On Purpose

A Shadowbox gift

2012-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Just a little update! Here's my latest effort. This is my nephew and his bride. We were at their wedding and I managed to get some good shots of them with my little point and shoot camera. I wanted to put this together for them for their first anniversary. Well, that didn't happen. :( So, they got it for Christmas this year. There is something about images set back in a shadowbox that makes them look really nice. Of course, this looks better in person! :)

By the way, where did January go?? I can't believe it's over already!

Enjoy the day.... do something creative!!

~ Teri

McMinnville Habitat's Run, Walk or Ride is coming up!

2012-01-10T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hmm....well, Blogger must be hicupping, because the "browse" button, where I can look for an image that I've saved on my computer, isn't showing up. That's ok. This post isn't so much about that image, anyway. It's about motivation and inspiration and how I need some!!! I don't know what's happened. I want to walk, but I can't seem to get myself moving! I can't seem to get back into the swing of it! I did so well last winter..... and, with a membership to the indoor track, I really have no excuse. I don't have to walk in the rain, cold or dark.... except possibly on Sundays and Mondays because they're closed those days. But, that's not the problem. I've been to the indoor track twice in the last two weeks!!! I've lost a lot of the ground I'd gained with running....I'm back to 3 min. intervals. But, last week, I was able to run eight, 3 min. intervals.... and I felt great! My legs were a bit tired and sore, afterwards... but, a *good* tired and sore!! I feel SO good, emotionally, after I walk or run.... so, why am I not keeping at it?? Is it only a matter of encouragement??

The annual McMinnville Habitat for Humanity is coming up on June 16th. I've done it the last two years. The first year, I walked the 5K. Last year, I did the 5K run, only I lost steam the last eight weeks of training and wasn't able to run very much of it. That was very disappointing. I've decided to do the Walk, again, unless I make great strides in the next few months! (No pun intended!) I can run part of the Walk, if I feel inclined....but, it's a bummer to be walking when you're doing a Run.

So, here's what happened the last two months before the Run last year. I'd been running, mostly indoors, but on a track. Not a treadmill! I mostly timed myself.... didn't care much about distance, although my pedometer was telling me that I was doing about 2 - 2.5 miles. I got up to being able to run for 30 mins!! I felt great!!!

The weather started to warm up and I started running outside, in the mornings, like I always did. But, it felt differently in my lungs. I felt a bit of congestion in them... or the bronchial tubes.... as I sometimes have with seasonal allergies. So, I figured that's what was going on. But, it didn't seem bad enough to affect me the way it did! Running outside, I couldn't do nearly what I could when I ran indoors!

Then, the Habitat Run happened. I had gotten several friends and family members to join me. I was so excited, but I couldn't even run the first mile! Maybe I'm still beating myself up over that. Maybe I need to let go of that so that I can move forward.

I continued on, over the summer.....walking and running....but, I was definitely having to play "catch-up" with the running. Now, I feel like I'm teetering on a wall.....trying to decide whether to jump over to the walking/running side or the ??? side.

I'd also joined Weight Watchers and was loving it! I love that you just eat; you make your own food and you decide what to eat. But, by keeping track of it, it makes you choose more wisely. No, you don't want to waste too many "points" on empty calories. And, you make points by being active! I lost 20#! Then, WW decided to switch up their points program and I was totally messed up. The points that I had memorized were now all changed! The points I received per week were now different! I know, it's just an excuse. It's not WW's fault... but, I have *not* been able to adapt and get back into the swing of it!! It's so easy to just add your food, for each meal or snack, online; to keep track of your physical activity, online. They have videos that you can watch about cooking or exercises. They have forums, etc.... etc... All the support you could need!! But, somehow, it's like it's too much for me to get my mind around! Why can't I get back into it??

I'll take any words of advice or encouragement I can get!!

Thanks for listening!

~ Teri

Happy New Year and the last of Christmas......

2012-01-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! I know, I know... here I am, wishing you a Happy New Year and, yet, I'm showing you more Christmassy things! Unfortunately, there will probably be even more after this.... I think I have one more of these to make...then, I can send them off!! You see, it all comes from starting on my Christmas preparations so late. That puts me still working on Christmas gifts when my mom's birthday rolls around on January 10th!! So, of course, I start out at a deficit and then that seems to continue all year through. :( It has to change. Please, someone remind me no later than September (!!), to start working on my gifts!! Plus, I like to make things for peoples' birthdays, too, so I am making things all year round. It's always one of my New Year's Resolutions....usually the only one, really. Manage my time better - and don't procrastinate (!!) - in order to get cards and gifts to people on time!! Wish me luck!!!

So, the snowflakes that I mounted over everything on these were from a punch. My son went crazy and punched a bunch of them a few years ago, (after he talked me into buying that punch because he loved it soooo much!!), but, then, we didn't really know what to do with them. I've kept them in a little open tin all these years, figuring I'd use them someday. I coated them with Mod-Podge and then covered them with an ultra-fine glitter... the color is "Crystal".... it's a Martha Stewart glitter, actually. Then, I adhered them by putting more Mod-Podge on the back.

The "Christmas Greetings" on this one is raised with double-sided foam tape. Mine is made by 3M, but it's no longer in its original package and I've had it for so long that I can't remember what the name of it is. I mean, I've had it probably close to 20 years! You can find it here. It's easy to cut, if you need it to be rounded off, or whatever. It's also under those birds on the one that I posted before.

OK.... I have some crafting to do!! I hope you all have a wonderful new year!! Here's to good health, happiness and prosperity!!

~ Teri

Look what I won!!

2011-12-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

Look what I won!! I'm so excited! Especially since I won two things in about a week! I won the ABAlteredBooks Monthly Challenge, with my ATC "Music Makes the Heart Light". I run that list, but I've never won the challenge before, so that was exciting!! Then, I won this give-away over at Courtney Walsh's blog! I just left a comment. There were about 250 comments left that week and mine was chosen! At random, mind you....but, how cool is that? I love Webster's Pages and this kit looks way cool! I just received it yesterday. It will be put to good use. Oh, there are several other things I won, along with that...but, they've not been sent, yet. They are:

Autographed copy of Carla Stewart's novel Broken Wings

3 Disk set of Harry Connick Jr. CDs

Handmade cuff from Farmgirl Paints

Where Women Create/Where Women Cook (3 publications in all)

Autographed copy of Scrapbooking Your Faith

The things I'm the most excited about are the inspiring publications from Stampington & Co.: Where Women Create and Where Women Cook! (Mostly, Where Women Create, because I identify more with being creative, in an artsy kind of way, than being creative in the kitchen....but, I do love to drool over beautiful kitchens!) And, the "cuff" from Farmgirl Paints. Cuff?? Farmgirl Paints?? I'm intrigued, for sure!! Thank you, Courtney!!

Anyway, Courtney's blog is called "Telling Stories - prose, paper, paint, print". There's all sorts of things there....I can't even tell you how I ended up on it! :) Perhaps something that was "pinned" on Pinterest??

Here's the ATC that won the challenge:

There's always great art-work entered in these challenges, so I am definitely honored to have won! And, thanks to Mandy Collins over at Pearl Maple for the goodie-prize!! All the way from Australia! A lovely little care package for someone who loves to do altered art.

So, are you ready for the new year?? I still have some Christmas gifts to finish up....which I was really hoping to have done before the new year, but I don't think that will happen now. :( I really wanted to be done with Christmas; totally, thoroughly, completely done before the new year hit. Otherwise, I feel like there's old business hanging on from the last year. Of course, there's always "old business", but you know what I mean. Business that needs tending to before you can move on to other things. So, okay, I need to get off of here and get working on that stuff! Hopefully, by the time I do the next post, all of that will be done and in the mail...or wherever it's going.... and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Wish me luck. :)

Happy New Year!!

~ Teri

Christmas freebies, as promised!

2011-12-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

So, here are the images that I promised. Click on them and they'll show up in their original size. Right-click on that image and click on "Save as". Make sure you put the images in a place that makes sense or you'll never find them on your computer again!! You can make all sorts of fun and beautiful things with these types of images. Like the little plaque that I made, that was in my last post. You could even make Christmas cards out of them. Whatever you do with them, have fun!

Happy Creating!

~ Teri

Christmas birds plaque

2011-12-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for stopping by!! Here's my newest piece that I just did for a family member, for Christmas. I'm so-o-o-o-o far behind with Christmas! I say that every year, but this time, I mean it!! I always try to make something for my immediate family....something that I can make for each of them. Last year it was jammy bottoms. This year? Well, that's not happening. I don't know why I wait so long to get started! I'll never understand people complaining about stores gearing up for Christmas before Thanksgiving. No, I don't want to see Christmas decorations around town before Thanksgiving.. I like to enjoy the fall colors, etc.... and Thanksgiving marks the end of all that. But, seeing some Christmas stuff around makes me start thinking about what I could be doing/making for Christmas gifts. How it is that we think we can do all of this, especially those of us that like to make things for gifts, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, basically four weeks, is beyond me!! That's not nearly enough time! I really love all the stuff that goes on at Christmas-time. Some people complain about this or that; the crowds, etc... well, my advice is start early!! Have it all *done* by the first part of December and then you can bake cookies and candy to give away. You can enjoy your tree and the beauty that all the gifts underneath lend it. You can avoid the crowds! You can have time to get all your packages mailed, if you have friends/family in other parts of the country/world. You can go to carolling parties (or host them!) that you've been invited to; you can go out and carol around town or in a nursing home/assisted living place. It's not the store's fault that we wait so long to start! You can have time to sit down with your family and some Gingerbread cookies and watch It's a Wonderful Life. That's what Christmas is all about to me..... what can I be doing for other people? What gifts will my children and husband just love? What would bring a smile to someone's face? None of that can happen if we don't allow time for it. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone but myself, here! I'm terrible about it! And, every year I vow to do better next year! It's not because the stores tell me I should..... it's because that's what Christmas is all about. The stores aren't going to get any more of my money whether I shop in Sept. or if I shop in Dec. But, I'll feel better. Someone, please remind me to read this post next July!! So, anyway, here's my little piece of artwork. I'm going to upload some images that you're welcome to use and this image will be included. I hope you're all having better luck with your Christmas preparations than I am! That is, if you celebrate Christmas. Have a wonderful night!

~ Teri

A Creative Imaginations ATC Raffle

2011-11-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Well, before I talk about this artwork, I'd like to say "Happy Thanksgiving!" to those of you who live in the States. Be thankful for what you have. I know, sometimes it's difficult to not think of the things that aren't "right", when you're trying to think of the things that are. But, it's so important to focus on the things that you love about your life!! What you focus on g-r-o-w-s!! So, whatever you want more of... focus on that! Do you want more chaos, sadness and grief in your life? Then, by all means, focus on that! Because that's what that will get you. If you don't want any of that, don't focus on it. Don't talk about it; don't blog, incessantly, about it. Give your attention to the positive things! And, be grateful, each and every day! Some time in your day - in the morning, which would be a great way to start your day - or, in the evening, which would be a wonderful way to go to sleep - write down five things that you're grateful for. Think of those things during your day. Dwell on those things... not all the not-so-good things that are going on in your life!

OK... stepping off my soapbox now. :)

So, I've had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with my family. All four of our kids were with us, which is a rarity these days! The oldest was there, with her boyfriend - they've been together for three years, but he'd never had Thanksgiving Dinner with us before. So, that was nice. Our older son's girlfriend was there, too - that was also nice. We had a wonderful dinner, played a couple of games and had a nice visit. I have much to be thankful for, that's for sure!!

OK... so, about these ATC's. Creative Imaginations is hosting an ATC Raffle. They have a line called Luminarte - various kinds of paints, in bottles with dauber-tops, sprays, little pots of shimmering watercolors, called "Twinkling H2O's". All great products! If you go to the Creative Imaginations website, they'll tell you all about the raffle. Your ATC is your raffle ticket, which could win you Luminarte paints and "Luminarte Friendly" products. So, I put the background down on this "sun and moon" one first. But, I actually finished the "autumn greetings" one, first. For the sun and moon, I put down, with the dauber-top Radiant Rain Color Concentrate (which is a watercolor/acrylic paint blend), some Hot Cinnamon and Mallard. This was done on glossy paper, cut to the size of the ATC. (always 2.5 x 3.5") I wasn't sure I liked what it looked like.... so, I sprayed on some of the Shimmering Mist (Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist) in the Ginger Peach color. I started liking it at that point. :) Then, I saw that I had some of the color, in puddles, on my craft-mat, so I took a pre-made ATC, made for acrylics, and put that, face-down, swirling it all around the puddles of color. That's how I got the background for the "autumn" one. I continued with the autumn one and got it finished. I just now came back to the "sun and moon" one to finish it up. I stamped the sun and moon stamp, with Jet Black Staz-On ink. Then, I used an acrylic flourish stamp, with some VersaMark watermark (clear) on it and stamped over at the left....kind of around the black stamped image. Then, I used True Blue Pearl-Ex pigment powder, by Jacquard) (I LOVE pearl powders!!) over that flourish. I heat-set that, by misting it with water in a mini-mister (a Ranger product by Tim Holtz) and dried it with my heat gun. I then took a couple of pieces of Tim Holtz' tissue tape (I'm pretty sure mine is the Nostalgic set, but I'm not sure - I threw away the packaging!) and laid those cross-wise, how you see them. Photos just don't do these kinds of things justice... you kind of lose some of the shimmer.... or brilliance... of the whole thing. Oh, well.

Oh, the other cool thing about entering that ATC raffle is that your work could be included in their travelling exhibit! How cool would that be?? I'm only making two, but I'm doing it because I've been in ATC-making mode, anyway, and it's good practice. It also makes you do things that you might not get around to doing when you have a dead-line! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Creating!

~ Teri

Playing with alochol inks

2011-11-17T23:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a little piece I just spent the last hour and a half on. What fun! This was my first time of really playing with alochol inks. I layed down the inks (from Tim Holtz' Ranger line) and then started doodling over them with a few gel pens. Those inks are *so* cool!! I can't say enough good things about Tim Holtz' products!! My first love, of his products, was the Distress Inks...these are the second. I did this on a glossy, 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. I layed some ink down and then used the Alcohol Blending Solution - putting it onto the same piece of felt that had the inks on it - and patted it around a little more. Fun, fun!! I'm looking forward to getting some clear, plastic or

acetate pieces and playing around with the inks on those. I'll let you know how it goes! For now, it's bed-time!!

Ciao!

~ Teri

2011-11-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how I missed this little guy... I made him two years ago, and, somehow, he never made it to my blog! His name is Ollie. That was a friend's idea... I'm not sure why. But, it's a cute name, so I stuck with it. :) The pattern came out of Martha Stewart's Living magazine. I know, it's a little early for Christmas stuff... well, not if you're making things, but for general decoration. I like to enjoy the beautiful colors of Fall before we jump into Christmas. We already have some Christmas lights up downtown! They're beautiful, don't get me wrong... but, already??? Really??

Wow....it's shaping up to be a gorgeous, sunny day!! Cool, but sunny! Yay!!

I hope it's a beautiful day where you are!

~ Teri

Surrender to What Sets Your Heart Free - latest mixed-media art

2011-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Just a quick "Hello!" and post, to show you my latest piece of mixed-media art. It's for a friend... I'm pretty sure she doesn't look at my blog much, so I'm hoping she won't see it before I give it to her! :)

It was fun to do, although I always come to a point where I'm like a deer in the headlights! I need to do some art-exercises, to get over that. Choose a time where I won't get interrupted; I can't allow myself to stop... just go, go, go..until it's finished! Otherwise, I get too "in my head" about it... and our muses can't work through us if we're doing that.

There's an exercise in the book, Kaleidoscope, by Suzanne Simanaitis, (who runs artitudezine.com) where you get all of the supplies out that they tell you you'll need and for each step ~ you set a timer; when that timer goes off, you move on! You don't really *have* time to think too much! You're also not allowed to read ahead, before you begin the project. :) I haven't done it, yet, but it's one that's definitely on my "Art-To-Do-Soon" list!

I had the background of this piece done fairly quickly....then, I put it away and had to think about it for a while.... for, oh, about two months!! I was afraid to go on for fear of messing up my background that I loved so much. (That's the part that I need to get over!)

(Any tips or suggestions for working past the deer-in-the-headlights thing would be greatly appreciated!)

Thanks for looking and, please, oh, please, if you stop by, please leave a quick comment! :)

Thanks!!

~ Teri

ATC Swap

2011-10-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

These are ATC's that I just made for a swap that I'm participating in. ATC's are Artist Trading Cards. People trade them, sort of like baseball cards. Only prettier. :) They are the size of a standard playing card, 2.5 x 3.5". They are supposed to be traded, never sold. :)

I'd never done one before. The third one down, in fact, Music Makes the Heart Light, is the first one I'd ever done. Some people think they're too small to work with.... too confining... they like a big page or canvas to work on. Others love this little size, because it's less intimidating....not so much space to fill. I can see both points. Probably depends on your mood at the time! :) This last two weeks, for me, these have been the perfect size. It does mean having smaller images on hand ("inchies" work well) or being able to print out images that you love - in a smaller format.

This "Boo to You!" one was made for my friend, Jana, who is hosting the swap. It's up to her to gather them, spread them all out and randomly choose (without looking at the images) however many (if you put in two, you get two back; four, you get four back, etc.......) for each participant and get them all mailed back to each person in a timely fashion. I knew that Jana had originally wanted the theme to be Halloween, but we realized we'd run out of time... by the time people got them done and mailed to her, Halloween would be long-gone. So, then, we decided to make the theme "open"... so, you could do anything you wanted! But, I knew that Jana wanted Halloween ones, but also Thanksgiving ones... so, I did one of each for her, because I couldn't decide! :)

I tried some new background techniques on these. Another great thing about the smaller size.... it's not too much of an investment - either financially, physically or emotionally - because the area is so small! That's not to say that it didn't still take a lot of time. I'm not quick about these things. Of course, I have other things I'm doing in my life, but even when I carve out time to do art and don't have too many interruptions... I only get one done a day...maybe the start of a second one. But, I never got two completed in a day.

Anyway, they were loads of fun to do... I look forward to doing more!

I hope you enjoy looking at them!

Happy Fall and Happy Halloween!!

~ Teri

My own book - Victoriana

2011-10-10T21:24:00.001-07:00

This is my own book, which five other people worked in. I did these three things - the title page, the sign-in page and the tags and then sent it off. It went to Oregon (about 15 miles from me), Western Canada, Arkansas, Minnesota and Maryland. It was so fun to participate in...what a journey, for my book and myself.

This first picture is the title page. Now that I have it back, I want to add more to that spread. I also still have to do the front/back covers.

This is the sign-in page. The dark-brown paper creates pockets, for the sign-in tags to go into.

These are the tags. Each participant signs one.... their name, where they live and the date is appreciated, but people can do whatever they choose.

Some people sent a little "gift" to the next person who they were sending the book to....that was fun, too. I got several little packets of goodies, because I was the hostess of the Round-Robin.

Now, a different group, that includes some of the same people, are working on an ATC swap. ATC's are Artist Trading Cards. They're always 2.5 x 3.5" and they are never to be sold...only traded. They're just a little piece of art. Here's a great site that has three pages of ATC's, so you can see what I'm talking about. Be sure to look at all three pages! Incredible work here!!
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/atcnov03.html

I'll be doing the swap, so that means I need to make two ATC's, to swap... and one for the hostess. I'll post those after the swap is over, so the participants don't accidentally see them ahead of time.

Happy creating!

~ Teri

"The Beach".... my first Round-Robin book!

2011-10-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

This was the first Round-Robin book that I did. The theme was There's No Place Like Home. I immediately thought of "the beach". I grew up on the beach.... I mean, I lived one mile from the beach, so I spent a lot of time there! The beach culture is completely different than anywhere else. Especially the culture in Santa Cruz, which is where I was.

I found that sweet scrapbook paper with the little huts, surfboards, guitars and bikes and just knew I had to use it in this spread! I loved the colors and the look of it. So, I used it to start from....chose my colors of paint accordingly. I made a little pocket out of it, where I put an accordion-style folded paper, talking about where I grew up and why I chose the beach. Then, I added those beads.

Such a creative process doing this kind of art!

Enjoy!

~ Teri

The second Round-Robin book

2011-10-10T21:05:00.001-07:00

Here's the second book. It belongs to my friend, Jana, and her theme was "Questions of Love". I had a lot of fun doing this one. Once again, I didn't really know where it would lead... I just knew that I was going to include actual questions of love, like "Can you live on love alone?" "Is Love the greatest gift of all?"

I'd been thinking that I was going to incorporate fabric into her book

....then, I noticed, on the inside front cover, that she had used a fabric that was in a collection that I had just used for a baby quilt, so I decided to use one of those fabrics in her book. It's inside the little door.

Yep.... All You Need Is Love.

~ Teri

My third Round-Robin book

2011-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the third book that I did. The theme was "Magic". I did "The Magic of the Muses".

This was the first book (or anything!) that I put gesso on and moved it around with a "credit card" to create texture. I loved how it turned out! Then, I started putting acrylic paint on. Oh, but first I used some masking fluid to mask over some words that I wanted to keep, from the original text of the book, and not have to worry about painting over. I had a wee problem, though... I had so many layers of paint on there, that I couldn't find my spots of masking fluid! I found a few, totally intuitively. Was afraid to peel up the paint on the rest of them, just in case I was in the wrong spot... then, I'd just have a spot of roughed-up paper. :( So, I left them alone. But, it turned out all right, anyway. I was pretty happy with this one.

Oh, the magic of the muses....where would we be without them?

~ Teri

More Round-Robin photos

2011-09-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Here are the last two books! This first one was themed, "Teapots, Cups and Hats". This first spread, "It's Time for a Tea-Party" was completely unplanned. I mean, I only meant to do one spread in this book, because of time constraints, but the first things I did were the teapot, hat and cup...in "zentangle" fashion. Then, after I got the background on this first spread, I realized that those zentangles were *not* going to go with that background! So, I started my hunt for some images that were completely different!

These images are the "zentangles". They were fun to do! I used some new gels pens to do the "frame" around both pages and to add all the text with. I just wrote things that I thought of when I think of having tea! Scones, crumpets, lemon curd, good friends, favorite hats, ginger and lemon tea, Earl Grey... you get the picture!

This was the last book I did.... with the theme of Vintage Sewing! This first photo is of the "sign-in tag". The owner of the book provided the tags, for us to use, but we could decorate them however we wanted. I used some fabric that I also used in the spread, so it was coordinated.

This is the spread for this last book. It's funny.... I was so excited about this theme, being one dear to my own heart, but found it to be the most daunting! Perhaps because there were so many ways I wanted to approach it and so little space!! I don't know. I do know, though, that you have to trust the process with this kind of art! (All kinds of art?? I know that's true of painting!)

But, with this kind of art, you just don't know what it's going to end up being. I'd have ideas, but sometimes those would be changed, completely, as I worked! Sometimes, I only had a very basic idea and it just took on a life of its own.

It was a very rewarding project. I tried new techniques. I learned about working with mixed-media and I learned some things about myself. I had done very little altered art... but, have been wanting to (and collecting supplies!) for about five years! So, when the question of doing this round robin came up (on the altered books yahoogroup that I run), http://groups.yahoo.com/abalteredbooks I was intimidated, needless to say! There are people on there who've worked in this media for years... and who are very good! Also, people who've been published in the "best of the best" magazines and books of this particular medium! But, I also knew that it would force me to play with all those collected supplies! It would force me to take the time to do art! That's exactly what it did. It was wonderful!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what I contributed to these peoples' books.

I look forward to the next Round Robin!

~ Teri

The latest baby quilt

2011-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest baby quilt. I just gave it away yesterday. I used fabrics from two different collections. One was by Jason Yenter, called "Camelot", for In the Beginning fabrics. I can't remember the other one's name! It was a woman that designed it. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. But, they are gorgeous fabrics in my humble opinion! These pictures never do justice to the piece. I realize, now, that I should've taken a close-up of some of the fabrics. :(

I have "key-tags" that my local quilt shop, Boersma's, sells for $1.00. (Yes, they should give them away, but.....) I think I have six of them saved up now and when they are full (which mine are!), they are good for $25.00 worth of merchandise!! I've been wanting to make a quilt for my husband and I, but our bed is king-sized, so I knew that I'd have to quilt it on one of the long-arm machines.

So, I'm going to get the top all sewn together, first, then go take a class on how to use those machines! My SIL has used them a bunch, so she will help me, if I need it.

The other cool thing is that if you shop on your birthday, you get 25% off of everything! So, I'm going to go in on my birthday (I hope!!) and buy all the fabric then. I think I'm going to use a Fig Tree Quilts pattern with Fig Tree fabrics. Not sure, but I have to get it all figured out before my birthday!! Oh-no!! Wish me luck! (I only have eight days!)

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

The socks are done!!

2011-06-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

My socks are done! Yes, I knit them myself!! I am SO excited!! I'd just done another pair, out of this gorgeous blue yarn (similar to this green, but in blues), but they were too small!! That's when we realized that even my 10 year old son has bigger feet than I do. (And, mine have grown by 2.5 sizes since I've had kids!)

Anyway, I digress. These are so comfortable! They're a washable wool. Yes, that means machine washable and dryable (is that a word??). But, I'm trying to get into the habit of hand-washing them, because I plan to have many more pairs and they may not all be machine washable!

I'm working on summer-socks right now. I can't remember what those kinds of socks are called... you know, short socks. They barely poke out of the top of your shoes. Anyway, that's what I'm making now... out of a cotton/nylon blend. I figured I wouldn't want to wear wool in the summer.

I just finished up a project I've been working on for some time now. Well, I hadn't actually been *working* on it - that's why it took me so long to get it finished!! I hate when I do that!! I'm too easily sidetracked! Anyway, I can't tell you what it is, yet, or show you any pictures. The recipient will get it today. After that, I'll share pictures.

Besides that, I've been working on an altered-book Round Robin! There are six of us, including myself, that chose books and our own themes. I'm hosting it, so I figured out whose book goes where, and it what order....and now they are making their way all across the US and into BC. And, I mean *all* the way across the US.... there are two of us in Oregon and one guy in Maryland.

I've done two of them, so far; am waiting on the third to arrive. Should be here tomorrow or the next day! I'm so excited! It's been so fun to do this! I've been collecting supplies for about five years, but had only done a couple of small pieces. So, doing this RR has really made me jump in and play; figure out just how to do this type of art! It's amazing to see a piece come together. Even if you aren't sure where it's going when you start.... you just start playing and pretty soon all these ideas come to you! Before you know it, it's done!

So far, I've worked in books with the themes of: "There's No Place Like Home" and "Questions of Love". I'm waiting on "Hats, Teapots and Teacups", "Magic" and "Vintage Sewing". Oh, and my theme is "Victoriana"....anything Victorian. I'll share photos later, when the whole thing is done!

In the meantime, I'm hoping to get my tomatoes planted in the next couple of days!! It's supposed to be in the 70's the next few days.....I'll believe it when I see it. :( 80's over the weekend. Again, I'll believe it when I see it. It's so hard for me to imagine weather that nice right now. It's been so long! I think I've forgotten what it feels like! As you can see from my previous post, though, things are coming alive, once again, and blooming!

So, out to the flower garden for some weeding....until that altered book arrives!

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

First small bouquet of Spring

2011-05-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Signs of Spring abound.....now if it would just warm up a little more! Oh, well. Bring some of those signs of Spring inside, where it is warm and dry, and you'll feel better!

I keep this small, glass, hanging vase in my bathroom as long as there are flowers blooming. I love making petite bouquets! It's a great way to use Pansies and Nasturtiums, among others, which usually can't be put in a regular bouquet because of their short stems.

This one has Columbine, "Cecile Brunner" tea-roses and Daisies. These Daisies bloom really early. They appear to be just a common, Shasta Daisy...but, I have other Daisies that look exactly like these, that won't bloom for another few weeks.

The Cecile Brunner (I've always heard it pronounced with a long "u") is a heritage rose....dates back to the 1880's. My house was built in the 1880's, so it seems that it belongs here. I planted it about three years ago, I believe, and it has already covered up the corner of my picket fence (which was my plan!) and beyond! I'm pretty sure that not all the Cecile Brunner's have a scent... but, mine has a lovely scent! If the little bouquet is entirely roses, you'll smell it when you walk into the bathroom. And, when I'm watering, weeding, mowing, whatever... out near it, while it's blooming, I can smell it from ten feet away! These roses will grow and grow.... I have to keep cutting mine back, because I'm training it to stay on the fence.

I thought this was a perfect specimen of a Shasta Daisy! Look at that center! And, all the petals are perfect. Beautiful.

For some beautiful roses, have a look at Heirloom Roses. If you can go there, even better! I'm lucky enough to live only about thirty minutes from them, so, when I was planning my wedding, over twenty-two years ago, I called them to ask if I could get some miniature/tea roses from them for my wedding cake. They said I could; to stop by. I went over, the day before the "big day". A woman went around with her Felcos (the best cutting tool around!!), and clipped off a ton of these little beauties for me. She'd say, "These?" "How do these look?" Snip, snip...... When we were done and I had a box full, I asked her how much money I owed. I can't remember exactly what she said, but basically it was, "Oh, nothing." They didn't charge me for them! And, they were so beautiful, cascading down and around our wedding cake!

Here's to beautiful flowers and generosity!

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

The winning sci-fi film!

2011-05-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

OK... I got the "go-ahead" from Angela. So, here's the link
to Maklar, Anyone? Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2hinfcPac

As you were,

~ Teri

The Aliens have landed!!!

2011-05-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Now........

For.
Something.
Completely.
Different!!

Like, out-of-this-world different!!

The 12th annual UFO Festival, also known as "Alien Daze", happened this weekend! I believe it's the largest event of its kind in the country.

In 1950, a Sheridan, Oregon, couple saw this thing flying near their home. They were able to take a few pictures of it. It's the only UFO photo that the experts haven't been able to debunk. Now, jump ahead.....years later. McMenamin's - the McMenamin brothers who buy old - usually - buildings and renovate them into hotels, pubs, theaters, etc....(usually all of these amenities are on the same premises) buy a building that was known as Hotel Oregon in the '30's.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/441-hotel-oregon-home

It had a restaurant downstairs and hotel up. They renovated it so they'd have a pub downstairs, a "cellar bar" below....two stories worth of hotel rooms above, which also includes a room for concerts, benefits, etc.....and then, the top level is the crowning jewel! The "Rooftop" bar! A few tables of indoor seating, but outside is the place you want to be on a beautiful, warm, sunny evening! Especially if it's a full moon! You have a wonderful view up there! If you are traveling through, you definitely should stay at one of their hotels!! One of their first places is called The Edgefield.... it was the old "poor house"..... it's beautiful out there, especially in June/July when the gardens are in bloom! It's in Troutdale... just a bit east of Portland. They do a summer concert series there and it's a great place to see a music act!!

Anyway, I digress. McMenamin's (fondly called "The McMillionaires" in these parts) got wind of this story of the Trent's and their photo and they brilliantly came up with the Alien Festival! (Which, by the way, includes lots of live music, a McMenamin's "beer garden" - they're known for their micro-brews, guest UFOologists/speakers, and this year they had the first-ever UFO film festival! Amateur film-makers.....although the winning film in the adult division, called Maklar, Anyone? didn't look so amateurish. (It was made by Angela and Phillip Guzzo, friends of mine!) If Angela gives me the "go ahead", I'll post the link to the movie later. :)

That first picture, of the button? That's one of my daughter's and her friend's hand-made buttons. They draw them, watercolor or color-pencil them in, then make prints of them and turn them into buttons. They dress up and put them all over their fronts and sell them as they walk around.

To see the photo that started it all, go here:

http://www.ufocasebook.com/trentphotos.html

The McMenamins' own marching band played, as they do at most of their big events....they are so good! There was also a band called The Garcia Birthday Band..... they said they're on Facebook...check them out! See them when you can!

Well, look who showed up?!

Alrighty...... signing off now, but just wanted to share these pictures with you... and let you know about this fun festival! You should check it out if you're ever in the neighborhood....it's always the second weekend in May!!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

~ Teri

2011-04-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hmm.... I don't know how I didn't get this on here before. This is a candle-mat that I made for a friend, for Christmas, last year. It's wool-felt. Now I see I should've taken some close-up pictures of the embroidery, but that's not really anything special. Everything is outlined with a blanket-type-stitch....I say "blanket-type" because it doesn't have the running stitch (so to speak) along the edge; only the stitches that come in from the edge.

Anyway, these are super easy and fun to do! It's a pattern by Bareroots.

They have various designs, for various seasons and holidays. You can have a look at some of their patterns here:

http://www.prairiepointjunction.com/woolfeltpatterns.html#bareroots

All for now.....

Happy creating!

~ Teri

My first altered-book Round Robin!

2011-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I just started working in my own altered-book to be included in an altered-book Round Robin! Five other artists have signed on for this adventure. So, that means that each of our books goes to one of us to work in. Then, we send it off to the next person on the list to do the same. In about six months (hopefully less!), we'll get our books back, now as works of art!

I've only done some techniques in a book before... I've never actually started working on one as a stand-alone altered book. So, there are many firsts here for me. I've also never done a Round Robin. It was a complete leap of faith....that I could figure out how to create the look that I'm after and that my work would be at all comparable to the other artists' work. Well, that's yet to be seen. But, I've already learned quite a bit, just doing what you see here.

I battle with myself about creating the time to play with my supplies. I've had accomplished altered/mixed-media artists tell me that "you have to make the time.. and just let yourself play!" It's so true! You can see how it's done, in a book, or a tutorial, but it's not the same as playing with those supplies yourself. Everyone's touch with the paintbrush is different. Some people don't even use paint! So, you really do have to figure out what works best for you... and what your "style" is. I'm still figuring that out. But, I know what I like, when I look at other artists' work.

So, the first picture, above, that says, "Victoriana".... that's the theme of my book. Anything Victorian. In a Round Robin, you can either have a theme for the whole thing... everyone agrees on the same thing... so, all books have the same theme. Or, (Oh, my gosh! I forgot to put my salmon into the oven!!!) each "player" (as we're called), chooses their own theme for their own book. So, when you get their book, you work in it with that theme in mind.

In this Round Robin, we have:

Magic

Hats, teapots and teacups

Questions of Love

There's No Place Like Home

Vintage Sewing

and mine, Victoriana.

So, that "Victoriana" picture, that's sort of my "title" page. You don't have to do a title page, but I chose to. So everyone will know what my book is going to be about before you start looking through it. :)

Then, there's a "sign-in" page. These are done in all sorts of ways. Mine includes my "Welcome" message, which has a few "rules" in it. Requests would be a better word, really, because I think they're all rather optional. :)

You can't really capture the depth of pictures like these in photos. The woman on the first page, in the corset, is actually raised off the page. She has a "shadow-self" underneath her. :) I also have more work to do on that page, but I ran out of time. I was already three days late sending mine out, so decided to finish that when I get my book back, later.
On the sign-in page, you can either just have space on the page to sign-in or you can have "tags"... (or any other number of ways to do it), but I chose tags. I love making these little tags! They're just office tags... but, they're a great way to practice techniques because they're small. It's not a big investment in time (well, I take that back. It all takes me a long time!) and you don't have to put a bunch of stuff on them to make them look great! Anyway, the people who work on your book choose a tag and put their name, where they live, and whatever else you request on the back of them. So, this last picture is just the tags, alone. All the coloring on them is Ranger Distressing Inks. They are so great to play with!! I love them! The coloring on the book pages is either glazing or acrylic paint. The first page is paint... the rest are glazed.

So, I'm now working on a book from a woman in Minnesota. Her theme is There's No Place Like Home. I won't divulge what I'm going to do with that, until later, because I don't want her to know, ahead of time, just in case she looks at my blog! :) We also have players from Arkansas, Maryland, Oregon - a friend of mine that lives near me - and British Columbia. Most of us have never done a Round Robin before, so that makes me feel better. :) I'm not the only one!

How did I miss this little one??

2011-03-15T18:25:00.001-07:00

Here is a pin-cushion that I made for a friend, for Christmas. There was a woman at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (yeah, try to say that, fast, ten times!), who was selling these little kits. She had flowery ones and these adorable, little sheep! You have to glue some paper-board (like cereal boxes) together, first, and let those dry. But, once that's done, it's fast-going. Took me an evening to do the rest. The sheep is needle-felted; the flowers and grass are embroidered. The recipient said it was too cute to stick pins into. That was my feeling, too. :)

Happy creating!

~ Teri

Laptop case for my sister

2011-03-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the laptop case that I made for my sister. This shows the power-cord bag that goes with it.

A friend made me one of these a couple of years ago and I *love* it!! I've been making them ever since, for friends and family.

The next picture makes it look a little greener, but it's the same case! It's more blue than green. :)

Happy creating!

~ Teri

Some altered tags I made

2011-03-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some tags I've done in the last few weeks. I love playing with tags...they're just plain, ol' office tags....so, they're not a huge commitment in time and/or effort (although anything I do like this takes me probably at least 1.5 hrs., which brings me to another topic...later) and they're inexpensive! So, it's not a big investment, any way you look at it. But, they are so sweet! I did several of them for friends and family, for Valentine's Day...that's really when I got going on them. Since then, I've done one "just because" and a couple to go on birthday gifts, instead of a card. I will show those last three, here.

This first one was for an altered-books, online friend. She is an altered-artist who lost her supplies in an apartment fire a few years ago. So, I, very secretively, asked some of the people on the altered books list if they'd want to help me out and send her some surprise supplies and goodies. There were seven or eight of us that participated and the recipient was overjoyed by our RAK. It felt great to be able to help out in that way. A pretty simple thing, really, yet so beneficial. So, this was a tag that I made, just to add to the mix, with a little note on the back.

This next one was for my newest niece, Jada, who

turned a year last August. I had her birthday gift

sitting here for months.... and finally got it

mailed a week and a half ago! (Ugh! *Bad* Auntie!!)

I figure it's even more of a surprise when you get a gift that you aren't expecting! :)

And, last but not least, is the one I did for my sister, for her birthday, which was only in October! (I did better on that one!) Oh, I should include a picture of the gift! I made her a quilted laptop case, which I also love making. I've made several of them....they're so beautiful, but pretty simple to do! (Next post.) :)

Just like these tags.... pretty simple, but beautiful and so rewarding! Which brings me to the part about taking the time to do them. I'm a firm believer in having hobbies. I think they're really important, on many levels. But, one of the things is that they are meditative.... and calming, for the most part. When you are so intent and focussed on your project, you don't think about anything else. With sewing, it's pretty straight-forward... you go through the steps as you're supposed to, when you're supposed to. So, for me, anyway, if I'm making a baby quilt, for instance, as a gift, I spend a lot of time thinking about the person/family that it's going to... and, of course, the new, little baby that will get to keep that quilt forever, I hope! With altered art, it's a little different, probably because I'm so new to it. I'm constantly thinking about which colors I should use, which elements should be added, etc.... so, it doesn't leave much time for the mind to wander... but, that's a good thing!! I'm telling you, it's cheaper than therapy!! You can only really think about the project at hand. That's why it's so beneficial in that way.

When I was taking a watercolor class, several years ago, a 76 yr. old woman, who was also in the class, told me, "It's better than counselling! For two hours I don't think about *anything* except what I'm doing!" It's so true. I can't say enough about the benefits of having hobbies.... and especially creative hobbies.

Have a creative day!

~ Teri

2011-03-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

Here's an altered art piece I just did a couple of weeks ago. A woman on the Altered Books list that I run sent out some RAK mail-art pieces to several of us. So, this was my "thank you" to her, for that.

I hope everyone knows what a "RAK" is by now! :) It's a Random Act of Kindness. For no reason, just do something nice for someone. I'm not sure who it benefits more, the giver or the receiver! :)

Ah, there are signs of Spring here! Primroses blooming; Croccus' already bloomed, although I noticed on my walk yesterday that there are still some blooming in other parts of town. Lovely. I've got Tulips up about 5", Daffodils up a few... and little, tiny Daffodils that are just about to bloom!! They only get about 5" tall and their blooms are only about 5/8" across, I think. I'll have to take a picture of them. I decided it's getting to be that time of year when I need to carry my camera with me on my walks/runs.....beautiful things are starting to happen out in the world!

Happy Sring!!

~ Teri

A tutorial on the "Bricks and Blocks" baby quilt

2010-08-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

OK.... I just explained all of this to a friend, via messages on Facebook, and realized that it's high time I get this tutorial posted! I've wanted to do this for a long time.....and it would've been SO much easier to just point that friend to my blog! So, after this is done, I can do just that, with other friends.

First of all, here are the fabrics from April Cornell's "Spring Magic" jelly-roll. There are too many different prints for a baby quilt, so I usually choose ten to fifteen of them. I make this quilt with five rows across and sixteen down. So, you'll end up with eighty pieces. If you choose sixteen different fabrics, then you can have five of each of those. Jelly-rolls are SO nice because there are usually two of each print; their length is the width of the fabric (about 44" these days) and they are 2.5" wide. Perfect for this quilt! If you buy fabric off the bolt, then, using a rotary cutter, place the fold on a horizontal line and have the edge of your fabric just over one of the vertical lines on your cutting mat. Put your straight-edge so that one of the horizontal lines on it is even with that fold - and the lines on the cutting mat that are also even with it. The vertical lines should also be aligned with the vertical lines on the mat. Just a tiny bit of your fabric should be sticking out, to the right of your straight-edge. You are just squaring up your fabric. Cut that tiny bit that's sticking out, using your rotary cutter. Now, you're ready to start the real fun! Make sure that nice, straight edge of your fabric is at one of the "inch" measurements and that the fold is straight, along the bottom, even with another line. Lay your straight-edge 2.5" over to the left of the edge of fabric that you just cut. So, now you have 2.5" of fabric sticking out from that straight-edge. Make sure your fabric fold is straight at the bottom and that the straight-edge is aligned with the marks on your mat, all the way from the top to the bottom. Place your left hand flat out on the straight-edge; make sure your cutter blade is all the way up to the straight-edge. Place firm pressure on the cutter, but making sure to hold the straight-edge in place with your other hand... and starting at the bottom, just underneath the fabric, make your cut. If you are only going to use five pieces of each print, then you probably only need to cut one strip of each of the prints that you're using.

These pictures show the fabric, once it's cut into strips. Well, I didn't cut mine because I bought this beautiful jelly-roll! Jelly-rolls save you an incredible amount of time! However, if you don't like that vintagey look, ie; you don't want any "wrinkles" to be in your quilt once it's done, then you'll need to pre-wash your fabric. I wouldn't recommend pre-washing the jelly-roll strips because they are already the exact width that you need. If you wash them, they're going to fray some and then you'll have to cut that fraying off. Personally, I love the vintagey look....it makes a quilt look old-fashioned and well, I just love that!

Happy Spring!!

2010-04-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

"Spring" has sprung here in northwest Oregon! But, oh, how we confuse Spring with Summer so quickly! (I'm as guilty as anyone about that!) Spring in this neck of the woods is generally still rather cool and definitely wet. We can get rain, hail, snow, wind and sun... all in one day!! In fact, my husband said it did all of those things out at his jobsite yesterday, just 15 minutes from home.

I can't start paying too much attention to the weather this time of year or I get rather impatient with it all. Spring is a season all its own.. and, yet, we tend to want to lump it together with Summer and not recognize or value what it has to offer, on its own. We think of it as just a precursor to Summer. Well, it is and it isn't. Summer does come afterwards, but, it's a very, very slow process. One must learn to appreciate the beautiful, emerald green fields, the Daffodils, Tulips, Azaleas, Tulip (and other) Magnolias, Hyacinths, Mountain/Grape/Woody Hyacinths, Camelias, the ornamental and fruit-bearing cherries, plums and apples and those wonderful, little Violets that some of us are lucky enough to have in our lawns!

I have a friend who has only been here for a little over a year and she and her family moved here from Arizona. So, I made her this Spring garland....hoping that it might help to bring some glittery flowers into her home, for her. (Although, she is *just now* getting tired of the rain! She's doing as well as I am with the weather, this year!) It was hard to get a good picture of the garland, because it's so long.... so, I might put up each image, separately. I'll see how it shows up.

In the meantime, have a Happy Spring!

Teri

Happy New Year and some Christmas things......

2010-01-07T19:06:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!! I can't believe that the new year is already upon us and I never did a Christmas post!! Well, here are a few of the things that I was busy with at Christmas-time. I made this little birdhouse (above) and plan to do two more, for a birdhouse village, for next year. It was fun to do. I need some kind of tall box to put them in, so I can create their own little space, with trees, snow, etc.... I already have both the trees and the "snow"...now, I just need some kind of box.

Here is the shoulder bag that I made for Hannah, for Christmas. It has coordinated fabric inside, but I realize now that I didn't get a picture of that.

These are Frosty Brownies..... they're chocolate-minty, inside and out! I told my youngest son and my husband that I wanted to try them out, before I made them for New Year's Eve. When we each had one, I said that I wasn't sure if I'd make them the same way and my son said, "I wouldn't." So, there you go. He prefers regular chocolate brownies to mint ones. Me, too. But, I did like the look of the "frostiness" on top. So, with the regular ones, I frosted them and still put the little candies on them. That was better.

I also made some Chocolate Crinkles that were fabulous!! But, I didn't remember them until 11:30 New Year's Eve, so just kept them for later. They are scrumptious and, if I'm remembering correctly, they're dairy-free. :)

Here's our Christmas tree, Christmas morning, just before we started opening gifts. It was a very nice morning. We went out to Wayne's dad's for dinner, and that was very nice, too.

And, now, a new year is upon us. How did that happen so quickly? Each year truly does go faster than the last. It's really about perception, though. As you go through life, and start feeling your mortality, time seems to go more quickly. What's that line from Bonnie Raitt's, Nick of Time? "Life gets mighty precious when there's less of it to waste." So true.

I need to have some Sweet Dreams and go to bed....it was a l-o-o-o-ng night last night!

Happy New Year and sweet dreams to all of you!

~ Teri

My first Victorian Coronet

2009-11-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings! Boy, is it a blustery day here!! Quite windy and, although I haven't seen any rain, it looks like it could just dump on us at any moment. The wind has been howling, though! This will certainly put a damper on the last of the beautiful leaves that are hanging to the trees. :

Anyway, I've been crafting. I'm working on some Christmassy blocks right now... almost done; photo will come later. But, first, this is a Victorian Coronet that I made a week or so ago. I've been wanting to make them for a year or so, but hadn't gotten to it. So, I was getting together with a few friends, for one of their birthdays, a week or so ago, and two days before we were meeting, I decided to make one of these for her birthday! I figured if I had a short dead-line, that would make me do it and get it done. One of the ladies at the local quilt shop used to say that I worked better under pressure... because I'd come in for fabric for dresses for my girls, like two days before Thanksgiving and say I had to make them for Thanksgiving! :) (I always got them finished!) :) Plus, since her birthday is so close to "Christmas decorating time", I thought a Christmassy thing would be nice. I bought this beautiful box at Jo-Ann's, (which I wish I would've taken a picture of!) for her to store it in.

It was really fun to put together! A little overwhelming, at first, but that seems to be how I am with every project I do. I get my supplies out and then I think, "How will I *ever* decide which paper to use??" ... as in the main paper for the cone. But, I bought that paper, with that in mind, and it was still the best choice, at the time. :) So, I went with it. I decided to add Yo-yo's... only buttons were in my original plan. I learned some things by doing this first one. But, the only thing I really wished I'd done was to put little eggs in the nest. I didn't have any. :( I do now.

Hmmmm.... I might just do a tutorial on it... I did take pictures as I went along.

Well, enjoy the weather, wherever you are!!

~ Teri

The gang of jack-o-lanterns!

2009-11-02T20:10:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween, a couple days late!

2009-11-02T19:16:00.001-08:00

Here are the kids, carving their jack-o-lanterns! Well, the one in the red isn't mine, but we've known her for most of her life! It was such a gorgeous day and it continued into the evening. The moon shone brightly as we walked around... it didn't even get cold! Cool, but not cold. :) We walked as long as the littlest of kids could take it. When we were close to our house, again, one of the moms says to her 3.5 year old, "We're almost back to the Patty's house" and he says, "Thank you!"

It was fun. One of our friends brought some mulled wine over with her, so we had that to come back to.

Here are my kids, plus two that aren't mine. All the blonde kids are mine. :) Little pirate, monkey, big pirate.

Ack! Where'd the picture of the finished jack-0-lanterns go?? I hate when that happens!! I'll add it, by itself.

The time has changed.... it's 7:42 and I'm ready for bed! I do like the Fall and "going inward" stuff... but, I don't like how it happens just all of a sudden! Feeling like going to bed at not-even-8:00?? Geez... that just makes me feel old!!

Well, I hope you're all enjoying this beautiful season and are staying healthy! Take your vitamins, people!!!

Enjoy the day... or night.....

~ Teri

Boo!

2009-10-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. I always look so forward to the leaves changing... and love them while they're in their Fall glory..... and, then, all too often, we get a storm.... it gets windy and Poof! They're all gone. Just like that.

I still have Maples, though, that are just now starting to change! They'll be my last chance for photos. :)

This tree is downtown, in historic McMinnville. It looks so beautiful down there right now! My only complaint... if I had a complaint, which I don't, really... is all the overhead wiring! You go to take a picture of some lovely group of trees and there are all these wires going across them! Ugh! Photoshop would take care of that, probably, wouldn't it? Well, some day I'll have that. Not today.

Here's a little something that I put together for the dining room table.

And, Halloween is right around the corner!!! I mean, that corner is only four days long now! I'm *so* not ready for Halloween.... and probably will not have a costume because of that, but so be it. We've had sickness in this house for a week and a half. I need to make our front porch look not-so-scary. No, you don't understand.... our porch looks scary in the real sense, not in the Halloween goblin and ghoul type way.

Blackberry vines went crazy while I was busy working on the garden, in the backyard, over the summer! You turn your head for five minutes and those little buggers run amok! "Amok", now there's a word. And, here I thought that "awry" was my favorite word. Today it might be "amok". Did I spell that correctly? It's starting to look funny now. Ah, I just looked it up. It can be spelled like I spelled it... or "amuck". Oh, my. It also says this:

(among members of certain Southeast Asian cultures)..a psychic disturbance characterized by depression, followed by a manic urge to murder. Wow. I didn't realize that word was so intense. Well, I'd still say the blackberries have run amok.... they'd like to take over the world!!

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

Reuniting with old friends!

2009-10-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

So, here I am, first singing a duet at the Spring Concert, in May of 1976, and then at my 8th grade graduation, June 10, 1976. I've recently reconnected with some of these people; people that I played music with and many of us are still playing, and doing music professionally, which is really great to see! We owe a lot to the man in the first picture, Gary Fredrick(s?), who was our guitar instructor. He did so much more for us than simply teach us how to play the guitar!! He put together different groups, a "Mariachi Group", which I was in, and a rock-band, which my friends were in and some of them backed us up, too. But, the cool thing was that he booked us to play in public places!! We started out going to nursing homes, that kind of thing... then, we were doing a bank opening/ribbon-cutting ceremony, then we started playing in pizza parlors! He took all the sound gear and set it up, ran it, etc..... I *so* appreciate all the work he did for us *now*!! It was such a great experience for 12/13 year olds!! We never got paid.... I don't think it occurred to any of us to be paid! We were just having fun and I'm sure the pizza parlor enjoyed having us there, for free! :) We did bring some people in for them and we benefitted in so many other ways! The Chorus teacher, Mr. Orlando, was equally wonderful. Those were easily the best years of my school career, which is what all these other people have said, too. That's partly because it was a small school, but also because of these two great men and their love for music. They've both left the planet, so to speak, unfortunately. But, I'm sure they touched many more kids' lives than just ours, over the years. I'm so thankful for both of them. I'm sure they're both smiling down upon all of us right now. Rest in Peace, you two.

Pillow-Talk

2009-09-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the pillows that I made yesterday! Three of these had old, funky coverings on them. I just cut off the old coverings and used the inside forms. I thought of adding piping, but I really wanted to get them done and I knew that I'd be sabotaging my efforts if I did anything besides simple, simple, simple!! Usually, I would make it an envelope opening or add a zipper, but, again, I wanted them Done. So, I made them so the coverings can't come off, without scissors. :) I don't think the insides would stand up to machine washing, but I figured the fabric was on sale.... if I really need to wash them, I can open up the opening and take the forms out. I did hand-sew the opening together; that took longer than all the rest of it!

This couch is so deep and cushionless on the back of it, that you need to have these pillows there to even sit on it. When I sit on this couch, which is rarely, I feel like Ruth Buzzy in that skit that she used to do on "Laugh-In", where she sat in that huge rocking chair, to make her look like a little girl. If I sat straight up on this couch, my legs would stick straight out, in mid-air. So, anyway, the pillows are a necessity for this couch!

But, they do go nicely with the blue couch, too. So, yay...something in this living room goes together!

And, these, having nothing to do with the living room, are on the dining room table. Probably the last of the flowers from my own garden for this year. These sunflowers are, believe it or not, Mammoths, that I got planted late. Poor, little, sad, stunted things. I was going to make a Sunflower House, which I threaten to do every year! At least I got further with it this year... I have hope for next year! So, anyway, these sunnies got about four feet tall and, much to my surprise, they actually bloomed! But, by the time they bloomed, the sun had moved further south....well, okay, we tilted so that it seems the sun moved further south.... and these little sunshiny faces followed the sun. Which is away from the garden. No one but the bunny, Jack, could enjoy them. So, I figured they'd be better off and would probably enjoy a longer life, in a vase, in the house.

Happy Autumn! Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

~

2009-09-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Keio, at her tie-dying party that we had for her, for her 18th birthday! She's never celebrated her birthday before, due to religious constraints. She doesn't live with her mother, anymore, so we had a birthday party for her! And, threw in some tie-dying because she'd never done that before, either.
It was lots of fun! She even had her own party-hat!!

I made her favorite dinner of mine, Manicotti. Then, we finished the evening off with Aunt Betty's Chocolate Cake (my great-aunt Betty) and ice-cream.

These are some of the bandanas, after being washed. The top-left one is mine. I don't like to wear tie-dyed things, except to bed, but I love doing them!!

Some of the tie-dye party participants, having fun.

OK....gotta get ready to go to dinner in Salem. We're taking her out to dinner, too. :)

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

The Hobbit Hole at The Oregon Garden

2009-09-18T11:39:00.001-07:00

Here's the Hobbit Hole that's at The Oregon Garden! It's built up, over a culvert. Has beautiful plantings on both sides of it, around the doors. Such fun! I want to have one of these!

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

2009-09-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Is this beautiful or what??? This is the kind of thing I've been longing to do for some time now. And, it's my lucky day that I happened to go check out one of my favorite websites, The Feathered Nest, only to find out that she has her tutorials on such things at half-price! (Her link is down below, over at the right, in my "favorite blogs/websites" list.)

So, jump on over to her website and check out her sale! She gives you a PDF file and you print it all out. All the gorgeous images, full-color detailed instructions, etc..... The sale has already been going on a day or two and ends on the 7th.... so you only have a day left!

There's an interesting story behind this, actually, too. Just before I actually met my friend, Angela, in person, (we'd been communicating online before she moved to my town) I came across The Feathered Nest and loved it. Well, then, I went over to Angela's house and what do I find up on her living room wall?? This nest assemblage, or one very much like it! I asked her where she got it and she couldn't quite remember. I asked her if it was from The Feathered Nest and, yes, that was it! She loved that site, too. A kindred spirit, as Anne Shirley would say. :) And, such a small, small world.

I hope you're having a beautiful day!

~Teri

The Bittersweetness of Fall

2009-09-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ah, the harvest......the sweet, juiciness of a vine-ripened tomato....there's just nothing like it. But, for me, it comes with a bittersweetness. It means that Summer is coming to a close. Which is, again, met with bittersweetness....I love the Fall here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, but I know that once it's upon us, there's no turning back. We're in for the long-haul, no matter how long that might be!

I have to remind myself, though, that the Earth starts to shift, again, right after the first of the year. It's really not long after that that you might see crocus' poking their little greens up... and they'll even bloom their adorable little purple, orange or white blossoms right in the snow! That is a sight to behold! One that always gives me hope that the Life that's been lying dormant is renewed...the Light is growing stronger... and longer, warmer days will be upon us.

We used to have some crocus but they were crowded out by crabgrass. I'm vowing to plant some new ones under my Dogwood and Cherry trees, out front, this year. That way, when I'm at my wit's end, with the coolness and/or wetness (or both!!), and I see one of those, I can be reminded of life's sweetness. And that Spring is just around the corner!

But, for now, Fall is just around the corner. Bittersweetness and all.

Enjoy your day!

~ Teri

2009-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, here's the quilt. My niece, Anna, loved it and I'm sure the baby will, too!

I'm going to post some of the steps that I took in cutting and piecing it together, so you can make your own!

But, for now, I have to go meet Wayne down at the coffee shop.

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

Hannah's Artwork

2009-07-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Hannah, gets to put her artwork up on "the wall" at our favorite hang-out, Cornerstone Coffee, for the month of August! So, I've been matting and framing like a mad-woman the past three weeks!

It was sort of a fluke that she got in for the entire month. They are usually booked a year in advance! We're having our second annual Beatles Night on August 29th and we had originally wanted to have some of her Beatles work up over that weekend. Then, we got word that, for some reason, that month hadn't been booked and it was available!! It's so cool... we're so excited! And, I'm DONE with all the matting and framing!!! There are 32 pieces ready to go!! A few of them I didn't actually have to mat because they'd been done at The Art Conspiracy and this JL one we had done at the frame shop, but, most of them I did. These are all original works and she isn't going to sell originals right now, so now we need to figure out what to charge for prints!

Here is a sample of some of her work. This first piece is of John Lennon, all in words. That's right.... look closely... every bit of shading is done in words. Part his biography, part Hannah's thoughts about him. It's amazing. It took her many hours to complete... I don't even think she knows how many!!

The last one is a CD cover that she painted for her dad, to go along with the CD that she burned for him. (Sssshhh! Don't tell anyone about that!)

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

Those fabrics, unrolled

2009-07-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

So, here are those fabrics, all rolled out! These photos just don't do them justice... they are so sweet! :)

What do you get when you.....???

2009-07-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

So, what do you get when you cross a beautiful April Cornell (for Moda, of course!) springtime fabric with a simple white-on-white fabric?? Well, stay tuned to find out! I will take pictures as I go and you'll have a better view of these fabrics once I undo the "jelly-roll". This is all one jelly-roll.... just the two different sides. So, stay tuned! I can tell you that it's going to be sweet, sweet!!

Count your blessings and don't forget to Be Grateful!! :)

Enjoy the day!!

~ Teri

What I've got blooming right now

2009-07-06T12:54:00.001-07:00

Sweet-Peas that I planted last Spring. They didn't grow much and they certainly never bloomed. So, I figured they just weren't even going to do anything. I noticed, though, that they were there all Winter long. Then, this Spring they started growing again! They climbed up into my tea roses and bloomed!! Yay!!

Below is a mini-sunflower. They're only about 18" tall, if that. They have multiple blooms, but they're all pretty close together so you can't really cut them for bouquets. I do have some other ones that are better for that, but they are still in their little, tiny "cells" that I planted the seeds in! Maybe there's still hope. These little ones do look pretty out in the garden, though, so maybe I wouldn't use them in bouquets, anyway??

It's SO much cooler today!! I should be out weeding!! And, transplanting!!

Enjoy the day!

~ Teri

2009-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

So, did you see my raised beds right after we put them in, at the end of May? Here they are, just after they were planted with tomatoes, swiss chard, tomatillos, onions, cabbage, green beans, lettuces and marigolds.
And here they are, just over a month later!! I didn't want to "cage" the tomatoes..... tomatoes get ripe from the gas that they give off and if they are covered, they ripen faster, because that gas can't escape as readily. So, if you have tomatoes that you're trying to ripen, after they've been picked, lay them on the counter and cover them with towels.

I have more pics, of more veggies and flowers, but I'm going to put that in another post or my images will get all messed up and be in the wrong order! :)

Stir-fry on the stove and a fun day at the Black Sheep Gathering!

2009-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey! I just put together a stir-fry, using some of the veggies from the CSA that we now belong to (our friends, Sheila and Andre...Growing Wild Farm... run it) and my own beautiful Red Lights Swiss Chard! I used their bok choy, broccoli and green onions. Yum!

Last night I was so inspired that I had Roth's cut up some lamb stew pieces for me and I made a lamb stew. Looked at an online recipe, but mostly did it intuitively. I've never cooked with lamb before!! It turned out wonderfully....everyone loved it!! I used the turnips and the turnip greens, green onions, my swiss chard, some sherry, carrots, garlic, chicken broth and a bay leaf from my own backyard. :) I also made corn fritters that had green onions in them and some diced yellow bell-pepper. We ate those with sour cream. Yum! Had fresh "Batard" bread, like a rustic french bread, from Red Fox Bakery (local) that I bought at the Farmer's Market and green salad, made mostly from all those great local veggies!!

My friend, Jana, and I went down to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. It's a fiber festival....lots of roving (for needle-felting or spinning your own yarn) and beautiful yarns to see, touch, smell, rub against your cheek, etc.... Jana bought some roving, for needle-felting/fairy-making projects with her boys. I only bought one skein of yarn. But, it's beautiful yarn and there was enough on there for me to knit myself a pair of socks. Maybe if I count my rows this time, my socks will turn out the same!! I have no doubt that they will. Other than that, they turned out beautifully last time. So, I'm excited! I didn't, however, find any nice yarn to use for the Booga Bag that I want to make, so I guess I have to go to the local knit shop. Well, I have a gift certificate for them, anyway; maybe I'll get some of that gorgeous Noro yarn!

I'm determined to learn how to spin now... just with a drop-spindle. Jana said that she bought one and I can borrow it. I'm thinking that's more of an Autumn activity, but, then, after a long day in the garden/yard, I've been known to have a shower and watch a little tellie... so, I'll need an activity for that. I have a hard time just sitting and watching TV... I bite my nails if I don't have something to do with my hands!!

We played at a Solstice Party last night... in a barn, with bales of hay all around us! It was a lot of fun. Not many people there, but the people who did hear us were appreciative, so that's nice. We're playing at Cornerstone Coffee (on Third St.) on Friday, July 17th. 8:00, I think, but we might start at 7:00. If you're local, please come and join us! OH! We have a name, so we are now on My Space!! Go to www.myspace.com/urvaan and you'll find us. We'll have our schedule there... please drop by and say, "hey!" Yep, Urvaan is the name. It's a Zoroastrian term... look it up. (We aren't Zoroastrian.... we just like the term.)

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

Toe update

2009-06-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, my toe looks much better! I'm hopeful now!
I went to the MD and he added another antibiotic to the mix, plus another eight days of the original antibiotic. Whew. So far, my body seems to be fine with the flora balance issue, though.
Very strange and scary to see an infection get so nasty so quickly!! But, it appears that we're going in the right direction now. :)

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

2009-06-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the update on my toe! This was taken about 30 mins. ago, so it's current. It looks awful but it is actually feeling better!! Wa-a-a-ay better!! I started taking antibiotics on Friday. It'd been hurting less than 24 hours when it started looking this bad....so, whatever this is, it moved quickly. Kind of scary.

I took Monday "0ff" and just layed around, with it elevated, and watched old Lost episodes that I hadn't seen yet. :) I'd been on it so much even though the doctor's orders were to keep it elevated as much as possible and to soak it as much as possible. But, I had a graduation to attend and a party to get ready for!! Once that was over, I took a break. I think it paid off.

It's amazing how slowly the healing process has been, though. And, to not know what the culprit was is rather disconcerting. But, I'm more confident now, though, that it will be totally better...even though it's been looking like it's going to fall off!

I hope you're all having a good day.... and wear closed shoes when you're playing in the dirt! (That's what I think happened.)

~ Teri

My toe

2009-06-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Isn't this bizarre? It's so painful and I can't believe how fast it came on! It hasn't even been 24 hours since it started hurting and it looks like it's dying!! (Not really, but it does have a gruesome look to it!) I'm going to the Naturopath in about an hour so I'll let you know what it turned out to be after that. For now, I need to go lie down, so it can be up.... it feels better that way.

And, wouldn't you know it... it's been raining and so I'm going to have to put on close-toed shoes for Kyla's graduation. Ugh! I hope whatever the remedy is has a profound effect and works fast!!

Enjoy the day!

~Teri

The other thing I've been doing

2009-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

The other thing I started doing a few months ago, (before gardening season came on!) was knitting handbags, to felt them. The first one I did for my sister, for her birthday. I took a picture of it on my phone, but it didn't work when I tried sending that to my email account. Go figure. But, the second one I have right here so was able to take a picture of it. The one I did for my sister was more interesting because I needle-felted some flowers over on the left-hand corner of it. Kind of viney, swirly flowers. I'd never needle-felted like that before, so was a little nervous doing it on a finished project!! What if it looked ugly? Would I be able to take it out?? Well, luckily, that wasn't an issue. It worked out just fine...even while watching television. :)

So, here is the second one I did. The colors were brighter before they were washed all those times.... I liked them better before. The sagey green gets lost in all this purple and there's exactly the same amount of both! I'm not crazy about how this one turned out. I might even try to sell it. :) I shouldn't say that I'm not crazy about how it turned out... it turned out great! But, it's a little big for me, as handbags go. I'm going to try the Booga Bag next....I think the dimensions will work better for me. The other thing is... and tell me if this is odd... but I don't want to carry around a wool bag in the summertime! Even the last few months, I've been thinking that it sounds too warm! To have wool up against you? It just sounds like a "cozy" thing.....I think that would work out better in the Fall and Winter. Is that crazy?

The pic below is a close-up of the felted wool. I'm picky about how the felt looks... I don't like it to look like it's been knitted!! I want it as smooth as possible. I was pretty happy with this in that regard. I got the pattern from Kyla, my daughter, who was doing this project for a class in school. Hers turned out really cool! She played around with colors more. I'll see if she'll let me post a pic of it.

Enjoy the day! Happy gardening, knitting, whatever-it-is that makes you happy!

Teri

What's Blooming in your neck of the woods??

2009-06-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings! How did it get to be June 1st?!?! Well, I hope that you're all enjoying whatever the season is where you live. We are coming into Summer and I am most appreciative of the dry, hot weather we've been having! A bit hot, yes (94), for working in the garden.....but I work in fits and spurts....starting early to take advantage of the beautiful, warm, clear morning air....then I take breaks in the afternoon when it's just too hot to be out for long. I mean, out - working. :)

My flowers are looking good, although I have more weeding to do....always! I've got stuff in the veggie beds now, too! Yay! The flower to the left of this is Thunbergia, aka Black-Eyed Susan Vine. I love them but I really only love this color and it's hard to find! (They are usually a bright yellow.) They're an annual, but they bloom all summer long, as they climb up whatever you give them to climb onto.

Here are my Cecile Brunner Tea Roses!! I wanted them to cover up my falling-apart picket-fence and they are doing a darn good job of it. They are such sweet little flowers....beautiful, little buds. And, you can smell them from about ten feet away!

These are pansies, "Johnny-Jump-Ups", actually, that survived being under two feet of snow last December! They've been showing off all Spring! Self-Heal is coming up in them now. I need to look up Self-Heal because I know it has medicinal properties, but I can't recall what they are. They say everything you need is right in your own yard...so, it's probably something that I could use. :)

Here is a Siberian Iris that was planted last year. Some people were giving away hundreds of them and they gave me lots! I planted several clumps and then gave away a lot, too! I think it was too close to their bloom-time, when I transplanted them last year, or it was just too much for them...not sure, but nevertheless, they didn't bloom last year. But, this year they are putting on a show! They're beautiful! They're a more simple iris than the Bearded ones.

And here are the raised beds and the melons! Right after I planted the cantaloupes and watermelons, a squirrel came and ate the top right off one of the cantaloupes!! Grrrrr!! They've eaten the top off of one of my Cosmos, too! I've decided that I don't like squirrels any longer. :)

I have a few varieties of tomatoes out there, including cherry, grape and pear tomatoes. Tomatillos, "golden" bell peppers, Swiss Chard ("Rhubarb Red", but their stems are a variety of reds and yellows.), green beans, sugar peas, strawberries, potatoes, a few walla-wallas that the girls brought home from Horticulture class, plus a broccoli and cabbage from them. They weren't lookin' too good when I put them in, so we'll see. Oh, some Mesclun lettuces and Patty Pan squash! This family has to have Patty Pans!! Someone just gave me some black zucchini, acorn and yellow summer squash yesterday... so, I'm going to try to fit them in!! :)

I really should be out there right now, working! We're having a graduation party/BBQ for Kyla on Sunday....yes, in six days. There's lots to do out there to get it ready for a special occassion... I have my work cut out for me! But, it's supposed to be cooler this week so that will help. Plus, I'm making a list of all the things that need to be done, so that my kids can help! Austen cut branches out of the Juniper trees yesterday. Wayne bought a small chain-saw that has a guard on it. Uh-oh, I might just go crazy with that thing!! Filberts, watch out!!! :)

Speaking of Horticulture, Kyla got a scholarship for her work in Horticulture!! (She was on the winning team for the State Contests for FFA, so they go to Nationals in October, in Indiana! But, that's not why she got the scholarship.) She also received one from the Master Gardeners of Yamhill County. Did I say how proud we are of her?? We are so excited for her and so is she! Only three days left of high-school! I'm sure, 2.5 years ago, she felt like she'd never get to this point. But, she did it!! Hurray, Kyla!!

OK.... I need to get out to the backyard!!

Enjoy the day!

Teri

I figured out the backgrounds

2009-04-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, I figured out the backgrounds. Not sure that I am happy with this one, or any of the others that I tried, but at least I figured it out. :)

Wayne and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last week! We tried out a new Mexican restaurant, downtown, which was very good! I actually had a margarita, which I rarely do...but it was also very tasty. They even offer to make them on-the-rocks, which is nice!

It's hard to believe we've been married for 20 years. We are so very lucky to have found each other!! We are both so grateful for our life together. I hope all of our children find what we've found.

We also can't believe that our oldest is about to graduate from high-school! Geez... seems it was just yesterday that she was running around here, naked, and when I'd tell her she needed to get dressed, she'd either say, "But, I'm not cold", or, "Why? Are we having company?" We are so, so proud of the young woman she has become. So responsible and hard-working. She has completed four years of high-school, basically, in 2.5 years! We need to start planning a graduation party for her.... she deserves it!! June 5th is the big day!! :)

We're growing tired of the cool rain around here. We had weather in the 80's and that's always dangerous. Makes one think that things are going to turn around, weatherwise! Well, it is turning, but it can seem so slow....then, suddenly, it'll be 90! I think it just might be sunny tomorrow....I was actually hoping that tomorrow would be the day it rained!! We are playing at the Art Harvest Tour Benefit, at McMenamin's, in McMinnville, and Colin's wife can only come down if it rains and she isn't able to do the Alberta Street Fair in the evening. I was hoping she could be here....but, I guess that's not really in my hands. As Doris Day used to sing, "....whatever will be, will be...."

So, we've gotten in extra practices the last week and I think it'll go well tomorrow night!! We're excited. It runs from 5 to 10:00 with us playing from 8:00 to 9:00. We hear that it's a very well-attended benefit so I'm sure it's going to be crowded. McMenamin's is donating the room and half of all the dinner/drinks tickets.....that's pretty generous!! Very cool. I hope to see lots of my local friends there!

OK... need to get ready for Game Day at Lisa's.
Enjoy your day!

Teri

Blog backgrounds??

2009-04-20T10:04:00.001-07:00

Hi, everyone!!

So sorry I've been absent! Spring has sprung here and there have been so many things that I've wanted to take pictures of to post on here, but my camera is still not working. :( All our daffodils are just about done for the year... the tulips are in their glory, though! Mountain/Wood Hiacynths are going crazy. It was 80 degrees yesterday!! (See, I told you, Jana!!) It was so wonderful..... I barbequed burgers and we had a fire in the backyard and made S'mores, after dinner. I wish I could post the sweetness that you can smell in the air right now! Ah, summer must be coming!

I tried to change my blog background a couple of months ago, but it wouldn't work, for some reason. Now, I see that thecutestblogontheblock is totally different.... so, I imagine they were in the middle of switching things up when I was trying to use one of their backgrounds. I just spent an hour trying to find some nice backgrounds... but had no luck. Can anyone recommend a good site for free blog backgrounds? I have lots of scrapbook paper.... I'm thinking that when I have my camera fixed, I could probably make my own. Right? Would that work?

For all you locals, the band I play in is playing at the Open-Mic at 3rd Street Pizza tonight. Not exactly sure when we'll play, but it runs from 7:00 to 10:00.

OK, I need to get out in the yard before it gets too warm!
Enjoy the day, wherever you are!

2009-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'm cheating.... these aren't my primroses, but I couldn't help myself!! Aren't they lovely? I had to slap my hand at the nursery today because I SO wanted to buy some! But, I'm going to wait until the weather will be decent enough that I can plant them.... otherwise, they may never make it out of their pots alive. I hate when that happens!! If it's not raining tomorrow, I'll go back and get some. They give me hope.

A little clarification on that rain thing....

2009-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine who just moved here from Arizona emailed me and said that, in all our conversations and emails about Oregon, I never mentioned that it rained "until the 4th of July"! I realized, even before getting her email, that I think I made it sound like it rained, consistently, until the 4th. That's not what I meant!!! We get lots of beautiful weather before that....and it gets warm, seemingly all of a sudden (!!), before that.... but the weather in Oregon is unsettled until about then, generally. The 4th of July can go either way. Generally not too cold, though.. but it can be rainy and 70 or clear and 100. So, just watch the weather report.... or consult your Runes or Tarot cards or whatever it is you do to figure out what tomorrow might bring...before you plan your BBQ's! And, make sure the inside of your house is clean, too, just in case all your guests end up inside! But, rest assured, it'll break 80 degrees before the 4th of July! :)

Just some "this 'n that"......

2009-02-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

Oh, my goodness.... how is it that nearly a month has gone by since I last posted? Well, okay, not a month.... a mere twenty days. But, how does this happen? Excuse me, but wasn't it just Christmas?!?! How is it nearly March?? I have to say, as far as the weather goes, I'm glad it's nearly March. But, us Western Oregonians are so easily lured into a false sense of security when it comes to "Spring". Being from California... at least this is what I remember, but it may not be the reality at all.... I do remember, growing up, that it always rained on the first day of Spring. But, it was *always* sunny and warm on my birthday (June 10th). So, once daffodils started popping up and showing off, the weather became increasingly nicer and nicer. ("Increasingly nicer"... is that a redundant phrase?? Should it be "increasingly nice"?) Anyway, it was more like a gauge that you could see going up, steadily, until in June, it was just plain ol' nice. I don't ever recall the 4th of July being "iffy" as to whether it might rain during the fireworks down on the beach in Capitola! It just didn't happen! Now, there are parts of California that are also all dried up by June... and, well, not a pretty sigh in my humble opinion. But, this was the central California coast.... where the moisture from the ocean (and the fog) kept things pretty green... and it generally didn't get very hot. Vegetation grew with "wild abandon", as they say.... much like here, in the beautiful Willamette Valley!!

I hear it from lots of people.... a few days of warmer weather and the popping up of croccus' and daffodils and budding of camelias and they start talking like it'll only get better.....like Summer's coming!! Ha! No, Spring is coming and it can be the longest of seasons in this area. I don't want to rain on their parade, but it's likely to get worse before it gets better, folks. This winter, in particular, we've had little rain... so I fear it's going to all come crashing down (as in "cats and dogs") in the next few months. I almost wrote "several months", but I'm not even going to put that out into the Universe. I start getting cranky when it's still cold and rainy after July 4th. I always say that summer in these parts starts on July 5th. It can be rainy on the 4th and shatter all your best-laid barbeque plans, and, then voila! .... the 5th is graced with gorgeous blue skies and temperatures in the 80's! What's that all about?! I don't get it, but it's the way it is.

I'm looking forward to changing the look of my blog, to something more Springy! But, I want to be able to take a picture of my blooming daffodils and pansies when I do that... and, well, I'm still having a camera problem. I need to take it (or send it??) to be fixed, but I'm dragging my feet on that. I'm afraid it's going to cost an arm and a leg to fix it. But, now, it won't charge at all... so it's useless, basically. Even after changing the battery.... no lights come on when I hook it up to the charger/printer dock. ~huge sigh~ If anyone has any ideas, please share them!!!

Oh, I can hear the rain on the skylight! It's been a long time since I've heard it rain that hard! Don't get me wrong... I enjoy the rain and all the beauty it gives us (believe me, I've come a long way since moving here in 1981!!)....it's just when it goes on and on and on and on....then, I get tired of it. And, well, after all the snow we had this year and how cold it has been, fairly consistently, I'm ready for warmer weather. I'd be okay if it weren't for these teases that we get. That's when we start thinking that change is imminent. It's coming, but it's probably not imminent. Be patient.

I think that's all the rambling I need to do right now. Thanks for listening!
I hope you're enjoying "Spring", no matter where you are! (as long as you're in the northern hemisphere, obviously!)

Teri

Revisiting fabrics for pillows

2009-02-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hi, again!

So, here are the fabrics that I ended up with, for the couch pillows. I love them, but now that they are home and I could put them right up next to that blue couch, the dark blue on the bigger flowers isn't anything like my blue couch! It has way more green in it. But, oh, well.... if I was trying to match it perfectly, I would've bought an 1/8th of a yard and taken it home to check because I know that it's very difficult to match colors up just from your mind!! Well, for me, I think it's impossible. Maybe some people can do it successfully, but I'm not one of those people. :)

My oldest, Kyla, saw these fabrics, though, and said, "I hope those are for a quilt for me. I love those!!" So, that was nice. They would make a nice quilt. By the way, the top two, in the upper photo, are Moda, of course, called Tranquility, by Sandy Gervais. All the others are called Kashmir III, by Sentimental Studios, also Moda. I say, "Moda, of course" because I'm always drawn to the Moda fabrics. I'm like a Homing Pigeon with them! I often don't realize that they're Moda... I just like the look....and I check and sure enough...Moda! And, now I'm learning to write down the name, designer, etc....!! I'm just a slow learner, I guess.

I keep saying, "Today I can get started on those pillows!!" But, no-o-o-o-o! Other things keep coming up. Today is a totally full day, starting with gymnastics for Quinn at 10:30, eat lunch afterwards, leave for Sheila and Andre's at 1:45, to drop Quinn off there; be in Salem at 3:00
for a consulation with the surgeon who will remove half of my thyroid. Oh, and maybe stop by to get some flowers and go see a friend who just had pins and plates put in her leg because her dog and his doggie-playmate knocked her over and caused her to break her leg!! She was in surgery when I stopped by yesterday so I'm going to try again today. Then, home for dinner and off to Sheila and Andre's, again, for music practice! Oh, Cornerstone went well, over-all. It was fun. My voice had a couple of weird moments when I was singing solo (just great), but other than that, it was fun and good! A good crowd at the beginning, although they weren't all there for us.... they just happened to be in there, playing Scrabble! But, they clapped so they were paying attention, somewhat. :) Our thanks to our friends who did show up, though!! Kymm and Matt came all the way down from Vancouver, (Washington), about an hour and a half drive; that was much appreciated!!

OK... time to get Quinn up and ready for gymnastics!

Ciao!

Phil saw his shadow. :(

2009-02-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Oh, boy..... bad news. Phil saw his own shadow yesterday! (Punxsutawny Phil, for anyone that doesn't know. You can get all the info you might ever need about him and his legacy at http://www.groundhog.org/) We've actually had nearly a week of gorgeous blue skies (with some fog here and there) and it did get up to 58 degrees yesterday, but I'd just like it a bit warmer so I can get out to do some work in my flower garden that I totally dropped the ball on when it came time to trim up and clean up last Fall! And, well, I'm a garden-whimp. I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot....well, any, really, outer clothing that's good for temps in the 30's or low-40's, which is what it has been. I serioulsy thought about getting out there, yesterday, when I saw that it was 58 and I had already noticed that the polar-fleece was too much to have on in the car! Yes!! But, in the shade, it was cold... and where I'd be working was in the shade at that point, so, nah.... I'll wait.

Cloudless-blue, gorgeous skies today..... but tomorrow we're supposed to get you-know-what-flurries! When you say (ssshhhh!).........I'm not going to say it, I'm only going to spell it....s-n-o-w around here now, people kind of tense up. You can see it. Everyone envisions their perennials and winter vegetables (and gnomes) being buried in 2' of snow again; trying to drive on roads that aren't being properly cared for, or being stuck at home, and losing power from all the limbs that came crashing down! C'mon, people... it's not real likely to break a 40 year record twice in one season, is it? I loved it, by the way! Every part of it. But, we didn't lose any power, which would've meant our heat; I don't have to worry about getting to work and Wayne just didn't work! So, we are grateful for all of that. I wish we'd get that every year, to be honest! Maybe the city would buy some snow-plows then!! :)

How are those Gratitude journals coming along? I have a confession to make. I've been bad. Very, very bad, when it comes to my Gratitude journal. :( I hope you're all doing better than I am at it!!!

Enjoy the day!

Playing at Cornerstone Coffee tonight!

2009-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry this post is so late in coming... but, oh well. Life just has a way of getting in the way!
Wayne, Colin and I are playing at Cornerstone tonight! So I hope to see all of my local friends there. (Hint-hint, if you're a local friend!!) :) Wayne will be playing with Quinn, Austen and Hannah, each separately, starting at 8:00. I think that'll take about an hour and then the trio will play. If you missed Hannah performing on Beatles Night, you won't want to miss this!! She and Wayne are going to play Hey, Jude!! She does an amazing job.

We were hoping for this to be a gig for the entire band (bass and drums included), but our bassist had a video shoot to do, with his real job, in New Jersey and it just happened to be this weekend! :( So, hopefully everyone will be available for the next gig. We're hoping to play at Cornerstone again in March. Keep your ears open.

We're also looking to play at some festivals/fairs this summer, so if any of you have any ideas about those, I'd love to hear them! (We're talking Oregon, southwest Washington events). I have contacted "The Bite of Oregon", The Oregon Garden "Brewfest", Carlton's A Walk in the Park and the people who run the Brown Bag Concerts and the Farmer's Market. If you have any other ideas, please share them with me! Thanks!

OK... this is it for now. How are those gratitude journals coming along?
Have a wonderful weekend!!

Did I say how much I appreciate your comments?

2009-01-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

Have I said how much I appreciate your comments? Because, I really do! It's important to me to know that people are reading my blog and to know that they're enjoying it. If you become a "follower", then you will be alerted when I put up a new post. So, you don't have to keep checking it, wondering if I've posted or not! How cool is that??

So, thanks for those comments and keep 'em comin'!

Teri

Pillow fabrics... who'd have thought it could be so complicated?!

2009-01-09T10:52:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to find fabric to redo some pillows that we inherited from my sister-in-law...along with a love-seat. We have a couch that is this blue that's dark, but not quite Navy blue. You know, one of those colors that's a little "off" from all the other fabric that you look at... or so it seems! I found a collection at Craft Warehouse, in Salem, yesterday, that I now wish I had bought a few pieces of!! But, I remembered that I want to go for a "cottagey" look, so I went with these more whimsical pieces of Moda/Mary Engelbreit fabric. I'm going to start with the smaller pillow, so only got three fat-quarters. Now that I have them home, I'm not sure they're going to work! We have an old chair that we had reupholstered a few years ago... in a more classic (?) fabric. (Also pictured here.) Am I going to be able to get away with Cottagey, with this other fabric?? Ugh. This is why I don't get these kinds of projects done!! I get too caught up in the details and don't "just do it"! I could never work for Nike! :) Help?? Anyone?? I'll definitely have to ask my friend, Angela, over at http://www.cottagemagpie.com/! She'll know what to do!! :)

I've looked and looked, online, trying to find that fabric I saw yesterday, but to no avail. I can't believe I haven't learned, well, until this very moment, that when I see a fabric that I want to use, to write down who the maker is and what it's called!! I wanted to post a pic of it, too, but I guess that's not going to happen right now. Maybe later. I know you'll all be waiting, ever so anxiously, for that picture to show up. :)

Thanks for listening!

Teri

2009-01-05T16:14:00.001-08:00

As I said, in all fairness, I should also include a photo of Jack's Gratitude book. It's also very nice and has information in it about being grateful. Very helpful information, I might add! Information that made me have an "ah-hah" moment after questioning this one part of being grateful for several years!! Yay! I'm so excited to have figured this part out!

Of course, you could use any kind of notebook, with binder paper in it! I just find that pretty books are more inspiring. :)

(Gratitude: A Daily Journal, copyright, 2007, by D. D. Watkins and Self-Esteem Seminars LP

Happy New Year and Gratitude

2009-01-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Day Book, inside.

Happy new year to all of you!

I think this is going to be a great year, in many ways, and I look forward to seeing all the good things that are coming my way....and yours, too!

We had a small gathering to ring in the new year and it was a lot of fun. I am grateful that I have so many wonderful friends and even though not all of them could be here for the festivities, (our house is not big and some of them live far away!) at least I was able to celebrate with a few of them. My thanks to those who were here!

So, have you all heard about the power of being Grateful?
It is said that if you are grateful, you'll be a happier person. So, would any of you care to take the challenge that I propose? I challenge you to start a Gratitude Journal and keep it for a year. There are a couple of books that I'd recommend, for the journal. One is Jack Canfield and D.D. Watkins', Gratitude: A Daily Journal. The other helpful book, by Jack Canfield, is, The Key to Using the Law of Attraction. I highly recommend this book. But, if you haven't seen the movie, The Secret, yet, maybe you should do that, first! I had to wait for a week to rent it from Movietime a couple of years ago, but perhaps it has calmed down by now. I hope not. :)

I was looking for calendars the other day in Incahoots, (for you locals) and found these gorgeous desk calendars!! I bought three of them, for three different friends, and when one of those friends opened hers, she said it was too beautiful to fill in with appointments and meetings. I suggested using it as a Gratitude Journal... and she agreed that that was a lovely idea! You can see these books here: http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740775448 The one I'm showing here has a butterfly theme, but the one on the website is called, "Nesting" and is a bird theme. Both equally beautiful, in my opinion. (I bought both of them!) The pages for your entries look like old ledgers. Very antiquey looking. (Shown above as I can't figure out how to put these pictures exactly where I want them to be!!) :)

So, in Jack Canfield's Gratitude Journal, he talks about thinking about your day, at the end of each day, and writing down five things that happened during that day that you are grateful for. I'd like to ask you to write just three things that you're grateful for, here, just to get you started. :) (Click on "__ comments" and it'll take you to the comment area. The ___ is for the number of comments already posted. It might say "0 comments" or "2 comments", but that's where you want to go to comment!) One of the tricky things is to be grateful for even the things that you don't really want to happen again! In my mind, it's not really about being grateful for those events or happenings, but just to be grateful, always. I heard about being grateful for everything years ago, but I haven't had a clear understanding of why you'd want to do that ~ until this morning!! What The Secret tells us, from my perspective (and now I know that I need to watch it again!!) is that what we focus on, grows. Many of us already know that. But, also, what we are grateful for - we get more of. So, why would I want to be grateful for something "bad"? But, it's not what I'm grateful for that dictates what comes to me....it's that negative happenings have a lower frequency. Positive happenings have a higher frequency. When you have higher vibrations, via love and gratitude, (your feelings and emotions) you resonate with other higher frequencies! Plus, you simply feel better and so don't attract the lower frequencies! The Secret puts it in a fairly simple manner..... easy to understand, for the most part. Watch it. I'm finding that I want to give a copy to everyone that I know!! Especially to people who are having real problems in their lives.

Inside this Day Book, at each season change, there is this beautiful layout. The one I chose is for Winter... I thought that was appropriate. :) It's the photo at the top of this post.

I just learned that the best way to put photos on here is to put all the photos on, first, and then do your text around them. So, in all fairness, I should have photos of the Jack Canfield's Gratitude book.....but, I'll do that in another post so as not to confuse myself. :)

So, are you with me on the challenge?? If so, please add what you're grateful for here, too....just three things... that's all you have to write! Then, think about them the rest of your day. (You can write more if you'd like!) Then, start a gratitude journal and intend to keep it for a year. I'd love to hear your feedback after you've been doing it for a month or so. (The beautiful calendars/day books at Incahoots are on sale right now!) If you're going to join me in this challenge, please let me know! Thanks!

Since I'm asking you to list what you're grateful for, it's only fair of me to list what I'm grateful for! I'll start out with the obvious... my wonderful husband, our four great kids and that we are all healthy.

Here's to a year of Gratitude! Happy New Year!

2008-12-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

"Let is Snow"!! And, boy, has it!

I made this for a friend, for Christmas. I had the embroidery finished but just finished making it into a pillow today. Yeah, yeah.... I know... I'm late. What's new? I swear that I'm going to start making gifts early for next Christmas!! Early, as in... January!! No, I get all my good Christmas ideas in about the first or second week of December! I actually appreciate that stores put things out earlier these days.... it gives me good ideas earlier! I don't understand why people think they can wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start making a zillion gifts, baking a zillion cookies and batches of fudge, writing to friends that they only write to once a year, which you'd like to put a little thought into... no?? So, my friends, you can remind me, next July, that I need to start making things now, not in December!! Mabye that'll work.

Anyway, this embroidery pattern is from Crabapple Hill (http://www.crabapplehillstudio.com/) and Meg Hawkey. I love her stuff! My oldest daughter, who reminds us nearly every day that she hates the snow, asked me if I could make another one of these pillows, but, instead, make it read, "Make it stop snowing!" Such a wit. No fear, dear, it was 50 degrees today! Downright balmy! I think the snow is gone for a while.

Personally, I loved it... but, then I had the freedom to stay home... I didn't need to try to get to work, etc.... It did keep us from music practice with our bandmates a couple of times, but, oh, well.... we'll make up for that! :) I loved the snow falling while Christmas carols were playing and the smell of baking cookies was wafting through the house. I can't tell you how many times one of my kids came in the backdoor and said, "Oh! It smells so good in here!!"... either because of cookies or dinner cooking. Music to a mother's ears, for sure... especially when you have teenagers!

We had a wonderful Christmas as I hope all of you did. I love this "lull" week of getting ready for the New Year. I'm excited about the coming year... not that this year was bad; it was a great year... but I look forward to all the fantastic things the Universe has in store for us!

I wish you all a happy, healthy and properous New Year!

Teri

2008-12-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

This was the view outside our back door a few days ago. We definitely had a White Christmas this year! I thoroughly enjoyed all the snow, but I was able to stay home if I needed to, so that made it nicer, for sure. We did have a limb snap, after being weighted down onto the power line that goes to our house! It wasn't ten minutes before Wayne called the Water and Light people, to alert them of the issue, that I heard it go. It landed on the top of Wayne's truck, but, luckily, it was small enough that it didn't do any damage...and we were really lucky that it didn't pull down that power line!!! We're grateful that we never lost power.... our home was toasty and cozy all through the cold-spell, even the days that didn't get higher than the 20's. :)

2008-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law, Laura, made these cute ornaments for us and put one on each of our plates at Thanksgiving dinner. Because we have six people in our family, we ended up with six of these cuties! So, I hung them from a garland of red, wooden beads. Very simple and sweet!

2008-11-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine told me that she's been reading my blog, but that I'm not really talking about myself. I don't think she meant that as a good thing..... because in my profile, I said that you'd get to know me better by reading my blog. I do think that personalities come through in what they talk about; but I guess it's easier for me if an issue comes up that I respond to. You know, like "journalling".... as opposed to simply talking about myself. That seems a little odd. :)

So, tonight is Mom's Game Night, for our homeschool group. We meet at Lisa's and play games. We play Pictionary if we get enough people... which is always a riot!! I love guessing but I'm not good at drawing. I get too excited and then draw too quickly!! My animals always look like some kind of alien cows. But, we have a great time, anyway! Lisa always bakes a goodie and I try to, too. I was going to take Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, but I figured people will have pumpkin pie, probably, on Thanksgiving, which is only three days away....so, I'll wait on the pumpkin thing. Maybe I'll take that next time. I made Grandma Ginney's Brownies this time! (That's Wayne's, "Grandma Ginney".) When I make those Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, though, I'll share the recipe here!! They are wonderful!

Oooo.....I need to make Placecards for Thanksgiving dinner, too! Tomorrow? Maybe. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, though! Quinn has last week's art class to make up in the afternoon...that means a drive to W. Salem. Gives me about an hour or so of free time, though, so maybe I'll get some shopping in. (Shhh!! Don't tell the Buy Local crowd!!) :) No, I don't profess to only Buy Local. But, I definitely see the benefit of it.... especially for our lovely, little downtown that we have!!! Definitely worth striving towards. But, I digress.
After art class we'll come right back and go to the Children's Art Fair at the library. Quinn isn't participating.... I found out about it too late for him to be able to sign up.... but we have a few friends from our homeschool group who are!! So, we're going to see all the goodies that they've made and show our support. After that, we'll probably have our food order pick-up and then off to music practice! Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all! Not really. I actually find when I have those kinds of days ahead of me, I'm energized by the thought of it. But, only a couple of days of that and then I like to be home and get recentered.

OK.... need to get ready to go to Lisa's! Ciao!

Bizarre turn of events....and a heavy heart

2008-11-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

Oh, my gosh..... life can be so strange. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back here... but this event has been front and foremost in my mind... and I haven't been sure how to deal with it on my blog. We have dear friends who had lived across the street from us for seventeen years. We celebrated every birthday with them for all those years....got together with them at Christmas time, etc...etc...etc.... They have grown kids, who live out of the area, so they spoiled ours! The bizarre turn-of-events, in a nutshell: He got a wild-hair to build a log home on the property that they had bought in the '70's, over on the Siletz River. So, even though he talked her into moving, we knew that something wasn't right about it. It made no sense for them to do it. She had an adorable little house with a garden that she had tended all those years..... so beautiful in the summer!! People would go into Incahoots and ask about the flowers that were at such-and-such a house.... after a while, they knew whose house they were talking about...hers!! She was very involved in quilting and knitting groups here in town. She would be taken away from all of that. But, she went along with it and in August of '07, they moved. We couldn't even have a neighborhood going-away BBQ, because she'd be too sad to face anyone. I'd be too sad, too! So, they move and three months later, he tells her that he wants a divorce!! These are people who've been married for over 30 years.... who, for all intents and purposes, seemed perfectly happy!! Of course, you never know what goes on in a marriage....we don't know everything. However, if it was just the divorce, that'd be sad enough; but he started doing bizarre things. I won't go into them, but it was as if something in his brain "clicked". Something had changed, and drastically!! My husband and I talked about the possibility of him having a brain tumor or something going on in his brain that was causing such bizarre actions. His wife had tried to get him to go to the doctor, but he refused. Apparently, she was the one who needed to go to the doctor!

He moved out several months ago. He went up to spend Father's Day at one of their daughter's houses and she mentioned them having been there the previous Christmas. He had no recollection of that. In fact, she thought he was joking around about not being there... and he thought she was joking... but it did concern him a bit, it seems, because he asked her husband about it later. His birthday is in August, so this same daughter sent him a gift of money; a week afterwards, he remembered receiving the money. Two weeks later, he had no idea what she was talking about! And, he didn't remember being there for Father's Day!! I don't know about you, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something is wrong with this picture!!!

One of the issues for him was his failing business. He had to make that business successful, at all costs...but it wasn't working. So, he took off to Texas, to find "hurricane" work, apparently. About two weeks later, he was up on a ladder and came down, saying he had a lot of pain in his chest and back. I don't know who was there, but apparently they didn't know how to do CPR or not very well, anyway.....and it took twenty minutes for the paramedics to arrive... so he was without oxygen for twenty minutes. :(

His wife (they were still married) and their kids and other family members were all there, rallying around him. They didn't find out until about ten days after he went in that there had been no brain activity the entire time. She wouldn't have put him on life-support had she known that. They did say, though, that the EEG's showed that he'd been having lots of mini-strokes for quite some time. I'm convinced that that had something to do with his irrational actions, but maybe I'm just in denial. It is weird to have someone that you think you've known for all those years do things that make you question whether you really knew them at all. We talked about how it kind of makes you question everyone around you for a while! Do you really know this or that person??

I was hoping that his massive heart attack was a blessing in disguise; that they'd figure out that something else was going on in his brain which was affecting his emotions/decision-making functions, etc... and hopefully, they could help him and the nightmare would be over; that he really didn't want a divorce..... but, no such luck. When she found out there had been no brain activity, they all agreed that they couldn't keep him hooked up... it was time to let him go. Now, she'll never really know what was going on. He left the planet on November 14th.

A few nights later, our fifteen-year-old son said that he felt odd because he didn't really feel much about this person dying. Our astute eighteen-year-old said something to the effect of, "That's because, to us, he died a year ago." So true.

It's a lot to process... I'm still reeling from the news that they were getting divorced!! And, I feel badly for her, for obvious reasons, but also because I'm afraid she's going to find that he's left a tangled mess that she has to deal with.

So, if you have a happy marriage and you're healthy, be Grateful!!

Count your blessings on Thanksgiving......

Teri

The Howl at The Moon Party was so much fun!!

2008-11-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update.... the Howl at The Moon Party was a success.... at least in my eyes! I think that the organizers were happy with the turn-out and enthusiasm of the crowd.... I hope so. I was responsible for the music end of it and that all flowed smoothly. (Yay!) Misty Vandiver, who often plays at the Open-Mic at Cornerstone Coffee, played first. She was great, as usual. She does a great version of Romeo and Juliet, by Dire Straits. It's not a song that I would've thought a solo performer could pull off, but she does it...quite well. Second was Nathan Ogden, another favorite from the Open-Mic. He played Neil Young, Beatles, CSNY minus Young and Crosby..... or is it Young and Nash? Well, the song was Helplessly Hoping and I know that Stephen Stills wrote it, but can't remember who accompanies him on it. Anyway, that was all wonderful, too!

We got to play after that and it was lots of fun! We had a few mess-ups, but I think they went unnoticed, for the most part, by the crowd. (I hope so, anyway!) We even played a song (our last one) that our lead guitarist had never even heard before! We gave him the option to not do it, but I think he was feeling inspired by the evening so gave us the go-ahead. It turned out pretty well, considering!

The kids that were there started dancing (??) up front. We joked that it was the mini-mosh-pit. Doing air-guitar while doing the splits!! Quite the scene. :)

Someone asked us for a CD...but, alas, we don't have one, yet! We were asked for one when we played at The Horse Radish, too; so we do need to get on that. We have been working on getting a demo recorded, though, so we can get serious gigs, so that's good. It just takes so much time to get a good recording done and mixed down! I can't seem to even get my dining room table cleared off!!! But, it'll happen. The table and the CD.

2008-11-06T19:12:00.001-08:00

The open-mic was great, once again! We had more than a full roster.....which included a new guy who, I think, was playing mostly originals. He was good. I didn't play.... I've only been practicing the songs that I play with our group, not the ones that I do solo, and since it was so busy, I decided to "sit this one out".

But, I think the group that I play with is going to play at the Howl at The Moon Party, at McMenamin's, next Thursday, the 13th. One of the women who is organizing it asked me if I would take care of the music end of it and pull in some of the people from the Open-Mic. Cool! So, a couple of those people are going to play, in the first hour, and then our group (or a couple different configurations of our group), will play afterwards. The whole thing starts at 6:30.... I think music will start at 7:00. It goes until 9:00.... so, if you live in the area, come and check it out! It's all about the "Buy Local" campaign. To support your local, independent businesses. For more info, go to: www.buylocalmac.com At this event, there will be info about local businesses, some art by local artists and the music is local, too! It's in Mattie's Room, upstairs at McMenamin's Hotel Oregon, downtown McMinnville. Food and drinks will be available. It ought to be fun!! Come and join us! Mattie's Room is a kid-friendly venue, by the way! :)

For the Locals: Tonight is the open-mic!!

2008-11-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the open-mic at Cornerstone Coffee. Wayne and I have been running this open-mic for about a year and a half now. It's going great! We were holding it once a month, but we've added another night because it's been so popular. So, now, it's every first and third Wednesday of the month. The music runs from 7:00 to 9:30, with sign-ups starting at 6:30 (and usually ending by 6:35!) Cornerstone has great coffee drinks, teas, smoothies and now even milkshakes! I usually play by myself or have someone sit in with me, but I don't think I'll play tonight because I've only been practicing our band music lately, not the stuff I play alone. Usually, the first Wednesday is the more crowded one, anyway, as far as the performers go, so it's easy for me to sit it out. :)

We organized a Beatles Night that happened on August 23rd. I wish I had photos of that to share with you!! It was such a great event! There were 100 people in there! Great talent... just really fun, all around. But, unfortunately, I was running the show, helping with sound and busy recording the evening.... I couldn't take pictures, too!! Next time I'll have to ask someone to help me with that. Wayne had wanted to have one in the Winter, but I think it'll probably be an annual Summer thing. If we do them all the time, they won't be as special. :) So, keep your eyes open for that announcement down the road!

2008-11-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Do you like my new banner? My friend, Lisa, did that for me!! Wasn't that sweet of her? By the way, I do have other friends besides Lisa. I just haven't told anyone else that I even have a blog, yet! But, I guess it might be time to unveil it. :)

I awoke the other morning, all excited, thinking of all the things that I could take pictures of to put on my blog. Well, my camera has been acting funny, so I decided to try getting a new battery. I put the new battery in and put it up on the charging/printer dock. No charging lights were on, which made sense, I figured. Like with telephones, they say to put the new battery in and then charge it for something like 16 hours. So, okay. I let it charge for a few hours. No lights still. But, the camera worked better! I could actually take a picture and it showed up on the SD card. Days later, still no lights. Anyone have any ideas??

The point of sharing that with you was that I didn't get to take any pictures of my kids on Halloween, all dressed up!! Well, I did take a few with my cell-phone, but only of my youngest, with some friends, over at Lisa's house. I'll see how they translate to a blog.... or if they even turned out. I usually have pics of the kids carving their pumpkins, getting ready, in their costumes, jack-o-lanterns all lit up, etc.... This year? Now that I have a blog and have some place to share all these wonderful images? Nada.

Oh, well. Halloween is over.... time to move on. (I swear, everytime someone says that in my dear husband's presence, he says, "Move on dot org!" I don't think he's ever even seen the website.... I should have him look at it and he might stop saying that!)

Alrighty, then..... I need to get the camera fixed before Thanksgiving!

I hope you're all having a wonderful day! Remember: Life is Good!!!

Six Random Things

2008-11-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

OK... I had wanted to participate in the "six random things" tagging, but I've decided to just share six random things about myself with you. I am not in touch with that many bloggers to be able to tag people without them thinking I'm a weirdo. So, I'm just going to share the things that I would've shared, anyway, had I been tagging. :)

1.) My sun sign is Gemini and, yes, I believe in Astrology. :)

2.) I'm from Santa Cruz, California; where surfing (and the wet-suit) began. And, I mean the original meaning of surfing..... out in the ocean... not at a desk.

3.) I play the guitar. (More details on music later!) :)

4.) I believe in reincarnation.

5.) I'm not big on housekeeping. :) I'd like to have a more organized/clean house, but I don't want to spend my life doing that.

6.) I believe in the Law of Attraction and am trying to be more conscious of my thoughts... because they do matter!!

Why "On Purpose"?

2008-11-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

You might be asking, "Why 'On Purpose'?" When I first started this blog, I started to break out into a cold sweat when I got to the part where I had to choose a name for it. I thought, "A name?? But, there's so much in a name... it can't be just anything! It's got to be good!" And, then, all of a sudden, "On Purpose" popped into my head. Now, I can't take full credit for it because it's the name of a shop in Sutter Creek, California, that I love to go to when I'm there. But, I can take credit for it popping into my head. :) It's a shop that's full of metaphysical and spiritual goodies; crystals and incense, great books, etc.... the kinds of things that I love! (Well, *some* of the kinds of things that I love... remember, I told you I was complicated.)
And, the meaning of "on purpose". To me, it implies being mindful. Not doing things "just because" or without much thought, but to be purposeful. To make conscious decisions; to live deliberately. You know, all that stuff. But, it also reminds me that there's a bigger picture.... that there are no accidents, no coincidences. It's all On Purpose.

I hope you'll join me in the journey.

The vintagey, tin planter

2008-11-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a close-up of the vintagey, tin planter. It's actually more green than it looks here. Finally, it has a purpose! :)

2008-11-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ha! I just saw the "six random things" on The Tardy Homemaker blog and started to do it.. but, then, realized that no one has tagged me, yet. So, can I not participate unless I've been tagged?

Sitting here, waiting to be tagged......

Spaces between sentences?!

2008-11-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Just one more question: Do the people at Blogger not realize that you are supposed to have two spaces after a period?? I have noticed this on other blogs and figured it was just the blogger. But, now that I'm blogging, I can see that even though I put two spaces in there, it doesn't show up that way!! The separation between sentences should be different than the separation between words... what's the matter with these people??

2008-11-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

2008-11-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

Uh-oh... I see that I have a follower!! That must mean that I need to get with it on here!
No, a "follower" is not a "stalker". A follower, in blogging terms, is a person who is either interested in what you have to say, or, yeah, is a creep. In this case, it's my friend, Lisa B., who got me into this mess, I mean, blogging business in the first place! So, I'm happy that she's paying attention.... I think. (Hi, Lisa!!)

So, I didn't get on here to write about that.... I got on here to post a "Fally-photo". (I'm coining that phrase this instant... let's see if it goes anywhere!) But, first, I have a question. Why isn't the word, "fall", being synonymous with "autumn", capitalized?? It's the *name* of something!! We capitalize the brands of cars, for Pete's sake.... why not the names of seasons? And, one of the most beautiful seasons, to boot! Have I told you that I love fall, yet? (Now, doesn't that sentence look weird? You can't tell that "fall" is any special thing in that sentence! So, bear with me because I always capitalize my seasons.)

OK..... I'm getting over my silk-flower phobia. First, though, I had to start calling them "silk flowers" instead of "fake flowers". Although, when I started calling them "silk flowers", I didn't realize that I was mentally preparing myself to actually use them, years later....in my own home! So, this Fall I started thinking that I wanted a "Fally" piece on my table. I wanted flowers, in Fall colors, and I wanted them to last....not a week, not two weeks, but until I start decorating for Christmas, usually the day after Thanksgiving. Is that too much to ask? Well, if you're asking a silk-flower, then, no, it's not too much to ask!!

I happened to buy a vintagey-looking planter thingy, on sale at Craft Warehouse..... you've already seen it if you've looked at my Fally-photo. I loved the look of it... but, when I got it home, I realized that none of my plants would fit in it right. If a houseplant pot is that tall, then it's generally too big around to fit. Most of them were lost down inside of it... with only some plant pieces poking out of the top.... really lame.

I wanted it in the house. So, I decided that if I was going to be able to use it, that I needed to just build an arrangement inside of it. The last time I was at Craft Warehouse, they had all these gorgeous silk-flowers on sale! (Did I just say "gorgeous" and "silk-flowers" in the same sentence?!? Oh, man.) I bought a "frog" that fit perfectly inside of it... and started cutting and sticking my flowers in. I happened to have some Spanish Moss left over from lining a metal flower-box in the summer, so I used that to cover up the frog.

Now, my living room is in transition: My sister-in-law gave us a love-seat that is temporarily in the "parlor"...our house is over 100 years old and it would've been the parlor back then, so there you go. Lest we forget and accidentally call it the "dining room". Then, one of us goes to get the yardstick and slaps the offender on the hand. Just kidding. My yardstick is metal, actually. :)

But, I digress!! (Boy, do I!!) Back to the love-seat. I can't move it into the living room until I can vacuum... and, guess what? I have to take the vacuum up to the Oreck dealer, in Hillsboro!! I don't know where this stuff comes from that gets onto carpet!! Is there some kind of "little-pieces-of-stuff fairy that comes in the night or something?! We have a dark brown (ugly) carpeting in our living room. I know what you're thinking..... "dark brown: that doesn't show the dirt as much." Well, maybe not dirt, but it shows every other *#%*#^ thing!! I think I'd rather have dirt. You could just sweep it up off of a nice bamboo floor. :)

Back to my Fall centerpiece.... my dining table is full..... we haven't eaten on it, as a family, for weeks. We have had many nice dinners in the last few weeks, though!! And, we do eat all together, as a family, just not necessarily at "the table". So, I had to clear off a little table (that I hope gets thrown away, and replaced, in my lifetime) and put my centerpiece on that. My friend, Lisa, and those of you who've been inside my house, will probably notice the background of my photo. The french-doors that go into the parlor are right behind this table. So, no, it's not where this table normally goes.... but because of the lack of a vacuum, Quinn's "fort" that he built in the living room yesterday, etc... this is the only place I could put that little table with my Fall flowers on it.

Ok, ok, I'll add "clear off dining table" to my To Do list.
That reminds me, has anyone read the story of The List in the Frog and Toad collection??

Have a great day, or hour, or week.... who knows when I'll be back!!

The beauty that surrounds us!!

2008-10-29T15:24:00.001-07:00

2008-10-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

I went up to "High Heaven" yesterday. It's a place above town and I hadn't been up that particular road for years. I knew it would be beautiful up there so I grabbed my camera before I headed out. I'm so glad I did! Although I didn't take many pictures, I was, once again, amazed at the beauty that's all around us. Wow.

The story of why I was going up to High Heaven in the first place is kind of interesting. I've belonged to a homeschool group for, let's see....yikes! It's been thirteen years!! Anyway, one of the co-founders of our homeschool group, known as "HEY", lived up in this area.

A couple of weeks ago, some of the kids from this group started going to a gymnastics class that the local gymnastics place set up for homeschoolers. (Yay! Thanks, Li'l Champs and Heidi for doing the legwork on this!). So, we're at the class and a woman and her daughter come in, just looking for a class for her daughter to try out. She had no idea that we were homeschoolers and we had no idea that she homeschooled! So, we chatted and it turned out that her daughter, Emily, was in Quinn's kindergarten class when he did his stint in public school last year. They ended up pulling her out of school after I pulled Quinn out. Our group had an event planned for the next day and so she and her kids joined us for that. Here's the funniest part: When she was explaining where she lived, I realized that it was where the woman who had co-founded HEY used to live! So, not only did she stumble upon a group that she and her kids have been longing for, but she also finds out that one of the women who started the group used to live in her house...the group was started, basically, *in* her home! I'll have to tell her that part! We had many a meeting in her living room.... even came up with our "Motto" in her living room, although no one knows what ever happened to that.

I love synchronicity....and I'm not talkin' about the Police here, folks!

Why do I have a blog? No, I'm really asking...."Why do I have a blog???"

2008-10-27T17:42:00.001-07:00

I'm starting this blog because.... well, because my friend, Lisa, has been pushing me to start one! :) That's not to say that I won't enjoy it... I've always loved to write and it really does make
perfect sense. But, I have so many interests..... can I put artsy stuff and musings about gardening and raising teenagers all on one page?? I also don't want it to take over my life... you see, the Internet is a Gemini's dream-come-true. Using their hands to type, plus communicating with... well, whoever, most Geminis don't really care....communicating with our hands?! We're in our glory!! So, then, I worry that taking care of a blog will take over my life! (They keep telling me that it won't, but I'm not convinced!) Here it is 5:47 p.m., I'm due to be at Lisa's house at 7:00 for our monthly Mom's Game Night, and I still need to assemble and bake an apple crisp. But, here I am, working on my blog! Hmmmm.....no, I'm not convinced.....please, wish me luck!