Ahead of Schedule and a Little Reflective

Yeah, I am ahead of schedule. I stayed up working last night, as I knew I would. I am a little obsessive compulsive or, as I like to think of it, I am focused. See all those baskets below? They were full of craft stuff. I must admit, I was very American last night. I have two large black trash cans, along with four large 33 gallon bags of trash. I threw away years of STUFF. A lot of it I might regret but nothing that can't be purchased again. I also have bags and bags for Good Will. My studio up north is already filled to the brim. We have no storage and until this house in the valley sells we do not want to build the garage that will give us much needed more room. We already have a huge storage shed rented. Is what it takes when moving from 3300 square feet to 1600 and having had two antique booths that are no longer occupied. I decided last night that I must pretend I am moving, at least every five years, just to go completely through stuff and clean out. Today I will tackle the huge hall closet .  After that it is on to the laundry room ( which is also huge. One of the problems is, when I designed this house, storage was a top priority , thus I have plenty of hiding places for stuff, stuff, stuff. Is shameful actually. Anyway, I am pleased to be making progress. The sooner I can get a lot done the sooner I can take a trip to Mystic Paper or/and have a cup of coffee with my dear friend , Kim. How about it, Kim of Sweet Sage Vintage? Are you free anytime the next few days, for a coffee, or a visit to Mystic with me?

The sun is shining through the door as I took these pictures this morning, not last night.

Just a few of the boxes packed up last night.

Studio closet that one could hardly see any wall space when the door was opened, as it is in this picture!

The item you see still on the shelf is a dust ruffle. I am leaving it, just in case someone wants to keep the wall paper.  

Sweet, isn't it? This typewriter and the package beside it describe pretty much my feelings about packing up the last 25 years of my life. The typewriter belonged to my husband's Texas family. When his aunt died, a few years ago, I had Randy send me pictures when he went home to help his cousins clean out the house. No one but me wanted this beauty. I went on line this past week and found a source for new ribbons for it. The ribbons came on Saturday. I am in love with the vintage of the typewriter and I am in love with the technology that allowed me to find ribbons which will make my treasure usable. Yep, the best of both worlds, the old and the new.

Silence

How does one take a picture of silence?!

Grandy and Chandler left for Pinetop . I am staying to pack up some more closets. My first action after they left was to crawl back in the bed and take a nap. As I write this I am still in my pajamas and think I will remain in them the rest of the day and evening.  My plan is to pack, pack, pack after posting. I know myself. I will be up late working and might even start getting my days and nights a little confused. It is the way I have always been. I haven't asked my mom if I did this as a baby. Huuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmm--

I am hoping things go well for them. Randy is dropping Chandler off to his MaMa Ria to spend the night. Tomorrow is "our"day again, so Grandy will pick him up from school. I told Chandler he would have to help his grandfather cook while I was gone. Chandler told me they could survive on grilled cheese sandwiches. ( one of the few things Grandy knows how to make)

I promised there was more drama waiting in the wings so I will not disappoint if my soap opera life is entertaining you.  

One night last week, Ria got a visit from Robert, Amber's ex-boyfriend. He wanted to let Ria know he did not think Amber should be around Chandler at all. He proceeded to tell her the reason he had kicked Amber out of his house, the first time, shortly after Christmas- was she had pulled out a bag of meth from her pocket. He told Ria that Amber was out bragging the charges against her for ramming his truck were dropped. He said this is not true. They were some word I can't think of at the moment--maybe vacated? Yes, vacated, that's it. I am not sure what that means. Anyway, the dirt continues. He told Ria that he knew for a fact there was a case against her for a hit and run accident. Said she had been to Absolute Distraction ( her favorite bar--  I actually think the name is a great bar name!) and on her way home had hit some teenagers. Seems this event all ties into her taking her car and leaving it parked in a ditch and reporting her car stolen. This incident happened a few weeks ago. These were the main high points of his conversation with Ria. Now, Randy, also known as Grandy, and I think Robert is upset with Amber and this is his motive for all the dirt. Not that we think the dirt isn't true--just that Robert is not the best outstanding citizen around from what we gather soooooooooo

this event does not change anything. Just adds to the soap opera story.

Only other piece of info we have heard is Amber was seen at Absolute Distraction, one day this past week, at lunch time, wasted, with her head down on the bar. The sources were stopping there for lunch and did not stay when they saw Amber was there. This source is reliable. 

Amber has threatened Ria again with taking Chandler and moving to the valley May 1st. This is about the fifth of these threats. They always come when Amber is trying to extract money or having Ria pay a bill for her----same thing as when she was not going to let Chandler come to the valley----

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH--

Again, am just hoping Grandy does not encounter any problems while I am not there to give him support.

I am enjoying the silence in the air right now.  Below are some pictures of some of the not so silent times the past few days. I think, no, I know Chandler had a great time with his cousins and with us this past week. 

Chandler with Mary, mother of my dear friend, Janice's mom. Mary is in town from Wichita and we all met at Peter Piper Pizza. Janice has a birthday this coming week. Her grandchildren will be here from Ohio to celebrate with her. Janice's first grandchild was born on her birthday! Mary is their great grandmother and just listen to what the grandchildren call her-

G.G. Mary---I love it. G. G. stands for Great Grandmother.

Chandler got all sixty one candles on the cake, although by the time they got blown out  a few of them were getting rather short!

The best way to eat cake-dig right in!

I took Chandler by his great grandparents yesterday to swim. They have a diving board while we do not. It was rather sad to me -- not Chandler or the swimming but my parents. It was right before noon and my mom was in bed sleeping and my dad had just laid down on the couch for a nap. I asked dad if he wanted to go outside with me to watch Chandler swim. He said no, he was going to lay down to nap. This was a big surprise to me. I really expected him to want to be with us. I had actually taken Chandler there just to see them. Chandler and I slipped out the gate when we were finished as both Great Grandparents were still sleeping. 

My mom is wearing my dad out. We went out to eat with them earlier this week. It is really getting to the point my mom should not be going out to eat. When I took mother to the bathroom my dad actually told Randy he might have to put mother in a nursing home. I about fell over when Randy told me this. I was hoping to talk to him about this while Chandler swam but decided he needed his rest so as with most things, we will deal with it as is necessary. 

With that last statement I best go get some packing done. It is necessary! Smile.

In Love

If you are In Love with my tales of family drama--- stay tuned. There are acts waiting in the wings. However, I would suggest, if you have the following publication, spending your day perusing the pages. If you do not own it and you like anything to do with love, buy it. I purchased mine at Mystic Paper in downtown Mesa,Arizona but for those of you living elsewhere, I did recently see it at Michaels.

It is by far my favorite Somerset publication.

Oh Yes--This is my second post, within minutes of each other, this morning!!

Cast Your Burdens

Cast your burdens upon the Lord and he will sustain thee.

  Julius Schubring

At the end of a long, hard day, I collapsed on the floor by my bed and began to pray. I felt as if I was going to burst into a million pieces. My head was spinning and my mind was reeling. My soul was tired. As I was praying, the thought came to me. " What do you want, Rozanne?"

I paused and started to ramble about needing this and that. But it came again, " What do you want?"

I stopped and thought. What did I actually want? I realized in that moment that the only thing I really wanted was a breath. I wanted my mind to stop talking so fast and furiously. I wanted to relax. I wanted to look out my window at the lights and simply enjoy them. I wanted to feel encircled with peace and love.

As soon as I had the thought, my mind cleared and I looked at the ceiling. It was gone. The chatter was gone. My ears rang with the sound of quiet.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for an answered prayer.

Ro

The above is today's muse by Ro on the scrapgirls.com website. It was not a long one in text but a heavy one in content. As is often the case, it spoke to me. I have had quite a few peaceful and loving moments while in the valley. My hope is you will have many today.

Bits and Pieces

Chandler's Baseball Try Outs Last Saturday

I secretly love base ball--- but not for the sport!  Chandler is willing to have his hair cut really short so his hair does not interfere with his playing! 

The above is one of my packaging products this month.

The lollipops are chocolate cherry flavored. I cut out ears from felt and sewed to the bags to make them look like bunnies . I used felt on most of them but I ran out of brown felt so the close up below shows paper ears.

This is my other packaging product for April. On the door it says,Come in and smell the scents of the season. There are three candles inside the gable box, one scent for each month. The little yellow sticky is not part of the packaging. My sample, with my business name, was left in Pinetop so I have covered up the name of the client with a piece of yellow sticky. I can't remember if I posted the first one of these houses I created so I have posted below the winter house. The next one I make will be for July, August and September.

Green is my favorite color lately. 

Chandler is at the golf course with his Grandy. He had his first golf lesson today. We are encouraging sports for him. 

Tonight we have supper with my parents and then it will be home to see who is leaving American Idol this week. Last night my husband and I thought Adam stole the show for the guys and the 16 year old girl is amazing. I voted for both of them and then I just had to call in for Danny. I have quite the soft spot in my heart for him since his wife died just a week before the try outs.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week. It has been good to be in the valley away from Pinetop. I actually might be staying down a few extra days next week. We need to take two cars up so we have more flexibility up there. Since there is still much packing to be done down here I might be staying to get some of it accomplished. I am rather looking forward to some alone time. I know I can accomplish a lot without my boys here! Smile.

Lost Dreams

I just wanted to share a photo . One of my favorite photo opportunities is of couples kissing. This is the wonderful man with which I share all of my dreams, be they lost or found.

Below is the beginning and the closing of Saturday's muse from the Scrapgirls newsletter. The story in the body of the muse is different from my story, my dream, but as is so often the case, the beginning and the end have much in common.  

If you would like to read the rest of the muse by Leanne Uwland you will find it here: www.scrapgirls.com

Scroll down the page until on the left hand side you see information about subscribing to the newsletter. Click on the March 21st sample of previous newsletters and then scroll down till you see the muse.

"Now those memories come back to haunt me, they haunt me like a curse, is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse? ( From "The River" by Bruce Springsteen

I can hear those words in the back of my mind sometimes and I wonder about the answer. What are dreams that don't come true? Are they a lie or are they truly something worse? Where do hopes and desires go when they no are no longer possible? Do they just disappear, fade into the distant past, or do they stay with us, taunting us with visions of what could have been?"

Body of muse here---

Closing of muse follows:

"I know the answer now. After twelve years the answer is all too clear. Dreams never leave us. Hopes and wishes don't just fade away. They hide in the dark and come out to play when we sleep. Dreams that don't come true are worse than lies. They leave a hole in your heart and slowly eat away at your soul. These lost dreams defy all explanation. They draw their source not from logic or reason , but from emotion and feeling.They crowd your thoughts until at times there is room for nothing else. They remain as a silent whisper of what could have been."

Luckily mine do not come out to play when I sleep. Sleep gives me a break. Some of my most creative thoughts come when I am falling asleep or awakening. It is why my business is called N Your Dreams.  But during the time my eyes are open and I am not asleep my lost dreams for my daughter certainly defy all explanation . The most telling sentence in the closing for me is the one that goes," They draw their source not from logic or reason, but from emotion and feeling."

When I am able to keep my mind focused on logic and reason I function much better. It is those times when my emotions and feelings take over, that my heart certainly feels like it has a hole in it and my soul is slowly being eaten away. I am grateful though. For all of what happens to me makes me better able to touch someone else and perhaps help mend the hole placed in a heart, which then helps heal a wounded soul- Just as Leanne's words touched me.

Fridays Chronicle

Sometimes I do better when writing in list form because I am such a detail person---tend to want to write every he said, she said, and so forth and so on. Guess this is because I want to hear every single word of a movie and read every single word of a book I am reading. So, with that being said, because there was much drama yesterday, I will try the list approach. I am not promising this will work, you understand!

1.Phone Call from the lady I bought back my hall tree from. Seems she was mistaken about the $350.00 price. I owe her 50 more dollars. After a hurtful and painful conversation with her ( not about the hall tree) about my daughter and her "wisdom", I am putting a check in the mail to her so I do not have to be subject to seeing her again. I did get my chance to kindly tell her were the situation reversed I could not imagine enjoying a piece of furniture in my home knowing the circumstances under which it was purchased.  This is referencing my ice box she would not sell me back. Funny, after dealing with her, I don't think I even want to buy it back. I think looking at it would conger up visions of her and her well meaning but hurtful, uneducated, "Christian"( her word) banter. It amazes me how a person can meet someone, know nothing about the person, and decide that the person does not have the where with all to deal appropriately. I , again, did let her know her attitude was offensive to me but I did know we both had our own relationship with God and that was a blessing. Thank you very much---( I did not say thank you very much to her----that was strictly just out of my mouth and heart for this post! Smile.)

Not doing too well with just listing, am I? Another Smile. Let us try again.

2. Daughter denied STILL, to Ria ( my grandson's other mom ----know this is confusing since I have not spoken  before of this part of my daughter's lifestyle. Anyway, we are close to Ria, which for Chandler, is a blessing. ) that she sold the hall tree. Insisted that Robert ( man she has been involved with ) took it to the dump. Understand, the people at the antique shop immediately knew Amber, by name, when we asked about the hall tree. They had been to Amber's house, given Amber the money, etc

3. Amber hounded Ria all day yesterday, via texting, about bringing her cigarettes and money. Told her she would give her her diamond ring as collateral. She also wanted Ria to pick her up tomorrow to take her to Chandler's try outs. ( You will recall Amber's rental car has been impounded after her arrest, ( By the way, she is claiming to Ria this all was a set up--that she actually did not do any of the things she was accused of doing-claims Robert hired someone to steal her rental car and ram his truck, etc. etc. )

4. Ria came to pick Chandler up from our house around five in the afternoon. Grandy had taken him fishing in the afternoon after school. He had caught one fish and I was cooking it for his supper. 

5. Amber calls Ria's cell several times. Ria does not answer. Amber calls Chandler's phone ( which we pay for, etc. to have for his safety) to get Ria on the phone. Bottom line. She holds Chandler ransom for a pack of cigarettes and 50 dollars. Says he cannot go to the valley if Ria does not bring him by and gives her money and cigarettes. Amber then tells Chandler he cannot go to the valley. Chandler falls to pieces crying and screaming. We are forced to deal with Chandler in explaining his mother is an alcoholic, etc. I told him Grandy and I would do everything in our power to have him go to the valley.

6. We all decide it is worth just giving her the money and cigarettes to appease her to get Chandler to the valley for the week without further drama.  We were ready to just have her call the police but when she committed to letting him leave if the cigarettes and money was brought we thought it the best course to take at this moment in time.

7. Grandy offers to go with Ria. Ria says she is alright. She reaffirms she will not leave Chandler with Amber. 

8. Amber ups the charge to $80.

9. Ria and Chandler call to tell us they are on their way to Ria's. Chandler apologizes to me for not eating his fish. I asked him how he was doing and his response was , "Surprisingly well." 

There are many surprises in our lives. The latest of which is

Randy's phone just rang a few minutes ago. It was the Pastor husband of the lady. He told Randy they had found another piece to take the place of our ice box. It cost $750. though and they had paid Amber $450.00 for "ours". Randy told him he would call him back. We discussed it and decided as I said earlier, to just let it go. Don't know if they wanted us to pay the $750 or what. Don't want to know. Randy did tell him Amber was denying ever having sold them our things. We wanted them to know that someday it might be necessary for them to testify if a custody hearing ever becomes a reality. Randy said the gentleman was very nice and told Randy it sounded like our daughter had some serious issues.    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh---Well, Yes!

This is quite the long post. I struggle with posting some of this. I think early on I told the world I have never been a very private person. I was never taught that old adage about not airing the family business in public. ( Obviously! ) I have always held the belief that sharing our hopes, dreams, and sorrows, gives us a blessing and gives others a knowledge that there is more than one person going through many common sorrows in this world.

I had another muse I wanted to post and talk about but this has gone on long enough. I need to pack up and get this cottage ready for its week of silence. I am sure if these walls could talk they would say they are ready for a break!  We are going to Chandler's little league try outs and then head on down to the valley. 

Hope your weekend is peaceful---yes, peaceful!

On A Lighter Note

After this morning's sad and serious post, I thought it might be nice to end the day with a little frivolity. Much happier reading, don't you think? I figure it is the way of life, some sad, but most of the time, happy triumphs in the end. And so I am sharing pictures of my creations this past week. 

For sometime now I have wanted a cute camera and computer bag. I created the computer bag with a vintage quilt and new and old vintage crochet pieces. When I finished it I wanted to forge ahead to creating a camera bag. I got my ugly black camera bag out, to look at how it was constructed and get a basic plan for my bag. Upon looking at it, I decided I needed to use foam padding as a base instead of the quilt batting I had with me here in Pinetop. I was really in the mood to work on this so for a few minutes I was bummed that I was not in the valley of the sun so I could run out and purchase what I needed to proceed. As I was taking pictures of the computer bag, my eyes traveled to the love seat recently placed in my studio--you know the one. I blogged about it a couple of posts ago. Well, it hit me. Slip Cover. I could simply make a slip cover for the ugly black case and I could start the project immediately. Thus all the pictures below. First you will see the camera case. I used new and vintage items to make it. I sewed two strips of the printed twill tape together to make the shoulder strap. I thought this twill had a very appropriate saying as aren't living, laughing and loving what we all are recording when we take our photos?! I must tell you honestly, I loved how it turned out. Smile.

 The second set of pictures is of the new computer bag. I put a large pocket on the outside and the inside of the bag. I also put smaller pockets on the inside made out of a piece of vintage crocheted bedspread. The pictures shown are of both the outside and the bag turned inside out.

I just adore saving old linens and reinventing a purpose for them! May we always, eventually, turn our sorrows into a path of joy. It isn't always easy but it is always possible. 

Found Treasure Yesterday

Pretty, Isn't it? And for $350. one would think it was a steal, huh?  Well, in a way, I guess it was.

I love antiques. For 42 years I have been collecting them. Over the last fifteen years I have slowly given my daughter some of my treasures. I gave her these with the understanding they were family items to remain in the family. If she was ever tired of something then I was to be consulted before it was sold or gotten rid of. The above hall tree was not one of those items. This piece was just being stored in her front sun porch for us until we enclosed our porch or built the garage with rooms above. She begged me to keep it on her porch. I made it VERY clear it was not to remain at her house." Promise, mom. I won't make you feel guilty taking it back. I am just storing it for you."

My favorite Aunt Loree, ( think I have spoken of her before on my blog ) pulled the hall tree out of her next door neighbor's trash, in Spartanburg S.C. over 32 years ago, for me. One of the feet had been chewed off by rats. No telling where it had been before it was finally being thrown away. My Aunt asked the neighbors if it was alright for her to keep it. Of course they said yes. I paid to have it shipped here, then paid to have it restored, new foot and all.

Sometime in January or early February, don't remember when now, my heart skipped a beat when we were picking up Chandler. I noticed the hall tree was not on the porch. I looked at Randy with panic in my eyes. When Chandler came out my husband hollered inside for Amber. He asked her about it and she said not to worry, it was in the garage. The weather was bad so we let it go. My heart was weary though and later Randy and I talked and understood it was most likely gone. Still-----hope.

Some weeks later we were picking Chandler up again. His mom was not home. Chandler was alone. Randy and I searched through all the rooms in her garage---no hall tree. Later that evening Randy talked to Amber. Instead of confronting tell her he told her we wanted to pick up the hall tree knowing full well it was not in the garage. He wanted to see what she would say. She told him it was in Robert's ( a man with which she was involved---might I add here she had moved in with him and shortly after Christmas he had kicked her out---remember my post about Chandler not being able to get in touch with her? ) shed and he was in Las Vegas. She did not have the key. She said we could just not  without notice, expect to come pick it up. When Randy questioned her about previously saying it was in the garage she became quite indignant and insisted she had always said it was in Robert's shed. Robert's house is in the same area where Amber's house is located. He has two large dogs and we were not sure about them. Maybe this was just part of our excuse not to deal with it at the time or maybe we just did not want confirmed the real truth. 

Yesterday I was to take Amber to Flagstaff to get her first treatment for her cancer. I am not sure if I posted about what led up to this arrangement but just know it was to happen. Randy was driving me over because we only have one car up here. He had to have our car to pick up Chandler after school. We were taking Amber's rental car ( Oh Boy, the reason she had a rental car is another essay in and of itself ) to Flagstaff. When we got to the house there was no car out front. We knocked. No Answer. The house is always unlocked so we went inside calling for her--no Amber. Randy went up stairs to check. No Amber. The house was a mess and disgusting. Food left all over the house. Two large cardboard wrappers from beer cases left next to the garbage- the dogs had pooped in the floor- You get the picture. The dogs water bowl was empty. We gave the dogs more water and filled their food bowl and left.

As we left, a car approached and rolled down the window. It was Robert. I had only met him once before so I did not recognize him but I recognized his little girl in the car seat. He asked us if we had seen Amber. No, of course was our answer .Said we did not know where she was. He proceeded to tell us night before last Amber had rammed her rental car into his truck that was parked at his house. She pushed it with her car across his yard. This saga goes on and on but the bottom line is she was arrested, spent Monday night in jail, the rental car and her phone impounded. Robert had heard she was let out on her own recognisance. After getting all this information Randy asked him about our hall tree being in his storage shed. He said the only thing he had of Amber's was a box of Christmas stuff but we were welcome to go with him and look. We did-no hall tree. He told me Amber had contacted several antique dealers and had sold several items . We asked him which dealers and he named three he knew of. At ten o'clock when they opened we walked through the doors of the first one on our list. I could not talk. Randy spoke to the lady. She knew Amber by name and knew exactly the piece of which he asked. She said the owner had bought the hall tree and a couple of other items. He told her the story and she called the owner. The owner actually lives in the country club area where we live. She allowed us to buy back the hall tree for $350.00 She would not sell us back the antique ice box she had bought. She said we would have to find her a replacement. She had also bought a stacking book case but this was an item Amber had purchased on her own and was hers to sell. My Ice Box was a Christmas present for her husband and housed their T.V. It felt strange seeing it in a stranger's house. She did take my phone and number. I asked her to please call me if she ever wanted to get rid of it. She is a pastor's wife. She was a nice lady, in general, but she has made me think about comforting other's in times of distress. She was telling me these were only earthly possessions and bla, bla, bla. Now, any of you who know me, KNOW that I get this concept. My grief involved much more than my family antiques. I told Randy I wished that I had responded with something like if they are only earthly possessions why won't you sell me back my ice box. Again, basically she was nice----just irritating to the feelings I was having. Truth is though, if the situation was reversed, I would not be able to look at the ice box, in my home, and enjoy it, knowing  the circumstances behind my purchase. Another irritant was after some advice she was spuing forth I kindly told her we had luckily had the same counselor for 25 years. The next sentence out of her mouth was if we needed a counselor her husband was one. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh---just ranting at the moment------continuing to get the venom out of my body.

Not sure what comes next. For several posts now I have not written about our personal trials with our daughter. This is one rich post in the opposite direction. Just seemed in need of screaming out to the world today. I am very grateful we were able to retrieve the hall tree. It is one of my most prized items because of my Aunt. I am also grateful for all the tears I released yesterday. I buried much of my daughter yesterday. I know there are more tears ahead and more burying yet to come, but for now----we are off to pick up Chandler. We are taking him to to the dentist for teeth cleaning and a tooth pulled for his upcoming second orthodontist visit.  I am looking forward to seeing his nice smile in a few minutes!

Top Of The Morning To You

Randy left about one yesterday for the golf course. He picked Chandler up after school and took him to the golf course to practice. Chandler actually chipped a ball in with one try. He had good luck a day early. We celebrated his " hole in one" ,as he calls, it with a toast at supper. Anyway, this outing meant I had the house all to myself for six hours yesterday. Lovely, just lovely. I took a nap on my love seat in my studio that just got placed there this weekend  After my nap and a cup of tea I started working on a computer bag for my laptop using vintage fabric and embellishments. Why is it when one is in pain and unhappy that time tends to stay still and when one is creating time evaporates? At six ten the boys arrived home and I was still upstairs sewing. Oops---had not started the fried chicken for supper. Randy helped me while Chandler proceeded to make a Saint Patrick's day hat out of construction paper. He is wearing green EVERYTHING, right down to underwear tomorrow. Each class is having a contest for the person wearing the most green. I cannot imagine that he will not win. I am even die cutting a green shamrock for him to put through his earring. ( yes, he has an earring and I hate it! -- I am just too old.) 

  I will be cooking the traditional corned beef and cabbage along with Irish Soda Bread for supper tonight. During the day though I will be working on my computer bag. Can't wait to show you pictures of it.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Weekend Favorite

This is my favorite thing that was accomplished over the weekend. The couch has been sitting on the deck for almost two weeks now. The reason---- it had to be hoisted up over the balcony upstairs to be placed in my studio. It would not go up the stairs and through the doorway opening. Luckily, when we awoke from a nap, we found worker bees in our front yard raking up all the pine needles. Now understand, we did not ask these workers to do this. We had this crew do the clean up work last year but had not asked them to do it again. Great way to get a job I guess. Anyway, my husband went out and negotiated with the head guy. Helping him get my love seat lifted up to my room was part of the negotiations. I was thrilled. The other accomplishment was placing my wonderful seasonal watercolors my friend ,Suzanne, painted for me, in this old window. My husband gave me the vintage watering can on our "tin" anniversary. It was quite the thoughtful surprise at the time. Years later Suzanne painted the pictures for me. I used to change out the flowers for the seasons. The window is not hung in this picture but I plan to  hang it as soon as I finish this post.

Fun Projects

Journal Cover for all the cute or naughty things the new boy in town , Ezra J. Scott will say as he grows to be a man. I printed his picture on muslin and used The Joy of a Little Boy saying by Crafty Secrets. I then sewed this on chenille and then pulled the threads on all the edges to create fringe. I then created a cover for a composition book to be used for the journal.

Below are  pictures of the story book I made for Suzanne's newest grandson, Ezra. It starts with the cover Once Upon A Time. The back cover ends with Happily Ever After. Each page has text for which the family will add pictures. Hopefully, some day Ezra will enjoy looking at the book of how things were when he was born.

Much of the book uses stamps, stickers, and product from Crafty Secrets. You can see all there products at craftysecrets I also used Tim Holtz's tickets. I made the book using four paper sacks. I used large tags in the pockets and also used vintage alphabet cards to spell EZRA, with one card in each sack. I also used printed twill tape and ribbon from my stash . All the other ribbons, paper, crafty secret items and the Tim Holtz tickets came from Mystic Paper in downtown Mesa, AZ. I also made one of these books for Suzanne's other soon to be here grandson, Luke. A few of the pages are different to go with Luke's family. He is lucky because he will have an older brother and sister to look after him as he grows. These were fun projects for me and I was so pleased to be using some of the many eye candy items I have been purchasing lately when in the valley!  I think since I want to personalize the journal for Luke's family I will wait until he is born to send the packages .I want both families to get them at the same time. Luke is due any day and they both live in the same town. I also want to get a picture of  Luke with his big brother, Noah, and his big sister, Shelby. I will use it on the cover so the parents can use the journal for all the fun things these precious children say.

Happy Weekend!

       Inside of Journal