Playing Tag!

I have received my very first blogging tag, and it’s from Jan, the talented artist of CoffeyHouse Collection. (I am lucky enough to have one of her great painted snowmen plates proudly displayed in my dining room.) My assignment is to post five random things about myself and then tag five more people. OK, I’m going to take a deep breath and get this task done!

I drive a red GMC pick-up truck.

Peppermint-flavored coffee is my absolute favorite! Millstone has it available only during the Christmas season, so we buy a lot and keep it in our freezer.

I played classical piano when I was a kid. I was pretty good at it and won quite a few awards in competitions. No, I haven’t kept up with it.

I like to sneak over to the fence and feed carrots to the horse that lives next door.

I am a terrible whistler. “Strangers in the Night” is the song I usually whistle. It’s really, really bad, LOL!

Here’s who I am going to tag!
New Adventures of an 'Old Crow''
Tis a gift to be simple...
Made in Heaven
Shweet Doodles
Pickleberry Primitives

Lovely Presents

Here is the adorable charm necklace that I won from a drawing on Lana’s blog, ~* Honeysuckle Lane's Simple Joys *~, along with a handmade gift card. It is a very generous gift from a talented lady.

We also received an unexpected surprise this week from a dear Canadian friend, Donna A. She sent us the latest issue of British Columbia Magazine. It has an article about a climbing expedition in 1948 and includes some incredible pictures of the magical Purcell Mountains in Bugaboo Provincial Park. She knows that we have traveled and seen these vistas in person during our unforgettable heli-hiking trips. So she thought that we would enjoy this issue and she was right! It brings back wonderful memories of one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth. Our heart goes out to her for being so thoughtful.

All Wrapped Up

I took a class last month to make a wrapped fabric bowl, inspired by the book, “It's a Wrap” by Susan Breier. I worked too slowly to get done in the class, so I had to finish it up at home. It turned out much better than I expected. Now that I have the technique down, I plan to make some more and experiment with different shapes and fabric colors.

The fabrics I chose for this project are shown below. The class was a couple of weeks before Christmas, and I foolishly thought I would finish the bowl before the holiday season was over. Silly me! I never get anything creative done on a tight schedule.

I purposely chose these two fabrics to make the final result visually interesting, yet have the ability to camouflage any lousy stitching. My strategy worked like a charm except for one backfire result. It was difficult to see where I was stitching! So I would occasionally lose my concentration and wander off from the area I was supposed to stitch. Another issue encountered was the tendency of the black fabric to fray at the slightest touch. Consequently, there are wild hairs of unraveling threads embedded throughout the finished bowl, giving it a unique character.

The construction technique uses cotton clothes line as a foundation. You cut the fabric into strips and wrap them around the clothes line. A little glue and a few pins help along the way. And it all comes together into the form by zigzagging the cords together on the sewing machine. I finished off the top with a bias edge.

Here is a close-up to show you how it is stitched together and how the colors and patterns were transformed.

And here is the final product. It looks pretty good from a distance, LOL. To give you a sense of scale, it is 9 inches in diameter and a little over 4 inches tall.

If you want to try this project, you have to be persistent in trying to find the cotton clothes line. I believe that it is a material that may soon be extinct. Don’t even try looking at the big-box hardware stores. They only stock the synthetics. You might find it at an old-fashioned hardware store. I luckily discovered it stocked at an out-of-the way Wal-Mart.

Gift of Life

I have a public service announcement! May I have your attention, please?! Because I am vertically challenged, I will briefly stand on a soapbox so you can hear me loud and clear!

Would you like to save a stranger’s life? It is as easy as giving blood. January has been recognized as National Blood Donor Month for almost forty years (since 1970). Blood is traditionally in short supply during the winter months due to holiday travel schedules, inclement weather, and illness. Even though donations are usually down during the winter, the need continues. Every three seconds someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion, and approximately 39,000 units of red blood are needed every day. It is an easy, safe, and (almost) painless way to help your community.

Are you not sure where to donate? Do you want to find out if you are eligible to donate? You can find answers to these questions at the American Red Cross or American Association of Blood Banks.

I am absolutely delighted that our local blood bank has opened up a satellite office on the west end of town where I live. I was able to conveniently give today, in between shopping errands. The staff gave me the usual “rock star” treatment and must have thanked me a dozen times. According to them, I have the best veins on the whole planet. (But I bet they tell everyone that, LOL.) After a free cookie, soda, and t-shirt, I was on my way!

As I was lounging in the recliner, I couldn’t help but notice that I was the youngest person donating. And I am not a spring chicken anymore. Today was a holiday for many people, so I would have expected a wider age range. Sadly, that was not the case. I hope my blog readers will rise to the challenge and give the gift of life. Bless you!

Woohoo – I Won a Prize!

I was shocked this morning to find out that I won a charm necklace prize from Lana of Honeysuckle Lane! She is a talented folk artist, and I have long admired her work. She was holding a drawing on her ~* Honeysuckle Lane's Simple Joys *~ blog to celebrate her 100th post. Thank you so much, Lana!

Funky Chicken

We stopped in the lovely town of Collierville during a trip to West Tennessee this past October. The town square area is an absolute delight, filled with interesting shops, all looking out over a community park.

Once we spotted the Chickadee's shop, we knew that we would have a good time. It had an eclectic mix of art and antiques, and the recycled metal chickens made us laugh out loud. So, of course, we had to adopt one and take it home with us.

Our "funky chicken" now stands watch in the solarium here at the cottage, checking out the activity at the back yard bird feeders. He's a cool dude!


So, if you ever get a chance to go to west Tennessee, you might want to check out the town of Collierville, located southeast of Memphis. You'll be glad that you stopped in for a visit!

Gratitude

I appreciate all of the wonderful comments that everyone has left me, and I am grateful for your encouragement! I hope that everyone will bookmark my blog and pop in for a visit every couple of weeks. I promise that I will have some lovely pictures to look at in the days ahead and some stories along the way to keep your interest.

New Beginnings

A brand new year is the traditional time for new beginnings. Yet new beginnings can happen whenever we take a notion and decide to chart a different course. I am emerging from 40 years in the working world and now finding my footing in the retirement world. New habits and routines are being created, some good and some bad. The sense of freedom is finally starting to sink in.

The work stress from the past couple of years has been terrible, and my mirror (unfortunately) reflects the history. Last week, we decided to investigate a new exercise place a couple of miles from the house. We were granted visitor passes and started exercising again. Ah, it feels so good! We’ll be signing up for membership this week, and we will be getting in better shape before our next vacation.

I have two studio rooms on the second floor of our cottage, and they sadly need to be reorganized. Why do I have two rooms? Because the test of time showed that one was too small. So I took over another room, and dubbed it my annex. I have been postponing the organization because we did not believe that we would still be here at the cottage by the end of the year. We have had our house and property up for sale since January 2007, but that is subject matter for a later post.

In any event, I believe that a little rejuvenation of my studio rooms would help me get out of my creative slump and spark some interest in new projects this year. I have many varied interests. Thus, I will continue my usual struggle to see which projects make it to the top of the priority list. Above all, I resolve to have some fun!

We are planning a wonderful vacation to the southwestern United States this spring. We are so excited! As much as we love our cottage life out in the countryside, we love to journey and see new sights. To make planning easy and the vacation restful, we are taking a guided tour. We’ll be seeing beautiful canyon lands in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. It will certainly be a change of venue from most of our past journeys and a stark scenic contrast from the green rolling hills of east Tennessee.