Voluble.

Voluble ~ (adj.) marked by a ready flow of speech.

As you can tell from my lack of posts, I have not exactly fit the definition of the word defined above. However, that's not because I've had nothing to say. On the contrary, I am filled with thoughts and words that fill my brain matter until I am practically tipping over with the weight of my own stories. (Perhaps now would be a good time for you to make yourself a cup of tea. You won't want to leave for a while).

And so we begin...

Let me start the new year with some thank you's. That's always a good place to pick up, isn't it? There are a few very *special* people whom I'd like to thank. The best part? They don't even know, yet.

Shortly before the holidays, I received an e-mail from my very dear friend Astrid (I've mentioned her before, but methinks I'll mention her again). She wanted to send me a package. EEP! Astrid makes corsets and other body care goodies, the likes of which are truly to die for. She's French... you get it. When my box from her arrived, it looked like THIS:

Who *wouldn't* want to open such a giftie?

So... of course, I did!

Ooooh... Bath and body goodness. And a candy cane! And a brooch! And, and, and... LOVE.

But best of all, a special parfum created from essential oils, just for me. In a tiny cobalt blue flask, no less. It's my favorite...

Thank you, Astrid! And Joyeux Anniversaire (Happy Birthday)!

From the tip of my nose to the tips of my toes... Please go check out her shop so that you can get some of this deliciousness for yourself or someone you love:

Astrid's online shop 

Astrid's Facebook group

Astrid's Etsy shop

And now we interrupt this programming for some more thank you's.

I follow a blog. Wait. That's NOT the exciting part! I love kind over matter so much, that I just had to sponsor Amanda's work this month. If you look on the right hand side of her pages, you'll see my ad that she made for me, which links directly to my Etsy shop. Amanda is not amazing because she advertises for me, though. Please take a moment to scroll through her posts. They are inspirational, poignant, and sometimes they make me laugh. Sometimes I even cry. But I read it every day, because what she writes reminds me that the act of kindness is the MOST important thing. AND... if you like free things ~ who doesn't like free stuffs ~ please click here for some amazing printable freebies filled with kindness. Thank you, Amanda. As she would say, "big love."

Here comes another thank you... can you handle all the gratitude? 

I hope so.

I 'met' Katayoon Zandvakili via my cousin Julie Michelle (I'll get to HER in a moment) through the power of the interwebs. In short, she is amazing. A talented painter and a poet, Kat is pure light personified. She is as fascinated with wordplay as I am, which is why she gifted me with not one, but two, new books: 

The Disheveled Dictionary

The New Well-Tempered Sentence 

Please do yourself a favor and peruse her websites. They really will fill you with *joy.* I am, of course partial to the horsey paintings. I think y'all know the reason:

Kat's paintings

Kat's poetry 

Kat's Facebook fan page ~ show her some love  

Last, but not in the very close to least... I have saved the VERY best for last.

Please allow me to tell you one more story. It doesn't have an ending. But it has a beginning. And this 'thank you' is part of that story. Once upon a time, 8 years before my own birth, came my cousin, Julie Michelle. According to all sources, my arrival was somehow synonymous with hers. We looked alike, we talked alike, and we even displayed some very same specific body and verbal language.  

Here comes the strange part... we live 3000 miles away from one another. 

I have only actually been in Julie's presence on a handful of occasions. Yet nothing has changed. We are still the same mysterious sister/cousin/twins we have always been. Like me, Julie is an artist. No. That's an understatement. She is also an author and a highly regarded photographer. Here are the links to her many sites ~ I will try to explain each one:

ilivehere:sf ~ an ongoing photo-journalistic project 

ilivehere:sf was recently part of an enormous installation at SOMA arts in San Francisco.

Julie's personal blog ~ filled with beauty and insight

Julie's porfolio ~ of sorts... 

 

Please go and take a good long look at Julie's work. There is honestly so much more, but I'm only allowed to tell you about what is already public domain ;)And what I have given you will just take your breath away. 

So. Now for the thank you to my special cousin ~ it's a bit of an odd story...
  

Before Julie became the sort of artist she is now, she was a jewelery designer. Yeah, I know. I think the best part is that I had very little idea that we had ever traveled this same path. When she told me that she was sending me 'a box o' beads,' I was not expecting what I saw:

All the beads in ALL the world.

So that I can do this... aka, workin' it.

So that I can make things like these earrings... 'Baby Bee.'

Which, allows me to buy THIS.

Julie is part of my past, my present, and she gave me a future. To her, I give my undying love and affection. Thank you, my sister/cousin/twin.   

Thank you to all of my specials ~ even if I have not mentioned your name, you know who YOU are. I love you...

XOXO