Luck O' the Irish

According to the records, I am a tad Irish, but truth be told, it's hubs and sis who could fall into a vat of manure and come out smelling like Irish Roses.  Seriously.  It can be depressing when your two best friends are the luckiest s.o.b.s in six counties and the only thing you ever win is the jury duty lottery.

Look what I came home to find the other evening:

Rainbow over the Dave Cave

Proof that hubby lives at the end of a rainbow.

Wishing you a kiss o' Irish luck this week!

Jacob's Journey

Sometimes I am going along my merry way and get smacked upside the head with a healthy dose of  "You were wrong when you thought such and so was important.  This is important."

Here's one of those things.  http://www.jacobsspecialheart.blogspot.com/

A friend of a friend anxiously awaiting the birth of her second child:

Kathy is a lady who should be experiencing the joy of welcoming a new baby, instead, she is experiencing worry and hope along with the anxiety of moving out of state until baby Jacob is born.  Jacob has a rare heart condition and will undergo several surgeries and hopefully at some point, a heart transplant.  Above is a link to their blog and a place to donate.  The family will have to stay in PA as baby Jacob will have to remain in the hospital for a while.

Please check it out, donate if you are lead to, and please keep them in your prayers.

Vote for Millie

My niece Millie would really appreciate your support in this week’s pet photo contest over at Bissell.com.  She is in voting period 10, which starts Friday, March 12th and runs through Thursday, March 18th. 

Millie

Voting only takes a minute.  The Grand Prize winner gets $10,000 for the pet charity of their choice.  Millie's charity would be a local no-kill shelter, Little Victories.

And, she promises to remember all the little people, if she wins!

Glamour Shots

More from Project Nana:

I absolutely love the dogwood prints over the bed. Got 'em at Home Goods for $16.99/each.  How do you beat that?

Draperies "pre-trim"

draperies with trim and tie-back (pre-hardware)

Thanks again Nester!

Back at the Ranch:

final draft

Still working out the wrinkles in the lower portion:

I nearly jumped for joy at Wal-Mart recently when, just after I wrote here about needing some uniformity in my cook book storage, I ran smack dab into those dark brown magazine holders you see in photo above for a really great price!  It was a real shoppertunity. 

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what is going to be stored in the lower part and what is going to be put elsewhere. When I have a few minutes to play with it, I'm sure I'll be thrilled with the outcome.  For now, it's hosting lots of my better luncheon plates, bowls, platters, etc.  It's still a WIP. 

And!  I finally made excellent use of the "dead" corner between the cabinet and the wall:

This part I am thrilled with.  I've had nothing but crapola stuck in this corner space for years.  It looks so much better now!  As an added bonus, I found some great wine stuck away in the pantry that I had totally forgotten about!  Whoo-hoo!!!

And, now that Project Nana is in the bag, I'm back on my black and white bedroom project.  Here's the latest:

You might be counting pillows and saying to yourself, geesh, 8 pillows?  To be honest, there are 10 pillows for this bed but I couldn't get them all in one photo.  :-)

I picked up the little pillowcase doll on my last trip to Georgia.  I just fell in love with her in a local boutique.  Considering that I'm no pro when it comes to decorating, I was more than a bit unsure about mixing the ultra modern black and white bedding and the almost-primitive pillowcase doll.  Then I remembered, "Hey Silly - it's a DOLL, it's a BED, and the QUEEN MOTHER ISN'T COMING this week."  So, for now, little Georgia is resting comfortably on her ultra modern bed.

I think I'll go rest comfortably in mine.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to stitch! 

What I'm wondering is...

Many moons ago, I had a standing weekly meeting with a practical stranger to discuss some very personal things.  He was what we would call, "A Professional".  Much needed at the time and well worth every penny, or so I thought.  

One day we had the following conversation:

Him: What do you do for fun?

Me:  I stitch.

Him:  What do you mean?

Me:  I make things with needle and thread.

Him:   Really?  That kind of surprises me.  Why don't you bring some things next time to show me.

Me:  Okay, I will!

The following week, I bring a couple of small, well-selected and favorite things for show and tell:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Him:  Now what would you call this?
Me:  Well, this is a hardanger doily.  And this is a scissors fob.  You attach it to your embroidery scissors for decoration.
Him:  I see.
Me:  I have about 100 hours in that doily.
Him:  Looks like you are finding a wonderful way to re-live your childhood.
Me:  silent but thinking:  WHAT?!?!?!?!  Buddy, have you been listening to me AT ALL about my so-called "childhood".  Why on Earth would I want to re-live it?!  MAN, have YOU been a WASTE of good money.  And what child do you know that can make Celtic knots in cutwork?!?!!?

I didn't visit him much after that day.  I didn't break up with him though, he actually fired me because I had become too "well adjusted".  Ha!  I had him fooled!

But, the reason I'm sharing this exchange with you is because it really got me wondering.  Is there some connection between being artsy-crafty in adulthood and having a short or non-existant childhood? 

What say you?  Don't be shy...

Next time around

Do you ever think about reincarnation?  It's not in my personal belief set, but sometimes I find myself considering the possibilities....


What if the Ruler of the Universe looked down from His heaven one day and said, "Um, Marnie. You are going to try this again, but this time, let's try a little harder, shall we?  Pick a persona/lifestyle you think you'd be good at.  You've got three seconds."


A couple of lifestyles come to mind immediately.  (cue the songbirds)


I could see myself living the Martha Stewart life (in New England, not prison).  Plucking beautiful and ripe things from my garden, collecting fresh eggs from the hen house for breakfast, and antique shopping the afternoons away, after tea of course.  Summers would be spent at the Cape but I would have to winter in the South, naturally.  Who doesn't, right?


The polar opposite of my NE life is my Tuscon Arizona bohemian artist life.  Barefoot and always dressed in a tshirt and long flowing but not fussy hippy skirt, hair in a perpetual ponytail, or naturally curly, dried by the sun.  I would spend my days reading inspirational writings, collaborating with other artists in my community (or commune) and creating original textile or gemstone art.


Then there is the country club me.  The one that gets up before the chickens to have quality time at the driving range before the "hacks" show up.  I would walk the course 5 days a week, pulling my clubs behind, dressed in my best Lilly Pulitzer pink and green golf duds.  After my daily chicken salad croissant for lunch, I'd be off to the woman's club for an afternoon of gossip and stitching.  On the weekends, I'd give walking tours through the historic district.

Possibly my favorite make-believe-me is a writer for a high priced Travel magazine.  I'd know all the major (and most the minor) airport layouts by heart, own four sets of luggage, stay in the best resorts and hotels in the world, for free, while be catered to by the resort staff, and get paid to write about the experience.  In my free time, I would study world history, art and languages. 

Lastly, there is the aristocrat me.  Aahhh yes, the Princess Fantasy....  I would definitely be the horseback riding/philanthropist/topless on the Italian Riveria/birthday dancing with John Travolta kind of princess.  I'm actually already halfway prepared to be a Princess since I'm married to a Prince!  (sorry, I should have warned you that was coming)


Yes, I think I'll go with Princess Marnie, you know, just in case the Big Guy asks.  ;-)


A few lifestyles on my "Not on a Dare" list: 

• Junior High School Teacher (I'm already crazy thanks)
• Ski Bunny (bbrrrrrr, pass the ChapStick please)
• Nurse (love them just don't want to be them)
• any kind of Celebrity (with the Princess exception)
• Alligator wrestler (for obvious reasons)
• Flight Attendant (in spite of the Irish thing, I'm really not that lucky)

Well, I think that's about enough day dreaming for one day. 

Have a great one friends, wherever you are!

Be Still WIP and strange goings-ons

A few weeks back, I started a little quickie for "Project Nana" but to be honest, I like it so much, I might need to keep it.  Maybe just for a little while...

My Big Toe Designs (click for more designs)

Pattern cover art on left                                                    My progress on right

I changed the thread colors a wee bit.  The verse on the right is stitched in Crescent Colours Wisconsin Woods.  I like CC WW soooooo much for wording.  It's pretty near perfect for my taste.

On the home front, a strange thing has been going on since hubby and I have been so busy at MILs.  It seems Carmen has developed quite the penchant for hats.  Yes, hats.  And fancy ones at that! 

A new one seems to arrive daily in boxes marked "Deliver by May 1".  May 1?  Doesn't she know Easter is April 4th?  

Stranger yet, she has been receiving some very, let's just say, fannn-CEEEEE garments in the mail from an anonymous source, always postmarked Indiana.  Strange I tell ya.  Strange.

I have no Earthly idea what this K9 of mine could be up to but maybe I'd rather not know.  They grow up so fast.  It seems just like yesterday when I had clean carpets, free time and discretionary income.  Now I have a "college fund" for a certain d.o.g. but instead of books and tuition, it's for Chem-Dry carpet cleanings, prescription dog food, K-9 thyroid medicine, and the occasional sugar-free vanilla frozen yogurt.

Oh well.  At least someone is having fun!

Next time you hear from me I hope to have a finish to share.

New Affliction

Have you ever stumbled across something on the web and thought to yourself, "HOW THE CRAP HAVE I LIVED THIS LONG WITHOUT THIS IN MY LIFE?"

Well, that is exactly the what I said when I discovered Kristine Mckay on ETSY, through ETSY I found her website and then her blog.  This chick oozes creativity!

Do yourselves a favor and check her out.  I'm officially addicted.  Three of my favorite things so far have been her tassel tutorial (ya'll know how I love me some tassels):

Erin Go Bragh Y'all - (I did mention I'm part Irish, right?)

her window "mistreatments" (which I've put to good use for Project Nana) and her decorating with numbers.

In addition to all that, I have already bought the supplies for this do-hickey:

In short, I guess it would be safe to say that I'm smitten.  If you find yourself smitten with her too, you can also find her on Facebook.

Have a great week friends.  Hope to see most of you tomorrow night at meeting.

Happy March! 

MOVE THAT BUS!

Well friends, The EAGLE HAS LANDED!  MIL moved back into her place today.

Here are a few snaps from “Project Nana”:

The ol' camera phone isn't the greatest at taking action shots but thankfully MIL held this pose for quite a while when she saw her new kitchen.  She had no idea she was getting a new kitchen.

I didn't think to take BEFORE photos so you'll just have to trust me when I say, this is a huge improvement.  New floor, base boards, cabinets, overhead lights, sink, faucette, countertops, crown moulding, rugs, phone, bar stool, table linens, chair pads, etc. 

Lighting up the phone lines. 

"HI EVERYBODY!  I'm HOME!"

While redecorating, I went with the “Vintage” thing she already had happening.  I like to call it Neo-Nonagenarian or Neo-Nona-Nana for short.

I know, I know, go ahead and call the crazy police. They know my address by heart and if they hurry, they can bring dinner.

The colors are so fresh and yummy I could just wallow in them..

Fern Bath art (photo by me):

There is another bedroom, sunroom, living room and family room that didn't make the photo reel.  These are not the best snaps in the world, but it gives you an idea of what I've been doing for the past 6 weeks.  All the towels, rugs, window treatments, sheets, pillows, lamp shades, etc are new.  The fine folks at Lowe's, Marshall's, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Michael's know my credit card number by heart.  Hubby also had new siding put up, along with gutters, shutters, etc.  It really is a new house inside and out. 

She loves it and deserves it.

And now stitch fans, it is back to our regularly scheduled programming..

Not dead yet...

Hi All!  I'm popping in really quick to say hi, check on all of you, and let you know I'm not dead....yet.  Hubby and I (mostly hubby) have been working really really hard at MIL's house to ready it for her return.  She's been with us for about 5 weeks now and is more than ready to move out.  I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not.  And, contrary to all rumors, she's not dead yet either!

my dear MIL, three years ago at her surprise 90th Birthday party

She is a delightful woman and it's been a privilege having her with us while her house was renovated.  Having not had a mother for the past 5 years, having a great mother-in-law is the next best thing.

On the stitching front, I've only got a small ditty to share:

(Sorry for the blurry photo)

Of course, I've still have to stitch the reverse, then finish the finishing, before this little beauty can join its big sister, the Peacock candle keeper, in the B&W bedroom.

MIL should be getting back to her place next week so things should return to (what we call) normal soon.

Until then, here's hoping you are warm, safe and stitching!