It's got color!

I love this green! It's going to be bright and cheerful, and wonderful to work in. At last a craft room.

They will be laying the floor tomorrow, so tonight I have to varnish the floor and ceiling molding.

I have work to do.

Today's work

I can't believe how fast things are coming together. I am almost ready to prime and paint the interior, and tonight I finished up with the staining baseboards and ceiling molding. {I am sooo glad that's done} Now I have to put the urethane on to protect the stain. Then it's onto the walls.

I can't wait to be finished. Take a look....

Near the end

Still have lots of work to do but.... it's coming right along.

Update!

We are ready for the cement! It won't be long before I'll have my garage, and I can park inside.

The insulation went in today in the addition and I have half the molding stained. Another long night of work but, I'm just to tired tonight to do it.

Take a look at the updated pictures.

Working on the Addition

The work goes on and I'm waiting for the electrician to come so the room can be wired.

Here are the pictures from yesterday. Enjoy!

The Craft Room

At long last I am getting my craft room built. It is coming right along and it won't belong before I'll be painting and moving in. These guys are fast!

Take a look and come back and see it progress.

The Mural

{Yes that's me in the green dress and red hair. The lady in the dress uniform is Col. Bianca Trimiloni, the director of military women in the Air Force.}

When I was stationed in Ca. at Vandenburg AF base, I had a chance to do something I had always ,wanted to do, and when it was completed it was displayed in a prominent place. I had never had that happen before and it was and still is an honor for me. What follows is the base write up about the painting I created and painted. Also with the write up are a couple of pictures taken at that time.

I place this here now, only to share something I've done and am proud of, and for no other reason. In honor of the bicentennial I was given the chance to create this painting. I share it now with you.

What is it?

Is it a trunk, a box, a closet? Well what ever it is, I finally got it done after all these years.

I am so glad to, now I just need to select a doll to store her clothes in it, and I'm off and running.

I am so glad it's finished. I have been working on it for the past month and it was slow going because you had to stop and let the glue dry. So... now on to the next project.

Is change good?

Recently, on one of the lists I am on, a question came up about change. Some people on this list wanted it to remain the same, dedicated only to one thing. Many of the new people on this list wanted to be able to expand the horizon a bit. Not delete anything or do a hugh overhaul, but simply to add to what was available in a non compromising way.

There was some discussion, but a group {had to be more than one} of them, found it necessary to post to the owner privately. We, the rest of the group, didn't get to see their remarks, although we posted publicly. So what their objection was or what their thoughts were on this subject, were not available for viewing.

My question here is... should that have been allowed? More disservice and harm has come from this very kind of thing then anything else I've seen done on the internet. And a lot goes on here.

I for one never argue about something. I will discus it, exchange views, acknowledge their views and ideas, and expect them to do the same for me. But I will not sit and argue about anything, just to prove a point. I have my beliefs, and you have yours. And if the twain never meets, thats ok. I wasn't out to change anyones mind in the first place.

You have the right to decide, and as such you are responsible for that right. So many people throw their thoughts about like so many discarded tin cans in the land fill. Their thoughts and ideas become stale over time because they have remained steadfast chained to the lack of creative development, and avoid the constant change of the times.

Talk about dry and dusty! Most of the time they are the sole of unhappy "campers". Try to breath a refreshing idea into the program, and they will do their level best to squash it. Something not to their liking, becomes "mishmash".

How can they lump everything together under this heading, when they don't ever know what might be offered? Often they don't wait for the explanation, they just don't want it, whatever it is. I think they miss out on a lot of "golden" ideas and creative endeavors. But they still have their boring limited realm of existence, and nothing else matters. Not the rest of the groups needs. Nor the fact it makes them very obviously outdated. lol. But then maybe that's why they posted privately to the groups owner.

Enlarging upon this question, one can find this same thing again and again spread over so many different things. Is it only where creative ideas are shared? One wonders?

Does it limit others their creative designs? You bet! And that is intolerable.

So is change good? I would say so, if only to encourage the divine right of creative thought. But it goes so far beyond this one cannot see the end. We have fought wars over this, and it's called freedom. Free to create, free to decide, and mostly freedom of expression.

God bless America! I for one, am glad I live here.

Here's a thought for you.

Many times I have wondered, does the work you must do remain limited to the amount of time you allowed for a project, or does it expand to fill every minute of that time and more besides?

In other words, You have allotted 2 days time to complete something. You think it will take only one day, but instead of completing in one day, your project has expanded to fill all of the two days.

Is it time required expanding to fill all of the alloted amount needed to complete, or is it, the project, the actual amount of work expanding? This is something I've had happen many time.

So I wonder who else has experienced this?

I have picked a project, decided it will take me about 3 days {in that amount I have added an extra amount of time, one full day, to allow for setbacks}. I will work at the speed I always do. Not slow and not fast. Half way thought this project I see I will not make the deadline of 2 days. There is just to much left to do. And indeed it will take all of the 3 days to complete.

What was that? Is it true, all projects expand to fill the complete amount of time set for it? Does that mean we shouldn't add any extra time to complete, or do we add more?

If I had a month to do something that only took me a week before to complete, will it expand to take the whole month. And procrastination is not something I think about or have any trouble with. And yet, I have seen many people who procrastinate for days and sometimes months. A thing never gets done, if you procrastinate about it.

I believe that is why you set goals { and set them honestly, so you can achieve them} and then make a plan as to how you will complete your project. By braking it down into manageable chunks you will be able to handle anything that comes your way.

Most people call it a game plan, but whatever you call it, setting limits and braking up the project into manageable amounts of work {read that as time} you will complete on time, and sometimes even earlier. It has worked for me lots of time. I don't see everything expanding like it use to. So is this the answer to that mystery? Management of project, cancels expanding time frames? Good questions, do you know?

It's completely finished!

I just finished the quilt I am donating for a raffle to help others get chiropractic treatment, who can't afford it. It's finished size is 55" x 70" and it's a Texas Star pattern in red, white, and blue, with a touch of yellow/gold thrown in for extra measure.

I think it turned out really nice, and the quilted star pattern shows up on the back, as I did it in white thread. So take a look and see what you think .

A new Star

I have had this material laying around for years. I finally decided to make up a quilt out of it, and then donate it to someone to help somebody. I am giving it to my chiropractor so he can raffle it off and use the money to help pay for someone's treatments who can't afford them.

Without his treatments I would be in worse shape and so I felt someone else might could use the help.

The quilt is done in a star pattern {the stars are one of my favorites}. The backing will be a bright cherry red, and the bindings will be the deeper red used in the front piecing. It has taken some time to get this far, and now I'm only half way, as I must pin the backing, batting, and the front together, so I can quilt it on the machine. I'm glad I finally got it in one piece, and I think it turned out very pretty. A generous twin size,it would make a good quilt for a student going off to collage.

Not Yet!!!

Will someone stop the snow please? It's still cold and snowing and wet and melting, and I'd rather have some sunshine and warm weather.

It's times like this, when I can't wait for spring to come. Almost April, and then May, and I've seen it snow in June. I hope it doesn't do that this year.

I have to start fighting depression along about now. I'm sure many of you do as well. I wish there was an easy way to deal with it, but, I don't know what it is. I have been very creative this winter, and come through fairly well, thanks to my friends, and all the creative endeavors.

We share a great deal, and in doing so are there for each other. I am thankful for that.

My brother once said, if you have a few good friends, it is the best you can expect from life. I noticed he left out family, and now I know why. Family, isn't what it use to be, nor what I was raised to expect. It has taken me a long time to understand that, but... now I do. I don't worry over them, or expect anything from them anymore. I can't as they have let me down to many times, and are the reason for so many tears.

My father told me not to long ago, to do something for me now. It took me a bit to figure that out, as I was raised to do for everyone else first. To never think about myself. I am happy to report, I now do for me. I do for my friends as well, but because my family has let me down so many times, I don't do for them at all, and won't in the future. For once I can lay the blame where it belongs, and let go. That feels good.

I can believe there are many of you out there who have had the same problems, and your wondering what to do. I can't tell you that. I can only share what I have done and what I found because I stood up for me, once and for all. I am a unique individual, and as such, have a great deal to share with others. I am no more or less unique then anyone else, just different. If you can recognize what makes you the person you are, then you have something to share with others. Just don't expect your family to want to see it as well. More often then not, it's the other people in your life who will want that privilege. And yes it's a privilege, so don't take it lightly who you share with. I've known those who will take and take, and not give back a single thing in return. And it was family who was the worse at that. For some reason they thought they had the right. But only if I give them the right, and I won't.

I don't expect anything from them. lol. They don't have anything I want. I imagine that if read by one of them, my comments here will be twisted in the wind, and pulled so out of shape as to have no meaning I intended. It is not anger that leads to these comments, but sadness. Because it is sad when there is so much that could be shared by both, for both, and it will never be. That is why I am so thankful for my friends. They help me to move on, and in doing so.... there lies the wealth of creative endeavors. Nothing stands in my way, and I have everything to look forward too.

If once in a while I think about this subject... it's because I don't think ones history is ever changed, or blocked. You lived it, it happened, and every once in a while you think about it. And then you move on. I don't dwell on it any more. But it is sad. I just wish I had done this years ago. Let go and moved on, then I would have had less to remember from time to time.

Well, thats a part of my life, like all the other things I've done. It's a part of my history. The nice thing is... history is still in the making, and family or not they can't stop that either. And my friends.... are there to encourage me like family never did. I am so thankful for them

Well, I hope you have found something in these words that might open a door for you, and I wish you all the best to come.

Is it really Spring?

Well, the snow is melting and there is a lot of standing water out there, but it's still cold at night.

So I still wonder is it spring yet, or will there be more snow yet to come?

I'm ready for warmer weather. And believe it or not, spring cleaning. This year there will be a major amount of cleaning going on here. It's the first time in a few years I have felt up to doing something so much more then just a quick dusting and so forth.

I have a new bedspread and curtains ready for the bedroom, and I would really like to move the bed around, but as big and heavy as it is, I don't think I can do it without help.

I want to start digging the holes for my pond and setting up the waterfall. A lot of work out there in the garden to be done before I can start to lay track. Before I get to that I have to make up the plans yet. Don't I seem to be jumping the gun a little lol. Just wishing it was spring.

I have finished so much with all the miniatures I've been working on, and now I have a Tudor house I want to get too.

I think there will always be something I will have lined up to make, do, or create. The other project I am working on right now will really be something where it's all done. But that will be a surprise for later.

Well, back to work.

The kitten

Collectables today has a new series of dolls. Well they are really tiny little kittens, just barely big enough to cover your palm. They are darling, and as I didn't get any christmas this year, I decided to get me this series of kittens.

  The first one arrived tonight. A little yellow tabby. I was disappointed in the fur, or should I say the lack thereof. So I dug out a mohair skin just the right color to match her, and started clipping a piece to fit her head. Then as she arrived with no tail, I made her a new one ,from another little piece of lambs wool. The kittens should be a lot of fun to dress.

  So now I have to name her. I don't think I can ever repay you.

 I'll see how it goes.

Trish