tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14384785529499179492024-03-05T23:05:36.155-08:00BCharmerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-39446641892851458612012-06-19T19:19:00.005-07:002012-06-19T19:19:55.993-07:00Another Excuse to Sew<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I finally broke down and bought a Kindle e-reader. I got a good deal on it with a coupon and chose a re-furbished one instead of a never-before-used one in order to help justify the purchase. I mostly love it. It's easy to use, doesn't hurt my eyes, and is super great for carrying multiple books without the bulk. I like it that I can get books for the Kindle from the library, but I confess to being disappointed with my library's selection of e-books. I really hope the library continues to expand on their electronic repetoire because I don't like the idea of having to purchase books all of the time. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTIXAxLu4yWljqDxf1_tlfWA9is_ZI3QG2VGZN84vfasdu1am-F744Ac1XJ4n16O3xi5nfn_Sjesqm7Y15YWYoxAsvMb3S6F3f6WM2UbVphmdzEtK1tePlYTqbaLGgVkPIstngwCF2CQ/s1600/Bronwyn's+Roses+Kindle+Cover+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTIXAxLu4yWljqDxf1_tlfWA9is_ZI3QG2VGZN84vfasdu1am-F744Ac1XJ4n16O3xi5nfn_Sjesqm7Y15YWYoxAsvMb3S6F3f6WM2UbVphmdzEtK1tePlYTqbaLGgVkPIstngwCF2CQ/s400/Bronwyn's+Roses+Kindle+Cover+008.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I knew ahead of time that I wanted to make my own cover for the Kindle, and I chose a soft, felted wool in grey for the outside, and a nice quality flannel cotton for the inside and accent. I really love the way it looks, and it feels really nice in my hand. I'm thinking about making some for my shop; what do you think?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmVc006cJzFvKIgqng8_x1naae_TWx3MAZRePDO_udug7I5Ji9ta6dLmw4NiqT59el9CgL0bC-4iOVus97nbraTXYI6iR0uoc85wSzpCGN6FZlx33i8qMy0KI91Lb1PNeSSg8RCBjtTU/s1600/Bronwyn%2527s+Roses+Kindle+Cover+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmVc006cJzFvKIgqng8_x1naae_TWx3MAZRePDO_udug7I5Ji9ta6dLmw4NiqT59el9CgL0bC-4iOVus97nbraTXYI6iR0uoc85wSzpCGN6FZlx33i8qMy0KI91Lb1PNeSSg8RCBjtTU/s320/Bronwyn%2527s+Roses+Kindle+Cover+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-33029442737372851682012-03-13T10:15:00.000-07:002012-03-13T10:15:06.773-07:00A New-ish Design<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xrVW1A8KCrJpUllGY4mlF0JjziKQTa_HvgRCszt84vpPOoGvg4lyfmZoZesBbEo5WrbkBWxqde_3w4qcN5NEE5y3ozxQuDyzODTFbEx-6_lzuEbGsScPe0bz0amQLJiwn9x1186zi_Y/s1600/BlueRacingStripe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xrVW1A8KCrJpUllGY4mlF0JjziKQTa_HvgRCszt84vpPOoGvg4lyfmZoZesBbEo5WrbkBWxqde_3w4qcN5NEE5y3ozxQuDyzODTFbEx-6_lzuEbGsScPe0bz0amQLJiwn9x1186zi_Y/s320/BlueRacingStripe.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recently I was contacted by a customer who wanted to purchase a wallet for her husband, but wasn't sure which fabrics to choose for him. "I don't want any print, really, but I don't want something only solid, either," she said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In my mind, I have been thinking about this very dilemma. Not everyone wants a big splashy print on their accessories, not even me sometimes. So I put my hands and my mind together and came up with a racing stripe design that I like quite well. What do you think?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_FAm8z7e8lpcCX18LP85K0iThGAoH_iKmAkc1rMTfC3Q1MORUfd64hWOq_8CwnpTxcDl3v3E_n24AxEXXZYiz2w8DHcVLMCbh0fe55vekJ7eFk7m4FgpwtW3vCSUaA7PQvCGxFr2UHA/s1600/RedRacingStripe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_FAm8z7e8lpcCX18LP85K0iThGAoH_iKmAkc1rMTfC3Q1MORUfd64hWOq_8CwnpTxcDl3v3E_n24AxEXXZYiz2w8DHcVLMCbh0fe55vekJ7eFk7m4FgpwtW3vCSUaA7PQvCGxFr2UHA/s320/RedRacingStripe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-19487354584650603872012-03-10T20:37:00.001-08:002012-03-10T20:43:59.871-08:00Heralding of Spring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Spring is coming closer, and tonight we set our clocks forward in anticipation of more daylight. The Varied Thrush began its odd, buzzy trill at my bedroom window a month ago, and the buds of the red flowering currant are flush and ready to pop, so I know that the Rufus hummingbird will soon be here, chilly and hungry from her vacation in warmer climes.<br />
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Today I took a walk down to a lovely watershed near my home, in search of a precious green that I always crave at this time of year: the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1097702553">Stinging Nettle, </a><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettle">Urtica dioica</a>. </em>This<em> </em>utilitarian plant has been used by many cultures over centuries to cure just about anything that ails a person, and some of it's medicinal uses have been borne out by modern medical research. Additionally, nettles can be prepared and spun to make a sturdy yarn, and then woven into a cloth that is more sturdy than flax (linen) and softer than hemp; so it's the perfect plant in my mind. <br />
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The fact that it also happens to be <em>delicious</em> is what makes me go into the woods, searching for it every March. <br />
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I like nettles steamed (which takes away the sting) and served with a little butter, but it is also very good in soups, or any other way that one might enjoy spinach or a sturdy green (except for raw). The flavor can be compared to spinach, but with a somewhat woolly texture, and a brighter green flavor. My husband enjoys it, too, although when we ate it tonight he said, "This is delicious, " and then added sweetly, "would you like to finish mine?" He claimed chivalry because he could see how much I was enjoying mine, but in truth I think he felt skittery about the possibility of getting a sting.<br />
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If you want to harvest your own nettles for supper, be sure to have a pair of scissors, and clip only the tops of new plants (older plants become tough and stringy). Be careful to avoid being stung; you can wear gloves or be decidedly timid in your approach. If you get stung, you won't die, but you won't soon forget the experience either. Rinse the nettles and put them above boiling water to steam until just bright green. Add a little butter if you wish and enjoy! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jK8JpI98DS-lTGJF5V16lR4CSJ7rKGYBWRSoYYQ2jjX0RC_bFOljtT5ta7qyt1Q7tSGBhqs1EKk9YwGdkLdFdMwEz1J3H5QgFyPtWmQwOp5f2ZQJ_AawZVuG2SoWRlechvUxBqfjWHI/s1600/SteamedNettles1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jK8JpI98DS-lTGJF5V16lR4CSJ7rKGYBWRSoYYQ2jjX0RC_bFOljtT5ta7qyt1Q7tSGBhqs1EKk9YwGdkLdFdMwEz1J3H5QgFyPtWmQwOp5f2ZQJ_AawZVuG2SoWRlechvUxBqfjWHI/s320/SteamedNettles1.JPG" width="311" /></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-84763896044484620382012-01-23T10:23:00.000-08:002012-01-23T10:24:13.292-08:00Speaking of Snow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpooM9U1igKR07Q_sHcsYGdOK83pQQ5ml9X2e2wktz1a8zKTmJUtJjkO3yYe5x_v4UxhgIJEQsruydSw6mmQPmUjchV8wxJKCBEApzlP41FjFsxhFbKu8NumLFlXe43JkWeCmxKqPQlk/s1600/IcyHummer2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpooM9U1igKR07Q_sHcsYGdOK83pQQ5ml9X2e2wktz1a8zKTmJUtJjkO3yYe5x_v4UxhgIJEQsruydSw6mmQPmUjchV8wxJKCBEApzlP41FjFsxhFbKu8NumLFlXe43JkWeCmxKqPQlk/s320/IcyHummer2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna's Hummingbird, enduring the cold</td></tr>
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</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Just after my last post, we had a large ice storm which, sadly, split many large trees down their centers, causing power failures throughout our town. We spent just about 5 days without heat, telephone, or internet. The first two days were rosy and quiet. We read books, played cards, and snuggled together on the couch. After that, the romance wore off and I started to feel cold and isolated. I took a long walk into town to see if maybe the library would be open, or <em>maybe</em> a coffee house where I could check my e-mail. But no. Even the post office was black, and the best thing I got from my hike was exercise. I thought about my ancestors, who bore the cold and dark for the whole of late fall, winter, and early spring. Who never had hot water on tap. Who never had conveniences like a washer and dryer. Whose babies often died from exposure, illness, or hunger. I looked at my soft, easy life, and felt humbled and appreciative. Appreciative for my ancestors' hardiness, and appreciative for the conveniences that I take for granted. I'm glad that we had the storm, even though I'm sad that we lost two trees in our yard. It was a good reminder to me that I have been pampered and fortunate, even when I am feeling sorry for myself.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2foQ6Afwmpv85KOCNubTgCVip_LJ7PLvyOVV0Oic0owzoHnfr8jh4gyPKMwSmaYc8hoq1H7x9VNRXTrzpsOv_YxUicYu2AYrNLIu7BoljQFYCSYmZQfbfRSg1EcWx2cKTjgdSMSQ5nI/s1600/Snowy-OwlWingSpanWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2foQ6Afwmpv85KOCNubTgCVip_LJ7PLvyOVV0Oic0owzoHnfr8jh4gyPKMwSmaYc8hoq1H7x9VNRXTrzpsOv_YxUicYu2AYrNLIu7BoljQFYCSYmZQfbfRSg1EcWx2cKTjgdSMSQ5nI/s320/Snowy-OwlWingSpanWeb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Owl, by Barry Troutman</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I am including in this post, two spectacular photographs that were taken by a dear friend and photographic advisor, Barry Troutman. Barry has a special affinity for wildlife (and especially bird) photography. We have had the good fortune to experience an unusual influx of Snowy Owls in our region, and Barry went off to "see what his camera could see." When he found the owls, he was dismayed to see that they were quite litterally being mobbed by photographers, who were hoping to get a close shot. Barry, not wanting to participate in stressing the birds, chose a remote location where he could simply sit and watch the birds, and maybe get a far away shot as a souvenier. Not long after he got settled, one of the birds was disturbed from its perch and took flight, traveling right towards Barry. He said he just lifted the camera and started shooting; getting some fabulous captures of the owl in flight. Just look at those huge wings and talons. Amazing!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjdjsLDW2h4VdFm2NCs5rpyEMjQErySSzwcpc179TkhlfRADdtGkSzra44llvfK1Yoe_GJ5FX3q9-qOtyWwFML_MeEnh0evbBXnzi8UHj5l5fWQWdmCIrphzLBFTmeN50JPl5YEDFO5Q/s1600/Snowy-OwlClose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjdjsLDW2h4VdFm2NCs5rpyEMjQErySSzwcpc179TkhlfRADdtGkSzra44llvfK1Yoe_GJ5FX3q9-qOtyWwFML_MeEnh0evbBXnzi8UHj5l5fWQWdmCIrphzLBFTmeN50JPl5YEDFO5Q/s320/Snowy-OwlClose.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Owl, by Barry Troutman</td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-26624091539371286542012-01-18T22:37:00.000-08:002012-01-18T23:25:13.275-08:00Snow is Nature's Lightbox<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACZNpuBZj0YqVsmmHHZ6DWEsTneq2OOkhnOQX1Wiy8oR9hupkIE18CrshkTjAiZxmyhLh7r_qw7HdWBSEL5RW_PUEWEaXTa8LUpZxgy67th7ph29ry-BDVNB1oVynklHZC9x8jUbHiYo/s1600/GoldFinchFluff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACZNpuBZj0YqVsmmHHZ6DWEsTneq2OOkhnOQX1Wiy8oR9hupkIE18CrshkTjAiZxmyhLh7r_qw7HdWBSEL5RW_PUEWEaXTa8LUpZxgy67th7ph29ry-BDVNB1oVynklHZC9x8jUbHiYo/s320/GoldFinchFluff.jpg" width="273" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We've had an inordinate amount of snow here the past few days. In usual years, we'll get a couple of inches of the white stuff one day and it's gone the next. Last night we got 14 inches of new snow, on top of the several inches that had accumulated from the previous day. It's a winter wonderland and I'm loving it! I sat out in my front yard this morning, bundled up, watching the finches have drama over the feeders. I'm learning how to use a different camera so instead of my trusty, I pulled out the new one; there's only one way to get good at something different, right? Upon reviewing the photos, I realized that I should have increased my shutter speed; this would have provided me with a more crisp image and also more "still" shots of wingbeats. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the creamy complexion that the lightbox of snow created for me.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High drama</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECR2KNCteS2ROVOumykVcalvt7RyyH02UAoDSvQUHfztu7tr_UfWOyb_axoz5U58_qeatI5mlwxOuHfy3ONG58auGaEe9xr0WusLzOZEZPB0oAAa-I1AAM_Z-hFmFUNZU9ppzxKsuZkI/s1600/OneSeedAtATime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECR2KNCteS2ROVOumykVcalvt7RyyH02UAoDSvQUHfztu7tr_UfWOyb_axoz5U58_qeatI5mlwxOuHfy3ONG58auGaEe9xr0WusLzOZEZPB0oAAa-I1AAM_Z-hFmFUNZU9ppzxKsuZkI/s320/OneSeedAtATime.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One seed at a time creates nourishment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHfJTViK12299IylbfOt6LM6cpIULk2v4JfrNTajqaqn0aXbEPttAOFhyphenhyphen6irIC-itla5Awy2WRcRdLeZVfq38SOhmBPYixeGjOF5YkT-RdAUw8ZrjYCjdEtCrZ_-MP5aM64g-a8VEJ2g/s1600/ListenSoftly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHfJTViK12299IylbfOt6LM6cpIULk2v4JfrNTajqaqn0aXbEPttAOFhyphenhyphen6irIC-itla5Awy2WRcRdLeZVfq38SOhmBPYixeGjOF5YkT-RdAUw8ZrjYCjdEtCrZ_-MP5aM64g-a8VEJ2g/s320/ListenSoftly.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Listen Softly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY-0PqqqKlsZd_mSx0qfjkWfTgoArwuXQoUaYC6ibahnGaGzGALyy1JPmuIGAmPpPAcLWZZI6rCJ_lbRdT1vXt9HcqpXcEJRTw0U8Lua1ENhmS1qvYGhhOrqmc4karEt_WlSqZGlofmk/s1600/PerchingBoy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY-0PqqqKlsZd_mSx0qfjkWfTgoArwuXQoUaYC6ibahnGaGzGALyy1JPmuIGAmPpPAcLWZZI6rCJ_lbRdT1vXt9HcqpXcEJRTw0U8Lua1ENhmS1qvYGhhOrqmc4karEt_WlSqZGlofmk/s320/PerchingBoy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male American Goldfinch</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A couple of days ago I went up to Seattle to listen to a seminar called "Sacred Economics" led by Charles Eisenstein. I confess that I was somewhat disappointed in the talk. The topic of discussion (I think) was how to approach the business of money in a way that is different from today's convention: that's what got me excited about going to see him in the first place. But Mr. Eisenstein said some things that didn't resonate with me, and the talk itself was unstructured and contained a lot of tangents that made it difficult for me to follow his thoughts all the way through. I'm still glad that I went, though, because by hearing other's opinions I am better able to solidify my own. That's the beauty of diversity isn't it? We need to understand others in order to understand ourselves.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnWvgrByHaZB4Wd5LhebsG5wovWvQpydbUCiijb01Bqz9gOM6faeTfXBcJww9gNkqZnS7UdNtvdCZNfu4pROZiF7RHtpnUp8W9382joPNvgUbyfDncCMkTlWO-ud6K7S9P7v0ZZ2Z9U0/s1600/PerchingGirl1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnWvgrByHaZB4Wd5LhebsG5wovWvQpydbUCiijb01Bqz9gOM6faeTfXBcJww9gNkqZnS7UdNtvdCZNfu4pROZiF7RHtpnUp8W9382joPNvgUbyfDncCMkTlWO-ud6K7S9P7v0ZZ2Z9U0/s320/PerchingGirl1.gif" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female American Goldfinch</td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-30302052521543062452012-01-11T10:58:00.000-08:002012-01-11T10:58:53.805-08:00Happy January!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7vCs0h4gzGX73-rygtzXcq7VpSwL_f9aHouJ_oQrjUOkBMPkwDsy9W4eayBIioG-LSxivx7MSC5ZAwB-7OFaMzWQbkOzQSEA0fUNzsoN1b51Yukd7p5HlLAMJQszxt6s9aUN0EGIpes/s1600/MontanaAndHat+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7vCs0h4gzGX73-rygtzXcq7VpSwL_f9aHouJ_oQrjUOkBMPkwDsy9W4eayBIioG-LSxivx7MSC5ZAwB-7OFaMzWQbkOzQSEA0fUNzsoN1b51Yukd7p5HlLAMJQszxt6s9aUN0EGIpes/s320/MontanaAndHat+046.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Welcome, 2012, I wasn't sure I was ready for you. Apparently, though, my readiness matters not; here we are anyhow! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We are home from Montatna, and had a lovely visit. I did get to snowshoe back into the land where I had seen the moose on horse, and I DID get to see the moose again, closer this time. Sadly, I didn't get any good photos. There were lots of reasons why I didn't, but essentially it boils down to not wanting to disturb the moose too much (and be accidentally charged upon in the process). Needless to say, a quiet snowshoe in the woods with another moose sighting was a magical experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now I find myself in a quiet place; between the chaos of the holiday shipping/creating rush and the next cycle of sales. I have taken this time to rest, actually. But now I find that it's time to clean up the studio and get my finances in order. Tonight I am excited to go see a seminar called, "<a href="http://sustainableneseattle.ning.com/events/charles-eisenstein-sacred-economics">Sacred Economics</a>," which is being led by Charles Eisenstein. I'm interested in what he has to say because I feel that my business model does not fit neatly into the conventional mold, and truth be told, I don't want it to. Mr. Eisenstein asserts that an economic model that encourages community, conservation, quality of life and love is a more sustainable model than the one that is currently promoted. I believe that with all my heart; the question is: how to implement it and still make a living? How can I bring this into my personal and professional financial life? I can't wait to find out! I will report back with what I learn.</span><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-3000140669247600482011-12-18T21:53:00.000-08:002011-12-18T22:07:32.595-08:00Horsing Around<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shorty, after our ride.</td></tr>
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Day one of my holiday was glorious and exciting; After breakfast, I went up to Kelly Canyon to go horsebacking! The day was sunny, clear and cold. The snow sparkled on the ground like a Christmas miracle. Meet my steed, Shorty (abbreviated from Short Arrow) shown right and below. Usually I ride Jessie, but she's getting older and so we changed things up a bit. Gary rode my favorite mule, Pal. <br />
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While Gary got out the tack, I took a little bit of time to get to know Shorty, so that we could both enjoy a more relaxed ride. Although staring into a horse's eyes isn't really my way (and I don't imagine that a horse would find that soothing), I do find them beautiful and soulful, so I snuck in a picture of Shorty's eye; doesn't he have beautiful eyelashes?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary, riding Pal.</td></tr>
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Our other sturdy companion was Lucky, the Welsh Corgi who ran behind the horses on his short little legs (letting the horses break the snow first) the whole ride!<br />
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While we were out, we saw a family of four Moose. I got one photo from far away, but as we drew nearer, Pal and Shorty spooked, and Gary and I spent our time getting the horses calmed down. Neither of us lost our seat, thankfully, but we both got a nice shot of adrenaline! <br />
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I hope I get to ride at least one more time before I leave for home, but I think I'm going to try some quiet snowshoeing to the same location first, to see if I can get a little closer to the Moose for better photos. Don't worry, though, I'm not ignorant to how dangerous Moose can be; I'll be careful!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucky; a dog in search of legs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A far away shot of three moose (there's one in the trees to the left)</td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-82904711397100273982011-12-12T13:35:00.000-08:002011-12-12T13:35:53.832-08:00Winter Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hello out there. It seems like the common theme of my posts these days is: "I'm sorry it's been such a long time..." So I'm going to skip ahead of that now and just tell you what I've been up to. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne and me at our most recent Craft Fair</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The holidays: it's an emotional time, but also a busy time! I've been trying my hand at craft fairs now that I've got more time to do such things, and I've been pleasantly suprised at how welcomed I've felt. The other vendors are lovely, and the customers are even lovelier! One of the dis-advangages about selling work online is that I don't get to hear the thought process of my potential customer. But at a fair, I can hear the conversation between two people that either results in a sale, or in a pass. I can gather information about price points, colors, patterns, design, and quality. And also the emotional reaction that folks have to certain things. All of this is great for helping me refine my product and its presentation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This past year has been quite a challenge for me, and after Bronwyn's passing I was left feeling like I was blind to my purpose. But I've started to find my footing again, and after some soul searching I remember that I really do love the creative endevours that are <a href="http://www.bcharmer.etsy.com/">BCharmer Designs</a> and <a href="http://www.mercymedesigns.etsy.com/">Mercy Me Designs</a>. So my next task is to turn those hobby businesses into bona-fide businesses. My local community has a non-profit program called <a href="http://www.enterpriseforequity.org/index.html">Enterprise for Equity</a>, which offers business training to low-income entrepreneurs, and I've signed up to begin their training program in February. I'm thrilled! My hope is that I can turn something that supports my creativity into something that also supports me financially. I'll keep you posted (I really will).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvdI47gxZ0V7XdAgqsBLjzrrh-zd3VV7M6P6jROknAs2nvbLLe-5NQolTJctLIVsUm7lJfzR3lA-bHgO_RPulWJ0Uz2fFoQVO0pmLJEYrLQAUR4Zly7YB5Nfd6nR3ruB5xFIbVib3e2s/s1600/LottaJansdotterFabric+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvdI47gxZ0V7XdAgqsBLjzrrh-zd3VV7M6P6jROknAs2nvbLLe-5NQolTJctLIVsUm7lJfzR3lA-bHgO_RPulWJ0Uz2fFoQVO0pmLJEYrLQAUR4Zly7YB5Nfd6nR3ruB5xFIbVib3e2s/s320/LottaJansdotterFabric+008.JPG" width="277" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">In the meantime, I've found some new fabric to love (big suprise) and a fun little project to showcase it. The designer of this fabric is <a href="http://www.jansdotter.com/about">Lotta Jansdotter</a>, and the line is called, "Echo" and I confess I fell hard for this whole collection before it was even released. I don't have a lot of it, but enough to make piecework zippered pouches and headbands. Isn't it delicious?</span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-2069263070228520142011-10-25T09:55:00.000-07:002011-11-10T13:23:54.790-08:00Bone Dry Ridge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selma and Markthor, making tea.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This past weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting a lovely farm in my area. </span><a href="http://www.bonedryridge.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bone Dry Ridge</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> focuses on raising livestock, with an emphasis on sustainable land use and husbandry practices. Selma and Markthor, the owners and operators of the farm, raise a medium sized flock of Icelandic sheep, and a handful of pigs and Highland cows along with a flock of 50 chickens and several hives of bees. They have an elaborate water catchment system, which comes in handy in the late summer when the water on the land dries up. I was completely charmed by Selma and Markthor, their passion for what they do, and by their animals and land. When you meet people who are living their dream, you can't help but feel inspired and uplifted.</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgieX4KRkRKzp0yubJl0xKTOhkgSsLE08dj-inJ2mRA-IRMQEkui5Ozbmudx4k9_W_UCdQjqAskUiKygDDZ1-jSoVGkka0Ziqm27XO3fuAxr8YU0cznnliZV3_r48pzV928-CtlANlnew/s1600/KataForWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgieX4KRkRKzp0yubJl0xKTOhkgSsLE08dj-inJ2mRA-IRMQEkui5Ozbmudx4k9_W_UCdQjqAskUiKygDDZ1-jSoVGkka0Ziqm27XO3fuAxr8YU0cznnliZV3_r48pzV928-CtlANlnew/s320/KataForWeb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Dog, Kata: Photo by Nash</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After touring the farm, Selma invited us in for tea, and proudly produced a jar of her homemade yogurt. I probably don't need to say that it was the best yogurt that I have ever eaten! Selma perfected the recipe over many months of experimenting with different strains of starter. She would bring the end product to her neighbors with a survey until she eventually came up with a recipe that was the most liked by everybody. Now she is hard at work on a business plan that would allow her to have her own creamery. I'm so excited to be her first customer!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist29JQtVfdhLp67tQLZcHMbW9eIv2mS6xIDQZhfNjYcAkxY35r0puDK-BYZnXoKbAcAQVuB7LN2qe9sZxwtdTWa4T2u9dXPpdmSjApSKDvvsfSYza6iisOD2O5dssy4TqHHspQUZ760E/s1600/RamAndEweProfileForWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist29JQtVfdhLp67tQLZcHMbW9eIv2mS6xIDQZhfNjYcAkxY35r0puDK-BYZnXoKbAcAQVuB7LN2qe9sZxwtdTWa4T2u9dXPpdmSjApSKDvvsfSYza6iisOD2O5dssy4TqHHspQUZ760E/s320/RamAndEweProfileForWeb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And the cherry on the cake was that I have recently been loaned a fancy digital SLR camera, which I used on this trip. I'm pretty excited with the expanded photographic possibilities! And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Nash, my talented artisitc companion on this trip, who helped me with the elaborate menu system and some of the finer points that particular camera. Thank-You Nash!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2IKruE6ZFjYz11Jx2KpCxYxBrTmbi4Sc5uoqKPWTQcfOw9mgh859fhs_NS5ATxDC7iVzEjKo2P0L7YwlNZmqH-6eInQTyLiw6pl4MxeH1CziXTgjtwZsJdT_hN3qhvHAzfduCXJDWiE/s1600/Tractor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2IKruE6ZFjYz11Jx2KpCxYxBrTmbi4Sc5uoqKPWTQcfOw9mgh859fhs_NS5ATxDC7iVzEjKo2P0L7YwlNZmqH-6eInQTyLiw6pl4MxeH1CziXTgjtwZsJdT_hN3qhvHAzfduCXJDWiE/s320/Tractor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-58330783862911541302011-10-19T14:27:00.000-07:002011-10-19T14:28:02.322-07:00New Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9OFJAi1y6maznMqB7ckxKoA81CMyasI5H67Wp1I7itjwIjSO4QCnfgQydowF_muml7mAC0RzFH2VV2NH1XV530CYLkzRzL8ZBO107IXKZVbdVGTinH293ZtwKvfT8lhnFBDTggm-y-Q/s1600/CycleCapWylie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9OFJAi1y6maznMqB7ckxKoA81CMyasI5H67Wp1I7itjwIjSO4QCnfgQydowF_muml7mAC0RzFH2VV2NH1XV530CYLkzRzL8ZBO107IXKZVbdVGTinH293ZtwKvfT8lhnFBDTggm-y-Q/s320/CycleCapWylie.JPG" width="289" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm crossing over a little bit to talk about the new work that I'm doing in my other business, </span><a href="http://www.mercymedesigns.etsy.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mercy Me Designs.</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> I'm so excited to introduce these new little cycle caps. We're making them out of wool for adults and children alike. You can see more information in <a href="http://mercymedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/getting-back-to-work.html">my blog post over here</a> about them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0xlWegysygVrNKT3rKEUTKCVNGsHNg9YbQXHbouvQ7tAuDzLeCyyt-UFwkp8BZ1QwAlTHACRkjfWsg_gkX6cruZcRpDZDi3X3XASFnb6XxyrZCMrPNxZIRax9eKTax0PTh3u1l9k0C8/s1600/Herringbone2ToneCycleCapDetail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0xlWegysygVrNKT3rKEUTKCVNGsHNg9YbQXHbouvQ7tAuDzLeCyyt-UFwkp8BZ1QwAlTHACRkjfWsg_gkX6cruZcRpDZDi3X3XASFnb6XxyrZCMrPNxZIRax9eKTax0PTh3u1l9k0C8/s320/Herringbone2ToneCycleCapDetail.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSA3cKOhHAVeHlRItwVbmOzdPVKCOaAZZaomS_UmltbjCinA5BsKk5wXcEqv_yVlZBAWUL7V2AtUhgYGnUWAZKbPKvlyd7dQx6lcNpFSuDscGSr5M8m1rTh94XnKMghtfKAJG3UiW3Dng/s1600/Herringbone2ToneCycleCapBack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSA3cKOhHAVeHlRItwVbmOzdPVKCOaAZZaomS_UmltbjCinA5BsKk5wXcEqv_yVlZBAWUL7V2AtUhgYGnUWAZKbPKvlyd7dQx6lcNpFSuDscGSr5M8m1rTh94XnKMghtfKAJG3UiW3Dng/s200/Herringbone2ToneCycleCapBack.JPG" width="171" /></span></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-64486147782931506472011-10-13T11:17:00.000-07:002011-10-13T11:17:51.345-07:00A Brighter Shade of Blue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My Dearest Reader,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">It has been nearly three months since last I wrote. I won't lie, I've been having a hard time. I often thought of coming to my blogs to write about my experience, but I felt so dark and so wobbly, that I thought it would be scary for anyone else to look at. Inside myself, I knew I wouldn't leap off of the beckoning precipice, but <em>you</em> might not know that, and so I kept quiet. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kWrfTr0tDjHdwTalPwTePHRFZWDjCWv_9S1cExwOQJVvoXaAhPbcwsQGBKHqaf8RNt1W29c-qYi4TLfDitNC5XnNH1vzbNUc5IliS5rdUhvMplehGbZfrrXgupbSs5IHoSy_PiE_LFg/s1600/SongSparrowProfileSmallerFile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kWrfTr0tDjHdwTalPwTePHRFZWDjCWv_9S1cExwOQJVvoXaAhPbcwsQGBKHqaf8RNt1W29c-qYi4TLfDitNC5XnNH1vzbNUc5IliS5rdUhvMplehGbZfrrXgupbSs5IHoSy_PiE_LFg/s320/SongSparrowProfileSmallerFile.jpg" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Looking back at it now, I would call these past few months a <em>soulful</em> time, but in the thick of it, it just felt hard. Bronwyn's birthday came and went, and the weeks bookending the date were as painful as anything I can think of. This pain is just something that I need to experience and integrate into my life now, and I cannot believe that I'm saying this but <em>it does get easier</em>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Finally, I am breathing deeply again. The world feels less viscous to me now; I feel like I can move more easily, more lightly. In the midst of this, what I will euphamistically call <em>"hard time,"</em> I was comforted by friends and relations, by little notes of concern from you, and by spending long hours in my studio; sometimes creating, sometimes thinking, and sometimes just doing nothing. I'm so grateful for all of that time and loving care. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAvETtvhAGz65PFz_jX1PwTTlOv4B0Z2oNcSBGWBustEeNvaYnHTxiTmGlFZw2Azb_sthSasgmtyA-gsXEs4koLQiTklKpUAzJgHOuJO4oykWGaq5y5Zm444AEJELIYY1-w_M97J73vc/s1600/RosarioRockStudySmallerlFile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAvETtvhAGz65PFz_jX1PwTTlOv4B0Z2oNcSBGWBustEeNvaYnHTxiTmGlFZw2Azb_sthSasgmtyA-gsXEs4koLQiTklKpUAzJgHOuJO4oykWGaq5y5Zm444AEJELIYY1-w_M97J73vc/s320/RosarioRockStudySmallerlFile.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">One emotional turning point for me came just a few weeks ago, when my Husband and I took a camping trip to my all time favorite beach in the Deception pass area. I spent a long time sitting on a bluff watching birds soar, waves crash, and kelp sway in the swirling water below me. I let the wind go through me, felt the rocks below me, and the vastness of space moving around me. I was a speck, and it gave me perspective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I know that as much as I experience sorrow and emptiness from the physical loss of Bronwyn, spiritually she is with me more now than ever before. She is that seed inside of me that encourages me to shine, to take care of myself, to have compassion for others, and to be fully present in the world. Love doesn't die in the absence of one's beloved, which has been such an important discovery for me. I will love Bronwyn until the day I die, and hopefully I can let that love continue to grow and come through me and everything I do. Now that I'm starting to understand this concept, more things seem possible. My mind is swirling with new possibilities and new hope. I wonder what will happen next? </span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-14186358942804054982011-07-29T22:30:00.000-07:002011-07-29T22:30:34.231-07:00A Little Blossom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrQl6iMMkL1wsnMh6vs1630oSOnJH-GKaeH313YCfeQashYjQghyphenhyphenDBbAxMrFhAMTkhFS5R-JmFjNAz3_Q_tgAjAcL8aGrrrNBsPoGYiZVCpIE5owL1J9EBpurnhO_sGRQSPBX2c4aVPQ/s1600/BrightBudsCowgirlHand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrQl6iMMkL1wsnMh6vs1630oSOnJH-GKaeH313YCfeQashYjQghyphenhyphenDBbAxMrFhAMTkhFS5R-JmFjNAz3_Q_tgAjAcL8aGrrrNBsPoGYiZVCpIE5owL1J9EBpurnhO_sGRQSPBX2c4aVPQ/s320/BrightBudsCowgirlHand.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr1XNrcvMl8judU9HIPcxhj79EzFGnr-c6C5S__Gjzl2puY7pgGBjjRiQj5PPDoqsQ5OXH6fVDUvHlzNaM1pQJfHtd7X5nvyCpvhypKL6HawvcFBGiqVviIU57JpxHi3AamiU-HpLdBc/s1600/DrinkingHorse+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr1XNrcvMl8judU9HIPcxhj79EzFGnr-c6C5S__Gjzl2puY7pgGBjjRiQj5PPDoqsQ5OXH6fVDUvHlzNaM1pQJfHtd7X5nvyCpvhypKL6HawvcFBGiqVviIU57JpxHi3AamiU-HpLdBc/s320/DrinkingHorse+012.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am in the land of summer and blue sky right now, and it is lovely. I found this giant dandi-head on a hike yesterday and fell in love with the whispery feathers of its seed pods, just getting ready to fly away. This shape and color brought to mind a project that I worked on just recently for a customer. She chose these fabrics specifically, and I thought she did a great job; it's a good combination, don't you think?</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCMJqPiNSL5H_KPk3_qrRl1oBXhohNUmDQjPFZ-2-VswqnsEo3aZWClwlKnHOlGMIEeJKJaRRJpWLMfk7YIaWUHJdZm6nop_Hj7toBYsb3toOLH-XP7enu2zvPs7ziOiSNHuh7as_T5c/s1600/DrinkingHorse+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCMJqPiNSL5H_KPk3_qrRl1oBXhohNUmDQjPFZ-2-VswqnsEo3aZWClwlKnHOlGMIEeJKJaRRJpWLMfk7YIaWUHJdZm6nop_Hj7toBYsb3toOLH-XP7enu2zvPs7ziOiSNHuh7as_T5c/s200/DrinkingHorse+009.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AG30I8JqcbeRKCAcWN8Rlm2eNN4crsn7tdZNrRNik4hvfLEe0DcEu_kiSyXK5p-2khwabUdnggtZmeyOAejXN_BhFjuLFD12Yj9cblMp7aN3nVGqgrCmM2Zk3kggW5xLEBoAeyqJxDM/s1600/BrightBudsCowgirlOpen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AG30I8JqcbeRKCAcWN8Rlm2eNN4crsn7tdZNrRNik4hvfLEe0DcEu_kiSyXK5p-2khwabUdnggtZmeyOAejXN_BhFjuLFD12Yj9cblMp7aN3nVGqgrCmM2Zk3kggW5xLEBoAeyqJxDM/s320/BrightBudsCowgirlOpen.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-27564154599960220712011-07-26T09:42:00.000-07:002011-07-26T09:46:59.355-07:00A Confessional<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy922S-PD9vSXgmm8_gx4U_mouy2tsLOa6SOUj6vGzkMiRJyTpmGzPbSOqqOWlxckTEgbPyEmjJw9JZlREbH75GmlxfTh-IlCp_le8yge-Q5ht2Ha58T1Oys1CweAgwpRjgI_zfedL3fI/s1600/CedarWaxwingAndCrochetBowls+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy922S-PD9vSXgmm8_gx4U_mouy2tsLOa6SOUj6vGzkMiRJyTpmGzPbSOqqOWlxckTEgbPyEmjJw9JZlREbH75GmlxfTh-IlCp_le8yge-Q5ht2Ha58T1Oys1CweAgwpRjgI_zfedL3fI/s320/CedarWaxwingAndCrochetBowls+030.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've "discovered" a new site on the internet that is both handy and fun. The site is called Pinterest, and it's quickly gaining popularity. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can organize and save all of the recipes, tutorials, photos, and other fabulous things that you find on the internets. So, for example, I am about to embark on my first quilt, and I have only a clue as to how to go about starting. So if I do a search for "quilting tutorials" on the web at midnight, I get a lot of hits back that look interesting. But it's midnight and I don't want to read them all right now. So I can pin them to a board that I've named "Quilting" on Pinterest. This is my board and I can organize it, name it, and use it however I like. But here's the other cool thing: other people can see my boards, and I can see theirs. So I can also do a search on Pinterest for Quilting Tutorials and see what comes up there. Trust me, there is A LOT of cool stuff on Pinterest, and I've had to limit my time there (because I could easily spend all day looking at other peoples collections).</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> I personally have 35 different boards, and I love it that I can come back to them, click on the photo, and it brings me right back to the original location where I found it. Recently, I found a crochet tutorial for making bowls. I printed out the pattern and promptly made four nesting bowls; aren't they pretty? </span></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrHmMRvdIbK5_1CRbWA0KRqSDq8Q97G3g72mSiGzvBmNNtDftDZRDqmQ1la2tzuf92HfshjpjrisAYkhUr8deFJoNjVF43acd8n-A4nEvNv1zOlP6diVd2hQNdaw17xHR5cODiyJ1tVY/s1600/CedarWaxwingAndCrochetBowls+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrHmMRvdIbK5_1CRbWA0KRqSDq8Q97G3g72mSiGzvBmNNtDftDZRDqmQ1la2tzuf92HfshjpjrisAYkhUr8deFJoNjVF43acd8n-A4nEvNv1zOlP6diVd2hQNdaw17xHR5cODiyJ1tVY/s320/CedarWaxwingAndCrochetBowls+026.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Now I know that the internet is vast, and our time and attention are limited. Pinterest isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love it so much that I thought I'd better share, just in case it is yours. You can follow my boards on Pinterest, if you decide to sign up; see you in the ether!</span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-42045179115270099942011-07-20T14:48:00.000-07:002011-07-20T14:48:04.893-07:00Quilt Progress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHatOUWx1BIVo_I72TXrzppzxkIHaPh7rid-vJwIit_ll5u5a8qQlt4sI5PZ3gnWJkkvA0xKp1cZf11XI08c35CM7t0VaddG0ZAoNOkQkFXxrPNbCPwyK5yJx5j1ZirNcl7-LqBLgcas/s1600/BrightBudsCowgirl+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHatOUWx1BIVo_I72TXrzppzxkIHaPh7rid-vJwIit_ll5u5a8qQlt4sI5PZ3gnWJkkvA0xKp1cZf11XI08c35CM7t0VaddG0ZAoNOkQkFXxrPNbCPwyK5yJx5j1ZirNcl7-LqBLgcas/s1600/BrightBudsCowgirl+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHatOUWx1BIVo_I72TXrzppzxkIHaPh7rid-vJwIit_ll5u5a8qQlt4sI5PZ3gnWJkkvA0xKp1cZf11XI08c35CM7t0VaddG0ZAoNOkQkFXxrPNbCPwyK5yJx5j1ZirNcl7-LqBLgcas/s320/BrightBudsCowgirl+014.JPG" width="273" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Okay, so I was hoping to be finished with my quilt by today. Alas, the quilting bit has got me a little intimidated. Here's what I have so far: the back (which I think came out well) and the front. Plus the batting in between. It's all pinned together, and I've also basted it, but I think it needs more basting. I'm planning to bring it with me on my trip to Montana, where there are abundant, experienced quilters there who can help me. My goal is not to do a lot of dense quilting. I want the finished product to feel soft and fluffy, but I also don't want it to shift around. So "Stitch-in-the-Ditch?" Also, I'm thinking about hand-quilting; will it take too long? I didn't end up finding the stripey binding that I was hoping for, but I found a lovely little freckle-dot (white dots on an espresso brown background) that I think will look great. I'll be sure to post pictures of the final product!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70F4-UZ9x_r2wBrcHO_nH7vVo7QGwnatr4ZzU0NCveZ7Nd4o_hmKBekXRcjo56LsNcAkF83E5HLXoWDIV1pPdV4k49u-sPxnFupPIXKTX-NeJsOiiO1boHZ8-rFMiriK_UYTYWbSI8lM/s1600/BrightBudsCowgirl+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70F4-UZ9x_r2wBrcHO_nH7vVo7QGwnatr4ZzU0NCveZ7Nd4o_hmKBekXRcjo56LsNcAkF83E5HLXoWDIV1pPdV4k49u-sPxnFupPIXKTX-NeJsOiiO1boHZ8-rFMiriK_UYTYWbSI8lM/s320/BrightBudsCowgirl+015.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I left a little blank panel to the right of the owl and pussycat print where I can dedicate a blessing to Bria Rose, who is the little sweetie that will be getting this quilt.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-72016023330186951782011-07-18T10:52:00.000-07:002011-07-18T11:50:42.935-07:00New Project<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0B4ZExe2-vtm_3d6PoFdJW63wCHZ45N2VKCRrU7wBffY4TbLvxGtOhILJK8MfdC9qIHBNXTTuuzmg7RhM9SfRRGTUnv3pO-eRZUGKuQCv8nJa_qKGWQVELhtKGDefMTe2OzoUt_bRuRE/s320/QuiltTopAndGarden+019.JPG" width="224" /></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Remember my last post when I said that I was going to make a quilt for my cousin's new baby? Well I actually did it! Okay, so I just did the top part, but I think that was my major hurdle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've never made a quilt before, and I felt totally intimidated. I did a little bit of questing online for different quilts that I thought were attractive and not too complicated (I needed to have it finished by this Wednesday). I chose a strip quilt because I thought that I couldn't really mess it up too badly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Step one was digging out my favorite kid themed fabric prints. Step two was deciding on a color pallette and then selecting prints within that pallete. I chose Heather Ross' Swimming mermaids first, and I had a LOT of other prints by her, but I didn't think it made a cohesive theme to pair swimming mermaids with VW vans and bikes, so I nixed the overly terrestrial prints. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdIOYamuIoA9vUecpOqbQqxjTjnMNgFo3K5135RY3GEnb5ulzjb-IRkJrTjrn-pyVvrqJFWQsq0FYRoIjvdDRAL6vB4Q-7C-tYCqHKXunF8qykyPk3alJmsD7YhxzRqR7kL8tgt8z2r8/s1600/QuiltTopAndGarden+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdIOYamuIoA9vUecpOqbQqxjTjnMNgFo3K5135RY3GEnb5ulzjb-IRkJrTjrn-pyVvrqJFWQsq0FYRoIjvdDRAL6vB4Q-7C-tYCqHKXunF8qykyPk3alJmsD7YhxzRqR7kL8tgt8z2r8/s320/QuiltTopAndGarden+057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVcSOejB5SRhXg6HW55v3nVGbJwFLp2OH9qulnQOWWa6rbuySiRGzMJWc_TEIRCnQH67NOqhKO8nJpLDzmVjyfOOEKfg3IRo9C1-eZOhaVqhsiNSecPth2K6Ch9YIZq_mMBj_53p34c4/s1600/OwlAndPussycatPanel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVcSOejB5SRhXg6HW55v3nVGbJwFLp2OH9qulnQOWWa6rbuySiRGzMJWc_TEIRCnQH67NOqhKO8nJpLDzmVjyfOOEKfg3IRo9C1-eZOhaVqhsiNSecPth2K6Ch9YIZq_mMBj_53p34c4/s320/OwlAndPussycatPanel.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I put in some fish, some sea horses, and some prints that reminded me of seaweed and beach blossoms. The one print that might be a digression is the linen strip that depicts the main characters from the fairy tale, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Owl_and_the_Pussycat"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Owl and the Pussycat</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. But they're in a boat, and I love it, so there.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. Now I have to work on the back and put it all together. I would love to bind it in a bold, high contrast stripe, (espresso brown and white?) but I don't have anything like that. We'll see what I come up with; wish me luck! Please excuse my photos for this post; the light is pretty bad right now because of all of the overcast. But you get the idea!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcE6dF9tTYdVjRnbzxljNXD2m-K4eYejSF33UQ5YqadjRzc0gMc7LNplr7GDMFQthHoE-PLKBNzuYz9xxLY3cPFOxYi-JrddUwpT6bBSk8Y9LBVxKN3gllqK6t0CkhQcJC3CUmmNDc6DU/s1600/QuiltTopHeldUp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcE6dF9tTYdVjRnbzxljNXD2m-K4eYejSF33UQ5YqadjRzc0gMc7LNplr7GDMFQthHoE-PLKBNzuYz9xxLY3cPFOxYi-JrddUwpT6bBSk8Y9LBVxKN3gllqK6t0CkhQcJC3CUmmNDc6DU/s320/QuiltTopHeldUp.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-66359248338671925482011-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:002011-07-14T15:29:50.742-07:00New Fabric Love<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mk1almihlnCkj_yEay82vQ-c7ZFrtCdYx5eHLKv5FHokvXptyKA3hN__LjjvDamY1_EYdmTUX5HSJAlh78c3QqxA6Q-2rF2cQQmyTmkwsR0XjHs8MWlebgg1IO0PPXlEv3mPg3mwZ2U/s1600/GuitarTomboyFront.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mk1almihlnCkj_yEay82vQ-c7ZFrtCdYx5eHLKv5FHokvXptyKA3hN__LjjvDamY1_EYdmTUX5HSJAlh78c3QqxA6Q-2rF2cQQmyTmkwsR0XjHs8MWlebgg1IO0PPXlEv3mPg3mwZ2U/s320/GuitarTomboyFront.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I just got my order of two of Heather Ross' new prints from her Far Far Away III line. I chose her pink guitars and the blue tangleweed prints because they are more condusive to smaller projects. Here I have made Tomboy wallets out of each, and I really like the way they came out. Strangely, the two fabrics are different weights: the guitars are a heavier (and more what I'm used to) linen/cotton blend. The wildflowers are a very light (almost quilting weight) linen/cotton. I love both, but I was suprised that they would be different weaves.</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In any case, I am very much enjoying working with them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTlEAPHPACN2a5pDve8qBF27i9W7sXmFzPppLO9kZJT-FoVdQcZDhFDbd-ndEjYnNGv71ZvCZmGRxQNizdCW7aedVShVjLmnGdWNXl69D3BxxLTMJ2TSOXR0VlaTKRGGieFWhhSRQi68/s1600/GuitarTomboyBack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTlEAPHPACN2a5pDve8qBF27i9W7sXmFzPppLO9kZJT-FoVdQcZDhFDbd-ndEjYnNGv71ZvCZmGRxQNizdCW7aedVShVjLmnGdWNXl69D3BxxLTMJ2TSOXR0VlaTKRGGieFWhhSRQi68/s320/GuitarTomboyBack.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Both of these wallets are available now in my <a href="http://www.bcharmer.etsy.com/">Shops</a>. And don't forget: <a href="http://bcharmer.blogspot.com/2011/07/making-goal.html">I'm crafting for a cause</a> right now! I'm working towards an $800.00 goal to be able to build a new bathroom for LilyAnne so that she can experience greater independance in her every day life. Read more about the full project <a href="http://bronwynswheelhouse.blogspot.com/">here</a>.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaCw7sqNBFOtQ5-R9a0xX_GNyWD6kdyEJbwaZ6Z5jI0s2JUXA8ax0hUEc-T3a4DMLvS_l0txyNDaXODhJvD0_BXvYgQk59kqPKModPi9wbTdIoGqW-PEgiJ7bbKNDGA-_k7FpdvLoIRY/s1600/WildweedTomboyFront.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaCw7sqNBFOtQ5-R9a0xX_GNyWD6kdyEJbwaZ6Z5jI0s2JUXA8ax0hUEc-T3a4DMLvS_l0txyNDaXODhJvD0_BXvYgQk59kqPKModPi9wbTdIoGqW-PEgiJ7bbKNDGA-_k7FpdvLoIRY/s320/WildweedTomboyFront.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In other news, my beloved cousin just had a baby, and I'm going to go and visit them soon. I have decided (deep breath here) that I'm going to make a baby quilt for her. I'm going to try and keep this first one <em>super simple</em>, since I've never quilted before, and also because I have to finish it by mid week next week! Maybe a strip quilt? In any case, I'm looking forward to incorperating these two prints into my first quilt for her. Welcome to the world, Bria Rose!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAa89J9jSqaofMkNgP6R1NIut2SWVYEpuATn3MAwxEnHaWXyRhL8pp34X3XlFYhHGg-ICsTY-ecAMfUaqTHY2mKuLNHUR2whVIzPZrBbjBGKGILt8UxRTzWyIuZyP84AxEOILeYgQRrpE/s1600/WildweedTomboyBack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAa89J9jSqaofMkNgP6R1NIut2SWVYEpuATn3MAwxEnHaWXyRhL8pp34X3XlFYhHGg-ICsTY-ecAMfUaqTHY2mKuLNHUR2whVIzPZrBbjBGKGILt8UxRTzWyIuZyP84AxEOILeYgQRrpE/s320/WildweedTomboyBack.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-78959813261313087562011-07-07T09:16:00.000-07:002011-07-07T09:26:18.998-07:00Making a Goal<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdOUI8jWXrr41h0mbDqc4uhHmDQYKg3OyZSLZuCHmM_6iPoukZP2vumbCXYSzZu-8JEIN0Cfrx2JtJrbELW9xamh0lzX6C5-erV3duO4OENSRaKTRiIi7BMCOKYzJaSp7HyVt4EepZx0/s1600/BuildingForBronwynLogo1_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdOUI8jWXrr41h0mbDqc4uhHmDQYKg3OyZSLZuCHmM_6iPoukZP2vumbCXYSzZu-8JEIN0Cfrx2JtJrbELW9xamh0lzX6C5-erV3duO4OENSRaKTRiIi7BMCOKYzJaSp7HyVt4EepZx0/s200/BuildingForBronwynLogo1_edit.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today I want to tell you about a very special project being supported by our local community as a way to remember Bronwyn. Our project is called "Bronwyn's Wheelhouse," and the purpose is to help children with special needs and their families through home renovation. To read the full story behind Bronwyn's Wheelhouse project, and to get updates on our current project, visit our website: </span><a href="http://www.bronwynswheelhouse.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">www.bronwynswheelhouse.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Click on the tab "Bronwyn's Story" for the background information. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our current project is a bathroom re-do for a little girl, LilyAnne. LilyAnne is mobile with a walker, or with the aid of grab bars. She's 11 years old, and would like to be more independent! After we remodel LilyAnne's bathroom, she will be able to get in and out of the bathroom by herself (currently the doorway is too narrow to allow her walker in, and there are no grab bars), she'll be able to use the sink, toilet and shower independently, too! And here's what's really exciting: we're $800.00 away from making this a reality for her!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So here's what I'm going to do: From now until the money is raised, I'm going to donate 50% of the proceeds from my <a href="http://www.bcharmer.etsy.com/">BCharmer shop</a> to this cause. If you've been waiting for a time to get a special accessory, now is a great time to shop! Visit my shops online <a href="http://www.bcharmer.etsy.com/">here</a> or <a href="http://www.bcharmerdesigns.artfire.com/">here</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiR8MboEIR9U-ZcNDUFdL7E6KpyMWfbv4expuynyVgz35Jaj4Tjmu9DrUu2rZA7s3Z2NUbT-t3TIRd7h_VwYssCi4DIorPpkQMAGP_Y6HXA2gDq14HKGkcsNDBQRDQcNeI_Z5hPLQat_U/s1600/Kiwanis%252520Club%252520Logo%2525201%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiR8MboEIR9U-ZcNDUFdL7E6KpyMWfbv4expuynyVgz35Jaj4Tjmu9DrUu2rZA7s3Z2NUbT-t3TIRd7h_VwYssCi4DIorPpkQMAGP_Y6HXA2gDq14HKGkcsNDBQRDQcNeI_Z5hPLQat_U/s200/Kiwanis%252520Club%252520Logo%2525201%255B1%255D.gif" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You can also donate directly to the foundation. Your donations are completely tax deductable, as our local chapter of the Kiwanis Club has kindly adopted our program, and thus has given us non-profit status. To donate, you can make a check out to: "Tumwater Kiwanis Youth Foundation" and write "Bronwyn's Wheelhouse" in the subject line. Mail the check to: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tumwater Kiwanis Club </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5201 Capitol Blvd SE</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PMB 182 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tumwater WA 98501</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I have added this little thermometer to the blog to track our progress on the fundraising; I'm so excited that we can make this happen! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">P.S. Some of you have already given to this cause, Thank-You so much!! Please don't feel that you need to give again; the point is that a small (and manageable) gift from many can make a significant impact. That way, nobody feels pinched. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Okay, friends; let's make this happen!!</span><br />
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-48476818401206392662011-07-06T13:11:00.000-07:002011-07-06T13:11:02.323-07:00Catching Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pbtTYSrk5HE3HSv9s99k6Agg5GVE3lXuHlhyntpaKTzwSO5v6_10wPHfci8lyju6Q4ti1JgjZjvi7z8uEZacWMnBYCmex0XT5XKZaxFnRUxyueDAE58RSQrtondqpI6JN_N0BuJCJgw/s1600/BlackberryFourth+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pbtTYSrk5HE3HSv9s99k6Agg5GVE3lXuHlhyntpaKTzwSO5v6_10wPHfci8lyju6Q4ti1JgjZjvi7z8uEZacWMnBYCmex0XT5XKZaxFnRUxyueDAE58RSQrtondqpI6JN_N0BuJCJgw/s320/BlackberryFourth+019.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finding my new rhythm has proven more tricky than I had thought it would. Nevertheless, I have been productive and am starting to f</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ind some structure in my day; it's a good thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And I have some fun news! I was contacted recently by Nancy, who has a blog called, "</span><a href="http://etsyfix.blogspot.com/2011/07/bcharmer-designs-giveaway.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A Little Etsy Love</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">." On this blog, Nancy features Etsy items that she covets, and she asked me if she could feature my work. Of course I agreed, and I decided that I also would share the love and offer one of my custom small card wallets to give away! So if you want to win one of my small cowgirl wallets, visit </span><a href="http://etsyfix.blogspot.com/2011/07/bcharmer-designs-giveaway.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nancy's blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and leave a comment (as directed) for your chance.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofytzMCTHOt6i1EAoC4V_sx667WGEihZznNGSADbd7oM_X9SgJPeu-y7cKkeeRvmeO7UOHZf52SJAWcH9xSHUkaJ3KJyK5b858DppUbwjrZOOML2Dw9QteXUowCAsrqlFdjn8oMSjRYw/s1600/CurvyClutches+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofytzMCTHOt6i1EAoC4V_sx667WGEihZznNGSADbd7oM_X9SgJPeu-y7cKkeeRvmeO7UOHZf52SJAWcH9xSHUkaJ3KJyK5b858DppUbwjrZOOML2Dw9QteXUowCAsrqlFdjn8oMSjRYw/s320/CurvyClutches+070.JPG" width="224" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In other news, I have a fun selling venue coming up: As a benefit for our local high school's debate team, there is a women's moonlight run, followed by an evening of chocolate and gourmet shopping. I thought the combination of running, chocolate and shopping sounded ideal, and luckily I got in. So this week I'm working in the studio to get ready. Right now, having a tangible goal to work towards is very helpful! Pictured here is a clutch that I just made, which I think came out great! I love these </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">little clutches!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8dfqMGvgMvv3N50jTZRr27cr5CW7G81jJjt_KBiKBw3Tx_A0nkDRtl8RJlyuni84J0xxxKJRiz4WpByXkBjsVivs_kCKpIuay902kfzOZU3Ns_6kj7u4YV9Tev7knLmjxKW_Kpcze5k/s1600/CurvyClutches+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8dfqMGvgMvv3N50jTZRr27cr5CW7G81jJjt_KBiKBw3Tx_A0nkDRtl8RJlyuni84J0xxxKJRiz4WpByXkBjsVivs_kCKpIuay902kfzOZU3Ns_6kj7u4YV9Tev7knLmjxKW_Kpcze5k/s320/CurvyClutches+004.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOO0usqsuSKH38nMJbuarW22JUF940ZaQYpAX7yAl6k3f2znhGQBls3ExGmtXr1BtVEK4pjynQhCjl1c0NmAn68ZNYpSv1TljhEBWP5qHTzY8egjPRIrygxhgPGJjwdzRE3QTSEJ7jkLY/s1600/CurvyClutches+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOO0usqsuSKH38nMJbuarW22JUF940ZaQYpAX7yAl6k3f2znhGQBls3ExGmtXr1BtVEK4pjynQhCjl1c0NmAn68ZNYpSv1TljhEBWP5qHTzY8egjPRIrygxhgPGJjwdzRE3QTSEJ7jkLY/s200/CurvyClutches+005.JPG" width="200" /></a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-21056407105900844102011-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:002011-06-21T09:03:00.900-07:00Summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXf4Si3AUXlGrhMnRH4F4Sc7OBQ35Cs-83hba9TDmXp9jzJQRtWxaQxPuf_466oupUtwhFT0KdeVsgzinpEnu2T_sDNnfQLgz6T7UcJ9WPWRL04jOemPCJqKKmNgkL4C_S8glCvkpscI/s1600/SaladAndRunningBanner+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXf4Si3AUXlGrhMnRH4F4Sc7OBQ35Cs-83hba9TDmXp9jzJQRtWxaQxPuf_466oupUtwhFT0KdeVsgzinpEnu2T_sDNnfQLgz6T7UcJ9WPWRL04jOemPCJqKKmNgkL4C_S8glCvkpscI/s320/SaladAndRunningBanner+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, officially it's summer but it has been unseasonably cool and overcast. The upside to that type of weather is that it is perfect for growing salad greens. Every night Brian and I eat a delicious, just picked salad from the garden. The greens are so tender they practically melt in your mouth. I love to add fresh dill and arugula for some peppery, herbal flavor. Once the basil (in the hotbox) is ready, I'll add that, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I have a small craft fair coming up early in July and I've been working on some inventory for the event. I've had a lot of requests for more zippered pouches, so I've been sewing up some of them. I love this one with the chicken print! I lined the inside with a green woodgrain print by Joel Dewberry. It's very "down home on the farm, I think!"</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdoE0v5mJRMeJcQuBK_H6Kd__ZEGHctQSKIDphKPXz_Fn69XO93tI017oZTamgpWJxJ3SzN7OCpgjeOm9DQ4u0ncRsxvtjF-g-aZKyMbCiC_cFjOnT7fBMLjIW71SIa4bk8mJb_i2xxg/s1600/Zippies+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdoE0v5mJRMeJcQuBK_H6Kd__ZEGHctQSKIDphKPXz_Fn69XO93tI017oZTamgpWJxJ3SzN7OCpgjeOm9DQ4u0ncRsxvtjF-g-aZKyMbCiC_cFjOnT7fBMLjIW71SIa4bk8mJb_i2xxg/s200/Zippies+007.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlv5i-SSoFZ5rJ4-4zF_9D28oRDvwJyHXu54vbWlsm_Bqw03T6Y1J20afCxUmP-fEaa68QgZG89bUBt7GVinQu6kR7OgCkq6nyyGo1rrMgAVhErnG1zXTrBgIL57VielUVexjXaeaerpY/s1600/Zippies+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlv5i-SSoFZ5rJ4-4zF_9D28oRDvwJyHXu54vbWlsm_Bqw03T6Y1J20afCxUmP-fEaa68QgZG89bUBt7GVinQu6kR7OgCkq6nyyGo1rrMgAVhErnG1zXTrBgIL57VielUVexjXaeaerpY/s320/Zippies+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Summer, everyone. I hope some of you are seeing some sun!</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-12597743666268195652011-06-20T09:21:00.000-07:002011-06-20T09:21:46.024-07:00Running for a Cause<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1R6Z7XeMnV1K-1aej3rjh61Ia9FANtfcx2gROT0-_zrViuT0OCre6Y0wSCsP7DDrURyYX24D75G-QLzyiUf8bNQ464oAv4cUxqs9sT8rG0r1oiRVS966QWOfkjdi8Tw8eHRMqD2Cey3w/s1600/RunForRetts+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1R6Z7XeMnV1K-1aej3rjh61Ia9FANtfcx2gROT0-_zrViuT0OCre6Y0wSCsP7DDrURyYX24D75G-QLzyiUf8bNQ464oAv4cUxqs9sT8rG0r1oiRVS966QWOfkjdi8Tw8eHRMqD2Cey3w/s320/RunForRetts+021.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This past weekend, I ran a 5K race for a classmate of Bronwyn's who has <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002503/">Rett's Syndrome</a>, a rare disorder that affects girls almost exclusively. I ran the race for Ella, and in memory of Bronwyn. It felt so good to do something tangible to help with finding a cure for Rett's. Having a child with a rare disease or syndrome can leave the parents feeling helpless and frustrated because funding for research is limited, and so are the options for meaningful treatment. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I made this little flag that I wore in rememberence of Bronwyn. It was an emotion-filled run, but healing as well. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I plan to run again next year, and to set a fundraising goal for myself! Stay tuned. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80uGW9Gt_Czr3PDFOAmc_caHnj-0q6fihRcOt_f86Y3Ipg0SOfgl-9ZWQqKowe70iBB7rhgmIgxIeAplkwJf6wjpN9EJaWZhQVEIyt6hJAUv0j2rL_-FdWcXM7EvBAN4eJfMLNcb7Mv0/s1600/SaladAndRunningBanner+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80uGW9Gt_Czr3PDFOAmc_caHnj-0q6fihRcOt_f86Y3Ipg0SOfgl-9ZWQqKowe70iBB7rhgmIgxIeAplkwJf6wjpN9EJaWZhQVEIyt6hJAUv0j2rL_-FdWcXM7EvBAN4eJfMLNcb7Mv0/s320/SaladAndRunningBanner+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-72784258128946363282011-06-09T10:39:00.000-07:002011-06-09T10:39:15.161-07:00Handwork<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-ekX7nXQ_sN_79JvtJbpJn1pDDykJMBcIo_icuQGugj5dL3C5B8BSoawP5fnbNLO0tPBtW2_YEhMT8NxJeb1Ra-MOGYuWtx69Sb6uhcE-4fGXkq1ADW6p0ruGP04Po2k-R5rbNXu-AE/s1600/OwlsandWoolCircles+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-ekX7nXQ_sN_79JvtJbpJn1pDDykJMBcIo_icuQGugj5dL3C5B8BSoawP5fnbNLO0tPBtW2_YEhMT8NxJeb1Ra-MOGYuWtx69Sb6uhcE-4fGXkq1ADW6p0ruGP04Po2k-R5rbNXu-AE/s320/OwlsandWoolCircles+009.JPG" t8="true" width="270" /></a></div>I've been slowing down in my craftiness; not that I'm actually crafting less, mind you, but I'm re-discovering my passion for hand work. During my vacation at the beach, I had the opportunity to trade needle skills with one of my girlfriends (I knit and she crochets). We taught each other the rudiments of our respective needle craft and I'm so happy to have another stick to make knots with now! I went into my yarn stash and found little balls of cashmere that I had left over from previous projects. There's just enough there to make a fun bunch of swirly flowers. Maybe I'll add clips or pinbacks to them, or maybe something else, who knows? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2YXPDfRSzbWJF0JQ9Cw4o21jce5kWLoAX9JnWEYzpGo0l6rt70hfibuijEu8VaFvM_jCdi3QZQWd2sFbYJpfPwCZx1tjz8ibRDkaWwgz-IPa-bSXW1SWT6OH43ZdIs1CEz78qGs126o/s1600/OwlsandWoolCircles+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2YXPDfRSzbWJF0JQ9Cw4o21jce5kWLoAX9JnWEYzpGo0l6rt70hfibuijEu8VaFvM_jCdi3QZQWd2sFbYJpfPwCZx1tjz8ibRDkaWwgz-IPa-bSXW1SWT6OH43ZdIs1CEz78qGs126o/s320/OwlsandWoolCircles+011.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpEfw9QZFS8ZaHqOtzLBumm_aHQW3akhc7KBnm0S4NcUqM58QsTbVnIXwP0jBzR5ljAX4zvmX0nDJfOKR0MMcsQM_fLXt9j1Lmwj4Ckoeax4Z7jxLPWBsDoTZxK3m-_Pm4kEM56tlZNY/s1600/OwlsandWoolCircles+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpEfw9QZFS8ZaHqOtzLBumm_aHQW3akhc7KBnm0S4NcUqM58QsTbVnIXwP0jBzR5ljAX4zvmX0nDJfOKR0MMcsQM_fLXt9j1Lmwj4Ckoeax4Z7jxLPWBsDoTZxK3m-_Pm4kEM56tlZNY/s320/OwlsandWoolCircles+007.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-43824481460260799142011-06-06T23:37:00.000-07:002011-06-06T23:47:32.508-07:00Flying Free<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs52UZ6NXjQnneM0t71_eGyAayMJPAX0i92nVG7iUt8I9tQgeRB-65ha5XSiCoCCebW-QAy7dJ9yc6s_C8dk-GYUIPKvXCHzFYQ8DmiSBYnnsI1t76bVVUOlyQ3E2UMyAk5BC3Gsp2GA/s1600/ButterflyKite1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs52UZ6NXjQnneM0t71_eGyAayMJPAX0i92nVG7iUt8I9tQgeRB-65ha5XSiCoCCebW-QAy7dJ9yc6s_C8dk-GYUIPKvXCHzFYQ8DmiSBYnnsI1t76bVVUOlyQ3E2UMyAk5BC3Gsp2GA/s320/ButterflyKite1.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This past weekend I had the fabulous opportunity to go to Ocean Shores with a group of girlfriends. The weather was phenomenal, and we were lucky enough to have been there during a kite festival. Seeing all of the different kites soaring, fluttering, and floating all around me made me feel like I was in an undersea wonderland. It's not difficult to experience joy when looking at these bright jewels floating in midair.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An extra special treat was getting to see Ray Bethell, a multiple time World Champion in Kite flying. Ray's signature style is flying three kites simultaneously in formation (and he also holds the world record for flying 39 at once). I had never heard of Ray, or seen anyone fly multiple kites before. I was mesmerized, not just by the kites, but by the man's movements and his concentration. After Ray finished a session, I went over to talk with him. What a delightful person! Through that conversation, and then after checking out his website, I learned that Ray, now somewhere in his 80's, didn't start flying kites until 1981. I also learned that he has experienced several hardships in his life, and hasn't let them overtake his spirit. When he was in his 60's, Ray was struck by a rare virus that left him deaf overnight. Later, his wife developed alzheimer's disease, which slowly took her life. Ray says, "How does a person deal with the unfairness of life? The only way you can do it is to face it head on... it's unchangeable, you have to learn to deal with it." These are wise words that I'm starting to learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is a photo that I took of Ray with his three kites in action. You can learn more about Ray and see video clips of him in action on <a href="http://www.raybethell.com/">his website</a>. I highly recommend <a href="http://youtu.be/X3rK8-39AhQ">this video interview</a>, if you have 8 minutes to spare.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-8063581945601871782011-05-31T09:47:00.000-07:002011-05-31T14:29:17.940-07:00Cocktail Hour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZJR0bFmL_Bz55-Cz_FOmYZfapMQhXRGuBinxBu5DYQ0SAz16Skn_9UaWJLlw4_DglIlGNK5MIyEM8X7A8ghArxqelqHE4ysFuBIMeGpQFw21NKIaH0a9N09PExhl8cIGIBKfOiGBm6U/s1600/BellaAndLimeCordial+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZJR0bFmL_Bz55-Cz_FOmYZfapMQhXRGuBinxBu5DYQ0SAz16Skn_9UaWJLlw4_DglIlGNK5MIyEM8X7A8ghArxqelqHE4ysFuBIMeGpQFw21NKIaH0a9N09PExhl8cIGIBKfOiGBm6U/s320/BellaAndLimeCordial+001.JPG" t8="true" width="237" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Good Morning Friends; I hope you had a lovely weekend. Here in the U.S., we had an extra day added to our weekend in honor of Memorial Day. At first, Brian and I thought we would do something adventurous, but we ended up staying close to home, enjoying our yard and being domestic. I baked a rhubarb pie, and I also tried out a special "new" drink recipe. A few weeks ago, I was spending a nice girl's weekend in Portland and I had the opportunity to try a Gimlet; a cocktail that has, for some reason, become less popular in modern day. It was delicious, and I set about doing some research so that I could re-create it at home. A Gimlet is made with equal parts Gin and lime cordial, shaken with ice and served either in a Martini glass, or in a rock glass over more ice. At first, I didn't know what lime cordial was, and I used Rose's lime juice that I bought in the grocery. That was satisfying enough, but of course I had to do a little research into the lime cordial part. I found </span><a href="http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/case-study-building-a-better-mixer/#more-156945"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">this article</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, written by Toby Cecchini in the FOOD section of the New York Times. Toby is a great writer, and I found his whole article entertaining and informative. After reading his statement, "Rose's Lime Cordial is to limes as Spam is to steak," I was completely inspired to try my hand at a homemade cordial. It was a lot of work, but I can say with confidence that it was worth it! I went with Toby's recipe for a raw cordial using no water, but there are others out there.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGavOzH_eixZOUHWqscuv4EQ8XCJ121iRMb75yi8kTDv74S81llJPRxgVsbVemnsPWTGWzHMaj2dXIkwXr0XdLMp8N_Wqv_idQP06cB9i1mH8Ak1BiqUclToH1Ti_FwvxI4lTcggy2Sk/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGavOzH_eixZOUHWqscuv4EQ8XCJ121iRMb75yi8kTDv74S81llJPRxgVsbVemnsPWTGWzHMaj2dXIkwXr0XdLMp8N_Wqv_idQP06cB9i1mH8Ak1BiqUclToH1Ti_FwvxI4lTcggy2Sk/s200/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+061.JPG" t8="true" width="150" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>LIME CORDIAL RECIPE</strong>: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">18 limes, zested and juiced*</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 lb of fresh ginger root, whirred in a food processor, or grated</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 1/2 cups sugar.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">*I recommend that you use organic limes. Citrus peel is known to concentrate pesticides, and that would spoil an otherwise wonderful concoction, don't you think? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Step 1:</strong> zest or thinly peel all 18 limes, reserving the peels in a non-reactive bowl (ceramic or glass). I used a vegetable peeler, and it worked handily. While you're working, be sure to stop on occasion and breathe deeply. Your house begins to smell divine! Bruise the peels with a wooden spoon to bring out the oils.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgue6l3t9VyIH1Ezm62oIaTNILOXUExUHqxVNTDtdTa7W3GuXG0jk90e93Qelv_OXihU2jW0igP1dm55iugJDINeqwsOCzCpHQKm1rLxokxYTlpBU9m27ityAXgpYncznOjTB-T5H7Yd3g/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgue6l3t9VyIH1Ezm62oIaTNILOXUExUHqxVNTDtdTa7W3GuXG0jk90e93Qelv_OXihU2jW0igP1dm55iugJDINeqwsOCzCpHQKm1rLxokxYTlpBU9m27ityAXgpYncznOjTB-T5H7Yd3g/s200/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+063.JPG" t8="true" width="200" /></span></a><strong></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>Step 2: </strong>Cut your limes in half, and juice them using a citrus reemer. Don't worry about the pulp. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Step 3:</strong> Add the sugar to the juice, stirring to dissolve, and then add the juice to the peel.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi02pAESV3rEpkLVJZGMmLSIfpDq3f1DYEPkeqmVyCu85PZBTkX8iFH4f07T_GSvvo9aKeLiOimUODdYKNY0jskb3ENGmJ4YhBho9PFzyGL5wQqE4IGlTrcjTP-f6nQzXL0JFxQ0yQXxc/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi02pAESV3rEpkLVJZGMmLSIfpDq3f1DYEPkeqmVyCu85PZBTkX8iFH4f07T_GSvvo9aKeLiOimUODdYKNY0jskb3ENGmJ4YhBho9PFzyGL5wQqE4IGlTrcjTP-f6nQzXL0JFxQ0yQXxc/s200/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+065.JPG" t8="true" width="165" /></span></a><strong></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PBnDF-U5P-mSKPt6hbrR0b8j-fCCOTpTaBaiSemJOzXBdOhn3tQ2j4S0fL9Ds62U4z8FTkOySA4e9UOv81h6zcm0wiZ9y632Pf9vNrO5u2D1nnoJTeR5NYMeuZ9kbkuImP8f4CIzLz8/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PBnDF-U5P-mSKPt6hbrR0b8j-fCCOTpTaBaiSemJOzXBdOhn3tQ2j4S0fL9Ds62U4z8FTkOySA4e9UOv81h6zcm0wiZ9y632Pf9vNrO5u2D1nnoJTeR5NYMeuZ9kbkuImP8f4CIzLz8/s200/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+067.JPG" t8="true" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is what 1 lb of ginger looks like.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Step 4:</strong> Finely chop, grate, or whir together in a food processor 1 pound of fresh ginger root. There's no need to peel the ginger. Everything gets strained later on. Add the ginger to the peel/juice mixture. Cover, refrigerate and let stand 12-24 hours.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMP02MWYBlAhTZcWOAoyMcy0-D71whmegey2xK-3SLPqFS7y8wBdC1mlCZVK3kQjo2peH5YvNzhri8-g9wyeKuytqRNRrZZj-SKtZLxInL7Byp4m_em8MNqM8hCVvoJqex_DTDBiv87xI/s1600/BellaAndLimeCordial+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMP02MWYBlAhTZcWOAoyMcy0-D71whmegey2xK-3SLPqFS7y8wBdC1mlCZVK3kQjo2peH5YvNzhri8-g9wyeKuytqRNRrZZj-SKtZLxInL7Byp4m_em8MNqM8hCVvoJqex_DTDBiv87xI/s320/BellaAndLimeCordial+004.JPG" t8="true" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Strained cordial and cocktail shaker</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzohGp8wT3R_1J8-VZ75KlHrtL5Jg5kvDJcTfCAaz45Ls3bFVnlpgFb7BDSXaoXLdb4gIIY1qY8DKoxQ6plvIECwhO408O2PGp7hSDOg7iMxh9W8qdztp3WP-gYAB8KnXjQP_drw9Gflw/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzohGp8wT3R_1J8-VZ75KlHrtL5Jg5kvDJcTfCAaz45Ls3bFVnlpgFb7BDSXaoXLdb4gIIY1qY8DKoxQ6plvIECwhO408O2PGp7hSDOg7iMxh9W8qdztp3WP-gYAB8KnXjQP_drw9Gflw/s200/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+071.JPG" t8="true" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Step 5:</strong> After the 24 hour soak, Strain the mix, reserving the liquid and composting the peels. This recipe yields 1 generous liter of cordial. I used cheesecloth, but you could use a sieve or something else. Let your cordial "cure" in the refrigerator for a day or two before consuming; it really does improve after the flavors have mingled and gotten to understand each other for a little while.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To make a Gimlet, I really recommend using Bombay Gin. It is more expensive, but in my opinion, the flavor is better. Not that less expensive gin tastes bad, the flavor is just not as specific. Plus, the Bombay bottle is stunning! Most recipes call for equal parts gin and cordial, but my preference is 1TB of Gin, and 2TB cordial. Add the gin and cordial to a cocktail shaker with about 4 cubes of ice. Wrap the shaker with a dish towel and shake that mix until you are sick of shaking. Strain into a martini glass (or into a rock glass over more ice) and sip while feeling glamorous. The flavor is sublime; a rich combination of earthy-ness (from the ginger), brightness from the limes, and hints of rosemary from the gin. These are especially wonderful on a hot day with good friends.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPS_coBFZa3edjxzoyM1nOkG5H9dpToUe6SpS94DPHp84S1dmP30REjaQhbs3DnOj_z1DU-0MYyZbhJ_OXT_04WRdIXy8Upcq1S7ssZBRmSo8hzUizJ7GJoHdKZj9KkUfySZmROU2RDQU/s1600/BellaAndLimeCordial+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPS_coBFZa3edjxzoyM1nOkG5H9dpToUe6SpS94DPHp84S1dmP30REjaQhbs3DnOj_z1DU-0MYyZbhJ_OXT_04WRdIXy8Upcq1S7ssZBRmSo8hzUizJ7GJoHdKZj9KkUfySZmROU2RDQU/s320/BellaAndLimeCordial+010.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-55443685602080651982011-05-27T17:07:00.000-07:002011-05-27T17:07:27.442-07:00Resting and Creating<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOtd-hPb5kdXMq1CbZB8UL8GYccTQ55V6eTgHuem_00jAkqPKQdUFzb5_Jh0416Mdmh1PgMM4FCcVI9haeDUEXkDbqtJiz74CoBBEKvIyXzW7Fwyk2Jyz1B-7RzR8AUcMd36y34onAb8/s1600/BellaAndLimeCordial+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOtd-hPb5kdXMq1CbZB8UL8GYccTQ55V6eTgHuem_00jAkqPKQdUFzb5_Jh0416Mdmh1PgMM4FCcVI9haeDUEXkDbqtJiz74CoBBEKvIyXzW7Fwyk2Jyz1B-7RzR8AUcMd36y34onAb8/s320/BellaAndLimeCordial+012.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My Dear Friends, I hope you're still out there! I have been taking a lot of time away from my blog; not because I don't have lots to write about, but because I haven't had much energy to write. I've spent the past few weeks concentrating on things of core importance to me; mainly my emotional well being after Bronwyn's death. I'm starting to feel stronger (feeling "better" doesn't really seem correct), and I have spent some nice time in the studio cutting and sewing, and also in the garden. It is spring here, and it feels good</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to go outside. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recently I got a nice order from one of the boutiques that regularly sells my work. It's <a href="http://www.shop-bella.com/">Bella Boutique</a>, and they can be found in Anchorage Alaska. Here is the stack of wallets in progress, and one of them as it looks finished. I made extra of each print because I find that it's more efficient to make multiples; especially when I'm already working on a production of many.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2Rq8XyeT_mgXKtMrs7khyphenhyphend4n_PKvOtH116fOMhBm5YWkhhUgdg4MvxjMFsGkbd-hHNpZvtoPmLrT3Zp2zM9hwRa4XXmXXr011YxrgptmU_JBeO9rgSlvQS7tUfZu91Tc24j7J_z5QdY/s1600/SpindleChairHand1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2Rq8XyeT_mgXKtMrs7khyphenhyphend4n_PKvOtH116fOMhBm5YWkhhUgdg4MvxjMFsGkbd-hHNpZvtoPmLrT3Zp2zM9hwRa4XXmXXr011YxrgptmU_JBeO9rgSlvQS7tUfZu91Tc24j7J_z5QdY/s320/SpindleChairHand1.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></span></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO8IQcfG7EJeDZt_cufcHmmykLFP_xxyAP_haG1in0oMWQVRPd6a9RG2BzS58i_3g-sx-3mZv44Te-8xWE1OhF72jt0KYGuZNYuuZKqtcxk7pHaZiikXcWwMJKmYc1EE0N3DaAypNiTQ/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO8IQcfG7EJeDZt_cufcHmmykLFP_xxyAP_haG1in0oMWQVRPd6a9RG2BzS58i_3g-sx-3mZv44Te-8xWE1OhF72jt0KYGuZNYuuZKqtcxk7pHaZiikXcWwMJKmYc1EE0N3DaAypNiTQ/s320/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+019.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thank-You for being patient with my journey; I appreciate everyone's support. In closing I am showing you a picture of a special project that I've started working on; it's a memorial garden for Bronwyn. Right now, it's quite spare, but over time it will grow and change, just like my feelings for her. The wreath was made by our neighbor and friend, who gathered lichens from her yard. Bronwyn used to spend a lot of time underneath the oak tree in her yard, so it was especially meaningful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I hope everyone has a happy and Safe Memorial Day Weekend.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHZklJJc7NYxKayJnH1rRe3d-uNy8msmlZzNtUpLqVuwIbiyOmNhzEPZ3x7lxlZFRVlN5xzxwOVHg8ZDQF57zWalEfUJWDHjTfDqrm1YBQzbazGnAgq48UjxA0cJdmqhKjsD_Fp9feh4/s1600/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHZklJJc7NYxKayJnH1rRe3d-uNy8msmlZzNtUpLqVuwIbiyOmNhzEPZ3x7lxlZFRVlN5xzxwOVHg8ZDQF57zWalEfUJWDHjTfDqrm1YBQzbazGnAgq48UjxA0cJdmqhKjsD_Fp9feh4/s320/FabricLimeCordialAppleTree+021.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438478552949917949.post-47619288627438265142011-04-12T16:23:00.000-07:002011-04-12T16:24:10.059-07:00The Gift of Friendship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jgqyNZPNeh02Aj6-EMwjQzFIu3jsxhoKacEKmahkimvVEvYOrkZOQuEa7m8LPjWR8CLl9-gc_3Tpdzt_fZ7-RmDeboJV-_fRSwTLqXdjl81Smj3W9RY0qLVicuKGOkg26JyVWEecVgE/s1600/FlaviasGift+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jgqyNZPNeh02Aj6-EMwjQzFIu3jsxhoKacEKmahkimvVEvYOrkZOQuEa7m8LPjWR8CLl9-gc_3Tpdzt_fZ7-RmDeboJV-_fRSwTLqXdjl81Smj3W9RY0qLVicuKGOkg26JyVWEecVgE/s320/FlaviasGift+008.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am increasingly aware of how lucky I am to be surrounded by high quality friendships. This is something that has kept me upright during the most difficult times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Something that I'm realizing in this modern day of computing is that I have friendships that are deep and meaningful with people all over the world that I've never met in person. One such friend is Flavia, a fellow crafty Mama who lives in Brazil. We have always felt a connection through our love of fiber arts and the mothering of children with special needs. But since Bronwyn died, she has been a rock for me. Yesterday, just as I was feeling a little blue, a special package arrived from her. It was a bright and sunny pair of fabric prints; one with tea cups, the other with a retro red blossom. I was immediately reminded of my bond with her and felt that everything was going to be allright. Today it was sunny enough to hang the laundry outside and, of course, the first thing I was inspired to wash was my new fabric. Doesn't it look wonderful soaking up the breeze? </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKVi3UCSaXa0Sf-7Z2tFNFodP-8L2vUqiJVvDUcJTrnY9VWeBWX0IznvFwZVJ8cWOuoBdeRmYVLzZ6528V2SzunrEgeo7Bi-P3oUz2mtY_RudCmy266h5c1wCWmXpzumDF2veWlMiX7w/s1600/FlaviasGift+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKVi3UCSaXa0Sf-7Z2tFNFodP-8L2vUqiJVvDUcJTrnY9VWeBWX0IznvFwZVJ8cWOuoBdeRmYVLzZ6528V2SzunrEgeo7Bi-P3oUz2mtY_RudCmy266h5c1wCWmXpzumDF2veWlMiX7w/s320/FlaviasGift+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I can't wait to start sewing with it (but I must; too many projects in the queue at the moment to start another)!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">May this day find your uplifted by your own special friendships.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdycjm8fMAqNYB86juv1jfyZazL7Z_H1ET5RpNGVMUO0JzXRS9pfNGcLAJD7I_xoQtbd9L9sv_DWZO8UWiANKGJbrn6EMcRRGekJ8AH0rH4bZg3F9iTZugqEqWj5PTvlpvujZGwnfCVTc/s1600/FlaviasGift+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdycjm8fMAqNYB86juv1jfyZazL7Z_H1ET5RpNGVMUO0JzXRS9pfNGcLAJD7I_xoQtbd9L9sv_DWZO8UWiANKGJbrn6EMcRRGekJ8AH0rH4bZg3F9iTZugqEqWj5PTvlpvujZGwnfCVTc/s320/FlaviasGift+005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teacup fabric designed by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman. The line is called "Metro Cafe" Blossom fabric is designed by Alice Kennedy for Timeless Treasures and is called, "Poppy"</td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6