A Little Bit of Spring Sweetness

Although it's been raining all week, spring is starting to show up around here... blossoms on the trees, spring bulb flowers coming up... and I finally get to pull my favorite white blouses out of the back of the closet. (Friends that know me in real life are probably laughing, because they know that I loooove my white blouses!)

I don't really wear a lot of jewelry~ but when I do, you know that I really, really love it. My friend Lisa made this darling flower pin for me for Valentine's Day. Isn't it the absolute sweetest?! I'm always so touched when I receive a handmade gift from a dear friend.

Oh, and I've been wearing it a lot... because I really, really love it! XOXO

Hugs,

Reaching Out..

I can't believe it's been a week since the quake and tsunami hit Japan... I think I've kind of been a little overwhelmed by it all. I feel like I've been in a fog, trying to process the images on my television screen, the words on the radio. My heart is heavy. Many of you don't know this, but back in 1987, 1988 I lived in Northern Japan. I lived in the coastal cities of Akita, Aomori, Sakata... and Sendai.

Sendai was especially hit hard by the tsunami last week. The damage and loss of lives is devastating to me. The country of Japan, it's beautiful culture, and it's gracious people are very real and very dear to my heart.

I know that like me, many of you may be looking for a way to help those in need. Here are some ideas I've come across:


* The Japanese Red Cross, Unicef, Save the Children, and International Medical Corps have set up a special designation for disaster relief efforts in Japan. To donate, click here. I donated to the Japanese Red Cross. Don't shy away from the dollar to yen conversion, they'll give you an example~ super easy!

* If you are local (Sacramento/Vacaville, California area) and feeling crafty, there's a great little grassroots group of women called "Binky Patrol" who are making quilts for the children of Japan. Northern Japan is extremely cold this time of the year, this I know! I love the idea of sending quilted hugs to these beautiful children who are experiencing a huge transition in their lives right now.

There are two project days planned in Vacaville~ March 23rd and March 27th. This group of women is amazing. When Katrina hit, they sent about 350 quilts. That's a lot of stitchin'! They say "Many hands make light work" so if you would like more information on these project days, or info on how to donate supplies (fabric, batting, etc.), please leave your email address in the comments section and I'll email more information to you.

* Last, but not least... please say a prayer today. God doesn't have a website or a link, but I believe He'll receive your message without fail.

Hugs,

What's Cookin'?

* Please excuse the bad quality of these photos. I didn't have my camera with me (What? A blogger without a camera on her?!), so I used my ancient cell phone.



Hello, Sweet Friends!



Yes, I'm still here... and kind of sorry that I haven't been contributing to Bloglandia much these days. Let's just say(brace yourselves), between a heavy and demanding caseload at work, a week or so of stomach flu, stressing about the squirrels making a luxury condo of my attic, about passing out when I found out my traffic citation for making an illegal u-turn and not having my proof of insurance on me that day was going to total to more than my house payment (no joke), and just being plain tired, blah blah blah-- I just haven't felt inspired. Wow. Was that the run-on sentence of all run-ons, or what??



Honestly, I just haven't felt that I've had anything blog-worthy to write about. I'm trying to ease back into creativity now, and I think I may just get my groove back sometime soon. Thank goodness for you bloggy friends. Although I haven't felt like writing, I have been reading here and there. You've all kept my spirits up, and my heart and mind distracted. Thank you, sweet friends.



(Oh, and sorry for blurting out all this personal stuff. I usually keep my personal stuff under wraps. This is suppose to be my happy place, after all.)



So.... switching gears! I've been wanting to share these photos! Isn't this stove just the cutest?? I get really, really sentimental about these old stoves with a griddle. When I saw this I almost hugged it. Seriously, I did.

You see, this stove reminds me of one of the sweetest men to ever walk this earth. His name was Earl. His wife's name was Pearl. (Really!) Earl and Pearl were the grandparents of my dear friend Debra. (You might remember Deb from The Wild West Tour 2010)

Grandpa Earl quietly cooked his famous pancakes on a stove so similar to this. For years(maybe even decades), he lovingly flipped those pancakes on his stove for his kids, his grand kids, great grand kids, and any friends that happened to be sitting in his kitchen on a weekend morning. He was about 90 years old when I last had the honor of sitting at his kitchen table to devour a plate of his famous fluffy pancakes. It seems like only yesterday.

That stove was Grandpa Earl's pride and joy. He kept it all shined up like a Rolls Royce. He once told me that he even had it re-chromed (or was it re-enameled?) one year. So, when I came across this stove recently, I immediately thought of Grandpa Earl and his shiny stove. I thought about how wonderful it would be to have a beauty like this...

...and then I looked at the price tag.

Grandpa Earl would not believe it!! He'd probably shake his head, and maybe say it's not in as good of shape as his stove. Or not, because he was so dang sweet. All I know is that my heart dropped when I saw that price tag. I knew that the stove was valuable, and yes, it was in fairly good condition. Then I thought about Grandpa Earl's stove and how wonderful it still is, still cookin' in his own daughter's kitchen now. I wondered how much that stove, so full of love and sweet memories, was worth. I guess a person could put a nice hefty fair price on it, but to me...

it's priceless.

Hugs,