This is Lovie (and my latest junk store treasures...not the glass...I had to sit it there to lure Lovie into the photo...because she has a Thang for Ice Cubes...it is really unnerving how that cat from the far side of the house can hear an ice cube chink into a glass)

a couple of years ago, DS dragged Lovie home from a store where he worked...the storefront sat on a Very Busy Street and I guess DS figured Not So Smart Kitty (bless her heart) would just wander into traffic one day...

Lovie is sweet...a little slow...but sweet :) (hey...better Sweet & Slow than Mean & Brilliant...unless you're my surgeon...)

Lovie does have one problem...She is the grubbiest cat I have ever met in my life...I'm serious...yesterday morning, I rolled her over to see if her underside was a grubby as the topside...My Word...grey...her tummy was grey...Lovie's underbelly fur is, theoretically, white, but it was as grey as the ash from our fireplace...

Oh my word...smackin' my own forehead...that is where she gets The Grubbies! Lovie has been hangin' out in the fireplace*...

Miss Lovie got a bath last night...

*hey...I didn't say Lovie was the only one who is sweet & slow around these parts...although not really that sweet :)

Just for Kicks (I know...Livin' Large, Ain't I?)

According to this site (provided by Miss Auberne' , daughter of Storybook Woods' Clarice :) , my Elven Name is Merenwen Celebrindal...and even better yet...my Hobbit Name is, drumroll, plez....Ruby Bumbleroot of Fair Downs...how utterly wonderful :)

I had an Aunt Ruby...nice lady :) ...smoked like a chimney, but still a nice lady...

Anyhoo...a Banner Mail Day here at Number 17 on this Tuesday...

First, my Nice The Cranky Guy Must Be Vacationing Mail Lady brought these to the door...and didn't even cuss at me when the Howlin' Horde of Number 17 met her at the screen door (and she's a tiny little thing, too!)...but I guess that is what she gets for tryin' to deliver this Package of Horror...

yep...old Christmas magazines I bought on E-bay for 99 cents...but I guess it counts that the Howlin' Horde thought they were protecting the home...mooks...

and when I finally dragged my self across the North Forty to the mailbox, I got this

gonna make myself an Elephant Quilt...and a Pumpkin Quilt, too...No, I don't quilt...yet...but I'm going to learn...right after that rug hookin' kit gets here and I finish that up...and that piece of knitting shoved into the Craft Closet...and the opened cross stitch kit I have stashed in a Christmas Gift Bag...sigh...and the teddy bears & dolls that I've bought a mountain of fabric for...I'm ignoring you now...so stop laughing...

Then, the UPS Lady dropped off this...what could it be?

I was so scared it was that rug hookin' kit...

ahhh..sweet sweet relief...(it is at Toni's fault...I saw her beautiful rug hookin' stuff...and some of her friends to whom she links...and decided to deny my enthusiasm for rug hookin' no longer)

Now, on to other things...

I think this same bee has been on this same flower since the plant went into the ground...

I may ask him to start payin' rent if he doesn't move along here shortly...

Sunflowers...they just make me happy :)

(They are Very Bad Sunflowers...that is why they're behind bars...)

Got these at Michael's...from Martha's New Craft Line...(I dropped by to look at the glitter...I was hopin' it would be glass glitter...but it doesn't look to be...some pretty colours, but not what I want...)

(it is a complete sets of 26 and the cards are larger than they appear in my photo...just over 6 x 10)

I know it would absolutely cost a mint to have these framed...but I'm working on...hey...just had a great idea...well, a baby great idea that might grow into a great idea...

well...guess I better go earn my keep and turn the oven on...

TIE, Ya'll :)

In General...

I find lots of things interest me...and I'm just going with the assumption that a lot of ya'll are the in the same boat :)

So...

Here are some Garden Shots...

First, the loverly Chaste Tree...

the equally Stunning Red Hot Poker...

the new gaillardia which I believe is named "Oranges and Lemons"...

My son's First Banana Pudding! DS begins culinary school this summer, planning to be a Pastry Chef when he grows up...man...that acorn didn't fall far from the tree...

Homemade Baked Banana Pudding with Meringue is one of the Special Things in Life...DS expressed some disappointment because his meringues didn't fluff up very well..but hey...this is southeastern Georgia...there is no such thing as a Humid Free Day...Or maybe it happened a long long time ago...before I was born...

and some Old Timers still talk about it:

Old Timer #1: "I remember that day in 1939 when there was Zero Humidity...Martha's meringues were high as a mountaintop"

Old Timer #2: "Yep...remember it well...Gertrude's divinity puffed up like clouds"

Old Timer #1: "Those were the days..."

Anyhoo...the recipe came from First Come, First Served...in Savannah...I'm hopin' the custard sets up a little more...the recipe calls for a cup more of milk than the recipe I use...

and Mr G, in a fit of Food Picture Jealousy, asked if I was going to take a photo of his First Rotisserie Chicken of the Season...sigh...

and our flags...I love flyin' the flag...and the more the better, right? a dear friend gave me the 5-flag holder...and I sure did have Mr G unscrew its column at our last home and bring it along with us :)

In Memory of and in Honour of All Our Servicemen and Servicewomen...Past, Present and Future...

Thank You and God Bless...

Rosemary...Lots of Rosemary

those tiny cute $1.00 Left Over From Christmas Topiary Rosemarys that I planted immediately after we moved in December of 2005 have gotten thuggy here lately...

so I gave some of them a good cutting back...and now I've got more rosemary than I can shake a stick at...

I guess I'm going to tie it into bundles to dry...and maybe fire bundles for this coming Christmas Season?...we don't grill or I'd use some for that...

I'll be one Happy Camper if my lavenders ever get to a stage I can call Thuggish...

*sorry for the double publish...I'm pretty much sick of having my posts either have huge gaps or being all scrunched up...

Saturday

In addition to my posting the winners of my Cottage Charm Give Away drawings...I've got other "stuff" to share...I know...just shake your head and say "well, bless her heart" :)

First...a fair day thrifting...I've been after an old sled for simply ages to use during the holidays ('cause it is all about Christmas, people)...and I found this little one today for $5! now, I feel quite sure that the child Abraham Lincoln did not use this sled to pull his puppy about his childhood home...but I still think it is fabulous...I'll apply a little reddish stain to deepen the colour contrast between the wood and iron...and Won-der-fulllll :)

the books...well, a teddy bear book and a book about the craft of book altering? just happy all the way 'round about both of those...I think they were $1.80 together...

and the little pie plates?! how darlin' are those? $2 for all of them...the perfect size for Pie for 2...

the green goblets (check those out, Toni :) with etched grapes & vine? hah hah...and they already come equipped with strange-smellin' votives...I will be removing those & replacing with my own...perfect for porch lighting...oh...50 cents each...

let's see...oh...right...and the last find will be included in Dorothy's Mystery Box from the CCGA...how perfect is that for a Cottage Light lover? and for $2...well, I couldn't just walk on by...bu-bu-bu-buuuuu....(sorry...little Dionne Warwick moment there)

and on the home front....Progress on Ranch To Cottage Transformation...

In the Garden...what was supposed to be an innocent trip to look for a Chaste Tree (all brought on by Chaste Tree Envy of the First Degree) since I have been very remiss about installing one here (I've had them in my two previous gardens...love them...) turned into an all-out Plant Buying Debacle...

I bought: two kniphofias (red hot pokers), 2 sweet potato vines, 2 of a new variety of gaillardia that I can't recall the name of...so I guess that means I have to go back to the nursery...which I was planning to anyway to buy all of their remaining...orange carex (bought 2 of those), 1 large clump of sunflowers (painfully simple to start yourself...but I forgot), 2 little orange thingies and 2 little silver thingies I can't recall the name of right this second...another rudbeckia (you can never have too many come August)...1 "Terracotta" yarrow...oh, yeah...and a vitex :)

I think it was about the time I picked up the orange carex that Mr G just went to get the yellow garden buggy...

I think this little plant fever may have come on due to my excitement over finally getting the house painted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I could do more but I have a friend who despises the over-use of exclamation remarks...so I'll keep it down)

The Butterfly Bush that I thought would never survive the winter...considerin' it only grew about 1 foot last year...that would have made it approximately 2 feet tall...and didn't even think about blooming...

And finally...Mr G's banana plants...the man is obsessed with these things...I get regular Banana Plant Updates...combined with commands to "Come see these crazy things"...Mr G is awed by how quickly the banana plants are putting out new growth (it is pretty darn amazing)...but I'm beginning to worry that pretty soon we'll be investing in new camera stuff...stuff capable of taking timed night photos...and that there may be Pith Helmets involved...

AND...drum roll, please...inspired by Kim's loverly red cabinets...I took the plunge...I painted my lower kitchen cabinets black today! I loved and wanted distressed black cabinets in our last home...but I had to laugh at the price the cabinet people gave me...no, really...I laughed and reminded our cabinet guy (he was such a sweetie...) that was I the Cheap Customer...(seriously...I will pay a fair price, but I'm quick to Draw the Red Line on the Price Quote)...the poor guy...he was actually frightened to tell what the copper counter tops I wanted would price out at...

(this is my old kitchen...you can see the olive green stain I decided to use instead)

But my point is (I know...), I've wanted black cabinets for years...and didn't have them in our last home because of the price...and when we moved here, the previous owners had just redone the kitchen...new tile, new counter tops, new cabinets, new wallpaper...and I was just terrified at the thought of messin' up those new cabinets...and got lots of input from friends who thought I should just keep my grubby mitts off...

then I saw Kim's red cabinets & realized I love black cabinets! so I should have black cabinets :)

the die was cast...I love them...already the kitchen just looks more like home...(after 1 1/2 years here...)...the uppers I'm painting cream...and we've found a cabinet guy who is going to route out 3 of my cabinet doors for glass...for $60...for all three...we priced replacement doors with glass somewhere in the $200 to $250 range...a piece...so my Cheap Self just started laughing again...

Anyhoo...thanks, Kim, for the inspiration to do what I love in our kitchen :)

now, I just have wallpaper to strip...lots of wallpaper to strip...bead board is startin' to look pretty good right about now...

okay...dinner is here (Mexican Take-Out Night) so I'll shut up and go eat now :)

TIE, ya'll :)

Can I Just Tell Ya'll...

how much I have enjoyed being a part of Kim's Cottage Charm Give Away?

I've visited so many wonderful blogs (you should see my bloglines account...man...) and, in turn, been visited by so many wonderful bloggers :)

It has just been a pleasure :)

Well, here is Number 17's Cottage Charm Give Away Jar...

and here is Winner #1...that for the things I've posted pixs of here on my blog :)

and here is Winner #2 of the Mystery Cottage Light Box :)

*I'll be e-mailing ya'll for your mailing addresses so I can get these boxes into the mail this week :)

Thanks, ya'll...this has been a blast :)

One More Thing...

I know...what a pain :)

If ya'll would have your entries in by noon tomorrow that would be great...

Thanks...and good night, Gracie :)

Cottage Charm Give Away Note

I'll have, if the creek don't rise (yes, I actually say things like that in real life :)...I can't help it!), the results of the drawings posted by 6 p.m. tomorrow night :)

Good Luck, ya'll :)

Chelsea Garden Show 2007

so, one of my Many Dreams revolves around a couple of weeks in London, the RHS's Chelsea Flower Show, unlimited cash and a friendly shipping firm to help me box up tons of plants and garden thingies and then send them wingin' across the Atlantic to Number 17...then a couple more weeks in Scotland...then a few more in The Lake District (which is, cross my heart, the loveliest place I have ever seen, bar none)...and I really didn't see much of Ireland at all...or Wales...or the southeastern part of Britain...

Good...I mentioned "unlimited cash"...but I forgot "no back flare-ups"...but now that I mentioned it, I'm good :)

Here is a link to the Times' garden page and from it you can click through many of the displays at the Chelsea...

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/gardens/chelsea_flower_show/article1826728.ece

This is my favourite little garden vignette so far...love it love it love it

Le Jardin de Vincent. Designers: Patricia Thirion and Janet Honour (photo from the Times Online)

Good News!

I've uncovered enough Cottage Light stuff that needs a new home so I'm going to draw a second name come the 26th :)

but I'm going to keep the items a surprise...I'm not sure why, exactly, but maybe it seems a little bit more exciting?!

Tagged...

Toni over at Rabbit Hill Creations tagged me with instructions to List 7 Ways to Turn $1 into $1000 in 24 hours...no, just kiddin'...to List 7 Random Things About Myself...and then tap 7 others to do the same...

sooooo:

#1 I hate to have my food mixed on my plate...cannot stand it...
#2 and #1 naturally means that it is only logical that I eat one thing on my plate before moving on to the next thing...it is natural, right?
#3 I can nurse the same stone cold cup of coffee all day long...I know...ewwww...
#4 I wish my first name was "Vanessa"...or "Olivia"...or "Zoe"...
#5 I'm happier at this point in my marriage than I would have ever imagined :) (especially after the umpteenth fight in our first few years of marriage about who left the lid off the tube of toothpaste) (knock wood)
#6 When I say "knock wood", I actually do :)
#7 I wish I loved Pink
#8 I'm not All Goodness and Light :) ...no, really...it is true...
#9 I LOOOOOVVVEEEE Apple Pie...there is No Such Thing as Bad Apple Pie...I don't care if it has sat in some greasy diner's dessert bin for a week and a half...scrape that mold off & hand me a spoon :) ...actually, I don't believe Apple Pie goes bad...
#10 Second only to Apple Pie in my Food Loves is a good batch of Hot Crunch On the Outside Steaming Hot on the Inside Salted and Served with A Big Glop of Real Duke's Mayonnaise French Fries...man...I'm salivating just typing this...

Okay...thank goodness for ya'lls dreams that this list is over, right? :)

Tapping: Domestic Bliss
Southern Inspiration
Southern Somedays
Gentle Retreat
The Feathered Nest
Homespun Living
Storybook Woods

(off to notify of the Tags)

What Could It Be?

piece of a strange carving left over from some ancient civilization?

very old petrified sludge from the washing machine?

or

a stalactite photograph taken deep within the bowels of the earth...maybe at Ruby Falls :)

No?

then how 'bout the bleepin' pitiful remains of my broken chicken lamp?

that's right...the little four-legged rotters ran in destruction mode again and just busted my chicken lamp all up...poor little headless chicken lamp...

and I realize there are those who believe this to be a blow struck in the name of GTD (good taste decorating)*, but I loved that chicken lamp...well, maybe "loved" is a bit strong, but I thought it was pretty darn funny...

now I want to know which little four-legged beastie plans to start peddlin' catnip on the street corner to replace my lamp...

and for RHC, my green goblets

(25 cents a piece...for 7)

Please note the Dunkey on the Edge coffee cup that belong to Mr G :) I love that coffee mug...

*if you think the chicken lamp is scary, wait until I share a photo of my Monkey Lamp [very big grin]

***********************************************************************************

and I'll get the Tag in a Little Bit but I'm off to the post office right now :)

Lavender, Sage and...Liriope

Those are what I picked up this morning...and a few other things...of course...I only went to Lowe's to look at their replacement cabinet doors (Big Doin's in the Kitchen ReDo area!)

But, force of habit, I park so I walk through the garden department...

And I had just been thinkin' to myself...and going ahead and sharing my thoughts with Mr G (early justification foundation) that I need something in the veggie patch to draw pollinators...truly, the courtyard garden has loads of bees...

and yet the poor Veggie Patch hardly has any! and the veggies suffer for it...right now, my little cantaloupe vines are bloomin'...and I have yet to see a bee anywhere near them...so I'm afraid it'll be a repeat of last year when I finally got cantaloupes but so late in the season that they didn't mature before the first hard frost came...

anyhoo...the Spanish Lavenders were 50% off and, yes, I morphed into a Spanish Lavender hog...I got all 5 that remained...the dwarf Santa Barbara Mexican Bush Sages were 50%, too (I only took 2 of those:)...well, crud...after finding a link for ya'll for the sages, now I really wish I had gotten more than 2! the card in them portrays the flowers as more of a fuchsia-violet-pink colour...well...we are going back this evening with a cabinet door in hand...

the New Blue Liriope was regularly priced, but the courtyard has some major Bare Spots...and I'm trying to eliminate most of the colour in there except for foliage...it seems calmer & cooler to have only foliage when the summer gets here...sorry for yet another crummy pix...

I hope to have an arbor of some type built to cover the courtyard area one of these days...one of these days wayyyy down the road :)

I also finally got around to pickin' up a new coconut mat liner for a huge iron hanging basket my MIL gave to me months and months ago...the remains of a 3/4s dead Boston fern lived in the basket...and I finally felt shamed enough by its lingering presence to do something about it...

for the basket, I chose white petunias, variegated ivy, blue daze and I plopped a Christmas Cactus I had about the place into the basket as well...just for some height & fun texture...

now I just have to remember to water the thing...and hope Mama Wren doesn't come along & decide to have some babies in there...

I decided to make up two of these easy planters for atop two of the courtyard columns...little off on the scale, but oh well...the grasses will make it easier for these not to roast in our Georgia summers...

and we got a bit more painted in the courtyard area...we're just about through in that area except for right along the top of one wall (you can see that in the right photo below) and the columns...

the scale on the fountain is off...but I plan to remedy that will adding trellis work around it one of these days...probably not until next winter...

do not look at the bare spots on the ground! I'm trying to slowly fill in with different plants that provide not just texture, but unusual colours...like the creeping jenny you can just see in the very back of the garden...

Additional Cottage Charm Give Away Items

Sorry, but I take such rotten photographs...the colours are all washed out

this is: 2 king-sized wedding ring quilted pillow shams in soft pinks/blues/greens

2 matching standard-sized pillowcases with purple lilacs (?) stitched on

1 standard-sized mended pillocase with stitched urn & flowers (you can barely see this off to the top right of the photo)

1 little stitched piece

1 Marisa Christina sweater that is a size Small, but would fit a medium pretty easily...still has the hang tag...this is a soft pink with pearl beads and is tunic length...wait...I may have a better photo of it...

No...I don't...and I'm far too lazy to get up to take another photo :)

**Thanks to Manuela for pointing out that I titled this post all wrong...Sorry :)

***There is a link in my first cottage charm give away post to this post so it can all be easily accessed...

Library Sale!

Today our library holds their yearly Book Sale!

no worries that my bedside table looks like this...and this scene is repeated throughout our home :) (don't panic...these are just the unread books)...

I've only held 2 Book Purges in my life...and I deeply-oh-so-deeply regret both ...(I still want all of my yellow-spined Nancy Drews back!)

once in a blue moon, I'll send a book off to Goodwill...one that I deeply dislike...or I'll pass a copy of an okay book along to a friend who wants to give it a go...

but mostly, I hold onto my Books :) ...

have you ever just had that random line of dialogue or stray character bit pop into your mind...from a book you read years and years ago...and you can't recall something about it? but it is going to absolutely drive you up the wall until you clarify what was done, said or whatever?

well, me too!...and what a major pain to track down a book that has gone OOP just to verify how a line is worded...or to recall the particulars of a singularly intricate storyline...or even to check something really really minor...like a house address...

anyhoo...most of our books now come from the thrift shops e-bay...(I think you can see the stickers on the spines in some of the photos)...I'm always elated and yet a little sad when I come across a cache of really great books at the thrift shop...

it means someone else is doing her/his own Book Purge...and I know it will be regretted...

not by me because I'll be doing the Happy Book Dance (trust me, you don't want to see this...it ranks up there on the Scary Scale right alongside the Happy Food Dance)...

Wish me Happy Book Rescuing today :)

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If you have me on bloglines or a service like that where you get a heads-up that I've published a new post...and you get a million notices for 1 entry...it is me trying to get these dadgummed huge spaces out of my entries! sorry about that...maybe I'll figure out what is going on one of these days...probably not...but maybe...

Frugal Heads Up

I found these sheet sets @ amazon.com...spring for 2 sets, pick the super saver shipping option and you simply can't beat the price...well, free is good, but unless you like to ask for sheets for your birthday :) and you can even just mail them a check (I'd love it if they were set up for paypal :) instead of using your credit or debit card...

Anyhoo...I've ordered 3 sets...our sheet selection around here is, um, "varied" would be a nice word...and sliding into a fresh set of white sheets after a long hot summer day is one of life's wonderful pleasures :)

Pinzon 300-TC Sheet Set $16.99


300-thread count is probably my favourite count for bedding...300 TC is high enough to not be like sleeping on a jute floor mat, but low enough to not be excessively delicate...


early in our marriage, Mr G's mom thoughtfully went out & bought us a beautiful set of high-thread count sheets...

long story short, since the FBDs (Furry Baby Dogs) are allowed on our bed, someone's sharp little toenails ripped the livin' blankety right out of that bottom sheet the first time I dressed the bed with it...

Nuthin' Like Waiting Until...

the Last Minute, is there? :)

I'm signing up for Kim's (of One Woman's Cottage Life) Cottage Charm Give Away Day! My first ever Blog-Related give away :)

I'll try to post the cute little icon thingie from Kim's site...but I may not Get 'Er Done...

Anyhoo...in my previous post, I stated I tried aligning myself with the Light Side of the Cottage Decorating Force...and failed so miserably....

So, here are a few things left over from my attempt that I'm now happy to pass along...along with a few other things...




You see: A vintage Needlepoint Pillow (the background is a minty aqua and the fringe is true pink), a tin with butterflies and flowers, a little chintz sugar pot (the lid has been mended and the gilt is shabby, but it is still great), 3 little molds, an unopened stamped cross stitch kit (that I've had for simply years and years), a jar of Braswell's Apple Pie Jam (made in the area & the only new thing in the lot :) ...thought ya'll might want some reassurances in that area...I was going to put my jar of Braswell's Fig and Ginger Preserves in the lot...but I'm such a Jam Freak that I couldn't bring myself to do that...but the Apple Pie Jam is wonderful...that was the first Braswell's I tried after stumbling across it at Byrd's Cookie Company) and Raffaella Barker's Hens Dancing...


(this pix is just here because I think it shows the colours of the pillow much better than the first photo)

I may stumble across something else that needs a new home & if I do, I'll post a pix :)

So, if you're interested in winning this motley lot, just leave a comment & I'll draw a name on May 26th...please have a valid e-mail addy so I can get a mailing address for the winner :)

*my e-mail addy is under my profile here on Life at Number 17


***I've unearthed a few more things I'll be post a pix of later this evening or in the morning...DS borrowed my DC so I'm DC-less :)

***link to additional items http://lifeatnumber17.blogspot.com/2007/05/additional-cottage-swap-items.html

***link to additional drawing :) http://lifeatnumber17.blogspot.com/2007/05/good-news.html

Project Cottage...

presses onward :)

Number 17 is our Compromise House...the house I fell in love with during our extensive search, well, Mr G seemed to dislike it beyond reason...

And the house Mr G loved, well, it was way too small...I mean, I do love the man, but...

Anyhoo, Number 17 was a Third Round Draft Pick...a last resort, so to speak...

When our Realtor Lady said "I don't think you'll like this house", she was so right...I think I spent maybe 5 minutes here...but the more I thought about this house...and the more I realized there really were no houses left to see in this market that had even a few of our Required Features...the more I realized this house had serious Make-Over Potential...

So, I included Number 17 on the list for Mr G and I to visit together...havin' already retired that list twice with no luck...

And here we are...

But one of my stipulations for signing on the dotted line was that we would paint the outside...the brick outside...without any haggling or any major Hissy Fits...on either of our parts...

And we've started!

Now, before you look at the photographs, realize that while I love soft pastel colours and lots of frills and miles of white yardage...that ain't my take on Cottage Style...I'm afraid even tho' I tried to force myself to visit the Light Side of the Force, I'm all about Autumn Colours...and, to be perfectly frank, darker colours that hide the multitude of sins daily inflected upon the home by our Zoo...well, except for Blue & White ceramics...

(Am I the only one who thinks that light fixture is too high?...and, well, not very Cottage Like?)

Can I tell ya'll how much I love our new screen door? Almost exactly like the one that was on my Granma's front door...

Here is a photo of the brick that still covers the rest of the house (Can you say "Summer Project Purgatory"? Painting a brick house in Georgia...in June...and July)

The trim above the door hasn't been painted yet..."Woodrow Wilson White"...or something like that...is the colour going up there...

And I'm going to paint the concrete porch floor...I'm thinkin' a checkerboard of some type...I'm thinkin' Mr G is going to pack his bags and move away...far far away...

Okay, enough of that...plant pix time:

Baby Tomatoes that sit by the front door...the one place where I can see them enough to remind myself to water them...

and I actually remembered to fertilize them...

What's Not To Love...

about a heart-shaped Chic-Fil-A sandwich?...especially after a long long time on a Die-t

OR

about a weather forecast that promises:

Monday Night, May 14*
"A starlit sky"?

Makes me feel as if I should be planning something special for tonight...even if it is a Monday...or should that read "especially since it is a Monday"?

OR

about a Mama Cat taking beautiful care of her farm kittens?

OR

a book where you don't have to worry about all of the Ten Commandments being broken before page 5?

*weather forecast courtesy of accuweather.com...a site that now has completely won my loyalty with its poetic forecast :)

Kind of Sad...

Our little town's only free-standing fabric store is shutting its doors come May 26th...true, it wasn't much a store...sort of dimly lit and nothing too exciting in the way of fabrics...or was I just not looking hard enough?


Because I went in today for some tea-dyed muslin (at 69 cents a yard) and came out with $71.62 worth of fabric and bias tape and a new marking pen...and some heavy duty needles...I don't know why but the sales lady seemed to want me to buy them so...

and now I'm regretting not getting more of the plain muslin...and the rest of that copper-coloured tulle (top of the stack)


I'm sure the decision to close the store was all about dollars and cents...this was a Hancock's Fabric but somehow became a Fabric World and now will become a nurse's uniform shop...


That leaves Wally World fabrics...and the scuttlebutt is W/M (or H/M as I like to call it) is closing down their fabric departments...I've read that all of the fabric departments will be shut and I've read that only some will be...


And 1 local quilting store...otherwise, saddle up and ride, boldly ride to find a fabric store...


What a shame...I think with some effort made to attract a wider clientele by including hobby & craft items (there is no hobby store here or craft store except for stitching and scrapbooking...and Wally World, of course, has a limited amount) along with some of the new hip fabric lines and offering classes (we are a university town) this store could have really shone...


okay, moving on from Maudlin Slightly Reproving Tone Directed Towards Corporate Office Who Will Never Read This Anyway...


so what, you ask, am I planning to do with this Big Beautiful Pile of Fabrics and whatnots?


I'm glad you asked...because I need to bolster my courage by repeating this over and over to myself...plus if I write it, I'll feel honour-bound to do it...because I've got an over-active Guilt Myself Mechanism, that's why...


I'm going to 1) make several cute summer skirts and 2) make dolls


I know! I'm a Wild and Crazy Woman :)


I've wanted to make dolls for years...and have bought some loverly doll making books...and have yet to work up the nerve to begin the first one...but I've determined this will be the Summer of the Doll...not "dolls" because, well, I'll probably have a nervous breakdown just getting through one...but I figure the First One has to the be the Worst One...right?


And the skirt thing? well (I know...I say "well" a lot), I love fabrics and it just seems strange to stockpile all this stuff...so I'm going to try to make some skirts...simple, slightly A-line...elastic waist...


I tried...several years ago...to make a 1 hour skirt pattern...12 hours later, I was in tears and the skirt never got entirely finished...but I did wear it to work...once... with the elastic held together with a safety pin (hidden beneath my t-shirt) because I was bound and determined to wear that stupid skirt...


I may end up with a lot of pretty dust rags...