Pillow Talk

I have been working on a few small projects -- some with new twists for me. I made this owl pillow for my daughter. She is into this character some now as we seem to find different fabrics with owls on them lately. This is done with fusible web and then machine stitching around every edge of different fabric used, even the eyelashes and nose as pictured. The next pillow was made as a surprise for an old schoolmate that I am friends with on Facebook. He drew this center as a tattoo he would like to get in the future and then put it for friends to see his artwork concept. I printed the black and white picture on the printer and then used my light box to hand copy it onto fabric. I then embroidered it and used colored pencils in some places. Quilted the front and back pieces and stuffed it. My friend Rolo (Danny) was very pleased. He has health disabilities and feels down at times. He told me that no one (not related to him) has ever done something this nice for him. It made me happy as well!!

The Ya Ya Sisters

Someone sent me this in an email and I had to first laugh and second share it with you. Be sure to read the diet at the end

AND REMEMBER: GOOD FRIENDS ARE LIKE STARS. YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE THEM, BUT YOU ALWAYS KNOW THEY ARE THERE!!!!!!

Breakfast 1 grapefruit 1 slice whole wheat toast 1 cup skim milk Lunch 1 small portion lean, steamed chicken 1 cup spinach 1 cup herbal tea 1 Hershey's kiss Afternoon Tea The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag 1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips Dinner 4 glasses of wine (red or white) 2 loaves garlic bread 1 family size supreme pizza 3 Snickers Bars Late Night Snack 1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer) Remember: · Stressed spelled backward is desserts. · Handle every stressful situation like a dog. Tinkle on it and walk away.

A Twinkle In Your Wrinkle

I absolutely love this. Read through completely.

This is wonderful…and the thought at the end is so true!





















Never look down on anybody, unless you're helping them up.

Please read the following quietly then send it back on its journey

To realize the value of a sister/brother,
ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of ten years:
ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years:
ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:
ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months:
ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month:
ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one minute:
ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second:
ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one--treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member: LOSE ONE.

Remember… hold on tight to the ones you love!

Do not keep this letter.

Send it to friends & family to whom you wish a good, long, happy, life.

5 Things in Life

Got this from a DEAR FRIEND... There are 5 things in life you cannot recover: A stone...after it's thrown. A word...after it is said. An occasion...after it's missed. The time...after it's gone. A person...after they die. Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile, Enjoy Life!!

Cracked Pots

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'



Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding...

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.


SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

What Is With This Weather?

For several weekends now I have been trying to travel by roadways here in Montana from one city -- Great Falls -- to another -- Kalispell.



The first reason for not accomplishing my goal was SNOW! Go figure. It is after all in the middle of winter and I do find myself watching more and more of the weather channel for parts of this continent where I have friends and relatives nesting. Again, what is with this weather?!



Now my area is in the upper 40's, but the second reason for not accomplishing my goal or travel destination is WIND! After going over half the distance (almost 2 hours of driving one way), in winds up to 50 mph, my van reached a town called Browning, MT. The winds picked up to 70+ mph and the driver's door was literally moving in and out (like it was breathing) because the wind was so bad.



Then I get to my turn off for the last leg of the journey to find a Montana Department of Roads utility truck barricading the road -- Highway 2. We were defeated and by then the children in the middle and back seats were calling for lunch. So a turn around was made and travel back 100 miles down the road found us at Shelby, Montana in a Chinese restaurant as an alternate adventure.



The food was good and everyone satisfied to make the additional 85 miles home to Great Falls, Montana.



Phone calls have been made and relatives have been located in Kalispell since I have arrived home. They know we made an effort and I hope they know we are thinking about them. Another endeavor will be made in the future for this goal of visiting in Kalispell, but now I know to not even start if SNOW and now high WINDS are mentioned in the weather forecast.



Hope you like the pictures in this posting. They are from our local paper submissions from readers with the topic of Montana in Winter. I picked these, because I thought they were the best!

A Rose

This picture was taken at the hotel in Salt Lake City.


The Rose Family by Robert Frost

The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only know
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose--
But were always a rose.

It Is A Beautiful Day

Yesterday I woke up and a feeling of "calm happiness" was covering me. My world has been so shaken with a tremendous loss recently and then other battles have ensued almost immediately thereafter.

I wrote friends asking for prayers to help me in this time. It is something I can hardly remember ever doing, but I would highly recommend.

We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but having support and love from friends and family helps make the road brighter.

My battles are not won right now, but feeling refreshed and uplifted is helping me trudge on with a kick in my step.

Thank you one and all!

Also, a bit of surprise for me -- I sold another quilt on Etsy last night. This one has my favorite colors in it. This quilt pictured is the one sold. It was conjured up from scraps of one I am keeping for myself.

Have You Ever . . .

Have you ever purchased something (a gift) for someone and then not sent it to them for some reason or another?

Well, I have a couple that are hanging around. I don't feel bad for not sending them. As a matter of fact, they remind me of those I love and usually brighten my day. I know I may or may not ever give them as gifts to these people. I also know you may be thinking "she is the strangest person", but that is how my life goes.

A Lovely Face

We have a new addition to Savannah's lovely dolls. She doesn't have a name yet and those suggested -- Margaret (Peggy), Mildred, and Hortense (by her dad's recommendations) -- don't fit Savannah's liking very much.

Her cheeks are rosey and she is pretty solid in her body. She is silent as her "Crier" may have been removed some time ago, but I find no signs of her seams having been opened or closed other than from the original manufacturer.

She is a Madame Alexander Huggums doll from the early 1960's and is older than me!!!

Here she is pictured with a friend. I don't have Savannah Rose close at hand to know her name either.

Time For Tea Quilt

I know it is most definitely not Spring, but the patterns I found in a recent book purchase on Ebay inspired this embroidered little quilt top. It has such an "air" of cheerfulness. I had fun laying it out and doing the stitching.




I have found online a neat idea for using a real tea cup and saucer to make a pin cushion.





I also found a teacup inspired yard ornament that I want to try when Spring actually arrives and the birds return. It is of course, this type of bird feeder.