HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!

*************

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day,

is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

~

I made this wreath for a window to honor those

men & women.

(I also use it on the 4th of July)

As this is a holiday... you might want to watch a movie.

I love Miss Potter!

It is the delightful and enchanting story

of Beatrix Potter... the Creator

of Peter Rabbit, and her life as a writer

and artist.

I could watch it over and over!

And then we have some IDEAS from the new Pottery Barn Catalog.
I love these little felt ducks. A great project for
your hands while you're watching a movie.


What a great collection...
old sand shovels!
You can buy them at PB, but why not collect
them.




Oh... what we can do with stretched canvas.
So simple and so lovely!




And this really grabbed me! Different shaped stretched canvas
(and they come in so many sizes and shapes)
with a collaged tree.
Soooooo cute!!




These canvases are made with the collage process.
Look at the sheet music between the lady bug's
wings.
Love it!!




Click on this quilt to get a close look at it.
So much variety.
Makes me think of summer raspberries.



A little applique and a little stitching= a

lovely pillow or two.

~

Have fun!!

~



I'm making a jacket to go with my MOB dress

and I'm making it in muslin at the moment.

It's just not working... may have to look for a

different pattern.

Grrrrrrrrr!

~

Friday is my one year blogging anniversary.

Watch for a GIVEAWAY!!

Joni

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

*************

I 've been cross-stitching between wedding preparations.

I finished this last night... in very poor light.

The flower needs to be ripped out and redone and

the whole thing needs a good pressing.

But, I wanted to take a quick pic of it so I could share it

on this red, white, and blue weekend.

~

This was my first attempt at cross stitch and I found it

to be very relaxing.

My next embroidery will be "something blue"

for Wendy's wedding...

The wedding date in blue on satin to be sewn in her

wedding dress.

Thanks to Anna and Junie Moon for the idea.

These books arrived from Amazon and I'm anxious to curl

up with a cup of tea and absorb them.

They are a Mother's Day gift from my sweet husband.

(It pays to keep a WISH LIST on Amazon)

~

By mistake, Boyd ordered 2 copies of one of them, but

I won't tell you which one as it will be my GIVEAWAY

next week for my 1st Blog Anniversary.

Ooooo... I'm missing one book and Blogspot

wants to put it at the top of the cue.

A Passion for Patchwork by Lise Bergene.

(100 quilted projects... and I love most of them)

~

JENNY CRAIG UPDATE...

14.6 pounds lost!

~

Have a wonderful weekend...

make it wonderful!

Joni

Happy Birthday honey!
May this be a year of health and happiness.
I love you!
Joni

THE BEAUTIFUL... BUT DANGEROUS SUN

~

The sun can be an enemy to your skin!

Use common sense and lots of sun screen, a hat to shade

your face, and cover up your body.

I loved to lay in the sun and play in the sun.

I loved the look of a nice tan with my summer

clothes.

That was summer!

~

I am Norwegian and fair-haired.

But my skin tanned well...

so why not get all toasty in the sun.

THIS IS WHY!!

A small discolored spot on my shoulder.

It didn't look like anything unusual

but my dermatologist freaked.

~

He biopsied it and several weeks later

I was back having a 2 hour excision.

This is a photo of the 3 inch incision on my shoulder.

~

I'm not vain about scars on my body.

This one especially!

It's a good reminder to keep my skin out of the sun.

~

For my daughter's wedding I'll get a spray tan at a salon.

Just to have a bit of color.

I've not shared this photo with anyone before...
but you are friends and like family.
Please learn from my mistakes!

Love to you all...
Joni

MOTHER'S DAY 2008

~

We went to Oshkosh for brunch on Mother's Day.

When we walked into the lobby I saw these tiles on a wall

and I can't get them out of my head.
I need to call the hotel and see if they were sold

or are still available.

You know what it's like when you can't get an image

out of your head??

Oshkosh is a lovely little city on the state's biggest inland lake.

The hotel is on the Fox River which divides Oshkosh in half.


This is what I ate...
roasted veggies and cold shrimp.

This is what I didn't eat...

desserts!!

This is a pic of Boyd and I.

He is so sweet!

For Mother's Day he bought me all the books on my

Amazon wish list.

They are mostly art books.

I'll take a photo of titles whan they arrive.

Kristin... my first born.

Wendy... the bride-to-be.

Kristin, Wendy, and Darin

Boyd's 88 year old dad with Boyd and I.

He is not only 88 and has had a lot of health problems,

but he still delivers meals to the shut-ins

and volunteers at our air museum.

Boyd's dad with the girls.

I didn't get a photo of Boyd's mom, brother or aunt.

Sorry!!

A good pic of the hotel, river, and lake in the background.

AND NOW

A drum roll, please...

Yesterday was weigh-in day and I lost...

2.8 lbs this week.

That's a total of 13.4 pounds!

YIPPEE!!

Feelin' frisky!

Joni

SCRAPPING

~

I didn't start making scrapbook layouts until about 5 years ago.

My daughters are 35 & 38...

I have lots and lots of years to catch up on.

I don't make layouts in any order... just what appeals to

me at the moment.

~

So many people are using plain backgrounds but I can't resist

PATTERNED PAPER.

I love what others do... but this is just my style!

~

I do most of my mini-albums digitally... but my

12" x 12" pages won't print on my printer.

And I love to play with the paper & glue.

I'm a very tactile person.

~

Kristin is in the spotlight today.

This is one of my favorite layouts.

Kristin still loves toast and butter for a snack.

And she's slim and trim despite it.

~

Click on the picture to read the story.

I was pregnant with Kristin and teaching in Germany.

My friends had a baby shower for me.

These are recently recovered photos made from slides

we discovered cleaning the basement.

"Two tired ladies taking a rest" tells it's own story.


It was so exciting decorating for Christmas for unborn
Kristin.
Living in Germany there were so many wonderful shops
and fests to find Christmas goodies.
I made gingerbread men and popcorn for the tree.
~
Oooooo... the importance of pictures to activate
all those wonderful memories.
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.
With both girls home it was "the best"!

Hugs to you all!
Joni

A French Blog

and

A Blog About France

~

...for visiting my blog today.

I want to share with you 2 of my new favorite blogs.

I am loving them both!

Enjoy... and bookmark them if your visit is filled with

inspiration like mine was.
~

The first blog is in French. You can copy and paste to

http://www.translate.google.com/

to read it or to respond with a comment.

OR...

just enjoy the photos.

~~~~~
http://chiffonbrodeuse.canalblog.com/
Blog de Chiffon Chineuse

~~

Muriel is a multi talented lady and very friendly.

I love her fish embroidery

and the idea of working it into a photo layout

themed around the sea.

A new thought for stitchers and scrappers… blending the two.
That really excites and motivates me!

I adore this heart!

I love the endearing words written in gold ink on white.

The pretty edging and the idea of

hanging it by pearls is so feminine.

What a lovely gift for someone special.

Muriel is proud of her gardens and shares

beautiful photos of them on her blog.

I love the way she used many of her flower photos

to make a layout.

So lovely!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://parisbreakfast.com/
PARIS BREAKFASTS

by

Carol Gillott New York, NY, United States

“Paris Breakfasts is a Painting-A-Day blog

that chronicles my watercolor adventures

in Paris' pastry and chocolate shops.

New York is my home between jaunts.

SUBSCRIBE and have a Parisian croissant delivered

5 times a week to your inbox.”
~

I do wake up each week day to a

touch of Paris on my email... and it is such

a lovely way to begin the day.This is yesterday's watercolor about JAM.

Each day there is a new watercolor

and it is followed by a themed post.

Carol also posts books about Paris on the side bar.

Publishers Weekly called it a “…frothy French confection of a novel”.

Sounds good to me!

I ordered a used copy from Amazon.com.
~


Another photo from her "Jam" post.

There are lots of photos each day.

My computer is acting strangely so I'm going to close

and have a cup of tea while I read today's Paris post.

~~~~
I hope you enjoy these ladies as much as I do.

Joni

**********************************************

**********************************************

EYE CANDY to My Eyes

But I'll share with you... my friends !

A photo of my daughters having fun
(The best EYE CANDY)

Wendy and Kristin flew to DC last weekend for a
Bridal Shower & Girl's Weekend.
(I have GREAT photos of the Kentucky Derby themed shower
but I need to get permission to post the photos)




Books are always EYE CANDY to me... and especially Summer reading. Beach books are lighter than
the books I read during the rest of the year.
I prowled Amazon.com looking for something
that grabbed me.
I discovered Elizabeth Adler and her
many yummy-sounding reads.
~
I zipped over to Barnes and Noble and they had
2 of her books.
I was reading before Mr. Yummers had left the parking lot.
~
I've been to Capri with 3 girlfriends.
I remember the blue, blue of the water,
the quaintness of the island
and the delicious fried squash blossoms
with good wine.

A description...
New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Adler invites you on a

decadent Mediterranean cruise—where nothing is what it seems,

no one is telling the truth, and murder is on the agenda…

When English tycoon Sir Robert Waldo Hardwick dies mysteriously

in a car accident,

he leaves behind a note naming six people

he suspects might have wanted him dead.

Daisy Kean, and P.I. Harry Montana team up

o take the suspects—and also six ‘red herrings’—

on a fabulous Mediterranean cruise,

all expenses paid by the late Sir Robert.

As they call at Monte Carlo, St. Tropez and Sorrento,

the mystery deepens.

And the unexpected twists are just the beginning.

Finally, they arrive at the beautiful Villa Belkiss on Capri,

where Sir Robert’s will is to be read…and the killer unmasked.

With the beauty of the Yorkshire countryside,

the Mediterranean resorts

and the magnificent cruise ship,

plus a touch of romance, passions flare

and the beauty of the Villa Belkiss enchants.

~

"Delicious armchair travel & intriguing suspense."


More of my EYE CANDY...

The Jenny Craig logo

It makes me smile as it is changing my life.

Yesterday was one month... it goes by so quickly.

My first month loss stats:

Weight: 10.6 lbs
Inches: 5" in my waist
2" in my bust

7" in my abdomen

3" in my hips

I feel frisky!!

I have a to-do list a foot long as Wendy and her fiancee

are flying in on Thursday.

The wedding plans are numerous...

and it's Mother's Day.

Kristin is arriving on Saturday.

~~

Make this a good day at your house!

Joni

HAVE YOU BEEN TO

"THE RIBBON JAR"?

~

The Ribbon Jar is a wonderful online store

brimming over with beautiful and unique

ribbon.

They have a special jar each month that is

themed and full of ribbon and trims.

Many people collect these jars as they are

colorful, useful, and come with a collector's tag.

They do sell out fast, but there are lots of other

ribbons available to put that finishing touch on a

special project.

I went shopping this morning and bought the

following ribbon for projects still

in my head...

So perfect to go with ribbon I have that has names of

French cities on it.

Perfect around a pillow.




I bought these fish in several colors.



Sooooo Provence... or on breakfast placemats.

~

I lost the pictures of several of my ribbon photos

while writing this.

But they'll show up someday on some handmade

item.

~

Visit The Ribbon Jar just for fun!

Make this a great day!

Joni

SHOW and TELL

~

Here is my new Jelly Roll of 'Fresh Squeezed' (Moda)

in the process of

becoming a table runner to brighten up

the breakfast nook.
I planned on sewing all day yesterday but

the UPS man didn't arrive until late afternoon.

So... this is as far as I got.

I'll work on it this weekend and see if I can

finish it by Monday.

I joined Jenny Craig (a weight loss program & center).

I'm on my 4th week and weigh in on Tuesday.

I've tried other programs and had so little success

but this program seems to work for me.

You choose, buy, and eat their food.

You have a weekly one-to-one meeting with your consultant.

They monitor your journal very carefully.

They monitor your exercise.

~

In the first 3 weeks I lost 9.9 lbs!!

Boyd is so supportive and helpful.

Thanks, Honey!!
The food is delicious.

Last night for dinner I had their chili baked in a green pepper

sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

I had fat-free sour cream on top.

It was yummy!

~

Make this a fan-tastic weekend!!

Hugs,

Joni