The Weekend in Photos

Pond visited (Green Heron)

Deck flowered

Guest room fluffed...

...from both directions

Iris transplanted (in 3 locations)

Tami wins :-)

I've sent Tami a private note, but just in case she doesn't see it...

Tami, you are lucky #4, so you win the little give-away. Send me your snail mail address and I'll get the fabrics out to you.

About Words on Fabric (with a little rant)

Don't worry, I'm still having the give-away. And all the pieces of fabric - all smaller than a fat quarter, mind you, but still very usable by crafters and dollmakers and other lovers of cotton fabrics - will have words on them, but they are part of the design. Pre-printed phrases or words or script or maybe even some "foreign" text, but they are the fabric pattern. I'm not doing any writing or printing or stamping, ok?

Not that I don't like the things that other folks do with making their own fabrics - the journal skirts, the bags - some stamped, some stenciled, and lots of other techniques - I love and admire them. It's just not one of the things I'm doing right now, but I truly do appreciate them.

However, that brings me to something I don't appreciate, courtesy of a trip to a shopping mall last night. Don't worry, I haven't lost my preference for non-mall stores, but some things you just have to do at a mall. Barnes & Noble is attached to the mall. So is Sears, the place we buy most of our tools and appliances - or at least we did until recent purchases keep failing us - which is why we were at the mall last night.

And there I saw something that really troubles me. No, it offends me, and it makes me really want to shake some people. It's about words on fabric; on articles of clothing to be precise. Articles of clothing worn by young, pre-pubescent girls - things like little pink short-shorts on a girl with a body that's just starting to develop, where you find the words "juicy" appliqued across her young bottom, or "hottie." What is wrong with their mothers? Those girls are so young, they can't be buying that clothing themselves. Sure, they probably pester the heck out of their mothers, and the mothers give in, but for heaven's sake, how can you be so spineless as to give in and let your tender BABY go out in public wearing such things? It's not much better when you stamp it across their chests, for pete's sake. My daughter and I have had endless (agreeable) conversations about not putting those kinds of words on the front of my granddaughter's chest. Really, do you want people reading your baby's chest? And then taking that next leap of thought? I shudder.

And speaking of shuddering, and bottoms, let me rant further. Form-fitting white summer cropped pants, no matter how good your figure is, and even if you are considerate enough to wear undergarments that keep you from having VPL (visible panty line) should NOT be made of material thin enough to allow the glow of your cheeks to shine through. And if your figure isn't good enough, PLEASE spare us all. Buy a mirror, have some pity.

Aren't you glad I don't go to the mall often? OK. Now, go spread some joy.

Spreading Joy, and a Give-Away

This morning I read a great post on Ricë Freeman-Zachery's blog, which began with a review of a couple of books, one of which is on my wish list but went on to talk about attitude, happiness, perspective, and many more things that I couldn't say nearly as well, so read her post, ok?

And, in the spirit of Ricë's suggestion, I'm listing three MORE things that make me happy, and I'm going to ask you to do the same thing right here. You can leave some on her post, too, but I think we should generate some joy, so leave me a comment listing three things that make you happy/give you joy. At 8 PM (US EDT time) this coming Sunday, Oldtimer & I will "draw" one of your comments, and I'll give away a goodie packet of fabrics - all with words on them. That's one of the things I love - fabric with words on it!

Here are three more things that make me happy:

1. Good quality handmade soap - mine or someone else's

2. Hearing my granddaughter laugh over the telephone

3. My blissful, Saturday morning lattes, shared with Oldtimer

(I've omitted - almost anything that sparkles/shines - but you know that, right?)

What's that nursery rhyme? "The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggy!

Remember that old line from the Andy's Gang show? As a child, I actually had a toy Froggy - there's still some grainy old black & white photo in the album somewhere of me, my cousin David, and Froggy - two toddlers and a weird toy on an old plaid couch. Only last night, listening to the odd noise made by the bull frogs in our pond did I understand where that "twanger" line came from.

Cute, no?

(We need to weed the pond!)

(His throat is much greener than it shows here.)

(What lurks here?)

(Frog at dusk - this is my favorite of the four photos.)

Feeling Lucky

I've been living in Ohio now for nearly three years, and my dear Oldtimer has continued a Saturday morning tradition this entire time - going out about 6 AM and getting me a latte. I love feeling so indulged, and this past Saturday was really lovely. Oldtimer got up, got dressed, and went to the grocery store before visiting the "latte store" because we were out of cat food. What a guy! AND, when he came home from the store, he also had a bouquet of flowers for me. Just look at these...I don't think they could have been better if he had selected every stem for me.
I'm working on some cute little fabric birds for a swap on the CPS list. I put them on the kitchen counter last night to photograph, thinking the jumbo jar of pasta might make a nice backdrop. (My light cube is at the office, so we can take photos of ebay auction stuff...) Just as I snapped the photo, I noticed Cosmo peeking around the jar. Doesn't it look like he's sneaking up on the birds?And here they all are, lined up in a basket, with their contrasting breasts showing. I still have to close the tails, and do some embellishing. I only signed up to swap two - not sure what I'll do with the other two. The pattern came from the Spool blog, and they recommend making a mobile.
Sunday was Father's Day. The hairy boys and I gave Oldtimer a new grill. It was on sale! I made barbecued shrimp and corn on the cob on his new grill for a special supper on Sunday.

Mostly Photos

It's been crazy busy here! Mostly the day job is interfering with my real life, but there are other things in PLAY too - like the Mario Cart game. Since I'm not feeling very clever right now, and all talked out, how about a bunch of photos. If there are any you don't understand, drop me a line!

Wedding Shower Favors

I just mailed a 19 pound box of soaps and lotions to my DIL for wedding shower favors. Go to the soap blog (www.oldtimerlily.com/blog) for a peek at their unusual wrapping and labeling.

Como Says...

Olivia is here! (With her stickers...)

Coming to Life...

As I've posted before, I love springtime - it's so hopeful.

Last week I had just come home from work and was about to walk down to the pond to feed the fish, when I noticed a goose family! We haven't seen a nest nearby, and it was only a one day visit, but aren't those five fluffy goslings cute?


And then, we noticed the thousands of tadpoles along the edge of the pond. Here's just a small portion of them:
Cosmo likes spring, too. Of course, he's a little disappointed that the hydrangea isn't blooming yet - it matches one of his eyes.
Over the long weekend, Oldtimer gave the deck a good cleaning, and all the wood is now nice and fresh and ready for sealer. What did we ever do before we had a power washer? The back of the house looks so fresh and clean, I can't wait to get it all put back together.

I spent the long weekend doing housework, ordering art supplies, watching my newly-purchased EPB video, and ordering some MORE art supplies. I finished my own contribution to the fabric cone swap, wrapped and labeled all the soaps & lotions I'm providing as bridal shower favors, played Mario Kart on the Wii, and got ready for this week's visit from my daughter and granddaughter. Thank heavens for long weekends!

Bird on the Sill

The past few days these birds have been tapping at the window, fluttering about, making the rounds of each of our office windows. Obviously a male and female, I'm assuming they are hoping to nest nearby, and see their reflection as competitors for their high-rent choice - multiple trees overlooking a "pond." (I think it's street run-off, but that's not very appealing...)

Yesterday, the male spent a good amount of time outside my window. I know he couldn't see me, and I know he couldn't see the red stress ball on the window sill, but it still was quite the sight - orange breasted bird, red stressball, and fuchsia blooming rhododendron!






Here's his lady friend. She tapped a bit, too, but mostly she sat in the rhodo and preened.


I took the photos with my camera phone, so they aren't the best. When we figure out where the actual nest is, I'll take better pix.

Think Pink Dolls

I have all my goodies and creations from this last weekend unpacked - kinda. I put away most of the pens, pencils, glues, hemostats, etc. - kinda. I put all the dolls on my work table, squished in around all the other things going on. Here's an overall picture of my so-called work table:

This shows what I've finished so far on my Barbara Willis doll:

And here's the EPB doll (she has a Bob Hope nose and a Jay Leno chin!):

From Karen Shifton's class:

And from the Patti Culea class:

I met a lot of great people, and was even able to put some faces to online names I've known for some time. One of the vendors was from a local bead shop (I bought some fabulous fluorite beads from her!), met Kate Erbach, Ellen Haytas and Li Hertzi, and made a connection with a local doll club. One of the best parts, for me, was that a mother/daughter duo who were there for a "bonding weekend" adopted me. I had someone to sit near in classes and at lunch, and I am almost falling-down grateful. I have such a difficult time going into these situations where I know no one, asking if I can sit near someone during lunch, etc. I am always miserable when I'm in that situation, though I can sprinkle a bit of mental courage dust, and force myself to go into the meeting/class/etc. Just in case you're reading this, Cassie & Susan, Thank YOU!

Having said that, I could easily become a cloth doll class junkie! I learned much, was inspired more, and have a whole new perspective on a couple of things. Oh! And the other thing I learned... Don't you just love those fabrics by Heather Bailey? Who among us hasn't bought a bundle for a special project? Do you know EPB was selling bundles of Heather Bailey fabrics, besides all her patterns and DVDs? And...have you caught on yet? Heather Bailey and EPB have the same last name! Duh...of course they do...they're related! I never made the connection between EPB and her daughter-in-law.

OK...before I "hit the hay" here, when's the next class???!

Overload!

There have probably been times in my life when I've had more on my plate, but right now, it's hard to remember when. AND...many of the recent events (all except one, as a matter of fact!) have been pure pleasure, so even though they've added to my work and stress level, they've been about good things.

I just completed the two and a half day event "Think Pink, It's a Girl Thing," which was a wonderful doll gala held here in Ohio. I was able to attend all the social events, AND take four half-day classes from the much admired dollmakers EPB, Patti Culea, Karen Shifton, and Barbara Willis. I learned so much, and even some techniques that were not new to me were so much more understandable, because I saw them in action. I cannot believe how exhausted I was at the end of each day. I haven't been in that intense learning environment for some time, plus I went into the session not knowing one single person, other than having shared a couple of emails with folks, which is always stressful for me.

I really hadn't fully recovered my routine from Gen's visit and the Ohio soapmaker's gathering when we had a shake-up on the job, which caused some tension and drama in my life. However, that's behind us now, and we're getting the wheels back on there.

The Third Ever Herbal Soap Swap occurred in the midst of all this, and I shipped out 22 boxes of heavenly soaps a week ago. That's always a fun event, although it becomes a bit physical - making sure each box gets a full complement of soaps, none of them their own. Then packing, sealing, labeling, shipping. Thank heavens I have my Oldtimer to help me sort and hoist.

Things have been so busy, I haven't even posted the newest products to the Oldtimer & Lily site: glorious pistachio oil and new, organic (refined) shea butter. The soapers are going to love it - as soon as I let them know it's there!

Right now, the treehouse is littered with unfinished cloth dolls (and my brain is littered with ideas for many more), I have two round robins waiting for me to do my bit and move them along, fabric cones (ala Ruth Rae) are arriving for a swap I'm hosting, and I have some specialty soap orders! My daughter and Baby O will be here for a visit soon, too. Guess I better get off this computer and get to work! Photos soon, I promise.

The Best Day of the Year

Happy Birthday, "Oldtimer." I love you.

A Favorite Photo

When I was going through some boxes recently, I found a slide that was an old favorite. I brought it along when we went to NC, because I knew our friend Earl King had the equipment to scan slides. He sent it to me today, via email. Even if it wasn't of my son and me, I'd think it was a really sweet photo.

This was taken just about a week before Chris' first birthday (that would be July of 1976). That means I'm 25 years old in this photo...oh, to be that young again, LOL! Can you believe those yellow pants?