Where Bloggers Create II

oldgreymare studio IS
Bins
Tins
Drawers
Cubbies
Jars
Baskets
and only
9 1/2' x 9 1/2 '

Now, you may wonder how I ever got
this many large cabinets, an overstuffed chair
and 2 tables in such a small space.
I do too!

When I decided to go all white downstairs,
all my primitives of color
came up to the studio and were stacked
and wedged in to make my cozy space.

Organizing for a living means everything
has it's own special place
and is returned back there. (eventually)
My favorite "Z" gate in my favorite green
and "pooh" to make bad days better.

The room is naturally dark, thus the twinkle
lights that rim the ceiling.

Once I was primarily a quilter and many fabrics remain.
I plan to pick up the needle again soon.

Of course TV with DVD
for favorite classic films

Snowflake afghan made for me by dearest Viola,
the 93 years young woman for whom I did home care.

Many an idea and friendly chat initiate from this chair.
The unfinished knitted sock is very symbolic for me.
Reminds me I can do anything I set my mind to.
Also reminds me to let go when I cannot finish or win.

Just for fun

Trois Anges

Tools and trims at my fingertips.

50 drawer apothecary in the hall just outside the loft,
holds tons of trim, stamps, punches and ephemera.

Infant shoe lasts- just enough to fill the ledge.

One can never have enough twine.

One can never have enough tins.

I made the small basket about 15 years ago
and always vowed to make another
with more even and equal points.
I'm still proud of this anyway.

The radiometer belonged to Dad
It is near the window so it will spin.

Inside the drawers - more tins
for more organization

The room is too small to obtain panoramic view
so only snippets and bits.
Thank you so much for visiting.

Suzan

Create Change - The World Will Thank You

Project Genesis July 1st

Now, off to the next Studio!

Where Bloggers Create II
Hosted by Karen Valentine

Project Genesis

First Steps

First Love

First Kiss

First Dance

First Time to Drive

First Plane Ride

Firsts are Monumental, Big Time Stuff

Promises

1st day you quit smoking

1st day of diet

1st day at the gym

Starting July 1st, I am hoping you will join me in Change.

Changing the way we view the world, and the way we live in it.

We all mean to do the right thing for our world, and often do, but we also often don't;

becoming too busy, too distracted.

Every First day of the month I will be posting simple, effective ways to make environmental change, and linking you to others already in action. I want you to join me. I want you to notice the things you do to make the world a better place,

and I want you to notice the things that we all could do in a better way.

I want suggestions and hints that we can share and use to inspire each other.

Project Genesis
Creating Change One Day At A Time.

I'm hoping for great ideas for recycling, softer ways to impact our planet, and paying it forward stories. I have begun my own pay it forward at the market. Every market I frequent has some kind of 99 cent reusable bag for sale. If the person in line behind me does not use bags like this, I ask the clerk to add $2.00 to my tab and then I give the bags

to the customer as "my gift to them".

Now, I know that it is entirely possible that he/she my not use those bags as I intended, but it does give them pause and the person behind them hears it and the clerk hears it, and 50 % of the time a conversation about the environment begins,

and well, it matters to me.

Maybe you recycle socks some terrific way, or have great tricks for urban composting... I want them, I want them all. Simple everyday actions that we all can use. You only need one idea per month, but oh the power of compounding!

One penny doubled every day for 30 days, is worth:

$5,386,709.12

We are all focused on the oil spill, and as horrible as this is, we have been headed down the wrong path for far longer than the past 2 months. We women bloggers know the power of the post and it is faster than the jungle drums

and the party line phones of the 50's.

After each month's Genesis is complete, it will be stored in my sidebar

for easy retrieval and to copy.

I must add one caveat to your participation:

Although you will be linked to your blog, please do not participate if your sole mission is to promote your latest give-away or to garner Followers. I am hoping participation will be for the greater good, because this matters greatly to us all.

I reserve the right to edit participants.

I will post more about this next week, building to the Project Genesis on July 1st.

Any questions please comment or email me.

I sincerely hope you will participate. Blogging has given me many blessings in the form of truly wonderful friends. I want to give back using this same format.

It is simple act, a single first step to change our world.

Turn and look at a child in your life. Take a step.

Please. Join me.

Suzan

Grab a button for your blog over there----------->

No you are not seeing things. This post was altered because my dear talented friend
Julie of Being Ruby designed this button for me and created a better title.
See what I mean about blessings from blogging?
Julie, you are amazing and I am humbled by your generosity of
spirit and friendship.

All buttoned up at oldgreymare

I had my oyster shell buttons here and there and it seemed almost everywhere, so I gathered them into jars all in one spot. Looking at them in this way I was surprised by how many I had collected over the years. Suppose I should create some projects and use them up. What you can't see is all the jars of brown and black buttons in the second row of the cupboard.

Can you say super collection?

Oh, seems I find a lot of dominoes also.....
So, am I collecting the objects or the jars?

Please join all the other White Wednesday participants over at Faded Charm
hosted by Kathleen.

Suzan

CHANGE IS GOOD?

As you may remember my dearest son is moving to New York City. This Tuesday is the day, and he and his girlfriend drove his car here last Thursday to store until they decide if NYC is going to work out like they have planned.

Since they both are still tele-commuting with their jobs in Portland, this is what I have viewed at my dining room table for the past three days.

We did have a garage sale Saturday to sell off his post college belongings that have been stored here for several years. The sale was only moderately successful, and two full carloads went to the Goodwill post sale. We had a lovely day for it, but only about 25 % of my usual number of customers. Holding a garage sale is not the most conducive environment for pleasant conversation, and then they were off to dinner downtown, so it feels like we have hardly visited.

I suppose it would not matter if they were home for 1 week, 2 weeks or 3, it would still never be enough time. Tomorrow will be their pack up day
for the airplane and things to ship.
The only constant in my life these days is change.

Not my favorite thing, but I'm learning.
Gritting my teeth at times, but learning.


Just as he gets settled in there, darling daughter arrives back home.
But only for a little while, and then...

Change is good right?

Suzan

Change your World

In the past week, an important topic has arisen again
for me concerning blogging.

Two wonderful women who normally post about lifestyles, gardening and photography have been profoundly moved and disturbed by the recent oil spill. So much so, that they posted in very heartfelt ways their dismay and concerns.

Chania and Erin both wondered about the response to their posts because they normally have lighthearted blogs that do not cover such serious topics. A while back I had posted that I think we as women bloggers shortchange ourselves and each other by limiting what topics we will and won't discuss. Why does a blog have to be restricted to certain tone and topic? I enjoy the flowers and recipes and antiques with the best of them but I also appreciate a kindred soul giving me a wake up call to issues or sharing an unhappy emotional journey.

Tucked in among the roses are thorns and weeds and disgusting bugs,
but it does not make the garden less beautiful. It's OK to deviate from the norm,
take the road less traveled and see where it leads. Just as in life, some days
you are preparing a lovely dinner or luxuriating in the garden,
some days you are clearing the sink trap and scrubbing toilets.

Please visit these two gals, they have important things to show you; they will remind you, just for the moment, about important lessons, and hopefully inspire you to become involved and affect change of your own.

What is important in your view of the world? You are not all about just one thing. You are not just a _______ fill in the blank. Not just a Mom, shop owner, student, wife, career professional, teacher or anything else. At our very core women are natural born multi-taskers. Shouldn't we also multi purpose our blogs at least occasionally? One gal wrote to me the last time I dared discuss this topic with " I come to blogs for retreat from the world, I don't want to hear about anything serious." hmmmmmm.

The world is a wonderful, glorious place. It is also a serious place that we need to care for and protect. One small change from you can change your world,
can change our world.

Next week I am going to announce a change in my blog that all of you can participate in, and I certainly hope you will. The posts of these two gals jump started ideas for me and I will make changes, and maybe you can make changes, and all of us will impact on each other and the ripples and the waves will go forth reminding us of our beautiful oceans in so much peril.

Do something brave today- change your world.

Suzan

White UFO's

We all have them.
Unfinished projects that we keep moving from place to place,
vowing to complete them, adding them to our "To Do" lists.

This is one of mine.
I taught quilting and made fabric projects for a couple of decades.
I used yards and yards of batting, warm and natural, polyester, you name it.
After each project there were irregular shaped "bits" left and I stashed
them away in a box in the garage. One box became two, and as it
headed toward three I decided to take action. For several evenings
I rotary cut all the bits into squares. Eyeballing it, not overly concerned.

I started stringing the squares onto some linen thread and
every so often added small vintage silver glass balls
from Germany that had been around awhile.
I figured it would make a great holiday garland for my
all white house. I felt good about recycling.

I got to about here and then piled the leftover squares into this box.

Where they sat for the last two Christmases.

Until last Thursday. I started to move the box to another spot and thought
to myself. Enough. Finish the darn thing.
Turned on some good tv and after several hours, I ended up with....

Three very long garlands. All knotted and beaded and ready for
Christmas 2010. One more thing to check off the "to do" list.

Accomplished * Completed * WooHoo!

What is on your list?

Please join everyone for the 50th White Wednesday
hosted by Kathleen at Faded Charm

Congratulations Kathleen!

also linking to Woo Hoo Wednesday
over at Always Nesting

More than Soldiers

From the Morning Observer Washington Pennsylvania

"Venetia Sept 21, 1942- Nearly a year ago, Mrs. Robert Rennie knit

a sweater during the Bundles for Britain campaign,

and before she turned in it to the local committee,

her son David put a note in the pocket.

Last week David received the following letter from England:"

All letters were being inspected and opened.

It is dated August 17, 1942

It was my father David , who received this letter.

My Grandmother Nettie, a schoolteacher, had him

write the note to a child far away trapped in the throes of war.

"Dear David,

"Just a line to thank you for your very kind and thoughtful note which you put in a little jacket.

"Of course, you wish us a Merry Christmas, but we have just received your little message and it Aug 16th. As you ask for a reply, I am only too pleased to write on behalf of my daughter Sheila who is just beginning to write. Of course, you will understand - she will be eight in October. I thought I would answer for her, as we have suffered terribly in this war.

"But now your country is at our side. We were ever so pleased when America came in to help get it over. Air raids are dreadful, but we still carry on just hoping and praying for that day when Peace comes.

"It was ever so nice to read those few lines from you - how thoughtful. "God Bless You." I have just brought Sheila back from the country as she was evacuated away for 11 months, suffering with a nervous breakdown owing to the air raids. But she is getting along nicely now and we are ever so pleased.

"If you care to write to us, we will sure be proud of our American friends. I do hope you get this letter.

"Cheerio and good luck from,

"Miss Sheila Luxon

153 Solebay St

Burdett Road, Mile End

London, England "

Many more than soldiers and their families should be remembered

today. Thousands of children carry the scars, fears and horror of

wars. Bearing these as medals of honor, of their survival.

Memorial Day 2010

Remembering and praying for Peace.

Suzan

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day

I cannot visit those who are in my memories.
I live too far from the graves of my grandparents;
too far from the park and my brother's gardens, where my parents wished
their ashes to be spread. The weekend always gives me pause,
as I watch AMC and TCM soldier movies,
as I think of the sacrifices all nations have made.

I was going to post Navy shots of my Dad, but I detoured into the
thoughts of my folks and a memorial to them, then detoured again as I
thought about how I always feel them watching over me.

Thus, the angels,
that surround me physically and metaphorically:

I hope you are all able to be with your families this weekend.

Remembering all the angels
in my life and in yours.

Suzan

DJR's Spaghetti Pot

Noticed my Dad's spaghetti pot the other day.

He loved this pot and brought it clear across the country

to give to me. He told so many people about his special pot.

I decided to make, well, spaghetti..

Should not talk on phone while cooking or you have

boil over...oops

Decided to make a version of "fresh taste sauce" I saw on PBS last week.

I did not write it down, just tried to remember what they did,

so I don't know how close I am to their recipe

but here is what I did.

Why Dad loved this pot; the built in strainer.

It tastes very fresh, is very inexpensive to make,

and without the excessive prep needed

of other homemade versions I have tried before.

Get your water boiling:

2 cans of crushed tomatoes or 1 ( 28 0z) (Muir Glen)

I couldn't find crushed that day so I used

diced and ran them through my Todd English Pulse Thing.

(Just make sure the first ingredient on can is tomatoes, not puree, or

that means the tomatoes have been cooked already)

about 1/3 of small onion grated, yes I said grated, that way you

have subtle onion flavor not bits of onion

2 Tb butter (real butter)

1/4-1/2 tsp oregano you decide

Saute the grated onion in the butter slowly until golden, do not let brown

add the oregano and about 1/2 tsp salt

add 2-3 large pressed garlic cloves

Add tomatoes

1/4 tsp sugar

While tomatoes simmer gently, get spaghetti going.

I used the thick old fashioned kind

Right before serving add to sauce some good olive oil about 1 1/2 TB

Then add about 5 large leaves of basil. ( chiffonade)

Toss about a cup of the sauce with the spaghetti.

then pour the rest on top to serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

You could have simmered this on the stove

for hours. Don't tell, I won't.