Once again, Clarence Clemons, the heart and soul of the E Street Band, died today. I have loved and enjoyed Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for most of my life, going back to when I was a kid. I have seen them perform many times and no matter what, the songs always sound fresh and as if they were written in the present. The highlights of so many of the concerts have been Clarence's performances on the saxophone on songs such as "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out", "Spirits in the Night", "Rosalita", "Prove It All Night", "Out on the Street" and I could go on and on. The songs will never sound the same without Clarence.

One of the things that defines who I am can be found in music, specifically, rock n' roll. I am, and have always been, a rocker. I am very sad about the passing of Clarence Clemons, "the Big Man", from the E Street Band. Clarence has been the heart of the band for 40 years. It was hard to narrow down a song that really captures Clarence's magic and so, instead, I picked "Glory Days" because it epitomizes all of the good times the band and Bruce, and all of us have had. The band will play on, but it will NEVER be the same... Rest in peace, Clarence.

Recently, I saw "A Single Man". I absolutely loved this movie! I love, love, love Tom Ford. I am ever SO happy that Tom Ford is back designing women's clothing that is beautiful, elegant, and classic. I love Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, great actors! They are absolutely terrific in this movie. And I absolutely love, love, love, love the black and white dress Julianne Moore is wearing in this scene. It is so breath-taking elegant and the girl can shimmy in those high heels! This scene steals the movie - Colin Firth and Julianne Moore slow dancing to "Stormy Weather", then boogieing to "Green Onions'.

I have been in a 70's mood for the last few months. I grew up in the 70's and although that period is usually defined as the "disco era", I was NEVER into that kind of music or discos, but I could totally relate to the "bohemian" look that was SO popular back then and is once again in vogue now. Jane Fonda's shag and style epitomized the bohemian and haute couture hippie vibe that was very prevalent during the 70's. The top photo is of Jane Fonda accepting her 1st Academy Award for Best Actress, in the movie "Klute", which I recently saw for the first time.

I love this photo of Jane Fonda - I love the pastels and bare feet that seem to say summer is around the corner. This outfit looks very modern - it is hard to believe this photo is almost 40 years old.

A shot from "Klute", starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Jane Fonda is wearing a trench coat and a long, black sequined dress in this photo. I have 3 trench coats - a traditional khaki, a silk, dressy version, and a denim version. It seems the trench NEVER goes out of style. And I have a short, black sequined dress that is a classic too! I have worn it only once, but boy, did it get lots of compliments. My husband and I went to a formal that I wore it to - as good as the dress looked, my best "accessory" was my husband in a suit. He looked absolutely stunning and I couldn't keep my eyes off of him! I think it is time to pull that dress out of the closet again...

These are a few pages from the little swatch book I made for Kelly for Christmas. I can't believe we are in April! Where has the time gone?! The last 2 plus months have been incredibly grueling and tiring... in mid-January, I had a very serious fall at work. I got pretty banged up. The doctor had me stay home for 3 days and then, I couldn't take it any longer and returned to work, with lots of aches and pains, but dying to get back to the job. Although we are now in April, I am still seeing the doctor and going to physical therapy. With my schedule, it is very difficult to squeeze in both doctor's visits and trips to the physical therapist. I am most fortunate I didn't break my nose, neck, and more importantly, my head, with that fall. My fall happened at the beginning of the day and only happened because of someone's negligence. Once again, it is a great reminder that life can change in a split second...



Anyway, I haven't done anything that remotely resembles art since early February. I made a very, very special friend a swatch book for Valentine's Day. The book I made completely embodies my friend's life and interests. Soon, spring break will be here and it will be time to break out my supplies and catch up. I hear in the back of my head Kelly saying, "You can devote 10 minutes a day to make art." I know, I know, Kel!

You might remember the pink Christmas tree below. The bottom shot is from this past New Year's Eve. Well, the pink tree has now gotten a second life as the Valentine Day's tree. The little pink tree is all dressed up and ready for February 14! In the background, is a painting I bought from Karen Michel several years ago. I just can't get enough of hearts and love!

The following are pages from a swatch book I made for Kelly as part of her Christmas gift. The top photo is a look at the covers of the book.

These pages are the first 2 interior pages of the book. You might remember that Kelly made me my own swatch book last year for my birthday. Well, many of the images I used for her book
were images she used for my book. I just gave the imagess a little of Roseann's 'touch'!

Kelly and I share a love for hands and hearts! I have been trying to get into the Valentine's Day mood since a couple of days after Christmas. This next Valentine's Day is a HUGE milestone.