The Simple Things:

I am the very first to admit I am not much of a seamstress...but I can fix a button or a seam very nicely. I normally cringe a bit when brought an item that I need to fix. But when Lu brought me her Dorothy dress yesterday, I was more than happy to gather up my supplies. I use my Mom's old basket to keep my 'tools' in:




As you can see, I use the term 'tools' very loosely! I have enough in there to do very simple fixes:



I don't know the last time I enjoyed sewing something so much! It was just a calm, soothing activity, which was very needed at that time.



I took my time, didn't rush through...and fixed several issues with the dress:



Not to be all dramatic, but this week (and the past couple) have brought so many things into perspective for me. I am taking the time to truly enjoy the little things that present themselves to me through the day. The acts of kindness that have been given are overwhelming at times and I am filled with gratitude for so many people in my life (those that I know well and those I have never even met face to face) and feeling extremely blessed.

I should be back to regularly posting again next week.

Have a great weekend and STAY HEALTHY!

Sonya

I Am Back...Sort Of

Wow, the last few weeks have been a bit of a blur...Let's see how quickly I can put it all into words:

Strep Became Double Pneumonia in which all sorts of exciting things can happen.


I am back home now, but am going to be 'resting comfortably' for the next few days. I hope all is well with you. I have MISSED this!

Sonya

Poking My Head Out Of My Blankets

It is officially strep.

And I think I let it go on too long before realizing I needed to see the Dr. because this has knocked me flat on my rump. Things you do not want the Dr to do when she looks inside your throat?

Shudder.

My Dr shuddered.

So on that note, I am going back to bed now that I have been a good girl and swallowed my pills.

Stay healthy, my friends.

You Say It's Your Birthday:

I was waiting for the furnace guy to come take a look at our furnace which was making loud squeal-y noises earlier this week. He would be here in the afternoon. Love the evasive time reference. So I gathered up goodies to work on some wreath projects while waiting. I finished 4 Valentines Day wreaths. Still no furnace guy. I still had an empty wreath in front of me, a hot glue gun that was still hot and a deep desire to keep creating.

I went down into the dungeon, I mean studio and foraged around for some yummies...and made a

BIRTHDAY WREATH!






I love, love, love this wreath! I can totally see us hanging this up on the wall when we celebrate Birthdays. More wreaths will be coming! This one can currently be found inside Booth 316 at Memory Lane.

Glitter and Glue and Shoes...Oh My!

Lu is going to be Dorothy next month in the Wizard Of Oz! Which is just a whole other excuse for me to bust out the glue and glitter to make her ruby slippers! If it was around Halloween, this wouldn't have been a problem to find. But being January and all, we had to get creative.

Martha's Glittering Glue:

Red Sparkly Glitter:

Comfortable Red Slip On Shoes:

Voila! We have ruby slippers!


We have been huge, HUGE fans of the Wizard of Oz and then of course Wicked the past few years...so this is a treat to see her finally wear the ruby slippers on stage.

Snow

No school Monday...late start yesterday...today is the first day that is a typical week day here. Except the wind chill is waaaaaaaaay below zero and I would truly love to just stay inside drinking cup after cup of hot tea.

2011 Valentines Day Wreath:

When confronted with a shocking amount of red Christmas shiny brites, a stack of vintage Valentines, gold tinsel wreaths and a hot glue gun that was just begging to be plugged in, this is what happened:





Soothing creating for the week ahead.

A Blank Canvas:

Yesterday was a productive day. Drawers and tiny storage areas in this room were looked at with an intense eye. I removed cords and equiptment we have been storing for items we not longer have! (old video camera, camera, phone chargers...)

Then we went through drawers in the kitchen, stood on chairs to get way back in the corners of cupboards, took a good hard look at serving dishes, storage containers and electrical appliances. I asked myself the hard questions like: Will I really use an egg slicer in this lifetime? Will I? Probably not.

Then we looked in the corner hutch and buffet in the dining room and asked the same questions.

After filling several Target-sized bags, I called it a day and took what was purged to Goodwill.

There is still a whole lot to go through, but a whole lot (three full rooms!) did get done yesterday and that, my friends, is a good feeling.

Happy New Year!

It has been a delightful Christmas break with the kiddos home from school...other than the fact they have both been under the weather.
The. Entire. Time.

So we have been nestled in at home for a good week and a half! Which hasn't been all that bad. We have been forced to take things slooooow around here.


Lots of reading, lots of movies, lots of snuggling on the couch, lots of early bedtimes and sleeping in, steamy baths, lots of homemade soup and hot tea and cups of warm Tang...do you remember that stuff? It is a must-have for when I am under the weather and Bud has taken to it. We heat up the kettle of water to fill our mugs and then add one scant spoonful of Tang to the hot water...just enough to flavor it a bit. Lu, on the other hand, is not as into the mug of Tang as Bud and I are. She prefers her orange juice in real form with real pulp in a chilled glass with a bit of cracked ice. We think that she is missing out.

Thankfully everyone is getting back on their feet and the bug seems to have skipped Hubby and I.

Friday was spent taking down the Christmas decorations. It was snowing and blowing and obviously we were going no where, so we cranked up the Christmas music again and started the dismantling. I carefully went through the decorations before packing them away. A couple items made their way to the Goodwill donation bag, a few will be listed on Etsy next year and the rest boxed up until we take them out again next November. What a bittersweet feeling to have the Christmas season come to an end.

But on the heels of that is SIMPLIFYING for the New Year!

I stopped by Memory Lane for a while late yesterday afternoon and removed the remaining Christmas items. Some of those will be set aside for the next run at the Christmas season and more than a few things were bagged up to drop off at Goodwill. A fresh start to January! The booth was a tad bit empty when I left but I've been daydreaming about what I want it to look like next, so that empty space has been quite inspiring, in its own way.

A larger de-cluttering will be taking place today at home...this is such a good time of year to do that! I am thinking that the kids will get in on this as well before they go back to school. If I hand them a container to put things in they are ready to donate, they have a way of surprising me with what they are ready to pass on to someone else.

Have you been clearing things out? What moved on? What is inpiring you? I would love to hear about it!

Sonya-Dime Store Thrift