Merry Christmas Everyone!

A Christmas quiltie from my friend Peggy!






Look at this "enchanted pincushion" from Kerry! I just got it in the mail and she sent me so many wonderful elf treasures...I will show the apron Penny made me and Kerry's package later when I have time to get pictures!






A years worth of enchanted ornaments from twelve differant people....My finished tree!






Christmas socks on my feet from Jenny!








More Christmas cards than I have ever gotten!







And look at this card and ornament that Helen made me!!!



girly girl ornaments I painted for my fellow furniture girls all packaged up and ready to go......I did six of them.





These were fun to paint and play with.....



















an enchanted elf for Kerry...The theme for December's swap was Elves.....







She likes kitchen gadgets and when I found the elf spatula and cupcake set I thought it was the coolest thing ever....








And the best thing I did all month? I worked at the Ogden rescue Mission giving out backpacks with necessities for the homeless...It was amazing and sad and it made me grateful to be able to help!
















Life goes on, and I am learning to live it again....After the holidays I have made up my mind to be a blogger again....Just wanted to pop on and share some pictures and greetings.....Thanks for all your support! Melinda

Happy Holidays?

My friend Cinda called me tonight and told me that I need to post on my blog....so here I am posting...The blog does'nt call to me like it used too....I think depression does that. I had a day off today and I had big plans but I spent the day in bed sleeping. It felt good, though I know it probably isnt the best idea.
So what is new here? I won the Biggest loser contest for our store...I lost about 18 pounds...I would say all the drama made it easier but I eat like a pig when I am unhappy so it actually made it harder....
Thanksgiving I went to my sister Julie's for an hour and then I went home....It didnt feel like a Holiday to me and I just missed the kids too much.
I went with a friend to Thanksgiving point to see the lights last night. They were really beautiful.
I am still working and trying to hold myself in one piece and we had the first snow last week. I was sad to see the cold come in.
I finished my apron that I made for a swap that I signed up for before Don left...It is on its way to Canada and the lady I made it for is just a sweetheart. It is our first swap....here is the apron...










The panel across the middle is three big pockets...I like this pattern a lot. It is out of a book....I also made her a heart ornament filled with lavender and some Christmas coasters....I got a cricut cartridge for making Christmas cards so Julie and I could do some together...We havent done it yet, but the snowman card is the first one I made. I love the orange with the turquoise....and the glitter...









Tonight I figured I should probably do something constructive so I made another card....Boy, cards are a lot of work! I can sew faster than I can make something out of paper....I make a huge mess too....Here is the card.









I have been trying to reclaim the house and make it just mine....Packing away the @#$%$%$#### persons things and getting them out of here....getting new bedding...Turning his closet into a shoe closet....you get the idea...I also painted a pine hutch and buffet black and the wall behind it a paprika red color.....I like it a lot. I forgot to move the printer and the mirrors underneath but you get the idea.....








I still have Thanksgiving and fall stuff outside and inside....pathetic I know....I am working towards getting it down and maybe putting up Christmas stuff....Not sure I can do it....We will see....This grief and anger stuff is like walking through a heavy fog....I wish it would lift...
One really wonderful thing did happen last week though.....My neighbor across the street, Jennica came over with her little girl and offered to bring me dinner that night...She read on my blog what happened and felt bad she didnt know. She did bring me the best dinner too that night a 9:30 too....It couldnt have been better timing either...my kitchen was foodless and I mean food less.......I had lots of pet food though....Thanks so much Jennica for being kind...It means a lot to me.....I miss you all and I hope that I am back to myself soon...Thanks for all the support and love sent my way......Melinda

Hey everyone......I am still here....

Damaged, broken and kinda lost but one foot is still going in front of the other so I am thinking it is a "one step at a time" thing.....Thanks so much for all your overwhelming support. I so appreciate it.....Someones said a voodoo doll.....I love it? Does anyone have one?...I have pins, lotsa pins......

I have been working a lot. It is going to be important for me to do well this month and I sure am giving it a big try....I have a smile plastered on my face at all times. Sometimes I forget I am faking it and it turns real. It gets easier every day. I am trying to get myself in a financial position where it doesnt matter if the %$%$##$%% is here or not. Again, one step at a time...

I also started going to church again about 6 weeks ago...It really helps and it helps me connect to other people. My inclination is to go to bed, pull the covers up and just stay there. We are doing backpacks filled with things for the shelter so I have been working on that.

I participated in the Enchanted Ornament Swap again this month and My partner is Missy. The ornament theme was deer....The best thing was I got to meet her in person and we are going to get together again. She has chickens too!!!! I am planning on using her expertise to help me find some good ones in the Spring.....
Here is what I made Missy.













She in return made me the cutest deer ornaments and a box filled with goodies and the best part? Fresh eggs just to get me inspired.....










I also have continued to make doll clothes for my Blythe doll, Ruth Ann....This outfit I made out of knit, tulle and sari fabric....She is all ready for Thanksgiving.













Victoria asked me to make a portrait of a co workers dog for a gift for her....She sent me the best box of fabrics in return.....I didnt have the best picture....she emailed me one and then I had a different actual picture...Of course I put it away so I would have it and I cant remember where......DUH! I do this kind of stuff all the time.
Anyway, here is Streaker.....











I cant get the original picture to load but I am counting on Victoria to let me know if I captured him.....His picture was very dark with weird lighting....He was a challenge and several times I almost gave up....I really like him now though....Let me know how I did Victoria and if I didnt get him, I would be happy to try again......

off to pluck my eyebrows......then to work...I am trying to get back to you all and if I havent called it is because I dont have very good control of my emotions yet....I dont want to spend a whole phone call sobbing.....xoxooxo melind

Hanging in there........

Maya Angelou: Every woman should…..
June 23, 2007 by seeing

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a youth she’s content to leave behind….

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
retelling it in her old age….

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
one friend who always makes her laugh… and one who lets her cry…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a feeling of control over her destiny.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to fall in love without losing herself.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
when to try harder… and WHEN TO WALK AWAY…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect…but its over…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
a month…and a year…

-Maya Angelou

As I sit here at 5:30 am, unable to sleep, I think this poem is speaking just to me. I keep telling myself, "I have been through worse." and I have. It means a lot to me how you all have rallied to support me...I am lucky to know that I am not alone...Thank you so much for caring.......Melinda

Airing my dirty laundry........

Just how personal do you get on a blog? Well, I am about to get there. I have been so grateful for the last year and a half of my life that things were good. When my youngest daughter took the kids back to Portland it was tough, but I had a husband who loved me and was supportive while I went thru piecing my life back together once again. Have you ever had so much misfortune at times that it embarasses you? Well, I come before you all embarassed and humiliated and devastated. On Friday, Don, my husband announced that he was leaving me and going to Oregon. I was blindsided. We have no quarrels about any of the usual stuff. We have been good friends to each other and I thought we loved each other....At first I thought he was joking...he wasnt. He says that he is retired and wants a companion and he is alone too much. Ok, except he is the one who suggested I go back to work full time.
I was speechless...He told me he was going to his sons house....He never went there...He went to Texas instead apparently to get some companionship with a 69 year old woman. The only reason I figured it out was because he left an email and credit card trail. He called tonight with the woman beside him and told me "I will get over it in a few months." I feel abandoned and hopeless.
I try so hard to be a good person. I try to be a good friend, and I know I was a good wife. I have never thought of myself as a victim or pushover, but apparently I must be. My dad and my sister are just sick for me....I havent heard from the kids. I hope I survive this because I have been walking the edge for a long time and I feel broken....thanks for listening.......Melinda

round robin row quilts.....

I joined a Round Robin for Row quilts a while back and I just finished a row for Robin from rislandcrafts.....I thought I would show some of the groups progress. We all picked a theme and colors and you just kind of "go with it"....
Here is Robin's quilt so far....Her theme is shapes and one bright color with white...The hot pink and white row is mine.....















The next one is Barbs from bejeweledquilts and her theme is houses.......My row is on the bottom.

















I love the colors and the blue kind of unifies it...She sent along blue and green fabric for that purpose. I think the picket fence was a great idea too....
Then there is Jenn's from patchwork Jenn....
















I havent done a row for her yet, but I think it is next...The appliqued flowers on the bottow row are so pretty. I always admire everyone's skills!

Hetty's quilt has a water theme and she is the paper piecing master...She started with the birds....My row is the boats. Again it is all so different but it all goes together and is so much fun!














Jeannette also has a Birdhouse row quilt and it is the cutest thing. She did vertical rows, which I thought was really fun. For some reason, I can't get a picture of it on here tonight.....*&^&^%%$@@@


Last of all, my theme was bright stars and I am so lovin' on this quilt so far. I cant even remember how big I made the rows but I cant wait to put it together and display it somewhere fun. It may become a big wall hanging....








I am so glad that I decided to join this group. I would definitely do a Row project again......

Happy Halloween.....

Yesterday we celebrated at work and I dressed up as a domestic cowgirl....(otherwise known as Calamity kitchen..) I wore a cowgirl hat, cowgirl apron, my favorite red boots and a little kids toy holster with a red handled rolling pin on one side and a vintage egg beater in the other....Don't mess with a cowgirl in the kitchen...







It was a fun day....On a sad note, I gave in to temptation and ate Halloween treats.....One of the girls brought homemade sugar cookies with frosting. Can I hear you say sugar high? After work we went to my sister Julies so we could see little Jace Trick or Treat....I think he makes a pretty cute little Jaceosaurus...











I hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween.....

Halloween is in the air......

One of my best Halloween memories is making popcorn balls with my neighbor lady from age 4 to 6.....She would butter up my hands and put an apron around my waist and it was so exciting. To this day, popcorn balls mean Halloween....




Mrs. Ebert, the wonderful neighbor, would make hers flavored with Jello.....I used to make them the old fashioned way boiling the corn syrup and all that. I found a super easy recipe though, and they taste sooooo good.

9 cups of popcorn
1 10 oz bag of marshmallows
1/4 cup of margarine or butter
6 Tablespoons of Jello...I used orange

Put popcorn in a large bowl

In saucepan, melt marshmallows and butter over low heat while stirring. Add in jello, stir in well...
Pour over popcorn and mix in
butter hands, tie on apron (preferable a nice Halloween apron) and shape into balls....keep hands buttered and they will shape easier...wrap with colored plastic wrap and tie a bow on......

So fun and easy. I miss making them with my babies......

I also made an Enchanted banner in bright colors and finished my Owl swap....My bernina is dying a slow death so sewing was a challenge. It goes into the shop tomorrow.....I didnt use a pattern for the fabric or clay owls, just played. I think I will make some fabric ones for my own Christmas tree. I like how these came out.

Winner of Quilt books and stuff......

hey everyone...Thanks for the interest in the Quilting Books...I finally have a few minutes to blog and announce a winner! The winner is Needled Mom! I will mail them out the end of the week......
I have received in the mail several cool things, just think I will share....Postcards from the Bird postcard swap put on by Roc, A Halloween Atc from Carmen,( from the witch swap hosted by Missy) and The Enchanted Ornament Swap for this month from Courtney...(this month is owls...)












I am working on owl ornaments for Courtney in return, a mini quilt in reds and A Halloween doll dress for my Blythe Doll. I am jumping around a lot and I am not sure why. I am usually gung ho on something until it is finished. Just busy I guess...
I now am thirteen pounds down and I am in third place in our Biggest Loser contest at work. It ends November twenty second. I am hoping to win a trip somewhere, we will see....I am still plugging away...it is hard now, those last ten pounds always are. Happy Halloween! (which is celebrated this year in Utah on Saturday....just a weird bit of Utah trivia)

Quilt book giveaway...

I love books! I love quilting and art books too...If I am not careful, I could become a hoarder of books. I would be happy weaving my way through the towers of books, but no one else would be...So I pass them on when I am done with them. By done, I mean copy the patterns I want.....I am ready to pass them on. Be sure and click on the picture for a close up, there are some great books here....
I also have some mini quilt magazines that Victoria sent me with some beautiful fabrics....I copied patterns and I would love to pass these on too....
To enter just leave me a comment...easy peasy.....I will send them out media mail to the winner.......

I love Sundays......

It is so nice to have a whole day off to putter around aimlessly.....After church, I came home and read for a while, took a nap and then when upstairs to create....Took a break, made some Carrot Pineapple bread and then back upstairs. Working makes me really appreciate my time at home. It is the best place on earth.
I finished some witch atc's first. Missy (littlemessymissy.blogspot.com) is having a little swap....I needed to make two cards but I made four. It has been months since I have made an artists trading card. These are collaged and painted and I really enjoyed myself. No time crunch today!!!






Then the quick bread....The house smells so good....This bread is almost like carrot cake, but easier to make.....









1.5 cups of shredded carrots...(mine are from our garden and I put them in the food processor)
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
3 eggs
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c vegetable oil
mix this all together and then add

3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
chopped nuts
raisins

mix in the dry ingredients until moist. Grease two big loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees until done....about 50 minutes. Raisins and nuts are up to you....I just throw some in until it looks right......
Walmart sells this really yummy squeeze bottle of Honey Butter....It isn't thick, it is more like a glaze..It is awesome on quick bread. Yum, yum..










I ate a small piece and then jumped on the treadmill for three miles...We are still doing the Biggest Loser at work and there are 5 more weeks...I have lost eleven pounds. I am so tired of eating food I don't like all that much all day long. Mostly I eat oatmeal, fruit and vegetables and a little chicken and albacore....it gets old. I cheated once big and ate a hamburger...Sometimes you just have too...This bread just smelled too good to resist and it is a nice break from all the zucchini bread I have been making.


After the treadmill I made some polymer clay gnomes for my friend Rianne in The Netherlands. She is the one who made me the cute little tags and cards for my swaps....She and her little girl like gnomes and had seen some I made before so I offered to make them....Hope you like them Rianne....









Happy Sunday all.......

Alphabe Thursday D is for ......

I am linking up for the letter D to Jenny and all the others, for Alphabe Thursday, round two......http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com Come join us!

D is for determination, disappointment and discovery...In that order. I am talking about my pumpkin patch...I am a gardener and I have a green thumb. What I want to grow, grows until the great pumpkin fiasco. This has been my first year to garden in Utah and it was beyond my expectations. Everything except my pumpkins did well. I became determined....I had planted three plants and they grew like crazy...They grew so much that they even made their way through the fence and into the neighbors yard. I was thrilled. They started getting big yellow blooms and I was envisioning the pumpkins we would share with everyone for Halloween...I watched the little green bulbous pumpkins form. They would get to be about the size of a radish and then they would disappear. It happened over and over....I watered, I composted, I held back water, I checked with a magnifying glass for bugs. I became obsessed. I was determined to see something orange and round growing from those vines. It wasnt happening, I was a gardening failure. Maybe pumpkins dont grow in Utah? So I thought, until I drove by a house with the elusive pumpkins growing everywhere in someone's front yard. I was disappointed and dismayed.
Last week on my day off, the whole family was out in the backyard enjoying the sunshine....By family, I mean myself, the husband and the pets. Life was good. I saw a rustling in the pumpkin vines and it all came to me.....








I have a pet bunny, Donalds, that runs around in the backyard...You know, where the garden is. He doesnt eat anything else, so I assumed he just had enough grass to fill his little belly. Apparently he has a fondness for little green pumpkins the size of radishes.....He is a happy bunny and I am happy that my green thumb is still intact. I may not plan on orange pumpkins next year. Who needs the stress?

mini quilt postcards.......

These are part of a journal exchange for a group I am in.....They had to have a bird, a letter of the Alphabet......
I never thought about the time these take to make...Time never mattered. Now it does, and I realized they are a lot of work! Next time I will plan better.

C is for Cornish Alphabe Thursday.....

Hey everyone! It is Alphabe Thursday over at http:jennymatlock.blogspot.com
Every week she features a different letter of the alphabet, and we write stories or share pictures or recipes...Come play along!
On a side note, I havent on my own had a lot of time to visit, but I promise if you visit me, you will get a visit back...I miss reading all the entries! I sure try to get to as many as I can....

Cornish....That is my maiden name and a good English name it is. When I tell people my last name, most people immediately make some kind of reference to Cornish Game Hens....Those tasty little birds that make a great dinner.








A game hen I am not, just in case you were wondering....There is also the Cornish School of Art in Seattle....I think it would be so amazing to attend there...I love art, I love to learn and there has to be a few perks for being of the same name...I would think anyway!








There is also the beautiful Cornish Peninsula in England...I was looking through pictures on the internet and it is right on the water....I have always lived on the salt water except for here in Utah...(the stinky lake does not count, just for the record, though it is salty and there is a Cornish Salt too...)Maybe the saltwater is in my blood because it is where I am happiest.









I know all about my ancestry on my Mothers side and my paternal Grandmother's side. I know very little about my Grandfather....He died when my Dad was 16 at age 46 of a heart attack. I do know his father came in from England and came to Wisconsin and then Oregon. My Grandfather Cornish despite his young age was married 5 times. My Grandma who was a real pistol, refused to talk to me about him except to tell me that he was a $#%%%$##### you know, womanizer....I have gone to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to their Geneology library and looked up records, but I hit a dead end. Probably the most interesting "Cornish" thing that I know, is that in 1953 my Grandfather received a personal invite for Queen Elizabeth's Coronation...I wonder how she knew where he lived?











My Aunt has the invitation...It is a little bit of our history though I dont know the story behind it....I just hope he didnt "womanize" the Queen Mother or something!