Hi Blogger, it me, S'mee....

Is anyone even still checking in? I'm not sure. But if you do, thanks. I am sorry I have been such a slacker lately. I'm o.k., but I just can't seem to find the blog motivation. That said I have been crafty lately...gearing up for the holidays.

I love Halloween. See the Halloween posts in the archives to find other things I have thrown together in the past. This year a few different items. I hope to have a You Tube "how to" up soon. In the mean time here are a few of the items I have been working on:



Chair Scarves. I used a window scarf I bought 3 years ago, cut into 4 parts, hemmed it and then threw it over the chairs and tied it off with a ribbon. Free and easy recycle!


I went to the fabric store and found $2 and $3 per yard fabrics on clearance and essentially just cut the one twice, hemmed all raw edges and threw it on the table to make a base cloth that would go all the way -and then some- to the floor. I had the gal at the store cut the top fabric to a square; however wide it was, that would determine the scale of the square, so be it. Hemmed and thrown on the table. Not Free, but almost, and totally easy. Plus both clothes can be used for other occasions, dressed and accessorized with other colours or item and that will decide the mood later!



An old recycled wreath, this one black, topped with 99c Store (really bad) black roses, tipped with a bit of green glitter and red roses spray painted with flat black. (In the photo the original red really shows through, in real life the red is more of a suggestion than a visible colour.) I just snipped the roses from the bunches (4 black, three red) and used the wire in the wreath to secure them in place. I added left over ribbon in a bow and there you have it. Recycle + $7.00



This is the one I am most excited about. I was sharing a snack at a friend's home when she served her goodies on the most gorgeous plates. White background with black printed toile "solid" plates and also as an edge. I adored them! Too expensive after the inquiry of where and how much? What to do? Head down to Dollar Tree and find some flat edged plates! At $1 a piece this would be a great alternative. I used a permanent on any surface ink and some scroll designed rubber stamps, and badabing badaboom I have my black and white plates. Not toile, no solids, but with the same feel! I think they'll look really awesome on the Halloween table, but also later and not so spooky! $8.00 for a whole new set of dishes!

Well that's it. See you soon, I hope!



Click on the photos to get a closer look!

Talk like a pirate day

hell fire

Welcome to California in the summertime.

However, this year, things are getting ugly. This photo was yesterday's sunrise. Taken from my front porch, roughly 80 miles as the crow flies east of the fires. It's raining ash. The afternoon looks somewhat post apocolyptic with dark gray skies, "snowing" in the middle of August, lungs stopping half full and when forced to breathe deep, slowly expand in a burst of pain. Every year when the fires come, we get a few days of "incredible sunsets" and in fact, a view of the hot orange sun straight on filtered by the thick smoke. What is making this year so bad? People.

People who can't get enough information via the news, so they decide to clog roads and take a photo op of their own, making the fire fighters struggle to get around them.

People who are asked to evacuate and always seem to want to stay and fight 100 foot flames with a $24.00 garden hose.

My son has fought those 100 foot flames. He has risked his life to go back into the mouth of hell to pluck a homeowner out of the impending destruction. He has had to choose between letting 5 homes burn or save one stubborn man who refuses to leave. Life always takes precedence, so they go save the one guy and take the heat for 'abandoning the neighborhood' later. He has huddled with his brothers and watched as some of them died on the line in defense of structures and personal property.

If you have been alive since the 70's you have absolutely no excuse for not being prepared.

If you live in an area that has growth, -brush, weeds, or trees- clear your defensible space yearly. If the guys in the white SUVs tell you to prepare for evacuation: PREPARE. When they tell you to go: GO. Do not think that the fire fighters are trying to be the hero, the big shot, the know-it-all authorities and/or that you can beat it yourself. They DO know. They don't just sit around the fire house doing sit ups, they have graduated from Fire Science Academies, they have degrees. They practise daily and excersize every scenario to learn more every day. They understand wind, and heat, and tornados made of flame. They know how fire works, what fuels it, what stops it, and what they cannot stop but must let burn on its' own.

Fire Fighters are a unique breed of people. They love community. They love to serve. They feel their "job" isn't a career, it's a lifestyle, a calling that -even after they retire- they will live each day. Vacations, days off, time spent with family is always looked forward to, however, when the phone rings they will leave a new bride, new babies, dying parents, and RUN to save a stranger's property willingly.

This week two Fire Fighters lost their lives trying to save property. I don't know their names, but I know them. I know how they lived their lives and what kind of people they were.

And I cried like I was thier mother.

The most beautiful dance

Having a bad day? This will pretty much make it better. Enjoy.

Absolutely lovely and inspiring.

Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars 2008

Seriously fabulous! Stay with it to the end, it's totally worth it.

Later...part two.

Breakfast Brunch

Tomorrow morning we'll have our first Enrichment meeting since I was called to be the Enrichment Counselor. The plans were 80% set in place, so in reality I didn't have too much to worry about.

My Enrichment Leader Wendy is AMAZING. Really. She's in her early 30s and full of such fresh and well thought out ideas that the women are really enjoying the events and classes she has suggested and worked so hard to pull off. Wendy is the perfect example of why it's a great idea to have different age groups working together. I had an idea of how to pull of the planned on paper event, she had another. She's brilliant!

We're celebrating the (May - August) birthdays of all the women in our ward (congregation). The idea of a Breakfast Brunch with a waffle bar was our jumping off point. Wendy suggested we decorate like a French Bistro/Cafe; small intimate tables, bring in the couches and chairs from the foyers, lots of black and white architectural photos, some French influenced items here and there, flowers and a background of Edith Piaf. She had purchased cup cakes from a baker a while back that were simply decorated with butter cream spikes and a single sugar crystallized rose petal on top. So we're going to show the sisters how to spike butter cream and sugar rose petals! After the brunch, everyone goes home with a gorgeous cup cake.

We're also have a demo planned to show the gals how to make single cup cake pedestals from thrift store items. (They turned out really awesome!)

So I raided the the shed out back and gathered up a lot of things to try and bring a bit of France to the cultural hall in the middle of our desert. We're going up to the church tonight to set up so we can get a head start in the morning. (Thanks to beefy types who are moving furniture for us!)

We have a ton of people helping out, bringing everything from waffle toppings to waffle makers and everything in between. I'll post photos after the event.

Product Endorcement

Hey! Have you seen Shelf Reliance products? I have and frankly I saved and saved until I could buy a large system for my own storage...What an idiot!

YOU CAN GET ONE FOR FREE!!!

The button is for their website and this link! is for their blod where you can get free systems.

Click the link! GO!