February Creations ~ Sew Cute!

This is my newest project, a patchwork handbag with a matching
checkbook cover. The fabric is Bliss by Moda. I love the bright happy colors and patterns!

The instructions said to make the lining of
the same patchwork design but I thought,
"why, who would ever see it?" So when I
was done with the exterior of the bag I layed it flat on the lining fabric and cut it
out to the same shape and sewed it together
and then sewed the interior and exterior at
the seams and voila!

I could not find a simple checkbook cover pattern so I made a template for my own.

February ~ Share the Love XO XO

Happy Anniversary to us!

This month my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We have known each other for four years now. They have been the happiest years of my life. It is wonderful to have a man in my life that appreciates me and loves me just the way I
am! God has been so good to me!


My husband is not only good looking but charming, well mannered, kind, easy to talk to, a good companion and friend, considerate and just plain wonderful!

Monday, January 24, 2011 ` a Day to Reconnect

Several days back I found the online obituary of the father of an old friend of mine from years ago. I did a little searching and soon found her telephone number listed at her place of business. It didn't take much thought before I found myself dialing her number and leaving an after-hours message.

When I did not get a return telephone call right away I felt badly, thinking she had decided not to reconnect with me. We had both shared some unpleasant experiences together and I wondered if they were just too painful for her to reach out over the miles and years to reach out to me. Today the telephone rang and when I saw her name appear on the digital readout of my telephone I was so elated.

I don't recall how long we talked but every audible word just seemed to hang in the air as I listened to her voice. We had been separated for over thirty years but the conversation flowed as easily as it had when we were neighbors, friends and sisters-in-law back in our twenties. We would sit over cup after cup of hot tea and talk for hours. She dearly loved my son and I remember feeling that if anything ever happened to me Becky would be the one who would take him in and love him as much as I did. I knew she would one day make a terrific mother and wife; she just needed the right man! Unfortunately the right man was an elusive dream for both of us during that time in our lives.

Becky this is how I look now; the above photo being taken in the last few weeks. I stopped coloring my hair last year and let it grow out to show my natural color.

Two Thousand Eleven ` a Fresh Start

One ship sails east and another west with the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale which determines the way they go.
The winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we voyage along through life,
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, and not the calm or the strife.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The above quote is one I have enjoyed reading for many years. In my time on earth I have discovered that none of us are alone when it comes to encountering difficulties in life; we all seem to have a tale to tell of personal tragedy, misfortune, suffering or illness. None of us skates through life untouched. I also believe that our personal suffering leads us to the realization of a higher being, our Creator, God the Father Almighty. We all end up calling out to Him at some point.

The above quote illustrates that although we all have free will and can certainly make our own decisions and choices, the way it all turns out depends on whether those decisions and choices are centered around earthly wants and needs or those of our Creator. There is a tremendous difference in the outcome of our lives when we choose to follow a Godly path!

The above photo is one that was taken when I was about 28 years of age, at around the time I was sporting the quote on my living room wall. Little did I realize the significance of the quote and how it would prove to be true in my own life!

Yikes ~ I'm Sick Again

Late in the summer I started volunteering at a local school two days a week; as a pre-kindergarten grandma one day and as the school cook another day. I've really enjoyed doing this but unfortunately it has taken it's toll on me. I have been sick a total of 6 weeks in the past 3 1/2 months, catching every cold virus that was passed around. As much as I've enjoyed it I feel it is best if I discontinue this work as it has adversely affected my health.

To Knit or Knot

I started knitting about 2002 or 2003. I bought a beautiful knitted scarf at a craft fair, spending far more than I would like to and as a result spent little other money that day. I was so taken with it's beauty, texture, color and style. I decided immediately afterward that I would enroll in a knitting class at a local yard parlor in town. My first class scarf was ripped out no less than 6 times before it was completed. I would start talking and visiting with the other people in the class (several women of varying ages, a young boy and an older man) and before I knew it I would be knitting in the wrong direction and the long rectangular scarf would take on more of the look of a sleeve for a sweater than a scarf! Yikes!

October ~ a month to forget

With the passing of my dear dog the end of September my heart was already heavy with grief when my mother, who was hospitalized for several weeks, passed away on October 21, 2010. I did all I could for her in her last year on earth; emotionally, spiritually and financially. I gave her my time, my love, my support and when she was in need of something to make her life a little easier I sent it to her. Her death pulled apart the already unraveled rope of what was left of my relationship with my older sisters, who would not let go of the grudges they held against her for what she did, or didn't do, over half a century ago.

Seeing mother dying in her hospital bed was a very sad sight I will never forget. It made it so easy for me to drop whatever remnants I had of my own past grievances with her. Her last words to me about my other sisters were, "where are they" and "are they coming?" It broke my heart to see the look on her face when I said they wouldn't be coming to see her. I think that is when she stopped trying to live. She had told me over a year ago that the one thing she constantly prayed for was that all four of her daughters would be talking to her, having a relationship with her. It was one wish, one desire of her heart, one prayer that never happened for her.

I am reminded of a quote that was written on a picture I had on my living room wall back around 1975. It read:

One ship sails east and another west with the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale which determines the way they go.
The winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we voyage along through life,
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, and not the calm or the strife.

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox