Too Close to Home

The shootings at Northern Illinois University were too close to home. I am saddened by all the horror that has occurred on campuses, but today it was too much.

While watching our local news this morning, they were running news blurbs on the bottom of the screen with emergency phone numbers. I guess seeing the same area code as ours here in Rockford was a wake up call. Some of the students wounded were airlifted to our hospitals here. Youth from our church attend NIU. My niece graduated from there last year.

It is now scaring me because Jason will be attending a college or university in 2 years. My only child will be leaving home. After the Virginia Tech shootings, our school district hosted emergency preparedness workshops for administrators and teachers. It was his project to go to these workshops and videotape them for the district. Some of the things he heard were too much for him.

Is my age showing now? I don't ever remember having police officers on duty in the schools. There wasn't a need to have security guards at the entrances. What is causing all this?

Congratulations, Cathy!

Dateline, Thursday:

I PUT EVERYONE'S NAMES IN A HAT, OKAY, IT WAS A BASKET...THE WINNER IS..... CATHY VIGOR OF Threads

Second chance there is, you know: check out the previous post with the mixed media notecard. Answer the question first - you win!

From Wednesday:
Thanks to Pamela Rice of Quilts N More for the info...I didn't make the deadline to sign up, but I'll give this beauty away anyway, okay?
Just leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address...I'll draw a name from everyone who has posted a comment, and on Valentine's Day (tomorrow), I'll let you know who's the lucky winner of this piece: It's a 6x6 collage with stamped and embossed Lutradur, commercial cotton, the leaf image is from one of my hand carved stamps frottaged with a copper painstick, beads and embroidery floss.

Giveaways and Gallery part 3

I wished I had known about the "One World, One Heart" project earlier...oh, well -

Today I am offering this mixed media notecard as a gift to the first person who answers this question:


"Who are The Three J's?"




Here's what's new in the gallery - the piece I created for my article published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors last spring: Julaine's Gallery of Artful Adventures



















I hope everyone has a love-filled Valentine's Day...