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??

Are there not Child Labor Laws?

So ... the holidays have come and gone but all of my children have not. That's right, Ms. Gee/Are is hanging around for the next month or so while in between jobs and cities. I cannot begin to tell you just how much fun it has been. I will refrain, so as to not seem overly smug.

As part of a Christmas afterthought, I got these new kitchen chairs. Let's just say that the old ones were becoming a danger to those who chose to sit upon them. And ... they were becoming ugly. Thanks to the bargain hunting savvy of Mrs. Gee, (different daughter) I was practically able to steal them.

But judiciously chose not to.

Part of the bargain is the fact that they arrive in boxes ... without the legs attached. That's 24 legs if you are counting. I was.

On Wednesday night, while I was out partying, (with a bunch of quilters from here, do not ... I repeat do not ... get excited about my partying ways) Ms. Gee assembled each and every chair. And THIS is how she paid for it.

I seriously would be more sorry about that if I wasn't so pleased as punch with how they look. Thank you, thank you, daughter dearest.

Would any of you like to vicariously join us in a Law & Order/30 Rock/ Divine Design marathon?? Just asking.

boy oh boy!

So ... Christmas has come and gone. And although I had thought at one point that it might just be something to get through and then cross off of a list of "firsts"... it was actually quite lovely. With three of the fantastic four (children) and one of the amazing three (g-kids), melancholy was just not an option. For instance take a gander at Mr. Candy Cane pictured above with his new firehouse from Santa. Grinning was all we could muster up.

Later, Auntie Gee let him use her real camera which he used to take close-ups of the firehouse. Then he figured out on his own how to scroll back and view his handiwork. Clearly the "G" in Mr. Gee stands for Genius.

And here are my Bestest Boys. Sonny Boy (and Mrs. Boy, not pictured) tutored him on the art of the skateboard. I just love those boys.

Hope your holiday was just as Merry and Grin-ful. Do tell.

My Stars!

So ... I got the bright idea sometime in November, to add "Fancy Iced Cookies" to my repetoire of skills. And in the end, I gave myself a day and a half to perfect this particular skill ... which is basically impossible. But thirty hours or so later (+ only 2 advil) I am happy enough with the current product to give it to those friends and neighbors who have shown by prior performance that they will not openly mock me.

But just in case you are stymied by my gutsy ways, divert your attention below and the Spirit of Christmas will return in an instant.

When Miss Dub1 was told they would be seeing Mr. Claus at the mall, (she thought plane tickets had been purchased for a trip to the North Pole) she said, "Oh, I didn't know he had a station there." Miss Dub2 (yes, all 5 months of her) spent part of last week in a hospital crib, entertaining the nurses with her giggly ways and precious disposition. (She is home and fine and awaiting Santa with her big sis.)

Let's face it, I am not blogging again until after Christmas, so let me just add ...

Let Heaven and Nature Sing: Merry Christmas to All!!!

three twinkly trees, no partridge

So ... it was up to me to do the outside lights.

And I live in a pretty competitive neighborhood. Not "make the evening news" competitive, but competitive, none the less.

PDaddy was fond of keeping up ... to a point ... which involved lights strung along the outside eaves, which go to 2 stories high above the front door. I knew that my 5'2" frame was not up to the task, so I changed the game plan to involve three twinkly trees, one of which we had already. I added some lights around the front door and stood back to ooh and aah while simultaneously patting myself on the back.

So far the neighbors have been kind. Let's face it, their's only look brighter by comparison.

So how competitive is your neighborhood? Are you feeling Merry & Bright??

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

So ... I've done a bit of decorating this weekend. I will shop tomorrow to replenish my supply of Advil. In the meantime I will bask in the twinkly lights and try very hard not to move.

"S" stands for Santas in the Sunshine.

Yes, Virginia, it does snow in Arizona ... right on the kitchen table.

See ... a little bit landed in the living room and stuck to these trees.

Santa is not amused.

Turn on some Bing ... I promise it will cure the most aching of aching backs.

She is thankful for seashells at the sea shore!

So ... I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It involved delicious ... but not coma-inducing amounts of food. It involved two daughters, two cities and a fair amount of shopping. Mostly, it involved one precious little boy who looked suspiciously like the one in the photo above.

Oh yeah ... it also involved the Pacific Ocean.

Sigh.

How was your T-day?? Any sand in your toes??