Indulge Your Shelf

Happy Sunday everyone!  Who gets tomorrow off?  My son does, so I'm looking forward to having an "extra" day with him since he's been away this weekend on the appropriately-named Klondike campout (brr!) I was surprised this morning by this award from Mina : I'm to tell 7 things about myself; and let me just say, I know that there are bloggers who shy away from awards but I like to take the opportunity to take a "break" from my regular blogging and write a bit about myself in more general terms.  I find that each time I have, I get comments from friends who say they learned something new, or found something else in common with me.  It's always been a great experience -- so, thank you again Mina!  Here are my 5 things ( I couldn't think of 7, and Mina said I didn't have to follow the rules! ): 1.  Writing is my first love and my biggest passion. 2.  I'm an avid reader and do all my reading just before bed.  You can always see what...

I was pleased to receive this award from Deborah ; I'm always touched when someone thinks of me when the awards come around!  Thank you, Deborah! I also enjoy it when the award requests that you post a few facts about yourself, because there's always something new and fun for us to learn about each other.  For this one, I'm to list seven things: 1.  I am terribly afraid of spiders; I don't fear snakes or other bugs, not even stinging ones, but a small spider will send me heading for the hills. My mother once said that when I was a baby, she left me outside for a few minutes and came back to me crying because a spider had crawled on me.  I'm pretty sure that's when it began. 2.  I've wanted to be a writer since I was in first grade. 3.  I used to teach a class on how to declutter your house, but ever since I had to sell my parent's house and kept some of their stuff, my house has cluttered up again.  I worry I'm going to end up being featured ...

Sandra was sweet enough to send me this Sunshine Award, given to bloggers whose positiveness and creativity inspires others in the blog world. Aw, shucks!  It's you, who read and comment along, that help me to be creative here -- so, you see, it's a team effort. I'm going to pass this award along to these ladies for inspiring me: Christine of Change of Heart - she is on design teams and creates the most wonderful cards! Cherry from Cherry's Jubilee - for her vintage style art and tons of photos of it! Angela from Country Scrap Quilts - who seems to complete several projects a month! Linda from Linda's Link To MsAnomaly - for her tireless efforts volunteering for Etsy Street Teams Melissa from The Handwork Chronicles - because she takes the time to perfect a lost art You all inspire me each time you make time to post and keep me company here in blog land!

Sweet and saucy Joy from Joy to the Blog has bestowed an award upon me and now I must blog about five of my obsessions ! That's not hard; here are five of them, in no particular order: (1) Vintage Wallpaper I am completely and utterly besotted with vintage wallpaper, like the kind that Karla Nathan uses in her creations, and sells, too! (2) Glass Cloches Like this one, from Fringe Studio . Actually...I'm obsessed with just about anything from Fringe Studio! (3) Jane Austen books and movie adaptations I never tire of the books. Also: I've had a lot of sad days lately...and when I'm sad, you can always find me watching a DVD or video of one of my favorite Jane Austen stories. They are like medicine. (4) Music from the 1980's Last year for my birthday, my husband had Sirius radio installed in my car; I keep it almost exclusively on the '80's on 8 or 1st Wave stations...although sometimes I will also listen to the Pulse station. I never tire of '80...

This little award traveled across the pond from Ireland and the blog of Micki , called Irish Muses ! Micki, who has lived and traveled in the US, writes about her life in Dunfanaghy, Ireland, which is necessarily filled with fibre arts, quilting, and reveling in all the beauty around her. She is a sweet blogging friend that you should know. Thank you, Micki! I'm to bestow these bears onto four blogging friends you should know, und zwar : Sandra Alli Marie Linda The last lady on my list, Linda, is a special Internet friend of mine who is just getting started blogging . You should visit and encourage her! I wrote about her wonderful eBay store a while back, here . Now she has a Bonanzle store, too. Here's just a small sample of some of her goodies: red and white plate childs hankie whimsical playing cards Also among her eBay treasures right now: an antique celluloid art deco pin, a lot of antique millinery pieces, a beautiful shaving mug, a totally unique antique wooden, c...

An "Aw, Shucks" and a thank you to Charlene for this award! It's a another fun one -- all pink and ribbony, with a great German word in the title and you know how I love that! You must visit Charlene and her blog A Virtuous Woman , where she takes both a spiritual and practical approach to all areas of the home life, including wonderful Southern cooking! I know it takes time, effort, planning and thought to blog; so, I'm nominating every one of my fellow bloggers to grab and pass along if you have blogged/posted an entry on your blog at least three times within the past week/seven day period, including sharing at least one photo; you are all amazing!

I was so excited to receive this award from Sandra ! I must say, of all the awards I've seen posted on people's blogs, this is the one that caught my eye. Maybe it's the colors, maybe it's the pattern that is so like an Amy Butler fabric, or the random spelling of "Kreativ" which is how the word would be spelled by a German...whatever the reason, it's one I've coveted! Thank you so much, Sandra! As a recipient, I'm to blog about my favorite 7 things and then nominate 7 other blogs for the award! Seven of My Favorite Things: 1. My son's smile. I love everything about it: his soft cheeks, his dimple, his bright eyes -- everything! Numbers 1 and 2 2. Summertime swimming. When the outdoor pool in our community opens for the season, my favorite thing is to go there, swim, and then lie in the warm sun. Even though I'm less than one mile from home, if I close my eyes I feel I'm on a beach vacation! 3. Godiva chocolate cheesecake. 4. Pr...

I received this great, super blinky, blingy award from Joy ! To accept it, I need to thrust aside all modesty and humility and blog about 7 things that make me "awe-summm"! This took a lot more thought than the typical meme, believe me! 1. I was born in what I consider the most awesome town in the world - San Francisco. How can you not be awesome if you're from there, I ask you? This also makes me a California girl...and you know what they say about them. 2. Even though I'm in my 40's, I am still a teenager at heart. In the little world inside my head, I haven't aged beyond my late teens/early 20's. How awesome is that? Seriously -- I can hardly believe I'm as old as I am and I truly don't know where the time has gone! I'm hoping this state of mind will come in handy as my son heads into his teenage years, which I'm also very much looking forward to because I love to be around people in that age group. (This is also known as "den...

Have you met Julia ? You may know her by her shop name The Spotted Sparrow ; she makes wonderful paper and altered art designs that she sells in her Etsy shop , and here , and here . You may remember that I blogged about some of her cards a while back. Tip: you don't want to miss her fun and informative tutorials ! Julia was kind enough to give me my first blog award: As recipient, I'm to blog about five fabulous things and then pass the award along to five others. Five things I think are fabulous: 1. Reading. I don't talk too much about it on my blog because, let's face it, there's so much other stuff to talk about. But, reading is my first love. My idea of relaxation is to put my feet up and enjoy a good book. Libraries are among my favorite places. Jane Austen is my hero. 2. Being a mother. I did not have an easy time becoming a mother, and my journey included infertility, multiple pregnancy losses, and becoming licensed to adopt. Ultimately, I was a...