I have decided that living on an island is not all that bad. Once you accept the fact that there really isn't anyone else there - no one hiding behind a palm tree or nobody living on the other side of the island who wants to sits around the fire with you, it gets to be not so bad. There can be something calming about the oneness of it all - just you and maybe............Wilson.

Gardening - Knees hate it, soul loves it

I have been a gardener for most of my adult life. Every spring (actually it starts in February) I start to think about what I am going to plant, where I am going to plant it and how much of the stuff I planted last year is going to withstand the winter and come forth when the ground begins to warm.

As I age, it gets a little harder every year to crawl around on hands and knees to dig the dirt, pull the weeds and nip the fading blossoms. I am usually full of aches and pains every spring from bending and pulling. But it is worth it. Right now I am eagerly awaiting my lupin (pictured below) to come into full bloom. They really came back in full force this year. This is the most blossoms I have ever had on one plant. Pure Soul Food!



The other bonus in flower gardening is being able to bring all these wonderful scents into the house. My lilacs are just about ready. Can you see that the buds are almost fully opened? In a few days they will be ready to come inside to become eye and nose candy for Grampy and me. And, about the time they are done, my peonies will be ready to take over the "good smell" duties. Pure Soul Food!



In the meantime, while I await the lupin and lilac to reach full bloom, I sooth my soul with the Columbine. Aren't these beautiful? This is only their second year gracing my gardening, but already they are offering me some wonderful sights and hinting at how wonderful they will be in the years to come. Pure Soul Food!

So, the knees will just have to suffer! The back can ache, the nails can be broken and jagged. I need my Soul Food and my garden gives it to me every day!

Bad Granny!

I have been a Bad Granny! It appears that I have not posted anything in my blog for a long, long time. Guess I need to find a good excuse as to why this is so. So - here goes. See if this excuse works for you.

A couple of years ago I purchased a brand new sewing machine. It is a glorious sewing machine! It has bells. It has whistles. It has doodads on it that I still don't know what they doo or dad. But little did I know when I purchased it, brought it home and set it up that the darned thing TALKED!.

Yes! It talks to me. Whenever I start to do something like make a blog entry or check and respond to email it starts talking to me. It is the DEVIL! You should hear it when I try to do something like head for the closet that holds the vacuum!

Ewww! It takes on that low, sultry voice and starts in. "Hey, Baby. Come on over here. Take a seat. I am waiting for you. I have a full bobbin"

And it just goes on and on. "Remember that brand new needle you just gave me? Well, it is here all shiny and new just waiting to caress that new fabric that came in the mail 2 days ago. Yes, I saw that package. I know what it is. Let me push the chair out for you, baby. We have things to do."

So there you have it - that is why I have not posted is such a long time. I think I need to find out where Mr. Sewing Machine's mouth is and cover it with duct tape or something so I can get something done around here!

But it is not all the machine's fault. I guess part of the blame needs to go to that new etsy shop that I started with my daughters at the end of December. You see, we started it because we all had way too much antique and vintage stuff around that we really needed to get rid of. Both my daughter Tracy and I had gobs of vintage jewelry, paper ephemera, sewing patterns and stuff. We thought that this would be a great way to sell some of this stuff - you know - so we could buy more stuff! Well, it has been highly successful! I sold out almost everything I had in very short order. And - of course - I had to buy more so I could sell that too! I love antiqueing, treasure hunting and going to garage sales. Results? No blogging for a long, long time.

I still have my original handmade etsy shop going but right now I am pretty much only selling off already finished items. I have not created any new stuff for the shop for quite some time now. Overall, between the shop and the annual craft sale in Minneapolis, I have sold around 3 thousand needle bags and I am kind of tired of making them. I will be going into a new handmade direction in that shop as soon as a good idea falls out of the sky. I keep looking up but so far - nothing.

Anyway, I will try to be a little more regular in my posting here. I mean, I do muse alot and probably should write some of it down while the mind still sorta functions.