Christmas is coming......

If you are stopping by from the Online Athens newspaper article link, welcome to MaggieGrace world. Comments are open to all and very appreciated, but please leave at least your name and email information so that I know you came by. If you have questions, the comments section is a great place for that as well. The blogspot site emails me all the comments, so I'll know you left one for me. Again -- welcome all and have a wonderful day.

I do not shop on Black Friday. Used to. As I have aged, I got smarter, so I let all the other crazy people have that fun. Besides - we are having a very low key Christmas in our world. Many of our gatherings will not involove gifts at all, just being together. A focus on what is good in our lives.

But I did have Friday off. I slept in a little. Then I had all day to clean in MaggieGrace world. I have been rearranging and digging through the pile of things I had gathered over time. So, right now, the studio is clean.

After putting away a significant amount of stuff, I decided to work on this wall. Actually, I took this after I started, when I began this project, the entire space above the scissors and picture of the girl was unused.

I added the literature racks that I saved from the dumpster at work.

Mounted the locker basket and the little white wicker drawers.

After rearranging the assorted hooks and racks, I arrived here. Then I altered some clipboards. I love how this new arrangement works. My frequently used things are close by and up off the counter out of my way, but still where I can get to them readily.

All that work getting ready for the art show allowed me to assess what my needs were for material and tool storage. I am sure this will continue to morph, but for right now, I am a hapy camper.

Speaking of clip boards........

Come back tomorrow for a tutorial on how to do these.

This is not a quickie creation, but it is simple. Most of the time is taken up by the drying time.

Have a wonderful afternoon.

Birds of a feather - another paper project

Another shared item. This one is made using a modified woodworking pattern that I found in an old (late 70's ish) magazine.

Assembling the wing is a tiny bit tedious, but well worth it in the end.

The links to the pdf templates are at the bottom of this post.
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Assemble your goodies - template on cardstock or light cardboard. (an empty cereal box works wonderfully. )

Assorted papers -cardstock weight (glue lighter papers to cardstock)

Scissors

Glue

Embellishments if you choose.

Instructions are for a one sided bird - you seasoned crafters can make her two sided if you choose (simply reverse the wing templates for the other side.) I'll be nestling mine in the tree so one sided works for me here.


Process is simple (most of my creations are simple, works better for my brain)

Cut a wing base from cardstock (won't be seen so anything works here) - for the first one you may want to transfer those placement markings to the working base.


Cut your other parts from pretty papers.
Assemble the wing in this order - feather 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 . I used glue dots.

Add the midwing on top of those feathers

Add the top wing - covering all of the base cardstock. If anything shows through that you think needs to go - trim it. This is not rocket science.

Position on bird body using photo as a guide. Add tail feather the same way.

Yes - all of you observant folks - I trimmed my wing even more after I put it together. I had some words on my music that I wanted to show and the wing looked better trimmed. (again people - this ain't rocket science.)


I simply colored my eye on, but you could use a bead, brad, button.

Nestle your new beauty in a tree. Add her to a package. Add magnets to the back and stick her to the fridge. Hang her from a garland. Enjoy.

Note - to get the templates for this pattern go here for the wings and here for the body.

I am enjoying making these tutorials for you guys. I do hope you are enjoying access to them. Nothing in this series of twelve how-to postings will be beyond the very basics, but I am betting you serious crafters will be adding and embellishing and generally blinging out some of this stuff. Please share photos if you do. Comments are welcome and so very appreciated too.

You are also welcome to share my information and links with anyone, but please be courteous about all that (you know what I mean) and give credit where appropriate.

Above all - recognize that you have a beautiful life. Tell someone that you love them. Smile at a stranger - that person may become your next friend. Be thankful for even the tiniest of blessings.

I love you all and YES - I have a beautiful life.

How to make a paper junkie happy.

Please don't threaten my family over this one.

Process .

Stop at thrift store.

Browse around.

Find something that catches your eye.


Paper sample book -- with paper samples that are just about perfect in size to make soldered charms.

Keep looking.

Paper sample book with sample sheets from business card size to note paper size. Fun patterns like zig zag and grid in soft colors.

Look on the floor next to these three and find ...........

TWO BOXES OF PAPER SAMPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make crazy low offer for this pile of goodness. Thank the man for taking every penny in your pocket. Load in your car.

I may still have heart failure going through these boxes.

Have a wonderful day.

Easy Beaded Ornaments (and stuff)

Good Monday Morning.

I love these shoes. Gorgeous floral pumps. I never wear them but I adore them. Now that the legs are becoming much more toned, gonna wear them some more. There! I also love patterned stockings/tights. More of that too. Saw a lovely pair of openwork lace tights worn over some bright bright purple ones -- yup --- gonna go there.

Picture from this weekend. Makes me happy. Look how the light filters through this leaf. Technically this was a challenge. I was lying on the ground looking through this leaf to take this picture. Yes, people around me thought I was nuts. But I personally love this picture completely untouched.

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Now for the EASY BEADED ORNAMENTS.

Again gather your supplies. Because I thrift / upcycle / buy on sale, there is always stuff around for me to work with. What you need is super easy and inexpensive in this case.

Plastic beads (I used faceted balls)

Pipe cleaners (I used sparkly ones)

Sequins (optional)

Scissors (not the good ones, you are cutting off the wire ends)

I grabbed my beads. In this case the bead jar. This 2 quart pickle jar (high tech storage) has the end lots of beaded dress trims, ribbon bits, and loose beads. I grabbed a gallon zip lock bag of this mixture at a monthly mill sale.

Poured out on an egg platter. High tech work vessel again. Poking through this to find my beads makes me incredibly happy.

Grab a pipe cleaner and start threading beads on it. Easy enough.

To finish the ornament. Simply bend into shape. Twist the pipe cleaner ends together to hold and.......

Voila - I added a bow bent from a short piece of pipe cleaner to this wreath. Green beads - green pipe cleaner.

Clear beads - gold sequins - gold pipe cleaner.

Various red beads - red pipe cleaner.

Great ornaments - or package tie ons. Use pony beads and even little ones can do this.

I am already having a great holiday season. Hope you are too.

Easy peasy tree tutorial

I did a phone interview with a local writer, Mary Jessica, yesterday. She is working on an article for the paper on local crafters and their holidays. One question - "what is your must have craft material or tool?" - was hard for me to answer. I got lots of stuff - materials and tools - but I have gathered and saved for years. I really cannot answer that question. The other question was fairly easy - "what can you tell people who are unsure of their creative abilities?" My answer -- Just jump in there and do something. Anything. Do one thing that triggers that side of your brain to function. It was exciting to talk with her and I cannot wait to read the article.

I mentioned yesterday that I was planning some tutorials. Here is the first one.
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EASY PAPER TREES

Gather the following. Admission here - I rarely gather it all up before, I kinda work as I go, but I have a studio with lots of accessable items to pull from.

Rectangular paper (I used old book and hymnal pages)
Glue Stick
Scissors
Wooden skewers (I got mine at the grocery store on the dollar rack)
Bead or other object to put on the point of the skewer. (this will make sense later)
Spool or wood block with a hole close to the size of the skewer for your base. You could also use a styrofoam block.
Embellishments (the fun stuff)


That plastic cone is a nice add on. I saved it from a party AFTER I drank the mixed drink it contained. But it is not a necessity.

Roll your paper into a cone. Glue your edges securely.

Here's what you get after rolling. The cone may be somewhat flimsy - mine was - so I rolled another one the same size and simply nested the two together.

Trim the wide end of your cone level. That plastic cone helps here. I like the jagged rough edge from tearing against the edge of the plastic. Here's what you end with after this step.

Cut your skewer off to the height of the tree plus the amount you want for a trunk. I just break mine because stuffing it into the wooden spool hides the end.

Here is the mechanical stack up - bead on pointed end of skewer - the other end stuck in the base. You can glue these into place or not. I'll take mine apart to store them so no glue on this step for me.

Pre-assembly. Balance the cone on the bead. How easy is that.

Embellish to your hearts desire. I stamped these with snowflake images then embossed them. I punched cardboard stars and embossed them too. To mount the stars, I simply cut little slits in the opening at the cone point and slid the stars in.

These are addicting to make. I may invert some of the cones and make hanging cones for my tree too. Just eliminate the skewer assembly and glue on a ribbon for hanging. Once I started rolling cones last night, I rolled and glued about 25 in just a few minutes. I can see a forest of these in different heights across my mantle.

If you make some of these please let me know, I would love to see yours.

Have a wonderful day.

Are you sure it's not Monday again

Clickable image for you guys - scanned from a cigar box lid that Poca, the monster dog, chewed the corner off of.

Yes the vehicle on the rollback was mine.

Yes I am fine - there was no accident - just a mechanical failure. The fuel pump decided to crap. Luckily, it was in my parking lot at work, not on top of some remote mountain in North Carolina. That's where I am headed this weekend.

I missed bootcamp and was upset about that --- never thought I would be upset about missing running. I had my best workout on Monday night - that feels good. Time to bump my weight load on my strength training. The stretching and flexiblity moves are really helping me too. I need to study my food lists and really work on my meal and snack planning though. I have not done any menu planning so far, but with the holidays coming, I feel like I need to plan carefully and be ready for the temptations of the season.

I spent some time in MaggieGraceWorld last night. Cleaning. Putting things away from the last few weeks of intense creating. Evicting (exterminating) camel crickets. Rearranging a few things that I discovered would work better than how I had them. Planning a couple of easy peasy DIY tutorials for the holidays. Puttering away. Happy as could be.

Then I watched makeover night on Biggest Loser. I was really sorry to see Rebecca leave. But watching all the contestants cross that canyon was inspiring and seeing Rebecca crying as she approached the end of that 1/2 marathon was too. My next major fitness goal is to run/walk a 5k.

This week, post art show, is almost like the after Christmas letdown. I am not really sure what I want to do and there are no real plans for things that I need to do. I can tell you that housework holds no appeal whatsoever -- LOL.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

Lovely...... just lovely

Can you say damn ---- I did

Irrational fears and other stuff

I am not a fearful person. Not the kind that you can jump out from behind something and cause me to freak out. I may knock the hell out of you, but for the most part I don't react to those kinds of situations as expected. I am cautious when I travel alone, but even then I am rarely truly afraid. I don't mind staying by myself in a hotel. I don't mind staying by myself at night.

Spiders and spider webs creep me out, but I will kill said spider and go about my business. As long as I can see a snake, I'm okay with that. I've even shared my studio space with a black snake at times. Mice too - not a big deal to me except for the mess they leave.

But ...... lets talk irrational stuff.

The critter below is known in our world as a camel cricket.

It has a big official name - but that is not important. I am terrified beyond all belief of these harmless to human insects. They are normally found under houses, in well houses, under damp logs etc. The funniest story Softball Princess tells about these is that I could not pin her very dead one to her insect collection. I pinned bees, wasps, grasshoppers, all kinds of bugs to her board, but we had to get The Man at My Address out of the bed to pin this one.

Well, guess what, I went to the studio this morning and found some on the walls in there. I am freakin out..... There will be extermination bombs forthcoming. I still have the heebie jeebies from that discovery. Yuck!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the other stuff -- there are things I want to throw out there to the universe. I did that with MaggieGrace last year and managed to pull some of it off already. So here we go.

I want to go to Portland, Oregon in the spring of 2010 and it is going to have to be the sale of MaggieGrace materials that gets me there - because the rest of my budget cannot stretch that far.

I also want to have a small local gathering of friends for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon workshop. I'm thinking maybe 6 people plus me and my girls for a collage art workshop. I would like to do this as an act of kindness, to see if teaching a workshop is something I would enjoy. Maybe potluck on food - people bring a few of their own supplies - I'll bring an assortment of supplies - and just spend an afternoon soaking up the creative energy of women gathered. Most likely will think more about this after Christmas.

There ya go.

Have a wonderful day.

Back to the real world ------- to rest.

Molly got stopped - for having no tailights. Dad fixed it but it resulted in the following fruit basket turnover. We drove Molly's Jeep - she drove Abby's car - Abby drove my Expedition. Reminded me of the way we used to go to bed when they were small - I would lay down with Abby - Charles with Molly - and at some point in the night everyone got to where they were supposed to be.

Speaking of supposed to be......

Poca, the Monster dog, on the sofa. I let her up there, Abby lets her up there, Daddy - no way in hell - Molly - hates this dog (the feeling is rather mutual). I am however wondering what the crap about this dog, I thought cats chased yarn balls, but this one loves to get into the crochet stuff and makes a huge mess. I have to put her in her crate in order to crochet.

Now the real news for the weekend. I got to kiss Liv for myself. Carrie, Dale, and Olivia came to the art market to visit with me. She is too precious. Mom had to hurry back to Atlanta to work, but maybe we can get together for dinner soon. I even had my camera, but got so sidetracked visiting, that I forgot to get it out. Thanks for coming Carrie --- kiss Liv for me.

Lessons learned from my first show -- check the wiring for the table lamps before you set the table up -- I was in shadows all day. Plan your display to be viewed from the front - the things on the side were not noticed - I think because the side was also the door to the "big room" in the show. Aside from that my experience was very positive. I made a little spending money.

I sold "tiny dancer" to a lady who proclaimed that "she takes my breath away" -- seems that was the very phrase I used to describe her too. That was exciting.

The charms that I piled on the plate for people to poke through sold better than the ones nicely mounted on cards.

The simple round tags with the leaves on them and the medium ones of the same idea - sold the best.

Spoon pendants - great sellers - I sold over half of what I took. I'll be choosing some of these to submit to some magazines as well.

This picture is horrible - but I wanted to show the bracelets as I displayed them - could have sold those insulators numerous times. Did not sell a single bracelet - that was surprising.

The composition books were popular as well -

I will do this show again if Lannae invites me.

In other news. In the last post of 2008, I stated a goal to make MaggieGrace more "public". That has taken me this year, but it is now happening. I have a piece being published (more on that once it happens). I have completed my first show and it was successful. I have been invited to speak before some groups. Today the latest news is - that I have been asked for an interview with a freelance writer locally - for an article to be published soon. This is all kind of overwhelming to me, but it was the goal and has begun to happen.

I hope this finds all of you having a wonderful day. Me -- I have a beautiful life.

one tequila, two tequila.........

Last night I knew where all my little chickies were. Nobody was out driving, so mom mixed a drink (or two - or three) and headed to MaggieGraceWorld. I had cut all my glass squares for soldered charms and had a plan.

I made little collages - gathered bits and bobs - matched them up and trimmed down to the right size. All the while - margaritas - with salt and olives were being consumed.

Guess what ---- matching glass pieces and evenly wrapping them with copper tape is not an activity that matches well with tequila.

I ended up saying a few 4 letter words and packing a box to take to work with me.



This is the work box sitting on my desk and between phone calls and customers I am taping these charms. I'll solder them tonite for the art market tomorrow -- talk about last minute. Good thing I perform well under pressure.

I also had a few tiny vials from somewhere. Swap maybe?

I typed words using an oldfashioned typewriter onto mulberry paper (some of these were used on spoons too.) Then I used 3d glass effect in clear to adhere the words to the inside of the vials. The trick involved toothpicks.

Add glitter. Okay that task was challenging with the tequila influence too. There were giggles involved and I slept with sparkles on my face.

Recork the little vials. Krazy Glue holds the corks in. These will be soldered too. Tonite - without alcohol.

Tomorrow is the art show. I have no where near what I originally listed as my plan. I have plenty to sell. Then afterwards - I will rest.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone --- see you monday.

PUBLIC SERVICE

An answer for Marti --- I found out about this bootcamp workout from a friend who invited me. There are groups all over the area who meet at different times. I do not know if this is true other places, but I would ask around.


MaggieGrace goodness. Here are all of the spoon collages. You have seen some of these already. I am pricing them today so I had them all together.


Oops thats a button stack pendant with this one.


The bronzed cross one on the top left above is my favorite. The botanical one on the bottom right is a pressed flower that was imbedded in tissue paper. I didn't make the paper. But I do love how it almost becomes transparent with the glue.

The top right one above has an almost secret message. Same thing as the botanicals (the paper becomes almost transparent) but this says "yes i can". I had someone in mind when I made it. If she comes by, I am almost positive this will go home with her.

The one in the middle bottom has my life phrase on it.

I read Marti's post answering questions this morning. I recognize myself there. Not just the weight loss part, the twisted sense of humour. Scary thing sometimes. For those of you who know me in the real world you know that about me.

I called local best friend with this one this morning.

PUBLIC SERVICE QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do you ever wonder if the dollar bills in your wallet have ever been in a stripper's butt crack? Now you will.

Sorry folks -- its my facebook status right now too.

Have a wonderful day.

No lies......no excuses

There's no picture with this post. This is also another ponder filled heavy post. Marti left a comment about struggling with weightloss and an expression of desire for more information about bootcamp. I read a quote recently and these two things have been in my brain for the last few days.



Keep in mind, I am not judging one person here. These are my thoughts about myself as a fat person trying to get healthy.



The quote ----- I want to make a difference by doing things that don't seem to matter.



I create. I am a mom. I work a full time job that on most days I love. I am in the car at least an hour everyday. We have a busy lifestyle. My mom lives alone and needs some attention. On and on and on.

Let me start with a full fledged confession here - I own a huge collection of weight watcher and fitness magazines. I have read them for years but never applied the words to me.

The biggest lie I told myself. I am not all that fat.



The second biggest lie I told myself. I don't have time to exercise.



Another lie. Thin people are fit.



Try this one. She, he, they have more time to exercise than I do.



Here is the reality --- whatever excuse you use is a LIE. A lie to yourself and others.



I was fat -- really still am. But I am healthier right now than I have been in years.



I used to really enjoy going out to a club, singing and dancing the night away. Not so much anymore. We still go and we still have a good time, but the entire time I am there, I am aware of being fat. That takes away from enjoying myself. While I am being honest here, I am aware of how frumpy I feel (felt) all the time.



Buying clothing is a chore when you are fat. In the back of your brain, you know that no verticle stripe in black is really taking away any of your size. But still you rationalize that an outfit does help your appearance. Even at my highest weight, I still had "feel good" outfits. Just not as many as when I was small or average sized. As one photo recently seen on the Peopleof Walmart website explains "if you can see the entire word BOOTYLISCIOUS across your ass, you ain't."



Lingerie and underwear, this is very personal. I love nice lingerie. Panties. Bras. I love having on sexy underthings at work under a conservative outfit. Secretly sexy. That crap don't happen when you are a big girl.



I have so many insecurities about myself. About my looks. About my abilities. About _______ you fill in that dang blank.



You cannot get healthy for anybody else. Been there, done that. Lost the weight so someone will notice you. It won't work. Sure that man will love a fitter, more toned body, but if that is your only motivation, forget it. If in the back of your mind you are saying "things will be better with us if I can lose some weight" -- better dig a little deeper into your soul for motivation. Things might be better, but only superficially. You can only do this for yourself. There you go.



Truths. We all got the same amount of time everyday. Spend some of it on yourself. You are worth it.



About Boot Camp. The one I attend is not expensive. We are led through our routine by a lovely lady named Christy. (the summer was by two extraordinary and amazing young ladies) but I really like Christy. She is one of us. Works full time - has children and grandchildren - active in her church and community - on other words - we can relate to her. We meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for an hour at a local school. BIG TRUTH HERE - it is hard work, but the hardest thing for me is turning into the driveway. Routines vary by available area of the campus but here are the basics. Warm up - plymetric moves. Stretches. Cardio. Strength training. Ab work. Cool Down. Stretch. Rain - meet in weight room. Heat, cold - no matter - outside either cross country trail, hills, or track around football field. It takes me 75 walking lunges to get across the football field - and a ton of concentration to keep my balance. Every now and then she springs bleacher busters on us - step ups, squats and lunges all done on the risers of the bleachers - the change is challenging. Could I exercise at this level at home or alone - yes. Would I -- not even.

There is a camraderie among the group. We are all at difference levels of fitness, have different goals for ourselves. Some have physical challenges. Modifications to any exercise are always available. NO judgement. Just encouragement. You are competing only with yourself. One more push up this week. 25 more steps around the track before you have to walk to recover. I love that environment. There are no divas. Don't really know if your form is correct - Elaine is my watchdog for that. Don't know how to use a particular piece of weight equipment - Christy will show you.

Do we giggle -- yes -- a lot. But we also grunt, groan, gripe, burp, and fart. Not to worry - you are among friends. We celebrate each others smallest improvement. We share tips, ideas, recipes, etc. We talk about our kids, work, spouses, friends - not in a gossip manner, just the way encouragers do.

I have a few things that have kicked my ass. One piece of ab equipment - and jumping jacks. The jacks hurt my knees - so I just jump up and down and that ab equipment - I go in just a few minutes early and face that monster. What I could not do in June - I did 6 knee raises on last night - and I celebrated.

I am sore every day - in that still finding muscles that are not accustomed to being challenged in any way. As my shape changes and I get stronger - I push harder and challenge myself again. Eating right adds to my weight loss. Every now and then an emotional demon raises its head and I have to search in my soul to find out what that is about. The emotional side of this was unexpected. Facing the reality of how far I had let myself go and how hard it is to head back in the right direction is frustrating. The reasons behind not really caring that I had gotten fat are really difficult to admit and discuss. The lies I told myself for so many years haunt me often.

What happens as I get healthy are still unknown. Right now I can tell you honestly. I have more energy. I sleep better. I am proud when a new better toned portion of me appears. I have more stamina. I am stronger. Even bringing in the groceries is easier.

That's enough for today. Hopefully this will resonate with somebody. Questions and comments are welcome.

Marti - you are beautiful and so worthy of any investment you make into yourself. Hang in there, and keep plugging away at it. One more situp today - one less soda. You can do this.

Its a beautiful day in my beautiful life.

noticing.....

These little hearts were in my face all day yesterday. I did nothing to this picture to enhance them. The bends on the bottle made these. This kind of random smile from the universe makes me happy.


Onward to MaggieGrace goodies.


I found three more composition books tucked away somewhere. So I covered them. Loving that middle one a lot. The image is from an old textbook and I have had those letter stickers for years, but never found the right use for them. They are a weathered metallic finish on kraft paper. I crocheted the rose for an art piece that just never came together, so it was on the counter and worked beautifully with the paper.

Coffee stir sticks all packaged. These are so easy to do and I really recommend that everyone try one in a loved ones coffee or stuck in some pancakes or topping off a cupcake. The response to these has been very positive. Now let's just hope they sell. I have these packages and several loose ones that I wrapped the stick in paper for sanitary purposes.

The image is a freebie from somewhere. I took it, modified it in PICNIK to add the Morning Messages logo. That is my label.

Got several more little projects to finish to be ready. My table is in the dining room and I keep fiddling with the layout. I have thrifted a couple of display fixtures that I like, but like always, am modifying for my use. It is supposed to be cool, but pretty for Saturday. This is a good thing.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

PS - Marti, more information on Bootcamp coming.

ED information available here.

So sorry about that on my last post comments. I exercised my right to delete the offending comment this morning, but we were out of town all weekend and I never turned on a computer so I was unaware. If any of you were helped by the links left by anonymous in my comments, you are welcome. I have no idea why I am being spammed by those kinds of comments. The phone call to the man at my address was equally funny - I asked him if he was researching medications for this particular male problem on my computer. Boy was he pissed. Maybe because the conversation went like this.

Me: I have a question.

The man: what - in that tone that means he "knows" a fight is about to start.

Me: Do you have a need for long term erec*&%)? Are we having a problem that I haven't been made aware of?

The man: WTF?

Me: Is there some sweet young thing needing more from you?

The man: WTF?

Me: I've been spammed with adds for drugs to help with such problem. Though I would forward links if you need me to.

The man: WTF? Ah: No: Damn: Stammer --- stutter --- freak out.

Me: I'll take that as a you don't have a clue ---- Bye.

I know he is shaking his head and still wondering what this phone call was about.

"Poor ol' Charles" -- that would be one of the phrases to insert here. It has to be awful living with me at times.

Now for real stuff.


Spoons - for the Artist Market.

If there is frost on the grass, it is too cold for softball. Each afternoon was stunning though. Two days of watching girls do skills drills for college coaches. Sorry - this was boring for mom. Dad enjoyed it.

I did however really enjoy the few minutes we spent listening to this gentleman, Bill Lightle, read from his book Mill Daddy: The Life and Times of Roy Davis. We happened upon an authors show in the park in Dahlonega, GA on Saturday and sat and listened to Bill read from his book and give additional anecdotes about the book. The Man was bored to death with this little show, but since I was being drug to this sleepy mountain town against my will for the weekend, I played the "you are gonna do this" card and so we listened. You can insert "poor ol' Charles" here too.

I also bought 1 tiny bag of buttons ($4.00 total) and passed up one item I really, really wanted (still do). The antique store we were in had a pharmacy spindle full of old prescriptions. I didn't have $100.00 to spend on papers to look at, so I passed, but only after returning several times to the booth to drool.

Got in a little exercise (walking) and worked hard to eat right. I have managed to lose those few pounds that I had put back on.

I can't believe that we are searching for the right fit on a college for my baby. Seems like just yesterday she was keeping us up all night as a baby. Now she is driving herself and getting ready to leave my nest. Where did all those years go?

Have a wonderful day.