Get dirty for Easter!

Every now and then, I actually create one of the zillions of things I've pinned on Pinterest. These pretty Easter eggs were one of them. After I posted a picture of them on Facebook the masses (two people) demanded that I show how they were done, especially after I explained that they were really easy.

Oh, Interwebs!

More pictures of bliss at Pleated Jeans (because we all love to see someone happy).

Welcome to my periodic round-up of things I've found online that make me smile, cry, laugh, think, shout, or drop my jaw. 

Tuesday Coffee Chat: When I was so much younger than today.

Me with one of my brothers (Doug? Harvey?) in 1963

One of the blogs I follow, Time Out for Mom, hosts a Tuesday Coffee Chat which invites other bloggers to write on a specific theme. I decided to join the fun today. The prompt was: If you could be any age again, for one week, what age would you be? My choice would be toddler, and here's why.

In the Offing

This picture actually has nothing to do with this post, but it makes me happy.

Over the past several weeks, I've put the wheels in motion for a few things that I'm really excited about and happy to share with you.

Oh, Interwebs!

The Lotus Building in China, by Studio505 (Photo by John Gollings). See more pictures here.

Welcome to my periodic round-up of things I've found online that make me smile, cry, laugh, think, shout, or drop my jaw. 

The Gratitude Habit

After the snow.

Last year, I joined a number of friends to take part in the "100 Happy Days" challenge: for each of 100 days, we shared a picture of something for which we were grateful. After the first 100 days, I decided to keep sharing because, well, it just felt good. After a while, I stopped posting pictures, but believe me, I haven't lost the "gratitude habit."

Grammar Ninja: Don't give up!

A friend of mine recently shared her frustration with an e-conversation she was having with someone who firmly believed that spelling, grammar, and punctuation were not worth fussing about. This educated woman (former linguist) genuinely had no problem with such spellings as awsome, discusting, and rubarb.

This person also felt that loose and lose would soon be interchangeable as valid alternative spellings.

Excuse me while I grab my smelling salts and drape myself carefully across this divan.

Finding the Right Balance

Kane staying obediently in his place while exciting stuff goes on in the kitchen.

When we brought home Kane, a one-year-old Border Collie-Black Lab mix, we knew that he would need some training and firm discipline. We'd had a previous failure as dog parents and weren't about to have it again. Kane was for keeps and we needed to ensure that he was well-behaved in all circumstances.

Truth is, we're still working on it. No fault of his; we haven't been as persistent as we could be.

But we learned one lesson really quickly, the hard way.

International Women's Day

My heroes.

I love that International Women's Day celebrates the vital roles of women all over the world, but I get a little perturbed when I see that so many of the women we celebrate are women who are "breaking barriers" which is a euphemism for women who have succeeded in male-dominated fields, the technologies and sciences.

Oh, Interwebs!

Could this be Donald Trump's baby picture? See more "Babies that Look Old" on Pleated Jeans.

Welcome to my periodic round-up of things I've found online that make me smile, cry, laugh, think, shout, or drop my jaw. 

That challenge is not going as I expected.

I'm digging this vintage 1970's cover.

When I started the 2015 Book Challenge, I was full of good intentions to read new books, ones I might never have discovered otherwise, and to share them with you. Well, things have not gone entirely as planned.

Vintage

This was our wedding gift, sewn with love by my Aunt Betty in 1984. 

I believe that, until her final illness, Aunt Betty sewed every single day of her life. It was her great joy, and everyone in our family has an heirloom to remember her by. When she passed, my Aunt Betty left her vintage 1936 Singer sewing machine to my daughter Katie. I am lucky to be housing the beautiful machine until my daughter has a place in her home for it.

It's more than a little embarrassing, however, that it sat in our home for several years (I've lost track) before I finally got around to opening it up. That's partly because the drawers were so jam-packed with stuff that they wouldn't even close properly.