commission complete!

Treadmills

Why does it take soooooooooooooo long to do a commissioned piece?
I don't know,
but I do know that I can make a piece in a rather reasonable length of time
when I have no pressure.
Just give me a commission
and
that same piece can take forever!
This little banner has been hanging over my head for more than a week.....
and I find everything else to do
before working on it!
I have worked three different evenings on it and am finally finished.
I like it,
but could never REALLY CHARGE for MY TIME!!!!!
They would think I was NUTS:)
Oh well.....
it is now complete and I can go to things I really WANT to do:D

MEMORIAL DAY!

Treadmills

This week-end was full of fun! First was the Gypsy Caravan held every year in downtown St. Louis. Always great finds and heat!!!! This year was NO EXCEPTION! The best part was running into fellow blogger, ANGELICA:D I recognized her son from her blog and next to him was my sweet friend......his mommy! Angelica and I have been friends online for over a year and it was only the second time I had seen her face to face! One of the reasons I love blogging......all the new and wonderful friends I have met:) Next is a pic of the boys in one of my finds today. They were not happy about the modeling job, but left it on long enough for their camera happy Nana to take a few pics:) Couldn't resist a few more pics of the boys this week-end. We were fortunate enough to see them Sat. Sun. and Monday.......a real treat for us since we usually only get to see them once on the week-end if we are lucky! Little angels and make us smile:) Hope your week-end was full of fun, love and family........

Well.....it came today in the mail:D

Treadmills

As I told you awhile back,
Somerset Memories
was doing two stories on my grandson's baby books.
The first one was Hunter and he had the cover
plus a great spread in the April/May edition.
Well, today........
in my mailbox.....
was the June/July edition and there was my other baby!
Chase's book was featured in an 8 page spread!!!!
WOW, I had no idea:)
With Hunter's book they never photographed the cover of his book,
but.......
they put in the cover to Chase's book which really pleased me:)
Thank you so much to Jana and Somerset Memories
for such a wonderful presentation!
Always the best photography and quality presentation!!!!!

Sooooooooooo Thoughtful!

Treadmills

Thursday night we had a staff party where Charlotte and myself were honored as we ended our teaching careers:D I was presented with one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever been given.....aside from my sister's wonderful birthday gift posted earlier:) The staff had put together a "Grandma Bag" that brought tears to my eyes! The gorgeous bag was made by one of my good friends, Sharon, who is a master seamstress! She knows me well and shares the same tastes......so the bag was PERFECT!!!! They had filled it with "Grandma Goodies"......butterfly nets, bubble wands, golf clubs, baseballs, frisbee, insect/butterfly cage, sidewalk chalk, puppet, jump ropes, bubbles, and bathtub paints! In the side pocket was a bit more......there I found a gift card for Ted Drew's (our famous frozen custard establishment), gift certificate to a darling new children and grandma restaurant called, Ellie Cooper, and gift certificates for the St. Louis Zoo! The time it took to collect and make all this sets me back on my heels!!!!!! How adorable and thoughtful! I will never forget this wonderful gift and what went into it:) Now Sharon..........not only is she one of the sweetest people I have ever known, but one of the most generous! Always willing to do for others.....which has always included me! She and her husband came to help us pack and move 9 years ago. Then, she proceeded to make 6 sets of darling window toppers for my kitchen. A year later she shows up with a gorgeous table cloth she made to match my kitchen! She has made me throw pillows and mended my winter coat! Only a real friend will volunteer to do those labor intensive tasks.......that is Sharon! She is the maker of this magical tote bag......................check out the inside! She had all the kids at school draw sketches of themselves which she then shrunk down and transfered onto fabric. These she sewed together with this darling black and white border (which I am sure she made herself:) Well, this was a real treat.......and they will never know how they touched me with this thoughtful and personal gift! Thank you Bristol:)

Some new things I have been working on.....

Treadmills

I found these cute little glass butter dishes
and
made them into small glass domes
with nests and eggs!

Also,
a few more pages in Hunter's book
and
my new ledger journal.
I just loved my new journal I have been working on,
but
the pages are so old and fragile that they keep tearing at the inseam!
Wooooo is me!
What to do!
Not sure what to do yet,
but I went ahead and started a new journal for myself........
vintage ledger I found several weeks ago:D

more shots of Lafayette Square......

Treadmills

Here are a few more pictures of my son and daughter-in-law's home! It is so charming front and back.....inside and out! Just thought I would share. These two are real home bodies.....of course with twins they don't have much choice:D They are city lovers and I can't imagine them ever moving away form the Lafayette Square area.....they are pretty entrenched:)

Thanks Ulla................

Treadmills

Ulla always has such wonderful sites featured on her blog.
She featured a gorgeous chocolate cake
in the shape of a head of cabbage
by artist, Mirabella.
I immediately scurried over to see what this was all about and there........I found these beautiful cakes.
Feast you eyes....there are no calories involved:D

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My Little Guys.......

Treadmills

They are growing so fast I can hardly keep up with them. They look like little boys not babies anymore:(

Treated Like A Queen.......

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Today, Chris and Sheila entertained myself and Rog and her parents with a lovely brunch! To avoid all the confusion of working around schedules they planned this as our Mother's Day celebration. It was so nice! We arrived to the torches burning, fountains splashing and babies eating. They had even planned all of the music and had all the tunes Sheila's mom and I love. All handpicked and programed, playing softly outside.....so sweet:) We were instructed before arriving to park in the back that they wanted to be with us when we viewed the NEW Front of their home! They have had all kinds of work done to their 135 yr. old row house in Lafayette Square area in downtown St. Louis. They had all the paint chemically removed from the brick on the front of the house, new paint job on all the wood, new windows, trees removed and new masonry done and landscaping. They aren't finished, but the work so far is fabulous! The rock and brick work done is perfection. There will eventually be a fountain in the front and a nice flagstone patio beyond that wrought iron gate! The back is already complete and I will share some photos of that next:) A little jewel in a most beautiful and restored area of our great city!!!!

Collage from the Deck!

Treadmills

These pics are from our room that we use in the summer........our deck! We love it, in fact when we built it on....we built two! We use the one off our bedroom as well:) This is where you find us in the morning, after work and in the evenings:) We are outside people and can't wait to get out their with our paper or our latest project! Anything that can be done outside, is!!!!!! I have been known to bring my ironing board out and iron as the breeze blows my locks:) Anyway, here she is.....nothing fancy but greatly appreciated:)

Spring Plantings......

Treadmills

I am a huge container gardener, especially on my deck. I have too many pots and am reminded of that every time someone wants to pull out a chair to sit down:) Anyway, after planting....which continues through the summer I might add:) it takes the pots awhile to look full and lush. I thought I would share these with you, but they looked pitiful from a distance. Not enough growth and flowers yet......so I cropped and cropped and cropped! Here is the result..... a riot of color only seen up close and personal:)

Corners of my Home.....

Treadmills

I thought I would share a few more corners of my home with you. Here you see our small livingroom that we use as a Music room. I play the piano, but keeping it out of the larger living space saves everyone else from having to listen:) Also that little desk (from a garage sale) dresses up our front foyer. I love the chair (another garage sale find) has been featured in several of my paintings. The last photo is of the only clean corner of our master bath. I love the cabinet that made for me years ago by a friend. It has been many colors and even had glass in the panes at one time:) Love the gifts of the sea and use them wherever I can........

A Little More Storage Cleaning.......

Treadmills

I found a few more things that I am going to list on Etsy. I made a bunch of children's t-shirts with patchwork cabbage roses on the front. I will list the sizes and post each separately. Also, a couple of book boxes with journals. Hope to get them posted tonight.....if not, tomorrow:)

New Start......New Lifestyle.....New Freedom

Treadmills

I have started my own journal.........this is new for me.....all the journals I have made so far have been for the grandchildren:) Anyway....I thought I would share the first few pages. You saw the cover awhile ago.....with the metal key cover inserted into the cover. The books was quite a find at an estate sale. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was....patina and all:)