CATCH UP not ketchup

A "Heinz 57" dog is a mixed breed dog of uncertain ancestry- a mutt.

 The name refers to the "57 varieties" Heinz slogan.

Well, you can tell my sense of humor is still intact.

The Holiday has been wonderful 

and all my focus has been on the kids.

Dearest son has returned to NYC,

but will be passing through here 

late January on his move to LA.

Darling Daughter is enjoying  her local friends

and we are being lazy goats in front 

of the tube, catching a mixed bag of films.
This illness/plague whatever..
knocked my socks off and not in the good way
damn.. :D

I have accomplished little,

gone nowhere and seen no one.

Home is where the heart is..
and where my slipper socks and jammies are.

Carole Sidlow is teaching a  fabulous ribbon class here

on January 7th (2 spots left) and

we will hold it in the converted studio/garage,

so since I cannot access my storage boxes,

Christmas will remain up until after the class.

Makes me a mite uneasy,

 ( my organization gene anxious to get back to work),

so instead I am overhauling my studio and hall closet,

and making a big bloomin' mess while I'm at it.

I decided to move all my paper supplies 

closer to me since that seems to be

 where my hearts desire is lately.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday.

I have been reading you all and keeping up,

and I hope that everyone's New Year 

brings them joy and happiness.

I am still debating my "word" or mantra for next year.
In 2011 the word was Begin
I feel I did that one justice,
so what should 2012 be about?
I am pondering these:


bravery
simplicity
patience
industriousness
????
I could use some of all of the above.
I have been inspired all year by 
a lovely young woman Carolynn at
the Anchor and the Bird.
Please visit if you are not familiar 
with her year of good deeds (in process).

Thinking perhaps I could/should 
attempt the same good-deed daily tasks.
I donate 10% of my income each year and it is 
not always easy, but it is easy enough to write checks.


I am thinking I need to give back in other ways, 
where it might not be so easy, 
where I must trod the extra mile, 
 and as I tap this out I may have decided that
this desire should be manifested in my 2012 word.


GIVE
would encompass the other 
four words under consideration
so yup, GIVE it is.
YAY my first decision of the new Year.
What do you plan to do with your next 365 days?
I plan to grow out my hair since
 I got scalped today. 
only pixies should wear pixie cuts
Z

Entertained and Loved

I may still be sick but I am being fed

 wonderful food by dear friends,

thank you Tanya, Ann and Paula

and entertained by these two goofballs.

We did a lovely lunch and some mad dash

 shopping today before I 

was overcome and had to head home again.

Tomorrow begins the swap back and forth

 between their dad's home and mine.

The first years of this were pure torture but I have 

adjusted and adapted and all is well.

The important thing is that they are 

fine with it and I have them this year all

Christmas day.

oh I love them so.....

I plan to get back here once more

 before the big day and I am trying 

so hard to return all emails and visit everyone 

and say a huge thank you for the get well wishes

and if I miss you, please, oh please forgive me,

but right now I have slimy mucus brain.

TMI?

uh......merry merry?

the dryer broke

he had to come twice Tuesday

173.00

then when it still did not work 

i had to have my vent duct cleaned

95.00

the pooches were gross, 

so off to the groomers to be shaved

tanya you won't recognize them

94.00

they desperately needed new beds

so martha style on sale 72.00

howie always comes home distressed 

after groomer so he just

threw up not twice, not five times, but 

nine times on my white wool rug

kids will be here in about 90 minutes

hannah will despise their sweaters

that i make them wear one night each

Christmas

she'll roll her eyes

and I saved the best for last

i am sick

dog sick

look like something the dog AND the cat dragged in

gone through an entire box of kleenex sick

fever sick

baked cookies all morning sick

still in pjs sick

merry merry

i will air kiss them and hug them

 with my face turned away and 

go to bed heavily medicated with 

vicks and cough syrup and rally 

tomorrow to truly make it 

merry merry

i wish you all health

and to be with your families

ACHOOOOOOOO!

sigh

z

Friends and Tags

Making some paper gifts for friends

Still having a love affair with paper

These are winging off to a gal who "won"

my "non giveaway giveaway" because

 she was another milestone follower.

No, you did not miss the giveaway,

I just noticed one day she had followed at 

a certain number and wrote her and said

You won!

You know who you are, they're coming :D

I love gals who follow me because 

they see something they like,

 or I strike  a chord with an opinion,

or maybe they think Howie is adorable, (yes)

and they haven't just come by to win something, 

though I do those giveaways too sometimes, 

maybe the next milestone?

Getting a surprise gift is an unexpected bonus,

and I love doing it. 

I feel I must mention again 

due to many such comments, 

that if you are a

"no reply" blogger I cannot answer 

your comments like I wish to, 

and I will no longer 

attempt to track you down by visiting your blog.

There is simply not enough time in my day.

AGAIN! please consider

 putting your email in your profile.

If not, here is my bulk Holiday Wish to all you

"No replies"

Merry Christmas!

Hope you are all faring well

through the Holiday crunch. I have 

smooth sailing now.

..and for those who follow my family stories...

Dearest Son is moving to LA in January,

a mere 4 hours away..

Can Darling Daughter be far behind, 

now that she will graduate early?

Looks like I will never get out of here after all,

but I'll take kids visiting on weekends for sure,

and weekends in LA are fun too :D

Can you say Road Trip girls?

Here's the Tale

So here's the tale:

What do you get when you try to tent 

your entire garage and string it with 

twinkle lights and drape it with glitter

 and garlands and stars and fill it 

with hundreds of supplies

and have ten crazy fun women over 

for the day to create and glitter 

and eat..and eat some more?

You get 11 obsessed women playing and laughing

and making wreaths and ornaments and learning new techniques and munching treats and...

 having fun, and being wonderful, strong,

delightful women and

I love them all

and I am blessed with each class

for all these 25 +years of Gatherings,

and now that we did the first trial run of the tent,

I have grandiose ideas for the next one.

I'll be painting the ceiling blue and let's see..

about 50 more yards of tulle Tanya, and...

Heather has promised decent shots 

of the event to come soon..

days like yesterday,

 I just cannot take any worthy photos

 so excuse these, but I wanted to share,

 even though there is no way to explain the energy, 

or play a tape of the laughter..

and we soldier on through diet sodas

 and peanut butter cups

 and after dinner we head back 

out for more, and eventually cannot even

 see the table tops or find anything.

(those shots to come hopefully)

..and Lord help me, she's gonna kill me for this,

but you get a pal who will decorate herself 

after the first 10 hours with her wreath and it's parts

 to get the laugh out of a few great friends who all grab

 their cameras for a shot!!

(Tanya and Heather's hands in the corner lol)

oh Lord how I love these women...

I hope you are as blessed with friends

 like this in your life.

Each bringing their own special qualities to the mix.

Think of pine cones, snow and glitter, 

 berries and fruit and leaves.

all intertwining, supporting each other's 

textures and colors and finishing 

off an unbroken circle..

A wreath of friendship.

One I can hang my joys and fears

and dreams upon and know in that circle,

I will find what I need to nourish my soul.

Ladies, you're the best.

with love,

z


a small postscript
pictures from the day
far better than mine
here

LOVE is waiting....

Waiting...

Kits are waiting...

Favors and Gifts are waiting...

Funny bump under kits, are these totes 

to take treasures home.... waiting...

Projects are waiting... 

LOVE Is All Around

Tag You're IT!

I've been pulling supplies together tonight

 for my upcoming Gathering  and  

found that I just could not

resist playing with the glitter and the 

punches and the fun papers.

A few phone calls and

tv shows later, I had 

completed several and

if I wasn't so dang tired

 I would keep playing.

Nothing fancy, just a little bit here,

a little bit there.

Tomorrow is another day.

meanwhile.....

TAG

You're it.

Your Seat is Waiting and Trick #5

There were 8 valid entries in the 

Love Is All Around  Giveaway.

There were more comments but there were many

who knew that they would not be able to attend.

So I used the Random Generator thingie

but it won't let me show it on here,

or more precisely I cannot figure how to show it,

and I am done fussing with it, 

especially since I never did get that nap.......

soooooo

Number 2 was generated randomly,

 and the second entry was

Tanya!

Your seat at the table is waiting for you.

Love Is All Around

I am very  happy that  you will be joining us.

I wish I could have you all sitting around,

chatting and creating for the day.

We do have fun, and oh my, 

the topics we cover!! I blush..

Stop laughing girls! I can so blush!

Just cause I haven't in over 40 years.. hush now.

Howie ( Eisenhower)

Right after we adopted him.

Who could resist this guy with his different eye colors?

Everyone could but us.  No one else wanted him.

This has absolutely nothing to do 

with this post, I just came across the old pic today.

*******

anyhoot

I know the typical advent calendar is for 25 days,

but my countdown as of the first, 

is a mere 21 days.

21 days till my chicks come home.

All you moms who have your family close by,

or close enough for weekend visits, count your blessings.

This long distance dance is awful,

but oh, the visits are so dear to my heart.

*******

Tanya is planning to post good pics 
of her pendants on her blog today. 
Check them out...

*******

Trick # 5

Pair up for decorating.

Gather 1 or two friends together and 

take turns going to each other's

 homes to decorate.

Draw numbers to see whose home 

is done in what order..

Preset definite days for decorating,

and no excuses, this is pinkie swear.

The home host feeds the friends.

You will get fresh insight into your decorating, 

it will get done much faster with friend help,

( we know we rarely get any other holiday help)

and you'll have fun.

I would recommned no more than

 three sign up together.

Too many opinions can slow things down,

and save the margaritas for after.

Tis the season to be merry,

Just not THAT merry!

z

What I planned to do and what actually happened

  

See this beauty? It is one of dozens 

of incredibly gorgeous art jewelry made by

 Tanya of Bead and Needle

Yesterday I asked Tanya to bring them 

over to my house so that I 

could photograph them, as they are

 so incredibly beautiful I wanted you all to see them.

Tanya will be taking these to the local Boulder City

Doodlebug show this weekend 

and if you don't get one now 

you may have to wait  until she makes more, 

and with the holidays coming 

who knows when that will be?

Tanya makes these beauties out of antique

 tin plates and then painstakingly beads

 them for many long hours

 into these pendants that are traffic stopping, 

and yes those are beaded ruffles you see.

They are impeccably finished 

and all are done with her one little needle,

amazing patience and incredible talent.

Do you want a breathtaking vintage piece

 that everyone will covet?

Have a little black dress that 

will grace a party this holiday, then 

top it with one of these for the WOW factor.

Want to own a one of a kind piece of

 art jewelry or give one to your BFF?

They are enhanced with vintage buttons,

crystals and hand dyed beads from 

Vintage Meadow Artworks.

So the plan was, I was going to take 

some great shots and

share these pieces with you.

What  happened was I photographed 

them on vintage tin, on greenery, on glass, 

on mirror, on snow, on burlap.

I photographed from 8 -10:30

I did not even make coffee, so I feel a mite

BI-Zitchy

Do you see any of the photos?

Nope

Why?

Because all the shots sucked.

There - I admit it.

All 147 of them

They were down to the bottom 

of the muck and the mire, bloody awful!

So here is the new plan.

Take my word for it, I have not lied to you yet,

Well, I did take the first 2 shots here, 

so yeah I lied a little,

BUT TRUST ME

these are scrumptious, and 

if you go to Tanya's blog

BEAD AND NEEDLE

you can see them in progress

the colors are very muted not 

as bright as they look there, 

and Tanya just got a new camera,

so pick a tintype and maybe she can send 

you a decent shot of your necklace of choice,

or go on blind faith,

 ( I would, there is not a loser in the bunch)

and have her hand select one for you.

Quite a few already found homes when

 she brought them to our recent craft day, 

and we can be a persnickety bunch. 

So, coffee is needed,

camera instruction is needed,

and since I have had 4 hours of sleep, 

a nap is needed.

It's what I plan to do...

but if I were you, I would not lay odds.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Holiday Decorating Made Easier Trick #4

Let me rephrase that. 

It may not make your decorating easier,

 because that depends on just how much 

holiday decor you have, but you will have less

chaos and mess.

No matter which tree I am decorating, this one,

 or the next one, they all get the same treatment.

A box system.

Everything that goes on a tree goes in a 

specific box for THAT tree, or 2 boxes, or three.

Lights from that year, hangers, all of it. 

When I decide which tree to do on any given day

 I bring in the tree and the corresponding boxes.

 I don't have to haul in 16 different mismatched tubs,

 taped together boxes etc. No fuss, no mess.

If I remove anything in that room to decorate,

 I place it into those same boxes

 for storage over the holidays. 

I can do a room at a time 

or all the trees first, my choice.

All other decor is placed in large tubs via category;

Garlands, large picks, wreaths, stuffed figures etc.

I can then easily go through the rooms adding garland,

picks, or the figures, all the while my home is

undisturbed except for a tub or a few boxes.

The guest rooms have so little decor, 

that the entire room fits in one small box.

If I change a tree a certain year, and I frequently do,

I simply change the labels on the box

 during the take down process. 

( these are not all the holiday boxes - if you enlarge  lol)

If you haven't seen it before,

 this is my system in the garage.

These boxes and tubs are 2 deep with the box contents

behind each front box labeled on the shelf 

for easy retrieval. When I first started many years ago, 

the set of boxes at Costco were around 10.00

 and I bought 2 sets at a time as I could afford them.

 Now they are around 16.00 I think but 

this system could save your sanity.

 Just think how easy I can pack

 when it comes time to move.

 Oh yeah, I'm done already.

Right now this box system in the garage 

is being completely draped with drop cloths

 and twinkle lights are going up and tables set for 

a classroom studio for my next Gathering. 

I always planned to do this, but was happily forced 

to do so because of the upcoming photo shoot.

This class will be a trial run for the system

( it has to be entirely removable, so cars can

be re-parked in here). I am not truly  happy 

with the effect so far but just like my box system,

 this will evolve and get better.

I will drape better, paint more things out,

 figure out how to hide the ugly etc.

We are usually having so much fun, no one cares.

(I hope)

coming up next

Sharing the Decorating Trick #5

*******

Rant update:

just so ya know

I received almost 40 emails

All positive - no negatives this time

I coined "pop up bloggers", 

don't know any other terms, if there is one

please let me know.

I shut off comments because I guessed

( correctly) that many would hesitate to 

comment publicly about their opinion of the practice

..and boy did they have opinions.

A sampling...

"bravo on the rant!!"

"...to me it seems selfish and so while I may “see” what they are doing (promoting themselves, manipulating stats, etc) I guess I don’t “get it” as you do.  For me, it’s just all out selfish and I can’t and won’t do that."  

"..it's about what you think to be right and fair and true for you and the people that matter to you. I recently switched my blog links to this format and was appalled to see from the beginning that this is done as often as it is.... "

  "Some of the ones that bump are ones I like, so I put them on their own blogroll.  Now they just bump each other all day long......."

( This 4th one may be a solution for some of you who wish to keep following these gals. I love the image of them jumping over each other all day long, no one staying on top for long)

"I'd never heard of pop-up bloggers before. At least I've never noticed them on my blog roll anyway. As a blogger I can't imagine ever doing something like that. Some people will do anything to be noticed!

 You know, now that I think about it ... is _______one of them?"

"I wanted to thank you.  I had been having this happen recently and had no idea why

and I thank you for the education...uh duh - I didn't know. (And happen to agree with you whole-heartedly.....)  Rant on my friend....rant on..."


Don't forget the Crazy Giveaway for a free space in 
my Gathering class December 10th 
Love Is All Around.
You must comment on that post to be entered.
Please do not enter if you 
do not plan to attend if you win.


 You must comment before midnight
November 30. 
Good Luck!