Aaah! The Pause That Refreshes

I was just thinking of how the rain refreshes my soul. It truly is "the pause that refreshes." I absolutely love the rain.  I often stop and, if I'm outside, I open my arms to welcome the impending rain.  After being in California for 40 years where it didn't rain for most of the summer, I love, love, love the rain here in VA.  It refreshes my soul.  It makes the garden grow.  It nourishes my surroundings.  I LOVE it!  I look around and I think, "This is my green cathedral and the rain is my holy water."

I had another thought just now.  The rain is announcing its arrival.  I hear thunder.  So does Tootsie, our Chihuahua.  She's afraid of the thunder so she comes to "hide" at my feet.  I picked her up, put her in my lap, and I was comforted as I comforted her.  Aaah.  The paws that refresh.  She needed to be comforted, but little does she know that she did much to comfort me.  It's a good thing.

Aaaah!  The pause that refreshes.  Love it!

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Too much of a good thing!?!

I have lots of supplies.  I have supplies for several different crafts.  Each craft has its own set of supplies & tools.  Some of the supplies & tools, however, crossover.  In other words, some of the supplies & tools are used in more than one craft.  HOW does one organize supplies & tools in that situation?  I guess I'll need to visit some blogs of crafters and put the question to them & their followers. 

Yet another class, and another hobby, and . . .

I took another class at The Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville yesterday.  The class was Stamping 101.  Although I've had some rubber stamps for over 30 years, I've never had a class, and I've never really done much with the stamps.  I worked in office supplies in the late 1970s, and that's when I got my first rubber stamps.  I had (and still have) Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, stars, and several other stamps I used to stamp paper bags, plain paper (for wrapping gifts), and toilet paper (fun for birthdays).  I did that about 30 years ago - before the stamping & scrapbook craze.  I've accumulated some more stamps over the years, and now I want to do more with them.  Besides putting the images onto paper, I want to put them on fabric too.   Anyway, I made two cards & one card container in class.  I love the idea of making containers/boxes.  I've always had a thing for boxes, baskets, bottles, bags, and bins.  (How's that for alliteration?) I like containers!  So, the stamping - another hobby or an enhancement to what I already work with - fabric.  Love fabric!  I love to touch fabric.  My husband laughs at me because I'm always touching things in the stores.  Anything of a textile nature is fun to touch.  I even have a soft plushy bear by my bed for when I don't feel well.  The touch is very comforting.   It soothes the little girl within.

Oh no! More hobbies to pursue!

I went to a Beginning Stencil class yesterday at The Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville.  What fun!#!  Although it's a whole new hobby for me, I've been wanting to get into Mixed Media and use my many many fabrics in new & different ways.  Yesterday I used small stencils,  embossing pastes & glitters to create beautiful images on paper.  I also used a stencil, stylus and pigments (no paste) to create a different look - again on paper.  As it turns out, I can use some of the same tools/supplies to create images on fabric.  I've been wanting to try Shiva paintsticks on fabric so now I have some ideas on how to do that.  I already have a couple of books, stencils and rubbing plates for using the Shiva paintsticks.  So, bottom line, I can justify more of these classes because I can incorporate the new techniques into creating new art & wearables & whatever with my fabrics.  Yes!!!!  I also signed up for a Beginning Clothing Construction class at Sierra College (SC) this fall.  I've made some clothing on & off over the past 40 years, but I've never had any outside instruction.  I'm really looking forward to the class at SC, and I have my eye on more classes at The Stamp Art Shoppe and at The Tin Thimble in Loomis and . . . .   Can't wait!

Spring has certainly sprung . . .

I love this time of year.  Everything is greening up, and all of the birds are busy.  We have about 10 hummingbirds at the feeders a good part of the day.  They're going through about  1/2 gallon of nectar every 2 days or so.  The geese are back.  Last year the female made her nest on the roof of the shed closest to the house.  (That shed houses the chickens, a storage/work area, garden tools, and wood.)  I could watch the goose tend to her nest from the house.  She had six babies.  Mom & dad took very good care of them until they were grown.  They all flew away at the end of the season.  This year the mom built her nest on the roof of the shed out in the pasture.  I can barely see her from the house.  This year she only had two babies.  Again, mom & dad are taking great care of them.  The babies are usually between mom & dad, and dad gets uppity if anyone (or anything) gets too close.  Great parents.  The orioles are back.  Gorgeous colors!  Bright orange & yellow-orange.  In the past we've had two pairs.  At least I think it was two pairs.  There were two brightly colored birds and two that were less so.  Anyway, we've had a woven, hanging nest in the willow tree the last 2 or 3 years.  Mother Nature is amazing.  I could watch birds all day.  I think of birds as my guardian angels.  I can never be sad while watching them.