catching up ...

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     I tried to get this post done for the past two weeks, but Passion Week was non-stop at church [not complaining at all!] and last week we had finished training and went live on phones so by the end of my shift my brain was just a tad fried and tired of computers.

     Where do I start... Passion Week ... Monday the 11th was really my only "free" day, and after I got off work, I used it to finish a WhenAreYouGettingMarried gift for a couple at church whose private wedding will be sometime this week.  He has several beehives and sells the honey from them (which is amazingly delish!), and they met when she reached out to him via a Facebook group for bee people and asked some questions about bees and honey making.  He gave her a tour of his hives, and introduced her to the events at [click link>] Yew Mountain Center where he works, and the rest is history ... or rather a love story.

     Tuesday the table I had ordered to support the very heavy $5 mirror I got at the auction arrived and I was able to get it together and with help got the mirror up before going to an amazing Praise and Worship hour at church.

     <I came home to be greeted by this.

     For reasons I will never understand, Mr. Charles has an unusual obsession with used kleenex tissues.  They are as tasty to him as the treats he desires in the cat litter boxes.  I was using an empty tissue box as a trash box for my used tissues in the office, believing (mistakenly) that he would not be able to get into them.

     Clearly, I was wrong.

     When he realized his head was stuck in the box, he must have panicked and both slobbered and chewed a hole in the bottom of the box to breathe.  We had, and have had to have, several discussions about his obsessions in the past two weeks.  I think that the amount of time I was spending at church that week caused him to act out and regress to some of his previous separation anxiety behavior of believing he was going to starve to death.  

     A CD I purchased last week to help, music to relax anxious and fearful dogs, works better on me than it does on him.  I'm not sure how to feel about that.  I finally found a full-proof way of keeping him out of the office, and have also gotten some hemp treats that may ease his anxiety.

     Wednesday night instead of our usual Bible Study, we prepped over 10,000 candy-filled eggs for the Easter egg hunt on Saturday!  On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we held the first services in the still under construction portion of the church building.  It was exciting to see how much God has blessed us with!  Saturday over 500 big and little people attended the Easter Egg Hunt.  It was insane!

     My walk home from the park included some beautiful Lenten Roses, and I want to get some to plant in my shade garden for next spring.  On a good note, the peony roots I had planted last year and given up hope that they would come up have made an appearance.  Four of the five survived the winter and have made an appearance.  It gives me hope that maybe more than the four (of 200!) bulbs I had planted in the front garden will also come up this year.

     I did some shopping in town and ventured into one of the vintage consignment shops where I found the perfect lampshade to redo my slide shade.  This one is more suited for the lamp, however, I now realize my lines are a little slanted.  Oh well.  I tend to look at things a little lopsided at times as well.

 

   The catio was finished, and of course, the cats hate it.  Lucy had a panic attack and was literally climbing the walls when the neighbor's dog began barking.

     I was hoping that it would not be as traumatic for them if they were out there a few more times, but the result was the same each time.  I'll probably take it apart and find some other way to utilize the screens.    I don't need to make Lucy any more fearful than she already is, and being able to quickly let them into the house without getting my eye scratched out is a priority.

    Instead, I will get let them out when I go out to listen to evening concerts or with Charlie.

     Easter Sunday was a full day of church services.  Son Rise service at sunrise, followed by our normal services at 11a and 6p.  I sing with the choir and we sang at the first service, and after that service, we had four creek baptisms!  It was an amazing week and day!

     My first week of calls was mind-boggling and stressful so I resorted to binge-watching television and crafts after I got off work.

    Thursday evening I did take a class in chalk drawings and Japanese floral arrangement style called Ikebana.  I kinda wish now that I had left the background black instead of shading it because the forsythia branch gets lost.

     Sometimes these classes just mean I get to go buy more arts and crafts supplies!  No complaining about that here!

     Saturday I spent the afternoon with a friend from church doing more fun art, talking, and laughing.  A lot of relaxing fellowship after a crazy work week.  I was finally able to make a barn quilt board for myself in the colors that I find comforting.  

     Yesterday, was another amazing day at church, and five baptisms at the creek!

     I hope that your week is wonderful!         Hugs, Ci

bits and bobs ...

      My mom used to say that.  "Bits and Bobs."  A little of this and that.  It was that kind of a week for me last week.  My "Bob" though was a person.  My first crush in 1976, first kiss in 1977, first boyfriend, and forever loved.  If my parents hadn't divorced in 1977 and I moved away for two years, we might have continued dating and married.  Instead, he became the one that got away, and we became BFFs when we reconnected in 2008.  He had married, joined the Air Force, then the Marines, had children, retired from the Marines, and eventually was blessed with grandchildren.

     I messaged him last August when I wasn't expected to live until Christmas to let him know what was going on, and told him how much I appreciated his friendship through the years.  When all the dust in my life settled by October and I was going to stick around to annoy family and friends for a while longer, I tried reaching back out to him.  I didn't get any response.  Last week I learned that he had died of Covid-19 less than a week after we had chatted.  My heart broke.

... to these.

From this ...

     On to happier bits and softer on my heart bobs.

     Last week I worked on recovering the lids of the storage canisters I got at the auction the weekend before.

     The "mesh" stencil I ordered for the upcycled window screens project did not work our the way I had envisioned so Plan B.  I had some stencils I had on hand and had forgotten about, and I picked up some inexpensive faux flowers.  This will hang outside on my patio, so not super bothered that the Blessed side didn't come clean from the paint and solvent I had to use to remove the PlanADarnThisIsn'tGoingToWork attempt.

     A friend at church is getting married soon so I crocheted a bracelet for her and sewed on some vintage mother-of-pearl buttons that were in the tin I got at the auction for her to wear as a "something old."  I've started working on a wedding gift for them, but won't share details or pictures until after it is given.

     Last projects over the weekend were adding some tiny shells I purchased to finish <that project, and removing all the ripped fabric I had spent hours weaving into my chicken wire lampshade> because it made it hard to hang or see my earrings.  Go figure.

     It is Passion Week, and we kicked it off at church last night with another baptism down at the creek after services.  "Spring" weather had given way to a reminder of what winter had been like with snow on Saturday, and lows in the 30sF.  I did not envy the man who got dunked last night after the sun had started to set.

     This week is packed with events at church ... including stuffing more than 7500 plastic eggs with candy on Wednesday night, a Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday service, and hiding those eggs early Saturday morning for a gazillion sugar-amped kids can find them.  Three services on Sunday, starting with a WhyCan'tTheSunComeUpAtNine Son-Rise service.  I'm already exhausted and it's just Monday.

     I hope that you have a wonderful week ....  Hugs, Ci

I was sooooooo ready for last weekend ...

      It was a roller-coaster last week.  Two of the warmest days so far this year, chased by snow flurries Friday morning!

     I put a scripture verse on the barn quilt board I finished and hung it over the mailbox by the front door.

 

   Thursday evening I got one side and now two ends finished on the catio I've decided to make with the large screens I was gifted.    The whole back patio is shaded in the summer, so no need for the cats to have sun protection, and it is highly unlikely they would be out there if it was raining.  I really just want there to be something across the top to keep them from getting the idea that they should climb out, and will put chicken wire so that there will be good air circulation (which will also keep any hawks from getting to them.  I doubt there is a hawk strong enough to pick up Gracie, but Lucy might be a possible meal for a larger hawk to consider).

     Today, the stencil I ordered to paint on one of the smaller screens (maybe both ~ one to sell?).  I will probably glue some faux sunflowers & burlap bows to it and hang it out on the patio for decor.  Now that it has arrived, I'm impatient to start working on it, so expect to see pictures of at least partial work on it this week at some point.

     My next project after all the screens are done will be using old window panes.  Four of them were given to me last week, two with one solid pane, and two divided into three sections.

     I'm going to look for ideas on Pinterest but would like to try to make a seasonal triptych with one of the three-sectioned ones using alcohol inks.  I know they will show up better against a solid colored background, such as white, so may paint the backside of the glass pane solid, and then put the alcohol ink on the front side.  But I'm also thinking of some type of mosaic with glass beads and glass plates.  This one may hang by the front door if it turns out nice.  I will have to see how heavy it is when I'm done.

     Saturday I went to an auction for the first time and came home with a few treasures.  When I was growing up my dad had a large cabinet similar to these on his garage workbench.  I called it his magic box because it seemed that no matter what I was looking for, no matter how obscure it was, I could always find it in one of these drawers.  Now I have two of my own!

     I got a tin with old buttons in it as a package deal with a chair one of my friends wanted.  Paid more than what "we" should have because I thought she had dropped out and another woman was bidding on it, but in reality, we were bidding against each other.  Oh well.  Some of the buttons are mother-of-pearl, so I'm pulling those to the side after I clean them all, and may make an art project with just them.  

     I also got a bookshelf for Tell Me Your Story, and am going to order stencils for the sides with the name, and another for the top shelf with the email address.   I've been working on a project to hollow out an old book to turn it into a box and may finish that and use it for business cards.  Wish now I had chosen a thinner book, it's hard cutting just the center of the pages out with an Exacto knife!

     The last item I got was just before we left.  A huge beautiful mirror.  A huge, HEAVY, beautiful mirror.  I think it has a solid oak frame and back.  Far too heavy for me to feel safe hanging it on the wall over the love seat, or even propping it on the back of the love seat which was going to be Plan B.  I'm debating now on looking for a sofa table I can set it on behind the sofa.  But that would entail moving the love seat away from the front window where it is Charlie's favorite place to people watch.  Kinda don't want to deprive him of that pleasure, even if his barking at everything is annoying at times.  I've posted it for sale on Facebook and if no takers, I will push it upstairs and stand it on end for a full-length mirror in my bedroom, which is what I wanted it for (the full-length part, tho not necessarily in the bedroom).

     It was a busy week and weekend, and of course, this week looks to be the same.  Hope yours is awesome!

                                              Hugs,   Ci