2 Rainbows

I found 3 shiny, new, lucky pennies. Heads up. Next to my car.

There were 2 rainbows after a brief, exciting thunderstorm.

I can choose to face the (no doubt there will be) difficult times ahead with hope or fear.

I'm choosing hope.

(Because he's doing so well, he is tapering off the meds (with dr. supervision) twice as fast as previously discussed. He starts summer school tomorrow.

A little help here? Positive thoughts...prayer...meditations...requests to the universe...bloggy mojo...)

Joe Learns To Sew

When my son was in 8th grade, everyone made pillows in Home and Careers class. I wished he had learned to make a garment from a pattern, a much more practical skill than pillow making.

I was thrilled when he decided he wanted to make his dad some jammie pants for Father's Day. So we bought a pattern and some fabric; and I taught him to make a garment from a pattern.

Nice.

A Plunge

The Pledge

I, Patti, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings!

I will retain the right to buy new underwear, socks, shoes, and fabric when needed.

Yearly Fruit of the Valley Routine

We live in an area of drumlins located near a great lake; both were created by the receding glacier during the last ice age.  Or so we learned in Earth Science in 8th grade.  The drumlins and the moisture from the lake make ideal conditions in the valleys for growing fruit. 

Every year we will pick strawberries, cherries (sweet and tart), raspberries, blackberries, currants, blueberries, pears, apples, and plums.  Much of the fruit gets eaten right away, but we do freeze and can a bunch for the colder months.

It's fun to go picking with a bunch of friends.

I filled my box in about 25 minutes.



In all we've picked about 30 pounds of strawberries this year.



Yum.

Smoothie Routine

My son has some pretty heavy duty health concerns. I address some of these concerns by making him a berry-based smoothie. Every. Single. Day.



I start out with either 2 cups of blueberries or one cup of blueberries and one cup of another kind of berry. This day I used frozen blueberries and freshly picked strawberries. Also included are (and I put claims from the labels in parentheses): 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (Super Antioxidant!), a crushed between 2 spoons men's multi-vitamin (Survival of the fittest!), coconut oil (Soothing!), acidophilus powder (Promotes healthy digestive action!), vegetarian version of omega 3-6-9 compound (Essential fatty acids needed for optimal health!), and l-carnitine (Transports fatty acids!  Boosts cellular energy!) All this gets processed in the vitamix until everything is liquified and blended.  

Joe drinks one everyday, chug-a-lugging the whole thing in about 45 seconds.  He says he doesn't like them, though.

Purple Dragon Flies

Last summer, my son decided the spare bedroom would be a better place for my sewing room. So he packed up my stuff and moved it. My sewing room became the computer room; my sewing stuff languished in boxes, baskets, and piles.

One of the first things I did when we got back was move all my equipment and supplies into a corner of the dining room. After organizing and purging, I started sewing again.


There is a sew along/challenge going on that would be fun to join, so I bought the stuff. Yes, those are purple dragon flies on the fabric. Is there a problem?



So far, I have cut out all the pieces.



While Joe was in the hospital, I was staying with a friend of a friend in Cambridge, MA. She is a massage therapist who needed a research subject for a presentation. I volunteered and received 5 sessions. This is the final "after" picture she took of me. I realize I have lost weight but was surprised to notice (gasp) an actual waist line re-appearing! That's one reason I want to make myself a new skirt.

It's No Secret

That Joe and I were away for a long, long time. We were exiled to the distant territory of Boston, MA, where each aspect of everyday life is foreign, but the medical care available is more than excellent.



This is a view from my commute. Yes, that's a train sharing the road with me. I got used to that and lots of other quirks of Boston driving.





We are back home now. Not trying to get back to normal, but trying to find a new normal. Big changes are ahead, not the least of which is that I am no longer a second grade teacher. I'm on leave until September when I will be facing a new assignment.