601 - a portable work box - - -

I got one of these as a surprise goodie. A plano box - according to Plano Molding this is one of their fishing tackle products. As I am cleaning, sorting, and organizing, I am utilizing all of the storage containers I have amassed at my house. I have the big tackle box too - more on that later.



I went to the doctor yesterday for full check up. The chest pains (although diagnosed as stress) worried me and I made an appointment for the full once over. Turns out this was the right decision - they did blood work, weighed me (15 lbs lighter than after my surgery last fall), and confirmed that my blood pressure is going to require medication. They gave me a pill in the office and asked me to wait for several minutes to make sure I did not have any reaction to this. I gladly accomodated the request - since the emergency room sent me home having a reaction to the morphine - now I am even wary.

I hardly ever take any medications. This often causes meds to be stronger than anticipated. No different here. I spend yesterday afternoon fighting the fatigue of too much of a good thing. My blood pressure dropped too far. Phone calls back to the office - then an adjustment to my prescription. Today is much better.

I cancelled my evening activities and parked my happy little fanny on the sofa. The only problem was I could see a mess out of the corner of my eye. I gathered up the tools to fix part of the mess.

Here is where I started. They are looped and some what untangled. Floss bits and bobs. Leftovers that I use for all kinds of projects. I just wish this was all of it. I gathered the floss, the Plano box, Scissors, a postage stamp shaped punch, scrap cardstock, and a hole punch and moved it all to the sofa with me. Look again at the mess.
I punched and untangled and looped and wrapped. I watched HOUSE reruns. I was alone and resting. An hour later look -------
One of the compartmented trays full of goodness. In a form that I can grab, carry, and use easily. As I add other things to this box - I'll decide carefully about the contents. This may become a small art escape kit.

Don't forget to go to post 600 and leave a comment to win an embellished journal.

Have a fabulous day.

600 - a weekend update and a giveaway

We had a great weekend. The Softball Princess had a date on Friday night - they went to see Lakeview Terrace. She enjoyed it. I am not sure it the kind of movie I would like. College Freshamn had a match. We had a Friday night with no plans. So what did we do???? Took off to the Flats Bar to see these guys.

The Man at My Address' baby brother - John is the lead vocalist for the Reservoir Dogs. It was fun. I sing a pretty good drunk girl backup myself - but only sang for two songs - we visited and drank a few beers and generally relaxed. I am sharing picture so that the girls can grab them off of here. Dennis if you are interested right click - they are not protected. (note to dennis - when I find the superman pictures I'll share the rest of that story. )

A few folks from the evening.

Rich and his wife, Chrystal.

Tony and his Sweetie, Kristy.

JW Hell - himself. My Brother inlaw. I absolutely adore this guy. The hat is a nice touch.

Cain - quiet. I don't think I have ever heard him say anything.

John and Libby. He says she's normal - let' just say - you need to be a little nuts to join this crew. She is soooo pretty.

The next two are a variation on a Flats Tradition. Note this is a rural Georgia Biker Bar. The kind of place that there is no way you would just stop at to have a drink. We love the people here. The bartenders are fabulous. I have never been uncomfortable here. One of my favorite places to party. The College Freshman will be going with us the next trip. 18 to party 21 to drink and she is now 18 - she can drive us home. I cannot believe I have a child old enough for this activity.

Now for the pictures.

At the end of the night, the tradition is for the ladies in attendance to dance on the bar (I have NEVER participated in this activity) , but Friday night finds our singer up there too.

Tall good looking rock star boy did okay - check out the bills in the waistband of his pants. Also check out the tattoo - it is one of the best I have ever seen - an old fashioned "crooner" type of microphone. Love it.

We had a blast and like all these years, we will be back in just a few weeks.

Now for post 600 - in addition to the activity of my weekend, I finished a few things. Including this altered composition book (below). Nothing done to the interior but the front is embellished with a few of my favorite things. A medallion from those recycled cards, vintage bits and bobs, some stamps and floral embellishments too.

You know how it works - leave a comment - get entered. I pick one out of the hat (or some other vessel) on Friday at lunchtime.

Have a wonderful day.

Damn --- thats a big number -- 599

As I logged into blogger this morning, the post numbers caught my attention - OMG - this is post #599. That stuns me so much. I cannot beleive that for at least 599 days I have come here and shared a bit of my world - my opinion - myself with people (Friends - family - strangers who were to become friends) WOW - Need to have some sort of celebration for 600.

Back to regularly scheduled programming..

This post was originally gonna be called "STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF"

Only you guys who really know me would consider this to be dream material. Many would call it trash. As a matter of fact the picture below was taken at the burn pile from work this morning. Yup - its a rustic wood frame - and yup - it is now on the back of my truck. It is coming apart - nothing that some L-brackets and plates can't fix - and I have absolutely no idea what it will become. (that last phrase is kind of a lie - but first I gotta see if the idea will fit together) Anyway - it is going home with me.

I do this kind of thing all the time. I used to require lots of help with the rehabbing part of my projects. Now that I have become more comfortable with more tools and even bought my own set of cordless power ones, I am a little more self sufficient. And now that the weather is more comfortable, some of the bigger (work outside) projects are about to happen.

Things that are in the corncrib waiting for attention - also known as crap I brought home. a hoosier cabinet. Several drawers to be turned into storage. Floor lamps to be repainted and rewired. A beveled mirror to have its frame repaired. 4 chairs to be recovered. A ladder back chair needing a new seat. See what I mean.

Also - going along with the phrase - stuff that dreams are made of.

I have seen this type of mixed media work in many places and continued to be drawn back to it again and again. I adore Rebecca Sower - and now that I took the time to really look at it and figure out who's it was - I am adding Virginia Cole to a favorites list. Just look at their work.

Anyway - I have a project idea - I could see it in my head. Quick grab a piece of paper and sketch it. DISCLAIMER -- I AM NOT CAPABLE OF ANYTHING RESEMBLING "REAL" DRAWING.

Now this looks like what my children used to call scribble scrabble. But it is a clearcut road map for me. I have hundreds of these sketches in my journals and files. I can go back through them and immediately know where I was going with an idea no matter how old they are. These are the things that my art dreams are made of.

I am going to keep you in suspense about this until it is complete (maybe a few sneaks) with the adder - Both of the ladies in the links above have a definite recognizable style and both have influenced but not dictated this design.I thank them so much for sharing bits of themselves with the world.

And by the way I would love - just once - to know that I have this kind of support behind me. Is that little message cool or what?

Have a beautiful weekend.

Jealousy

The picture has nothing to do with this post - just a candid moment of the softball princess with her friend Cortney.

I generally talk to the local best friend every day. Thursday mornings are no different except that I know he had church on Wednesday Night and that several of them go to dinner afterwards. Both of his parents are deceased, but he and his cousins and their families make remaining close a priority. The Wednesday Night meal can be just him or it can expand to a full blown party with several joining him. I am ever so slightly jealous of this fact.

My family is not intact. Monday would have been my dad's birthday, Tuesday was the anniversary of his death. I see and talk to my mom often. Sporadically I talk to my sister. Christmas we get together with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

The Man at my address is fairly close to his family, but we are spread out all over the state. My inlaws are the most wonderful and sweet parents and we do not see them often enough.

Back to the jealousy part. It is not an ugly thing. I just envy how close LBF has remained to his extended family. It takes committment to keep those relationships active and I am so happy that he has that.

Growing up - every Sunday was family time with my Mom's side of the family. We went to church, then everyone cooked lunch and ate together at her house. I remember many of the dishes, but more than that I remember playing on the sidewalk and steps in the front yard. The snowball bush in the side yard. The fig tree in corner of the porch. The laughter and all of the conversations. There are many many photos of those days. I also remember the very first time I felt like a "big girl" because I was allowed to walk to Nanny's house by myself from the church ( a distance of about a mile) . We were able to do this every Sunday because we all lived close by.

We don't do that kind of thing now and I miss it. I miss the feeling of being part of something bigger than just what happens at my house. That is the level of the jealousy that I feel.

Now that the College Freshman is out and about in her new life, I feel a need to pull that kind of thing into our lifestyle. I did find out that She and the Softball Princess text or facebook all the time. That makes me feel better, the two of them are incredibly close and I am oh so happy about that.

How do all of you keep close to your families even if many miles separate you? Any ideas about evolving traditions as your children move into new roles as adults? Am I the only one who longs for that feeling of the bigger family picture?

Sorry this is rather rambly and whiney - maybe I am just missing my Dad.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Things

Okay - so I need to laugh at myself today - work is far too stressful to laugh at -so I am going to tell some of the stories on myself.

These things will all be very funny one day for the monsters to talk about too. This entire list could also be referenced as THINGS I HOPE MY CHILDREN NEVER DO.

1. On my high school graduation night - I was drinking hunch punch with the man at my address and a good friend from school. She and I decided to skinny dip. I was in the water up to chest deep before I realized we had forgotten a critical step in this process - I still had my clothes on. (btw - what exactly is in hunch punch.)

2. Have any of you been dropped off on the side of the street from a tractor trailer cab at 3 am - carrying your shoes so you don't get them wet in the sprinklers. (It was not what you are thinking - I promise)

3. Ever walked into a bar on Burbon Street in New Orleans during the jazz festival and had the bartender call you by first name with the phrase "Oh good, Teresa's here, now this party can start" - I have that t-shirt too.

4. I have been guilty of cursing my soon to be Father-in-Law as he was making too much noise in the kitchen. The man at my address thought he was superman - complete with the cape - the night before. (Dennis if you are still reading here - may want to ask about this one - there are pictures of Superman) There was alcohol involved. This was the same night we loaded a lit hibatchi grill into the cab of a truck and moved to the lake and back.

5. If I want to send my sister into an unrecoverable fit of the giggles - all I have to do is snort. Long story - we replay this particular funny almost every time the entire family gets together. Yes I am 40+ but it is still too funny when it happens.

6. I have been accused of being the only woman some guy knew who put more clothes on with every tequila drink he bought me.

7. On having a customer come in and me thinking she looked familiar. She did look familiar - she owned a bar and I was almost asked to leave for stacking gooseneck beer bottles bottom to bottom and neck to neck on the table. I had fourteen stacked when this conversation occurred. She is still a customer.

8. know what a company front is? I am a band geek and was the very end of the line formed as the band came straight across the field. Problem - mini bottles snuck onto the band bus. Bigger problem - turning the wrong way and meeting my daddy in the end zone of the football field.

How come all these are alcohol related??????????

Having written all this, it is an absolute wonder that I am a responsible functional adult. Proof positive that we all make mistakes and even I can over come all of mine. Oh there is more I can tell - these just came to mind today.

ONE THING YOU WILL NOT FIND IN MY PAST - NOT ONE ILLEGAL DRUG EVER.

That I am so very proud of. Lannae - I promise I will not corrupt your boys.

Come on everyone - share something about yourself.

Have a great day.

Giveaway - --- not mine.

You have to go and comment. Tell her I sent you.

My buddy Lannae is new to blogging, but has already decided to host a giveaway. She is going to draw a name on Friday for these wonderful birdie earrings. While you are at it - take a look at her entire blog - her hubby is a fantastic photographer. And those two absolutely adorable boys. They are on my blessing list.

Vallen is also hosting giveaways - part of her blog birthday celebration - so cruise over for color and kitch and fun and food - leave a comment there too. She is one of my earliest blog buddies and I love this lady so much.

Today - I am choosing to celebrate bloggers by recognizing some facts that I have learned through this medium.

1. These are some of the most talented people in the world.

2. Kindness is not dead. Evil has not won. Respect still exists. These people are NICE. Not just in their written and illustrated worlds - the bloggers I know personally are pretty much the same as they appear in their cyber world.

3. Generosity is a way of life for MOST of these people. They share their stuff. They share their inspirations. They share wisdom and advise. They regularly reach out for others.

4. Writing styles vary. Some are timid at first - but the encouragement of fellow bloggers is enabling for all. I go back and read my first several posts, then I realize how the comments I received and the encouragement from all over the world has allowed me to grow and change and find this circle of friends I never would have in my life with out this medium.

5. I don't know how to descibe the support these people share. A need is presented, then all of a sudden people are praying, creating, sharing, helping, loving each other. I am not one of the stars of blogging -- but my experience has been the same as Corey's - when I have expressed a need you have responded. Amazing.

Everyday - I get to sit down and visit with smart, vibrant, creative, kind, wonderful people. How Beautiful is that.

Friendship is a gift - thank you for allowing me to call you all friends.

Have a wonderful day --- don't forget to go see my friends.

NEST -

I have seen a ton of different nest concepts out there. I even made a few last year at Christmas. On Friday Night we had softball - on Saturday all day we had softball. I found this little hank of yarn while I was looking for a project to take with me to the ball field. It was cooler this weekend here in the south, so I ended up taking the cowboy quilt. This quilt got put on the back burner last year when all my friends decided to have girls. Now that I have no really pressing gift event to come, I'll be working on this.

Anyway, back to the nest. I sat down and quickly crocheted a little nest shaped bowl. I am giving some friends a gift of money for a wedding present, but there is no way I can present it in an envelope. So - once finished - this will be the gift receptacle. I have been adding little bits and bob's to a tray as I am putting things away in the studio. I have already added some bits of tulle to this. (Just poked them through.) There are bits of lace, sheer fabric, fibers, ribbon, pearls, a few buttons, even some flower bits.

I'll be putting this in a glass bowl and adding the "real" gift to it.

Well over two years ago, I participated in a use what you have challenge. This has become a way of life for me now. For years I have accumulated stuff, my nest now overflows. For over two years I have predominately used what I have or what has been incredibly gifted to me. Here is the totally embarassing part - for 2 years I have purchased next to freakin' nothing and I still have a stash worthy of many more years work. Getting it into the studio in an organized fashion has allowed me to eliminate duplicate purchases. Being dedicated to using all the bits and pieces that I have accumulated has been a tremendously fulfilling decision as well.

The College Freshman visited us last night - without laundry. She did need gas in her truck and a few groceries. We also went to eat. The Softball Princess spent the afternoon with her boy at his house. This being a mom of a teenage girl and a new adult is the start of a serious new chapter in my life. I am beginning to see the end of the daily grunge of being a parent and having a little more time for me. Part of me is loving this - part of me hates it and part of me just really doesn't know what to do.

I do know that being a part of this community brings a feeling of incredible inspiration and support.

See you guys tomorrow. Have a wonderful day.

Learning Curve

Earlier this week, I received an email from Jude - at Spirit Cloth . I have been singing the praises of the Polyvore collage software and I was using images that I downloaded via google reader. Polyvore creates links to the pictures you use, however this is not compatible with google reader. Why? Because once you read a feed, it is gone. The polyvore software sends you back to a blank screen. Inadvertantly, I had broken a code of conduct that I strongly believe in. I was using photographs and not giving appropriate credit.

Once Jude emailed me, I immediately deleted the images and left a note about why I had deleted the image on each post.

I have watched and read many many of the discussions regarding copyright. Many time the person who failed to give the credit became defensive and sometimes even ugly about being contacted. I did not feel that way at all. As a matter of fact I will say here - and I have already said - directly to Jude. I am so sorry this happened, and I want to thank her for the very kind and gracious manner she chose to handle this in.

Having said all of that and issuing my apology, I then spent time retracing my steps and figuring out the way the links should work. If you click on that image above, it should take you to polyvore - the list of links should appear on or adjacent to the image. I did discover that on some blogs, it will not go directly to the image but will link to the latest post. I do still have many images in my sets that are not tagged. I will continue to admire that work and take inspiration from it, but will not use those here.

I am so inspired by all the beauty that I find out there. I love the generosity I have found here and through your blogs. I have made freinds through this medium. I have brought friends to this medium. My art and craft have improved so dramatically because of my interaction here. I learn from you. I am challenged to better myself by you. I want to thank each of you for putting yourself out there for all of us to enjoy.

Sharing is important - credit for the inpirations is important - accountability is important - responsible blogging is important - all of this is important to me. Important because each of you are important to me.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Where my day started off....

The very first thing I saw in the parking lot at work this morning. The goats were out enjoying those fall berries. We have a pasture out back and all of us have been called on to feed - water - and herd. It is a great way to bribe kids into good behavior in the showroom. We also have two donkeys. Yes - I work in a very different environment than most people.

These are quick snaps from a magazine my mom gave me. My hoarding tendency apparently came from her. The magazine is dated 1967. Look at the detail of the crochet lace dress on the right and the floral pattern down the side of the skirt on the left is almost an exact match to some scrapbook paper I have in my current stash.

Love this image - and these colors are still so fresh and current. The blue knit suit is gorgeous. And pink and black ---- perfection.

I'll be copying these (above and below) onto some colored paper - I am in love with all of this.

I adore this little tartan plaid kercheif.

The crochet suit on the front in this bright lemon yellow is a little too much for me, but if you can let go of the color - the pattern crocheted into the fabric is wonderful - worth studying for a scarf or a shawl.

After pondering the comments from yesterday -- looks like all of you agree with the pillow. I am still leaning that direction, but the softball princess added another option - a journal - sketchbook or scrapbook cover. I did finish all of the stitching on it last night. I also packaged up a few things to take to the post office AND accomplished some domestic duty things around the house.

Hope this finds all of you well and happy.

Inspiration - and the inspired WIP

I saw this ( I think on the decor8 blog) etched glass artwork and fell head over heels in love (lust). I adore words and fonts and this is just plain fun. If anyone out there can identify the artist, I would love to provide a link here. I am on a spending moratorium so I came up wth my own pattern fully inspired by this work.

Since I am much more comfortable and fully equipped for stitch work (you really have no idea how well equipped), I chose that as my medium. There are some birthdays that are way past due to be gifted and this will soon be finished and on it's way to a new home. This is one of the top secret projects I have referred to in the last few weeks.

I took a LOVE chart and regraphed it into an assemblage of the words. Then using floss left over from cross stitch kits, I blocked off a rectangle on a piece of linen with blue, dark red and green floss. I then chose a random location to start the stitching of the words.

After I finished stitching the words, the piece still looked incomplete. Enter a software package that I found online - random stripe generator - and I chose a few colors off their chart knowing that I could sub in my own floss colors later. Since coming up with a layout plan, I have been happily stitching away - completely filling in the background of the thing. I like just a few stitches finishing it.

I am having trouble deciding how to finish this. Part of me wants it to be a pillow. Part of me wants it to be a quilted wall hanging. Part of me wants to mix media mount it with papers and such onto a canvas. Any feedback on how you might display this in your home or office?

MaggieGrace goodies have been few and far between of late here. I have been working on things, just holding back on some of them.

Why was this so top secret? ------- FEAR ------- Because I still do not fully trust my design and art instincts, I kept this to myself until I was okay with it. What if it turned out wonky? What if it was too weird and I just wanted to toss it (been there done that)? What if.... What if..... What if......

I do like how how it has finished, but part of me still wonders if anyone else will like it. I am trying to slay those WHAT IF demons by participating in the be brave challenges and by following the WHAT IF commentary over at spirit cloth and the commentary on it by calamity kim. Any of you guys still fight the "what if monster"? Any battle secrets for victory that you want to share?

I have a new top secret project to start very soon involving a certain bloggers soon to be new little one in her arms. This one will remain top secret until delivery, but for a different reson - she reads and this one needs to be secret until it goes to her house to live.

Have a wonderful day everyone........

Bunches of stuff...

This post will be a mishmash of things today.

First a picture from the 9-11 service the softball team had. The three players on the left are representing their siblings - all serving active duty for our country. The group to the right are the veterans we recognized. If you look at the fence line there is a complete line of law enforcement and emergency services personnel. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of these people and the others who are serving this country both here and abroad.


This beautiful little girl is Addison (the pup is Lucy). Addie has a big sister on the team and she has grown up at the ball field. She has a late summer birthday and I can remember her mom sitting in the car with the AC running with that tiny baby in her arms waiting to pick big sis up at practice. Such a sweet and smart little one. We all take turns being mommy.

Abby has her head up her A**. Her grades are falling. Mom is ready to scream. Anybody's guess why? She is 15 - has always been a disciplined straight A student - and focused ball player. Wanna guess what we have --------

A BOYFRIEND.

Sweet kid. Name's Cody. But she is having a terrible time getting everything done. She's going to have to figure out her definition of time management. Teenage challenges..... I also think some of it has to do with Molly leaving. Time to really focus on getting this all situated. She's smart though, she will figure it all out.

The picture is from the homecoming dance on Friday night. She really was very pretty.

Got to see the College Freshman on Saturday and Sunday. She is really enjoying college and learning her own way through a sport and a demanding major. We went to dinner Saturday night with the team and families. That was fun - getting to know everyone. We also got to see her play a little. As a freshman, she doesn't get too much playing time.

One last MaggieGrace style picture. A quilt, made by my mom, for the College Freshman. When Abby saw it, she wanted it bad. Orange is her favorite color. Mom pieced this and had it quilted. We took it to her on Saturday and she had it on her bed before we left to come home. The pieced part of the quilt is made from scraps my mom bought at a yard sale. She bought the fabric for the backing at her local quilt store.

For the first time in several days, I spent time in MaggieGraceWorld. Honestly, with the chest pains I was having, I was a little afraid to be out there by myself. My family leaves me alone when I am in there so I felt alone. The chest pains are better now - only a little heart raceat times. Last night, I made some tags and got a baby gift ready for Local Best Friend. He has an employee who just became a new Dad and LBF wanted to send something to the baby. I pulled a baby blanket out of the stash and added a handmade tag to the gift wrapping. Congrats to Ryan and Hannah and new baby Taylor. Enjoy the small years - the teenage ones get a little stormy.

Have a great day everyone.

wonder where.......

This image is one of many posted at my friend Ellen's place, Growing Gills. I have nothing for you today except a story of my grown up girl job from many years ago. Please forgive me for posting your image Ellen!!!!

When I saw this at Ellen's I was transported back to an inventory weekend many years ago. I sell plumbing (have for many years) and annual inventory has to be the most stressful and hated time of the year for all of us. The way it works is really simple - close the store at lunch - form teams - take count sheets and physically count everything on your sheet - return sheet to the controller - he compares the number you got with the number the computer expects you to have - then you recount until somebody is convinced you can count.

The pipe in this picture is fairly large (looks like 2 inch pvc). My team was assigned 1/2 cpvc. it comes in 10 foot sticks and we had15000 some odd feet in stock. I counted little circles in a pipe rack at least 10 times in the dark that night before we got even close to what the computer siad we should have. I finally went and got the box of coffee stir sticks to keep up with where we were in the stack.

As scary as all the counting was - an even scarier admission. After we finished with the stir sticks, we put them back in the box and back by the coffee pot for plumbers the next morning. Nobody got sick - nobody died - and my count was right.

The moral of this - I bet every one of you will now wonder about your stir stick before you use one next time. LOL

Have a great afternoon.

Where were you.....remember?

I have a much more light hearted post complete, but it will wait until tomorrow.

I was driving to work when the first plane hit. I was pulling into the parking lot when the first news broadcast hit the radio.

The personally scary part about that day was actually the night before. I tossed and turned because of the dreams I had. I even commented to the man at my address, when he asked what the problem was, "I dreamed about explosions and fire all night long." That conversation happened about 6 am on the same day.

Later that night, one of my girls had soccer practice. Living in a rural area, we have a better view of the night sky. I remember talking to the other parents about how eerily still the skies were without the air traffic.

From that moment - life as we knew it will never be the same.

Tonight, Abby's softball team will commemorate the date wil a special service recognizing our military, law enforcement, and emergency response personnel. Personally, I will be prayerfully remembering.

We will not forget.

I can do that

eta - I received a note about the polyvore collages that the links in mine are not working properly to give credit to the appropriate people ( i think i need to go back to school on this one) I respect the all of the inspiring people out there so much that i will be deleting all of the collages until i can figure out how to fix the problem - I apologize to anyone who may have been offended. And I want to thank Jude at spirit cloth for letting me know there was a problem in such a kind and gracious manner. Please go see her beautiful work.

Friday - yes it is Friday. A tough teenage week. She is 15 and she knows everything. I can't send her back. I have to keep her. Grades, boys, sports, homecoming dance attire, you name it we have probably argued about it this week.

Anyway - I have collected these links of "I (you) can do this" items to play with. GO ahead and visit. You will enjoy it.

http://www.quiltingartsblog.com/ they are giving out the details for the 2009 rock and roll art quilt challenge. Go ahead you know you have danced the night away to some rock ballads in the past.


http://averymarydesign.blogspot.com/2008/09/freebie-friday.html --She has a bracelet giveaway. Go - sign up. She makes wonderful things. You will become a regular and take it from me - she is so worth reading.

http://averymarydesign.blogspot.com/2008/09/think-pink-thursday.html -- Another MaryAnn giveaway. Punchy things for you paper whores like us. I love this lady so much and I am so fortunate to call her my friend.

http://jennydoh.typepad.com/crescendo/2008/09/around-the-quilting-block-the-handbag.html A part of Somerset Studios family, Jenny gives detail on an art quilt challenge. Go to the magazine site for even more opportunities.


http://annhovsepian.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/contest-guess-how-many/#comment-486 Another of my friends, this is another easy giveaway game.


http://www.operationnice.com/ I love this site and as a result of reading here, I have increased the number of Guerilla Craft things I just leave around the places I go. Why - BECAUSE BEING NICE REALLY DOES MATTER.

About the collage at the top. Look at the heart, click on the collage and look at it closely, It is made from those string tails that you cut off projects. (just one more reason to save everything.) I love the bedding - mostly in that picture I love the alphabet shams and that red ceiling - just how wonderful is that.

See - I find all this and think "i can do that"

Tonight will find me cross stitching on that top secret project. Maybe revealed next week???? The Softball Princess will be attending her firist Homecoming Dance - we met THAT BOY (real name is Cody) last night. Seems nice enough. We will see.

Tomorrow - softball concessions, then 2 volleyball matches. (((MOM PLEASE BRING ------)))

Sunday - Church - lunch - volleyball .

Anybody see time for a nap in there???

Have a great weekend.

reality + a little fun

One more shot from the weekend. I loved these chairs. There were several in this booth - all slightly different. I am not really into "big" construction stuff myself. but I adore these.

Now - the reality pictures I promised. I AM NOT DOMESTIC. God knows I would love to be. It ain't gonna happen. Mind you - my house is not dirty - I can't stand the idea of critters and stuff taking up residence. Lucky for me - my real friends do not seem to be too offended. Also, I can make it very presentable if I can have a few days notice. The clutter does not really bother me.

Here is the reality of MaggieGraceWorld. The counter top area. I can promise the view will change, but the overall idea will not. I work - I mess it up - I try and clean it up. Notice - those neatly stacked boxes from the earlier post are to the left edge of this picture.

The design wall - below and the storage bench. When I moved this into the studio, I intended for it to be extra seating. It however, is just another horizontal surface to stack things on. The baskets will hang in the "foyer" area of the studio, but since that is not finished, here they lie in wait. The rolling toolbox (to the right of the bench) is a great purchase. Lots of storage and wonderful for road trips. I always pack this for trade show setups for work and Bible School.

This bench is in the dining room. It was built by a man who owned this house before us. I did not buy it with the house. I found it in a friends barn/studio and fell in love with it. She told me she bought it from the house, but would not sell it to me. I just really felt like it needed to be home - so finally I traded a clawfoot and glass marble organ stool for it. Now - it catches clutter in the dining room. By the way - it was built from an old wooden bed. My mom made me the thin little cushion for the seat.

The state of the dryer at any time. I am incredibly fortunate - the man at my address does the laundry. He separates his stuff and leaves it right here - always. Towels, washcloths, socks and underwear. If I fold it and put it away, he "can't find it at all" - so here it stays.

There are lots more piles like this all around. I'll be honest with you. Time with those monsters and time for family and friends is more important to me. I just need to find a happier medium for all this domestic stuff.

Have a great afternoon.

fun stuff

We had a few minutes to kill on Saturday and spent that time in an Antiques Mall. I was not really all that impressed with the place. Much of the material was not marked with prices and the few things I asked about were way over-priced by the man at the counter. Needless to say - no money was spent.

I did however find some things that caught my eye.

Like this table - sorry about the glare from the overhead light. This was a handmade coffee table. Simple construction and lined with just folded fabric inside. I spotted it from across the room. Full of rocks - how weird.

Then I cruised across the area to get a closer look. They were rocks. Lots of rocks. Big ones - small ones - medium too. Each one labeled - a record of travels for someone. Somehow this makes me sad to see an artifact like this being sold insuch an impersonal manner. I loved the idea of the table. We gather items when we travel too. Postcards. Ornaments. All kinds of things. The kind of things that someday will find their way to the dump or a junk store like this. Sad.

Maybe that is why I adore the idea of reusing and breathing new life into items. Seems to keep that discarded feeling from continuing with an item. I know - deep thoughts.

For more in this line of thinking go to see the old barns at this site. I found this through Rachel Ashwell's new blog and I love it. I'll be back to look at this presentation again and again. Be sure and go through all the pages.

THE OLD WEATHERED BARN

Softball Princess picture from Saturday - doing what she does. She has suddenly caught up with the college freshman as far as her height goes. Tall skinny girls.

Hope this finds all of you having a wonderful day.

My weekend

div>I had great plans to post photos, but the dang cable is at home.



The College Freshman is getting a tiny bit of playing time. She is working hard and learning a significant amount about the theory of time management. I can't post the pictures here, but you can link over to the school website and look. (she is uniform #2)



volleyball

As you all know the Softball Princess played ball in Columbus, GA. at The Shaw Invitational. This is a well run tournament and one we look forward to playing every year. It is also a heavily recruited tournament for college coaches. Look at the promo photos of the softball complex.

It is a massive complex and the softball area is only a small part of the overall complex.

The very first view we had of the place looked like this.

Very well maintained - a beautiful location - well below the gnat line though.

Hot and humid - it is the south. Being from small town rural north Georgia, the girls were a little overwhelmed on Firday night. See we won all of our games on Friday and finished first in the gold bracket. These preliminary wins gave us the priviledge of playing in the Stadium on Saturday.
The entrance to the Stadium - this looks like a college campus to me. Ticket windows instead of table at the gate. Multilevel entrances. This is High School Softball in the big leagues.

Take a look at the players'view from right field. Nice.

The girls played well on Saturday morning, but the tournament was not finished because of a weather front bringing some serious storms. We were there ALL day on Saturday and played one game.

It was kind of a relaxing trek for me. We car pooled with some friends and Bryan drove. I got to create, visit with Rebecca and just sit back and rest. I did get to cruise through an antiques mall on Saturday - Pictures tomorrow.

I also have a belated birthday greeting for Miss MaryAnn - ya'll go tell her Happy Happy Birthday. I am trying desperately to finish the top secret project for her. Lucky for me - she has decided to go with the Vallen plan of a birthday season.

Ya'll have a wonderful day.

strange and stranger

I am off today - which is obviously not obvious to some showroom customers. I was going to take off just the afternoon, but I decided to take the whole day. A customer just called my cell phone - not a contractor or a plumber - no - a showroom customer who wanted me to help him select his fixtures today. He is in the showroom - I am at home waiting for the couple we will ride with - and he is walking around asking me how much things are.

I just completed the first stage of a whole house selection process over the phone.

The customer had a notepad. He described the material and where he was in the store. I told him what the product was and the description he need to write down so that I can complete a quote for him on Monday. I'm thinking with a little more technology installed in the store I can work at home in my pj's.

The fact that I have chosen to sell toilets as my career is strange, but completing a showroom consultaion AND it resulting in a happy customer is even stranger.

We are off to Columbus - but I have a request. Hop over to my friend Lannae's Place and leave her a comment please. Welcome her to blogland. We all remember how great those first few comments felt.

Have a great weekend

On coming home.....

Karen - over at Junking in Georgia - left a comment about the organized state of my studio. Local Best Friend thinks that is one of the funniest things he had ever heard. See he has seen both the studio AND the house and organized is far from the truth. He said that I need to confess to selective vision focusing with my camera and let you all in on the truth. Well there will be full confession next week, but not today (Abby has the camera and she is gone to Columbus, Georgia) Just know the deep - dirty - truth will be revealed here sometime next week.

Molly comes homes and brings laundry. We get home and crash after all the other parts of our life. Last night it was close to 10pm. We are hardly ever there.

The video shows where we spend many an evening and weekend. I have decided the house may become clean when the softball princess finally leaves. The video is from Abby's first game back and I am just glad I was not the official on this play. Let me know what you think.

I'll be gone tomorrow through the weekend.

Have a great one !!!

Never never land

I've been missing in action for several days now. Nothing is wrong, just a long weekend. Back to work today - to some serious computer problems. Seems the internet gets no farther than the router. This will have to be fixed - can't handle it at all. So here I am at nearly midnight, posting something new for Lannae to read.

Lannae has her own blog, but has yet to give me the link, maybe because she knows that I'll spread the word about her and all of you guys can get to know her too.

I accomplished a lot this weekend - in the house - in the studio - on the craft arena. Even my Mom wants to know where all this stuff came from in my house.

Take a look


MaryAnn asked about collections - does this qualify as one? Wooden boxes. Love them. Even the local best friend bought a wooden box for the gift card at Christmas. That open box contains cards from you guys.

Yet another picture of the shelf that I coverd with the scout handbook pages. As you can see, i still have some painting to finish. Look on top of the shelf and you will find a painting that the college freshman completed for me and dad. This will be moved to the house as soon as I decide where it will live.

Not everything is nice and neat yet ...

Why is it that some things that are stupidly time consuming make me the happiest while I work on them.

Just look at this project.

One overflowing box of ribbon and the really neat jar of those ribbons wound around scraps of card stck and card board. I have spent hours on this and I sit out there in the still and quiet and just enjoy the repetitive motion aspect of this. I have another gallon bag of ribbons and lace after I finish all that is in this picture.

Hope you are enjoying these sneak peeks as I am still adding to the space. I did make progress on the top secret project (you will all be let in on it soon) and also on some VERY LATE packages that need to head out. I promise I'll get there.

I have mentioned my beautiful mother-in-law, Ann, on more than one occasion here. Please lift her up and send well wishes as she heads off to a cardiologist tomorrow. Seems she "flunked" the stress test and the local docs have sent her to a more experienced physician. I'll copy any comments to her so she will know that many all over the world are praying for her.

I'll be off for another long weekend on Friday. Headed to a ball tournament in Columbus, GA with the Softball Princess. She's back and having a great season.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Oh and the name of the post - I never - never - never need to buy anything else for my creative pursuits -