Turquoise

Ahh, one of my favorite colors----turquoise! I looked back through a few of my photos and found these with shades of turquoise.
After working on homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina, a float on the "lazy river" was just what was needed. Here are a couple of kids from our youth group:And part of the group that I go antique shopping with:

Saturday Sewing

What a nice, relaxing Saturday I had .

I got out the new pack of Anna Maria Horner fabric squares that I recently received from Ebay and I made a quilt! An entire quilt! Now, it's not a big quilt---more of a "throw", I guess---but, I finished the whole thing!
The fabric from the Garden Party line is so beautiful!!
I love the bright, cheery colors and the bold prints.



I began by stitching them together in blocks of 9----three rows of three.


Then I cut the large square into fourths with the new rotary cutter that I picked up at Big Lots for $3!!After arranging and then re-arranging the blocks a few times, I finally sewed them together.
I decided to make a run to my local fabric store to see what I might be able to find in the way of "backing fabrics". The only fabric stores around here are "chain" stores and their selection of designer fabrics are usually quite lacking. But, today, I was in luck at Hancock's! All of their 100% cotton fabrics were 40% off and they had a few that were just right. Of course, being the fabric junkie that I am, I bought more than I needed, but look how pretty they are!

With a few sappy movies on Lifetime playing and rain coming down most of the day, I sewed and ironed and even tried my hand at "free motion quilting". While certainly not yet perfected, I am quite pleased with the finished product. I have not idea what I'm going to do with it yet, but I love it!! My mother would be proud!!

Hope For The Future

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." ~Jacques Barzun

Callie and Jordan came into town this evening and we went to grab a bite to eat. We gave our order to a cute, young clerk at the counter who seemed vaguely familiar. As she handed my debit card back to me, she shyly asked "Did you use to teach at 81st Street?". When I answered, "Yes." She smiled broadly and said "Hello, Ms. Jamar. I'm Kierra L____!" Oh my goodness!

Kierra told me that she is now almost 19 years old. Her mother passed away eight years ago and she is a senior in high school. She looked wonderful, and I was instantly transported back 15 or so years to the sweet, shy smile that she always flashed in my classroom. I taught Kierra in a preschool special needs classroom when she was just 4-5 years old and after she left my class, she moved to a different school and I never heard from her again.

I can't really explain how good it felt to see her. I've kept in touch with several of my former students---quite a feat since I taught them when they were so young. But, more often, I teach a child for a year or two and then lose touch----never really knowing what happens to them in subsequent years. Given the poverty that many of the children face and the difficult family situations, I sometimes open the morning paper hesitantly, wondering if I will read about the arrest of a former student.

In the classroom, I always tried to make school a place where it was fun to learn and discover. But, more importantly, given the population that often passed through my doors, I wanted them to know that my classroom was a place where they could feel safe and loved. So, to see this beautiful, confident young woman who is obviously doing so well, brought me close to tears.

I couldn't wait to get home and dig through my box of "school pictures" to see her again as a preschooler.

Thank you, Kierra!!

What a great way to begin a new school year----

with hope for the future!!!!

Good Morning!

Good morning! While outside this morning, I couldn't resist the perfection of these tiny blooms. A hummingbird was hard at work already, but much too fast for my camera.And while it is old and certainly not suitable for sitting, I love this old chair I found at Canton a few years back. (the sign is certainly applicable)!

What's a Wordle?

Okay, this is too fun! I was checking out a few new blogs and ran across Simplify. Upon reading through some of her posts I found this link. And of course, I spent WAY too much time playing with it and getting this wordle :
Now, I'd better stop and get to work!

Too Much Food

"Food is an important part of a balanced diet." ---Fran Lebowitz

A couple of months ago, my good friend Pam and I decided to try out one of the new businesses in town where you can prepare dinners to go. After researching a couple online, we settled on The Dinner Station that is not far from work/home and had the most interesting menu. We scheduled our first night of making meals and had such fun, that we signed up to do it again the next month.

Last month, there was a local church there with us who does this as a "party" each month--to earn points. Our attendance helped them earn extra points for them and for us! We've had such fun doing it and hopefully I'm beginning to eat a little healthier--certainly there have been less meals of fast food since I began.

But, I've learned that the minimum number of meals really is just too much food for me. Each of my meals feeds 3 people and since there is only one of me, I usually eat it for several days. Granted, this month had some interruptions, with days spent away from home due to no A/C, but still it is just a little too much food. So, this next month, I'm going to send a few of the meals home with Callie and Jordan.

Now, I have to choose which ones I can part with . . . .

More Rust

How about a little more rust? It's funny that most of the rust I've found has been inside rather than outside. With the new iron home decor items, it seems that rust is everywhere!
On my piano, is a book of music with pictures inside. . .The angel sitting atop a bookshelf . . . .And in my collection of finials on the mantel.