Good Friends

My friend Stan and his wife were in town last week for a wedding - Stan and I have been friends since about the very first day I moved to Albuquerque in December 1986. We have not seen each other in at least 15 years and I was thrilled when he called and we were able to go to lunch together on Thursday. Stan served part of his mission in my hometown of Silverdale and now he and his wife live in Seattle....I told him we will definitely get together next time we are up there.


Here's to old friends -

Old friends, old friends sat on their parkbench like bookends
A newspaper blowin' through the grass
Falls on the round toes of the high shoes of the old friends

Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sun
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settles like dust on the shoulders of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today, sharing a parkbench quietly
How terribly strange to be seventy

Old friends, memory brushes the same years, silently sharing the same fears

(Simon and Garfunkel)

Sunday Best

I just discovered this fabulous blog - Close to My Heart - and I am so in love with her Vintage Sunday posts. She is darling!!! And I guess she inspired my little post today.....my church outfit for today.



I love that this pic is blurry cause Miss S took it
I love that Izzy snuck in at the last second
I love my new booties - garage sale find yesterday for $2.00
I love my new trim and highlights
I love that there is a Hobby Lobby bag on the chair in the background
I love that I went to church today - and played the organ, the piano, & taught Gospel Principles

The ABC's of Me!!

(A) Age: 38

(B) Bed Size: Queen

(C) Chore You Hate: Putting away the laundry

(D) Dogs? Yep - three - Mr. Fu, Maxwell and Izzy

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Dr. Pepper

(F) Favorite Color: Green and purple

(G) Gold or Silver? Silver

(H) Height: 5’6″

(I) Instruments You Play: Piano and Organ

(J) Job Title: Paralegal extraordinaire

(K) Kids: Miss S - age 10

(L) Live: Albuquerque, NM

(M) Mom’s Name: Marsha

(N) Nicknames: Raesh, Sister D

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? When I had Miss S

(P) Pet Peeve: NOT giving me a courtesy wave (huge traffic pet peeve)

(Q) Quote from a Movie: Hello my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

(R) Right or Left Handed? Right

(S) Siblings: 2 younger sisters, 2 younger brothers.

(T) Time You Wake Up? 6:00 during the week, 8:00 on the weekends

(U) Underwear: yes

(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Hmmm.....this is a hard one. I like almost all vegetables. Seriously - I can't even think of one I dislike.

(W) What Makes You Run Late: Getting Miss S ready for school which is mostly due to my failure to get out of bed on time.

(X) X-Rays You’ve Had Done: back

(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Double Decker Fudge

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Panda bears

Recent Goodwill Goodies

I have the best intentions of participating in Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday posts but I never quite make it there in time.

These goodies all came from a recent Goodwill trip...I like to look for new merchandise at Goodwill and on this trip I scored the shelves, baby clothes, zippers, Star Wars valentines and photo cubes that were all brand new. Nice:)

Lovely Goodies

I participated in Regina's fabulous brooch swap (remember I made the zipper broochs I posted about not too long ag0)
These are the beautiful broochs that I received in return.....aren't they absolutely awesome! Each one it unique and different and fabulous!

Thank you for hosting such an awesome swap Regina!

On another note - do you want Modern Family? Holy cow that has to be one of the funniest shows ever!! I watch episodes online during my lunch hour at work and I have to close my door cause I laugh so hard. Between that at How I Met Your Mother I almost pee my pants laughing everyday at lunch:)

Tuesday's Tutorial

I've known how to crochet for literally about 30 years. But I have always always always wanted to knit. I've knitted on and off since I was about 12 - I remember taking an afterschool knitting class and making a pair of slippers. I really wish I still had those slippers. Then I didn't knit anything for about 15 years. Then I knit a few scarves. Then I didn't knit anything for about 5 years. Then I decided I really really want to learn to knit. Like really well. I want to knit socks, and hats, and cute amigurami and all sorts of other stuff. My problem was I could never figure out how to hold the yarn properly. So knitting was laborious and frustrating and not fun.

One of my favorite blogs is featuring a Learn to Knit series and somehow in following this tutorial holding the yarn finally clicked for me. I think the beauty if the continental method where you hold the yarn kind of similar to how you hold it when crocheting. Now I'm excited about knitting again. I've mastered the knit stitch. Up next we have the purl stitch and then we are going to learn how to read knitting patterns. I am so excited!!

This is our first project (we learn casting off this week) - just a fun little washcloth that is perfect for practicing our stitches -

Isn't it so pretty??? It's soft, and pretty, and the stitches are consistent and it didn't take me two weeks to get this far. Nope - it only took a couple hours!!!

Yes I'm a Trekkie

I'm a Trekkie and dang proud of it too:) Nothing beats the original Star Trek series...however, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is a close second and actually my all time favorite series of the franchise. I really like Voyager and Enterprise too...but never got into Deep Space Nine - something about it just didn't click with me.

A few of my fun Trekkie moments:

• Meeting Walter Koenig (Chekov) and he told me he loved my name
• Winning tons of Star Trek swag at a convention
• Making Star Trek uniforms for me and Hubby the first Halloween we were together
• Being mistaken for Marini Sirtis (Troi on TNG)
• Waiting in line on opening night to see The Final Frontier
• Seeing Star Trek (the reboot) in Imax
• Having Miss S tell me her favorite character is Data "cause he's an android"
• And finding this picture of Wil on his blog:

Bibliophile

From Answers.Com:

"Bibliophile" is the common term for a person who loves reading. However a bibliophile is, most accurately, a lover of books - someone who likes books, including someone who likes to collect books.

Hmmm...that sounds exactly like me:)

I've read a few absolutely wonderful books this month that I just have to rave about:

I loved "The Greatest Generation" and I was excited to find this follow up book - The Greatest Generation Speaks - I love reading the recollections of soldiers.


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - I seriously could not put this book down! Such a well written and unique book. I definitely recommend it.
The Ghost Map - about the cholera epidemic in London in the 1850s. Another fabulous read. London was pretty nasty in the 1850s....

I haven't decided what to read next - any good recommendations?

Luck of the Irish

Do you read the blog eighteen25? If not you are missing out!!! It is one of the best blogs out there for free printables, darling ideas and so much cuteness you could scream! I love this St. Patrick's Day subway art freebie they posted.


I can't wait to see what they post for spring and Easter!!! Thank you to Jennifer, Jamie and Jodie for such an awesome blog!

Izzy

Our sweet baby had her first trip to the groomer! Now instead of just being a mess of fur she has a standard Yorkie cut and you can see her tiny little body and precious little angel face.



That little tiny body kills me!!! She had little yellow bows in her hair when she came home and she pranced around like a little princess:)

Cookies!

This is our first year selling cookies with Miss S's junior troop - last year we started the troop right about the time cookie sales started so we opted out of selling last year. The girls have been so excited about it and have sold a TON of cookies! Almost 2000 boxes to be exact:) Saturday we did our first booth sale at the grocery store by the house - they were such good little saleswomen:)

Winners and Prayers

I suppose it's about time I announced the winners of my two recent little giveaways:)

The proud new owners of my Valentine's ATC are:

Dawn and Afectionknit!!!!

Woohoo!!!! Afectionknit will you please email me your address at raeshadrz at yahoo dot com. Thanks!!

And the proud new owner of my zipper brooch is:

Tammy who said... oooh! so pretty and fun! I'm so thrilled for Tammy cause guess what?? I won the brooch that she was giving away! Isn't that cool???!!!!!!

Congratulations ladies!!

Now for the prayers. My step-sister Jenny is extremely ill and in the hospital fighting for her life. She is fighting double pneumonia with severe complications. The doctors have told my step-mom they are taking it hour by hour. Holy cow that's scary. Please remember Jenny in your prayers.

Jenny just celebrated her 32nd birthday in January...I wanted to include a picture so you can picture her in your mind during your prayers. Thank you!

My Guthrie Boys

I love folk music....something about is just speaks to my soul....I know I post a lot about music but I am so influenced and inspired by so many different types of music. Woody Guthrie and his son Arlo Guthrie are two of my favorite folk artists. I was able to see Arlo in concert about 17 years ago and it was amazing night.



One of my favorite songs from Arlo: (I LOVE Alice's Restaurant but it would take forever to post those lyrics:))

Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail
15 cars & 15 restless riders
Three conductors, 25 sacks of mail

All along the southbound odyssey the train pulls out of Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms & fields
Passin' graves that have no name, freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of rusted automobiles

Good mornin' America, how are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done

Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car
Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
And feel the wheels rumblin' neath the floor

And the sons of Pullman porters & the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers' magic carpets made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep, rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

Good mornin' America, how are you?
Say don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans.
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.

Night time on the City of New Orleans
Changin' cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Halfway home, we'll be there by mornin'
Thru the Mississippi darkness rollin' down to the sea

But all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
And the steel rail still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again
"The passengers will please refrain:
This train got the disappea rin' railroad blues

Good night America, how are you?
Say don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans.
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done

I read the autobiography of Woody Guthrie many many years ago - "Bound for Glory" and it was such a beautiful and moving book. His life was amazing. I only wish he had lived longer. I had a hard time choosing a favorite song by Woody - they are all my favorites. So this is just one of them....

Christ for President

Let's have Christ our President

Let us have him for our king

Cast your vote for the Carpenter

That you call the Nazarene

The only way we can ever beat

These crooked politician men

Is to run the money changers out of the temple

Put the Carpenter in

O It's Jesus Christ our President

God above our king

With a job and a pension for young and old

We will make hallelujah ring

Every year we waste enough

To feed the ones who starve

We build our civilization up

And we shoot it down with wars

But with the Carpenter on the seat

Way up in the Capital town

The USA would be on the way

Prosperity Bound!

In My Daughter's Eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I am a hero
I am strong and wise and
I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
Everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light
And the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me
Gives me strength when I'm weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
Has had enough
It's givin' more when you feel like givin' up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future
A reflection of who I am
And what we'll be
And though she'll grow
and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone
I hope you'll see
How happy she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes