self portrait 1973


...titusville,florida.
proof that my nostrils have
always been uneven.

tom,hannah,jessie & i are off
to the beaches of longboat key
when we can't bear the sun & shell
seeking any longer we are going to visit
the salvador dali museum in st. pete
and cruise st.armand's circle for material
gratification aka souvenirs...be back aug 2.

frame the baby


baby mary kay circa 1937
this is my mom....ain't she sweet?!
i love this photo of her,the uncropped
version is her sitting on a big,way over
stuffed chair and she is just this teeny speck
of a babe sitting there with that big,toothy
grin! i used christine adolph paper to cover
the slide mount..this is one simple project of three
that i will be demoing using slide mounts in the fall.

"that's clever"


...wow....i can honestly say now,without
hesitation,that an actress i am not! this was one
of the hardest things i have done in a long time,
i had to summon a perkiness from the farthest reaches
of my very being...in light of the past weeks events
i was just a bit "dull",but in the end it was an
experience that i will certainly never forget,neither
will hannah who was asked to participate with me
for the opening intro for my segment...hannah
was celebrating her 15th birthday that day,so she
was all "lit up"! the crew was really cool,the camera &
lighting guy...ken & randy live in st.louis,i found some
comfort in that oddly enough. renato & becky are great
people from LA...large amounts of energy flowed freely from
their every pore....becky was also "monica" the make-up
artist and "lilly" the production assistant...always at the
ready with blotters for my gleaming,sweaty face created
by the gawd awful humidty and heat and the internal fire
i had within from time to time aka hot flashes.
i cannot imagine how this will all come out in the wash &
what will or will not be left on the cutting room floor...i only
pray that i will not die a slow death of embaressment when this
thing airs!
the photos above were taken by tom my starstruck hubby!

mini scrapbook & message bottle
"that's clever" projects

photos are good....


tom with mom on mother's day with
the "dinner table" he made for the birds,
for her.
We just got home from visiting ann and
there has been some improvement,each
little thing is really noticable,tonight she
was brushing her hair, then she showed
us some of the therapies she can do on
her own with her speech...mostly she
has high spirits and that will be a great
contributor in her recovery...one day
at a time ( that slogan just seems to always
apply!)
sleep tight all~

random thoughts at 8:24am..

..one minute at a time is how i am going to approach
today.
many thanks for all of the messages of love,hope
& encouragement...i am taking them with me
everywhere i go.
ann is speaking much better and cracking wise,
mind sharp as a tack very much aware of her condition
and making the best of it, while not being able to get
out of the hospital bed,tubes,wires and bags attached
on every other inch of her body. my 74 year old mom
in law, never ever stops moving...so to see her laying
there in that bed...not animated,is a harsh reality that
none of us can believe.we have seen her down and i
mean down,before,...and she came back stronger &
more determined to take a huge,sloppy bite outta
life...we anxiously wait for that to happen again.
in the mean time,life goes on,no matter how numb
you feel..so here i sit catching up with you and preparing
for my segments for "that's clever" (new fall name for
crafters coast to coast). ann is thoroughly addicted to hgtv
and is soooo excited about this opportunity of a lifetime
for me,so when i felt i couldn't,shouldn't do this thing,i had
to think again and pull it all together.so on with the show.
filming is sunday and i have alot to do,not the least of which
is to pull some enthusiasum out of thin air,i saw this show
for the first time yesterday and it appears i may have to do
some "acting"....................again with the praying.........xode

a call for prayers

please keep my beloved mother-in-law,ann,
in your thoughts and in your prayers. she has
suffered two brain stem strokes and will need
to remain hospitalized for some length of time.
she is very dear...it's very painful to see her
struggle this way...i know some of you have
gone through the damage a stroke can cause
to a loved one....

seeing double ain't so bad


two cuties,two kitties
sissy,ted,kelly,hannah

just left of center...













at roberts orpheum theatre...row m orchestra,
seats 101 & 102...
"he is a consistently entertaining performer,
dropping amusing stories & non sequiturs in
between his wry,carefully observed songs".
AMEN to that sisters & brothers!
and hearing the music of his large band is
a treat unto itself,not to be missed...ever!
hope to see you there~

the big cedar experience


....i have just come back from heaven! this
was a truly amazing experience,the grounds
of this resort are whimsical & relaxing...not a
a detail missed,it is hard to believe we had never
heard about this paradise in our midst,until my
brother,paul,offered us two nights here...many
thanks,paul,karen,nick & ryan for sharing this
with us! BIG CEDAR ROCKS!

"party on" george celebration!


4th o july with becky,jerry,kelly,ted and the gang!
many thanks kids,we had a BLAST! xoxoxoxd&t

finished cemetery art...


cemetery art atcs
i used these photos from my field trip to the
cemeteries the other day. i altered,painted and
embossed them,i had taken so many pictures
i used them for the backs of the atc's as well.

the backs of the atcs

hmmm,"that's clever"


altered bottle message holder
with hand dyed satin ribbon
"that's clever" segment

"sweet boy mini book" my main project
for "that's clever"
coming in october on hgtv...stay tuned!