Make A Wish!

Emma Jane is an exuberant fairy, who believes in putting everything she
has into a wish.  Though she is sometimes unaware of her strength, her
little friends can quite attest to the magnanimity of her success.

Welcome to Leisure Lane, friends.  Emma Jane is joining The Knittington Fairies’ Shop & Gallery.  Do you have a wish?  I hope she’s encouraged you to make one today…make it big, and put all you have into it just like Emma Jane.  I know you can do it!  Have the courage to receive it within your spirit, and you shall have it. (Mark 11:22-25)

You just might ‘blow’ others away when they see your success.

Have a glorious day, and expect the best.  Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Praises Sung

Praises Sung

Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
Sweet is your song.
Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
Pray don’t tarry long,
But swift to the meadow
Where we did first meet;
And I’ll to my praises
While you sing at my feet.

Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
The sun’s nearly down.
Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
I’ve woven a crown
Of sweet, pink primroses
To place on my head,
As I sing the Lord’s praises;
By your voice I am led.

Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
Our praises are sung.
Dear bluebird, dear bluebird
The last bells are rung.
The sun is no more,
Only pink clouds remain.
I bless you good night
‘Till the day dawns again.

copyright©2004 Marianne Coyne

Good day, Friends,

Thank you for strolling along Leisure Lane today.  I hope the above poem put you in a peaceful mood.  It was written the year in which I began a new phase of my spiritual journey ~ The Divine Wooing, if I may.  O, what a honeymoon it was.  When the Eternal Spirit makes known Its Presence in a remarkable, and personal way (for every spiritual journey is unique to each individual).  But as with all honeymoons, it came to an end. 

That’s when the meat of marriage is set before you, and the Lord says, “My wooing has ended, but My Love for you is beyond your ability to measure.  Will you still sing My praises when, for some circumstance, you cannot feel Me near and think Me far off?  Or will  you learn to know Me, and how much closer I am to you than your breath…this is for you to know, for remember, I already know every inch of you, my beloved.”

Then a new journey begins.  One in which stretches and strengthens your trust, until one cannot tell where the Lover ends and the Beloved begins.  When the two become One.

So most of the writings which came from this 18 month period were mostly prayers and dialogues between the Lover and Beloved.  I named those Soul Survivor, after a painting I had done previously to them. And other poems of this period are the result of some burst of  emotion…some sober, others fanciful and fun. This one came during a beautiful, peaceful sunset.

Thank you for letting me share this with you.  And as always, I hope it has touched you in a way which invokes joy and hope.  Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

The above, modified image is courtesy of PDPhotos.  Also click here to see original photo. Special thanks to them.

Sweet Showers

“Tulips”

We finally received some rain on Leisure Lane…It was a glorious rain, and the air was cool.  Oh, the happiness of a nurturing rain…Sweet showers!
Don’t the little tulips look like they’re happily dancing for joy?

Until our next shower, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Above image, “Tulips”,  from the Garden Sprites series by Marianne Coyne.  More images can be seen at Leisure Lane Gallery.

Roses In The Rubble

Hello Friends, and welcome to Leisure Lane…

I’ve written quite a few pieces on friendship.  The following is another one of the 15 minute poem exercises…this one about friends in our lives.  Enjoy!

Roses In The Rubble

When lives need to mend
God will send a friend.
A friend we’ve known for years,
Or one new to calm our fears.

 When everything seems lost
They help to count the cost.
They never come too late,
To help with life’s harsh fate.

God shows His love and care
By sending human angels where,
Amidst the toil and trouble
We find roses in the rubble.

copyright©2008 Marianne Coyne

Thank you for visiting today.  Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Transformation

Hello friends,

I’ve been having an interesting time transforming my art and writing into beautiful affirmations of life.  I hope they speak to you, as well,  in some way.

Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Above modified image is from an original oil painting, “Primroses”, by Marianne Coyne

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Hello Friends,

Last Tuesday I shared a wonderfully interesting cup for Teacup Tuesday ‘borrowed’ from my friend, Brenda.  Well, this week I am sharing her photos of a second set she bought at a garage sale right here in my neighborhood (I had to work that day – phooy!)

They are from Germany, but I couldn’t find much about them.  Brenda found out some information about them, and posted the following in ‘comments’:

“From information I have found before concerning the teacups, Konigliche Manufaktur is the company that manufactured the cups and the “artist” or creator is C. Bavaria. Altenkirchen is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, according to this link;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altenkirchen_%28district%29.
So actually I am wondering if these teacups came from this district. There was another website where I saw more porcelain from Konigliche that had marks by Bavaria where the handles were all different. This may be THE style of creating; each piece unique of being in the same set, but all different designs just as my cups are all painted different, but in the same set. Anyway, I love them and am happy of the find!! Thanks, Marianne, for posting them.” AND

“I also found this piece of information. This was on a Michael C. Fina website:

Konigliche Porzellan- Manufaktur treasures porcelain as if it were “white gold”. Frederick the Great, the Prussian King, shared the same rapture and he gave Konigliche Porzellan- Manufaktur his name and symbol.

Clinging to the age-old tradition, the Konigliche Porzellan-Manufaktur porcelain is still shaped by hand and elaborately painted in Berlin.”

They’re wonderfully cheerful, don’t you think?  And the shape of the saucers are fun – like flower petals.

She took a photo of them stacked to show that each cup had a different design.  She calls them ‘happy cups’ and I have to agree.  I’m glad I was able to share these with you.

To see more wonderful Teacups, stop by to visit the hosts of Teacup Tuesday, Terri (Artful Affirmations) and Martha (Martha’s Favorites).

If you like tea time and fairies, click on The Knittington Fairies’ Shop & Gallery for more goodies.

Special thanks to Brenda for sharing her precious cups and saucers.  Thank you for visiting Leisure Lane, and until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Above images from photographs by Brenda S.

A Mother’s Day Tribute

Happy Mother’s Day!

Above modified image from an original oil painting, “Symphony Bouquet”, by Marianne Coyne

Exercise in Poetry

Hello, dear friends,

Back in 2008, my friend, Brenda, and I took the challenge to participate in a poetry exercise, hosted by a local poetry organization.  Each week they posted a theme, and the writers had to write a poem or prose along that particular theme.

In the exercise we had 15 minutes to write something.  The point of the exercise was to spontaneously create.  Not too much time was given to mulling over – just allowing inspiration to flow through.  Of course the timing of the poem was on the honor system.  There was really no pressure.  It was meant to be fun, and it was.  Brenda and I sent each other our poems when we finished them, then sent them through email to the organization. We had a great time, and produced many wonderful poems and prose from it.

The following is one of those poems.

Remnants Of The Past

 I walk along the water’s edge.
I’m in the Present moment.  Isn’t that all there is – the NOW.
No past, no future; they aren’t here – only now.
The three are one; Past, Present, and Future are all in the NOW.

 

They say not to think of the past; the remnants of life.
Yet, as I slowly, purposefully walk along the shore,
I see remnants of past lives.  Footprints left before me.
Whose were they, I wonder.
Where did they come from?  Where were they going?
Are they happy, content? Safe,  fulfilled? 
They’ve moved on into the future, or should I say the present.
Only a part of their past remains.  Footprints; remnants
of a fleeting moment.

 I walk along.  Seaweed catches my attention; orderly,
neatly pushed by the water, foam caressing the limp
clumps.  I wonder how beautifully it must have flowed, deep
beneath the water, like a graceful dancer swaying to the rhythm
of the ocean’s heart beat; alive, vibrant.

I walk still.  Shells strewn about; little homes left behind by
some precious creature.  Now they are the past of that little one;
only a remnant of it’s former self.
Can we escape the past, or does it present itself to
us in the Present?

But, then I think, the past can be the NOW, for the waves will
wash away the prints, leaving the sand smooth again for new
imprints.  A bird may use the seaweed to line its nest, which
will receive new life into it.  And another little creature, just as
precious as the one before, may create for itself a home from a
discarded shell.

 So perhaps, the remnants of my life, worn, imperfect, and faded,
can be used to create a more perfect NOW.

copyright©2008 Marianne Coyne

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you had a leisurely visit.  Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

The above images are details from original oil paintings by Marianne Coyne

Glo-Tan For Teacup Tuesday

Hello Friends,

Recently my very dear friend, Brenda, emailed me some photos of two of her special garage sale finds.  She also  thought they would be perfect to share with my Teacup Tuesday friends.  She is such a special lady.

The one I’m featuring this week is Glo-Tan, which was a specific tan colored ware produced by the Carr China Co., in Grafton, WV.  Their dinnerware was designed specifically for hotels, restaurants, clubs, the military, etc. Glo-Tan was just one of their specialties produced in a variety of patterns, and shapes.

Isn’t the design pretty?  And the thickness of the cup is very typical of restaurant or hotel cups, don’t you think?  Oops, I’m sorry to say I forgot how many cups she has.  She acquired them quite a while ago at an estate sale in her neighborhood.  They were the property of a wealthy woman, though she isn’t sure why or how she would have had these sort of items in her possession.  Brenda said that she doesn’t have saucers for them, only the cups…but I think they’re grand. They certainly would keep coffee or tea warm for a very long time.

The Carr China Co. began operations in 1916, and was a thriving business until July, 1952, when operations were abruptly closed down and its doors forever closed after the owner learned that his employees were considering unionizing.  It remained vacant until it burned in July, 1966.

Can you imagine!  One day, everything’s going on as usual, then the order is made to put down your paint brushes, shut off the kilns, stop the wheels, and leave.  Everything was left for years the way it was on that work day.  The following quote from the Carr China Co. website paints a vivid image:

In Barbara Conroy’s “Restaurant China Volume 2,” she quoted a Claude Hawks, who visited the plant several years later: There was “unfinished product all over the place; lines of benches, where artists worked … their brushes still in the glasses … dried up jars of ink and paint … transfer patterns all over. In the room where the kilns were, the carts were loaded just like they were going to be pushed in an hour or so … so tragic.”

Because the area was discovered to contain a high percentage of lead on the 9 acre land, there was a renewed interest in digging and trying to find as many clues as possible among the shards, rubble, and ashes for posterity, before the EPA sealed it in 2010. 

If you are interested in finding out more about this company, and its remarkable history, click Carr China Co. for a great website.

Well, I hope you liked the Glo-Tan cup.  Next time I’ll feature a wonderful set she recently purchased last month ~ I think you’ll like these, too.

Ta~ta for now, and until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Special thanks to Brenda for lending her Glo-Tan cups for Teacup Tuesday.

Welcome May

Hello Friends,

Ah May! The sweetest breath of Spring, when the garden resolves to give up its secrets, and the meadow releases its hidden treasures.

Bloomalia’s greatest joy is to announce the arrival of May to all of Knittington, where the primroses are rosier, the daisies are sunnier, and the lilies are most fragrant.  Bloomalia and her dear friend, Robin, delight in helping bring in this happy month to the season.

To see more Knittington Fairies stop by The Knittington Fairies’ Shop & Gallery.

Everyone here on Leisure Lane thought the Royal Wedding was most beautiful and most royal…May God bless them with a most loving, happy union and family – Amen.

Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Above image is from an original watercolor in the series, The Knittington Fairies, by Marianne Coyne.