Not Sleeping?

Sleepless in Seattle (or HotLanta)?...that's me. I know I'm 45 and it's getting to that stage of life but still. I swear if it weren't for Tylenol PM, I'd be a 2-4 hour a night gal. My large collection of eye concealer tells me that I need more than that.

Last summer, in the hospital, for 7 straight days, I had a beautiful blend of IV fluids and a non prescription sleeping pill every night.
When I got home, you would have thought I'd been to a beauty ranch in California. I was thin, no under eye circles and my skin looked like I was 25. I have my insurance to thank for the $117,000 treatment.

Just thought I'd throw this out there to see if I'm the only night owl in the group.

Signed,
Sleepless in....

Monet's Water Lilies

Living in Atlanta gives you all the advantages of a large metropolitan city and we try to enjoy what it offers.  Last week, I picked up my Nutcracker from ballet and we went 2 blocks south to the High Museum of Art.  What was showing there....Claude Monet's water lilies.

So facinating.

This is probably not what you think of when you think of his water lilies but I think it's interesting that he painted this, his favorite footbridge, after his cataract surgery and he could see things a little more clearly.  He died 3 years later in 1926.  Hard to believe that my mom was 3 years old then!

These are such amazing works of art with as many as 17 layers of paint in some spots. The last one sold in 2007 for 41 million pounds.

This was one of our favorites and certainly a very small one, maybe 4' x 5'.

Can you get a feel for how large they are?  He wanted them displayed in an oval room and so the paintings are actully flat panels curving away from the wall....can you see the shadows at the bottom showing the curve?

He did 19 of these tryptich, super large paintings (60-70 feet long) and 250-300 smaller ones...all with the same theme...water lilies.


Here's his house in Giverny, France.  We didn't get to see it last year when we were in Paris because it was closed but I went in my 20s with my mother...unforgettable.

It was a very simple house with very little furnishings.  It is amazing to me that he moved his family from Paris to the outskirts.  At the time that was death to an up and coming artist... I think he just wanted a garden!  We, creative types, love a gardern, don't we?!

Personally, I think he loved his family and the great outdoors.  Many of the other artsits he hung out with were not family folks at all.  

This is his famous footbridge in his garden.  And truly....it does look like this....(take a look back at the second picture from the top).


Those pea gravel pathways are still there.

We did get to the L'Orangerie Museum in Paris last year to see the large collection of water lilies there. Two large oval rooms (that Claude envisioned) with 8 huge triptychs. No one says a word....it will leave you speechless and bring a tear to your eye.  Baby Girl (5  at the time) ran around the room just from the excitement, beauty and magnitude of such a creation.  I allowed her to do it just twice since it was just us and the security guard in the room and he was getting a chuckle out of her thrill.

Thanks Monet for giving us a thrill and a tear all at the same time.  Isn't that a fun emotion? We rarely get to experience that one, n'est-ce pas?

(How cute is this....look, she still has her ballet tights on!)

Kaffe

I can't remember if I've showed this quilt to you...this is only the top but I did finish and give it to my sister for Christmas last year. Her good friend secretly quilted it and sent it back to me.

It's Kaffe Fasset's "S" quilt
Please click on the link to get a more accurate look at how it came out. I never would have bought the kit with the colors I've represented in the photo above...lighting in photography is everything!

Anyway, my sister came and took care of my family for a week when I was under the weather last summer. This was just a little thank you...and I do think she loves it!
Enjoy!

Dolls!

Look at these sweet little dolls that my girls and I whipped up this afternoon.


Don't they look like they're giggling? Each of the girls drew their own face on their own doll.

It's the project from Craft Hope that we've already missed the deadline of June 13 but will jump in on some of their future projects. This particular pattern is the Black Apple doll pattern. Craft Hope is a wonderful organization that sends handmade toys and clothes to various orphanages around the globe. They've collected 405 dolls for children in Nicaragua.
Their current project is blankets, booties and beanies for children in India. Perfect for you knitting gals.



And last but not least, we couldn't resist....look what's inside each of the dolls....that's right...a heart...

After all, don't forget...
It's all about the heart!

Heat Stroke

Anyone ever had heat stroke? My son was in a tennis tournament yesterday and couldn't finish the match....very scary, he was super hot, then super cold, vomiting, confused, lethargic, memory loss, dehydrated, etc. His body had lost the ability to regulate it's own temperature....I got him home and into a cool bath with a jug of water and gatorade. Then to the couch to watch Judge Judy. As soon as he could tell me the story and verdict ...I knew he was OK.

This Atlanta heat is something else...everyone please be careful out there!

Happy Father's Day Daddy

Me and my Dad at the Georgia Tech homecoming in 1968. I was four years old. This was a big event for our family. We loved going to the Tech games and cheering on the Yellow Jackets! He was the Placement Director for Ga. Tech. At the time, this was a big deal because he was the guy responsible for making connections with all the big companies in America to get jobs for our graduates....still to this day, older men will tell me or one of my siblings what a great guy he was and how much he meant to them....that was 40 years ago and they still remember.

Needless to say he was a big man on campus and a bit of a celebrity locally. He was chosen by Tech, 6 months later to take a small group of carefully selected students to travel to Russia. Sort of an act of good will on Russia's part to let them in. In fact, they were the first Americans allowed there during the Cold War....can you imagine the stress. They arrived at the Leningrad train station; suffered his third heart attack and died. He was only 45. My mother was left with 5 children, ages 5-20. Her first husband was a WW2 pilot and was shot down...no children. After two husbands, she decided not to remarry.

My mother surrounded herself with fellow christians and a church full of support. One family friend, Philip, admired my father soooooo much. He actually took a trip to Russia years later and brought us back a picture of the train station. Oddly enough, Philip died at 45, as well, of a slow growing brain tumor. Philip was also the minister that married us. Both men had their funeral services at 2 of the largest churches in Atlanta and not a seat to be had in either one.

What made my father such a great man, to be admired by so many and still leave such an incredible legacy? Here's my take on it:
-He was kind.
-He genuinely cared about other people.
-He was a great father to me and husband to my mother. She claims they only had one fight in 20 years and that was over whether or not he should take a raincoat to Russia. Not bad, huh
-He was a gentleman and used him manners willingly.
-He was charismatic. People were just naturally drawn to his personality.
-He was a wonderful christian man.

Even though I was only 5 when he died, he is still teaching me today, by the way he lived his life 40 plus years ago.

Thanks Daddy.

Good Rules for All

("Correction....I can't find this on that website anymore....
If you find it...let me know....Thanks. L.")
I finally found the prim "Good Rules for All". I know the photo is small but go to the link and you can order the pattern there. Great for a mountain house or vacation cottage. The first place I saw it was in the mountain house that we rent every summer.

Here's the rules just for kicks:

1- Be nice to one another.

2- Think good thoughts.

3- Try to do better.

4- Say please and thank you.

5- Smile.

6- Be happy.

7- Listen to others.

8- Be helpful.

9- Speak kindness.

10- Never give up.

Enjoy!

Three By Three

Anina sent the first installment of the three by three swap...I can't wait to get my next 16! I love every single one of these...and love the way they work together....everyone did such a great job and the craftsmanship on them is excellent.


Honestly, I love every one and can't wait to explore sashings...right now I'm thinking some kind of Essex linen....neutralish, not white and definitely not black, although it was my first choice.

Do you see yours in here?

My Babes

My precious Noel.... old faithful Noel...former guide dog, now with cataracts and a major case of diabetes. It's ironic how he use to guide folks across the street...now, I'm the one who has to tell him, "STEP"....that means he needs to take a step up or down.


We could learn a lot from our pets....his lesson would be all about unconditional love.


Or honor and respect.


Cici, love her to death but she insists on smelling as bad as she possibly can at all times. Even 5 seconds after a bath. What gives? I'm not sure what her life lesson would be...something involving a lot of anxiety I'm sure.


And then she tries to cover it all up by being cute and white and fluffy. It's not working with me today....


Here's my baby girl....sweet at the day is long....can you tell how hot it is in Atlanta today...98 degrees - that's even too hot to go to the pool. ahhhhh.

In case you need a reminder ....
go hug your babes today.

Feeling Like Gilligan

Yep....we were at the beach last week....so...why am I feeling like Gilligan?   Shipwrecked, you say???  Not exactly, but close.  Do you see one high rise or condo??  I know you may see a few homes in this photo but I swear, there is no one home.  Perfect for Brad & Angelina.

Remember last year at this same time??? Click here if you need a refresher.

That is my Life Flight story.  You would think I would have learned my lesson...about going to places with very small hospitals....but nooooooo.....we went to the beach where there was NO hospital.  Brilliant, right?  Luckily nothing happened and no one was eaten by a bear, although we were warned.  Bears at the beach...I'm not making it up.  

This is the adorable house we rented ....right on the beach and I mean... smack, dab on the beach.  Closest gas station...7 miles, closest grocery store... 20 miles, closest small town shopping (fast food, too)... 50 minutes, closest hospital...one hour.  

Now you know why I feel like Gilligan!  

We loved it...this is a little sand town  that Baby Girl and I made in the sand.  Complete with post office, shoe store, zoo and a general store with piece goods.

Plenty of shark fishing...

Plenty of sandcastle building....(made of 255 sand balls)

Plenty of catfish catching...

And plenty of squid baiting....

These were some of the first shark we caught...you're not so happy to see them after the first 20 catches! 

Oh and by the way...the rental company doesn't take credit cards..."if we're not here, just slide a personal check or cash under the door".

Needless to say...we rested.

Look at My Loot!

This is part of my Variety Pack from Messy Karen....I can assure you, there is nothing messy about this beautiful array of lovelies!

Precious....

I wish you could see how beautiful these colors are...the photos do not do them justice.

I'm guessing she's a detailed kind of a girl...look at the adorable card...

Here's the pack, all in all....scrubbers, washies, dishies, lotion.  The colors are so fresh and beachy!  It was waiting for me when I got home from the Panhandle.....it's so wonderful that I'm going to admire it for a few days before I break into it....well, I did break into the Nubian lotion...it is to die for....especially when you've been at the beach for a week and the tops of your feet are sunburned!  More on that later...

Thanks so much Messy Karen....I love every kit and kaboodle!

This time....I will enjoy!

Backstage at the Ballet

Ballet...just plain cool....we had our end of the year performances this week. This is the scene 10 minutes before the curtain goes up...it's the neatest feeling...The dancers are warming up and actually holding a real class....the ballet mistress is whispering the moves for them to perform...it's hard work and the girls are definitely warmed up; they were all sweating as I pinned on the last bits of their costumes.

This is my Nutcracker performing a dance from Les Syphildes. Click to see the Kirov Ballet doing the same dance...pretty remarkable. Those Russians have the ballet thing down pat.

We struggled with the hair for a long time thinking it had that "deli" look to it....I kept thinking that someone would walk up to her and ask her for 1/2 pound of shaved ham and 3 slices of provalone.

In the end, she did look so pretty. I picked the flowers from our garden....Hydrangeas, gardenias, and roses, all put in an antique silver nosegay that we use every year....it's a tradition.

And of course, here's Baby Girl in all her fanfare. She was beautiful as well and did a lovely dance to Winnie the Pooh. Have I ever mentioned that she's a toe walker which makes for very strong legs and a great arch....

It's been a great week and we're sad to see the year end...we have two weeks off and then my Nutcracker starts 4 weeks of 6 hours a day called ....ballet intensive....she can't wait! Wish me luck with the driving!