Go Eat Your Black-Eyed Peas!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!! 2012 has arrived...and this is gonna be an interesting year. I can't wait to see what happens when the Mayan calendar runs out.

In the meantime...I wanted to remind y'all to GO EAT YOUR BLACK-EYED PEAS!! Why?, you ask....well....if you REALLY wanna know the history, I'll tell ya.

You do???

SWEET.

Well, to commemorate this tradition, I made a scrapbook page a few years ago on this very subject...the journaling tells the tale. Don't strain your peepers, I'll post it here:

Happy New Year...now go eat your black-eyed peas. 

"Why?" you ask. Well, I'll tell ya. But first, you gotta eat a spoonful. I know some people think they're yucky, but it's tradition! It all started back during the Civil War (or as my forefathers called it..."The War Of Northern Aggression"). Back then, people didn't eat black-eyed peas. They were grown solely to feed cows. That's why they're also called cowpeas. So, it is rumored in the city of Vicksburg, following 40 days of fighting, there were no provisions getting in or out of the city and folks were gettin' powerful hungry. So as not to starve, they ate the only thing they had--cowpeas. Ever since then, it has been tradition (especially in the southern states) to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. They're supposed to bring good luck for the coming year (because eating such a lowly, simple food shows how humble and worthy of good fortune you are). Ever since I was knee-high to a cricket, I've been eatin' black-eyed peas on New Year's Day...and I make certain EVERYBODY I know (including my cat) eats 'em too. Heck, we could all use a little good luck.

General ramblings about this blog

Hmmmm, where to start...

The birth of Left Field Studio...One day (a few years back) I was showing the folks at Memory Makers Magazine (may it rest in peace) a layout I had just created. One by one I pulled them into the bathroom, shut the door and turned off the lights. Ok, I know this just sounds bad...but that is the BEST way to view this particular layout--in total darkness. See, just about everything on this layout glows in the dark; the title, the journaling, the stitching (yes, they make glow-in-the-dark thread)--even the little fireflies (which are made from LED lights) blink on and off. It is quite an experience to see it in action. Here is that fateful layout.

That's when Nick shook his head and declared "Torrey, I'm gonna call you 'left field' from now on because that's where you are--out in left field." I must admit that made me giggle (and very proud). Thanks Nick.

So I aspire to live up to my uniquely quirky moniker in my creating. I'm not afraid to try anything. I love 'sperimenting. So this blog will be the repository for MY art--the fruits of my muses so to speak. Cards, layouts, poems, photographs...even recipes might find their way here, because one never knows what treasures will be found out here in left field.