
take an 8oz of cream cheese (okay, this could be lowfat), room temperature, and half a bag of semisweet chocolate chips that you have melted carefully on a double boiler on the stove. whip together, add a teaspoon of vanilla for good measure, and approx. 3 cups of powdered sugar. frost right away.

Decorate -
with crumbled oreo cookies (about 7, without the creamy middles), and some gummi sour worms. makes it look like death warmed over at the cemetery.

Flat Moogie will be visiting madlycreative for a few days - so stay tuned to her crazy antics. she is from the south - who knows what that might end up being...

just what did i "fall" into?

where do i go when it's fall and the skies never dry?
hibernation with a pair of knitting needles
and a slew of good movies
stir in a good book or two
chased down with a cup of hot tea
heaven on earth

doing stuff to pay the bills
making stuff to put under december's tree
writing a second blog about my town
can take a girl right away from the blog she loves best

wet woods
darker skies
shorter days
woollies and toes warmers
battling bugs that come back around and again
sending summer cottons scooting to the back of the clothing den

hooting owls
shot last winter
encased in hand painted frames
and knit i-cord and fallen twigs
i haven't been lazy, you see
just jumbled up in the changing of the season guard
confused by the fading sun
still reinventing my wheel
and, well, hibernating

Message to the Blogosphere:
what better time than now to perfect your craft, whatever that may be
enjoy the solace of your own endeavors. cobble together hours of elaborate, creative fun or just simply feed your mind with threads of thought that tug at your imagination and soul
sheesh - what are you waiting for? this hear is your invitation to explore

halloween can make you happy

here is my wee little holiday bag
that brings in the halloween cheer
and adds the right amount of dash
to every autumn outfit

here is the cupcake that i ate
it was a gift
fresh from the baker's hands
and went straight to my tummy
via the camera lens
and then, really, went straight into my tummy

a jack o'lantern toothy grin
for all who believe in the pumpkin patch
the tooth fairy
and a good sweet tooth
whose craving was blessedly filled
today

i'm a knit alien

i feel like an alien
lost slightly in a world that seems strangely familiar
but the road map went missing

i am good at blending in
everyone believes i belong
and that nothing is amiss
but i truly am green and gooey on the inside, where it counts

so if i seem a little aloof
take it as sign
that i am deep in thought
or just very confused

leaves flutter to the ground
and they have seen their cycle
met their purpose

winter winds herald hibernation and snow
the cover the creeps to still your mind
swallow the ground
slow things down

golden treasures
if only we knew where to dig

topsy turvey alien knitwit
bemused
bewildered
still

pull my apron strings, will ya?

no one is tied to my apron strings
except maybe the dog
but that doesn't mean i can't yank on your chain every now and again
rascals one and all
i call this one toadstool/old school

i have the power
the power of the flower/flour
and hell yeah
this girl is not afraid to use it

the apron design is based entirely on a vintage edition i wear and flaunt frequently at home
be on your guard for errant aprons
that come sneaking around corners
tying you in baker's knots
and adding hiding places for those extra cook pounds

after being off my feed for a few days
i am now trying to make up for lost time
baking and a making
storming and a forming
plans
plates to spin
in my cornucopia of industries
may the way be clearer in the days ahead
today the sun shone on
and life was good

psssst! need an apron? these are all over at my esty store...

pumpkins and little knits

i have been away in my little hidey hole
most of the time, sleeping and mending
then
in front of the cable tv at me mum's
knitting like a mad woman, living on tea and movies
felt like college vacations all over again
minus the boy angst and bad hair choices

incredibly, this pumpkin patch is just in my little corner of life
gourds inscribed with the names of sweet children who live
a mere stone's throw away from this,
the neighborhood pumpkin patch

i am a handcrafter of gifts from way back
winter solstice and christmas
the theme of giving is so resonant with my heart
this little gansey inspired sweater with hat
will be squirreled away until December
for my wee niece of two years

i lived in San Francisco for a decade
and would gladly travel miles to see
the Great Pumpkin rise from the pumpkin patch
now i get to see the round, orange orbs daily
and smell the loamy earth beneath their vines
as they worm across the grounds
seeking sustenance


i am a little bit crazed with impatience
to create a gift for all the loved ones
in time for the holidays
so that i might not spend every night before christmas
laboring away like an elf on amphetamines

on the one hand
life is gloriously rich
full of treasures from my friend's "p" patch
the generous cooking we share with one another
my wealth of local camaraderie
and the art materials i still find in my closet

on the other
my fight for employment of the general persusasion
continues on like a droning voice of frustration
as i cobble together my pennies to make dollars
and my dollars to make sense of things


today, i bask in blue skies, crisp turned up collars
the return of knitwear to the dressing schematic
and the energy to walk a couple of miles
a fresh pot of soup on the range
and a renewed vigor in my step

hello all - i am back

fall has laid me low this day

"Tell me, what is it
you plan to do with
your one wild
and precious life?
A ship is safe in port
but that is not what
ships are for"

Mary Oliver

madly creative begs your indulgence - we are off sick, and will catch up more with you another fine day.

oh, you card, you!

oh, you just crack me up you're such a card!
and though i love to take photos
my cards seem anything but photogenic
so me and me cards are having a great big hi-haw giggle

i can't be carded anymore, oh no
age has slipped in and dawned upon me
and whatever maybe written in my cards seems a vast mystery to me

through it all, i remain a steadfast, card carrying member of the art routine
i will futz and fiddle with my play stuffs and materials till they draw my last card and sign me up for the next tour of duty in the great blue beyond

card stock, card board, calling cards, card sharks
captivating
anticipating
my next house full of cards

are you a card who wants a card?
click on my etsy store on the right and go go go

i got flowers

i got flowers
my girlfriend's mom sent them my way
straight from her garden and heart
to my welcoming eyes and window ledge
males don't always fathom color in a vase
the need to gaze at petals and leaves
but your mates in gender
have your back

a world of plums

plum delicious
that's plumtastic
it's a plum job, and i don't mind saying so
plum, and ripe for the picking

my goodness, but don't you look plum rich
done with great aplum
plums and berries, nature's treasures

pounds and pounds of plumbs
i am slow roasting them in a 200 degree oven, cut in half, a quick breeze of butter on their backs for 4 hours in the oven
i am making orangette's plum crumble with hints of ginger (photo above - and serving it to me friends)
i am freezing them for days when i am plumless and pitiful
i am hoarding recipes, like this one at a new blog find, imby & itchy
still harvesting my lovely, free fruits and vegetable finds
for days when the sky is a little bleak
the harvest all gone
and i want a ray of summer fruit shine to light the day

do you every really know?

do you ever really know?
messages sent mysteriously
winds shift and alter paths
sudden storm wrestles old patterns to the ground
light burns where once shadows swam

cock your head slightly askew
view the moment upside down
perceptions need breaking
release your prior rules on permanent parole
smile winningly and sigh deeply

i can see art in every corridor
marvel at the abundance
in life

don't hold too tight this week
what you seek
and what you need
come sometimes
in separate wrapping

PS have i told you this week how cool you all are?

touch the sky, jimi

i live near jimi
and today i went to say hey
view the mountain that crests the back lot
encounter the remains of someone's late night haunts
at the spot rockers come to play
and show some respect

the message here, my beauties is clear
where does your love lie?
the passions fly?
but today, more importantly
tranquility and peace of spirit and mind
seek your balance in your personal divine
the wealth is in your freedom within
share it and see it multiply

(PS if you want to purchase some jimi photo cards, i can make that happen - lickety split - just comment and i will get in touch asap)

yarny bits and walkabouts

went a walking and a crawling (to some pubs, that is)
had to leave my yarny little mark
at the neighborhood that would love it best

threw my knit tags together on the fly
stitched so last minute
they scream low key
basic
and true

quick, silent and fibery
that's my play for the day
make the yarn be with you all
and have a luscious tactile weekend

Put an apron on, would ya!?

put an apron on, would ya?
the food is tired of landing in your lap
the frosting highlighting your hair
the pasta lumping at your waistband
as if you didn't care

put an apron on, could ya?
the company comes a callin'
you cannot be a stallin'
changing your outfit twice and fallin'
prey to frumpiness in the end

put an apron on, already
your hands are not that steady
you've been drinking since my boss was getting
his hands up your chicken carcases rear end

put an apron on, dear lady
the outfit on you isn't heavy
and the gravy boat is like the damn's levee
after an earthquake hit's like lead

put an apron on, he said me
it's the return to once was etiquette
and the voice in the kitchen is ahead of
everything i feel most inclined to follow and be led

madly creative aprons at happy delusions

squirrely behavior, to be sure

he came to court the squirrel he said
though she was stiff and ceramic
he clamored for her shiny embrace
his tail was all a swish
in near a panic

she did not move nor bat an eye
when his antics became more spry
such a chameleon, with such flair
she covered her emotions under his hot glare

he tried to be quiet
saying a quick acorn prayer
if he acted as still as she
she might intuit the depth of his care

at last he then realized
oh! the despair
she just wasn't his type
coquettish and too bright
he would much rather crawl back into his tree lair
fuss around as he would manly dare
and fondle his acorns in quiet

foraging before the sun fades

the sun is still bringing it's late summer smiles leaving more fruit, more verdant greens to water, to harvest, to pick like a squirrel, i gather for the winter and dream the dream of kitchen witches and common oven chiefs

life should be so simple, full of song the gather, graze and wander in this moment, i can live from the land and me likes

gardens are overflowing and there is no way of knowing when the land will embrace Fall with open arms and harden the earth with chill glances

so while the buds do bloom and the flowers continue to smell fine i grope in the vines pluck at the buds fill the freezer and smile like a cheshire cat with a mouthful of garden gorgeousness

Message to the Blogosphere: so you wonder why i am such a foodie blog follower as well as the made creator at this blog? i am slow roasting tomatoes in the oven daily (can't find the source right now, but 200 degrees with olive oil on top for 7-8 hours is GOOD!), making whole grain banana crunch cake from mags at the other side of fifty, plum cake from girlichef, tomato and corn pie from smitten kitchen, cookies and roasting some italian plums to boot yep foodie lover down to my little apple core and lovin' every minute of it

out and about today in town

out and about on a sun blessed journey
flipping my pedals and seeking a breeze
encountering visions and vistas that have no year
timeless treasures in my eye's focus

somethings should not change
comes around again
the appreciation, the chance to incorporate the old into the new
the shared vision with our ancestors

i found this tree in the warm afternoon
legs and all
monkeys in the branches, the tree warned me loudly
sock monkeys, me thinks
i should climb more often
leaves are so soothing
and monkeys give me hiccups of laughter at their hijinks

Message for the Blogosphere:

still a little MIA from the blog - forgive my absence - but it may just be good for the soul. introspection and introversion need not be heavy or harsh. i treasure the energy of sundays still - it feels different from all the other days, and should be a sacred day, whatever your persuasion. life goes by far too quickly, and a moment of quiet self indulgence and some sweet, deep thoughts are good for the soul. good for the soul - yes, bears repeating - let yourself be brought to the shores of this enviable beach of contentment

when i roam

the trip to the forest's edge was fraught with liquid sky
falling into the fire
we had to cool our heels
and enjoy the slowness of nature time
all so very, very fine

this lichen is the color of limes and summer frolic
could it soften my fall?
it smiles of tree silliness
nature's accent color as the season of Fall boasts it's presence
at the turn of a leaf and cloud

this guy had a big crush on me this holiday
his head nudging me for attentions and love
handsome and dark
what more could a girl want?

my roaming camping companions as we struck out past the fields
looking for respite
moments free of concrete harried stress
in between sighs and tranquility
too seldom found
cherished, unforgotten

Message to the Blogosphere:

I am back - and will resume my careening tour through all your blogs momentarily.

Choices, choices choices - at the corner of my life and where next? just go with your gut, baby, you can never go wrong in the long run if you just do what feels right. mind and heart must share space - do not over analyze what you know must be done. Face the fear of the best choice your heart can bear ( how can you fear your joy, sweetness?!)- cuz therein lies the gravy, the mana, the future of life.

welcome to my world

welcome to my world the eye on my daily prize nature's nurture and the welcome absurd

arting out by a friend juxtaposed against ravaged walls and soot infested window panes all seeing and just a bit of knowing if you know what i mean

do we have to crack, maybe even break and fall a boat full of lost and aloners mad crime and morals a slack and running restless do not join the ranks of the filing and foolish

when you squint, the break becomes a beauty of refractions of color and shine new shape and satisfaction chaos made whole from within madly and creating on the road in the wilderness i shall return tomorrow

i have been away camping
*sigh*

creature comforts

lasso your secret and best kept desires
lay into a new world beyond the realm of which you are keepin
attack the creature and consume the comforts
chip away at the chocolate you crave and conspire

out of the oven
fresh and brimming with bubbles of you
sweetness that kindles and cavorts
taste what you long to set free

maybe your are partaking of the wrong cup of tea
something to sooth you
not far from where you began
easier if you could have the vision
it need not be so sweet for the sustenance it would bring
fills all needs and appetites

Message for the Blogosphere:

times are materially tough, and you feel the pressure, the tightening of the financial purse strings, the constrainment in your daily forays. do what you need to do, don't sacrifice too readily for you may do yourself undue harm. do only what is level, your level best as it were. sharing to make the load less, caring to make the times softer, harboring less doubt and more a sense of a bigger vision that takes you back to your basic self, the one you came in with, the one that knows what you truly crave when things get a little down.

like a little lavender would ya?

lilac and lavender
crystal clear but not known from within
these days of endless murky meanderings
need intuitive takes
musings and moderation

Ganesh is the lord of obstacles
may he creates highways and byways where none seem to exist
the clutter and clash of conscientious concern
is only bringing tattered messages my way

this bag seems to have shards of crystalline creation springing to life
third eye clarity
comfort benign

message for the blogosphere:

fight for fairness, don't deny your generous heart to shine, even when you feel as if the times necessitate hoarding and hesitation. if we all let forth our hand to feed the souls of ourselves and others, this mess wouldn't be looking so big

squirrely thing, this blogging business

last fall there was a drunken soldier who fell
the pavement became his home for many a day
and we sent our condolences
and I knit for him

his memory still lingers and to commemorate that moment in time Crystal kitted out this little figurine for wee little me ain't he cute?

i love a good scarf worn with flair, don't you?

Message for the Blogosphere:
Tiny little deaths. endings and fits of goodbyes just mean turning a corner onto new beginnings. Sometimes a good and thorough ending can bring about the best of new responses, even between two people who seem to be teetering on the edge of a need for something fresh and renewed. My friend, Molly, called it the "reset" button. Let's hit the reset button, clear the air, remove the general fugue from the room, spray some mental freshner about, letting out a belly full of pent up blues and a deep sigh of my oh my, where has the time gone by. Reclaim your own future today. You deserve what is rightly yours - you need it now more than ever.

much better!

i went to where i love
the mint green wall of the 50's makeover at a neighborhood building
maybe these photos will make the cut for me
maybe my esty photo taking ship has finally come in
maybe i just really like this shade of green
here's to hoping others do as well

sketches in green minty fresh

window onto a portion of my everyday swirl
green vintage yarn scored from thrifting
a xmas sweater in the making
neighborhood blooms
breathtaking in the colors
the transect and contrast
behold
life's little treasures in funk
swerve and petal

hello my friends, i really appreciate your presence