Morning Glory Studio

where does the day go?

 

 

(at last! Daffodils on my walk) 

            It seems that I  just started the day and looking at the clock, I realize I've been up and engaged since 5 AM - just about ten hours ago! Where does the day go? Tis mid afternoon. My craft room - I'm still looking for a better descriptor; something will appear - is a flurry of activity with a variety of papers being culled and organized: things to do today, this week, next month; notes to review and toss; papers to file. 

Norman had an important engagement this morning so he was up and out early...wishing as he left that he could go back to bed and sleep a little longer. Isn't that always the case?

I have been busily looking over February, asking myself:

• what did I accomplish? Clearly the number 1 answer is completing my Flower Garden quilt! And number 2: assembling my sit down/standup desk!
• where did I go? A concert;  gatherings with my stitching and reading friends; Women's March Huddle; a bit of shopping.
• what do I have left to do? Enough to fill a month of and then some, Sundays.
• what am I going to focus on in March? My list grows and quite honestly, there are not enough days in the month to tackle all. Having said that: tune in for this week's ThinkWriteThursday  prompt for the answer to the question.

 Norman returned from his engagement and we talked for a bit. I decided to take a walk - before the rain comes. It's now 3:40 pm - I've returned home and he's just finished lunch. Time for me to make a bit more progress before the day ends...or I wind down. I leave you with these gorgeous flowers - they are the pink trees I shared in this post. I just love their little star centers...and so do the bees!

Happy Mardi Gras and

Cheers~

memos, mail, me | 27 february 2017...

 

Mondays are quilt association meeting days for me and generally, I'm out of the house by 9:15 am. Today I was leaving later  and following the meeting -  planning to meet my friend Pat for lunch and afterwards, go to our LYS for one of these cute hats to knit ~ sortof as a break from our other forms of hand work - mostly quilt applique´and stitching bindings on finished quilts. We have both just recently finished with major quilt projects and have several  (I use the term several loosely)  knitting UFOs, vying for our attention. Anyway, we thought a fun knitting project would make for  a nice break and serve too as a catalyst to get us back into a knitting frame of mind. 

The morning began with a perk: FaceTime with friend Mary. Afterwards, I called Pat only to find out she was feeling a bit under the weather. Upon arising, Norman announced that he too wasn't quite feeling himself ... As they say: "Life gets in the way of one's plans...  I never made it to my meeting but as I pen this, I'm happy to report that things are looking up for all parties concerned. Hoorah! And now, onto the post:

Last week's mail was filled with many items of delight:

• a Costco member reward certificate for a whole $3.53 cents...
• a bunch of coupons for free or discounted  food delivery and/or a free box of snacks...
• a uniPOSCA white pen for writing on photographs...
• a fun KateSpade rotating rubber stamp : some of the sentiments are: be an elegant thinker; live colorfully; read fine print...
• AliEdwards February story kit: bond... 
• "still my President" decal and 

ALL.THE .WAY. FROM. JAPAN

• a three color Otho red-blue-black pen  and 0.5mm pencil Pretty neat! and 

THE BEST of ALL 

• My Women's March on Washington T-shirt!

Again this week I'm joining Sian of From High in the Sky for Monday's Memos, Mail, Me. Do pop over to see what others have shared. I hope this week the postal service brings you a bunch of goodies.  Til tomorrow...

Cheers~

 

friendstitchin' sunday | 26 february 2017

 
(Theresa taking pic of the carrot cake)

        Today was our monthly Friendstitchin' gathering...we met at my  house and celebrated Theresa's  ("I'll never tell which one") birthday. Food was good -even as the chef I must say so myself: we had a delicious quinoa salad, green spring salad, chicken roll ups; three yummy cheeses: an Irish cheddar, Italian reminiscent of a brie, and English Stilton with cranberries -yummy. And for dessert, carrot cake! In the background, as the perfect compliment to our stitching and sharing, light classical music on my favorite station. 

Margaret stitched on her needlepoint; Pat, stitched the binding on a fantastic quilt she and Margaret stitched over the past two years and I knitted! Yep, since I finished my Flower Garden quilt, I didn't have a hand stitching project ready. I need to prep the center block for my Baltimore Album quilt, which I've not touched for months...so, I knitted instead ad completed the bind-off on my poncho and round one of my "peace cowl." Only 20 more rounds - or 80 rows - to go...lotsa peaceful knitting moments ahead. 

Theresa finished the pizza lap blanket she was knitting for a niece...isn't it fun? Her 90-years' old mother made the pepperoni which Theresa stitched on today! Looks good enough to eat!

(Theresa's Pizza  ~ all done!)

T'was again a wonderful afternoon, spent with longtime dear friends. Looking forward to next month's gathering! And btw: the three cheeses and carrot cake I bought at Wegman's if you have this grocery store your area.

Cheers~

birds of a feather...

 3:06 pm        It has become too warm too fast...good conditions for a tornado...be on the watch.

Standing at the sink I see the tree ---several houses over. The top branches and limbs filled with birds...waiting. Occasionally, a few swoop and return to their perches. Do you suppose they are tweeting? If so, I  wonder what they are tweeting to one another...

Rain beats on the windows and skylights: heavy; fierce; quick. Sirens are heard in the distance. Silence.

The rain, subsides. The sun comes out. Patches of blue begin to peek through the dark clouds. The birds have gone...I wonder where.

3:43 pm. Tornado warning expired; thankfully.

I think I shall never see ...

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

            ~Joyce Kilmer       

 

I was on my way to get my hair cut and had to stop and take a picture of these trees in the park. Totally unprepared for them to be in full bloom...and it's only 24 February! An absolutely beautiful sight, even if only to be short-lived. I hope this weekend brings you a beautiful visual surprise too. Enjoy.

Cheers~

six minute diary | 23 february 2017

 

(Canadian Geese and Gulls)  

Did

1. Three friends and I visited a delightful shop with beautiful items, many made by American artists. Among the wares: hand blown glass birds; hand made baskets; wooden serving pieces; place mats; toys for children. I bought birthday gifts for several friends...
2. After  shopping, lunch at a very popular diner; my selection: feta cheese omelette and  broccoli - tasty and filling!
3. Stop at grocery store - but not for bananas! Low-acid OJ this time!
4. Second stop - Michael's Craft store for  some "party" favors - I'm hosting our monthly Friendstitch gathering and February is a birthday  month for one of us, so we always celebrate...
5. As I was checking out, I spied two items: a ceramic sign* and a book on how to create mandalas - I've been thinking about learning how to do this so, of course I had to buy it and that necessitated...
6. Another trip to B & N - in the same shopping center to see what they had on mandalas, nothing really but two new books recently published that have been ordered for me to examine; 
7. On my way home I stopped at Starbucks for my fave afternoon pick-me-up: peach tea with peach syrup - just 1.5 pumps...

Saw:

Today's temp was delightful - high 70s, bright sunshine, blue skies - all these factors encouraged people to

• shed their sweaters, coats, hats, gloves and... 
• don their shorts, flip fops or go barefoot...
• get out and walk, often accompanied by dogs, even more than one...
• ride in their convertibles with tops down...
• sit outside at Starbucks...
• not one, not two, not three but four bands of Canadian Geese honking their way north...
• sunset- tho' not overly dramatic, lovely just the same!

Heard:

At lunch, we had an interesting discussion about today's ThinkWriteThursday topic...seems that none of my companions including me had any favorite lines from any movies that we often quoted. We did wind up talking about scary movies that made a big impact on us and concluded that we preferred some of the sitcoms from the  80s - 90s: Mary Tyler Moore; The Waltons; Golden Girls; Touched by an Angel were some named.

And that's the way it was today; before I DRAW this post to a close, hop over to Carole's blog for links to this week's ThinkWriteThursday topic. 

*

 

watercolor wednesday | peace...

        "Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind. " ~ Henry James.

I think that if each of us practices kindness - to ourselves and towards one another, we indeed will  find this lovely, unique planet earth and life on it, peaceful. It's certainly worth a try. 

recent reads | february 21, 2017 edition...

 

(just browsing)

        For a year and counting now, my three friends and I gather, every two months on the third Tuesday to share what we've read, catch up on any number of things: health; comings and goings; accomplishments; politics; etc... you name it, we talk about it, in addition to books. We've known one another for decades, worked together in the public library, traveled at home and abroad, etc. That we would gather to discuss and share what we're reading is actually not so surprising. I  guess the big question is: What took us so long?

The books we shared today ranged from the Underground Railroad to Bruno Bettelheim's treatise on the meaning of fairy tales to writing to  procrastination. We even talked a bit about movie series and  the movie: Hidden Figures.

After we feast on the books, we feast at the table. Today, we had a delicious quinoa salad, chicken salad, hot rolls and dessert. Yummy!

Our gathering ended, I decided to go to Barnes & Noble - there is a store not far from where we met. I needed to get a birthday card and gifts for a friend and I also wanted to browse a bit. I had nothing particular in mind but I did have about $85 dollars in gift cards plus my membership discount...burning a hole in my pocket. I wandered the aisles, magazine  and gift sections and managed to spend the $85 - only had to cough up $1.38. Not bad!

This is my haul (minus the gifts I bought):

• The 50% off Hidden Figures was better than the paperback edition. I bought it since I've not yet seen the movie and I'm thinking it's going to be a few more months before streaming is available ...
• With Spring around the corner, my eyes and my thoughts keep turning to our back yard, especially since we had the photinia bushes ( that had become trees ) cut down last June. I'm thinking about container gardening so the Southern Living special edition magazine caught my eye.
• Write Back Soon is about writing postcards ...since it's InCoWriMo, I was intrigued - perhaps I'll get it read by next February.
• One of the books I've been reading: Writing With Quiet Hands introduced me to the author's favorite fiction writer: Alice Hoffman. Since I'm not much of a fiction reader - my goal is to read at least one title a month (and I just may make the cut!) -  I thought I'd try one of her books...but wound up not buying, thinking I'd consult GoodReads first. Do you read Alice? Any suggestions?

A great day, always so with good friends and good books. What's on your recent(ly) read list?

Cheers~

Memos, Mail, Me | getting it together ...

 

 

 I spent much of the long holiday weekend assembling furniture:

• Saturday, a standup/sit down desk;
• Sunday afternoon, a Raskog cart - I currently have 4 in various rooms; 
• Today, a shelf that sits on top of a desk though I'm currently using on my scrapping table (actually two counter-height kitchen* cabinets leftover from when we built the addition a dozen years ago 'cause -   I stand up when I scrap or paint).  Don't know why, just do. I may start sitting down and the next thing I know, I'm standing up.

Today, after a very leisurely morning, I've spent the afternoon tweaking the rearrangement of furniture - tho' mostly things - in my craft room. I'm thinking I should change the name of this place to something that has to do with story for it is this room that houses all my journals, memorabilia and scrapbook albums - in various stages ranging from done to undone - more of the latter - but, that's another story for another day.  Most of the items I assembled - well, actually  all - come from IKEA and I've had for several months.  It apparently took last week's ThinkWriteThursday prompt to move me off the dime! Oh my, have I enjoyed an endorphin rush over these past three days! And the weather is an added bonus! Between Mother Nature and my energy, there's no telling what I might accomplish. 

Mail over the past week, once we got past February 14 has been light:

1. a couple magazine/catalogs from local museums - besides being informative, I often find great images for collage journal entries;
2. two $10 off Amazon Prime Now  coupons - better spend these this week 'cause they expire at the end of the month! 
3. a mailer from the District of Columbia government reminding us "snow is coming!" and including snow shoveling tips and the City's snow removal regulations. So far, we've not needed this important piece of mail - especially yesterday, today, tomorrow...and looks like weeks to come! Could we really get through winter without any snow? Time will tell - only 30 days to go:
4. a "thank you" postcard from POTUS 44 - Barack Obama - via the Democratic Party. Clearly not a collector's item but it will go in my scrapbook album...and 
5. somehow, caught among the catalogs - a Christmas letter from a long-time friend that  evidently I kept aside to answer during InCoWriMo month. Time's awastin' and soon the month will be over...guess I'd better get busy with sending a few more notes/letters myself.

Today is the first that I've used my new desk! It's pretty neat and the control is a simple up/down that I press. I think it's a keeper! Now to think of a new name for this room; any ideas?

Here's to a grand week  - mail and otherwise - for you! Hop on over to  Sian at From High in the Sky and friends sharing their Memos, Mail and a bit of themselves.

Cheers~

*Note to Self: I must remember this: Story of kitchens and my first foray to IKEA, thirty years ago! 

signs of spring...

            About a week or so ago, I went for a walk, looking for signs of spring...and found none. Today, the story search was quite different. For starters, the temperature reached 69 degrees and there was sunshine with barely any winds. A perfect spring day (and as my friend Pat reminded me, in three weeks from today, we will be on daylight savings time - more light and as I said to her: "not looking forward to it at all; it will take me to November, when we go off, to get used to it..." But, that's a story for another day - back to the present). 

I went out a little after 3 PM, listening to Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast. This week's episode, #104, was especially interesting and perfect for a variety of reasons: one, Gretchen and her sister Elizabeth shared some very timely tips for dealing with listening to the news about the current  political situation and climate.  I think it's worth a listen. I know I've put myself on a once a day listen to the news diet. I've not turned on my car radio since the election. The "Try This at Home" piece on having a life story conversation is fascinating. I think I'll dig into that idea a bit more.

I walked over to our neighborhood park, filled with children and adults. Overhead, sea gulls (silly birds so far from the ocean) flew. In the park, people were reading (their phones); one guy was stretched out on a bench, sound asleep.  Children were swinging, rolling down the hillside, playing on the jungle gym, learning to ride a new bike, complete with training wheels - everyone just enjoying the bright spring day. 

In addition to seeing people in the park, I heard wind chimes and saw the beginnings of spring flowers and plants. The sign on the church door caught my attention : a place of refreshing seemed perfect for the day, too.

By the time I returned home, I'd  clocked over 5K steps . My Fitbit just buzzed me at 5:48 pm: 6,501 steps so far today! I'd gotten up to cha cha cha to Sway, sung by Michael Buble - take a listen (cancel the add). And on that note, I'll sign off. Til' tomorrow,

Cheers~