Mostly pictures...

YaY! Guess what??? My sister and her wife are coming to visit.  She has been wonderful, talking to me every day since Tim died.  People wonder what in the world we can talk about every night.  Uhhh, we're sisters, and that just about says it all. We could talk about the same thing over and over again, but if it's what we want to talk about, who cares?  Anyway, they are driving in next month and we are going to do a little vacation, going up (and down) the east coast.  The plans are just in the beginning stages, but the things that we have planned to visit will be fun.  There will be nuns and dogs and artists and abbeys, but not necessarily in that order. 

I have been buying new traveling clothes and some jewelry and shoes and all things that "vacation" gives me an excuse to buy.  I have been trying to eat a bit lighter and keep the weight off that I've lost this year.

One of my favorite quick lunches is grilled chicken strips and salad.  Brew up a quick batch of green sweet tea and you're good to go.

I'm trying to stay positive with all the snow that we have had this winter and spring, so it is with a snarky little laugh that I show you my only outdoor spring flowers...

I'm still babying and nurturing my house plants and they seem to be responding.  I had one that suffered badly from my blundering re-potting, so I got yet another pot and am trying it again...

I added a pink polka dot plant to take up some of the room for the portions that didn't survive, but I'm optimistic, and have high hopes.

Speaking of house plants, I have several violets that I have been doting on and I wanted to move them into my kitchen window sill.  I had them on a wicker table close to the window, but it just didn't seem right.  I was dreading getting out the saw and trying to find a board and cut it to the proper size.  This is  something that Tim would have done immediately for me, no questions ask.  I even went on line and looked for a pre-made shelf and just couldn't find what I wanted.  So with an elaborate sigh, I got out the tape measure and measured the window and suddenly realized that if I found just a regular board, it would sit nicely under the curved thingy on the window and all I had to do was cut it to 34 inches.

I knew that Tim had some extra lumber under the deck, as I had straightened it up one day, long ago (last week), when we had a ray of sunshine.  I went down to get the board and remembered (yay) to take the yardstick with me.  I want to say that I was surprised that the plank waiting for me was the exact length needed, but in a way I wasn't surprised at all. 

Last April when I went to meet my sister and ride the train back, Tim stayed home, I left him little love notes everywhere on index cards.  This plank, cut to the exact size to fit the kitchen window reminds me of those cards that he kept finding.  Those colorful index cards that said I Love You in lots of different ways. This little plank, already cut to the perfect size, feels like a love note from heaven.  I feel like he is watching me and finding little ways to help me do the things that he always did for me.

Remember to say safe and creative and know that God is there for you.  God's ways aren't always mysterious, as some say, but He is there. Try to keep your eyes open to this, so you can see the ways that He is helping you. 

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Happy Easter. 

This came today...

Today is the 26th anniversary of when I met my husband.  I thought it very fitting that I received this medallion today.

Next month I will receive a book that has pictures and bios of all the donors in our area. I submitted a great photo of him for that.  I'd like to think that my doing this (the donation) would be something that Tim would have approved of.  I feel like his spirit of giving, one that was quite heartfelt, lives on after him.

I'm missing my hubby

Yeah, it's been gloomy here today and I seem to miss Tim more on gray days.  The weekends were always so special for us.  Here is a picture of us last year on my birthday...

This is one of my favorite pictures of us.  Not that great of a picture, but we were so happy.  There is a series of about six pictures with him trying to do our portrait without using the timer.  I cropped this so you can't see his arm that was holding the camera.

The other thing that is funny is the money that is in his pocket.  He was going to take me shopping and one of the places he said he wanted to take me was "Birdbath and Beyond".  He was funny that way.  We had been giggling about that. Maybe for my birthday this year, I'll post all of the silly shots that we took that day.

I miss him.

Hey there...

I'm combining self portrait with haircut and therefore bring you this...

Funny, the older I get the more I look like my mother.  My eye lids are getting droopy.  I hope that it's just gravity and not something else.  Oh, well...we'll see.

That's it for today, just stopping in to say hello and to let you know that I'm doing fine.  Oh yeah, I did do something today, I ordered a Life Alert system.  You know the pendant that you wear around your neck and if you fall and cannot get up, they will send someone or call your  neighbor.  Since I'm alone now and seldom carry my phone with me (I wear yoga pants with no pockets), who knows what might happen.  In any event, I signed up for it.  With the money I'm saving by changing my cable bundle, I'm breaking even.

Now that's it for today.

More pictures...

Can it be that I have less time to do things like blogging than I did before?  Well, if you count the time I spend watching television, add to that the time it takes to babysit Tim's friend who is a sweet man and a hard worker, but a total brat, while he moves the inventory from our basement and storage locker, toss in time used for online shopping and real time shopping and... yes, it seems I really don't have any extra time on my hands to blog.

Now that I've had several months to get used to this new way of life, I'm thinking of adding in things like meeting the gals for lunch and possibly taking some classes in who knows what.  Being bored will not be a problem for me, but then it never has been.

I'm starting to cook again...

Made a tasty beef stroganoff one week for dinner...

Drink lots of tea, brewed using a variety of techniques...

If truth be known, I'm still a simple tea bag dunker.

I'm doing my banking online and some shopping also, but I still need to do things  that require physical work, like rearrange furniture and pack away pictures and put them in the basement. As soon as the record collection is moved I will have plenty of room...

 I've hung some new curtains...

I'm learning about plants...

I've even splurged on a Ribbonwick candle...

I'm settling in to a new way of life.  I'm staying busy, but still doing the things that I enjoy.  We have had snow or a wintry mix almost every week since Tim died and I am looking forward to some sunshine.  I've been talking to Peri about container gardening and I ordered several books from Amazon this evening.

I love to sew and crochet and plan on doing more of that.  I'm on a bit of a break from jewelry making right now, but that's temporary.  I'm thinking about learning more about home improvement and decorating.  There is no shortage of interesting things to do, but I'm saving plenty of time to reflect, read and relax, too.

I'm still a Survivor junkie, so I'm off to catch this weeks episode.  Hope you all are doing well.  Keep hanging in there with me and I'll get back in that groove soon.  Love you all.

Yes, Peanut you were right...

Just a very quick post and a picture.

Last week I traded in our 2010 Subaru Forester for a 2013 Venetian Red Pearl Subaru Tribeca.  I had wanted to trade up for several years and Timbo always talked me out of it because our Forester was still so new.  I decided to take the plunge while I was in a position where I could.  I've been told this car will last easily ten years.

Well, that's it for now.  Sorry for the short and infrequent posts.  I'll get in the groove eventually.
 

Hello again

Just popping in to say hello.  This will be another short post with mostly pictures. My package to Peri arrived so I can show you the watercolor I did of her house in California.

I took this before it was framed, and the final version may have been tweaked just a bit.  She likes it and that's what is important.

I also sent her some crocheted slippers that I designed myself.  If by design I mean cut out a piece of paper to fit my own foot and just sort of went crazy from there...

How in the world can you call this pointed thing a slipper...

By folding and sewing the pointy ends together to form the top of the bootie and sewing the straight end together to form the heel I got this...

I thought she would get a kick out of the pointed toes.  When I tried them on my own foot (hey, we're sisters, she didn't care) they wouldn't stay on, so I created a tie to secure them around her foot.  Mission accomplished, ta da!

Each evening when we talk on the phone, we always discuss what we will be cooking for dinner.  This is something our family has done for years (not quite like Hee Haw's "Hey Grampa, what's for supper" but close).  Then one of us usually says, that sounds great I'll try that soon. Monday night I actually had ingredients on hand to make my version of her dinner.

She used beef and green peppers and onions, while I used chicken, celery and onions for what we are calling CA-VA fajitas.  She lives in California and I live in Virginia and since we tone down our spices a bit, (due to the sometimes delicate constitutions that we Southern Belles have developed) we didn't want to call it Tex-Mex.  Anyhoo, here is my version of fajitas made on flat bread instead of tortillas.

Pintos and cheese along with some seasoned up brown rice and it was a pretty good meal.

I also made what I'm calling a Frontier cake.  It didn't rise much for a variety of reasons, but it tasted delicious.  I topped it with a browned butter glaze and that did the trick.

I forgot to take into account the dark pan I was using and didn't adjust the time, so it stuck to the pan and I had to cut it into quarters and remove it with a spatula.  It had a very rustic, Little House on the Prairie look and taste and it was fun to make.  It was a different technique for me and if you are interested, let me know and I'll e-mail you the recipe.

Well, that's almost it for me today.  I'll leave you with a crazy shot of me wearing my new sparkly velour hoodie that one of my friends likened to a planetarium.  I'm all about the glitz.  Always have been shiny and flashy.

One last thing, this was going to be the year for Timbo and me to do things and buy things that we had been hesitating to do.  As you may remember, I decided to continue on in this vein, even though we won't be sharing these things together.  I bought a new couch, and am gradually getting a few items of clothing and jewelry. This week, I made a big purchase and I'll show you pictures next week.  He would be proud of me for handling things the way I am.

I'll never stop thanking all my friends and especially my sisters for helping me adjust to this new life. Whether it's sending me cards or e-mails, calling me on the phone, or offering up your prayers, I just want you to know I love you all.

What's up with me...

Hey guys, just a quick post to let you know I'm doing OK.  I have been doing art and crochet and have two things to show you, but I can't until Sister Peri receives them as gifts.

In the mean time, I will post a quick picture of the gift I bought myself.  Timbo and I never went overboard on Valentines Day.  Back when we first met, we were not financially able to do a lot, but when ever he could afford it he got me jewelry.  As the years went by, the jewelery got nicer and nicer.  Just for fun, I stopped by a local jewelers yesterday and decided to buy myself a Valentines Day gift.  I can hear him now saying "we can spend more than that, get whatever you want".  Well, I might get something more expensive later, but for now here are the earrings and pendant that I got.

The stones are pink tourmaline, peridot and topaz, set in gold on sterling silver.  There is a matching bracelet that I may get, but for now I was hesitant to spend too much.  These came to about $165.00, so it's baby steps for me. 

Since I've made jewelry for years, I tend to pick something that I probably wouldn't make and I like these pieces just fine.  I may change the chain on the pendant to something more substantial, but we'll see.

So that's it for me until Peri gets her goodie boxes.

Remember to hug the folks you love (OFTEN) and tell them how much they mean to you and you should have no regrets if something suddenly changes in your life.  It's important...believe me.

Self portraits

I've been thinking of doing a series of self portraits this year.  Don't know if they will all be photographs, or if some may end up as paintings. Who knows.  Anyway, here is just a basic one taken while holding the camera in my hand.

My hubby used to be so concerned about making sure every photo of him was flattering.  Me, not so much.  I've earned this silver hair and these crows feet and neck creases. Seriously, how many of you retouch photos of yourself before posting them?  I've decided not to.  What you see is what you get.

Happy Monday.

(Just noticed that this is my 500th post on blogger.  Do I get some kind of award?)

Just a quick post

Hey, it's me again.  Just a quick post to say hello and to let you know that I'm OK.  Life is moving on, I'm taking care of the things I need to do.  I'm trying to stay creative, remembering to feed myself and going to the rec center when I feel like it.

Yesterday, I got a box cake mix from the store and fixed it.  It is a pound cake mix and surprisingly it was pretty good.  I didn't want to get out all the ingredients to make something from scratch and this caught my eye on the shelf at Food Lion.

I made a glaze from lemon juice and powered sugar and drizzled over it and it's not bad.

I went to the gym this morning and participated in a group exercise class that is mostly folks my age.  It is called Back in Shape, and since I hadn't been to this particular class for several months (more like six), the exercises seemed a bit hard.  It  originally was an exercise class for those that wanted to strengthen their back and core, but over the past year the instructor has "sneaked" in some movements that are a bit more challenging.  There is warm up, stretching and cool down so it really is a pretty good class.  I think I'll continue to go.

After class I needed to run to Target to get a few things and while I was there I saw this pea coat on a sale rack.  Originally $50.00 on sale for $15.00, I couldn't pass it up.  I took the picture before steaming the wrinkles out, but you get the idea...

The color looked good with my hair and while it's a bit shorter than I would normally buy, I'm trying to step outside my little box a bit.

Well, that's it for me today.  Hopefully when I come back I'll have something a bit more interesting.  Till then, stay safe and always stay creative!

A short video from me...

The snow hasn't melted completely from our neighborhood of hills, so I thought I would make a quick video while I'm in for a while.

It's funny how the thumbnails from a youtube video are never flattering, but hey it's me in all my glory.  Hope you like it. 

Take care and keep those cards and letters comin'!!  (You have to be really old to get that one).

New furniture...

Well, last post I told you that I would discuss my young friend Adam, age 10, and the closure that I was able to get from his curiosity.  He and his sister Sierra were visiting me Monday before returning home to South Carolina.  I mentioned Tim's urn and that it helped me know what had happened was real because I have the ashes.  He didn't know what I meant, so with his dad nearby to help explain, we started a discussion about cremation.  He said to me so you mean there are actual ashes in that box, and I assured him that there were.  He hesitated only seconds and said can we look at them?  Well, I wasn't actually expecting this question, but it made me realize immediately that I wanted to look at them myself.  So we got the urn and I let him feel how heavy it was and we then set it down on the coffee table and slid the top off and saw the ashes were in a sturdy plastic bag tied up with a twist tie.  We each took our finger and pressed on the ashes through the plastic bag to see what they felt like.  This seemed a perfectly normal way to end the discussion.  It was closure that I didn't even know I needed.

As you can see from this picture, he was fine with everything we had discussed.

Well, the kids have gone home and my new furniture was delivered the next day.  I may have mentioned that Tim and I were planning on getting a new sofa this year, so I decided that there was no time like the present and I went to Grand Interiors and picked out a La-Z-Boy sofa and chair.

This fact leads us to the theory of six degrees of separation.  Brook Shields played a character on the television show Suddenly Seeking Susan.  Her character's name was Susan Keane.  My name is Susan Keene.  Brook now is the spokesperson for La-Z-Boy furniture, and here in lies my double connection to Brook Shields, as I just bought this furniture.  Taaaa, daaaaa!

Seriously though, here is the new living room furniture...

When you walk in the door it looks like this...

Sorry for  the solar glare produced by the lamp.  Put you had over the light and look a the furniture only.  My next step will probably be deciding what type of art to do as accent pieces for the new look.

Well, that's all for me to day.  I've taken you from ashes to a new beginning. I kind of like that.  I'm getting stronger and gaining more understanding as each day goes by.  I want to continue to thank you all for your prayers and support.  God is good and He has plans for me, this I know.  This is all just part of my new journey.

Until later...

Water ring

One of the perils of having people in your house is water rings.  Usually, I don't fret too much about this kind of thing.  Someone was sweet enough to bring me a nice plant and didn't think about sitting it on the table. The fact is this, the piece of furniture is a vintage end table that is one of a pair that was in my uncle's house for years and he was soooo careful with his things, that I really wanted to fix it.

 In my world, it really wasn't that much of a big deal, buy hey...I've currently got time on my hands and I firmly believe an old dog can learn new tricks.  So I'm off to the internet for the solution.

The instructions I found said to use mayonnaise and let it sit for fifteen minutes and then wipe off.

If you click in on the picture, you can see that it really did quite well with the first treatment.  The instructions said to repeat the procedure until you were happy with the results.

I did just that and the second application of the mayo and waiting another fifteen-twenty minutes did the trick.  I am pleased with the results.  I'm sure this is an old tried and true technique,(was probably in Hints from Heloise years ago) but these days I really do feel like I'm learning new things, so I'm giving myself an "atta Girl".

I'll give you all a break from funeral stories and such for this post, but next post I'll tell you about my little friend Adam and how he helped me with some closure.  Be back soon.

Pulling out the art supplies

I have been secretly planning several portraits for Tim, and as you know, now I won't be able to surprise him with them.  I'm not usually very good at portraiture, but I found a lovely blog called Grow Creative, and using a wonderfully easy tutorial supplied by Elise at that blog,  I came up with this.  It's the first time using this technique, so I expect the next one will be better, but at least I'm testing the waters again.

Hope you like it, I know he probably would.  I also uploaded (to my youtube channel) a very short video of him that I took while in California.  He was in this same chair, but slapped a hat on for the video.  I'll post it soon.

Thanks again for all the support I am getting from you my blogger friends.  It really is helping tremendously.

The urn...

I really hope that this doesn't upset any of my readers, but I just wanted to share this last experience.  Looking back on it now, I probably shouldn't have gone back to the funeral home by myself.  I have been waiting two weeks for them to call and tell me it was time to pick up the cremains.  I started getting a bit antsy because it is supposed to snow here tonight and I needed to know what was going on.

I was called last week to pick up the death certificates which I did.  It took fifteen to twenty minutes to find them, sign papers, make a copy of my driver license.  At no time did anyone even mention that Tim's urn was ready to be picked up.  So apparently, I could have picked him up the day after the service and didn't know it.

So after finding out that I could pick him up.  I just hopped in the car and drove myself.  Actually I was a bit peeved because no one had let me know, so once again I'm running on adrenaline.  After I got there and they felt awful about me not being called and really didn't know what to say.  I'm standing there gently crying. The gentleman brought him out in a nice little tote bag and I had to sign some more papers.  They offered to take the tote bag to the car for me, but I said no.  It never occurred to me that it would be heavy, I thought he was just being nice.

Well, I went out to the car, buckled the tote bag in the passenger seat and headed home.  I figured I should try to eat something so I cried at the drive through and when I stopped to get a newspaper and when I rearranged to shelf to put him on.

I cried while I ate and I'm crying as I type.  I am just so much sadder than I thought I would be.  My dear husband would have been devastated if he had been doing this.  I'm so glad he didn't have to experience these feelings.  I'm so blessed that it is he that is in heaven and feeling no pain or sorrow.  I would not want him to be sad and lonely.  He would be so sad here without me.  God knows what He's doing and makes no mistakes.

Anyway, if you are still wading through this tale of tears and mourning with me, know that I really will be fine.  I know that I will be.

Here is his final resting place...

I placed him on the shelf next to our picture and surrounded by the crazy, bad movies that he loved to collect.

RIP Sweet Timbo, rest in peace.

Two weeks have passed...

Yes, friends, two weeks have passed now since Tim died.  I'm finding new ways to do things, staying as busy as I want to be, going on about my daily life.

I went back to the gym today.  I went at our regular time (a little bit later than usual) so I could speak to the usual friends.  I talked for about half of the time I was there, but I did walk seven or eight laps and used two weight machines.

Folks at the gym didn't know about my haircut, so some of them didn't even recognize me at first.  I remember when I changed my hairstyle right before going to see my sister in CA and they couldn't find me in the airport.

Anyway this is my new hair cut.  This picture is somewhat better than a previous one, since I'm not puffy-eyed from a cold or being a bit weepy.

I know that I will be alright in my new life.  Things will be different, things are different.  Today I went to the post office and the grocery store and then went to the bank to tell the girls that Tim used to see whenever he went in to do his banking.  I usually stayed in the car, but I went in and introduced myself and they were all so sweet.  I did the same thing at the dry cleaners and where we get our gas.  My last stop was at a nearby convenience store where Tim would often run in and get sodas or water while we were out.  The gentleman remembered Tim and said what I think really grabs the essence of my husband.  He said "he was so kind-hearted and friendly".

I'll always remember that.  He WAS kind hearted.  It really came natural to him.  He was a good guy and I will miss him.

I will be fine.  I have family and friends that are really concerned for my welfare and are sincere in their requests to help me when I need it.  I will take them up on it.

My blogger friends have been so gracious and supportive.  I really do want to thank you for all your kind words and prayers.  I appreciate them more than you can know.


Thanks again for being there for me. I heart you.

Dream a little dream....

Well, that didn't take long.  Last night I had little dreams about Tim in which he was doing exciting things that all ended with his early demise.  I think one if them he was a spy running from bad guys.  There were probably about eight little vignettes, and in each one he was playing a role.  For some reason I woke up thinking "The Life and Times of Tucker Thompson".  Anyway, the one that is still so clear to me, he was hanging on for all he was worth to the side of a gangster style car, as it was careening around a ridge.  They were obviously running moonshine.  He was hanging on to that car and when he passed by (either me or the camera, I'm not sure which) he flung his arm out and in it he had this beautiful white fedora that he seemed to be waving at me.  He had the biggest, toothiest smile on his face and I  could tell it was the most fun he had ever had.

I'd like to think that is truly the way he went to heaven.  Lickety-split, no stops, enjoying the journey with a huge smile on his face.  That's how he lived his life.

Get your tissues...

A childhood friend sent me a condolence card that contained this poem.  You may be familiar with it, I was not.

Gone From My Sight

  I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

Even though I am a strong, independent woman,  a pretty tough chick when need be... this poem allows me to bring forth the tears that I know will help deal with this new normal.

Not everything has changed...

I mentioned on my Facebook status this morning that I'm gaining comfort in ways that are surprising to me.  The warmth of the hairdryer (as I dried this massive mane of hair this morning) was the same as always, and I was comforted by that.  The taste of the honey on the spoon as I made my hot tea this morning...it was the exact same taste as before.  Little things like that serve as a subtle reminder that not everything has changed.  My husband died, that is what changed.  The things that he took care of while running the house they will remain the same, that has not changed.   Right now, for today, thinking about things that haven't changed will help me a lot.

You may already know that twice a year, for birthday and Christmas, Timbo would make a polymer clay sculpture for our sister-in-law in California.  This came as a surprised to folks that knew him.  He had a very artistic side to him.  Not only in being a musician and singer, as seen on his YouTube channel, but also being a carpenter and furniture builder. Nobody expected him to make cute little figurines.

Here he is with the last little bear that he so, lovingly made and remade, until it was just so.

Here is the close up version of Little Bear...

He was so proud of the finished product. I was proud of him.  He did wait until the last minute to make it, as he did sometimes.  Make it he did and got it shipped out in time for Christmas.  Peg just loved it when she got it and he was so happy about that, I just can't tell you how happy he was. 

Well, that's it for today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  Thanks so much for listening.

Life goes on...

We had such a lovely service last night for my darling Timbo.  His best friend officiated and did a wonderful job. He spoke lovingly and sincerely about Tim.  He told not only of their friendship as musicians, but of Tim's love of God and how faithful he was.  Not everyone knew that. Our little friend and trainer Chelsea also spoke of the many sweet things Tim (and I) have done for her over the past several years.  Little things that I had forgotten about.

People have just been wonderful.  Flowers, food, errands and chores have been done for me.  I'd like to post some pictures of the past few days, but for now I'll just show some of the flowers that are filling my house with love and beauty.

Thank you dear friends for being there for me, this is so different.  Bear with me as I learn what to do without him.  It just occurred to me yesterday that I hadn't seen any mail, because it always just appeared on the table.  He always got the mail.  Now I have to get my own mail. I have to get my own mail...

Day 3

I just want to let everyone know that I will be OK.  I know it takes a different kind of person to be the spouse of someone as outgoing and energetic as Timothy.  Sometimes when we were together, I would just step back and let Tim bask in the love and limelight, that always seemed to follow him.   I suppose that sometimes I forgot that the folks that loved Tim loved his wife also.  If they didn't, Tim would kick them to the curb.  We were a package deal.  With that being said, I thank you all so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. 

This is still so fresh and new, but it is final and for that I am bound to mend quickly. There will be no difficult choices to be made, no sad trips to nursing homes, no exorbitant hospital bills.  That is the way he wanted to go and God, in His infinite wisdom, gave Timbo just he wanted.  Like we all did. We loved Tim and wanted him to be happy. He is forever happy.

Here is his obituary...

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/roanoke/obituary.aspx?n=timothy-craig-keene&pid=162087826#fbLoggedOut

Please click on it and read about my love.  My one and only, EVER, love.

Thanks again, so much.

Saddest day ever

New Year's Eve will never be the same for me.  My hubby, the love of my life, my soul mate and favorite person...suffered a massive heart attack yesterday morning and was unable to be revived.  I did CPR on him until the crew got here and they took over and continued in route to and at the emergency room and it was just too late.

Tim's body will be at: Oakey's North Chapel, 6732 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke, VA 24019.

If you are local, we will have visitation from 2:00-4:00 Thursday and again from 6:00 to 7:30.
At 7:30 after a brief prayer friends and family will have the opportunity to speak about how they knew Tim, tell a story or two, or just be there with us.

I'm holding it together for the most part (that's just what I do), but I have moments when I feel like my heart is just broken.  Those moments are few, blessedly followed by gratitude for the swiftness of it all.  We were absolutely crazy about each other and everyone knew that.  For his obit, I submitted a cropped version of the picture from my last post, showing the two of us together.

Funerals are for the living and I want to send him out as enthusiastically as he lived while he was here.

Thanks for everything.  I'll be back soon, I  think.

Merry Christmas

I think it's time to post my painting again.  At last a poinsettia that I never have to water.

And a casual Christmas portrait from several years ago...

All our family visits are over, our shopping is done, our treats are consumed...and it still only Christmas Eve. 

We ventured out today to get, of all things, a new toilet seat.  While we were there, I picked up a pack of kitchen towels.  Yep, that's it.  That's what we got each other for Christmas.  We usually buy what we need throughout the year, so a gift specifically for Dec. 25 just hasn't been a big deal for us for quite some time.

We celebrate our faith in, and love of, Christ everyday and since we don't have small children visiting, there is no need for a great deal of decorating or thoughts of Santa.  With this being said, I would like to wish all my friends Merry Christmas and pray that you are healthy and happy.

Since you did stop by, I'd like  you to stay...

Stay safe and warm and be careful of the winter storms that will be making themselves known this week.  Most of all stay true to yourself and don't forget to stay creative.

Merry Christmas to All

Felted eyeglass case

Peri and I have been doing a lot of research and reading on felting.  (You remember my sweater felting post of a few weeks ago?)  Anyway, there is needle felting and sculpting like our bloggy friend Viv does.  Her excitement with a new craft was very evident in her post from several years ago.  My fear of repeatedly stabbing my fingers has prevented me from getting started on this craft.

There is felting from roving.  As in using wool roving that has to be placed on a mat and hand felted with hot water to make a sheet of felted fabric.  It results in unusual and vibrant one-of-a-kind pieces of fabric.  This is the same type of material used in needle felting and comes in a beautiful array of colors, often harvested from animals raised lovingly by the artists for this very purpose, then processed and custom dyed as part of their art. Wool roving is used in a vast number of ways.

There is also machine felting, as in washing machine... which is actually fulling, but is called felting in an attempt to avoid confusion.  (Check this link if you want to read about fulling in great detail). 

Previously I had never used wool yarn for any of my projects.  I was under the lifetime (that's a long time, by the way) impression that wool yarn was scratchy.  While I was in CA I got a skein of merino wool, named for the type of sheep that produces this lovely wool.   The moment my new birch crochet tool made it's first loop, I was hooked.  This yarn is a dream to work with and it's 100% wool so I can felt/full it in my top loader washer. 

After making an over-sized glasses case, see the image on the left,  I felted it and tossed it in the dryer.  You can see the size difference in the photo on the right.

I  think I could have made it even a bit larger.  My original plan was to use it for my shades, but it shrunk to the size of  readers instead.  It is still quite nice.  You can still see some of the stitches and the wool got a bit fuzzy.  Some folks shave off  the fuzzies with one of those sweater pill shavers, but I kind of like the texture.

So there you go... I'm crocheting with wool.  I'm quite happily surprised with my new yarn and hope to acquire more of this luscious yarn in the future.

That's all for now.  We'll talk soon.

Some people are sooooo sneaky!

Look what showed up on my doorstep today!

My sister and Karin got together and surprised me with this cardinal.  It's my favorite bird and every time there is one for sale at Countryfolks Keepsakes, it is sold immediately.  So apparently the two of them got together and decided to surprise me with one.

I had just talked to Peri earlier today and I suppose when I didn't mention anything about it, she realized it hadn't been delivered yet.  She's better with Christmas secrets than I remember.

It's just beautiful, and I love it.

Thanks again, you crazy gals, thanks.

Hello there!

Well, we're back from visiting my sisters in California.  We had a really nice time visiting, sightseeing and shopping.  We went to the zoo and we rode around and looked at the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods and had a pleasant time while we were there.

The resort where we stayed has just undergone a massive renovation so while it is the same resort that I have shared photos of before, they are somewhat different this year.

We got several early Christmas gifts, in addition to the trip itself, and one of those is a new camera.  Not knowing, of course, that I would be getting a new camera, some of the pictures are taken with my more basic camera and aren't quite as clear as I would like.

With all that being said, let's start off with a tour of the suite at the resort.

Instead of the usual fruit basket, we were greeted with a nice carafe of cool water and a bowl of fruit dried there at the resort.  I suppose that is what it was, as I had never seen grapes on the stem.  Peri and I laughingly commented that perhaps it was just an old bowl of fruit.  Seriously, the grapes were very tasty.  The rest of the dried fruit...not so much.

The sleeping quarters have been revamped with new mattresses, beds and bedding.

In addition to the new bedrooms, there was new furniture in the living area...

 as well as new wooden floors with new rugs and colorful pottery

For some reason someone seemed to think that a distressed leather chair would be an asset to the decor, but my slinky jersey blouses did not agree.

I immediately had to cover this crackly chair with a coverlet to keep from ruining my clothes.  Grrr.  The cabinet beneath the widescreen telly holds the fridge and espresso maker and such.

This is just the beginning of the five days that we were there, so I won't bore you with too many more photos this post, but I do want you to see this...

My sister, Peri, is a fan of the art of our friend Karin at Countryfolk Keepsakes and has a nice collection of her work displayed on her mantle.

 Karin's art is displayed in a lovely grouping, along with a self portrait that Peri did...

 and here we see Gracie, nestled among the little pillow doll that I crafted and the portrait of Zipper Cat, that I painted in pastels.

In this view you can see a portion of the beautiful, artisan crafted cabinets that hold some of their other works of art.

I'm quite honored to be included in the fine art that they have displayed.  There is another cabinet that holds the more whimsical art pieces, and even more of mine and hubby's sculptures are displayed there.  The gals have such lovely decorating tastes and we are honored to have our art showcased in their home.

Well, there is a lot more to come, but it does take time to decide what pictures to show.  I'll be back soon with more.

Take care and don't wear yourselves out shopping and baking.