It's my Birthday and I can do what I want!

 An estate sale, a FREE Mocha from Caribou Coffee and Pumpkin bread. What else could a girl want for her perfect birthday morning?

 Had a gift card so got some new music

 Goodwill! 

I don't need these but they sounded good and I have lots of time to read now.

Oh yeah, 

I am unemployed. 

Lowes put several of us on a leave of absence.  

but, 

my husband got a great job! 

So, all is well and I am enjoying my 2nd week of being a kept woman.

I have never not worked since college so this is fun.

I really needed a break and if you have followed all that we have been through I think you will agree I should take some time to relax.

This was my plan for my birthday today anyway and these are some of the items I purchased.

 Antique Yo Yo's Not sure what I'll sew them to yet but I think they are adorable. They are laying on a mans shirt I found at a thrift store I passed after the estate sale.

 Close up of fabric in shirt. Will Re~purpose this!

 Loved the vintage print in these cafe curtains and look at those awesome ruffles!  Can't wait to re~purpose these too!

 These napkins will probably be mine for awhile. Colors perfect for my living room

 Great box for my supplies :)

 2 addictions! Will have my friend make me a bracelet with the watch faces and typewriter keys.

 All in all it was a great day but I need a nap.  It has been rainy. That is why the images are not so good. Not much light to work with but I really wanted to share my finds and good news with you.

I really do not have a good excuse to be gone from here any longer except that I will be very busy sewing with all my new fabric finds.  I have several shows coming up so lots to do! Some creations will show up in my Etsy shop also, soon.

Celebrating with a Give Away!

We got internet at our house today!

I can not tell you how excited I am so I will show you by having a giveaway.

While I have had so much (Free) time while being without the internet in my off hours, I have been reading.

I have been reading some of the many books I have on my shelf's and I just finished a book I purchased at our library sale. It was published in 1987. I was drawn into the story right away. It feels a lot like some of the classics I have read and the story line was new and different than what I have read before. I really liked Joe and his Grandfather. There are lots of story lines to keep you wanting more. I'm not a good reviewer so I copied this from a web review.

"The River in Winter is the story of 17 year old Joe Weatherfields attempt to find love, mercy, and redemption in a world charged with the moral wreckage of family decisions made long before he was born. His search carries him from Massachusetts to Florida and finally to Dunmocks Head, Maine, where he rediscovers his long-estranged grandfather and quickly becomes involved in a kidnapping, a murder, and a long-buried scandal all of which leads him to the hard irredeemable lesson that the innocent are often as guilty as the damned."

I also read a book I found in my Grandmothers house published in 1880!

Surprisingly I also enjoyed it. You can find this book and read it on line. I'm going to try another one of his now that I have internet access at home.

Now on to some music. I have discovered my newest favorite band, The Civil Wars. I purchased their CD, Barton Hollow at Target on Tuesday and it is hard for me not to listen to it over and over. It is indy-folk and I love the feel of their songs. I chose to share this video because it is powerful. It speaks about how sometimes a couple will not like each other even though they do love each other. If you like this, check out some of their other videos on You Tube




So now for the giveaway.

Post a comment about the video or about your favorite song by The Civil Wars by Feb. 24th and I will draw a name from the comments and I will send you my copy of "The River in Winter" and a new (not my!) CD of The Civil Wars~Barton Hollow! Sorry, I can't part with my copy of The Day of Fate ;)

I can't wait to hear what you think of my new favorite band!

Some Favorites

Last night while finishing my book by Geraldine Brooks we were watching Palladia and I found a new favorite blues artist. Joe Bonamassa.
http://www.jbonamassa.com/
If you like Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn then you need to check this young man out. I had an ITunes card I had not used yet from my Speedy Rewards so I immediately went and down loaded his cd from the Royal Albert Hall. I will be jamming for a few days!

Now back to Geraldine. She is now one of my favorite authors.

I chose People of the Book for my Book Club last year. I knew it would give us lots to discuss. I enjoyed her style of writing so when I found March in my local used book store I decided to give it a try. Well, I was not disappointed.

Back to the used book store to see what else she might have of Geraldine's and I got The Year of Wonders. I just love the style with which she gives her characters a voice. Her style is easy to read and she includes facts that gives you the desire to find out more. I do enjoy historical fiction so these 3 books satisfy my desire to learn about things in the past while enjoying a story to go along with it.

Another artist I have just found in the folksy type genre is Peter Bradley Adams. I found him on facebook on a pop up! Take a listen to I Can Not Settle Down.
http://www.peterbradleyadams.com/

I really like Patty Griffen her lyrics give me lots to think about as I listen to her beautiful songs.

http://www.pattygriffin.com/
I suggest you listen to Heavenly Day, Up to the Mountain.

One more artist is Dar Williams. Again awesome lyrics. If you have a child leaving the nest I definitely love The One Who Knows. I put these lyrics on my daughters graduation announcement. Tear jerker!
http://www.darwilliams.com/

I hope I have given you some things to look into this week and I hope you enjoy! I am just about healed up. Feeling much better so I will be spending a lot of time editing my portraits from the last week now that I can sit at the computer again. I did a couple of really fun sessions last week. I may have to force you to look at some of my images!