Washing our hands Cleansing our hearts

Everyone has been sick at our house.
Just a constant passing of the germs.
Lots of proper hand washing.
Repeating, don't touch your face.

This is my dream sink.
This beauty resides at the local YMCA.
Come on, can't you just imagine Ma and Pa Kettle
and a herd kids?  

This post started in one direction (mind) and
curved in another (heart).

From the beginning of my life,
I have been a confidant of
strangers. It is a familial curse..blessing.
Mother and Father both had "it."
I am not sure if my other siblings have it but Joe
has it, too.

Just recently, the story
went something like this. There is
no introduction the conversation just
starts.

My sister has left her husband
and his two small children.  The children
are terrors just beastly.  I ask, yes I encourage
the spilling, doesn't she love these children?
No, she is fond of them but she doesn't love
them.  My heart bleeds.  The words are like
a punch to my chest.

Here's the thing.  If you love the parent you must
love their child.  If the child is a beast it's the
fault of the parents.  No doubt about it, ever.

There is the exception of mental illness but
other than that well behaved children
are created with unconditional love and structured discipline.
Discipline in our home does not involve hitting.
 
Blended families, step parenting and marriage.
There is no nice way to say this.
If you are contemplating
marriage or are in a marriage with step children
listen.



You MUST love these children.
Not just just be fond of them.
You MUST open your heart to them.
They didn't ask to come from a broken
home.  They didn't ask to be abandoned or
have parents fail them.

Of course children can be beasts.
Especially if BAD attention is better
than NO attention. I want to SLAP
the parents.  If you are the parent, your
first priority is your children.  If you
fall for a parent you MUST love their
children, too.  Or simply do as I did
and don't date people with children.

Seems unfair since I had two children
but I was fine being alone or sharing
my life with someone without children.
No compromise. My children would come
first. 

If you cannot love the
children do NOT enter into any commitment.
Don't even go on a first date.
It doesn't matter if they are small children or
adults.  The rules are the same.
You will have to share your beloved
with them.

Think you know better?
Go ahead.  Second marriages
have a higher rate of divorce
then first marriages.

I I I am just your stepping stone

Whole lot of concentration going on.

Truth be told, I am a rule follower and planner.
I like to be on time.
These stepping stones were supposed to be
mosaic flip flops.  Such a cute idea.

In art,  I advise the kids to simply
enjoy the process and be happy.
No wrong way.
The important thing is to create.
To participate.
They each decorated all on their own.

Inner Strength

"Once social change begins
it can not be reversed. 
You can not un-educate 
the person that has learned to read. 
You can not humiliate the person who feels pride. 
You can not oppress the people
who are not afraid anymore.”  
                                                              Cesar Chavez

Travel Inward

Hunting for treasures in Long Beach.

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; 
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. ... 

Learning

Wear your learning as you wear your watch
in a private pocket and do not pull it
out & strike it merely to show that
you have it.
                               Lord Chesterfield


A teacher affects eternity,
he can never tell where his influence
stops.
                                Henry Adams

As a wee one, there was only two
things I ever wanted to grow up to
be a teacher or an actress.

Along the way I was discouraged from
pursuing teaching.  A very sad mistake.
Terrified of auditions.

Luckily, a dose of homemaking 
with children drew out creativity.

Allowing me to work with actors.

Opportunities for
traveling in style. 
Topanga Vintage Marketplace

Walking on over the top set designs

Visiting with creatures existing only in the imagination.
Look closely at the fly near the boy's feet.
The fly's iridescent eyes glowed two aisles over. 

Musing

One of my favorite book series.
Jan Karon's Father Tim in the Mitford books.

Married in haste

to repent at leisure.

These High, Green Hills

These three little sailors were found in the gift shop
on the St. Mary in Long Beach.  Little guys didn't come
home with us but they were charming and original.
The little sailors are similar to Petey from Susan Branch's blog.

Soul Sister

All about the bling.
High heels, makeup and the glitz.
She knows what she wants.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm
of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength
of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie with Drummers.
                                          Tina Fey

Hunting and Seeking for Jewels

Diamonds don't make my heart race.
Vintage makes my heart beat with the
intensity of African drums.

The vibrant colors of the Caribbean.
The faded brightness of summer roses.

Today, we will be on the hunt for wooden spools,
shiny glass, cake plates, and vintage jewelry.

I hope Joe is on the hunt for a jean skirt for me.
A flow-ie one ready for my embroidery love.

My heart is in your heart

What we once enjoyed
and deeply loved

we can

never lose

for all

that we

love deeply

become a part

of us.

Helen Keller

There is nothing more precious than
something handmade for you.
It could be a lovingly made scarf, a special dinner,
or friend asking her sister to finish a quilt made by
your sister long ago.
That is what happened to me.
My friend asked her sister to finish
the crazy quilt top my sister made over 20 years ago.

My sister used what she had on hand.
Mostly discarded neon
polyester with some much older cottons.
Each fabric scrap hand pieced with cross stitches.
Little sweet kisses.

This year has been a year of revisiting
unresolved periods of grief.
Buried deep and ignored.
I mourn the loss of my sister more today then ever before.
Holding the completed quilt is like
wrapping my arms around my sister.
Having a good cleansing cry.

Consider for a moment, two sisters,
who will never meet,
sharing their talents to complete a work of art.

Magical inspired love.
From the bottom of my heart thank you.

If we pause in awareness,  it is easy to see
angels touching our lives every day.

The lady at the fabric store recommended I use
a fabric my sister would have liked for the backing.
Her favorite colors were brown and grey.
A brown spotty fabric for the back with
solid brown binding were selected.

It is a treat to feel the quilt's weight in my lap.
To run my fingers over the stitches my sister
formed all those years ago.
To appreciate the loving talent and
effort of a sister quilter. 

My heart is full and runneth over.

Thank you for stopping by the Pumpkin Cottage.

Thrifting Magic

Don't you just love the internet and bloggyland?
Found this little jewel in a thrift store.
The lovely linen didn't come home with me.
I did, however, Google the pattern,
bullion rose, for a tutorial video. 

Honestly, I didn't know it was called a bullion rose.
I Googled "embroidery rose" and viola.
Feeling blessed.  Magic moments.
 
Go make it a memorable day.

Pick a Man who Loves Women

During my daily commute, I have been listening
to sermons from one of my favorite pastors.....Steve Mays
or listening to my favorite radio
programs Splendid Table or Pacifica Radio.

Driving home yesterday I caught a program
about what to do if you spouse says, "I don't love you
anymore." A book by the same title provides an interesting
and useful Christian perspective.
David Clarke, PhD is the author, he advises
the hurt spouse to get angry to keep
from getting stuck and jump start the healing process.

In Dr. Clarke's practice, he has found that in most cases
when a spouse declares the lack of love it is because
they are already in deep sin.  An affair, pornography
or other addiction. 

Seek a man who loves and respects women.
Avoid character flaws.
Don't make excuses.

JoAnn from Bensonhurst gives great practical advice.
Married for 34 years she knows what it takes
to keep it together.

Tomato from our yard

Next project look for a coat of paint.

Add marbles to your pots.


Mr. Lee told me right from the beginning he preferred the 
company of women.  I admitted I preferred the company of men.
We really do have friends in those categories but we never
put ourselves in a position of disadvantage.  If someone
at work captures your fancy don't allow yourself to be alone
together.  
Even if you are single, my strong advice is to avoid office romances.

For the unscrupulous, married people are the most attractive.
A challenge, the thrill of the hunt, and relatively safe bet
no commitment will be necessary.  Don't do it and don't
think it will be different with you.


My marriage is the most precious thing and I will protect it with all
my being.


 

Thrifting treasures

Cheap all wood thrift frame.
It was golden with ugly dirty fabric.
Gold is not my favorite.
Pulled fabric off the middle wood area.

Used paint and a little antiquing medium.
 Reused the canvas included with the frame.
 It had a cheesy amateur landscape...not cute at all.

 Cut up magazines to create a cottage village scene.

You can do anything in this world

if you are prepared to take the consequences.

W. Somerset Maugham

Happy Friday the 13th

Mr. Lee got me good this morning.
He says your phone has been vibrating.
Hands me the phone and there
is a message from yours truly.
"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY"
for 15 years we have been celebrating our
first date on a Friday of the 13th.
It is always a race.
Yes, yes you win.

Last night we saw the Wiggles Live. 
It was so much fun.
Three of the original Wiggles are
retiring after 21 years of touring the
world.  The delivery of the concert
was intimate with a familial delivery.
A comfort developed over years of
working together, shared experiences...something
so endearing. 

These guys are in great shape and so handsome.
The mom in the row in front of us was definitely
there for herself and not for her two boys.

The audience included kids that had
grown up with the Wiggles and now
had children of their own.

Girl was really apprehensive about attending.
She even offered to stay with her Uncle Joe at the
hotel.  This little face says it all.

Jacob coming back from shaking Jeff's hand.
Smiley faces all around.

Marriage is joyful

Married life is intended to be joyful. 




Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest.
                                        Ecclestiastes 9:9

Happy Thought

There are flowers everywhere for those who bother to look.
                                              Henry Matisse



Hunting for children's craft books.  This one is from 1964.
Brother Joe will be visiting and we will be on the hunt for
little lost souls. Our tastes are sibling close. 

 

Sunday Dreaming

Color inspires me more than anything else.
Bright radiant color.  Color can be found in
the every day.  In magazines and in words.
In a jar a jelly.  In a basket of raspberries, green figs,
and in the sparkly eyes of children. 

Colors found in nature.  What is sweeter than a ladybug?

A little girl's dress.

The color of a bench reminds me of the sea.

The Yellow Deli.  Closed on sabbath Saturday.  Cottage yellow. All sweet
and welcoming.  There is a tremendous energy here and even if we didn't
get to eat here we were drawn to visit. The Yellow Deli business is based
on  the verse below.  "We serve the fruit of the Spirit."

Galatians 5:22-23

New International Version (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
 forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Bring this message into your home, your family and to your
marriages. 

Oma Love

Miss Holly
asked her Oma to make a
sweater for Snuffy.

lucky Holly lucky Snuffy
It is a warm summer but the evenings
are just cool enough for a sweater.

Happy Crafty Saturday