Ordinary Day

"Someone asked me yesterday how to live an extraordinary life & I said I had no idea because I always thought it was more interesting to live an ordinary life & not miss a second of it."  Brian Andreas

I'm not sure there could have been anything that would bring me more joy today than catching this robin in our new bird bath.  I watched him/her through the patio doors....it had a great time just splashing around around for quite some time. 

A close second was Margie's finished puzzle I just took her a week ago....and the nice visit with her and Paul on her patio.  

Margie has a lovely vase on her bookshelf that was a gift and means a lot to her.  A few weeks ago I wrapped individual stalks of wheat with sock yarn in subtle blues, grays, and a touch of purple for the vase.  It really adds a nice soft touch to her international "peace wall."

And....this evening there was an odd sunset. It was just cloudy/hazy enough that you could almost look at it directly....a bright ball with a ring around it.  Paul and I couldn't help but just pause and watch it as it set behind the trees.  

And...I had my first swim today in the pool tucked behind that fence.  Just an ordinary day...I tried not to miss a second of it.  

Treasure

Paul and I drove up to Portland today for a few days...but before I left Lexington I decided it was time to start a puzzle. Life is always better when there's a puzzle on the table. My sister LaVonn gave me this silly dog selfie puzzle for my birthday a year ago...and it was about time I put it together.  The frame is done....and all the pieces are spread out in my box tops so I'm ready to roll! 

The treasure Paul and I picked up on our Monday field trip has a new home in the back yard in Portland.  I think it blends right in with the rock wall and feels like it belongs.  Now....the birds just need to find it.

Happy 38th anniversary to us!

Common Ground

I can't help but celebrate when this blog connects me with other artists....especially when we find common ground.  Christine and I have never met. We took an on-line class together a while back and she's been following my blog ever since and she recently donated to our church school bag project. 

Christine knits and crochets....but is also a crafter and loves experimenting with fabric, yarn, and beads...so we have that in common.  She confessed that she's not much a finisher...so we have that in common too.  It would be kind of fun to line up our collective "works in progress"....it may be a bit alarming.  But...we both agree that if we're having fun it doesn't matter what get's finished....because we do finish the important ones.

I have Christine's permission to share this delightful little quilt she finished using a pattern from a book called Dream Landscapes by Rose Hughes.

Raw edges are overlapped and covered with couched yarns and trims.  I think the colors and embroidery embellishments are just delightful. 

I'm inspired!

I hope to see her next finished project...and she'll see mine here in blog land at some point.  It is time to at least start something....or finish something already started.

Younger Self

I found this picture of me when I was visiting my sister and it got me wondering what I would tell my younger self? 

I spent way too much time in my younger years wishing I was prettier, smarter, and more popular.  As I've gotten older I'm getting better and better at being happy with who I am.

I would tell my younger self to embrace being perfectly imperfect. Character is beautiful, creativity is a form of intelligence, and being popular is totally overrated. 

Also...I would warn my younger self to not accumulate too much stuff....unless it's craft supplies...then it's OK.  😉  But it's only important if it's meaningful, useful, or brings you joy.  If it doesn't fit one of those categories...then it's just clutter and gets in the way. I'm slowly working on my clutter...I wish I would have kept up with it all along the way.

Memorial Day

Paul and I got married on Memorial Day 38 years ago in Lamoni, Iowa...the day after we graduated from college.  Saturday was the actual date but today we celebrated with one of our favorite activities....a little field trip.

I got our the trusty map where I highlight our little trips. This time our route was the blue loop to the west....Carlisle, Groton, Pepperell, Harvard, Acton and Concord....and all the places in between.  

We did what we like to do and just meandered. The quiet country roads were green and lush and  there were still plenty spring blooms to enjoy along the way.  We stopped at farms stands and poked around some garden stores and bought something special for the back yard in Maine. It was the perfect way to spend a Memorial Day anniversary. 

I didn't know that Harvard had a lovely pond beach with spectacular view! Unfortunately I read on line this evening that it's only open to Harvard residents.  

Jane's Quilts

I had to follow up today with a couple of Jane's quilts.  She's been working on them for a while...but I hadn't seen them quilted until yesterday.  They're stunning....I was blown away!

This first one is funky appliquéd flowers.  I watched her work on individual squares during our stitching get-a-ways.  She machine quilted each square...then joined them with this awesome colorful pieced sashing.  It's just perfect for her guest room....so colorful and happy.

This next one is a fabulous tree quilt....all that's left is the binding.

 The tree is just incredible....all hand appliquéd. 

She used bright ombre fabric from my stash for her birds and some of my striped fabric for the wings.  They blend so well...but yet also pop. 

Jane used a flying geese pattern for the edges and four different appliquéd bird designs for the corners.  It's just amazing....so stunning in person.  Well done Jane!                                                                      

 

Beach Time

I've been craving the ocean....it's been a cold wet spring.

But today was a beautiful spring day so I stopped by Jane's beach in Ocean Park on my way back to Lexington. It was great getting my toes wet.

There is something exhilarating about the anticipation you feel when you walk up the path through the dunes. You can hear the ocean before you can see it.......then all of a sudden there it is in all its sparkling glory.  I hope I never stop being in awe of the ocean.

I've never posted a video on the blog before....let's see if it works.  

It looks pretty funny in the draft...and I can't play it...we'll see.

If it does....look out...I love taking videos!

It's amazing how the beach changes every year after the winter storms. Huge amounts of sand gets moved around, rocks get exposed, and the tidal stream finds a new path.  This years it's very curvy...my boys would have loved it. They used to play in the stream all the time...riding their boogie boards and searching for treasures.  

A couple was walking along the beach with a colorful kite flying behind them....just a delight.

There was quite a bit of driftwood on the beach....and I came home with a nice little haul. I especially loved this heart shaped piece. Jane and I were pretty sure the orange orb is a sea nerf ball....it's been out in the elements for a while. A perfect addition to my found object jar.

Another big treat from my stop at Jane's house...was seeing the quilts she just quilted....but that's another post.  Today it's about the beach.

MFO

I've been puttering in my studio in Maine for a couple days trying to get a little sense of order....but I couldn't help pausing to work on a UFO....Un-Finished-Object. 

It's the first stained glass fabric piece I made a while back....and this morning I fused the trees and branches in a navy blue.  It's not bound...because I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it...but it went from a UFO to an MFO...Mostly-Finished-Object.

When I putter I always fiddle with my shelves....rearranging...adding and subtracting. While unpacking a box I came across this sweet little angel my friend Jane gave be a while back so worked her in.  She's both whimsical and quirky.....and she just makes me smile. She's now perfectly perched to keep and eye on things in the studio.  

Miracle

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein

Out and About

I dropped off a spring match order at Folly 101 this afternoon....it's always a treat to visit this beautiful store in Portland's Old Port.  It was a lovely day to be out and about!

I had a few minutes this morning to enjoy the back patio in Lexington before I hit the road.  It's so nice to finally have nice weather and to be outdoors again. The fuzzy grass on the table is another perennial I dig up from the garden.....it does very well in the pot.

Desperate...but Hardy

"Sometimes I only need stand wherever I am to be blessed."
Mary Oliver

Oh...how I love the smell of lilacs in the spring.

For the past several years I've used hosta, ferns, and grasses from my garden for some of my patio pots....they're free and easy to take care of.  I often heal them into the garden for the winter...but have also wintered them in pots in the garage.

This poor hosta one was hidden in the garage sadly reaching for the light and in desperate need of water.  Oops.

I repotted it in fresh soil and slowly acclimated it to the outdoors. This once sad, desperate hosta is pretty hardy....so it's going to be just fine.  

We had a warm summery day yesterday and the crabapple blooms popped wide open. Although I still love the buds the best...the full blooms are lovely too.  

Quotes and Images

Yesterday's post reminded me about a project I'm in the middle of....but haven't shared yet.

My sister Nancy's birthday was in February...and every year I make her a little handmade calendar...I've shared most of them here on the blog. This year I'm doing a few months at a time and featuring these vintage photo cutouts I had on hand and Mary Oliver quotes.

Nancy's calendar goes from March through February and I'm going to try new things as I go along. The first two months were very simple...just a quote and an image....but for May and June I added background texture and a little embellishment.


I think these little images are just delightful....they came in all sizes and I have lots to choose from.

 

"Praying"

The precious crabapple buds on my neighbor's tree are just beginning to open.....I love watching the petals unfold.  

I'll be checking often so you'll likely hear about them again...Mary Oliver's words, after all, have become one of my mantras:

Instructions for living a life: 
Pay attention. 
Be astonished. 
Tell about it.

Most of you know my husband Paul is a minister and I couldn't be more proud of him and what he does. I'm also pleased to belong to a church that supports and works for peace, justice, and equality in what is often a very troubled world. But you may not know that I'm uncomfortable talking about my own spirituality and faith and am a bit uncertain about what I actually believe about God.  And...that's OK.

This evening I attended the more informal evening service that would honor the poetry of Mary Oliver. It's easy to get lost in the crowd of the larger more traditional service on Sunday morning and I go as often as I can.....but this evening service is smaller and more interactive making me feel more vulnerable. But I'm glad I went and I heard a Mary Oliver poem I hadn't heard before called Praying.

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot or a few
small stones: just
pay attention, than patch
a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway 
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

Comforting words for someone who struggles with her faith...and knowing how to pray.  Maybe writing these blog posts at the end of almost every day is one of the ways I pray....my doorway into thanks.

"Polka Dot Lesson"

It was an absolutely perfect spring day here in Lexington and I spent almost all of it weeding gardens.  It's satisfying work but I'm tired....it's that time of year when a lot of creative energy goes into outdoor projects.

So it's a good day to share this "Polka Dot Lesson" story of the day from FlyingEdna.com I got while I was at my sisters....totally made me smile. You don't have to convince me about the wisdom of polka dots.

Polka dots..."either you love them or you hate them. Personally, we think the only reason you'd not like polka dots is because you haven't spent enough time with them in your life to learn their effervescent joy and delight." 

Brian and Fia...FlyingEdna.com

An oldie...but a goodie.  The finished polka dot project can be found here.  I have given away almost all of my 2017 Folt Bolt projects....this one went to Jane (I think) and was one of my favorites.

Day to Celebrate!

Sam was officially hooded as Dr. Shupe this evening at Boston University....this is one of my favorite photos. 

It was an all day affair....certainly a day to celebrate!