Something NEW & EXCITING happening with Kathy and Checkered Past!

I'm excited and pleased to announce my new venture!

www.stagingbykathy.blogspot.com

Yes, you can fool Mother Nature!

Mother Nature thought she had gotten the best of us, such trickery, and yet...we are hardy souls here in Itasca County.  Month's ago Children's First! planned a "SnowFolk Festival", an event for kids to get out outside and enjoy winter.  Usually, we have heavy snowfalls and frigid temps.  About now we all are climbing the walls and have what we call "cabin fever".  Not this year.  This has been a remarkable winter.  We've had barely enough snow to cover the ground and people are complaining about how brown everything is (myself included).  It's just not right, we've been tricked by Mother Nature.  And it's been unseasonable warm, temps in the 20's and 30's -above zero.  And it really wasn't until yesterday and today that the temps dipped (well) below zero to what is normal for January in Minnesota. 

Today the SnowFolk Festival started.  When I originally heard about this festival I envisioned building a huge snowman outside our shop.  Maybe adding a Lillian's scarf and handbag, maybe a red side chair, or one snowperson standing and one sitting on the chair.  The plans in my mind became quite elaborate.  But as the festival came closer, and we still didn't have snow, I knew I'd have to get creative.  It would be fun to build a cement mosiac sculpture, but that's too labor intensive.  Or I could buy a huge sheet of plywood and cut out a snowman shape and then paint it. No, that sounded still too large of a project.  So this morning, I decided to go check my stash.  I must have something I could fashion into a snowperson.  Hmmmm, snowfence?  No, how would I make it stand against my shop wall?  A door, or screen door?  Too bulky, too big...a suitcase?   Too small  Wait a minute, look at that little green screen over there in the corner.  Perfect.  I'll paint my snowperson on the screen.  A couple hours later and it was finished!

I am proud of how our creative community has found a way to fool Mother Nature.  This afternoon there are pictures posted on facebook of snowless SnowFolks made at indoor events.  Plus there are lots of other fun events planned for kids this weekend.  Go to www.getlearning.org and click on the flyer for more information about these and all of the FREE Children First! sponsored Great Itasca SnowFolk Festival events.  

Have you heard the saying, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature"?  Well, I say sometimes you positively HAVE to fool Mother Nature!

To Throw, Or Not To Throw

"To Throw, Or Not To Throw"...that is the question.  For a collector, like me, it's difficult to actually purge when something is obviously worn out.  I was faced with this question when our bed linens, which we purchased 1 year ago, were worn thin and already ripping to shreds.  Not wanting to throw them out, I tried to think of a way to reuse them for something....maybe if I was a quilter they could be used as a lining of the back of a quilt...or perhaps I could use them to sew little Easter eggs....or donate them so someone else could use them.  So, it's time for true confessions, I did actually throw away some perfectly salvageable celery colored cotton sheets.  I think it might haunt me for a while. 

To redeem myself, I found and rescued 3 wonderful handmade patchwork quilts.  Each one lovingly pieced together from old scraps and stitched together for someone's loved ones.  Now they are tattered, torn, and worn to shreds with many years of use.  But to me, these quilts are works of art.  They should never just be thrown away!  They are salvageable to reuse and repurpose in many, many ways.  So, I started cutting out hearts to make pillows, wings for new angels, and sachets to tuck in drawers. 

Ah, now that feels better.  I think I made the right choice.  What do you think?