On the eve of the eve of her 6th birthday, I just have to say I couldn't be more proud of you,

Miss America! You've come a long way baby girl!!!

One of the best best discoveries of 2014!

http://concordpastor.blogspot.com

circa 1972...vintage me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJ-F5WnAkU

Some pics of new house...begun 10/14, still in progress

Aspirations!

I still want to draw and I still want to letter!

I used to think you had to have that natural talent, but I've learned you can learn to do both, but, you must practice, practice practice!

Nobody letters more artfully than Joanne Sharpe.

Signing up for yet another one of her classes, combined with Documented Life and Documented Faith, hopefully will get me to the next level.

http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com/2014/11/join-us-for-artfully-inspired-life-2015.html

2014 A Year of Monumental Change

I think 2014 will go down in the history of my life as the year with the most significant amount of change, upheaval, accomplishments and sadnesses as any I can remember.

Starting with the photos above, I was delighted to join a group of 8,000+ others documenting my life in an artful way.

Called the Documented Life Project, 

details here:http://www.arttothe5th.com

we washi taped, collected, tipped in, gessoed, painted, collaged, gelli printed, sewed and lettered about our lives in a moleskine journal.

There were tutorials along the way that encouraged and taught many new techniques.

So January started off in a most positive way.

The middle of the month brought what proved to be a very debilitating injury.

While taking part in a pickle ball instructional event, I injured my knee, which months later was diagnosed as a stress fracture and required the use of walker for a time and later crutches. Needless to say, sadly, pickle ball has been abandoned. Just now, am I able to ride the bike at the gym and walk more than a few yards. Thankfully, most of the time, I was able to participate in my water aerobics classes.

February was a month of accomplishments, new cars for both Rod and I (have to admit I was sad to say goodbye to my 18 year old Ford Explorer which served me well!).

We also managed at long last to get our financial affairs in order, establishing a living trust and engaging financial planners.

March took Rod and I to Phoenix (in his new car).

Adventures abounded: 

http://mim.org

The Musical Instrument Museum is full of wonder!

We took in two Padre spring training games, a first for us, and getting thumbs up from Buddy Black!

We left America with Laurie, who proved to be the perfect therapy for her, after her devastating break up with Equipment. 

Lucy underwent her kidney surgery, thankfully most successful. However the recovery was brutal.

April began with National Letter Writing Month participants (100+) flooding my mail box with artistic goodies. It's quite heady to be in a group, spearheaded by, the oh so talented and kind, Lindsay Ostrom! 

The highlight of the month was a trip to Rome with our closest friends. We joined millions in St. Peter Square cheering Pope Francis.

We witnessed the canonization of two beloved popes, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, an extraordinary experience!

May wasn't nearly so eventful, however the Pannikin closing in Del Mar, certainly shook up Michael's world. 

Happily, I was able to join Lila and Larkin for a Mother/Grandmother celebration at St. John's.

June saw two significant events in Laurie's life:

ZZ and a dog friendly place of employment!!!

July

introduced me to the creative Sibyl Rubottom and the world of Book Arts.

Here's a piece of her work from her exhibit:

I also altered two shirts as part of my Compassionate Patchwork ministry (still trying to get off the ground:-)

The idea is to alter a deceased loved one's shirt so as to remember that person with joy.

Thanks, Lyn, for trusting me with your dad's shirts!

August brought most of us to

  Diane and Neil's spectacular home at Pine Mountain Lake.

We are forever grateful for their generosity.

Paddleboarding was the sport of the day, and celebrating Derek's 40th and Anthony's not sure how many birthdays brought much joy. 

Bittersweet partings though as the month meant the Deinhammer's move to Pittsburgh. Derek is certainly to be congratulated in his position as Senior V.P. at PNC, but the move left a wake of devastation in my life. I was so glad to be able to spend two weeks with them, helping with the move, getting to know my way around Pittsburgh, but suffered a depressing few weeks after coming home.

Carving rubber stamps was my refuge!

September was spent adjusting to life without the grands. America's therapy visits and ball playing always help ease any pain.

Big doings in October:

packing up for the ground floor remodel!

Each subsequent month has brought challenges, but, for the most part it's been worth it. Here's the real coup, my backsplash:

Having a piece of art from Patricia Kaszas is a thrill.

Also fun was a gathering of all the Dietz' for Bernie's 75th birthday

November miraculously brought Weston into our lives.

He's the handsomest, healthiest 10 pound baby I've ever seen.

Thanks be to God!

                               Here's the Deinhammer sweet family of 6. We are so blessed!

I was so thankful I could be there and see from the beginning the happiness he will bring to our family.

December 

Can you believe it???

My first cookie exchange ever!

Thank you, Davi, for such a fun experience.

I wasn't able to bake, had to depend on Costco's yummy peppermint bark, but I did have an oven just in time to bake my packaging:-)

and then the whole family made the pilgrimage to Pittsburgh for the holidays!

A highlight was uncle reuniting with the girls!

Not to mention the hours he spent putting together Barbie's Dream House!

Having Anthony's sweet, sweet daughter, Makaiya was also a treat!

Illness overtook some of us by New Year's, but all recovered now.

This is the first time I've documented a whole year, but I'm glad I did, because there are so many memories in this one.

Some special ladies passed away but I was privileged to pray with them before their death. I thank their families for giving me the opportunity.

Another accomplishment was reading day by day, Simple Abundance.

I found a great deal of wisdom and food for thought in her writing.

Another book of grace:

So now I lay 2014 to rest, opening my heart to God with TRUST for 2015, and (in the words, first of St. Paul to the Thessalonians and Father Timothy of Mitford),  trying to remember, In all things be Thankful!

Time to retell the Equipment story again: EQUIPMENT: THE NEXT GENERATION BACK IN 1976, WOMEN’S FASHION WAS ON A ROLL, DRIVEN BY A FLOURISHING YET CAUTIOUS READY-TO-WEAR INDUSTRY. SMOCKS, BLOUSES AND TUNICS WERE ALL THE RAGE…A FLURRY OF SILHOUETTES THAT CHRISTIAN RESTOIN WOULD SET OUT TO REVOLUTIONIZE. POSSESSING A DISTINCT TASTE LEVEL AND DISCERNING EYE FOR STYLE, RESTOIN INTRODUCED MEN’S SHIRTS INTO WOMEN’S WARDROBES WITH THE LAUNCH OF HIS BRAND EQUIPMENT - TRANSFORMING A MEN’S CLASSIC INTO AN ITEM OF WOMEN’S CLOTHING WITH GLAM APPEAL. STRAIGHTFORWARD YET INNOVATIVE, EQUIPMENT, CHARACTERIZED BY ITS REFINED TAILORING AND TIMELESS APPEAL, QUICKLY BECAME A RECOGNIZED NAME AMONGST THE FASHION ELITE. DRAWING HIS INSPIRATION FROM AMERICAN FILMS OF THE 50S, FROM STARS SUCH AS KATHERINE HEPBURN AND LAUREN BACALL (WHO BECAME ONE OF HIS CLIENTS); THE MENSWEAR INSPIRED SHIRTS BECAME A WORLDWIDE SUCCESS. COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING THE QUALITY AND SIMPLICITY OF THE BRAND, RESTOIN CHOSE TO SPECIALIZE IN SHIRTS AND NOTHING BUT SHIRTS – LETTING THE PRODUCT SPEAK FOR ITSELF RATHER THAN LABORING UNDER DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR. BUT AFTER ENJOYING TWENTY YEARS OF THE BRANDS SUCCESS, RESTOIN MOVED ON, WISHING TO PURSUE ANOTHER PHASE OF HIS CAREER. IN SPRING 2010, SERGE AZRIA, A VISIONARY AND WELL KNOWN NAME IN THE INDUSTRY, WHO ALSO OWNS THE SUCCESSFUL FASHION LINES JOIE AND CURRENT/ELLIOTT, RE-LAUNCHED THE ILLUSTRIOUS BRAND AS CEO AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR. KNOWN FOR HIS CUNNING EYE AND DISTINCT KNOWLEDGE OF THE FASHION LANDSCAPE, AZRIA SAW A VOID IN THE CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MARKETPLACE FOR A LUXURY SHIRT BRAND THAT CATERED TO THE MODERN WOMAN. STAYING TRUE TO ITS HERITAGE, THE COLLECTION RECALLS THE CLASSIC, MINIMALISTIC UNDERTONES OF THE EQUIPMENT BRAND, FUSING UNPARALLELED FRENCH SOPHISTICATION WITH AN AIR OF EFFORTLESSLY CHIC STYLE. TIMELESS AND INNOVATIVE, THE COLLECTION FEATURES MODERN, ANDROGYNOUS SILHOUETTES, DISCREET SEXINESS, LUXE FABRICS, UNEXPECTED DETAILS AND FEMININE RIFFS ON MEN’S SHIRTING. THE RANGE OF PRINTS, FABRICS AND SILHOUETTES COMPLEMENT THE MANY FACETS OF THE EQUIPMENT WOMAN: SHE IS STRONG, CHIC, ELEGANT, ADVENTUROUS, SEXY AND ABOVE ALL, CLASSIC. UNDER SERGE AZRIA’S CREATIVE DIRECTION, EQUIPMENT HAS QUICKLY BECOME THE MUST HAVE ITEM AMONGST FASHIONS MOST NOTABLE TASTEMAKERS. WITH ENDLESS OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH, AZRIA IS SUCCESSFULLY BROADENING EQUIPMENT’S PRESENCE AND EXPERTISE BEYOND SILK SHIRTS WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF SPECIALTY ITEMS INCLUDING PAJAMA SETS, SHIRT DRESSES AND SILK TEE SHIRTS. FALL 2012 MARKED THE LAUNCH OF EQUIPMENT’S CASHMERE COLLECTION. A NATURAL PROGRESSION FOR THE BRAND, THE CASHMERE COLLECTION IS THE PERFECT COUNTERPART TO THE EQUIPMENT SHIRT, A TIMELESS CLASSIC AND WARDROBE STAPLE. ADDING TO HIS PORTFOLIO, AZRIA HAS INTRODUCED EQUIPMENT HOMME TO THE MEN’S MARKET FOR HOLIDAY 2012 WITH A NEW COLLECTION OF MEN’S CASHMERE. ADHERING TO THE BRANDS MINIMALIST APPROACH, THE KNITWEAR COLLECTION IS COMPRISED OF JUST THREE SILHOUETTES - A V-NECK, CARDIGAN AND CREW NECK. LOOKING AHEAD, SPRING 2013 WILL OFFER A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF SILK SHIRTS AND CASHMERE - CARVING A NICHE IN THE MEN’S MARKET. EQUIPMENT OPENED ITS FIRST FREE STANDING FLAGSHIP LOCATION IN NEW YORK’S SOHO NEIGHBORHOOD IN DECEMBER 2012, FOLLOWED BY A WEST COAST LOCATION IN LOS ANGELES’ WEST HOLLYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ON MELROSE PLACE. THE BOUTIQUES HOUSE ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT COLLECTIONS ALONG WITH LIMITED EDITION COLLABORATIONS. AS PART OF THIS RETAIL GROWTH, EQUIPMENT ALSO LAUNCHED AN E-COMMERCE WEBSITE IN FEBRUARY 2012. INSPIRED AND MANIFESTING A MODERN PERSPECTIVE, THE COLLECTION IS INFUSED WITH A FRESHNESS THAT PROPELS THE TRIED AND TRUE CLASSIC INTO THE FUTURE OF FASHION. THIS CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TAKEN ON THE SIGNATURE PIECES PAYS HOMAGE TO THE LEGACY OF THE BRAND WHILE MAINTAINING THE PERFECT BALANCE OF COOL, UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE. Love telling the story, but makes me sad that Laurie doesn't get mentioned in this article. As Director of Design, she's given hours upon hours of her life to make Equipment so successful. She has much to be proud of and I know she knows how proud I am of her! see a selection of her goodies here: Equipment

Therapy Fluffy Pals

Hard to see Mer in this photo, but Destress Therapy Fluffy Day at UCSD during finals is one of her favorite visits!

What a treasure of a book! Will Schalbe and his mother Mary Anne start their private book club, revisiting old friends and sharing new ones, during her two year journey suffering from pancreatic cancer. She would not have called it suffering as she was an extraordinary woman who accomplished extraordinary tasks and continued to bring joy to all she met during those two years. Many of the books highlighted were ones I had many, some are now or order at the library. I felt an immediate kinship when they both counted A Prayer for Owen Meany as one of both their favorites, as it is mine. Here's a powerful paragraph from the end of the book: "...Mom taught me not to look away from the worst but to believe that we can all do better. She never wavered in her conviction that books are the most powerful tool in the human arsenal, that reading all kinds of books, in whatever format you choose...is the grandest entertainment, and also is how you take part in the human conversation. Mom taught me that you can make a difference in the world and that books really do matter: they're how we know what we need to do in life, and how we tell others. Mom also showed me, over the course of two years and dozens of books and hundreds of hours in hospitals, that books can be how we get closer to each other, and stay close, even in the case of a mother and son who were very close to each other to begin with, and even after one of them has died."

and here's our precious, Lucy Annabelle! Praise God!

Indy in his new home in New Caanan, CT Name change: Quinn!

How did it get to be March 14th??? Seems like last September was a lifetime ago. Minus one dog, plus one baby. Still blessed, a little wiser, a lot more prayerful.

Five months and 9 days later...where does one start to pick up the pieces. My life seems to change as quickly as technology these days. I was reminded this morning of one year ago,greeting old friends at Parents in Prayer, and introducing Lila and Larkin, transplanted grands! It was a happy morning, despite the fact that we left hurriedly when not sharing resulted in two screamers. Another happy morning today, introducing yet another change in my life, Indy, a pup in training for tenderlovingcanines. In between I've continued to celebrate my endless summer. April was filled with the joys of LindseyOstrom's National Letter Writing Month swap. I have an altered book filled with wonderful art and letters. Another highlight has been taking JoanneSharpe's Letter Love and Color Love classes. Then there's been many hours of grand time. How blessed we are that they're so close. We had fun showing Flat Fanny the wonders of Yosemite, on a trip to Diane and Neil's fabulous house on Pine Mountain Lake. I thank all of you who faithfully check in and perhaps I can get back to blogging. It was such a big think in my life for a while. I guess now I'm just too busy living it to write about it. Time will tell.

what a fun day!

What a fabulous program at UCSD. During finals Andra Lew and her volunteers set up several stations for multiple dogs to offer their support to stressed students. America was at her best and, was especially happy that she could spend time with Caleb and Archie.
One girl sat with us for an hour, just loving on all three dogs, and said how much better she felt.