Saturday, December 30, 2017

word of the year... Change

little snips of fabric create a picture with a message
It is a very important decision each year, the choice of a "word of the year"

It becomes a focus, a working framework, a way of learning and viewing the world. It will crop up over and over all year. Lessons will be presented, growth occurs. I've done this for many years and am always surprised at what surfaces for me.

Seldom what I expected when choosing the word.
So for this year... my word is change

I considered "learn" but learning is just a small aspect of the greater concept of change.

After writing to my friend Eliza, I understood myself better, which is often the case. Somehow in the writing, or  talking to, a friend,  I find out what I think, how I feel...what's important.

I used to think I liked change. I realized I like variety,  not change. 

I wrote to her:
"I like to know what's coming and follow a routine of my choosing.
Random change is unsettling, causing constant learning and decision making to cope. I do not like it. My friend June wrote that the Chinese symbol for change is the same as opportunity. I need to focus more on the opportunity aspect of it.
After all the changes that started when Cole passed, I seem unable to even pick out lunch.
 I hope to explore better coping skills for change... so that must become my word.

 Learning will ride along side like an assistant

Decisions are not always marked with lights and an arrow around them saying, "PICK ME!" We make decisions, big and small and live with the consequences. Maybe we learn for the future but usually we just accept the changes that come with them.  


 Drew and I still torment ourselves over the decision to move here. One day, on our lovely porch in Maryland, Drew said he felt he was holding his breath, waiting to start life.

That day we started our journey to figure out how to live life not just hold on. Thrive not survive.

We both feel regret about the move but now must live with it. We knew something had to change but what? We took action.


I moved for health but now I am panting all the time, and swollen, and in pain. I have large black bags under both eyes. I feel worse. I don't fit in. We are spending so much on the move and this large pretty house has a broken dishwasher they won't fix, a broken cabinet door, expanses of flooring I can't clean, a rocking toilet in the master bath and is so close to neighbors Milo can't relax. Daily I find broken and lost items I cared about in these anonymous brown boxes. More traffic, and more ice to cope with.

It's not home.

I woke saying we have to stop going over the decision, to admit it may have been a mistake or not, we took action to try to better our lives, and need to commit. I need to find peace with the changes.
"Let yourself Soar" made for Hoffman Challenge (I used their fabric for her hair) 
(the quilt was made for the Hoffman challenge one year, and is lovely full of metallic threads, sheers, painting, piece work and applique, with a personal message. It was rejected even though I won a prize for the quilt the year before)

Change
No doubt the universe will hit me hard with lessons this year. I remember the year I chose release and ended up releasing more than I suspected I would.

My fear of change must be overcome by a desire for growth

This song keeps running through my mind...
the words...
"Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Oh, I don't know
Well, I've been afraid of changin'

But time makes you bolder...children get older
And I'm getting older, too, so...

I like this new young thing's words
follow your arrow wherever it points

This one was written for graduates, but I hope to be a graduate of life and it applies to me too
lyrics: you got this! you are one in a million so move ahead with confidence you got this!

Thank you for walking this journey of life alongside me. 
Love to all this new year with it's fresh starts,
We got this
 LeeAnna

linking to: 

  Free motion by the River Tuesdays   
Our World Tuesday
https://stitchallthethings.com/ to do Tuesday 


design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays
Main Crush Monday
the mop link party mondays
sew can do mondays

 scrap happy Saturdays
sewcanshe Saturdays 

Thursday, December 28, 2017

I Like Thursday #69 Small things

Welcome to this week's list of likes.

We've been trying to settle in to our new digs, and find things we need. We have had three snow storms in the week we've been here, and unlike what people said to us, it does not melt in a day.

Not yet, I suppose there may come a time when it does that.

I did a special I Like post on Christmas Eve, and if you missed it, look here: ( special-i-like-post)

I do not like everything about this place right now. I will not go into all that but I will continue to seek the things I do like, and share them here.

I like the wide deep carpeted stairs in the rental. Milo can easily use them, which is a godsend. I also like the metal posts.


 He likes to perch on this landing to keep an eye on both of us, one upstairs, one downstairs.













I like the tall ceilings here, and the general layout of the house. This is something I didn't realize I would like and wouldn't have known before living here. I don't know if learning that is worth the nearly $3000 a month we're paying to rent but it's still good to know.

Look what was in the mail today!!! A surprise from my friend Jeanette in MN!
ART
Just what the doctor ordered!!!!
 "just a little housewarming gift" she said.
ADORBS! I love the script fabric, the painting, the kitty! Hearts! crystals!
I believe I may just use the mug rug for my mouse pad right now, so I can always look at the cheerful modern little bird winging love and color to me from a thoughtful friend!Look at the quilting, Jeannette's got a new quilting machine!

I like the Christmas gifts my friend Mary in Boulder gave me

the cows are on a washcloth, and the clothespins have sewing words

, even though this year was too chaotic for me to think about shopping for gifts. She just freely celebrated our friendship and gave me lovely sewing items and they were gratefully appreciated! Can't wait to do something artistic again. She also invited us for Christmas day dinner so that we were not so lonely sitting here amid boxes.
that's a dog, not a pig with that silly pink nose!! What were they thinking?

I like Snowbabies stautes, and we try to get one each year at Christmas. This year we found one at the after Christmas sale (half price) to match the year's event. It's called Travel Buddies
look how they wrapped it in a tissue dress pattern!!! So cute!
I love this designer, whoever it is, and have collected several of the whimsical people for my studio. The after Christmas sale brought these to half-price to stand in for January and February on the new mantel. To me they represent Mardi Gras/ and Gasparilla  which is very like Mardi Gras in Tampa. They reflect my love of costumes and dressing up, making a party out of life.
mighty little people!
 I think I may like these shoes with thick soles from Merrell.

I'm walking around unlaced for now
 I have to wear them around the house, but since few people shovel, and the snow does not melt except to form a layer of ice, I need something more supportive. The boots I had, but seldom needed in Maryland, turned out to be too small for my growing feet which was sad as they are Timberland and fit my high arches perfectly. No one told me my feet would continue to grow until I am now close to needing to wear the box instead of pretty shoes!


When we took over this rental from DH's coworker, we had to move to digital cable service for the TV. I now have to learn how to use the blankety blank xfinity with it's hundreds of repeat channels, it's high numbers to remember, it's vast bank of sports and Spanish channels I do not want nor need.
 Still, I Like cable tv
 I am trying to figure out how to use the DVR. By trial and error I was able to replay the Survivor episode I recorded and I liked being able to see that. I have always loved Survivor and especially this season.

Amazing Race is soon to start... yea! We both love that show, and DH wishes he could race in it.

Milo has some likes this week. While he does not like being left in this strange house while we go shopping, he did enjoy a gift from his faraway friend Phenny (short for Phoenix) in France.

 By enjoy, I mean he destroyed it in more than one sitting. He also aged into Whimsey's so he enjoyed one all over Mary's rug on Christmas day!

Please enjoy the video of his quiet destruction here....
 the link is https://www.youtube.com


Please visit these fine folks keeping it positive and as always, if you want to join our merry clan, let me know you wrote a post and I'll add you in!



4.. http://sandysnowden.blogspot.co.uk/
5.. http://whataboutrheema.blogspot.com/
6.https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/ 
7...http://homesewnbyus
8..http://imworkingonaproject
9..http://3poodlesandanana
10.. https://barrels-of-monkeys.blogspot.com/  
11.http://www.mmmquilts.com/

 

 
 
linking to some of these
Our World Tuesday
Travel_Tuesday 

http://sky watch Fridays
http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com
http://asoutherndaydreamer
Thankful Thursdays pet parade
http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com
http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/
http://shabbyartboutique.com
willy nilly Friday (random images)
habbyartboutique fridays


Sunday, December 24, 2017

Special I Like Post for Christmas Eve... life continues but is different!

Nurture the Artist within!
Welcome to Colorado! We are in the rental for a few days now, surrounded by boxes and carelessly arranged furniture, and lots of new stuff.

I wanted to do a bonus Christmas "I Like" post to remind myself of so much bounty we have amidst all the changes. Change is hard y'all. Even if it's chosen.
beautiful red Christmas Welcome to Colorado roses from my friend Mary in Boulder!!

 The Christmas card was waiting for me in our rental home's mailbox from Diane in Texas and her two poodles! What a great welcome! ( my friend Z in Wash. state sent one too but it's gone missing) (thanks z)

Lots of pictures for you to share in the new digs... let's get started...
The tree was easy to find because the movers didn't pack it, they carried it in it's bag, and half the lights were knocked out that way. Okayyyy... have no idea where the ornaments are... okayyyyy. We'll make do with...
My friend Bonnie had this flamingo ornament waiting for us here in CO and said, don't let any ole HOA tell you not to have flamingos! We got the cow in Casey Ill. the town full of super big things. Where we also found a flat tire at 5 pm in the dark and cold, when we returned from our walking break! I'll now remember the town when I see that cow! And the pop-up flat tire and coping with a packed to the gills car having a tire change in the street.
Speaking of pop up, the temps went from 50's to 8 deg last night, with a freaky snow blast of 3 in closing down the interstates and putting out power. We sold our generator because all the people and agents we talked to said the power never goes out.

MILO: Daddy is out shoveling but they don't plow the neighborhood streets, expecting the sun to do the job. OMD, I could help! I can dig! All I can do is watch from the front poodle perch windows and bark.
 Oh well, I'll get out there eventually. I might eat all the snow. At least I can run around and bite the Daddy's arm and have fun while they say people curse words.

LeeAnna: AS IF! Milo, bad dog telling on us!
I slept in this morning til 8AM from sheer exhaustion... and happy to sleep on our new mattress finally. Our old one was 17 years old.
We got one like our old one, and the one before that. A beautyRest individual coil plush top. The difference in them now is the plush has some gel in it. s.i.n.k. in... we might buy an actual bed frame when we choose our next home. I rested my head on my flannel flamingo poodle pillowcase...

good to have the familiar around a bit, right?

We set up our new coffee maker, yea! The old one was left in MD as it leaked and owed us not one dime, as it was over 10 years old...

but having a new one means learning new buttons, and new filter systems, and check out the manual... sheesh! Now folks, we've had this in the box for at least 4 years under our dining room table. When our old one started to leak, we got this on sale at Khols but I kept using the old one for some reason. Cheap... wring the very last drip out of it, and doggone if the last drip went on for years!
Coffee maker on life support!
Which allowed us to move this one in the original packing box, which was a good thing. We found Horizon Organic milk here, and Peet's coffee so we're setting up camp!All we needed was our new coffee cups...
bought along the way at that candy store in Casey Ill.
cheerful!
Even against the fresh snowfall. The yard is EXTREMELY small, and along a path, which causes a hyper-vigilant poodle to bark at every. passer-by.
MILO: gosh! I thought that was my job! Let you know of eminent danger!
LeeAnna: It's okay... you can take a break honey... the homes are packed in here and there will be lots of people walking by. Relax!
MILO: AS IF Mama!
My flamingo plant stand guards us in the front, holding the plant my friend Bonnie gave me when my beloved poodle son Cole left us... we brought it all the way, four days driving, from MD to help us settle in here.
along with the croton from MD that reminded me of my roots in Florida...
which sits on the dining room credenza next to my temporary blogging perch...
This little mermaid will also remind me of the beach in Maryland and in Florida...

betcha no one here has a mermaid like her.













or towel girls like these
still so much to unpack and check on for broken items... so much hidden and lost which is hard for me....





This will become the temporary studio




a loft space that reminds me of a courtyard. If you stand at that one window, crane your neck, you can catch a glimpse of the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Breathe in and stretch.....
MILO: Hey! you're not the only one moving in! I was relieved to see this open up!!! My nest! My safety!
And these...
let's see, I have food, my water bowl and stand, my toys, my crate, and my peeps! I'm good!

LeeAnna: good? wellllllll.... yes my lovely, you're a good boy and Mama loves you.
now please stop barking so much! My ears are hurting!

So that's it for now... hope you enjoyed the tip of the iceberg!

I have hopes for this move. Return to school for my masters, write a lot, be creative and healthier, make new friends, keep the really missed, good friends now so far away. And live...







Thursday, December 21, 2017

I Like #68

 Welcome to this week's list of likes...(ooops hit publish then pulled the post back off til Thur)
This is a shot  of the candy store in the happiest little village in Illinois.
Casey, town of BIG THINGS.

 We stopped here going out the first time, and I had to stop again on this trip.Here is baby Milo resting while Daddy gets some truffles for us to share.

They were all special, but I chose one Wedding cake, so pretty with crystaline sugar on top, tasted just like wedding cake, one amaretto, and two white russians.

They also had ornaments, and tea cups and BIG WOODEN SHOES















Milo checks them out but he knows there is just no more room in the car for them! Or for the big chair...
Dressed up for Christmas.
There is so much to tell you about the trip. I'll have to do that later since there are so many stories... but for now a few pics of things along the way.
 A four day trip after an absolutely exhausting moving week. So many stories.

This is my favorite shop in Casey, antiques and fun stuff... 

A view out of the window
I liked this ultra mod pram from the Netherlands I think... from the 1920's if I remember right...

The owner said it's pretty rare, and cost a pretty penny. No room in the car for it...
or this one..
I had a similar one for baby LeeAnna. I also had a little doll pram like this large one.


I liked this flute trio on a quilt covered chair. I remember playing the recorder in first grade with all the other kids. Soon after that I started piano lessons at home.
I liked this sign, heh heh

I like this old Victorian Swing in town...
Back in Indianapolis I visited with the fabric designer Heater Givens at her shop Crimson Tate
What fun to meet her, charming, and get a few items in her fabric line...
Milo made himself at home and was petted by all...
She decorates with antique collectible cases

and I spied one I sent to my new home by the movers.

Heather said skates came in it. I used mine for barbie stuff. Still do. Poor dragged out barbies played with by me and my friends, hair messed up, one lost shoe, but I kept them. I loved Barbies.
Wish I could find an old card catalogue chest, and I liked that she had the video of fire playing in the store.

Milo says he is happy to mostly be out of the car now.
In our new rental home...

please visit these fine folks keeping it positive. Let me know if you did an I Like post and I'll add it in! If you enjoyed this post, all the prior I Like posts are still fun to read, find the I Like Thursday label on the side=>

4.. http://sandysnowden.blogspot.co.uk/
5.. http://whataboutrheema.blogspot.com/
6.https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/ 
7...http://homesewnbyus
8..http://imworkingonaproject
9..http://3poodlesandanana
10.. https://barrels-of-monkeys.blogspot.com/  
11.http://www.mmmquilts.com/
 

 
 
linking to some of these
Our World Tuesday
Travel_Tuesday 

http://sky watch Fridays
http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com
http://asoutherndaydreamer
Thankful Thursdays pet parade
http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com
http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/
http://shabbyartboutique.com
willy nilly Friday (random images)
habbyartboutique fridays