Valerean

I invested in both books of Rachel Gillig's Shepherd King duology because 1) it supported my favorite indy bookstore, 2) I wanted to try a new-to-me author and 3) I haven't read any gothic fantasy (actually I didn't know there was such a genre, so there's my excuse.) The author seems to be extremely well educated, working as a teacher and an artist before trying her hand at the Publishing biz. Orbit did a great job with the cover art. The books are hefty. I guess those are the positives. I did read the first book up until page 113, which was a deliberate extra effort on my part. When I don't care for a novel, I rarely go beyond thirty pages. Life is too short to waste on books that leave me cold. So I feel that I did give the author a pretty fair chance to engage me and convince me of her universe. The story did not, alas. While the characters were obviously, painstakingly crafted, none were sympathetic. Out of boredom I found myself rooting for a w...

If you'd like to see how I clean the vintage textiles I acquire (those that are in washable condition, naturally) check out my Vintage Textile Laundry Day album of pics here .

My guy and I spent the day out walking and antiquing in Oviedo, and had a lot of fun. While at the Coop Antiques I found a few things that I couldn't resist, so they came home with me. Restoring this vintage mini wicker hamper into a storage container/holder for things I use for my morning and evening meditation is a new summer project. This handmade bracelet is even prettier in person. I'll use this patriotic basket for our Independence Day celebration. This mason jar of vintage scraps came from the same seller who has such fantastic feedsack pieces in their booth. Speaking of feedsack, I found an old sack that will serve as the foundation fabric for the July tote for my calendar project. I also brought home some plain feedsack, which is so hard to find these days it's practically non-existant. Now that I've indulged in retail therapy, it's time to finish all of June's outstanding projects before July arrives. Stay tuned to t...

When our nephew moved in with us my guy and I agreed to accept money from him each month as rent -- at least, that's what our nephew thought. In reality we don't want his money, but he was too proud to live with us for free. So we put it aside and saved it for when he bought his new house. We intended to give it all back to him as a house-warming gift so he has the cash for all the expenses that come with a new home. The funny thing is that every time we go out I ask my nephew if he needs anything, and he always says "a bag of money." That's why I hauled out my very rusty cross stitch skills to embroider the label for this bag. Forgive the blurriness of these pics; he moves fast. He also had no idea when he came back from closing on the new house that he was getting this. He thought it was a joke, until he looked inside and saw it was, actually a bag of money. He started to refuse it, at which point I stepped in with a threat so dire -- and ge...

When my guy and I visit Snooky Park in Lady Lake it's to walk the half-mile path around it, and to enjoy the outdoors. Generally the only people there are walkers like us, either alone or with their pets or babies. Everyone is very quiet, in the same way they are inside a church. The park is named after a local boy who perished on board the Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was only 21 years old. In a way that always affects how I am when we visit. Calm, but also contemplative about the nature of life. Ageing is not a privilege that is given to everyone. There's one tree in particular at the park that my guy and I both stand in awe of -- this one. This tree might be as old as our country, and has been through hurricanes, endless summers of sometimes impossibly hot days and nights, and maybe even lightning strikes. It's old and scarred, and definitely stronger than the other, younger trees around it -- not because it's got so much damage. Bec...

Having too many projects going at the same time left me unwilling to start another until I finished one, so I waited to jump on my June tote for my calendar project. I also had a problem to solve with the fabric remnants I wanted to use for it, in that I needed complimentary solid fabric to top it on both sides. I have very little of that in my stash, and no fabric stores near me except Hobby Lobby (where I won't shop), so I decided to thrift the fabric. After we walked a park in Lady Lake I stopped by a thrift store across the street and found some excellent candidates: queen sheets and pillowcases. The pillowcases were $1.00 each, and the sheets were $4.00 (blue) and $2.00 on sale (green), for a total of $8.56. All of them are in new condition. Why do sheets work so well as fabric? A flat queen sheet is 90" X 102", which is almost three yards of 90" fabric. Try to buy that new for a couple of bucks. You do have to trim off the top fold and seams, ...