Love Letters

More on the color rouge...

Another obsession...

Blackletter envelope

I'm passionate about...

This post is in response to my friend Michelle Ward's current challenge... "What do I have a crush on... or what am I passionate about"... so here goes!!

My first all-time greatest passion is with the color red...
and with cherries... because they are red, because they are fun to look at, and mostly because they taste so greatl!!!
And because I don't drink coffee, or anything hot, really... the first thing I drink every morning is a Diet Cherry Coke! The plaid Diet Cherry Coke image above is a mix of the blackletter "picket fence" and the Diet Cherry Coke scan... sort of fun, right? Read on...

House plans..

We are working on plans for renovation and an addition to our 1915 Arts & Crafts style bungalow, in downtown Royal Oak...
It's been a wonderful experience so far, but I'm SO anxious to get the physical project underway!
We live in Michigan and while it is 85 glorious degrees here today, winter is not REALLY all that far off...

We are really lucky to be working with a designer and a builder who are wonderful human beings; and who happen to be extremely talented and exacting craftsmen! The house is an absolute pit right now, after having survived a tenant from HELL for nearly four years, and then my 20 year old son for a year. Add to that, the fact that my husband was raised by folks who survived the depression, and saved EVERYTHING, "because you never know when you might need it!!!"; and you've got a recipe for a house full of stuff (okay... CRAP), that needs to be thrown out or given away.

I'm almost over the incredible anger I have towards the tenant from HELL (his initials are RICHARD LUPA, boy, what a diappointing, sorry excuse for a human being HE turned out to be!) He was a "friend" in need when my husband agreed to let him rent the house from us... he was suposedly going through a divorce (still hasn't happened as far as I know)... my husband took pity on him and agreed to let him live at the house until he got back on his feet. Richard shacked up in our house for about three and a half years with his girlfriend Karen (also married, but to someone else!), and now owes us thousands of dollars (apparently we will have to get in line, behind the IRS among others, as we are not the only people he has scammed... charming piece of work, right?!?)
He left us motorcycle parts, motorcycle tires, scrap metal & a variety of junk, all over the basement, and unfortunately, none of it of any real value...
the moral of the story is... don't ever do someone a favor, where there's personal property or money involved, without a written, signed contract... and document everything.

This is a photo of the house, from the back (not it's most flattering side!)... the decklet and the "Wendy's Room" will be coming off to make room for a two story addition, where my new kitchen will live! Our yard will end up being quite small, but that's okay... I'll still have a blast gardening and fixing it all up, once the construction is done... can't wait.

Missing a loved one...

This is a card I just made for my son Tim, who is a junior at Arizona State, in Tempe. Perhaps because the anniversary of 9/11 just passed, or perhaps it's just because...
but I am missing him something awful these past few days, more so than usual. I just wish I could hug him and rub my hand across the fuzzy hair on the top of his head, and see that brilliant smile beam at me for just a moment! I wish he were curled up in his bed, sleeping, so I could go sneak a kiss on his cheek, and hear him whisper "I love you, mom". The holidays just can't get here soon enough!!!

Today's exercise in art...

These two images are the journal pages I wrote this morning... the digital collage on the first image has an image of my mother as a child, in it, circa approximately 1925. I love that picture... I think it's the sweetest picture my mother ever took, at least that I've seen. Growing up, I never felt very comfortable with my mother, and our relationship was always somewhat rocky, so finding this photo of her was a very, very sweet surprise.

New Banner Design & photo

This is my favorite season of the year, so, to celebrate the impending arrival of Autumn, I've made a new digitally composed banner. Once September gets here, I feel relieved to have survived the oppressive heat of August, and I look forward to the much cooler weather of Fall. Being a knitter, my knitting habit gets revived in a big way, and I am consumed once again by the need/desire/impulse to start a new project (regardless of how many projects I have on needles already!!!)

A friend of mine has encouraged me to put up a photo of myself on the blog, rather than one of our dog, Lady; so here it is. Now, I caution those of you who know me personally... please do not say anything to me about the age of this photo! I'm not all that delighted to see myself on my blog, so I'm sure as heck not going to post a photo that I don't like! This is probably the best picture of me I believe I've ever taken, so there. Who cares if it's a couple of years old?!?!? (Okay, okay...I admit I do exaggerate on occasion, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to do so.)