Calamity Kim

Post Atomic Letdown Syndrome

So after months of working on things to sell and wondering if people would like them, or love them, pay good money for them, I finally found out the answer is yes! This was my 4th Atomic Holiday Bazaar and I was not disappointed. In fact I think it totally exceeded any expectations I may have held regarding sales and the weather! I expected Sunday to be rainy but it was just gloomy and I do love the fog and drizzles.

I had an awesome space, right up by the front entrance with Deb of Picasso's Moon to my left and some cute and crafty girls in front, I was very happy to get set up and start the show. Usually it is just on Sunday but this year Adrien did it the exhausting way and had Saturday and Night and Sunday! I did all 3 events and by Sunday night I was feeling like a zombie but joyful that the show was such a success!

There is so much validation when someone picks up something you've made and they want to take it home with them. The older I get the more discerning I am about what I want to have in my nest. I used to fill it with teddy bears and tiny tea sets. Now I tend to collect work by other artists along with gnomes, mushrooms and deer.

It's nice to know that other people want my work in their homes.

I sold all my fake cupcakes.

I sold a whole lotta pompom birds and all of the small house ornaments.

One doll, a few mutants, some charming buckets and some handspun.

Bits of this and that.

Now I want to stick the leftovers in Etsy and get my house and sewing room cleaned out. I have a few more projects to finish up and get mailed and then I have the clean slate of January!

This morning I woke up with a sore throat and I took some meds and am now sipping some Earl Grey tea and hoping I will feel better so that I can go sew some more.

Probably just run down from all the gogogo lately!

Yesterday I went and did the window at Picasso Moon and loaded it with the hand made shabby chic benches and filled it with white, cream and taupe yarns, wool fibers and hand knit owls. I will try to get pictures on Friday to share with you here. If you are local please stop by and see it!

We have big plans for the Springtime window- of course it will be a while until we can work on the giant octopus, Captain Jack, mermaid theme so the window will stay a winter wonderland for a bit. It's so difficult to feel winterish here with the palm trees and green grass but it has been cold the last few days and it's more like it should be! The undyed wool roving is also a pretty good imitation of snow and with twinkle lights it looked pretty magical!

My friend Kim Perkins had her handfelted soaps in my booth and they sold like hot cakes! The scent of lavender and ocean mist filled the air and just about everyone who stopped by had to pick them up and smell.

The music was good during the day and the Burlesque Show and live bands were pretty cool on Saturday night. I don't know how Adrien gets it all organized and running smoothly but she does a great job and this was bigger and better than it's ever been.

 

It was nice with the lights down low on Saturday night andit gave everything a wonderful ambiance. I already have plans for next year. I am making some shadow box scenes and mixed media shrines with more serious themes. The cupcakes and birds sell because they are inexpensive and who can resist that level of cute? I feel the need to make things with a bit more depth and soul to them. It's the crafty glue gun glitter assembly line that really gets to me! I want to have my booth be like stepping into Ye Olde Curiosity and Oddity Shop with shadow boxes filled with botanicals in belljars and butterflies made from felt and all sorts of rusty and sacred things. This year my display was more shabby chic and pink feminine sweetness and light. It was very pretty and I received quite a few compliments on my display which really made me smile.

 

The next few months will be busy for me- working on stuff for a Spinning Conference in Destin in January, a show called FAB in February and a Community Show at the Art Center in March & April. I will be sewing spinning smocks and making bags and getting things ready and hopefully sharing it all here.

One of my goals for next year is to write a seasonal magazine with projects for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter with my friend Elizabeth Hillmann. The first issue will be available in March as a PDF that you can buy and download. Using the seasons as themes gives us a starting point and we will have at least 20 projects per issue. I adore magazines like Marie Claire Idees and Somerset Studios Sew and Home and hope that some of their wonderfulness will rub off on us as we try our hand at putting together some Make & Do fun for bored housewives and craft divas. You know who you are. Imagine the possibilities.

So, thank you to everyone who came and saw me at the show and especially those of you who introduced yourselves to me as someone who reads my Blog- that was nice- I hope I can make next year more enjoyable with a whole lot more content here. I appreciate those of you who have been reading me for a while and put up with my irregular schedule lately.

This year was sort of difficult and snarfy and I feel as though I was absent more than I was present. It was difficult to write about so I didn't. Then I felt guilty for abandoning my happy bloggy place. After that I just quit worrying about all of it. I don't care about the people out there who don't care about me and I am not going to allow them to hurt me or change the way I live my life because they are too shallow minded or filled with bitterness to forgive or be kind.

Live and let live is my motto. I have adopted my own family and have many sisters and mothers and grandmothers that give me love and happiness and keep me centered and filled with joy. I have my Son and my Brother Glenn and his wife Pam and my sweet husband Fred and I feel blessed with them in my life. Life is far too short to be so unforgiving and everyone should just reach out to each other and be loving. But, that's not really the way it is with most people, so you just have to learn to live with it. and I am trying. It is their loss. Life is what you allow it to be and you have to nuture relationships just as you would a plant or a baby penguin. (getting a little tired and thinking about soft puffy cloud comforters and warm cocoa with tiny marshmallows).

Next year I will be 50 and I hope to make it an exciting, creative and blissful year.

Hope you have a lovely day, I'm going to make another cup of tea and curl up by the tree and then go see what the elves are up to in my sewing room.

I'll be back soon with some pictures of some of the things I found irresistable at Atomic.

Happy Holidays!

Calamity Kim

rusting up like the tin man

Slipping the bonds of the days expectations I go back to the bedroom and open the curtains. When I lay down I can see the breeze rifling through the leaves; the branches bounce and I imagine them laughing and pushing back as the birds sing and the turtles dry out in the hot sunshine.

Relaxing.

Taking a deep breath, letting the tightly coiled spring unwind, riding the spinning circle of thoughts to the center of myself.

Letting it go.

The last few weeks have been difficult.

Days full of things to get done, I come to a grinding halt today and just stop. I need to rest and think of nothing until I feel like working some more.

 A few weeks ago I had a severe pain down my leg and after a visit to the doctor I found that it was nothing but a pulled muscle, due to sitting at the computer (or sewing machine or spinning wheel) for long lengths of time with my left leg crossed (ankle on right knee) causing a strain. It's just a bad habit. My joints hurt.

Like when I put my elbow on the desk and rest my chin in my left hand. That caused a sharp pain in my shoulder blade up my neck. I was reminded how often I do these things, as I would sit, because the pain would stab, quick and sudden until I changed position. I decided to change my habits. A friend also suggested a ball chair.

 

So I got one and when I sit on it I can't cross my legs and I sit up straighter, using my core muscles to stay balanced. The ball can come off for exercises if I ever felt so inclined, which must be a bonus, but I haven't gotten that crazy yet. I do have a small trampoline that I bounce on a few times a day, to get my lymph flowing around and help speed metabolism and improve my immune system.

I have been walking more and sitting less. It's summertime and when it's this hot you sweat all day it seems and it's so nice to stay inside in the air conditioning. When you go for a walk it has to be early or late and I am just trying to work that in to my new routine.

I have been planning what to have for sale at Atomic Holiday Bazaar this year and what I want my display to look like. I have been making paper dolls and mermaids and I bought a vinyl banner for my booth. It's just like the banner on the blog except 3ft wide and the font is a bit different. I like planning and dreaming about what to make. It helps me get focused. Staying focused is a whole different subject.

I bought some more stamps to create some new art dolls and hope to make some 3 dimensional fabric dolls as well as some shrinky dink jewelry using scans of some of the mermaids. It's fun and challenging to digitally alter and print the dolls and I bought a huge dry erase board to write down all my projects and plans. I have examples to make for a big project and things I want to enter into local galleries and for publication. I'm working on aprons and getting thoughts together to make something for Apronology again.

So as I get some things finished I will show them here. I started a 5 week class last week at the Venice Art Center with Joanna Coke- doing mixed media altered boxes and am pretty excited about that journey. I hope all my blog friends are doing well and having a lovely summer!

stay cool and sweet!

calamity kim

Forever's Not So Long

Forever's Not So Long from garrettmurray on Vimeo.

Make use of the time you have.

Happy Heatstroke

Trying to sell wool in Florida is like selling bags of ice in Alaska!

Debra and I set up the booth last Sunday in St Pete with help from our friend Elizabeth and as our sweat was sweating in the 95 degree heat we tried to have hopeful thoughts about selling stuff and meeting new folks. It seemed to be a slllllllooooowww start but we were still anticipating the "after church crowds".

I had some chiffon and tulle flowers on display.

As well as a million fake cupcakes and witches and sock monster aliens.

Neither Esmeralda or Hazel Bitterthorn were impressed with the lackluster turnout. They wished they had stayed home where it was comfortable and cool.

This crazy chick was absurdly happy all day though. Maybe it was her location next to whimsical handspun yarn with silk flowers by Cathy Snider. Or these delightful cotton candy batts of wool fiber for spinning made by Kim Perkins.

Even the mermaids were hot!

I had to keep refilling their tiny glasses of water to help them stay hydrated!

Did I mention that it was hot enough to melt your lungs and fry an egg on your tongue?

No lie, I saw a bald guy whip up an omelet right on top of his chrome dome! tasty!

Debra had all different kinds of yarn from her Picasso Moon shop but people weren't buying. I guess all the potential customers were at home in the air conditioning! Who could blame them? It was difficult not to be disappointed, even without any expectations at all. We always sell a lot at Atomic Holiday Bazaar (Dec 13th this year) but it was only the first time for this Artoberfest Show.

Naturally, this coming weekend a cold front is forecast. Is it me who seems to have bad luck? Sometimes it seems that way!

We had our spinning wheels and I enjoyed spinning most of the afternoon away with Elizabeth.

It did amaze me to hear so many people say that they had never seen anyone spin. They were familiar with spinning wheels as "decorations" but never seen anyone actually spinning fiber into yarn. I guess all the basket weaving and loom weaving conferences I have attended have always kept me in the know about spinning.

It's good to get out there and pass out business cards and educate folks about wool, batts and spinning but next time I hear the ice cream man go by I'm shooting his tires out and duct taping him to his drivers seat while I grab armfuls of ice cream and pass them out to vendors and then crawl inside his empty freezer compartment till I cool off. Why do ice cream men just drive right by?

What's up with that? Can't they see our red faces, sweaty hair and feel the heat radiating off us like a solar flare?

At least we had a breeze every now and then.

It could have have been worse, right?

It could have been raining!

We started off underneath the shade of some giant oaks but had to move as the sun climbed higher and was soon beating down relentlessly on us.

I offered to marry someone for a cupful of ice.

Sorry Fred.

Did I tell you how hot it was?

Just what you want to do~ wrap yourself up in a cozy knitted wool shawl.

Oh well, it was fun hanging out with my friends and maybe I will list some of the cupcakes in Etsy.

Tonight is our Surface Design Meeting and it's All About Books so if you are local and want to have some fun come to the Waldemere St Fire Station (right off hwy 41 across from the hospital, behind Wendy's) at 6pm and I'll see ya there.

Don't worry, it's air conditioned!

Love and stitches,

calamity kim

Checking in and saying hi, howdy, ho there!

Are you having a difficult time believing that it is Sept 1st?
I certainly am.
Where did the summer go?
Last week was busy with a trip to Miami and then Tallahassee.

I wanted to share my visit to the wonderful Anthropologie Store in Naples but still haven't taken pictures of the tea towels and coffee mugs and drawer pulls I purchased there.
I promise I will tell you all about it soon.
I am still reading the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Mysteries/Love Stories.
 I'm on book 7.
9 more to go.
I read at night and on down time but these books have sunk their roots deep into the core of me and I am lost.

I wish they were on tape because then I could listen and hopefully work at the same time.
*sigh*
I can't hardly put them down.
I started cleaning up my sewing room after finishing the 6th book yesterday.

I moved tables around and changed out a 6 ft table for another 4 ft table.
I put the sewing machine on it's own smaller table. I switched the cutting table over to another side of the room.
I am trying to make it work.
Make it into a more productive space.
I took all the "paper" stuff and put it in the guest room, which is once again too quiet.

The bears are all lined up on the bed pillows looking like they own the joint and the 6ft table I stuck in there is overflowing with stamps and papers and inks and stuff I need to organize. I think I am going to put the stamps in the dresser drawers and go through all the papers.
That is after I finish a doll quilt and some apron/smocks.
I am so thrilled with my newest doll quilts from Tami and Shelba.
I rearranged the doll quilt walls after moving furniture and have only a small amount of room left on the one wall- I thought maybe a bunting would be good there- in that smallish space above everything else!
Add that to the list!

It feels good to take a break and rejuvenate but I miss having cloth in my fingers.
Then again,  I have been so tired lately that I haven't had the energy to think about sewing or making anything.

Do you get like that?
I feel like a cymbal monkey that was clanging and dancing furiously and then just as suddenly wound down to a mid clanking halt.
I have plenty of ideas - that's never my problem.

Lately it's just making the time to execute them.
I feel like I need to get back to work with all seriousness and make lists and fill orders and get busy stock piling some finished product for the shows I will be participating in this winter.
I also felt like I couldn't work in my sewing room because it was all too messy!
It is a sanctuary when it's cleaned up and I try, I really do try to clean as I go, but somehow the fabric gets everywhere and the glitter gets spilled and the pack of new rotary blades gets hidden underneath stacks of freezer paper  stencils and ink jet images printed on fabric and I can't find the strength to begin sorting through it all!

So, back to school...back to work...back to creating new things to give comfort and joy...my next post is going to share a cool project I did using Bad Bird's Mermaid pattern.
 I also wanted to let you know about her new Hand Stitched Art Challenge.
 I just signed up and encourage you to look it over and read all about it here.
I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Labor Day and let you know it finally stopped raining here and the sun is shining again.

I feel for the people having to deal with Gustav right now but it seems to be a weaker storm than they anticipated so that is better than having to deal with a big storm like Katrina.
I can't imagine the heart break of finding your home and belongs flooded and ruined with water damage. We have been through leaking roofs and water in the walls and big blowers drying the house out for 9 days while we crowded in with all the furniture and everything we owned shoved into one side of the house.
 It was awful.
But it could have been worse.
I guess it always can be.
So, my prayers go out to those families suffering and I try not to feel guilty as I look around my wonderful little house filled with whimsical and happy treasures and know that we are Blessed.
More soon.
Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim

the heat has melted my energy core to naught but a trickle...

Good Morning little Calamities!
I am feeling something akin to excitement...is that it? It's been a while since I have actually felt like sharing anything here, maybe it's some sort of Summer Doldrums? Maybe I am just saving all my creative juiciness for  real world activities?
That sounds strange to say, especially coming from me, a self confessed computer obsessed Blogaholic.
Yes, I admit it.
I am Calamity Kim and I am addicted to cyber-everything.
I have recently been feeling weird though about Blogging and I guess it's because I have some people who read me and never comment and it bums me out. I don't know what to think.
It really is the biggest downside to this whole Blogging thing in my humble opinion.
I have always just typed away and said and shared whatever I pleased and felt like if anyone loved it they would say so, but it gets to me sometimes when I see the other girls with 50 or 100 comments and I feel like I am a failure.
There must be something missing or lacking and then I write about it and get your loving words of reassurance but still it haunts.
It nags.
It eats away at my Blogesteem.
So, I crawl away and set up my sheet tent in the playroom and drag my books, scissors, glue and needle and thread into it and don't come out to play.
I shut down.
I go read books.
I stop taking pictures.
Am I pouting?
Maybe.I am not sure what to make of it.I love my Blog ordinarily, so maybe this is just a minor tiff.
Maybe I will bake some cookies and set out the pot of tea and welcome you into the tent.
Scoot over, you're crowding!
dang, it!
well. there goes the center pole!
Now there isn't enough room and the tent has collapsed!
I guess I will have to come out and play after all...
My friend Amanda took some time off from Blogging and today she said that she might make something to wear to Vanessa's Blog Party. It might help her find the Joy in Blogging that she once had.
What Blog party said I???
This Tea Party hosted by A Fanciful Twist  says her.
Oh.
Sniff...hangs wringing...sniffle snuffle...should I?
Can I?
Could I?
I have so much to do already.
So much to finish.
So much sketched and planned and halfheartedly attempted....
But oh, the thought of making a mask and glitter and sparklies...oh, my.
I want to make a fabulous something with ruffles and lace and flounces and trims and maybe I can get it done and pictures taken and blogged here by the 28th of June...
But first, I want to share this bit of inspiration.
I saw this book on someones Blog and then followed the links to Etsy where I emailed and asked if she would order one for me.

So in love with the embroidery and applique and I must say that it is the finest applique quilting with children and a town and trees that I have ever seen.

It's a Japanese Book written in Japanese and so I can only look at the pictures and imagine what it says.
But It made me think a lot about how to do it myself.
I want to grow and become better with my needlearts.
So, I borrowed a picture of Lynn's daughter from Flickr. We will call her Petunia. I printed the picture out and then traced it with a sharpie on a piece of clear acetate. Then I scanned it and saved it as a PDF document. Then I found this site called scribd.com and entered my email address and name and password and instantly had an account that I could upload a document or PDF to.
Now, this excites me! I can link to it and you can copy it and I don't have to load it into Typepad or hassle with any of the side bar stuff.
Bingo it's done!
Oh, speaking of Bingo I need to make my Bingo Quilt card (with 25 different squares) for the game they will be playing over at the Flickr Group 6-12" mini quilts swap... which is where I am going to use the Petunia embroidery as a center panel for the little quiltie for Lynn. I started another quilt but it is rather too large for this swap but I will finish it anyway.
See, so much to do!
So , many doll quilts and aprons to finish and start and I am just covered up with wips!
Did I mention that Carol won the copy of the Studios Issue?
For those of you who still want one I think that they are still at Barnes & Noble or you might be able to order them at the Quilting Arts Website.

So, I once again will beg your indulgence as I slip off to the treehouse or tent sanctuary...it's hot and bright and I seek quiet coolness and serenity...even if I alienate you with my fickle posting and batherings.. it seems to be necessary in order to get things done...to finish what I have started and get out from under this growing pile of unloved bits of fabric and patchwork...I will be back soon.

Maybe we could get together and discuss what kind of party dress to make for Vanessa's Tea party??? Masks? Should I shop for new shoes????

Pass that glitter will ya?

Love & Stitches,

calamity kim

OK!

"YoYo Therapy" or: "What do you mean the hour is up? I didn't talk about My Mother, yet!

I have been awake for two 3  hours and I still haven't taken my walk.
Last night I resolved to start exercising again and here I sit.
SIT.
I need to walk- to move!
Maybe after I load the pictures and finish this post and it warms up a bit.
It is cold! brrrr!
It seems delightfully refreshing to me!
I love it and am not complaining!
I just wish I could be more routine.
More Organized.
More Self-Disciplined.
I have a lot of irons in the fire and am making plans.
Big, Big Plans. Dreaming.
So, what else is new? Right?
*** This girl is always dreaming!
When is she gonna wake up and see the reality?
***This is the real world.
***The Big Picture.
***Where there are bills to pay and laundry to wash.
***Dust thick enough to write in and something sticky on the kitchen floor.
***My squirrel out back, calling for me to get the sunflower seeds
***Life, pulling me away to live it.

Holy Rat Attack!!! I nearly had heart failure!!- the squirrel just launched himself against the window on the door!
He has never done that before!
I was ignoring his loud chatter!
He must be starving- I thought as I blithely typed away!
Man! Talk about enabling!
Yes, My name is Kim and I enable squirrels.
All I have are some hazelnuts that I bought at Christmas (dreaming of making cookies?) and I smashed a few with the hammer and poured the rest in a terra cotta saucer out back for him. He will get a few unshelled and then have to work a little for the rest.
Maybe I will ride my bike up to the store and get him some sunflower seeds.
Kill two birds?

Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself think?
I feel kind of sick of myself right now.
Like, I don't have much to say and when I do say something it doesn't come out like I had intended.
Is it just me?
I step out of my comfort zone and go forth into the public and I get the feeling of being a square peg.
I don't fit.
I miss Asheville.
I miss the funky weirdness and Art in the street and people all around me being creative and LOFT.
Hey, Scarlett, ever been to LOFT?
Downtown Asheville- Lost Objects Found Treasures?
Its a great store.
I hope it's still there.
Don't tell me if it isn't. I'm dreaming of it now.

Does that happen to you?
Suddenly look up and find yourself someplace you don't want to be?
Where you feel out of sorts?
Or maybe I just don't feel happy in my own body anymore.
I try to be honest here and in doing so, I delete sentences because it is just too honest.
But so many Artists work out their pain through their words, or with paint or cloth.
I work from a happy place, trying to share JOY.
I don't think of my work as being dark or angry or uncomfortable.
So, when I show something I have made to someone and they don't know what to say and look at me under veiled eyelashes as if they are concerned for my impending outburst of insanity, I have to feel sorry for them.
Because they don't have the vision.
The spark.
The creative juice pumping in their veins making their heart leap and cavort with new and crazy ideas.
It takes me several hours of desperate soul searching to get to the above conclusion.
They don't understand my Art.

I always have believed that if you have the desire to learn that you are capable of it.
Go to the library for heavens sake and open a BOOK. .

So many people are out there in this world today making ART and crafting and we are all capable of it.
I just don't understand.
Because I assume that everyone is ARTISTIC.
Another opportunity: My low self esteem whispers that I must stink, that my work is     me·di·o·cre and I am putting my hands over my ears and saying nah nah na na nah!
I wanted to have a wonderful Blog- My low self esteem says it stinks!
It could be better- more organized!
That low self esteem is really just my poor atrophied Left Brain, crying out to be exercised!
hahahahaah All these years I thought it was because I was worthless and not any good.
Sorry for the rant.
Sometimes I just get my self all upset and can't sleep because of "something" that may have only been a misconception on my part.
Then I wake up and it is still there, having burrowed down deep while I slept, peacefully unaware.
It makes me feel like I should just stay home.
That the idea of being around other people is better than actually doing it.
Or maybe finding  different people to be around.
I have  several people right now that I truly love to talk with and spend time around and maybe I should just  take  a  meeting with them. Maybe they feel the same way about other people but are too polite to say it. Me and my big foot in my big mouth. Maybe I should stick a sock in it?!
Oh, I know, crazy, well, I just think too much.
Don't say anything about how wonderful I am or my work.
I just want you to listen and let me work it all out before I get on my bike and ride it off. No, That isn't true. I do want to know what you think. Just don't say something about how great and wonderful and blah, blah, blah, "I won't believe you anyway" words. anyway. I need some air. Or another cup of coffee. Or some chocolate.

***

I have some very lofty dreams.

(Like will this become a purse or a quilt? I have no clue.)
So high, I may never reach them.
I know I won't unless I change my habits.
I need to focus and spend more time finishing.
I can design and conjure up new ideas ad nauseam, but when it comes to finishing it, I need discipline.
The Artist in me?
Admitting there is one, is the first step.

oh, the calamity!

Yesterday was one of those days that are just too beautiful to stay indoors and I got out early to explore.
Well, actually, to go visit Goodwill and see what I could find.
Sometimes, there is something wonderful waiting for me and all I have to do is keep looking and there it is!
 

Now, you know what it's like to shop at Goodwill- each and every item of clothing is different and they are not grouped together by size, so this means looking at each and every item.
I don't mind that so much, but it makes me lose all perspective after a while and I can visualize myself in that article of clothing.
For instance, there is the monthly meeting of The Surface Design Group on Tues and I might need something new to wear.

I loved the way the light bounced off this blouse and the color and how it looked sort of futuristic and sci-fi-almost like it was made of metal,  but I am more of a linen, cotton, natural girl and when I tried it on, it felt scratchie and yuckie- no breathing in this thing- I rationalize that I would look grown-up and fancy- but, no, I can't even buy it to cut up- it's evidently too new and pretty to destroy- I will leave it for someone to find. It will be perfect for them, I just imagine it will!
Then there was this little number- so happy, free flowing and youthful. Sparkle of sequin catches my eye...

I am dazzled until I put it on and stare at myself in the cheap mirror reflection of reality.
That's not attractive in any way.
That's not who I want to pretend to be.
Clothing is costume and it will transform you.
I have spoken before about this and know I won't find anything except to cut up and use in a pincushion (or something)  because I want to lose weight and then fit into the clothes I already have, so lonely in my closet.
Hanging there unworn, unloved, unemployed, they start to sag and look exhausted.
I had my camera in my purse and snapped a shot as I was going in- for Amanda, who needs to come visit and see the Goodwill that used to be a Publix.

It's huge! Really huge!
Mostly clothes but also furniture, books, electronics, housewares- all of the usual stuff.
I can't help but think how this is someone else's trash.
They didn't want it anymore.
The dresses reflect the styles of the times and some will never come back around- like the overalls and jumpsuits that were so cute in the 80's...
Anyway- I was lucky to find a lovely tablecloth or two and  will love them and wash them and iron them and then maybe someday transform them into something else.

They won't have to feel discarded and unloved anymore, ever again.
So then I went over to Barnes & Noble to grab a few more copies of the magazine and soundtrack to Across The Universe (for Fred) and spotted these babies outside.

I would love to scoot off on one of them. See the one on the left,  with the beach chair bungied to it? That's living!
Then it was back home to have leftover meatloaf sammies and cruncheroes.
Lovely dinner. Poor Fred. Then we watched Jesse James with Brad Pitt and Battlestar Gallactica Season Premiere! Yeah, baby!

Today, I will be cleaning and organizing the squalid chaos that has blossomed and flourished over the last week with all the craftiness taking residence here at Casa Calamity.I even brought in more tables so I could cover them with crap!
I know you love it when I document my squalor!
Have at it!
It's everywhere!
The kitchen, the living room, the sewing studio is a disaster!
I need to put on an apron and get busy!
Remember when it looked like this?
Well, somewhere underneath all that fabric is a table...I think.
I gotta get started!
So I can mess it all up again, no doubt!
Have a happy weekend!
Love & Stitches, Calamity Kim

apron on fire

Reaching as far back as I can remember, I have loved to read. The library was a sweet sanctuary of wondrous adventures waiting for me to enjoy. As a young girl I would borrow books from my Grandmother's bookcase and nurture that love with Daphne du Maurier, Edgar Rice Burroughs and  Agatha Christie. Nowadays,  I read as many magazines as I do books.
I love Quilting Arts because I always learn something. I just recently purchased some materials to try a new technique in their most recent issue. I will show you as soon as I get finished with it. 
Reading opens doors for me in my mind and my life would not be the same without it.
Or so I thought as I waited to see the eye Dr on Tuesday. After a battery of tests which always leave me feeling blinder than a bat,  I headed over to Barnes & Noble for an immediate reward and respite before going to the grocery store and home to make dinner. That's me. That's how I roll. I lose 12 lbs- I bake a pie.  Feel humiliated by my blindness at the Dr's office- I go read books.
After drooling all over Amy Butler's newest book and looking at several Bloggers newest books I found myself being seduced by the cookbooks.
I know that this book by Nigella came out several years ago and yet here it is.
As I pull it down from the shelf above me I am immediately impressed with the feel of it. Heavy with a smooth matte finish on the paper.
I am in love already and I haven't even opened it.
I flip through and see a lot of my favorites waiting to whisper in my ear. New York Cheesecake. Yummmm.
Forget the diet, take me home with you she says. Knowing that I could whip up something delectable and delicious from this book. The desire to be a Goddess suddenly attainable, if only I say yes. I look at the price.
$35 for recipes for food that I shouldn't be eating.
Dialing my inner will power, I place the book back and wander over to the mystery section. Maybe I will get the second Dexter book. As I search, another book catches my eye. Lye In Wait by Cricket McRae.

It's been on my bedside table for over a month. I struggle to keep my eyes open and read a bit each night. I want to solve the mystery of the handyman who drank some lye and died in the soap maker's work room. But I can't. I fail each night to read more than a handful of pages. It is a good book and I  like the story. I like the characters. I just can't seem to stay awake. The book isn't putting me to sleep- my life is! Too busy with work, sewing, walking the dog, cooking, cleaning...blah, blah, blah. No wonder I day dream about being a kid on summer afternoons, curled up on the sofa with a book! My husband doesn't read books and I don't understand that at all. I love to read. Oh, am I repeating myself?  Why do I feel guilty when I am "doing nothing" but reading? I feel as though I should only listen to books on tape so that I can keep on moving. Get that laundry folded. Make the bed.  Bathe the dog. Sew an apron. Make yoyo's. Whatever.
I certainly am not as productive as I was before the job.
But I am still plugging along.
Walking the treadmill.
Like a wheel in a rat's cage.
Round and round.
Can I just have permission to do nothing?
Can I declare a DO NOTHING DAY???
Wouldn't that be sweet?
Cleopatra on her barge.
Marie Antoinette on her sofa.
Laid back.
Unwound.
The calliope music plays as the plates spin on the sticks in my hand. Faster and faster. Like Wonka's Factory...outta control...I am always saying that you should make time for things that are important.
Phone calls.
Mailing cards.
a hug. a kiss.
a walk on the beach.
How long does it take?
When my life is over will I look back and wish I had taken more time to read?
Yes, probably.
More time.
If you heard you only had a short time left what would you do?
Who would you call?
Who would you write?
What would you make? 
I would finish some baby quilts for Grandchildren.
I would  write a journal to my Son; tell him how much Joy he has given me.
I would go through my things and give them away.
I would end the Blog.
I would hold my dog and pray a lot.
I would buy Nigella's book and bake everyday.
I would be that Goddess in an apron.
I would email Martha Stewart and say Thank you for all the  projects and  good things .
I would ride my bike and let my hair fly in the breeze.
I would get tickets to finally see Dave Matthews or maybe Bruce Springsteen again.
I would  do so many things that I wouldn't have a moment left to worry about how much time I had left. I would LIVE.
So, maybe this helps me get it worked out. Maybe I need to chill and relax and unwind. Maybe I need to make a list and cross off the items one by one so that I feel some sense of accomplishment.
Instead of behind.
Late.
Burdened.
After the news yesterday I asked Fred, what would you take if you had to leave suddenly?
Forrest fire.
I can't imagine losing everything.
I am sad.
Sorry people.
That's the reality of this rant.
What if the world was on fire and you could only carry a few things?
What would you take?
What would you leave to burn?
Sometimes when I write it starts as one thing and ends up another.
My journey.
Thanks for coming along with me.
I think I need some cupcakes.

***Let me also add that I didn't watch the news this weekend because I was painting and then we did the floor. I hardly ever watch the news and didn't find out about the fires until yesterday. My prayers are with my friend Natalie and her family and everyone affected by this horrible disaster. One more calamity to contend with. I am not sure that cupcakes would help.

I have heard of Blog Burnout

But I don't think I'll have that for awhile.Not as long as I can write in COLORS Like THIS !!!!!! Now, if I feel blue, I can show it! Or if I've had too much coffee, you'll know it!!!! Maybe I should just write in pink to Support My Breast Cancer Having A Mammogram this Week....uh, oh. Now, I'm a little more blue again. Maybe purple, definitely not yellow. Just Blue.