Lazy Early Wednesday Morn

And all through the morn not a creature was stirring, not even the boys. And me? Up in my room with SyFy showing Haunted Highway and sipping a cup of Java. What a wonderful time in my world! The day will bring other adventures once all are up and awake. 

Good Morning StarBright

5:30 am - Alarm goes off. Up and about we begin getting the family ready for their drive home to Indianapolis and St. Louis. Hmmm, you think maybe I could go back and take a nap. Nope, once awake and up, yup, I stay up and have a cup of coffee.

Just want to say one thing about the video with Aaron that was posted yesterday. When Aaron comes to his Auntie M's place he gets bear hugs. Yes, he has Asperger's Syndrome and he tolerates my bear hugs. In the video you will notice that I come up behind him and put my hand on this shoulder. He handled that so well because he was in the "moment" acting and it was not real. Aaron has just moved into an apartment on his own and travels throughout Missouri giving presentations on "Living with Asperger's Syndrome."

Finding Kansas will be released again in April 2012, and I love this quote by Dr. Keith Schaefer, Director, Missouri Department of Mental Health, "Aaron Likens may be the most courageous, intelligent and tenacious young man I have met in my long tenure in the mental health field. Being profoundly touched by Asperger's Syndrome, he is fiercely determined to better understand himself and the world around him."

Yes, I am very proud of my Aaron. OK, now back to .... Thanksgiving is still up and won't be "taken down" for at least a week. Yes, the same oh same oh - am I gonna pull out the Christmas decorations from under the stairs this year? I can honestly say I don't know... Maybe not this year since I really do want to get this place cleaned out of its clutter and the clutter given away to let others enjoy it. Remember the closet,

Doesn't look that way right now. Right before family showed up last Tuesday, I had to start hauling the leftover stuff into it but I also now plan to pull each item out and deal with it now. Time ran out and thanks to all of you sending me your comments on FaceBook and here on this Blog, I feel OK with it and not overwhelmed! Progress not Perfection as they say.

Right now it is 11:00am and we have had a shower, cleaned the kitchen, and am now on laundry load # 2. On a roll, on a roll and hopefully will keep rolling on today.....

While my brother was here, he did work for his food.  Got me a new fantastic kitchen faucet, (looks like we can play beauty shop with that sprayer - oh yeah),

Got the laundry sliding door fixed along with a new light switch.....I am now starting to make a list for next year. Don't want to forget why I started this blog.... so onto some art work for you... been a while and these items were created years ago.... First of all is a Thanksgiving clock I made in order to submit to Somerset Holidays (and no it was not selected which has nothing to do with anything...),

And then a "place card" using a Martha Steward "gobble gobble gobble"... She (the stamp not Martha) is one of my favorite stamps which I used a lot in years past .....

And again for this Thanksgiving, the Christmas Cactus did not disappoint.....

Have a great day.... I am still hanging out in my "Fight Like A Girl" lounging pants while keeping the cleaning going for a few more hours and then it is into the recliner with mindless TV going on, my kind of day!

And one more thing about my new iPhone.... I have discovered iSpeak, man oh man, words I think I am typing are not the words I am typing. For example, left a post on FaceBook for my niece which was suppose to say, "What a joy it was to spend Thanksgiving with my precious niece. . ." It came out in iSpeak as, "What a joy it was to spend Thanksgiving with my previous niece. . ." to which she responded, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated - Mark Twain" As to why I am not turning the auto-correct off? - it is way to convenient .... even with words getting all mussed up.... Hey, I don't have to blame me for my senility - just the iPhone.... Have I told you how much i love my iPhone lately - yes it is a little senile....

The Chaos that was Thanksgiving

Days spent with family are always exciting in more ways than one. Preparing the holiday turkey, setting the table, figuring out where everyone will sit at a table for four and trying fitting eight chairs around it. This Thanksgiving we added my niece, Kim, and her son (my great-nephew) Caden, to the mix. As you know, my nephew, Aaron has Autism - Aspergers - and his worse nightmare happens at Thanksgiving when he sees his aunt's (that would be me) and his father's (that would be my brother) Thanksgiving plates.  Aaron has written a book called, Finding Kansas, which is interesting since I have a door mat that says, "you're not in Kansas anymore:":



His book featured on the right side of this blog has been picked up by Penguin Books and you can see information on it at this link: Finding Kansas. You can also pre-order the book at that link.

So, let's begin now with the back story - as they say in television.  The day started out early (especially if you go to bed late, "early" is relevant) with me getting this 20 pound turkey in the oven:

And the turkey in the oven at last,

And before you know it, turkey carved, everything out of the oven, let the feast begin:  

Brother, Jim

Nephew Aaron

Great Nephew, Caden, Jim, and Niece, Kim

Along with Phil, Larcy, and Oliver make it to the table,

OK, can't just do one of Oliver as we all know,

As you remember from the video, here is Aaron's plate in all of its organized glory,

WAIT - that could be Larcy's plate..... yes, can you see the two lime green plates interspersed with mother's china? And wouldn't you know, Larcy escaped without her photo being taken however she is in the video!... 

That was our Thursday and another thanksgiving meal in the bag - yes, the turkey was in the bag this year and very juicy, if I say so myself..... Friday, Aaron and I sent Jim, Caden, and Kim downtown DC while we chilled out here in the suburbs and had our Thanksgiving tradition of going to the Game Stop..... yes, every Thanksgiving, Aaron and I head over there.

So with our Saturday comes another tradition - a movie - we will be headed off to see Hugo, in 3-D and our Saturday is still young...... Dearest Brother has done is annual chores around the condo: put in a new faucet in the kitchen, fixed my downstairs toilet, and just finished fixing a sliding door upstairs. Life is good.  See you tomorrow,

Life Lessons # 4 - Life Altering Events

"When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will fly." Patrick Overton

So now we have Life Altering Events -- This will post will not be as long as the other posts in the "Life Lessons" series this week. We all these buggers in our lives at various times. No way to get around them. They can be as far ranging as a death, an illness, or a birth. The "life-altering" part is up to each individual to define. The loss, by death or separation, of a loved one is always held very close to each of our hearts and souls. The way we deal with it is another matter. I will say, in all instances, the loss of a child ranks as the top loss, followed by spouse, mother, etc. Here are two of my life-altering events:

(1) The first traumatic one for me was the loss of my mother. Shortly after her death in October of 1998, I met a woman at a party whom I did not know. However, she ended up being the "messenger" and explained to me why the mother's loss was traumatic for the child. She stated that the mother is the giver, the nurturer, the one you always turn to. She explained the death of this parent would be more difficult than the father (he died in March of 2000). She was right. My mom was a registered nurse who retired at 65 and at 67 had a massive stroke. She lived five years in the nursing home and then died suddenly. This was the last photo taken of her with her sister (my Aunt Mary). Two of her siblings were visiting from California and it ended up that the only two people who had to fly in for the funeral was my brother and me. Hmmm, she always planned stuff out and maybe, in the grander scheme of things, did this one too.

Mother (on the left) and Aunt Mary is the photo that you see in the blog banner and one of my fav photos that I use all of the time.... Sisters forever.

2) My brother is maybe the only person I know who would show up with his camera in the ICU. I swear, there was a time, in that room, that I was really ready to jump out of that hospital bed and beam him with his camera. Hello, my hair is sticking straight up. This was taken two days after my open heart surgery to replace a bum aortic valve. OK, he was also the one who said, "don't go into the light" as they were wheeling me in for surgery. OK, baby bro... you were pushing it then because I was flirting with the male nurse and my brother is distracting me! Geez.....

OK, back to the post, this was a life-changing event. Prior to the surgery I was so tired I could barely climb to the third floor to get into my two-story condo. By the grace of God (and I mean that sincerely) I had started working out with a personal trainer on July 4, 2001 (and still have him to this day). This is one reason my heart was strong and was able to recover so quickly. The doctors didn't have a clue how I was able to even walk around with the valve as damaged as it was. Ahhh, it just wasn't my time. And I'm happy to report that I had so much energy after this surgery - wooooohooooo - I still thank God for my recovery and the blessing of energy that came with this event.

Yes, in the summer time you will usually find me on the tennis courts 5 days out of 7. It has been a blessing that little titanium valve. Following the recovery, I began to get into more artistic endeavors besides just scrapbooking that I was involved with. I started traveling and went to Germany, Paris, London, and Estonia. Life is short, enjoy it to the fullest. To end this ramble, I am borrowing a quote from a friend's post today on FaceBook (thank you Cindy, sorry I didn't ask before copying it here):

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, ...let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it." - Author Unknown.

Here's to you baby brother (whom I very proud of - but don't tell him...) My favorite song he wrote is God Knew Your Name. You can listen to it here.

A Monday Off in the Honeysuckles

Yes, today I am off and have gotten some errands done that were not done on Saturday or Sunday. Oliver came over with his mommy for a pedicure and LOVED his wool Trader Joe's bone.....


He loved it so much we had trouble getting him out from behind the dining room table to do his "nails" - he scampers fast...


I also got a "project book" put together. I had picked this up at my favorite stamping store and wanted to get it done sooner than later. I need it for the "treasure box" and clue ATCs.

I started out using Claudine Hellmuth Studio gesso and paints on the chip board.


I then applied decorative paper with my trusty sticky back tape.

Applied the paper.... and ribbon. Love this ribbon that I bought which was "defective" with the paint runs! Kool....

Added a fabric flower ....

If you haven't noticed ---- I am rushing this post since I have to eat a bite and get ready for early doubles indoor tennis tonight. I do have photos of the back of the project book, the inside covers, yada yada, but you get the idea. I did manage to get my clip art organized last night. Will try to check in with you tomorrow after my workout with my trainer.... ugh. A little photo of Oliver on my lap always help the "medicine" go down better. Maybe he could sub for me at my trainer's place???? What a concept.

"Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them." Russell H. Conwell

Waxing once again in the Honeysuckles

And all I had was just one more Christmas present to create. Just one. The lovely friend - I still had yet to find a present for - prefers creations not "store-bought" and I was up a proverbial creek this year, yes I was. I usually make her Asian cross-stitch pillows - very Feng Shui, I think.... I have some more to make but this year got away from me... These are from a few years back:



So, nope, didn't do it this year. Hmmmmmmm - OK, let's get started.... killed time by fixing a drawer in my craft cabinet - I really had to do it before I could do anything.

I had to get in that specific drawer which was "stuck" as if something was blocking the drawer as you pull it out - but it couldn't be that easy - it was a screw in the runner that was loose and blocking everything. I will not share the gory details of how I got that baby to come out. Ugly, simply ugly, didn't know I had it in me. I got it fixed and retrieved the charms to use in the belated Christmas gift. Retrieved the tools of the trade - waxing wanly.....

And more tools......The piece I created is called, "Heritage." Pulled out some Asian papers I had and just started layering the paper, the wax, the paper, the wax.....

I love waxing on canvas (not my brows or upper lips - that is an ouchy) since it can be so forgiving. If you don't like it, just heat and pull up! I literally pulled out the "gold" leaves (from my stash of stuff) which were in the packet in a circle, waxed them down, waxed some ribbon and then waxed a flat key on top.


My feeling is the key to the past, present, and future is all wrapped in our heritage and we need to honor those who have gone before in order to live fully in the present...

This is my friend's granddaughter and mother and the photo was taken on a trip the child did to Taiwan several years ago. The image of the boy was found in some "free" clip art in my Somerset Studio magazine....

The finished product: