Just Chicky!

This is one of the menagerie of critters that will be part of our Christmas gifts and she is just so cute that I can hardly stand it at all.  None of these pictures show you her personality.  She is perky, sure of herself, yet approachable. 
I intended for her to be an ornament, but now I don't think she should have to spend 11 months of the year in a box...hmmmm.

The very cool stuff that she is standing on is packing material that is currently a favorite cat bed.

See that teeny tiny peek of green in my basket?  My special heart gift that I carry all the time.

And a little chicken bootie shake!

I took a lot of pictures and these are the best. Really.

Hope something gave you a giggle and some joy today.



Monday!

Only Monday and it's already been a productive week!
Yep.  It's been one of those days.  I got up early and happy, spent the morning teaching my tutoring kids for the first time...so much FUN!  Soooo much food for my soul.  Ahhh.  The morning SPED by.  Can't wait for tomorrow.
Went up the mountain to Terra Alta to meet with my favorite printer and get more business cards printed.  I also got my little husband's Christmas present designed and ordered.  He wants to memorize the Sermon on The Mount...Matthew, chapters 5 - 7, so I am having a pocket sized book printed and bound in leather for him.  I'm pretty excited.  Don't tell my little husband about this.  :-)
Then, my new "vintage" couch got delivered....wanna see?

So, $35.  Deal, right?  I will have it reupholstered in polka spots...haven't decided what colors yet.  Probably find a home in my studio space...

Had a tree that fell down in our little woods cut up and split and stacked for firewood.

Made a yummy soup for dinner.

Walked up town for the Christmas parade.  I love my little town and its 20 minute parade!  And it was about 60 degrees still!  But, that is about to change...wind is blowing and snow is coming.  I put snowflakes on my bulletin board today....they will be good until about April!

And to top it all off  we got Jingled.  (http://www.beenjingled.com/)  I will have to be Jingling someone else tomorrow.  What fun.

It was a GREAT day.  You know?  One of those days where it just all goes smoothly, effectively, happily....wow.

Here a couple of pictures of the house today...brick on and a peek at the color.  The bricks will eventually be painted the same color.

Oh, and Kristen, I told you I made a garland, too.  Here is mine.  Not so much repurposing, but still pretty festive for a first try!  And the colors????  My fireplace is really a quite lovely sandy celery color...one photo is with the flash and one without, but neither are quite right. 

And the Mountaineers are winning the basketball game!  Gotta go and sew.  Hope your day was spectacular, too.
An abundance of exclamation points...and I didn't even put in all that I wanted...yep.  That kind of day.

 

Hey. Are You Still There?

So, I don't have any good reason for the long absence from here.  I don't even know.  I have just been in a quiet place, I guess.  The ending of the in your face, vibrancy of fall and its fading into the mostly muted, soft, quiet of the winter season seeped into my heart.  I have been busy and invigorated with the new tutoring job and we are making progress on the house, but each time I sit down to write, the words just seem to poof. 
It isn't that I don't want to share.  Maybe it is a bit of longing to really get to sit and chat with some of you who I only know on here...you know, in person.  I mean, isn't it just the tiniest bit odd that we may really never see each other?  But, on the other hand, I like my blog friends better than some people I see all the time.  :-)
I'm back and even though I haven't been very communicative lately, I have thought of you often...with a smile.

And now, this minute when I want to finally share a few things with you, my camera has gone a bit missing!  That could be a problem.

Are you still there? 
Hope so.
Donna

Woolie Ornaments and Friends

Today I taught a Whimsical Woolie ornament class to 8 fun ladies.  I took several of the ones I had made and all the supplies for them to make 3 of their own.  It was such fun to see how some of them took my example and made it completely their own and how some took my example and made it look so much like mine it was hard to tell them apart.  We had a quiltler, a couple of daughters of crafty mothers, a couple I never really did this before, but I'm willing to try, a couple of crafty types and one stress out perfectionist sort...one in every crowd, right?  Anne?  :D   Stevie was my photographer and story teller.  I'm good with teaching, she's good with people.
Have a look...

 First, a little stitching instruction.

Next, a chosing of ornaments.

Then, a little practice and a little help from our friends.

And then, when I got back to Kingwood, they had put up the Christmas lights!

Tis the season....well, sort of...but I love our Christmas lights....

They are really winter lights...snowflakes and snowmen.

Semi-UNretired

So, I have been praying and thinking about what my life was to become upon retirement.  Of course, there is the whole homebuilding thing that has taken up huge amounts of time, but not so much brain...my little husband is the brains behind that job.
I put out feelers for some part time college level teaching and some contract teaching for one of our big energy corporations, but nothing really came of either of them and it didn't break my heart, but I was still missing something.
Then one Tuesday, at Zumba, my friend, Karyn, told me her husband wanted to know if I would like to apply for a tutoring job right at my old school...3 hours each day...my choice of times....
Now, usually while I am doing Zumba, I am counting all the steps and trying my best to keep up, but that WHOLE session, I was thinking about working with kids again...and my heart was happy.
That was about 3 weeks ago.  I talked to my friend, Janice, at school, who will be in charge of the program and then went to put n my bid!  Perhaps it is a sign of some sort that I had to get out a magnifying glass to read the dang bid sheet...it had to be an 8 point font, or less!  Only young people with stellar eye sight should apply?????
Anyway, it had been a VERY long time since I had filled one of those out.  Do I know what my GPA in my undergraduate or graduate programs was????  Nope.  Do I know what my last few evaluations were generally?  You betcha...outstanding, of course!  Yes, that is exactly what I wrote...there is a certain freedom in being retired already...or something.

This job will let me do exactly what I do best...teach kids how to read and to love reading!  None of the other stuff.  I have been excited and the thrill of planning how to help kids came bubbling right back to the surface.

I start tomorrow.  Prayers were answered!  I am thankful...and excited...did I say that already?

New semi-unretired life=tutor in the morning and build retirement home in the afternoon.  Brain and body back in business!
Oh, and there is the whole craftiness thing going on, too....brain, body and heart back in business!

Make a Wish

It is that time of the year.  Yesterday was all about spring, but this is a quintessential fall phenomenon.

What fun God must have had creating each of his natural wonders.

Almost as much fun as I had spinning in circles and spreading these wish upons!  Find you joy, spin in circles like no one is watching...no one was watching, right?



Spring!

Hands full of unassuming spring beauty...

...nestled safe and warm at the base of tall protecting trees and solid sturdy rocks, ready to surprise me and

...ready to bless the residents of the PawPrints Cemetery.

100 assorted daffodils, 4 pink peonies and 4 yellow irises...

The glorious rest of winter and the promise of spring both imagined on this balmy autumn day at Shangri La Ti Da.

Hard work with a good friend planting the promises from another good friend...much to be thankful for!

(Well, she didn't have to say, "No..."right as I was snapping the photo.)

Waiting to see how many ways my hand and arms hurt in the morning!

Also planted some near the fruit trees, by the shed and along the woods line hoping for naturalization and ever increasing abundance....