Whoa! Thanksgiving is This Week!

Howdy Faithful Readers!

I have been gratefully working on some new crepe "forced bulb" creations and plugging away at the annual Pre Tree Cleaning Spree. I made applesauce from great local apples, finished a couple of orders for the Iron Dog and

I find myself  still in denial about the the rapidly winding down Fall!

I'm going to do a little catch up on my gratitude list:

4: Yummy fall produce. Winter Squash and greens, apples, beets, leeks, potatoes, clementines... I just love them all.
5: Hiking the steep muddy trail with my dog and friend. This makes the pie possible and just last week we even helped a lost, shirtless, shoeless guy (8 AM, in the 40's temp wise) find a friendly ranger. Good deed before breakfast.
6: Good Thrift. Oh My Goodness! 2 great lengths of vintage holiday print  for  $3.50.
7: Bleach. I know it's evil. But it saved the awesome fabric mentioned above.

 

8: Creative time. I am so lucky to get as much as I do.

9: My Pets. I spend time every morning in a big pile of my fur friends, enjoying my first cup of coffee.

10: Coffee. Can you be grateful and addicted at the same time? I say YES!

11: All my sisters. Blood and otherwise. You know who you are and without you I'd be lost. LOST!

12:  Casey and Rae at the Iron Dog. Seriously, with out you, my creativity would lack an outlet! Thanks for your support and encouragement.

 13: I am grateful for the motivation of a deadline. I hope it makes me into a wildly productive and jolly person for the next few weeks. I have lots of fun tucked in and am excited to be spending Thanksgiving with my wonderful Grandma and Baby Linnea (and the rest of my family too!)

A little "No Thanks" for my dead computer, but hey.. with a little miracle I'll get what I need off of the hard drive and keep moving forward.

Thanks for Reading!!

Betty

The Search For Satisfaction

Before you read further, I wanted to first say how wonderful it was to get your comments and emails on my sudden return. I am so grateful, and frankly humbled.
I expected nothing but crickets!

So, now please pardon the whiny intro to this post!

I have been plagued.
I have been vexed.

I am haunted by something that nibbles at the edges of my consciousness like an itch.
I find myself both merely and profoundly dissatisfied.

This is a crisis.
I lack absolutely nothing.
In fact, acquisition has lately only added to my distress.
Even the treasure hunting at the beloved thrift store often brings more anxiety than pleasure.
If it is not something truly missing, it must be a crisis of imagination!
I am fictitiously dissatisfied!

My dissatisfaction becomes most apparent when it suddenly dissipates;
When it transforms into satisfaction.

Like it does when I forage for blackberries, and they fill my bowl like gorgeous black gems.
Like it does when I fill my basket at the farmer's market with salad scattered with flower petals, and tomatoes, and hearty long stemmed sunflowers.
Like it does when I press in a perfectly piped seam.
Like it does when I hear the pop of the jarlids after canning a batch of organic tomato sauce.
Like it does when an unruly bunch of weedy earth is transformed by digging and scratching back into the flower bed it was supposed to be in the first place.

These are the things that fill my heart with satisfaction...
If only they weren't so solitary.
The work is good, but the lack of co-workers gets a bit lonely.
Is that why we all congregate in blogland?

So, friends, tell me...
What satisfies?

Fashion Friday: Burda One Day-Day Dress: Green Edition

please click photos to enlarge and decrease odd blurring sensation

Here is a sweet green shift I made from Burda. Vintage fabric with green peacocks has made this little dress one that has come out of the closet time and again this summer. It's green and green becase all the supplies used were thrifted by me and my talented thrift fairy step-mother, Diana.

I think my favorite thing about this shift is the neckline in the back which is kind of a sexy little surprise.

The Burda magazine patterns are very simplistic but pretty wearable. They are also fairly easy to alter, which is good because they seem to be naturally on the boxy side.
Using the vintage fabric, this really seems to fit with the New Vintage Wardrobe stuff... But being a modern pattern it doesn't quite qualify as NVW.



I have several other summer garments to share... And I better do it quickly too because I am already itching to make new yummy stuff for fall.

What are you guys going to make?


Comically Yours,
Betty

So Where Ya Been Betty? Saturday

Man... Where do I start. I have been everywhere and up to everything.

Last I checked in here you saw me scrubbing my ceilings. That was fun and productive and all that goody goodness. It was all part of a grand effort that went far beyond a mere spit and polish!

Later that weekend, I retired to Indian Springs in Calistoga to do a little Spa-ah down time with a lovely group of ladies.

Spa Ladies
( Polaroid Land Camera Photo. Kristen Jones Photographer)

I think this is the 7th year ( 6th for me) that this annual get away has happened. This year we took a bike tour of the local wineries to boot.

Bike portrait with basket damage
( Polaroid Land Camera Photo)

Fine Winery
( Polaroid Land Camera Photo)

That was a kick and improved the experience of soaking in the geyser heated waters of tranquility.

Indian Springs Pool
( Polaroid Land Camera Photo)

It was also the perfect time to show off some great New Vintage Wardrobe creations... and I will hopefully have them for the blog very shortly.

I threw a tiny but festive 42nd Birthday dinner for my Mister.

Over the last couple of months we kicked it into high gear on the fix up/clean up front to get ready for our families to gather for Jake's Middle School Graduation. (High School next year???... gulp.) He has now officially survived 3 of the most universally acknowledged as harrowing years of the human experience. I want to thank all of our loving family members who came to celebrate. We love you all, so much.

the Graduate

I'm working on gathering some before and after pics of the many little home improvement projects we took on, but my computer is acting like a neglected boyfriend and is acting out. Falling asleep in the middle of my projects, etc. Perhaps it needs a trip to the computer spa.

Anyway, for those of you who have been leaving comments and asking questions and checking in, I send my smooches and gratitude and I will be getting to the aging pile of emails as well.


Phew.. Well here's to summer! I hope it's a gem!

Here's to Splashing in your Sprinkler,
Betty

WIP Wednesday: Spring Cleaning

Yes, Ladies, that's me... Happily scrubbing the bathroom ceiling.
My life has truth and depth and meaning.
Like a slightly punky Stepford wife.

Tuesday? Really?

Hmm... already Tuesday, already September. 8 day since my last post.
I'm in deep denial.
So here you go... some images of cute animals and purchased loot to distract you from the fact that my promise to start blogging regularly again has not yet been fulfilled:

Gratuitous Thrift:

more stuff I don't need and could not live without.

Gratuitous Kitten:

i just love the sly smile

Gratuitous Pup:

snozzle

Gratuitous Cicada Studios Fabric Splurge:

they make me a little weepy, they are so pretty

As for serious news?
My son is now the same height as myself, I am working on a cool top secret project with my sister, I am sewing a new vintage garment, in swanky, saucy animal print-ish velveteen, the pup can roll over on command (and often actually does), the fridge has been clean and organized for 4 straight weeks, I gained back 3 of the pounds I lost since I started walking almost every day, and J actually likes at least one of his teachers this year.

Let's all have a hearty cheer for Mrs. Anderson, Miracle Woman!

All right, I really will start posting regularly again. I'm serious. This time I really mean it.

Glitter Thrift and 7 Weird Jobs

Magpie Eyes... I have too much of this good stuff. The pink bracelet even has the tag attached: Gay Paree by Star. I tell you...They just don't name them like they used to.

These sweeties will also be listed on Etsy... Just in case you need to get yourself a Valentine. I usually try to get myself a back up, just in case Mr. Betty has one of his "It's a stupid meaningless Hallmark Holiday anyway... And I forgot." years.

It happens.

And after 16 years.. I'm pretty much over it. I just cover my bases and get on with my February. That's Modern Romance for you.

Seriously, I'm not bitter... It's just a nickname.

The Shop will be Updated On Wednesday.(In case you were wondering.)

On a completely seperate note: Kathi tagged me for 7 weird things so I am going to make it

7 Weird Jobs I Have Had...

1)I was the pink haired Vegetarian counter grrrl at Burger King in San Luis Obispo circa 1986. When people asked me what was good on the menu...I rolled my eyes at them.

2) I was the "Put your Face On Rambo's Body" T-Shirt Maker at Fisherman's Wharf for about 9 days.

3) I was a classroom presenter for the Sexual Assault Prevention Team. I was a date rape specialist for the high school set. My presentation partner was a recovering heroine addict, ex-hooker. No, It wasn't court ordered... it was a regular job. And my partner was really quite nice actually. And the high school kids were, without exception, pretty well behaved.

4) And at the same time I was the Juice Bimbo at the local racquetball club. The beer swilling racquetball players were much ruder than the high schoolers. A mini skirt was required part of the uniform.

5)I was the artsy-fartsy semi punkish office go-fer for an imitation crab company.Ironically, I got in trouble here because my skirts were too short.. But in my defense: My hose were opaque and my shoes were flats. I did the filing, the photo copying, and I picked up the tiny bagels for the imitation lox tastings in the fancy company car. Perks? "All the fake Krab you could eat". Eew.

6) I was a professional actress, paid 50.00 for the entire run of the show. I played one of the Pigeon Sisters in the Neil Simon classic the Odd Couple. I was 15... My "sister" was about the same age as my mom (which would have been 37, at the time).. and my British accent was pretty spot on.
No! Really, It Was! The theatre survived and is still in operation.

7) I was a visual merchandiser/stylist for a major upscale department store. It also survived and is still in operation.

If you are looking for something weirder I have done this before as well, back when it was 6 things... Not enough? I also played 2 Truths and a Lie... I hope you enjoy..

Although I am pretty excited to be tagged... I think I have to say "play along if you want to and leave a link in the comments to this post if you do"... Because I love reading about all you people, But despite what my loving Hub may say about me.. I am not real comfortable telling people what to do.