Monday Made

Yes, it's Monday and a new week...week #3 of staying home. It's cold and wet and yucky! It's afternoon and I haven't managed to get anything done. It's one of those check in days with family and friends via the phone and internet. That's more important than housework- right?

Yesterday our daughter Angie brought over a few things and at least I got to see her! Today, my other daughter Gina came by to pick up a few things and so I got to see her too. It's hard keeping a distance, talking far apart in the garage without hugs or a cup of coffee. But, it is what it is and I am so thankful I got to see them in person. 

So, today is Monday Made on my Tasha Tudor FB page, so I am sharing what I made here on my blog too. As I posted previously, I participated in Rachel Hoffman's VDC last week. I really liked the workshop by Helen Kish, so I made the little shoe the other day. Of course, I changed a few things but that's the fun part about this. I want to make another one or two. It was just fun to do something creative for a change.

I recently found this wonderful wool felt pack that I had gotten on sale, years ago. I brought it over from my storage unit, not having a clue what I was going to use it for! I love going shopping in my craft room, especially now when we can't go shopping.

So I decided to make a pink one. I used trim, ribbon flowers and seed pearls to decorate it instead of doing embroidery work. I was anxious to finish it. I used pink and green wool felt.

You can see the work on the side with this photo. A little mouse crawled into it. A chick and a little dolly were fighting to occupy it!

This photo gives you a good look at the whole shoe. It's actually an ornament, but I didn't add a hanger onto mine. I just wanted it to sit on a shelf.

Here's the little Easter chick that took over the shoe. It was a very fun project and I think I could actually make a pair of dolly shoes now by leaving off the back and adding a strap. So fun.
Thank for visiting me. I hope this made you smile. 

The Kindness of a Dear Friend

Here we are...it's Saturday and another week has almost slipped on by. Staying home and away from others is hard. It is what we need to do right now. I was really kind of blah yesterday, along with most of my family and friends. I keep saying we will have good days and we have bad days. But just think of those who are putting their own lives at risk everyday to try and save the lives of others. Staying at home is easy compared to that sacrifice. I pray for their protection and am so thankful for so many.

I received this wonderful card via snail mail the other day. My good friend Bernideen sent it to me. She is very crafty and makes wonderful things to send to others. It just cheered me up so much. When I was recovering from surgery, she also sent me a delightful box of goodies. She is a cherished friend. We have never met. I so hope that will happen in the future.

Of course she included a packet of tea! Who doesn't need a cup of tea in the afternoon?

She had a tea shoppe in Denver before her hubby and her moved to MO when they retired. She has the most yummy recipes. This one just makes my mouth water.

I so appreciated this enclosure that was tucked in the card....so positive and some great ideas.

So I hope you are doing ok and are staying home and being safe. So thankful for the internet and being able to keep in touch. 

Thank you so much Bernideen! 

Some Dolly Fun...Beyond All Limits VDC

I have signed up for the past 3 Virtual Doll Conventions over the past few years. They are the organized by Rachel Hoffman who is just a fantastic person. She lives in Denver, Colorado and she came up with this great idea to have doll conventions online. When all of this virus crisis stuff began, she decided she wanted to do something to keep our spirits high. She put together a FREE VDC together in just weeks. She usually has to spend months getting one of these finished. She is so giving and has many dolly friends who willingly gave of their time and talent to help her make this happen.

Her VDC events are only $25 for five days of dolly fun, including workshops and wonderful informative talks by dolly experts. There are free print outs of all kinds each day. There is also a cookbook for a special dinner or tea on Sunday, the last day. You sign up on Facebook and this time, you can also view the programs on YouTube.
Remember, this one is FREE! The neat thing is you can watch the programs any time or go back and watch a favorite one. They are left on FB even after the conference is finished.

One of my Tasha Tudor friends, Paula Walton, was a guest speaker. Paula is a doll maker and collector. She has spent years researching Izannah Walker dolls. She makes reproduction Izannah Walker dolls and beautiful clothes as well as doll clothes. This photo is her's and these are the dolls she introduced us to as she taught us about the dolls and their maker. This was actually a preconvention presentation but it has to be my favorite so far.

This photo is my friend Linnie's. Her Izannah Walker dolls were watching the program with her! Linnie has a fantastic doll collection. Her whole house is a treasure with all kinds of collections. Jim and I were so fortunate to visit her and her hubby Gary last summer at their wonderful home in NY.
I hope you don't mind me using your photo Linnie!

One of the workshops presented today was this darling little shoe ornament. I think they would be darling party favors for a tea or a dolly gathering. Helen Kish who is also a fabulous doll maker kindly taught us how to make these. I have all the supplies (good thing as the craft stores are temporarily closed due to this virus) and hope to give it a try.
There were other programs today, but these are my favorites that I wanted to share today.
Lots of dolly fun and something sweet to take our minds off of the sadness of the days we find ourselves experiencing right now. Thank you Rachel for your gift to us.
There's still time to sign up!

What Are You Doing Today?

Good afternoon blogger friends! Well, yesterday our governor put stricter limits on our staying home. I think it's the wisest thing for now. Since Jim and I are retired, our life hasn't changed a great deal. We are being careful and have so much to do around the house anyway. I am still selling on my Etsy site and packaging items always takes time. I enjoy it and it is a bit of spending money for dolly things.

I love to write letters. This extra time at home has motivated me to write to friends. With FB and emails, I have gotten away from snail mail. This little fabric folder was a birthday gift from my friend last December. It is handmade out of the cutest fabric. I think it may have been a towel. She tucked in some sweet notecards.

She even found stamps that match the notecards. What a great time to use them!

I think I have done more cooking at home than I have in awhile. We do eat out a fair amount. It's actually been fun to try out some new recipes as well as some of my family favorites. I made a big pot of spaghetti (gravy or sauce to the Italians). I use low sodium tomatoes and sauce now along with ground turkey for my health.

It was yummy and we have enough for leftovers.

I think it's important to be somewhat normal about things. We eat at the table without the news and just have time to talk together. It just feels better.

Jimmy's spaghetti. We had a nice fresh green salad too. I enjoy each fresh item and wonder if Jim will be able to go to the store for more? Different times for sure.

I'm not sure you can see the rainbow in the sky. It just seemed like a bit of hope today.
I hope you are doing well and can find some happiness today. 

Stay Home!

Well, here I am again. It's been a very long time since I have blogged. I may have to learn all over how to do this. So much has happened since my last blog post but I will add as I catch up.
Most of you are probably staying in your home as we face this Coronavirus. It seems like the time to  return to somethings in life that we haven't had time for with our over busy lives.
This virus began in China and our country got a bit behind preparing for all of this. This is a new virus to the human body, so no one has immunity and there is no vaccine. It has hit WA, CA and NY especially hard and those states and a few others are in lockdown. My governor in OR may decide to enact that tomorrow. Sadly, so many people are not taking this seriously. The only hope we have to limit this virus is to pretty much stay home. The new term for keeping 6 ft away from each other is "social distancing". This is a very contagious virus and it is especially harmful to older people as well as those with certain medical conditions.The virus can be passed along as some don't even know they are sick. I have been home for over a week and Jim has only gone out for propane and a few groceries. It is impossible to get paper goods, especially toilet paper! It is hard to find other things...peanut butter, bread, sugar, hand sanitizer, bleach and cleaning products.
My daughters can no longer visit us. It's really hard not to see our grandson Otto. We do Face Time with him, but I sure would like a hug.
School has been out for 2 weeks and will continue to be closed for 4 more weeks. Angie works for Centennial School District in their office, so she is off work too. Thankfully, she gets paid! She is home along with Otto, so she is trying to provide some homeschooling. There's a lot of ideas and help out there. He's a first grader.
My other daughter Gina moved back to Portland from Seattle last summer. She is employed by the Clark County CC and all their classes are going to be online next term. She only has one class, so her income is cut too.
Jim and I are doing ok. It's scary and I think it's just hard when we have no idea how long this will drag on. We are retired and used to being home with each other. I am thankful we have each other.
So that's enough for tonight. I am going to try to keep my blog up again.
I pray that you and your family are well. I want to be positive during this difficult time too.
I worked outside today, cleaning out my flower beds. I'm tired so will say good night blogger friends.