If You Accept A Dinner Invitation

One of my all time

favortie quotes was

made by

The Dutchess Of Windsor.

It goes..

If you accept a dinner invitation

you have a moral obligation

to be amusing.

Don't you love that?

If I am going to feed someone

I want to be entertained in

return...of course,

sometimes I am my own

best entertainment/audience.

But that's just me.

Anyway,

My Sweet Mimi

found an old window

and with her paints

and thoughful nature

created this for me to

hang in the kitchen.

(I don't have any wall room

left in the dining room).

I got it for my birthday back

in December but just

now got around to hanging it.

-sigh-

Is this the cutest thing ever?

It is hard to get a picture of it

because, of course,

it is on glass.

A close up of the metal piece

across the top of the window sash,

and, as you can see, the lock

has remained intact.

Don't you just love it?

You did good, Mimi.

Really Really Good!

I'm On A Roll

Well, I am NOT on a roll,

literally,

but MyHero

likes it when I get on a roll...

but we won't talk about that here

now, will we?

Sometimes the words

I Love You

aren't really words at all.

They are little things that

we do that take the

place of the

tired old

I love you's that

fall without thought from

our lips sometimes.

MyHero is

pretty happy when I start

rolling this way.

I start with something

quick and convenient.

I plop them into a

prepared

HEART SHAPED PAN.

I bake the required amount of time

and then turn them onto a plate

and cover them with

Cream Cheese Frosting

while they are still hot.

MyHero

starts drooling as soon as

he walks into the house.

Then he starts smiling.

And life is good.

Very Very Good!

Now, if I could only train him

to put his own dishes into the

dishwasher I would be

so flipping happy.

Oh- wait-

I would be so surprised

I would probably die

of a heart attack.

Some things are just gonna

be what they are,

you know what I mean?

We Are But Dust-Literally

EVERY family has one.

A person that takes things

LITERALLY.

We have our own.

Little Lulu!

I call her

Literal Lulu.

You have to see the humor

in the little things when

you live with someone that is literal.

This happened a couple of years ago,

when Lulu was a bit younger.
 TPot (Momma) is cruising stations on the radio.

I hate when people do that, don't you?

A preacher is on the radio.

source

He intones at the end of his sermon

 "Without God we are but dust."

There is a stricken intake of breath in the backseat.

 "What’s the matter, Lulu?’

What is BUTT dust?"

 What? WHAT? What are you talking about?

"Well, the guy on the radio says that without God

 we are BUTT dust!"

TPot is stricken with laughter that bubbles up

 and flows out of her mouth before she can squelch it.

 TPot has spewed her Starbucks

 (oh-so-expensive -but-ever-so-good coffee out through her nose).

 Suspiciously, from the back seat,

 comes the dreaded (and oft repeated) question....

"WHAT’S SO FUNNY?"

 TPot pretends she is coughing

 (which provides her with an excuse not to answer).

She gives her the standard answer

 that every parent/grandparent uses to

 cover up every laugh at the child’s expense-

 "Nothing’s funny- I just

swallowed the wrong way"

Oh!

That is just ONE of the many little

laughs we have had over the years.

Here is one unique way that this

girl operates.

The other day there was a piece

of errant ice that missed the

cup when it came out of the ice dispenser in

the fridge.

Rather than wipe it up..

Lulu prepared a

WARNING sign instead.

Ummm-hmmmm...

and you thought that

SweetCheeks was the only

one that gives us a good laugh

in the family.
How sad is it that I laugh
AT someone and not
WITH them?
Cuz...I am just THAT person!

First night out on the road with
the kids...so far...so good..

Romantic Homes Featured Bloggers March Issue

I LOVE IT

when I get my

ROMANTIC HOMES

every month.

I let most of my subscriptions

lapse but this is one I

will keep renewing-

maybe forever.

Anyway,

when I get it I quickly go

through to see what is in

the issue and then go back

and absorb it at a slower pace.

Now...here is what is

amazing to me.

In the front of each issue

are "featured bloggers".

I am so blessed to follow each

of these blogs.

It makes my heart beat a bit faster

to know that they pop by my

blog, too, and comment sometimes.

I feel like we are kindred souls,

even though our blogs are

nothing alike.

First up,

Sweet Abby over at

Abby's Paperie Garden,

 has a beautiful blog and

she is leaving an image and

quote every morning now.

Next up is June,

a dear, sweet gal,

over at

Laughing With Angels.

She has had her share of heartaches

and joys in her life but her

spirit will lift you up and give

you wings.

And, then there is Mikey,

at Shabby French Cottage.

Another blog you will love to visit.

And, although this is not a blog,

when I saw this purse

I smiled right out loud.

You might want to visit her here at

Daphne Niccole.

Try and drop by and
say Hello to these talented people
and tell them I sent you!

Happy Tuesday, friends.

I am on my way to my daughter's home

for the night and then headed to

Florida tomorrow.

You won't be rid of me easily though

because I am taking my computer

with me- HA!

So...watch your mouth!

PURSESANLLY - I Like It

If you remember yesterday

I dug through my stash

of fabrics.

to make a purse/tote.

Here It Is!

It feels so good to be

creating with fabric again.

This is just a basic tote

pattern..that I ..ahem..

changed because I

didn't like the way the

pattern played out.

The colors are a little off
in this picture

(or maybe it is me?;>)

But the green of the pocket

matches the green in the

paisley exactly.

Here's the top strap.

The self made fabric flower

rests right on the shoulder.

The pocket in front is

perfect to tuck my camera into.

It even looks cute hanging

on a lamp with the sunlight

streaming into the room.

Okay..

Now that I am

BACK AT IT...

I am thinking about making

THIS!

Yeah...Okay

MyHero is probably drooling

into the keyboard reading this

because he is used to seeing me

in this!

And...just so y'all know,

I am lying about making that

ruffled bra and panty set!;>)

Whaddya mean you know that?

I hope you have a great day.

I'll be out sporting my new bag

and pretending it is Spring!

Ruffles Rule And Fabric Is Flying

I'll tell you something.

It is downright scary to put

me in a room with my

sewing machine set up permanently...

AND

to let me have my stacks of fabric

accessible.

What is even scarier

is the fact that I can go to the

computer and google

RUFFLED BAGS.

Look what comes up!

These are from the

PolkaDotCloset

Let me tell you~

I did not know this blog

but after seeing  these I

hopped over there as fast as

my fingers would take me and

signed up as a follower.

I'm not sure where this one

came from I am sorry to say!

But isn't it cute?

Nor do I know where these came from.

So, shoot me, m'kay?

Gotta tell you,

I am inspired.

I am inspired to use up

some of my fabric stash.

 I read something the other day

about someone not wanting to

actually CUT INTO a new

piece of fabric.

They just keep saving their fabric

and not using it.

Let me tell you,

 I have that "disease", too.

I hate to put the scissors to the

cloth because once I do,

I am committed to using the fabric

in that way.

But after

reading that, I realized that I was

NOT ALONE.

I also realized I need to

START CUTTING

and using.

So, hopefully, I will soon have

a few ruffled 

THINGS to show you.

Today, I made THIS.

A little

I LOVE YOU

heart for SweetCheeks.

And then...and then...

and then..

I cut into one of those pieces

I have been saving for

the end of the world.

And it looks like it's gonna be a

BAG...

And not an

OLD BAG like me...

A NICE BAG.

This one is NOT a ruffled bag..

but that is coming soon.

This one is

a bag with pockets inside

and fully lined.

Now if y'all are

NICE TO ME

and promise not to scold me

if I prick my finger and say

a naughty word, or two,

or three and don't tell

MyHero cuz you know he is a

pastor and all....yeah...and then

there's me!

I just might show you what

I am making today!

SEW CUTE!

Every time I make something new

I think...

OKAY...

This is THE cutest thing

I have ever done.

Ever think that way?

Like this is one of your

finest THINGS
(whatever it is)

 so far and you

will never make

anything that cute again?

Well,

As you know,  I dug out

the old

SEWING MACHINE

and went to town.

Look out

DizzyWorld

(as SweetCheeks calls it)

here comes the

Cuteness Contingency!

I always pre-wash and iron

all my materials so there are

no stinking shrinking surprises

after the item is washed for

the first time.

That's the part I like least.

After cutting out the basic pattern,

I go off on my own and trace

around a bowl and a glass

to make my

Mickey Mouse circles.

I back the pieces with interfacing

to stabilize the material

and prevent fraying.

Then, I can applique them

to the front of the dresses.

Then it is time to

SEW-

to add a bit of trim

here and there!

Now I will say that I saw

something similar somewhere,

some time ago.

I can't remember exactly

what it looked like

and

I don't remember where

I saw it

so I can't give any credit.

If you've seen something similar

let me know so I can give

credit where credit is due.

SassyButt SweetCheeks

did NOT WANT to be

a model yesterday

and my flash wouldn't work

and she wouldn't

GO TO THE LIGHT.
(Bj-Sweet Nothings lightened this
picture for me...gosh I love that gal-
if you don't know her you HAVE to go visit)

However, Ria tried SweetCheek's

dress on so I would know how

much material to add to

the pattern.

So,

TA-DAH

#1 SweetCheeks

#2 Ria

#3 I changed the dress up a bit

for Lulu,

being as she is a bit older.

Here they are...

Lined up and ready to go.

The colors are not true here.

The pink is a lovely

light pink with no

orangish cast.

I don't know who is more

excited to go..

Me or the kids.

Oh~Wait~

Did I mention that I am

DRIVING DOWN

with two daughters

and three kids?

Yeah...

 I. Just. Can't. Wait.

Hope you all have a great,

low stress day~

Dealing With Daily Disappointments

Don't you just wish that

life was always laid

out  before us in a

SMOOTH PATH?

Some days I feel like

SweetCheeks looks here..

Just a tad let-down about the day

in general.

Yesterday I had planned to get

some sewing done.

A bump in the road changed that plan.

Maybe today,

maybe,
I will get at the sewing project.

That was one disappointment.

The second one is one I hesitate

to even mention.

I have gone back and forth about it

in my mind..

whether to post it would serve

any good purpose.

I decided I to share it here

because it has probably happened

to other bloggers as well.

Long before Christmas I won a give away.

A wonderful giveaway.

Part of it was a book that I wanted.

I cancelled the one I had already ordered...

The blogger promised to ship it out..

so I waited...

and waited....

and waited....

and waited...

for my prize to arrive.

Finally,

after 8 weeks of waiting I

sent a short email asking if

she had sent it and wondering

if it had gotten lost in mailing..

no pressure- just curious.

No response.

Today, I went to check her blog.

Guess what?

The blog has been taken down.

Her email no longer exists.

I am disappointed in this woman

that I had come to like

and thought I knew.

A simple

I'm sorry, things aren't good here,

would have been more than sufficient.

I don't really care about the book...

I care about the person.

And, I feel bad for the blogger

that felt she had to cut off

contact with the blogging world

because, for whatever reason,

she could not make good on

something she had,
in good faith,
set out to do.

Today will be a better

day because I am not

one to let

disappointments rule my life.

I am gonna pull up my

big girl panties and

move forward.

I am hoping

that tomorrow I will have

something GOOD to show you.

 I AM still working on
my own special ensemble
for Disney.
Remember this little number from
the other day?

Well, my friend, Jettie

(yes~ that is her REAL name)
suggested I might want to
get a Dolly Parton wig instead
of the UPDO.

She's not fooling me.

She just wants to borrow the

whole shazam for one of her

church suppers.

I'm thinking
MyHero would much rather
be seen with
Wig #2
as opposed to
Wig #1.
Whaddayathink?

So Much Sadness-Too Much To Bear

This is a short post today.

I don't want you to spend time

here reading.

Instead,

I would ask you to go

pay a vist to Karen

over at

Her parents were in a

horrible accident and

her Mom was taken to

Heaven on the spot.

Her elderly father is

in critical care.

Please pop by her blog

and uplift her

and say a prayer

for her family.

Thank you~

SEW This Is What You Get

I had an errand that

took me away from home

most of the day.

BUT

When I got home I wanted

to play with some

fabric for fun.

I decided before I

went out and bought

any more material

I would make a

PROTOTYPE.

A couple of hours later,

I had a

semi-willing

model.

SweetCheeks

gave it her

stamp of approval.

(Or was that a stomp
because she had to stop what

she was doing to try on the dress)....

hmmmm..

Anyway,

by the time I got the camera

pointed her way..

she gave me a real smile.

And...although her hair was

in piggies I stuck a

matching bow in for a quick shot.

THEN,

I went to the fabric store

for this!

Now, Lord willing

and the creek don't rise

TOMORROW

I will have whipped up

something

SUPER CUTE

for the kiddos

to wear when we go to

You know sometimes they

LOSE ME

they say it's not on purpose but

you know how your family always

lies to you to make you feel better.so

...just so they don't

LOSE ME

I am thinking of wearing

THIS~

I can rent it and the best part

is I won't even have to

dye my hair.

Whaddayathink?