Too Much Reading. Too Little Time

It all started when I read Karen Otto's blog, A'Musements. She received a "You Make My Day" award from a fellow blogger. In turn she passed on the award to 5 bloggers that make her day. I began reading the blogs of those women and their favorites! Wow - what talented, creative, wonderful women. Now, I want to read their thoughts everyday -and who has the time? I will have to create some schedule or system. Ha! As a result, I have new "Favorites" for you to link to: Tammy Fischer, The Feathered Nest, Vintage Lily, Freckled Farm. Click and enjoy!

I have the day off today and plan to work on more projects for Flourishes. Click on the link in my "Favorites" for The Silly Bear to learn more about this new venue which is in a familiar location for many of us in Oregon and Washington (formerly Willow Nest at Mt. Pleasant). It will be filled with treasures that will make your heart sing! I am closing today with pictures of "storyboards" I made for a couple of shops. I hope you can enjoy some of the spring bulbs that are popping up all over! What a lovely sign of warmer days. M.

Kicking Off Another Week

My son and I were going to check out an apartment in Eugene today. He was all prepared to give them a deposit, etc. The pictures on-line were amazing: new cabinetry/appliances, crown molding, painted pressed tin ceiling, new carpet, new bathroom fixtures. He would be the first renter to live in it. However, we cancelled the trip after talking to the property manager. The apartment was a studio in a newly renovated, turn-of-the-century home 4 blocks from downtown. Sounded perfect. He could bike or walk to work. The thing that put the kabosh on it was it's size. They were asking $550.00 a month for 150 square feet!!! It's not a typo -- and I asked several times - 1 - 5 -- 0 square feet. That's just slightly bigger than the pop-up tent I use at antiques shows! Needless to say, he will continue to look. Yikes! What are they thinkin'?!?

I spent most of yesterday in my workroom and knocked out a few little friends for you to enjoy. These and other creations will be at Flourishes at Mount Pleasant on March 15th! My friends

Joy, Cindy, and Lisa will be a Expo this weekend. If you're planning to attend, be sure to stop at their booths and check out all their wonderful treasures! M.

Spring Cleaning!

I finally had an afternoon to open the garage door and clean up the mess that was the result of too many weeks of cold, damp weather. It was easier and quicker to set something in close proximity of where it belonged and deal with it when the garage was warmer. I don't know if it was that much warmer, but it wasn't raining and seemed better. After a couple of hours and a trip to Goodwill, the garage is more managable. I can actually find things again! There is another reason for organizing and clean-up. Our son accepted a job back in Eugene. It is the position he had been hoping, wishing and praying for. He is so excited. However, until he finds an apartment he will be staying with friends. That means he will have to store things with us for about a month. So our garage will become a mini-storage unit once again. What are parents for - right? It is possible that he can leave things in his current apartment that he rents from my sister. Unfortuantely, she will have to find another renter, but she is happy for Jake and knew it would happen eventually. I know she will miss him and all the mischief they got into together.

Friday was a fun, fun day. My friend Joy and I went to lunch, then to the Goodwill outlet. Are we crazy orwhat?!? We buy stuff and bring it home, then truck stuff back and give it to them as a donation. Shouldn't we be making even trades or something? Anyway, we found some treasures. A couple of them will fit nicely into my current projects - bonus! Joy brought me the sweet pansy that is in the picture to the right. The other pictures are other signs of spring in our yard. I am also re-posting pictures from last week. They were in the post I removed due to a questionable comment. Is there a way to remove a comment without having to remove the entire post? Need to get busy - much to do in my workroom. Hope you are having a great weekend! M.

Looking toward the Weekend

One more workday, then it's work, work, work at home! I have many projects to complete before delivering to Flourishes for the March 15th sale. Miss Ballerina Bunny is another example of what I will be taking -- the mannequin, unfortunately is from last year and found a new home. She was so much fun to create that I wanted to share her with you. Who knows? Maybe I will make her sister!?! Hope you can enjoy some sunshine today - M.

"All Downhill from Here" Day

I am off to work today, so I'm posting some images from last spring. Sorry, I had to remove yesterday's post. Someone left an unidentifiable comment and the only way to remove it was to delete my post. I made changes to my settings and hope that will eliminate that problem in the future. More to come later in the week! Hope your week is all downhill from here - M

Work in Progress

This weekend holds promise of being able to create things like crazy. The sun is supposed to shine and warm everything up. Hopefully, me included! I was able to get home early yesterday and started designing an assemblege on a small canvas. I have painted the background twice and changed the other materials a couple of times, too. I think I'm on the right track now. I have to have all the possible bits and pieces around me which creates a huge mess! I end up working in an area on the table that is about 12 inches square. It is a process of trial and error until suddently all the pieces fall into place and I am a happy girl! When its been a few weeks (months?) since I've been in my workroom, it takes me a little while to get into a "groove". Then I can't make things fast enough to keep up with my brain. That is when I wish I had a clone or atleast be able to wave a magic wand like in Cinderella and make it all appear! Bibbity, bobbity, boo! More later -- M.

Happy Valentine's Day

Not only is this Valentine's Day, this is the day we celebrate Zoe's birthday. We adopted her when she was 7. Today, she is 11. We celebrate on Valentine's Day since we are not sure what day in February she was born. She will get a few special treats and maybe an extra walk. As you can tell, she is a special member of our household. Without her, adjusting to the "empty nest" thing would have been really difficult for me. She is a constant source of entertainment. I appreciate what I perceive as her dry sense of humor and the fact that she doesn't realize that she is 77 in dog years! Very spunky. The picture is alittle blurry since it had to be taken quickly. Seconds after, the birthday tiara was removed with one swipe of a big paw. Enough birthday silliness for her!

Tonight my husband and I will go out for a wonderful dinner at a nearby restaurant called Amadeus. We usually don't do the dinner thing on Valentine's Day, but this year it sounded like fun and we actually managed to get a reservation. I left little notes in my husband's planner to remind him throughout the day that he is #1. He is very special and I am thankful everyday that he is my Valentine - always!

Workshop

Today was the first day in over a month that I spent time in my workroom. I brought out my Spring inspiration: bowls filled with birds, eggs, feathers and nest-makings. I am ready to get busy. But first, a little fun and folly. My friend Diane came over and we worked on some sweet, shabby chic crowns. You can make them any way you want. The sky is the limit! The base of my crown is a miniature reproduction of garden fencing. Diane's is from scraps of aviary wire. I think they turned out beautiful! I also made another little item that I will wait to show until after Valentine's Day. It is a surprise for my sister. I'll go into more detail later. Toodles!

Out & About

Yesterday morning was the first time since - I don't know when - that I got out and went treasure hunting! My friend Diane and I went to our favorite, monthly flea market. I was able to restock my supply of interesting old wooden boxes. I use these to contain my little assembleges. There were many other great finds: old pictures, metal lunch boxes, and a wonderful old wood and glass clock case. Our friends Joy and Lisa were also there. Joy was helping Lisa at her table. Lisa had many little bits and pieces that I can use this spring. After shopping, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in downtown Independence. What a wonderful little cafe - Andy's Cafe! We had an egg scramble that included fresh spinach, tomato and Asiago cheese. Fabulous!!! After a couple other quick stops, we called it a day. It was so good to get out and have some fun looking for great finds! I'm including some pictures of my friends and the great treasures I found.

Go Red Day

February 1st is Go Red Day for Women. This day has been created by the American Heart Association to celebrate the energy, passion and power women have when banded together to fight heart disease and stroke. The color red stands for the ability all women have to improve their heart health and live better lives. Several important women in my life have had heart disease and this little post is my way to make women aware that it can happen to you. Diet and exercise can reduce your chances of heart disease and stroke. I made a personal goal for myself to lose weight and get more exercise this year. A few years ago, I was eating so much better and exercising almost every day. I had a back injury that made it painful to go on the daily walks, etc. From that point, I've fallen back into some not-so-healthy habits. I decided that 2008 was going to be the beginning of a healthier me. I know this sounds crazy considering I have just spent the past 3 weeks with a nasty virus, but it has made me even more aware of the importance of being healthy. Don't take it for granted for a single day. I'm trying to make small changes and be successful with those before moving on to other things. I would rather be successful with a few things, than take on too much initially and fail. Anyway, there you have it! I am leaving you with a few pictures of some of my favorite "red" things. The little hearts were part of an ornament collection that were my mother's. The birdhouse is on my patio.

Also, today is the birthday of a good friend - Cindy of Tarte! Today should also be declared "Pink Day" for her! Drop by her blog: http://www.queenoftarte.blogspot.com/ and wish her a Happy Birthday! Best Wishes, Cindy!