There Shoulda Been A Champagne Toast ...

This evening at the office ... after hours ... a co-worker stopped me to talk. She said "Today was my last radiation treatment .. and chemo is over."

She has never made her illness known, nor has she missed any work despite pain and feeling ill. The only clue is the pretty wig that she wears.

What do I say ?? "So happy for you ..."
What do I feel ? "Oh God why do you leave me now without words ..."

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Best to you Sue ... Have I ever told you how much I care for you and admire you ?? "No" Hope I find the words to do so.

Inspiration .. inspiration

I'm Having Company !!

My son Nick just called and asked if I could dog-sit for him next week ... Saturday thru Friday. I think I am going to be very very tired .... but my houseguest is a beauty !

Looking forward to seein' you Bailey ... but most of all .. seein' you Nick.

My 55th Birthday .... and posting 1 day late

Ain't nothin' more to say ... speaks for itself.

St. Patrick's Day ... and posting 2 days late

Well folks ... I am getting a bit behind in my blogging. Guess good intentions don't get the job done !

I spent an hour in the fabric store the evening before St. Patrick's Day ... trying to figure out what "green" fabric to buy for a scarf or other accessory. I left with nothing. Then - on the morning of March 17th ... as I walked into my sewing room ... I spotted some pieces of Christmas fabric and had an "ah-ha" moment.

I got out my scissors & glue gun & button jar .... and by the time I left for work .. I was stylin' ....

Christmas in March ~~

What we can learn from animals ...

This YouTube says it all ....

May humans learn from nature's creatures ....

AMEN

Attempt to Organize .... Step 1

I can frequently be seen with my arm in my purse .. all the way up to my elbow ... searching for something. Pocketbooks just don't come with enough compartments ... and when I make purses myself ... well ... I'm too impatient to add a few pockets inside.

Today while in my sewing room, I noticed some leather and snakeskin fabrics that sort of coordinated, and decided to make an effort to organize my large pocketbook. No time like the present.

The organizer came out quite nice and went together quickly ... so I made one in Spring colors too. (Sew a large rectangle out of one or two fabrics and fold up the bottom & make pockets...DONE)

Whether or not my bag will stay organized is yet to be seen ... but Step 1 is behind me ...

A Night of "Time Travel" ...

Tonight we turn the clocks ahead one hour .. which means we will have more light at the end of our days ... but for the next few days our bodies will be totally confused.

Most commonly known as "Fall back ~ Spring forward" ... a friend of mine aptly named the time change as "Time Travel" ...

I like the 'new name' as it will hopefully fool my mind into less awareness of the loss (or gain) of an hour.

Repurposing .... Lesson Two

First: This post should have gone online last night after I finished this project ... but a good book and a glass of wine beckoned me from posting.

Second: You can tell we are in the last throes of winter and boredom is setting in, so as a result ... I will be boring my friends with my short series of "repurposing projects" until some more exciting news comes along.

It all started:
Last Christmas, at the request of a friend, I made many many many microwave corn bags (aka heating pads). The corn comes in 50 pound bags .. which means the bags need to be pretty sturdy.

LIGHT BULB IN BRAIN ... use the bags as 'fabric' to make items that need to be sturdy. Get the picture ???






That's a wrap !

Repurposing .... Lesson One

A few weeks ago, a friend and I went visiting antique shops with her husband. I wanted and needed nothing .... but when I saw the vintage jewelry ... at prices less than $5 for a ziploc bag of treasures ... HOW COULD I RESIST ??

I found a gorgeous brooch and one matching earring. The other earring was lost ... hence the $5 bargain.

Not to be dissuaded by this bit of a twist .... I did the next best thing ... REPURPOSE the remaining earring. TaDa !!

Please excuse the off color photos ... the piece is really quite gorgeous.






Close-up of the finished project ...

GEEZ ... it has been less than 24 hours !!

Arrived in NY last night after a balmy week in VA. NY was quite welcoming with the warmer temps and half the snow accumulation for this winter melted.

Then a few hours ago ... "IT" started ... icy rain, sleet and COLD.

Virginia is looking good again ... really good !!

Do You Suppose There Is Such a Place .... ?

Auntie Em:

Help us out today and find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble!

Dorothy:

A place where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain...

Ahhh ... the Wizard of Oz theme is once again appearing in my blog. Tomorrow I am taking the train ... to a place far away ... and once again I must leave the security of "my rainbow."

With a "click click" (not my heels, but the latches on my suitcase) I am happy to go home to my friends and the routine of work and my sewing room. But, I am leaving Josh once again as he continues on the road to healing. And I am leaving Roger, who has created what is the closest I have found to "A place where there isn't any trouble." He wraps me in a coccoon of security as I face a difficult challenge in motherhood....helping one of her children.

Hey Neighbor, Thank you, again, for your kindness and generosity.

"One can pay back the loan of gold, but one lies forever in debt to those who are kind." Malayan Proverb

Infinity Scarves ... and a lesson in being frugal

These three photos show different views of an "infinity scarf" ... a recent trend for easy accessorizing. The pink on sells for $38 and the dark multi-tone black/grey/white for $17 and the lime green for $25. Infinity scarves are nice ... I love them.

Below are photos of pieces of fabric I picked up the other day to make myself some infinity scarves and also some for gifts. My scarves will cost between $1.50 and $3.00 TOTAL when done. Time in the sewing room will be about 15 minutes per scarf.






NICE ~~~~ Ten scarves for less than $20

March 1st.....

We are twelve days from daylight savings, and nineteen days from the first day of Spring.

Winter is almost O-V-E-R.

YIPEE