Monday, December 30, 2013

2013

I have an aversion to "Year in Review" things
they give me a sort of melancholy feeling

but here I am doing a year in review
-ha-


it is actually very empowering
I'm quite surprised that I was able to squeeze as much life out of 2013 as I did

*

goodbye 2013 it's been One Fine Year

Saturday, December 28, 2013

kitchen table



... in the last 3 days, we've completed two 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles and have moved on to board games ... this mom is loving the way the kitchen table is usurping iPods, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. Pretty cool how some things never change.

Monday, December 23, 2013

almost taking time

 ... for tea ...


While chopping potatoes, I was struck by the simple beauty of this still life. It's been a hectic couple of weeks - but a joyful sort of hectic. I'm making potato leek soup for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch. A sensible choice amid the still long to-do list. To do: laundry, beds, floors, dogs, sheets, towels ... and what doesn't get done surely won't mind waiting. I'll finish my chopping, my tea, this post, and pick up where I left off.



Merry Christmas to you and your dear ones. 
Take time for tea and kisses.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

yummy goodness

yesterday, I got together with my two moms to make Christmas cookies
we made french shortbread, brownies, spritz cookies
snowballs, rugelach, macaroons, palmiers, and I forget what all else

- get ready for the cravings to sweep over you -

spritz cookies:

macaroons:

rugelach:

still to make:
gingerbread boys and chocolate crinkles
maybe tomorrow?

Monday, December 9, 2013

quilted goodness

I have some more vintage quilted goodies to show you
the first one is from the blue and white Ohio Star quilt I used for the little heart ornaments
it's a tree topper star to replace the Barbie-esque angel from China:


and with a mint green and white pinwheel quilt 
(which is in pretty good shape except for one edge which I had to cut off)
I made these embroidery hoop ornaments:


(the ornaments are in my Etsy shop Christmas section)


I'm off to go make Christmas cookies today
it's a real production
I'll show you some Yummy Goodness tomorrow 
:)

Friday, December 6, 2013

saving some green

I forego the luscious evergreen wreaths every year.
Originally, I was motivated by pinching pennies.
But once I learned about evergreen poaching
it's super easy to turn up my nose and glide right past them in the market.


this year I snipped some holly and cedar from our own trees in the backyard
I stuck them in some woolen mittens - tied on a red ribbon accent - and there you have it
guilt free


and lest you think I have it all together over here
- I'll show you my whole porch -
rotting and frozen pumpkins and all


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

a poem

When Sun is sleeping in,
a short timer before the layoff,


Frost is busy with busy work.


Warding off The Pink Slip,
Frost shoots off a memo to the Night.
His memo is clearly CYA, 
"Have you seen the things Frost has touched? The lovely work he has done? 
Unsurpassed by anyone else, particularly the Sun.'"


And HR takes note of his industry,
recommending that Frost be retained:
"Negotiate a lower wage,
may I suggest an increase in hours?
The pretty work that once required many,
is now being done by one."

*

I am fully intending to blog here more frequently, lest I become a short timer myself

here's to fresh starts and all that



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

waiting

this is what I saw out my car window while waiting for school to get out:

it looks like winter

Monday, November 25, 2013

trust



I was working on  this postcard sized piece of art and just getting more and more frustrated ... Overthinking things as usual ... Then I looked over to my little seashell of odd tea bag tags and found "trust creates peace." I draped the string and tag over the spot that was pestering me the most. Suddenly there was peace in this peace.





thankful - salamat


after having painted and sent out 34 stones this week
I am able to donate $170 to ShelterBox USA
... I have many stones left ...

you may participate in this effort with me HERE

***
After further research and consideration, I have decided to designate future donations to be made to the organization Doctors Without Borders. My reasoning is that in the coming months this terrible event will evolve into a major health crisis (much as it did in Haiti). In developing nations, care for the sick and injured is already a precarious enterprise - and a disaster like this one easily topples whatever basic system was in place.

thank you - salamat - for joining with me

Monday, November 18, 2013

Philippine Relief

overwhelmed by the images of the devastation from Typhoon Haiyan,
I took my desire to help to my work desk.

When things like this happen, we want to help.


my thoughts of the Filipino people go immediately to the most basic of human needs:
food, water and shelter

but I also think of:
calm after the storm
peace in the midst of chaos
trust when life is achingly uncertain
quiet in the clamor of confusion
hope when children are looking up to you
love that survives the very worst in life


each piece of beach glass has a Filipino word on one side 
and the corresponding English word on the reverse
they are available in my Etsy shop for $5 each and 100% will be donated to
a reputable 501(c) organization I supported after the Japanese Tsunami in March 2011
I plan to paint at least 200 of these
and will have a weekly update of the funds raised - by you and me together - right here on my blog

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

color therapy

I uploaded these pictures this morning
the colors had me positively enraptured - I had to grab my camera to share it with you all


and here is this afternoon's work using that same watercolor sheet:

these are my two favorites:
(perhaps because there are faces in them)


thank you Kim at Queen of Arts for your inspiration in finding creatures and faces within splashes of color - I have borrowed your technique - and knowing your grace generosity, you are ok with that 



journal therapy






Friday, November 8, 2013

brooching

brooching definition:
busy making brooches

that was me today
... until I put on my "mom on the run" hat




now I have a song stuck in my head:

stuck inside these four walls
sent inside forever
never seeing no one, nice again,
like you, mama
you, mama, you
if I ever get out of here

thought of giving it all away
to a registered charity
all I need is a pint a day
if I ever get out of here
if I ever get out of here
-P McCartney Band on the Run

Thursday, November 7, 2013

why

why do people leave stuff like this at the curb?
in the rain?

lady chair

... the beginnings of a new photo series on my iPhone ...

the family room


1990 tv room
free love seat

I have learned that using the zoom on the iPhone gives you terrible pixelation
I'm going to have to get out of my car and get up close for these
... will someone think I want this crap?


Saturday, November 2, 2013

early november

the last of the autumn leaves are blowing off the trees today
here's one I caught in mid-air 
(look in the upper right)


 they're all caught in the vegetable patch


it seems like a good day to be at my work desk


I'm still making things with my grandmother's tattered quilt
(see earlier post here)


these are brooches for my Etsy shop made with glass and soldered copper


***
I've been a missing in action blogger - birthdays,  school conferences, band concerts, halloween
we all slept in this morning and most of us are still in our jammies
and the candy isn't helping
(I have a pile of snicker bars keeping me company as I type this)
hoping for a boring week ahead 
:)



Monday, October 21, 2013

ghost flowers


 the hydrangeas are slowly disintegrating


leaving behind a lovely lacework of their former glory


I had to snip a few and bring them in


ghost flowers - not your everyday halloween decoration



Saturday, October 19, 2013

beyond repair

I have some beautiful old quilts that were my grandmother's
but this one is in a very sad state of disrepair
an old *Ohio Star quilt - it was obviously VERY well loved


but a "cutter" now
oh it was hard!

... then I had an idea ...

I'll make heart ornaments for all of my cousins




it will be fun to slip a heart into a Christmas Card and include a note about the old quilt


we'll all have a piece of history that connects us to one another

*the Ohio Star quilt originated in the mid 1800's and experienced a huge revival in the 1930's. It is a favorite pattern for scrap quilting and many thrifty households in the depression era used feed sacks, shirts, sheets, dresses, etc as resources for their scrap quilts

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

mend and make do

 my favorite light weight sweater had bleach spots on it
have you done that before?

so I patched over the spots with wool felt shapes
 (they were leftover from a christmas project last year)
they make great patches!


the bleach spots were at kitchen counter height
I must have been bleaching the counters and splashed it on myself
sheesh


it turned out pretty cute
maybe even an improvement over my old faded sweater

***
my girls have been watching netflix re-runs of "what not to wear"
I think clinton and stacy would not approve
... ask me if I care ...

***
how did I make the flower shapes?
cookie cutters were used as templates
what were the flowers originally used for last christmas?
I was making hair clips for my girls
just layer the shapes like I did here, 
stitch them with embroidery thread,
 attach them to big bobby pins

cute!

Monday, October 14, 2013

split personality day

morning was foggy


and cold

I really bundled up for my morning walk 


and afternoon is brilliant


and warm

 do I have to say which one I like best?