turtle creek quilts

adventure day!

today was a much needed adventure day with mark

much needed for both of us, his first weekend off in three months and my first weekend off in a while too

so packed lunch and car and away we went.....

kensington metro park farm center was our first main stop

 

 

i think these two were in love

 

very cool chicken eggs , they do sell them, however they were sold out when we went to get them...we will next time....yummmm fresh eggs!

 

this one was like a centurion guard at the coop!

 

silly boy

 

sleeping yarn....mmmmmm.........

 

our yummy lunch i packed for us..nothing like cold chicken, delish tomato and onion salad, cheese and crackers and fruit!

 

yep the FINAL guest list is now in ink!

all in all a great day spent out in the sun

we stopped a few other places too...but that is a secret art project for now...hehehe

my, my, my, i like this dye!

ok so last night i was trying to chill out , anticipating my four day mini vacation that, by the way i did not request but it just worked out that way (horray!) and i remembered that a few days previous i had gotten some white fabric and dylon dyes. i have a hard time finding interesting background fabrics for my wall hangings , that doesn't cost a fortune. so i thought what the heck lets try this myself.....

first it all started with the soaking and mixing...

 

i love my sink...deep and stainless steel!

ok so now take a peek at what i got out of seriously 25 minutes of soaking....some dry time outside and then press(although i know it was a quick press job but still i wanted to see it done)

 

this was done with ocean blue and sunflower yellow

  ocean blue and terra cotta

 

sky blue and a little ocean blue....i did this one with very little color i like the subtle changes

 

ocean blue, sky blue and terra cotta

 

 

BIG one i did with ocean blue, sky blue , terra cotta and sunflower yellow

this was a fun project and i would recommend it to ANYONE. the dyes are super easy to use, i am going to do lots more with lots more colors...i hear the reds calling me.

i could also kick myself for not grabbing a huge drying rack someone was tossing out last week...grr i need to keep my eyes peeled for one of those!

the funny thing about all this it took relatively little time to do this. about 25 minutes soak time, drying outside last night~i let the moon do its magic to the fabric too! then press and use.

anyone want to come over and play with fabric and dyes?

profound thought~ and a fun night with the family

i am a big fan of PostSecret , the awesome website that features postcards mailed to the originator of this site, where people mail in their deepest secrets ~or just fun ones! here is the site:

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

on there today i found this wonderful thought that was emailed into them....

The trick isn't to make something others can relate to; but to allow others to witness what is in fact, a highly private moment.

this indeed is what others witness when observing my art at times.

i am about to start some very personal art quilts~i hope i can convey

the emotions behind the ideas for them!

i want to capture the fun and emotions of the night at the village. we were soaked to the bone with the rain but oh did we have fun!

 

mark and i during a rain break

  aunt doll and mom laughing at something silly,...yeah mom does have a tablecloth on her head, her umbrella was leaking....it rained and rained

 yeah dad is very proud of his angel umbrella...there is a video of him making it dance too,,,,,lordy lordy i am telling you that man is silly

 and this might be around the tenth time marsha told dad  "yeah five more minutes and the rain is going to stop!"

 and take a look at the video of the grand finale at the fireworks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaCR5aOVcEc

the soloist was amazing and the detroit symphony orchestra outstanding!

the only thing we didn't get to do is teach marsha to knit and lynn you were missed for our night of fun!

now to transform that all into an awesome wall hanging~stay tuned for that one!!!!

please come in.....

 

take a peek at what i have been doing....

 

 

working ....working is a good thing don't get me wrong i love my new job and am grateful to have one...i just need to balance my off time better.

 

missing being near the water....and needing some recharging for my mind and soul ...BIG TIME!

 

planning the wedding...the invites are in(this is the style) just not the actual one! seriously its a simple picnic wedding i so need to find something to wear,,,other than jeans!

 

dealing with rain and a scared beagle , who is not fond of thunder, lets hope the rain holds off for tomorrow nights detroit symphony orchestra concert at the village followed by fireworks!

 

and when i am bored  i look up silly un-motivational posters,,,,like this one!

now time to get busy,,,more quilts and creativity to come!

and hopefully good news on something to wear to the wedding!!!

sam scored today!

my poor little dog, he was sick the other day...too much people food( i know i know i know)

and he hasn't had a pet bed in a while so when i found this at marshall's today for less than $20

i HAD to get it for him!

he immediatly layed down and fell asleep on it!

of course he usually sleeps like a drunken sailor on things hahaha!

charm swap 2009

i am in charge of our art group's challenges for the year

some they have wanted to kill me over...like the last hardware challenge(sorry you said to make it a good one)

this month's is a charm swap!

and here are the ones i made...i only have 9 made so first come first served....and oh yeah money talks haha

  

and yes i am going to try to blog more, its been a bit insane for me lately!

sacred space

i am in a small altered paper bag book exchange with some online friends and i am on the next one which my friend has entitled "sacred space"

i started to think of all the spaces i would consider sacred...there are many

so i am thinking are they truly sacred or do they just hold such wonderful memories for me

 

is it on the water, where i spent many years. made many friends, lots of laughs...and heartache.

 

the beach at st. augustine where the sand is warm and the sun is soothing....

 

on the grounds of the grand hotel and being on mackinac island....

 

being in the woods near my dad's cabin, where you can imagine anything and its so quiet you think you just might be the only person on earth....

 

is it sitting with my sammy, who is currently curled up at my side taking one of many naps today...

 

or is it hanging out with mark....good lord did i meet my ideal match....we have very little time together due to our schedules but it works...

truth is i think where ever i am it is a sacred space...it is what you make it , you know?

you don't have to travel hours and hours to get to somewhere that is meaningful to you

where is your sacred space?

thankfulness

 

today is the eve of my 46th birthday

and following my friend stacey's lead with gratitude and thankfulness posts i decided to make one here

in no particular order here we go

i am thankful for....

always getting my first card, be it holiday or birthday from stacey!

hearing kelly leave me funny messages on the phone and being there for her when she needs it!

lynn and her endless amount of support and ideas for me and my art..you rock sister friend! you have been such a great friend and confidant i cannot begin to tell you how much you are appreciated and if i did gush you would hit me for being so girly!

rita well just you know for everything , the list is sooooo long and you know how much i love ya(that goes ditto for everyone too)!

knowing that i can pick up the phone or log in to the computer and reconnect with long lost friends...renae..shelley...karen...laura...neva...matti...i could go on and on! i have missed you all and i am so glad to be in touch with you all again!

my cousins who i get to electronically communicate with you are all so fun and full of great ideas and great memories and some hilarious talks!

my sister , i don't see you alot at all but i know we can talk anytime on the phone and try and figure out what is going on with things and exchange crazy stories about those parents of ours!

my parents who i did accuse of going to st. lot-a-slots(the casino) for their anniversary and surprise dad took mom out to a nice place for dinner,,,,,and dad really your stories are HILARIOUS you crack me up and mom you always have a word of advice or craziness for me either way its all good!

miss martha you and i have always found some fun stuff to do when we hang out....and this past week was no exception, even though we ate way too much we still had fun!

all my art group girls...you are all so fun and creative! you all give me great ideas and feedback to what i hand you in our challenges ,,,even though most of you wanted to kill me after the last one,,,,you love me and you know it!

marika i love getting those last minute "wanna go to the tigers game?" calls from you..sorry i couldn't go last night!

liz....my fellow big balls girl(ac/dc song here don't get all offended!) you are so fun and full of happiness and love for everyone(toss gordon into this too he rocks)

mel...oh mel you are such a great friend....i can't even begin to list all our inside jokes lets just leave it at ...uh huh you know what mean!

keena...oh keena the times we have spent together ,i am so grateful to have you as a friend!

april and erich the two of you have always been so supportive and full of great ideas for me!

janelle and jay,,,,you guys are awesome! always fun to be with and we all like to talk about the same things and people hahahaha!

and to everyone else in my life...be it friend or acquaintance...thank YOU for touching a life, showing kindness and having a heart to reach out!

well...i did it!

 

after many years of shelling out cash year after year ,i am finally DEBT FREE! (this does not count monthly expenses!)

i wanted to get this under my belt last year..things happen ya know it just wasn't in the cards for me then but it worked out this year!

of course, i am still not in the 'ha i will never get a bill from them again' mode but i am sure i will get used to it.

and when i think of how much money i actually paid to the creditors just by making minimum payments for the past years it makes me sick...they got a good amount of cash from me!

this does not mean, however i am still not on a budget...probably more than ever now! having switched jobs and its not quite full time i take home about HALF of what i did before....but my good friend martha said(she is so wise) i am better off in more areas than i have been in a long time so i am richer than i realize.....martha girl you are so right!

now i have to control myself when lynn and i go to ikea on sunday , there is an organizer system i want bad there...but i will save for that one!

today i am going through the spare room and donating clothes and unwanted things to the salvation army around the corner....take out and clean the outdoor furniture...get the deck cleaned up...hook up the new hose system...play with sam a bit(as much as he plays haha)lazy dog...and take a nap!

it is the monkey on my back

weight...yeah the old subject of which we angst over and babble endlessly about how to change...wanting to change....needing to change.

knowing what to do, and yet never doing it. or in small steps.

this may be a trigger post for some....inspiration for others...whatever it is i hope it helps us all

all my life i have been heavy...well i think for a brief shiny moment when i was like 9 or something i know i wore a 2 piece bathing suit but since then ha ha NO WAY! i remember in catholic school with uniforms, plus size was so NOT a thing that was available i had to really hope and pray every year that i could get a skirt to fit! there was the summer one of my supposed best friends in school decided it would be fun to call me EVERY day for two months , ask for me, when i answered the phone she would say "DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE FAT?" i didn't find out who this cruel person was until i went back to school that fall. when i asked her why she did it , she said to me "because you ARE fat" ...needless to say we were never friends again. then there was a party at my uncles, all us kids were in the basement where we always hung out to play pool and listen to music, and one of my cousins hauled off and punched me square in the nose! while he did it he said "you are SO FAT!"...i mean come on people why were you such brats!

i was set free into public school once i hit the high school years and for the first time in my sophomore year i got to have my first pair of jeans! i kid you not it was that long til i had a pair ,,,and now i practically live in them! i still did fun stuff in gym, played tennis , i was on the swim team , so it wasn't that bad then too much but give it time ya know?

fast forward to my working years in retail...always on my feet, walking everywhere but still nothing coming off as far as weight goes, but somewhat remaining stable on the gaining part...

UNTIL....i got married for the first time. now please do not get me wrong here i am not in any way blaming my ex husband for any of this , what happened was a result of the circumstances in our lives. we were happy for a while...i thought for a long while, i did notice a pattern though....he had his own demons he was fighting , which ultimately broke us up...but i am happy to say he is 9 years clean and sober(so glad for him because he really is a good guy) i remember distinctly i had to be rushed to the hospital with a gaul bladder attack and well i had no idea what was going on i thought i was having a heart attack so i started to write down all my vital information....name...contacts in case of emergency(like it being a heart attack) and weight. he looked at it and FLIPPED out. he was shocked i was the weight i was and frankly so was i. i had gained 60 pounds in the 7 years since we were married....SIXTY ...HOLY CRAP!!! i had a great doctor who said i was extremely healthy for a big girl. golly i miss that doctor he was a riot!

it used to bother me that my ex was always using his refreshments to deal with life,,,,i mean really BOTHER me. i did not understand it, i could not figure out why a person could be addicted to something when they knew it was not good for them , did horrible things to their body , etc...            then i discovered a fantastic writer geneen roth....she is great with getting to the heart of the matter with weight and what triggers it all. and what i discovered about myself is that i myself was an addict. i was addicted to food, and still am. but not in the way you would think. i use it in replacement of things, love, happiness, friendship, and out of boredom. sad i know. i used it as a substitute,,,,,little debbie snack cakes and i are practically twins!

so now, another 20 pounds on me....my feet kill me , now that its summer they swell if i don't have shoes on i can lace up(tennis shoes and the like) i can't wear sandals much i can feel the water on the top of my feet ick! and i am not even going to get into my personal life lets just say ...uh lets just say yeah lets get this taken care of....and my face,,,please on top of perimenapause hitting me in the nose here i am breaking out like a 15 year old~ugh!

my friend stacey and i had a great talk tonight. she is a wonderful inspiration and nearly to her goal weight...GO STACEY GO!!! she is a great friend i have always been able to talk to about damn near anything! very encouraging and kind!!! love ya stacey!

i know what to do.

i know how to do it.

the thing is....and tell me if i am crazy here,,,,,what if it changes me so much i am not "me" anymore? i mean really is that nuts?

ok yes i know it won't change me....only i can change me

and that i what i need to do....get healthy.....get moving....

and this my friends is one of my biggest addictions....not food really i eat healthy 95% of the time,,,,its this little thing, this minute tiny granule,,,,

 

i use it like its air...on nearly everything. and i need to stop, use it sparingly. the only thing i really have to have it on is eggs.....seriously the rest of it i just put it on out of habit and most times i really can't stand the way it tastes on things....how stupid is that? i mean really! stupid right?

so if you know me and even if you don't, i can use all the encouragement i can get!

thanks for listening......