It's been too long

It has been too long since I took time to blog. After the election and my guy won I got busy with Christmas and health issues and just didn't have interest in doing the blog. I apologize to those who have asked me to start again. To update you - I had surgery in December to fix my aneurism with coiling. It went well and I was on a plane flying to Denver 3 days later, to have Christmas with 3 generations of my family. It was wonderful and I'm back 100% again.

The financial crisis has slowly crept in to our lives - food costs are way higher than they used to be, property and 401K values have tanked and you pray every day that you hang on to your job. Savings? Right.

So - what to do? Get creative and stay on course trying to be Green and motivated. At least our President is on the same page as most of us and has done his best to ensure he never gets "bubbled" from what is really happening in the real world. As they speak of loans and budgets now in the $Trillions$$$ it just sounds like a number, but the other day I was listening to Marketplace on XM and they broke it all down - how many $10's it took to make a $1000 and then $1000's to get a $1M etc. Trillions is a LOT of $10.00's!! I keep wondering where the money is coming from? Do we just print more? Don't you need gold to back the money you print? Um, what's wrong with this picture? Everyone seems so confused and can't explain it easily.

When things get this complicated the human reaction seems to be to simplify the things one can control. Cut back on the "must do's" and take time to garden, sew, bake or have family time together. Movie attendance has been higher, television is a waste of time so read a book, scrapbook or write in your blog. Facebook and Twitter are an answer to something and we're all jumping on board. I really don't think it has so much to do with communication as it does with connecting. The world it tough right now so find a person - that is more real and there is comfort in it. Family seems more important now too. My kids and the grandchildren have always been my rock but I take time to really think about how much I appreciate what I have in my life and don't have the big wish list I used to. The babies are toddlers now and watching their discovering what they can do has been such a boost to my mood. It all looks so impossible and they nail it and make it look easy. Kids really are a wonder to behold.

Life is rough right now and finding that glimmer that makes you smile makes a much bigger impact now. Just today I got an email with a link to a beautiful photography site that offers inspiration for work I will do in digital scrap booking. It's http://www.thephotographicdictionary.org/home.html. Pick a word and think of how you could use it to make a picture . It can be used for much more than just photography. The pictures it shows for each word are beautiful by themselves though.

Hope this finds you well and thanks for stopping by.

Hannah

Dreaming in Colors

I'm in a Funk

It had been a normal day - worked hard and came home tired and glad it was Wednesday. First things first - let the cats out - not too hot today. Fill their dry food and water dishes - make the bed, even if it is 6:00 - can't stand sleeping in a bed with wrinkles. Put the knife and plate left from my husband's breakfast in the dishwasher. Oh, there's a message on the phone. Check the messages and one is for me from my friendly family doctor with instructions to call his patient infomation voicemail line. Okay. Dial, enter the numbers needed and Lydia says "Hello Hannah - we've received the results of the MRI/MRA you had done and you have a blockage on the right upper quadrant of your front brain and an aneurism on the left mid-section of your brain. You need to call and make an appointment with a neurology specialist at your earliest convenience....".

Right.

Why do the knees buckle first? Think things through. No point in worrying about something if you don't have all the facts. No point in calling the kids and worry them. Oh damn, have to tell Louie and he'll freak. It was better not knowing. Push it back and maybe it will go away. Yes BUT...your Mother had aneurisms and they cost her half her brain. If you push it back and ignore it you will really look ugly with half your head gone. Damn it again.

Okay, breathe deep and call your daughter. You can tell her anything and when it's not her or her kids she really is calm and gives great advice. Okay - call her. No answer. Call the cell. No answer. Shit - you finally get the nerve to call her and no one ever answers the phone. This must be a sign...you know how you believe in signs. It's TUT's way of saying don't tell anyone. I have to tell someone it's eating me alive. Okay call the son in law and see if he answers. YES! He answers. Oh, she's scapbooking?? Now?? Would it be okay if I called her? Are you sure? I don't want to be a pest. (Yes I do!!) Thanks - call her cell. No answer. Ten minutes later the phone rings and it's her and she is scrapbooking with her friends and no, it's okay. So what did you want to talk to me about??

As expected Ms. Calm advises me to stay cool, tell her dad about it and not worry. Great advice. It feels better just telling her about it.

I did call her dad and he did freak and has continued to freak for the past 3 weeks. I have attempted to get an appointment with Barrow Neurological here in Phoenix since they are considered the best, and with luck I might actually see a doctor there before the end of the year. As time goes on I keep coming up with logical answers to the fears that sneak in. I could have had this my whole life and just never knew. Who knows how long it's been there and I've been just fine. According to an episode of Six Feet Under, if the aneurism blows I die instantly with blood steaming down my nose and I don't feel a thing. Everyone feels really sorry and I get a lot of attention, even if it is too late. I appreciate the thought.

Of course, I really, really want to have my farm, sheep, llama, and chickens and see my grandchildren grow up and go off to college, if there is college that is affordable in 20 years. I also want to see how my husband and I look when we're 80 years old and have been together for 50 years. Will he still be a biker and me a crafter? Will we be crazy old folks with a wicked sense of humor and will I want to feed the kids all the time like their grandma does? I hope I still love shoes when I'm 80. I'll keep my hair red too. Just to bug people if nothing else. I plan to swear too.

So, it gets me down that I can't get the damn appointment, which indicates I do want to stick around and see how things play out for all of us, but some days it's hard. I get frustrated and mad. Mad at the genes that made this happen. Mad at Barrow for taking so damn long. Mad at my husband for wanting me to not bend over or work in my garden, but thankful he is helping out more. Mad that we live here and the kids live far away and we should be together. I need my friend. I need my kids and their little ones. It makes me happy and I laugh more when I'm with them.

I need to laugh A LOT now.

~ Hannah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE GIRL

My favorite girl in the world with her son

Well, 31 years ago tonight at 11:30 pm the little girl I always wanted was born. I was young and thought I could do it all - two kids, single, a job and life lay out in front of me. The future was something I looked forward to and my little girl and her older brother were the center of my life.

They still are. When we think that our work will be over when they get to be adults and parents themselves, it is quite a big surprise to discover you still worry just as much or more (life experience gives you more reasons to worry)! Not only do you live daily thinking about your own children, you also worry and wonder about their children. No one warned me about that one. I certainly never saw myself as a "Jewish mother" worrier but I am becoming my grandmother. Good lord.

When I visit Seattle we are up and out of the house before noon and on the run all day - berry picking, parks, zoo, shopping; keep those kids entertained and busy all day long no matter what the weather. I come back home and need to rest up from all the activity I experience with grandchildren who like to DO things - outside - away from the house - NO sitting allowed. I lose weight with every visit. We have so much fun!!

How did my two survive? Going to the park was a special event not a daily routine. Maybe it's my fault they go go go so much. Maybe if she was in therapy, my daughter would say it's all my fault she feels claustrophobic being in the house all day. If only I had been outside more she could relax and stay at home more. Oh well, they seem well adjusted adults with great marriages, and no matter how hard we work at being great parents we are bound to fail at something. At least one thing is going to be our fault no matter what. Just go with it. Enjoy your children for who and what they are and take credit for the best in them and blame their friends what what you dont like.

I wouldn't trade my life with anyone - even if I'm not rich - I'm not poor either, and have been blessed with my children, grandchildren and a husband I adore. Life is good, and birthdays are the perfect time to remember that.

As always...I'm Dreaming in Colors

Welcome little one. We love you!

It is with great joy and wonder I introduce you to Jaden our fourth grandchild born last week in Bellingham WA. His father, my son Javan and his mommy Terina have a daughter Teilani who has her Nona's heart too, but this little guy is the cherry on top.

I have been so blessed with two incredible children who in turn have grown into compassionate, smart, considerate adults who are the best parents to their children one could ever hope for.

Starting out as a child of one, adopted with no roots of my own, it is such an incredible feeling to see me grow into a family of loving people who no matter what, band together and look out for each other, and accept the good and not so good about one another. That to me is a true FAMILY and we have it hands down.

Love to All

One of the Very Special Wonders in my Life

I was told recently that there is a special little person in my life that never gets mentioned in my blog. I'm afraid this is true and I must correct this error. Atticus is my grandson who is 6 month old and a joy to everyone in his life. He always smiles and laughs and is Mr. Chill. His sister EQ was the first born and has always held a special place in my heart. When Atty was born I just couldn't imagine loving him the way I did his sister. Well, it's incredible how big our hearts really are, and how when another person comes along, you find you are just as smitten with him as you were with the first one. It really is amazing. I look forward to enjoying both of my little ones as they discover and grow, and while his parents will probably have him playing sports and being all boy, his Nona will sneak in some classical music, museums and beaches as much as possible. His slideshow is at the bottom of the blog page.

money, money,money.....

It seems to me that there is an abundance of talk everywhere about money these days. You hear it all day long on NPR or the news channels on cable as well as on blogs. Besides election hysteria we have finance hysteria. At first I couldn't figure out why everyone was freaking out - at my house we are average middle class - two jobs, reasonable mortgage, few bills, and a small gas efficient car for me and motorcycle for my husband. I would rather have A/C than run the dryer and save on water and electrical as much as possible. I've prided myself for being price savvy at the supermarket - and try to use coupons and sales to stretch the dollar. I belong to Costco but try to be careful and not buy bulk on items that will not keep. There are only two of us at home now, so bulk has it's drawbacks. I do love their easy to fix meals and salads though. I tend to be a sucker for the chocolate/camel apples to, when the vendor comes on site. 3 apples loaded with a year's worth of fat and calories - too good to believe. It started to hit me though when shopping at Wal-Mart and I noticed my dry cat food was $3.00 per bag higher. Then the moist cat food was $2.00 higher. Hum No tomatoes due to E-coli, lettace $2.00+ per head, bread at $3.00 plus per loaf if you want 3g of fibre, what the hell??? When I bought my 2005 Beetle, it cost me $18.00 to fill it - yesterday it was $48.00. Okay - so maybe that is why my paycheck is taking more to survive and a lot less is being saved than last year. I save for a couple of months, above and beyond my nest egg fund, in order to fly to Seattle every two months - and now it may take three months just to pay the same price I have been paying ($269) to get there. Oooh - this IS getting ugly, and I do not do poor well. I can budget and buy consignment when necessary, but I do not do poor.

I remember reading about this woman who got divorced and was screwed financially when her millionare husband hid his assets and she didn't get a dime. She basically had the clothes in her closet and her car and that was it. Because she had lived the 'life' in the fast lane, and had the cloths and style to carry it off, she lived homeless in her car for over a year and would go to Saks and Neiman Marcus to "shop" and would slip into the ladies room to wash and change clothes.Since she had been a regular customer at both stores, no one thought anything of her being there and never guessed what she was doing. If I get poor, I hope I have the balls to do it as well as this woman. She finally wrote a book about her homeless life and made a small fortune and could finally get in off the street. Kudos to her.

One of my favorite blogs is the Midlife Gals ~ SalGal and KK (http://midlifegals.blogspot.com/). They are a riot and can turn a blah day into a sunny one by being so funny. Their weekend post was about what they would do if they were suddenly rich. I used to dream about winning $85 million in the lottery, but kept forgetting to buy lottery tickets. Dah ~ When I started the frugal green mode I'm in now, I quit dreaming about being rich until I read KK's wishes if she was rich. It got me to thinking once again what I would do with the money.

1. Take a deep breath and tell myself "money will not change me" one hundred times.


2. Call my financial adviser and find out how to spend but still save at the same time. Rich people seem to have this down and we must learn what they know.
   
3. Pay off the kid's mortgage so they can buy the house of their dreams near water with a view. Help them pay enough down to carry a managable mortage amount. Insist on a state of the art crafts room for my daughter that I get to work in too.
   
4. Keep the house in Arizona, but redo the kitchen, bathrooms, redecorate it all and re-do the landscape. Use this house as one of three in various locales. Offer it out to other family members when they visit the SW.
   
5. Find a house on the coast of Oregon near Cannon Beach. A big beachy house with at least 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with room for everyone, all at the same time, without feeling cramped. Make it a cottage looking house and fill it with antiques and recycled junk that looks great. Live there all summer.


6. Get a spot in on the coast in Costa Rica for Louie to live in when he needs the tropics. Rent it out for income when not is use.


7. Buy a condo in Seattle to use when we miss the kids. Scratch that. If we're buying their house for them they can let us have a guest cottage on the property. Since we're paying....and besides, I am a great babysitter.


8. Buy a condo or small house for Javan and Terina and a car.
9. Start a college fund for all the kids.


10. Set up a scholarship fund at the University of Washington in my father's name.


11. Contribute $1 million to a group that supplies the means for clean water in Africa.


12. Contribute $1 million to a group working on global warming.

See, I'm not greedy. I share. I'll still buy junk and refinish it - it's my style. I will buy clothes and shoes without looking at the price, more. But I really wonder if I could ever spend $500 on a pair of shoes, unless of course, I'm in Florence Italy and they're custom made just for little ol' me!

Living with this joy in my life how can I not feel rich!

Meanwhile, back in reality, I love my life. We have enough to get by and enjoy life. We have to spend wiser and think about it more, but other than the house at the ocean, I can live just fine without any of the dream stuff. I'll always want a place by the sea - and may still get it. But I am happy with all I have now. Life is good and gets better all the time. It really does.

Keep your chin up!

Hannah ~ always, dreaming in colors

Tiptoe through the tulips with me.....

I just returned from a wonderful trip home to spend time with the kids and get a dose of Green. The weather showed off with temps in the mid 80's and Seattle did it's best to make me long to be back where my heart belongs. It was an eventful weekend with the opening of the tulip feastival in Mt. Vernon and the Green Fest in Seattle. I was in heaven.

We hit Greenlake park on the way from the airport to the house and EQ showed me how much she can do now. I was terrified as she climbed the steps of the slide and came down like a big girl. She showed me how to dig in the sand and loved having her legs buried. We both had such a good time. She was so happy to see me and remembered I was one of the good guys.

On Saturday we wanted to head North for shopping and tulips.We started with the outlet mall in Tulalip which turned out to be shopping vervana. I have never seen an outlet with so much~ We all shopped to exhaustion. Then we headed further North to the tulip fields where all we could see was yellow from daffodiles everywhere. It was a sea of yellow. The weather had been too cold for the tulips, which decided to stay closed until this week. I love daffodiles though and enjoyed seeing all the fields at the base of mountains. The sights are unbelievable. We took EQ there last year when she was only 6 months old, and this year she was walking and running! Her mother decked her out in an adorable Laura Ashley dress and we were ready for the pictures to start. EQ wasn't having it. The fields, unfortunately for her, are made of dirt, and she and dirt aren't friends. She was quite unhappy having to stand and look sweet when all around her were strangers and dirt. It was a riot. Then AR of course had to sleep through the whole event.

The next day we went to the Green Festival in Seattle. It was terrific and we learned and saw so much! I try to do as much as possible to leave a small carbon footprint, but living in the SW it's hard to know if I'm on the right track. Sundance and their green programing leaves me feeling like such a failure sometimes, so seeing I was doing a pretty good job made me so proud. I have changed all my lightbulbs, inside and out to low energy, I have a front loading washer and hang my clothes out to dry, and use as little water as possible in my garden. If it would ever rain I could cut back even further on the watering. My next house will be 90-95% green inside and out. We discovered several great green clothingdesigners,(www.textureclothing.com and www.smallaxeclothing.com) from the NW, and a new social website dedicated to green folks called Greeniacs and there was vegan food and great music. EQ took advantage of the music and danced and flirted with the bass player. (Who flirted back ). We had a great time and learned a lot.

It was nice to be with family and play with kids again. When I'm here in the SW I work too much and laugh too little. Being around the little ones and my kids makes for a lot of laughter, love and snuggles.

In an effort to give back and open my horizons I have become a volunteer Wise Elder with the Elder Wisdom group and have offered advice to several people. I've lived a pretty colorful life and love sharing what I've learned with younger peeople. I certainly don't feel elderly, but have learned a few things along the road to where I am now and people seem to appreciate what I have to say. I also got my first 'bulk' order on Etsy for my Obama shirts. Yippee. I love him. I want his vision for the United States to come to fruition. We need a major change and for me he answers all my hopes and dreams for what we can be as a nation.

Well, that's it for now. As always....

Dreaming in Colors

Hannah

Dancing shoes

When a little girl gets her first pair of light up shoes and a pink tu-tu, life is just about a good as it can get. The absolute thrill expressed is contagious to everyone around her and they too are filled with this joy they can't explain. She puts on the tutu and is transported into a beautiful fairy, dancing in pink with a crown and twinkle slippers.

I know that feeling is better than anything I can accomplish with yoga or exercise or living right... Pure joy. The best feeling and one we search for whenever we're awake. We really need to go back to the magic of childhood. Imagination is replaced with dreams of sleep instead of seeing magic when we're awake. We get transported into whatever we're reading, at times, but spend too much time watching TV where there is no room for imagination. Quiet encourages imagination and I find I'm spending more and more time in silent surroundings and my creative imagination has the opportunity to flourish. Even if I'm dead tired from a day at the office, the stillness makes me relax and my mind has the freedom to excerise itself. What a revelation.

By watching EQ doing her pretend play I realize the TV is off and the noises of life within the house don't infringe on her creating a world of real friends and sharing tea. We look in from the outside and see nothing but cups in a circle, but she is in full conversation with her guests and enjoying a tea party with all of her special people. The conversation is lively and sincere. Her baby brother is a real live baby but serves as a new doll for her. Whatever she sees him as, is what he is. He looked particularly fetching in the stickers she placed all over his head, face and clothes. She was quite amused.

I am thankful she is getting the opportunity to entertain herself with imagination. It isn't encouraged enough in children today and those of us of a certain age, remember all the pretend we did as kids - cowboys, bank robbers, cops, teachers, doctors and nurses. I remember being convinced that I was an auburn mare trotting all over my pasture when I played recess with my grade school friends. I was so envious of the palomino. She really thought she was something. The trees in the yard were houses and forts and the tricycle made a great truck, car or horse depending on where I was at the time.

We didn't have a television set until I was in junior high so books, the radio, playing outside with the neighbor kids and my imagination kept me busy from breakfast to bedtime. I remember being so busy all day that it was hard to stop long enough to eat lunch. When the weather was warm enough it was always a picnic in the backyard and the milk in a metal cup was colder and tasted so good. During summer, I spent time every day in the garden with grandma. The rest of the year I helped wash clothes, learned to iron (hankies and dish towels) and learned how to cook being with her. She tried to teach me to sew but I'm still getting the hang of that now. We didn't miss TV - we had ourselves for entertainment and it was wonderful.

My life is so much happier now that I have turned off the TV at night and head out to the garden instead, while it's still light out. At dusk I move in to my craft room and sew or scrapbook until late in the evening. If there is something important coming on TV that night - I record it and watch it when there is nothing else to do. Not watching the news three times a day has made an immense difference too. My dreams are better and I rarely have nightmares. I'm not afraid to leave my house and the world isn't a big bad place anymore. I read good news and scan the Seattle Times when I eat lunch but that's about all the news I need.

Get outside and get your vitamin D and smell the fresh air - Enjoy your life!!

Thanks for checking in.
Hannah
Always - Dreaming in Colors

Hurry Spring -

Phoenix is in the midst of Spring weather - not too hot and not too cold. In fact...it's just right. We can leave the heat and AC off and have the doors and windows open to circulate air. This is the only time of year I can say anything nice about living here. Come May it will be a different story.

We had heavy rains in February and early March and the weeds have been prolific all over the valley. I went to several stores looking for extended weed killer (very un-Green of me I know)and all of them were sold out. The stores just couldn't keep up. Now I admit to using chemicals SPARINGLY only where I can't get to the weeds (rock riverbeds, pathways and under cacti) and the weeds were smart and grew where they thought I couldn't get to them. Ha! I hate weeds more than I hate weed killer so they lose! They were strong little buggers though. It took me digging the majority of them up, followed by some spray followed by more digging a week later. Once I get them out of there I can use Amaze granuals and keep them at bay the whole season. The really great garden news is my orange tree has blossoms and I just hope the bees find it and pollinate. My first citrus - how exciting.

Besides the yard, I have been a busy bee in my craft shop. I made Elsie a dress and a vest/pant outfit that took so much work and looks so bad on her. I can't help but crack up when I see her in them. It was so bad I deleted the pictures of her in the pants and the dress made her look like a bag lady, and the vest fit, but the pants look like parachute pants on MC Hammer. It was pitiful. I'm better off sticking with tag blankets and burp cloths. My etsy shop is getting stocked and I have been buying fabric like I used to buy shoes. It's important to get designer fabrics not available at the local Joann's so things are unique. It all started with Funky Monkey and has gone uphill from there. I've had to organize in bins all the fabric I have now. Be sure to check out my esty site dreamingincolors.etsy.com)

I haven't seen my new boy Atticus since the first week of February but he's growing fast and has the cutest grump faces. We kid his daddy that Atty picked that up from him. Jason jokes all the time about hating people so we blame it all on him. I can't wait to hold him again before he gets too big. They are small so short a time. I plan to go up North for tulip season in April, again in June and in August for the birth of our second grandson to Javan and Terina. 2008 is proving to be baby explosive. Enough!

Hope this finds you happy and well. Thanks for stopping by,

Hannah

Always, Dreaming....in colors.

We have a Baby Boy!

I am visiting in Seattle and helping out now that we have a wonderful new member of our family. Atticus Ryan Ronald was born on January 28th at 8:44am and weighed 8 lbs 2 oz. It was a blizzard the morning the kids headed to the hospital and we were totally surprised to wake up with Elsie at home to a heavy layer of snow outside. We took our time and waited for the rush hour traffic to subside before joining the kids and Atty at the hospital. I don't remember snow in Seattle like they get it now, every year!

Elsie is a wonderful sister most of the time. She kisses and hugs him and feels the need to cover him with a blanket and offers binkies to him - however when we went to get Mommy and the baby to bring them home, Elsie was a bit confused as to why he was in the car with us too. She hadn't figured he'd be coming home too and sticking around. Most of the time she's busy with me or her folks and ignores him. If he cries she gets a bit upset but is quickly calmed and distracted.

He looks just like his little sister Elsie did when she was born, except he frowns all the time and hates to be naked. He sleeps most of the time and eats and we change diapers a LOT but other than that he's pretty quiet and uneventful. We still have to pinch ourselves and remind each other that we really have a baby boy with us now. She was Ms. Mellow about most things but he has definate dislikes and lets them be known. Baths and diaper changes lead the list of least liked activities.

Elsie on the other hand is an amazing little creature and I love spending every day with her. She is vocal and has opinions on everything - and loves her 'Nona' with lots of hugs and kisses every day. We play and read and since I didn't feel like lifting and carrying her everywhere, she is now a full on walker. It started with me holding her hand and her walking with me, and now she stands up and walks off on her own. We make a big deal about it each time and she feeds on the praise and does it more and more! She gets up with the help of holding on to a piece of furniture or my legs and then off she goes to see Daddy, Mommy or baby Atty.

Being a girlie girl myself, I have convinced Elsie to let me brush and add ribbons and a topnot pony tail to her hair. She looks adorable and seems to enjoy the added attention! Her mother makes fun of me and her dad is his usual sarcastic self about the whole thing and asks "what the H--- did you do to my kids' hair?" to which we all protest loudly until he finally admits it looks cute. (I win!!) Now her poor Mom will have hair to do on top of a baby to keep fed and bathed in the mornings.....sorry.

I will head back to Phoenix on Saturday and out of habit will watch Sesame Street to stay up on Elmo, Grover, Abby and Big Bird just so I can converse with Elsie about the latest events. It's our special time and I will miss it so much!!

Everyday I try to figure out how to move back so I can see my kids more. Phoenix is just too far away and I love the chaos and love this house surrounds you with, just by being in it.

I'll write again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Hannah

Dreaming in Colors

Crafting with Nona

Welcome to 2008 - Hope it's a great year

We have survived the holidays and are pretty much back to normal again. The freeways starting this week made that abundantly clear - gridlock has fully returned. It was nice for the past two weeks to only take 30 minutes to get to and from work instead of the usual 1 hr. and 15 min. Urghhh

The kids in Seattle and Bellingham had really nice Christmas days - with little ones around, the spirit of the holiday really blooms. Elsie Quinn was totally amazed when she came downstairs and saw the tree had exploded with presents. She got lots of goodies - Santa thought she had been a very good girl her first year. He gave her a baby doll and stroller, a huge Elmo and small Grover, a vacuum cleaner so she can clean when Mommy does, and daddy gave her a computer (of course). She got crayons and loves to sit at the dining room table drawing. I guess she's become quite the little Mommy with her baby doll and carries the moses basket and strolls with her baby all through the house. With a new baby brother coming this month those skills will come in very handy!

Santa was good to me too this year. I have struggled along using a very worn Singer sewing machine which for basic hemming and scrapbooking worked fine, but for anything more than that it would fizzle. Santa brought me a wonderful new one - top of the line computerized Singer that sews, hems, button holes, sews on buttons and self-threads! Wow - have I been having fun. I had planned to make a flannel quilt for Atticus with a pirate theme and did it over the weekend in less than 2 days. I am now making 'tag-blankets' with cowboys and indians in a retro print. I have lots of material so plan on making extras and selling them on my Etsy shop site.

I will be heading to Seattle on the 25th to help out when Atticus joins the family. It should be fun. I miss Reyna so much and enjoy just having her in the same house with me.

I guess the other big news would be the elections going on in Iowa and New Hampshire. I was really not concentrating on the candidates very much - Louie watches Fox News every day he's home so I had seen a few of the Republican debates but none of the candidates spoke to me and how I felt about things. I knew Hillary wasn't my type either. One day I heard a bit of a speech Obama gave and it stopped me in my tracks. I knew of him but not where he stood on any issues. I didn't like that Oprah was so involved and had ignored him up until I heard that speech. I checked his website and fell in love with his honesty and "upfrontness" (new word) about every issue imaginable. It was awesome. I pledged some pocket change to his cause and volunteered for the Arizona Obama Coalition and that gets us to today. I am hoping the trend continues for him and he has a big win in New Hampshire today. It sounds good so far.

Hope you have a great month.

Hannah

DreamingInColors.etsy.com