She's Sew Pretty

SC 1, SC2...Ack!!

I was going to show you a fabulous display of cakes and cupcakes that I've been making.  My daughter gave me a lesson in crocheting a cupcake.  I thought I had it down.  Well, I've spent most of the day trying to recreate the "icing" we made together.  I'll bet I've spent a collective two or three hours and I just can't get the hang of it.  The pattern says "easy".  I guess I need more lessons.  My daughter is a whiz with a crochet needle.  Right now she's working on a blanket for her nephews.  I think she needs to make 100+ fish.  No problem for her.  I can't even make one dang cupcake!
I'm going back to my trusty sewing machine tomorrow.  For now, I'm going to get in bed and read magazines.  Polly at Counting Your Blessings has published a magazine called Porch.  In this issue, Polly photographed some wonderful shops and fantastic displays to dream about. I love, love this page with the hat boxes! I'm looking forward to her winter issue.
Come back for Pink Saturday.  I've got pink cakes and the cutest little bird salt shakers to show you! I'd show you tonight but my camera decided it was time for a "nap".

Hello September!

Happy September!  We had a busy, busy weekend.  We spent two days at my brother-in-law's house celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday.  She loves to play cards and we managed to play quite a few hands with her.  She even beat us a few times.  She is as sharp as a tack!  I should have taken pictures of my sister-in-law's kitchen for you.  She loves I Love Lucy and her kitchen is all done in retro pink and aqua with lots of Lucy memorabilia. 
We headed back home and spent Labor Day at my brother's house in the mountains.  What a great day!  We watched Fresno State kick Rutger's booty in our first football game of the year!  Go Dogs! Then we had the most amazing debate with my 12 year old niece about everything from "right to life" to gay marriage. If only the rest of our country could see the world through our children's eyes.  I'm hoping she will grow up to be a lawyer and maybe even a future president!
Today was spent celebrating September with my hubby.  September signifies the return of fall and football-his favorite time of year.  We took a drive to Exeter, where the most amazing murals are painted on the sides of businesses.  I promised Sal, who did a blog post about her Exeter's murals in  the UK many months ago, a look at the murals here in Exeter, California.  We not only walked the main street taking pictures of the murals for Sal, but we poked in and out of a few antique  shops.  I'll show you what I found later this week.  For now...enjoy the tour of Exeter.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressed in Pink

( vintage pink pot holder, 1950's kitty greeting card, page from My Symphony by Wm Henry Channing and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit)

Happy Pink Saturday again!   I'm posting today because tomorrow I'll be on my way to southern California for my mother-in-law's 86th birthday.  She's a cute, spry, little lady who is so much fun! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and make sure to go visit sweet Beverly for more Pink Saturday posts!

Daydreaming

I've been trying to limit myself to time on the computer so I'll try to make this a short post.  Monday's surgery went well.  It was painful but by Tuesday morning I was free from eye pain.  I've been spending a lot of time in my bedroom.  My desk sits on the wall across from the foot of my bed and I have this beautiful inspiration board hanging above it.  I'm sure some of you will recognize the beautiful artwork that you've sent me.  It's inspired me to do lots of dreaming about creating and not much creating.  I also have this shelf over my closet.  It doesn't get dusted much because I have to climb up a ladder to get to it. Sunday night, I decided to take everything down, vacuum, and rearrange.  The adorable lamb planter was a recent estate sale find.  I told my hubby that I'm collecting this stuff for a future grand baby. So far I've gotten away with it. ;o)  My bedroom has turned into a good place to sit and stare and daydream. 
Speaking of dreaming, I've been reading the beautiful, beautiful book, The Private World of Tasha Tudor.  It is filled with gorgeous pictures of Tasha's illustrations,  gardens, vintage clothing and collections.  Tasha would have been 93 tomorrow.  Victoria magazine also has a tribute to Tasha Tudor in September's issue.  I could spend hours imagining a Tasha Tudor lifestyle.  As for Tasha, what an amazing woman! She probably didn't spend a whole lot of time sitting around daydreaming.

Pretty Treasures

 Look at these sweet treasures.  The little blue and white saucer was bought at the thrift store for me by my best friend.  She knows me so well.  The other saucer, the pile of vintage doilies and the hanky bag  were found in a chest at an estate sale.  I love this little yo yo bag.   It needs a tiny bit of repair and it is missing a few yo yos but it is so cute! I'll probably mend it and then hang it on a hook in my bedroom so I can look at it every day. I'm using some of the doilies for some new ideas I have for Lollishops.   This is the beginning of a chenille cake with a doily top.  It isn't finished yet.  I have to put more stuffing and finish out the bottom.
I hope you will forgive me for comg here to share my trials.  I found out on Friday that I need more eye surgery for my diabetic proliferative retinopathy.  This afternoon will be my fifth surgery.  It is back to the torture chair for me.  I am trying to be upbeat about it.  The doctor has turned out to be a very sweet and compassionate woman.  When I first met her, I thought she was arrogant and unfeeling.  I have come to realize how badly she wants to save my sight.  I am doing everything I can to keep my blood sugar levels down.  When I first started having the surgeries my A1C blood level was 9.  Now it is 6.5, which is almost normal for a nondiabetic person.  That means lots of sacrifice.  No desserts.  No bread, pasta or potatoes.  I think I may have turned into a 5'6" rabbit! I've also lost 27 pounds! So,  I may not be here for a few days.  I'll catch up with all of you as soon as I can.

In the Pink Again

 Happy Pink Saturday!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite pink pictures from the last year and a half of blogging. I have a a slight fondness for pink!  For more beautiful pink posts go visit sweet Beverly and find a link to all of the other Pink Saturday participants.

Junk Art

It's been a while since I took you for a drive. Since the gas prices are so high, we'll take a short drive to the foothills of Clovis.   Right now our foothills are covered with dry grass and oak trees.  If you don't mind the lack of green, it can be a pretty drive.  We've been passing this fence for years.  It is quite a piece of sculpture.  Some people call it junk art. I'm glad we stopped. I've always liked the cowboy playing the guitar but,  I never noticed the coyotes, the funky birds made from propane tanks or the 15 foot long rattlesnakes. Look at this,  there's even an old sewing machine in the design.  Quails Lakes is a gated housing development.  If you'd like to live there, there's a house for sale right now for a cool 1,395,000.  Just your basic four bedroom ranch style with your own 20 acres  of dry grass.

A New Week

Did you notice I finally made myself a banner?  Would you believe that I put if off because I was afraid I might delete my whole blog?  I still want to play with the colors for the links and captions but for now it will do.  I don't know why it isn't centered.  I really think I need to take a computer class this fall.  The photo of the little girl was a gift from my friend Jen at Kahshe Cottage. It could have been me though.  I taught myself to sew on my mom's old sewing machine.
I did some sprucing up around the house too.  I've been looking for blue sheers for my living room window.  I looked on line.  I looked at the linen supply.  I looked for just the right blue dye.  I couldn't find what I wanted. Saturday, I was next door to KMart and thought I would check and see if they had any sheers.  Oh Martha!  Isn't this a pretty color?  Martha Stewart brand and only four dollars a panel.  Woo Hoo!  I hung my pretty banner from Becky over the top.  I'd show you the whole living room but it really looks like a recording studio. The fan is a necessity.  We could have financed a trip to the Mexican Riviera on just the cost of our electric bill this summer.

Look what came in the mail today.  Vicki at Turkey Feathers had a giveaway and I won my choice of her patterns. I picked this cute potholder pattern.  When I visited  Vicki's blog to say thank you, I saw these adorable bakery treats made by her daughter.  I think I have a new obsession. My little cake is so cute.  I told my hubby that I need a doll house now.  That way I can still satisfy my collector bug and contain it to a small area.  Makes sense to me!

A Touch of Pink Saturday

A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.
John Keats

Another Pink Saturday at Beverly's!  I thought I'd just show you a touch of pink today. A pretty new pincushion with a perfect pink rose.  A sweet little pink jar that once held the secret to beauty.  Tiny pink roses on a beautiful vintage scarf. The sweetest little pink box found with near new pinking shears inside.  Go visit Beverly and all of her pink friends and have a wonderful pink weekend.

Happiness is Buttons

Look at this pretty award.  Linda at Somewhere in Time gave it to me a few weeks ago.  I'm going to combine it with the Tree of Happiness award from Melody at My Little Blue Cottage.  You're supposed to share six things that make you happy.  How about buttons?  1. Buttons make me happy.  2. Making pincushions makes me happy too! 3. My hubby makes me happy unless he's tired and cranky and in a bad mood (wait, maybe that's me).  4. My kitty stopped ignoring me today and that makes me happy too.  5. My kids make me happy.  How did I get so lucky?! 6.  My blog friends here make me happy.  I'll pass both of these awards on to these five ladies but I think each and every one of you deserves them too.
Phyllis at Shabby in the City
Brenda at The Brenda Blog
Jen at Kahshe Cottage(photo blog)
Sheri at The Pawsh Poodle Boutique
and just this once I want to give it to a lady who doesn't have a blog but should and deserves these awards.  Janice...this ones for you too!

One more thing before I go.  Don't you think I need more buttons?  I don't have very many yellow and purple.  Yes!  A good reason to keep going to estate sales!  ;o)