fannie & millie .: handcrafted goodness

Yes, I’ve been absent again. Between busy things in my life, and the tragedies in the news, I just haven’t felt much like prattling on. I sometimes just need to take a little time to absorb news and changes and other various events and plot turns.

Personally, I’ve been busiest with this project:

Oops! We inadvertently bought a new house. Well, as the house was built in 1926, it’s an old house, but new to us. That’s just the way we like it.

I stumbled across the online listing for this house, Chris and I drove by it the next day on our way home from the dentist, we called the listing agent while parked in front of the house, she got us in immediately (the owner was home and let us in), we looked around, drove home, called our realtor, and made an offer that night…whew! We hadn’t looked at any other houses, just happened to see this one and thought it would work beautifully for us. Since then, I’ve been busy with inspections, offers and counter offers, and looking at other houses just to be sure. It’s been a whirlwind. Now we just have to get ready to host Thanksgiving, paint the interior of the new house and move in December… oh, and celebrate the holidays. I swore I’d never move in the middle of December after we did it 4 years ago! What is that expression, “never say never?” ha!

I’m not really complaining (okay - maybe a little…); I’m truly thrilled and feel blessed.  All I can say is, the universe certainly works in mysterious (& fast!) ways.

I had to write an artist’s bio today for something I can’t yet talk about. It was a seriously painful exercise. I decided that rather than pretentiously prattle on, I would share something that has had real meaning for me, so I wrote a bit about the following:

I’ve always made things - art, craft, life… whatever you want to call it, I consider it all my art. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, I lost my confidence and stopped sharing my creativity with the world. I had a lot of judgment about whether anything I did was good enough, or original enough, or worthwhile in any sort of way. Despite the power of my inner critic, I still felt urgently compelled to do or make something - - - always. I felt that way for a very long period of my life. Luckily, I discovered a quote from a woman I have always admired. Here are the words that, quite literally, changed my life:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”

~ Martha Graham (American dancer, teacher and choreographer - a pioneer of modern dance 1884-1991)

Thank you, Ms. Graham.

Please click on this photo to visit the Museum of Contemporary Photography to learn more about the collaboration between Martha Graham and the very talented photographer, Barbara Morgan. These two women are responsible for some of the most breathtaking dance images ever made.

I’m back.

Summer is over, sadly enough, and I’m back at the rest of my life. Things got a little out of hand at the end there with too much riding in preparation for Cycle Oregon, root canals, family trips, and on & on with the excuses…The mini hiatus turned out to be a major break from blogging, etc., but I feel refreshed and inspired.

CycleOregon was fantastic fun, as alway. I posted lots and lots of photos and wrote the whole thing up on flickr. Please check it out if you’ve ever wondered what CycleOregon might be about. I took quite a few photos, but realize that the longest, hardest days are not documented as well as the shorter days.

The Livestrong Challenge was also a success. Thank you so much to everyone who donated! Our team raised $3,830.00  $3,930.00 for a very worthy cause. Tim Schauer was our amazing and motivated #1 fundraiser. He raised $2,065.00 $2,165.00 while selling his house, buying a house and moving! He’s an amazing guy and a great friend.

This was my fledgling year as team captain and I’m already making plans to do it bigger and better next year. I seriously want our team to raise at least $10,000.00 for the LAF.

Here are two photos from our wet, wonderful, hypothermia inducing day:

- we’re indoors in this second photo - the camera is just all steamed up :-0

Well, that sums it up. I’ll see you again soon - really!

Yes, I know I am a very bad blogger. It’s been a busy summer, plus there is the matter of training for Cycle Oregon. I didn’t train when I should have, so now I’m trying to cram it all in this month! Ha! I’ll keep posting sporadically; someone please keep reading. Perhaps we can get back to a more regular schedule this fall…

Sorry I haven’t posted in a looooong time! I took a little road trip with the family, and I mean the whole family. It was really cool that Brandon was able to take time off from band and work duties to go with us. Chris, Brandon, Brianna, Austin and I all piled into the van with all of our camping gear and drove down to Big Sur for a reunion with my sister Linda and her kids and grandkids. It was really memorable, because I had not yet met all of my niece and nephew’s children and our children (and so forth) had not met each other.

Believing that the journey is as important as the destination, Chris and I turned the event into a road trip with lots of fun stops. Here are just a few photos from our adventures:

well, you haven’t heard much from me, lately - it’s summer! What are you doing in the house? Get out and ride!

It’s time again for the Waterfront Blues Festival. We get extra days this year to celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary. The Blues Festival is a major fundraiser for the Oregon Food Bank. It’s also become a cherished Portland traditon. Where else can one sit in a park, created where there used to be a road, next to a river and pay only $8.00 + two cans of food for eight hours of music? Last night we saw James Cotton with Pinetop Perkins, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Joan Armatrading. Tonight we have to go because we can’t miss Eric Burden and the Animals! We’ll be skipping the festivities on Saturday for a gathering with some very dear friends who are back in town for a short visit, but we will be back on Sunday for Portland’s own March Fourth Marching Band and the Neville Brothers. I love this time of year and this event; so if you need me, that’s where I’ll be.

I can’t believe I’m the featured blog at Apron Outfits! It’s so exciting! I feel like I’ve won an Oscar or something… I’ll have to break out more apron outfits this week. The weather might just be cooperating, too. For some reason, I haven’t really been inspired to wear an apron outfit with a coat… Oh, wait a minute… that could be a new Flickr group - apron outfit with a coat! Okay, maybe not.

Seeing the racers here, working so hard and enjoying their breakaway, makes me think about what there is in my life that I could give more effort and energy to in order to propel me forward and possibly ahead of the pack.

What about you?  Is there anything (anyone) in your life that could benefit from that same kind of breakaway?

And for those who live in Portland, but haven’t made it out to PIR for the Monday night races - check it out! It’s free to watch and a lot of fun. Oh… just between us… the last lap of the season is raced naked…  You’ve been warned.

I love this girl so much!

She’s an absolutely amazing person ~ the best daughter anyone could possibly hope to have!

I am so blessed!
I took this on the way to our mother-daughter birthday breakfast.

…it’s been a busy day - I have more to say about this later (maybe tomorrow).