P.S.--Old Meets New

Postscript---There is nothing like the creativity in one person to "spark" it in another !!!This skirt is one my creative sister-in-law Mila created from new fabric and vintage trim. She found the trim lost in a trunk at a flea market !

My Vintage/Re-Purposed Dance Skirt

Considering the love I have for "vintage" things, I was so excited to find the "Vintage Thingies Thursdays"!!

This past spring, I had the privilege of helping my friend Jim with his TRUNK fiber art show. One of his vendors was an artist from Colorado that creates "new" garments from vintage fabrics....many of those fabrics had former lives as other pieces of clothing !

This is the ultimate in "re-purposing". My favorite piece is the skirt in the picture above this post...this is called a "dance" skirt and it is a great piece for the south Alabama heat and humidity !! The blue, yellow, and green checked section actually has the original darts and yoke inset from the shirt it once was...I love this piece and the idea behind it!

Five Friday "Praises"

It's Friday and I am praising the Lord !!!

Why?

1. My daughter, Erin is happy...I don't just mean smiling..I mean she is "whole body" happy !!!

2.School (even if I am only there part of the day) is sooo close to over for this year!

3. I left my car keys (with house keys) on the tool box of my husband's truck this morning, he drove to work, and YES !! they were still there...right where I left them !

4. I ran into my former student Jacob this morning and he is a good husband, a good daddy, and aspires to achieve more in his work life...in spite of his high school bad habits....he is an overcomer and a success story !! I always knew it was there. I praise God he found "himself" !!

5. And yes again..Erin is happy...she is all-over, whole body happy...Amen

I'm Out There !!!

Not too very long ago, I was doing what my daughter Erin refers to as "blog stalking" . You know linking from blog to blog, reading, thinking, getting ideas and such; I came across a post in Gray Matters that talked about her experience with blogging bringing back some of her long surpressed middle school feelings...YES I know exactly what she means.

Now my personal "middle school" feelings have been surpressed for so long that middle school was then known as junior high !!! It's still the same . I am enjoying writing and learning about all of the accouterments ( look this one up, it is a word my Daddy learned from Reader's Digest!!) you can add to your blog...like ads, music, videos, and even a verse of the day WHOA !!!

BUT it is scary to put yourself "out there" and my friends and family are just beginning to find me !!

One part of me wants to be found and read and even "tagged" to answer questions, but one part of me kind of liked being unknown. Now that I know someone might be reading, I wonder what are they thinking ? My sweet friend Pam at Sunday School was so complementary, as have been my sisters in law...and Erin is of course my biggest cheerleader, as she sent my site out on her "mass"email..can I live up to expectations ?

I also know that two former high school English teachers have been to my blog. So I will come clean, my knowledge of English grammer consists of knowing a noun from a verb and when to capitalize and put a period !! My lack of English education can all be blamed on my Dad, a career military man, who moved me everytime we were scheduled to learn English grammar !! When he finally settled us, my junior year in high school, my English teacher, Mrs. Halstead, knew I was too tough to tackle. She looked at me over her glasses and said "Sugar, when we study grammar you just sit over there and read...it will be fine." I was happy, she was happy and as they dangled participles and verb tenses, I just read away in whatever novel suited me !! Not only that, it was fine ! I graduated high school, college, and even earned my master's degree despite my grammar handicap !! All that to say, I am open to correction because much of this is probably wrong !!

So, where was I ? Oh yes...as my friend Kramer on Seinfeld would say " I'm out there..and I'm loving every minute of it !"

Rambling's II--"Old South Antique Mall"

Yes...that probably was me you saw in your trash pile !!
I am a "junker"...I love things with possibilities.One of my favorite ways to relax and stretch my creative muscles is to work and re work my booth at Old South Antique Mall. I've had my booth for two years and it is ever changing. In fact I have moved it to several locations in the mall, looking for the perfect place; now I think I have found it !My things are not really antiques, certainly not the valuable kind. They are old, once loved, and still have a lot of life left in them. The nostalgia of the antique mall is soothing to the soul. I have walked through untold numbers of times and seen dishes, furniture, books, clothes, etc. that bring back wonderful memories of my childhood.So, on this rainy Friday, I headed to spend some time arranging, rearranging, and remembering.

Mother's Day

My Mama...a child of the depression...a young "working woman" after World War II...a wife and mother for over fifty years.

All the life experiences that molded her have in turn made me.
I thank you Mama that my earliest memory is of coming from church with a "baby" Moses made of a clothes pin and a square of cloth; you raised us up in the faith. I thank you that you freely gave us values and made sure that we knew right from wrong. You made every house we ever lived in a home and set before us a good example of marriage for the long term.

Thank you for being the Girl Scout Cookie Mom, making Barbie clothes, and stitching up untold numbers of Polyester pant suits on demand !!!

Thank you for loving my husband and my children and freely giving of your time to care for them.

Thank you for the example you set even now, as you care for Daddy and take care of yourself. I am proud to see you ride your bike six miles every day and give your time and talents to your church family as well as your immediate family.

Thank you Mama for being you...because it has made me...and the legacy continues.

Tackle It Tuesday...Tie It Up Thursday !!

AT LAST....I am finished !! I have discarded, organized, and put all my important papers in one place. I set up dividers for each month, with a calendar, weekly to-do list, and pocket for items that need attention that week.

I included sections for info pages, weight and exercise program, addresses, checkbook register, and journal. The InTouch devotional this morning was taken from 2 Chronicals 20:5-12; we are reminded to look at God's faithfulness to us in the past as a reminder that He will be faithful in the future. The challenge is to write down example's of God's goodness to me in my life. My first journal entry: God has put people in my life to encourage me. I am grateful for my friends, family and even strangers who allow God to speak to me through them. This small effort toward organization in my life is giving me back time I have spent looking for things and trying to remember things. My mind is no longer so divided. I can now have some of my "mindflies" put to rest.

The "Tackle it Tuesday"Challenge

What more perfect way to start some intentional organization than to take the Tackle it Tuesday challenge !!!

So....I unloaded my laundry basket of important papers, receipts, sticky notes,bills, cancelled checks, ATM slips, etc..etc...etc...I referred back to an article titled "Get Organized: Tap the Power of Planners" from http://www.organizedhome.com/ . After re-reading and highlighting, I was ready to begin.

I printed the planner pages I thought would work for me and I sorted my papers on the table and threw away a multitude of unimportant information!!

Just as I was about to begin putting my 3-ring notebook planner together, I had unexpected (yet welcome) company so...I leave you now and plan to finish this project on what most likely will become a tradition for me Wrap It Up Wednesday !!

"Give Careful Thought to Your Ways..."

Every "first" Sunday I have the honor of leading the John Wesley Sunday School Class. I say leading, because there is NO WAY I could teach them. They are the "movers and shakers" at FUMC Ozark. Their lesson always speaks to me, but yesterday it hit me over the head !!! The scripture is from Haggai (yes, I had to look it up in the table of contents) chapter one. The verses that have called to me are verse 5 and verse 7; both verses begin with these words, " this is what the Lord Almightly says: Give careful thought to your ways..." (NIV). Verse 8 goes on to say that we have " great ambitions but nothing has come of it" (The Message).



That is me. I am such a procrastinator, full of great ideas (mindflies) but taking action on none ! Just like the Jews in Haggai's day, my work is not very fruitful or productive and I am not making much progress in building my temple for God.



So where does that leave me? Because of the grace of God, it doesn't leave me anywhere. I have meditated on that phrase " give careful thought to your ways" and I believe that God is reminding me that it is time to take action. I have been a poor steward of the resources that God has given me. I don't know where the time goes (not exactly true...I spend alot of time looking for things that I have "put away"), I haven't balanced my checkbook in a year ( not because I have tons of money...no, I live on the edge, writing a check and then checking my balance with crossed fingers !). I neglect my physical "temple" by making poor food choices and exercising sporadically and most important of all, just like the people of Haggai's day, I have good intentions of literally putting God first and abiding in His Word, but I am easily distracted by my own selfish desires.



Yet, God is so good and faithful if we seek Him. He speaks to us if we will just listen. I have often said that if God would just send me an e-mail, I would know what He wants me to do. Well...HELLO ! As I have cruised the internet, I have found a wonderful site http://www.organizedhome.com/ . It is full of ideas for home and life organization as well as a multitude of forms to print to help conquer the monster of mess. God is truly in the details of our lives.

It is time to be a "doer and not just a hearer only"...let the journey begin !

Rambling's I-- "Mind Flies"

I think that I will be posting several rambling and random thought type posts...hence the title !! I read an article that used the term "mind flies". Mind flies are those buzzing thoughts in your head that need to be dealt with, anything from remembering to buy milk to pondering the meaning of life !

My mind flies lately often concern how to define myself and finding my passion. I think I may be a little old to be answering these questions about me, after all, I have known myself for 53 years, but I find that many women my age have these same questions. Maybe it is because our roles are changing. Maybe it is because the world is changing. Maybe, because life is not static, we are changing.

I believe that my blogging journey will help me to define my interests and help me to determine my passions in life. I am eager to be able to see the pattern of my journal and through it begin to "swat" and even catch some of my mind flies!