Photo Heavy -- Again with the Crafting

It is cold.  I have been playing.  I am finding that you get really good exercise if you put in a load of laundry and run (not really run) upstairs for 30 minutes to craft and then back down to put the clothes in the dryer and back up -- and repeat -- all day.

Here are the fruits of my efforts.  None are really finished yet. 

An Easter card using a digistamp

Another digistamp and unusual color combo

trying my hand at a water color background.  It looks like a bruise

another watercolor background

I think the sun should have been lower

Easter Card but I need something at the top. Probably the sentiment.

 

 

Time to take the laundry out of the dryer

A Day Late but.......anyway

I should have written this yesterday but it was a long day and I fell asleep.  My bad.

March 3, 1898 this lad was born in Sabine County, Texas. His name is Aaron Patrick Boyett.  He is my grandfather.

His parents were Robert Edgar Boyett and Clarissa Abi Conn Boyett.  They were East Texas farmers.

A.P., as he was called, lived all over Texas as an adult.  He had a tailor shop in Junction, and worked as a game warden in several areas including Possum Kingdom and the San Marcos area.  He also drove a big rig for a while.

He married my grandmother Phyllis Giles in 1922 and they remained married until his death in 1956. In addition to my dad, they had a daughter, Marice, born in 1933.

I adored my grandfather.  I didn't get to see him as often as I would have liked because we didn't live in the same city but I really enjoyed it when he came to visit.  I am glad I had him until I was old enough to remember him.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Bean and Me Book Club -- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillio

Ok, I finished "Because of Winn Dixie" this morning and I have to say it is a bit of a tear jerker.  I loved it.  Clearly, it is a book for young people but it is well written and the lessons it teaches are so well developed. 

I was almost done yesterday so Bean and I sat down and had a discussion about it.  I was at the point that I didn't know if Winn Dixie was gone for good and I was a little anxious about it.  She laughed and said I would just have to finish and find out but then she gave in and told me. 

But, I won't tell you .

Quick read, well written, beautiful characterization and setting.

Yep, I recommend.

I might start reading YA books exclusively!

Saturday 9 -- Haven't done this for a while

 
Saturday 9: Come Saturday Morning (1969)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) What are your plans for this Saturday morning? 

Soon I am going to make a cup of tea and look at laundry.  I may or may not do said laundry but I am going to look at it.

 
 
2) In this song, a man sings of going away for the day with a friend. Where did you go on your last day trip?

 I have no clue.  We don't go on day trips.

3) The lyrics say, "we will remember long after Saturday's gone." What's something you've done recently that you predict you'll remember for a long time to come?
 Well, it isn't really recent but last spring break we went on a road trip with our daughter and granddaughter.  We did Girl Scout badging from here to Savannah, Georgia where we ultimately visited the home of Juliet Gordon Lowe.  This year we are going to do a similar thing here in our home state and will be visiting several spots -- some even I have never been too -- in the quest for more Girl Scout badges and an indepth understanding of Texas history.
 

4) This song was the Oscar-nominated theme from the movie The Sterile Cuckoo. What's the first movie song that pops into your head?  "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from My Fair Lady.

5) In the movie, Liza Minnelli played Mary Ann Adams, an eccentric girl everyone called "Pookie." Have you ever been known by a memorable nickname? Who gave it to you? Hmmm.....my mother tried to call me Missy (short for Melissa) but my dad decided that Messy would work better.  She didn't like that.  So, I was ultimately called Liss -- or Lissie -- or Lissie Lou -- the Liss stuck and it still does.
 

6) Today's group began their career as The Grads. Recording artist/producer Herb Alpert liked their sound but hated their name. Alpert picked "sandpiper" at random out of the dictionary. Do you still have and use a bound dictionary? Or do you rely on the internet for word searches and spelling?  I have several but I tend to use the internet


7) The biggest news story of 1969, the year this song was popular, was one of the biggest news stories of all time. On July 20, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. Other than the moon landing, what's the most consequential event that you've seen in your lifetime. How do you feel it changed America, and the world? The JFK assassination and 9/11.  I don't really know how it made the country as a whole feel but I felt very vulnerable.

8)1969 was a big year for music festivals, with Atlanta, Toronto and Woodstock all holding famous fests. Have you visited Georgia, Ontario or New York (state)? I have been to Georgia.  And I loved it.


9) Random question -- According to some plant enthusiasts, house plants do better when they're spoken to. Do you talk to your plants? I don't have plants -- I don't do well with them.  I have been thinking about trying though.

 

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!
 

The Bean and Me Book Club -- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Di Camillo

My granddaughter is an avid reader.  I am proud of this and thankful for it because it is my belief that if you can read you have the world in your hands. 

She is now 8 and is reading fairly advanced and sophisticated books (i.e. Harry Potter).  She has asked me to read some of the books that she has found particularly compelling.

So, we started the Bean and Me Book Club.  This is how it works.  She reads the books, recommends them to me (and loans them to me sometimes -- the kid has an impressive personal library) and then I read them.

Our most recent read is "Because of Winn Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo.  I saw the movie years ago and enjoyed it and am really looking forward to starting this book.  I am sure it will be one of those I can't put down and it will probably be a quick read.  It is on my Kindle and I always read faster on the device. 

The queue is growing and I was told this morning what I will be reading when I am done with this.  It looks like a good variety.  I love that we are able to share this love of reading.

I might even start a blog devoted completely to his book club.  I have to think about that.

The Water Tower Club

I just finished reading "The Water Tower Club" by B.K. Mayo. I discovered this book when it was reviewed on my cousin's blog (mlhalldotcom.blogspot.com).  Michael gave it a very positive review and it sounded like something I would enjoy so I purchased the book for my Kindle.

Now, it didn't hurt that the author, B.K. Mayo, was an alumni of my high school that I had met once when Michael married my cousin Joy in San Antonio.  It also didn't hurt that the book had San Antonio ties.  So, forth I charged.

The main character of the story is Darryl Coombs, a transplanted San Antonian who was in a rather complicated relationship with Charlotte.  The story revolves around Darryl Coombs returning to his hometown of Grotin to try to save his sister, Libbey, who had, for some unexplainable reason, decided to attack City Councilman Bobby Hobson with a nail file and had been arrested.

Along the way, as Darryl tried to uncover the reason for the bizarre attack launched on Bobby by his sister,  he was forced to revisit his difficult youth and come to terms with all the ghosts he had shoved in his the back of his mind. 

And what did he learn about the attack waged on Bobby?   I am not going to tell you. You will have to  read the book but it is well developed and isn't at all contrived and chock full of secrets as well.

As the book progresses he deals with this past demons, gets his sister out of jail, makes amends with this mother and journeys home to San Antonio and to Charlotte, anxious to share his new  feeling of freedom from his past.

But, Charlotte isn't there.

I am not going to tell you where she is either.  You will have to read the book. 

I didn't know what to expect when I started this book but I have been very impressed.  It is so well written it just flows well.  So, I purchased another of Mayo's books -- "Tamara's Child" and am looking forward to it. 

It Is Wednesday and What Do We Have?

A relapsed Bean.  Temp of almost 101.  No headache, no sore throat, no body aches.  Just a fever and general malaise. 

I took her temperature myself.

I gave her ibuprofen at 1 p.m. and before it could even get into her system, the temp had broken and she was bright eyed and bushy tailed.

I said before this was the oddest flu and strep I have ever seen.  She has run fever for just a few hours twice since this started a week and a half ago and she didn't have a sore throat.

I am one baffled granny.

So, here we are. 

Good Morning, Monday!

It is Monday, the sun is shining and all is well in my world --I think.  The Bean is on the mend and destined to return to school today, we have a new clock which is helping Hubs with his sleep inertia -- I think, and we have sunshine and warm temps in our immediate future.  I couldn't be happier.

The weekend started with a Girl Scout meeting held in a local park.  The theme of the meeting was "letter boxing".  It is sort of like geocaching but without the co-ordinates.  Instead, it used instructions that you get off the internet.

 It was cold and it was dark and apparently, somewhere just beyond our route was a cow with glowing eyes.  They squealed with delight and "udder" fear -- get it?  We were only out there for an hour which was good since most of them had been battling illness and didn't need to be out in the damp, foggy weather.

They were cold and scared but they had so much fun.

Yesterday we spent at our other house doing some cleaning and getting ready to meet with our realtor.  Finally.  I have some observations about it that only come with age.

I grew up in post WW2 housing that had 8 ft. ceilings in the rooms, hardwood floors, tile kitchen counters and bathrooms and bathtubs that would not be confused with a swimming pool.  My mother was very short -- 5'1" -- and all she had to do was stand on a kitchen chair to change a light bulb.

Young people, when buying houses today, should recognize that they won't always be young and agile and they should assess whether what they are buying is going to be "do-able" when they aren't young anymore.

My poor husband was on a step stool and almost on the bathroom vanity to change out the light bulbs in the fixtures. One of those handy dandy gadgets that allows you to stand on the floor and grab the light bulb won't work in these small fixtures.  So, with his diabetic neuropathy, his arthritic hip and knees, there he was teetering around trying to put in a light bulb.

I climbed into the 18 inch deep jacuzzi tube (that I have always hated) to clean it out and I couldn't get back out again.  Climbing in was easy compared to climbing out.  The tub is a two person affair (laughable) and it is almost  impossible to clean by just wiping down.  I can no longer get on my knees to do that sort of thing and even if I could, my arms are too short to stretch across because it is a corner unit.  This doesn't address the massive glass shower enclosure that has to be cleaned constantly because of the lime scale. 

I know my mother complained about tile and cleaning grout and she was thrilled when formica became vogue.  I agree with the grout issue but I am not thrilled with the granite/marble used today either.  In my bathrooms at the other house there is black marble.  We have hard water.  It is impossible for water marks to not show up on that black marble.  Granite takes a lot of care and the pattern we have doesn't allow you to see anything that might be stuck on it.  You have to clean by touch.  My current home has formica in the kitchen and honestly, while not as fancy and impressive, I love it.

The floors in the "old" house are travertine marble which is very easy care and looks lovely but it has done a terrible number on my arthritis and is contributory to my current condition.  But, it looks impressive.

So, as I prepare this house to sell I am thinking longingly of those 1950's houses that were so simple and easy to take care of.  When we bought the house 14 years ago, it was advertised as being a community of garden homes, minimal care, perfect for retirees and empty nesters.  Well, it is a garden home community and they (the HOA) Do do the yard but as far as that minimal care -- not so much.

So, youngsters, if you can fast forward yourselves to an older, yet still awesome version of you (look at your parents or grandparents) make wise choices or one day you will be longing for a simple little bungalow with a plain bathtub and shower curtain and light fixtures you can maintain without having to hire somebody to do it.

Jumping off the soap box now.  Oh, wait, not jumping -- more like hobbling. 

By Now I Am Sure

you are tired of seeing my latest obsession hobby of cardmaking -- I am enjoying it but you are probably bored with it so I will make it quick.

This one was inspired by a dress I had in the 60's.  It was black pique with white stylize flowers with yellow centers.  I wore yellow patent leather sling back shoes with it.  It was a "tent" dress that was popular with the baby doll style at the time.  It had a white, organdy Peter Pan collar with a long organdy bow.  I was so cute.  I really miss those clothes!

I just couldn't let go of the Fiesta flower stamp quite yet

This was inspired by another outfit that I had that was green and white stripe -- two piece -- with cute little bee pins on it.  I have a photo someplace -- I will post if I can ever find it. I should have used a green background.

 

 

 

 

So, that is what I did today.  I did do a load of laundry.  And I sewed on a bunch of Girl Scout patches.  And I went to lunch and took a nap.  But this cardmaking has taken on a life of it's own. 

Now I am off to have some ice cream and watch Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators.

Fiesta!!

In April, in San Antonio, Texas, there is an event called Fiesta.  It is a week long event with several parades with impressive floats.

 There are carnivals and something called Night in Old San Antonio.  NIOSA is held in the historic old city of SA called La Villita.  There are food vendors and booths with fun and games.  The thing that is so notable about Fiesta is color -- everything is very colorful.

One thing that has become very popular since we moved from SA is a Fiesta wreath.  You see them on the doors on many houses, especially the houses in the older, more historic areas of town.

Many of the businesses sell Fiesta pins as collectibles.  Here is an example of one of those.

See what I mean about a lot of color?  So, today I was inspired by a card I saw online so I was trying to make something similar.  My finished product didn't look anything like the one I saw but it did remind me of a lively Fiesta season!

I definitely need to find my water pen and work on my watercoloring skills!

Playing

It is cold and raining.  My allergies are bothering me and I have had a headache for days that I can't get rid of and it is just time for winter to go away.

So, what does one do with her time under these circumstances?  Nap? Not yet but maybe.  Craft?  Of course.

I got some advice from my friend Mary that I have tried to apply to these latest offerings.  I also decided to try to use up some scraps instead of just throwing them away -- it is like fabric, scraps are still yardage and cost money.  So, I decided to try some color combos that are non-traditional and to work on my clean an simple approach to cards.  I have put these away for future use and I might add some embellishment later but for right now, this is what I have.

I can see adding some die cut snowflakes

The sentiment is going to be Ho Ho Opps

posted this earlier but added the bow that I learned to make on a fork

might not add anything to this

twine?  Nothing?

A non-valentine for my daughter.  She was annoyed because she didn't get any Valentines so I am making her this, along with a Starbuck's gift card, to show her Valentines is any day!

 

 

 

 

So,  this is what I have been doing all day.  Now it is aspirin and nap time!