Hearts with the Japanese

No one can look at the devastation and ongoing tragedy in Japan without being moved. While thousands have perished and that is terrible enough, the survivors are facing deprivations of food, water and shelter. Temperatures are in the freezing range and today it was snowing in the hard hit areas. Couple that with the nuclear threat and the scope of the disaster is overwhelming.

Sachiko, a fellow blogger, is from that area of Japan and still has family there. On her blog she implores the public to help in whatever way they can, Tea Rose Home. And she has asked that other bloggers get the word out.

Financial contributions to reputable organizations seem to be the most efficient method of assisting. Even donations as little as $10 are welcome.

Here are some of the charities that are organizing to help:

The American Humane Association

The International Red Cross

AmeriCares

The Salvation Army in Japan

Doctors Without Borders

Save the Children

If you can do nothing else, whatever your belief system, please offer prayers or thoughts of good will to the people of Japan.

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Deserving a Peek

I realized as I was doing my daily web perusal that many of the blogs I read regularly really deserve a plug.

There is my original list of favorites if you scroll down on the right side. Most of them are blogs I was introduced to when I first became familiar with the blogging world over three years ago. Every one of them is still worth a look, they are marvelous. But I have found so many great new ones as well. I must point out there are many, many wonderful blogs out there that I read frequently. Almost too many to list. This is not a comprehensive run down by any means and I will try to note some of my other favorites over time.


Scouting New York

This kid (he is younger than some of my children) is 1) freaking adorable, 2) smart and funny and interesting and 3) has an ongoing love affair with both New York City and history. What an irresistible combination! He is a film location scout by profession and has parlayed the fascinating things he sees in the line of his work into this fabulous blog.

Red Head Ranting

Hey, in my book ranting is as much fun as whining.

This particular redhead is my friend Jen, a cyber-whiz if ever there was one. She has this funny blog, she is writing a book, she created a professional blog network, Tribal Blogs (lots of great blogs listed there, check it out), and she has organized an exciting blog conference scheduled for this summer. Oh and she is smart and really, really nice.

Beetle’s Memories ‘N’ Ramblings

Even if I weren’t an Anglophile, I would find Beetle’s slices of UK life delightful. Beetle is fortunate enough to be a member of a large, warm extended family. The charming stories she tells of her late parents are touching and make you realize this ostensibly ordinary couple was, in fact, quietly remarkable. Illustrated with her own drawings, altogether an uplifting and fun peek into a wonderful life.

The Maaaaa of Pricilla

Pricilla is a blog writing goat, courtesy of her Publicist. She tells of her barnyard adventures and companions and about the fantastic Happy Goats Soap her Publicist makes and sells here on Etsy. I can attest to the fact that the soap is awesome. I can also attest to the fact that Pricilla’s Publicist is awesome and one of the kindest, most supportive Internet friends I have. She blogs for herself at Broken Teepee. A former Jersey Shore native, now situated on a farm in Montana, it is Patty who facilitated getting a new free bathroom sink for my impoverished self. She is a loyal reader and commenter AND makes amazing jewelry, which can be found here.


Weird Web Today

Ok, so yesterday's post is about cow farts. That might not seem the most promising introduction to her talents. But this blog is by Diana Fasanella, a long time columnist for our local newspaper. In the paper she was bright and witty and often gave me a chuckle. Well, Diana wasn’t chuckling when after 18 years she was part of a “work force reduction”. Can I just say corporate life SUCKS? But not letting grass grow beneath her feet, she is launching several projects, including this blog. She has another in development that will deal with life as Nana. This smart woman deserves to be read, if for no other reason than her “Rant” statement on Weird Web Today: “This blog is dedicated to all the hard-working, loyal employees who big business tossed aside so executives can continue to collect their fat bonuses.”

As one of the big business victims myself, I say amen sister.

This is what I had to say about my former employers when I was laid off last year:

The fact that the layoffs were due to an epic level of mismanagement is especially enraging disheartening. Some people with a lesser character might consider a slow, painful, perhaps fiery, death too good for the people responsible. I, however, choose the high road. You know, the road above where you actually get to watch them die.

ha ha ha

(You can read the whole hilarious post here.)

So anyway, there are a few fun, worthwhile blogs to check out. Enjoy!



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Keeping Busy

While being out of work has had devastating consequences, and feels pretty darn awful too, I have been keeping as busy as possible.

I've been doing a lot of writing, mostly for Yahoo's Associated Content on health news. It is fun and challenging and I make about .05 cents for every kabillion hits each article gets, so far to the tune of about $1. Woo hoo!!

If you are so inclined, you can find my stuff here:

http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/911950/marie_cooper_lpn_ma.html

Become a fan, Stumble me, Tweet me, leave a comment, help me earn that next .05 cents!

I have been doing a lot of sewing too and have several unfinished projects. Here are some of the things I have been working on.


I was going to make this into a pillow, but now I am thinking maybe a wall hanging:

I embroidered eyelet and then added a fabric flower.  This will be a little pillow:

This will be a holiday pillow:

A sunflower surrounded by leaves.  I am not sure what this will be.  Maybe an insert into a tote bag?:

A vintage design that reminded me of my home from the same era.  I will frame and keep this one:

My motto:

A scarf I made for myself out of super soft cotton, in yellow, my favorite color.  Still putting the fringe on:

A hat for a friend's nephew, but I don't like the way it turned out.  So...

I'm making a whole new one out of cream colored cotton.

I have more things I've finished and have for sale on Etsy.  Check out my site if you need a nice gift or just want to treat yourself.  :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchesthroughtime


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Getting Springy

Time to de-winterize my blog design and think spring.

I have been laid up with a miserable upper respiratory thing but hope to catch up soon. Although there is nothing really to catch up with. Hopefully something hilarious and entertaining will happen in the next few days.


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Afternoon with Shep

Spent the afternoon with my sweet four year old grandson. He cracks me up. He sits next to me while I am writing on the laptop and just chatters away. He talked about how he loved his Mom. I told him when his Dad was his age, he always said he wanted to marry me when he grew up. Shep looked at me with amazement and said “Now that’s just weird.”

Guess he doesn’t feel quite the same. And time clearly has not been kind to me.

The rest of the afternoon:

He drank juice.

He played with a flashlight. (“Nana, I want to go someplace dark.” For a horrible minute I thought he was having a breakdown.)

He had a Rice Krispie treat.

He played kiddie computer games.

He had a lollipop.

He played with Playdough.

He had ice cream.

He watched TV and played with Legos.

By the time his dad came to pick him up, he was tired. “Come on, bud, pick up the Legos.” my son said. I was putting Shep’s sneakers on and he whispered to me, “I don’t want to pick up the Legos.” So I whispered back to tell his Dad I was playing with the Legos, so I would pick them up. Sometimes you need your Nana to cover for you.

With a totally straight face he said to his father, “I wasn’t playing with the Legos, it was Nana Cooper. But she needs help picking them up because it is hard for her to walk. So you have to do it.”

Is this kid brilliant, or what?

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Happiness

It is a constant pursuit.

When my oldest son was young, he worked in our local grocery store. The town we lived in had a high population of seniors and most of them preferred to shop at this old-fashioned little corner store, as they didn’t have to drive and the level of service was high.

One day I was in there to get milk. It was the peak of the lunch rush and both registers were going a mile a minute. The lines, full of little old men and women, stretched to the back of the store. My son didn’t know I was there and I watched him deal with one elderly person after another, unfailingly polite and helpful. I was glowing with pride. Because each of these people was making some demand in a quivery little voice. Double bag my groceries. Oh, don’t squash my strawberries! Put this on my tab. I thought this soup was on sale. Is this bread fresh? And finally, do you have any happiness today?

Uh oh. Dementia.

I watched my son look under the counter and reply, “No, it looks like we’re all out.” “Wow”, I thought, “he really goes above and beyond!” “Hey Heather” he called to the other cashier, “Do you have any happiness over there?” Heather looked. “No, I’m all out.” “Try again tomorrow”, Ryan said to the little old lady. She thanked him and went on her shaky little way. “Holy cow!” I thought. “Mr. Brown has them so well trained that they will go to any length to humor these poor old people.”

When I got up to the counter I had tears in my eyes. “Ryan, I am so proud of you that you were so nice to that poor demented old lady looking for ‘happiness’, that you humored her so nicely, even looking for ‘happiness’ under the counter.”

He paused for a minute and then rolled his eyes. “Happiness is a magazine, Mom.”

Oh.

Well, he was still very polite.

Happiness Magazine

______________

I have had a dearth of happiness in my life in the past few years, stressed out as I have been by one disaster after another. Even though my life has crashed and is burning, I know that true happiness is a state of mind and a choice. So I have been working on being consciously happy, without being simple minded about it.

I got a copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I have to say, the author makes some very good points about choosing happiness and deliberately living in a way that limits negativity. She has some very good ideas. But I can only read it in small increments because there is a persistent tone of ‘I am so wonderful and let me tell you how wonderful I am’ that gets on my nerves after about 15 minutes. Although I will fully acknowledge, that could just be me and I am Happiness Teflon. I also could just be jealous of the fact that she is young, successful, lives in a fabulous Manhattan apartment with a fabulous husband, fabulous children, with fabulous in-laws around the corner and, apparently, is fabulously happy.

One of the things I decided to do early in reading the book was to make a “Happiness Quilt” for myself. I got a pattern for a small lap quilt that just called for six quarter yards cut creatively. Yellow is my favorite color. So I went to fabric store and grabbed a combination of pre-cut yellow and blue quarters. Now, because I have a limited time that I can be on my feet, I didn’t have as much time to peruse the fabric selection as I would have wanted. So I ended up settling before I keeled over.

The quilt came out nice and it made me somewhat Happy, but not Happy enough.

Happiness Quilt I

I found what I wanted on line. Gorgeous, flower splashed cotton in all shades of yellows. I bought a few extra quarter yards to make the quilt a little bigger. And I picked a great cabbage rose fabric for the backing. For someone like me, who craves symmetry and order in my sewing, this cacophony was a leap. But I was sooo happy with the results after I pieced the top together. My sewing machine cannot handle quilting, it doesn’t have the capacity. So instead of hand tying it, I decided to hand quilt it and then wrap the binding fabric around and hand sew that as well.

It took me longer, but it was worth it. The quilt has a myriad of flaws, it is really really hard to squeeze the right amount of cuts from a reluctant quarter yard. But I love it for its imperfections too. It is big enough to cuddle under to read or nap or just contemplate the process of Happiness.

Happiness Quilt II

Quilt back

Close Up

I now have the Happiness Quilt I wanted. Next to acquire the Happiness itself.


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Because...

Because it is simply lovely. And we all deserve something lovely on a cold, dark February night.



For my e-mail readers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlxVTpEyMEw


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