Bella Dia

H is for Handmade

My mother suffered a brain aneurysm about 13 years ago and was in the hospital and rehab for several long months. It was a horrible time full of stress, worry, and many many tears. One day I was at my parents house and I saw this statue that my mother had made in a sculpting class when they lived in Mexico. I had always loved it but this time I felt so drawn to it knowing my mother had shaped it with her bare hands and had put so much of herself into it; I scooped up the statue and took it home with me. It brought me more solace than anything else during that time. It made me feel closer to her while she was still in the hospital: I could touch that statue and through her work be holding her hand.

Like most people in the crafting community, I grew up doing all variety of crafts. It's always been a fun thing and so much a part of my life that I really don't notice it, like cereal for breakfast or making the bed, just something you do. But, after that experience with my mother, and at the time being a new mother myself, the idea of making something by hand took on a whole new significance. Handmade items are special. They should be cherished and valued more than anything else. They are created not just with yarn, ink, beads, or thread but with love, thought, devotion and passion. Handmade items are a tangible connection to the maker and help tie us together when life sends us scattered beyond reach.

My mother is recovered now although she was left with some impaired vision and arm weakness. The statue is no less valuable to me - it's more. Now I know the power that a handmade item can hold.

Wildfire

I've been distracted for the last few days. Planes carrying water and fire retardant have been buzzing over our heads and great clouds of smoke and ash block out the sun making it look like a giant maraschino cherry hanging in the sky. Our area has been overtaken by the Castlerock Wildfire. As of now, over 41,000 acres have been burned and 1600 firefighters are working hard to keep it under control. The air quality has been deemed unhealthy and everyone is being told to stay inside and not partake in any outdoor exercise - no problem for me ;) People living in the area just a few miles north of us are under a mandatory evacuation. I don't think it is any threat to us except maybe the smoke. It's making our eyes burn and giving us headaches but we're trying to stay inside with the air conditioning on. This news story makes it seem like people are running for their lives but it's not like that. Everyone's doing what they have to do and in a small community like ours, people are jumping at the chance to help others any way they can. *click on the mosaic to see a larger version

G is for Grandmothers

Nanny

weenie roasts, Big Red, feeding the cows, bluebonnets, supper, parakeets, gardenias, Reader's Digest Drama in Real Life stories, front porch swing, Dairy Queen, pickup truck, fireflies, okra, Ms. Estelle and Sugar, Ms. Marrs, Mom's high school yearbooks, cousins, forts, Papasonny's farm, blackberry picking, y'all, over yonder, homemade doughnuts, playing "spoons", three-inch deep bath water, Thorndale, begonias, visiting Catherine and Cornelia, playing with Phil, Winn's, ticks, rattlesnakes, Days of Our Lives, post office box, swing set, clothes line, preserves, jelly glasses, leftovers, Piggly Wiggly, aluminum Christmas tree, church, playing on the school yard, the library, bar-b-qued ribs, cattle auctions, rocking chairs

Polly

capris, purple, antiques, old bottles turned lavender and blue, First Monday at Canton, cut glass, red dirt, azaleas, hydrangeas, National Enquirer, Icees, Little Mexico, chocolate cake, old family photos, the Cadillac, dirt dobbers, cooking on the little stove in the woods, Antique Trader, Vogue, magnolia wallpaper, "K-k-k-katie Beautiful Katie", vinegar, red brick, make-believe, coral snakes, humidity, designing cities in the gravel driveway, ironstone dishes, glassed-in porch, Johnny Carson, Lazy Boys, scary closed off living room, getting the mail, fireworks, lizards, bottle digging, climbing the mimosa tree, white handbag, cuckoo clock, magnolia trees, oak kitchen table, wicker porch furniture, thunderstorms

F is for Flower Shop

It was the best of times it was the worst of times.   It was a flower shop that my mother, sister, and I once owned in Southern California.  Sounds fun, huh?  We thought so too.

I mean, who doesn't like flowers?  Who doesn't want a flower delivery from a loved one?  Big surprises were in store for us. 

We loved working with the flowers, going to market, making each arrangement unique and special and it smells wonderful all the time.  What we didn't expect is the human emotion that flowers can represent.  Mother's Day was just about the worst; everyone goes all out on Valentine's but when it came to celebrating mothers it was always, "What can I get for $15?"  Numerous times we had mothers that would refuse flowers from their family because, "I haven't talked to them in (fill in amount of time), I don't want any flowers from them!"  Do you know how awkward it is to call the person who ordered them and say "Sorry, but your mother wouldn't accept the flowers"?  Another awkward situation - wife calls and says she was charged on a credit card for flowers she never received.  A call to the husband - who ordered the flowers - and you find out the flowers weren't for his wife.  Hmmmm.  "You call her back - no you!"  Weddings were always real high stress too since the flowers have to be done within a day or two of the wedding and sometimes the weather would run afoul and ruin a crop of flowers that the bride had her heart set on.  I'll tell ya, it was always something.

It was still a great learning experience - but not one I'd like to repeat. 

E is for Embroidery

I love embroidery.  I love the process of making small precise stitches and deciding on which beautiful color to use next.  My doodle embroidering has been infringing on my reading time so it looks like I won't be finishing the last Harry Potter book anytime soon.  I'll probably call this design May Flowers as in "April showers bring May flowers." 


I thought I'd share my little on-the-go embroidery organizer.  This plastic case snaps closed and it easily carries my current embroidery, scissors, and floss selection.  It makes a nice flat surface to work on and is simple to take with me while I wait for the kids to finish their various activities.  I got it at Wal-Mart several years ago but I'm sure you could find it anywhere, especially now with all the school supplies in stock.

 

D is for Decisions

I've been wrestling with a decision lately and it has been the reason for my delay in posting. Decisions. How do you make big decisions? I'm a muller. I'll think about it for a very long time; some decisions I've spent years thinking about. Probably what's good about that is I have very few regrets but what's bad is the weight of my indecision can leave me heavy-hearted and unmotivated until I've decided what to do. Ultimately, I always go with what my gut tells me to do even if the cons list is longer than the pros. But, now my decision has been made and already I feel lighter and taller and happier than I have in awhile.

C is for Color

Linen, flax, stone, khaki, putty, tan, oatmeal, ecru, natural, sand. Is it oxymoronic that my favorite color has very little color to it? I think what I see here is potential - the empty palette where you begin your work. The start of something big. The start of something exciting and new and fresh. A place to begin again.

Meme Update

I can't tell you all how excited I am that so many of you are playing along with me on the Encyclopedia of Me Meme. I have created a list of participants in the left-hand column. If you are participating and don't see your name please email me or leave a comment and I will add you.

Again, feel free to join at anytime and do what is comfortable for you. I have created a category for all of my meme posts so they are easy to access - you might want to do that too. I'm also creating draft posts for letters that I already know what I'm writing about and saving them so they'll be there when I'm ready for them. Have fun!

B is for Bullet List

baby bird - saw this baby robin on one of our hikes - I love it's grumpy expression

bungee jumping - something I'll never do

bookkeeper - my other job

birthday - today is my son's 12th birthday and we'll be celebrating this weekend with a "Robin Hood" party

balance - something I'm constantly seeking

basil - I love it with fresh tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella

breakfast- my favorite meal of the day

blood - something I faint at the sight of

bees - I'd love to keep bees someday

Beatles - they weren't for me; my heart belonged to Davy Jones and The Monkees

bedtime - my favorite part of the day

A is for Aging

Oh geez, I am losing it big time. I wrote the post about the meme on the 30th (I thought) and scheduled it to post on the 31st - *so* pleased with my good timing since that would give me a whole day to think about my first post. Woo hoo for me. I woke up this morning and started reading comments. When I got to Chara Michele's comment she said "I think this is such an interesting idea! :) I might start it tomorrow (instead of today, the 1st), but I think I will go ahead and join in." What?? Today the 1st? Oh great, just lost another day... again.

So I give you A is for Aging. I'm 46. I'm getting old and forgetful and my knee hurts and the only music I can sing along to is what they play on the sound system at the thrift store. I take naps and wear reading glasses and have recently started golf lessons.* Yep, I'm an old fuddy duddy.

But, there is a good side to getting older. You know you can weather the storm because you've done it before. You know everything will seem better in the morning. Young children clap when they see you ride a bicycle. You know fashions come and go but great style lasts forever. I am continually fascinated and thrilled with computers, cell phones, DVD's and all the other new technology because I know what it was like using a card catalog to research a paper, looking for a pay phone to call home, and only seeing a movie once, in a theater, and then waiting for it to come to TV ten years later.

I am really excited to see so many people participating in the Encyclopedia of Me Meme! Please jump in anywhere and anytime. Don't feel like you have to post for every letter or match that letter to the "correct" day. You are welcome to become involved on any level - I'm just happy to have you doing it with me :)

*Inside joke to my dad, but I really am taking golf lessons ;)