APRIL IS JUST ABOUT OVER, THANK GOODNESS

Over all, I don't think I will be sad to see April go this year. We had tornadoes touch down within 10 miles of the house Sunday April 19. Thank goodness no one was seriously injured but lots of scattered damage.
We have finally gotten plants in the ground in our garden last week. So far so good. They are still alive. We plant a few more it seems every day or two. Don is in heaven with his garden. It has been so long since I helped plant one. Like my sister-in-law Mary E. in Alaska always says "If you don't use it , you loose it!!" and she is right. I have forgotten so much of the small details of how my parents planted a garden. I remember scattered details but not the whole sequence.
Don has always wanted a garden but has never been able to have one. He is really 'gung ho' to have one, no matter what. It was hard to keep him out of the plot after all of the rain a week ago. We had just got the new tiller and he wanted to plow up everything. I kept trying to tell him he would do more damage than help if he got in it while it was too wet. He finally saw the muddy clots and understood. I keep telling him that gardening demands a lot of PATIENCE. I can't wait for the squash to put out baby squash so he can finally sit and watch them grow!! That and greenbeans are the two plants that actually grow right in front of your eyes. He checks on the plants every few hours, looking for signs of growth. Heaven help the rabbit or deer that gets in his garden.
I told him we would have to hang some small alumnin pans to scare the birds and such away. We have one robin that has walked every inch of the yard, over and over. I think that bird thinks we plowed up that plot just for him to hunt worms in.
The art show on the 18th in Montevallo was a bust. Not many people, cold and cloudy and scattered sprinkles of rain. Just really dreary. At 1PM Don said we were packing up and going home. I was ready to go, too. I don't leave shows early, only happened maybe twice in the last 35 years of doing shows but this one I was dead tired and cold. I went to bed as soon as we got home and slept 5 hours. I didn't even watch the Alabama A Day game on ESPN. I was just dead tired. I have listed the purses and pincushions and sachets on ETSY and hope I sell them there. Be sure and check out WWW.marysrosecottage.etsy.com for all my pretties. I am listing more stuff every day as I get it photografted.
Plans for the wedding are going along. June 6 will be here before you know it. Don said we should have just gone to a judge and gotten married. Our tiny wedding is growing. I told him I don't plan on ever doing this again and after all it is my ONLY wedding. He is a good sport about it so far. Skip Hall, a friend from church and a former Special Forces member from Vietnam is going to stand up with Don (Don was also in Special Forces in 'Nam). My cousin Sheryl is going to stand up with me. When Sheryl and I were kids we promised each other we would do it. I stood up with her in 1969 and now 40 years later she will stand up with me. Took me a long time to find the right man. Well I guess more later. As grandmother Nelson used to say, "Got places to go and things to do!

LIFE BETWEEN THE STORMS

Well as "they say" life goes on with spring storms in the South. Yesterday was one of those days. Stayed close to the TV and watched the clouds. Don still has not had a chance to see what real 'spring storms' are in Alabama. We did have a little hail yesterday from "pea" sized to dime sized and thank goodness it didn't last long. We were on the edge of that storm. My friend Rheba was staying over on Lay Lake and they had golf ball sized hail. Covered the yard and they have the pictures to prove it. I didn't take any pics of our hail, the camera wasn't handy.
I have spent the day running around. I went on a hunt early this morning trying to find my box of empty picture frames. Never found it, but then Don has been trying to help me straighten up the craft stuff, so I have misplaced more than my usual amount of stuff. I finally found my box of embroidery floss. Hard to lose a 3 foot storage box of floss (that is right I said 3 FOOT) but I did. Anyway I gave up on the frames and went for a trip to the local thrift store. ANY excuse to go to the thrift store is a good excuse. Found some interesting frames to use with my beaded fish and sea pieces. When they are finished you will be the first to see them.
Well I guess that is about all there is to tell tonight. The TV says we will have more storms starting late Sunday nite. I really do feel for the folks that lost loved ones and homes and business in these last storms. The Weather channel says these next storms will track pretty close to the same as the Friday storms. The folks that were hit deserve our prayers and help. You never know when the next storms will be knocking on our doors. Have a Blessed Easter. Mary

Hi everyone!

Well yesterday was a busy day for me and my significant other, Don. He took me up to David's Bridal and we looked at wedding dresses. I was supprised he was willing to go with me. We saw some pretty ones and they all had pretty price tags. We saw some styles we liked and a few that would be fairly easy to make by me. We then went to Hancock Fabrics next door and looked at bridal fabrics. I found one, a dull satin with small leaves embroidered all over it that i really liked, (he said it was OK!). It is an ivory color and just $12.99 a yard. That is not bad for 60 inches wide. Now all i have to do is settle on a pattern and get with the sewing machine for some quality time. I know!! Time is short. But i work best with a short deadline anyway.

Be sure and check out my entry on http://www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/. There are some really pretty projects out there. It is really interesting to see how different the projects are when we all use the same image for them. Variety is the spice of life atleast in the art world.

Well, I guess this all for today. Don and I are going to the Cracker Barrel at Trussville. Don is going to get to meet my Aunt Mary for the first time. He talks to her on the phone. He said she is one fiesty lady and is looking forward to seeing her. We are also still working on the yard or rather Don is. I am posting some photos of him with his toys doing what he loves to do. All for now.

Have a blessed day. Mary

APRIL CHALLENGE ENTRY

WOW!! Have you checked out the entries in the April Challenge at the blog http://www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/ !! I have to admit I have an entry, so you all can look for mine, but the competition is fierce. There are some really good FAST artists that enter that challenge each month. You have to understand that Gail only gives us 7 days to dream up a project and finish it with the image she gives us. If you are not an artist you may not understand that that is the real challenge. Designing and FINISHING a project in 7 days !!

I forgot to add the blog site www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com to my entry. Be sure and check to blog out if you love altered art with a decidedly Cottage Chic flavor. There is a new April challenge going on right now so jump right in and enjoy the fun!! Mary

Well, it has been quite a while since I have been back here. A lot has happened. I became part of the "big layoff" of businesses looking to trim down their companies. Then I got the wild idea that I might move to Alaska to be near some of my family. That didn't work out at all. I had some interesting job interviews in Alaska but I had a house in Alabama that getting rid of would have been nearly impossible in today's housing climate and I would have had to get rid of my fabric stash and craft supplies. Moving to Alaska is VERY EXPENSIVE if an individual has to pay for themselves. So scratch that idea!
Then life picked up. I met a wonderful man on line in a chat room. His name is Don and low and behold! we are getting married June the 6th. I still don't have a job, but since I will be 62 in October this year I have decided I will file for Social Security and use my crafts to suppliment my income. Don is already retired and we plan to enjoy life for a change. He has already moved to Alabama and life is wonderful!!!
Now back to the crafts aspect of my life. I have been working on some really beautiful handbags and journals and ribbon sachets and all things Cottage Chic!! Don likes my crafty ways and is helping me thin down the stash that has taken over my life. I knew I had a lot, make that a SUPER LOT OF FABRIC, but finally seeing it thru the eyes of someone else does give a different perspective. So if you love fabric and crafts keep a watch on my Etsy site - www.marysrosecottage.etsy.com and my ebay site - seller name - marysrosecottage and my web site - www.rosecottagetreasures.com for some great buys in fabrics and craft books, and craft supplies.
I guess that will be about all for now. It is spring in Alabama and we are expecting some heavy weather today with possible tornadoes so pray for Alabama and all the others in the paths of these storms. I have to go and finish my entry for Mind wide open's April Challenge. If you have not checked that blog out be sure and go see it. Some really beautiful art work. I am, also, getting ready for an art show in my little town of Montevallo, Alabama on April 18. Montevallo is a small college town but has an huge number of artsy crafty folks living there and close by. I will post pics after the show and I will post pics of some of my newest creations very soon. Mary