CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS YEAR ROUND: QUEEN OF THE GARDEN

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

QUEEN OF THE GARDEN

WOOOOHOOOOO! My first finished project for January 2011. I know it isn't quite 2011 yet, but what I MEAN is that this is a birthday gift for one of the 4 coffee club ladies who meet at Barnes and Noble's cafe each day, and who I see each Thursday when I go there ~~to do some errands~~ to drink too many cappuccinos and buy more books. Sigh. Anyway, Laura - the lady whose birthday this is for - will be 80 on the 16th of January. I will give it to her on the 13th - the Thursday before. I could have waited and made it later but I need to get going more on the dolls I'm making for sweet Cindy's Quaint Old-Fashioned Doll Swap! I have 2 partners so I REALLY need to get myself in gear. After all, it's DOLLS we're talking about here. And those of you who know me, KNOW I sew by hand and BADLY at that. EEEEEKS! OOOOOPS! I digress (as always.) Back to the crown. Over the last year, I've made each of the other three ladies crowns depicting THEIR passions for THEIR birthdays. So I COULDN'T ~~fail to torture poor Laura with~~ make Laura a crown as well. She loves, loves, loves all things gardening! And I know she is the more 'classy' one of the 4 ladies so I couldn't go TOOOOOOO far over the top. Oh, it was HARD to contain myself. I actually WANTED to include a garden with rows of baked clay carrots and lettuce and so forth, a little bunny rabbit, and all sorts of gardening tools plus a pail. But these poor defenseless crowns can hold only so much. Sigh. So I was good. The only BAD thing about this is that NOW I'll have to think up another sort of gifty to make the ladies for their NEXT birthdays. (NOTE: I thought I'd share this 'cause it's so adorable! Mavis, one of the ladies I 'adopted' for the holidays - and FOREVER if possible - from 2 nearby retirement facilities will soon be 98. On Christmas Eve I asked her, "What would you like for your birthday, Miss Mavis?" She sat at my dining room table as I was cutting up celery and onions, her sweet little hands working on some lace edging for her roommate's pillowcases, and said, "I know! A sexy nighty! We heard last week that a new gentleman is coming to live at our home. And, Kai. He's supposed to be HOT!") I almost sliced my thumb off trying not to laugh! I think maybe I'll just make her a crown, too. Below you will see photos of Laura's crown!

7 comments:

Cherie said...: The crown is great!Happy Birthday to Laura! And what can I say, I just fell in love with Miss Mavis! LOL! Are you going to put a 'hot' guy on her crown? How lucky are you to be able to spend time with these sweet ladies?!; December 30, 2010 at 9:59 AM
Curtains In My Tree said...: I love elderly people at nursing homes and visit a couple myself.

It's hard sometimes because my special Grandmother lived in a nursing home however she enjoyed it.Especially if the help would give her a cigarette LOL

Happy New Year

Janice; December 30, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Cheryl said...: What a super cute crown you've made! I'm into making top hats lately... I just might sneak a crown or two in as well. Well done!
Happy New year!; January 1, 2011 at 6:51 AM
Susan Ramey Cleveland said...: Beautiful crown. Reminds me of the headpieces in "Ya Ya Sisterhood" movie. You're an amazing woman, Kai, and your friends are lucky to have you--including ME!; January 2, 2011 at 8:14 AM
Jingle said...: I am sure she will love it! I hope you had an absolutely fabulous Christmas and I hope your new year is delightful! And...if it makes you feel any better... I do all my sewing by hand, too! LOL!; January 3, 2011 at 9:02 AM
luckygirlgifts said...: what a sweetie you are!!
Happy new Year!!
xoxo
Cari b.; January 4, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Hopewell Creek Designs said...: Finally had a minute to sit and read some posts I'd missed. This is the best story!! I love Miss Mavis,please tell us more when you can about these adorable women.
I too sew by hand and it takes me forever to complete something.I've had to drag out the machine here lately...it's not my favorite but it is faster.
Always glad when I stop by!; January 7, 2011 at 8:23 PM

WHAT I'M READING

MOLOKA'I BY ALAN BRENNERT - Rachel is only seven years old when she's torn from her family and isolated in an area of Hawaii reserved for people with Leprosy. This is a very sad, yet very beautifully written account, spanning the years from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. While the story is a novel, it's based on truth, and as I read, I paused and researched some of what I was reading. I learned so much about Leprosy and how what MOST of the characters in this book actually had compared to the Biblical depiction of the condition. Reaffirmed through not only Rachel's history, but the history and stories of those condemned to live separate from their families and ostracized from mainstream society, was one constant: people learn to live with what they are given. Some retreat, some thrive, some give up. But regardless of circumstances, like Rachel, the fabulously real focal character of Brennert's book, they endure. Moloka'i is 388 pages of wonder. Parts of it will forever haunt me. Parts will bring me to tears years from now. But I will NOT forget it.
THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC - At a scant 129 pages, this compact book holds so much intense emotion I could not read it as quickly as I wanted. I had to stop, chew, swallow, and wait for each nuance of each chapter to digest. Narrated by a single (unknown) woman of Japanese heritage, THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC is the story of Japanese women pre-WWII, who came to America as promised wives to Japanese men. They arrived with hopes and dreams, fear and excitement, memories and momentos. Each woman carried a different past into her new present. But all carried ONE thing in common - a photo of her husband-to-be. Suffice it to say, all were NOT what the pictures OR the letters promised. This story is a quick moving account of what happened once the women arrived until which time they found themselves in the middle of the second world war and all the fear and prejudice and change it brought. Though the reader never learns the name of the narrator or gets to focus on any one woman, somehow the overview of ALL the women is sufficient to move the story along easily and interestingly. I loved it. I really, really LOVED it!
Noah's Wife 5500 BCE by T.K. Thorne - I've read a lot of novels based on the Bible's Noah. This book is VERY differnt in that it centers almost solely around the woman who was Noah's partner. In this version she is Na'amah, a girl with Asperger's Syndrome, a branch of Autism. I am not quite finished reading this but I had to add it here in hopes that some of you will also read it. Beautifully written, VERY interesting take on the familiar story, and - regardless of the fact that I KNOW how it ends, I am enthralled with this writer's clever portrayal of one who was, in previous versions, all but ignored. BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BOOK!
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield - OMG! I read this straight through, shivering, crying, remembering ...! The main character, Khendra, is in therapy for sexual abuse which began at age 2. The problem is - her mind is supressing the identity of her abuser. A WORSE problem? Her abuser is trailing her; leaving threats and insidious messages. Khendra also cuts herself. This relieves the pain inside yet leaves physical scars meant to soothe the emotional ones. This book is one you will read until you gasp for air and realize you haven't been breathing! PLEASE, if you want to understand the methods of a predator and the agony of a person being abused, read this book. It isn't pretty. It isn't happy. But it's REAL. And it MAY just help YOU help someone else one day.
Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott - This book is well over 300 pages and I read it all, but STILL don't know how I feel about it. Let's just say I wish I had been the editor because her premise was awesome. Her execution? Well ...! The story is about a young woman who lives in a society where she and many others are outcasts because of a ruler's mandate. She ends up finding her father, a leader in another realm, and comes to terms with her anger, prejudices, etc. Am I making it sound compelling? NO? Good, because most of it isn't. The author has some really good segments through the book, but there's so much convoluted yakking & silliness in places, it distracts a reader from the good parts. I would not buy this one if I were you! Just my opinion.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin - (Young Adult) If you like to delve into the realm of faeries (and I DO) and want a bit of mystery, puzzle solving, and 'real life' tossed in, along with amazingly good writing, this is the right book. I own several by the author, but so far have read only IMPOSSIBLE. Despite my strong aversion to ANYTHING that even smells of romance novels, I loved this story. The 'romance' was a focal point in the story, but NOT, by any means THE story. This writer knows her stuff! THUMBS UP!
Reckless by Cornelia Funke - the author of the Inkheart trilogy wrote this very strange novel. It's meant to be a take on the Snow White mirror thing, but it jumps around WAY too much and not necessarily in a good way. Her IDEA is magnificent. Her execution left me cold.
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood, Duchess of Northumberland - I picked up this book about the daughter of a man who heals with plants, the man himself, and a very mysterious young man who's called Weed. Read straight through it because I absolutely COULD NOT put it down!
Folly by Marthe Jocelyn - a rather down-in-the-mouth YA book that seems to focus more on building UP to a 'surprise' ending than on anything else. Didn't HATE it. Also didn't LOVE it.
Dark Song by Gale Giles - a girl finds out her family has been living a lie and the lie changes everything, including who she becomes. I couldn't put it down!
Plain Kate by Erin Bow - a young girl who has learned to carve from her father suddenly finds herself an orphan, accused of using a 'witch-blade' by the superstitious town folks. A good story with so many twists!
Stolen by Lucy Christopher - young adult but not just for kids! Very intense story of a young girl who is kidnapped right out from under her parents' noses at an airport. Extremely suspenseful! Very good!
The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter, the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry - for those of you familiar with the author, three words: TYPICAL DAVE BARRY! For those unfamilar, three words: FUNNY, FUNNY, FUNNY! A VERY quick read!
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - There is NO doubt in my mind why this was a HUGE bestseller! I LOVED IT!
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenhauf - a mystery as well as a beautiful story
The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay by Beverly Jensen - Heartbreakingly wonderful
Knitting by Anne Bartlett - set in Australia, this follows two women and a homeless man's personal journeys - a comforting book!
The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins - About Irish 'Travellers' or Gypsies - SOOOOOO GOOD!