Great finds!

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I took a day off for myself and made the rounds of the thrift stores. Score!! The photo below shows some of what I brought home.

This is a LARGE drawing board. Other than a couple of scratches in the masonite coating, and one missing latch on the bottom right, it is in great condition. The drawing board lifts up, and there are two large storage compartments underneath. It even has a carrying handle! Ten bucks. Really!

Isn't this lovely? It's in like-new condition, and I fell in love with it. It's about 10" wide by 7" tall by 3" deep. I'll use it to hold return address labels and stamps on my desk.

This fabric was all stuffed in a bag and cost me $3.60. The top piece is a feedsack--it still has the chain stitching in one end. The two blues and the yellow are about a yard each, the green is almost two yards. The prints and solid blue are 100% cotton from Cranston, and the solid yellow may be a blend, but I'll have to do a "burn" test to find out. There were also two pieces of navy, but they were obviously polyester, so out they go.


This beautiful little domed box had a $30.00 price tag on the bottom. I think I paid $2.50 for it. It is about 6" across and 3" deep, japanned steel. I love the subject matter--a fabric seller showing his wares to a fair damsel. Or are they gifts for his beloved?



More finds-- I actually bought the 14" x 18" printed tin tray about a month ago at a thrift store, but the rest I bought today. The blue bottle and the red vase are for a future bottle tree. I love the colors! I bought two Anchor Hocking glass bowls, and three Pyrex bowls for $2.00-3.00 apiece. The Pyrex ones have an aqua tint to the clear glass.


This gorgeous 18" pillow is my final find. Hand-embroidered top with tucking all around, and a zippered back; all on butter-colored fabric that I think is charmeuse, but I'm not sure. $3.95--I kid you not. Who could pass this up? It will look great on a guest room bed.

Needless to say, I had a blast today, until I went grocery shopping. Now my feet are sore from walking. That's not unusual for me, as I have bone spurs in both heels. There are times when it is very difficult for me to walk at all. I bought some Glucosamine and Chondroitin capsules today, I hope they help a little.

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Belinda Spiwak's mmartfriends group on Yahoo is doing a swap of bracelet charms. I signed up to do 7 sets of 6 each, although I am actually doing 10 of each. Here are representatives of my first 4 sets:

and the reverse sides:

1. wire-wrapped glass hearts
2. wooden tags, stamped and decoupaged with roses
3. stacked buttons on wire
4. miniature wooden alphabet blocks with decoupaged sides and a finial on the bottom

These were harder to photograph than to make! The top picture is a scan, the bottom a photo. Neither worked very well. I'll have a whole month to finish the other three sets. I have some ideas, but they are only tentative right now. I'll post more pics when I get the rest done.

I've always loved charm bracelets--I have several that I have bought over the years. This one will be special since the charms will all be handmade. I can hardly wait to see what I get in the swap!

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I have been using my Wii, although I have to admit that I enjoy Animal Crossing a lot more than I do Wii Sports! I want to get the Wii Fit for my birthday next month, and at least try to do some yoga or other balance training on it. I have a tendency to fall (usually on my knees!) and hope to prevent any further injuries. I don't really expect to lose any weight using the Wii, although that would be welcome! But improving my overall fitness is my main goal.

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Back at it...

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I have been busy on various projects the past two weeks. I thought I'd show a few:

This is a purse I made just to take to Eastern Star. I don't need much there, so I wanted a smaller purse. The loop slips over my wrist for carrying. It's lined, with pockets inside.

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I spent one of my gift cards to buy this Zutter Bind-It-All book-binding machine. I've played with it a little, but I haven't used it properly yet. It will eventually get lots of use.

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This ATC was made for a Red, Pink, and Green challenge. The one below is for a "Be ....." mingle. They were both made from an old embossed Valentine card that I lightly sanded with an emery board. I love the way the embossing stands out.

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The ATC below is for a Hearts and Polka Dots mingle.

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The February monthly image is Isabella. Here are my 6 ATCs for this swap. I will keep the one with Discover on it--it covers too much of her face. I may change it out eventually. I tried to place the large word where it could be seen the best.

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My MIL no longer recognizes my husband, or at least he doesn't think so. Otherwise she remains in the same condition. It astounds us how much different she is from just 6 months ago, when she was walking around and talking normally. She now talks only when she has to, mostly to express her needs and wants. Conversation in almost totally gone.

I just finished reading a book called "Still Alice," by Lisa Genova. It describes Alzheimer's from the inside--a fascinating book. I read it in one sitting; couldn't put it down.

We have been slowly going through photos and documents, clippings and cards. I wish we had done this when she could identify people for us. We will eventually put these into albums and scrapbooks. For now they are sorted and are back in her house for storage.

I have decided that the best way to deal with all this is to continue our normal routine as much as possible. I have been getting back to my arts and crafts as time permits, and I find that it eases the stress considerably. DH gets the same results through his gardening.

We went to see "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" last night, and laughed all the way through it. I can recommend it for quick escapism. We then went out to eat and had a good time.

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