California Dreaming: Part 1

I mentioned earlier that I have had the most WONDERFUL summer of travel. Literally, COAST to COAST!  I have been blessed to marry into a family of travelers (no, not Gypsies, the literal kind).

 There are ten of us: the grands,  hubby's sister's family of five, and we three on my husband's side of the family (soon to be 11 since my niece is engaged). We travel together on a regular basis. To some people this could be a nightmare, but we have F U N!!!
 This past summer we flew to Los Angeles, rented 2 vans, stayed a few days, and then drove up to San Francisco for a another few. I had been to LA  before with them back in 1985 and had no desire to return. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my faded memories were not at all what I saw this time. Also, we headed to northern Cali which was STUNNINGLY beautiful, an absolute delight. I will share some of the photos, but I am going to separate them into two posts. I hope you ENJOY!

LOS ANGELES

We took a day tour of LA in The Rasta Bus. Interesting! 

1st stop Venice Beach

Venice Beach is a trip! Surfers, homeless, dogs, skaters, just what you imagine it to be.

Next we had a little stop at Rodeo Drive. NO SHOPPING HERE! Remember Pretty Woman?

We went by a LOT of stars homes, but I didn't keep those pictures because I couldn't remember which house belonged to which star.  We supposedly saw the homes of Matt Damon, Bill Cosby, Ellen Degeneres, etc. There's no way to know if the guy is telling you the truth because he just pulls up and says "This is so-and-so's house." It was super fun though.

We then headed to the Griffith Observatory for a quintessential  LA/ Hollywood view.

We topped off the tour with a stop at Grauman's Chinese Theater

The next day we left for Northern California, and I will continue the tour tomorrow.

Thanks for hanging in there with me through the "family vacation photos". Isn't that when most people leave the party? The next set of photos are much more scenic! Think Pebble Beach!

As always, thank you for stopping by!

                                                

In Memory of my Bullseye Blanket

This was my beautiful first and only finished crocheted blanket. The Bullseye pattern was super fun to do and I loved the finished product. In my earlier post about it I talked about the need to block it.

" It has not been blocked and desperately needs to be, but I'm showing it (and using it!) anyway."

I also talked about the need to be able to wash it...

 "I used Cascade 220 Superwash Wool because it will be used and I really wanted to be able to wash and dry it easily. It is an affordable version of wool so that also helped. I haven't actually washed it yet so we will see..."


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I said when I pulled it from the washer.

Well I now know this:
1. The gentle cycle is not actually  GENTLE
2. Cascade 220 Superwash yarn is not actually WASHABLE
3. I STINK at tying in the ends!

There were about 5 squares that survived, but they have their tails coming out.

I'm heartbroken that my Bullseye blanket has fallen apart. At this point I don't think I can revive it. I may try to convert the surviving squares into pillow cushions so they don't go to waste. The only thing I think I could or should have done differently is to leave much longer tails for weaving in and/or tie tighter knots. Well, that and to NEVER PUT ANYTHING I CROCHET INTO A WASHING MACHINE!

I'll survive this little setback, but I admit it's quite a blow to my ego. Life is like that, right? This isn't world hunger, poverty, disease, etc. It is art, and art is a learning process! I will pick myself up, dust myself off and NOT start all over again. ;-)

Have you had any crafting disasters?
Did you start again?
Did you learn something from the experience?

I'm leaving you with a smile and  the reality that life in blogland is not always pretty! Here IS a pretty picture until next time.

Have a great day!

January = Hunker Down!

My word for January is actually two words - Hunker Down! I don't know if this is a southern phrase or if it's used everywhere, but it means to STAY IN YOUR FOXHOLE, HIDE, DON"T MOVE! I have a lot of projects that need attention but they will be there tomorrow. With the Polar Vortex having brought frigid temperatures to our area and the Christmas letdown, I have been very unmotivated. Wherever you are, I hope you're staying warm!

P.S One of my goals this year is to improve my digital photography skills. I will be joining A Personal Photo Challenge to.... challenge myself in this area. One of the wonderful things about writing a blog is the ability to see into the past. Hopefully, this will cast a light on my personal growth in many areas, not just photography. If you are interested, go and join the challenge yourself! It could be "eye-opening"! The theme for this month is "Shadow Play" and it just happened that this post's photo fit well. This was taken on my Nikon D40 and edited on Picasa with the I'm Feeling Lucky button (one touch easy editing). I'm hoping that as my photography skills improve I will need less editing? We shall see. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and please say Hi if you get the chance. 

Looking for a Sign

I LOVE to paint! It doesn't matter if it's a wall or a painting! There is something wonderful about "before and after" things. Mowing the yard, vacuuming, raking leaves... painting gives this same feeling of satisfaction. It always amazes me what a coat of paint will do for something. FRESH, CLEAN, NEW, BEAUTIFUL! Another thing I love to do is writing or lettering. Occasionally my church asks me to paint something to enhance the worship experience or bring artistic expression (i.e. a visual aid) to the service.

           Isn't our Sanctuary BEAUTIFUL at Christmas? People buy Poinsettias "in honor or memorial" of someone and after Christmas they can take it home. Any that are left behind get taken to local nursing homes or to shut-ins. If you look at the left edge of the photo you can see some banners hanging. Those are mine.There are also some on the right side but my photo skills could use some improvement.
         This is a real honor for me, and part of me loves using my talents for the Lord. In reality though, I am sitting in worship staring at my signs and studying every flaw! The imperfections! Other people give me compliments and my first reaction is to say "Oh my goodness, the one on the top left is crooked!" It's so hard to just say, "Thank you. It was my pleasure to do them." The sermon series was titled Faces of the Nativity. There is one that says "the Wise Men" but it wasn't up yet.
 

Here are some closeups

         The hardest part is figuring out how to make the actual banner, not the painting. In the past I looked at buying pre-made canvases large enough to be seen, but they were super expensive. The other option is to buy the canvas and frames and stretch them myself but that wasn't really in my price range either. So I decided to buy a VERY large canvas dropcloth in the painting section at Lowe's and cut and sew it into banners. There were 4 that said "Love, Joy, Hope, and Peace" for advent. This time the sermon series was for 7 weeks = 7 signs. This took a little more thought and engineering. I ended up reusing the back of some old printed yard signs our church had used to advertise for Vacation Bible School. I cut, primed, painted, added dowels for stability and large grommets to hang and attach them to each other.  It turned out well I think even though a couple of them are sagging a little.(see? I can't help it- imperfections).

                         I hope you had a beautiful place to worship the birth of our Savior this year!

One Word for the Year?

REACH

To succeed in making contact with, influencing, impressing, interesting, convincing. To establish communication with. To succeed in touching or seizing with an outstretched hand. To get to or arrive at in some course of progress or action.

There has been an idea bouncing around Blogland that I am going to try and embrace. Pick ONE word to inspire you for the year. I wanted to credit someone with the idea but when I Googled it there were almost 300 million hits! Evidently, I'm not the only one who likes this idea.

It turns out that this was a very hard thing to do! I LOVE WORDS! I went to the web to search for verbs. I figured if I chose one it should be an action word. Look at the beautiful poem above - "REACH", "SEEK", "LOOK", "DREAM" - How's a girl supposed to choose? Well... I'm going to bend the rules a little. I will focus on the word REACH for 2014, BUT I would like to have a monthly word, too. How can January and July really have the same emphasis? They are too different.   

If you had to choose your word for 2014 what would it be? 

January 1, 2014 Resuming

Ok! it is the first day of the New Year and I have things to accomplish...

Isn't that the way we all start the New Year? All excited and RESOLUTE! I'm no different from any of you. I don't actually make a list of resolutions, but it seems impossible to begin the year without some kind of reckoning, planning, hoping, reflecting, evaluating, dreaming....AHHHH... what do I want to accomplish this year? I often think about the Apostle Paul doing this same thing in the Scriptures:

       "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing:  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
         Philippians 3: 12-14

Don't you just love that! Even Paul stopped to evaluate his life and ministry.

Imperfection is not the end cause there's always tomorrow. For instance, I am writing this at 11:51 pm so by the time it gets posted it will be tomorrow already!

What are you planning for this new year? Any new dreams, projects? Or perhaps, like me, some things already begun need completion?

On this January 1, 2014 I wish for you many blessings! Blessings don't always come with smiles but they are Blessings just the same!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and see me  - (especially after such a long absence). I look forward to sharing many things with you in the upcoming year.

On Hold

Hi friends.
I have been on an extended blogging break but not a life break! I go to this page to read the blogs I follow, and it has been bothering me that I see a snake every time I open my it! Yuck! I'm writing this on my iPad because my laptop died back in August. If you use Blogger you will know that it doesn't play well with Mac products - part of the reason for my hiatus. I just wanted you to know that I've had a great summer of travel, crochet, and a new little project I'm very excited to share with you soon. Heres a little peek at some of my summer fun.

Thank you for hanging in there with me and I hope to be back for real very soon! (I'm going to look at a new Christmas laptop this weekend :-) )

I hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Scaley Visitor!

While taking my dog, Smokey, outside, I sat on the front steps as usual. I looked down and saw this little fellow right below me.

Yellow ring around his neck

Bright yellow belly

    I Googled him and discovered he is a Mississippi ringneck snake and is very rare to see; not because they are uncommon here, but because they are very secretive. I think he is actually quite fascinating and even beautiful. Now, I am aware that there are SOME people ( ok, MOST people) who have a viscerally negative reaction when presented with ANY kind of snake and would never agree with the appeal of slithering things. I must confess that I have little fear of these creatures. HOWEVER, I surely don't like being surprised by one! This one was only about 8 inches long and had a tiny head so I knew right away he wasn't poisonous. In East Tennessee we only have 2 kinds of poisonous snakes, and they are Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads. Many people think there are Water Mocossins, also known as Cotton Mouths, here as well, but the TWRA says they are NOT found anywhere in the eastern part of the state. They are found in Middle and West Tennessee.
    When my son was 10 years old we got him a Ball Python and had him for about 4 years. They are the smallest member of the Python family and only reach about 4-5 feet. He had really beautiful markings and was a VERY low maintanance pet. I finally gave him away because of the disgusting RATS that he ate (we had to defrost frozen ones because I couldn't stand to see him kill them :-()) There was also some concern that the size of his food was about the same size as my 3 pound Yorkie!!! EEEK! We called our snake "snake" because let's face it, he didn't really need a name. One rule was that we would not get him out when company was over, because some people REALLY HATE SNAKES!!! - and that's ok and was to be respected. I hope I haven't freaked YOU out too much with this snakey post, and that you actually come back again for some pretty crochet or flowers.
     I really love ALL God's creatures, except spiders-YUCK, and appreciate the role each of them plays in this amazing world He created.  Even the CREEPY CRAWLY ones.

"Then God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kind, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1:25

Chartreuse

I will show you my latest WIP (work in progress) on the hook. I am making a cover for one of my Pottery Barn pillows that I LOVE. I have two of them but only have enough yarn on hand to cover one. They currently have white fuzzy lambswool covers, and I'm wanting a more Spring/Summer look for the upcoming seasons. I am doing the Block Stitch by Sue Pinner.  She has a wonderful crochet blog called The 8th Gem with many interesting projects. You should check it out. Anyway... here are the first pictures of my pillow cover.

I am using cottons and a couple of wools. I will bring you more pictures as soon as I finish.

Out in the garden things are really getting GREEEEEEN. I titled this post Chartreuse because of one particular plant. This one....

It's actually called Carpet of Gold but it is sooooo greeeeen. I have not edited these pictures in any way.

Thanks to a fellow blogger, Rowen at Coastal Colors, I found a cool app to make photo collages. I haven't been able to do this on Blogger (I'm sure there is a way but I couldn't figure it out!). It is called Diptic and the possibilities are endless. So FUN!

Finally, I found some drowsy bees enjoying the azaleas.

Big, fat, happy, DROWSY BEES.

I hope you're having a big, fat, happy, drowsy SPRING!

P.S. I you stop by please say "Hi" ! All you have to do is click on the word "comment" and it will take you to a comment box where you can leave me a message. I don't need glowing compliments (well, only if you want too ;-)). Just a simple "hello" will let me know you're there, and I'm not ALONE. Thank you for all my friends who say "Hi" on a regular basis. You know it keeps me going!