Macrame Fun.....

Way back in the 1970's I learned to macrame. I made countless plant hangers, Christmas decorations and even some huge hanging shelfs. Then it went out of style so I get rid of most of my macrame supplies. Just two years ago I sold all of my book and instructions at a garage sale. Who would have know that it would become a big deal again! 

Cassie wanted to take a class on how to macrame a plant hanger and asked Amy, Christa and I wanted to do it. I had long forgotten how to do all those knots so I signed myself up. The class was held at Queen Bee'z Lawn and Garden in Prior Lake.  A perfect place to make plant hangers. Our instructor was Kari the owner of  Kin & Plume. She was really fun and was a great instructor. 

Once I got going it all came back to me. I remembered how much fun I use to have doing macrame. Of course back when I did it we use a shinny cording now it is done with a cotton cord. The cotton is way easier on the hands. 

 I have to say I can't wait to start making more plant hangers and might even try my hand on a few wall hangings. 

Christa giving Amy  a little helping hand on making her knot tight. 

Amy got the hang of it and went to work

Christa had the look of concentration on her face. 

After a little bit of a ruff start Cassie finished hers off like a pro...Although at the end she said she remembers why she does not like crafting :) 

Christa with her finished product. 

My plant hanger all done. I can't wait to make another one and be little more elaborate on the design. 

 
Happy crafting everyone
Sharon

"Being a mother and grandmother is the best of the best in my life. My grandchildren multiply the joy my daughters bring me." -Alexandra Stoddard

 She found the doll chair and declared "mine" She backed up and managed to fit in it.   

She turned to me and gave me a look that said don't you even think about taking MY Chair! 

Then she ran off and came back with a newspaper. She sat herself down again and opened the newspaper up and spent some time reading it. 

This little girl brings me so much joy......

Sharon 

What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid.......

In 2017 I had few words that I tried to live by. I set an intention to try each day living up to these words.  Sometimes I had more then one word hanging from my wrist and other times just one. 

MOMENTOUS  was the word I started out the year with. I tried to make each and every day be momentous. Even if it was only one moment of the day it made the day good. I wore the word on my wrist for most of the year. 

LIVE WELL to me meant not just going through the day trying to get through it but living the day, seeing the day and being in the day. 

WANDER was one of my favorite words. I had so many adventures in 2017. Wander is from one of my favorite quotes 

" Not all those who wander are lost." 

BE KIND is I know two words but they are very important words to me. It is harder then you think to be kind all the time. It is easy to just go along in your day and forget to say hello and a kind word or two to the people around you. I found that when I made a conscience decision to be kind to people that I interacted with each day it bounced back on me and made me happy. 

BREATHE was the word I finished 2017 with on my wrist. Sometime I need the reminder to just step back from life and take a minute to breathe.  Just pausing life and taking a breath. 

So 2017 has ended but I keep those words with me. I may not have them on my wrist anymore but I carry them in my heart. I found that if you have that reminder hanging on your wrist even for a short time soon you are living those words until you don't need that reminder anymore, it just becomes who you are and what you do.

So on to 2018. I am starting out with two intentions this year. 

LET GO is the first word. I am doing the best to let go of the things that have hurt me and the times I have been wronged. Everyone everywhere has been wronged at one time or another. I am going to acknowledge and accept that these things have happened and that I may have been hurt. Then I am going move on, maybe not fast or far but a inch at a time, breath by breath. 

FEARLESS is my next intention. I was inspired by this word after hearing a song by Kat Perkins. Every since hearing the song for the first time I have been thinking about what I would do in my life if I was fearless, if I was not afraid to try. So that is what I am going to do this year. It is going to be a big change for me this year since I plan I retiring from my current job. It is big time scary for me to leave the job that I have been at for 18 years. December 14, 2018 I will be moving on. I am going to have to find a new part time job and we are going to have to change our lifestyle to match my new lower income. Lots and lots of changes. But I know it is time, I am burned out and dread going to work each day. For my mental heath I need to move on. So 2018 is going to be the year of living fearless! 

I am sharing the video of Kat Perkins song. I hope you enjoy it and maybe it will inspire you to be fearless in your life this year too....

Happy 2018 everyone

Sharon

Seven Months Twenty-eight Days......

Seven months, twenty eight days, ten dentist appointments and nearly $6000.00 later I have a new tooth! I decided that now that it is done I could post a picture of the before and after. Go ahead and laugh at the before because now that it is done I can too.

So here is the after picture. I am sooooooo glad to have it done. It was worth every penny to have a tooth back that looks good and will last me the rest of my life.

Merry Christmas to me!
Sharon

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

 Last year I did not make Halloween costumes for the grandkids and I felt awful. I totally felt like I failed them. So this year I asked everyone early what then wanted to be and got to work.

Seeing the excitement there faces when they saw the complete costume brought me so much joy.  This year they did not got much of a preview of the costumes until they were done so it was a really fun when they saw them.

Since Larina is not yet 2 years old her mommy told me she wanted to by Elmo. It was so cute when I tried the skirt on her. She held out her arms and twilled around laughing. She makes a very cute Elmo...

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 Eli wanted to be a Minecraft spider. Minecraft is a video game that all the kids play. So after looking up what it looked like and made a costume and did not like it. So I threw that one away and started over. I enlisted Christa in making his hat with the eyes in it. Eli loved it! 

Oliver wanted to be Charizard who is a Pokemon character. I had no idea what that was so again I had to do my research. Once I figured it out I found the origami pattern for the head and wings. The pattern said it would take 6 to 8 hours to make so I figured it would be a good job for Grandpa Rick. Well Grandpa Rick thought it would be a good job for Jese so he also got to help. With team work it took them just over 6 hours to get it done. I made the body of the costume and we attached the wings to it. It turned out so good! Oliver was a happy little boy. I am happy to report that the mask survived trick or treating. 

Josie was my easy costume. She wanted to be a cat. We decided that she need a tutu also to make her a pretty kitty. She was all smiled when she came in and saw it.

 Liam wanted to by a green plastic soldier. After assembling all the parts I painted the jacket, pants and belt with some leftover latex paint. I had to do that so the green spray paint would not just soak in. It also made the cloth very stiff so it looked like plastic after it was painted green. I had Rick help me with the spay paint since I tend to spay it on to thick and make it run.

Liam made me the happiest with his reaction. I was helping him get it on and he told me that he did not think I was going to be able to make it look good but I had. He said it was really cool. That is a big complement from a 10 year old.

So there you have it another Halloween in the books!

Sharon

"I understood at a very early age that in nature, I felt everything I should feel in church but never did. Walking in the woods, I felt in touch with the universe and with the spirit of the universe." - Alice Walker

Last weekend we got one last camping trip in for the year. We went back to Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa. Since I already wrote all about it in a previous blog I will just share the pictures.

Enjoy the beauty....

Sharon