Birthday Finale! Thank you card! : )

Mary's Thank You Cards!

I am not great at drawing animals, but I think I got the essence of their Golden, Sadie under the table! : )

Tis the season for allergies! : )

This is my homemade card to my other dear friend Sue
to thank her for inviting me for a beautiful day at Blithwold Gardens in Bristol RI.
Lots of laughs, beautiful scenery, and delicious tea at the mansion!

Merry Mary's Birthday! : )

I had the pleasure of helping my dear friend Sue 

with her mom (my friend)

 Mary's 90th Birthday party!

First...designing the invitation....

with a cake to match!

Compliments of the bakery and Sue's good ideas!

Next some homemade decorations!

Thank you to Mary's (tall) grandson Dan for helping me tie them to the banisters!

and homemade bookmarks for favors...

And to top of the wonderful day, an inpromtu sing along!

I hope you are resting up Mary after your wonderful party 

and savoring all of the moments the day brought!

You have raised a wonderful family!

We had lots of fun!!!

I was so happy to share in your birthday celebration!

Here is to a wonderful year ahead with many more wonderful memories to come!

P.S.  You look fantastic!  : )

Love, Beth 

x, o

Special baby tags.....

I am working on baby tags for 2 new great-nephews...

It seems like only yesterday I was making thank-you cards for my son's baby shower

....a mere 16 years ago!  : )

Only weeks apart...

Love Auntie Bethy : )

Following my creative path....

I have joined a group of wonderful new artist friends in Stephanie Levy's e-course 

Creative Courage.  

In one of Stephanie's videos, she talked about staying on our creative paths....I started to think about exactly what mine is and actual pictures came to mind that I had taken, of paths along my way....

Yesterday, I had the good fortune of being asked for tea at Blithewold Mansion and gardens in Bristol RI.  I found my self surrounded by paths....

One thing I know, while I am traveling down my creative path...

I love to take pictures of them!  : )

Enjoy!  : )

Eastham, MA

Cape Cod Bike Trail

Boardwalk, Sandwich MA

Brewster Gardens, Plymouth MA

Sandwich, MA

Blithewold Gardens, Bristol RI

I hope you find inspiration in my pictures as you travel down your creative path....

Where inspiration meets my heart rocks...

Lots of changes have been going on in my life this past 8 months...but, I feel that I am shaking off lots of things and am beginning to emerge from under the rubble.  

I am so excited to be a part of Stephanie Levy's online e-class called, "Creative Courage"

One goal I have for myself is to get my blog up and running again...so today, as I begin my blogging again, I am combining Stephanie's inspirational words with my love of doodling and my beloved heart rocks.

Have a wonderful day....  : )

Cheaper by the Dozen

Last night I went out with some friends to see a local production of Cheaper by the Dozen by Hat Trick Theatre.  Our friend Maria's husband Dan played the lead, Mr. Gilbreth and their daughters were starring as two of the dozen children in the the play.  The story was based in the 1920's and the challenges of raising teenagers, but as the Director/Producer told us in her introduction, many of the challenges we could relate to today.  (She was right!)
It was put on at an First Parish Church on the top of the hill in the center of town.  There was no air conditioning, but our programs made a nice fan!  

They had wine and cheese and crackers which was a nice treat.  It was a full house!

 The cast did such a great job!  It was thoroughly entertaining.  I even had tears in my eyes at the end.  

The story line was very endearing.  It made me miss my dad with some of Mr. Gilbreth's old fashioned ways and when he said, "By Jingo!"

Check out what is playing in your local area.  

It is a great way to spend an evening with family and friends and support the great talent that is right in your neighborhood : )

http://www.hattricktheatre.net/index.htm

Plymouth Farmer's Market : )

Today I met up with my friend Sue to pick up the furniture from the Flea Market that wouldn't fit in her car yesterday!  

After we picked up her tables we popped over to the Plymouth Farmer's Market.

I love connecting to the people who sell their wares.  

It makes it so personal knowing who's chickens laid the eggs for your organic omelet, who's bees made your honey, cutting lavender from your patio purchased by a local gardener or knitting a scarf knowing the farmer who spun and dyed the wool.  : )

Queen Bee Honey Products-Pembroke MA
http://www.queenbeehoney.com/Retail_Location.htm
My friend Sue bought this Bee Pollen for me.  The sales girl said to sprinkle it on yogurt, cereal, put in shakes....it is said to give your energy!  I will let you know!  : )
They also sell delicious honey...my favorite is the lavender honey!

I bought my eggs and yarn from West Elm Farm which is also in Pembroke.
The farmer who sold me the eggs also spun the wool from his sheep on his farm.
Meeting him and seeing his beautiful yarns inspired me to take out my knitting needles again. : )

http://westelmfarm.com/

There was a girl singing in the tent down by the ocean... : )

http://plymouthfarmersmarket.org/

Up at the crack of dawn....

My friend Sue and I met up this morning to go to the Sandwich Flea Market which opened at 6:30 am!

Getting up that early to go on our treasure hunt reminded me of when I was young and sleeping over my sisters to go out very early on a weekend morning to go to yard sales...
You get there bright and early while all the good stuff is still there and by 9:30 am you feel like you have already had a productive day!  : )

Sue filled up her car with lots of furniture to refinish while I poked around seeing what struck my fancy...

 I stumbled upon a toy (plastic) featherweight which is battery operated and is working condition.  It has a little matching sewing box.

I had a beloved table refinished years ago, but it came back to me without the wheels on the legs.
I was so happy to find this interesting Gilette box with my lost wheels.
: )

I also stumbled upon 2 small gifts for the family....one for a poet/teacher who uses an old typewriter : )
and one is a music lover that loves to listen to '78's.

A cute collectable pencil sharpener....

A take on the RCA dog....a piggy bank that could second as a doorstop.

It was a great way to start the day with breakfast at Marshlands to top it off!
: )

Embrace the day

This is a new chapter in my life...an unemployed one as of today.  

While cleaning out my work space a few weeks back, I got a call for an interview for a new job for the following week.  I felt confident (maybe a bit too confident) that I would be a good match for the job.  So, as I walked out of my workspace that I have held dear and turned out the lights, 

(I kind of felt like Mary Tyler Moore in her last episode), 

I felt as if I had a bridge to walk on until the next week's job interview.

Needless to say, I did not get the job.  I found out early Monday morning...so on Tuesday, after a day of tears and wondering what I could have done differently, I woke up to a new attitude, a clean slate in life, a wondering of what the world had in store for me....

by Thursday morning....shear panic!  Oh My Gosh...I do not have a job!!!

Since then...(last week) I am trying to embrace the day.  

Each day has a lot to offer in showing me what I am meant to do next if I just trust and pay attention.  

I have a list a mile long of things that make me panic inside...but, I am paying attention as,
 to the self talk I have going on in my head....
(lots of negativity I must say)...

and am learning to turn those things around to be positive and patient.

  So, this morning, to treat myself,  I went for a walk downtown Plymouth and at Brewster Gardens.  I went to antique shops and craft sales and watched people out on their boats.  

Today I am learning to embrace the day.

Today what I learned is even when we are so fortunate to live where we live, to have people in our lives that we love and who love us, sometimes we get so wrapped up in what is going on inside of us that we don't enjoy it or realize how blessed we truly are.
A whole day could be wasted in worry, but that same day could be spent trying to figure things out while enjoying what is there
to be embraced...if we become present enough to notice.  : )

Inspirational : )

My shiny kitchen sink and Paris : )

Due to my feeling a bit overwhelmed with life changes lately, I was referred to "The Fly Lady" at http://www.flylady.net/pages/welcome_main.asp.

  What I loved about her and her site was she had the word CHAOS which she said stands for "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome"  Bingo!!  That is how I feel!!

  So, starting with baby step # 1 clean you dishes and shine your sink, I dug in.  

(I realize, if you have read my blog before and are now thinking, "I have heard this all before....this Lizzy is on this eternal quest to get organized")....Yes...it is true.  It is as if I keep falling off the clutter wagon and am looking for the program that will help me get back on...but for today, if you suffer like me, : ) The Fly Lady is worth checking out! : )

So, I did all my dishes....(broken dishwasher) and shined up my sink...

and then headed off to the movies!  I saw "Midnight in Paris" at the Cape Cinema.
   http://www.capecinema.com/

I got there just as it was about to begin...got my hot coffee and oatmeal cookie and was told that there was a balcony that I could go up onto since many of the seats were taken on the main floor.  It was a perfect place to sit with not many people up there and no one to get in your way of vision.... 

I liked the movie and the ambiance of the theater so much I stayed for the second showing of it!  This time with a cup of coffee and dark chocolate raisinettes.  (sp?)  Great movie...some of the characters were over my head but it was so clever and I loved the sites of Paris : )

If you love classic literature and Paris,  you will love it too : )

Happy Father's Day!

I have a very special heart stone in my garden that was given to me by my friend Sue and her son Danny after my father had passed away.  

I keep it tucked in the corner of my garden.  Last year my neighbors were weeding out their perennials and asked if I would like some.  I transplanted a rose bush that looked like sticks with roots but hoped for the best.  The other morning, my last day of work, I walked out on to my patio to see that the roses were in full bloom and later in the day, they cast a shadow on my special heart.   

A message from Dad saying, "I'm here, don't worry, it will all work out."  : )

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

"The roses have gone by.  We had 3 of them.........beautiful"

James Wheeler

The garden has lots of roses for you this summer Dad...

Happy Father's Day!

I love and miss you, xxoo

Liz