The revolving poster.   This magnet board has served me well for the last few years.  It has had many lives and has reinvented itself many times.   You might say it has multipe personalities.   Here are the last ones. 

It's been a

busy couple of days.  Yesterday I spent all day making the banner and various cupcake holders that look like flowers.  Then we had the event celebrating 170 years of Relief Society.  I have a great appreciation for the organization of Relief Society in our church.  Through visiting teaching, serving meals at events and funerals, or serving to individual homes, there is a great bond that forms and a great strength that comes with it.

After I got home last night, I worked for several hours on the computer for work.   Then this morning I drove Gary and Lynn to the airport.  We had a moment of stress when we realized that Lynn had left her purse with everything in it --drivers license, money, checks, phone, etc., back at home.  I was amazed when she went to the desk to see if she could fly without her ID, but would have to go through a special line.  That was a relief. 

Then I met with Loralee and company up in Blluffdale for almost 4 hours as we tried to fine tune the methods we are using with the spreadsheet and ways to make the ordering less complicated.  I left feeling much lighter hearted, because we were able to take each persons ideas and make it work.  They are such nice people

Then I came home and went to dinner with Gary, went and Fed-exed Lynn's purse to he, and then came home and worked for another 3 yours.  But it feels good.  Just doing creative things yesterday and having creative discussions about photo shooting parties and ideas for pulling them together, kind of gets my fire kindled a little.  I've kind of felt in the dumps for some reason.  Creating beautiful things, and just actually the act of creating brings energy.

I'm feeling very

relieved.  This was one of those events that involved a lot of planning, and also a lot of emotion. 

We were asked to put on a fashion show that emphasized modesty.  
The difficult part was deciding how to present it without hurting feelings or appearing judgemental.   It was completely out of my comfort zone, and I struggled with it.  But, there were many, many women who pulled through by finding the models, performing, planning the meal and decorations, and putting the program together.   

It's amazing what the energy of willing people will do for you.

I'm so grateful for them.

I'm also grateful for the 80 plus people who attended and supported it.  

I love Racheal and Kori, who were willing to to put their inhibitions aside and play the part of news reporters with me.   What a boost.  
They made it fun and comfortable.

The highlight of the evening for me was when Mona, who is 94, came out modeling a beautiful dress and blew kisses to the audience.   What an inspirational lady.


We had the lighting dimmed, so I've had to "auto adjust" the pictures so they could be seen.  But, here are some of the other pictures from the night.

Here's the table Donna put together for the necklaces we made.

(By the way, Valerie, thank you for sharing the idea with me and Tiffany!)

 


Gary knew how worried I was about it, so he was interested to hear how everything went.  Then he, very nicely, happened to mention that as he'd walked through the house and observed that I had been in project mode.  That is a kind way of saying that every room in the house looks like a hurricane hit.  I can't disagree.  That's what I'll be working on tomorrow.

Tonight I had

a dinner and planning/work meeting here for our Weekday Relief Society committee.  

I borrowed these cute little tasting dishes from my friend, Dianne.  I don't know what it is about the little glasses that appeal to us, but it must date back to our tea-party days as a little girl. 

Here are the desserts.

Layered Strawberry Shortcake

(pound cake, coconut, whipping cream, strawberries)

You can't really see the "cupcakes in a cup,"

that are under the cake dome.

But they were made with cupcakes (that kind of fell)

cut in half and layered with frosting.

Here is the first course:

Carrot and Celery in ranch dip,

Broccoli salad,

and Frozen Fruit Salad (frozen in muffin tins)

The main course was soup and bread.

We also made 80 necklaces (tutorial tomorrow), and finished most everything for the fashion show, which is next week.   

Some of

the thoughts copied  from the white board at our Relief Society Activity on Tuesday.

"Your house is your home only when you feel jurisdiction over the space".  Joan Kron

"Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful."  Willilam Morris

"Work is love made visible."

Our friend and ward member, Lisa, gave us an inspiring, informative, and also very entertaining presentation on cleaning, organizing, simplifying, and  " hating cleaning less."  Here is a link to her blog where she has shared her ideas:    Lisa's Practical Tips

What I came away with was a greater desire to be more "deliberate" in creating spaces in my home that are clean and beautiful.  She asked us to acknowledge the biases, traps, and weaknesses we have that keep us from creating the kind of home we want.  Here are some of mine:  Feeling overwhelmed (instead of just doing it).  Holding on to things I don't particularly care for or use, thinking that I might need it some day.  Collecting more of things I like, even when I do not have the space or need for it.   Buying things that are a great price, even if it doesn't fit into my ideal space.  Organizing "stuff" and trying to find a place for it, instead of "making a place" for the things we love and use.      

Bottom line is, I love having a clean and orderly home, but I don't particularly love the work it takes to make it that way.  Most of us don't.  But, Lisa presented ways to make it "sweet," by engaging the 5 senses and just changing out attitudes about it.   I need to go re-read her blog every week, just to get inspired all over again.   

Mom approached homemaking that way.  She would do her work, and then spend the rest of the day doing things she enjoyed, like reading,doing handwork, and visiting with people.   Her attitude was, if it needs to be done, do it.   Whereas, I tend to put off doing the housework or procrastinating what needs to be done.  But when I do that, I don't relax or enjoy what I'm doing, because in the back of my mind I'm worrying about the essential things I'm procrastinating.   Wouldn't you think I would have to figured out at my age?  Oh, well.

PS:  The cupcakes got delivered with no mishaps.  I'm feeling very relieved.

Does it speak to you?

For our Relief Society activity last Tuesday night, our theme was, "Creating Balance."  We introduced it with the concept that sometimes we just need to make a few minor adjustments to our daily routines in order to feel more peace and joy.  We had presenters share their insights into balancing our physical, emotional, temporal, and spiritual lives.  The physical focused on good diet and exercise. The emotional on deep breathing to diffuse stress. The temporal on creating a home that reflects on what we value and where relationships can flourish,  The spiritual on the importance of sharing spiritual experiences through family home evening and uplifting reading.    It was very inspiring to me.

Gary asked me when I was sewing these aprons for my little "friends," if I was being very balanced in focusing in on them.  I told him "no."  But I had fun doing it, and they do "speak to me."  That was one of the phrases used as a basis for reducing clutter and keeping our homes serene.  Keep only things that "speak to you."  Well, these little mannequins do "speak to me." 

And I did find joy in sewing the little aprons for them.

Here's are some close-ups. 

 

The little "Bee Helpful," and "Bee Tidy,"

are remnants from dish clothes that mom made me for my

trousseau (is there such a thing anymore?)

Yup, they are definitely speaking loudly and clearly to me.

I'm not sure quite sure what they're saying,

but I'm sure it is important.

What is a shoe that represents

a part of your life?

That is our theme for our RS Activity this Thursday.  We hope that by everyone sharing a shoe that represents something about them, that we will get to know each other better. I had lots of fun making the shoes with my cricut machine. I do love the fancy shoes, but at this stage in the game, comfort is the number one thing for me.

I'm taking this shoe.

because it represent the projects I do and the

messes I make while I do them.

You'll notice paint specks,

 

and the mud on the bottom.

They are the most comfortable shoes I have,

and they are now my gardening shoes.

Once when I was out gardening,

Gary came out and watched me for a minute. 

Then he said, "You kind of garden like you cook." 

Since I'm known for the messes I make when I cook,

or when I do projects,

or even when I'm cleaning,

I knew exactly what he meant.

And, I could not disagree with his observation.

As the saying goes, "If the shoe fits, wear it."

That's why I'm taking that shoe.

What shoe represents a part of you?