Quilted.

Here's a snapshot of the quilt I made in the fall. Marybeth at White Lotus Quilting did such an amazing job. I asked her to mimic the different leaves and it turned out nicer than I imagined. Now I need to finish the binding. The machine part is done, now comes the hand-sewing.
Is anyone else having trouble with blogger? The autosave keeps failing and my last post from today 1/31 posted as 1/29. Let's see how this one posts.

I'm walking.

That's how far I've walked in January...eighty eight point five miles!

I've been tagged.

The wonderful Michelle at Everyday Me has tagged me. So I'm supposed to post the sixth photo in my sixth folder of pictures, which turns out to be this picture of my daughter's eyeball, a kind of self-portrait. I did not take this picture. I will often download the pictures on the camera and find that she has been snapping away. AND tag six others, here's four...One Gal's Trash, Dizzy Little Kingdom, Berlin's Whimsy, and Island Ashley.

Bye Domino.

How can this magazine fold when so many of us love it?

A Cup of Jo, Elements of Style, here too, The L.A. Times

Valentine tea bags.

Creature Comforts has this wonderful tea bag project with detailed instructions and a free template download. These are so cute!

Tea bags!

The very crafty Sister Diane of CraftyPod has blogged about my teabag curtains! And I'm embarrassed that I have not hung them up yet! So many projects, so little time. Thank you Diane. More inspiration...Diane's friend Mandi made her this awesome tea chest.

Home.

Sunset from last night's flight. I'm back on Bainbridge after six days in Southern California. Very nice weather, walks everyday, a wonderful three hour lunch with some high school girlfriends (see Michelle's post), but a lot of heartbreak dealing with aging and very ill parents.

I'm flying south!

Tomorrow morning I will be on the 5:20 a.m. ferry on my way to Southern California for a short break. Guess what??? It's suppose to rain there. Whatever. I shall have a nice visit with my parents and some high school girlfriends. And I am going to walk barefoot in the sand and dip my toes in the Pacific no matter what. Back on Tuesday. I better start packing my bag! Love to you.

Emma Bridgewater.

Okay, a couple things you don't know about me and maybe one you do. First, I'm a black tea with milk addict. Second, I subscribe to way too many magazines and I love every one of them. It makes my day when one arrives in the mail. Everything stops, I immediately put the kettle on, sit down with my magazine and peruse every page. And finally, I collect Emma Bridgewater pottery from England. I used to live in London and discovered her and her husband working in their little shop on Fulham Road back in 1989. Now she graces the pages of many magazines herself, has four shops and is actively traded on ebay.
My Spring 2009 Bridgewater catalogue arrived today and there on page 15 is a mug which reads, "Happiness is a cup of tea & a new magazine." I don't care what the current exchange rate is, I am placing my order immediately!

Kreativ Blogger Award.

I got an award! My friend and fellow blogger Michelle at Everyday Me has gifted me with a KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD. Thank you Michelle. I'm just getting the hang of blogging, and you and these following gals are such an inspiration to me. Drum roll please......

Here are the latest Kreative Blogger Award recipients.

One Gal's Trash - Pam has vintage down better than anyone I know AND is so witty!

Be Present, Be Here - Liz is a poet, photographer and crafter extraordinaire!

Pink Chalk Studio - Kathy inspires me to sew, sew, sew.

Transformation Underground - Alexis and her mother Aleta have started the ultimate "Pass It On" project.

The View From Here - Susan is friend, neighbor and author. She vividly captures the view from our little spot here on Bainbridge Island like I wish I could.

Memories.

I'm having a creativity drought! My to-do list is full of tedious chores and I'm having trouble staying motivated. I'm going to call it a holiday hangover lasting a bit too long. So I'll share a couple of photos that sit on my shelves and make me smile everyday. First, the "muscle-boys" taken in 1998 when Stephen, Anthony and Hank were all 8 years old. My son is the embarrassed one on the left. The second photo of my husband and one-year old daughter was taken in 1995 at Baker Beach in San Francisco.

A little gift for the mail lady.

Here's a little collage I did for our wonderful mail carrier, Meey. She is truly amazing!

Stormy weather.

Enough!!! This is what our road looked like yesterday with a combination of wind, rain and high tide. We actually fared well considering what the rest of Washington State is looking like. This morning I can see a break in the clouds and I'm going to get out there for a walk. One of my new year resolutions that has been difficult to keep with the snow, rocks, waves, etc. on the road. I have only missed three days though.

Some people walk in the rain....others just get wet. ~Roger Miller

Sunrise in the San Juans.

I'm back! I didn't plan to take such a long break, but between Christmas, New Year's, my husband's birthday and a few days up on Orcas Island I just did not get on the computer or even take many pictures. I did snap this one on the ferry back to the mainland from Orcas yesterday. The ferry left at 6:45 a.m. when it was dark and cold, but when I looked up from my book I saw this.