sunny sunday

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
      - Emily Dickenson

Things I love Today

                        Feeling positive

                        Losing the clutter

                        Birds

                        Working internet                      

                        Tomatoes

                        Swiss cheese

                        Purple flowers

                        Cherry blossoms

                        Clean homes [not that I have one today]

                        Diane Keaton

                        Crystals

The sun finally came out … yeah … beautiful day in the woods. 
  
All of the wedding flower plants were doing so well, I separated and transplanted them into many pots … hoping for more than green to happen in the next 4 weeks … even if that doesn’t happen [of course we are sure it will], we will have many lovely terracotta pots bounding with varied greens. That will be pretty – right?  


Planting time - order your Garden Art Signs ... 

Another lovely wedding shower for Taylor and Caleb today. Beautiful people, delicious food, thoughtful gifts … so nice. Grateful Grateful. 


Yesterday I piled everything against the car [covered with rugs] after the yard sale – ready to take to good will. Of course, it rained and rained and rained. Everything remains quite damp [no, wet], so I am hoping the afternoon sun will help a bit and I can take it all away to Goodwill in the morning. 



I am feeling pretty lazy right now. I should be doing many tasks, though think I will not. They will all be waiting for me tomorrow.


My wireless internet has been less than dependable here for the past couple of weeks. They seem to [or so they say?] have figured out the problem. Being a person who is addicted to the internet; research for school lessons, facebook, writing my blog, working on my Etsy Shop … it is too too too difficult to attempt all of these tasks only using my blackberry. Grateful things are back up and running. 

If there is to be an ecologically sound society, it will have to come from the grass roots up, not from the top down.
       - Paul Hawken

Let’s not wait for Earth Day to think about all we should be doing to aid our planet to do what it does best … 


I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend … and you are looking forward to a magical week. Yikes – I have to file my taxes … haven’t even started … send energy, please.

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

stellar saturday

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.
Albert Einstein

Things I love Today

                        Sunny mornings

                        Electricity

                        Soup

                        Sleeping cats

                        Lifetime movies

                        life's little [beauteous] moments

                                   

Another attempt at the yard sale … after today, whatever is left is going directly to Goodwill.

                                               

Up early, after a fun night with Taylor and the girls. We worked on dreamy wedding stuff [of course], and had a yummy dinner. I made those delicious stuffed tomatoes, Becky made a salad and Taylor made great garlic bread. Another fun night. Whatever will we do after the dreamy wedding happens?

Not a very successful yard sale day … fun just the same. Sold a few things, met some new people, and feel like I accomplished much while trying to stay away this morning. Great day!

Ozzie [a dog that lives somewhere close by?] stopped by, as she often does … I would so welcome this dog as a part of my fam … she is such a sweetheart and she and Sam have such fun together. I am not sure where she lives – I am sure that she is loved – she is so well behaved and loving; though stays here for 2-3 days at a time – isn’t someone missing her? Tomorrow I will go and try to track down her fam people. If they are wanting a new home for her … it will be here.

the gold fish don't seem troubled at all - they just hang with the dogs as they drink

Another bridal shower tomorrow … exciting … it will be a fun afternoon. And afterward I will begin the gardening process in Taylor’s and Caleb’s back yard [soon to  be my back yard] … and I am so excited that my friend Kathy wants to live in my home when I move … it will be so nice to have her close by, on ‘top of the mountain’ – can’t wait.

Such a beauteous day … I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Saturday as well … xo

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.         Lucille Ball

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

thankful thursday

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die,

life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.
Lanston Hughes

Things I love Today

            Going home

                        Discovering a quicker way home from Angie’s

                        The summer day

                        Electricity

                        My lovely neighbors

                        Television

                        merlot

           

Such a lovely day. Worked with Zack this morning, then he and I had lunch with Taylor and Augustine. What an adorable, really smart little guy he is. I loved meeting him … finally. Taylor has only 2 more weeks working with him – I know she will miss him so much – and he, her. She has been spending days with him since he was born 2 years ago.

Now I am home – yeah – with electricity – yeah-yeah. We take electricity for granted … never again.  I love being at Angie’s home … we had fun. So grateful to  be there … At the same time, I am a homebody person. Love to go on vacation and planned excursions – don’t work too well with forced removal from my home. I don’t guess anyone does.

It is such a beautiful day. Breezes blowing through the windows … so lovely.

Veggies suffered a bit this week – much hard rain and wind – some sunshine, though not really enough. I am trusting that this weekend the sunshine will help them get to where they need/want to be …

 cherry tomatoes - growing well

 lettuce - mixed greens - growing well

 peas - amazing

 spearmint  - amazing

 zucchini - doing pretty okay

 tomatoes - struggling

 wedding flowers - time to separate and replant - doing so well

summer squash - messed up from the rain - think they are hanging in

Working away tonight on wedding ‘stuff’ – while watching tv … I had a beautiful conversation with my friend Kathy … loved that … haven’t spoken with her in awhile … life is so good. Beautiful Beautiful.

Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.
       - Brigham Young

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

wacky wednesday

This blog entry is kinda weird [like most of mine are, I guess] – I started writing yesterday in a notebook, because of no electricity … and now I am at my friend Angie’s home, and will write about Wednesday … didn’t want to just throw out the Tuesday stuff … hang in there with me, please, it has been a weird week.

Things I loved yesterday

New recipes

Weeks that begin on Tuesday

Smell of ‘just mowed’ grass

Daffodils

Productive days

And much much more

I so love when I actually cross everything off of my list for the day.  That almost never happens - Yesterday was like that … so much happily accomplished. Yeah!

I am so excited with the activity in my Etsy Shop … love that people are liking [and purchasing] the garden art signs … thank you thank you …

There was supposed to be a new, cool recipe to try for tonight [wedding planning and decoration making with the girls] – veggie sausage, rice, peas, stuffed into a beautiful tomato … cheese on the top and bake – I’ll remember to take photos – Taylor will be here to remind me … hoping it will be as amazing as it sounds. I have been so into food lately. Crazy … I have always loved preparing meals for my family and friends, though have never been as excited about doing it for myself. I think it [partially] comes from the year of working so hard to gain weight … finally got to the weight I am comfortable with  - want to enjoy staying there.

This recipe will have to happen next week – everything was cancelled due to no electricity – soon …

The Light in the Distance

I am loving writing. The story is fiction [though based on real life ‘stuff’ – so there is some [more than some] emotion involved – I think I am ready. I am as excited about this piece now [as I was when I agreed to the project] … until I got carried away with the dreamy wedding and new enterprises and [almost] forgot. Still have time – yeah!

Things I love Today

            Friends

                        Azaleas

                        Clean refrigerators

                        Sunshine

                        Being able to do my work

           

After I talk about how grateful I am for so so much – I am going to rant …

I am so grateful for my friend, Angie; I am staying with her until the electricity comes back on. She tried to get me to come over last night, though I was still being hopeful about the electricity coming back on, and not losing all of this month’s food which I just purchased on Monday. Well – that went badly. The positive side is – I managed to save ½ of the freezer food, and some veggies from the fridg – otherwise – all a loss. Yuck.

Sitting in the sunshine now … Zack is working … we have internet [yeah] … getting caught up on all I missed for the past 2 days. Grateful Grateful.

Sam loves it here.

Okay. I have this thing that bugs me. People not doing their jobs. I get that bad stuff happens that is out of our control; but this wasn’t an earthquake … it was a bad [yes, really bad] storm. Shouldn’t Duke Power be prepared for that? Often people probably get irritated with me when I say that sports people shouldn’t be paid a gazillion dollars if they don’t catch the ball … that is their job. I think being prepared is part of the deal. And, I am somewhat [no, really] irritated that the million dollar homes had power back up in a few hours … what’s that about?

Now … I am back to my happy self … excited to be able to finish all of the beauteous, dreamy wedding things in the next few days. A few days behind – and, that’s all good … we will all love working on everything and getting it finished and just perfect …

Jacob is working at home this week. He is a great worker and self-learner now … so, that is all good too. Except, I miss him.

And … the GIVE-A-WAY winner is …  Debra … yeah

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

magical monday

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman

What a woman she was … She has always been on my list of people I would love to have spent time with.

Things I love today

Summertime weather

Summer squash

Almonds

Silver nail polish

My blackberry

Finding old jewelry

Seeing the veggies stretching for the sun

Happy blog comments

And much much more

Summer weather today. Much wind, which feels so good blowing through the 80 degree sunshiney weather. So love this. Grateful Grateful.

Usually home cleaning day is something I struggle through and try to avoid. Leaving my glasses off often helps me to think it is ‘already clean’ … but the fairies never come to do it … so, do it, I must. Today, I am reveling in the cleaning … windows open, sun shining in … nothing could mess up this day.

Life is SO good.

I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend. We did here. Beautiful time with friends and family … wedding ‘to dos’ coming together so well … emotions beginning to creep in for me … holding back for now … much left to do.

Yesterday I shared a photo of the bracelet I made for myself for the dreamy wedding. Yesterday I made one for Lois. I so love it. Sent her a photo and she loves it, too.  What do you think? Colors are gray and yellow … I am wearing gray, Lois is wearing yellow.

I usually stay away from acronyms – though I do love the OMG … and OMG the cloth flower bouquets are absolutely gorgeous. I so want everyone to see them – beautiful. After the dreamy wedding I will share.

The baking I did for the shower came out great … they looked and tasted excellent. How proud of me, I was.

The one that was freaking me out a bit was from Lunch in Paris A LOVE STORY WITH RECIPES by Elizabeth Bard.

Mini Almond Cakes with a Raspberry Button

¾ cup turbinado [raw] sugar

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons ground almonds

1/3 cup flour

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

4 egg whites

A pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ pint raspberries

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

Pulse the sugar in a blender to obtain a fine powder. Combine with the ground almonds and flour. Meanwhile, melt the butter over gentle heat; let cool.

Whip the egg whites and salt into what the French call a Mousse, just till they are frothy. Gently fold the egg whites into the dry ingredients. Fold in egg yolk and vanilla. Add melted butter. Don’t panic; this will look like a flood – just continue to fold gently and the butter will incorporate itself.

Spoon large, drippy tablespoons of batter into nonstick mini muffin molds. Gently place a raspberry in the center of each. Don’t push in too far or it will sink. Bake on the center rack for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are crisp and golden, insides are tender. Makes about 30.

So yummy.

I mentioned yesterday that I had yet to begin the book I am [supposed to be] writing for The Art House Project. Saying things here in my blog is extremely helpful … keeps it right in the front of my mind. Last night, upon ending a fun day’s work with Taylor, I started the book. Yeah, it is flowing pretty well … grateful grateful. Title: The Light in the Distance

Please remember the GIVE-A-WAY … leave me a comment of your favorite piece of PatriciaA Wearable Art before Noon tomorrow -  April 5^th

I really love everyone’s input  xo

http://www.etsy.com/people/PatriciaA

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key.
Lyrics from Already Gone, performed by the Eagles for their 1974  On the Border album

Fresh air blowing in the windows all day made for such a beauteous day.
Hope everyone is having a great start to a magical week!

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

stunning sunday

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

Things I love today

Sunshine

Spending the day with Taylor

Angie

Creativity

Scrambled eggs

Lace

Cloth flowers

Water

Hot glue guns

Spending the day in my pjs

And much much more

           

Again today, the sun is shining, the sky is bright blue, the air is warm, windows are open … I so love this day. Grateful Grateful.

Beautiful bridal shower for Taylor yesterday at Angie’s beautiful home. We played a fun [funny] game, ate some delicious food, Taylor received so many perfect gifts, and we ended with a champagne toast circle with each of us giving Taylor marriage/life advice. It was a lovely day, and so wonderful to see so many people we love all together. Thank you Angie for a perfect afternoon.

Amy and Taylor

Today we are attempting to finish all of the bouquets and jewelry gifts for the girls. Major flower factory happening here … love that. Checking things off of the list is great … feeling accomplishment. After hanging out with Taylor doing all of the dreamy wedding stuff for the past five months, I am going to miss her even more than I thought when she and Caleb go to Alaska right after the wedding. At least my hearts [Taylor and Marley] will be together there … that makes me smile much.

A quick sneak peek – the bracelet I made to wear on the dreamy wedding day –

What do you think?

 I realized yesterday that I have yet to begin the book I am [supposed to be] writing for The Art House Project – yikes – it has to be mailed by April 28^th . I guess I’d better put that on my ‘to do’ list very quickly.

Please remember the GIVE-A-WAY … leave me a comment of your favorite piece of PatriciaA Wearable Art before Noon on April 5^th

I really love everyone’s input  xo

http://www.etsy.com/people/PatriciaA

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
       - Albert Einstein

Happy Sunday!

Until tomorrow xo♥  

Be what you want the world to be

fun fun friday

At any moment, you have a choice,

that either leads you closer to your spirit

 or further away from it.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Things I love today

Purple flowers

Sunshine

Veggie burgers

Warm breezes

Pickles

Wrapped gifts

Positive attitudes

Ribbon

Tulle

           

The sun is shining, the sky is bright blue, the air is warmer … I so love this day. Grateful Grateful. Sam seems to be enjoying it as well.

Can’t wait to get outside this afternoon and spend some time with the plants. I think nurturing them is an important aspect of their growing process … and during the past few days I just ran out there to be sure they weren’t washing away …

Last evening Taylor and I worked on flowers for bouquets … they are beautiful. Can’t show them to anyone, yet. I love it when things come together just as we pictured. Yeah!

Tomorrow is Taylor’s bridal shower at Angie’s. That will be great fun.

Busy night, tonight. I have much overdue sewing to finish, then baking [an area in which I am less than skilled – though I keep trying] some yummy [hopefully] treats for the shower tomorrow, and back to making bouquet flowers. I love creating so many beauteous things for the wedding.

The more we do/create/produce, the more I think a wedding decoration venture could be lucrative … while being fun fun fun. We shall see if I feel that way after all is completed for the dreamy wedding on May 7^th.

Please don’t forget the GIVE-A-WAY … leave me a comment of your favorite piece of PatriciaA Wearable Art before Noon on April 5^th

I really love everyone’s input  xo

http://www.etsy.com/people/PatriciaA

The miracle is not to walk on water.

The miracle is to walk on the green earth,

dwelling deeply in the present moment

and feeling truly alive.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Happy Weekend!

Until tomorrow xo♥