Photo-an-hour: birthday!

Ummm, when was the last time I did a photo-an-hour post? August I think. Yikes, time flies! I thought it might be fun to keep track of my birthday hours this year, so here goes...

Okay it's aaaalmost my birthday...

10am - Slept in and then spent the morning in bed with books and friends.

11am - Still lounging. 

12pm - Drove up to Worthington to my favorite sewing shop, Sew to Speak.  They were celebrating their 9th birthday!   (Those balloon letters say "sew" but it was windy, so you can't really tell.)

1pm - Still looking at fabrics.  I already bought a couple yards of the second one from the left (the blue/red/white floral).  It's my plan to make a little 60's a-line dress out of it.  I was tempted to get some of the one just to the right of it -- there are unicorns on there! -- but I tried to remember the giant pile of fabric sitting on my sewing table and just took a photo instead :-/  

2pm - Came home to find a surprise birthday card from my friend Louise!  Thanks, Louise!!

3pm - While I managed to get out of Sew to Speak without purchasing ANY new fabric (whew!), being there inspired me to do some more work on fitting the muslin for the dress I'm working on.  

4pm - Watering my tomato seedlings with my Mom's old water sprinkle bottle she used to use for ironing.  I love that my brother and I have all these old things from my Mom and Dad that we now use in our own houses.  

5pm - Drove to Springfield to hang out with friends for the evening and I was hoooooping the taco truck would be open so that I could have my favorite potato-cheese quesadilla.

Yes it was!!!

6pm - My friends, Vicki & Tom & their daughter, Dina, just got home from a trip to Morocco and came back with a new pastime: drinking very sweet peppermint tea made and served in the beautiful tea set they bought over there.  

7pm - Off to the dance party!  Dina's dance studio was having a fundraiser and, well, you know me and dancing.  Particularly at low-key, non-night-club establishments.

8pm - I put all my raffle tickets in #8 (my birthday is on the 8th) but still didn't win the wine and truffle basket even after they pulled five names out of the bag!!  I am convinced it's because I'll need that luck for something better soon.

9pm - Prince was our chaperone.  Gotta love that.

10pm - Finally called it a night after three hours of dancing.  I loved every minute.  I think I was the only person there who could sing all the words to "Ice Ice Baby." (Although I probably shouldn't admit that.)

Afterwards, we walked over to Mother Stewart's, Springfield's new brewery & night spot.  They were having some big event with a lot of different bands making music and artists showing work.  They've got a bocce court!

I bought this cup from one of the artists as a little birthday-present-to-me.  It's kind of teacup-sized, only without a handle.  I love it!  

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to show you my birthday present slippers that Vicki & Tom got in Morocco... they're me, don't you think?

I loved my birthday!  John was traveling and with all the snafus Delta was having with the weather that day, I couldn't get out of Columbus to see him. But the day turned out to be so much fun...  reading, sewing, lolling around, dancing, friends!  I actually forgot I was a year older ;-)

Life Lately... Where did February go?

What’s been going on? Is it really spring already? I have to say that, aside from not having any snow, I loved February and I'm still thinkin' about it. Good things happened! 

I got out with my camera.  A little bit.  This is still a struggle as it’s just so easy to shoot with my phone all the time.  I have to make a conscious effort to bring the “real” camera along when I go somewhere.  I’m wondering if it’s that I don’t like lugging around extra stuff (I don’t even really carry a purse.)  That said, my little Fuji XT1 is the size of my old 35mm which I used to take with me everywhere, so it's not like it's heavy or takes up tons of space.  I keep pondering these things as I go out for my walks.

I’ve been making an effort to get outside even when it’s cold, and it’s nice to have Griggs Reservoir right across the street. I love the moods of the water. One of my favorite images is of the ice forming again after one of the thaws we had.  I swear I could almost see it freezing right in front of me.

My big February happiness by a longshot was singing jazz at the St. Francis pasta dinner.  Yes I bought an Elvis mic!  Yes I took a bunch of selfies with it.  

Yes I wore my pillbox hat and false eyelashes for the show.  (Thanks, Ardell!)

It went so well!  I was so nervous that I’d forget the words at some point but I didn’t. I loved working with Tony Hagood on piano, and the accordion really sounded so perfect with "Moon River" and "La Vie en Rose."  Thank you, John Marazita!

I suppose I have to think about what’s next with all of this. An open mic somewhere?  Not sure.  But I am proud of myself for preparing.  A year ago I just had a dream, but now I have some songs to make it happen. It was on the bucket list to sing "La Vie en Rose" in French, and I did it.

News at home?  I ran for a seat on our condo board and got elected!  You’re lookin’ at The Landings’ new Vice President.  I love where we live.  This is the name tag I made and wore to the pre-election meet-and-greet.

Last month I finished the photographs and writing I needed to do to make a new webpage for Flying Adventures.  This was no small thing and had been on my to-do list forever.  I had to figure out how I wanted to print and frame book pages and do some serious thinking about where I want to bring the project and what would make a venue want to host it.  There’s information about the whole project now, including how I can tie a reading & exhibition into educational programming and community outreach.  I am proud of myself for continuing on with this despite how loooong it feels like it's taking.

Sewing. I don’t get very far when Sherman decides to help. Right now I’m working with jersey fabric for the first time, trying to sew some long-sleeve tops.  Success mostly.  But as I try to make one that fits perfectly so that I can archive my pattern changes, I get all frustrated figuring out how to make those changes. I told a friend I threw my sewing machine into the dumpster and gave away my fabric stash because that's what I imagined myself doing. Sigh. I am learning valuable lessons about patience, practice, and how to work smarter: step AWAY from the sewing machine if it’s starting to drive me crazy. (Duh, right? But I’m so stubbornly persistent.) Coming back to it the next day after a break makes all the difference.

Been reading.  It still goes in fits and starts though.  Sometimes I devour pages, and other days it’s more like an afterthought before I go to bed. In my stack right now:  The Colette Guide to Sewing With Knits, Grow Great Grub, Easy Growing (both by Gayla Trail, my favorite gardening author), A Beautiful Mess (fun one about daily-life photography), and On Green Dolphin Street, which I just started.  I just finished House of Sand and Fog, which I borrowed from my brother.  What a story.  You know it’s heading for disaster but you keep hoping something good will happen instead… ooof!  

Oh yeah, with all that warm (barefoot in February!!??) weather, I couldn’t help but catch the gardening bug, especially when the seed catalogs showed up in my mail slot. Does anyone remember the Scholastic books catalog in grade school?  When that thing showed up I pored over those pages, folding over corners and circling books in different color pens based on order of preference.  The seed catalogs remind me of that.  I am probably going to over-order.  I can’t help it.  But at a couple bucks a packet, it beats having a more expensive addiction, right?

Sooo… cheers to longer days and spring!!  How have you been?

La Vie En Rose

I hope you can join me Saturday, February 25th from 4-5pm for my song set at the infamous St. Francis pasta dinner fundraiser.  386 Buttles Avenue in Columbus' historic Victorian Village.  Tickets may be purchased at the door and include a fabulous spaghetti dinner, no matter what time of day you show up. Festivities begin at 12pm, end at 7pm,  and other entertainers are also on the program.  

My song list includes some of my favorite standards with a few others tossed in for fun (You just GOTTA do Tom Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" at a Catholic church fundraiser, right?)  "La Vie en Rose" is also in the set, and that's been on my singing dream list for years.  I don't know if it's because I thought I wouldn't be able to memorize it in French, or just what took me so long, but I'm so happy it finally came together.  AND I've got an accordion player for that one too (thanks, John Marazita!)  What more could a gal want?

I am super-excited about this whole thing.  Tony Hagood is playing piano for me, and I even went out and bought that retro Shure55 microphone.  How could I not?  Many years ago --- and for a few years in a row --- I performed at the St.Francis dinners.  It was my first time singing jazz for an audience and I just loved every minute of it.  I wasn't even nervous (which seemed so very odd for me) and it just felt like it was exactly what I was supposed to be doing.  While I will never put down my camera or stop creating visual art,  if I had to pick one thing to do for the rest of my life, this would be it.  Now, to make it happen.