Bella Dia

A Dream Come True

Oh my! I've just found out
that the Dalai Lama is coming here,
where I live, in the fall!!!!!!!!!!! This is a
dream come true for me!!!
Being able to hear him speak, to see him,
is on my list of things I want to see/do/experience before I die. I am overwhelmed with feelings of happiness and gratitude.
The stars and planets must have aligned over my little world because I never ever thought it would happen like this.
I don't know what else to write because
the rest of my post would be more of the same: ...happy!!!!!! ...thrilled!!!!!!! ...excited!!!!!!! ...elated!!!!!!
Sometimes, very good things happen.

Why I love him:

My religion is very simple.
My religion is kindness.
-Dalai Lama

Our prime purpose in this life
is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.
-Dalai Lama

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
-Dalai Lama

This is my simple religion.
There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
-Dalai Lama

Whether one believes in a religion
or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.
-Dalai Lama

Cup Cozies

I'm a tea drinker and like to take tea
with me in the car but it's usually too hot to hold and I don't have any of those cardboard wraps you find in coffee shops to protect your hands. So...I made some cup cozies over the weekend.

It's my own design so they're
pretty quick and easy :) They're made from inexpensive Red Heart Super Saver yarn and they fit these 16 oz. cups that I got at Costco (6" tall, 10 1/2" diameter at the top, and 8 1/4" diameter at the bottom). I made a chain that wrapped around the center of the cup just long enough to meet when it's stretched; mine were about 31 chains.

You can either crochet it as a square
and then sew up the side when you're done or crochet in the round.

If you choose to do it in the round, connect the ends of the chain with a slip stitch then just start crocheting, single crochet, until you get the width that you want - mine are about 3 1/2" wide.

I put some bobbles on my squares,
I think they are so cute and they're easy too. Stitch the ends together with wrong sides facing. I used a blanket stitch for the closing.

The main thing is to remember to
keep the cozy tight. If your tension is looser you may want to do fewer chains.

I'd love to see a picture if anyone
decides to make one. When I get some time, I'll put together a little tutorial with pictures.

Sweets for the Sweet

I've been doing a little virtual shopping on the internet and made a photo album of my favorite Valentine finds. Enjoy!

Fun and Games on the Internet

I just found out my hippie chick name is "Solstice"! Groovy baby! Find out your hippie chick name, send a note to your future-self, play Lite Brite, write a poem with magnets and more with all the following links. Have fun!

What's your hippie chick name?

here's a quiz to find out everything you ever needed to know about yourself

make a snowflake without all the paper scrap mess

send a note to yourself in the future

fun and addictive online game to play

and here's another game

online Lite Brite fun

fun and interesting facts

My son calls this site "the singing animals" - fun for little ones - catchy tunes!

play with Mr. Potato Head

create an online magnetic poem

write your life story

Feodor Rojankovsky

Born and raised in Russia but later immigrating to the United States, Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970) illustrated more than a 100 children's books. He won the Caldecott Award for Frog Went A-Courtin' in 1956 but is probably best known for his illustrations in Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff. I think he has a very unique style and I love the bright colors and high contrast that seem to be his trademark. This is what he had to say about his childhood and how it influenced his art:

"Two great events determined the course of my childhood. l was taken to the zoo and saw the most marvelous creatures on earth: bears, tigers, monkeys and reindeer, and, while my admiration was running high, l was given a set of color crayons. Naturally, I began immediately to depict the animals which captured my imagination. Also when my eider brothers, who were in schools in the capital, came home for vacation, I tried to copy their drawings and to imitate their paintings.

"Later when l went to school in Reval Tallinn, an ancient town on the shores of the Baltic sea my love for art was enhanced and strengthened by a passion for nature. Tallinn was surrounded by forest. The sea presented wonderful opportunities for excursions and study of sea life. But there were also steamers, sailboats, flags, and all the excitement of a port. This was no less exciting than playing Red Indians or reading James Fenimore Cooper, the beloved author of all Russian children before, during, and after the Revolution .. [Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, editors, CaIdecott Medal books: 1938-1957, Horn Book, 1957.]

Here you can see some wonderful lithographs and here you can see an illustration he did for the book Daniel Boone.

Every now and then I'll post about other children's book illustrators and authors that I admire.

My First Scarf

I'm really pleased with this scarf. I followed a pattern for the first time and I never thought I'd be able to do that. The pattern is called trellis and is super easy to do. I'm using my favorite beginner crochet book, Crochet Basics: All You Need to Know to Get Hooked on Crochet by Jan Eaton which I would definitely recommend to anyone that wanted to get started crocheting.

Great new crochet book

I am just nuts for this new crochet book I got. I swear I could feel my brain synapses start popping as soon as I started flipping through the pages! It's called 200 Crochet Blocks: For Blankets, Throws, and Afghans by Jan Eaton. By using a variety of different crochet blocks in different color combinations you can create the coolest looking crocheted quilts. I love her color choices and her mix of styles from traditional to
very modern.

Look at this one:

Here's another:

Each block has a picture and instructions on how to make it. Here are some of my favorites but it was so hard to choose because they are all wonderful.

I'm going to have to find a better yarn resource. I want the same kind of yarn in a multitude of colors - if all the blocks are worked with the same weight/size yarn and the same size hook then they can easily be put together later. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know :)

Just another bag

Here's a Christmas present that I couldn't post before but now I can:) It's another Chelsea bag made from Amy Butler fabric. This is the tall version of the bag. It's lined with a dark olive-green velvety fabric and it's reversible.