one shoe, two shoe...

orange shoe

blue shoe

not the same...

 

 

...shoe

i suppose it

would not hurt

to look down

before leaving

the house

same shoe

different color

match the bag

perfectly though

it's a pink sand beach design

tuscany tote

one of my favorites

batiks by moda

je m' appelle joice

it has been

a long

long time...

 

since i studied french

so long

that i barely

remember

most words

of the beautiful language

still

like many

my heart fills

with just the mention

of the eiffel tower

the streets of paris

so when word

first

starting spreading

that terrorists

had struck

the city of love

it was hard to

believe

as more details

surfaced

there is no denying

the world is

changing

and for that

i feel helpless

and afraid

scared for my

loved ones

yet we can't let fear

dictate

our every move

so i did what i know best

i took

 to my sewing machine...

 

...creating a circle

using fabric

purple of course

with eiffel towers

to form a dresden

or friendship circle

for in my world

if we all just started

loving a little more

hated a little less

just imagine

the difference

we could make

two signed leases...

i've been

trying

to find...

 

 

...words to describe

what my husband

 son and i

 have been through

 the past few months

 with regards

 to the buildings

 our two businesses occupy

 but the wild range

of emotions

simply can't be defined

the miles we've put

 on our cars

 looking for space

may be quantifiable

 but the burden

 of weeding out

 the good from the bad

 just can't

in the end

we've both found spaces

 that we believe

will work out well

for each of us

just one block apart

 this pic

 was taken right outside

 the new door
for jellen's house of fabric

 that tan building

 on the other side

 of the shell gas station

 is where the two johns will be

along with a few other

businesses

 being run by father/son teams

 interesting

 how life works out

decluttering...

if i had

life

to do over...

i would buy

a lot less crap

i've been cleaning

out my mother's stuff

for weeks now

still have a garage full

onto our house i go

last night when

i went to bed

this was my living room

i have nightmares

about it

so very unnecessary

it is just awful

the amount of money

we waste on

needless junk

and then

we hoard

like it's treasure

not so

it's mostly

dust mite collecting

or worse

mold and mildew

we could and

should

learn to live

with so much less

my goal for

this year is to

follow the

 one in - two out

 rule

that is

once i rid the house

of all

the

unnecessary stuff

our happiness

depends on it

uggs 4 U mom...

for some reason

my mother

is obsessed...

.

with my uggs

she just

 can't

stop

talking

about

my

uggs

so i thought

she might like

a picture of

the trio

that i wear

every

single

day

with no socks

even when it's ten degrees

 outside

then once i get to the store

i take my feet out

of my uggs

and put my wolky kukana's on

with no socks

even when it is

ten degrees
 outside

my feet are

gloriously happy

and pain free

the end

he makes house calls...

imagine this

a doctor

who still...

.

...comes to the house

sure hope he can

diagnose

and patch up our

wounded johns

seriously

steve jerome

a fourth generation plumber

in mayfield hts

came highly recommended

by a fellow quilter

i trust my stitchy friends

so we brought him in

honest beyond belief

clean and efficient

job well done

we're back in flushing order

now about that

leaking skylight...

i have NO idea either...

a friend of mine

recently made

a commitment

.

to post everyday

for 30 days

today he had nothing

really

so he dug into

 his picture reserves

and found one that he

had just never used before

so i decided

 to do the same

elton john

never tire of listening to him

channing tatum

never, ever tire of looking

at the man

and the fact they are both

on the stage

at the same time

downlite in purple

well it just makes it worth posting

i have no idea why

it just does

ladies of the parlour...

last evening

sarah and i

were invited...

.

to speak to the

ladies of the parlour

a quilt guild in mentor

and just because i was

feeling snarky

i love that word

by the way

i posted a picture

 of sarah

on facebook that i captioned

as follows

sultry sarah speaks

before the ladies

of the parlour

late this afternoon

i received an email

berating me

 for subjecting sarah

to such trash

i assure you dear reader

there was nothing trashy

 about it

just pure creativity

and a roomful of

kind quilters

my head the bowling ball...

well..

if my

head...

. 

...must feel like

a bowling ball on

valentine's day

at least

let it be a purple one

night y'all

chance encounter...

i've often

wondered

what happened...

.

to the brides

who chose me to

 create the gown for

their special day

there was usually

 a specific reason

they wanted a custom creation

i would ask for

an explanation

it helped me understand the

direction we were going

one young woman

told me of a tale involving

ballroom dancing

it was a romantic story

their first dance would be

chorographed by their teacher

and so the dress needed

to accomodate

the twists and turns

this week at the quilt store

in walked

 a new customer

she had been referred by a friend

we got to talking

and sharing

she seemed familiar

yet

nothing really clicked until

she wrote her name

on the email list

and i knew at that moment

it was annie

the beautiful woman

 who wore this dress

almost seventeen years ago

still married with children

i forgot to ask

about the dancing

next time i will

enough said...

even for me

this is unusual

but then...

.

...i've never ever

worked in retail

for an entire year

in my life

wishing you all

 a very merry christmas

when life comes...

together and

things start

to make sense...

.

have you ever

 experienced

one of those times

i think i did
 today

all those years of

snow plow sam lessons

followed by

hockey, hockey and more hockey

and then it ends

or so you think

a few years later

sitting in world history class

only by a series of very

unique circumstances

boy meets girl

hearts go pitter patter

girl is nationally recognized

ice dancer

without a partner

sounds like a movie

sarah and i have watched

over and over again

wonder how this one

will turn out

sure is fun watching

i always thought

 a toe pick

would have been

 a fine choice

11.11.11

the 9.11 memories...

i continue

to read

the words...

.

matt, sarah and tj ~ september 2001

the flag belonged to a fire chief

their great grandfather hillick

...never forget

and i ask myself

how could we

that one day

changed the world

altered our thought process

forever

today as i watch

 the replays

the new photos emerging

the memorial service

i am reminded

that life is so very precious

we are so vulnerable

yet stronger than

anyone of us can imagine

life goes on

what we do with it

is up to us

and collectively

as a team

we are stronger

for the experience

today

ten years later

i am so proud

of my country

for coming together

as one nation

mourning the great loss

yet celebrating

our courage

and our freedom

happy healing

to the

one and only

blogzilly...

.

...the best blogging

 man i know

if i were to send you

popsicles

these would be

the ones i'd make

they somehow

look like something

you'd create

grape for me

apple for you

for that's the flavor

i'm sure you'd

like to see

now that you're tonsil free

happy healing ken

now please

don't over do it

the answers...

...were here all along

in the bottom

drawer of the big...

.

green file cabinet

tucked in the furthest

corner of the basement

the timing of the need

to replace the furnace

requiring moving

  the file drawers

could not have been

more perfect

the last piece of closure

to the pain

 of the past twenty five years

as i poured through the folders

i found things i had

never seen before

or at least don't remember

maybe that was intentional
my high school diploma
from the real glenoak

my graduate school transcripts

from ohio state

the awards i received

the leadership positions i held
job descriptions

my husband's college diplomas

a rebuttal to his first professional

performance review

my dissolution papers

our apartment lease

my acceptance letter to law school

the condo mortgage and deed

ahh the wedding file

which held lists and lists
not one including shari

and more lists

there were more revisions

than the white house

 has for state dinners i'm sure

in the end

most were not invited

it was a small event

not what i envisioned

 but it was easier that way

hindsight being double twenty

pause

this is where

 the recovery begins

or rather ends

i would have taken back the night

not let it nearly destroy us

rather run

sprint for a destination

the rockies, the desert, the beach

but then again

maybe it was all it

 was suppose to be

perhaps it played out

exactly as it was planned

preparing us for what

was to come

there are parts of the drama

that have not changed

not in twenty five plus years

yet the commitment

the love

have endured

bonded beyond measure

and that strength

was developing

from those first months

of that time so

many years ago

life is too short

to wallow in misery

i've read everything

in the file drawer

shredded the things

i'll never need again

never want to see again

i know the past year

 or so has been

 truly the happiest

of my life

in just a few hours

i am taking back the night

i am about to

 marry the man

 of my dreams

all over again

this time
there are no lists

no drama

no dress, no flowers, no dinner

just a man

and a woman

recommitting to love and to cherish

till death do us part

7.7.11

July 07, 2011
Capricorn (12/22-1/19)
Sometimes you have to pick your battles. Right now your resources and energy could be running low -- and you won't be able to put out every fire that ignites. Your best strategy for this unpredictable day is to prioritize and be ready to compromise; you may have to swallow your pride to succeed at a goal, so be prepared for that. One of the smartest ways to manage difficult people is to take the high road. Let scheming folks find their fate without your involvement.

could not have said it better myself. thank you yahoo horoscopes:)

hoarding no more

it took me

a few

extra attempts...

.

...before i could go in

and really start dealing

with the task at hand

i found all sorts

of other unnecessary

tasks i would rather be doing

finally at six am

the morning the installers were coming

i could procrastinate no more

and so i dug in

cobwebs, mess and all

into the room

we had not touched in years

after several bags of clearly trash

a few boxes for the recycle bin

i discovered some treasures

amongst the junk

last night i went to

the office

who knew

shreading could be so therapeutic

i eliminated

about twenty five years of my life

in six short hours

and some of the painful memories

 that went

along with it

simply by slicing papers and pictures

 into tiny fragments

of fiber

today i awoke with a new energy

ready to tackle the next

set of drawers

in those file cabinets

signs of hoarding...

seems a lot of us

have

at least one room...

.

...i do

the room that everything

you don't want to

deal with

or

 don't know what to

do with

or you just know

someday

you will have another

use for it

and so

the junk collects

dust

and cobwebs

until

the heating & air conditioning installer

 says

we will need access to this

room

yikes...

speaking of old dogs...

don't ya just love it when your horoscope reads exactly what you want it to...

June 16, 2011

Capricorn (12/22-1/19)
Teaching an old dog new tricks isn't hard when the dog wants to improve itself! You can sense something new starting in your life, so why not go with this feeling and make some personal changes? In order to take advantage of an upcoming transition, you'll have to let go of a few old habits. But one glimpse at your possible future will show you that all the effort will be worthwhile. Today you will be handed a golden opportunity on a silver platter.

It's a secret. I can tell you it is golden.  Our friends are going to love it. Stitching friends that is:)