"red sky at night wo oh oh oh oh " is a song lyric from one of my favorite 80's band, The Fixx. This, however, is what the sky over Phoenix looked like last night. We are coming into our monsoon season and had a little action yesterday. A lightning strike started a fire Southwest of the valley near Phoenix International Raceway, otherwise known as PIR. Even though I live about fifty miles away from it, the smoke was very visible as the sun was setting.As I mentioned in my Birds on blocks post, Joy and I challenged each other to use supplies that we already had for this project. She has posted hers and you have to pop over to The Garden Gate and take a look. They are really spectacular. Well done, my friend. We both love bird images and this was a fun thing to do.
I also need to mention that I fell off the wagon in the "no buying ban". I got in my car yesterday after work and the next thing I knew I was at Mystic Paper. How did that happen? It was too darn hot to sit in their parking lot, so of course I went in. My intention was to pick up a new Somerset publication. Magazines don't count. They are inspiration. See, I told you I was good at justifying my spending. Anyway, I ended up with the Fleuriste paper pad from Cosmo Cricket. I could not resist. Plus, there were only two left. What if I never see it again? I'd be the only one without it. We can't have that.
We watched the movie The Bucket List last night. I had heard good reviews about it. While I enjoyed it, I also found it thought provoking. What do I still hope to accomplish? What would be in my bucket? Obviously, normal things come to mind first like watching your children and their children grow old. Those are a given. But what are some of the things that would make your life as complete as possible? Mostly the contents of my bucket involve travel. I have been fortunate enough to see many places in the world, but there are still a few more. At one time, an African safari and the Great Pyramids of Egypt would have made the list. I now know in my heart that that will more than likely never happen. I'm too uneasy about travelling to that part of the world. So in no particular order, here are a few on my list:
1. Go to the Olympics (winter or summer, doesn't matter) maybe London 2012?
Okay, this isn't my first rodeo here in Arizona, but man is it hot!! I think it got to 113 today. I should be used to it by now. After all, I've lived here almost 21 years. It's hard to comprehend if you've never been to Arizona in the summer. Imagine firing up your oven to 400 degrees and then climbing in. Your goose would be cooked in no time. We take it all in stride though, knowing that we won't be digging out from snow in January or ever. You learn to do things differently. You don't buy ice cream at three in the afternoon. You carry oven mitts in your car so you can hang on to the steering wheel. You get up by 5:oo am to walk your dog. They have to hold it after that until the sun goes down. Just kidding! And never ever wear short shorts if you have leather seats. You know it's really hot when a frozen margarita sounds good for breakfast. Again, I'm just kidding! We're hearty, we'll survive....maybe.
This is my Father, a man I never knew. He died from a heart attack eleven days before I turned one. All these years have been spent gathering photos and stories from others who knew him. I've learned that he was a patriotic man who loved his family and his country. He would have made a career of the Army had he been given the chance. I know that I am my Father's daughter. I have some of his features, especially his nose. I see the resemblance passed down to my youngest son who also looks like him. One of the things that has intrigued me the most is that we have similar handwriting and verbiage. I was given a letter that he had written to my aunt while he was at boot camp. As I sat there reading it, I was taken back by the familiarity on that yellowed piece of paper. It is on this day that I honor his memory.
Happy Father's day to my big brother. You were forced to step into Dad's shoes at such a young age. You have always been there for me. I couldn't have chosen a better mentor. I thank you now.
To my sons, who are wonderful hands on daddy's. I couldn't be more proud of you. Enjoy your day.
My friend, Joy and I were talking the other day about our mutual shopping sickness disease, and I know it is a disease, Oprah told me so. Too often I spend more time aquiring things to create with than I do in actually using them. That is just plain silly. I cleaned out my acrylic paint drawer and to my horror, saw that I had 9 bottles of half used red paint. Red is my favorite color, but that is ridiculous. The dictionary defines gluttonous as "having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit". That pretty much sums it up. Joy said that having such excesses is causing her to be over stimulated and less productive. Ditto! We both agreed to use what we have for at least 30 days. That means no shopping whatsoever. No trips to Mystic Paper , sorry Kim and Jennifer, we'll be back soon. NO sneaking in an Internet purchase. That means nothing, nada, zero, zilch! We are into day 3 or so of the 30 day challenge. So far, I've only hyperventilated once or twice. Can we do this? Of course, but it isn't going to be as easy as it sounds. We love enabling each other, and we are both experts at justifying anything we think we NEED.
I personally am hoping to carry it a little further. I'm not limiting this to craft supplies. I'm not buying clothes, shoes , or anything else that isn't absolutely crucial. My kitchen pantry is also out of control. Mother Hubbard's cupboard needs to be bare! Wish us luck.
I wanted something to sit on my desk to hold index size cards that I could jot down thoughts and ideas. I also wanted to be able organize my "scattered thoughts" somewhat. I was constantly tossing in a drawer things that I had torn out of a magazine like websites or product info. Naturally, I never could find them later. I love these inexpensive recipe boxes for decorating. I painted it a neutral color, then I sanded the edges and gave it some black speckles by putting some paint on an old dry toothbrush and flicking the paint all over it. I then antiqued it with stain and "mod-podged" it with some scrap book paper. Lastly, I added some things to the top.
If you are a stitcher, like old samplers, antiques, or decorating your house, visit me over here.
