Sweet Heart...

Thank you to all of you who left such lovely comments on my Heart's Desire post yesterday. The winner of my drawing will receive this heart - handcrafted by me - especially for this giveaway.

I'm calling it "Sweet Heart".

It features a cream colored fabric, silver-lined glass beads, sweet pink roses with another sprinkling of glass beads, and finished with a Swarovski crystal heart. I cut and sewed the heart, and stuffed it with organic wool, then I hand sewed all the embellishments to the heart.

As promised, I chose the winner of my surprise giveaway using the Random Number Generator, so without further delay...
You can click on this photo for a closer look, but the winner is (#2) Kim from My Irish Rose Creations. I recently purchased one of her stunning creations, so if you haven't seen her work yet, please visit her blog. She's also hosting her own Visions of Spring Giveaway, so you have a chance to win by leaving a comment while you're there! I am honored to send one of my creations to her. This is what she wrote:

Donna, your post is certainly thought provoking and found myself wondering if I should laugh or cry. My first thought was "a day without snow"...but I get so much accomplished on days like this. Then on a much more personal level, my thoughts turned to my husband, whom I lost this past October following a four year battle with cancer. Certainly, just one more day with him is always my heart's desire, but I was so blessed with the time we had together that there's nothing more I would say or do in one more day. So for now, my heart's desire would be to find a little house in the country with a craft studio and land enough for a garden and all the pets my kids keep bringing home..lol.
Hugs~
Kim
myirishrosecreations.blogspot.com

Kim, I'm embarrassed to say that I neglected to save your address when I received your lovely package. (I knew I'd get it again the next time I place an order with you!) Please email me so that I can send your gift to you. Know that you have a friend in Florida who thinks of you fondly.

Your Hearts' Desire...

When I send out birthday cards to my friends, I usually write, "...and on your special day, may you have your hearts' desire". It got me to thinking about my friends in parts near and far, those of you who visit me here at Brynwood, and those who care enough to send me emails...Do you have a Hearts' Desire?

I know there are "Miss America" answers like "world peace", "no more pain in the world", and wishes for all mankind, and I don't diminish those, but I wonder if you could have anything in the world for yourself, what would you choose?

If you look at my blog roll, or the list of all the blogs I follow (that aren't in my blog roll), you'll know that I get to see some pretty creative, thoughtful posts on a daily basis. Many people, like me, embrace Valentines Day as a holiday to make and share symbols of their affection for others. And, the giveaway goodness around Blogland right now is truly staggering. (I just realized that very soon - only eight more posts - I'll be writing my 300th message to you! Another cause for celebration!)

What's my Hearts' Desire, you ask? I've already been so blessed. I have a husband who loves me, kids who live happy and productive lives, and grandchildren who are the lights of my life. I have a warm bed to sleep in (and sometimes "oversleep") and food on the table. I have all the toys and trappings in my studio so that I can indulge my creative muse, and I am surrounded by friends and family with whom I can have fun. I can honestly say that I want for nothing. I'm a Lucky Girl that way. (Well, truthfully, there is that small issue about my current weight, but I lost 32 pounds in 2009, and I continue to stay on track, so I'm not going to be hard on myself about that.)

So, my Heart's Desire would be for those I love to be surrounded by people who would do anything for them, who care what happens to them, and who love them unconditionally, and for all of them to be healthy (I learned how important that is over the past two years)...and for them to have their Heart's Desire.

I'd love to know what you would consider your Hearts' Desire. It doesn't have to be anything lofty or grandiose. It might be something as simple as a good night's sleep.

I think I'm going to do something special for one lucky person who leaves a comment today. I don't know what it is...but I promise to think on it and I'll tell you what it is tomorrow. (Kind of sneaky to make a giveaway out of it at the very end of this post, don't you think? giggle) I'll chose one lucky recipient by Random Number Generator at midnight tonight.

May each and every one of you have your Heart's Desire.

Barbara Jean at Treasures From The Heart is having a 700th Post Giveaway! Congratulations, Barbara Jean on such a memorable accomplishment.

Giveaway ends on February 14th, and she's going to draw two names from the participants on February 15th. Another generous Valentines Day giveaway for us.

Super Bowl Sunday...

Today, I was able to check one item off my "Lofty Goals for 2010" list on my left sidebar. Handsome and I tackled (get it? "tackled" - yeah, sometimes I just crack myself up!)...sorry, we tackled the last of my stuff cluttering up the garage so that it can be converted into his drum room. It's going to be really cool when it's all done! Harleys and drums...the best! I'll show you photos when it's all done, I promise.

By the time the pre-game started, we were thoroughly tired of work - ready to relax and watch the game. We really didn't care who won. We were just hoping for a good game. Dinner was no big deal. We don't do huge game spreads for just the two of us, but I did work a little sandwich magic I wanted to tell you about.

I slow-cooked a pork roast with onions, and shredded the meat after it had simmered for about 6 hours. I added Jack Daniels Barbecue Sauce and kept it warm as I did the rest of my prep - making my version of homemade creamy coleslaw.

I use crispy lettuce instead of cabbage (along with shredded carrots, sliced onions, mayo, sour cream, a little sugar, balsamic vinegar and a little dry salsa seasoning from Tastefully Yours). It makes for a light, crisp coleslaw with a fresh flavor and I'm just a little proud of the fact that I developed the recipe all on my "ownsome".

I heated up some ciabatta bread and cut it in half, put the barbecued pork inside the bread and then topped the pork with my coleslaw concoction. I served steak fries on the side and dinner was "just enough". If you're looking at my photo, you'll see mayo (Duke's Mayonnaise) on the side. Cat's out of the bag...I dip my fries in mayonnaise. I still get funny looks from the kids for that, and they accused me of turning Handsome "over to the dark side" the first time they saw him doing the same thing! Try it some time. It's good!

So, that was our Super Bowl Sunday. Today, I'll be finishing more valentines, making sure Kes gets to the vet to have an "old lady wart" removed from her head (it's been bleeding intermittently so it's gotta go), and working with my beaded shawl.

Don't forget my Sweetheart Valentines Giveaway and my 200th Follower Giveaway. If you haven't entered yet, please join the awesome group of individuals who follow my musings so you can join in the giveaway fun! You can find my giveaway buttons on my left sidebar, along with a few other great giveaways offered by other bloggers. If you go to their sites, please tell them where you heard about them.

To those of you who have recently signed up as Brynwood friends, I'm looking forward to getting to know you, and you getting to know me better in 2010. I have lots of fun things planned for this year and hope you'll continue to check in and see what's going on. It may take me a while, but I promise to stop by your blogs, or if you don't have one, to send you a message to say "hi".

I love reading your comments. Your feedback is really valuable to me. Otherwise, it's just sort of like talking to yourself...and I can do that any day of the week! Thanks for stopping by, and always, thanks for letting me know you were here. Good luck to all of you in the drawings. I wish I could give each and every one of you a gift to let you know how much you all mean to me.

TWO more important things for you today...My friend, Dawn at The Feathered Nest is celebrating her THIRD "blogiversary", and she's having a wonderful giveaway. Click on her button on the left to go and enter. Please tell her Donna at Brynwood said "hi".
See you there!

You have to go and visit Lisa at Tarnished and Tattered, too! She's celebrating her 200th follower just like I am, and she's got some pretty incredible and beautiful items in her giveaway. Tell her Donna said "hi" when you get there!

Be sure to check out all the great giveaway buttons on my left sidebar. Each of these women has selected beautiful giveaway gifts. There's still time to enter their drawings for a chance to win, if you haven't already!

A Sweetheart Silver Sunday...

It only seems right on this final Silver Sunday that I should share my silver frame collection with you. You see, I have a special set of silver frames. Each one has a heart on it or incorporated into its design. This being the weekend before Valentines Day, and the last of this Silver Sunday series, I wanted to be sure you got to see them.
These are frames that I've collected over the years, and they're all different from each other - except that they all have hearts in common. See? Some of them have a heart in their scrollwork or along the outside of the frame, while others have a small heart-shaped charm or token hanging on them.
I have many more, but you get the idea. They make quite an impression when they're all together. For the most part, I scatter them about the house. That way, I spread the love from room to room. Oh, and that last one up there is our entire family in one shot. Like the Bunsens of Prairie Home Companion lore, "...All the women are strong. All the men are good looking, and all the children are above average". Don't we all feel that way about our families? I can tell you I sure do!

I'd like to thank Beth from Gypsy Fish Journal for being such a wonderful hostess. Please be sure to visit her blog to see all the other fabulous Silver Sunday posts. There are so many beautiful places to visit and it may take a bit of time, but believe me, it's worth it to check them all out! Beth has already told us that Silver Sunday (the next edition) will be once held once a month now. I've already decided what I'll share with you next time. See you then!

Also, be sure to click on my buttons to enter each of my current giveaways. Once you get to each one, you can find out how to enter. Each giveaway will be drawn at midnight on February 13th.

The Opera Singer...

This is Handsome's grandmother, Lulu - the opera singer.
She performed in the United States and Canada
in the early part of the 20th century.
I really like this image of her and thought you might enjoy seeing it, too.

It was rainy in south Florida yesterday, which made
it a perfect day for continuing to work on my valentines.

If you haven't entered my current (two) giveaways yet,
click on the buttons on my left sidebar to enter.
One is my Sweetheart Valentine Giveaway
and the other is my 200th Follower Giveaway.
Spread the word. The more, the merrier!