Mutiny!

Well, did I ever have a fright when I awoke this morning and saw this on my way to the coffee pot!
They seemed hell-bent on making an escape....seemingly oblivious to the frigid 50-degree temperatures outside. Fortunately I didn't have to call the ladybug police, as they hadn't gotten very far down the sidewalk. In fact, some of them were in the process of making a U-turn....probably having thought better of their grand idea and remembering how nice and toasty it was inside.

And yesterday, before any hint of the ladybug rebellion, we had a bit of excitement in our neighborhood. Seems there's always something exceptionally newsworthy when Mr. G. and I come to town. Both the Prez and the Queen came for a visit. Mr. Bush made quite a racket when he arrived, what with a dozen Marine helicopters coming and going most of the morning and into the afternoon.

He was paying a call on, of all things, a helicopter factory at the local airport, where he made some sort of a speech. I can only wonder if he waited for the pilots to shut down their engines before he spoke. Then again, maybe seeing him is better than hearing him. Heh...heh...

Unlike the Prez, the Queen slipped into town very quietly. The new Queen Victoria sailed into the local port for a short stop on her maiden voyage world tour. She took on a few passengers and departed later that afternoon--with a minimum of fanfare--for Honolulu and then on to Australia and New Zealand. I should've gone down there and slipped aboard myself. I'm sure it would have been much more fun than staying here dealing with this lot of rebellious insects....

And poor Mr. Gadget. He was recently spotted by the code-enforcing curmudgeons and called on the carpet for putting cardboard in the trash dumpster. We now believe there is a code-enforcing network here at the condo, with a bevy of spies stationed around the complex to nab criminals like Mr. G. Our building representative, a very nice lady named Ruth, had the unpleasant task of delivering the news. When Mr. G. asked her who had reported him, she said "Ann somebody from over there," pointing in three different directions. Apparently the trash dumpster rules have been updated since we were here last, and now cardboard must be recycled.

Mr. Gadget fears this might be like one of those IRS audits, where once they get you, you're forever under surveillance. Now I'm wondering if I should burn my tissue paper and felt scraps, and those yarn ends from the afghan. There may be rules governing such waste. And can you imagine what a ruckus there would have been if I'd overslept this morning and hordes of ladybugs were on the loose?

Reading between the ladybugs

Sometimes I put my needle and thread down long enough to read. Yesterday Mr. Gadget and I went to the local library to check out some books. My love of libraries began back in elementary school when I'd walk two-by-two with my classmates to the public library every couple of weeks. This was called Library Day, and was not to be confused with Bank Day which happened every so often when we brought our bank books to school along with money for a small deposit. Someone from the school staff would take them to the bank for us....we didn't actually walk there ourselves. I remember mine was blue and it had a string I could wrap around one of those little circle thingies to keep it closed. But anyway, back to the library. Instead of using this little tiny book to record all of my reasons for doing housework, I've decided to use it for keeping track of books I'd like to read. Now, rather than having titles written on little scraps of this and that, I'll have them all in one place and easy to carry in my purse. The only possible downside to using a little book like this is if you end up having to hand it over to the library information person when you need help finding one of your books in the stacks. It's very likely they'll give you a funny look....

I found this book while browsing through the books on writing (section 808 if you're interested). As I've mentioned before, I like to write and there's always plenty to learn and lots of room for improvement. Someday I may actually decide to write my memoirs, so it will be helpful to be prepared. Somewhere I read that memoir writing can be intimidating to some people, so a good way to start is to just pick an experience from your life and write a page or two about it. Keep doing that until you have a nice stack, and then just put them in date order. I wonder if I can count my blog as my memoirs.....

This is a book I purchased and for quite a while it was my bedtime reading. That is, until I started getting sleepy and drifting off...only to be rudely awakened when all 650 pages of it fell on my nose. Mr. Gadget is incredulous that I'm reading a book about a scientist, but I've assured him I'm not reading it for the science. I'm intrigued by how Einstein's creative mind worked. I think I remember reading that some of his scientific breakthroughs came while he was bathing. Funny....that's when I have most of my great ideas too. For Einstein it was the Theory of Relativity. For me it was the brilliant solution for permanently attaching carrot noses to snowmen faces.

I found this book right here in the condo and I'm sure it belonged to dear ol' dad. He learned to cook late in life and found much enjoyment out of planning meals and having friends over. I'm not a big fan of cooking. In fact, this cookbook would be better suited to me if it was titled How to Cook When You'd Really Rather Not. But I have made a few recipes from this book and Mr. G seemed happy enough with the results. What I like best about this book, though, is how efficiently it weights down a craft project while the glue dries.....

Temporary factory shutdown

Things have been cranking right along here at the factory. The tissue paper flower assembly line is in full swing and ladybugs are flying off the conveyor belt at a good clip. It's very quiet though. That's because all of my imaginary helpers don't say much while they work.

I did shut down the whole operation yesterday, however, to accompany Mr. Gadget on a trip to Palm Springs to visit one of his former co-workers. Here's the road between Interstate 10 and Palm Springs. It looks pretty much like the Road to Nowhere but trust me, an oasis lies just over the horizon.After we arrived, it wasn't long before this little puff-ball found my lap. I guess I'm not the only one who comes from good hair. And would you look at those highlights! We took a walk through their yard where I noticed this interesting sun mosaic and thought I should photograph it for it's embroidery potential. Then I remembered I'd already stitched this one:

Our friends have several fruit trees in their yard, and they generously packed up a nice sampler bag of citrus for us to take home. After a very tasty Mexican lunch at a nearby restaurant, we hit the road....hoping to miss the heavy rain in the forecast. There's been quite a bit of rain in southern California lately, and the mountains are looking downright wintry.

So now I'm back, and the factory machinery is once again humming right along. I'm not sure what became of my imaginary helpers though. Maybe they're still on their coffee break.....

Ladybugs on parade

I'm making progress on the ladybugs which is a good thing because I have a lot to make. Too bad I can't just put two of them together in a darkened room, with a nice chilled bottle of pinot grigio and some romantic music, and see if they'd reproduce.

A completed one is pictured at the bottom with the others in various stages of construction. I sewed the sequins on first and stitched a line down the center. Then I sewed around the outside. Next, I anchored the antenna inside with a few quick stitches, and put some stuffing in. The head will be sewn on last. As I was lining up the ladies for this picture, it occurred to me that this arrangement would make a cute wreath for summer. I'll keep it in mind for leftovers....

I'm afraid winter has set in with a vengeance here in southern California. It was so cold in the condo that I had to cover the front door mail slot with a paper towel because such a breeze was coming through that Mr. Gadget and I were getting quite a chill. Then the mail lady stopped by and the whole process had to be repeated. But we are lucky. Our upstairs neighbor actually has to go out in this wicked weather, walk down the stairs, and retrieve her mail from one of those regular mail boxes.

So today my cousin (whose daughter is getting married in August) officially gave me permission to share the wedding craftiness on the blog (thanks, cuz!) Little did she know I was planning to anyway...heh, heh.....but now I feel perfectly OK to blab on and on. This morning I picked up the tissue paper for the flowers and I'm anxious to get started.

Someone must have slipped the news to the ladybugs that flowers would be happening soon....

West coast purchase for east coast stash

Sometimes when I'm browsing in a fabric store, a certain bolt of cloth will sort of swerve over into my lane in an effort to get my attention and make me hit the brakes. Yesterday I actually got broadsided by these New York City taxis. After picking myself up, I bought a yard and I'll take it back to my east coast stash, where it will reside until I can come up with a good project to make for Big City Girl. I'm thinking maybe a couch pillow. Of course, it would make a cute apron, but I already made her the money one and I'm pretty sure it's now just a kitchen ornament.

So yesterday I had a very nice lunch--down by the beach and out on a restaurant patio in view of the ocean--with a very nice friend from high school. I do keep in touch with many of my old school friends, thanks in large part to the Internet. It makes it so easy to stay in contact with long lost relatives, distant friends, and even neighbors who live just across the street. It's become the modern version of chatting over the back fence.

In the course of our lunch conversation, my friend passed along two interesting tidbits of information. When I mentioned how much I was enjoying the California avocados, she told me that 20 years ago she planted an avocado seed in her backyard. It sprouted and began to grow nicely, and when she moved to a different house she transplanted it in her new yard. It's now 20 feet tall, but unfortunately not producing avocados as she'd hoped, so she's researching fertility treatments. She did bring me a nice bag of lemons though, and I'm trying very hard not to make a pie.

The second thing she told me was that her granddaughter will be starting kindergarten in the fall, and she'll be going to the same primary school that I went to....back in the day, shall we say. Although I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, I do have vivid memories of my kindergarten classroom. Especially those little bitty toilets. And the big round sink with the big round foot pedal that turned the water on. I remember wearing one of my dad's old shirts on painting day with the big easels. I even remember how the paint smelled....that powdered paint that the teachers mixed and put in little milk cartons.

So today I was checking my blog to see if I had any comments on my hair post, and sure enough there were some--one of which was from my neighbor with the green thumb. It seems she was in the process of writing a post about Ferna the fern at the same time as I was writing mine. How funny is that? Go check out her blog if you'd like to see before and after photos of Ferna. You, too, will be impressed with her green thumb......and her great photography talents.

And for my next project.....ladybugs. In addition to the tissue paper flowers, I'll be making lots of ladybugs for my cousin's daughter's wedding. This is just the prototype I made on the quick. Some tweaking will be necessary. It won't be long now before they'll have the run of the place....unless I can find a really big jar with some air holes.....

I come from good hair

My father's side of the family had good hair. By that, I mean plenty. I inherited it. When I was young and naive and easily-embarrassed, my mother would take me for a haircut and all the hairdressers would gather 'round and marvel at my head of hair. It was a horror.

Now that I'm much older I'm OK with my hair, even when my hairdresser has to go back for a refill on the hair color, or when she starts looking fatigued from holding the blow dryer. Mr. Gadget doesn't have hair issues. You could say he's follically-challenged. With all the hair I have to spare, I've offered more than once to be a hair donor, but he always politely declines. When I buy highlights he buys hats.

So my grandmother, whose name was Ferna, taught me how to crochet. She's the one on the left with her arm around my father. I always remember her having a small crochet project in her purse whenever she left the house. Among the many treasures she made were four crocheted bedspreads--one for each of her children-- using a small steel crochet hook and cotton thread. I have one now and I use it as a coverlet in the summer, since it's a bit too small for our king-sized bed.

My grandfather, the fellow up there on the right, passed away when my grandmother was a young woman of 60. She didn't drive and didn't have a clue about how to write checks and pay bills, so my father taught her those things since we lived just down the street. It wasn't long before she started driving all of her friends to the local senior citizens center. And then she parlayed her babysitting skills into quite a lucrative business. It was during her babysitting jobs......and her weekly viewing of the Lawrence Welk Show.....that she did most of her crocheting.

I can remember sitting beside her on the couch as she showed me how to hold the hook and make a chain. I'd get going on a row, and she'd run off to the kitchen to stir a kettle of something.....and it was during these times that I'd sneak a cookie out of her sailor boy cookie jar. Those days marked the beginning of my love/hate relationship with crocheting and the scale.

Grandma Ferna had a way of occasionally putting her foot in her mouth and saying something inappropriate. Or sometimes she'd just come out with something rather peculiar. We used to affectionately call these Ferna-isms. I'm afraid I've inherited this trait along with the hair. My family will never let me forget the time I said, when asked if I wanted to go out for dinner to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, "But I can't eat all I can eat."

A few years ago Tech Guy gave me a beautiful Boston fern for Mother's Day. While I'm not one to name my plants, this one insisted on being called Ferna. Whereas most of my previous house plant experiments had failed, Ferna thrived. Then one day Mr. G and I made plans to leave town for a while, and we left her in the care of Tech Guy, who assured us he would take his plant-sitting duties seriously. Well, you can only imagine. I brought poor Ferna home, stuck her in a corner and said my good-byes.

But I guess it wasn't Ferna's time. I bundled her up and carried her across the street to my neighbor's house.....the neighbor with the green thumb. I'm happy to report that Ferna has had a complete recovery. She's all green and lush and frondy again. It seems the two Fernas had much in common. They both had a knack for blooming where they were planted.

Fog, revisited.....

I'm pleased to report that things are back to normal here weatherwise. It's another one of those 70 degree sunny days. But my fog blog apparently stirred up some memories for my old high school friend, Claudia, and prompted her to write me an email.

Seems Claudia has a driving-in-fog story too. The first time she got permission from her dad to use the car, she drove to a club meeting at school. When it was over and time to head for home, it was dark and foggy. In fact, she said it was pea soup fog which forced her to drive home with the driver's door open so she could glance out now and then to make sure she was staying on the proper side of the double yellow line. We didn't have cell phones back then, but we all had a curfew, so we did whatever it took to get home on time......so our parents wouldn't worry.

Here's some progress on the crocheted ripple afghan. It's the only thing I've been working on, what with the car-servicing appointment, various paperwork chores, Mr. Gadget's laundry requests, and grocery shopping with the pink-haired lady. I plan to get my sewing machine out today for a little work out, and to make sure no termites crawled inside to hide. I did cut out some of those travel tissue holder thingies before I left home and I'd like to get some done for gift-giving.

So maybe I'll get my sewing machine out as soon as I'm finished with this post. On second thought, maybe I'll make some soup instead.

It will remind me of my good friend Claudia, and all the fun times we had cruising around town in her Plymouth Valiant......back in the good ol' days.....

Fog

I had forgotten about the fog. Sometimes, especially during winter, the seemingly endless supply of sunny 70 degree days is interrupted by fog. Today, as luck would have it, I had an appointment to get the car serviced. Back in my southern California youth, driving in fog wasn't a big deal. I'd approach intersections with my window rolled down and drive by ear. I found, after moving to the east coast, that this method didn't translate well to snow.

Last Sunday I was doing some grocery shopping, for the purpose of restocking kitchen cupboards laid bare by the recent termite treatment, when I met up with the friendly stock girl who seems to always be on duty when I shop. Each time I see her she has a different hair color. On Sunday it was pink and moved through the layers to magenta.

"Are you finding everything ok?" she asked in a loud, sing-songy voice.

"Yes I am, thank you," I replied.

"FABULOUS!!" she declared, approaching an octave off the musical scale.

This was all well and fine, except as I moved around the store, so did she--pushing her metal cart and flipping her pink hair from side to side--and she continued to ask me the same question on every odd-numbered aisle. I have mentioned before that the workers in this store are very friendly....more so than the sorry bunch who work in my neighborhood store in Connecticut. But really. Is there such a thing as too much customer service I wonder?

So moving right along, yesterday I stopped at Joann's to look for some weaver's cloth--a nice cotton blend that works very well for hand-embroidery. I bought two yards (with my 40% coupon) which should see me through a couple of decades of projects I'm pretty sure. And in an effort to build a west-coast stash, I picked up these two prints with nothing special in mind.

As I was walking across the parking lot toward Joann's, it dawned on me that this store used to be a department store--the very same one where I had my first job. The shoes were where the calicos are now. I never wanted to work in that department. A person could get lost in the stock room, and then there were all those stinky feet. The hat department....this was back when women wore fancy hats......was where the yarn is now. I worked there a few times and learned the drill pretty quickly. Whenever a lady tried a hat on, I'd just say, "FABULOUS!"

So it seems that Mr. Gadget and I have impeccable timing. We left Connecticut just ahead of the snow. My neighbor very thoughtfully sent me a picture of our house in the snow and what a lovely winter scene it was! I wonder if I should take a nice picture for her of the beach at sunset when Mr. G and I go down there later for a sushi fix. Probably not....

Three birds and a palm tree

It's always colorful in southern California. I'm not sure if these guys are looking at the palm tree, or at the new roof on the condo that almost burned down last year. Word has it that the two lady occupants tried to heat an electric blanket in the microwave. They've moved back in now, but I can only hope their microwave was burned beyond recognition and they thought better of replacing it.

So Mr. G and I had a very good trip yesterday. Well, there was that guy at JFK who stopped me outside the food kiosk, just after I'd purchased some lunch for the flight, and asked me what airport we were at. I guess he was still groggy from a red-eye flight and thought maybe we were in Pocatello.

Our flight was turbulence-free and thereby crochet-enabling.

I've decided to do 3 rows of double crochet for each stripe with no particular planning on color placement. I'm winging it again..heh...heh...It will be a hodge-podge (not to be confused with Mod Podge). I did end up frogging the first few rows of blue. That's because I failed to sufficiently read the directions (so unlike me) and ended up with some funky stitches on one end. I also decided I wanted it wider, so I added more stitches.

While I was out behind the condo taking the picture of the afghan progress, I realized how well represented dear old dad and mom are in the garden. My mom was quite a gardener, and here at the condo she did most of her gardening in pots. In fact, at one point she had lots o' pots. After she passed away, my dad went into minimalist mode. He put all of her knick-knacks in boxes, and gave most of the garden pots away. He did save one of her jade plants though, and he planted it in the ground just outside the sliding door.

It's done quite well. In fact, it's had children.


Here is one of the jade's offspring and my father's fig tree.....having just been pruned to resemble an alien life form. Dad was always quite fond of figs. He planted this tree next to the back door so he'd always have a handy supply. I remember how happy I was the day I took him fresh figs at the nursing home. He seemed pleased. Then, after about a week or so, he told me he appreciated my bringing them but he thought he'd had his fill.


Here's his lemon tree....a thank-you gift from one of several neighbor ladies for whom he did handyman jobs.

Sometimes when I sit out on the patio, with my coffee and my handiwork, I feel like I'm among family.

Over the hill

Sometimes travelers to England say they're going "across the pond." I guess you could say Mr. Gadget and I will be going "over the hill" tomorrow when we head back out west for a winter visit. And once again I'm trying to finish one final blog post before he pulls the plug on the laptop. I think I have a few minutes while I sit here waiting for the dryer to beep---so he'll be able to finish his packing and size up his suitcase for space availability. I've got dibs on it. I took a big bite out of Yarn Mountain so I can work on this, and I'm going to need all the nooks and crannies I can find.

I'll be transporting this fiber for a good cause. We have zero afghans in the condo. Actually, I'm not sure I can call it fiber since it's 100% acrylic. But a useful afghan is a washable afghan I always say. Just in case someone spills beer or salsa on it while watching a football game or something....

I've jotted down a list, on a handy 3 x 5 card, of projects I plan to work on while I'm out there.

• crocheted afghan, but of course!
• an embroidered Santa for the mantle series
• tissue paper flowers
• continue work on my family history project
• design a new blog banner...yeah, I know this one's getting old
• make a few more travel tissue holders
• clean out a couple of closets
• figure out how to download books to my MP-3 player
• walk for exercise (while listening to books--see above)

A few words of explanation. My cousin's daughter, who was at dear ol' dad's memorial celebration, was quite taken with the tissue paper flowers I made for table decorations. She paid me the most wonderful compliment when she told me she'd like some for her wedding. Good thing I saved the pattern.

The family history project, which I mentioned long ago (I've got to figure out how to link to old posts....I'd better put that on my list too), is a compilation of family folklore I'm gathering from the years' worth of almost-weekly letters I wrote to my folks, and then, after my mom passed away, to my dad. He saved them all. Did I ever mention how he saved plastic bags? While cleaning out the condo, I found that he'd stashed them in every nook and cranny--like a person sprinkling popcorn pellets into empty spaces in a package. Or maybe like someone stuffing yarn in a suitcase. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

So I should be in good shape for projects while I'm out there. And if I do, by some slim chance, run out of things to do, I can always join up with the curmudgeons on their code-enforcement patrols. I'm good at making signs.

Better go. Here comes Mr. G and he's got that look in his eye like he's ready to discontinue life support......

Oh, and one more Christmasy thing...

Here's a little (6") tree I just finished, thanks to football. I stitched most of it while sitting with Mr. Gadget as he watched bowl games. See all those stitches? There was lots of football, and I've been told it isn't over yet. But at least he'll allot me some big TV time tonight to watch women's basketball. Well, at least he'll use that split screen thingie. Of all of his gadgets, I think he loves that one the most.

I mentioned a while back my idea for making embroidered figures for the mantle. The tree is the first of my mantle series . We'll see how far I get. Maybe I'll do a Santa next, in which case you won't have seen the last of Christmas.

Back to the paper mache for a moment. If you happen to end up with a pesky little bit of the stuff left over and you're in a quandary over what to do with it, I have a solution.

Make snowballs. See the sparkle?

So yesterday I made a quick stop here while out doing errands. I found this marked down from $2.99 to a buck.

I think it has penguin written all over it. I'm pretty sure it's paper underneath because it's not heavy enough for ceramic. I'll have to find a good hiding place for it until such time as I get my paper mache supplies out again, so no one will actually think I bought this for its home-decorating potential.

This past Sunday, Mr. G suggested we might take a ride so he could give his car a little exercise. He asked if I would like to go to Michael's, since for some unknown reason we got three sale flyers in our newspaper (along with one of those annoying front page stick-ons!) And since I've never been one to pass up free taxi service to a craft store, I put on some lipstick and away we went.

Mr. G, who is quite a wordmeister, refers to this shopping center as the Ashopolis, since it sits atop a hill like that place in Greece and attracts worshippers. There is a Michael's and a Home Depot in this complex....so we can worship separately yet together, so to speak. On Sunday's pilgrimage, Mr. G informed me that he didn't need anything at Home Depot, but would be happy to stand in line at Michael's with one of the three coupons, if there happened to be more than one item I needed. Well, that's a big duh. And when we got home, of course there was more football, so I graciously supplied beer and snacks so he wouldn't have to leave the comfort of his big chair or abandon his remote.
And look at this, will ya! We're suffering here in New England. Good thing Mr. Gadget and I will be escaping this horrible winter weather this weekend when we again head out west for some California sunshine. I hope we don't find ice on the sidewalk like we did last January.

I do know I'll find a Michael's though, and that's good news because I have one more coupon....

Waffles

Meet Waffles. It seemed an appropriate name considering his heritage.
And to think just a week ago he was an ol' syrup jug.
Mr. G has persisted in calling him a penguin. I'll admit I do see a resemblance. Which makes me think that if only I had another syrup jug I could go in that direction. Maybe I should make waffles for breakfast more often.

Too bad the sparkle doesn't show up well in the pictures. He sparkles all over, especially when he's sitting in a sunny window. I painted him with a coat of gesso and then a coat of Mod Podge Sparkle. The red mittens and black buttons were too bright after I painted them, but were muted nicely with the Mod Podge.

He's wearing a felt hat that I dusted with a little bit of crystal glitter. His scarf is made from wired ribbon that came on one of my Christmas gifts. I wanted a scarf that looked like it was blowing in the breeze, and the wired ribbon is just the thing.

When he was all finished, I traced around the base and cut out a piece of felt to glue on the bottom. This will make him more table-friendly.

This project brought back memories of an art class I took in my earlier college years. One of the assignments was to make something from paper mache. I made a silly purple bird as I remember, but one of my classmates made Ferdinand the Bull. Ferdinand was the main character in a children's book that was written back in the 30's. Ol' Ferdie didn't have the right attitude for the bullfighting ring; he preferred smelling flowers. My classmate's father owned a meat market, and Ferdie, the paper mache bull--who was a breathtaking work of art by the way--graced the top of his butcher case for many happy years from what I've been told.

So now I'm on the look-out for interesting food containers. But I swear on my stack of craft magazines and knitting books that I will never ever resort to dumpster cruising.

Deep Freeze

It was 9 degrees when I got up this morning, so it seemed like a good day to build a snowman. Inside, of course!

Mr. Gadget roughed up the maple syrup jug using 100-grit sandpaper, and removed the little handle thingie with a hack saw. He was about to give me the specifications on the plastic too, but I told him that wasn't necessary. I should mention he could just as well be called Mr. Plastic as Mr. Gadget.

Then I started applying the instant paper mache. In my usual disorganized way, I forgot to save the instructions so I ended up winging it. I'm getting good at that. I added water and some white glue to the paper dust (that's what it looks like) and mixed it in a ziplock bag. It helped to have a bowl of water nearby to smooth things out as I worked, since the paper was starting to dry out.

It wasn't long before I had a pretty good rendition of a snowman. After he's dry....which takes forever when you just want to get on with things.....I'll put a coat of gesso on him and that may be all the color he needs. I think I'll apply a coat of Mod Podge Sparkle too, for a little bit of bling.

Then he'll need a hat and scarf and a smiley face. In place of the chopstick, he'll be holding a broom made of twigs. I should have no trouble finding some suitable twigs early next week when the temperatures are set to soar up into the 50's around here. And it would be nice if he'd get to work and sweep up under the table.

So back to my book project. I happened to spot a little scrap of red plaid paper on the floor of the treehouse. It got me wondering just how small I could make one of those little books. I'm pretty sure I could even go smaller than this. It would be just the right size for listing all of my reasons for doing housework....

New Year's Resolutions?

I'm not making New Year's resolutions this year. I much prefer New Year's reservations....

So our Christmas morning tradition has always been that I make waffles. This year was no exception. Mr. Gadget finally used up his jug of 100% pure grade A maple syrup. The rest of us prefer the synthetic stuff.

"Does this go in the garbage or does it get recycled?" asked Mr. G, who so courteously helped clear the table and fill the dishwasher.

"Neither," I told him. "That's a snowman!"

And so a new year of crafting begins.

I rang out the old crafting year with these.....some cute little handmade books. What prompted this project was a discussion I had a while back with a friend about how much her 7-year-old granddaughter loves to write stories. It reminded me of some books I had made for TG and BCG when they were small, in an effort to spur on their imaginations. They're very simple to make. I used colored construction paper for covers on the early ones; for these I used scrapbooking sheets I had on hand. I cut 8 pieces of ivory-colored computer paper I had in my stuff stash just a little bit smaller than the cover piece.

Then, after folding one of the pieces in half to find the middle, I stacked them up with the folded one on top and the cover piece on the bottom (print facing down) and stitched them together with the sewing machine....backstitching a bit at each end so I could trim the threads off. Then I carefully folded it along the stitching line. By using 8 pieces, which seemed a reasonable thickness to sew through, I ended up with a book of 16 pages....just about right for a child's attention span....if they draw a few pictures too.

I've always loved to write. As a child, I didn't have these fun little handmade books to write stories in, but I wrote nonetheless. And when I decided to go back to college to finish my degree, I chose an English major with a writing option. I took classes in fiction writing, journalism, public relations writing and even advertising. I had many great writing teachers, and they all liked me because I was the oldest student in class (even older than most of them) and I always did my homework.

In my opinion, here is one of the best writing books around. Someone mentioned it on their blog. I checked it out of the library, and then decided I wanted my own copy. The author will tell you, in simple and concise language...with a healthy dose of humor, everything you'll need to know to write well. If I'd only known, I could have saved a bunch of tuition......