You Can Call Me Gwen

Hey, kids, it's time to trim the tree(s)!

 

Last week, my art mentor friend sent me a link to art project she thought was fabulous.

My hair caught fire and there is only one extinguisher for that kind of blaze.

Since I'd recently made the decision to force myself to listen to, read, or watch one hour of news each week (after a long and wonderful sabbatical from the same), I decided to try my hand at this 'make' in just the way the author recommended; sitting in front of the TV with a tray in my lap.

 

 

Step two was done after the news, because it required a trip to the garage to turn those piles of fibers into these:

 

 

Tonight, those messy little things turned into these...

 

 

...with the help of some food coloring and rubbing alcohol.

Please do yourself the favor of checking out the original, thorough and beautiful tutorial over at Just Something I Made.

Honestly, I followed her tutorial start to finish and it went exactly as she said it would.

It is just magical when you take that little bundle of fibers wrapped in wire and start spinning it with the drill!

I got excited like a little kid at Christmas.

Though you trim the trees before dying, the alcohol does relax the fibers enough that another trimming is necessary.

The little pile of trimmings was beautiful.

 

 

 

But, gosh, I wish you were here, because the most beautiful thing in my house right now is what is hitting my ears as I write this.

I am being treated to one of my favorite Christmas pleasures: Prince Charming and Miss Helping Hands are playing "Oh Holy Night" on the guitar, violin and piano.

It's making my heart swell and feel all beat-skippy.

Wish you were here.

Hey, kids, it's time to cut things!

 

Today's 'make' is brought to you by the power of full-strength coffee.

Yessir, I've been drinking full-strength coffee for several days now and going to the gym, so there's no telling when this bus will stop.

Just warning ya.

Going through my Pinterest boards when she was here the other day, Able Baker Dana pointed out yet another Christmas project I'd pinned last year.

My hair caught fire (the time was right) and we hopped up right then and started making.

 

 

Pretty soon there was a sweet little paper forest growing under the chalkboard.

 

 

But, the real reason my hair caught fire was because another special little forest had started growing on the shelf under the Mickey Mouse Christmas puzzle (which, until this month, had been waiting for a frame for two or three years).

I had finally gotten my hands on some bottle-brush trees (love them!) and added them to some little trees we'd made last year (which had never seen the light of day); I knew adding the paper trees to the growing forest would make me very happy.

 

 

Actually, I was already very happy, but the little trees do make me smile.

You can see the original source of this delightful idea, and get the original pattern and instructions (for the large tree), from the generous Katja at http://shiftctrlart.com/Blogpost/umti.

When we started our fevered cutting, I decided pretty quickly that I wanted several sizes, so I've made some of my own patterns and you can download them here.

The pattern is for letter-size paper, and you need to cut two pieces for each tree.

To assemble, just cut a slit down the center of one tree from the top half way to the bottom, cut the other tree up the center from the bottom half way to the top , and then slide them into each other; a little finessing is all you'll need to make them stand up.

A couple of suggestions:

    If you're going to make a forest or two, just print the pattern out on copy paper to use as a master and then run your letter size colored cardstock through the printer; no tracing necessary.

    If you're going to make just a few trees: first, please tell me how you exercise that kind of restraint and, second, print your pattern on cardstock and cut out the trees to use as patterns for tracing.

And remember, kids, never, ever run with scissors.

You might drop them and hurt them.

Hey, kids, it's time to make things!

 

It's December, and there is a lot of making going on around here.

The little card table that moves in and out of the sunroom by day or night is crammed with works in progress...

 

 

...and I don't even want to tell you what my studio looks like.

Of course, there are some 'makes' that I am pretty stoked about, but can't share with you because it's that secret-keeping time of year.

Today's make doesn't fall into that category, though, and you can make it yourself for peanuts.

Really.

Peanuts.

 

 

I saw the idea here via Pinterest last year, but Dana saw it on my board this year and spurred me to action.

And now all the Christmas tags are ready.

 

 

What?

I was supposed to buy the gifts, too?

 

Lovin' the Fruits of Summah

  

 

Friday morning, I went with friends to pick peaches out at Wind Drift Orchards, and the necessity of putting up all those (delicious! juicy! beautiful!) peaches set off a bit of a kitchen binge this weekend.

In between bike rides, grandshoots and gardening, I sliced and froze most of the peaches, but we also...

     ...had the neighbors in for grilled peaches and vanilla ice cream.

     ...made our favorite peach smoothies (fresh peaches, vanilla Greek yogurt, orange juice concentrate, ice and, if it's dessert, a bit of vanilla syrup).

     ...prepared some peach-mango salsa for this upcoming meal (about which I may have posted previously, but which is scrumptious and easy enough to be worth mentioning again).

------

Because I was already in the kitchen with mangoes, and we had fresh Roma tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden, I also made this salsa:

 

 

I wish I could give credit to the original source, but I got it from Beeg Seester and she didn't say where she found it.

I'm posting it because it is absolutely declicious and there is not a thing in it to hurt you. 

How often do those two facts collide?

Try it this summer.

Use it on some grilled chicken or white fish.

Eat it with chips.

Or simply dig in with a spoon.

It's hard to stop.

------

While we were cleaning up lunch today, Prince Charming looked at the BIG bunch of overripe bananas on the counter (he buys and usually eats them for snacks or breakfast during his work week) and said, "I didn't do well by those bananas".

Made me laugh.

But it also sounded like a cue to bake something.

Just Friday, Beeg Seester's main squeeze plied me with some pecans (freshly shelled!) from their trees, so I made a batch of banana nut muffins.

 

 

Let me tell you, I am beginning to make habit of typing "the best whatever recipe" in the Google search box whenever I have a hankering to make something.

Lately, every recipe I've tried using the results of those searches has been stellar.

This banana nut muffin recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network  is no exception.

Best I've ever eaten, and Price Charming said the same.

Wish you were here.

There are 22 left.

Oh, wait.

Maybe there are only 21 left.

All my friends have warts.

 

 

In my vegetable and herb garden, behind the beautiful basil plants and the dill which came up on it's own this year...

 

 

...is the mint bed, which is bounded by large rocks to keep it from overtaking the garden.

 

 

Inside the mint bed lives my friend Toady.

Every morning when I hand water the garden, Toady jumps out of his house to see me.

 

 

 

I know he doesn't look cheerful, but I also know he is pretty happy living in my mint bed.

I know that he is happy, because yesterday I discovered that he has decided to settle down and have a family there.

Today, Toady Jr. hopped out to say hello...

 

 

...under the watchful eye of Toady Sr.

 

 

I saw Mrs. Toad, too, but she hopped off to do errands before I got her picture.

It wasn't until I took these family photos that I realized Toady and his clan are quite pigeon-toed.

 

 

 

Not that it matters to me.

In fact, I've been thinking about Toady and his boy; about how folks think they're ugly and disgusting and always make sport of their warts.

I got to thinking about how we all have our warts, and ways that are ugly and disgusting, too.

I've been thinking about what happens if the warts and the ugliness become our focus when we think about each other.

It isn't pretty.

I see Toady and his family and they are beautiful to me.

They are desired guests in my mint bed because they are busy eating the things that like to eat me.

It's because of them that I can water and weed in my garden without having to pay for it with a million itchy mosquito bites.

Toady and his family are beautiful, in spite of their warts and their grumpy looking faces, because when I look at them, I'm thinking about the way they make my world a better place.

And you, Dear Readers?

You do, too.

And today, this little bird did as well.

 

 

He was perched near the garden on one of the many fences in our back yard that are sorely in need of replacing.

In fact, one of our five backyard neighbors (count 'em!) lost two fence panels a year ago and still hasn't replaced them.

I am not very happy about the large piles of smelly stuff their big dogs wander over to leave on our lawn, but because the fence is down my eyes get these blessings every morning:

 

 

So.

I'll scoop poop.

And give thanks.

 

Joy

 

This morning, and every morning lately, this mockingbird friend of mine...

 

 

...sits in the very tops of the trees singing as though his little heart is about to burst with joy.

 

 

 

He sings as loudly and continually as he possibly can and yet, still he finds his joy inexpressible.

After a few moments of sitting still to sing, his body simply takes flight with his soul.

 

 

 

He sings as he rises and He makes me long to join him!

 

 

Alas, I am earthbound, and though my soul may rise with him, I am here on earth and my eyes are on the sparrow.

Do you see my little house sparrow friend, just returning home after being out all night with friends?

 

 

He checks in with the little wife, but she is having none of it.  She does not so easily forgive and he is not allowed inside.

 

 

He sits outside and calls to his neighbor in his distress.

 

 

Who knows if he finds a sympathetic ear?

I hope he has lovely neighbors, like mine.

They have beautiful gardens...

 

 

...which speak of the cooperation of man with God in the art and beauty of nature.

 

 

They share the fruits of their labors -  beauty tucked in among beauty - with me, for no reason except love.

 

 

Do they know how I love to see their lilies lifting their heads to God...

 

 

...or how much I appreciate the pieces of man-made beauty they have added to God's handiwork?

 

 

I hope they do.

Wedding Sweets

 

Prince Charming and I are celebrating thirty-five years of wedded bliss today.

In honor of the occasion, I made a batch of our 'wedding cookies' this afternoon.

Light, buttery wafers...

 

 

...with peach-colored (our wedding!) icing...

 

 

...turning them into the most melt-in-your-mouth bits of deliciousness you can imagine.

 

 

My little Seester wasn't here to help like she was thirty-five years ago, so Miss Helping Hands did the taste testing.

 

 

It seems appropriate that this evening included another kind of wedding sweet; the first fitting of a sweet little flower girl dress on an even sweeter little four-year-old.

 

 

Something's in the air.

And I think it's love.

Coming Soon

 

I have an entire room dedicated to creative pursuits.

It has wonderful storage for all the paper, fabric, scissors, cutters, glue, paint, glitter and various other supplies I could ever use.

It has a place for paper-crafting, drawing, painting, or beading.

It has a place to cut fabric and a place to sew fabric.

It has a place to sit and dream, imagine or read.

And yet...

My kitchen table looked like this last night:

 

 

Our family has a big occasion coming up this summer.

We will need boutonierres...

 

 

...fancy little dresses...

 

 

...elegant invitations...

 

 

...and envelopes to mail them.

 

 

We will need to work on all these things in the little spaces between the other business of our lives.

We will need to keep these project trays handy.

We will be placing orders, cutting and gluing paper, wrapping floral stems and hand stitching.

We will be having fun and looking forward to August.

But will we be sitting down to dinner?

Potty Humor

 

Yesterday and the day before, Prince Charming and I got very messy, very hot, very tired, and kind of sore transferring the contents of these paint cans...

 

 

...to the back side of our two-story house in the Oklahoma wind and unseasonably high temperatures.

So, today we decided to take a break from that (really big) job and concentrate on getting ready for weekend festivities (Miss Helping Hands is receiving her master's degree) and the house guests we'll be having for them.

We  moved Phoebe out of the guest room (sorry, Pheebs)...

 

 

...so we could dust and vacuum and put fresh sheets on the bed.

 

 

I cleaned the guest bathroom and laid out some fresh linens.

 

 

Everything is now ready.

But, let's go back and get a little close-up on part of that bathroom, shall we?

Usually, when I'm preparing the guest bathroom, I just give the toilet paper this nice little fold:

 

 

But, I've been working really, really, hard and getting really, really hot and messy and I was starting to get really, really grouchy from not doing anything creative.

So, this week's guest isn't gonna get some sweet little hotel schmotel toilet paper fold.

No, this week's guest is gonna get this:

 

 

'Cause that's how we roll.

Show Up

 

I am thinking a lot about discipleship and discipline today.

Early this morning, after a too-long hiatus, I wrote my 'morning pages' (as prescribed in "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron).

I wadded up and threw away the pages when I was finished, as I had not written them in a private notebook and they are not even meant for the kind of rereading a personal journal might merit.

But the wildly varying and random thoughts which were scribbled in my stream-of-consciousness writing this morning, included some which revealed discouragement about the ratio of 'years travelled' to 'distance travelled' in my walk with God.

I wrote down the thoughts which followed those, too, and they were all about the conversion of C.S. Lewis and how, afterward, his life and work were so completely devoted to Christ and to spreading the gospel.

Of course, the next thoughts to hit the page were about how abyssmal my own scrawny devotion is and how seriously my life and work are lacking in fruitfulness.

Do you see why it is a difficult discipline to do the morning pages?

Later in the morning, feeling the need of extra heart-help as I prepared to do my Bible study lesson, I grabbed a devotional book that I read only occasionally.

Here is a portion of what I read in the May 2nd entry of "Daily with my Lord" by W. Glynn Evans.

"This also means that I must forget comparison with others. Comparison means we are at the same point, on the same level.  But no two children of God are ever at precisely the same point or on the same level.  I must not, therefore, compare myself to David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, or Jim Elliot. I must only ask God if He is satisfied with my progress at a given moment,  If He is, all is well, even though flaws and specks appear in my makeup."    

I broke into tears when I read that. 

All that I had 'dumped' in my morning pages came flooding back to me, and I heard God say (again!), " You do not, but I feel kindly toward you, Naomi."

So, I'm thinking a lot about discipline and discipleship.

If I hadn't shown up for morning pages (which is a discipline for my creative life), would I have been conscious of those discouraging thoughts?

If I hadn't shown up for His touch through His word, would I have gotten His light on those thoughts?

And yet, it's still hard to show up.

It's hard to show up to create; to write, to draw...

 

 

...to play or write music.

 

 

It's hard to show up to spend time with God; to listen, to read, to pray, to study.

 

 

 

There is resistance.

But there is Someone who feels kindly towards us, and when we show up...

...we find Him waiting.

 

Too Deep for Words

 

Prince Charming and I recently attended the Restoration Arts Conference - "Beauty's Role in a Broken World".

It was so meaningful to me, on such a deep level, that I am finding it impossible to write about it.

You can watch a trailer of the documentary on the (beautiful) life and work of keynote speaker, artist Mako Fujimura, here.

You can read some of the essays written by break-out session speakers Margaret Manning and Jill Carattini here, including the one that prompted our trip to the conference.

I keep trying to form words to tell what being part of this deep conversation meant to me, but I can't do it; suffice to say it was a tremendous privilege and is still impacting my everyday life.

Of course, because I never want to miss capturing any visual images which might aid my memory, or your understanding, I took my camera with me.

During one break-out session, when the speaker asked how many people in the room were artists, there was almost a 100% show of hands; yet this was a conference about ideas and, in the end, I took exactly one photograph.

In the ladies bathroom.

I was so tickled and pleased that someone, whose work is the rather mundane business of manufacturing and selling public bathroom stall doors, had enough fun in their heart to put this kind of stamp their product:

 

 

Ain't it great?

Bowling Balls and Memories

 

About a month ago, Prince Charming came into possession of his late uncle's bowling ball.

Yesterday, St. Julie (my sister-in-law) and I came into possession of a bunch of used washers when she purchased some metal cabinets at a garage sale.

Last night, the two things came together with four rolls of nickels, a tube of E6000, the remaining candlestick of a pair that had formerly been part of our house decor, and a long-held desire to make something I'd seen somewhere (I'm sorry I can't find the source to credit it).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I didn't make this until Uncle Mason's bowling ball came our way and St. Julie and I happened upon the washers when we were together.

Now, instead of what could have been just a funky little something that I took my art out on, I have memories in the form of...of...of...a funky little something that I took my art out on.

Not sure where it will finally come to abide, and I still hope to stumble on a more perfect stand, but for now I will leave it be while St. Julie and I...

 

 

...sniff glue in front of the coppers.

The Shameful Abuse of Abraham Lincoln

 

I'm just back from a bracing walk on the mean streets.

It's 45 degrees out there!

I found two more pennies to add to my coin collection.

They had been so abused that I couldn't find a trace of Abe at first glance.

 

 

I had to put a lot of light on these before it became evident that he hadn't been totally obliterated.

 

 

 

It's good to see you, Abe, and I'm glad I could get you off the streets again.

I rescued someone else from the mean streets this morning,too.

At first, I thought I was looking at flowers...

 

 

 

 

...but after a few more steps, I realized I was finding pieces of someone, not something.

 

 

 

 

He seemed a pleasant sort, so I did my best to help him pull himself together.

 

 

 

 

He was fairly pleased when I found his contact and he could actually see again...

 

 

 

 

...but he became very angry as he remembered how he had come to be on the streets.

 

 

 

 

When he began to speak of vengeance, he looked downright ugly.

 

 

 

 

He seemed to forget about the goodness of being rescued and restored and instead began to focus on making someone pay for what had happened to him.

We sometimes do that very thing.

And it makes us ugly, too.

Plans

 

I'm still trying to get used to being out of the work force, not having somewhere I'm expected to be every morning, etc.

It's been quite a challenge to me, this current season of my life.

I'm finding my prayers every morning include at least one plea that I will not "lean on my own understanding" (which I often translate as 'living in my mind'), and another that I will be directed by the Holy Spirit into His plans for my day.

Today, those plans include boxing up a little flock of paper birds to send to another of His friends who is walking through a valley right now.

 

 

As I reached for a sheet of engineering plans to wrap the box, I heard a whisper, and immediately knew that I needed to wrap the box with the drawings to the outside, rather than the inside.

 

 

God wanted to remind me and my friend of something.

 

 

We have hope and a future.

Things sometimes get a little bleak in the here-and-now, but because of Jesus, the brightest future possible is our guarantee.

Amazing.

Cookies for the Help

 

 

Today I baked cookies for Me Darlin' Mither and the many people who are currently coming and going from her home and helping during her recovery.

I ate one.

It was awfully good.

I made the oatmeal-raisin cookies Me Darlin' Mither had requested, but I added another ingredient which I know she is crazy about and it kinda took the cookies to a dangerously yummy place.

Toffee chips.

Specifically, Heath Chips.

Here is the recipe I used:

 

Oatmeal Raisin Toffee Cookies

Soak in warm water:

1/2-3/4 cup raisins

Beat until creamy:

1 1/4  cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

Then add and beat:

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together the following and add to mixture:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Then add and mix:

raisins, drained of water

3 cups oats

1 bag of Heath or other toffee chips

Form into 1"-2" balls and flatten slightly with your hand. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies (you want them this way, trust me) or 10-12 minutes for crunchy cookies (just say no). Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack.

Now, I trust you remember (from my previous post about the awesome peanut butter cookies) the trick to making all cookies become low or zero calorie cookies?

Put them in packages, tie them tightly shut...

 

 

...and get 'em out of the house.

100 Tweets

 

I don't tweet or twitter.

Neither do my 100 newest friends.

They just sit here looking cheerful...

 

 

...and making my studio feel like spring as they grow in numbers...

 

 

...until there are almost enough of them...

 

 

...to see us through to next spring.

I wasn't actually planning to have a bird hatchery this spring, but one day last week, as I was browsing in the eye-candy store called The Paper Crown, I spied a small pad of paper and thought I heard it chirping as I walked by.

So, I brought it home, got out the scissors and glue, and now maybe we can fill this perilously-close-to-empty jar.

 

 

It's the jar that visitors to my studio use to fill their take-home bags.

Zero calorie treat bags are the best.

Or are those tweet bags?

Reuse and Recyle

 

I just finished up another eight hour day on that big painting job I mentioned in my last post.

Looks like we're closing in on the finish line of Phase 1 and soon I may be able to share some pictures of what we've been through.

Today I used several plastic grocery sacks as paint-tray liners, so I thought I'd share with you the most recent system I'm using to keep the sacks orderly until I need them (to line small trash cans, paint trays, etc).

Several years ago, one of our 'adopted' shoots showed me how his (real) mom folded them for storage, which I thought was genius and implemented immediately.

 

 

I liked the simple half-knot solution because it made it easy to grab just one bag and they took up less room than when left unfolded/tied.

Last week I stumbled across a fold I like even better (you can watch the how-to here, although, believe me, I am not that particular when I fold mine).

 

 

Now the bags take up even less space.

 

 

That is nice for storage reasons, but it's also great because I like to put several extra bags underneath the ones I'm using to line small wastebaskets; that way I'll have a new liner handy whenever one gets full.

You, Dear Readers, may be way ahead of me on this one, and it's quite possible you don't even care about such a small thing.

I, however, like to get as many small things as possible in order, so I'll have time and space for the big things.

If I can ever figure out what they are.

The Best Low Calorie Peanut Butter Cookies

 

I am sitting here enjoying a truly sweet and delicious orange (thank you, God), and remembering that I wanted to tell you about the best peanut butter cookie recipe.

 

 

No, seriously.

I did a Google search for "the best peanut butter cookie recipe" and I found this one over at Alaska from Scratch, which I have to agree lives up to the name.

When I made mine, I flattened them a bit with the classic fork crisscross and then sprinkled some coarse salt on them before baking.

Able Baker Dana says it took them "over the top".

However, what took them over the top for me, was finding a way to make them non-fattening without altering the recipe one bit!

You simply enjoy one and then...

 

 

... make some taped shut take-home packs for the grandshoots, to keep them from howling when it's time to leave Pretty and Poppa's (I'm sorry, but I secretly love that they want to cry when they have to leave).

Then use the rest to make tied-shut give-away packages for whatever people happen to be part of your life for the next few days.

 

Today has been a beeeeautiful spring-like day, and I took advantage of the weather by spending hours scalping the front lawn, cleaning up flower beds, and cutting back some herbs and decorative grasses.

Also, Prince Charming sent some lawn-care guys by to take a look at our 'weed situation' and give us a quote for spraying.

Three guys in a big truck pulled up, measured up our lawns, spoke kindly to me, and said they'd be back to spray on Wednesday.

They were eating peanut butter cookies when they drove off.

I really liked that.

 

Hearts and Roses and Poetry and Paint

I'm cleaning out my camera files and thinking.

Thinking about the lovely Valentine progressive dinner we had, with poetry and other romantic readings, and with fun appetizers served here...

 

.

.. followed by a delicious entree and dessert served elsewhere.

 

I'm thinking about the little impromptu Valentine's lunch with some of the grandshoots...

 

 

...and the just plain love-them-to-pieces days with other grandshoots.

 

 

I'm thinking about the many jigsaw puzzles which have been put together over the (LONG) winter months...

 

 

...and some of the really good recipes I've discovered lately (more later).

 

 

But, mostly, I'm thinking about paint.

Lots and lots of paint and painting has been in my life over the last two months.

I finally started working on the room Prince Charming plans to use as a recording studio.

I was pretty happy that the big drop cloth covered the floor from wall-to-wall in one direction and was only a foot shy of doing so in the other direction.

 

 

However, because of the truly amazing amount of painting I have done over the course of the last 35 years, I am extremely skilled at it now and I was able to knock the loaded paint tray off the top of the ladder in such a way that it dumped a significant amount of paint onto that one foot of unprotected carpet. (Don't try this at home, kids; I am a skilled professional with years of experience in this line of work.)

Now, we're not talking about some blend-in color here, either, Dear Readers.

No.

No.

I painted this studio a nice, masculine, deep gray-brown (Warm Stone by Sherwin Williams).

 

 

My dear friend, Able Baker Dana, was here at the time and narrowly escaped a Warm Stone shower, herself.

Would you like to see the big mess on the carpet?

This is it:

 

 

 

Though it's perceptable up close like this, when the room is taken as a whole it's hardly noticeable (which is good, since new flooring for this room is pretty much not on the priority list).

Since Able Baker Dana was so astounded that I was able to salvage that carpet, I'm going to share a trade secret.

Three words.

WATER and ACT FAST.

I got a bucket of water and, after first scooping and wiping up the globs and puddles of paint, I simply started pouring large amounts of water on the carpet and then soaking it up with old towels.

Over and over again.

For quite a long time.

But, you see, it works well most of the time.

I have a similar story, with a sadder ending, which I will tell you when my currently on-going painting project is finished.

THAT project is why I am thinking mostly about paint as I look through my camera files.

One day, when I went upstairs to fetch my camera before leaving for another day on that job, I caught a glimpse of myself in the hall mirror and snapped a photo so I could remember...

 

 

...what February really looked like on me.

Keeping it real, folks, keeping it real.

Brrrrrr. It's February.

 

It's February, it's really cold outside (and snowy), and it's time for hearts and roses.

I kind of love that.

The hearts and roses bit, anyway.

The bit about being stuck indoors has been a bit more challenging.

Luckily, we discovered BBC's "Foyle's War" on Netflix and have been watching, well, a LOT of it.

 

 

 

You know I've always got to have a work-tray next to me while I'm 'watching' TV and, this week, the tray included all the paper roses I made last year.

 

Last year passed before I got around to creating a wreath with them.

How nice to be alive when another season, appropriate for this work tray...

 

 

...came around, along with stay-indoors cold weather!

And how nice that episodes of "Foyle's War" are long enough to get some significant work done, too!

I finished my wreath of paper roses.

It's hanging, temporarily, on my studio closet door.

 

 

 

 

I like it very much.

And I like you, too, Dear Reader.

So, here is some love from my studio for you today.

A kiss from the little girl who oversees my sewing area.

 

 

A smile from Me Darlin' Mother (or at least from my Modigliani-style portrait of her), who oversees my work desk.

 

 

And a whole basketful of love from Lola!

 

 

Muah!

 

Today

 

Today I am I thawing out some of the pesto I put up last summer...

 

 

 

...chopping fresh rosemary and cloves of garlic...

 

 

...and proofing yeast...

 

 

...to make fresh herb and garlic bread for tonight's dinner party.

I'm also crunching peppermint sticks and chocotate wafers...

 

 

...for the bottom layer of the white chocolate mousse dessert.

 

 

I've taken some time to watch old episodes of West Wing with Miss Helping Hands, and to make some more Christmas Gnomes (just because)...

 

 

...and I've put the markers on the wine glasses.

 

 

I've been snacking on these...

 

 

...in an heroic effort to stay out of this:

 

 

It smells pretty darn good in here, but it's two hours until dinner.

I'm going to take a nap.

Snow is Fattening

If the snow out there keeps Miss Helping Hands in here for very long, bad stuff happens.

She goes into the kitchen and starts taking stock of what's on hand.

She gets out the recipe files and measuring cups and she turns on the oven.

She makes things like "Orange Muffins with Brown Sugar Glaze".

 

 

 

And then she forces them down our throats.

It's terrible.

Snow Days

 

Just a week ago...

Thanksgiving was lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-five people came, ate hearty, played games, and took the annual walk-around-the-block-before-pie.

Today, that walk would be a challenge.

Today, the front yard looks like this:

 

 

And I'm wondering what walked across the neighbors roof.

 

 

Today, Miss Helping Hands is in the kitchen with her bestie, making anise-flavored sugar cookies...

 

 

...under the careful watch of the new ballerina snowflakes.

 

 

Today, I am working on the favors for our annual Christmas dinner party...

 

 

...and feeling just the tiniest bit stir crazy.

Leftovers

 

I'm looking at the camera roll this evening and the snapshots of life around here during the last couple of months.

Of course, I spent a great deal of my time during the last couple of months up on the roof, up on the ladder, and up to my neck in house paint, so looking at the photos of more pleasant things which were squinched in there is kind of nice.

First up, an apron made from one of Prince Charming's old shirts which was sent to the Little Girl Who Moved Too Far Away.

 

Our model, Miss Helping Hands, had a nasty bit of sunburn from a her day at the OSU game.

Our recipient, Miss Mary Mack, opened the package and burst into tears.

Aw.

-------

Here is something that gave us a good laugh one afternoon when we opened our mailbox.

It yielded two catalogs.

This one addressed to Prince Charming:

 

 

And this one addressed to me:

 

 

Does that seem odd to anyone else?

-------

The morning glories were glorious in October, and even during most of November.

 

 

Alas, they are but a memory now.

-------

A couple of weeks ago, I got a text message from the Little Girl Who Moved Too Far Away, saying that she had been reading my blog and just realized how much she missed my all "little paper birds and beads and things".

She had her birthday this week.

I sent her a little bit of home.

 

 

I hope it helps.

-------

I had a play date with Goomba this month.

 

 

It's nice to date such a looker.

Man, I love this guy.

-------

When Able Baker Dana and I came home with our fall leaves for waxing, I noticed as I passed the monkey grass on the way in that it was sporting stalks of black berries.

I brought them in and waxed them, too, and the other day when I was messing around with centerpieces for the Thanksgiving tables, I added some of them to the candlesticks.

 

 

It's going to be a centerpiece made mostly of things I've found 'out there'.

But it's going to be on a table surrounded by people I love.

------

And, last but not least, the photo Miss Helping Hands had me take today.

I had this item on the to-do list today: "Clean out the hidey-hole and replace the paper roll".

About every third visit from the grandshoots, I go in there to put everything in order and sweep up any little bits of paper, stickers or chalk.

Today Miss Helping Hands offered to do it, opened the door, and said, "Well. The hidey hole sure looks interesting."

Remember the hidey-hole?

This is the hidey-hole before fun has been had:

 

 

This is the hidey-hole Miss Helping Hands found today:

 

 

But that's what doors are for!

Do not envy.

 

If you struggle with envy, you should just stop reading this now.

Seriously.

I'm about to show you my fanciest kitchen gadget, a fabulously executed dessert, and some photos of my preparations for Thanksgiving.

You've been warned.

If you stumble, I will not be held accountable.

You're still here?

Okay.

I'm glad you're up to it.

Here I go.

It's about to be too late to turn back.

Ready?

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the day cleaning out and cleaning up the "annex refrigerator" and the pantry for the massive inflow of food that is about to happen.

Don't be jealous.

I know that not everyone gets to do this:

 

 

Also yesterday, our guest list had two more names added to it, so we're up to a whopping 25 eaters expected for Thanksgiving dinner.

You can guess it was a bit of a blow when the doctor called to tell me he had scheduled my outpatient procedure (think long needle!) for smack in the middle of the day before Thanksgiving; known around here as "Covered-in-Flour Day".

I've had to do a little re-grouping this week, and put a lot more things on the do-ahead list.

Today, I had to make a pie for Chince Prarming to take to the office tomorrow, so I decided to make seven extra pie crusts and put them in the freezer; something I've never done before.

It meant Covered-in-Flour Day was early this year.

Of course, getting out all these supplies...

 

...wouldn't do me much good if I didn't also get out my recipes.

And if I get out my recipes, that means I get to get out my very fancy recipe holder.

I'm going to show it to you now, if you promise you that really do have that envy monster under control.

You promise?

Okay.

Tada!

 

 

(Hmmm. "Lg" hanger. Must belong to the girls.)

You want one, don't you?

It gets the job done, and that really is a rockin' pie crust recipe it's holding (it was voted top crust on the family apple pie taste testing day).

Of course, the first crust I made went into the oven to be baked for the Prince's pie.

While it burned baked, I made the others and just popped them into the freezer for Covered-in-Flour Day, Condensed Version.

See this beautiful crust?

 

 

It's the other half of this burnt crust:

 

 

Dang.

I'm hoping the fact that I filled it with Pioneer Woman's French Silk Pie filling, and that there will be whipped cream to go on top, will make the eaters fuhgeddabout that burnt stuff.

 

 

A girl can dream, can't she?

Thanksgiving Preparations

 

My friend, Able Baker Dana, and I had a spur-of-the-moment play day a week ago.

We went out in the drizzling rain and collected some fall leaves.

We came home and put some beeswax on the stove to melt...

 

 

...while we dried the leaves...

 

 

...and ran a drying line.

Then we dipped the leaves in the wax and hung them to dry...

 

 

...just because we could.

I thought I might like to use leaves on the Thanksgiving tables this year, but I didn't want a bunch of crunched pieces.

The wax preserves them and restores their pliablility, plus it was just plain fun to dip them.

We felt kind of like school-kids again.

Since we're having twenty-three (23!) people-we-love here for Thanksgiving dinner this year...

And since I'm going to be having an injection of anesthetic+steroid into my ball and joint socket (European vacation injury), with instructions to "take it easy" afterward...

But, mostly, since I just plain enjoy it...

I've already been playing around with decorations and place settings for the holiday tables.

I piled a lot of the tablecloths, napkins, runners, napkin rings, dishes - and even a bolt of fabric - on the kitchen table to see what I could pull together for 23 (!) place settings.

 

 

We had enough of the black plates and gold napkins for twelve places, but needed something more for the others.

I'm thanking my Father for the leftover black fabric, which got transformed into additional napkins, and the (also leftover!) lovely rust-colored ribbon.

I pulled out our black napkin rings...

 

 

...tied a pretty ribbon on them...

 

 

...and tucked the napkin and one of those waxed leaves into it.

 

 

I think they'll do for the black and white plates.

 

 

The party room floor has been spit polished...

 

 

 The tables have been set up and some of the folding chairs have been dressed...

 

 

And I am finding it difficult to stop doing recipe searches for side dishes.

Do you have a favorite you'd like to share with me?

Necklace and Neck-less

Because it makes me feel so cheerful, I use this close-up photo of my big bowl of paper beads as my screen saver, even though it means I can't find my icons.

It's one of a few spots in my life where I allow beauty to trump utility.

 

 

The close up is misleading; there aren't as many beads in the bowl as there once were.

 

 

Prince Charming would say that this is because I wrecklessly let the grandshoots string 'em and fling 'em, but I know those little losses for love and good memories' sake don't count.

The real reason I need to make more beads is because I finally made a necklace like the one that first made me swoon over paper beads (though, try as I might, I couldn't get a good photo of it).

 

 

I really, really like this necklace and I really, really wish I had a neck to wear it around.

Alas, I think I'm part koala.

Overlook the Obvious

 

Yesterday, at the hair salon, I met a woman who was wearing a beautiful black and white houndstooth check scarf.

I stopped to tell her how much I liked it; and pretty much anything else that is black and white check.

She said she felt the same way, so I pulled out my phone and showed her the pictures of my latest 'redemption project'.

I had been searching for a small chair, because I'm short and because we need a chair or two which we can move easily to suit our needs.

I had also been searching for a gentle rocking chair.

On a pass through the local thrift store one day, I spied a little chair crammed in among other odds and ends, extricated it, and made the wonderful discovery that it was also a rocker.

It wasn't pretty.

 

One must overlook the looks.

It was small, in good shape structurally, and it rocked.

We went home together.

I carefully took the upholstery apart - taking pictures as I went -  and kept the pieces of fabric in tact so I could use them for patterns.

Inside the seat cover, there was a layer of batting...

 

 

...over the original seat cover.

 

 

Yikes.

And inside that seat cover was the original seat pad.

 

 

It was all pretty disgusting, even if the print was 'interesting'.

I was, for some reason, very happy about finding this stapled to the bottom of the chair:

 

 

I kept it.

After I had dismantled all the upholstery, I sanded the chair and applied three coats of black gloss spray paint.

Actually...

I applied a partial coat of red gloss spray paint and didn't like it, so I had to sand it again.

Then, I applied two coats of black gloss (starting to look awesome) and followed it with a top coat of black lacquer.

The black lacquer caused the undercoats to pucker, shrivel, and do all sorts of terrible things (starting to look not-awesome).

I put the chair away for many weeks (months?).

Then I sanded it all again and applied three coats of black gloss spray paint (starting to look really awesome).

I took my sweet time doing the upholstery parts of the chair, too.

I cut new foam and extra padding and wrapped it in batting.

I put it in the new seat cover and sewed the opening shut with the tiniest of stitches.

Then, I ripped out all those tiniest of stitches...took off the batting...reshaped the foam...wrapped it in batting...put it in the cover...and sewed it shut with the tiniest of stitches again.

Times two.

It wasn't fun doing those things over and over again, just as it's sometimes painful while God is shaping and molding - and re-shaping and molding - us into His perfect image.

But, remember, though I started with this...

 

 

...all that re-doing brought me closer to my goal, and...

 

 

 "...He, who began a good work in [me] will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Amen.

 

A Wreath of Pleasant Memories

 

It's never been my wont to put much energy into adorning the exterior of my architecturally displeasing two-story home.

But, lately, the architecturally displeasing exterior of my home has commanded a great deal of my time and energy as the Prince and I spend ourselves repairing, re-painting and re-thinking it.

So, when the Prince returned to work after our recent 100 hour work week, and I returned to a more 'normal' schedule, my mind was still back-burner turning on how to beautify the place

On Friday, when I had the pleasure of taking a talk-and-walk through the neighborhoold with an old friend, we passed this beautiful pine tree someone had just cut down and placed at the curb for 'big junk pick up day'.

 

 

I say 'passed', but we actually stopped to harvest some really beautiful pinecones from this tree.

They were very 'pickery' and we had to handle them carefully to keep our fingers from getting punctured.

 

 

By the time we got back to the house, we had talked ourselves into making fall wreaths for our front doors.

Our newly-black front door looks much more inviting with it's new adornment.

 

 

Does it look like the typical fall wreath to you?

 

 

I wish you could see what I see.

It's actually a wreath made of memories.

The big, 'pickery' pinecones remind me of the lovely stroll I had with my friend on a beautiful fall day.

The small, slender pinecones remind me of another thoughtful friend who, recalling my penchant for making pinecone elves, picked these up in Colorado for me last year.

The small 'ordinary' pinecones remind of the time spent with my daughter, two fall's ago, searching for pinecones to use in the Christmas centerpiece.

The large pinecone brings back a walk I took on the mean streets and the wonderful surprise it was to cross a patch of grass with a lone fir in the middle and find it had  dropped a gift just for me.

(The 'silk' leaves remind me that I really hate artificial flowers, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get a little color in her wreath.)

I think it's just a wonderful thing that this simple wreath can bring such a powerful bunch of pleasant memories to my mind.

Isn't life rich?

Together is better than alone.

 

I am a recovering anthrophobiac.

People scare me.

So....when things happen in my life which cement the truth that there is blessing in community, I like to take careful note and help myself along the road to emotional health.

See this quilt block?

 

It's a stepping stone along that road.

It's not very pretty.

And it has a lot of not-very-pretty friends.

They were all pieced from scraps (circa 1950), and were dear to me for one reason only.

Prince Charming's grandmother left behind four or five quilts-worth of blocks, and when his aunts discovered that I was a quilter (I cannnot be responsible for their faulty assessment of my skill set), Grandma's quilt blocks were given into my keeping.

Her hand stitches are incredibly precise and she obviously used every scrap of fabric she had.

I was impressed and amazed by the caliber and amount of work she did, but I did not like a single one of the blocks.

Until.

Until I exposed them to the quilting 'community'.

First, a small group of quilting friends suggested putting them together on the design wall and stepping back to get a new perspective.

 

Even the ugly quilt blocks looked better in community.

 

 

Suddenly, they were worth stiching into a quilt top.

Next, thanks to Weekly Sewing Day, the top came out of the UFO (unfinished objects) Box and went to the quilt store for help with a border.

The community of quilters there admired Grandma's work in a way that trebled my appreciation and esteem.

Then they found the perfect border fabric, gave me advice on how to make sure the back of the quilt included its provenance (so it would also be valued by those coming after us), and gave me some fabulous suggestions on how to hand-quilt it.

Being part of a community gave me this...

 

...in exchange for a pile of ugly quilt blocks.

I will be thinking about that while I am hand quilting this striking hand-me-down heirloom this winter.

And I will think of it again each time I pull it out for the grandshoots to snuggle under during sleepovers at Pretty and Poppa's house.

Thank you, God, for community.

And quilts.

And grandmas.

And grandchildren.

And...and...and...

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to make popcorn.

 

Do you remember the song?

"Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys."

I have my own version.

It's sadder than the original, and here is it's back-story:

Somewhere along in her high school years, our baby girl starting making popcorn.

LOTS of popcorn.

Popcorn for study time.

Popcorn for movie nights.

Popcorn for special occasions.

Popcorn almost every day.

And she kept growing up.

Then one day she was so grown up that she Landed The Big Job in a far off country called Indiana.

She packed her bags, emptied her room,...

 

 

...and made her final batch of popcorn in the family popcorn maker.

 

 

Then she left.

So, mamas, don't let your babies grow up to make popcorn.

Or, some day you may feel sad.

Like me.

Hurray for Sewing Day!

 

Now that there is Sewing Day in my weekly life (hurrah!), I've actually been feeling a bit excited about two things that used to make me feel...well...hmmm...let's just say "uneasy".

I'm excited about emptying out my Unfinished Sewing Projects bin and I am excited about doing some stash-busting.

Some of the fabric in my fat-quarter-or-larger storage area dates back to when my (now twenty-something) daughters were just pudgy little toddlers (sigh).

 

 

It makes me happy to take some of those pieces of fabric off the 'bolts' (comic book backer boards = best fabric storage idea ever) and use it up.

Of course, sometimes it just turns into the size of scrap that gets moved to the smaller-than-fat-quarter storage bin (dolly clothes and other lovely things get made from this basket).

 

And then I get to throw the scraps away.

Not.

Some of the scraps are still big enough to make those pincushion rings I posted about here.

After making, say, forty or so of those pinscushions, the fabric stash is really busted.

 

Now we get to throw the scraps away.

Not.

Now we make lots of little 'flags' from the scraps.

And we use them to make as many zippered pouches as we can get done in a Sewing Day.

 

 

 

 

Then you know what happens?

You don't just throw the leftover flags away, because now you have a whole tray (Dollar Store cookie sheets for project trays is a good thing) full of leftover flags because you almost always get carried away by these things and begin to do things in full-on robot mode and don't stop for, like, ever, and you keep cutting little flags like the world depends on there being just hundreds and hundreds of little flags in it and you're the only one who can make them and...

You get the picture.

 

I never said I was a well-balanced person.

And now I have to find other fun projects to do with fabric flags because I'm running out of zippers and surely there are other wonderful things I can make with these that would help me do even more stash-busting and I could look on Pinterest for ideas and wouldn't a little quilt with bunting going from side to side be kind of nice or perhaps I could make a...

I repeat: Not well balanced.

Related articles

Pincushion Ring(ssssss)

Failing

Dear Diary,
Last Monday I spent my ENTIRE sewing day making a Christmas dress for Ping. I even altered a doll clothes pattern and cut out a matching dress for her doll. Perhaps if I hadn't been wrestling with things that used to be as easy as breathing to me (laying out actual patterns and following sewing instructions), I would have noticed BEFORE it was nearly done that what I was actually working on was an Epic Failure. Yes, Dear Diary, Epic. Failure.
Now, I don't want you to think I'm exaggerating (you know I never, ever, ever, EVER do that). I had witnesses. Even my Beeg Seester couldn't find a way to say it was okay. She suggested removing the collar. I did. It didn't help. I decided to alter the sleeves. Um, no, that didn't save it either. In the end, I decided that the fabric I'd chosen and the pattern I was using just weren't ever going to be on friendly terms. So, when Me Darlin' Mither asked me a few days later what I had finally decided to do with the dress, I said, "I wadded it all up and shoved it in a drawer".
But, now that I've gotten enough space between myself and the experience, I can see that there is no salvation (at my hands) for any of it, and today I am trying to work up the nerve to - gasp! - throw it all away. I'm glad you can't talk, Dear Diary, because you might tell me to at least re-use the fabric. But, Diary, I just can't do that. I am not that strong. Really. I'm not.
In fact, Dear Diary, I've been leaning pretty heavily on these wonderful words from a recent sermon:

"Failure is always an event, never a person."

Today is sewing day, Dear Diary.
I'm really hoping it is uneventful.

Pincushion Ring(ssssss)

 

I like bowls.

I like bowls full of good things.

Zero-calorie bowlfuls of good things?

Just lovely.

Sometimes I make a lot of something(s) just so I can have a bowlful.

Like this:

 

It's my bowlful of pincushion rings.

I only have ten fingers, but I've got nearly thirty rings now.

A bowlful.

Perfect.

I love using mine at the sewing machine when I'm pulling pins from a seam I'm stitching.

There are probably lots of tutorials out there, but here is the way I made mine.

Gather up your supplies.

 

 

    - Fabric glue

    - 3" diameter circle of fabric

    - 3" piece of 1/4" elastic

    - water bottle cap

    - 4" piece of 1/4" or 3/8" ribbon

    - circle of felt same size as bottle cap

    - small amount of fiberfill

    - strong thread

    - needle and scissors

Of course, you would actually start by cutting out your 3" fabric circles, so I'll tell you how I did mine.

I found a spool of ribbon that was 3" across...

 

 

...layered several scraps of fabric on top of each other and traced around the spool with my 'iron-away'  marking pen.

 

A brief word about this neon color pen: it shows up on dark fabric, which is just so nice.

Here is photo proof (as well as a little visual tip on placing patterns over printed designs):

 

 

Use cardstock to make a pattern for your felt circles;  just trace around the bottom edge of the bottle cap (it's usually just a bit wider than the top, which is good) .

Then, just hold the pattern on a small square of felt with one hand and cut around it with a small scissors.

Ready for assembly?

Here we go.

Poke the two holes for the elastic directly across from one another using whatever tool you feel safest using.

 

 

Glue your felt circle to the bottom.

 

 

Poke through the felt at the holes you made in the cap.

 

 

Push one end of your elastic through one hole and tie a secure knot close to the end and then repeat with the other end (if you secure one end first, you'll be able to pull the length through which you'll need to tie the knot in the other;  then just pull the 'ring' back out).

 

 

It will look like this:

 

 

Now, use your heavy-duty thread to make a running stitch around the entire edge of your fabric circle.

 

 

Pull the threads to gather it just a bit and then fill it with fiberfill.

 

 

Now press it down with your finger, put in more fiberfill than you think you can, and pull the thread taut.

 

 

Keeping it taut while you knot off the thread is probably the toughest part of the whole project, but when you're done you'll have a ball like this:

 

 

Now put some glue in your ring base...

 

 

...and shove that ball in there and hang onto it for a minute while you put a little glue around the side of the bottle cap.

 

 

Lay your ribbon over the glue, put a dab of glue at the end of the ribbon and press it under, then put a bit more glue under the end and lay it over the raw end of the ribbon.

 

 

Here is where some tutorials would call it a day, but I'm not big on leaving fabric solely in the hands of glue so I use regular thread (or leftover pieces of embroidery thread) to stitch the felt to the ribbon...

 

 

...and the ribbon to the fabric ball (which means I'll never see a speck of that plastic cap).

 

 

And voila! You're all finished.

 

 

Now slip it on and use it.

 

 

 

Or.....

Make more.

Make lots more.

Load up a work tray so you can make one every single time you sit still to listen to something or set a spell on the front porch.

If your fabulous trip to Europe broke your back and the doctor says not to do much while he's trying to get it healed, well, make sure you really load up a work tray.

 

 

Shall we dissect this work tray?

We have our little 'kits' which haven't been worked yet:

 

 

And we have our elastic pieces:

 

 

We have our assembled rings which need to be stitched:

 

 

 

And we have our partially-made-but-waiting-for-someone-to-drink-a-bottle-of-water rings:

 

 

We  have our ready-for-the-bowl rings:

 

 

And we have a little pile of teensy felt pieces leftover from cutting the circles; I use them for stuffing.

 

 

And last, but not least, we have what The Prince calls "The Nightmare".

 

 

I call it Perfection.

It's all the leftover bits of embroidery thread from other projects. 

I got tired of trying to keep  track of lengths of thread which had been separated into one, two, three (etc) strands.

I started just putting them in a heap and using them like thread on projects like this.

It keeps me from having to get out a bunch of spools of sewing thread.

And it uses up leftovers (you know how I feel about that)!

I have never had a problem extricating the color I need from this pile; it only hurts my eyes to look at it.

Soooo.

Back to the bowl.

 

 

Easy-Sew Summer Nightie

 

 

Last summer I made Ping a little nightie from an embroidered - and very soft - pillowcase I bought at the thrift store.

Ping's mama said, "I love this. I hope you'll make some next year. She sleeps so hot and this is the perfect nightie for her!"

I tucked that request away in the back of my mind, but it came whooshing forward when I was browsing at Hancock's with Able Baker Dana last Friday and we saw this fabric.

 

 

I could just envision making a nightie from this fabric, and a little clothespin doll like this to go with it.

 

 

At 50% off, and needing only 1/2  yard, how could I resist?

I laid out a whopping $2.47 and anxiously looked forward to Sewing Day.

Now, I'm looking forward to the next time Ping spends the night.

After her bath, I'll just slip this over her head...

 

 

...and hand her this.

 

I'm thinking about making a little bed for the dolly from an empty Altoid or candy tin (like the one found here).

But, alas, sewing day is over for this week and today I am off to bake biscotti with Able Baker Dana and her friend.

Crunch, crunch.  Yum, yum.

 

Trash to Treasure

 

 

Sadly, my house guests left yesterday.

Happily, we finished a project together while they were here, so I'll remember the visit often.

I went for a bike ride one morning during their visit and saw this perfectly good drying rack old crib at the curb waiting for big-junk pick-up (I love big-junk pick-up week).

 

 

My Seester-in-Love and I went back later with her van and picked up the piece we needed.

I had a long hinge in the garage, salvaged from a previous re-purpose.

We purchased some security wire and crimps and we got down to business.

Our new lay-flat-or-hang-to-dry drying rack is now installed on the previously big blank   laundry room wall.

 

 

It latches to the wall with a simple cabinet door catch.

 

 

When it is open, it hangs from security wire attached at the wall and the bottom of the top rail.

 

 

Yes, I painted the wires to make them 'disappear' when the rack is closed (I have a mild-to-moderate case of OCD, which I prefer to call "Visual Sensitivity").

 

 

When we finished hanging this, I immediately had a tremendous urge to do a load of hand-wash or delicate laundry.

Thankfully, it passed, so I just staged this for you, Dear Readers.

 

 

But, hey, I'm prepared for next time.

And, speaking of next time, I'll be back to show you the reason I was tuned in to see this old crib at the curb in the first place.

See, I have one of my own, so wrapped up in sweet memories that I couldn't bear to part with it.

It is currently being repurposed, as well.

Every single piece of it.

Here's a sneak preview:

 

 

I have a mild-to-moderate case of excitement about this.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

If you know me, you know I'm rarely mild-to-moderate about anything in my whole, entire, complete life on earth in the whole wide world.

Go big or go home.

Hand-Painted Napkins

 

 

One of the things I came across in my recent massive house-purge was a set of twelve cloth napkins I had cut (long ago?) and not hemmed.

I hemmed them this week.

Let's just pause and enjoy this information for a moment.

Today  I painted a fun new-to-me design on them.

Here they are:

 

 

They are a little, um, strange, no?

So...

Yo.

Tell me whatcha think.

Scrabble Tiles Rock

 

Well, let's see, this is my Tenth Day of Retirement,  so I guess I've missed posting a few days of wonderfulness (in which I went to see Bryan Adams' photo exhibit, among other things).

Today, though, along with other activities shared with my houseguests, I made my Little Brudder the dishwasher sign he requested.

 I pulled this stuff out of the studio drawers:

 

 

My Beacon's 3 in 1 Craft Glue had seen happier days and had to be cut open.

There just happened to be a scrap of balsa wood in the drawer (another vote against ruthless studio purging - sigh), which made a nice lightweight base for the tiles.

 The tiles were glued to the balsa wood first, and then I cut the balsa wood close to their edges using the craft mat and Xacto knife.

The magnetic strips were self-adhesive, but I used some glue on them, too, just for insurance.

 

 

Et voila!

 

 

Now, if I could have laid my hands on them, I would have glued these tiles to actual Scrabble tile racks (cut down a bit first) and glued the bottoms of the racks together.

Of course, that would have made the piece a lot heavier, and I would have needed my stronger magnets, which I also could not lay my hands on today, so I guess it's just as well.

On an unrelated note, the relatives brought these two fine specimens of doghood with them:

They are BIG dogs, but they are nice dogs, and they wait there patiently while we are in the kitchen, which they are not allowed to inhabit.

On another unrelated note; I took my Porsche out for a spin yesterday and happened to pass this pile of trash waiting for "big junk pick-up" at someone's curb.

 

My Seester-in-Love and I went back later with her van and picked up a piece of the baby crib that's hiding in there.

We started the re-purpose today, so ya'll come back.

Same bat-time.

Same bat-channel.

Ker-pow!

Gnomes for Little Hands

 

Dear Diary,

Want to see what I'm doing with my Fourth Day of Retirement?

I am not doing the grocery shopping or dropping my trunk-full of donations off at Goodwill.

I am also not clothes shopping for our vacation or going to Home Depot or the fabric store to pick up things I need to finish house projects.

And, to be completely honest,  I am also not showering or getting dressed.

It's cold out there and I just don't want to.

Instead (so far), I am watching old movies... 

 

 

...with my feet up on the ottoman and a drawer full of felt pieces, threads, and needles in my lap.

 

 

I am laying finished pieces of felt on the arm of the sofa next to me...

 

 

...which will some day turn into a set of little gnome peg dolls like these, which I recently gave to an "adopted" grandshoot of mine.

 

 

 

The sweet patterns (some I have altered) and tutorial are available from the generous folks at Wee Folk Art.

I do feel very privileged to have the option of staying home and sitting here in peace today, making things for no particular reason.

I really am very grateful.

But, it hasn't kept me from thinking...

..."Now if lunch could just be delivered, everything would be perfect."

Coat Rack Made W/Thread Spools

 

Dear Diary,

Want to see what I've been doing on my Third Day of Retirement?

I finally finished the coat rack that Creative Genius was kind enough to make for me many (too many) years ago.

 

Since we transformed the coat closet into a play-space for the Grandshoots, we've really been needing a coat rack.

I priced double hooks for this 48" piece several times.

Did I think they would get cheaper?

I just couldn't bring myself to lay out the money.

Then one day I had a brainstorm (my favorite kind of storm) and thought, "This might be a good place to use some of those wooden spools I've been wishing I could display."

And then I thought, "Why not use the ones that still have thread on them and enjoy the color?"

So I did.

I gave them a few coats of Mod Podge, spaced them evenly across the board, and then just screwed them in with white "All In One Screw and Anchors" because that's what was in the garage.

I hung the framed family photos - which Miss Mary Mack had given us at Christmas - over the rack, even though, technically, it's way too high on the wall.

Then I needed something with a little color, so I moved "The Beetle's Devotion" papercutting from the family room (I'm seeing it like new again - nice side effect).

 

It was a serendipitous move, a pleasant surprise, to see how nicely the background color played with the laundry room wall color (especially since that door is almost always open!).

 

 

As I stood in the hall snapping these photos, I looked anew at this grouping on the opposite wall:

 

 

I'm not a "cat person", but I found these little, bitty cards in a gift store while I was on vacation many moons ago and just kinda fell for them.

I brought them home, had some mats cut to fit standard size frames, and hung them up.

One of my Seesters said, "Is this one supposed to be me??"

 

 

I never said that.

But, I sure was thinking about her and all the good times we've had while I was working in the hallway today. Bwahahaha!

 

My Dream World

Dear Diary,

I've been sick. I've been sick for about a hundred years and four days. I'm still sick; but now I'm well enough to lay here with this iPad and tell you all about it.

Don't worry, Dear Diary, I'm not missing work. This is the week I took off work to play with my Seester-in-law. She drove all the way from Arizona to come and play. I hear she is having a good time at my Beeg Seester's house, but she was supposed to stay here.

She would have stayed in our guest room. The one with the en suite I have been working so hard to re-finish for ever-so-long. You know; the bathroom-that-never-ends. I had a lot of trouble with that bathroom, but I kept after it because I was very excited about this visit-I'm-not-currently-having with my Seester-in-law.

In fact, I had just installed the floor trim, and was finishing up the room with some decorative touches when my stomach first began making serious objections to being occupied.

Dear Diary, I have eaten so many Popsicles in the six days and two viruses since then, that I could build a model home using the sticks. And, Diary, I don't mean a model size home; I mean a model home.

I would not put any bathrooms in my model home, though, Diary, and I'll tell you why.

I have laid the floor trim in that guest bathroom IN EVERY, SINGLE, FEVERED AND DELIRIOUS DREAM I have had in the last six loooooong days and nights in this bed.

And, Dear Diary, it's never gone well even once.

I'm just too weak to do it again.

I'm sorry.

But, I am.

Million Dollar Mistakes

 

Dear Diary,

            At work I collect the copays from our patients and enter them into the computer system. Sometimes they pay with cash, sometimes they write a check, and sometimes they pay with a credit card. When they use a credit card I have to manually enter several pieces of information, along with the payment amount.

            Did you know that if you enter a $35.00 payment and forget to move the cursor to a different box before you enter the credit card approval number, you will soon be printing off a receipt for...let's say...maybe... $35,467,933?

            And if you don't notice your error immediately, you will just hand the receipt over to the patient with a smile and a thankyouverymuch.  And wouldn't that be one lucky patient standing there holding proof that he/she had a pretty sweet credit balance with your clinic?

            Now, if you stay on top of things, you'll be manually entering your receipts on a daily spread sheet that's separate from the system tally, and you'll be checking for a nice balance throughout the day.  If you're having a really good day, you'll do this in time to notice this massive discrepancy while the patient is still in the waiting room, and you'll be able to call them up to the desk and sweetly ask for the receipt back in exchange for a more, um, accurate one.   

            If it's a really, really, good day, you'll have a little bit of fun, because the patient will have a lovely sense of humor and be quite playful about the whole thing.

            I've had some of those really, really, good days.

            There is a balance in the universe.

            Good night, Dear Diary.

            Tomorrow will be another day.        

Collapse

 

Dear Diary,

        I was disppointed to find out that although it was plugged into the charger, my phone was dead this morning and, therefore, did not wake me up in time for my workout.  I guess it matters that the charger was not plugged into the wall.

        When I realized I did not have enough time to work out, but still had more time than I needed to get ready for work, I immediately chucked my frustration and began to anticipate actually sitting down to drink my morning coffee while it was still hot.  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and all that.

         On my way to the kitchen to make some fresh coffee, I decided to tidy up the family room, arrange the sofa pillows, and replace the throw over the back of the divan. You know that six-foot, folding craft table which I'd parked behind the sofa recently?  The one holding the tray full of little, eensy, tiny pieces of felt I'd cut, along with various shears, pincushions, and threads? It also held the glass jars with dowels in them, the little lid full of wooden beads for making tiny dolls, the two boxes of embroidery thread, the fabric bowl full of specialty threads, all my felt, and a whole-big-bunch of loose and very small paper patterns. Well, it was shoved up so close to the sofa that I had to move it back a few inches to be able to replace the throw.

         The thing about that table is...well...I never could get that second leg brace in place properly when I set it up.  This morning when I scooted it, the legs on that end collapsed. It is fun to watch children slide down a slide at the playground.  It was not so much fun to watch every single thing on that table slide down to one end and then off onto the floor this morning.

        I did not work out or have hot coffee this morning, Dear Diary. 

        But I've had a good day anyway.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Lemonade Lover

 

(Almost) Free Christmas Centerpiece and Ornaments

 

 

Hello, kids.

Remember those almost-free festive chair decorations I was working on Friday?

 

 

They were for the dinner party we had last night.

So....

Yesterday morning I finished making the almost-free centerpiece for the table.

It had the same elements as the chair decor: little pinecones picked up by my good friend, big pinecones picked up on a walk by moi to the local drug store, boughs lopped from the bottom of Chrismas trees and free-for-the-taking from Home Depot, and (larger) paper stars made from the pages of an old hymnal.

 

It was lovely last night, with just the candle light and the twinking lights in the centerpiece and nearby Christmas tree.

Every year I ask God for inspiration for the decorations for this little dinner party, and He always answers my prayers.

I like to use a handmade ornament, representative of each year's decor theme, as both place marker and take-home favor.

So, yesterday morning found me pulling things out of my Christmas craft box and experimenting at the kitchen counter while the white chocolate mousse was chilling in prep for whipping into dessert.

I found a bundle (just enough pieces!!) of wired greenery stems in the stash and thought I would make some little wreaths.

This is what I started with:

 

 

The iPad in the background isn't essential equipment, but it was wonderful to listen to some LifeChurch TV sermons while I worked.

I made a slew of little paper stars to start off with.

I threaded some stars onto the surgical wire (cast offs from the clinic where I work) and formed it into a wreath.

I put dots of glitter glue at each side of the stars to hold them in place...

 

 

...because I was too lazy to mess with other glues thought I would put this little wreath inside a wreath made from one of the wired greenery stems...

 

 

...and then hang a pine cone in the center and put a bow at the top.

But.

It was really too big and I didn't care for the way it looked ("...like a Cadillac emblem", according to The Prince).

Experiment #2 was more to size and taste.

I just wrapped the wired greenery around the starred wreath.

 

 

With a pine cone in the center and a little bow and name banner at the top, it made the cut for the finished ornament favor/place marker.

 

It was the last decorative detail, fallen into place just in time.

By 6:30, all the candles were lit, the twinkle lights were on, the music was playing, the fresh bread was out of the oven, the beautiful lasagna (The Prince made it this year!) was in the oven, dessert was in the refrigerator, the salad was tossed and the wine was uncorked.

The guests arrived.

We began to talk, to laugh, to pray, to eat.

We were having a wonderful time at this table.

 

 

But see that little round ornament hanging from the chandelier?

It has a story to tell.

It was made Friday during a play-time meeting of my D'Art group.

I contemplated making six of them to use as this year's favors, but decided they were too big.

So, I just hung that little ol' single bulb from the chandelier.

And, sometime between the main course and dessert, I looked up and noticed it wasn't looking too round any more.

We had used clear plastic bulbs for this ornament.

We had used real candles, with real fire burning the wicks, on this table.

And we all had a real laugh when we looked up...

 

 

...and saw what those two facts meant to one another.

You just never know where the fun will be.

But it's usually where your friends are.

 

(Almost) Free Holiday Decorations

 

I'm working on the decorations for our annual Christmas dinner party this afternoon, and thought you might like to see some of the progress.

I decided to use what I had on hand (with the addition of a couple of yards of burlap).

Did you know Home Depot will give you the boughs they trim off Christmas trees for their customers?

I think that's wonderful, and I usually pile some in the trunk when we go buy our tree.

I hauled my branches in as far as the foyer and clipped off some pieces to start making the decorations for the back of the dining chairs.

 

 

I used a small piece of floral wire to bind a couple of pieces to each other so I could get the length and the fullness I wanted.

Then I gathered up my other supplies, which include:

    - Green embroidery thread, leftover from making Goomba's Christmas stocking recently

    - The little pinecones Miss B picked up for me in Colorado (which I had painted and glittered for a wedding a few years ago)

    - Some four-inch wide 'ribbons' made from burlap which was left over after making the table runners

    - The 'strings' I pulled from said burlap runners to make the frayed edge

    - Some paper stars made from the pages of an old hymnal which a friend picked up for me at a garage sale

 

You begin to see what an economical decoration this is?

I pulled some of that burlap thread through the pinecones...

 

 

...until it came real close to the center.

 

 

I just clipped of one end of the string close to the pinecone and left the other long for attaching it to the greenery.

(On one pinecone, I left BOTH strings attached so I could use them to attach the whole thing to the chair.)

I tied the pinecones to the top of the greens,...

 

 

... strung the paper stars on the green embroidery thread,...

 

 

...and then attached them the same way.

The double-stranded pinecone gets tied on at the top...

 

 

 

...and the extra string gets wrapped around the knot of the burlap bow and voila!

 

 

The chairs are ready!

The table is not.

The food is not.

The people are not.

But, hey, I've got tomorrow.

God willing.

 

How to Dress for Window Shopping

 

 

I'm so glad I snapped a photo of this man doing a little window gazing in Jerome, Arizona.

 

 

Because, man, I love me some festive footwear.

 

 

And he was rockin' the look.

Favors - Pennie Pockets for Quilt Camp

 

 

I mentioned in my trip journal that  while I was in Prescott I made favors for JulieJulieJulie to take to quilt camp.

You can find the instructions and pattern for the Pennie Pockets over at the Happy Zombie (whose site is full of other wonderful eye-candy, too).

Here are some not-very-good photos of the ones I made this month:

 

 

It was the first time I'd ever made a fabric yo-yo, and I think I could become addicted to making them; I love hand sewing.

Of course, JulieJulieJulie needed just the right thing to put in the little pockets, so we got a few things out of the kitchen cabinets and pantry and made these little button sugar cookies.

 

You can gauge the size of our cookies by noting that a communion cup was used for the inner ring, and a straw on the more slender side was used to make the button holes.

It was easy-peasy and lots of fun, but I do wish we'd remembered to add color to the dough.

We added icing 'thread' to some of them...

 

 

...and then wrapped them in parchment paper and tied it shut with a ribbon.

Off into the freezer for a week or two and then off to quilt camp with JulieJulieJulie.

I wish I was going,too.

I'm rich. You are, too.

 

 

I took my sweet, orange Porsche...

 

 

...for a spin around the lake yesterday evening after work.

The big harvest moon, low on the horizon, and the glowing pink sky were speaking loudly of the majesty of God.

I took a photo with my phone as I whizzed by this particular view:

 

 

It was a beautiful fall evening and my thoughts were running to all the things that made me smile (or laugh) over the busy weekend just past.

The Prince and I were cleaning out "my side" of the garage Saturday when Sam-I-Am stopped by.

He gave the Prince a hand moving a piece of furniture-I-got-for-free-and-am-going-to-redo-some-day.

He was clearing the top of it when he said, "I draw the line at moving this; you guys creep me out with your dried toad".

 

 

Yep.

Our garage mascot.

We found him a couple years ago while cleaning the garage, and he gets moved from place to place whenever we're working out there.

He's resting sweetly on my mitre saw now.

Bwahahaha.

-------

We kept Little Man and Baby Girl overnight Saturday.

Little Man got up (too) early, asked for, and ate, a scrambled egg, and then sat on the sofa under my blankie playing on my iPad and finishing off Mary's leftover popcorn.

 

 

Baby Girl got up much later and there was a crowd of drowsy people here (which included her parents) when she decided she was hungry.

Mary let her have the bag of baked tortilla chips for breakfast.

 

 

I think she knew she was getting away with something.

It rocks to be the grandparents (or the auntie).

-------

I had a pile of 'stuff' sitting on the stairs ready to take up next time I went to my studio, but Baby Girl found the tin of sequins before I did, and her Momma had to do a tedious clean-up task.

When I decided (later) I'd better take that pile up and put it away, the same tin of sequins slid off the top and...

 

 

...made one of the loveliest messes ever.

 

 

I hated to clean it up.

-------

The Cable Guy's Bride is good to me.

She brought me this big bag of gently used wrapping tissue to recycle.

 

She also brought me two magazines.

My Beeg Seester bought me a subscription to Martha Stewart's Living magazine and, for some inexplicable reason, the good people at Living send it to my son every month.

 

 

I think his only use for it would be as a sleeping pill.

------

Creative Genius and his Bride brought my precious Goomba over for a visit...

 

... and were telling me about his nose being orange from eating too much squash and carrots.

You can poke my eyes out, 'cuz now I've seen everything.

I got a big chuckle when Creative Genius asked me for some help making this little person's Elroy Jetson costume and then pulled out this ginormous piece of green felt...

 

 

...for me to make it with.

That's a whole lotta felt for a little bit of boy!

To be fair, Creative Genius didn't know you could have less than a yard cut at the fabric store, but still...

-------

Miss Mary Mack has discovered Pinterest. (Oh my goodness!! Oh my goodness! I have a daughter whose brain is on crafts! Someone pinch me! Am I dreaming?)

I found her at the kitchen table, in the midst of all this visiting family, sewing (!) lace to one of the back pockets on a pair of her jeans. (Oh my goodness!! Oh my goodness! I have a daughter who is sewing! Someone pinch me! Am I dreaming?)

 

 

Be still, my beating heart!

-------

Yep.

I'm rich.

Making Lingerie

  Can you guess what this is?

 

 

It is about the third step in the process of making lingerie (I forgot about my camera until we were settled into the rhythm of repetiton).

If you'll forgive my poor photos (the natural light was gone and I dropped out of my photography class), I'll show what the rest of the steps were.

First, "we" did some design work and drafted patterns, and then we choose "fabrics" and trim.

We did some tracing and cutting and then used a glue stick to adhere our pieces to the strip of black "fabric".

Next, we cut the strip down the middle...

 

 

...and then cut each piece loose at its sides.

 

We used one of my favorite decorative shears to trim the "lace"; the postal edge scissors were perfect for this.

 

 

Of course, the top needed a little trimming, too, so we repeated the whole process with the pieces upside down.

 

 

Next, I did a little work with a fine-tip black Sharpie, and started making tiny bows from eighth inch black satin ribbon.

 

 

I have to cut the ribbon longer than I need for a bow, because my fingers are just too big to manipulate a short length.

I had a bunch of little bits leftover.

 

 

They were perfect for making straps.

 

 

Now, while was at one workdesk making these little nighties, Miss Helping Hands was at the other making some that are a little, um, spicier.

 

 

I don't know if you can tell yet, but soon you'll see.

She put lace at the tops and hems of hers as well, but she used the small scallop shears.

 

 

And now we skip all the steps that took place while the Grandshoots were here and we were working downstairs, sporadically, and not quite as serenely (which made me forget the camera again).

Those steps included a little more work with the Sharpie marker, and the addition of another "garment".

We printed off our invitations, drew a little clothesline at the top, "pinned" our lingerie on the line, and then backed the whole thing with some red cardstock.

Voila! Miss Helping Hands has completed another task as the maid-of-honor for an upcoming Christmas season wedding.

 

 

And I can add "maker of fine lingerie" to my resume.

Can't I?

My Vacation Pg. 29 By GweNaomi