Like a Hole in the Head ...

So ... I went to Target today. To buy one of those little basket dealies that holds chlorine tablets for my swimming pool. Because the old one basically disintegrated.

I found one. I bought it. But ... unfortunately ... that's not all I bought.

I also bought this swell pillow in these swell colors which I pretty much didn't need. At all. Ever. "Was it on sale?" you ask with a bit of cynicism in your voice. Oh ... yes siree ... for a whopping 15% off. Please know that I am aware that means bumkus. It was just a start of my rationalization process that ended when the woman in front of me in line was buying the exact same pillow.

So, it's pretty clear that I was destined to buy it.

Please don't let me go to Target again.

Abra Cadabra

I went to the Magic Kingdom this week and all I got was a day o' joy, a head full of delightful memories and ...

A wicked head cold.

Eh ... two out of three ain't bad.

Has Spring Sprung??

So ... you need to know a couple of things:

#1) It is pretty hard to get anything done around here what with the beauty and entertaining skillz of these three girlies.

#2) Contrary to popular belief, summer has not arrived in AZ-town. The water that these guys are frolicking in is pretty much free-eezing. You must understand that they are from CHI-town and have not felt the sun on their extremities for quite some time. I am personally hoping that they get over this need to "dip" before someone does a swan dive.

But come to think of it, life has been sunnier since they arrived.

Alphabet Soup

So ... I am fond of the letter "M". Let's just say it's all about Me. Mary. How ... Marvelous.

Last week, while at my friend Renee's house, she helped me make a cover that fits snuggly over a composition book (I bought one with graph paper.) I had admired hers and she stepped up so I could have my own. After I got home, I decided to embellish the front and put pockets on the inside (to be seen in another post.)

I had barely finished it when I received a package in the mail from my favorite "W's", The Dubs. Inside were these precious gifts from Miss Dub1 and Miss Dub2. Their mother helped them pick out the lovely hankerchief, above (I am told they are from Anthropologie) and the engraved mirror in the embellished case, seen below.

Miss Dub1 insisted that it have an "N" on it ... for "Nanny". Miss Dub 2 tried to second the opinion, but mostly she just slobbered a lot and grinned, so ... "N" it was.

I think I have a new favorite letter.

Do you blame me?

Happy Bird Day

So ... I have my hot little hands on this fabulous new book that I have known about for quite sometime but have just been waiting to buy. Of course I will get my copy signed by the author herself and then make it a part of my investment portfolio.

That author would be none other than my friend Renee at Liberty Star, who is also my part-time boss. (My full-time bosses are the grandkids.) As you know ... I do love me some birds and these ones are no exception.

This particular page was one of my favorites because ... well ... the birds are blue. Hurry on over here to get your own copy.

Just in case I need to keep mine in a safe deposit box.

Come to think of it, I did leave my heart there ...

So ... I have not been around here leisurely blogging because I spent last week on a Magical Moving Tour, getting Ms. Gee all settled in her new place in the Bay Area. We took the drive in two days. The first day was mostly desert (meh) but the second day (Oxnard to SF on the 101) was just about the most beautiful one day drive I have ever taken. Those two days seemed like ... um, four days.

Once there we began the car unpacking (think clowns and VWs/phone booths) and then spent the next four days doing the box unpacking/stuff arranging/box throwing away part which seemed like at least ... ten days. And by that I mean ten days of pure unadulterated fun/exhaustion. We managed to fit in one day of fabric shopping (Thimblecreek and Stonemountain) and one day of tourist-y adventures which included (among other things) clam chowder in a bread bowl and cable cars (see above).

Don't think for one moment that I wouldn't do it all again in a heartbeat. I am afraid to go up and work in The Kingdom because there is no one for my Bernina to duel with. I am soothing my heart by calling Ms. Gee no less than 27 times a day and looking forward to a visit from Mrs. Dub and her girls in just a couple of weeks.

The way I see it I gained an extra week of life where I didn't actually have to age.

And that was indeed a San Francisco Treat.

Of Change and Changes ...

So ... this morning Ms. Gee and I had just one really important errand. We were taking our respective boxes of accumulated change to ... WalMart. You see at Walmart they have these change sorter deelies that sort your change, count it up and spit out a receipt for the amount (minus their small fee.) They make it clear that you must redeem said receipt on that very day and we were under the impression that we had to redeem it for WalMart merchandise. We were also under the impression that we each had 20-30 buckeroos to spend with abandon. Oh no.

I had just shy of Five-Oh and Ms. Gee was at Seven-Oh. Oh. My.

We raced our cart around the store buying up several necessities but also some fun, because this was after all ... free money. I picked up these to-die-for melamine plates with the scalloped edges and the perfect shade of green. Ms. Gee bought some lovelies for her new Bay Area Apartment. We were furiously doing math in our heads so as to not waste one penny. When we got to the counter and handed the nice lady our receipts, she promptly put cash in our hands. Cash. Also the perfect shade of green. It wasn't until I left the store that I realized that with the whole cash thing ... there really hadn't been the need to buy up un-neccessities.

Oops. Too late.

I will need these plates to soothe my aching heart when Ms. Gee abandons me for her new life in NoCal. No doubt I will be green with envy.

Just the perfect shade.

An Inconvenient Truth

So ... I am sorry to report that the stupidhead Anonymous people ... won. Yep, they have worn me down. Sucker-punched me one too many times. Worse than that, they called me "Sunshine."

I'm sorry ... them's fightin' words.

For some unknown reason, I have become a recent favorite for the weirdo commenters who are not actually familiar with the English language but still feel compelled to convince me that I must somehow invest with them. I only know this because the word "investment" is encased in a paragraph with a lot of other words that don't make a whole lot of sense. Except that they start out by referring to me as "Sunshine".

Which happened to be a nickname of mine in High School. "Little Mary Sunshine" to be exact. So I cannot allow them to tread on that sacred ground. (Oh, who are we kidding? High School was not sacred ground in my book, but these people crossed the line nonetheless.) How the heck do they know that I am oh-so-Sunshiny?

So I have been forced to put up that little rectangle of misaligned letters in order for you to leave a comment. (And you will leave a comment.) I'm sorry, really I am. But let's face it, it's not Sunshine's fault, it's Anonymous'.

Stupidhead Anonymous.

(The photo is courtesy of PDaddy at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens last summer.)

In other weather-related news ...

So ... it rained here a little last week. Uhhhh .... let me rephrase that. It rained buckets here last week. Yard-flooding, Ark-making buckets of rain, accompanied by torrential winds. Rain has always been a bit of a sore spot in this particular home. Drainage issues consumed us for many ... many ... years. About two years ago we attacked those issues with a vengence, but until last week that work had not really been tested.

Well ... it passed the test. Worked like a charm. I might even go so far as to say that my yard likes me, it really, really likes me.

And visa-versa. As you can see in the photo above, the sun is now shining and I am too. I am not quite sure how to segue into this next picture, but let's just say that it's also seasonly related.

Here are the November and December blocks that complete my Block of the Month from Bunny Hill. I actually sewed these one day in December when I was feeling a bit blue and needed a colorful distraction that wasn't on a to-do list. I didn't do the hand work until last week. I have too many projects on the to-do list currently to put these babies together ... but it is a goal for 2010, really it is.

I hope I haven't messed with your head by publishing these holiday has-beens. I also hope the sun is shining where you are. But do tell ...

Did you have storms? Did you weather them? Does your yard like you as much as mine likes me??

Thanks to Renee ... my new boss ... for the shoutout over the weekend. Work was never so much fun!

It's a Pillow Miracle!

So ... I have had this fabric since sometime last summer. Upholstery type fabric. Reversible type fabric. Gooooood fabric.

When it finally came time to actually sew up said pillow slipcovers, I discovered that would not have enough for all four of the pillows I was planning to cover. The store that I purchased the fabric from last summer is a discount fabric establishment that carries ends of bolts and other paraphenalia. I don't know why I even attempted to go and look for some more ... now 5 or 6 months later, but I did and I naturally made Ms. Gee go with me for moral support. We scoured the store front to back and top to bottom to no avail. But then ...

... just as we were leaving I spotted a small amount of this luscious woven goodness hanging on a rack with other remnants that were 2 yards or less. The exact amount I needed, by the way.

And I just want to say that it's not the first fabric surprise of this kind that I have experienced. I also want to say how grateful I am for small blessings.

Next: Banjos!

So ... Ms. Gee and I have been hanging out in The Kingdom together. Our "Dueling Berninas" system is actually more productive than what you might think. Yes, there is much raucous laughter and a lot of talking to our own selves ... only to be questioned by the other one about what was said and then needing to repeat it ... but progress is made. Seriously.

Keep in mind that Ms. Gee is working on far more complicated projects than me. Her's involve zippers and linings and algebraic equations. Mine involve 1/4" seams. Hers will turn into chic one-of-a-kind handbags and will be featured on her Etsy Shop. Mine will turn into Pillow Slipcovers to be featured in my living room (and in a future post) and these red/green babies will be a class sample to be taught here on April 22nd.

I am well aware that my whales have been hanging on that wall since last summer. I swear to you that I have made progress on them (they are hand appliqued) and are really, truly my next project to bring to completion. Really.

In the meantime I will savor every moment of our dual reign in The Kingdom. There are only a couple more weeks to enhale all that mother/daughter goodness. After that it's back to talking to myself ... and then having to answer myself too.

And that is just too much for one woman. Truly.

The Blues

So ... don't get me wrong ... in my world the blues are just what I'm looking for. I love, love, love this combo of blue and white and the fact that some starfish are thrown in doesn't hurt one bit.

I put together this little number (just 14" square) for the January meeting of Patchwork Pilot Club. It hails from a free pattern from Bunny Hill and yes, I have made it before. It's a fabulous exercise in precision piecing and it is in the realm of possibility to finish the top in one 3 hour class.

But for me it's all about the color.

So tell me ... what are your favorite color combinations??