The Happiest Place on Earth.....

...is not Disney. Sorry. It's Etsy.com. I could go there every day, if I had the time, and spend hours just in awe of all the creativity of the people who have Etsy stores. The first place you have to go, and here's the link, is to Joo Joo Land.These tiny little creations are just amazing, especially if you've worked with polymer clay and you know how hard it is (ok, maybe it's just me) to work with itty bitty little pieces. Another of my favorites is Creation Cottage. Ok, I know I'm supposed to promote my OWN work, and I do have an Etsy store too. But really, sometimes you get tired of looking at your own stuff and everyone else's just seems so much better!

Well in case you didn't notice, it's still winter. Sunny here in RI, but cold and windy and I'm trying very hard to appreciate the seasons, all of them, but does this one have to be so LONG?? One of my customers in the shop the other day was regaling me with tales of Arizona, just to torture me. Trying to convince his wife to move there, and she does love it there but she says she'd miss the seasons. On days like today, I feel pretty strongly that the seasons are overrated. At least THIS one is. Here's how I think it should be; After spring and summer, which are ok, we should have fall for 4-1/2 months. Then 6 weeks of winter, when we get all the snow and ice and freezing rain that we're going to get for the year. At the end of that we have Christmas, then we move right into spring. None of this messing around with ice and mud and will-it-snow-one-more-time baloney. It's 20, then it's 60, then it snows, then it's 60 again....one day I've got my doors and windows open, the next day I'm huddled next to the wood stove.

Maybe I should move to Joo Joo Land.

Are your eyes bleeding yet, from the pinkness?....

....Perhaps not. If not, then you need to adjust the settings on your monitor, because this is probably the pinkest fabric there is. Impossibly, ridiculously pink. Painful pink. And I have decided to make capris and a top out of it. No, not for me, for some unsuspecting little girl. It'll work, trust me. Have I ever lied to you?

Tonight I will reveal an embarrasing truth about myself: I am way too invested in American Idol. We have been watching since, I think, season 3. This season, however, there are more truly talented people on there than ever. It's going to be hard to see some of them not make it through to the next round. But during Hollywood Week I picked out Danny Gokey as this year's winner. Probably not a good thing to do, because there are so many people whom I haven't even seen yet. Usually Preston picks the winner when they get to the top 12, and he's almost always right. There's something really likeable about Danny though, as a talented singer among talented singers, he seems really geniune. Kind of like David Archuleta last season, only not as dorky. Don't get me wrong, I liked David. He was my pick early on in the season. But the "golly gosh" stuff wore a little thin by the time we were done. Anyway, I like Danny this year, but there's also the dude who plays dueling piano...can't remember his name. He's really good too. See? I told you I was too invested.

The Power of Subliminal Messaging....

...is undeniable, although sometimes I don't think it has the intended effect. Case in point:This little purse I just finished today. It's just a simple little bag, crocheted, with a red flannel heart hand-applique'd on the front. It's lined with the same red flannel. I had this idea weeks ago, it was something that just kind of popped into my head one day. So simple. So I've been working on it in between other stuff, and the thought was that maybe I'd have it done before Valentines' Day so I could display it in the store with whatever other Valentine-related stuff I had. Anyway, of COURSE it wasn't done, but that's beside the point. The point, and I do have one, is that the other day I was watching TV and suddenly found out where the idea came from. I didn't even remember seeing it. But there was this commercial, and this lady is in a little store shopping for hugs and laughs and good wishes, or whatever...maybe you've seen it. I don't remember what they were selling, but some part of my brain saw the little rectangular white things with red hearts on them sitting on the shelf and said "hey, we could make that at home". I think I was supposed to take away from that commercial some sort of meaning, but I don't think I got the one the advertisers wanted me to get. So much for my originality.

Anyway, still working on overdue Christmas stuff but I managed to finish my brother's shirt and the two shirts for Eleanor. Now all I have to do is Sparky's chickadee shirt and I'll be done with Christmas--just in time to start planning for the next one. No, I'm just kidding. I don't start planning for Christmas until, like, December 15. Could you tell? In the meantime I have Carol's shirt that needs a makeover. She's only been waiting since....ah....last April. I don't think these things should be rushed.