How time has flown by

Today is my oldest child's birthday. My little cuddle bug with the big giggle and even bigger sense of adventure is...a man. (and yet, I mysteriously remain forever young!)

I can tell you this; I have a friend who says "Little children, little problems. Big children, big problems." It's true. When you are in the midst of colic and diaper rash and potty training, it can be truly, mind-numbingly exhausting. When your teenager comes to you after some incredibly bad decision and is facing extreme consequences, it is true that when they're heart breaks, your heart breaks right along with them.

We can't dwell on the valleys because the moutaintops are numerous and rewarding and life is a terrifying, wonderful thing.

Cliches are grounded in truth. The cliche that they grow up before you know it is absolutely true. Oh, to redeem the time wasted when I was 'too busy' or 'too tired' as he grew up, but I am trying to choose to treasure all the moments, the milestones and the memories.

Zach is a guy's guy, so I made him a pretty simple, but bright card.

One of his little secrets is that he loves flowers and gardens. He won't tell you, but it's easy to observe. When he was younger and we lived in a townhouse, we built some raised flowerbeds. I bought loads of perennials and annuals. He is the one who arranged how they were planted. When he badly hurt his knee and realized he was a horrible patient at home, he asked his dad to help him shop for a rose bush as an apology. He walks around the yard smelling flowers and brushing his hand over herbs and he takes an active interest in the vegetable beds, but his big request is to plant watermelons. So, a little spring bouquet for him. How appropriate that the world is coming awake as his birthday arrives.

And this is super late, but last week Opus Gluei had a challenge to use material in a project. I have an older friend who is extremely ill and I know that she loves flowers, so this little embellished burlap bag will hold a tiny bud vase and several tiny daffodils. Hope she likes it!

Fabulous Fifteen!

Oh wow! Just. Wow.

My baby is turning fifteen this Saturday. She was a blizzard baby, born right after the crazy blizzard we had in 1996. I remember my neighbor, who was a firefighter, freaking out when he saw me shoveling snow. I was ready for her to ARRIVE.

He very kindly offered to help me deliver her should I go into spontaneous labor. I think after I picked my jaw up off the floor, I thanked him and said something to the effect of "I will walk to the ER in snowshoes before you deliver this child because no way would I ever be able to look you in the eye again."

Fortunately all the roads were cleared of snow and the skies were full of stars on the night she came into this world. When I remember the night of her birthday I always think of this line by Shakespeare, "There was a star danced and under that I was born."
And she is a star. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! (I made this very girly card for her. She's starting to actually like bling-bling, so I'm milking that for all it's worth!) So much glitter on here. And rhinestones, pearls, Glimmer Mist, paper lace, old tulle, vintage seam binding, etc. It's an homage to a young lady who is growing up on me, but it still very playful at heart.

Return to the Roots

Long, long ago, a friend tricked me into scrapbooking by asking me to host a Creative Memories party to help her launch her new business. LOL Little did I know that as I was cutting wedding photos into star shapes and smattering them with sticker sneezes that I would become so hooked.

But I was.

It was a tether back to the creative little girl that I had been; who had been choked by the weeds of life, the real world and the admonition to 'grow up'. (as I type this I can't help but think of the John Candy movie, 'Uncle Buck' where he tells off the principal who wants him to crush the spirit of his imaginative niece, what a hilarious and sweet moment that was. Look it up!)

To all those who think scrapbooking is something soccer moms do in their myriad hours of spare time, I'm sorry you feel so negatively. I've met incredibly talented women (and men!) with rich, full lives who pour their creative spirit into documenting a life well-lived. Some are married, some are single. Some have 10 children, others have no children. Some are doctors and others are stay at home parents. ALL are valuable.

And yet, as much as I enjoy it and continue to invest in new product and/or tools, I hadn't scrapbooked at all in quite some time. I made a lot of art that I had a great time creating, but I'd gotten away from the heart of what got me back to creating in the first place: scrapbooking.

So, while others dressed up to go out and party on NYE, I pulled on some yoga pants, brewed some hot coffee and went to the studio to play.

And I loved it.

What I did isn't elaborate or newsworthy, but it was nourishing and renewing and most of all, it made my 2 oldest feel treasured because they are the subject of my time and effort. They laugh and weakly attempt to hide it from their friends, but then they pull all the old scrapbooks out and spend hours looking through their own lives. Lives well lived. (forgive the cropping of the photos. I'm still trying to figure out my new camera and its photo editing software!)

Egg-citement!

So, no comment on the long, uncomfortable silences on this blog. Same story women have told for ages...

Last weekend, the hubby and I were running around doing errands and it occured to me that Maryland at this time of year is wildly beautiful. The colleges deftly schedule their tours to coincide with the perfect scenery. Numerous fall festivals and craft shows abound. Most importantly, our chickens have started laying!

Yes, the previous freeloaders are slowly beginning to come off scholarship and earn their keep. Surprisingly, the first little layer was Peanut, our black silkie and the tiniest of the flock. Peanut is our youngest daughter's personal chicken, so young daughter is especially proud that her chickie is the chickie who could. (We all need to start refering to Peanut as a she since we've previously called Peanut a he. Our apologies Peanut!)
Peanut lays the cutest, half-size bantam pullet eggs.

The next little chickie on the production line is Duckie, our Buff Orpington and acknowledged chicken public relations ambassador. Duckie is the calmest, most inquisitive little lady who enjoys attention, so she is the one to comfort and reaasure those who view chickens negatively.

And most recently, Patches, our pretty Easter Egger with a funny, floppy comb has begun laying a lovely blue-green egg. She sings her quirky egg song beforehand, arranges the nest box just so and then puffs up before dropping off her contribution to the egg carton.

We do have a mystery layer who hasn't figured out that dropping your eggs willy-nilly in the chicken run isn't so wise. We are hopeful she will watch her chickie sisters and follow their lead.

Most of the others show signs of joining the production line soon including one little white silkie who I was quite sure was a rooster and it now most assuredly a little lady with a really odd comb.

So, soon quiche, omelets and angel food cakes will abound! If it begins to get too crazy, we'll resort to tossing eggs in unlocked cars and leaving them anonymously on neighbors porches (must like our practice with zucchini and tomatoes in the summer).

Don't even ask hubby how much that first egg cost!

A Product of Their Times

Yes, yes, yes, this blog has been collecting dust for months. Sorry if you sneeze! No promises that it'll get any better, but who knows?

I was on a forum the other day and there was a discussion of products our mothers bought (or prepared) when we were children that we now despise. I remember my mom used to buy imitation chocolate chips for her cookies. Not only that, but she would double the cookie recipe without doubling the chips! Not just one crime, but two; especially to unwavering chocolate lovers like me. I don't know that they even make those chips anymore or perhaps that my eyes refuse to register them on the shelf.

That wasn't the only bizarre food choice in our household when I was growing up. When my mom was expecting my little sister, she craved sardine sandwiches with mustard. Guess what we had for lunch a lot? A whole lot.

Sometime in the late 70s or early 80s (I think) was when generic foods came into existence. There was a warehouse store that was totally foreign to me. You bought these enormous boxes of food, but all the packaging looked the same; either white or yellow with a checkmark and plain black font. Duh, all the food tasted the same too; like crusty sock fungus or remarkably like the cardboard boxes they were packaged in. I know several store brand foods are quite alright now, but back then, it was social death to have a friend glimpse into your cabinets to see a flash of plain boxed puffed rice insta-dinner.

Now, if I go further back a generation as it related to me, I remember the meals my grandparents made and their attitudes towards food. My maternal grandparents had a large garden each year (and still do though they are both well seasoned in years) and canned many, many vegetables, fruits, jams & jellies. Prize winning cans in fact. My mom has groused on more than one occasion that Nana cooked the vegetables to mush (true a lot of times), but at least Nana knew where they were grown, what they were grown with and what they were grown without. Though her cinnamon squash will go down in infamy (because it most certainly did not go down my gullet), Nana and Papa approached food in the same way they were raised with food.

Surely they've all grown. Nana now buys store bought pies and several convenience foods. My parents are once again growing much of their own food and have farm fresh eggs from their motley crew of chickens.

What am I a product of? Pretty much an unhealthy amalgam of what was first taught to me in school as the 4 food groups. Now it's the food pyramid. And a lot of the food on the shelves in the grocery come with ingredients lists that are longer than the ingredients list on my eye shadow. Now that's freaky. And I can't pronounce the ingredients either.

We've swung back and forth between low-fat/no-fat, sugar free, high fiber, no carbs, good carbs, omega-3s, whatchapeas, etc to the point where frankly I think most of us are more confused than not about healthy eating.

The author Michael Pollan tells us it might help if we shop the aisles of our local grocery and only buy things our great-grandmother would recognize. That would pretty much cut out all the interior aisles. Not to go label crazy, but if my Great Grandma Rae wouldn't buy it, then I should think about leaving it on the shelf myself.

As Richard Dreyfuss tells Bill Murray in "What About Bob", baby steps. What are my baby steps right now?

Today I picked fresh peppers, cherry tomatoes, my first 'big' tomato (a Cherokee Purple), burgundy okra, basil and Italian flatleaf parsley. I also dug up all the sweet onions.

Oh, and I fed these little girls watermelon rinds which they gobbled right up. Should be weeks though before they are off 'scholarship' and start earning their keep by laying eggs.

The first girl is LaVerne (we have a Shirley too). She's a Silkie bantam which means she's like a miniature poodle prissy poodle chicken. The second girl is Cream Puff who has a lovely feather pattern of a red head cascading into silvery blue tail feathers. She's an Araucana (or Easter Egger), so she'll lay blue or green eggs.

Happy Lurve Day!

Once again that day of the year again that is sure to inspire thoughts of love or sure to bring sad & lonely disappointment is here: Valentine's Day. My hubby is out of town all weekend, will be home for only one night (a late one at that) then leave to go to LA for the rest of the week (poor baby, his team has a rented beach house, lol), so I won't have much Cupid-like activity. I do have my 3 children home for Valentine's Day though, a rare treat since 2 of them are halfway out of the nest already. As usual, in the morning, they'll find a few surprises waiting for them.

I made this lollie (above)after being inspired by a tutorial on the House of 3 Inspiration blog done by Rhonna Farrer. She also did a great tutorial on making blossoms with coffee filters, so when hubby gets home, he will need to run out and buy more. Whoopsie! Hey, I got carried away! To make our Valentine's weekend more festive for the kids, I hung a few banners and paper lanterns. All of the pink even catches the light and reflects a soft, romantic light around the rooms; an unexpected bonus.

Friday night, I took my daughter, her boyfriend and I went out to see the new movie, Valentine's Day. It was frothy and cute. No big, deep life lessons, but I got to hang with my girl, get to know her young man better and laugh at the crazy parking jobs in the snow around the theater. The government had declared a state of emergency, schools were out and our mail never arrived, but by golly, that theater was packed to the last seat. Cabin fever had everyone aching to get out!

Look what was outside of our 'cabin'...a supersized and scary couple of icicles. We have very tall windows, so these would be lethal should you be under one the moment they decide to break loose from their perch. Had a bit of a "Psycho" shower fright when I opened the curtain to see those! Maybe, just maybe, at this rate the icicles and snow may melt in time for summer break. I hear we're supposed to get more snow on Monday. Noooooooooooooooooooo!

So, it's snowing. Yet again. :P

The artsy craftsy pictures were going to be on the bottom of this post, but blogger won't let me move them, so here they stay. I made this heart banner after being inspired by a project on Teresa McFayden's Paper Romance e-zine.
The necklaces below are little surprises for some special people. The card the necklaces are mounted upon is simply cardboard that's been masked and Glimmer Misted to within an inch of its life. Up close, they are dripping in shimmer. To make the "Beautiful One" word strip, I cut patterned paper down to the width of Dymo label tape and ran it through the Dymo. Then I swiped a fairly dry Old Paper Distress ink pad across the letters to help them show more clearly. I hope they like them!

It would've been a disservice to any of the few readers of this blog to read me waxing eloquent upon the evils of snow. Yet here I am, to wax eloquent upon the evils of snow while it is (no surprise) snowing out with blizzard (sometimes hurricane forces) winds.

School has been out and will be out for the remainder of the week. Fortunately, I live in a little town that is managed with a velvet-covered iron fist, so our roads are usually fine. Unfortunately, the hubby hadn't been further than the local grocery store (honestly, one we could walk to if we needed), so he thought the rest of the state had to be fine (he also works from home). This sheltered view led to him expressing disbelief when I told him that the rest of the state is, indeed, not fine. That major roads aren't quite clear and many neighborhood roads are nearly impassable. Traffic lights are flashing which leads to replays of Drivers Ed in our heads as we battle the 'polite driver' vs the 'I'm first and I don't give a rip about the rules driver' and me, the 'did all you people forget basic drivers ed?!? driver'.

Enough of my whining (but, seriously folks, why do they not issue frequent customer cards for liquor stores?), life goes on, right?

A couple of weeks ago, I won a fabulous prize on Heidi Swapp's blog, Still Me. A necklace made by Lisa Leonard Designs. This is the necklace I won: lluminate and I was able to choose what I wanted stamped onto the necklace. I chose "Walk in the light" in reference to a few things. 1 John 1:7, Matthew 5:16 and jumping off of this performance by artist, Tobymac (turn off my music player at the bottom of the blog to watch if you'd like):

Apparently the mail carrier went through the snow because it showed up at my home yesterday and it is beautiful. A big thanks to both Heidi Swapp and Lisa Leonard for such a generous gift! I will wear it often as a reminder to not only talk the talk, but to walk the walk.

Here are a few pics of our lovely snow from last weekend without the addition of the snow we're getting today...

1) Our garage

2) The view down our street

3) My car is under there somewhere!

4) Ash & Jack galloping down the street

A little fun, a little creativity and a lot of frozen toes

First, there are a couple of birthdays coming up, so I spent a few late nights in the studio. Mostly just communing with pretty paper or supplies, but I did manage to create a couple of cards for special birthday people.

Most importantly is my daughter who turns 14 tomorrow. Wahhhhh! This kid is talented in so many areas that if I weren't there for her very first birthday, I'd swear she came from some other super amazing set of parents. She can jump tall buildings in a single bound, run faster than a locomotive and has a deep empathy for others. I'm so proud of my baby girl. This one is for her, my little blizzard baby...Though you can't see it, this one is full of shimmer. I used glimmer mist and in person, it is full on sparkly. I don't know if anyone remembers wayyyyyy back when I glittered an entire package of Basic Grey chipboard & put it all in a bowl for ready-made embellishments? The 'snowflake' is one of those pieces.

This card is for someone I've known since he was 'this high'. Now he's all grown up with a daughter of his own (daaaaaang, I'm old). This one also fits right in with the latest challenge from Opus Gluei to use a star. And yes, I glittered an entire package of crusty old Lil Davis chipboard stars way back thinking that I might get around to using them on a project. :)

You know how it's been colder than a Siberian work camp the past couple of weeks? I'm NOT cut out for the cold and anyone around me knows it because I complain at top volume. Hubby and I are in a constant battle over the thermostat. He turns it to something dreadfully low like 60 and I crank it up to something reasonable such as 68.

I don't know what possessed us to travel to NYC during one of the coldest weekends in 40 years, but that's what we did last weekend. I'm still working to regain feeling in my pinky toes. It was cold. Wicked. Freezing. Cold. Even the subway stations were bone chilling. The rats had headed South for the winter. And they were wearing their little rat scarves.

Oddly enough, people still lined up for free samples at the Coldstone Creamery we passed.

As a Christmas gift to each other, hubby and I went to see the newish musical Memphis. Due to the cold, I had been thinking the trip wasn't worth it, but after the show, braving the freezing temps was so worth it. If you are in the market to see a newer show, strongly consider this one. I'd see it again. I'd see it again especially if it were summer and I felt up to standing in line for a Coldstone sample. ;)

Don't do sadness

A little over a week ago, we got the call a parent never wants to hear. My son had tried to harm himself. Thank God he wasn't successful in his attempt and has started to get help, but for now, each day feels as though we are breathing in heavy air. It's an intense labor we have no control over.

Hubby and I are tired. We each handle stress differently, so that is its own struggle.

Our daughters seem okay, but having been through similar situations, I know that 'not okay' is like milk simmering in a saucepan and 'okay' is the thin skin that forms at the top, easily broken.

I usually try to keep the blog on the light side, but in this case, I'd rather have all the prayer and thoughts I can muster for my child and my family rather than pretend that it's all 'okay'.

Makin' Hay While The Sun Shines

We've all heard the term "making hay while the sun shines". This is a folksy way of saying, you've got to get the work done while you can.

In August, when the garden is bursting, I've got to put in the work with the harvest while it's still going which has meant a very busy few weeks. Before, during and after regular work hours, I've been making tomato sauce, drying tomatoes, churning out pesto, roasting peppers, freezing veggies and more. This is what I get when I innocently plant a modest few plants around Mother's Day; paybacks for my naive ambitions.

But, it's therapeutic work. There's no denying, I've had a summer of the Drama Llama. Lots of situations out of my control, but which still very much effect me and those I love the most. Spending the time outdoors pulling weeds, propping up vines, picking fruit and bringing in the fruits of our labors opens up the mind to think, process and work outside the box.

This has meant precious little time to be artfully inclined in the tiny studio, but I feel no less creative when I'm chopping, stirring or tasting something that's been kissed by the sun and infused with great flavors. It's a different kind of process, but equally satisfying.

So, the tomatoes are still madly producing and the recipes keep coming...

First is one that uses the Tipsy Tomato Sauce as a base for Pizza Sauce. We make a lot of pizza and while some members of the family like less sauce and some like more, we all agree that this sauce is 'just right' for us. My son even took a jar to college with him last week.

Pizza Sauce
1 3/4 C. Tipsy Tomato Sauce
1/2 C. tomato paste
2 small cloves garlic minced
1/2 ts. dried oregano or 1 ts. fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 ts. dried basil or 1 ts. fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 ts. sugar
1/4 ts. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and process for 15 seconds or until smooth. If you have them, in the summer use fresh herbs. The fresh basil, most especially, makes a difference in the flavor of the sauce, but dried always works. It's pizza sauce; not the Holy Grail.

Another great recipe is for Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes. This one comes from the tomato recipe collection I talked about with the first tomato recipe post. With some farm fresh corn and whatever protein you throw on the grill, this rounds out a very nice meal with full flavor...

Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes
2 large, firm tomatoes
3 T. dry seasoned bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 ts. fresh basil, chopped (just a leaf or two)
2 ts. fresh parsley
1/4 C. grated mozarella
2 T. butter, softened

Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Combine the remaining ingredients and pack into the tomato cavities. Place on aluminum foil cute side up and grill for 15-20 minutes or until tomatoes are heated through and the cheese is melted.

~I've changed up the song playlist with some Back to School stuff. Am I imagining or did I feel the first cool, crisp hint of Fall in the air this morning?

Chalk it up to...

summer fun!

Every year my daughter and her friend spend a good part of the summer rambling around the neighborhood looking for 'something fun' to do because they are bored. They are old enough now to walk or bike to the library together or head off to McD's, ice cream stand, local market or even the old hardware store, but sometimes, it's the simple things in life that occupy their fancy.

Like a giant tub of sidewalk chalk...

More summer fun is measuring the rate at which one pumpkin vine and a couple of gourd vines are attempting to take over the back yard...Finally, one super early morning while the studio was still cool (there's no AC in there!), I played around for an Opus Gluei challenge...The challenge is called "Book 'em" and while I had visions of Cops, they really meant books! I made a small, hand-bound (sewn) book to send off with my daughter's friend as she goes back to her mom's once school starts. If you're looking for tomato recipes, don't forget to look through the last couple of posts!

Which one is the true gargoyle? 2nd post of the day

It is appropriate to combine my thanks at being able to travel to Paris with a few photos of one of the most famous houses of worship in the world, Notre Dame. As we walked into the great sanctuary, a children's choir was performing. Their voices filled the air, a perfect welcome to a place I had only dreamed about since I was a child.

What a testimony of faith that those who would begin the cathredral would carry on their life's work and pass away, knowing their vision would not be fulfilled within their lifetime, but knowing the vision was true and worth their sacrifice.

We were able to take a guided English tour throughout the cathredral which greatly expanded our understanding beyond any guidebook or poor interpretation of French signage. I had not comprehended all that had happened within these walls from its inception, to the destruction during the Revolution, to Napoleon being crowned as Emporer by the Pope and beyond.

This window is one of only a few original stained glass windows left in Notre Dame.
You are looking at art that is very nearly a thousand years old. Now picture the course of civilization over the span of a 1000 years that this window has endured... In order to go up to the bell tower and scale the heights of Notre Dame is another trip altogether with an enormous and excruciatingly slow line. Not knowing if I would ever return, I convinced hubbie to wait with me. (in front of us was in Italian family with twins who were fascinated that I have no pinky toenails. my college Italian still tries to hang on, hehehe)

A few hundred steps later, we come to the first level...Great views of Paris beyond...after a hundred or so more steps...the Chimera and Gargoyles I had previously only seen in photos (oh wait, that's the hubbie!) Rubble that has fallen from Notre Dame over the years lying abandoned...The back of Notre Dame, just a thoughtfully designed as the rest of the cathredral, but a photo without the hundreds of tourist (myself among them)...

A Dream of Paris

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to walk the streets of Paris; to sample a decadent pastry, peruse the flea markets, shop the book vendors on the streets and gaze at the iconic images in living color.
Now that dream is coming true and I can scarcely believe it. Many obstacles almost derailed this trip altogether and my long-suffering DH who has lived with a wife who waxes eloquent over the Old World finally consented that the whole idea of France might not be so horrid (though it's not his preferred vacation in the tropics).

And though I'm frantic with packing both of us as well as daughters for their own trip this next week, I'm starting to feel a frisson of excitement. Thank heavens for Marriott points, frequent flyer miles and spare change jars. They really DO add up!

To help me get in the mood, I put a little France inspired playlist here, even including a BowWowWow song from the movie, "Marie Antoinette". Au Revoir Mes Amis! (my 3 years of French are rustier than an old garden gate)

And so begins a new beginning

I won't apologize for being busy because it's been with celebrating a new graduate and she is worth the time. We were so happy for her; no tears here and none from her either. Her face had a gorgeous smile on it the entire time as did ours.


And this past weekend she attended her Freshman Orientation at her new school, Mount St. Mary's ~the same school her older brother attends. (see the 2 Mounties below!) She and several hundred other Freshmen went in nervously, but by the end of the weekend, she had already found several new best friends and lined up 2 roomies for the Fall semester. While I'm an introvert, she's a social butterfly. I already predict her becoming active in about a zillion clubs, causes and crews.

Tomorrow, we leave for the Creation Festival in Mount Union, PA if the antibiotics start to kick in from whatever she picked up at orientation.

Be back on Sunday to take a breather, catch up on some serious blog love and hopefully have some time to sequester myself to just create.

Not So Dumb and Dumber

Last week I was lucky enough to tag along on a trip to NYC with my sister. (Note to all: if someone offers you a bed in NYC for a few days, don't think, just go! 'Specially if you're an artsy fartsy type)

Anyway, my sis called wondering why photos of our big night out on the town weren't already posted on the blog. To be honest, it was a pretty special night. We had goofy grins pasted on our faces the entire way back to our hotel room. But..... the whole trip was a lot of fun. Much needed recharging for the challenges back home.

Took the train into town on Sunday when we met at the hotel...I was starving, so we headed to John's Pizzeria, a tradition....then we headed to Soho to see Sunshine Cleaning (nice, quirky film) at the tiniest little theater that reminded us of a theater we went to as kids (all that was lacking was a jar of pickles and a machine that dispensed Dixie cups of syrupy soda for $.25)....

The next day, I stopped by Tinsel Trading which was mobbed because there was a stationery show in town, but this was the first time I had been to their new location and I still managed to come away with a fun bag of goodies....I also had to go ride all the wooden escalators at Macy's....and spend some quality time in a huge Sephora....then peruse all the beading and trim shops in the fashion district....

But what sis and I couldn't stop smiling about was for later that evening! We had hemmed and hawed over shows; never got around to finally choosing until it was a late hour indeed. Just a few days before we were to meet, I saw that Jeff Daniels (who is also doing a play on Broadway called Gods of Carnage, Tony nominated) was doing a small concert at City Winery. I checked the website thinking surely it'd be sold out, but lo and behold there were still choice seats. After some consulting together, we went for it.

After a nice dinner at a small treasure called Bruschetteria (great panini, yum), we made our way to City Winery where we were escorted to a table that was a mere few feet from the stage. At that point, before we had any wine, we started to get a bit giddy. I know, some of you are thinking "why are they getting worked up over Jeff Daniels?", but you've got to remember from my old blog the time I stumbled all over myself when walking down the street with Richard Thomas of The Waltons fame. And I've always liked Jeff Daniels, just have. Sis and I shared some City Winery vino and desserts while we waited for the show to start.

I will say this, if you get the chance to see this man doing a small show anywhere you can get to, sign up immediately. Not only is he a fine actor, he has a fine voice, plays a sweet guitar and writes all of his own music; much of which will make you either laugh hysterically or have you crying into your hankie. And witty, gracious, good humored. We were entertained, charmed and touched.

What moved us the most though was when he told us about how critics have asked him if regrets doing Dumb and Dumber. He likes to tell this story...

As a public figure, sometimes when you're in the DC area, the USO might call you to ask if you'll visit Walter Reed Hospital to spend time with wounded soldiers. Mr. Daniels told us how you'd see young people with various wounds, not quite knowing what hit them, just kids really and to the last one, all they want to hear about is Dumb and Dumber. They want him to quote lines from the movie, ham it up, talk about it, makes them smile and laugh. So, whenever a critic asks if he regrets doing Dumb and Dumber, he'll reply, that no, he has no regrets, but feels honored to be a part of something that can bring joy into the darkness.

Everything after that was the frosting on top of the cake. The next day I went to the Gagosian Gallery where there was an exhibit of many of Pablo Picasso's works and sketches from later in his life. I'm not an art major, but the tone of the exhibit was interesting with the hushed reverence of those walking throughout the gallery. I'd like to read and study more on him now that I've seen these works. His bold brushstrokes, copious use of thick layers of paints and even use of different substrates has me interested, but not reverent. I want to understand why he rose to such prominence while still living; what magic he seemed to possess.

After Picasso, I wondered over to Greenwich Village because that's where I'd live in my imaginary Bohemian city life (my real life is Mayberry-like small town Aunt Bea more often than not complete with my own Barney Fife personality). Spent way too much time and money on cool little things in cool little stores and caught back up with sis later in the evening for more yummy NYC pizza at Lombardi's. To finish up our last night in the Big Apple we caught up with the Dessert Truck where we got our Goat Cheese Cake to go and hustled back to our hotel room to watch the American Idol finale in our pajamas. Another lovely few days of adventure with my sister. Now when do we go again???? I'm ready!

Walkersville Day with an Opus

I was lucky enough to get to squire Miss Rosemary, one of the Opus Gluei ladies, around my tiny town last Saturday for the annual Walkersville Day when the entire town is full of yard sales, garage sales, church yard sales, church festivals and more.

The weather cooperated and the town did too. We had a blast, particularly scoring at the local Church of Christ sale where we giggled like mad school girls as we read passages from Cherry Ames nursing books (Oh Cherry!), an old Nancy Drew cookbook (the recipe titles were worth the $.50) and a medical shorthand study book where, yes, sometimes the shorthand resembled the body part IYKWIM!

Rosemary was also able to see that I'm not telling tall tales when I say our mayor owns the local one room (tiny) feedstore down the street where he sits on the front porch in his flannel shirt watching his townspeople go by. And my youngest can't stop talking about Miss Rosemary (to a 13 year old, that's high praise). The Lutheran church had the best baked goods. All my attempts to 'be good' flew out the window when I bit into a moist, chewy 7-layer bar. This was a 'who needs a man' snack. Yes, they were really that special. We didn't know what to think of the Lemon Chocolate Chip cookies though. What do you think about that now Rosemary?

I figured I'd better send an entry for the Order of the Opus Gluei challenge over their way, so I worked on the Getaway theme by finally beginning work on the trip that we took to Hawaii with our kids 2 years ago. You know what's wild? I still had loads of paper to use left over from the scrapbook for a trip that the better half and I took to Hawaii 4 years ago along with a giant stack of tropical travel themed embellishments! Even wilder, it's still cool paper.

For this one I finally used these Meri Meri flipflops that I'd been saving for some crazy reason. Getting these three clowns to take a photo together is like nailing Jello to a tree. Here, they were worn out from snorkeling, walking and hiking through lava fields or rainforest, so I was finally able to catch them unaware.

For the 2nd layout, I opened up a package of Lil Davis bottle caps that I tried to sell in a scrap/stamp yard sale a couple of years ago. When I was cleaning off some shelves, I rediscovered them hiding in a box. Whaddya know, they are still perfectly cool, plus I was able to dust off some old Heidi Swapp tape and plastic alphabet letters.

These completed pages should make me feel good to get started on the trip scrapbook, right? Somehow that giant stack of photos that are still lying on the counter seem to be laughing mockingly at me. They will be done. Eventually. For now, it's past 5p.m. and the weekend is starting. Where's my martini shaker?