Pink Saturday 3/18/2011 with Eye Candy and Random Thoughts

Happy Pink Saturday once again, my darling little chicks. To view all the participants, go visit with Beverly by clicking on the logo below:

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Truthfully, I composed this today starting at about 1 pm because I've been so busy out spending money and driving Love Bunny simply crazy today buying 2 of these. Well, next time he'll go with me when I'm on a tear, won't he? Hmmmm?! Anyway, we'll soon have LIGHT in our dark living room. Yippee! I can't wait. Buying these was a necessity as our large covered north facing porch lets little light into our living room. Know what I'm saying here? I need light! I shall have light soon. But here you got the best shot and it's leaning it against my absolutely so-filthy-ashamed-to-drive car. Sigh...

So let's continue with Pink Saturday. To tell you the truth I'm sick of posting photos of things around my house, but what else am I going to post since I'm not buying many frivolous things (skylights in the above photo excepted, of course) for our home anymore. So I thought I'd just photograph a few things you've probably seen before and play a thinking game: What comes to mind when I mention certain things?

Lauren Bacall in a slinky dress with her hand holding a cigarette smoldering in her cigarette holder?

Big luscious oranges in a California orange grove?

Watching old 40s movies and listening to the Big Bands of the 40s?

Going on a road trip just for fun and no destination in mind?

The City of Angels where the sun goes down and stars are born?

Tract homes and mini-malls?

The first time you saw a true hero in a movie? I've loved Humphrey Bogart all my life.

Ugliest city you've ever been to?

Running behind a truck spraying fog for insects and loving it?

A movie that you could see without your parents along?

The very first boy that made your heart do flip-flops? Mine was a guy named Leonard. ;-)

Something that simply made you feel good?

Wearing a dress that was elegant and the skirt stuck out so far with crinolines?

Simply walking with your sweetheart holding hands?

You don't have to tell anyone the answers, just think and ponder.
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I Shopped for a Year and Some Thoughts for Today

Just to let you all know I got my money back for the Rosetta Stone scam! Hubby said he was thrilled and surprised. I truly didn't doubt I'd get it back even if the scammers were in China. I just knew I wouldn't be left holding th' bag. I am very happy Paypal came through for me.
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When we moved in the the early 1990s we knew a year ahead that we would be coming here. I wasn't familiar with Idaho but I knew it wasn't as big as California or as cosmopolitan. I didn't know what they had in the way of shopping since I hadn't been to this area before.

So I shopped for a whole year, while our house was on the market to be sold. I've told people this before but they really don't have a clue how much I bought the year before we moved up here. I needed down feather comforters, a blue Kitchen Aid mixer because I was going to start cooking more. Clothes? I spent about 8,000 to 10,000 dollars that year for clothes up here. I thought Macys was going to give me an award for so much money spent. I bought bowls, plates, china, stemware crystal, huge embroidered table cloths and napkins. Gorgeous fancy paper plates and napkins. Trinkets and knick-knacks. Bath towels and beautiful sheets. Rugs. Lace curtains. Several limited edition prints I loved. Makeup. Perfumes. Shoes. Purses. Candlesticks. Writing paper. Pink file folders. Hanging file folders. File folder labels. Reams of colored copying paper in light pink and fluorescent pink, dark pink, fuchsia, yellow, green, blues, magenta and lavender. Fancy notebooks and note papers. Several beautiful fountain pens with different inks. Decorating books galore. Just so much I can't begin to tell you all I bought. When I say trinkets, I mean beautiful little things to either hang on walls or put on tabletops. Then there were the crafting supplies. At that time I was into the country look so I bought boxes and boxes of supplies and things to makeover. Dozens of embroidery kits and embroidery. We actually filled a huge Mayflower moving van with our very own stuff. Truly I shopped almost every single day for a year and it was glorious to be able to do that.

But things change and we grow older and, in my case, much wiser. I joined a church and things literally changed in the blink of an eye. To read my story in its entirety go here. I had a "Mighty Change of Heart" and my heart truly was softened. I had so much love for my fellow human beings that I was brought to tears when I'd see them in distress. It is very difficult to explain the heart.

This past week Japan has made a page in the annals of History that they'd probably much rather have just skipped with that devastating earthquake. I can't begin to tell you how sad my heart was at seeing families wiped out, homes, businesses, towns and cities destroyed in the blink of an eye. The photos are, as they say, heart-wrenching. I look at this woman who just learned she has lost her entire family and wonder how it would be to endure such tragedy. I hope I never have to find out. Her eyes tell all the emotions she is going through.

And this Japanese man who thought to stop and pray before digging out his countrymen. How small he must feel for the task ahead of him. I can only imagine his anguished heart.
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I've been absent from blogging a lot lately, but there are reasons. I need to get some priorities in order. I've started working on my genealogy for one thing and have been asked by my church to do a mission and help out. This doesn't require me to go to a foreign country or even another part of our country but it involves a commitment of several hours a week working with a team of others. As I've said before, blogging is a passion of mine to help with my writing and photography skills. It is for me and no one else. I have many, many favorites and I skim them on my Google Reader—that's the best way as far as I'm concerned, GR—but if I don't comment please understand why. I pretty much don't comment if there is just a "Blogging Today Just To Say Hello", if there is something that has been put on many times before and I've seen it or if someone is describing how to upholster something for the 10th time. You get my drift here. But I truly do love commenting when I have the time. And I truly, truly appreciate every single one of you who visits me. :-) And I shall absolutely be doing a Pink Saturday post tomorrow!
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The Womanly Arts—Sewing and Embroidery

In my quest to get rid of some things, this beautiful vintage gown is on eBay here at the moment. I'm biting the bullet and putting this on there hoping it finds a wonderful home. I just can't take it to a thrift store. If you're interested in buying it directly from me, just email me and I'll take it off of eBay. I truly want it to go to someone who appreciates this sort of thing. It would look wonderful on a mannequin!

Growing up I didn't sew or do needlework or embroidery. It wasn't until later in life I found my love for embroidering. My mom was a professional woman. She didn't even know how to do anything encompassing the womanly arts. I learned to sew and embroider on my own. I love doing it but haven't for a long time now. So recently I looked and found my unfinished projects and embroidery threads because I wanted to do some new "fluffing" to some pillowcases.

You can see I'm partial to pink and green as evidenced in my previous post for Pink Saturday combining St. Patrick's Day with it. I have Irish heritage but a lot of other ancestors also so we don't particularly celebrate that holiday. I'm not much of a "holiday celebrator." I just look at it as another day except the banks are closed. ;-)

Threads of yarn separated and waiting for me to begin it again.

Another unfinished project.

This is my Ralph Lauren bag purchased many years ago to hold my projects and threadsl. I've since had to buy more tote bags to contain it all.

I believe this was my first book on teaching me the basics. I have some designs from here on pillowcases that are showing severe signs of wear and may need to redo them. I love this little book.

Perhaps I've waited too long to complete this one. I'll have to finish it before I can wash it properly now. Can't figure out how this got water damaged. Hmmmm...

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to finish them all.

And these are my colorful skeins of embroidery thread. To me, it's simply eye candy. I love looking at the colors. You see my preferences of colors from this photo.

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Pink Saturday 3/12/2011

Welcome to Pink Saturday once again. I was absent last week because I was simply feeling blah. We all know that happens once in a while so I just go with it and hibernate with a good book. However, to view all the participants go to Beverly and visit with them all. I think you'll be delighted and inspired both. Just click on her logo below.
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While pink and yellow is my favorite color combination, pink and green is up there with another color combination of which I like to dress. I'll wear pink and green a great deal of the time. It's not my most flattering color combination. Rose pink is the color of which I can see really makes me shine. I never realized it until I made a dress of rose raw silk once and while never thinking of myself as beautiful, I just glowed in that color. That is my most flattering color—rose pink. The shirt below is a close match to what I'm talking about. Just a tad lighter than that.

I like wearing 2 shirts together mainly because the pink one is a tank top and I don't wear sleeveless things unless I have something over it. I'm very modest. So this can work well for me.

I loved this box when I saw it a couple of years ago. Lime isn't exactly a color I'd go for but when paired with this fuchsia pink I couldn't resist it. It holds special papers inside of it.

And while no green here, it is a photo of Miss Caroline taken last week, and she's my favorite eye candy. Our little blue-eyed Guatemalan chica. ;-)

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Let's have a few Random Thoughts today:

In church last sunday, a very beautiful young, long-haired blonde woman and new mother was talking about her testimony of the Gospel and the kindness the ward had shown her being new in the ward. She's from Canada and married an American but loves it here. She said something about worrying about her wrinkles. I had to chuckle because I saw not a one wrinkle in that gorgeous smooth face and even lamented that I have crow's feet older than her! Precious...
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"Good" is a soft assessment of a situation. I prefer the "real deal" when talking about the situation.
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In light of some things happening in my life recently I've decided that testosterone should be a controlled substance. ;-)
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Is it only me or are there others that think Hugh Hefner is a pathetic joke? Reading about his "engagement(!)" recently is so sad even my hubby shook his head. Now, this man has rarely ever had his picture in any clothes other than his pajamas, has several young women "available" in his mansion, which is a pigsty from all reports, acts like the world gushes at his every word and marries girls young enough to be his granddaughters. Does he realize how foolish and pathetic that makes him? If he didn't have millions of dollars no one would look twice at the fool!
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Funny how washing dishes around this home is just a matter of who turns on the dishwasher now.
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Someone recently told me to not worry so much. "Yeah, I'll get right on that." ;-)
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Have you ever listened to someone whose sense of words drowned in sense of self. Well, trust me, I have...and probably have been guilty a time or two of committing the crime myself.
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I'm Back with Some More Thoughts

I've been taking some time off to prioritize some things in my life, but I'm sure you've heard this before from other bloggers. Well, it is absolutely true. I've had other things pressing on my mind for a while and decided to just stay off blogging for several days to get things set straight in my mind. I suspect we all do it once in a while. All bloggers I mean. ;-)

I've been doing a lot of reading as that is probably my first passion. Then a friend of mine has been gently pressuring me to do more genealogy than I have done. I've also learned how to bake a loaf of edible bread; however, it's crumbly. Though not very pretty, it is still delicious. So I know now that I can bake it if necessary.

I've also decided to do an exercise routine and walk several times a week to get out of the house. I'm now understanding why older people want to stay in most of the time. I'm getting the same way. And that's mostly due to the fact that I rarely shop anymore except for food. I just don't need anything for this house and wish some of you lived close so I could give you things: pretty crafts I've made, ottomans, tables, desks, etc. I'm having separation issues and would love to know they were going to a loving house instead of Goodwill or Deseret Industries. ;-)

Also there was a break-in in our neighborhood. A young mother had returned from taking her child to school and walked in on a man in her home. That scared me so we immediately called an alarm company and had a burglar alarm installed within 2 days. We had one when we lived in California because we were robbed twice, but the 2nd time we walked in on the 2 men and they attacked us. I don't take chances anymore. Crime is coming even to smaller towns. I prefer a neighborhood because I can scream or phone and get help quicker than living out on acreage. If I'm in the house the system is armed. I'm taking no chances anymore. Plus after living through 2 burglaries I'm as security conscious as anyone can get. Times are changing dramatically and quickly in the world.

This is meant to be a scary post, just an alert to be aware. So now I'll show you some eye candy to make it worth your while visiting with me.

While I've posted these old shoes I couldn't throw out before, I thought some of you may have not seen them so here they are again. I redid them with Mod Podge and paper, lace, paper roses, pearls, feathers, birds and buttons. They now adorn my faux fireplace in our family room.

This lovely little pitcher sits on an old drawer I found and shabbied up with decoupage and decals. I love shabby chic romantic.

The garland of dyed coffee filters I have over the archway into our family room. I took them down and put up a bunting I made. Now I'm not sure where I'm going to hang them or whether I should just make some coffee filter roses and give them away. Hmmmmm......

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