Thursday, April 21, 2016

Purple Flowers for Prince

Pansies from my garden-mixed media, ©MARoss
Like much of the world, I just heard that the artist known as Prince died this morning. This has been a tough year for losing performing artists for those of us in certain age brackets. Prince was just 6 months older than I am, so I felt this very strongly. I watched his career from young man who at first got booed off stages, to successful well known name who stuck to his own beliefs and integrity in the face of attacks, unpopular beliefs and controversy. He was very courageous, and a supremely skilled and talented musician.

Purple flowers for Prince is a nod to his very successful son & album "Purple Rain".

You will be missed dear artist, safe travels to your next destination.
- Michele



“Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. 
Yeah, everything is beautiful.” 
-  Prince Rogers Nelson  or  PRINCE (June 7, 1958 - April 21, 2016)

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Happy National Tartan Day!

We've always been quite proud of our Scottish bloodlines on both sides of the family here in the Ross household. My family names are Kirkpatrick and Colquhoun. This image shows my husband Bob as a young man in Scotland years ago wearing his Ross tartan kilt together with a medley of of Ross Clan Tartans. I've always liked the Ross Clan motto "Spem Succesus Alit", which means "Success Brings Hope" or "Success Breeds Hope" or there abouts. Here is a little history on Tartan Day:
"April 6 Commemorates the Signing of Arbroath in 1320
The Declaration of Arbroath, a declaration of Scottish independence, was signed on April 6, 1320. Scottish barons and earls then sent the declaration, in the form of a letter, to Pope John XXII to assert Scotland's status as an independent state. It also asked the pontiff to recognize "Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king," according to the National Records of Scotland. The American Declaration of Independence was modeled after the Declaration of Arbroath.
In the United States, the Senate passed a resolution in 1998 to designate April 6 as "National Tartan Day."
"Whereas this resolution honors the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this nation, such as the fact that almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent, the governors in nine of the original 13 States were of Scottish ancestry, Scottish Americans successfully helped shape this country in its formative years and guide this nation through its most troubled times." the resolution said.
In 2005, the House passed similar resolution."
#TartanDay, #ScotlandtheBrave, #RossClan