Happy Holidays

I have been swamped with work, orders, and holiday preparations and I'm glad to have this chance to catch my breath! I almost completed all my projects and those that still need completion with be an after holiday treat for the recipients! As per our norm, we were paying out the butt for last minute shipping and vowed to have packages shipped EARLY next year! Mark joked that everyone was getting gift cards next year after we gasped at the price to mail a Kitchen Aid mixer to Florida and a homemade dollhouse to Denver! Granted, it would have helped to educate ourselves on the acceptable sizes for shipping before making the dollhouse 2" larger than the allowed weight, throwing it into freight category --and PRICE. Ugh. In our haste, several things didn't get included in the appropriate boxes, but again, after holiday treats for some!

Pops made this dollhouse for Ayla, he was busy in the wood shop this year! Perfect for a four year old.

A wooden doll stroller for Sophie, also Pops made!

A quilted table runner I made for Adrian, attempt 2 since I wasn't crazy how the first one was coming out.

A Bohemian style skirt for Tabetha. I absolutely love the blues, greens, and purple batiks!

Mark has a mission to wow me every Christmas with very well thought out gifts. He spends a considerable amount of time assembling each one and this year was one of the best yet. I think he judges their impact on how much I cry and admittedly, this year I bawled. The collage is of my gramma who had an incredible influence on my personal, my emotional, and my professional life. I know I've mentioned it before, but she is the reason I am a nurse.

Random Ramblings

It's been too long since I posted last. My work schedule has left me very little "non-working, non-sleeping time and so I've been trying to use those precious moments to craft. We also had friends from the East Coast here for a week and we spent the entire time playing, laughing, touring, and eating!
I worked with Linda and Ed at Shore Memorial and when they called and said they were planning a trip, I was thrilled! Made me miss my friends on the ESVA more though. We put over a thousand miles on Marks vehicle and more on our feet! We did the usual China Town, Fishermans Wharf, the Pacific Coast, shopping, eating, and playing. We found the fortune cookie factory in a dark, scary alley in China Town and I can't wait to share it with more visitors! We celebrated Linda's birthday by Hot Air Ballooning over wine country, wrapping up the adventure with a bunch at a winery. We also toured the Robert Mondovi winery one day. A shame Mark and I aren't wine people!

Don't jump Ed, we won't let Linda shop anymore, I promise!

The Golden Gate Bridge behind us

Ed at the entrance to China Town, our legs ached from walking up and down the hills!

Damn, I love the city! What a view.

Mark and I in the hot air balloon, it was amazingly peaceful and a wonderful place to "just be"

I've been trying to balance Christmas projects with inventory projects and the squeeze has been tight, for sure. I have completed ONE, count em ONE project, with several in various stages of completion. On top of building my stores Christmas inventory, I accepted a guest spot for a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale with a group of other Hyena Cart folks! I wanted something special to put up and think I have nailed my own expectations! What little tot wouldn't love a wool felt baking set of gingerbread men cookies, dough, etc, oh yea, complete with apron! Sneak preview pics next week, I promise!
I completed a beautiful batik skirt for Tabetha, my one ready to wrap gift so far. No pics though, while she knows I was making it, I would at least like her to have some surprise! LOL.
I got an order for three twirly skirts, bought the fabric but they are on the back burner until I get this Black Friday coop completed. I also have been shipping out orders, making monsters, working on some new items for my store, and I hope to completely revamp the inventory soon. Big sale coming up while I replace stock with new ideas. Keep watching for updates!

Too Long

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted, well, actually I can. We've had a lot going on this past month including a trip to Denver, strange work schedules, the kids moving in (a saga in itself) and a visitor this week! I have accomplished some projects, although not near as many as I would have liked.
Mark and I flew to Denver to perform our babysitting duty and it was so wonderful to have both kids recognize us with excitement as we came down the terminal! Sophie has changed so much, talks well and we understood about 90% of what she said; Ayla translated the other 10%! Nana, Pops, Ayla, Sophie, and their parents all survived the adventure! We had no blood, no police, and we actually remembered to feed them correctly and on time! During our visit to Denver, Jacqueline and Jeff started their journey to CA and started it with a bang. A phone call at 1:30 in the morning from a hysterical Jeff informed us that they had rolled their truck in Louisiana. Jacqueline and Jeff faired better than the truck did although Jacq was transported to the ER for stitches in both her head and her elbow. Arranging the logistics of their continued trip proved easier than we thought and we appreciate Jeff's parents stepping up to the plate to help. They are in CA, safe and sound, their belongings arrived this past week via freight. Jacqueline has already landed two part time jobs and continues to look for full time work. She was always such a hard worker! I love having my daughter home! Jeff continues to look for work and hopefully he will find something soon. I've been sewing on my days off, intent on making the girls some outfits for Halloween. I ended up making more twirly skirts than just theirs and hopefully will get some orders for Christmas! I absolutely love the candy corn outfit I made Ayla and apparently, she does too! I had some custom orders to do and got those finished and shipped. I know I have to concentrate on building my inventory before the Christmas crunch hits!
Mark's stepmom, Nancy stopped to see us on her way to New Zealand and will fly to LA this evening to continue her journey. We loved having her here, I tried to glean some wine education from her and at least I now know what shaped glasses are for what color wine! We drove to Bodega Bay one day and enjoyed the view of the Pacific Ocean with her and then yesterday we took a trip to the City, enjoying lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and a walk through China Town.


Mark and Nancy with the Golden Gate bridge behind them.

Wow, is this a large number of crtters or what?!


Jacqueline and I at Bodega Bay


One of the twirly skirts I made


Ayla's candy corn outfit. Notice the display Mark made for me! It's still lacking the "hat ball" but he has it and will put it on soon!

Slow but Sure

I'm plugging along on my projects between strange work schedules. It seems to take me so long to recuperate from three nights in a row but worse to recover from one on one off, ugh. The next schedule looks better for sure! Anyway, I saw the most beautiful little jacket on one of the sewing forums I read and decided I had to make some for the grand daughters. The first one was definitely trial and error, that translates to several errors, but I love it anyway. It really was fun to do and I have the second one started. Both in shades of pinks. The first was done in small blocks and the second is being made in the crazy patch style.

I got a custom order for two babies done and mailed finally but they are adorable, in my most humble opinion! Hope the little girls enjoy them!

The shirt I made Ayla's outfit was a tad short in the torso, forgot she had such a long body, so I added a ruffle and sent it back! I kinda like the ruffle added!

No sewing yesterday since I spent the day cleaning, shopping, haircut, etc. And no nap either, whats up with that?? I go back to work tonight, will work three and then Saturday we fly to Denver to see the babysit the grand babies while their mom and day have an anniversary getaway! Mark and I are hoping we don't screw it up since this is the first time they have left the girls! HA!

I forgot...

I forgot that I wanted to share a story so will add it now. First let me preface this by saying I have thought of my gramma many times in the past few weeks, remembering all the things she did for me. Gram was always my hero, the reason I became a nurse. I can't articulate the incredible impact she had on my life. I was fortunate this week that one of my relatives shared a memorial slide show of Gram. I sat and sobbed as I watched it. Sadness yes, but what joy and memories it brought back. Yesterday, I ran to Joanns fabric to pick up some zippers, a quick trip, get what you need and get out. That's what the plan was anyway. I picked out my handful of zippers and headed to the checkout and came to a screeching halt behind a young (maybe 19-20 yr old) girl who was guiding an older (maybe 80?) lady to the cash register. I waited 30 minutes for them to complete their checkout process. I heard grumbling behind me, people shuffling feet with impatience. All I could do was cry as I watched this young girl encourage her gramma to continue to live a life. Instead of snatching the wallet out of Gramma's hands, the young girl quietly and patiently directed Gram to get her card out. Instead of just signing the sales slip, the young girl guided gramma's hand to the paper, sign here, Gramma. Not once did a hint of frustration show in this girls actions or words. When they were done, I quickly paid for my purchase, and out the door I went. The young thing was still leading the shuffling white haired lady across the parking lot by the arm. Not at a 19 year old pace, but at an 80 year old pace. I could see the girl chattering the entire time, Gramma smiling. I couldn't resist. I waited until Gramma was safely in the car and the young thing came around to the drivers side. I touched her arm, smiled, and said, I am so proud of you. Please enjoy every moment you can with your Gramma. She blushed a deep crimson, told me she spends several days a week with her grandmother who had alzheimers and their outings were the bright spot in her grandmothers day. By now, tears streamed down both our cheeks. I was so touched by the love and compassion this young girl had for her grandmother and knew that while the generation may have it's fair share of selfish people, somewhere there is a grandmother who can still go to the fabric store, can still laugh, can still live life because of the love of a granddaughter.

Wow, It's been a month!

I can't believe I have allowed a month to slide by without posting on my blog! It hasn't been laziness; it's been adjusting to being back on night shift and then trying to cram a million things into my time off. I hope Mark doesn't feel as neglected as the blog! I worked Wednesday, Thursday, Friday nights for so long, I've really had to adjust to changing schedules every week, Saturday nights, and goodness knows what else! I love my new job, enjoy the people I work with, and am slowly, but surely learning the way they do things. Somethings are similar, somethings quite different. Anyway, enough excuses...
I have several projects in the works, a farm tote for Sophie for Christmas that played havoc with my sewing machine. Okay, so some operator error played into the problems, but isn't that always the case? Once I put the right needle in, we moved along pretty quickly. All the pieces are complete, now to just finish the assembly, wrap it, and stow it away for Christmas. The tote is a fold out barn where Sophie will be able to play with the "paper doll" type animals and farmer. Complete with tractor! I hopefully will finish it this week and will post pictures!
Also have a "purse" project going for Ayla. It too is a labor of love. That really means VERY time consuming! The purse consists of 7 or 8 pages, each has pockets to hold the various accessories! I don't foresee it's completion for awhile!
I picked up some orange bags at Michael's and decided they'd be perfect for Trick or Treat bags. At least that project is done!


Ayla started preschool this past week and I decided to make her a tissue pouch to throw in her bookbag. It turned out to be a quick and easy project, oh yea, and fun, and have made several since! I think they'd be perfect for stocking stuffers!

Tabetha listed her felted purse that I lined for her (see previous post) and it sold within minutes of being listed. I told her not to make the same color again since that was the end of that fabric! HA!
Jacqueline and her hubby have decided to move to California and will be staying with us until they get on their feet. Mark and I were concerned about giving up our spare room so we moved my sewing room into the unused living room and wow, do I have space now! The kids will be able to use the spare room for their bedroom and then use my old sewing room as a sitting room, for TV, privacy, computer time, etc. We plan on getting a futon for that room and it will serve as our spare room too! I'm so brilliant sometimes it scares me.
Til next time...

A Busy Week

Well... I attended hospital orientation this past week for two days and I have to tell you, I am very impressed with my very community minded hospital. It spends an incredible amount of money on community outreach programs and it treats all patients with dignity whether they are a CEO or homeless. I am so in the right hospital! I found out Tuesday after orientation that I was actually scheduled to orient in the ER on Thursday and Friday; so much for getting some projects completed before I started work! I had planned on using the rest of the week to accomplish quite a but I have on my to do list, but that was not to be the case. Instead, I worked two 12 hour shifts, learned as much as I could, and dragged by butt out of bed at 0530 in the morning to report to work on time. I am a night shift person, mornings are not my thing, ugh. I have to do one more week (three 12 hour shifts) on days and then will go to nights, thank goodness! I have to say, I love my new ER and my new hospital, oh dark thirty or not! Yesterday I spent the better part of the day in my jammies, I played on the sewing machine, read, piddled around, and refreshed myself. I did line the felted purse Tabetha made and asked me to do something with. My machine had a fit trying to sew through two layers of knitting so I ended up sewing her side pockets on by hand but the lining (complete with a split pocket) came out quite good. I love the fabric I chose, the green in it is perfect and the glittery stitching adds just the right something!





Mark was given two VIP tickets to the county fair so we went today. VIP parking, lunch with the Board of Directors, and box seats to the horse races. Another free day of wonderful entertainment in sunny northern California! We spent not a dime today. We walked the fair and I was so thrilled to find it was a real county fair, livestock, jams and jellies, quilts, entertainment, crafts, and ribbons, lots of winners! There was a baby cow born just before we arrived at the livestock barn and mama was still cleaning the little one off when we saw it. We watched one horse race, something I have never seen before, and of course, it was the one race a horse got hurt on the back stretch. I was so busy worrying about the horse and jockey, I missed the entire rest of the race!



While we were at the fair, we did a toy drop for the Toy Society and we were like mother hens watching to see if anyone picked it up. We laughed at the people who were so totally oblivious to their surroundings that they walked past the stuffie, sometimes several times, without seeing it. One man picked it up, read the very clear TAKE ME HOME tag and put it back on the bench. A letter is included in the bag clearing explaining the concept, but maybe in these days and times, not everyone is trusting enough to accept a random act of kindness in the form of a cute stuffie! We're still deciding where the next drop will happen, but I know some will find their way into various parts of the hospital!

Transition Time

Well, its official, I got offered the job I wanted and now I need to transition into going back to work, and back to work at night! I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 3 1/2 months of not working but it's time and I found a hospital and ER that I believe will fit me perfectly. I start hospital orientation tomorrow and it will run for three days this week. Then it will be time to orient in the ER and get back to what I love, ER nursing.
I spent the week sewing; two custom babies are in the works, a dress for Sophie completed, an outfit for Ayla completed, and a custom order for a dress completed, packaged and ready to mail. I also have been working on baby gifts since Mark will have 4 coasties having (or wives having in some cases) babies, (one was born Friday morning, 3 more to go). I decided to make each a set of embroidered personalized blanket, an embroidered onsie, and a burp pad, of course, embroidered!

Sophie's Dress. A tweaked "pillowcase dress". One, its not made from a pillowcase, and two, I didn't like the standard ribbon straps nor the way the arm holes are normally done on them, so I reinvented it to suit my needs.

Ayla's outfit. The top buttons in the back, capri's for the bottoms!

The custom order dress I completed this week. Someone saw pictures of the grandbabies in their frog dresses and asked Tabetha where she got them, the rest if history. Yep, same fabric I used for Ayla's outfit!

Friday night music at the waterfront was once again incredibly fun! The band played cajun blues and man, that fiddler was totally awesome! Sorry about the video being sideways... I'm learning!


We went to San Fransisco yesterday to attend the Renegade Fair, 200 crafters from all over the country had booths. Too many booths of jewelry and of TShirts for me, but we did see some nice stuff! It was a thrill seeing some of the craft bloggers that I follow religiously, one of my favorites: Inside a Black Apple . We went to the movies last night, complete with popcorn! A splurge for sure during our self imposed year of frugality! But it was a nice way to end the day.

Catch Up

Another wonderful week in northern California ends and I have to admit, I do love this place! I love our town, I love the weather, I love the scenery, the fruit, the people, I guess just about everything! I had my job interview this week and it went well enough the nurse manager asked me to come back the next morning to interview with the night crew, since that's the slot I want. I dealt with severe panic but all went well and I came out of the morning interview deciding I was correct, this was the hospital for me. The nurse recruiter called me later in the day and told me if I was interested in the job, she would start on the background check, checking my work experience, etc. When that is done, she will call with an official offer. Once I shared the news with my east coast friends, their initial question was HOW MUCH IS THE PAY THERE? I'm sure it varies from hospital to hospital, some are union and some aren't and from area to area, but overall, my opinion is the west coast values their nurses more than the east coast, or so that's my experience. But, you say, the cost of living is so much greater on the west coast. I disagree. I suppose it, again, depends on the area you choose to live and the lifestyle you choose to participate in. Housing on the eastern shore of Virginia was so out of reach for the working folks, they aren't losing homes to foreclosure, they couldn't afford them to start with! Yes, gas is much more expensive here but I don't have to drive 30 minutes to the grocery store, or an hour to Walmart, or an hour and a half to the movies! Everything I could ever want or need is within a 15 minute drive! And we have mass transit! Some food items are more, some are less, the choices are greater, and the produce is out of this world! Enough of that!
We braved the heat and the crowd of 750,000 people to attend the Pride Parade in San Francisco a couple weekends ago, and it was a blast, sunburn aside. Last weekend we went to the waterfront in Suisun for their July 4th festival and chuckled at the people staking their claim to plots of land early in the morning to ensure their seating for the fireworks that night! Made me kind of worried that it would be a madhouse and it was! Oh it was wonderful! We went at the last possible minute, parked a few blocks away and hoofed it to the waterfront. We found a patch of grass, spread our blanket and discovered we had front row seats to one of the best firework displays I've ever seen! The crowd was unbelievable and everyone ooo'd and ahhh'd to my delight!

Last night we ventured back to the waterfront and watched an awesome Salsa Band. I might mention that the event was free! Next Friday I'm packing dinner in the cooler and we'll enjoy a different type of band. I think Mark enjoyed people watching as much as he did the music. Sunday afternoons, the town sponsors a Jazz series on the waterfront and while neither of us know anything about Jazz, we'll check them out tomorrow.
Have I mentioned that I love our town? LOL! I went to the library Friday and had a wonderful conversation with another patron. The lady was surfing the shelf I needed a book from and I couldn't help but glance at what she was looking at. Ok, I admit, I'm just flat out nosey. I commented that I had read the book she was considering and that led to a lengthy discusion of our favorite authors, types of books, the area, and why I had a southern accent, ugh. I call North Carolina home and I guess after 20+ years of living there, a southern accent is inevitable but I didnt realize that it was so, well, noticiable! I guess it is. Feeling self conscious about my accent aside, it was great talking to this lady; maybe I didnt realize that I might actually be lonely when Mark is at work!
Today we went to a Home and Garden and Craft show at the Senior Center in our neighbor town of Fairfield and while we strolled through the crafts, no babies (add to the consider for next year if we're here list) my intention was to visit the master gardeners who were set up. They were awesome answering my questions about planting an herb garden and I can't wait to start. I even left with some free cuttings of plants they were giving away, a jade plant that they assured me would "grow like crazy", some iris's for the yard, and a little chicken or hen or something like that, again, that I could not kill! Okay, so they too, commented on my southern accent!
When we first filled out our wishlist last year, I picked Vallejo and Mark picked Tahoe. Obviously, I won! We soon discovered that Vallejo's claim to fame was the Zodiac Killer, well, that and the city filing bankruptcy. We made the right decision staying out of that area and living in Suisun, I think. I really do love our town!

Gotta Love these Babies!

超可愛BB - Roller Babies @ Yahoo! Video

These little tots remind me of the dancing baby that was made popular by Allie McBeal!

A Baby Making Week

I spent a considerable amount of time this week filling out applications online; although I do have an interview next week at the hospital I feel I would like the best. Hopefully, the interview will go well and I will be able to report that I am once again employed.
I also have been making babies all week, and am ready for Tabetha to stock them in the store. Hopefully, she will get them uploaded this weekend! She has been pretty busy designing knitting patterns; she has a book in mind for them and I am incredibly proud of her.
While I did quite a few custom orders for Christmas, we decided it was a good idea to offer some custom slots in the store. Deciding that, I made an assortment of babies so people can get an idea of hair color, sizes, etc. They sure do come to life as they get completed and I enjoy their personalities!

Baby Lily. You can't see them, but she has bloomers on too!

A closeup of that sweet face. Gotta love her pigtails!

Baby Emma, complete with cloth diaper

Closeup of Baby Kya. Her hair is incredibly soft!

She sure is one of my favorites!

More Fun

I'm slacking on my blog, maybe my brain is going in too many directions this week, nah, I think it was just laziness! I finally got my temporary California nursing license so I am starting my job hunt. Not the best economic time to seek employment but I spent 8 hours yesterday filling out online applications at the local hospitals. I found a smaller hospital in Napa that seems to fit me best and they do have a night shift ER opening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We continue to enjoy the area, spending Sunday's riding the motorcycle to various areas. Saturday we attended the Pirate Festival in Vallejo and OH MY GOODNESS! It was a blast! Even the attendees were dressed in appropriate pirate garb and we enjoyed the entertainment, the sights, the sounds, the fun everyone was having. No one told me we needed costumes and if we're here next year, Mark and I will have knock your sock off costumes to wear!


Sunday we rode to Lake Berryessa which is on the other side of Napa. The ride itself was awesome and the beauty of the lake was outstanding! Lots of people were in the many park area's enjoying their families, Barbecuing, and swimming in the lake. We might have to picnic there ourselves one day soon!

I've been sewing and have a pile of babies in the works to put in our store. Some need stuffing, some need hair, some need sculpting, and all need clothes! They make Mark chuckle every time he walks by the assortment!

A Great Weekend

We were so happy to have Tabetha, Ayla, and Sophie here for a few days even if it meant I had to drive to the airport in Oakland by myself to pick them up! White knuckle driving, Mark calls it, and boy was that accurate on Thursday. We all went to Marks Change of Command Ceremony on Friday morning, enjoyed lunch there and spent time being introduced to people I will never remember their names! Mark finally, once again, has "a home." Saturday morning we went to China Town and had a good time; Tabetha created her Christmas list there too, LOL! We drove along the coast on the way home, longer than we expected, but the beauty made the time worth it. Saturday evening, two of Tabetha's online mom friends came with their children. Meet and greet, laughter and chaos, smiles and sisterhood over a huge pot of spaghetti, salad, freshly baked bread, and dessert! It was so nice to pull out a bowl of freshly picked cherries to snack on as well!


The girls rode together, Mark and Tabetha took turns pushing the stroller up and down the hills.


They had to touch everything, wow, lots to see!


Tabetha doing the modeling thing!


Can't beat this beauty!


Lots of kids!


Serving up dinner.

Settling In

We finally got home last Wednesday and I have to say, the northern trip was not nearly as scenic as the first and southern route was. We did, however, catch our breath over the beauty of Wyoming, declaring it "a close second to New Mexico". We enjoyed the animal life perched in the near distance, wondering what kind they were. We chuckled over a camel farm, not what we expected in Wyoming for sure! Utah was beautiful as well!




We stopped to see Tabetha, Jeremy, Ayla, and Sophie on the way, enough time to have dinner and play a bit before bed, and then we hit the road again the next morning.



We spent the few days we had piddling around the house, running errands, unpacking the last of the belongings we brought from Virginia, finding a nicer route for Mark to take to work, and just relaxing. My love started his relief week at the station, preparing for change of command on Friday and the house is quiet without him. I will seriously look for a job instead of looking AT jobs now that we're home and settled. Admittedly, I have enjoyed the break from work and just being home playing with fabric, cooking, and nesting.
Tabetha and the girls fly in Thursday morning to attend the Change of Command Ceremony and we'll enjoy their short stay with us.