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Heart Felt Thanks!

Vicki over at Turkey Feathers has published a book.
She bought (or received as a gift, I don't remember) a white wool blanket.
She started to make things from this blanket.
She soon had over 40 things created from this one blanket.
It is now a book.
Isn't she amazing?
She could figure out how to self-publish a book in addition to 40 clever projects from one blanket.
"The Blanket Statement"
Oh, and I just noticed it is available at Target and Amazon, how did she figure that out?
Amazing lady, that Vicki.
Any hoo.....
One of her projects is a little felt needle case.

I found an old wool blanket.
I began to make cute little needle cases.
Who doesn't need a needle case?
You know, instead of needles cleverly put on the curtain edge or stuck over the door way in the molding crack?

And I have made some new friends associated with some volunteer work I am doing.
They have been so kind and helpful to me.
I am making them a needle case.
For a Heart Felt Thanks.

Thanks Vicki, a bloggy friend.
A bloggy - smart and clever friend.
Maybe if I am friends lllloooonnnggg enough I will be clever.
And smart.
In the meantime I am so enjoying stitching with needle and thread and a great old wool blanket.

Fun to swap.

Well, if you are thinking - like - that show on TV - I think it is called Wife Swap or Swapping Wives or something like that, not so much.
I think that would be HORRID.
But crafty folks swapping.
Now that is fun.
My banner swap partner.

Lives on a barrier island in Florida.
That  - all by its' self has been fun to talk about.
Yes, she already has a sunburn this year.
Oh.
To be in that much susnshine!
It arrived in brown paper tied up with string.
(I am keeping that string. It is great thick - yummy cotton string!)

And the G-R-O-W is a gentle reminder that Spring will really be here....even in the Pacific Northwest.
Notice how she took the scraps and made a second little paper banner.
I like them hung together.

Thanks Barbara.
Another new bloggy friend.
I love my bloggy friends.
Love YOU.

I think Abe said it best.

“But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

And if you like family history.

RR's great great uncle was an associate of Mr Lincoln. A judge, sent to  Washington (the state) to be a territorial judge.

I feel a connection, there.

Judge John Jay McGilvra
Wish he'd left a small parcel of that Lake Washingon estate to his gt gt nephew.
I'd feel even more of a connection.

I don't usually do this

But I am living on the wild side.
(hardly - well except for some really fun and colorful socks)
Reading blogs,  I mostly do pictures - scan through the words, anyone else like that?
Well, I guess if you are you won't answer - as this hasn't got pictures.

Ok one picture, I've been busy with my 'found paper books' BUSY.
Feels good.
Wonder how many I should make.
Any ideas?
Anyhoo - and mostly I don't click on all the links embedded in blogs.
I don't need ONE more blog in my blog reader..but today, girls, I am kind of breaking my own rules and doing the linky link thing..
Here are some things I like today.
Cell phone charger thing a ma jig.
Found  papers envelope. I am into found papers, you know?
If I lived in Portland, I would be registering for this class!
I would LOVE to take this class, seriously, I want to....really really bad.
But transportation, lodging, eating out at least five delicious times, get a grip girl!
I'll try and figure it out online - not so much fun - but maybe I could learn.
I don't feel like I have time to doodle doo this, but I love these paper roses.
New blog I like, have I been living under a rock? Love the name, don't you? Lobster and Swan - cool.
And um, yes, I am busy.
Getting ready for The Farm Chicks show.
I have a few ideas for new product. 
I'll share as I get them figured out.

A banner = A party everyday

Doesn't a banner just say...
Party
Surprise
Celebrate
Happy?

I am participating a little banner swap.
Fiddled with found papers.
Big surprise.

Oh, I'll probably make another one but might just toss this in also.
From the scrap pile onto some string and YEAH a party is born.
I was surprised how fun I felt when I hung it up.
Maybe just the thing we need with all this winter like weather - in March for goodness sake!

 

finding joy - feeling joy

Meet with attorney - check
Meet with insurance guy - check
Meet with financial planner - check
Go to dentist - check
Okay going to the dentist had nothing to do with our 'getting ducks in row for retirement' week
..but was on the calendar so I tossed that in.
Meeting with these 'men of money management', has been quite an interesting week.
We saved the financial man until last for a number of reasons.
First we didn't want to really look at how much money we've lost.
You know the old ostrich-head-in-the-sand approach to life.
But meet we did.
And lost we did.
I feel like my Mom..I am going to zip my wallet shut and not open it again until 2015.


BUT...here is the amazing thing!
Driving home from the last appointment yesterday...RR and I talked about the things that make us happy and bring us joy.
ALL of those things have nothing to do with money.
 

Relationship.
Family.
Faith.
Covenants.
Feeling joy...in the midst of economic turmoil.

p.s. I like p.s.,  have you notice?

Is that RR - just the most handsome man you have ever laid eyes on? Oh, be still my beating heart! We watched "Enchanted" with the princess girls last week - this my friends, is my true love kiss- and we are living happily ever after.

No matter what.

Period.

The end.

Hang on....

Hang on is right!
Today I take all the paper work to Mrs. Accountant.
Tax season is upon us.
It is amazing to me that doing taxes is her own kind of 'magic room'.
THANK goodness.
"Cuz it sure isn't mine.
Just think - this afternoon I can re-enter the REAL magic room.
Hang on - dear friend, I am on my way...............

ROOTS

Oh - I do family history (genealogy) for several reasons.
The primary reason is as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe that family ties exist beyond the grave. That families really can be forever.
This belief/truth is at the bedrock of my relationships with our family.
But there are other reasons.
I have heard that genealogy is the number one hobby.
I don't know how that could be determined.
I have never participated in a "hobby survey', have you?
Perhaps from the amount of genealogy research on the Internet.
As a hobby genealogist I can say. "The Internet and research is so. much. fun."
There is something magical about 'finding' an ancestor and their siblings and then...
Oh! My!
Finding an obituary.
Jumping Jehoshaphat.
That. My friends, is exciting.

And a picture.
I love this lady.
Her name is Rosetta Ann.
She is married to Lycurgus S Cooper.

They have five children.
I can verify that they raised four to adulthood.
Still working on son Francis LeRoy, don't know about him yet.
Hard working - God fearing people.
A snippet from Rosetta's obituary.
"Speaking of the grace of God
and the blessing of holiness she said, "I have appreciated the experience of holiness and
now in the testing hour I find the blessing holds." "
Did you catch that?
Now in the testing hour, I find the blessing holds.
(That, that bit of inspiration, example, encouragement - that! is another reason I do family history!)
You see Rosetta Ann is the daughter of a preacher man.
And she married a preacher man.
She found strength in the grace of God.
I also find strength in the grace of God.
Another note: at  the beginning of the obituary is this...
The passing of Sister Rosetta Ann (McGilvra) Cooper..
Do you see the term Sister?
What a sweet endearment.
Sister Rosetta Ann....oh, we don't write obituaries like they use to.

Well, she may not be YOUR sister...but she is related to me.
And I am so happy to have met her.
I believe I will meet her on 'the other side', and our family connection will continue.
She made the request that she be buried in white as it is the symbol of purity.
ROOTS...I like them there roots.

p.s. If you are interested in doing family research.
There is a FREE program (PAF) to download here to help you begin making up those family groups.
I have to caution you...it is like a "The Great Detective"  puzzle and can lead to many late nights searching the web.
Enter the beginning of this exciting "number one hobby"  veerrrry carefully.

Pick and Choose

May Dad was wise.  He had to be. 

Being  an  honest to goodness homesteader and all.
He had to have wisdom.
In many areas.
A Jack-of-all-trades.
(Don't call the grammar police - his name was Jack and so the capitalization is on purpose.)
Because we lived twenty miles from town.
Because there were many 'chores' to be done everyday.
Because we all  to work until the work was done.
(And that wasn't a bad thing, by the way.)
Dad would tell us.
"You can do anything you want.
But you can't do EVERYTHING you want.
You have to pick and choose."
So pick and choose, we did.

In high school that meant one activity a week.
(Church activities - didn't count they were free...we could do as many of those as we wanted)
But we weren't going and doing every single night.
Chores - distance - working together until the work was done, precluded that.
I remember the weekend I had to choose between the Junior Prom and the championship ball game between us and the next door rivals.
That was hard.
I chose the Prom.
Dad sat with me by the radio as we cheered and listened to the local station play by play of the game.
One of my fondest memories.
(At the time, I felt pretty picked on..but won't trade that memory of me and Dad for all the tea in China.)

I still think on that.
The picking and choosing.
When I find myself running hither and yon.
Sometimes the running is in circles.
I need to slow down - pause - pick and choose.
Add to that - this addition wisdom.
"You will always find time to do the things you really want to do."
Boy, isn't that the truth.
I don't have time?
Well, we have time - and the things we really want to do - we are doing.

If we don't take control of our schedule - who will?
Pick and choose.
One of the things I choose to do the last few days,  is go to the Magic Room.
Create.
Refresh.
Fill my well.
Working on pages for 'Found Paper Journals".
Really enjoy the stitching on paper.

And this punch I bought that makes the cutest tiny envelope pockets.
Hello - Magic Room..I've been gone for a while. Picking and choosing other things, but like an old familiar friend, that I don't have to apologize to, or tend, I can just come and visit and everything is like it was the last time we were together.
Hello my friend, The Magic Room.
I am choosing you for a bit.