Farewell 2009

and good riddance! It's been a horrible year for me, my husband and so many hard working people. For me, it's been the nightmare depression and of course, Scott has had to deal with helping me so it's been hard on him. He's a Ford technician at a large dealership near the city and things haven't been good at most dealerships this year including ours.

Despite not watching the news or reading newspapers, I'm well aware of the fact that so many hard working people have lost jobs and homes. So many have to dig & scratch just to put food on the table these days.

I look forward to 2010 and pray that it brings balance to our economy, healing for those who suffer from depression for whatever reason and peace to our planet.

With that said, I brought a little peace into my own life yesterday. You may remember me talking about the Mason Jar lamp that my dad made for me:



Well, that lampshade has been bugging me for about 2 years now! It was too plain and boring despite my addition of the beaded trim and braid. The other day, it finally occurred to me to add some roses to it and so yesterday, I did:



So much better now! And it couldn't have been easier! I found some fabric with shabby roses on it, cut them out and glued them on with fabric glue. Voila! A new old lampshade.

I just love the shabby chic cottage look. And I've mentioned several times now that I just adore pink! Pink & mint green! Even when I was little, those were my favorite colors. So more and more of that is moving into my little cottage home!

Moving on to my Garden Crazy Quilt, I finished up Block #4 yesterday:



The colors look a little dark in the scan but it's really quite soft and pastel. I haven't started on Block #5 yet. This was supposed to be my "winter project" and I'm already almost 1/2 way done with the stitching. I'm thinking of a taking a tiny break and doing a few other things. I have craft ideas that are calling to me. Stay tuned to see what I come up with. You know, there will be glitter!

So what do you all think about the changes to my banner? I was going to add flowers but the lace seemed like enough of a change and enlarging it a bit fills the space nicely. I'll be making changes to the banner in my Etsy shop as well.

In regards to my photo yesterday about my mom's therapy dog Chooch, Christine mentioned that Chooch looks like a senior herself. Indeed she is. Chooch just turned 10 years old back in October. Other than her grey muzzle, you'd never know it. She has tons of energy, she plays and she loves to beg me to take her walking! And do I love to walk her! In her younger years, Chooch was a show dog. She won many ribbons. When she reached the age of being too old for dog shows, she made her way to my mom through our vet. So now Chooch is a therapy dog and she enjoys it as much as the residents of the retirement center do. It's her purpose and it probably helps to keep her youthful.

Well, I've rambled on long enough for one post! Again, I say goodbye and good riddance to 2009!
I wish everyone peace, comfort & plenty of quiet time in 2010! Have a safe New Year's Eve everyone!