Vacation in a jar

     I have a jar of hand cream on my desk. It's officially coconut lime scented, but I like to think of it as...

 vacation in a jar.  

     The first time I put this stuff on my hands at work, the woman I shared an office with looked around, sniffing, like a bloodhound on a scent. "Ooohhh - what is that? That smells good." She said.

"Here, it's hand cream. Have some." I offered. She slathered it on and walked a round smelling the backs of her hands for the next 10 minutes.  When friends came into the office, I offered my tub of hand cream by way of greeting. "Hi - here, Smell this," I said to each friend as he or she stopped in. The reaction was always the same.

Yum.  

     I didn't care that it was so thick and slippery I couldn't grip my pen well enough to write...my mind was on vacation with each sniff.  Pretty soon I was just opening the lid of the jar and taking a quick sniff without actually applying the hand cream.  Sometimes you just need a quick pick-me-up without the mess and hassle of a whole moisturizing indulgence.  Feeling the pressure of ten hours worth of work when you only have two hours to complete it?  Close your eyes and take a quick, furtive sniff of coconut lime.  Immediately, it's as if you're sitting on a tropical beach, slathered in suntan lotion and holding a margarita in your hand...  You know, minus the sand in your bathing suit.

     Lately, though, I'm noticing the results I'm getting from my vacation in a jar are not quite what they've been on the past.  The scent seems to be waning... Or maybe it's me.  Now one sniff only seems to get me as far as Central Florida.   I thought the fragrance was getting old until a coworker of mine, whom I have successfully turned into another sniffing enthusiast, came up to my desk and said,

"Hey... Where's your vacation in a jar? I need a short vacation." 

     I took the jar out of my desk drawer where it had been for several weeks of the summer. Here. I handed it to him.  He unscrewed the lid saying,

"Ok... close your eyes... Ready to go to the tropics?"  

He stuck his nose a few scant inches from the goo inside the jar and inhaled deeply...

"Ahhhhhhh, I just went to Jamaica. 

Here. 

Take a sniff," 

he said, so I did. I suppose I should be changing to some fall scented hand cream soon, but I'm not sure it would be this much fun.


     Does anyone else out there have a scent memory in a jar?  Please share! :-)

Umbrellas, lunch boxes and and other back to school indignities...

     Way back on my first day of sixth grade, I took both an umbrella and a lunch box to school.  What was I thinking?  How was I to know that what was acceptable had changed drastically over the two months of summer vacation?

      I had walked to the bus stop and I was a little bit late, so my bus stop peers had already boarded the bus.  Had I arrived at the bus stop early enough to chat, they might have told me of my faux pas, but they were a quiet bunch, so I think it's equally as likely that they would have kept their mouths shut and blended into the scenery.   Although it was warm outside, it was and my walk was several hundred feet down the road, so that morning my mother had handed me an umbrella, which I took unquestioningly as I headed out the door.  How did I know the horror that awaited me?  I was the oldest kid in my family, and had no prior experience with "cool" versus "uncool."

     The bus approached before I got to the stop.  It rolled to a standstill, and the door creaked open loudly.  I could see the kids in the front of the bus leaning forward, craning their necks to see who I was, and what I looked like.  I asked, "Is this the bus to the middle school?" the driver said, "yes..." and then I heard it...

     "MARY POPPINS!  WHY DO YOU HAVE AN UMBRELLA?  WHAT, ARE YOU MARY POPPINS WITH THAT UMBRELLA?"  and even worse, "LOOK AT THE BABY WITH THE LUNCH BOX!"  

     ...and I still had to get on the bus. 

     I don't remember anything else about my day, just that first minute before getting on the bus.  That night I got home and I begged my mother to let me take my lunch to school in a brown bag, but she was not having any of that.  She was practical, and she has just bought the lunch box.  Besides, my lunch would get squished in a brown bag.  She made me a very large tote bag to carry the lunch box in, but it was like carrying a large grenade.  I had to make sure my tote bag was carried verrrryyy carefully, and remained zipped at all times except when I was removing my unsquished lunch.  It also didn't matter that I never, ever took an umbrella to school again, unless I could stash it somewhere before the bus rounded the corner.  I was still Mary Poppins, and I was Mary Poppins almost every day that year.  And the next year, too.  It was acceptable to be sopping wet upon your arrival to school, but it was NOT acceptable to carry an umbrella.  To this day, many decades later, I rarely remember to take an umbrella with me.

     The other day I stood in the backyard at a birthday party for one of my daughter's friends, and another girl's mother asked me, "So what are the COOL stores I have to shop in for school clothes this year?" I smiled wryly to myself and thought of the story I just told you...  Imagine someone asking me about being cool in sixth grade, even though I haven't been a sixth grader for decades?  

     My own kids seem to have a better handle than I ever did on how to refrain from becoming uncool.  Maybe it's because they're fairly close in age - even though they'd never admit it, they look after each other, cover each other's backs like soldiers in battle.   And I've always encouraged them to look out for other kids as well.   I was not very good at that.  Or maybe not as good at it as I would like to say.  When you feel like you're in the crosshairs, and the target moves to someone else, you generally don't feel like bringing yourself back into focus.  You're just relieved that they've finally laid off of you.   Still, we should all try to teach our kids to look after one another.  I tell my kids, "If you see a kid picking on another kid, tell that mean kid to cut it out."  You might have some influence, I tell them.  

Strong people stick up for themselves.

The strongest of people stick up for others. 

Sagamore Yacht Club - Oyster Bay

Although I would not make a good boater, I love taking pictures of boats.

They have a lot of interesting gadgets...

 and colorful canvases scattered lightly amidst the white.

You can almost feel the light breeze just looking at these pictures, can't you?

Imagine living in that house, and having this view out your living room window?

It may be a little frightening during a storm, but it's wonderfully calming on a nice day.

This is where the phrase, "this is how the other half lives" came from. 

If you aren't living on that half, you can always take pictures. 

Over-the-Top Flowered Headband

Now that the summer is almost over, I am frantically trying to make headway in doing the things that I've put off all summer.  I am an expert at task avoidance when it comes to certain tasks.   So yesterday, instead of cleaning out a closet or two, I decided to make this headband.

I purchased the items to make this over a year ago.  I loved the roses, and I thought the green/pink one would be great for St. Patrick's Day.  However, I couldn't figure out how to make a headband that was not over-the-top.  And then yesterday I thought to myself, "Oh what the hell, I'll just make an over the top headband, and then I can wear it for Crazy Hat Day."   For those of you who have never heard of Crazy Hat Day, it's a day during Spirit Week at school when everyone wears a crazy, ostentatious hat. If you don't attend the Kentucky Derby, then you need a Crazy Hat Day.

I recommend this craft for those of you out there who have used a hot glue gun before.  If you haven't, you'll probably be frustrated getting the flowers to stick without burning yourself.  If you like hot glue projects and silk flowers, you might just think you're Martha Stewart after this one.

Here are the details of the headband's creation...

I purchased:
1 large pink and green rose
1 medium sized purple rose
1 sprig of pink gerber daisies (about 6 flowers)
3 sprigs of small pink flowers
3 sprigs of purple beaded flowers.
1 fat headband
1 yard of light green cotton ribbon, about 1-1/4 inches wide.


1.  I heated up my glue gun.  I wrapped the ribbon around the headband, gluing the ends of the ribbon on the top side of the headband so it didn't make a bump that would annoy the wearer.  I also glued every inch or so as I wrapped it around the headband so the ribbon stays in place nicely.

2.  Then I snipped the stems off each of the roses - pretty close to the flower, but not right at the base.  I saved the leaves - never know when they'll come in handy!!  I was afraid the would fall apart if I cut the stems completely off.  I bent the remaining stem of each so that it would lie fairly flat.

3.  I glued each of the roses on the headband - on the side, but not TOO far on the side.

4.  I snipped the daisies off the cluster and after deciding how high I wanted them to sit off the headband, I bent their stems at a 90 degree angle at that point.  I then shaped the part that would sit on the headband into a rounded shape so it would adhere to the headband better.

5.  At this point I added some sprigs of pink and green, trying to balance out the headband a bit.  I also added some in between the large flowers.  When I had most of the my flowers glued on, I added some leaves to cover up the glue-mess. 

6.  Lastly, I added a pink daisy and a few more sprigs to decorate the leaves a bit.  

I know the dog looks cute wearing this, but she really didn't care for it much.  Here is is on my head.  

Front view

One side...

The other side...

Back view.

I'm thinking I could get a lot of mileage out of Crazy Hat Day.  I work with loads of nice people who don't have a crafty bone in their bodies, but I bet they'd love to wear a crazy hat during Spirit Week.  I think I NEED to make several more crazy hats of different varieties...

In summation, I've completed another craft project AND avoided several cleaning projects.

My work here is done for today.  

Hummingbird, flying crayfish or weird bug?

     While we were in Williamsburg, Virginia, we spotted this weird, flying... thing outside a restaurant.  It was flitting back and forth between flowers and hovering in front of the tubular shaped ones, leading me to believe it was a hummingbird.  It was moving so fast, however, that I couldn't see it clearly.  I could tell that it was brownish, but before I got a good look at it, it flitted to another flower.  My husband thought it looked like a flying crayfish.   It was only after we got home, though, and I was able to see it on the much larger computer monitor, that I could tell it was most likely NOT a hummingbird.

     My question is... what the HELL is it?  It actually looks... hairy.  The whole family has speculated, but the only thing we seem to agree on is that it's NOT a bird.

     We're stumped, intrigued, and  since it was rather large, and buzzing around us quite closely, grossed out.

Any ideas?

The Elizabeth Morton Wildlife Refuge

The Elizabeth Morton Wildlife Refuge is located in Sag Harbor, NY. It is a coastal area, on the north shore of Long Island's south fork. There are wooded trails that lead down to the water, and an abundance of wildlife can be seen along the way. Chipmunks and birds are fairly comfortable with humans visiting their woods, some may even take food from an outstretched hand. The trick is to stay very still and quiet, and hold a few sunflower seeds in your open hand so that they can see it... In the winter when there is less food available to them, the birds in particular are very willing to come and partake. In the summer, they have other options, but still, an occasional sparrow or chickadee will land and have a seed or two. This is a great day trip for families, the kids will love it, and the beach is at the end of the trail so you can spend time there when you are done feeding the birds!

Create Your Own Throw Pillow

Frequently, when I tell people that I make things with a sewing machine, they respond by telling me that they don't know how to sew.  Many of them even have sewing machines, but they find them too intimidating to use.  So, to all of you people out there, if you can drive a car, you can sew.  You might need a little help threading your machine, but if it came with directions, and you'll be able to figure that part out.  As for the "driving," you steer the fabric with your hands, and press the "gas pedal" on the floor to adjust your speed.  Now, let's make a throw pillow.

You can make your throw pillow with no zipper, which is even easier than the one I'm going to show you, but if you have a DOG like mine (see above) who thinks all things soft and squishy are for  her sleeping comfort, you're going to want to wash your pillow now and then.  I think it's easier to wash the case and the stuffing separately, so that's why mine has a zipper. 

1.  Cut your fabric into a large square, or as I did, into a rectangle that is a square when you fold it in half.  (One less side to sew!)

2.  Fold fabric or match fabric if two separate squares with the right (Good) sides together.  If your fabric is striped, you'll want to line up the stripes as much as possible, and pin the edge opposite the fold. 

3.  Using a very large stitch size, sew down this edge.  Take the pins out as your sewing machine gets close to them...  you can break your sewing machine needle if you sew over them.  You can live dangerously by not using pins or by trying to sew over them, as I sometimes do, but I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner... and watch out for your fingers. There's really no need for them to get too close to that needle, unless you want to see what if feels like to sew over your finger, as I once did.   

3. Flatten out your seam - you're going to put the zipper on it, lining up the zipper teeth right over the seam.  

4.  Place the zipper in the middle of this seam, and mark with a pencil on the fabric where the beginning and the ending of the zipper will be.  

5.  Using a smaller stitch, go back to the sewing machine, and reinforce with another line of stitching in the places where your zipper will NOT be.  The edges of my fabric are about 18 inches long, and my zipper is 12 inches long, so I reinforced about 3 inches of the seam on each end.  

6.  Now, put your zipper back on the fabric, and pin it down.  

7.  Now, I always have a problem sewing around the lump that is the zipper pull, and here's how I deal with that problem.  I sew the bottom half of the zipper on both sides first.

8.  Then I push the zipper pull down the zipper far enough so that I can sew the top half of the zipper on each side.  

The picture above shows the zipper pull halfway down the seam, after I finished sewing each side.  

I'm sure the Project  Runway alumni have a much more professional way to do this, but this is what I found to be the easiest way.  Before I discovered this method, I used to have sections of my zipper sticking out of the finished product like errant bra straps.  Unsightly. 

9.  Now that the zipper is in place, unzip it carefully.  Where the zipper opens, cut the large stitches you first sewed.  You can use a pair of sharp scissors, or a seam ripper.  Most sewing machines come with a seam ripper.  It's a little gadget that looks like a mini envelope opener - a small hook with a sharp edge on the inside curve.  Slide it along the seam and WALLA - consider your seam ripped. 

10.  Match up your remaining sides, pin and sew them.  

11. Snip off most of the corners, taking care not to cut through the stitching where it crosses to make the corners. 

12. Pulling through the unzipped opening, turn your pillow casing so that the right side is now facing out.

13. Stuff with stuffing. 

14. Zip closed.  

15. Let your dog sleep on the pillow.  

Or not. 

You now know how to sew.  :-)