14 November 2009

. . . i'm a {w}rapper . . .

. . . today, i got to do a lil' presentation . . .
. . . for some cute girls . . .
. . . all about gift wrapping . . .

. . . and it {might have} looked
like a candy cane factory exploded . . .

. . . yes ~ i'm steph and i'm a wrapaholic . . .

. . . we learned how to measure
{and not waste}
paper and ribbon . . .
. . . we learned "it's the thought that counts" . . .
. . . so ~ why not think CUTE thoughts? . . .

. . . then i had them help me
by wrapping up some mexico-bound
. . . looks like candace
{in the background}
was wrapping at warp speed! . . .

{p.s. y'all are so, so nice.
i've had no less than
six offers from great friends
willing to loan
their sewing machines to me.
i'm not worthy.}

12 November 2009

. . . poor, poor bernie . . .

. . . can we please have a moment of silence? . . .
. . . bernie is very, very sick . . .
. . . she literally quit last night . . .
. . . stopped dead in her tracks . . .
. . . a definite "no go" . . .
. . . as soon as merry&bright/red&white was finished . . .
. . . she gave up the ghost . . .
. . . hopefully {fingers crossed} she's revivable . . .
. . . but, we won't know for 10-14 days . . .
. . . which, in sewing terms, might as well be forever! . . .
{i'm cutting her some slack, what with her being 31 1/2 years old, and all}
. . . if i'm working on a special order for you,
please forgive me . . .

{only amelia and her in-laws will understand this post title}

11 November 2009

. . . merry&bright . . .

. . . * crickets chirping * . . .
. . . um ~ who's in charge of this blog, anyway? . . .
. . . i wish i had a note
from my mother
explaining this prolonged absence . . .
. . . truth is . . .
. . . nothing blogworthy's going on around here . . .
. . . so {once again employing *diversionary tactics} . . .
. . . i've been working on a little project . . .
. . . because i figure you can
never have too many red&white quilts . . .
{see sidebar -->}

. . . doing the math . . .
. . . 40 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + 45 blocks like this one . . .

. . . + a couple of borders . . .

. . . + pinwheel cornerstones . . .

. . . = a non-christmas print . . .
{who doesn't love paisley?}

. . . yet, decidedly christmas-ish quilt . . .
. . . her name is
"may your days be merry&bright
and may all your christmases
be {red &}white" . . .

. . . but i'm calling her
merry&bright/red&white
for short . . .

*additional stent{s} coming soon to a husband near me

03 November 2009

. . . baby's first christmas . . .

. . . expecting? . . .
. . . before christmas? . . .
. . . did you get one of these
from great aunt bertha
at your baby shower? . . .
. . . sorry . . .
{go ahead and ask me sometime
what i got from great aunt-in-law, bertha,
for our wedding}

. . . i can help, though . . .

. . . but, not if it's blue . . .

{whose bright idea was it to make blue a christmas color anyway?}

. . . accessories solve everything . . .
. . . especially if they're red . . .
. . . or white . . .
. . . or red AND white! . . .
. . . with jumbo or mini . . .
. . . jingle balls! . . .
. . . hey, aunt bertha! . . .
. . . get 'em while supplies last . . .

02 November 2009

. . . nineteen/five . . .

. . . you know . . .
. . . every week i read the letters
that elder romney writes . . .
. . . and i marvel
at the growth
and maturity
and spirituality
he displays . . .
. . . and then . . .
. . . THEN . . .
. . . amber sends me a couple of old photos . . .
. . . and i bet you anything . . .
{and i really hope}
. . . that he's the same old drewski . . .
. . . just wearing
a missionary nametag right now . . .

. . . he possesses the "special" ability
to cross one eye at a time . . .
. . . what skillz! . . .
. . . and i'm pretty sure
i know what it says
on the other side
of that easter egg . . .
{but this is a family friendly/equal opportunity blog}

. . . in drew's latest email, he said:
"I can´t wait to be sippin' on a Mt. Dew,
eating a Double-Double from In-n-Out
and/or a giant Chipotle burrito,
watching the Suns game
after a sweet day on the golf course" . . .
. . . probably so he can pose for photos like this . . .
. . . and live up to the fact that
his senior class voted him
"most likely to be america's next top model" . . .
. . . what a goofball! . . .

31 October 2009

. . . halloween wishes . . .

. . . i hope your halloween was filled with darling little monsters . . .
. . . goofy munchkins from the lollipop guild . . .
. . . crazy flying monkeys . . .
. . . picture perfect g{a}lindas . . .
. . . american gothic-style elphabas . . .
. . . aka: the wicked witch of the west {with no teeth} . . .
. . . {sigh} changed for good . . .
{also typecasting}
. . . i hope you got a decent group shot . . .
{ this was the best of our bunch :( }
. . . everyone needs a scarecrow or two . . .
. . . and really adorable . . .
. . . teeny tiny . . .
. . . trick or treaters . . .
. . . a beautiful candy passer outer . . .
. . . trendy fun big kids . . .
. . . with way too much energy . . .
. . . and amazing imaginations . . .
. . . who can make you laugh ~ even through tough times . . .
. . . and i hope you're friends
with the most clever couple alive . . .
happy birthday, fred!
{and thanks for all the night and day house calls}
. . . i hope you live next door to the flintstone mobile . . .
. . . we do! . . .
. . . and i hope you're enjoying the aftermath of this spooky evening . . .
. . . sugar high and all . . .

30 October 2009

. . . fiddle dee dee . . .

. . . oh, scarlett . . .
. . . you and your diversionary tactics . . .
. . . i know exactly how you feel . . .

. . . something unpleasant on your mind? . . .
. . . just think about it tomorrow . . .
. . . husband having surgery in the morning? . . .
. . . let's plant flowers tonight . . .
. . . fortunately, i got
all eighty-eight plants
in the ground
by wednesday evening . . .
. . . bad news? i thought i was buying
red and white geraniums . . .
{dang home depot - colors weren't listed
on their plastic markers this year . . .
and apparently just because the buds look white
doesn't necessarily mean they are white}
. . . good news? the ivy i planted a year ago
is finally starting to climb the tree . . .
{also . . . husband is home and recovering!}

29 October 2009

. . . from the bottom of his heart . . .

. . . have you ever seen one of these? . . .
{for the record, these are not my fingers ~ mine look much worse}
. . . this, my friends, is a stent . . .
. . . it is used to help widen blockage in arteries . . .
. . . like the arteries that were
ninety-five per cent blocked
in the bottom portion
of my poor husband's heart . . .
. . . so, he is now the proud owner
of three shiny new stents . . .
. . . great ~ so, now he has problems
with the bottom of his heart
and the heart of his bottom . . .
. . . he is Job . . .

28 October 2009

. . . amandajoanda . . .

. . . i know your 26th birthday
wound up being {just a little} overshadowed . . .
. . . thank heaven you're such a good sport . . .
. . . we couldn't ask for
a more wonderful middle daughter . . .
{or a cuter elliott}
. . . and, yes, let's sew some curtains! . . .

24 October 2009

. . . tag{g} ~ you're it! . . .

. . . this little tagg {double g}
got to sleep over
at grammy's house last night . . .
. . . something about
him not being much fun
while watching his mommy run 13+ miles
this morning . . .

. . . and this little tag {single g} ~
well ~ one just like it ~
will be firmly affixed
to each and every oops!
i create from now on . . .

. . . including care instructions . . .
. . . and country of origin . . .
{not blurry in real life!}

. . . now you'll know you've got
the "genuine article" . . .

. . . also new
{by special order} ~
eyelet ruffles . . .

. . . coming soon ~ the 2009 christmas collection . . .

{special thanks to shellene ~ computer genius extraordinaire ~ for tag design}