Ice

Do I dare set foot out the front door? All that is visible is a very slick, shiny layer of ice covering the ground. No doubt the stairs are equally adorned in ice as well. If only it would warm up and melt. The only safe area is the path from the cars to the front door. This year winter has been very hard and I wonder what the cause is?

Usually the snow falls and accumulates in big, soft, glittering mounds. Walking in the snow is so much fun especially when you know not the depth of the snow. There are times when you are just on a smooth even path and then Wham! you loose a leg in knee deep snow. Steady now, get your balance and take another step. Whoa, that was a big step. Now what?  Keep my balance or succomb to the snow? Watch it now, it is a struggle to pull your leg from the deep snow and take a step. Eventually there will be a nice area to walk in. The work is hard but ever so much fun.

Now that playtime is over it is time to see about breaking up some more of this ice. I don't like this part.

A New Year

My mind is wondering how the last 12 months passed by with so little accomplished. What did I do this year? There is a line in a song that says " December comes around faster and faster each year". It's so true!

Resolutions are so hard to keep so I did not go there. But, I am very good at setting goals and achieving them. Well this is the year to finish all those unfinished projects. With pen in hand I sat down and jotted down all the current ones. Current is a relevant term as some of the projects listed were at least five years in the making. Embarrasing, no that is not the word, it is more like amazement. Sitting on the floor I slowly start to rummage through the many labeled bags which I sadly dated. The next shelf actually contains baskets of kits that just had to be purchased at one quilt show or fair. Now in my heart I truly thought they would just magically get worked up. NOT! Holy Moley there are so many. Can this actually be done in the coming year??? I wonder...

Do I dare scoot over to the next shelf? This is the area that is full of patterns or pictures of ideas that I'd like to do. Should I consider this for another year, perhaps that would be a better option. Besides there are so many things that need to done that are not on the list. This list is now posted on my wall next to the calendar and with any luck at all Matt won't see just how long it is. So far only one item has been finished and one is almost finished.

For example my ETSY dress business. Attention needs to be given to this dream. I'd very much like for it to be a success. Work it, Work it that was is required on a daily basis. On top of that are the special things to be done. Quilts for the grand daughters and the one for our great grand daughter soon to be born. Genna will come and want to sew some more although I think she likes the cooking more.

On a different note: There is a little deer that has lost it's mama. They would both stop by and drink from the pond on thier way down the hill. Now the little one stays close to the house and tries to forage in the little meadow. Not much there right now so she has gone to stealing seed from the bird feeders. Today she found a nice surprise waiting near the edge of the hill  Someone had left a little pile of chicken feed lying on the ground. I wonder who?

When I set up this blog it was to be a daily blog of my thoughts and progress on my business. Somehow that is not working. Oh well, not many of you out there know this even exists. I'm good with that.

Off to sew.

What Happened?

There was a time when I could do so much with less time. I was divorced, had three children, worked and I was going to school. There was enough time to care for the children, keep up with the housework, do homework, laundry and go to work. Organization was the key. I'd drop off the kids at school and daycare and head for work. My lunch hour gave me the time to get in a load of laundry, vacuum a room and get the evening meal started. I'd eat an apple on the way back to work. After work, I'd pick up the kids, put dinner in the oven and start homework. Dinner dishes waited until the kids were bathed and in bed. Then it was my time to prepare for the next day, finish housework or laundry and study.

As the kids grew I added an extra job to make sure that their social needs were met. Movies with friends, football games, dances and of course proms and money for dates. Not to mention the extras: cheerleading uniforms, clothes, shoes and hair products. Still there was time to get it all done.

Retirement should be a carefree time. With time to do all the things you missed out on. Well that is not happening in my home. I still have laundry and housework that takes me longer to do. There just never seems to any time to spend in my sewing room. What a crying shame. Where did the time go and how do I get it back.  It would be so nice to leave the housework or laundry but I love a clean, sparkling home so I spend the time cleaning. Am I cleaning more than I need?

Perhaps tomorrow will yield the time for me to play. There is a little dress in my head that I'd like to make. A little pink one is calling. I need to sew. Shall I go play in my room?

Beautiful dress

Every once in a great while something will stop me dead in my tracks. Such was the dress in the window of Lily Lu. Incredible, I just had to go in and look at the details of this little dress. Imagine what Scarlet O'Hara might have worn as a little girl. Creamy, off white fabric, with 7 rows of pleats 3" above the hem line, above these were the sweetest ribbon roses, embroidered stems, creating a bouquet. At the waist was the finest ribbon tie, to make the most beautiful of bows. The bodice had an oval frame with a cameo stitched in pale varigated pink thread, such dainty stitches made her almost life like. The puff sleeves had the civil war touch, big puffs with a tight band and ecru lace along the edge of the cuff. As for the back of the dress, the bow was exqusite with 10 perfect pearl buttons going up the back. I could not tear myself away from the detail of the dress. If only I had a little girl in my life, she would be wearing this for Christmas. This is one little dress that will never be erased from my memory.

Lily Lu is the boutique that I have dreamed of owning all my life. Dainty baby gowns, little silk booties, embroidered and smocked dresses, little day gowns for infants. Nothing was above a size 6. Every item was unique, perfect and meant for some little girl to own. The shoes alone would start a little girl on a shoe fettish once she is grown. Everything in the store was different and classy, right down to the way dresses were displayed. It was like walking into my dream.

The two with me were not into this so I literally had to tear myself away from the beauties within and walk away. Had I been alone, there is no telling how long I could have spent looking at all the treasures within the walls of this one perfect boutique for little girls. I will return to see what else I missed only next time I'll be on my own.

Is it possible to dream of something and then walk right into it? Yes, it is.

Snow

Serenity. Pure white, shimmering snow adorns the trees. Deer tracks are the only visible signs that something besides silence is outside. Clumps of snow fall from the pine trees every time the wind comes by. No sound just the puff of white mist as it falls to the ground. Inside the noise is deafening, the outside beckons me, shall I go?  Off into the silence I go, hat, gloves, snow boots and coat keep me warm. The crunch of the snow always makes me smile. The hill is slick, each step takes me higher and I like that. Each breath is crisp and cold and makes my nose stick together. What a funny feeling that is. No place to sit, just standing there looking down on my home. My redwood house with the green door, green shingle roof and a whisp of smoke curling its way up to heaven.  Time for a prayer for those inside my home, my son, my daughter, my husband and the 8 dogs we have chosen to care for. All of them I love with my whole soul, heart and being. My son in Kuwait, how I wish he would come home. Family each person is so important and loved dearly. I wonder if they know how much? Do I tell them enough? I wonder. Somone is calling, shall I answer or just go in?

Oh No!

When it is bad it is very bad. Gathering fabric for a full skirt can be trying at times. On this particular work day I was just about finished when the thread broke. Oh No,no, no,no was all I could manage to say as I watched this most perfect little skirt fall apart. Back to the beginning, iron the fabric and stitch two rows and start to gather. Not a problem, wrong. My foot is pressing on the pedal, the needle starts to move and then I heard this awful clicking, grinding, crunching sort of sound. Okay, now what? The bobbin has a tangled mess of thread, not to worry just clean it up. So I begin to sew again and the sound is still there I immediately stop sewing. My heart is racing and this very sick feeling comes over me. My Janome 10001 is sick. The first instinct is to call Lilly, my faithful Janome Dealer, her voice did not sound comforting at all as she suggested I bring in my machine.

It took a few minutes to unplug my machine, pack it, get in the car and head for Big Timber. The drive west is always nice and a very good time to listen to great music. Neil Diamond, Tina Tuner, Barbara Strisand are favorites, cranking up the sound, singing along, getting in the zone and then you notice just how fast you are driving. Slow down and be careful you have a lot more sewing to do and you are definitely not finished with life.

Lily meets me at the door and helps me in. She takes my machine and puts it on her work bench. Why did I think I could just wait and bring it home? That is never the case. Here I am in a fabric store, should I just leave? Hell No are you crazy??? Just look around, what harm can there be in that? Oh my there is the greatest display of Dr. Suess Fabric... I bought enough for one dress.

Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of the dress that is in progress next week. That is if I have my machine back by then. I sure hope nothing serious is wrong.

Have a great day!

Missing Turkeys

The last few days have been oddly quiet around here. Usually I'll watch the turkeys hurl themselves from the tops of the trees and fly to the clearing just in front of the house. After getting a drink of water they resume thier journey. Well last week, Cooper came down from the hill with a mouth full of feathers. Something had  happened. I asked Matt to go and check, so he followed Cooper up the hill and found the area where a turkey had been killed. The next day the same thing happened. Now my pets are kept close to home and I don't walk the property right now. The deer are missing as well.

The lady, I get my eggs from, said she had seen a bobcat at the bottom of my road. Matt has seen it as well. So we believe that the bobcat has scared the wild life away for a bit. Maybe he'll move on to better hunting grounds. With all the small children in the area I worry for thier safety.

There is a little dress waiting to be made. I'm heading down to my sewing room in a few minutes and I'm spending the day there. Last night my dreams were full of little girls  twirling in full skirt dresses. I wanted to join them.

My granddaughter Sherri wants a quilt for Christmas. I'm not sure I'll have the time to get one made.