Back with a Celebration

I've been inspired lately.
Inspired by my daughter.

Inspired by my friends

And lured back to share by A Fanciful Twist!

Making time for reading ~ for once

I've been slowly reading this book, not for lack of interest but for my lack of my dedication to reading. But that's going to be a thing of the past. I haven't been denying myself the luxury of new books, like I should be. The piles stacking up along the already stuffed bookshelves prove that. And although I had a book already chosen after I finished this first book in the new year, I went out for more! {But that will soon follow ~ I'm making time for that now!}

"The Sharper the Knife the Less You Cry" was a beautiful way to express what happens when you just do it - when you're done with wondering - when you follow your dreams.

I loved how the author incorporated just a taste of Paris through her daily life in the city and with the delicious recipes after each chapter. While most recipes were just lovely to read through what ingredients are needed and with how they are to be cooked, some I am definitely going to include in my weekly menus {I'm sure my Family will welcome the change!}

I came across this title in a bookswap in goodreads, and now I'm off to do one of my New Year's Resolutions ~ make time for another ol' favorite; mailing a thank you note to the person who sent this book to me!

A Gift for Reema

I shared this idea with Breana while she was wrapping Reema's Birthday gift. I thought something besides a card should accompany a necklace that she took time to make for her friend. Long ago in another world & time in my life, my friends & I use to send letters - beautifully chosen, thoughtfully written & lovingly sent letters/cards...do you remember those? Ah, I have a bundle from one particular friend tucked away in an antique train case. I dream of savoring each sentence & reminiscing of another time, but not just yet. That time, albiet almost 30 years ago [I said *almost*], still is very clear in my mind. I'm waiting for that day when someone in the house stumbles upon the leather train case and begs me to share them - begs. And that moment, after closing my eyes & squinting as if needing to consider sharing, I will caress the pages once more.

Until then, I told Breana of how my sister, Tisha, & I would come up with clever & fun ideas to send a letter. My favorite was the balloon. You temporarily blow up the balloon, write using a felt-tip pen [ballpoint pens require a harder writing surface which may result to popping the balloon while writing], and thoroughly dry before deflating.

Once deflated your writing then becomes minature and quite dainty. The letters look bubbled and as if were placed on top of the surface. Breana's balloon was more of a card so once deflated was sufficient enough in size to read as is. It was adorable.

If you write a longer letter the balloon will need to blown up in order for it to be read! Consider not sharing anything too private because the round surface is hard to cover while reading. That's shared from experience!

Hmmm, now I can read Breana's balloon-card from here and I'm reminded of something we have left unfinished for Reema...

Postcards from my past

Quite some time ago I pulled my collection of postcards out from a box in my Parents' garage to a basket in my house. The basket was on a bottom shelf so one would have to be looking with intent to find them. The other day I decided to move the lot to a crystal vase and display them on top of a table for all to see and look through. Once I started to cram the postcards into the vase I realized that I needed to down-size.

Out of the 359 postcards {oh my!} these were in my 'discard' pile:

I can only guess that we either stayed at these motels on a family road trip or when accompanying my Dad on business trips.

This one struck me as funny.

Laramie, Wyoming.

From what I saw on other postcards, those are my initials so the postcard is definitely...mine.

I should ask my Parents.


Did I swim in these pools?

Update on Woodland Hills:

I googled this Holiday Inn and it looks exactly the same! When I further examined the postcard a window is circled so we had to have stayed there. Maybe during our trip to Universal Studios? So is this one a keeper? Does it have less value because the memories are lost and gone? Is there a difference between a postcard that was in storage for over 30 years and a postcard that has been discarded into the recycling bin?

Twilight

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer.

Wrapping it up

I did it again...was in a hurry. I took a picture of my finished project at the last minute which resulted to blurry pics in bad lighting. My model (i.e oldest daughter) was fidgety and strongly adamant that she was not to be in the photo...so I complied - after all she wasn't the focus of my attention, the neckwarmer was!!!

But the main idea is to document that I actually am working on projects and finishing them!

I'll soon get over the embarrassment of these pictures...

It's my favorite simple pattern -

CO the amount of stitches of your preference.

Row 1: k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat until end.

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: k2, *slip 1 wyif repeat from* to the end.

Row 4: Purl

Repeat these 4 rows until you reach the desired length.

Towards the end I made 2 button holes.

I have an incredible desire for short wraps around my neck. It's a turtleneck that can not only cover the bottoms of your ears but one you can unbutton and open up as well.

It's small enough to roll into your bag or when worn under a jacket can be like an unbutton collar. It's also my way to splash some color into my usual black attaire.

I set out to hunt for 2 unique buttons so while the girls were at soccer practice I ditched my walk/run around the park and slipped into CostPlus to peruse the earrings - and voila, beautiful round ornate earrings - now buttons!

I wanted to surprise this co-worker. She's my lunch partner so I rolled the neckwarmer into a pastry bag to make it look like a yummy pastry and set it on her desk.

I have just enough yarn to make myself a little somethin'-somethin'. It's the same yarn I used for my other co-worker and since the 3 of us share an office it'll be a symbolic gesture of department unification - ok, ok, ok an adult friendship bracelet, if you will - yeesh!

Next!

P.S What's next?

I had a few days to knit a project for a birthday present. It's the last-minute-Betty act that I play often. I always have good intentions in the beginning but somehow, somewhere, somewhy, things slip through the cracks and I'm scrambling.
When we were out of town for a soccer game, my girls & I went out for lunch and fell upon a yarn store - yeah! Thick yarn, big needles and I was 2/3 the way there!I knew I wanted to knit a scarf and I knew I wanted to knit a checkered pattern. How many to cast-on stumped me and sent me through a few trial & errors until I felt it was right.

I knitted late at night while watching "Brother & Sisters" on the computer...

and while under a shade of an old tree while waiting for my girls.

I never took a great picture of the final product or even while I was knitting the project - time was awasteing!

But I did it - I finished a project! For those of you who know me, yes, I tried it on and, yes, I contemplated keeping it [I know, that's bad] but, instead, I rolled the scarf, tied it with a wide hot pink lace and left it on my co-workers desk.

BTW, she loved the scarf and adored the color - a wonderful green that mimics the color that illuminates from sun-soaked leaves! We appreciated the color for the same reason! In fact, she laid it on her couch and is now wondering about a knitted blanket...hmmm...how many episodes will that take?!

For this one I CO 15 stitches and knitted & purled for 5 stitches and 5 rows. I tried casting on 20 stitches but that was too wide for me. I even tried casting on an even number...so much put into a wee scarf!

When this quick project was completed - when I binded off that last stitch - I was reminded how it feels to have needles in hand and yarn by my side.

Next!

A Twist to Life!

I think I need a party - a celebration - a reason to let my hair down and frolic. I remembering frolicing, I don't frolic anymore. I remember walking down the street with an up-beat outrageous song in my head, like in "Ally McBeal".

Lately I have been feeling so "over" people. I have been so impatient, grumpy & crabby.

Lately I have been void of that laughter that only resonates when friends are enjoying each others company - with or without a cocktail in hand.

Lately I have been missing my friends.

I've been slowly entering back to blogland. I've been catching up on my favorite blogs, A Fanciful Twist never fails to make me giggle. She never fails to remind me to wonder again.

So I have a month to dig about my vintage clothing and my storage of costumes. A mere month to step out with my zanyest of shoes and glitterest of jewels...all in A Fanciful Twist kind of way.

I'm getting out of this crazy funk I've been in.

I'm going to have fun!

Join us!

Knitting projects to consider

I get so silly excited when I find a project I want to knit...but, you know me, will I finish it? Eeep, with all the unfinished projects I have laying around?!! Do I dare even think of starting a project?

But look at this sweater!
I think I've had dreams about wearing a sweater like this!
I even took snap shots of the pattern!

Gasp! There's another one!
I'm going insane here!

I have to gain composure! I have to priorities! I have to be realistic!

I need to finish the 2 baby sweaters and the 2, no - 3, knitted bags first, right?!

I have just finished Stephenie Meyer's 3rd book, "Eclipse". As soon as I completed the Epilogue I walked toward Kaitlin & Breana's bookshelf to grab the 4th book, "Breaking Dawn" completely convinced that the first 3 books could have been condensed to one nicely impact book - same amount of pages - but just one...not three...one.

Now that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the books. I did get lost in some of the writing and appreciated the content, too...but the neediness and lack of life outside of one's boyfriend was a bore to me - although I know, I know, their relationship was what the book pivoted around. It was frightening, too. I would not want any of the young Ladies in my life to live their lives like a lost puppy who needed to be rescued and then never left alone for fear - even if it were just a few hours or even just for the evening - to be abandoned [oh dear!] But because I was told by my 14 old niece and 13 yr old daughter that I must not skip any parts - no matter what - I read through pages of goo-gooing & gaa-gaaing from cover to cover. It was melodramaticness at its best!

It was a perfect catalyst to talk to my girls about unnecessary "wanting" and "needing" and the strong desire to be self-reliant and being self-confidant.

I do appreciate many facets of the books. One in particular is Edward. I especially appreciate his cavalier and gentlemanly attributes - that is most appealing to me.

I started "Breaking Dawn" in the evening but left it at the dining table for the morning. I'm actually curious about that book so intend on finishing right away. Kaitlin tells me it's the best of the four.

So there, "Breaking Dawn" comes highly recommended!

Stepping forward

It's embarassing how I haven't kept up with this blog. Embarrassing because I've created holes in this Journal due to partial neglect and partial lack of creativity. I have started many projects but somehow get side-tracked and have ended up with baskets upon baskets upon bags of unfinished projects - needles still attached...and I often wonder where all my needles have gone!

My creative space is still stocked high with stuff and still can only be called nothing more than a storage space - wasted space, it is...it is such a shame.

I'm trying to motivate myself to start 2009 with finished projects and a true art studio. How wonderful that would be!

I challenge myself to pull it together. Enough wishing - enough talking about it - enough, enough, enough!

Once I've accomplish that, I can reap the rewards, right?

Blissfulness

I have lists of finished books under my belt and full days to try to recount but now one completed project to share.

I have started knitting two sweaters for 2 babies intended for their Showers but now they're 2 months old...hopefully I decided to knit sweaters for 6-9 months and not 3-6 months!

I have an unfinished knitted bag from last spring break begging to be finished...

I also have many knitting patterns that I'm drooling over and piles of unwanted clothes but desired material waiting to be recycled...

but for now, I'll focus on this family of mine and this glorious summer...

"Witch Catcher"

Breana turned me on to "Witch Catcher" by Mary Downing Hahn. She borrowed it from the library and brought it along on our Spring Break trip. It's a fun fantasy adventure. We so happen to have a glass round ornament made from an old coke bottle that resembles a witch catcher. This glass ball hangs at the kitchen sink window. It doesn't have a cork at the end but we pretend it's a 'witch' catcher :)

"The Giver"

My niece, Kylie, is a voracious reader (quite common in my family). I comb through her stacks of books often to see what's up in the teen-world. She highly recommended "The Giver" so when I found myself without a book and a few hours of sitting & waiting, I grabbed the book and fell in...to the point of no return. 5 hours later, under the shade of the side of the house amidst the spring blooms, I finished and was intrigued. Definitely a must-read. Now remember I am still caught up in reading books alongside my Middle School aged daughters and am finding it worthwhile. It's nice to be able to 'bookclub' it with these wonderful young ones in my life.

My recent experience around my home somewhat correlated with the book - in the sense of being in a controlled atmosphere of sameness and daring to seek beyond...but the book dives in deeper into this concept of sameness and controlling, much deeper.

I've found myself including the backyard into my daily 'grind' - I'm reading outside more, cutting flowers more (which leads to dead-heading...) and putzing around outside during lunch. I've been absorbed in the colors that are blossoming all over and breathing in the freshness & newness of it all.

I've vowed to not let myself fall into the routine of letting the yard be Dan's thing and being only concerned with the interior of the house. I've been opening all my senses and committing the sights all to memory!

I've vowed not to be trapped inside now knowing what's going on in my own backyard! I've discovered that I tend to enjoy the yard only when Dan calls me outside! I've found that I pull into the garage and close the door behind me which inhibits me from inhaling the goodness of our front yard! While I open up window & sliders, I've been enjoying the outside from the comforts of the inside!

I've vowed not to get sucked into the 'sameness' where it seems safe yet so harmful in many way. Touch! Smell! So vital in life!

Blogging break

I've slipped away from blogland for a bit which doesn't mean I haven't been creating & plotting & completing projects! I just haven't been posting...my life has changed technologically which has relagated me back to the time of my life when the computer wasn't on 24/7...remember those times?!!! While it has been quite peaceful here and my time spent more wisely, it has set me back in keeping track of my creative life. Soon I'll return and boy, oh, boy will I have much to report!

Charming to be 13!

Kaitlin & Breana's dear friend, Julia, celebrated her 13th birthday last week. We pulled out our pearls & beads and took a moment to feast our eyes on all the open cases. Thankfully when you have a certain purpose or a special person in mind the creative process flows easily. Kaitlin designed the necklace above and I knotted the silk thread between each pearl. I hadn't knotted pearl necklaces in quite some time which made me a bit clumsy in the beginning but once I got started I got into a smooth rhythmn and the necklace was finished in no time. We made the necklace 17" so that it will sit right above a crew neck. I wanted this jewelry to be a piece that Julia could wear for years to come. I even added a bigger sterling silver ring at the clasp to help make it easier to put on.
The necklace is truly Julia ~ sweet & classic.

Breana chose beads from her own collection [she has quite the array of beads!] She made a single charm that hung from clear elastic. I suggested hemp yarn or colored yarn but Breana wanted the piece to be sweet & simple, "like Julia" she said. If you don't know Julia you were just given a solid glimpse of her by the 2 necklaces that Kaitlin & Breana made for her. For the 'clasp', I double-knotted the ends and glued them into a red bead.
The girls also wanted to add a Harajuku bag that we found the afternoon before her party. I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't know what a Harajuku Lover bag was {I was told by my 12 & 11 yr olds that everyone knows what harajuku is!} - I googled 'harajuko' and came up with the website above...how adorable! Ah, to be 13!

Constantly creating...

Years ago I made the sock advent garland inspired by Martha Stewart's garland in 2003. In the beginning I took my time finding socks which I would store in a box. I wanted the socks to be unique, kitschy, vintage & fun - but the project was taking too long! Along with the socks, finding 25 zany, significant and sweet ornaments was becoming a headache in disguise! I wanted each day to have an ornament that was special to my girls & to our family - an ornament that represented us as individuals and as a family - an ornament that would bring back memories. Trying to keep with the spirit of Christmas I knew I had to keep it all in perspective - my daughters were going to love this Advent garland. After finding 25 ornaments I fell upon 2 minature fake trees and I knew that my project was over!

So far every morning in December my girls take turns pulling an ornament from a sock and hang it up on their tree. Every morning in December they pull out an ornament and remember it from last year, sometimes a story ~ a memory ~ is remembered and shared.

Some ornaments are unique to our family and make us laugh at its significance to us. Some ornaments just have the beautiful aspect of sweet adoration to it. Some are simple, plain, and perhaps were snatched up to bring my total close to 25, but somehow have grown on us and become special in its own right as the years pass.

It's all about creating memories then sitting back and reminiscing.

No snow days here - just sick days :P

My girls & I have been under the weather the last few days. The first day we had sore throats so we were sitting up around the Christmas Tree playing games and getting some knitting done.

As years go by, and as our girls grow older, we have been able to focus on what Christmas truly means to our family ~ it's celebrating the Holiness of Christmas and acknowledging our blessings. Our gifts concentrate on creating memories and are full of sharing our love for one another with our hands & from our hearts.
That first night into the next 2 days we were miserable :( the most we could do was lay on the couch, watch movies and fall in & out of naps. We caught up on "The Hills" and "Project Runway" - it was as if the little man in our tv knew we were home! {he communicates with the man in our CD disk changer, we know he does!} ;)
Thankfully our foggy brains have cleared up this morning - the girls went to school and I can finally spend my day upright!

Afternoon delight

On the last few days of November while I was changing the beddings & laundering the sheets, I was thinking of how I looked forward to spring & summer when I hung my linen outside to dry...then it dawned on me...why not during Autumn? Why not?! The sun has been out, the sky has been blue - the nights cold and scarves are worn - but the sun still felt warm on our cheeks. So out the linen went on the line. I felt like I was defying rules of the household...but it felt good!
In no time, the sheets were dry and smelled fresh. Autumn-air fresh!
On my needles is my third hat - Christmas is coming - shhhhhh!

Weekend busy-ness

I steal pockets of moments to read, "All Passions Spent" - suggested by Cornflower - between
knitting a few Christmas gifts
and working on our sunroom.