(un)Deniably Domestic

My Friend Cathy

2012-02-07T21:18:00.008-06:00

Painting by Missouri artist, Cathy Clemens - 2011

Hi! I have this friend and her name is Cathy. I call her CC sometimes. Cathy is a gift in my life and I could not help but share her talent with you. Cathy is also known as YiaYia - an ever so new grandmother. Her grand-daughter is lucky to have her talented and smart YiaYia paint her such a marvelous painting.

This is a very special piece that will always remind this sweet grand-baby of where she was born. This photo of Cathy's painting does not do it justice, but you get the idea. The color is nothing less than spectacular and the texture so wonderful. Aren't the trees delightful?

Cathy and I have been working together not long enough. I love her energy, her strength, and her honesty. Her greatest gift to me is the gift of laughter. I get to spend a precious few moments with her before classes two days a week. No matter my mood, no matter her mood, we find a place in our togetherness to laugh. She may not know this but she has saved me many a day with smiles, great coffee, and laughter. Thank you my dear friend for making me a better person.

Saturday Sampler - January

2012-02-06T21:09:00.006-06:00

Here is block number one of the Saturday Sampler quilt. This is a fabulously fun program you can find at Merrily We Quilt Along. This is our very first block of the year. Clearly, I have not pieced in quite some time. I hope to show improvement in the coming months. Merrily's shop is feeling more comfortable to me all the time. Everyone is funny and kind. I am looking forward to spending more time with all the wonderful women who gather the first Saturday of each month to participate in Saturday Sampler. Next month, I think I will get my young friend, Chelsea, out of bed a little bit earlier to spend a little breakfast time at the Fat Quarter Tea Room.

Click here to see the parties I have attended this week. I hope you will join in.

LucyLu HOO!

2012-01-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

I have enjoyed making clothes and costumes for my children. I hope they will remember the fun of these projects as I remember the wonderful dresses, Barbie clothes, and costumes my mother made for me while growing up. It is hard to pick favorites. I have helped create a princess, a mime, a princess, a china doll, a princess, a fairy, a princess, a bunch of grapes, a princess, Minnie Mouse and many more. This year I was blessed to create, for LucyLu, an owl. She was adorable.

LucyLu is a tough one to take pictures of. She is nearly always moving and has a quite frankly I don't give a daisy attitude when you ask her to pose. Here is a rare still moment in front of Word World.

I was inspired by Christine's Pink Owl Costume. You can visit Christine, and check out her sweet, pink, girly owl on her blog, Pure Joy Events. The tutorial is wonderful and you will find templates to download for your own owl creation.

Photo credit : Pure Joy Events

I hooked LucyLu's owl hat from a pattern created by Inner Hooker. Click here to order Scotti's pattern. The pattern is wonderfully organized, clear and easily understandable. I believe it took me less than an hour and a half to complete and LucyLu loves it.

Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?

2012-01-24T20:06:00.005-06:00

There is never a shortage of birthdays around here. We started the year with Lydia turning 20. How does that happen? Lydia is a smart and beautiful young woman with a mind of her own. Cupcakes were not on the menu. She ordered a birthday brunch of hot biscuits and gravy. I was happy to oblige.

Candles work just fine with biscuits. She made a wish and I hope it was a good one, because she deserves it.

She has many have to haves right now so she received the most practical of gifts - a gift card to a nearby stuff mart. Not wanting to let a birthday go by without something special, I hooked a hat and scarf with her in mind. It is soft and wonderful.

She is a tattooed lady. Sigh. I am not sure I will ever get used to this. It must be a sign of my age. At least she has a good reminder. Keep looking forward, Lydia. May the future bring you joy and sweet life. Have fun. You're only twenty once.

John's Ill-Advised Attempt To Make Kelly Laugh

2012-01-16T00:03:00.001-06:00

Wrapping Up The Holiday

2012-01-13T16:58:00.005-06:00

Life has been pretty busy around unDeniably Domestic this week. Boys' basketball is in full swing so we are doing some bleacher sitting. Ouch. Competitive cheer season is here, so extra practices are popping up on the schedule. Classes begin on Tuesday, so I have been working hard to get everything online and ready for students. I have just a couple of days to finish up my winter projects and I just might make it. I have been doing some creative work and will update you over the weekend. In the meantime, I would like to share a little bit of what we tucked into boxes this past week. It did not seem like the Christmas holiday was very long this year. The living room looks back to normal. The village has been carefully put away.

My favorite decorations are found in the kitchen.

I love this little tree in the baking kitchen. I love it so much that I have threatened to replace the ornaments with hearts and leave it out a little longer.

A bowl of sweet vintage on the small table in the kitchen makes me happy.

Time to change the sprinkles to pink and red.

We are still using the table top tree also known as the grand baby proof tree. It is fun, sweet and not so much work as our traditional routine. The quilt is one that was made by my mother and has hung in her house for many years. She loaned it to me for LuLu's enjoyment. Don't worry, Mom, I will bring it back soon.

This Creative Space

2012-01-10T20:26:00.003-06:00

I have been working on this creative space and all the while have been making a mess here on my blog. You may have seen some interesting things popping up here and there for the past couple of days. Sorry for the confusion.

I am very excited about my new background and new banner. Photoshop and I are becoming somewhat familiar with one another and like any good relationship we have had our challenges. I was up until 3am fighting but eventually won and created this sweet new background. I will be continuing to work out the kinks and make the rest of the space look like my new banner. In celebration of my new look, I have a special giveaway in the wings, so be sure to check back.

Creative Space

2012-01-09T14:52:00.006-06:00

I pretty much have my creative space set up. It is still a bit messy and I have a to-do list of things I want to hang and things I want to paint, but the room is nearly functioning. I am very excited as I have not had this space completely unpacked in nearly a decade. I was surprised by some of the wonderful things I found that had been forgotten. I snapped a few pictures for you.

Lesson One - Pink Hearts and Fleur de lis

2012-01-05T18:37:00.010-06:00

After all of these years, I am finally learning how to applique. I know this amazing, and fabulous, teacher. I am so very lucky to learn from this master quilter and have even managed to finagle private lessons. I have her all to myself. It's all about me. Now, this is no small deal. This woman teaches all over the United States. Over the years, you may have seen he here, or here, or here, or even here. You will definitely find her here next fall. Did I mention she is also my mother? Her favorite genre is Baltimore Album quilts. Here is a taste of what she has done.

Oh, and this brown and pink beauty is all mine. She made this wonderful award winning quilt for me. Lucky me! Are you jealous? That's all hand applique and hand quilting.

Now clearly, by the looks of my little, single heart, I have a long way to go. The fabric still feels awkward in my hand and the needle does not always do what I demand in my head. Hopefully, my stitches will begin to hide better and I will actually manage to get the lines in the seam allowance. Cut me some slack. I have only had one lesson. I pressed, cut, traced, and traced some more, listened and just began stitching. I am so excited. Mom was patient, but I am a bit neurotic and it tends to really show when I am learning new things. She might have wanted to smack me on the head once or twice, but I never would have known. Lesson Two is next week. Yikes! I have a lot of homework to do between now and then.

Neat and Sweet

2012-01-03T09:05:00.013-06:00

Spring cleaning and project completion comes early around here. We are teachers and our longest break of the year is the one between fall and spring semesters. No, most teachers don't get summers off. Sigh. I was reading blogs this morning and was heading back to my home office with a fresh cup of coffee, when this view caught my eye. A clean and organized bedroom. It felt so good, that I thought I would snap a few pictures to share. The light is not good. It is early and winter. This side of the house has a northern exposure making it a bit dim in the winter time. I don't really mind as this means the winter sun is shining through the baking kitchen windows this time of year and the room is simply alive with light. This is a very good thing. Please don't mind that I did not make the bed for pictures - it is more authentic this way. This picture also reveals that we have a grandbaby that often stays with us. The sitting room is perfect for a basket of toys and a crib. I managed to get through the bedroom, sitting room, and bathroom in three afternoons. I purged old sweaters, old shoes and scratchy socks from the closet and drawers. I cleaned out the boxes under the bed and the drawers in the dressers and nightstand. It feels good. My shoes are no longer throwing parties under the bed.

And, my sweaters are neatly folded.

The gloves peeking out from the basket are from a night some thirty years ago. I wore a red dress and flowers in my hair.

This is my nightstand - one of the many places in our home that gets messy easily. What you don't see are the cough drop wrappers and tissue that I pushed ever so slightly to the left for this picture. That is reality - a winter holiday cold hanging on and on. The lamp is another story for another time.

This clock was stitched by mother as a gift to my paternal grandparents. I have it now and the tick, tick, tick of this beautiful piece often helps me fall asleep at night.

This is one of my favorite pictures. The kiss. John Darling and I were being silly and loving while the photographer was setting up another picture. John Darling is blushing like crazy. I love that about him. I hope I can always make him blush a little with my kisses.

This is not an antique, but has that feel. I purchased this sweet Victorian nightie for a special picture with my newborn nearly fourteen years ago. It hangs on the door between our bedroom and our sitting room. See the pretty crazy quilt pendant? Isn't is sweet? My mother made this twenty five years ago.

A pretty antique blouse and petticoat hang behind the door.

My jewelry is in its place.

The blankets are folder neatly on the hope chest.

This sweet dress was made for LibbyLu by my mother. I love it so much.

What now? Well, three rooms remain on the winter break list: laundry room, studio, and office. Which should I work on next?

Have you found your niche?

2012-01-02T11:04:00.013-06:00

I am one who struggles to find her niche. I am forever defining who I am, what my style is, and where I want to go. Over the past ten years, I have settled into a niche here and there. I know what I love in homes - wide moldings, stories, color, and a studio space. I still struggle to pull it all together and am combing blogs daily for some one look that hits me just right.

I pretty much know who I am clothing wise. I love the femininity of the fifties, the skirts, the fabrics, but put it together with an artsy bent. In other words, my style finds it perfectly acceptable to wear Mary Janes every day except the days I wear high tops, leggings with skirts, and always a shawl because I just can't stand a heavy coat. For reasons I can't explain, I also wear a good deal of black and gray in the winter months.

I have certainly found my niche in cooking. I love to bake. I love to eat what I bake. This might be enough said.

My niche in the world of careers is teaching. I am comfortable there, in the classroom, but struggle with the academic politics and do not play that game well as I do not want to play that game at all. I struggle in this place at times. During the struggles, I wonder what other niche I might be able to fill.

In my creative life, I struggle. My niches are multiple. I like to sew, knit, embroider, crochet, cross-stitch and paint. This is not a bad thing, but I worry that I will not excel at one for the many that I enjoy. I do not have a niche. I like it all as my mood moves me from one kind of project to another. I continue to explore to find that one thing I can really become good at like my mother. Have you seen her work? You should drop by her blog and say hello. She has a niche that will amaze you. Here is some of her work...

Along with my need to find a creative niche, I am having an identity crises. You may have noticed if you have been by in the past couple of days. See the new banner? Hate it. I have struggled with my online identity for some time. I would like to find one to stick with. My first identity was created in Word by John Darling...

My second was almost this...

But, ended up this....

What will I do? Stay tuned.

Do you Pin?

2011-12-30T11:40:00.008-06:00

Photo Credit: 100 Billion Stars

One of my new loves this year has been Pinterest. It can become quite the distraction while I am online. I often use a Pinterest browsing session as a reward for grading diligently, for completing a not so fun household chore, or just because I am worth it. Right? I invite you to follow my boards:

And, don't forget to let me know if this is a new obsession of yours as well. I would love to see what you are pinning.

My favorite pin of the week is this Gigi Pincushion. You can find this one at 100 Billion Stars - click here. The free pattern for the Gigi Pincushion has been shared by FreeSpirit Fabric. Here is their version:

Photo credit: FreeSpirit

Happy pinning!

Keeping Calm

2011-12-29T13:00:00.010-06:00

Hello to you.

This blog post has been a long time in coming. The blog has been a bit of desert this past year. This past year has been an emotionally difficult year for me and I believe there is a connection here. As there has not been a lot of blogging going on, life has been going on full blast. Although I have been remiss in posting pictures and sharing with you, I have taken hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures. I miss the sharing, the blogging, the creative energy you gift me and I thank you for being patient. I am sure I can look back over these past five years of blogging, and find other times I struggled creatively. When I am stressed, the creativity floats away. It seems that it should work otherwise, but does not for me. I am hoping to reboot in a positive way.

We are struggling, like many of you, in this difficult economy. I would love to know how you are going to make things work in 2012? I taught an extra course this past fall. It helped some. I am not panicked this winter to make the high utility bills. I don’t like writing a check for that much, but can if I need to. I had budgeted well for Christmas and spent every single penny. But, last week we were derailed financially. Sigh.

After sacrificing for two years while John worked on his postgraduate degree, we were behind coming into this past school year – farther behind than I was willing to admit. I kept up appearances, paid cheer fees, purchased school supplies and uniforms and pushed forward. John is still seeking a full-time teaching gig, but we made the per course situation mostly work. Then things began to add up. As a family, we have managed to hit the emergency room four times this past year. While caring for my father, I came down with a cold, turned bronchitis, turned pneumonia. I have had three colds since. This one will take a while to recover from. I just can’t shake not so good health for the first time in my life.

LibbyLu has had an injury or two this past year, but seems to be fairing well. She is thirteen and I am hoping her emotional life is tidier than her room. Some of you may know what I am talking about.

On a November afternoon, John met me outside my classroom door. His face was white and his eyes glassy. He said he needed to go to the emergency room. He had chest pains. By this time, I was sick of St. John’s. Yes, my family has had wonderful care there, but I know the hospital better than most of the employees I am sure. I am ready for everyone to be well. John spent two nights in the hospital and we walked out with few answers. He is feeling better, but I am watchful and nervous.

December brought the medical bills. I was discouraged but knew that we could manage. It would take some time, but it was doable. This is life.

Also, in December, John met his biggest teaching challenge yet. Two of his students, unhappy with his rigorous standards, decided to complain. This is not an unusual reaction by students. Missouri’s A-plus program has flooded our community colleges with young students pressured by parents to take advantage of two free years of college. This program has filled our classrooms with students who want an A, but have no idea what it takes to earn an A in college.

Three days before Christmas, after all the money was spent, the food purchased and packages neatly wrapped and tucked under the tree, John received an e-mail stating he would not be granted courses for spring semester. We are devastated. Understand, we are far more upset about the fact that this is college after all. College is not easy. College should not be easy. Grades are earned not purchased - an idea that may be outdated.

Teaching is becoming a very scary profession. Each spring, we sit and wait to see if contracts are signed for the next school year. There is little protection and no union. There is no tenure. Our jobs are fragile. Teaching was my dream. I worked hard to achieve my educational goals. I should be living the dream. What else is an English major to do? I have a degree in writing, I teach writing and I love teaching writing.

Thank you for reading along. I worry it is a big whine, but sometimes I need to whine. I appreciate you.

Following Directions

2011-12-06T09:04:00.009-06:00

It is winter here in the Ozarks. The mittens and wool coats are hanging ready and hula-hoops, skooters and bicycles are hibernating. In the spring, the toys will come out to play and lawnmowers will hum through the neighborhood on Saturday mornings. This is very different from where I grew up. The sun shown most days, after the fog rolled back out to sea, and lawn mowing was mostly a three and a half season chore.

The neighborhood was our social network in those days. Everyone knew everyone else. We obeyed our friends’ moms as much as we did our own. There was a magic mom hotline which could be tripped by any kid antics and wrong doings. Mom would know where we had been and what we had been doing long before we barged in the front door tired from play and ready for dinner. Life was more regular. Lunch was at noon and dinner at five. Every day.

In my memory every family had children, a pet, a mother and a father. The mothers worked sometimes, but cared for family all the time. The fathers worked. Most of the fathers worked from 8 to 5, mine worked from midnight to 8. We all lived in small square houses on small square blocks in a neatly arranged neighborhood. We walked to school and played foursquare in the intersection one block East of Eden Street where we lived in a small, square, brown house with a neatly trimmed hedge and a playhouse out back. On warm, late afternoons fathers would roll up the sleeves of their white, crisp collared shirts, loosen their narrow black ties, and risk the polish on their wing tips pushing lawn movers across and back, across and back the neat patches of grass.

My dad was different. He wore grease under his nails, white t-shirts with a pack of cigarettes rolled in the left arm sleeve and dark blue work pants. He mowed the lawn when he could, mostly in the mornings while other fathers worked. My friends’ dads were accountants, bankers, lawyers and such, my father was an aircraft electrical mechanic. He was trained in the Navy on air craft carriers then stationed in Palo Alto where he was ground support for the final fleet of dirigibles moored at Moffet Field. My parents were married in the base chapel. She wore white. He wore his Cracker-Jack blues. They were young.

After the Navy, Dad was hired by SFO helicopter. He worked there long enough to see the last of the injured arrive home from Vietnam. He would take me to work with him some nights. I would work with him until lunch time. We would go with the guys to an airport restaurant where the waitresses liked my curly blonde pigtails and treated me to hot fudge sundaes. After lunch, Dad would pull his 1967 Mustang into the hanger and I would crawl in to the back seat to sleep the early morning hours into dreams and now memories. I slept and he worked.

Eventually, the small East Bay landing strip grew into an international airport and the helicopters were no longer needed to buzz passengers across the bay from Oakland to San Francisco and back again. One morning, my father and fellow workers showed up to work to find padlocks on the gates. This is how they found out they were unemployed.

With most of the other men, my father was hired by Bay Area Rapid Transit. To us kids, BART was a magical happening in our lives. We listened to nightly news stories about the progress of the tunnel being built, under water, from Oakland to San Francisco while eating dinner and feeding vegetables to our dog, Daisy. I was nine years old. We had just gotten our first color television, which my father had built from a kit. Soon, we knew, my father would be fixing the sleek silver trains that traveled under water. Dad worked for BART for more than twenty years. As a gift to my mother on their twenty fifth wedding anniversary, he switched from working the graveyard shift to the swing shift. My father never did work like the other fathers, 8 to 5, but our family needed the small extra allowance alternative shifts offered.

My father was a fixer of all things. He always fixed things right, or fixed them until he fixed them right. He always followed the rules and respected the union. He worked hard. He never clocked out early, never took naps on the train, and never extended break times. He never snuck away to watch football up in the foreman’s office. He taught us a good work ethic by his own actions.

My father’s job changed as rapidly as technology changed. As with the work he did on helicopters, working on trains required skills that were ever evolving and skills that if not mastered could lead to equipment failure or worse. He attended all required training including many classes at Laney Community College. He was much like many of my students. He learned what he needed to learn to bring home a good paycheck, to support his family.

My father was able to retire two years early. The union and my mother’s gift for managing money well made this happen. He was ready. He looked forward to it. He talked of long, lazy afternoons dozing in his hammock in the backyard. He was excited to know there would be time for quite mornings on the reservoir in his custom made canoe. He had a new grand-daughter to dote on and a move across country to be closer to her. Well, that is how it was for him. He retired.

Shortly after my family arrived in Missouri, my father and I sat on the back porch and talked about his life in retirement. We sipped coffee and he smoked as he always did. His tone was full of longing, but hopeful as well. He shared with me two things that surprised him after he retired. The first was a sense of loss. He missed his work friends and missed the work, the attention to detail, and the problem solving. He struggled to find his footing in a new day without deadlines, without rules. His greatest surprise was the relief he felt upon retiring.

His relief was not related to overtime hours, long union strikes, or difficult supervisors. He expressed that when he woke on his first morning of retirement he realized that never again would thousands of lives be in his hands. He talked of following directions, double checking his work and following the rules. Every morning, when train cars rolled out of the shop and onto the third rail he knew thousands of passengers were depending on him to do his job more than well, he had to do it perfectly. It was a matter of following directions. For those thousands of people who commuted each day from one side of the bay to the other, in the tunnel under the bay, it was a matter of life or death.

For my students: Knowing why we have to do things the way we have to do things is not always obvious. We are not always privy to the why. But, the why is not always as important as the process, the journey, and the experience. Setting your margins correctly, documenting your sources perfectly and controlling the urge to randomly sprinkle commas onto essays like bakers add sprinkles to cupcakes will pay off later when you are asked to follow direction. This why is obvious. This why teaches you to follow directions so when you don’t know the why or what you are required to do, you are not surprised that things work out well in the long run because you knew enough to do things right.

Cool Spooky Spider Fun

2011-11-07T21:31:00.006-06:00

This year for spooky day, I decided to serve juice boxes to the kids during our pre-Trick-or-Treat. It was so much easier than punch and there was less waste and more nutritious goodness to add to start off this crazy candy holiday. To punch up the fun, I dropped a few plastic spiders in the ice. As the ice melted the spiders seemed to creep out of the bowl. It was fun.

But, I must confess that every time I walked into the kitchen in the days prior to Halloween, where the extra crawlers were piled on the counter, I started.

Every single time.

The itsy, bitsy spider...

Spooky Days Behind Us

2011-11-05T19:35:00.006-05:00

I am still not at my full energy, caught up, or ready to try to do it all, but am a bit better and feeling like being here in blogland. Thank you for your continued support and readership. I do appreciate you all.

Halloween was great fun, as usual, at our house. We added a new wreath to the door and renewed other decorations. We purchased 40 pounds of candy, gave it out one piece at a time, and depleted the supply around 9 p.m. Our neighborhood celebrates fall in a most spectacular way.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

2011-10-17T20:32:00.006-05:00

Who doesn't love chocolatey, chocolate, double, semi-sweet chocolate cake? If you answered it is you, well, then you are certainly missing out by skipping this recipe from Williams-Sonoma, my favorite kitchen have-to-have purveyor. Baking goes way back in the gene pool of my family. The cookie and dessert section of my recipe book is thick and dense with decadence passed from one generation to the next. I am known for my bread, sweet and warm from the oven, perfectly round Snickerdoodles, Cherry Pie as scarlet as it is tart (Thanks to Mom's recipe.), and John's favorite, Pumpkin Pie.

Baking this cake is a journey, indeed. The baking kitchen was warm on this October afternoon. I love how the sun shines through the aprons hanging in the windows. I tied on a worn, favorite apron. This apron is good for baking. I use it to carry eggs, wipe my hands on, and hold my phone. I listen to an audiobook while in my kitchen on weekend afternoons. My current selection is The Help. I love the slow drawls of the women and the familiar sounds of hmmmm=mmmmm. These strong headed women with raspy voices remind me of Aunt Bee, her friend Miss Dot and her other friend Miss Sug, as in Sugar, Harris. I learned to dive in Miss Sug's pool in Eunice, Louisiana on a hot, steamy August afternoon. I must have been 6, maybe, 7 years old. The women were strong and smart.

These women are in my bones as I knead dough and in my head as I remember how their small town was split by Main Street. The whites lived North of Main and the blacks South. This was a a quiet discrimination - Jim Crow laws had long been discarded. What remained, however, was far more dangerous and subversive. The laws may have vanished but the ways did not. I would not be surprised, these forty years later, to still find the Jim Crow laws in practice in the relationships of this small town. It is hard to remember, but I believe that I learned about the badness of it all from my mother, my father, and the three women who sat by the pool, talking of church, craw-dads for supper, while sipping Coke-Cola's out of glass bottles with a straw. These women loved us all fearlessly and taught us about the good in Southern life. There was always cake after Sunday supper. Pull up a chair and have a slice.

For the cake:

• 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted, plus more for dusting pan
• 7 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 20 Tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the ganache:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a Bundt Cake Pan and dust with cocoa powder; tap out the excess.

To make the cake, in a bowl, combine the 1 cup cocoa powder and the chocolate. Add the boiling water and whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth and blended. Set aside.

Over a sheet of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce the speed to low, add the brown sugar and beat until blended. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating until incorporated before adding more and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour, beating just until blended and no lumps of flour remain.

Slowly pour in the chocolate-cocoa mixture and beat until no white streaks are visible, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached to it, 60 to 65 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Let the cake cool completely, at least 1 hour.

Return the cooled cake to the pan. Using a serrated knife, gently saw off any excess cake that extends over the edge of the pan. Set the wire rack on a parchment paper lines baking sheet. Invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan.

Meanwhile make the ganache: In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until the melt and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing the ganache, to drip down the sides. Let the cake stand until the ganache is set, at least 15 minutes.

Serves 16

A Word In Your Ear

2011-09-30T22:19:00.009-05:00

Like some of you, perhaps, I used to wish I had been born 10 years earlier, so I could have been part of the music scene I just missed, the rise of all my favorites: Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson. But now, with the fantastic audio technology we have today, I'm happier than ever to be alive. The irony is that I rarely listen to music anymore.

I have 40 or so audio books, 28 of which are in my iTunes library. I have apps on my iPhone that link me into many, many more - hundreds of titles, most for no charge. I can easily move from "A Christmas Carol" to "Anne of Green Gables" to "As a Man Thinketh" to "The Psychology of Achievement" to Ben Stein's "How To Ruin Your Life."

I listen to them all the time when I'm alone: when I shave and shower, when I iron my shirts, when I clean the kitchen, when I drive by myself. Every day I have those delightful moments of inspiration and motivation and education, when the best thought of others stick in my head and make me a better teacher, a better husband, a better man - all while doing other things.

A wonderful lecture on rhetoric is currently topping my playlist on the iPhone, and I'm 11 discs into a Michael Crichton novel in the car. I bought a used, 18-disc copy of "All the King's Men" for $4 at a flea market this week, and our Audible.com credits just restocked. Kelly recently finished up "Water for Elephants" and has started "The Help" on her phone.

Maybe I did miss out on being nothing but a hound dog hanging out at the soda shoppe with Little Susie after school, but I sure enjoy the immediacy and convenience of audiobooks. As Jim Rohn says, miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Today, I choose...

2011-09-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

I love choices.

Boo-Fest Planning Meeting

2011-09-21T11:36:00.004-05:00

I am a room parent this year. I love that. Our first Boo-Fest planning meeting is this afternoon and I have been charged with coming up with ideas. Hmmmm. Here is a few ideas scavenged from the Internet. Do you have any ideas?

Roaming Polly - Sew extra pockets on a full apron and roam the festival. For a Boo Fest ticket, a child can pick a pocket for prizes and more tickets.
Boo Colorful Nail Booth - paint spooky white, orange and/or black nails. Maybe stock a few spooky nail stickers as well.
Fall Photo Booth - the class paints a Fall background on a large canvas tarp, provide extra pumpkins and leaves and have a fun dress-up kit for great Boo-fest memory photos.
Squash Ring Toss
Pumpkin Toss - ping pong balls into plastic pumpkins that is.
Spooky Face Painting Booth

Lu Lu Is 2

2011-09-05T13:39:00.019-05:00

Our Lucy Lu is 2, which seems impossible. At the same time, it feels as though she has always been here, always a part of our lives. We are blessed to be her primary babysitter for all this time, and were lucky enough that she and her mom even lived with us for many months during this past year. We could not be happier having them around, especially at birthday time.

Snuggled up in bed one day, Nana asked Lucy what kind of cupcakes she wanted. “I want chocolate,” she said. “What kind of frosting do you want?” Nana asked. With no answer coming quickly, Grandpa whispered into her ear, “cherry.”

At our house, any birthday begins with the baking, and, of course, the photographs of the baking. Kelly decided to try the ice cream cone cupcakes, which sounded good but required something to support the batter-filled cones in the oven. Our solution was a couple of inverted disposable aluminum cake pans with a dozen cone-sized squares cut into the bottom. It worked perfectly, but if any of you have a better idea, we would love to hear it.

As you can see, the cone cupcakes – conecakes? – turned out beautifully, as does everything Kelly does in the kitchen. These treats were small but tasty, and surprisingly moist. I still can’t figure out why the cones don’t burn in the oven, but who am I to question the best chefs at Keebler?

And there was enough batter left over that we had plenty of cupcakes for friends and neighbors (well, mostly just me) for days after the party.

All the guests were invited to wear princess tiaras, which Prince Papa enjoyed showing off.

Carrie had a delightful and refreshing picnic for us, with chicken salad sandwiches, veggies, fruit (and her secret recipe fruit dip), and cold water and juices. Here, Lydia and the birthday girl sneak over to the gift table while everyone else was eating.

There were gifts aplenty, but Lucy had little patience for the wrapping and tissue paper. As you can see, Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty were welcome guests.

Perhaps the start of Lucy's motor cross career? She seems to have the personality for it. Aubrey, Carrie, Libby and Lydia all took turns showing Lucy how the petals work.

Happy birthday, Lucy Lu. We all love you.

Sadie Baby

2011-08-23T01:54:00.010-05:00

It doesn't take long for these little grand babies to win our hearts, does it?

Baby Sadie, who we had been seeing a lot lately, is just adorable, fun and full of giggles. Cubsey loves playing with her, and LibbyLu especially is able to make her laugh.

Now, here we are just days away from Lucy's second birthday, and Sadie and her mom have up and moved to another state, genuinely greener pastures, where they just happen to be near our other grandkiddies, Callie and Brianne.

We miss you guys. Oh, what the hey, let's use an exclamation point: we miss you guys!

At Long Last – Free Food At The IHOP

2011-07-16T09:58:00.012-05:00

This is John. To be fair, the senior discount comes early at IHOP, age 55 rather than the more traditional, you know, 65 or even 62. But we noticed back in the winter during a late-night visit to our favorite pancake place that pretty soon I would qualify for their “Seniority has its privileges” specialty entrees and discounts on certain other meals, if we buy two soft drinks.

I’ve never had an alcoholic beverage, and have never been in a bar that serves those kinds of drinks (except once to see The Rainmakers and Big Beat Club), and have never bought anything at a liquor store, so I have never been carded. I am looking forward to my first senior deal at IHOP, because I’m sure, absolutely positive, our incredulous server will demand some type of proof that I am, in fact, old enough to qualify, because I don’t look that old. I may not remember where my driver’s license is, or where I put the keys, or where I parked, but I don’t look that old. Of course, my eyes are getting pretty bad…. Um, what was I talking about?

I don’t feel much different than I did when I was a teenager. My routine is different, my hair is much different, but many of my habits are the same, my thinking is the same. I am more sore more often these days, but otherwise I seem like the same person I was then: happy, hopeful, curious, worried, amusing, and a little bit in the mood for peanut butter cookies. I still listen to the same music – Beatles, Everly Brothers, Nilsson, Orbison, Dylan – but I don’t follow sports anymore. I still love the written word, but I now prefer audiobooks to paperbacks. I still play pointless games in my free time, but instead of solitaire and Yahtzee! on the carpet in my mom’s living room, it’s Scrabble, Bookworm and Angry Birds on my iPhone. I still enjoy being at home and with my family more than I enjoy being anywhere else, but now my family is scattered across the country, which makes time with the ones who are close by all the more precious.

Kelly and Carrie threw a little party for me, supported by Dale and Nadine, Danny, Grace, Libby, Aubrey, and, of course, Lucy. Here are some pictures of the food and fun:

Gifts included a hand-drawn t-shirt, a custom-made duct tape wallet, and - oh baby - a box of a dozen Moon Pies. Plus a card that made me laugh so hard I cried.

Lucy shares a card with Papa, and then enjoys one of Kelly's special pumpkin cupcakes, one of my favorites. Between Kelly's baking and Nadine's baking, I have a lot of favorites.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to have Silly String, but it was a hit. I'm not sure why I seemed to be the main target. Let's do this again on my 85th birthday. Then I might look like I deserve free food at the IHOP.

A Pile of Squares

2011-07-14T09:50:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe that our numbers are growing so quickly over at The Heart in Hand Project. I have another box to open knowing that will bring our blanket square total to over 200! I am overjoyed by the generosity of heart, time. Needle artists of all kinds are the best kinds of comforters. Click here, or on the pictures, to check out the fun and find out about this sweet Abigail pattern.

While there, read about what you can do to bring comfort to the survivors of the May 22nd tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

Another Special Delivery

2011-07-11T18:22:00.004-05:00

The heat is on over at the Heart in Hand project. Click the picture, or here, to check it out.

From My Mother's Garden

2011-07-03T09:31:00.004-05:00

A recent assignment for my painting class was to go out into nature and find color we love. This was not too hard, because I have always admired and loved the color and textures of my mother's garden. She has not worked in the yard as much this year as years past as taking good care of Dad puts such things on the back burner, but there are still amazing things happening in her garden.

More Squares

2011-07-01T10:57:00.005-05:00

I have received our second batch of squares for the Heart in Hand Project. It is getting exciting! To check out Kae's beautiful work click here.

Young Photography

2011-06-30T07:44:00.008-05:00

I never feel guilty about sharing how amazing, smart and talented our children, and grandchildren are. This is our budding photographer, scholar, extreme cheer girl, painter extraordinaire, graffiti artist, and hula hooper, LibbyLu. She spent some time taking pictures of herself, her sister and her niece this past weekend. She has a good eye and loves digitally styling her work. Here is a peek.

First Blanket Squares Arrive!

2011-06-26T22:54:00.002-05:00

I was thrilled to find a package on my front porch Friday evening. I knew it must be something special as I had not placed a recent order and it was not a birthday week in our household. I was quite excited to open the box and be greeted by these lovely squares made by Yvonne S. from Albuquerque, NM. Thank you, Yvonne. Your squares are simply lovely and will inspire many others, with busy hands, to send in their hand knit or crocheted squares to The Heart in Hand Project.

There are 19 squares in all. A wonderful beginning to our project.

Happy colors.

Soft colors.

Beautiful workmanship and soft, soft, yarn.

Yvonne has set the bar. Now, it is your turn. Click here for the project guidelines. I hope you will join us.

Students in The House

2011-06-26T10:43:00.017-05:00

I have recently discovered that when a girl crosses over to the teen years, she needs her mother more than ever before. The delimna lies in the idea that the teen thinks she needs her mother less than ever before. Finding common ground is difficult, but possible. LibbyLu is an accomplished artist indeed. We have encouraged her creative ways by having art supplies on hand, going to school exhibits, and generally telling her how wonderful her work is. This summer has been a busy one as I am encouraging LibbyLu's art while learning to be a student again and teaching. Who ever said teachers get summers off was clearly clueless. LibbyLu and I signed up for Painting I. This guarantees us twelve hours a week, together, doing something creative and something she is good at. She is at a distinct advantage, but I am learning what it is to be a student again. I am hoping this will help me to be a better teacher in our new developmental program debuting this fall. I will be teaching college success courses. I hope I survive this summer to share my experiences.

I was nervous from the get go and still am. Nervousness breeds procrastination. Teachers take note. I purchased our supplies and there were many: canvases, acrylic paint, water mixable oils, rags, brushes, etc. And, we purchased Confident Color - a wonderful book. It was a long list.

I have loved learning about color while working on our first two projects. We created a Value Chart and an Intensity chart. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn. Many of these words, I am not familiar with. It is a whole new world. Teachers take note.

Don't the student charts look amazing hung together in our studio? We have a great place to work twelve hours a week.

My favorite assignment thus far has been working in my sketchbook. You can see here that I am brainstorming for our Master's Study assignment.

After working with color theory, we put some of what we learned in practice by mixing values and intensity in oils. We covered canvases completely, wiped away values and added white and black, or complimentary colors. Here is one set. The first is LibbyLu's. Stunning.

And, um, mine. It is not yet finished, but this is likely as good as it will get.

Now, we are working on our Master's Study. LibbyLu chose Degas' Dressing. Here is the Master's work.

Here is LibbyLu's. Move over Master, here comes an amazing artist in the making.

She is finished. I am working on Master Van Gogh's, Flowers in a Blue Vase. This is what I have so far.

And, this is what is should look like. Don't hold your breath.

A Very Nice Film

2011-06-25T22:56:00.003-05:00

It made me cry and has hung in my head. A very nice film. Now, I will need to read the book.

Still working...

2011-06-25T11:56:00.002-05:00

I am still working on that very, very special project. I feel that I am about 3/4 finished. Did I run out of yarn? Of course. I was so careful yet I have to buy more. Sigh. Does this happen to you?

Rainy Day Inspiration

2011-06-25T10:28:00.003-05:00

Art Inspiration

2011-06-19T23:25:00.004-05:00

Made a visit to the Marlin Agency at Brick City last Thursday evening to view Pam RuBert's fabulous work. Her quilts are stunning and an experience in color that I will never forget. Traffic Jam (above) is my absolute favorite. These images are the artist's and can be found by clicking here or on any of the pictures.

Check out her work. It will amaze you, inspire you, and make you smile.

A Sunday Story - The Day After

2011-06-13T08:48:00.008-05:00

It is often easy to become discouraged with the bureaucracy that plagues academia. There seems to be a constant struggle between education and doing the business of education. But, there are times when these battles are set aside and this is one of those times. By 7:30am the morning after the Joplin tornado, our school, along with a local radio station set up a Joplin relief collection center. Students, faculty, administrators, families, and community members worked for four days collecting food, clothing and water for Joplin relief. By the end, $71,000.00 had been collected and was heading to Joplin through the Convoy of Hope. Thank you, OTC, for allowing my family and students the opportunity to do something of value when we all felt so helpless.

To read part one of this story, click here.
To read part two, click here.

To do something caring for Joplin with your hands, click here:

Picture for this post courtesy of KTTS and OTC.

A Sunday Story - After the Storm

2011-06-09T09:03:00.009-05:00

When the rain came no sirens sounded in our town. The radar was still green, yellow, orange and red. We were expecting, and prepared, to head to the basement, but this never happened. As news began to come of Joplin the thunder and rain stopped. We stepped outside to find what we were expecting - a rainbow. This double rainbow was far more intense than a photo can share, but it was brilliant.

The news out of Joplin was slow in coming. The sky began to fill with the kind of clouds that make you think you can reach up and touch.

Then, the sun began to set and the raging sky that left Joplin in ruin showed its stuff as it moved through ow town.

It became darker. The storm chaser on the Weather Channel broke down in tears as he was trying to report what he was seeing in Joplin. We were all a bit stunned by the images, shaken, and worried. But, there was an end of the storm and the beginning of something new for the rest of us.

To read the first part of this story click here.

Click on the Keep Busy poster to find out what you can do for Joplin through The Heart In Hand Project.

A Sunday Story - The Storm

2011-06-03T16:57:00.013-05:00

The summer has not begun quietly. The first two weeks have been busy. It began Sunday, May 22. Summer, for us was not quite here. Some of the girls were getting out of school that week and others this week. A small friend had a birthday party and placed her order for purple bunnies. This is how I spent my morning. It was a lovely pool part with plenty of sunshine and warm weather.

We settled in at home late in the afternoon. My grades were due the next morning. Storms were in the forecast. The sky darkened early on afternoon. Mom had called a warning knowing that I would not be watching television but grading essays. She was right. Knowing a storm would spoil the newly bloomed Peonies in the front yard I stepped out to cut a few. I grabbed the laptop and plopped down to grade in front of the television.

I was surprised to find a very colorful radar. The thunder began to build, but it was clear that the main part of the storm was looming over the Joplin area.

As the storm grew, so did our anxiety.

The thunder and lightening became so intense that I had to table grading and unplug all the electronics. We continued to watch and began to hear frightening rumors out of Joplin.

There is more to this Sunday Story than I can place in one post. You have all seen the news, the devastation in Joplin and the sadness.

As I continue to tell our small part of this story, I encourage you to check out my new blog, The Heart in Hand Project. Consider donating your talents to the cause as we work together to send comfort blankets to Joplin. I have seen the power of one prayer shawl, of one blanket, of one act of caring and hope you will join me. The site is new, but you can find the guidelines here. Also, please join The Heart in Hand Project on Ravelry as well. Knit a square. Crochet a square.

Thank you.

2011-05-29T15:09:00.001-05:00

Proud of my school, my family, and my community.

2011-05-26T10:51:00.001-05:00

The Good in All of You

2011-05-24T07:41:00.005-05:00

We are thinking of you, Joplin, as we Missourians, and many others across our country, write checks, pack boxes and load trucks. I find myself overwhelmed by the generosity, love, and care of our community. We can't possibly do enough to take the tornado, and what it has done, away, but we hope to help you move above this tragedy.

Storm Season

2011-05-22T23:25:00.002-05:00

This is the scene just 70 miles west of us. Homes, fire stations, businesses and a large hospital have been destroyed. Dozens are dead and still many missing. It is night which makes recovery difficult. Think of the residents of Joplin. They need us all.

Behind the Scenes

2011-05-20T08:17:00.015-05:00

The play is nearly over. No more theater or rehearsal time. All receipts are turned in. Equipment has been serviced. There are still five loads of laundry to do, organization then storage, but this can wait until the grading of final essays and exams is complete. Grades will be submitted Monday then I will be turning my attention to where is belongs, home. Whew! I can hardly wait to be home. During these past few months, even though we were busy beyond belief, there has been a bit of home creativity going on late at night, sometimes only for a very few minutes. Just a bit. I started something new and it is a surprise, so I can only give you a peek at my process for now. It has not been an easy beginning.

This yarn sort of just melted into itself.

There were some bad pattern ideas along the way. Ewww.

Not quite...

Finding just the right, white, cream, ivory, buff, etc. proved difficult.

Some yarn was too squeaky, too limpy, too not what I wanted.

Then I settled on one.

It was mostly the right color, mostly the right feel, mostly right and in my budget. I am about a quarter of the way done with the blocks. The first of many are being blocked.

Our Turn

2011-05-09T11:46:00.007-05:00

"Our Town" is over, at last. It will be awhile before we recover fully from our long lack of sleep, but it is becoming "our home," "our family" once again. It was fun and rewarding watching our beautiful girls perform. They were wonderful. I'm sure Kelly will tell us all about it, and the fabulous job she did with the costumes, but in the meantime, I've been thinking about scenes from the play.

I laugh at lines others do not seem to get, but I also cry freely when emotions are high, and there is plenty of emotion in Thorton Wilder's work. It drags at times, and is too preachy too often, but it makes well the point that life is short and that we better tend to our relationships while we can because even the best ones don't last long.

For example, when Libby Lu is on the ladder with her play brother, having a typical, meaningless brother/sister exchange, I wonder how many of us are reminded of our own siblings, of opportunities lost now that we are all older. After Gracie dies, and she goes back to her 12th birthday and talks with her mother, my heart aches because too many of us just don't see the treasure right in front of us, or that used to be right in front of us.

Her line wounds me each time I recall it: "Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it - every, every minute?" Like Jim Rohn says, most of us spend all of our time just getting through the day, rather than getting from the day.

Kelly and I are blessed. Our grandparents are gone, but our parents are here, and we both have brothers. We have children, some still at home, others out on their own. We have grandchildren. We have friends, we have impressionable students. We have each other. We have time, we have opportunity. Like most of us, we have a life too wonderful.

We realize that. If only we had time to do something about it....

Tea Apron

2011-05-02T06:59:00.004-05:00

Three performances down and one to go. I am beginning to daydream about working in my yard, hanging up all the clothes on the hope chest, and cooking, rather than ordering, a meal. I am also dreaming of relocating the sewing room and being creative...for me, my home and my family. Sew4Home has just posted the pattern and tutorial for this sweet Tea Time Kitchen apron. I am adding this to my to-do list. How about you? Click here for the details.

3 Weeks Until Opening Night

2011-04-13T06:47:00.002-05:00

Here we go...

2011-04-10T20:31:00.006-05:00

The cheer girls performed well last month and won first in their division. They will be in fine form this weekend at the U.S. Finals in KC. We have injuries and will be minus one cheer girl again, but spirits are high and they are practicing hard. Nerves were jittering before the last competition. They were short one girl and practices were not promising. The routine is hard this year.

Moms were in good form readying our cheer girls.

Coach may have been a bit worried.

I was tired after a week of work, work, work and bow making. But, it was well worth it. Don't the girls make the new bows look great?

The weather was great.

And, the winning was good.

LibbyLu and company were in fine form indeed.

Life As We Know It

2011-03-30T01:34:00.004-05:00

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon

"Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering - and it's all over much too soon." Woody Allen

"Life is just a bowl of pits." Rodney Dangerfield

"Life is hard, and then you die." Some people say that, but Kelly and I disagree.

My dad had a series of strokes 10 years ago. Against all odds, my mother's love, faith and constant care kept him alive.

Kelly's dad had a stroke in November. Because of the love and faith and attention of his wife and daughter and son, he has regained enough of his capacities that he came home over the weekend. That has been the goal all along, that he would come home to see the Christmas tree that was put up in his absence. It is a miracle, if hard work and steady exercise and excellent therapy and constant desire are a miracle, and a cause for rejoicing.

Now that he's home, there are new challenges. Rooms and walls modified. Ramps built. Beds moved. Bathroom adventures. Getting dressed for the day seems to take all day. It is difficult for everyone, stressful and frustrating and we wouldn't trade it for all the esses in Mississippi. We are so glad to have him back where he belongs.

Life isn't, as Roshi said, "like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink." Life is, like someone said, better spend dancing in the rain rather than waiting for the storms to pass.

Kelly and I? We'll do our dancing barefoot in the kitchen, and wait for the kids to go to sleep, because life is too short, and too precious, to do anything less.

Special Olympics 2011

2011-03-19T12:31:00.009-05:00

Carrie, Grace and I spent a little time this past Fall and Winter hooking up some scarves for the Winter Special Olympics! This is a project so dear to my heart. I am privileged to be able to participate.

One or two were knitted. Our contribution was eight in total.

This event is sponsored by Red Heart each year. Colors change each year and this year's colors were Royal and Turqua.

We packaged each scarf up and with a good deal of help from the clerk at the post office, they were sent cheaply and quickly to make the March 4 deadline.

Colors for the 2012 Winter Special Olympics will be announced in April. Get ready.

Rose Garden Tote

2011-03-19T06:06:00.003-05:00

I think I might have a need to make this bag. What do you think? Find the pattern here.

Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts

2011-03-18T09:41:00.006-05:00

The last time I was in New York City I visited the American Folk Art Museum. It was truly a wonderful sensory experience. The building is beautiful and I very much enjoyed all of the exhibits. My extremely talented friend Karen told my also extremely talented mother about this free exhibit. I hope if you are in the NYC area, you will go and share with us your experience. Here are some images from the collection.

Who is that cheer mom?

2011-03-14T13:15:00.013-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, LibbyLu began talking, and getting excited about her team's first competition of the season. She is often discouraged after practice, wanting things to be perfect, and is always looking ahead to cheering in college. Her goals encourage her to work hard and do her best. She is pretty good and I believe she will meet her goals head on. As competition time arrives, we all start looking at the uniforms. Do things look good? Perfect? How white are the shoes? Where are the socks? Where are the spankies? How can your arms grow four inches in one year? Where is your bow? As we gathered, tried on, clipped threads, and made some alterations here and there, LibbyLu began to talk about wanting new cheer bows. I told her to clear it with the coach. She asked, but coach was not sure what we would come up with, so she asked me to come up with a prototype. I did. She liked it okay, but I did not and the girls were scrambling for bigger bows. They insisted they wanted really big bows. I pulled out some ribbon and made a few prototypes. Here is my first.

These were the right sized bows but the wrong color of blue.

The center ribbon was too flimsy to hold the desired shape and the dots melted right off when I fused the silver ribbon. The girls and coach liked them, so I began working on ways to make the bows better.

I learned to make my own silver ribbon with the help of this amazing tool.

Finding ribbon in Springfield is not tough, but finding enough ribbon proved impossible. B & B Crafts saved the day with the amount of ribbon I needed, wholesale prices, and in time to create a total of 35 bows - a set for each Show Stoppers team competing.

I was able to match the uniform blue perfectly. Whew. Also, I changed the center ribbon to a high quality grosgrain. The dots stayed in place and the higher quality ribbon let the bows hold the desired shape.

I matched colors and switched dots to the outside for the other team.

I packed both sets in plastic tubs, tucked them in the trunk of the car, and off we headed to Kansas City.

The girls wanted not just any bow, but a big bow. Now we have a team of bow heads and they look great. Of course, it is not the bow that makes the cheerleader. It is the stamina, the determination, the power and the commitment that allows these girls to practice one hour a week for less than a year and pull off first in their division. Go Show Stoppers!

I never thought I would wear a t-shirt like this and I am not really sure how I got here. I do remember a flyer for cheer being sent home with LibbyLu when she was in Kindergarten. I ignored it. Even so, LibbyLu said she would become a cheerleader one day. She was convinced she could be a cheer leading neurosurgeon. I believed her, but ignored the flier in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. She caught on, I think, and did not allow me to ignore her request in 5th grade. Now, we head to cheer practice once a week and private tumbling once a week. There is an occasional open gym practice and extra practices at competition time. I have a close relationship with glitter make-up, glitter spray, Aqua Net, and a half inch curling iron. I am a cheer mom. Yikes.

Old? I'm Not Old

2011-03-11T13:02:00.006-06:00

This is John. I don't know whether I'm getting mixed signals or sending them.

I drove a sporty red Jeep Wrangler this morning, listening to the end of a book on CD. Reluctantly, I flipped stations on the radio, finally settling on "Only Yesterday" by Karen Carpenter. The familiar lines about pain and waiting and hope made me cry. Then there was a commercial for a place selling catheters. I was probably the only man in town driving a cool Jeep and crying to the Carpenters, wondering whether 200 catheters a month was an ample supply.

For years, I've called Kelly my "hot chick in a red Jeep," which she is, but suddenly I've become this guy who wonders if one of those MedAlert devices is a good idea. Somehow, I'm three months away from getting a discount at iHop, and looking forward to it. A plate of sweet and sour chicken and a Meg Ryan DVD appeals far more than a night on the town. I wear sweater vests at work, not because they are so good looking, but because I get cold during the day. For some reason, the television is much too loud when someone turns it on after me.
How has this happened? I still listen to the Beatles and watch Monty Python. I still play basketball and a little tennis. I still dance with my wife in the kitchen, and with my granddaughter all over the house, and by myself when no one is looking. I still wear Levi's and Converse All-Stars, lime green, no less.

So I wonder how this has happened. Where did this old man in my house come from?

Dogwood

2011-03-08T21:51:00.001-06:00

I may state this over and over, but it is true. We live in a truly unique and beautiful neighborhood full of unique and wonderful people, homes, and trees. As I drove home this afternoon, I noticed tiny signs of Spring beginning to burst forth from trees. The weather has finally warmed, a bit, and mother nature is warming up to the idea of new life. It will be stunning. In the Spring, we enjoy the Dogwood blossoms. I love these blossoms and am blessed to have an old, old, old Dogwood right outside the front door. I will share with you these palm wide blossoms this coming Spring. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these photos of a quilt I admired at the OPQG show.

Learning New Things

2011-03-06T21:14:00.000-06:00

I know that I should learn something new every day. Although some would consider me educated, most all of my most valuable learning has occurred through experience and today's lesson is no exception. Over the years, I have learned to take this...

off of furniture with this.

I have learned I can take this...

off leather, vinyl and many other surfaces with this cheer hair holder.

I have learned this is a naturally powerful thing to have around the house.

And, recently I learned to get this...

off of white carpet with this miracle...

and, this miracle. Whew!

Losing a Friday Night Friend

2011-02-22T06:22:00.004-06:00

Borders Booksellers has filed for bankruptcy and our local store is being closed. This is the last book purchased there on a Friday evening, sipping a mocha, while listening to live music. This bookstore is a favorite haunt of ours and we are feeling a bit lost to find a way to replace this favorite activity. I loved sitting, chatting and reading the new magazines. There was plenty of space to hang out for a couple of hours reading and socializing. There was no alcohol so people were quiet and kind. The girls loved to sit and read. During February there would be live music in the cafe. We would hear old favorites and learn new songs. The best part of this store is the employees. They were all kind and took time to know their customers. On this last Friday night, buying this last book, the clerk asked about my dad's health and made sure I knew they missed seeing him. The tears rolled down my cheeks.

I suppose we could try the other bookseller, but we are unsure. Their cafe is small. The tables are small and close together. It is hard to talk and harder to relax. The magazines are on the opposite side of the store. It is clear they don't want us to stay too long.

Gypsies in The House

2011-02-20T07:13:00.000-06:00

Duct Tape Team Building

2011-02-17T18:46:00.017-06:00

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?—every, every minute?" ~Emily

I don't often speak of teaching here on my personal blog. (un)Deniably Domestic is my personal space and the place I stop and smell the roses, but this spring as I head into theatre season my creative life begins to cross borders into my professional life. Of course, I think that all of my teaching is creative, but there is something about theatre that lets me step out of the comfort zone of my English classroom and teach something that I love as much as words. I am blessed to be able to stretch myself in this way. We are moving into our fourth production this year with Our Town, by Thornton Wilder.

It is a remarkably simple production designed to allow the audience, and the players, and the crew to focus on the cycles, the ups and downs, and the beauty of our lives. It is truly timeless. No matter what your age, or your position, you will find yourself in this play. I was once Rebecca, then Emily, and now I am Mrs. Gibbs. The play changes us, the players, but our challenge is to allow the audience to change.

I have a full compliment of budding costumers this year. Because the annual production is above and beyond my normal obligations as a teacher and lead instructor, I needed help. To find help, I developed an introduction to costuming class. To my surprise, I have nine enrolled students. They are a lively bunch full of creativity and good ideas. I am taking the best of what I have learned in professional theatre to them in hopes that they will catch the bug and let theatre be a part of their lives from this point on.

These students have begun to build a course website, Costume This with Ms. A., viewed the original screenplay of Our Town and experienced a remarkable paradigm shift in creativity after watching the documentary, OT: Our Town.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges in theatre is the human ego. We, cast, crew, and production staff are creatively driven peoples understanding that in our own way, acting, sewing, designing, producing, lighting, set design, etc., is performance. All of these separate components must come together into one unit, one success. Egos can make working toward that one unit and one success difficult at best, so I have begun the semester with team building activities.

Our first project was to make a costume accessory out of duct tape. Each student had the option of working independently or with another member of the class. Some worked together and some did not. They had approximately an hour and a half to design and construct an aesthetically pleasing and functional costume accessory. As they showed off their pieces, I began to ask them to think about how they got to their end result. I want them to focus on their process at this point more than their results. This will reveal problem solving skills and creativity required with tight theatre budgets and short lead time.

Inspired by the Duck Brand duct tape prom challenge, I challenged them to design, construct and create a garment in sixty minutes. Seven out of nine students were present to participate and here is their go-go girl result.

We discussed process. They had failures along the way, but worked well as a team to design and problem solve. Each student shared that they felt their ideas and contributions were valued by other members of the group. I was thrilled. This was both an academic and creative success. Students get all of the credit.

Happy Heart Day!

2011-02-13T22:42:00.009-06:00

The snow is finally melting away and we are expecting warmer weather this week. When I awoke this morning, the sun was shining and I could hear the swish, swish of cars passing on wet streets. There was the drip, drip, drip of melting snow. I padded downstairs to make Valentines and the sun was streaming brightly through the baking kitchen windows spreading warmth all around the kitchen. It was nothing short of glorious. I grabbed an appropriate apron.

Lucy was my helper today.

We gathered some ingredients and sweet, pretty goodies.

We made Red Velvet cupcakes for John.

And, truffles for all my other Valentines.

Have a sweet, sweet heart day.

Share your REDnesday post...

Old Photos: A Treasure Times Three

2011-02-09T23:59:00.009-06:00

This is John, not Kelly, who is sleeping. Kelly's mom gave me a treasure for my birthday, a three-fold treasure (and one of her famous, hand-made cherry pies). Better than an iPad, better than a camera, better than a guitar, this is a timeless treasure that I hold in higher value than my autographed Lou Brock Louisville Slugger. The gift is a photo album of Kelly's childhood, from birth to age 19. It is wonderful.

Treasure 1 is the subject. Kelly is adorable as a baby, as a Jan Brady wannabe, and as a sophisticated almost 20-year-old.

Treasure 2 is that, for the most part, Kelly's dad took the pictures. He was an accomplished amateur photographer, talented, with obvious pride in his work and in his daughter.

Treasure 3 is that her mom went to so much effort, finding and copying so many photos, and including hand-written comments and explanations for each photo.

I love it.

Now, some may object to referring to Kelly as a Vintage Thingy, but I use it as a term of endearment. I've only known her for barely five of her, um, 29 years, but as I look at these old photos, I see that she was beautiful as a child and as a teenager, a pageant winner and a model.

Yes, Kelly was beautiful, but she is so much prettier now. I look at pictures of Kelly taken just a year before I met her and see that she was attractive, but nothing like she is now. I like to think that she is prettier now because she is happier now. It shows. She feels better about herself now, personally and professionally. She does more of the things she wants to do now, like knitting and crocheting, collecting vintage table clothes and aprons, and blogging.

I'm happy that the vintage things around our house and Kelly's mom's house include photographs. What a treasure to keep; what a treasure to pass on.

Share your vintage treasures with the Colorado Lady:

John

Sadie's Blanket

2011-02-04T15:10:00.023-06:00

I finished hooking Sadie's blanket last night while watching a couple of episodes of Monk on Netflix. I was glad to finish it. Although a fun project in many ways, it seemed long. The part I love most, the ruffles, was a bit tedious by the end. I just wanted to finish. I spent a little time weaving in the ends this afternoon with the blanket laid out on the dining room table. The light is not good today as it is snowing yet again. Sigh. But, here are some ta-da pictures of the finished blanket.

I love that it is so girly and pink and ruffly.

The lacy ripple worked up quickly and evenly in the pomp.

Playing with ruffles was fun.

I crocheted this with Delight Pomp Yarn by Hobby Lobby. The yarn is soft and has a great drape when worked up. The only change I might have made was to hold two strands together for the main part of the blanket. I might be wrong, but the ruffle seems a bit heavy and doubling up the yarn in the center may better balance the blanket. On further thought, doubling up might take away the lacy effect I like so much.

Pomp, or pompadour, yarn refers to the silky thread wrapped round and round the fibers. I love the silky shine, but have never had much luck with other brands of this type of yarn. Often, I struggled with the silky thread separating and pulling. This would create snags in my work and mess with the tension.

Delight Pomp was smooth and rarely split. It is delightful work with. Hooking was smooth and effortless with an aluminum Boye hook.

Here is the main menu for Sadie's Blanket:

Sweet Delight Pomp Yarn ( 4 skeins) in Pink Dawn
Sweet Delight Pomp Yarn ( 2 skeins) in Naked

Total skeins - 6 X $5.29 a skein = $31.74

Yarn is 54% Acrylic, 36% Polyamide, 10% Rayon. Light worsted and can be laundered and dried in the machine.

Boye crochet hook F/5-3.75mm

I will write the pattern up soon as I am thinking of creating a boy's version as well.

Stick to Creativity

2011-02-02T17:07:00.005-06:00

We are on our second of three or more snow days this week. It has been more than cold here in Missouri and we are expecting minus degree temperatures tonight and tomorrow to go along with our foot of snow. The girls are pretty good about keeping busy, but after a time, the television gets turned on and that's when we try to think of something more fun, and productive, to do. What can you do with a few rolls of duct tape?

Girls made wallets for themselves and their friends. See some familiar faces?

Want to see more red? The good red? Go to It's A Very Cherry World for Rednesday.

It's Sprinkling!

2011-02-02T10:52:00.003-06:00

Carrie sent me this wonderful image by Mitra Farmand. Have a great sprinkles day.

The Ultimate Snow Job

2011-01-31T22:01:00.005-06:00

Our local weather sources - TV, radio, online - are sponsored by Walmart. You won't see or hear ads for the discount giant during a newscast, but that's who pays for it. It happens six or seven times each winter that we will get a forecast for severe weather, an inch of snow, six inches of snow, a foot of snow, a hint of snow, and everyone who lives within 20 miles of us will go to Walmart to stock up on groceries, toilet paper, ice melt and batteries.

Most of the time, the forecast turns out to be highly inflated, if not flat out false, but no matter, by then we've all made our raid on Walmart. It's all you can do to even get onto their parking lot when snow is predicted. Then, when we don't actually get any snow, everyone is so relieved that no one notices that we've been hoodwinked, once again.

Today was no different. Walmart has been packed for two days solid, everyone anticipating bad weather. We are under a winter storm warning for the next 36 hours or so, but the actual forecast is extremely vague. Kelly and I watched one local weather guy who explained that as of 1 pm, he still had no idea what kind of winter weather we would actually get tonight and tomorrow, but, he said, "you'll want to get out to stock up right away." How's that for proof of the real purpose behind our weathermen? His best guess prediction was "anywhere between 1 and 18 inches" of snow, or, he said, "we might not get anything but a bit of ice," depending on where the wind blows.

Oh brother! In the meantime, rain or shine, weather or not, Wally Walmart wins again, the ultimate snow job.

Now, we may get two feet or more of snow tonight. We may be stuck in our home for a week. Or we may not be. But the local media are taking no chances with Walmart's money. One news channel's web site has a huge headline, "BLIZZARD 2011" with a subhead, "Storm Of Historic Proportions Possible." Possible, just possible.

It's 40 degrees outside and a bit damp and overcast, but the warning is just in time for everyone to make one more trip to Walmart. Remember the old days, when news was reported AFTER something happened? It's not that way now, not around here. Now, the weather comes the Walmart way.

Sticky Inbox Ideas

2011-01-31T07:10:00.011-06:00

A few pretty things landed in my inbox this morning including this sweet egg cup pincushion by Christina at The Sometimes Crafter. Her site is lovely and full of inspiration. Click here for her tutorial.

Claire at blah to TADA! shares how to make this adorable tomato pincushion. Click here for her tutorial.

And, here is a sweet cupcake pincushion from Deborah at Art Threads. You can find this tutorial here.

Spring Butterick

2011-01-29T09:11:00.006-06:00

Butterick 5579

Butterick's new spring pattern lineup is online and my sewing fever is hitting all new heights. I need, need, need some time in the sewing room. Click on the images to find the nitty gritty for each pattern.

Butterick 5605

This would be perfect for a summer wedding invite. Okay, someone get married so I can wear it.

And, I don't really care where I will wear this one as long as I get to wear it.

Butterick 5603

Bee in My Bonnet Giveaway

2011-01-27T16:04:00.004-06:00

Talented pattern and fabric designer, Lori Holt, is having a giveaway in honor of her blog makeover. Check out her design talent. Who says big girls can't play with paper dolls? Want to win? Visit Bee in My Bonnet before January 31.

And, her fabrics. I want every single piece in every color.

Something Pink

2011-01-24T17:59:00.008-06:00

I have been working for weeks on hooking some sweet pink pomp with a creamy ruffly trim.

It is nearly complete and I have been careful to take good notes for writing a pattern.

Moda Fun and Giveaway

2011-01-24T07:12:00.003-06:00

Visit Melissa at one of my very favorite blogs, The Polkadot Chair, and enter her Moda fabric and book giveaway. Read about her giveaway here and her exciting news here. She offers a peek into her sewing studio and the infamous chair. Don't forget to join the progressive dinner fun while you are there. Congratulations, Melissa!

Taking Care

2011-01-22T10:56:00.002-06:00

I think it is sometimes important for me to remind students that they need to take good care. This is a good reminder for me as well. As I am sitting here this morning, with cup of coffee in hand and the sun shining through the windows of my home office, my mind is racing in circles thinking of all the things I have to do. Each role I play in life brings with it things to do. What I have discovered is simple. There are very few times when there is nothing to do. This is a given. Having things to do is a fact of life. Managing those things to do is the key.

There are many things to do this weekend. As a teacher, I need to tweak, revise, and proof for the next week. I need to plan what is happening online and in the classroom. There is also that new class, new material, and new beginnings this semester. There are meetings and appointments to prepare for.

As a mother, there are bangs to trim, clothes to wash, meals to cook, shopping to do so the things I have to do next week are not as difficult as they might be without the shopping. There is also some roller skating to do and Sunday bread to bake.

As a wife, I need to reconnect with my husband. We should hold hands while watching a movie, fold towels together, and not forget to kiss goodnight. Our schedules are opposite this semester to help raise a grand-daughter. I miss him.

As a person I need to feed my creative spirit. Make sure the last of Christmas is packed away and pull out the hearts for Valentine’s day. Should I make cupcakes? Sure. My studio is a mess, so add this to the list. Blog a little. Take some pictures. Work on that baby blanket as it is nearly finished. This all helps me to stop and take note of the little things in my life that I love.

All of this is good – even the have-to-dos. But, I can’t do any of this unless I take care of myself. I need to move, drink water and sleep a little more. I need to sometimes just stop. I need to take care so I am good at what I do and that is what students need to do, too. Take care. Take a day off each week not to work, not to do school, and not to check e-mail unless it is for fun. Pick a day, an afternoon, a morning, or even an hour each day to just be off.

My day off from school is Sunday. I won’t check discussion boards that day. I won’t answer student e-mail. I won’t. If I do, I expect you to call me on it. I might have a good reason, but might not, as I am a bit of a to-do-aholic. I will help you and you can help me to take better care.

Break out the hot chocolate. It's a snow day!

2011-01-20T06:48:00.012-06:00

I am sitting in my office and it is still dark outside, but outside is blanketed in snow and a few minutes ago my phone buzzed with a school alert - no school today due to inclement weather. I look out and watch the snow fall in the glow of the street lamp. There are few cars passing by and have only seen a plow pass a couple of times. The street lamp goes out as its sensor is likely covered in snow and when the light comes back on a guy in shorts, yep, in shorts, jogs by. That is insanity, not dedication. I think, go back to bed dude - it's a snow day.

I am not sure who is most pleased, me or the girls. Teachers like snow days as much as students and we are a house of teachers and students. The girls will cuddle in, stay in pajamas all day and watch movies and dance with the Wii. I made a late night might-be-snow run to the Stuff Mart last night and picked up mini marshmallows for hot chocolate, a few favorite foods, and a new movie to surprise them with when the I am bored whine begins. I have a crafty idea as well. We will keep busy. I would love to cuddle up and work on a special crochet project in progress, but know that a day off school also means a few hours of work at home. Maybe I will make myself a deal - work and play. In the meantime, I wish you a happy snow day. I am heading down to the kitchen to make muffins to warm up the house and my family's tummies.

The vintage potholder is made with crochet and ric-rac. It is one in my collection I do not believe I have shared before.

Share your vintage with Coloradolady.

Vogue 1232

2011-01-14T21:38:00.005-06:00

Vogue's new spring pattern line has been released and the feminine dress is back. I love pretty dresses, but, quite frankly, dress styles have not been so hot for some time now. Over the past two decades, I have become a skirt girl who also loves a great comfortable dress. I found two good winter wool knits this year - a pretty flouncy a-line by Klein and a black winter dress by Claiborne. I still love wearing my vintage Dior, but need some new pieces.

Because I don't find many dresses I like in ready to wear, I have been thinking about getting back to sewing some of my own clothes and this dress has sure raised an eyebrow with me. Isn't is beautiful? Reminiscent of my favorite styles of decades ago this pattern might be the thing to draw me back into sewing for myself. Check it out here.

It's A Wreath Thing

2011-01-13T05:17:00.008-06:00

I love red front doors. This one is from the Feng Shui Society. Isn't it delightful? My front door is not red, but I would love it to be. My front door is bare. This is often the case except in December when a Christmas wreath hangs there. But, this year it was bare because I gave our wreath to someone who needed one last year. Now it is bare. Again. I had decided at some point that something welcoming should be on the front door year round. This sign was hung for Halloween. That was good.

I purchased a clearance wreath early in November, but it somehow never made it to the front door. There was a Christmas wreath..., but now things are bare. Again. I am on the hunt for something for Valentine's Day. I found this one which reminds me of the Christmas fabric wreaths we made in the eighties using this very same technique. I made at least a dozen. This one is made by Celeste at My Greenbrae Cottage. Find her tutorial here.

My baking kitchen door, or window, or wall may need need this one. How can I not love a wreath made of cupcake liners? Well? This cupcake liner wreath was made by one of my favorite bloggers, Jen, at Tatertots and Jello. She has also written a nice tutorial and you can find it here.

Then there is this great wreath. Can a book lover do this to a book? There must be a book I am willing sacrifice. I will have to think about it, but the wreath would look wonderful on the wall just next to the antique typewriter. Hmmmm. Check out the I'm A Yarner tutorial here.

There are hearts, too. Hearts would be good. Check out Jen's tutorial here, at Just for Rachel. Looks great on her red door.

Vintage Procrastination

2011-01-12T22:19:00.009-06:00

Let's face it. I knew when I made that winter break to-do list that things would not go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. I have not given up. Winter break is not over until Tuesday. I have worked on at least one item on the list every single day. I even added a blog redesign to the list and nearly have that item checked off. Do you like the new look? The office and bedroom is well underway, but I struggled a bit and spent a couple of hours with my favorite thrifting partner, John Darling. It was great thrift therapy. I have plans for these. Remember last week? Well, there is more to come.

I hope you will join in with your favorite vintage at Coloradolady for Vintage Thingie Thursday. I will see you there.

Apron Inspiration

2011-01-11T05:56:00.003-06:00

As I work my way through the office boxes and find that it is true that a teacher can never have too many books, I acknowledge that it is also true that a domestic artist can never have too many dishes, too many vintage linens, too much chocolate or too many aprons. Here is some apron inspiration from Stitch Thru Time. These are images from their online catalog.

Want to share something RED and win a giveaway? Visit It's A Very Cherry World and join the fun.

A Thought on Motherhood

2011-01-10T21:42:00.002-06:00

I know there will be a day when I open the linen closet door and find all the pillowcases, washcloths, sheets and towels neatly stacked just the way I stowed them fresh from the drier. Today, I might think this will make me happy, but I just have a feeling that I will be sad when I open the door and two towels do not fall to the floor.

After Dinner Search

2011-01-09T20:31:00.002-06:00

Aunt Kathy pulled through and snapped this shot of the afghan created for her by her mother, my Grandma. Isn't it sweet? Also, I feel better knowing that I was remembering this piece right. At least I rememberd one thing right today. While waiting for the snow to fall, I have been scouring the Internet in search of this pattern. Have you seen it? Help!

A Request

2011-01-09T05:52:00.000-06:00

I am one lucky girl. I have an aunt. Actually, I have a few aunts, but my Aunt Kathy is the one who is constant in my life, who has loved me through good and bad, and who is STILL waiting for me to finish her Christmas present and send it to her. She is patient. Don't worry, I will get it finished soon. The best thing about my Aunt Kathy is that she is an amazing sister to my mother. That is a gift indeed and I treasure and love her for it.

Now, what I am making for Aunt Kathy is thoughtful, but somewhat practical. There is also something really sentimental and I am very excited.

But, when I posted about the Copenhagen Pillow yesterday she sent me this post and I think I may have an idea for next Christmas, but I will need her help and yours. Here is her comment:

"I love throw pillows too, George not so much. I would love one to match the poinsettia afghan that your grandmother made me 31 years ago. I still treasure it and the happy memories of mother it blesses me with. Maybe some day I will have a matching pillow to go with it. Okay I'm ducking. I am shameless with my hint. Love you. Aunt Kathy."

We were all blessed with afghans from my grandmother. Mine is a hot pink granny square that is now draped across the bottom of my bed keeping our feet warm at night. My brother's was a granny square American flag. We all love our blankies and I am lucky to have also inherited grandma's love for the hook and yarn. The problem is that I have not been back to California for Christmas since 1999. I remember the Aunt Kathy's blanket, how she kept it on a chair in her formal living room for Christmas, but don't remember the pattern specifically. I am leaning toward the hexagon granny with flower.

I am hoping Aunt Kathy will pull out her afghan and snap a couple of pictures. Hint, hint, hint. It would help a lot. Oh, and I could not resist sharing this amazing cake I found in my search.

It was created by Roxanne, The Cake Engineer. Check out her blog and you will be inspired.

Pillow Love

2011-01-07T06:32:00.002-06:00

I love decorative pillows. John does not. I love this pillow and am putting it on my crochet for spring list. This sweet pillow is from Red Heart - Debbie Stoller - knitting and hooking goddess and creator of the Stitch and Bitch books. Click the picture above, or here, to get this free pattern.

Stitch Nation yarns are quickly becoming favorites of mine. To learn more check out Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller.

My favorite yarn in this line, thus far, is Bamboo Ewe. I love the feel, the drape, the sheen and the colors.

Change Can Be Good

2011-01-06T23:15:00.002-06:00

There is a little change going on around here. Like the new banner? I will get things coordinated a bit better over the next couple of days.

Color of the Year

2011-01-06T07:21:00.001-06:00

Pantone's color of the year for 2011 is Honeysuckle. My favorite pink ever. There may be a blog re-design coming on.

Glued to Vintage

2011-01-05T22:07:00.004-06:00

What do you get when you thrift a few fun vintage goodies and add glue?

Check back soon to find out what will happen when the glue dries.

In the meantime, click over to Colorado Lady to see and share more vintage fun.

Miss Bee

2011-01-04T23:15:00.004-06:00

Let me introduce you to Miss Bee. She is a new resident to my creative space and dons a perfectly delightful red apron for today's Rednesday. Hop over to Sue Loves Cherries to join the fun.

Miss Bee is a very sweet bee who has been found buzzing about reminding me of all the creative things I would love to be doing. She is forever buzzing the fabrics for sweet flowers.

She loves shiny ribbons and sweet trim.

She makes sure my creative hive is orderly and neat.

She likes vintage - especially anything vintage and red.

And, sometimes, she is silly.

The very best part of Miss Bee is where she is from. She is originally from Utah. Her skep keeper, Lori, is an amazing quilt designer and domestic goddess. Miss Bee was tucked in a giveaway package and I was thrilled. Check out her design talent here. Thank you, Lori, for such a buzzy sweet friend.

No Resolutions, But A Long To-Do List

2011-01-03T11:07:00.008-06:00

Now that the holidays and anniversaries are behind us and there are plans to take down the tree, stow the wrapping paper and get back to living the daily life, it is time to work on my winter break to-do list. I have spent the better part of three days in the office. There are empty boxes stacked by the back door and books stacked in every nook and bookshelf cranny. It has become painfully clear that we do not have enough shelves, because of course we all know that you can never have too many books. I am hinting for John to take on a woodworking project and create a wall of books for us in the office. I hope to be done with the office today and move on to our bedroom. Here is the list in its entirety, I think.

Winter Break To-do List

1. Sit down with John and make marriage and family goals.
2. Make professional goals - teaching and writing.
3. Revisit meal planning and make a new plan and update menu binder.
4. Make a domestic art plan which MUST include more creative time.
5. Unpack bedroom and make it a sanctuary - a place for John and I to relax, talk, and spend time alone together.
6. Unpack and organize office. This means go through EVERY box. Make a storage plan.
7. Plan spring classes and make a plan to be even more organized than last semester. Don't forget to pat myself on the back for being better than ever this past semester.

I found this long, long banker's box of genealogy passed onto to me a few years ago. I have never payed much attention to it, but opened it up determined to "go through EVERY box." What I found were hundreds, maybe thousands, of pages of correspondence between my grandmother and others. Years of research. This is genealogy the hard way by today's technological standards. The letters are handwritten with an occasional typed page which always seems to have an apology written at the beginning for using technology to write. The box is full. I closed the top back up and decided this project needs to go on another list. There needs to be a plan.

I am envisioning putting all of this paper into an electronic format, but need to research the best way to archive, to organize. I wonder if there is some sort of standard way to do this. Do you know?

Sweet Bee Is Having A Giveaway

2011-01-03T10:37:00.003-06:00

Visit Sweet Bee cottage for her delightful giveaway.

First Days

2011-01-02T17:14:00.004-06:00

John and I were married four years ago on the first day of the week on the first day of a new year. The ceremony and celebration was a homemade one. I had a sinus infection and hemmed my dress on the dining room table just hours before we said, "I do." We were married in our living room with friends and family in attendance. We were standing near a brilliant Christmas tree that made the room glow. I wore pearls and he wore a satin white tie.

Last night we celebrated our anniversary with a fine dinner. Here we are in our living room in front of our Christmas trees. I wore those special pearls and John his wedding tie. We had a wonderful evening.