I'm At A Loss For Words...

I heard devastating news today. Sue Zalik our fellow TDIPT sister, passed away suddenly Saturday night. Sue and her sister Lynn Staynoff are the amazing talent behind 2Stitchin. Sue was only 46. She leaves behind a husband, daughter and son.

For you folks who pray, please keep her family in your prayers.

A Friendly Reminder...

To check out The Humble Arts this Tuesday, April 1st. Heck, ya might be able to see everythin' the night before! YaY!

The Humble Arts is a wonderful, small group of talented and humble artists.

Here's my Lady Liberty offerin'.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!

We woke up to this!!

Where is spring?!

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, She's A Lady...

Meet... Lady Liberty.

Here's a sneak peek at my unique April 1st offerin' on The Humble Arts.

Be sure to check out all the talented artists on our small and humble site.

If y'all ever have the opportunity to visit New York City, you MUST see The Statue Of Liberty. She may be tired and worn; but she is truly amazin' and quite humblin'.

Raggedy Ann and Andy Humor...

Now c'mon you sewin' folk, ya have to admit this made ya giggle.
:> )

I Can Dig The Sunshine...

I'm feelin' very "Brady" today. We've had sunny skies for the past 48 hours! Who care if it didn't get over 20 degrees at least the sun was shinin'! Yay! I even treated myself to some Gerbera Daisies!

I hope those who celebrated Easter had a wonderful day with family. We sure did.

Well, now its back to work on the ol' sewin' machine. I've got lots of dolly ideas I need to work on.

So which Brady did ya have a crush on? I was in love with Peter. He was dreamy. But not as dreamy as the Davy Jones episode. He always did that lil' shuffle with his feet and snapped his finger when he sang.

I bet ya a dollar y'all will be singin' this Brady Bunch song all day. So on that note:

I think I'll go for a walk outside now...

See ya! :> )

What's In The Name...

The First day Of Spring...

On what planet might that be? It's certainly not here in Central New York. Nothin' but cold, dreary, damp, snowy weather. Even the robin I saw this mornin' shook his head in disgust when he looked at his lil' bird calendar.

This weather isn't helpin' the pinched nerve I have in my neck. That's what I get for tryin' to keep up with Gilad (Total Body Sculpt) and his "hammer throw". He keeps thankin' me for trustin' him with my body but I'm havin' second thoughts.

If I could straighten up a lil' more I'd become a bell ringer.
But I reckon its a good time for me to pick up all the loose threads on the floor.

I must say I'm impressed with Gilad. The guy has been around since the Stone Age and he looks fabulous! The only thing that has changed is his hair. Its not quite as high as it was back in the 80's. Then again, neither is mine.

Up on two... down on two...

Witchy Woman...

The wonderful gal who purchased all my Wizard of Oz Firewood Folks asked if I would make her a Glinda the Good Witch to go with the set.

Shhhh... I Don't Want To Say This Too Loud But...

LOOK!!!! This is the last lil' patch of snow we have on our property!! It's almost all gone! I'M SO HAPPY!!
Man... I hope Ol' Man Winter didn't hear me. He loves messin' with us especially this time of year.

I may run out there in my bare feet! Heck, I don't mind havin' (frozen) grass between my toes. YaY!!

May The Luck O' The Irish Be With Ya...

May the embers from the open hearth warm your hands,
May the sun's rays from the Irish sky warm your face,
May the children's bright smiles warm your heart,
May the everlasting love I give you warm your soul.



May you be in Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you're dead!




May you never forget what is worth remembering, Or remember what is best forgotten.



As you slide down the banisters of life
may the splinters never point the wrong way.




May those who love us, love us
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts
And if he can't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping!



May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.




He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses more;
He who loses faith, loses all.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!
God bless...

:> )

I've Been Tagged...

Ernest Hemingway was bet $10. that he couldn't sum up his life in six words. He won that bet when he wrote, "For sale, baby shoes, never worn." You can go to Bookbabie's blog and read about the book that was inspired by his quote and how it influenced her to start this meme.

Blondie/Vintage Primitives tagged me to use 6 words to sum up my life.

So I think mine would be have to be "Keep on the sunnyside of life."

Now the rules are:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5.Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Next, I was tagged by Jean/Bluejean Primitives to tell y'all 5 weird things about myself. Are ya sittin' down? Here goes...

1. In 5th grade I played the lead role of Paul Bunyan in our class play. (And I'm still swingin' an axe)

2. I loved to eat chocolate icecream with crunched up potato chips on top of it. If it didn't make me sicker than a dog now, I would still eat it.

3. I am afraid of grasshoppers. Yep, its true. I had one land on me once and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beatin' for a few seconds.

4. As a wee one, I made daddy peel all my grapes before I would eat them. (Y'all heard it right) They were "too hard" for me to bite into them.

5.Again as a wee one, I had an invisible friend named Barney. I'm not talkin' about Barney the Purple Dinosaur either. He was cool like Barney from the Flintstones. Mama used to have to set a place settin' for him at the dinner table too.

That's me on the right...

Kathy/Palmetto Prims tagged me with the Make My Day Award!! Thanks darlin'!

Okay so here are the six I'm goin' to tag next!! If y'all haven't been tagged yet for one of them, please play along!

Goob/Curds-and-Whey

TJ/Humble Origins

Mandy/ Fiddlestix Studios

Dixie/Northdixie Designs

Kat/Katerpillars No More

Naomi/Naomi's Notions

She's Bein' Bashful...

Miss Daisy is embarrassed because she's neked as a jaybird.

So until I stitch her up somethin' to wear; she will hide herself and try to blend in with the rest of the flowers.

I'll keep ya posted...

All Aboard...

...the Crazy Train.

Folks tend to think I'm a lil' nutty because I love to decorate my home with bits of humor. It keeps them on their toes when they come to visit. I truly enjoy seein' the expression on their face when the notice my "quirkiness".

Its either a look of "Oh, how funny!" or "Oh, she needs therapy!" I take both as a compliment.

I have a cow in a bird cage...

Humpty Dumpty sits in a real bird's nest...

This framed lil' bear cub hangs on the bathroom wall above the john. So when gentlemenfolk need to use the "facility", they are strikin' a similar pose.

A rock I found on our property, wears a pair of vintage eyeglasses and reads the Bible my mama carried down the isle on her and daddy's weddin' day ...

I do believe Jesus has a sense of humor. He has to. With the way things are in the world today, how could He not?

I Wanna Get Physical...

I've been on an exercise kick lately. I'm not really sure why either. I guess the older I get, the more I realize I need to take better care of myself.

I also realize to do that, I need to get the ol' ticker pumpin' with some cardio exercise. So I broke down and bought my very first exercise DVD.

As I'm watchin' these perfectly shaped sweet young gals doin' moves my body won't even consider allowin' me to do; the first thing I thought was, "Heck, I've got a pair of underwear older than these girls." Then I thought about how exercise has changed over the years.

When I was a young'un, I remember watchin' mama exercise to Jack LaLanne on T.V. He wore that unitard, those lil' Mary Jane slippers and he always used a straight back chair. I'm sure there was a reason for that chair, but most of the time I watched mama sit in it as we watched the show together.

Then I remember goin' with her to the Elaine Powers Figure Salon. Any of y'all remember that place? As I watched these ladies walkin' around in their leotards; I was puzzled by the weird lookin' machines they used. But they claimed it helped battle their bulge.

Now I never did understand what this thing did for ya. I reckon if ya drank some gin and vermouth ya could have yourself an "internal martini", shaken not stirred.

Then there was this contraption...

Yikes! I thought it was some kind of exercise Abacus torture device but I was told it helped soothe sore muscles. Really? I'd rather slap on Ben-Gay and smell bad.

In the 80's was that whole Flashdash look. I admit I wore the ripped sweatshirts and had Leg Warmers and head bands in every color.

It was a great look if y'all were a ballerina or a dancer; but the majority of us weren't and wore them strictly because we thought we looked cool. But for me, I think I was tryin' to somehow fulfill my childhood dream of becomin' a background dancer for the Carol Burnett Show.

I'm so glad we had this time together,
Just to have a laugh, or sing a song.
Seems we just got started and before you know it
Comes the time we have to say, 'So long.'

:> )

I've Been Playin' With The Paper Clay Again...

I can't help myself, its so much fun!

I also can't help myself when it comes to the whimsical faces I make. I have a thing for exaggerated features, especially the eyes and nose.

The eyes because they are the "windows to the soul" and noses because... well... maybe it has somethin' to do with that fact that I'm 100% Polish and the noses in my family tend to be rather "ethnic lookin". (That's the politically correct way of sayin' they're huge)

They have bumps and dips and are long, just like a rollercoaster ride! Weeeeeeee! I think if my daddy were alive today he would see the resemblance with his nose and my dollies noses. :> )

Mama and daddy raised us to always be proud of our Polish heritage. Heck, I was doin' the polka and the chicken hop when I was a wee 5 years old. I still have some of the beautiful beaded folk dance vests mama had them made for me. They were all done completely by hand too!

Our Polish traditions like the breakin' of Oplatek (wafer) on Christmas Eve, or havin' our food blessed (Swieconka) the day before Easter continue on. Mama still takes her basket of food to church. The foods we eat on Easter Sunday also have symbolic meanins':
~bread - symbolic of Jesus
~lamb - represents Jesus
~salt - represents purification
~eggs - symbolize life and Christ's resurrection
~horseradish - symbolic of the bitter sacrifice of Jesus
~ham - symbolic of great joy and abundance

Of course my favorite as a young'un was the Baranek or butter lamb. (Lamb of God) One graces our table every year.

My grandparents came from the "Old Country". Daddy told us how they came to this wonderful country of ours to start a new life. They immediately learn the English language, worked hard, made an honest livin' and overcame many hardships. They were proud to be called Americans. I am proud and so thankful they did. Sadly, I wasn't blessed to have met them though. Both passed away before I was born. But I am blessed knowin' their strong family values they taught, ran deep enough to have them passed down to my sister and I.
Dziekuje Babcia & Dziadek!

Please remember to keep your family traditions goin' strong, whatever they may be.

God bless...

No Donuts At Dunkin' Donuts!

What the??!! How can that be?! Was there a policemen's convention in town we didn't know about?! (But there wasn't a patrol car in sight)
Is Alan Funt goin' to pop out and tell me to smile, I'm on Candid Camera!?
These were all the questions I asked when hubs and I walked into the local Dunkin' Donuts at noon today and there was not a donut left in the joint. Not one! Sure there was a handful of muffins and a few bagels but no donuts. Not even that lone nasty straggler donut that usually sits on the top shelf that no one can reach and is older than dirt. Nope, it was gone too. How in tarnations can ya call yourself a "donut shop" and not have donuts?

Many of y'all know I am a Dunkin' Donuts decaf coffee addict. I buy the whole beans by the pound and grind it myself. But since hubs and I had to go into town to do some shoppin', we thought we would stop in and treat ourselves to a donut. So I was gettin' my tastebuds ready for the massive sugar rush I was about to have! YaY!! Ooooh and I had me a hankerin' for a glazed too.

But alas, it was not meant to be.**sniff**

As my lower lip began to quiver from the bitter disappointment hubs asks, "Do you want to try another Dunkin' Donuts?" I replied, "Does a bear sh*t in the woods?"

So off we went to the next town...

:> )

For Now, This Is As Close As I'm Goin' To Get...

to seein' a wildflower in these parts. One made out of muslin. She is my latest creation I'm workin' on.

Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and Shasta Daisies (Chrysanthemum maximum) are three of my favorites.

Wildflowers have such a carefree spirit that I love so. They are such a visual feast for the ol' peepers and will bring a smile to your face no matter how bad your day. (I bet y'all are smilin' right now...)

"May all your weeds be wildflowers." ~Author Unknown
:> )

I Wonder If I Could Change The Lyrics To...

(Freezin') Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head? Seems appropriate enough with the weather we're havin' today and I don't think BJ Thomas would give a hoot.

I'll tell ya, March is the hardest month for me to get through. Mother Nature loves to dangle those occasional warm sunny days right in front of our noses, rips 'em away and hits us with a day like today. She's more "Joan Crawford motherly" if ya ask me.

So until the nice weather breaks, I will continue to work on new creations and wait to ride my shiny new red bike...

I Want To Ride My Bicycle...

Well, we did it. Hubs and I have been talkin' about buyin' ourselves some mountain bikes and that's just what we did today.

Man, it's been a long time since I've been on one of these. But ya know what they say... "It's like ridin' a bike." Yeah that's easy for some to say. We all know my track record when it comes to bein' coordinated. Y'all should have seen me tryin' to sit on that seat. My backside isn't completely recuperated from my Chevy Chase fall the other day.

I don't know much about these bikes. I picked mine out strictly for the color. Since hubs used to race BMX bikes back in his glory days, he knew what would be appropriate for me.

I do know I look forward to ridin' the trails. I even bought a lil' saddle bag to keep my camera in. Y'all know I love to take photos. The key for me is to stay vertical on it and not take a dirt nap. I suppose I could snap some lovely pics while lyin' on my side though.

Ya know, if gasoline prices keep goin' up like they are; I may be ridin' my bike to the grocery store. But I'd need somethin' to carry the groceries back in.

I wonder if they still make those white baskets with the plastic daisies on the front like I had on my banana bike handlebars as a kid? Ooooh and maybe I'll put a clothespinned playin' card on my wheel spokes. Front AND back! Boy, I'd be mighty cool huh.

And before any of y'all ask... YES, I bought a helmet. I also bought a wider seat. Heck, I knew my can wouldn't be comfortable. Ya can't even fit one cheek on that thing.

:> )

Are You Ready For Some...

NASCAR?! Y'all thought I was goin' to say football, huh? Nope. I think I've mentioned in previous posts I don't like football.

But I will admit, I'm a NASCAR fan. Yep, its true. I got hooked back in the 90's. I know what y'all are thinkin'... These are a bunch of yahoos drivin' around in a circle. Well that may be true but its more of a thrill for speed, control and precision drivin'. I will say the sport is much too commercialized now which doesn't it make it as enjoyable.

My favorite driver is Jeff Gordon #24.

I reckon some of ya are havin' chest pain right about now with that comment. Ya either love him or hate him. I've takin' a ribbin' from everyone I know, especially my sister. She still cannot believe I enjoy the sport and she takes advantage of any opportunity she can to let me know this. Hence the photo below:

As y'all can see, she made me a clothespin Jeff Gordon doll and put him in a dress! I did laugh my butt off when she gave him to me.

Hubs and I have only been to one race. Back in '97 we spent a small fortune for a NASCAR weekend in Pocono, PA. We had infield seats, pit passes, the works.

The only problem was a week before, I had minor throat surgery. Folks I was in such pain, I think the only food I got in me that whole week was a teaspoon of mashed taters.

It must have been a thousand degrees and as clear as a bell that summer day. I literally sat at the race, swiggin' liquid prescription pain killer right out of the bottle and prayin' for a big fluffy cloud to pass over my head. To top if off, not only did I not get his autograph, he didn't win the race.

So after bakin' our bodies in the direct sun for over 9 hours (with no sunscreen) we decided to try and find someone sellin' water. As we walked around the area lookin' for H2O, a golf cart whizzed by within feet of us. Hubs says to me, "Did you see who that was?" I said, "No, who?" "It was your sweetheart Jeff Gordon!" HUH?! Heck, if I wasn't so delirious from the narcotics and heatstroke; I would have jumped out and tackled him right off the dang thing.

The last straw was when we finally got back to our vehicle. A big pork rind of a feller drunker than a skunk, jumps up on the roof of his truck, drops his drawers and screams at the top of his lungs "I AM JIMMY SPENCER!" I looked at my hubs and said, "Well that did it for me. I would rather watch the race on T.V. from now on." He agreed.

I may not know Jimmy Spencer that "up close and personal"; but I'd be willin' to bet the farm he was not Jimmy Spencer.

Here's the real Jimmy Spencer...

Now that I think about it, he did look a lil' like him from the neck up.