NYC: First Class all the way

I am back from the Big Apple.

I really love it there! I felt so familiar with it this time around. I loved that I knew how to get around that big wonderful City. That I got it. That I understood the scope of the land. It felt empowering.

Tonight I feel the let-down of returning from a fun trip only to have lawns to water and floors to sweep and laundry to clean and a hungry belly to shop for. I am happy to have my memories to explore and relive again. But still. . .

Remember when you were a kid and you had summer vacations off?

I think that must be ingrained in all us forever.

If I were Queen of America, I would make that a law: To have summer vacations off. --Unless you love to ski and snowboard and make angels in the snow, of course.

And then you could take the winter months off and work during the summer while we sit poolside or walk along hot steamy streets of New York City or picking up sea shells off the North Carolina coast or watch the muscle men along Venice Beach or swim with the turtles off the coast of Maui....

But since I'm not Queen of America.. I will take my days off when I can and make the most of them when I have them to enjoy.

Like this past weekend.

People watching in Soho was a kick.

This was a colorful couple. I so wanted to know their story.

I got to fly first class on United Airlines and the service really was first class all the way. From the menu to the movies to the customer service. I was so happy we had such a long flight. I transformed my seat into a bed. I transformed it back again into a small restaurant. And then into a theater for one. Everyone was so kind. So interesting to talk to. It was a holiday all on its own.

Please click on a portion of the menu to see it larger.


I might be flying back to NYC with my mom over the Forth of July weekend to attend my cousin's daughter's wedding. It's still so up in the air. We really need to hurry and make our decision. If we do decide to fly out there, we'll be flying by the seat of our pants.

Just wish we could really fly by the seat of our pants.

The Big Apple

I haven't the fainest idea why they call New York City the Big Apple... but I'm going to be spending my weekend there.

I'm going to a surprise 50th birthday party here.

Kass doesn't know it yet. She lives in Dallas. Her husband is the mastermind behind all this. I think there's something like a dozen or more of her friends flying in this weekend.

I'm flying standby on United Airlines at 6 am out of San Francisco. I am taking the Sonoma County airporter at 3 am. Which means I'm going to have to wake up in 2-1/2 hours so I should start thinking of going to bed.

I have a feeling I will return sleepy, too. But filled with a fun adventure! I'll see you when I return!

Thanks a lot!

I just want to thank all of you for your educational emails over the past year.

Thanks to you, I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel.

I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.

I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I can't enjoy lemon slices in my tea or on my seafood anymore because lemon peels have been found to contain all kinds of nasty germs including feces.

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pass-time while driving alone is picking your nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot)

Eating a Little Debbie sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can't touch any one's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.

I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas..

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face... disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda. Singapore and Uzbekistan.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

Oh, by the way..... a German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read blogs with their hand on the mouse. Don't bother taking it off now. It's too late.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN (i received this as a humorous email forward from my sister) and wanted to pass it along!

My new kitchen

It all began with wanting to open up my pocket door. My kitchen felt tucked in a back corner of the house and I wanted it to be more open.

So I called Randy and he dropped by and he took it all down in under an hour!!!

But. Once I did that, where the wall was taken down, it exposed the subflooring where the wall was! So I knew I needed to replace the kitchen floor --- which I wanted to do ever since I pulled up my carpet and finished the hardwood floors.

The kitchen was the same kitchen from when it was built in 1956. The doors were no longer closing properly. The shelves inside the cabinets weren't very high and I had to lay the syrup bottle and cereal boxes on their sides so they could fit. (You know what I'm talking about if you're living in a mid-century home and have the original kitchen cabinets).

I was on a tight budget and didn't go overboard with any high-end remodel, but I did buy new cabinets, counter tops, flooring, crown molding, light fixtures, subway tile for the backsplash, an over the range microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposal, sink, faucet, new plug outlets, and updated wiring in the kitchen. Basically it went from being gutted to all things new.

And it feels good.

I helped lay down the new floor. It was hot that day and very tiresome. But so rewarding to be able to say "i did that!" I also put the backsplash tile in myself and grouted it. I put the light fixtures in, too (with a help of a good friend) and before too long, I will select glass for my two cabinets on both sides of my sink.

I'm glad I didn't realize what how much work would be involved. Whenever I watch one of those inspiring HGTV shows, the transformations are so exciting and they are changed immediately after only a few moments after a commercial!

However ... in real life, it takes days and weeks and the changes each day are so miniscule, it is hard for me to experience that "wow!" factor I longed for. But this is what I'm excited about. I now get to enjoy the kitchen instead of waiting to sell the house and either redo it before I sell... or give the new buyer credit to update the kitchen. I learned a lot in doing this and the next time I will do some things differently so I'm grateful for the lesson as well.

Before
After
Before
After
Before
After

Are you Left Brain or Right Brain?

Do you see the dancer turning closewise or counter-clockwise?

According to an article in the Australian Herald Sun, they report that if you see the dancer spinning clockwise then you use more of the right side of the brain. But most people see her dancing counter-clockwise because more people use mostly their left side of the brain.

I function with my right brain. Which side do you mostly use? Look at the spinning dancer and see which direction she is spinning.


RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

Just six houses away

My neighbor's house burned down today. It happened because the young boy left a candle burning in his bedroom.

I rode my bike past it again tonight and stared at the black shell. The two topiaries are still standing proudly on both sides of the front door but i know in a short matter of time, they will lose their confidence and turn to shrub. And the grass will undoubtedly die of thirst . The home will be abandoned for way too many long months before it is rebuilt. It'll be its own graveyard.

The mom was out at the mall when the fire started. She was probably buying new clothes with all the Memorial Days sales going on. Maybe even spending her stimulus refund check. One moment, they had everything. Now all she has is what she was carrying inside her bag.

Thank God she still has her family.

And pets. Their iguanas were rescued and gasping fresh air in the front yard.

I felt so saddened by their tragedy. What do you say to someone who just lost their home?

You just never know when what you have surrounding you will disappear. And what really only matters are the people in our life.

Tragedy has a way of reminding us that.

I pedaled my way back home and was grateful to have a home to walk into. I walked into my new kitchen to start painting the walls and even though I'm thrilled to have this newly updated kitchen. It's still just a kitchen.

And I know only too well that there are things more important than a kitchen.

And that's you.

First Sight

Remember when I posted some of the red, white and black colored fabric I designed?

I took these photos last week at the International Quilt Market in Portland.

This baby crib displays all of the First Sight fabric line! The fabric was spray-starched onto the lampshade. It's really simple to do and I can't wait to spray-starch some of my fabric on lamp shades at home!

Kathy explains how to do it on her blog here.

There is also a gift set that can be purchased that carries the same fabric, ribbon and a cute baby book.

The need for change

"The need for change
bulldozed a road
down the center of my mind."
-Maya Angelou

I am laying on my back while a technician is squeezing me through the narrow MRI tube hooked up to an apparatus looking like a baseball catcher's face mask.

Across town... my head is held steady by a chin strap, while a technician greases my head with bright blue conductive gel and then slips a cap on my head bristling with electrodes to read my brain waves during an EEG.

"Shall I think up some complicated math equations during the procedure to get my left brain working?" I ask. "Ya know... to beef it up a bit so it'll match more to the size of my right side?"

"NoOOOOOoooo!" she said. "You must lay completely still and try to empty your mind..."

"That's easy." Or so I thought.

The tests results on all four tests turned out NORMAL much to our relief. My brain is workin' normal (perhaps a slight suprise to some!)

The neurologist believes a blackout can happen to any who suffers from long term sleep depravation and a whole lot of stress. And I was only sleeping three to six hours most nights because nearly every free evening and weekend I had, I was moonlighting.

(Moonlighting! Remember that tv show from the 80s?) I never used that word before. But it seemed redundant when I typed free evening and freelance in the same sentence, so I switched it up to the lovely word moonlighting which also makes me think of the movie Moon Struck. And then of course, Moon Zappa. And Reverend Moon.

I think working long hours is overrated. I'm tired and need to fill myself back up. Everyone needs balance in their lives and free moments to replenish oneself. My yards needs it, too. And my house. I've neglected everything including myself and have suffered the consequences.

Last week I had a really great time in Portland at the International Spring Quilt Market. I really needed that creative boost. And I also got to rub shoulders with a lot of wonderful people who up until then, I only knew from reading their blogs. Well. Actually we didn't actually rub shoulders or it would have been a trade show for Massage Therapists and not one for Quilters.

My boss Kathy and JCaroline put together a fun Meet & Greet Party for creative bloggers to meet each other. You can read about it here on JCaroline's blog! (and go here and here and here, too. They are all really fun, creative people and have interesting blogs to visit from time to time.

Hanging out with these newly signed licensed designers and hearing the excitement in their voice and listening to their dreams was inspiring and touched deep places in my spirit. Their success really is just within their fingertips. I really believe they are in control of their own destiny. All they need to do is stand on their tiptoes and reach.

And they will. And you can, too. We all can. It's right there for us. I truly believe that.

Learning. One day at a time.

Feet. Nothing but feet and legs walking back and forth and back and forth. Those tired worn out emergency curtains are only good for a bit of privacy.

But only a visual privacy.

You can hear every conversation going on. Every single private confidential conversation between doctor and patient. I was entertained at first.

I actually wanted the curtains to open up so I could watch all the action from my gurney and be able to listen better. So much was going on. Nearly every couple of hours another helicopter was landing on the roof. "Code Blue!" I heard over the loudspeaker at least twice. I whispered a prayer for him ... as I always do when an ambulance passes by.

I laid there while my sister sat in a chair next to me for more than seven hours. What a patient and loving sister! (And she works in that same hospital as a nurse and yet spent that time there with me on her day off)!

(my mother was unable to visit as she is still radioactive from her thyroid cancer treatments and needs to be isolated)

We played 20 Questions and eavesdropped on my neighbors on either side behind the curtains.

The doctors are checking me for a matter of things. They hooked me up to a monitor to check my vital organs. I've had a brain cat scan and and EKG, a slew of blood tests, and soon I'm going to have a brain MRI and an EEG along with a visit to the neurologist.

So far the results are negative (which is positive).

I experienced some sort of black-out over the weekend.

My blood pressure is remarkably high ... just under the clouds ...I think. And, my pulse races much too quickly.

Between my early morning kitchen remodel to working side illustration jobs late into the evenings... I've barely had any time to do much else.

I've been behind on my house cleaning. And yard work. And emails. And have too many unreturned phone calls. I've been saying no to get-togethers with friends and dinners with my family.

Everything that keeps me feeling centered and at peace, I have been neglecting, and saying no to. Ultimately making me the author of my own unhappiness.

On a deeper level, I know better.

As I concentrate on getting better, I am reminding you to be kind toward yourself as well, in all the choices you make about your everyday life.

there is a voice inside of you
that whispers all day long,
"i feel that this is right for me,
i know that this is wrong."
no teacher, preacher, parent, friend
or wise man can decide
what's right for you- just listen to
the voice that speaks inside." ~ Shel Silverstein

Tot Town

I have a new line of fabric out. It's called TOT TOWN. And I can't tell you how much I enjoyed drawing these. I designed this around Halloween and I've been anxious for it to come to fabric so I can share this with you. Especially the town itself. It was so much fun and I just got lost in it. I equally enjoyed the puzzle of fitting the streets together so it would all fit in a half drop tile formation.

Here is the rest of the line.
I hope one day I can have the opportunity to starch Tot Town onto a wall of my little nephew and niece's play room wall.

They took everything (and) the kitchen sink

And to think it all started after I opened up my kitchen wall.

There is a fine soot of dust covering everything. I can taste it settling on my lips and it stings in the corners of my eyes.

There are pieces of plaster, bits of wood and general rubble that has collected all along the walls and between board slats.

I have been without a sink and stove for nearly two weeks. I am camping out in here. It took me 45 minutes to come upon my can opener last night to heat up string beans in my microwave. I'm tired of breaking plastic forks in my mouth while I chew or the way the plastic spoon cuts the sides of my lips on the inside of my mouth.

I will have a new kitchen after all this. And once the dust settles a bit more, I will write about it and show more photos.

Many mini earthquakes

We are having a cluster of small mini earthquakes shaking us about 25 miles north of where I live. It seems to be happening nearly every hour but most are too small to feel. You can view the lastest earthquakes here. You can click on the cluster of earthquakes or on any of the colored squares to get more information.

Just this morning already, earthquakes have hit at 2:14 am, 2:36 am, 3:15 am, 4:32 am, 6:05 am, 8:05 am, 9:04 am, 9:20 am, and 10:01 am.

This pattern has been going on for several days now. Does this mean the big one is coming? And are we prepared? How are we ever fully prepared?

(Click to view larger)

More fabric hot off the Mill

Experts are saying that black and white geometrical patterns are easiest for newborns and babies to see. With that said, (and because my boss asked me to)... I designed a line of fabric with black and white geometrical patterns. Well, okay.... the color red wanted to join in the fun, too! And I love those three colors together!

The fabric above is my all-time favorite of the entire line. I loved drawing it up and fitting it into a repeat pattern. I had to think on both sides of the brain which felt really good to me. I lean so heavily on the right side, I really need the left side to get some exercise!

Here are those critters again in a grid. Crafters can cut the squares out and applique them onto onesies or toddler shirts. Or use it as an already-made quilt!

These fabrics (along with more geometrical red, white and black patterns I designed) just arrived at our headquarters in NYC and will be available soon. Just wanted to be the first to show them off.

April Fools Day

I was ten years old when Kelly came home from the dentist looking as though she was sucking on a large jaw breaker. Her lips barely touching as she sat there with her mouth shut.

"What do you have in your mouth?" I asked my sister. "Did you steal one of my jaw breakers!?"

She unfolded her mouth into a smile and there it was! Not a jaw breaker but a glistening wire retainer.
"I need to wear a retainer now," she said. "And it hurts!"

"Let me see it again."
She leaned toward me so I could get a better stare.

I thought it was the coolest thing.

So one day during 5th grade, just before Show-And-Tell, I unfolded a paper clip and wrapped it around the front of my teeth. I went up in front of the class and slightly smiled to show everyone that I went to the dentist and he gave me a retainer to wear.

I tilted my head forward and moved slowly around the class so they could all see a bit of the paper clip wrapped around my teeth.

"Shawn?" asked Mr. Larson. "Is that really a retainer?"

I instantly felt ashamed and embarrassed.

"No. It's. It's.. It's..." I struggled for the words.

"It's ... It's HAPPY EARLY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!!"

It was in November.

More Dick and Jane Fabric to reveal!

I designed these Dick and Jane fabrics early last year. I almost forgot about them!

They will be released next month and will be revealed at Spring Quilt Market in Portand, Oregon in May. When I designed the other Dick and Jane fabric, it was based from the 1950s. This new collection is based from the 1960s.

Here's a few more:

i am home.

I wanted my vacation to last a lifetime. But now that it's over. I'm happy and relieved that my life has outlasted my vacation.

Instead of driving down south like last year, my traveling buddy from Dallas and I flew into the Ontario Airport and rented a convertible for -- guess how much for four days?

Thought about it? Have your answer? Ok. It was all in total, after taxes, $86 dollars. CoOOooOOl, huh? Such a lovely bargain.

And we stayed at such a wonderful place, too. I felt sad to leave.

If you've ever been to Palm Springs before, then you're well aware of the Old Las Palmas area where all the older celebrities such as Liberace, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Dinah Shore, Sammy Davis Jr, Zsa Zsa Gabor and all the rest of them have lived. A lot of new celebrities have homes there, too, such as Lillie Tomlin and Cher and a dozen of others.

The retro pink motel we stayed at is hidden behind hedges and gated away at the very entrance to this wonderful mid-century neighborhood overlooking the San Jacinto Mountains. We took a walk around the neighborhood one warm evening and we happened upon Liberace's home up for sale within a block from the motel.



Brenda bought some really cool chairs at the 111 Antique Mall in Palm Springs . . . just up the street where we were staying. I'm sitting on one of them testing them out. And they are so wonderful!!!

She also bought this lovely fountain at the Modern Store in the same shopping center, which she also shipped to her home in Dallas....
I wish I could tell you all the comical situations we got ourselves in. But I would need an audio button to express it better. I need the accents. The voices. The fluxuations.

It was fun. And funny. And warm. And relaxing.

We returned home to spend Easter morning at Matt's mom's house. (His childhood home) which is located next to the author Jack London's estate. (author of Call of the Wild). It's the home he grew up in Glen Ellen. His grandfather is the late Ernie Smith who was a huge talent and celebrity of sorts and also taught author Jack London how to swim the breast stroke! I wandered through London's horse stables which is on Matt's family's estate and imagined how it was way back back when. My nephew Tyler swings on the rope swing in front of Jack London's stables and Chelsea cuddles an abandoned lamb that Matt's mom found rescued on the side of the highway and is raising her by bottle-feedings. Her name is Rosie.
(middle photo is from The Bancroft Library Portrait Collection)


This photo is taken of my family (minus) Caleb who's going to UC Irvine and had to stay back and work. Chelsea is also living there in Irvine but got to get away for this lovely weekend. Sweet, sweet wonderful week.
Happy Easter! (and. we miss you caleb!)

Going South

I'm going south for a week to bask in the sun and enjoy all the things one enjoys while on vacation. I'll drop in next week! Meanwhile, you all have fun and make the most of your week.

Guilt, I was never meant to carry

I was sitting inside an auto shop waiting for my car's oil change when I saw Becky walk past the window.

I instantly recognized her. She looked the same as she did back in the 4th grade.

My family moved across town that year and I started a new school in the middle of the school year. It wasn't easy being the new kid. Becky arrived about a month later. And it wasn't easy for her either.

The kids in class were terribly rude, nicknaming her The Human Can Opener and Bucky Becky because of her protruding overbite. I always made it a point to be kind to her. But that's not what I was remembering when I saw her walk past the window.

I thought of recess.

I was slapping the red rubber ball against the side of the school wall as if playing two-square with the wall.

"Watch out Becky! You better get out of the way!" I said. Wack! WACK! wack! "You better mooOoooove!" I would shout to her.

Wack! Wack! wack! Wack! I hit the ball over and over again. Wack! wack!

She sat there on the bench in front and didn't move.

All of a sudden, the ball hit her in the face breaking her glasses. I froze. Scared and ashamed.

In my 9th grade yearbook Becky can still be seen sporting the same glasses with the white tape holding them together.

Watching her walk past the auto shop, I sat there in the cold plastic chair paralyzed with fear and shame.

I talked to some friends later about this incident of seeing Becky and how I wished I was brave enough to run out to the parking lot and ask her to forgive me for hitting her in the face. And how small I felt that I didn't do it.

They listened with their foreheads all scrunched up in little thin wrinkles arching around their brows while feeling the pain surrounding all this. "Well, maybe Shawn, you'll have another opportunity to run into her again..."

"Yeahh. Maybe!" i replied, not really believing.

. . . . . .

Several weeks later, I'm in a discount store to pick up a few supplies when I saw Becky stocking shelves! I am not scared anymore. I walked up to her and said, "Hi Becky!"

She turned and instantly recognized me, too.

"Hi Shawn!"

I reminded her of our 4th grade recess when I accidentally hit her in the face with the red rubber ball and broke her glasses.

".... I know you don't own those glasses anymore, but I would still like to pay you for the money you were out back then. I owe you restitution for my wrongdoing..."

She just stared at me for a long while and said, "Shawn. You have been feeling guilty over this all these years!? You never hit me in the face. That was Dina! Don't you remember!? I'll never forget it!"

I stood there stunned, relieved and listened.

"You were nice to me. I trusted you. You were careful around me. I knew you had good aim and you would never hurt me and that's why I didn't move."

She gently grabbed my arm and said, "Shawn that was never your guilt to begin with. You were never meant to carry it."

I walked out of that store feeling warm and relieved that I had the opportunity to say hello and ask for forgiveness. But I also felt sad that I had carried that burden for a lifetime.

As I drove home, I turned the music off and just listened to my heart.

I wondered how many other times, I have carried guilt that was never mine. I thought of various situations and realize it has been way too many times. I'm on a learning curve. I can't say I've learned all about this now because of this situation because I haven't. But I want to. And plan to.

This lifetime, though too short, is too long to carry burdens that aren't our own.

Measure twice. Cut once.

The sacred rule: Remember to measure twice. Cut once.

I need to measure four or five times. I just keep measuring until the measurements repeat themselves. Sometimes I do it on the second try. Other times I need to measure maybe six times over.

It doesn't matter to me. I don't tire of it.

I keep measuring.

I've measured with a yardage stick and also with a measuring tape and with a ruler. I have even measured with my feet. Heel over heel. One, two, three, four, five ... and a half a shoe.

I add it up. I write it down. 136 inches. I measure the same wall again. 154 inches.

Measuring isn't easy for me. I measure again. 134 inches plus two thin lines after that. What is that? 2/16th? I think we count all those thin lines and that's the bottom fraction. Then we count how many lines from the left and that's the top fraction.

Sometimes I wonder how I've gotten so far in life with my vast intelligence.

All my measuring is because I'm going to replace my old kitchen cabinets and counter tops. But somewhere I got it in my head to also take down the wall that divides my dining area to the kitchen as well.

Tomorrow morning at 9, I'm having someone come over to tear down the wall. Then afterwards I will pick out cabinet facings and look at granite. And then when I'm through, I want to go on a picnic and sit outdoors and feel the warm sun drench my face.

I've worked long hours this week and want to just relax and soak life in. It's going to be a good day.

Back in the Day . . .

I wonder if this was a big seller....