A REAL ROBIN'S EGG

This is the color I want to paint my walls for Spring.

I moved my luscious Big Bed and now wake up looking out my favorite window into rose bushes and bamboo.

There is still a ton of things to do to rearrange my house/life but I'll get there. So far, so good.

SPRING

Trying to plan a total rearrangement of my house; rather a big deal with all my stuff. My main plan is to move my big bed (I LOVE my bed!) into the dining room and then use the one bedroom of my tiny house as a studio where I can leave out sewing, etc. and craft to my heart's content when I'm not here at the Job.

This rearrangement requires disassembling Big Bed and moving it, as well as file cabinets, TV, etc. all around into a new configuration that will also work better when the grandkids are over.

My granddaughter was so easy. I'd tell her not to touch something because "that's not for kids".

"Okay." And that was that.

Not so with my grandson. He shakes his head when I say "No!", waits for me to look away and heads right for the forbidden fruit. Unlike his sister, he is very sensitive to hot and cold as well. My tiny bedroom is freezing in winter, sweltering in summer. So I'll try this.

I'm also considering painting a room a robin's egg blue, something I've fantisized about for years. Right now the entire tiny house is flat white. But I'd like something like this:

Minus the modern chair. I love the feeling of this blue.

GUILTY PLEASURES

Trying to get it together to begin a new Craft Blog with projects and references regarding the huge craft renaissance going on in the US, UK and Europe, especially on the Internet. I can spend hours surfing, and have done so, many times. Now I want to show photos of my own little craft efforts and reference some of the fabulous designers and crafters I've found on the Net.

I spent $$ on a guilty pleasure today, a Dover ClipArt book (with CD!) of Celtic Designs, mostly from the Book of Kells and the Lindesfarne Gospels. Samples:

















I can't wait to transfer these onto some summer teeshirts and/or bookbags. And maybe make up some kids' clothes out of cotton or linen embellished with these images. My granddaughter loves these, and there's a local shop called Siobhan Van Winkle that sells off-the-wall kids' clothing.

Also went to SCRAP and bought a ton of buttons, some for kids' clothing and some for selfish me.

A Civil Servant Story: a coworker interviewed and was offered a promotion to our Manager's office where he wanted to work out his remaining years to retirement with more money and challenges. We threw him a big party and missed him terribly when he left. I call him our Jester because he is so witty and funny, in a sarcastic but charming style.

A month later, I came into work and he was sitting in the cubicle next to me again. I asked if he was visiting, and he said no, he had exercised his "retreat rights" because the new job environment was so cold and impersonal.

The Jester is very sociable and talkative and no one in his new office talked. Ever. He said no one said "Good morning"; if you sneezed, no one would mutter "Good bless you"; and he didn't get mail for two weeks because no one told him where his mailbox was.

Jester is also a diabetic and when chatting with us, he'll whip out his little kit and shoot himself up with insulin when necessary. In his new environment, he was afraid to do this, and went and hid in a toilet cubicle to inject himself. He said he felt like a junkie.

So I have to say there are environments worse than the crazy one I work in. We jokingly call it "The Prison", call the Manager's Office "The Big House" and make a lot of parole and trustee jokes. But I guess there is a lot of warmth among us, as crazy and neurotic as we all are. At least we got our Jester back.

Another guilty pleasure: Broke down and bought the "Concert for George" DVD of the 2002 concert organized by Eric Clapton and friends a year after George Harrison's death. I saw most of it on PBS and these old guys still rock. I've only seen the DVD for sale at one bookstore, so I went ahead and bought it. Always liked George's songs a lot and these musicians are the best and do them all justice. Highly recommended (if you have the cash).

LUCKY US...

...that we weren't born in 1989.

THE YEAR 1904

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904:

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.

Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S had at least one full-time servant or domestic.

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter of seconds.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

FEBRUARY ALREADY

I'm trying to be creative in a textile sense, but last week was like this, in fast-forward:

Mon-work; Tues-work; Weds-sick/sleep; Thurs-sick/babysit sick granddaughter; Fri-work; Sat-lay around for 1/2 day watching DVDs (The Constant Gardener and I am a Sex Addict). Sat night-take grandkids overnight; recover Sunday afternoon. And now it's Sunday evening and I haven't gotten much done.

I did felt some extra wool fabric and surround in cotton duvet-style covers (photo soon, when I locate my camera). I placed one under my bottom flannel sheet which keeps my bed warm and toasty; much warmer than without. I'd love to find a way to make a prototype and market this or anything made of wool.

Wool is magical. But it's getting harder and harder to find 100% wool these days.

Another creative textile idea is A SHOE QUILT:


What woman doesn't LOVE shoes? I found this graphic on the internet. A great way to use up extra cotton fabric and, of course, use wool batting in-between.

Trying now to think of Spring and Summer goodies for Los Bebes and myself. I've got lots of linen and some cotton.