Schnickle-fritz

Carlsbad Weekend

2011-11-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to get away, don't you?

Sometimes you just need to look at some different walls to appreciate the ones you have.

I suppose it's also true that sometimes you need to stop the relentless-ness of work/chores/work/chores and take a break to get realigned in your heart. I found myself in a soul-place I really didn't want to be.
I was feeling like I had so much grunge in my life, so much wasted time.
I've heard it said that the tears in Heaven won't be from loss or pain, but from wasted opportunities. I think about that alot.

In my business I have found that it's easiest to explain my leaving town and closing shop if I do it when it's 'predictable'. Meaning an obvious, as in, National, holiday. Otherwise I find that I'm forever explaining and even justifying my absence. Or even trying to prepare my clients for my un-foreseen disappearance when they might not get their special pants hemmed right away.
...sigh

I struggled with finding just the right place...there were so many variables. Do you ever come across that?
Trying to decode the pages on AAA.com, or when you're thrown all of the possible amenities, to distill it down, the needs from the wants. Who knew that was possible?
I'm not in the habit of planning to stay at resorts.

It is so confusing, this spending of hard earned money.
The two amenities I found that I must have are; wheelchair access and a private sorta-West-facing balcony. Everything else was nice/extra/immaterial. When it came to price, my policy is always "it costs what it costs".
I'm not going to scrimp or break the bank. However, if you want to spend less that $100.00 a night apparently, you'll get a really nice concrete cube in the middle of a asphalt parking lot.

Not really what I had in mind.

In the end, leaving for a moment for a quiet prayer, I was satisfied with the choice.
In fact we were given a spectacular up-grade.
We stayed at the Tamarack Hotel and Beach Resort. Right on the ocean, right across the street from the beach.
We had breakfast provided. Hot coffee all day. Huge king-sized bed.
Both Mom and I found ourselves out there on the balcony in our P.J.'s morning and night.
It was so pleasant in the early hours before dawn.
Hot cup of coffee, watching the sun just starting to glint on the ocean far out to sea.

And the sunsets...! what is there to say?
It's a local thing, it seems, to stop whatever you are doing and just stand and watch that old sun sink into the waves.
People lined the sidewalk fence, all down the street. Some were even filming the process.
Actually it was kinda spooky, like a pagan rite, this freeze-tag with the sun.

Still, we enjoyed the sight from our own little world.

When we first got to Oceanside we parked at the Pier area and sat at a picnic bench right on the beach. After two hours or so in the sun, we decided to try to find some kind soul to help me push Mom up the incline to the pier itself. We did and we did. We wanderered to about the middle, to where we could look down onto the line of surfers, and tried to figure out just what they thought constituted the 'perfect wave'.

Obviously we were not born to be the judges of waves, because we couldn't tell one from another.
In fact, I thought that some peer-pressure was involved; some surfers wouldn't attempt to surf a wave unless another better surfer thought it was worth a try. hmmm

Both mornings I got up as soon as I was awake and walked down to the ramp to the water.
The sun had not yet broken the hills behind me, so the sand was still damp and cold.
I bundled up with my Knittery hat and a hoodie, and parked myself and Mr. Darby on a small sand dune. Remembering my purpose for coming, I read the first chapters of Nehemiah... especially pondering the lament of Judah in 4:10,
"The strength of the bearers of burdens faileth, and there is so much rubbish; so that we are not able to build at the wall."
Do you ever feel like that? That you're wading through so much extra-curricular junk in your life that the wall of separation might get repaired if you could only get next to it?

It was a marvel to watch the sun kiss the waves far off to the South first, then slowly, brightly, glimmer on the breakers nearer and nearer.

Simply spectacular.

I would then slowly climb the ramp back up to the Hotel, to go get us breakfast at the buffet.
Mom would usually wave to me from the balcony as I got close. Eventually then, we would pack her and her kintting into the wheelchair and we would get her to the view-point above the beach.

Here she's happily knitting a sweater for Suki.

We'd forgotten to bring a visor for her, so I picked this one up at the surf shop.
I then walked down to the beach again, and walked about a mile up & back.
Then I just comfortably sat in the sand and watched the surfers try to pick the perfect wave(?) until it was time for us to go get dressed for our Afternoon Tea at the Hyatt in Carlsbad, where we would meet up with Marie and Wendy Woehl. Altogether a wonderfully relaxing weekend.

I'm thinking this should be an annual event...

Dave and Marge

2010-12-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

When we moved to San Leandro from Japan in the Spring of 1969 the Imbeau's were very much in residence there in the Oakland Meeting. Now 41 years later they are still very much in residence in our hearts. Mom and I were invited down to their home(s) in the San Diego area often, and this last time was when Dave and Marge were out West for the Winter, staying at Louise's home in La Mesa.
We had done this before; come for the day. Mom and the Mr.& Mrs. would sit, talk, and catch up/reminisce and Louise and I would drive around on errands, talk, and do the same. It was a wonderful way to spend a day.

There is nothing so sweet as old, good friends. They have been a constant in my life, a certainty, a grounding. Through good times, bad times, ups and downs. They survived with us my parent's divorce, walked with us in the one-by-one gathering to the Lord's name, the moves, the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, losses, gains, growing up, growing old, whatever we did, they did in tandem. I can say with assurance that they feel the same about us. I know, because they've told me.
I thank the Lord Jesus for this un-fathomable blessing.
I thank the Lord for Marge; she has been a second-mother, an unflappable hostess, a generous, kind, and faithful example.
I thank the Lord Jesus for Dave; He has been a father to me and on more than one occasion (often when I needed it the most and was not aware of it myself) the Lord would send him with his ever welcoming arms, his kind eyes, and his monumentally large heart (room for yet another daughter).

About this time, last year

2010-12-06T10:11:00.001-08:00

Isn't it amazing how that year goes by so fast? I was trying (frustrating-ly) to up/down load stuff on my old laptop and it's so slow these days. I'd heard that photos take up alot of space and that I should erase them when I've finished with whatever I intended to do with them.
This is one of those intends.
I was hired by First Baptist Church of Hemet to sew their Christmas Pageant Choir's new robes. Mind you, they asked late in November! I was certainly put to the speed test this time!
With the help of sister Janet, who came with me to the meeting room to utilize the large pass-through as a cutting surface, and her handy set of rotary cutters, we were able to cut out the 40+ multiple size robes. We were exhausted and covered head to foot with purple glitter by the time we were done!
As you can see, I documented the empty fabric bolts so I would have a proof of the volume of dark purple, stretchy, glitter infused, one-way nap knit. UGH! I never want to see it again.

At first they wanted specially fitted sizes like 2 and 24. I convinced them that the robes were not so form fitting to warrant such specificity, we'd settle for X-small to XXX large and be done.

I miss my wee Bobby

2010-01-31T17:40:00.000-08:00

This is in memory of sweet Bobby. We have reluctantly decided to give him to our dog-boarder Vicky to live out his last few days. He was getting more blind and more deaf, and needed so much more attention than my work-day could afford him. Vicky has loved him for as long as she's known him and asked if she could just keep him after we'd left him there during Burbank Conference. She and I had discussed the growing Bobby-Lily conflict in our home. When she suggested that she give him a hospice home I was so grateful. He's settled and secure. There are three Yorkies living there and a great big Shepherd named Max. Max is the nanny-dog. I go visit him, and hold him and weep only silently. He is a good wee dog.

This is the original post; I thought you'd enjoy it.
Not much else to do on a rainy Saturday.
Errands, errands, and more errands.
Most of the time he perches like a hood ornament on Mom's knees, facing down the elements, I guess.
If we see any other dogs he barks so very ferociously.
He'll go into most (foodless) stores in his satchel over my shoulder, and stay quiet for hours. I think he just want's to be along and not left at home alone.

Portions

2008-12-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

"Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get only a little, but you are put there by the loving Farmer because only in that situation will you produce fruit unto perfection.
Remember this: If any other condition had been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you could choose your lot, you would soon cry, "Lord, choose my heritage for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows."
Be content with the things you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. "

Prayer

2008-11-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

I came across this in my calender reading the other day.
I hope you benefit from it as much as I did

Their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.

2 Chronicles 30:27

"Prayer is the never-failing response of the Christian in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword, you may take up the weapon of prayer.
Your powder may be damp, your bowstring may be relaxed, but the weapon of prayer need never be out of order. Satan laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Swords and spears need to be sharpened, but prayer never rusts; and when we think it most blunt, it cuts the best. Prayer is an open door that no one can shut.
Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy's hand. We can never be taken by siege or invasion as long as heavenly helps can come down to us and relieve us in the time of our necessities.
Prayer is never out of season: In summer and in winter its merchandise is precious. Prayer gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the middle of business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether poverty or sickness or obscurity or slander or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from His holy place. And prayer is never futile.
True prayer is always true power.
You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have your real needs supplied. When God does not answer His children according to the letter, He does so according to the spirit. If you ask for cornmeal, will you be angry because He gives you fine flour? If you seek physical health, should you complain if instead He makes your sickness result in your spiritual health? Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than removed?"

Call Me Stuffed

2008-11-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

SUMMON YOUR POWER, O GOD, THE POWER, O GOD, BY WHICH YOU HAVE WORKED FOR US. Psalm 68:28
"It is wise, as well as necessary, to beseech God continually to strengthen what He has worked in us. Failure to do so finds many Christians blaming themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit that arise from unbelief. "

This year we were small and quiet. Just Ben, Bev, Mom and the Brocks. Entirely tasty nevertheless.
I started Thursday morning with making two batches of Juliana's Cranberry Marmalade Relish except I substituted Raspberry Preserves in one, for variety.
Equal parts berries/sugar (12oz), one cup chopped walnuts, one cup jam.
Bake berries and sugar in flat covered baking dish for one hour, stirring once.
Add nuts and jam. Chill. Wonderful.
I'll take the remains to the Special Meetings scheduled for Saturday (hence the two batches)
After a day of minimal banking and shopping; (K-mart was open & I love to scour their clearance shelves) I set to making Ina Garten's Sweet Potato with Candied Apples for my contribution to the afternoon meal.
For those of you who don't know the difference, sweet potatoes are yellow to begin with, and stay hardish when cooked, like reds or yukon golds. Yams are reddish to begin with, and cook soft like russets. Ina's recipe calls for sweets.
After baking the 6 sweets, scoop out into large bowl. (will be lumpy)
add
1/2 c. OJ
1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c cream
1/4 c brn sgr
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinamn
2 tsp salt.
mix and put in large baking dish.
Topping
3 tbs butter
3 tbs brn sgr
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and sliced
Saute 10-12 minutes
Spread (or arrange artfully) on top of potatoes and bake 30 minutes @ 350

My boss gave me Friday off. What a gal. I have the dubious job of providing a turkey for tomorrow. I always brine them the night before. I know it's a molecular process, I sorta know how it works, I just know it's the best. I prepared the brine this morning and it's cooling so I can plunge the bird into it by noon. I'll need to go to the meeting room by 6:00am to put it in the oven there... better than trying to wrestle a hot 22lb bird into the car afterwards.

Luciano (Luchiaaaahno)

2008-11-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here in the computer area with my laptop and my coffee.

I am being serenaded by my new bird.

I have yet to tell you about my new bird.

He is a tiny yellow bird, a canary.

I've had lots and lots of birds.

I like birds.

I've had cockatiels.

I've had parakeets.

Those kind of birds are pets.

You can teach them to talk and do tricks.

They greet you, scold you, holler at you, call to you,

and even (sometimes) thank you, when you feed them.

One had a habit of asking me if I wanted a cuppa-coffee.

Now who would teach a bird to do that?

My favorite kind has always been canaries.

They are more of an ornament than a pet.

Like a music box or a flower arrangement.

Perfect yellow gold. (I like yellow)

Beautiful, delicate, and sweet.

He is just learning how to sing. He's a baby after all.

He chirrups and he cheeps.

I used to be able to count the beats; three, sometimes five.

Meaning the length of his song.

Now he has a trill of about ten notes. All of the same notes, yet.

When he gets older he will change notes around, up the scale and down.

He's happy.

He makes me happy.

Except after breakfast.

See, canaries are very messy eaters.

They must find the extra special single seed that is at the bottom of the food dish.

Only that particular seed will do.

It is under all of the other identical seeds, but it is the one he wants.

He will dig, and toss about all of the other seeds that are in the way.

All over the floor.

Parakeets, on the other hand, are dangerously tidy.

They will place the empty husk back in the food dish.

You have to keep track.

The dish will never look empty.

I like to hang Luciano outside on the patio.

Mom says he and the local wild birds are really quite friendly.

Of course!

Wouldn't you be glad for all of the discarded seeds everywhere?

new microwave(s)

2008-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should give the big-box store some slack.

See, I wanted to get Mom a new over-the-range model.

The old one is such a counter hogging, noisy, ugly dinosaur, no offence.

At the time, it was most likely state of the art, I'm sure.

The problem was, my sister (& her hubby) bought Mom the one we have,

a gift.

In 1986.

Back then Mom had this habit.

She would go and assist the new mommy.

Every time. Fly away to Canada

New daddy was thankful. Thankful and so generous.

This old microwave was going strong.

Going and going and going strong.

phooey. No justification there.

Big Sis is having a garage sale.

I have an idea.

Let's be oh-so-earth friendly and maybe sell the old one?

Big Box is having an interest/free/payment free deal.

I can make little payments for a year.

I drag Mom to pick one out from the display.

She takes one look at the $$$ and closes her eyes.

"You pick" she says.

We settle on a White Whirlpool, on sale.

We have a white range, a white fridge, a white dishwasher.

White's good.

Not a KitchenAid, mind you, though I did glance at that one in passing.

ow.

Delivered and installed, for a fee, on Monday.

"How does it look?"

"So very nice. It's up and running. I made popcorn and reheated my coffee. The installer was a AAA hockey player. He'd played in Vancouver at a training camp. Maybe the kids saw him. I liked him alot, he was so nice. Oh, BTW, we got a stainless steel one instead of white."

wha....

"It's fine. It works. Don't be upset"

too late.

When I got home I saw the 'fine' microwave.

Stainless Steel Frigidaire.

lovely. I just love battling with big-box.

Deep breathing exercises, all the way up the employee ladder.

Lots of raised eyebrows, bewildered faces, apologies.

Hockey dude is back, nice as ever.

All's well.

I'm Done Pouting About My Camera

2008-10-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

August-September-October.

Enough of a break.

I have been reading other blogs that don't have pictures. I can save up $$$ for a new camera.

In case you don't know, we do have a new front door now. It's really beautiful with a half glass panel that's beveled. Kinda art-deco, my favorite era. It allows in lots of light in the afternoon, and sparkly rainbows! I was obligated to petition the Homeowner's Board for permission to deviate from the solid wood of the other homeowner's doors. The doors need to be relatively consistent with each other, like everything else, but lately Mom has had trouble seeing who's at the door because of her cataracts/eyesight, especially in the afternoon when the sun shines right through the peep hole.

We got the OK providing we submitted a Dr.'s note as to the diagnoses.

John J. (who hung the door) was encouraging me to 'resist compliance' and pick any door, but I choose to live in a condo for the benefits of consistency. I like things to be tidy, and yes, I like to control my neighbor's tidiness. I don't like living next to a dump. There are drawbacks, I can't just choose any old door, leave my garage door open all day, work on my carburetor in the drive for weeks on end, or hang my laundry on my fence.

Oh well.

What I do have is a beautifully, and fully landscaped community, free of litter, derelict cars, motor homes, weeds. A few rules for the sake of respect and privacy aren't hard to live with. I run across neighbors who'd like to park their cars any which way, or party at the pool until dawn then leave their trash for someone else to pick up, or wall-in their front yard, (ok, as long as you don't wall-in my 33%-- see, we all own the common areas equally) or let their lawn collect trash/over-grow/die. The negatives are outweighed by the positives.

I planted dwarf cypress' and calico lantana in two big matching pots for either side of the entry and now we are oh-so-very English.

I'm serving on the HOA board now and, let me tell you-it's quite the eye opener. It's a monthly commitment to a board meeting where we discuss plans, problems, finances, deadbeats, petitions, non-compliance. There is a surprising amount of 'work' to be done; billing, repairs, improvements, and new things to be voted on, like my front door. Since it's entirely owner/volunteer, I am amazed at the devotion of some who have served for years. I am also amazed at the entitlement of others who think that being a board member is licence to skate around the rules. I am enjoying it so far, and yes, probably somewhat because of the inside track and the power. I get to know what's on the to-do-list. But mostly because of the intelligence, the awareness of the Board's intent, and that I get to participate in the direction we go. We'll see.

P.S. I stripped wallpaper for three days and John J. painted the kitchen/dining lemon yellow.

This World Is Not My Home

2008-08-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

I don't intend to live in fear.

A few weeks ago I had what I'd call a freak-out day.

I'd heard that Anna had had her bank account 'emptied'.

I saw a new sign in the public library;

"Please Watch Your Valuables!"

The clerks at the fabric store related a recent purse snatching.

"She turned her back on her cart for just a moment."

The local east end Stater Bros had caught a shoplifting team.

Had them all lined up, face-down on the pavement.

I live in Po' Dunk.

This is not Watts.

I am happy to be naive about current events.

I still enjoy the occasional, small and gentle earthquake.

In fact, my neighbors at work and I all ran out to the parking lot;

"Wasn't that fun?"

I play an old Lassen Pines CD in my car.

I think it is 2005/track14

Whatever. I can't discern just who it is that is singing hymn 218;

Oh, they sing it quite beautifully!

I don't think I want to know, really.

It won't make any difference.

Soon will the Master come, soon pass away

Our time of conflict, grief, and suffering here;

Our night of weeping end in cloudless day,

And sorrow's moment like a dream appear.

Eternity-with Jesus-in the skies

How soon that Sun of righteousness will rise!

We shall behold Him, whom not seen we love,

We shall be with Him whom we long to see.

We shall be like Him, fit for realms above,

With Him and like Him for eternity.

Is now to sit at Jesus' feet our choice?

How will fruition make our souls rejoice?

I must have played it about 50 times, over and over.

I cannot tell you how long it has been since a hymn resonated in my soul like this one.

Each and every line spoke to me .

It lifted me.

I was no longer agitated.

It soothed me, detached me from earth.

There is absolutely nothing, nothing like that 'purifying hope'.

Can anyone tell me how to get it from my CD to play on my blog?

I'd like to do that.

Camera

2008-08-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Phooey.

I have put my camera down somewhere.

Oh well.

I'm certain that it is here at home. I remember looking at it one day, and thinking that it was a really good idea I had, to put an address sticker right on it in case I lost it.

(As if any one would return such a thing, right?)

I didn't take it to Lassen.

I didn't take it to Van Nuys.

I did take it to David and Heather's wedding but I've already posted pictures of such, and so, obviously I had it then.

We bought a new dishwasher at Lowes this Spring. (trust me, these stories are related)

They had a special promotion; free installation, free delivery, $100.00 rebate, and

a $75.00 gift card.

I put the Gift Card in a safe place.

A place where I would know where it was when I needed it, I'm sure.

They're just like cash, don't you know, and since I didn't want to 'squander' it in the 'oh-so-enticing' Garden Department, but use it for a new front door, or paint for the kitchen, etc,

I set it aside where I would keep it until such a project rolled around on the calender.

Mom's birthday is in late September.

We need a new Front Door.

We should take the IVY wallpaper down from the kitchen, and get a new overhead light fixture.

The camera ran away with the gift card.

They are hiding from me, and laughing at me, together.

I'm A Cracked Pot

2008-06-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

I love this - I hope you do too.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
This went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
'I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'
The old woman smiled.
'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For these two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw, but it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are.
So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day.

Lovely Lily

2008-05-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

It was always so quiet when I would walk Bobby in the morning. Serene, tranquil, a soft easing into the day. Just Bobby, the sunrise, and me. Now that he is old and cannot make the trip with me (at the speed I prefer and at the non stop-and-smell-all-the-smelly-things pace I prefer) I have left him at home, in bed with Gramma.

Lily is always ready. She is anxious to get up and get going. Wiggle, wiggle, wag. It's not so quiet when I walk Lily. See, Lily would like to be a mommy. She is ready to be a mommy right now. We have had her for three months and now she thinks this is somehow a great idea. So when we go outside to the soft, dawning day all of the would-be daddy dogs in the neighborhood tell her how beautiful she is all the way around the walk we take. She is in danger of becoming vain, I think.

arf arf arf. woof woof woof. bark bark bark. Never a quiet minute to be had.

Oh well.

p.s. I am not ready to be a gramma just yet, and Bobby is too old anyway.

Kayla

2008-04-25T18:59:00.002-07:00

This one was a really labor-intensive one!

Fully fitted, lined and boned, separating back zipper bodice.

Lined, multi-layered, (upper layer is an un-even handkerchief hem), skirt with brush train.

The fabric is a butterfly printed chiffon and it was lined with dupioni satin...nice.

It started out like all others; phone call, consult, estimate, measurements, construction...

The problems started when, in cutting out the garment I discovered that I had quite a lack of fabric!

oops.

Back an forth between the cutting board and the pattern packet, I sorta figured that she'd probably presumed that View C was the complete dress, not just the skirt alone.

With nobody helping her at the yardage store, she'd bought all there was on the bolt, seven yards.

Well.

I had enough for just the three layered skirt,

or the bodice and skirt with only two layers of chiffon,

or the two pieces together if I substituted one of the printed layers with a solid white chiffon layer.

She was very easy going. We commenced calling fabric stores. Ours was out, Temecula would get back to us, Redlands had just sent their 26 yards to La Cadena (wherever that is).

Would she mind the third a plain white layer?

No. It would be fine.

Would she mind only two layers?

No. That would be fine, too.

Sigh.

I went to our local store and wouldn't you know, not a stitch of plain white chiffon, and this is April!

I knuckled under and special ordered (and paid for) three yards of plain white chiffon to be shipped from Visalia (wherever that is) which had over 2000 yards to share.

I was assured it would arrive in a timely manner and I would be called the minute it arrived.

I didn't want to wait around twiddling my thumbs so I continued sewing what I could without it and hoped the fabric would come in soon.

Fitting on Monday; go ahead with only two layers.

Final fitting on Thursday, final payment, and the dress is gone.

As final fittings go, it was one of the most uneventful.

Usually there is a bit of oooh-ing and ahh-ing.

Maybe a friend to give compliments and reinforcement.

Often a delighted gasp or laugh.

Are you needing any help?

No.

Does it fit?

Yes.

Is it what you wanted?

Yes.

How are you doing?

OK.

ok?

For those of you who don't know, I live, as it were, for these moments. The twinkle, the smile, the satisfied grin. The knowing that I pleased them, that I understood their wishes, that I pulled their dream out of their heads and put it in fabric.

I call it my reward. Being paid is nice, but making somebody's day, well, that's so very sweet.

We are in the happiness business, Mickey Mouse and I.

I did get a smile, the one I caught with my camera.

I'll cherish it.

p.s. the fabric store still hasn't called.

Mr & Mrs Thonney

2008-04-25T18:59:00.001-07:00

My Buddies

2008-04-15T17:52:00.001-07:00

Late last week we had a bit of drama at my work-place. There is a pet grooming shop ( called My Buddies ) across the parking lot from me that is owned by a very sweet, young christian couple. They do a good job and have many satisfied clients.
Not on Friday, though. A woman came in and left her pomeranian to be groomed like they had done before. In the busy-ness of the morning it so happened that the employee was the one to do the in-take process. Since nothing was said otherwise, the doggie was put in line to be groomed.
Well.
You can imagine the grief that occured when the owner discovered that the 'cut' was "way too short"!!!!
Such abuse! Such language! Such screaming!
No matter what they said or did, she had them over a barrel and was going to let them have it all.
She called them names. She called the police. She called her friends. She called the animal shelter. She threatened to call her lawyer.
When I saw Vanessa standing dazed out in the middle of the parking lot, I went out to speak with her. She told me she feared for her business, her employee, her person. I told her what a client of mine had said; (who's owned motels) that nobody is allowed to threaten you in your place of business and that it is a crime to do so. Not hair cuts.
Hair cuts are not crimes.
If this woman wants the police involved she might get more than she's asked for. The police reminded the woman that it was just a dog and dog hair grows.
More importantly though, I told Vanessa what a local christian woman had told me a while ago. I see this woman in my shop from time to time and often she likes to share with me how the Lord is moving in her life.
I love to listen to her and I love that she likes to speak with me about such wonderful things.
She had been to church and related to me a story told in a recent sermon as an object lesson;

A man was having a really bad day.
Every thing was working against him, it seemed.
When he left for work, the poorly scheduled, interferring Cal-Trans crew was blocking the road, down to one man, and that man was sitting down on the job. This made the man late.
The freeway was crowded and he was cut-off by a man who wasn't paying attention, just yakking away on his cell-phone.
When he got to work, a woman beat him to the last parking space and didn't even look in his direction. Just selfishly took it for herself.
On his way home he stopped at the grocery, which was packed with screaming, ill behaved children, and oblivious, ill equipped parents. The woman in front of him in line completely ignored her two toddlers who were fighting over a book, and her shrill, red faced baby in the cart, while she pondered the contents of her wallet.
Humph.
When he got into bed that night he told the Lord about his really bad day.
He confessed that he was having real difficulty in loving his fellow man when they all behaved so very selfishly.
As it is so often, he fell asleep during his prayer and his dreams continued on with the complaints.
In his dream the Lord said to him, let's go through this whole day again, only this time, I want you wear 'my eyes'.
The Cal-Trans man you saw sitting down on the job was just told by his supervisor that he was laid-off and he has five children to feed, and the rent is due.
The man on the cell-phone had his very pregnant and very much in labor wife in the back seat and he is trying to contact her doctor because she is delivering much too early.
The woman who beat you to that parking space has just found out she has terminal cancer and has nobody to care.
The woman in the grocery store has been abandoned by her husband and is trying to decide if her last ten dollars should buy these groceries or the needed medicine for her sick baby.

Try to remember that people are often in pain.
They are often distracted by grief.
They are often immobilized by shock.

Sometimes this can look like selfishness.
You can observe their actions but you can never know their motives.
You can never know their heart, their purpose, their reasons.
You are not clairvoyant.
You are not me.

Vanessa said that the story gave her goosebumps but it also gave her peace.
She and I wondered if her unhappy client was having a rough time somewhere else in her life and we thought that maybe My Buddies was just the last straw and happened to be the dumping place for all of her stress.

I have thought often of this story. I wonder sadly at how quickly I assume that I know, just know for sure why someone did what they did.
I remember my mom telling me that I won't keep many friends if I too often assign the worst possible motive to anyone's actions.
Remember, it's not always about you.
The benefit of the doubt, she would say.
Give it often and it will be given you.

21st Birthday Party.

2008-04-06T14:06:00.001-07:00

Melting Pot

We drove up to Cucamonga (yes there really is a town...)
to the Melting Pot.
Check put this Melting Pot Website.
We all tried to get there early, by 4:00pm, so some could get up to Caleb and Lisa's for a Hymn-Sing later on.
The menu on-line says to make sure you have two hours to spend.
Huh.
After two hours plus forty-five minutes later, we realized they now had to rush away, and yes, we finally did straighten out the dividing up of the check.
Shorty remembered that she had doubled the tip amount by mistake (he wasn't that efficient), and Garage Door was re-imbursed for his feeble attempt at thwarting his grammma from paying his share.
We were gone by 7:00 and through a packed restaurant lobby, mind you.
Only to hear that they had to sit on the freeway behind a car-crash tangle.
What fun!

Oops. It was Kilauea!

2008-03-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW#1302-01-)
19.43°N 155.29°W, Summit Elevation 4009 ft (1222 m)
Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

This report, in addition to maps, photos, and webcam images (available using the menu bar above), was prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary for last 24 hours: Lava continued to flow into the ocean at up to 4 locations on the Waikupanaha delta. A breakout from the surface flow nearest the access road entered the large kipuka there and was advancing eastward through vegetation and over the pavement in the kipuka. The third DI tilt event in the past two weeks completed yesterday evening. Seismic tremor levels and sulfur dioxide emission rates continued elevated to several times background levels at Kilauea summit.

Don The Pirate

2008-03-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry folks!
I did a post and I was talking to S.W. at the same time (Mauna Loa has erupted, again )and then when I tried to spell-check, Poof! It was gone, and I was out of time.
This is Don. He loves playing at being a pirate. In fact, he was just recently hired as a security guard at all the local Renaissance Faires. (that he loves to frequent as many times as six or seven a year) Why not? He is certainly believable.
Things are going so jolly well that he had me make him this new vest/waistcoat thingy. He really likes the Capt. Jack Sparrow look. Without the eye makeup and dreadlocks, of course. He brought me a page from an over-priced (and badly made) costume catalogue. After adding about eight inches to the length, and inside pockets, he pronounced it wonderful. ARG! The problem is that I don't think Max, his son, understands that this is a hobby and that daddy is not really out 'over the bounding main'.
Speaking of Max, he is one accident prone child. Each of the three (or four) times I've seen him he has a new bruise. He absolutely loves Chucky Cheese's and goes all out. He LOVES doors of any kind...thinks that the mini door to my jewelry case is just for him. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe he is being abused. I have seen his clumsiness and his frenetic energy. better than that, I have seen how much his father adores him and is constantly trying to prevent him from killing himself accidentaly.
My mom had a son like this. The ER doctor started to look sideways at Mom after a while. Good thing we kept moving to other countries all the time.

Saturday March 1st

2008-03-02T15:47:00.001-08:00

A New Member Of The Family!

2008-02-28T18:14:00.001-08:00

It's not that we are so full of free time...more that we convinced ourselves that this would be a solution to Bobby's lonesome-ness. She is so sweet and gentle. A little bigger than Bob, maybe by an eyebrow.
They are now warily getting to know each other. We are really trying to get her to be more attached to Gramma instead of me this time around. She does love Gramma, (or anybody who pays attention to her for a little while) and spends a good amount of time curled up in the center of her lap.
The two little dogs spent today squared off on either side of said lap, whether on the patio swing or in her bedroom recliner. Bobby always has claims on Gramma's left side (though not in my recent photos obviously) and new/dog is thus relegated to the right by default. They did eat supper from the same double dish tonight, a good sign.
She is another 'rescue' dog from the animal shelter; the folks who originaly took her in changed their mind.
Her grooming has been much neglected and it will take a while for her ears to grow long and lush like Bobby's and her coat to grow back. It was shaved entirely to remove the months of matting and dirt. We believe she is at least partly poodle, maybe 18 months old, and so we will groom her alongside Bobby. We'll then shave her face too, like a proper poodle should, and let her top-knot grow high instead.
We do still have some few incidents of her low growling when he is too nosy, but less and less.
The problem tonight is, we can't seem to name her!!!
We've been all over the alphabet and keep coming back to Vicky; the Best-In-Show winner of the Eukanuba Dog Show last year and the winner of her group (TOY) this year at Westminster.

Ivy In Ihe Window and The Hidden Village

2008-02-16T20:24:00.001-08:00

I did take a picture IOI! It's been too cold to do anything in the morning in the garden before work this week, so no cutting yet. I also have to wipe up the debris the stem left behind...a sticky, sappy stuff.

We have busy day today. After all of our errands I want to get to Idyllwild to see the snow before the snow is gone! It's high time for our annual winter drive to the mountains. I'll take Mom and Ladybug up to the Hidden Village for supper tonight. Mom has been collecting dimes for forever and today we'll cash them in at the coin bank and have a nice chinese meal.
Well. The snow was all gone! Only piles of black, crusty stuff. pooh.
Oh well. Maybe next year. I had hoped it was still very much there as we'd had an unexpected cold snap Thursday, and lots of cold rain, even snow. Friday was clear, bright, and warm, I should have known.
We arrived in Idyllwild by 5:00pm and the restaurant was nearly empty. We were tucked in a corner away from the door and had a very pleasant evening. The food was exceptional, of course. We all loved the tangy Scechwan Scallops the best. (we should have ordered two plates!) We also had Corn/Egg Flower Soup, Tangerine Beef, and Lemon Chicken.
By the time we were ready to go at a little after 6:00 the restaurant was full with folks waiting (in the way) at the door. Mom forget her purse in the restroom and the Hyundai that arrived after we did had parked too close, so while I pulled my car out and over, Ladybug did a quick and chilly restroom run.
Such an un-classy, almost tacky facade and yet obviously a popular and well loved place.

Pruning

2008-02-09T15:17:00.001-08:00

I sorta wish I'd taken a 'before' photo...oh well, the result is the same anyway.
I was far behind in my deadwood clearing. Both front and back yards. It's been so beautiful outside lately, and warm. Not a day to spend inside like we've had to do the last few wet and freezing weekends. A sure sign of Spring, that gardening feeling...until you find a dead crow under all of the overgrowth. Are we still supposed to report them? What disease was it? I can't remember.
It seems like only yesterday that I'd moved all of my schifflera indoors, and my gardenia, which I'm not sure needs coddling, I just would hate to lose it. They are all in the way in the dining room, but if Puxatawny Phil is as prophetic as I've heard, I'll wait a few more weeks.
Two Bayer Aspirin and a pot of coffee later...
Today started out earlier than usual. Do you ever make a comment that you wished you could un-say? All turned out well of course, it's just that Saturday is the only day of the week that I don't have to get out of bed by 6:30am. I cherish that little bit of luxury, knowing that I have absolutely no need to get up right away.
Last Tuesday at Seven Hills Breakfast I was reminicing about the waffles we'd had at breakfast at Coyle's house. ( he is unable to get waffles made in any restaurant to his liking ) "Lets do it again this Saturday morning! Lets invite the Jensens too!"
sigh.
As on Tuesdays, we were there by 8:30am. It was a lovely time and ended up being a good thing after all as it got us out and done with all of our errands before noon. We'd left You-Know-Who at home alone and he let us know just how much he thought of us when we came back.
Poor doggie.

Dressing The Upper Crust

2008-01-30T17:53:00.001-08:00

Rick needed a new look in his florist shop window so King Kong came to me for new shorts.
Not just any shorts, mind you, Valentine shorts!
He was nice to hug but, it was a little hard to do the measuring. I finally pinned the end of the tape measure to a spot on his belly; ran my arm around as far as I could; threw the other end of the tape measure behind him and hoped I could reach it on the other side. The final truth was 77inches. That's a lot of elastic.
P.S. The feather boa was my idea. He was too manly to accept it. And too polite about it, didn't want to hurt my feelings, I guess.

Skidboot

2008-01-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

Skidboot Documentary

Skidboot on Pet Star
I was sent this by a client yesterday. I think this will take you to youtube and an amazing documentary about an amazing dog, plus some other videos about him. I guess you know what an endless foray a venture into youtube is!

I have a (supposedly very intelligent) toy poodle who knows the words; UP, CAR, POTTY, and OUTSIDE. Whoop-de-doo!

Here is another one about sheepdogs. I can't get the streaming right...it just gives me 'stills'. P.S. how do I stop the song from playing all the time?

David and Heather's Wedding Shower 1/19/2008

2008-01-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

photos of the shower
I wonder if this will work. It's a link to Martha's webshots albums.
(I'm sure she'd like the company) Nope. Won't work...you need a password & username, sorry.
We had a wonderful day. The Lord was good, we had almost 75 attend...at least for one head-count mid-way through the afternoon.
Everything went like clock-work. 'Many hands make light work' as the Amish saying goes. I so enjoy the team effort!
We served that wonderful little salad made from baby greens, with pears, feta, candied pecans, balsamic. Always a hit. The girls had fun making them en-masse (as you'll see) and were amazed at how good it was, such a simple combination of flavors. I really think they were surprised at the compliments they received!
Citrus Grilled Chicken ala 'Jean Poullet', Green Beans with Butter & Almonds, Roasted Red Potatoes with Olive Oil & Thyme, Crusty French Bread, and a sweet finish...Blueberry Pomegranate Sorbet.
Or Coconut.
Or Lemon.
Or all three.
David came from Pittsburgh especially for the day. The wedding isn't until March first.
I'll see some bridesmaids at my shop tomorrow for some alterations and then it's off to Samurai Steve for sushi! I hope they have fresh white albacore on the sashimi menu! I've had it once before and it's so delicious.
Today was a long, slow day at work so I came home an hour early.

I miss my Bobby

2008-01-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

What A Way To Start The New Year.

2008-01-05T10:18:00.001-08:00

I thought these photos were benign enough. I had to laugh at my neighbor...just toss that old tree in the yard! Someone will cart it away eventually.
Better than my mood last night.
The year started out well... until yesterday.
I had a 'professional challenge' with a new client. She poked her head in my door and said she would be right in after she'd finished her cigarette.
That was nice, thank you.
We talked over the job she had for me.
We talked over the jewelry I have on display.
We talked for 15 minutes.
I walked with her out to the lobby to discover that she had placed her still lit cigarette on the threshold INSIDE the door! It had burned and burned for the entire time!
UGH!
"I know, I know..." she says.
As my eyes are bugging out of my head and my 'professional' demeanor is straining (and cracking) it's limits, I quickly escort her outside. (She futilely brushes the two inches of ash off my floor, meekly apologizing left and right)
I was so stunned.
After she'd gone (of course) I thought of the dozens of things I'd wished I'd said;
What is it that "I know, I know."???
Is that supposed to make it better?
That you 'know' that your smoke damages my health, my property, my client's property, my paint, my fabrics, my hair?
Does your meekly and immediately admitting your guilt absolve you in some way?
Did you deliberately ignore the law in California that prohibits smoking inside ANY public building?
Did you think that law was for everyone else?
If you knew it was wrong, why did you choose to do the wrong thing?
Do you often choose wrong over right?
Did you realize that now and for another hour and a half, I need to turn off my heater, open all my windows and doors, turn on the only fan, (the one in the bathroom) and continue to work in the cold and damp until quitting time?
Did you want me to add the dry cleaning bill for all of my antique and display dresses to your $20.00 job?
And here I thought that NO SMOKING signs were a thing of the past!!
ARG!!!
I'm glad I didn't say any of those things.
Especially with all of the scriptures hanging on my walls.
Especially since the smoke cleared and there was no damage.
My red-head temper is such a challenge.
Why can't I be a sweet tempered brunette?

Dr Zhivago Dress

2007-12-05T18:32:00.001-08:00

See Dr. Zhivago Dress; Part Two, Please.

Dr Zhivago Dress; Part Two

2007-12-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

So far I'm failing at trying to find a full front shot photo of the suit. The movie star was Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's daughter, and even though she wasn't one of the two main characters, her character Tonya's clothes were better, I think. More stylish.
Please look here for a studio picture, the best I could find.
Here's another attempt at guessing how a dress is made. This client has always loved the movie Dr Zhivago and especially the train station scene and the suit that Mrs. Tonya Zhivago wore when she returned to St. Petersburg.
My client lent me the double-box video (gasp), forwarded to the particular scene (thank you!) so I could get a good idea of what to do.
Heidi is especially tiny, maybe 100lbs, and that makes it easier.

PLUS, I get to see her as often as I want as she works at the local hospital as a recovery room nurse. Her husband, Russ, was my financial advisor until he retired last year.
We tried to imitate the look as closely as we could. I made the dress out of a soft pink, patterned velour, as close to wool worsted as we dared in Southern California!
The collar and muff were both made from a taupe Poodle Fleece.
The Cossack Hat was bought on eBay at The Winter Palace . A really nice eBay store that has lots of other neat Soviet stuff too, like KGB hats.
Neato.
She and her husband went touring in Russia this last Summer. As he doesn't know he's buying this outfit for her yet, she surreptitiously shopped for ankle boots and a fur hat while there. Not a thing. Duh, it was August in Russia, too.

The gloves, well, I needed to dye them to match.
I started with a plain white pair I'd picked up at Claire's.
Since I was attempting to match the taupe muff color, I started with coffee.
Too brown and too pale. Then I added a bit of liquid black dye.
Too gray.
I finished it off with strong tea.
Just right.
When they dried it was a perfect match.
I just hope the orange pekoe scent fades soon.
She loved them.

This past Thursday she came especially for a photo shoot.

Hubby was taking her out to supper, so she dressed in the whole get-up to surpise him.
He was so pleased he called me yesterday to thank me for making her (and him) so happy. He was delighted and very surprised. Yay!
This is the best part of my job.

I Wouldn't Want Her Job, Either (or Thank the Lord for Nephews)

2007-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

In case you're from the Northwest or Canada. or even a tropical rain forest, I need you to understand that in California, rain is rather rare. That said, last night was definitely a doozy for us.
If the Japanese are calling themselves blessed because of their claim to the rising sun and to being the first recipients of the Earth's weather patterns (as in; chosen by the gods to exist nearest to nature), we in the South are really the opposite. I would think that being a weather-man in Los Angeles must be the most boring and uneventful job in the world, with a temptation to make stuff up. Or use a lot of satellite photos and talk about 'possibilities'.
Ooooh! Look at that cloud formation over Hawaii!
Yesterday at about noon we started a storm that was to last well into the night. Buckets of rain, Seattle rain. All was well and good, I thought, until I went into my cutting room (an interior room, mind you) and I heard the rain dropping on my ceiling in there. Uh... The building is one storey, has a flat roof and the adjacent shops are 15 foot high garages. This means that our end has a four foot crawl space between us and the roof and that means there should be no rain dropping sounds on my ceiling.
I kept an eye on the ceiling plaster from time to time and, as you might expect, growing patches of wet.
With no sign of the rain letting up, reports of a long ( oh, alright, two days ) storm front, and the beginning of the weekend, I knew I had to take action. I have several thousands of dollars in client's clothing and work-product in that room.
I called the on-site manager.
Now, to give her credit, it's times like these that cause her phone to ring right off the hook. I understand that, but if there is anything I've learned over the years I've been in business, it's that most of the time when folks have problems, folks want solutions, not excuses, apologies and defensiveness.
I wasn't blaming her for the rain, or for the fact that it happened on a Friday (not a labor-convenient day like Wednesday) nor did I want to hear how bad it was in her hallway in the main building. I didn't want to know how hard it was going to be to get someone here, how you can never tell how much the roof will leak until it rains, how we have to wait now, until it's dry, and then she'll seek out a repairman, because, after all, he can't see anything now. I suppose this was all true, but what I wanted to hear was how she was going to fix it and when was she going to fix it.
I was getting less and less patient. I made an effort to judge my fleshy attitude and got busy. Especially after I noticed her car was gone.
Remember, this is non-rain (and thus, we can't deal with any weirdo wet-like weather or we panic) Southern California and any roof man available was certainly going to be booked, as of now, until next Spring.
Calling on nephews! Thank the Lord for nephews! I called on nephews #1, 2, & 4, (it being mid-afternoon) only to find out #4 was ill and #2 was out on an errand for his boss.
I knew I could count on Nephew #1. He was still at work, but would make it there sometime after 5:00. He arrived, tools and flashlights included, a little after Nephew #2 had shown up. Together they perused the situation, climbed ladders, crawled around in the dust, knocked off alot of cobwebs and came up with a plan.
Mind you, while #1 had the ladder inside at the crawl-space access, #2 was on the roof already, having attained it without the assistance of such mundane equipment as ladders. The emergency roof access ladder is ten feet off the ground, you know. I checked. (he always was a monkey, scaling whatever interested him)
Plan in hand, #1 and I sent #2 home, and then went to Lowe's, bought wet-day application roof patch tar stuff, trowel, and gloves. I want you to know that it has been raining cats and dogs by now. Bless his heart, he went up and down and all around in the cold, pouring rain, patching and smearing sticky black goo. This is love. For all his goofy rough edges, he loves his auntie.
By 7:30pm he was done.
Cold, wet, still his cheerful self, and done.
I zipped over to Starbucks for an extra hot Grande Peppermint Mocha, (and put some $$ in his pocket) and then took him home.
I know I could try to extract the expense from my December rent. Who knows how successful I will be or if I will still have the self righteous energy by Monday.
I had a good night's sleep.

FYI to my blog readers

2007-11-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

I had a few objections from several family members on the (what they thought were) un-flattering depictions of their holiday merry-making selves appearing on my last post. Yes, my very public blog.
I left the only photo that didn't annoy anybody in place.
SAJ was the only privileged early bird who got to see the expose.

Humph, as Pooh would say.

And Yet Another Turkey Dinner To Report.

2007-11-24T15:59:00.001-08:00

Maybe I shouldn't bother. We all look so very enthusiastic. don't we? Somehow it's all so redundant by now, and I have waited to post this two days afterwards.
I did brave the crowds on Friday morning. I'd seen some advertisements that interested me. Nothing panned out. Lots of people (on the busiest shopping day of the year). Lots of festive decorating that was very cheerful and pretty. Also lots of hooey. Or 'hud' as Mary says.
I am looking for a Sony Clie/Mylo thingy. Something to access Paypal and thus take ATM or Visa at work without having to lease a cashex machine with all it's extra fees and percentages. Any ideas, Sir?
I'm not aggressive enough (really, I'm not) to scratch and bite for a bargain, especially when I don't know what I really need. Or want.
We did have a nice day at the special meetings today (Saturday), though. Quite a few visitors. Quite alot of good food. Two very good meetings. Sweet fellowship, good times.

Now What?

2007-11-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

How do you top the last week of blogs?
Life is back to normal.
Work is back to normal.
I don't have any new pictures of my own so I stole this one from PICASA.

As is expected after a perfect holiday, I would spend a little time each day remembering Maui.

I've given away all of the souvenirs; T-Shirts, Li Hing Mui, Necklaces, Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts, I've stuck my MAUI sticker on my back windshield, (opposite my dashboard hula girl), worn my shells, cut my 'wraps' out of my hair, washed and packed away my Hawaii sundresses. I've looked at my pictures and even read myself to sleep by reading a map of the island and driving the familiar Maui roads in my mind. (how sad is that?) OH! I forgot my toothbrush in the condo medicine cabinet, so I think I'd better go back and get it.

Bummer.

It was a great toothbrush.

Halloween has come and gone; no surprises this year at work. A regular client wanted a faux leather jacket/vest for a vampire look but I think she gave up on me since I was gone.

(she's an anxious sort)

I did a set of three mod/neon/psychedelic tights for an all girl Mock-Rock troupe. Oh...I do have a shot of one of them. They promised me a group photo, but that was last month. Let me download it.

The other two were;

Lime Green & Black Zebra Stripe with Hot Pink Fringe and

Purple/Orange/Red Swirls with Yellow Fringe.

I was important that I get these a TIGHT as I could without tearing them.

Farewell to Maui Hill

2007-10-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Maui Hill
webshots

This is the page I never wanted to write. We've had a wonderful week. It went fast and it went slow. It was beautiful.
Today I went for a quiet walk by myself. I went down the road to a pretty little beach behind the hotel that faces the water and is across the road from our condo. Since I really am still on California time, I think I was easily out the door before 7:00am.
The others wanted to spend the better part of the morning by the pool. We hadn't really taken advantage of the pool yet. It's been usually noisy and sorta crowded. Today though, is a final do-nothing day and the pool looked good to them. I found it stuffy. The development plays the same Hawaiian music tape over and over. I'd much rather feel the breeze off the ocean. They all know I can't sun-bathe like they can.
I saw a number of beach-combers and a few early swimmers. I sat on the steps and just thought. I pushed tomorrow far away. I told the Lord how happy I was, how thankful I was for giving me this precious time. Maui is so incredibly beautiful. Friendship is such a wonderful gift.
I found a tiny path to the sand through the ice plant that looked just like the breaks in the foliage I remembered from long ago. I've had quite a few of those reminiscent moments. Hard to put my finger on feelings of familiarity. It's been sweet. I turn my head and I'll see my childhood, either through a hole in a fence or across a school ball diamond. I did as I determined to do; savor every single day.
This last evening we decided to watch the last sunset from that same little beach. We carried our chairs and towels across the road and set up camp. I took one last quick dip in the Blue Pacific. A whole swim, actually. You can barely see me splashing, a feeble backstroker, out past the rocks. I tried to judge the timing...how long can I stay in the water, still get dry in the waning sun light, see the sunset, and make it back across the road, not dying from hypothermia? Interesting difference; the sea water here isn't so pungent as the water off California. It's milder, more soft or something, definitely different.
We reluctantly trudged uphill towards home, had a 'clean-out-the-fridge' supper of pork fried rice, baked potatoes, shredded cheese, re-heated steak, and a dessert we'll call a Shunshine Special: a Pineapple, Banana, Pineapple Sherbet, Coconut Milk, Crushed Ice, Smoothie. Yum!
None of us is ready for bed. The only thing I have done to start packing is move Mom's rice cooker back to my bedroom so I won't forget it.
The others are sitting on the lanai behind me, howling at yet another somehow 'more funny than is possible' story. After a week of mishaps, miss-turns, misspeaks, misjudgements, and mispronunciations (you can only imagine), we have a truck-load of inside jokes. I wish I had a recording of them trying to figure out, and incorporate daily, Hawaiian slang.
I was teary eyed on the flight over to Maui when the airline played a melancholy Hawaiian melody on their introduction video. Then, I felt like I was finally coming home.
I can only imagine my future feelings of homesickness.
Can you be home and homesick at the same time?

Haleakala & ZipLine

2007-10-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

webshots

Well.
We made it home in one piece.
It took some convincing but she did it, the whole thing.
You'll see a shot of her praying.
Whether for protection or for new friends, we're not sure. She met a kindred spirit, a honeymooner named Connie.
It was a total blast. I think she had fun. She phoned home right away to let Ern know she was on the ground again. And forever after on the ground, from now on.

The drive up to the summit of Haleakala was about 45 minutes from the ZipLine. We passed some cyclers, two to be exact, going UP! Lots going down, only two going up. When we were ready to get going back down they both arrived at the summit. It turns out that his daughter was having a birthday cake and party for him at the top to celebrate his 70th today!

The Road to Hana

2007-10-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

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Aloha!
Another early day. They seem to get earlier as the week progresses.
We got on the road out of Kehei by 6:00am.
First a stop at McD's for coffee to go and then clockwise around the island to Hana. The road was all our own, just like we'd planned.
Most of the tourists don't get up and going until later, maybe 9:00. We drove and stopped, hiked, and tried our best to discover what the two tour books intended. Sometimes we were so far off base it ended in a half hour goose chase.
Once we discovered that the mile-markers stopped and started at whim and that they weren't always there and that they didn't always keep in sync, we did better. We saw so many waterfalls I thought I'd better stop boring you with more and more pictures.
We found beautiful pools at the end of short up-hill hikes. One in particular we found by disregarding the No-Trespassing sign. Now wait just a minute....we were told by our tour book that those signs are illegal and put up by the locals for spite. It's all public land with public access. Besides, this was a hunting road and even though we'd left our red plaid jackets at home, we felt very obvious by our volume. The hunters probably wondered when they'd been over-run by hyenas.
After a while we noticed that we were seeing the same cars over and over. Stopping where we were or were leaving as we got there.
It started to rain during our lunch break at Hana Bay. A few silly looking waves and a few more silly looking maybe-honeymooners.
We tried to go the whole way around but discovered a bridge was out. We got a little farther than the Seven Sacred Pools ( which is neither sacred nor are there seven) and were turned around by huge barriers. Apparently there was an earthquake last year and a few bridges were shook loose. We drove over a quasi repaired one...it looked like tinker toys placed right next to the damaged one. It was pretty scary looking but we got home safe and sound.
KW fired up the grill.
Tonight we had steaks, baked potatoes, grilled zucchini, grilled bananas, pineapple sherbet.
Tomorrow is the ZipLine day and Shunshine is trying her best to find a reason to stay home.

Lahaina

2007-10-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

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We drove to Lahaina.
We bought some stuff.
We saw some stuff.
We ate some stuff.
We sat on some sandy stuff,
and returned some stuff. (the man remembered you, dearie)

I am so tired
I am so sunburned.
I am going to bed.
We are going to have along day tomorrow, we're driving to Hana on the north coast.

Mama's Fish House

2007-10-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

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We went to mamas fish house for supper tonight and I can safely say I have never eaten better fish. The drive out was beautiful; the sky was dark and cloudy, a bit fierce. The wind was blowing the palm trees around, bending them over gracefully.
We were so impressed with the restaurant, the approach, the decor. We started with shrimp wontons with macadamia ginger sauce, asparagus clam bisque, poppy seed garlic bread with fresh whipped butter.
I had Opakapaka for the first time in my life. It was made a little like picatta but with grilled Maui tomatoes too.
KW had Machong with Carmelized Maui Onions,
Louie had Salmon with Maui Sweet Potatoes, and Grillled Candied Bananas, (the lightest and most delicious salmon she's ever had),
Shunshine had Macadamia Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Coconut Rice, and an Edamame salad.
The staff gave us three birthday girls each a Kona Ice Cream Sundae, but we'd already ordered the Polynesian Black Pearl dessert which was Chocolate Covered Chocolate Mousse on top of Passionfruit Cream. All this was placed in a cookie clam shell and put on top of a swirly design of some liquer.
After supper we drove into Pa'ia a little and saw Doris Todd's school. It was dark and closed, but we got pictures.
We were going to listen to a CD of SBA on 'Would the Lord have you buy a Ferrari?' but we're too tired.
Tomorrow we drive to Lahaina for a day of sightseeing and shopping. (also to return some mistakenly pilfered snorkle gear.)

Maui Hair

2007-10-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

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It's Tuesday and we have had a busy morning. Shunshine and I had appointments at a hair salon to do our Maui Hair. First we went to an 'Island Orientation' at a nearby restaurant which was just a half hour of hard-sell for all the tours and packages. We ate our little pancakes with coconut syrup and skipped out early.
I discovered I'd lost the ($75.00 deposit) room key right off. Yay.
We drove way back up to Kahalui (where the airport is) to the salon only to find out that they weren't able to do what we wanted, treated us like low-brow tourists, and had overbooked. We left.
I looked again through my bag for the key. The day wasn't going well. I was feeling really stupid and prayed that the Lord would help me find that key.
Wandering back to Kehei, we discovered a little salon right by a Taco Bell.
''Sherry' was able to fit us both in right away, me for 'wrapped & beaded', Shunshine, for highlights.
While one of us was in the chair, the other went next door to a fabulous bead and jewelry store. Tons of shell and jade necklaces, abalone, coral, wood carving, seeds of all kinds! What a place to spend alot of money. I emptied my bag again.
I picked up some sushi at FoodLand and we drove back to the condo by 1:00pm.
Louie wanted to know if I knew where my room key was? Duh, I'd left it in the door. They discovered it when the went out to walk to the lobby for bagels. sigh.
Thank you, Lord.

Maui Days

2007-10-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Go to webshots to see the fun!
We're here and we are relaxing. I'll be loading lots of photos daily onto webshots instead of here because it's faster. And I think it's more organized. Besides I think there is a limit? and I want to upload lots every day.
The girls have just left for the beach. It's still 3:00 here and they all wanted SAND!!!
Our balcony faces the sunset, which I plan to watch every night. We've been to the grocery store and have our meals planned. There is a BBQ right downstairs from us and the condo is equiped with every possible amenity. Even beach chairs, towels, boogie boards, beach umbrellas, board games and puzzle. (as if)
We have three lanais, which means we can pick and choose all day long. The one off the smaller bedroom is totally surrounded by palms and is so calming and serene. It faces East so I think it will be a good spot to see the dawn. Since we're still on California time, that won't be hard to do.
There is a double lanai off the master bedroom and living room with a dining set and chaises. Off the upper loft is a small lanai that over looks the swimming pool. The windows seem to be a special kind as we can't hear pool noise at all. There is so much bougainvillea I am as happy as a clam, dozens of colors, and huge as houses!
It's quiet and not at all crowded. We noticed that the airport seemed particularly empty. Yay!
See you tomorow!

One Titanic Lady

2007-10-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

one titanic lady

This is who bought the outfit. I am so pleased, it's so much better than as a Halloween costume! I couldn't ask for it to go to a better home. She'll post pictures of it when she wears it to her 'Functions'. I can hardly wait.

I think I sold it, finally!

2007-10-03T08:11:00.001-07:00

The story ends with a fizzle.
I listed this dress on eBay about one month ago and it didn't sell. Bummer. Then I was contacted by an ebay-er on my personal e-mail. She's interested, cost-conscious, and ready to buy. We just have to negotiate a price. She gives 'Titanic Presentations', whatever that means, and would love to wear my suit while at work. Hooray!

The beginning of the story is much more romantic.
Incredibly romantic, mind you. Husbands like this don't come around that often. I know, I know, he probably has warts, gambles, has bad breath, and poor eyesight. That didn't matter to me, what he did was rare.
About ten years ago, right around Spring of 1998, a man called me up at work and asked me if I could help him with a surprise for his wife. Their fifth anniversary was coming up and as she LOVED the 'Titanic' movie that had been released the previous Fall, he'd like to make her her favorite outfit for her to wear on their special day. He had it all planned; he bought the big hat, the shoes, I would make this dress, and then they would go have supper on the Queen Mary.
We had six months. He snuck clothes out of her closet so I could measure them. He said that she was trying to lose some weight, so we made the dress her target size. He brought me her collector books, her video, her magazine pages. She was obsessed with the film, a real cult follower. I think she'd seen the film six or seven times already. This was her favorite of all Kate Winslet's outfits.
We worked on this together for four months and then came the moment when I really needed to fit her to finish the suit. How we planned this surprise! I was so excited, pleased with the result, happy for him.
Well. It didn't work out so well. I guess you could say that she was wondering how much money he'd spent. I guess she was frustrated that it was still a little tight. I guess she isn't really into surprises. Whatever. I wanted to slap her.
She grimaced and she grumbled. She put on a 'happy face'. He'd gone to all of this trouble, enjoyed the journey, anticipated her delight, only to have it fall flat.
What an ungrateful grouch. After they'd left, he called. He apologized for the situation.
Toward the nearing of the anniversary day I got a phone call. Um, she's pregnant again. Gestational diabetes. Doctor wants her to eat healthy so, no more diet. He thanked me for my time and would walk away from the dress. I think she didn't want it around to remind her of what a thoughtless jerk her hubby was.
In the end it wasn't a loss for me. I was paid in full. The anniversary came and went. The dress hung in my shop collecting dust.

Phoenix Weekend

2007-09-24T08:43:00.001-07:00

We left after work on Friday evening. A five hour drive put us in Phoenix after 10:30pm. Not too bad, a little map trouble and off-ramp confusion, but we arrived safely. The Best Western was nice, the room was quiet considering we were next to the (wonderful!) Breakfast Buffet Room.
Saturday morning was restful. After a good breakfast, I drove us to a local mall to do some shopping. I needed a birthday present for Chuggy and a wedding card for our gift.
The wedding wasn't until 3:00pm so it was an easy schedule. Lunch was left-over ham and bread from breakfast, with Starbucks. Three, to be exact; the barista made a mistake on our order.
I think we counted about 100 guests, including around 45-50 visitors.
Jim had a very sweet word, concentrating primarily on the life of Cornelius in Acts 10:2 "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway."
He exhorted Josh and Amy to have a home 'characterized by prayer' and to build it into their life together right away. Such a beautiful wedding discourse!

I was looking forward to this particular wedding for quite a while. I love both of these young-people very much. They both have been through the fire in their lives, suffered incredible losses, one very painful shared loss, in fact. They've both accepted it from the hand of a loving God, recovered their footing, and go on. Brightly go on. Both have committed their lives and their future to the Lord. There's no self pity, no nursing of grievances, no 'throwing in the towel'. The Lord will bless them for this faith. It's so refreshing, so hard to find. They are surrounded by a strong and supportive spiritual family there in Phoenix, and are grateful for it. They will be a wonderful asset to the assembly there, and a blessing.
Meeting the next day was a happy finishing touch. Everyone stayed for lunch and an afternoon address by Jim. He took up the Queen of Sheba and her 'hard questions', her observations, and her faith. Particularly addressing the thought that a 'greater than Solomon is here'. Wisdom, Glory, Majesty. Compassion, Patience, Love. Solomon gave back to her more than, and including, all the gifts she'd brought to him. '...of thine own have we given Thee' was read in the breaking of bread in the morning and brought out in the afternoon. A perfectly humbling, perfectly comforting, thought.
What a fabulous weekend!

Mom's Bathroom Renovation

2007-09-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

Those glass doors always worried me.
They were the reason I started this whole project.
What if she fell on them?
What if she grabbed them to pull herself up and they fell on her?
I know they were probably tempered glass, but they were also as old as the house.
The first thing John did was remove the 24" doorway. How could anybody think that was wide enough?
She could hardly walk through without bumping and with her walker it was even worse.
Here you have a true view of how narrow it was.

John is trying to fit in the Super Fan.
He found that the roof line didn't accomodate our purchase.
Oh, well. Isn't that how it goes with these things?
He cut and cut and cut until he had enough room.

We are spending alot of time at LOWES.
And alot of $$$.
The first thing on the list is non-moldy dry wall stuff.
Then we got wall vinyl that looks like tile.
Then a new light fixture, fan, paint, liquid nails(lots & lots), faucet, switches, etc.
Then all of the accoutrements.
And now it's all done.

Lassen Fashion

2007-09-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

There are two places on this tired old earth that I could say that I truly do love. Love in the earthly, familiar way. Love in the transient, temporal way. Neither would take the place of my hope, my eternal home, my rest. Neither compares with the wonderful prospect of seeing Him face to face, but they are sweet, they are both part of me, both a portion of who I am. One is any meeting room, particularly the meeting room in Hemet. I find the Lord there. I find friends there. I find comfort and rest there. I also find structure, food, affection, and welcome. It's the closest thing to Heaven I think, those Sunday mornings when we come to together to sing His praises, in unison, in worship, in love. I don't get a sermon, that's for another time. I don't look for teaching then, though our hymnbook has more truth than many churches will ever have.
It's the only place where I find that the Holy Person and work of Christ is fully, jealously cherished. Tell me of another. The only place where I know that the Holy Spirit is given His proper liberty and place. It's the only place where I know that the sinless humanity, the perfect atoning work, the eternal sonship, and the recognition of the unspeakable gift that the Father gave to redeem our poor, wretched souls from a lost eternity is faithfully taught.
The other place is Lassen Pines. Oh, how I love the week at Lassen. The fellowship, the ministry, the singing, the food(!). One whole week of the best earth-life has to offer.
But my most favorite time of all there is a moment in the the evening at the fireside circle when, after the sun has gone down behind the trees and the moon is not yet risen, that you can just make out the outline of the forest against the sky, just beyond the lake. The stars are out, twinkling away, far away.
Well, you can imagine my longing when I saw this sweater in a magazine a long time ago.
It looks exactly like this.
Exactly.

Every time I saw the picture I sosososo wanted that sweater. I knew it would be a challenge. I knew it would take a large bite out of my 'good-will bank' with anyone. How to trade on my equity...hmmm. Do I have any abundance of 'good-will' equity with any knitter? Better yet, does any knitter owe me big time? I don't knit. I don't crochet. I do have a mom, and moms always think you're just bounding in sweetness, don't they?

Hey, Mom...

She always comes through. Yay Mom!
This is a close-up (Mom requested) of the lower portion of the tree-line. it's a bit tricky like counted cross stitch as she needs to count stitches to the spot where she can change colors to make the tree design, count again, and change back. (Oh, right, and you knit argyle socks, Mom. I remember.) She says that I can put my own stars on. That way I can put on as many as I like and any where I like.
How generous is that?

Pee Wee Patio

2007-09-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is all it is. We've spent (wasted) hundreds of dollars on plants and flowers over the years, hoping something would grow. Sooner or later everything died. Everything but a spiky, obnoxious asparagus fern and a wimpy aspidistra. (now, now, no need to name call) We've tried bulbs, annuals, perennials, evergreen. We had violets for a while. Jasmine, geraniums, jade plants. Then a potato vine. A struggling, but alive, potato vine. Dauber dug it up the other day so I could put the bricks down. ":WHOA!" he says. He'd never seen anything like this. The roots had created a 'basket'. They were so tightly bound you couldn't budge a single one. Apparently, I had dug a hole slightly larger than the potted plant, plopped it in and left it. The roots had no place to go. Solid clay all around, so they just wound around themselves over and over. I honestly think that part of the problem has been the capricious sprinkler and the $$ conscious home-owners-assoc. We don't pay a water bill, we don't have control over the sprinklers. I can never tell then, of course, when the watering will stop for whatever reason; plumbing issues, rainy days, broken main, etc. I could (of course) water it all myself by hand, don't you know, but it's much more fun to blame others for my misfortune.
To avoid the later-in-the-day heat, I got to work early. I chopped and dragged the clumps and clods around until I had a relatively smooth-ish surface. Then I swirled a two-by-four across a few times. (how clever am I!) The paving stones went in easily after that. They are a little wobbly and rock a bit if you step on an edge, there is a hill and a valley, but it's done and it will settle. Yes, I could have leveled the dirt with a string contraption, poured a sand layer beneath the paving stones, done all the regulation stuff, but I didn't. I have cautioned Gramma to step gingerly and always tie Bobby up when she takes him out with her. He will take off and never come back.

Hot Day to Hot Day

2007-08-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

We haven't got much energy these days. It's been so hot and humid we can't get motivated by anything!
Well, not entirely. Knitty is coming to visit, and we're also doing some much needed remodeling
Though it's been in the 100's, Mom wants to do some knitting. She's got five daughters, one 'adopted stray' daughter, Debbie, and a friend Darlene(wife of super-handy-fix-it man and all around nice guy, John).
So she wants to knit stuff.

I dragged all of the yarn filled bins from off the shelves in the garage. We lined them up on the drive-way behind the car. Now all she needed was a big, big bag to collect her pickings in. Our own little yarn shop.
Or driveway, if you will.
Mom keeping cool in the chair in her room.
We're having Mom's bathroom remodeled. These are some BEFORE pictures for you.
I've always been concerned about those tempered-glass shower doors. What if she tripped and fell against them? What if they shattered when she leaned on them?

Also, the doorway into the room was so narrow that she couldn't fit her walker in with her without bumping both her hands. Seriously, it is only 23.5 inches wide!

Quiet

2007-07-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

The house is quiet. Sometimes I like quiet. Today I don't. I've got errands to do and I'll do them, alone.
The thing is, Mom is still in the convalescent hospital and Bobby is still boarding. I took him to Vicky's before I left for Lassen. We thought it would be best that he have doggie company all the live long day while we are both away. I'll bring him home when Mom is back.
Chuggy and I decided to put Mom in the hospital the Wednesday before last. Lots of little things added up to a ten day stay and a week in the Village.
First, a bad case of pink-eye. Then a slurry speech pattern and signs of memory loss. When she told me that it hurts to 'go' and she had a fever of 101, I thought it was time. She admitted that it hurt all the way up to her shoulders...eek!
"Is that why you wanted me to buy cranberry juice?"
After much negotiating, (which seems to be the way we do this anymore) we were able to convince her to let us get her medical help.
We did fall through the cracks at HVMC emergency this time, though.
The wait in the waiting room was short, maybe an hour. When we were in a room with a bed the first thing they wanted was a urine sample and so she toddled off to the loo.
A man came in then, an ordinary man in plain scrubs with a stethoscope.
"Are you Janet?"
Thinking he was a nurse or a lab person or something I told him she was in the bathroom but would be right back. After 20 minutes I followed her, only to discover a frustrated gramma. See, the last few weeks she has had trouble with her over active bladder and now she couldn't go at all! Oh well. She got back into bed, got comfortable.
They took x-rays, blood, took her temperature, blood pressure, and put in a catheter.
We were in a four bed unit and I listened to the various maladies come and go; stomach aches, broken bones, high fevers, malaise. When four hours and six fellow patients had passed, I questioned the attending nurse.
"Oh, she's going to be admitted. She has uro-sepsis; a severe urinary tract infection, and she'll need IV antibiotics. Her temperature is 102, her blood sugar is off the charts and her blood pressure is high and highly erratic."
WHAT?
I waited another hour and then I wended my way to the nurses station. I just stood there and looked at our nurse.
And I stood there.
And stood there.
"Is everything okay, Ma'am?"
"I don't understand," I said.
"You don't die from broken bones. You don't die from malaise, or upset stomachs, or usually, from fever. You do die from sepsis, especially if you are a diabetic. Every other patient in our unit has seen the doctor, some beds twice over.
WHEN WILL MY MOTHER SEE A DOCTOR???? It's been five hours!"
I do not like this pushy-loud part of me but Chuggy says that my 'scrappy-ness' is what has kept Mom going.
We had a brief/hot discussion about his 'job description' (ie: BTW make sure patient sees a doctor) and I suggested that I see his supervisor.
It turns out that the (plain, unidentified, and un-labeled) man who had come in right when we'd arrived was said doctor and he had gone on to other patients and had forgotten to come back. He'd read the lab reports, made a diagnosis, prescribed antibiotic, and admitted her to the hospital, all without ever seeing her.
The nursing supervisor was all apologies; "I've spoken with the doctor and explained to him that this is unacceptable, but please understand, we do not have authority over them or their routine. Danny is an excellent nurse, this is so out of character."
I stumbled home at 2:00am.
I called Brocks to let them know I was home.
Mom was safe.

BTW, cranberry juice is not medicine, Mom. Once you have an infection only antibiotic will help.

Jan's Jasmine Bower

2007-05-30T08:51:00.001-07:00

This is how I start my day.
I mean, officially after my walk and after I make coffee, then my day really begins.
I'm good at delayed gratification, I guess. I think about that first steaming cup as I get out if bed at 6:00am. Coffee is off in the future by at least an hour, but it is a reason to get up in the morning,

I'm usually home by 7:00am. It's so fresh and quiet out at that time, except for the morning traffic, the school kids, and the road crews.
I try to take Elizabeth Elliot's advice and use the time for prayer. She said once that she found she spent more time 'wool gathering' if she prayed on her knees first thing in the morning, so she walks and talks with the Lord outside.
It's a good time to marvel at God's grace, His creation, His patience with mankind. It's also a good time to spread my thoughts out, to really consider what I want to ask the Lord about, what I want Him to do, what I want Him to help me do.
Then, when I get home I release Bobby, hang up my jacket and bag, fill the kettle, and set up the coffee grounds and filter.
I make only two cups; one for me and one for Mom. We sit on the patio and greet the day together. I love my Mom.

One Last Prom Dress

2007-05-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, enough already. I wanted you to see the last one, anyway.
Madison has come to me several times in the past, for alterations and for the (in)famous 'Mini Beauty and the Beast' dress.
This is her Senior Year and this is her dress.
She'd found one she liked on-line but, as is the nature of the business, all the site would tell her was where to go to buy the dress, not how much, (each store will have their own inflated price, apparently.) nor what sizes and colors.

I said I would give it a shot. As it often happens, after I agree to do the job, numerous 'incidentals' pop up, like; hot gluing rhinestones down the front, an anatomically impossible back 'drop' and more super-extra push-up padding. I still didn't get the back to be as low as she'd wanted. I tried to explain that the curve of the waist wrap couldn't go any lower and be still connected, aesthetically or physically, to the front. If I had made the front bodice longer, to her hips, maybe. The angle was almost impossible to bias drape as it was; the back piece was shaped like a fat 'S'. Add to that, fitting in an invisible zipper that didn't catch on the fabric was no picnic. The fish-tail is just a long bias tube that is stitched in the whole length of the back skirt seam and then gathered into the hip yoke and allowed to drape free.

Sometimes I have to start out with two simple questions;
"How is it going to stay up?"
"When can I talk to your Mom?"

Tortellini Alfresco

2007-05-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

SAJ came for the evening and had supper with us outside on the patio.
Appropriately, we had Italian food. Tri-colored tortellini with butter, parmesan, and tomato sauce.
We had the fountain going and it makes such a pleasant sound.
Helena wanted to visit it up close, so I happily obliged.

Audrey

2007-05-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the actress with the dress on so you can see it too.

Prom Time

2007-05-10T18:09:00.001-07:00

She's always loved Audrey. I think she has seen every single film that Audrey has made. We think Liz looks a little like her favorite movie star, too. She even wears the '60s sunglasses.
This is Liz's senior year in high school and her mom said she could have any dress she wants for her Senior Prom. So they came to me with a 'still' of Audrey Hepburn in this dress. We weren't able to find the gauzy black overlay/white satin, so we improvised with a bordered linen. It works. Liz can take off the outer skirt to dance or when it just gets too heavy. I tell you, it sure got heavy for me!
(She did have to remove the belly ring, though. It showed through)

I love my new shop.

2007-05-02T20:55:00.001-07:00

I loved my old shop. For a while, anyway. I can see myself here for a long time; the Lord willing and the creek don't rise! I am not yet hairless and nail-less but, I am sleeping better. I was having identity issues all day yesterday. One minute I am super-unpacker, the next minute I am chief construction decision maker, the next minute I am opening day hostess, the next I am professional shopkeeper with clients at the door, and last, but not least, I am (more flies with honey, more flies with honey) AT&T cage rattle-er. The rep switched my phone line to the wrong building, told me I needed to call a private pro to have my line 'strung' to my building, and left. big sigh. It's straightened out now, my phone rings, has rung all day.

Prom season is upon us.

Moving Day At Last

2007-04-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Packing up the shop of 17 years took some doing. I scavenged about 20 boxes from the recycle dumpster. Not enough. My helper client Norma brought 10 more. Still not enough. I ended up taking anything at all (that was dry) also from the dumpster.

I was so thankful for all of the help. My Farmer's Corner neighbor, Tom Thompson, offered to let us use his truck and trailer. I thought we would just borrow it but, he said he would come help, too! We did need to make two trips as the boxes were all little and so we couldn't make much of a 'battlement' on the flat-bed. Most of this is fabric, a little is machines, thread, tools, paperwork stuff. Some if it is junk that I'd forgotten about. We asked if we could use another adjacent unit to store stuff while we built counters and partitions. Good thing. It's alot.

The Bare Bones of It

2007-04-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

I asked SAJ and Jensen to come to take measurements yesterday. We had a major brainstorm session. We thought out loud and we pondered. We arranged things in our heads, on paper, (this way? that way?) and then switched it all around. Definitely thinking outside the box. SAJ is so good at that. She does all kinds of mental gymnastics and even though (she knows) it all needs to pass the 'how will it affect the client' test, she's willing to hash it around for hours!

Bro.Jensen? He just wants the final measurements. How much lumber will I need? Which means I have to make up my mind...
Will the work counter be better here, or there? or over there? He will build it however I want. I deal with this broadness of possibility with my clients all the time. I like to give two, maybe three options so as to not overwhelm with choices. Now the shoe is on the other foot!
I think I have the best configuration in my mind now. That is, until tomorrow.
On the lighter side, as we were laying down the measuring tape here and there, one of us would hold it down (usually with a foot) while one would check the numbers. We had done this numerous times when we noticed that little Miss was following us about 'stamping' on the measureing tape! She is getting very observant and loves to mimic. And explore. And comment. What a joy.

Moving On

2007-04-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Years ago we went to a trade show for 'Starving Artists' at the Oakland Coliseum. I think we (mom) bought at least half a dozen very cheap, but beautiful and original paintings. One of my favorites is above the fireplace here at home. It's a landscape of a rustic shed/barn set in the California mountains. Mom has one in her bedroom that used to hang in our living room in San Leandro. It's a unique seascape done in deep pinks and olive greens.
This one was Chuggys. She says I can keep it and hang it in my new shop. I'm hoping to use it as my new color palette.

YES! I'm moving my business after 17 years.
The whole, sad and long story is that the new owners of the mall have raised my rent 60%, voided my three year lease (yes, that's illegal) and expect me to accept their terms by next week.
I am one of seven tenants who've made this choice.
After a season of bewilderment, panic, and despair,
then prayer, contemplation, consideration, and waiting on the Lord, I've decided it is time to move on. The more I weighed the pros/cons, the more I've wondered what took me so long. Nonetheless, if this is what the Lord needs to use to pry me out of a more and more unacceptable location, that's OK.
It's a little scary, a little exciting.
Granted, the original rent was dirt cheap (.56c PSF)and I could insist legally that my lease be honored, but why fight it? I can pay as much as they're asking and go somewhere where I'm on the ground floor and six feet from the parking lot! This will be easier for my 'senior' clients, whom I've decided to cater to as they don't need me to be open Saturdays.
I plan to move next weekend and, yes, I will blog a before-after.
Now I need to go wrap a shower present for Renee.

Daniel's Birthday

2007-04-07T10:12:00.001-07:00

We went to Brocolli's last night. Gramma gave Dahbert a real live BONSAI for his birthday. He's tried (and failed) to create one on his own so now he has an already started Japanese Juniper and directions.

The Long Weekend and A Sweet Goodbye

2007-03-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

"I really want to go." Mom says to me.
We'd received the invitation to Jim and Gen's 70th anniversary party in the mail that day.
"They were my friends and mentors, a great help to me personally when we moved to California from Japan."
To those of you who know some history, this was the worst of times in our family.
We knew it would be 'complicated', a party with lots of awkward-ness.
We prayed for a safe trip, a sweet reunion, a fitting tribute.
It was all that and more.

We left Hemet early (6:45am) on Friday morning, drove though Adelanto and straight into San Leandro.
We drove up to SLHS by, you guessed it, 3:15pm. Mom thought we should come back when there weren't so many students (or Police Cars!) so I went to Bancroft instead.
I let myself into the Music Hall/Gymnasium, peeked into the Band Room, and just wandered around the campus to my heart's content, up and down stairs and out to the central courtyard.
A little later I did the same at the High School. When I got strange looks, I just said I'd graduated from here 32 years ago and I was enjoying some memories. I found my old locker, stopped and looked at Mr. Jensen's classroom, walked the old halls. They've built a new two-story wing across the end of the Quad, skylights in the roof of the upstairs hallways, filled the outside paved area behind the cafeteria with portables.
It was still pretty much how I remembered.
I liked High School.
Mom had a nice nap.
We drove down to Broadmoor, bought fake Duffy's ice cream (it's now Lourd's), spent an hour with Barbara, toured our old home.
Back up E14th Street; no Cessy's, no Great Earth Sandwiches.
The Bay Area is beautiful, green, cool, and verdant.
Plenty of crowded, skinny streets. Freeways are bedlam. Bay Fair has a Kohl's, a Chevy's, a smaller parking lot.
No Thanks!
The party was very moving. About 80 attended. Jim was his same wacky self. Genevieve lasted only an hour before she became disoriented and fidgety. I think she recognized only about half of the folks who greeted her. It was bitter-sweet. I'll have good memories of her. We were invited back along with others, for supper.
The day will be hard to describe, it brought with it incredible joy, incredible sorrow. I found myself face to face with what we've lost. What I've lost. Not having seen some for 25 or more years, knowing I'll not see them again this side of Glory. In this photo you can see Vivian, Karen, Roy, Anita, Paul, Linda, Sandy, Wesley.
Lila had a number of pictures of her brother's family, too.
I was tired.
It was hard.
The next day was all-day-meeting in Oakland. Jim broke the bread. Dave I. closed the meeting with Acts 1:11.
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner...

After the weekend was over, after we had all gone our separate and disparate ways, after all the time, words, loss, and memories, He is, and always will be, the same.
Lord of all then, Lord of all now.
What a rebuke.
What an ultimate comfort.

Mom wanted this special shot of her, Setsu, and Kimi. These dear ladies used to bring sushi to all-day-meeting when we lived here.
We left right after lunch and made it home by 10:00pm.
We are thankful for your prayers.
it was a good trip.

More Patio Progress

2007-03-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is how we started things.
It worked well until I noticed a few strange things that, when strung together, spelled
T R O U B L E !
First; there were little muddy footprints on the living room sofa. (Strange, he doesn't like dirty feet.)
Second; lots of muddy mess on the newly erected swing. HUH?

Third; if you notice, there is an herb garden in a window box on the fence behind the swing.
It was a tilted and dug up mess.
The conclusion we arrived at was that Bobby had tried to jump the fence using all of the available furniture and pots as a spring board.
This is really odd because, he is such a home-body and doesn't ever try to dig out or get away.
Well, maybe once when we left the kitchen door and the garage door open at the same time by mistake and he wandered off.
Here are some pots showing off.
I love the bright pink of the Cyclamen.
Since I took this photo (and we've had the escape attempt) I've decided to switch every thing around 180 degrees. We moved the swing to where the table is and the table to where the swing was.
It works just as well.
This is where we eat breakfast and supper every day now.
The next thing we had to change was moving this poor plant!
I'd come out here in the morning and find it mashed flat.
I couldn't figure it out for the longest time.
Then I discovered that the nesting Mourning Doves were using it as a landing strip!
Squishing it every which way, every time. I think they might have built a nest in it sooner or later. Too, too bad.

This is Dauber's BONSAI effort.
He's hung chains from particular branches on this fledgling Japanese Maple.
He thought it was too crowded together at the top, needed more 'air'.

sigh

What Exciting Housemates I Have!

2007-03-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

This is a typical evening here.
A fire in the fireplace,
Gramma 'reading' a book,
Bobby entertaining us both.

Neither one knows I took their picture.

Home Depot Days

2007-02-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

We thought we'd stop to get a few things.
I still needed to buy the concrete mix for the patio steps railing,
clamps, nozzles, and blooms.
Chuggy met us inside and we did our 'indoor' shopping first. Chugs bravely resisted the allure of the Garden Department, purposely going out the front doors without looking back.
Good for her! There is never a lack of delightful and fragrant possibilities out there.
As we were searching for potted dill, LadyBug snuck up on us and gave me a big hug!
SURPRISE!
She was there re-planning her demolished garden too.
There were no drive-around buggies available for the first half hour but then we saw one heading out to the parking lot so we shamelessly followed her. The kind lady dropped a pot as she was unloading and we felt bad.
It was only Fountain Grass and so it was no worse for wear.
Sad, really, because we were trying SO hard not to be pushy, walking far back. Rapunzel then drove us back inside.
When we finally got Gramma into it, she was so very grateful.
These always make her shopping day nicer, and much less tiring.
I think I'll try a coral-to-peach flower palette this year, with a little dark purple to accent. Last year we had pale yellow, dark yellow, and white...it was so sweet and gentle.

It's a wonder that there is any room in there for Gramma!
(Move over, Bobby!)

Look What I Found!

2007-02-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a pretty wall fountain, have been for a few years. I wanted one that was self contained, not attached to a hose or any other water because we are up-hill from the condo next door and the drainage would seep into their garage. (this patio wall is their garage wall, too) The erosion and shifting of soil over the years has made our row of homes leak into each other so we try to be careful.
This one takes about two gallons of water and re-circulates it over and over.
It has a little 10 watt bulb in the pool so it lights up at night.
Or during the day if you like.
Now I just need to hook it up!
We'll need to string an all- weather electrical conduit anyway, there are no sockets on that wall. I'll try to hide it in the ivy when there's more of it.
Isn't it beautiful how the ivy is already covering the side? Very old style, yet brand new! It even has cracks and ancient mouldy stains!
We'll have our own Old World Italian Garden!
Mom already is looking forward to spending the morning out here with her coffee and Bobby.

President's Day

2007-02-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's interesting to see a before and after
This is what our beautiful Bougainvillea looked like last Autumn.
We've had it freeze back even further than this and come back.
By further, I mean all the way to the ground!
I expect J/Broccoli today, to help me a little(alot).
We'll finish the side yard paving stones,
"plant" a railing/banister for Mom to use at the steps,
dig up the Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) in the front yard, separate the corms and give some to Chuggy.
Maybe plant Iris in the bare places in the back.
Carolina Jasmine.
Cape Blue Plumbago.
Potato Vine.
2nd Plumbago. (little)
just a peek next to the cable dome.
Fountain Grass.
a few fronds visible in front of neighbor's garbage can

The Carolina Jasmine is no worse for wear, as you can see.
I think we'll plant the Iris (Mom's favorite flower) in the dirt triangle near the curb curve.

My WELL PROTECTED Sweet Pea Plot!
Tiny and wimpy, I know, but I'm pleased with it.
I was able to successfully save some!
Last year (and the year before) the gardener, not recognizing them, raked them away!

The gardening service is hired by the home owners asso.
Even though they are adept at mowing, pruning, and clearing brush, I wonder if the workers know much about plants?

Sorry, sorry socks.

2007-02-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

As far as I'm concerned, I don't care if Kate gives me anything else for my birthday.
I'll need another pair by October, don't you think?
I put them on as soon as I get home from work or wherever.
I regretfully take them off at night.
I'd wear them to sleep but, hot feet give me nightmares.
Usually I have a pair if slippers on, too...not always, though.
They are the very expression of comfort.
Thank you again, Kate!

Happy Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

I know, I know!
No need to remind me that I am a whine-y Californian...change the weather two degress and I curl up and die!
Oh, the pain!
The indignity!
The work involved in restoring my beloved, tiny, (warm, sunny, southwest) patio.
(Which is actually on the northeast side)

We had two errands to do before 8:00am today. Mom needed to get her blood-work done and Bobby needs his Rabies/Distemper/Parvo vaccines. Pretty risky to ask non-morning-person me to do this, you know. There was a probability I would drop the wrong senior citizen off at the wrong doctor.
"How did it go, Mom?"
"Woof!"

Mom has re-started her loom afghans.
It's so nice to cuddle up with a crazy patchwork blanket like this.
I rememeber her making these for as long as I can remember.
Bobby claims anything that is on the floor, as you can see.

Frozen Patio

2007-01-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

I hope, by now, that the strange cold-snap is finally over.
We lost so many of our favorite plants!
This is what's left of a very large Jade plant. It used to be about four feet across and three feet high. So lush and oriental looking. Gone for good, as you can see.
I bought a pony-pack of pansies to console me and remind me that Spring in California can't be far off.

After the third night of below freezing weather, I brought every single plant inside off the patio.
We (used to) have about 10 hanging spider plants. No more.
I was able to save most, clipping and clearing out frozen/slimy leaves.

This one didn't make it.
The dining room started to reek after two weeks.
I filled several grocery sacks with debris.

Our naked patio.
We'll start re-potting and planting soon.

Johanna's Dress in Progress

2007-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

Details of the bodice;
Pearls, channel stitching, and lace.
She originally wanted to smock the bodice front-piece.
It really added bulk, took too long, and a client of mine told her of pre-decorated yardage.
Whoohoo!

We decided that the collar ruffles were a little too high.
I took them down a whole inch.

Working on the lining.

Finished completely @ 5:30pm, January 18th!!

Frosty Feathered Fantasy Bridal Shower

2007-01-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

As you can guess...my helpers couldn't figure out what I was doing at first.
"Feather Boas?"
"Twinkle Lights?"
"Feather Dusters??"
"White color scheme?"
My vision was fairy-like.

Icy and soft.

LadyBug had picked up some 'clearance' Christmas twinkle lights.
They came with several programs;

Quick Glittery Twinkle
Psychotic Spastic Strobe
(my favorite!)
and the one we settled on;

Softly Rolling Stars.

It was SO beautiful!

Everyone stopped short at the doorway to look.
We added twice as many vases as this.
The feather dusters came out of the packaging stiff and pokey.
We had to crush and break the stems so that they would droop more.

Mrs Cupcake and I spent the evening before making itty bitty hats for dessert.
The recipe was simple; turn a shaved flat cupcake upside down on a sugar cookie.
Pour microwaved canned frosting over top.

One of the more successful attempts.
I'd seen the idea on the web.
It originally was for Easter Bonnet type hats using pastel colored frosting, jelly beans, and rolling out Starbursts candy for ribbon.

In typical family fashion, I chose to try a new, untried,(and un-proven) idea at a special event.

We got so punchy by the end of the evening...
This poor hat got it all!

And in typical kedgy fashion, I complanied that they weren't perfect.

Pretty, pretty girls

2007-01-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

I can imagine it already...I can because I've been this road before.
Little Girls. Matching dresses.
The last batches are in their teens by now.
Glory/Lory are 17/18.
What can I imagine, you ask?
A never ending stream of adorable matching dresses for adorable little nieces.
That's what.

Mrs. Cupcake came to me, right before Conference mind you, and asked if I could help.
"Everyone's sick or getting there. I so wanted them all to match at Burbank. These are the dresses they were to wear in South Dakota."
I thought I could work them in.

As you can see, only the littlest is camera ready. I wonder why that is?

Now if we could convince Rapunzel that she needs to keep the fuzzy shrug on with the dress all the time. Seems like she prefers to be bare.
She drew me some personalized designs one day.
This MeanOldAuntie told her that I was not interested in sewing her more dresses if she was not going to wear the one I did make.
How grumpy is that?

Smocking

2006-12-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

Gramma's been busy!
A little dress for Dolly.
I added the doggies for a bit if fun.

How did I do?

2006-12-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

video!

This man walks into my shop in late October.
He asks me if I can make any dress he'd want.
"Within reason." I said.
"My wife is a fan of the pop singer Paula Cole. Her favorite music video is 'I don't want to wait.'
"Can you make the dress on that video? Can you make it a surprise?" "Let me look at the video, and I'll get back to you." I had to find the video on-line, watch it, and guess alot. Which fabric/color? What were her measurements? (Size 12-14 he said. Sigh) How tall is she? (6 feet, 140lbs. That sounds about right) Why can't I ever get a decent look at the details...the silly girl won't hold still long enough for me to get a good look. Flailing about. Rolling around on the floor. Jumping and spinning. The pause button can only do so much.
Why can't I ever see these women? Can't you bring me a blouse or a skirt so I can be sure?
After trying about four different patterns and three different fabrics, I settled on a beautiful sheer chiffon knit, stretch lace and serged every possible edge.

Who's that in the mirror?

I finished it yesterday.
I think I have the jabot tied too high. I'll lower it before he comes today.
He wants to see it before I Christmas gift wrap it for him.
(non-gift wrapping male. Extra $20.00)

Look, Look!!!

2006-12-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

This has been our sink for the last 3000 or so hours; approximately 18 days.(I don't do math...)
Finally we got the word! The new counter was on it's way.
Shows how much I know, I thought they would drop it on and be on their way.
Between 11:00am and 2:00pm they said.
I was required to be there for the whole process and as there was no sign of a counter installer in the neighborhood yet, I shut down work at noon and wandered over to JoAnn's for a bit of shopping. I got as far as the Florida/Yale intersection when my phone rang. "They're here!"
JJensen and I had pulled the stove out this morning so they had lots of room. Two quiet and very efficient non-english speaking workmen walked in.
Gray Shirt was the assistant
White Shirt was an extremely competent Corian employee

Here they were testing the template for the bigger counter.
I never saw them take a break.
Notice the daylight?
Five hours later.
No more daylight.
I was astonished at the work ethic.
Fit
Adjust
Wiggle
Trim
Over and over again.
.
We then had to take a drive to Home Depot.
Gotta have a new disposal, after all.

Here is Mrs. Cupcake paging a plumbing section employee for us. Pronto! There they were. Imagine my surprise.
WOW! It really helps to be so cute.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, birthday girl!!

Counters and Sink

2006-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

We had been wanting to do this for quite awhile. The time was never right and the finances were always leaning in another direction. One weekend in November, Mom and I chanced to go to Home Depot. We'd heard that they, as well as Lowe's, were having a promotion of a free seamless sink with the purchase of Corian (!) counter tops. Should we?
We'd went to look at styles earlier at Lowe's and had gotten a ball-park price. hmmm. I made an appointment with the Home Depot home-decorating department, we went to get the earlier mentioned bulbs, and sat down with a salesman and our home figured measurements. Everything was so simple, the price was good and fair, and the sink was free! ($600.00 value) We were very thankful. The Lord was definitely blessing us.
I hadn't used my Home Depot charge card in a while, so I went to Customer Service to get a temporary one. While waiting in line I noticed another promotion; If you or a family member was currently serving in the U.S. military, was ever in the military, was in the reserves, whether retired or active, you could get another 10% off your entire purchase today because of Veteran's Day. hmmm.
Hey Mom! Could you lay your hands on anything to prove I was somehow related to someone who'd sometime served? I needed to bring proof back to apply the discount. I knew that I had a cousin (Greg) who was currently an officer in the Army. A nephew (Chris) who was newly enlisted, A brother (Dan) who'd served in the Navy. A father who was in the Navy Reserves. A grandfather who'd served in the Student Army Training Corps (playing football). Two Great-Great Grandfathers (Oswald McLaughlin & Thomas White) who'd served in the Civil War, and last but not least, Isaac Jones, who'd served in the Revolutionary War! Now to get at least one document! Leave it to Mom. She found Grandpa Charles' discharge papers and Grandpa McLaughlin's pensionpapers; $2.00 a month.
Way to go Mom!
Come to think if it, who doesn't have someone, if their family has been in the country for at least 50 years...we've had the draft, after all. It's the proof that's a challenge.
Cupcake and Trucker came and ripped out the existing Formica, the template man came on Tuesday, and now we wait for the custom-poured counter...on December 13th. hmmm
Along time to wait. A lot to be thankful for.
Meanwhile we use a bucket for a sink, cutting boards for counters, and have the microwave, toaster oven, and fruit basket on the table.
And use a lot of paper plates.

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Kilcup

2006-11-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

Matt and Carolyn's big day.
The first of the six Fournier Weddings.
I was asked to help her get dressed, mainly to get her laced into the dress.
Roses and Stephanotis.
The wedding pictures will be on-line in an Web-Photo Album on December 3rd.
www.andreasphotography.8m.com
username: Kilcup
password: 7248
Matt having a sneak-peek. Mom Linda looking beautiful. The wedding was outside and although the weather had been unseasonably warm all week, it turned cold the night before the ceremony. The Wedding Party was shivering all through the rehearsal. We loaned out as many sweaters and coats as we had. Good thing Linda had a furry sweater! We put it on her chair so she wouldn't have to wear it up the aisle

One last kiss! then it was off to the photo shoot.
Matt had the sweetest little prayer with us before it all started.

Gardening Gramma

2006-11-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

She wanted to get those bulbs in the ground while it was still November, so one afternoon she loaded her walker with shovel and bulb bags, clipped her companion's leash on to the frame and off they went. She planted some mini daffodils and I finished up yesterday morning with some paper-whites, standard daffodils, and narcissus.
Bobby helping with the watering...

It should be so pretty in here January, especially with all of Bobby's constant help.

We are braving the Mall today. (Official start of Christmas Shopping) We need to shop for some January Birthday Girls.
Though we have a smocked dress started for the little Canadian, she wanted to get some big girl panties, too. I also need to go to JoAnn's for some lining fabric for 'Soon-To-Be-14'. I found a sheer summertime silk overdress at the vintage clothing store in my mall. Very beautiful, but needs another layer to be right. I'll post a photo after I get the whole thing together.

Sweet Suki

2006-11-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

Recently a client brought me a chambray 'country-western' jacket to shorten. The challenge was that the entire front was made up of 1" fabric strips woven in a basket weave.
Each intersection was decorated with a 1/2" 'jewel' that had to be removed. After taking off about 20 gems, I thought of a little girl who likes her 'BLING'. When shopping with her she is always drawn toward the glitzy and the twinkly. The next time I went to Ross I looked for something workable as her birthday was coming up soon.

I found this little jeans jacket and it already had lots of brads and studs on the front and the collar.
I added the ones I'd collected, a few little dangling people we had wandering around, some tiny pink pierced earrings, and voila! A favorite gift! ,

I also found this extra soft boucle' sweater at Ross for $3.99! A present from Great-Gramma.
Modeling both at the same time. She wore the jacket to Sunday School.
The birthday girl and her wonderful mom. For more on the party, go to Camp Chaos, and then click on SuperChic for a slide show!

Japan

2006-11-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

Walt and Anna sent these photos to me today.
They are sitting in the Fujishiro's living room, in Yokohama, Japan.
I wanted you to see this photo first
because...
I'm in the other. There I am in the back row with my hand on sister Fujishiro's shoulder in 1978!
(Click on the photo for a closer look.)
Walt collected a few photos from the 'Fujishiro Photo Album' when he and his dear wife visited the assemblies there recently. Mr. Fujishiro is beside her, under the clock. Chiye Yamanaka is on the left end of the second row, black blouse & big smile.
Tomezo is three from the right on the front row, red tie.
Brother Takashima is on the right end of the first row. He was the one who met me at the train station the first time I came. He suggested I stay still and he would find me in the crowd, instead of the other way around. Go figure.
As Walt and Anna know now themselves, you pose for a lot of pictures when you go there!
It was a very happy time for me, adventurous, reminiscent, memorable.

Oodles of Noodles

2006-11-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

One of my most challenging dresses was a formal I was asked to make for an un-named religious group that has a compound/movie studio in the area.
I was not allowed to ever meet the wearer of the garment. Never.
I was given her measurements and a magazine page of the dress I was to create for her. No fittings, no adjustments, no questions.
They were having a Hollywood Gala during the Christmas season a few years ago.
I was told what to do and not by a person of any authority.
Every time I had a question about a particular point, whether fabric, cut, or drape, she left, went back to her superiors, got the answer, and returned.
We disagreed on any number of things. Mostly that I couldn't meet the girl. I ended up doing what she asked. I put the money in the bank. The questionable source of the money bothered me for quite a while until I put it in the perspective of a legitimate business transaction; funds for services rendered.
The agent had some wild ideas, I had other ideas. Finally we decided on a noodle-type of fringe. Cutting fringe from pre-sewn flaps wasn't working. Not enough volume. Not enough dimension. I fought against the path of making individual fingers, dreading the sheer volume of the job. She assured me that I would be fairly compensated. Still...
The two of us discussed the approach in several ways.
Her idea, which I finally and very reluctantly agreed to do, was to cut lots of eight" x six" squares of very sheer tricot fabric,

Stretch the block out as far as it goes, to arms length if you can, so that the sides curl in and it makes a tube-y thingy.

Do it again about 4000 times.
And I mean FOUR THOUSAND times.
Pile a bunch in your lap.
Take out one at a time.
Fold each link in half lengthwise, sew them together across the fold, one after the other, like hot dogs in a package.
Take each row (of about 100) to the cutting table and trim the edges like you would trim bangs, to make them even.

Put it on a flat piece to make a skirt with a modest train and attach it eventually to a bodice of bias cut satin. A long waisted bodice that is halter style and only a single spaghetti strap to hold it up. Or on. Or nothing. Oh dear. I stitched that poor strap good. That dress was HEAVY! Poor girl. I never knew if it fit or if she could even get into it.
I had Jailgy come over to give me moral support, commiserate on the injustices of life, take pictures.
Not only was the experience demanding and frustrating to my professional integrity, (I couldn't allow for alterations, fit, or anything! )
I learned alot about the hierarchy of the people, the protective nature of those in leadership positions toward those of lesser status, the condescension and disrespect of those 'outside'. Including me.

Recent (and not so recent) Projects

2006-11-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

The Big Pillows are GONE!!! Yippee! (see 10/12; the most frustrating part of my job) Check went in the bank Saturday. I was beginning to feel like I was working in a wide spot of a Corn Maze, or an Obstacle Course. Or a Flea Market. And I was letting the clutter-containment part of my job get away from me, thinking "What's the use?" Now I can see my way clear to the back. Now I have room and can tell it's been a long time since I vacuumed. Also, I was beginning to stack & pile projects. Not a good sign. I can't tell what order the work is in if things are spread out all over.
This is the back view of a 'Belle' Halloween costume from Beauty and the Beast. She actually brought me only an un-colored coloring book page. "I want it just like this only with lots of lace, buttons all over the skirt swags, draped up the back and very, very short. Oh yeah, and it's all-over yellow. Can you make gloves to match?" (gloves?) She was bewildered when, after I tried to draw it, to understand the concept, it "Didn't look anything like the Disney Movie!" Big sigh. Getting into people's heads (read; teenager's) to pull out their ideas and put them in fabric is often challenging. Sometimes not.
She and 'The Beast" had a spat and broke-up the day before the party. Oh well. I think they called a truce for the sake of it. Praise for the resilience of Young Love. She promised me a picture of them both at the party.

More Disneyland Photos

2006-11-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

Early evening.
Riverboat Belles.
It was nice to get off our feet.
Look Mom, I'm drinking water!
I was so glad for my hat.
(And my fashion forward sneakers.)
Pooh and Two.
Two Canadians who came to California without visors or hats! Or at least to D-land, anyway. I think there were some from Sea World, but they were left at home. This was soon remedied $$$! It was so bright and hot that day. If it looks like they had a blast, they did. What memories for them. And for me.

My Best Friend, Mickey Mouse, & Me

2006-11-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

Our times together are always too short.
She came out West with her family to spend some time in the sun.
Only for a week and right in the middle of a busy time for me.
We only got one day together so we made it last!
I drove in to Les and Marion's after Gospel; hit a little traffic and made it by 10:30 p.m. Didn't get to sleep until after midnight, of course.
A really good way to get the blood going! Thunder Mountain Railway first thing in the morning. There were no crowds! It was a Monday and after school had started. We made all of the high ticket rides as soon as we could and meandered the rest of the day. Though the Haunted Mansion was closed for Halloween decorating, Matterhorn for some other reason, we still found plenty to do. Ern is such a good sport! He'd never been before and was willing to let the 'local' map out the day.
Stayed to watch the parade and left at closing-8:00 p.m..
I miss her. She has been my friend since we met in 1978.
My Best Friend for over 25 years.
Truly amazing, truly a gift from God.
This is the picture I put on my dresser, in a frame that she gave me for my birthday this year. It's engraved with the words;
Who wouldn't want to be us?

BBQ Shower

2006-10-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Before it all began.
We planned for maybe fifty. Set up and decorating was so fun, frustrating, rewarding. Making up our minds about the table arrangement almost caused a civil war! Mr. & Mrs. Broccoli and I on one side and Dan'l Boone on the other. He was so full of grand ideas! I can't tell you how many times we moved tables and re-counted chairs!

While we still could claim we were 'Fresh and Lovely'. Not for long! Things got hairy fast.
I'm wearing my new favorite apron. Thank you Josephine! BBmug has been initiated,too!
83 people showed up.
EIGHTY THREE!
CAST IRON CUISINE!
Chile Cheddar Corn Bread,
Honey Butter,
Tangy Coleslaw and Creamy Coleslaw,
Broccoli Bacon and Raisin Salad,
Beef Chili sans Beans,
Boone's Whole Smoked Brisket with BBQ Sauce,
Smoked Sausage Links,
Rosie's Garlic Beans,
Dolores' Spanish Rice with Pesto and Sausage,
Buttered Corn On The Cob,
Vanilla Haagen-Daz with Berry Cobbler for Dessert!!

The Happy, Thankful Couple
Isn't she beautiful? What a glow!
The Main Chopping Fool.
He must have chopped and sliced meat for over an hour and a half. His back was good and sore from leaning over such a low counter. Thank you DOB! We all enjoyed the results.

We had guests from:
La Mesa
Los Angeles
Shadow Hills
Tehachapi
Fullerton
Phoenix
Walla Walla
and Hemet
The Group Gift:
Coleman Camping Stove,
Coleman Lantern,
Skil Saw,
Tool Kits,
Black & Decker Electric Drill Set,
Smoothie Maker,
600(!)Thread Count Queen-Size Sheets

The only photo I took of the clean up.
I think she was trying to wrap up the lights...
Um, un-plug, lay flat, fold together, sorta like that.

Morning Walk.

2006-10-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Every morning (except Saturday) We go for a walk, Bobby and I.
We skip Saturday because it's the one day of the week that I don't have to get out of bed for anything at all.
Not that I get to 'sleep in' much. If you had a seven pound kangaroo jumping on your bed, you wouldn't sleep in either.
Good grief, could I get any more chins to show??
I was hoping this shot would come out!
It's dawn over the golf course. So pretty.
This is as far as Bobby walks, about three blocks. He needs about that much distance to get his business done and then he would stop and sniff every thing in sight if I let him, thus he's in the bag, which he enjoys as well. I continue about two more miles.
This is my dear friend Sarah, my walking buddy of about four years. She is a retired pastor's wife and lives in the mobile home park opposite the golf course. She usually picks up my circuit about half-way, does a whole mile, then drops off at her park entrance as I continue on the rest of the way home. She's wearing an old pair of GG's wool mittens that I gave her; she gets hers out of the moth balls sooner than I. Of course I have new ones now!!
Sarah rescued a nest of duck eggs early this last Spring. She'd been spying on the nesting mother for a while and then realized that the mother had been killed or driven away. She raised six (in her bathtub) and released them back to the pond this Summer. Even though she hatched them, rolling them under a light bulb, none imprinted with her. We laughed when she asked me advice on hatching, as if I'd know! I could sew them a hat or a little jacket, maybe.
She still feels proprietary sometimes, brings food and checks on their welfare. Quack! Quack!

Cell Phone Re-Charger

2006-10-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

I don't suppose anybody is missing this? I was changing my sheets and found it under my bed. Since Knittery was the last one here, maybe it's hers. Eh?
My new red mittens! Thank you Kate! Just in time, too. The weather has been balmy until this morning. We, Bobby and I, don't go walking in the rain. Bobby, because he gets extra stinky when he's wet and is finicky about dirty feet. He'll stop right inside the front door to clean them, right away. I have to step over him to get into the house. Me, because it is a good enough reason to stay by the fire, or in bed, as it were.
Birthdays in my family are like Channukah Celebrations. Presents all month long! We don't always get the gift to the recipient in a timely manner and nobody really cares. I used to apologize until I realized that it's kinda nice to get another gift out of the blue. In fact, I like it alot that way.
This time of year we have so many birthdays all at once. Four in August, Six in September, and Five in October. Other months have two or three, except December, which has Four as well.
These are my cool socks. (Kate again!) I was thinking I needed to dig out my house slippers today. I have an off-season closet in the garage because my closet in my room can't hold both hot and cold season clothes. Now before you call me a princess, the closet measures 47 inches; that's three feet, 11 inches to you in metro land. Or a little more than a meter, I guess.

The Most Frustrating Part of My Job.

2006-10-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

It never fails...even after all these years.
I love my work. I love going to my little shop every day. I really love my clients, mostly anyway.
What I don't love is that I've lost my Crystal Ball.
I can't always tell how much time a particular job will take so since I do my work/jobs in order, I think that's as fair as I can make it. This means; first in - first out, no excuses.
BUT
Every once in a while I have one job that takes me a few days. This means everybody else in line waits until it's done.
My point today is, this is a picture of one of those jobs. The bill is $300.00. Does she come to get it? No. Does she respond to my two phone messages? No.
It sits here in my front room, in the way. (totally disrupting my feng shui, I'm sure.)
For two weeks.
What does happen is that other clients come in to get their things and their things are NOT DONE because I was working on this instead! grrr. I stand there excusing and apologizing. And not a little embarrassed.
And it all sits there mocking me.
99% of the time these things do resolve themselves. People eventually come. The exception being when I'm told (after the fact) that "The cost wasn't worth the price of the garment." (read: I'm never going to come get my jacket.) Be that as it may, you ordered the work. If it is important to you, it's worth the cost of altering. I'll say that up front when the actual labor $$ to invest in altering is greater than the original cost of the garment. Sometimes it just is and that's not a bad thing. Sometimes the store had only the wrong size, it goes with a skirt, or it was on the clearance rack at a ridiculous price anyway.

So I chalk it up to the nature of the beast and count my blessings.

And make certain I get a phone number.

The 10th Annual Rook Tournament

2006-10-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

What a fun time!
There were 13 teams (of two) and that made for three groups for competition: 4/4/5. We all played the other three teams in our group.
Each team of the 'five' group had to wait out a game so it came out even. J was assigned Be Good as he'd no continuing partner and Mrs Good had stayed at home this evening.

My Darling Partner DauBer. He thought my reading glasses would improve his cards.
Or maybe at least his understanding of the risk he was about to take. They certainly made Aunt Wendy smile! By the time we'd finished our second set we had 10 (ten) points.
Six games and we had TEN points.
I don't think I took the bid once. Go figure.
Heather drove down with us and was still able to play a decent game.
She and Brooke were the winners of our group and thus in the semi-finals against the winners of group Three.
That's as far as they got.
Abigail and Kathy VanH sat out a game and so Abs had some advice for dad. It was good to see Kathy. Weezy was Aunt Wendy's partner.

Wayne and Carolyn skunking Weezy & Wendy. It was Karen and Matthew who cleaned up; he kept on getting killer hands! I don't know who won. Maybe Be Good will tell me. We stopped for supper after round two and had round three, plus the semi-finals and finals afterwards.

October 5th!

2006-10-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

I do this once in a while...sew my own finger.
Often it's just a scratch or a slit across the skin.
This time I seriously stitched it.
JBrock wanted to know what color thread I'd used, and if I could leave it in so he could see.
DBrock suggested I get a ring or stud and start a new craze.
The puncture is the entry and the slit is the exit where I tried to yank it out of the machine.

Hey! Thank you for the multitude of birthday wishes! It was fun finding them all over the blogs.
These flowers were brought as a 'Singing Telegram' from the Brocks.
Bree from Arrangement Gallery sang to me as she brought them in to work yesterday.

Thursday

2006-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just got home from Riverside. I took Jaigy home from Kaiser where she had a recommended non-emergency procedure and was unable to drive because of anesthesia after effects. I left after quitting time and made it there in a little more than a hour(traffic). Chuggy dropped her and hubby off this afternoon.
I stopped at Hot Wok on the way past
Lotsa carbs, I know, but so tasty!
And not even a 'before' picture. Sorry folks,
I was HUNGRY.
This was a plate of Salmon Sushi
and California Roll.

Here she is, the birthday girl.

80 years old on the 21st of this month.

Happy Birthday early, Mom!

Bath Day

2006-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Bobby's Bath Day.
As you might imagine by looking at his sorry face, it's not his favorite thing. He is very patient during, but when it's over, he's quite the crazy/mad dog; galloping around, heels over ears, for five minutes! All I have to do is join him with some jumping jacks and he'll keep it up, loving every moment.
He will go to a professional groomer on September 11th. (gulp) It's as soon as they could work him in. Susie, his regular groomer, is a championship trophy and ribbon winner, and a client of mine. I understand that Bob got a 'do at the Broccoli house when he was sleeping over with Gramma. With curlers! What fun. I wish I could've seen it.

Not only Bobby, but Mom is getting a fresh and free (!) Shampoo and Set.
This is the 'Before' picture. She has just recently gotten up and has had her first cup of coffee. On Saturday morning, we don't hurry at all. I don't walk, or even get the mail sometimes. We do all of our errands today. I will take her to the hair salon as soon as we finish our other objectives.

This is Eric, my stylist. He loves Mom, couldn't wait to meet her, and does her little bit of hair for free once a month. Even gave her a permanent! He is somewhat indescribable as I would be accused of hyperbole! (Look it up) Slim and very tall, ex-model, and Hollywood Crazy. He was a steady 'date' for Lana Turner in her later years. Escorted her to lots of film and award functions. Boundless energy, flamboyant, exuberant, even sometimes unashamedly flaky. He used to own a large salon and has done the hair of some very famous celebrities. Semi-Retired and living the quieter life. He does profess to know and love the Lord Jesus, attending a Pentecostal group near here.

I met him through another client of mine; she'd been going to him for her hair appointments and mentioned that she was bringing me some alterations, next thing. He called me immediately as he'd had lost his tailor recently to sickness. We've become mutual clients ever since, often bartering services. I like his energy. He understands my conservative-ness. He does experiment, and I did object. Once. He re-did the shade, bringing the volume down by about half!
I think he wants to adopt Mom.
I told him to get in line.

Back in The Saddle

2006-08-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm home.
I don't know why I can't get the photos to show from my last post? Maybe it's this dinosaur of a lap-top? It's three years old after all. hmmm.
I went right to work on Thursday morning. Right back to the 'To-Do Rack'. It was good to see lots of work to do, good to have it to come home to. I didn't miss too many phone calls; Chuggy monitored the answering machine and the messages. Business tends to slow down in August so it's a good time to be away.
I had a beautiful time in Canada. I saw lots of old/good friends, spent time with #1 Friend, saw a little of St. Thomas, shopped for souveniers and found lots of 'Oh, Canada' memorabilia. It was after Canada Day after all. Most of it was on the clearance racks. Hooray! The hats were a hit!
Surprisingly, I had a little jet-lag. This old frame is feeling every bit like it's nearing the half century(!) mark. Used to be we could zip around forever, like leaving the Bay Area after school on a Friday, driving to Burbank, and then turning around and driving home after Gospel, go to school that very Monday morning. I think that had been an eight hour drive back then? Anyway, it has taken a while for me to feel re-adjusted. Besides, I neglected my two mile morning walk while away. I sure could tell!
Teaching Clementine (we sang about the forty-niner) was a wonderful experience. She was an eager learner, bright and enthusiastic like Josephine was at that age. I'll do it again in a flash. The objectives were perfect, the end result quite satifactory. I owe a lot to Chuggy who helped me organize, prioritize, and plan. She's a planner, that one!

Tuesday

2006-08-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Scrap-book pages;

French Seams
Gathering

Back-tacking
Hems

Standard Seam Allowance
Basting Stitching

WorkBook Cover with Pocket

Moccassins!

Sewing Machine Dust Cover

Me and my Best Pal. I stayed at Walker's Saturday night and was back here after Gospel. She will be over tomorrow, Tuesday, for lunch and then again after supper to take me back to her house for the night. We'll leave at 7:00am on Wednesday morning on Air Canada'a shuttle- JAZZ to Toronto with her on her 'Buddy Pass', have breakfast together at the airport and then she'll fly home to London when I board for San Francisco.

Monday

2006-08-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

Project # 15. We skipped a few to get to little, visual projects. Tuesday we'll go back to the order.
This is a zippered purse with a flap that has braid on it. She braided the shoulder strap from the yellow cord, it made a more substantial strap.
We also did the glitzy blue one with the dangly, beaded trim, but it frayed alot because we wanted to do a drawstring.

The hidden zipper.
Tomorrow we will do projects
# 9: the Calico Cat and Gingham Dog,
Project # 10: the Book-Cover

She was so excited when she saw this book this morning!
Many thanks to Chuggy.
Sue is very impressed and wants you to be thanked especially. She says I'll need to sign it from you when we're done. We opened it Monday morning and I gave C. a little purse size sewing kit to keep for a reward when we finished every page

One page. I will try to make other photos bigger but I think you can enlarge them by clicking on it.

Regrouping with a game of Foos-Ball.
It's hard to fool a girl with three older brothers!
She's won four out of five games, and that is only because of beginner's luck on my part.

Lordsday

2006-08-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

I know, it's Monday...I just haven't had a minute to catch up until tonight. I'll start with yesterday and then do today.
We were all invited to Walker's after meeting for Ham lunch. A pot-luck affaire. Shannon made a new style ham dressing; mixing whipped cream with Dijon mustard. I'll need to get used to it. I hear it plays well in Aberdeen.
Dave and Gwen expect number three this Fall. Madeline is three and Evan just turned two. He has quite the nonsense vocabulary. Unless you are with him in his 'moment' he'll rattle on for a while, entirely expecting you to respond! He is very much a Host. He will pull out little chairs (when he is supposed to) for the girls and ask them to sit. Comment on their plate-fulls, remarking on the difference.
Jim and Lorraine left today for a bus-tour of New York. Ithaca and vicinity. It was nice to see them. He sent fresh corn on the cob to Hayhoe's for me. Apparently he is quite the farmer; he'll plant his sweet corn up wind of his feed corn to limit cross-pollination.
Can't forget Dorrie! How sweet she is. Thanked me for your greeting. I was able to mention you all to Jim and Mary-Jane as well. Jim left this morning for the cottage, taking the two younger boys. They'll work on the buildings and such, doing repairs, fishing and having more lake fun.

P.S. check out www.hayhoehomes.com to see what keeps Will busy all day.

2006-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Project # 7.
Our biggest project yet!
This is a back-pack. Not having a finished item to see before we started was hard for her. She will develop 'Vision' soon enough. We talked about watching Mom bake things, and how they don't look like the finished product in the beginning. Looking at the fabric rectangles and ribbon, and knowing what we were trying to do was hard for her to fathom. She kept after me to reassure her that this was what we were really doing.
We took a little break after this.

Project # 8
We finished the day making "Schrunchies" for Mom. She didn't think she would wear them until Mom pointed out she could wrap both braids into one! Still, she liked the idea of a gift for Mom.
It is good that we can break for the weekend now. She is tiring of the concentration. It's entirely understandable, after all.
The Looby Cousins (Will's sister's children ) came over just before we finished. End of session, in other words...too much distraction. Now they are all in the pool, in the rain!
Shannon is coming shortly to take me home with her for the weekend. I'll stay with her and Ernie until Lord'sday evening when Sue will come to Walker's for a Hot Tub soak with Shannon and me.

Until Monday...

Friday, Day Two

2006-08-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Project # 4
She did such a fine job! We used our 'invisible ink' pen to mark the spacing for the 'blanket' stitches on the envelope flap and she only needed help with tension (so we didn't cut the paper with the golden thread). Threading ribbon through the grommets was easy then. We need practice with knots, but she is getting it now, with the shoes!

Project # 5
How fun is a Wind Sock! We had to set up a room fan because there is no wind today. Hard work, those French Seams. Whew! We were definitely flagging by quitting time today.

Project # 6
She LOVES these shoes! She gets to go back to them when she is done with her daily work. Good idea, Chuggy. It's refreshing to see her reach for them willingly on her own. She does a thread's length worth and then we move on.
Last night's effort. We had too many beads on the strap and we couldn't get the strap through the buckle. It was hard to convince her to do them both at the same time, alternating between, so she isn't overwhelmed with the second time around.

2006-08-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

While I'm waiting for C. to finish breakfast I'll try to catch up a bit.
She flinched when I took this shot yesterday. We are trying to keep focused. Her attention span depends on the project right now. The short ones were a good thing to start with.. She can be done with her work, feel accomplished, and have something to show Mom and Dad. Even though we zoomed through Projects 1, 2, 3, and 4 yesterday, we left some of the duplicate work for later...for her to do on her own. A bit of Gladys Smith, eh? I'll have Sue copy a few of the stitching sheets for her to practice on , too. We need work on straight line, corners, and curves. I think going back to those will be good as she'll have the concept down and it will be just reinforcement.

The Petunias are all in full bloom! Deb is a quiet observer. She's completed all of the yarn/sewing cards twice now. She sits opposite the sewing machine and watches everything.

The greeting cards went over big! She plans to send them to Gramma R. We did two apples and the grommet one. Her hand work is excellent. She conquered the blanket stitch immediately. You'll see it this afternoon.

This is an East Coast phenomenon that I know Grampa Rube will not find as interesting as I did. Apparently he fights this tree pest often. It's called a Tent Caterpillar and the trees are full of them. At first I couldn't figure out what they were, I'd never seen them before.

I asked #3 Son Aaron what they were. He knew all about them and was bewildered by my curiosity.
They find a juction and weave their cocoon, gobbling up the foliage while they mature into a moth.

They're quite a pest, can even destroy entire forests. So much for my fascination. The locals either smoke them to death with smoky rags on long poles or chop the entire branch off and burn them up in bonfires. I found this Federal Website: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/ftc/tentcat.htm

I hear a rambunctious "PIT" game upstairs. Martha Roberts is here overnight with her two youngest. She is on her way to Hamer Bay to see her folks.

Day One

2006-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, I'm in Canada! The flight was good, in fact, the last landing was so smooth we could hardly tell when the plane's wheels touched the ground.

This is my student Caroline. We got through the paperwork (Project#1) in warp speed. She is a quick study, excited and eager to learn. She had so much adrenaline going through her last night it was hard for her to wait until this morning to start. We are working on the greeting cards now. She finished an apple one before lunch,(Project #3!!) and just reminded me that she is ready to go again. In other words-get off the computer!

Here is Project #2 finished!

Trying to take my own picture. It took three tries...
This is the driveway up to the Hayhoe's home. They live on a wooded lot with lots of room. Behind is a fiberglass swimming pool sunk into the ground.

This is my student Caroline cutting the fringe for her Beanie.

Shannon and kids will be over shortly to swim for a little while.
I had a good night's sleep; I went to bed at 10:30pm Eastern Time and slept until 8:00am! (which would be 5:00am to you) More tomorrow! Love, Kedg