Do you have a product or business or announcement that should be listed on our "Buy Welsh for Christmas" page? There are a limited number of spaces for only $5 each and we'd love to have your item or announcement on it!

AmeriCymru has five ad spots available in the right-hand column and until the end of 2012, $25 gets you a 125px by 125px spot there for a whole year, on every page on the site. This column only holds so many ads and when it fills up, we can't do a thing about it for a year so contact us to get your ad in the right-hand column.

Email Ceri at americymru@gmail.com get listed!

Two developers bought a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Phoenix, Arizona and plan to demolish it to build two new houses on the property to sell.

The David Wright House

Wright designed the house for his son, David Wright, and David's wife, Gladys, in 1952. David was the son of the first of Wright's three marriages, to Catherine Tobin .

The developers bought the house in June 2012, and say they didn't know who Wright was or the significance of the house. The previous owners had bought it from David Wright's granddaughters. A preservation group was in the process of working to preserve the house and had started the process of applying for recognition of the house as a landmark but, in Arizona, individual property rights often supersede preservation and conservation. Even if the house is designated a landmark, that protection will only extend three years and then the owner will be free to demolish the house, which is what they've said they'll do.

According to an article in the NY Times , an anonymous donor offered to buy the house for a "little over" $2M but the developers refused to sell it. The developers had bought the house for $1.8M just last June but say they are " looking to clear $2.2 million from any sale," . Some say a threat by the developers to demolish the house is an attempt to hold the preservation group up for a higher price.

A petition to the city of Phoenix to preserve the house has been started:

http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-phoenix-save-the-david-and-gladys-wright-house

And here are a couple of videos on yourube, from people who've toured the house:

The description of the house:

"The house, built in 1952, bears Wrights signature on a red tile by its front door equal parts seal of approval and certificate of authenticity. The wood on the cabinets, doors, desks, shelves and sofas, all designed by Wright, sparkled, having been brought back to life by coats of lemon oil Mr. Sells diligently applied early this week as a new real-estate listing went live.

Piano hinges, which line cabinets and doors from top to bottom, still hold strong. The floor, in colored concrete, has cracks that show its age but also lend it a degree of rugged charm.

...

" The house dances. The glass of its windows is mounted on frames that curve, following the flow of its spiraling walls. The furniture inside, all of it designed by Wright, is a study in symmetry. The kitchen tables round edges match the round edges of the fireplace, which match the round edges of the ramp that leads from ground to second level like an inverted U.

"The house surprises. Sheets of plywood hug support columns as they cross the innards of the closets in a childs bedroom, hiding them playfully as in a game of peekaboo. Inverted triangles carved out of galvanized steel hang from the edge of the roof, casting shadows on the ground that change as the sun moves."

A little interesting nugget that I didn't know was that one of Wright's sons, John Loyd Wright, who was also an architect, invented Lincoln Logs - http://www.incredibleart.org/links/jlwright/lloyd_wright.html

.

Dave has done an original lovespoon every year for the past four years and together with Laura Jenkins Gorun for the past three years, and they've blogged it . This year, they incorporated a design by San Francisco Welsh-American painter, Jen Delyth , "The Celtic Tree of Life." If you've been following Dave's blog, you've seen it in progress and if you haven't, see it below. It's the most beautiful lovespoon, the most beautiful carving, I've ever seen.

From Dave's blog, with his permission:

DONE!!!!!

I've just put in a 3 day marathon carving session to get the West Coast Eisteddfod Lovespoon ready for its big day! I'm thrilled to bits with the result and I'm hoping that seeing it done will encourage lots of donations to our favourite cause!!

Remember, this beauty that Laura and I have slogged over for the last few months could be yours for one measly dollar!!! Every dollar you contribute to the West Coast Eisteddfod entitles you to a chance at winning what is surely our best effort yet! I defy you to find a lovespoon like THIS anywhere for a BUCK!!!!!!

I think that Laura has absolutely excelled herself with her gorgeous ball in cage detail. Check out those sinuous vine details!! At the start of this project, Laura was a bit of a grinder with the design and in her own words, 'fussed over every detail'. Now that it's done, you can see that her efforts were absolutely worth it! Laura and I are in love with this spoon and we don't really want to give it away...but give it away we will!

In case you're wondering why the spoon is sort of two-toned, its because Laura's section at the bottom was carved a couple of months back and is oxidizing. That rich amber tone you see on the bowl is what the whole spoon will have in another couple of months when my section at the top settles in a bit! This spoon is going to be a stunner!!!!!

Just to show that we didn't 'leave it all' on the front aspect, here's a picture of the back of the spoon (above) showing that all Laura's meticulous planning has continued onto the back!! Its like having 2 spoons for the price of one!!!

Man, I just love how Jen Delyth's 'Tree of Life' turned out! One day it would be fun to try a bigger one and go for a bit more detail on the roots and branches, but for now, this looks pretty sweet! Trying to remember where all those vines went around the heart, leaves and dragon made me scratch my head a few times and I had to call Laura for a sketch, but in the end its all good!!

And one last treat is this close up of Laura's beautiful work on that cage with the 4 balls (one for every year of the Eisteddfod) which shows just how 'touchable' her carving is!!
I'm totally PUMPED about this spoon...I hope that you will be too! Just remember that time is rapidly running out for you to get in on a chance to take it home!!! Please donate to help support the West Coast Eisteddfod today!!!! Just click on the box at the top right of the page...it's simple, safe, secure and you WON'T get hassled with any unwanted spam from any of us!!

Besides Dave's post and shots above, I'm including the one he sent me, to tell me it was done - those are Dave's hands holding the spoon, below:

Ceri and I are hoping we can go to Wales next year. Ceri hasn't been home in years and I've never been. He'd like to get to see his family and I'd like to get to meet them and I'd just like to see it. The only places I've been outside the US are Tijuana and Vancouver BC. Vancouver was gorgeous but nothing really different and Tijuana was sort of a depressing version of the part of LA I was living in at the time. There's some things I already know I want to see in Wales but I know there's a lot I don't know anything about.

if you haven't been to Wales, where would you like to go there? When would you like to go? What do you want to do and see in Wales and why?

If you have been there, what brought you there? Where would you tell someone else to go? What would you tell other people they should see and do there and why? Is there anything you'd like to go back and do or see and why?

200 PAPER DAFFS ( SEE PICS BELOW ) WILL BE PLANTED AROUND PORTLAND. FIND ONE AND BRING IT ALONG TO THE WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD FOR $2 OFF AT THE DOOR!!

I have to make some fliers for this year's West Coast Eisteddfod in Portland. In the past, the best promo lines for us, with the greatest return, have been online and we do lots of marketing there but I always want to find things that will bring more local, non-Welsh-ish people to our event so that makes handbills, fliers and posters important.

I think less and less people will pick up a flier or a handbill or bother to read or keep one if you hand it to them so I'm brainstorming on ways to make them more interesting and more memorable, on a tiny non-profit budget! I had the idea to do handbills as a pinwheel so that's what I'm trying, a little red dragon and black text on a yellow background, attached to bamboo skewers with a push pin - the prototype has a clear push pin but I'm going to replace that with an orange push pin to make it more daff like. We'll stick in the ground all over town and I was thinking I might add a "bring this in for $2 off at the door" offer on it.

I was thinking I'd also reverse the direction of the dragon and make the "petals" more rounded - - what does anyone think?

And, two pix of Ceri with it and sticking it in the ground -

I decided one of my hobbies was going to be to collect work by Rhys Henry Hughes, because I love to read him and he's been very hard to find, some of his books are totally out of print and others outrageously expensive on Amazon but I have time to search and to be patient....

I still want to own them hard copy but right now on smashwords.com , you can read lots of Rhys Hughes ebooks at unbelievably low prices.

Rhys Hughes writes brilliant, mischievously whimsical stories, mostly fantasy and science fiction (everything I've read so far, at least).

One I've always wanted to read but could never find was Fables of Rhysop . The short description onSmashwords: " Tired of being given good advice in fables and parables by wise men, sages and gurus? Why not try Rhysop's Fables instead, a set of 150 amoral and irresponsible fables? There are no messages here telling you how best to live your life. That kind of thing is entirely up to you! The philosophy of Rhysop's Fables is that there are no answers to life because life is not a question..."

And continued on Smashwords in Rhysop's Return , " More unhelpful and irresponsible fables from the mind that brought you Rhysop's Fables... Join an absurd host of aardvarks, ghosts, pirates, flying jellyfish, hospitals made of lemon jelly, yetis, rhino cops, slobbery kisses and many more entities in the continuing quest to learn absolutely nothing truthful about life or why we are here! Includes a bonus fable in verse at the end! "

An interesting looking title on this page is The Mermaid Variations , which I'd never heard of and which sounds very interesting and is probably great: "The adventures of an exceptional mermaid as she travels from a carnival in tropical Brazil to a country where it never stops raining, Wales; and from there to the moon, where the lunar mermaids are the wrong way around. A magical mystical miniature trilogy for adults who still believe in whimsy, romance and fables!"

Smashwords is very user friendly, you can read things from Smashwords on your computer on Mac, PC or Linux and on ereaders likeKindle (and Kindle Fire) iPhone/iPod Touch, B&N nook, Sony Reader and Kobo Reader.

If you prefer hard copy (and I do but I also have a kindle, nothing like holding an actual book in your own two hands), try The Truth Spinner: The Complete Adventures of Castor Jenkins , about an imaginative guy from Wales who tells the best lies, ever. Castor Jenkins is the narrator of the best story in Fast Ships, Black Sails , a collection of pirate stories by multiple authors.

I don't know where this Rhys Hughes quote comes from, I stole it shamelessly from a review on The Truth Spinner Amazon page, but I love it: " The worst kind of fib is the true one, especially if it's true only because the teller is unaware of its truth; the second worst kind is the one where both fibber and believer are in collusion. That kind has a name. Fiction."

And Ceri's very fun interview with Rhys Hughes here .

Tomorrow the Welsh Women's football team faces Scottish women's in the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) European championship:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19602359

http://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/matches/season=2013/round=2000256/match=2007852/prematch/preview/index.html

Welsh Women so far have three wins, three defeats and a draw -

David Western sent me this cool video, he and some friends have done a musical video ad for his lovespoons, complete with Dave singing an original song in praise of lovespoons - please like it and share it!