Project Runway

Okay -- the truth is -- I'm still watching the show.

BUT I couldn't wait to see who the winner is before I said this -- I have two words for you, Heidi... RESCUE TAPE...

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??? I mean -- really?? A flesh colored dress -- completely open at the top -- with no bra whsoever...and the plunging neckline went all the way down to your belly button?

I cannot be the only person in America who watched the whole show, waiting to see one of Heidi's boobs pop out...

That dress was so distracting -- I couldn't even tell you who did what. Maybe that was their strategy, eh??

I'm going to go back and rewatch the video. THANK GOD Ross moved home so he could give me the cable tv DVR tutorial....

Business or Pleasure??

This is a picture of a writer's conference I attended last year...I ALWAYS learn something at these events...

And it is GOOD FOR ME to get out of my Lazy Boy and blow the stink off...

Today I'm meeting up with Rhonda Pierce of Schmetz Needles. She's coming to my part of the world so we can attend a conference about understanding the NEXT GENERATION...

Rhonda and I both enjoy having our work meetings at distant locations...we've met at Reagan's birthplace, Las Vegas, Houston, Wisconsin, Quilting and sewing events, other shows, Pittsburgh...ALL OVER THE MAP, PEOPLE...

This was a picture of me at the Morton Arboreteum last spring... And TODAY -- our location is in Clinton, Iowa. If I'm allowed -- I'll try to take pictures... You will be surprised!!

Grandma Rita's 1970's Technology

One of the things I love about my daughter-in-law is that she LOVES THRIFT SHOPPING. The day Lilly came, wearing this beautiful funky little dress (I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of her WEARING the darn thing) -- the first thing Emily said was, "I found it at the Goodwill store!"

It would be SO EASY TO MAKE -- just cut the kit strips and sew them together...it is sooo adorable...

This was one of our last summer lunches on the porch. Lillian loves to help set the table -- folding the napkins is her special job. And, of course, she gets to pick out her own plate. There is an assortment in the low cupboard for her -- Barbie plates, princess plates, holiday plates...

I love that the things she does at Grandma's house are completely different from the things she does at her own house...eating on the porch, watching the hummingbirds, folding the napkins...AND listening to books on tape via a CASSETTE PLAYER...

Books on tape have always been a part of my life. I listen to them in my car, on long road trips, or just driving to the grocery store...I listen to them when I'm on the treadmill, or sewing or washing the dishes...I have listened to hundreds of books while I'm traveling or working...and the technology NEVER got any better than a cassette tape, people.  Don't laugh.  I know it's a 1970's technology....but I'm telling you -- I still miss the cassette player in my car.  With CD's, I often completely lose track of where I was...and then I have to listen to the whole chapter, to try to figure it out...ugh...

I have some children's books on tape -- and when Lillian lays down (NOT FOR A NAP, PEOPLE -- JUST TO REST FOR A MINUTE)...I put a book into the tape player...and well -- I'm just sayin'.....

So Emily knows to keep her eyes peeled -- because the only place to buy cassette tapes or players is AT THRIFT STORES...(I do have several spares, just in case...)

Maureen's Collection

Maureen LOVES, LOVES LOVES...is it rings??

Or, could her real obsession be holiday pins?

Or old fashioned rhinestone jewelry?

No -- maybe it's watches...

No -- it must be NECKLACES...she had to build a special lucite liner to attach to the back of her bedroom door...and they spill over onto the side wall...and both sides of her dresser as well...

These drawers are full of earrings...

And she has a special place where she displays her pins. HOLY COW...

That's right. Jewelry. All kinds. Some real, some costume...some tacky, all wonderful in her eyes.  Maureen is a meticulous housekeeper and the way she organizes all her jewelry is really one of the wonders of the world.  She should be giving classes to the rest of us hoarders...

And here's the best thing about Maureen.  ALL OF IT CAME FROM THRIFT STORES.  Or -- most of it anyway.  She is a compuslive thrift-store-shopper (just like ME).

Last summer, she was visiting her daughter in Washington D.C.  Marissa had lined up many wonderful places to go visit.  They have the best museums in the world -- the Smithsonian -- important monuments...etc.

After one morning of touristing, Maureen said, "I am so bored I could poke my eyeballs out...don't you have a thrift store in this town?"

Marissa quickly moved to Plan B -- and they spent the next two days digging through other people's discards.  Marissa could not believe the difference in her mother's mood.  She was like a different person -- happy and excited...

Yep.  That's my girl....we are kindred spirits...

More is More

Maureen -- my sister-in-law is a character. She LIVES LARGE -- and I admire that about her. Whatever she is into -- she does it FULL TILT. Lucky for us -- when she has company -- she COOKS a meal fit for a king. Holy Cow. Her mother, Helen Farro -- was the best cook I ever knew. And she would be so proud of Maureen.  She made a HUGE feast for us -- scallops in butter sauce, eggplant parmasean, halupkes, fabulous crusty Italian bread...OH MY GOD...

In this picture -- John, Maureen and her husband Roger...

Maureen is THAT GIRL.  Whatever she loves -- she goes for it FULL OUT.  At Christmas, she decorates more than 50 trees for her home.  The local newspaper came out last year to photograph those trees, as she has become a local legend...Many of the trees have a theme -- an angel tree, and a Santa tree...other trees hold ornaments from her childhood.

AND Maureen loves shoes.  She did ballroom dancing -- mostly so she could buy shoes. This is just one closet -- which holds a portion of her 600-pair shoe collection..(yes, she has a picture of the shoes that are living in each box).

But this shoe collection is dwarfed by her real passion...really -- you've got to see it to believe it... Coming up soon -- Maureen's REAL PASSION...

Cinderella Mirror

Let's just say it was A GREAT AUCTION!! Wow. Both Bert and I found treasure...IF the definition of treasure is:  Something you did not know you needed until the moment you saw it -- and then you realized you couldn't live without it...

OR -- it was such a huge bargain -- you had no choice but to BID ON IT...

In the case of this gold framed mirror -- this treasure was all about the BARGAIN...

But -- HOLY COW --  I had NO IDEA it wouldn't fit into the back seat of my car!! And I could not believe how heavy it was. It took two men to lift it onto the trolly so we could push it out to the car. Only to find out that there was NO WAY it was going to fit!!

I had no choice but to call in the reinforcements. Luckily -- Elliott was 10 minutes away with his BIG black van. Yippee. I am saved. Maybe I should take one of those mirror shots I'm so famous for??

So there I am -- wearing my new t-shirt maxi dress. Wow. This is a really wonderful, expensive mirror. I'll bet it's old. I can hardly believe I got it for $2.50. And -- OH MY GOD -- I can't remember the last time I looked at myself in a full length mirror. What a shock. I AM SO FAT. Wow. If I'd had this mirror twenty years ago -- maybe I wouldn't have accidentally gained those 100 pounds... Learn from my mistakes. Buy a mirror, people...

Music that moves you...

I just spent some time with a really beautiful friend in a really beautiful part of the world... Of course, it's always wonderful to do a leisurely catch-up with a close friend.

 Marion and I could've talked for days -- never running out of topics that made us laugh or think. Hey -- THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT, PEOPLE....

You'll see many pictures of our Girlfriend Roadtrip in coming posts...and I am a big fan of this part of the world.

No matter how old you are, or how much you think you know about a person -- when you really listen -- you always learn something new from each other.

Although I love music, I don't know much about it. Marion is a fan of Leonard Cohen. She had some of his CD's in her car. We were driving through upstate New York when I heard this poem for the first time. A Thousand Kisses Deep...wow...

The quality of the video is not great -- but it gets better. Stick with it -- the words are amazing...




WHAT A GREAT VACATION, Marion. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. For taking the time, for doing all the planning, for being such a great driver. It was an awesome vacation...simply perfection. I loved EVERY MINUTE OF IT. And Leonard Cohen is just one of the gifts I'll take away.... We were long overdue for a girlfriend road trip. AND WE ROCKED IT, GIRL...!!!