Bookends and Baby Showers

Okay, today Judy and I showed up with the SAME DRESS at the baby shower for her daughter Jen and new grandaughter, Haleigh. We accessorized a bit differently, but there was no mistaking our matchy-matchy outfits. We couldn't believe it. She said she felt like 'Linda' when she got dressed this morning. Is it any wonder? Diane is our beautiful book for our bookends picture. Funny thing is that Judy almost bought the same dress that Diane is wearing!  Is this what happens when you become great friends? We should just get a communal closet. At least we wouldn't be wearing the same thing at the same time.

Beautiful mama Jennifer with Baby Haleigh and her 'court' of princesses.

Judy gave me remnants from Haleigh's nursery draperies and I made her some gifts. The lovely crocheted blanket was made by my friend Cathie. I think it made a great ensemble.

It's hard to see the details through the sheer fabric but I print on fabric through my computer printer. 

One of my favorite things to do.

Party favors - decorated cookies!

Lovely table decor. I want to find the little lanterns to string in my playhouse! They had Sophia written all over them - not literally but they would be adorable in her pretty bedroom.

Grandy's little helper iced these yummy, yummy cupcakes with whipped cream, coconut and pineapple.

Here's another little cupcake.

Pure bliss - Grandma Judy with precious Haleigh. 

A beautiful day was had by all....

Check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMz2SnSWS4&feature=player_embedded

Vancouver City

Please view this amazing HD video of beautiful Vancouver, B.C.

The Universal Language of Crochet

I am gearing up for my special day with Cathie. At Christmastime she gave me a beautiful crocheted scarf and asked if I would like to learn to crochet. I had learned in high school and had made a vest which was perfect for the sixties look. I haven't really picked up a hook since then. I tried to learn to knit but I didn't have a strong enough desire. Now that I have grandchildren my desires are changing and I have specific projects in mind.

Last night we were invited to feast at our Vietnamese friend's home. My friend Judy is currently crocheting, so I asked her to bring her hook and that possibly we could play around with some yarn after the meal. I thought maybe our Vietnamese friend would enjoy learning too. Little did I know that I would strike a common chord amongst the dinner guests. Huong hadn't picked up a hook since high school and Tho and Mihoko also knew how to crochet. The next thing you know, we were showing off our skill to one another. Little four year old Kaitlyn wanted to join in on the fun too so Judy lent a helping hand and soon Kaitlyn was adorned with friendship bracelets. It was a lovely evening.

What do you call women who crochet - hookers? I hope not!

Feelin' Just Fine!

Inspiration....exhileration....all things in moderation!

It's that darn old moderation that keeps my feet on the ground when the rest of me is soaring. It also makes a person tolerable to be around, because a person on a 'high' can be down right annoying to be with. Know what I mean? They can be mislabeled as a 'crazymaker'. In fact pure inspiration and exhileration can wear a person out! It's that moderation and sometimes a case of the plain old lazies that keeps one from riding off on a horse in seven different directions.

After ten years of being off caffeine I have allowed myself a good old caffeine laced vanilla latte for the past two Saturdays. I haven't had a buzz like that for years and I'm sure it has led to the feeling of exhuberance. Like Bob said when he was on steroids during chemotherapy, "I'm all dressed up with no where to go!"

In the past couple of weeks I have found myself in all sorts of situations that have not only fed my soul but  have been avenues of sharing with others the joy of being alive together.

It is good to surround oneself with friends that are like-minded. I guess that would be why I am involved in so many 'clubs'. I try to be careful with that because while drawing groups together to share life's interests, it can also create a type of fence around the participants which can lead to the exclusion of others. It also marks out blocks of time on a monthly calendar that can hinder one's freedom to do spur of the moment things. Here is another good place to introduce that word 'moderation.'

I am one blessed woman who enjoys the friendship of many wonderful women and my world continues to enlarge. As I pursue my interests and hobbies it naturally stands to reason that I will meet other people who hold the same interests. As I frequent the quilt shop or the scrapbook store, it is easy to strike up a good old fashioned conversation with the other shoppers or shop keepers. Next thing you know, you are sharing phone numbers.

Sometimes the Christian community (of which I am a part) becomes so self absorbed that it forgets that it resides in a larger community and often it becomes ingrown and forgets to engage itself in the beauty all around. It saddens me to watch 'burn out' set in as well meaning people serve with their talents and creativity and forget to replenish the well of their own starving soul. We serve well when we have an overflow and abundance. When life gets so busy that we jump from one event to the next and forget to stop and reflect and enjoy the experience that we've just been engaged in we will find that life is one big blur and we lose our True North. Sadly, instead of being in the moment of the present event, our minds race to what is next on the agenda called life. Blackberries and the iphone are constant reminders of our busy calendars.

My advice? Take a deep breath, look around you, exhale and enjoy the moment! This can take place in your office work place, at the grocery store check out line, at the kitchen sink scraping carrots, or while changing the tenth diaper of the day (you just might want to be careful with the inhale in that case).

Today I met a lovely woman. She became a widow ten years ago at the same age I was when Bob was diagnosed with cancer. We shared a deep moment of 'knowing'. While cancer took her husband, I was spared the experience.  I could have been in the same predicament that she finds herself in. We have both learned in a deeper way what it means to stop and enjoy each and every day as a gift from God and to love the people around you. We both agreed that although the sharing of interests is exhilerating, at the end of the day, it's really all about people and relationships.

I'm sounding a little like a Hallmark card so I will say goodbye for now. Here's a few pics from the week...

I'm enjoying working on Lola's quilt. I'm not showing the actual project yet as that must remain a surprise for Gina and Lola. Baby Lola needs her blanket but Grandma Linda has been struggling with some lower back pain lately and has been to the chiropractor too many times recently. I want only good, happy, healthy energy to go into the making of this gift. Please be patient, girls.

Sheila and I hung out in the craft room on Wednesday making altered books together. It's her first attempt and she's HOOKED. On the way home from the chiropractor the next day, I called my friend Judy and told her I was a grumpy bear and she said to get my grumpy bear bum over to her house where she treated me to a scrumptuous lunch, candles and spa music. I brought my altered book with me and we learned how to put a wire spiral binding on to it. In the meantime, I was TOTALLY inspired with Judy's collection of handmade books. She taught me a few new tricks and I am now finishing up my Rocky Mountain Christmas album. Pictures will appear next week...

I treated myself to a beautiful magazine today and purchased the cotton yarn for a special project that Cathy and I will work on next week. I haven't crocheted since high school....

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Bicycles and Newpapers

Have you ever been in the newspaper? Think about it.

I was a little surprised when I took a trip down memory lane and remembered some of my appearances.

Granted I live with a man who, when he is in the newspaper, is there because he's been out saving the world or winning awards. It's cold here in his shadow! Nonetheless, I have found myself there a couple of times. Most recently I made the famous Leisure Center brochure. Okay, I'm in it because I happened to be behind the incredible 60+ woman who looks like she's in her forties that they wanted to capture. I thought for sure I'd make it into the yoga section because the photographer took several pictures of me in the famous Tree pose. I'm sure they are saving that one for a front page spread in Yoga Journal.

I love to cycle. Right now I don't have a comfortable bike but I'll work on that and hope to find myself out in the fresh air very soon. I take spin classes occasionally. I feel guilty not to since I have fancy bike shoes with clips that I bought when I belonged to the gym. Now I just do drop ins at the Leisure Center.

Bob bought me the cute little helmet last time he was in Vietnam. They are finally taking some measures toward safety but I don't think this counts as a motorcyle helmet that they use it for.

I do wish that I could just put on a pretty flowing skirt and some sunglasses and hit the country roads or the bakery to buy a baguette for the bike basket. So dreamy. I've always had that image of cycling in Europe. But no matter what image I may end up actually creating, I am so excited that I will be cycling in Europe this August amidst all the wedding festivities and visits with friends. Dreams do come true.

So.....
back to the newspaper.
The Daily Democrat!

I was used to help advertise a new beauty salon in Woodland. I was the model in the hairdresser's chair. I was probably in the seventh grade. (Betty Denio or something like that?)

Then, it must have been the same year because the hairstyle was still the short permed 'do' - I made it on to the front page because our 4-H Club won first place in the Talent Show. I was the 'card girl' with fancy make up and beads. I walked across the stage to announce the next act holding a large billboard card for a melodrama like the Perils of Pauline. Such talent the world has never seen. It was a group photo.

The next one was in the social section and the headlines read, "Linda Matthews becomes Mrs. Robert Peragallo". There we both were, cutting our wedding cake for all the world to see. A side story is that a friend from High School saw the picture and had heard that I had become a Christian so she looked me up to see why I looked so different. I think the difference was that I stopped bleaching my hair and quit wearing makeup! Debbie came to know the Lord after that conversation. Cool, huh?

Then there was a picture that was taken at such an odd angle that it was very distorted but it was of me holding Sara and Bob was holding Gina and it announced that we would be moving to North Idaho as missionaries.

Then came the Bonners Ferry Herald.

I was cast in the Sound of Music as Elsa, the Baroness. The press caught a picture of Elsa in a Dancing With the Stars pose in the arms of Max. The funny thing was that in real life I was the pastor's wife from Praise Church and Max was really the Mormon Bishop. What a hoot, eh?

So I think that is about it for me - until now when I made it into the Leisure Center pamphlet. I'm not looking forward to making it into the Vancouver papers because chances are it would be for an obit. Not ready to go there yet, folks.

Mr. Bob will have to write his own newspaper memories. But since he probably never will I'll just say that one day I was in the house and he was in the garden in Woodland (some things never change) and I was reading New Wine Magazine when lo and behold I realized my husband was on the cover.

Another time he landed on the front page because he rescued 3 boys who had overturned in their canoe. He was out duck hunting in a kayak on his lunch break when he saw the bobbing heads. There were helicopters and all kinds of excitement. The funny part was that his boss read the paper and of course Bob was busted for skipping out on work. The headlines read, "Local Minister Rescues Boys".

There have been many other times but the most recent was in the Vancouver Sun with his award winning garden where he came in second place in B.C.

Our grandson Sam has already been in the newspaper. Way to go, buddy boy. It runs in the family.

Think about it? What are your experiences? It's funny that we randomly end up there throughout our lives. Nowadays we just publish ourselves through Facebook and Blogspots. We do love headlines..... Write back and share your memory.

Checking in

It's been over a week since I last posted and I know how frustrating it is for readers to check in to see if the old gal had anything new to show and tell, only to find the same old post. My camera has lain dormant since Christmas so I'm wanting for visual inspiration. Not that I didn't have opportunity to digitally document my week...I could have shown you pics of Linda going to her chiropractor or having her teeth cleaned or bombing out in a yoga class because her back still wasn't up to speed. BORING.

The best thing I could have documented was my afternoon with Diane in her award winning French style kitchen. I made a date with her and I showed up with notebook in hand ready to take notes. What an absolutely fabulous afternoon it was. It was like I had my own private cooking class interviewing the lovely chef. She had mouth watering advice about how to stock my pantry, where to shop in the lower mainland, what utensils are essential, what cookbooks are beneficial, etc. We poured over the pictures and recipes in books like Staying Slim the French Way. For starters she made me a scrumptious spinach salad with caramelized onions, pears, soft goat cheese, etc., with a side of mackerel filets, which was truly a Mediterranean style feast.

Yes, as many people have done, I've been organizing my eating to accommodate weight loss. I have several friends who have the eating lifestyle completely under control. I want to be one of those friends to you! So I'm working on it and feel pleased that I am on the right track.

I've also signed up for a writing workshop in March that I am looking forward to.

I have not yet mentioned something that is very special and exciting. Bob and I will be going to Europe in August to attend my nephew Nathan's wedding to Leah in Germany. We will be traveling with Matt and Gina and Sam and Lola. They have arranged a home exchange with a family in Denmark (click here for  Gina's Post), so once we arrive in Coppenhagen we will part company and Bob and I will visit our friends Bill and Karin there and then meet up with the Woods Family and Skip and Melanie and family in southern Germany for the wedding. You'll definitely be hearing more about our plans as they are made. Besides the obvious excitement of being with the family, I am really looking forward to many kilometers of bike riding in the countryside villages. We have not yet decided which other countries we will visit. Time for dreaming and planning!

So there you have it. A little bit of news from the north. Have a great weekend!