Wish We Were There ...

Ah, Paris ... we have yet to visit the 'City of Light' in the Fall, but hope to someday ...

For now, on this beautiful last-morning-of-August-2008 ... it's okay to dream a little, right?

A bien tot !!

-- D.

THE HEART OF LIFE

"Home is the heart of life ... Home is where we feel at ease, where we belong, where we can create surroundings that reflect our tastes and pleasures ... making a home is a form of creativity open to everyone."

-- Terence Conran

WOW. I love this quote. I hope you do, too!

I am blessed to be looking forward to spending today with two good friends, visiting the San Diego Scrapbook EXPO at the Convention Center. What fun! What pure, unadulterated bliss awaits us today!!!

Meanwhile, I hope YOU enjoy this beautiful photo - how amazing is God's handiwork, eh?

SPEAKING UP FOR WILDLIFE

Mark and I are long-time members of the National Wildlife Federation, or NWF; we are volunteer Habitat Stewards in their Backyard Wildlife Habitat program, and I (Davi) am also a Host (which means I can "host" training programs for NEW volunteer Habitat Stewards). Being involved with the BWH program since 2003 has brought us many joys & rewards, not the least of which has been spear-heading the COMMUNITY WILDLIFE HABITAT project for our home community of Encinitas. Please visit the NWF website to find out what YOU can do to help wildlife where you live ... www.nwf.org is their website.

And SPEAK UP FOR WILDLIFE every chance you have.

Thank you - D.

Inspired by Ann - I created a WORDLE

Had to give this WORDLE thing a try - wow, how fun is this? CLICK on the picture and it will enlarge ...
Want to create your own? Google " wordle " and follow the link -- voila!
Thanks, Ann, for the continued inspiration -- you're SO creative.

HOME AS HOBBY: How do they DO this?!

Okay, I've committed to making OUR home MY hobby; right? I tend to get distracted easily, as you might know, so forgive me for not making exceptional progress on the house so far. Okay, honestly, forgive me for not making MUCH progress so far.

;-) BUT I remain committed.

Meanwhile, I want to know this: HOW ON EARTH do they get these cool, artsy designs in the milk foam on the coffee?! I love, love, love this ... maybe my sister-in-law Kim, who owns the wonderful ESPRESSO MIO in Mission Hills, can tell me, teach me?

BACK TO WORK for me, now.

The Last Lecture

If you have not yet read THE LAST LECTURE, or viewed the lecture itself, do yourself (and your Community, your Family, your Friends) a favor - and JUST DO IT. ASAP.

http://www.thelastlecture.com/

Randy Pausch and the work he left behind for the whole world, in the form of that video and his book, The Last Lecture, remains an inspiration for us all.

Mark and I have both just read this powerful little book, and highly recommend it to you.

Trust us.

-- D & M, August 22, 2008

On COMMUNITY

Last evening, Mark and I participated in the annual TASTE OF ENCINITAS, a food-fest held all up & down Highway 101 (aka, Coast Highway; Pacific Coast Hwy; Olde Highway 101; etc) in Old (ie, Downtown) Encinitas. "Produced" by DEMA (our Downtown Encinitas Merchants Association), this event is a real treat - and VERY popular.

We shared the evening with my brother Jay & his wife Haruko, my niece Wendy & her son Darius, and our great-niece Taryn ... oh, and lots & lots of members of the Community.

ON COMMUNITY: imagine downtown any-town, teeming with foot traffic, everyone laughing, smiling, pausing to TASTE yet another example of the amazing food the town's restaurants have to offer. Children of all ages, dogs on leashes, old folks ... and music ... and old cars ... something for everyone, really. City council members strolling, members of local Boards of Directors (SELC comes to mind), even people from out of town ... locals & tourists alike ... all mingling, all having a really good time. TASTE OF ENCINITAS makes it all happen - once a year. We are truly blessed to live in this beautiful, healthy, friendly community.

Here, in my opinion, were the Best of the Best from this year's TASTE OF ENCINITAS:

My favorite "taste" of the night: the Short Ribs (masquerading as tender pot roast, it was so darn good} with mashed potatos & gravy from The 3rd Corner. OUTSTANDING. Oh, and the carne asada burrito from Filiberto's. YES, a drive-thru Mexican food joint gets top billing along with a fine-dining establishment.

Best taste of DESSERT of the night: Bubby's ... hands down. Hand-crafted ice cream / gelato, and I hear they make terrific sandwiches, too. If you haven't experienced BUBBY's, do yourself a favor and give it a whirl.

Most generous "taste" of the night: Via Italia.

Best tunes of the night: Earl Flores - Encinitas' own 'Catholic Cowboy', with a rich voice that I swear was chanelling Johnny Cash & Elvis Presley last night.

Oh, and it was also RODS & WOODIES night in old Encinitas - every Thursday night during the Summer, we enjoy classic cars parked all up & down the Highway, and spilling into the parking lots on either side, too. I found my (new) dream car: a 1958 Porsche Speedster; cream exterior, tan leather interior, PRISTINE condition, for just $15,000. Now THAT is a bargain - compared to the 60's Pontiac we saw for $42,500 - anyway. ;-) Here's dreaming! {after all, I WAS born in '58 - what an awesome 50th birthday present that little Speedster would make, huh?!}

Next year, I hope to see YOU at the Taste of Encinitas. -- D.

TOMATO PIE

Oh, sweet goodness-from-the-garden ... my sister in law Haruko gave me the most incredible red tomatoes the other day, and said "by the way, I hear that Martha Stewart's recipe for Tomato Pie is really good".

Little did I know - how good it would be.

So I Googled it - "tomato pie Martha Stewart" and voila! there it was - the recipe. {Calls for fresh Marjoram, an herb I rarely, if ever use - I found it to be sweetish-smokey in flavor, and the little leaves are velvety soft ... personally, I could have reduced the amt of Marjoram and been just as happy with the results.}

Just made it myself this afternoon - I used Haruko's red tomatoes, along with some yellow & orange small Heirloom tomatoes from Ralph's - and instead of making Pate Brise (French pastry) from scratch, I used a frozen Puff Pastry sheet -- worked just fine - and in case you're wondering about the OLIVE OIL that I used -- that I use ALL THE TIME, it's so darn good - it's FRANTOIA - and I pick it up down in San Diego.

Check out my photo, and then try it for yourself. It was pretty easy, very soulful to put together, and the results: YUMMMMMMMY.

Sweet Herbs for the Home ...

... and garden.

There's nothing quite like a SCENTED GARDEN, and one useful way to achieve such a garden is to plant HERBS ... USEFUL herbs, like marjoram & thyme & basil & lavender & rosemary ... culinary herbs, sachet herbs, herbs for brewing teas & tinctures ... the uses are unlimited, as are the plants you can use to complete your "projects", whatever they might be.

LAVENDER is lovely in a sachet - when left beneath or on your bed pillow all day, it will bring you restful slumber that night.

" Balm brings you sympathy and Marjoram joy
Sage is long life ... Sweet Woodruff augurs well for health ---
A blessing richer far than wealth.
While Lavender means deep devotion,
Herb of sweet omen, Rosemary conveys
Affection and remembrance all your days.
May Heaven and Earth and Man combine
To keep these blessings ever thine. "
-- Rachel Page Elliott

I learned (from Sarah Ban Breathnach, of course) that for centuries, herb gardening in Benedictine cloisters has been considered an important ritual in the daily round of religious life. Wow! Even more compelling: the devotion to growing herbs can be traced back nearly six thousand years, before the Christian era began.

And think of this - if your space is limited, even apartment and condo dwellers can have an herb garden - or, come to think of it, a garden to attract birds & butterflies (known as a Habitat Garden) ... you can have a windowsill garden, or a container garden, and if you add a hummingbird feeder, a seed feeder (on a Shepherd's Hook, "planted" in your larger pots), and a water source - voila! A garden that will appeal to you AND your wild friends.

Consider this lovely mix of herbs for a windowsill or potted garden: Basil, Dill, Parsley, Sweet Marjoram, Thyme, and Rosemary ... and personally, I just love Tarragon (esp French Tarragon). And don't forget Dill - delicious on all your fish dishes.

One year, for Christmas, Mark and I potted up miniature herb gardens for our family ... and I created a little Herbal Guide, with information on each herb in their garden, including USES and RECIPES and HISTORY OF said herb/s. Everyone loved those little gardens, and I think some folks still have their little booklet - some even used those recipes & reported back to us :-) !!!

So get to thine neighborhood NURSERY, friends,

and start your own little kitchen garden.

Report back to me!

CHERRY CLAFOUTIS ... oh my !!!

Mark brought home the most insanely delicious cherries from his folks' cherry orchard at Flathead Lake (Montana) 8 days ago - sadly, we've run out of those gems - but, and I can't believe I'm going to admit to this, I found some rather awesome, as grocery-store-cherries go, RED CHERRIES at HENRY'S, here in Encinitas - on Saturday.

You see, I was determined to make a French dessert / side dish, CHERRY CLAFOUTIS, and needed 1 pound of fresh cherries to do it. After tasting the fruit from Henry's, I decided it would more than do - it would be terrific - and it was.

RECIPE FOR ALMOST CLASSIC CHERRY CLAFOUTIS, from Joy of Cooking

6 servings; a custard-like dessert from Limousin region of France; customarily made with unstoned black cherries, because they believe that the PITS add flavor to the cake; BUT this version is called "almost classic" because you have the option (and I took it!) of using pitted cherries - a blessing to the unsuspecting! {OTHER TYPES OF FRUITS are often used, by the way.}

PREHEAT the oven to 375. Butter a 10-inch deep-dish pie pan (or use a Pampered Chef stone, square or pie shaped works for me).

BEAT until frothy, about 2 minutes:

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

ADD AND BEAT until smooth:

1 cup milk (I used whole milk for mine - better custard texture & taste)

1 tablespoon Cognac or Rum (untraditional, but good with the custard - I DID NOT ADD THIS,

nor did I replace the liquid with anything ... just left it out & everything worked out just fine)

2 teaspoons good Vanilla

STIR IN:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

DISTRIBUTE OVER BOTTOM OF PIE PAN:

1 pound sweet cherries, pitted (or not) - frozen cherries, thawed & patted dry, or canned

cherries, drained and dried, can be used

POUR the batter over the cherries and place the pie pan on a baking sheet (if you use Stoneware, you do NOT want to place it on a baking sheet).

Bake the clafoutis for 10 minutes (at 375), then REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE to 350 degrees and bake until the top has puffed (it will sink with cooling) and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, ABOUT 35 minutes more.

Transfer to a rack and cool for about 20 minutes.

Dust with: powdered sugar.

Serve in wedges (or squares, if you used a square pan).

BON APPETIT !!!

-- Davielle, 8-18-08

BACK TO SCHOOL ... Already?!

It's hard to believe, but our youngest "grand" started 4th grade today - August 18.

The other two "grands", who live in another school district, will start a week from today - August 25.

What happened to "BACK TO SCHOOL" = SEPTEMBER ???

And the list of REQUIRED School Supplies for these children - wow. At the same time, it is all very, very exciting - a whole new school year, a new curriculum, a new teacher, new classmates - it all adds up to one very excited almost-9-year-old, that's for sure. She's got her new lunchbox, her new Dictionary & Thesaurus, and she's ready to take on the 4th Grade with a great attitude! YAY !!!!

I'd Rather Stick Needles in my Eye ...

... than have another headache! Ever felt like that?

Well, thanks to a former CCI co-worker, Lee, I've found an amazing acupuncturist/acupressurist just 5 minutes from home - her name is Ingrid and she works from her lovely studio-at-home in Leucadia, our former neighborhood - she's even on our old street!

Ingrid is - I already said it - AMAZING. People see her for aches & pains & injuries, high blood pressure, weight matters, etc etc etc. For now, WE are working on my headaches. The progress she's made with me in just three visits is very, very encouraging.

If anyone in the San Diego area that's reading this wants a referral to a most gifted healing-arts gal, just ask me. I'm happy to share the information.

-- D.

Creative Retreat - Scrappin' at Dusty's

Hoping anyone that wants to take their scrapbooking or card-making to a new level - whether you are a total beginner or an advanced crafter - will consider my friend Dusty's, out in La Quinta, for a total-immersion experience. VISIT her website at http://www.scrappinatdustys.com/ and see what you think - I have been to 4 weekend Retreats at Dusty's (two in La Quinta, and two at her former home in Fallbrook) and each time exceeded my expectations - and I got SO much accomplished at each Retreat. TOTAL IMMERSION doesn't begin to describe how fantastic the experience is. Dusty provides ALL your supplies, other than your personal photos, and you can scrap 'round the clock. But if you DO want to catch some shut-eye, the beds are to-die-for comfortable ... and she provides all the food (although we prepare most of our own meals, the ingredients are ALL there for whatever you might be hungry for) and Dusty's lattes and chai are THE BEST I've ever had - bar none. Photos I've posted here with this are of scrapping pages I completed at Dusty's ... I'd love to share a Dusty's RETREAT with any of you, or if you go with your own group of friends, I'd like to hear what you think of your time with this very special lady. -- Davielle, 8-12-08

BREAK TIME ...

... I'm in need of a quick humorous moment. Came across this cartoon during the CLEARING UP THE CRAFT ROOM process and laughed out loud -- it's SOOOOO Rocky. (see 'toon, right)

and the photo of Rock Star (above, left) == he's giving me that 'LOOK' - the one that says - 'well, where do you WANT me to relieve myself? what's so WRONG with right here, wherever I please!?'

Ah, life with a 3-yr-old, as yet NOT house-broken Rat Terrier. God love him. [we sure do]

NEW ORDER in our home ...

You may have read my post a few days' back, OUR HOME AS MY HOBBY ... thanks to the ever-wise Sarah Ban Breathnach ("Simple Abundance" is the book - if you don't have it, GET it!).

Since that posting, I have already focused on our master bath - a former bastion of hoarding of travel toiletries, potions & lotions we never finished off (or just plain didn't like but couldn't throw out), excesses of hair scrunchies & stretchies, barettes, headbands, hair products for dry & normal & oily & color-treated & distressed & damaged & healthy HAIR - my oh my. And the make-up - enough products to make up a hundred ladies for three months ... sheesh.

But now - NOW - the vanity (my stronghold) is ALL CLEARED OUT and it's amazing - the drawers open smoothly, and they LOOK incredible inside -- I can see the lotions & powders that I want to keep - all neatly organized. I sorted the make-up into EYE, FACE, and LIPS - in darling make-up bags I already owned. The hair drawer - to die for tidy!

And the jewelry - is next. Time to sort through what I don't want or wear any more, things from my mother - things from friends - things from former lovers. Oh my! The grand-girls are already lined up for the leftovers ...

And today's challenge here at the homestead? MY CRAFT ROOM. What was built as the Master 'HERS' Closet - that ended up with a beautiful leaded glass window, and "Delia's Trousseau" wallpaper (from Kravet/Lee Jofa) on one long wall -- that now houses a darling vintage cabinet for storing most all the scrapbooking / photo album / art project supplies -- THAT is today's project.

I'd better get cracking - this "NEW ORDER" is soooo demanding ;-) ... -- D.

Sundays ... are for Baking

With our new "home as my hobby" mantra ringing in my head this week, I have to admit I am practically BUZZING with project ideas and a really long TO DO LIST ... have to keep reminding myself to take on ONE project at a time -- ONE CLOSET or DRESSER at a time, NOT the entire houseful of overflowing-with-things-we-don't use-or-even-remember-we-have-in-there SPACES. ;-)



Today, with Mark returning home (finally!) in just a few hours, I opted to run the last-minute errands and then bake his favorite: BANANA BREAD with WALNUTS. The house smells delicious - I've been using the JOY OF COOKING recipe, only with White Whole Wheat Flour this time - so it should be as dependable (and delish) as ever.

just read: HERE IF YOU NEED ME by Kate Braestrup

In looking for a summary of this national bestseller that would say it better than I can ... I found this from the WASHINGTON POST:

Just a Closer Hike With Thee
By Jane Ciabattari, author of the short-story collection "Stealing the Fire"
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

HERE IF YOU NEED ME
A True Story
By Kate Braestrup
Little, Brown. 211 pp. $23.99

Kate Braestrup's "Here if You Need Me" can be read as a superbly crafted memoir of love, loss, grief, hope and the complex subtleties of faith. Or it can be read as the journey of a strong-minded, warmhearted woman through tragedy to grace.
Her story begins a decade ago with a devastating loss. Her husband, Drew, a Maine state trooper who had considered training for the ministry, is killed when his patrol car is hit by a truck. Instead of the traditional approach to a funeral, Kate Braestrup chooses to wash and dress his body herself and accompany it to cremation, wearing a dress he loved. Then comes the grieving: In the six months after his death, she notes, she and her four young children cried a lot, weeping while vacuuming, while ordering pizza, while coloring, while emptying rainwater from garbage cans.
Eventually she and the children scatter Drew's ashes by the lighthouse in Port Clyde, and she takes his place at the Unitarian seminary in Bangor. "I'm here because Drew isn't," she tells her professor the first day. Her brother the skeptic responds to the news that she has decided to study for the ministry with an e-mail: "Dear Kate, you don't really believe in God, do you?" Yes, she does, she explains: "the God I serve and worship with all my body, all my mind, all my soul, and all my spirit is love (1 John 4:8)."
Her story is deeply personal, yet resonant. And she has a refreshing comic side that keeps popping up: "I highly recommend divinity school for anyone recently bereaved. With rare exceptions, your classmates will be unbelievably nice, sensitive people. They are eager to practice their pastoral skills . . ."
The meat of the book is Braestrup's description of her work as chaplain to the game wardens who conduct search-and-rescue missions for the state of Maine. And this element of the memoir alone is enough to make it fascinating, as she describes traveling with the wardens in search of murder victims, suicides, straying children and lost hikers. She accompanies the wardens to give comfort to the loved ones of those who are missing, to attend to the remains of those found dead and to minister to the wardens themselves. (For those of us who love her part of Maine, from Thomaston to Rockland to Port Clyde, her descriptions of the natural world -- the woods, wildflowers, animals and seashore -- make the book nearly irresistible.)
On one of her first searches, for a local man who has disappeared, she learns that finding a skull doesn't necessarily mean they have found the body. "Bears take the heads off and play with them," one warden explains. "It's like a ball for them . . . ." Of another lost hiker, a warden tells her, "He wanted to climb a mountain and meditate. . . . Some kind of spiritual thing. And he lost his way, got too cold, died." After his body is found, her role is restrained: "I showed up, and I knelt in the leaves beside the young man's body. I prayed. The wardens bowed their heads and folded their hands over their belt buckles."
At times her work reminds the reader of a "CSI" episode. She listens as a forensic anthropologist describes how a woman died alone, on the bare surface of a granite ledge, and how over time a maple seed took root and used her body as "manna from heaven." Braestrup calls this "the most extraordinarily satisfactory disposition of human remains I had ever seen," and decides she wants to be buried that way, "surrounded by a womb of roots, my matter broken down and taken up into a living trunk and living leaves, my grief-stricken relatives invited to hear my voice whisper in the wind through new, young branches. . . ." Back home, her teenage son Zach brings her down to earth: "You don't whisper, Mom. . . . To hear your voice in the leaves, we'd have to wait for a hurricane."
This interchange is typical of Braestrup's relationship with her children -- warm, realistic and full of humorous moments. One son calls her "Mom-Dude." Woolie, her youngest daughter, loses her enthusiasm for a Bible story when Mom tells her Jesus was approached by 10 lepers, not 10 leopards.
One of the most powerful passages in the memoir comes after Braestrup has accompanied the wardens on a grueling, hours-long search for a man who vanished while on an ice fishing trip. "First light revealed not only an open patch of dark water in the inlet near the boat launch, but also a neat set of snowmobile tracks leading right to it." After the missing man's frozen body is recovered, she accompanies a lieutenant who has been a game warden for 32 years to tell the new widow of her loss. Braestrup explains, "Mrs. Levesque will put me to use as witness, as crutch, as Kleenex, as proxy for Jean-Pierre -- a temporary substitute for all the neighbors, church folks, friends, and family members who will soon come bursting through her door to share her grief. I am a transitional love object . . . . What a strange privilege it is to be so used."
As he drives her home, the lieutenant muses, "It's like standing right on the hinge of someone's life. You know? Right there on the hinge, while the whole world swings around, and that widow, or that mother or dad's life is suddenly completely different, permanently different."
That is her role. To stand on the hinge with those who must move forward into altered lives, as she has done. In "Here if You Need Me," she allows us to stand with her while she ministers to those who are lucky enough to have the remarkable, steady, peaceful and wise Kate Braestrup to comfort them.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT - I wholeheartedly concur with the review by Jane Ciabattari, above. If you want to read a TRUE STORY about a woman whose love for her late husband truly transcended the loss she and her children experienced when he died ... read "HERE IF YOU NEED ME". Kate is an inspiration!

HAVE YOU BEEN CREATIVE TODAY?

"The work of art which I do not make, none other will ever make." -- Simone Weil

Wow, if that's not a powerful statement. So, what have YOU failed to create that nobody else will ever create? Think about it.

Have you seen a lovely craft project and thought "I want to make one of those, but when I make it, I'll change xxx ..." ??? Hmmm? Well, haven't we ALL had those thoughts?

This week I have been enjoying the current issue of a fantastic, inspiring, beautiful, arts & crafts-focused magazine: Somerset Life. If you have never "met" this publication, take yourself over to the nearest bookstore PRONTO and pick it up - trust me, if you're at all artistic / creative, you can't help but be inspired by the photographs and projects they feature.

I also rely on TAKE TEN and STAMPERS SAMPLER for ideas for making cards and gift tags, etc. You can visit the website for these publications at: www.stampington.com/html/main_magazines.html

There is so much inspiration out there - just take yourself on an "artist's date" (as Julia Cameron calls them) and DISCOVER SOME NEW BEAUTIFUL THING that will inspire you to take a detour to the nearest craft or fabric store to pick up what you need to make something - lovely.

JUST SO LOCALS KNOW - the store that I mentioned a week or so ago when I said "do something creative every day" in a posting - PAPER SOURCE - is coming to town! I am excited to tell you that at THE FORUM shopping center here where Encinitas meets Carlsbad -- PAPER SOURCE is 'coming soon'. Oh happy day!

Serious Stuff, Folks ... SYMPTOMS & SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK

Okay, so it's time to post something serious - something that could save a life (yours? someone close to you?). Here, courtesy of Tri-City Medical Center (Oceanside, CA) are the

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF A HEART ATTACK:
* Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes
* Pain or pressure spreading to the shoulders, neck, or arms. The pain may be mild to intense.
* Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath.
* Anxiety, nervousness, and/or cold, sweaty skin.
* Paleness or palor.
* Increased or irregular heart rate.
* Feeling of impending doom.

IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY.

Your public health notice for today -- D.

Creature Comfort

"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet."

- Colette

Ya gotta love a dog who adores watching ... dust motes. Yup, that's our Rocky, intent on the swirling motes overhead. And he really is a darling companion - "perfect", I don't know about that. He DOES have his "issues" - as Mark says, "the world is his toilet" and that's not a good thing - but when it comes to LOVING, just pure LOVING his family - Rocky has it down.

Molly, our last dog, she sure had devotion down - remember? Sometimes I wish these two dear canine friends of ours had in fact crossed earthly paths - that they had known each other, here in our midst.

That's all ... for now ... -- Davi

THE HOME AS A HOBBY (borrowed from SBB's 'Simple Abundance')

Okay, so I am borrowing from one of my favorite inspirational authors today, Sarah Ban Breathnach, of "SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" fame. You've read SA, right? It's a day-by-day YEAR of insights, inspiration, challenges - especially for women. And she focuses on creativity in all areas of our lives. Her work is a delight to all who read it, I believe.

HOME AS A HOBBY is her entry for July 29 ... and it struck a chord with me this morning, as I work at home on OUR home, as my HOBBY, I suppose. Most of you know how "messy" I can be - heck, not "can be", but AM. Let's be honest!

I admit that, for me, organizing and sorting and purging is a painful - yet necessary - task, and one that while I say I am undertaking it all the time, I do try to avoid with the most creative excuses :-) !!!

Today I offer up this, taken right from SA, as a challenge (especially to myself, of course) to us all:

"Nobody has the right to be bored in a half-made home. A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be ... a home which cannot be run without waste, a home which by any detail gets on the nerves of its inhabitants and so impairs the harmony of their existence -- something ought to be done about such a home ... Why not make the perfecting of the home a hobby?" -- Arnold Bennett (English novelist, from an essay dated 1924)

Admission of Guilt: Mark can't stand my messy ways. There, I said it, and I've put it out here for any and everyone to see. So - those "details that get on the nerves of its inhabitants" Arnold mentions above - THEY, and my dearly loved Mark, are what compel me to now take on MY home as MY HOBBY.

This is my new power statement: Our Home is My Hobby.

Yours in making ALL our homes our hobbies -- D, on 8-4-08

"Why BLOG?", you might ask

Lately, I have been asked by friends & relatives alike: WHY BLOG? Hmmm ...

You probably don't want to know why I blog ... you want to know why ANYBODY would want to blog, right?

My friend Ann, who inspired me to create THIS blogspot, gave me an article recently that I think says MOST all of it. The article is by Kelly Rae Roberts, and appeared in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of CLOTH, PAPER, SCISSORS magazine - a terrific mag for those who like to "craft" things. {You can visit Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine at www.quiltingarts.com/cpsmag/cpshome.html}

I am sorry to say that C,P,S does not have a link on their website to the article, but I WILL create it as a PDF document (by scanner) if anyone is interested. I can email it to you.

But my quick answer to you for now is this: it gives me a creative outlet, and a way to keep in touch with loved ones who might live far away, or with whom I don't get to spend enough time. Blogging gives me, in Kelly Rae's words, a way to "expand (my) creative & personal growth", and that's always a good thing, for all of us.

And if you don't really care what I am up to, or what we're reading, where we've been, what we care about ... that's fine, too. Nothing says you have to visit my blogspot or leave comments ... right? It's all a choice we make. And whatever YOUR choice might be, it's OK by me - D., on a beautiful Sunday morning in August

THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL - BUT MAN, IS THERE A LOT OF SMILING

I just spent the most wonderful week with our grandson, Trevor - age 13. He spent the week here with us, and Sunday thru Friday, I took him to Baseball Camp each day, and went back each afternoon to pick him up and spend more time watching the boys learn their craft. Their GAME OF CHOICE. And what a game it is -- full of energy and strategy and logistics -- I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, beginning to - and I'm sorry to see it -- end.

I would be remiss if I didn't give huge KUDOS to the folks who ran this Camp, AMERICA'S BASEBALL CAMPS, who can be found at www.americasbaseballcamps.com... check them out if you know and love a boy who plays baseball.

The COACHING STAFF were remarkable - inspiring, encouraging, intelligent, caring, talented men, all of them - and good TEACHERS to boot. Teaching and Coaching is an ART, as far as I am concerned - and you can either RELAY INFORMATION TO YOUR STUDENT in such a way that they will LEARN - or you cannot. The ABC coaches were all incredibly good at Coaching these young men and they deserve a huge THANKS ... which we gave them!

But now - I sure miss Trevor being here. It was one of the best weeks I can ever remember spending ... ever. Thank you, my wonderful grandson, for sharing your Camp experience with me. I even loved doing your laundry :-) !!!