Pink Saturday: Childhood Memories

From a magical tree, Van Atta's Greenhouse, 2009. Please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for all of this week's Pink Saturday participants.

Our Pink Saturday challenge this week is to share a favorite childhood memory.

It's impossible for me to think Christmas and not think childhood -- those magical times when gifts "appeared" under the tree, the house was filled with lights and Santa was "the man."

I was an only child, so my memories -- not surprisingly -- center around me!

The first Christmas I remember bits of brought me a doll house from Santa -- a low, metal ranch house. I was all of three, maybe four. It wasn't until years later that I saw the proof that Santa bore a striking resemblance to the man I knew as "Daddy."

I was "the model" for all the family cards in those years and while many of those sittings faded into a blur, I clearly remember posing with my collie, Major, sometime in the fall -- my photographer parents placed lights inside the fireplace to give it that special "glow."

But for whatever reason, a memory that sticks with me clearly is the year my cousin David and his family joined us for Christmas. We were in third grade and pretty good kids -- I think by then we knew the Santa gig was up, but we didn't actively seek our presents prior to the big day.

But it didn't stop us from finding the coveted "Lie Detector Game" hidden under mom's bed when we were looking for -- what? That I can't remember. I can assure you, nothing devious was involved. I wish I knew if we acted surprised enough when the game appeared under the tree. Having had some experience with third grade deceit in later life, I suspect they had it figured!

Happy Pink Saturday!

(Stop by Chopsticks and String -- the first post in the "Holiday Survival Guide" series is up! This one is on shopping, giving and receiving!)

Las Year, Las Vegas

Last year around this time, Rick and I were in Las Vegas for his annual trade show.

These photos are from the lobby of the Bellagio hotel, which they were in the process of decorating.

They are the renderings for the solarium design.

Pretty, aren't they? And what was amazing -- in the end, the exhibits -- all done with florals, naturals -- looked so very much like the sketches.

See what I mean?

Just seeing these put me in the mood! Hope they put a smile on your face, too!

Extreme Home Makeover: Art Room Edition

Last year, this little tree decorated my art room.

It was covered with ATCs from art friends and butterflies from last year's visit to North Carolina.

You could barely see it through the stuff. (actually, that photo above needs to be rotated!)

And I can tell you, it didn't get much better.

I realized (finally) my room was "backwards." The best art light was coming through the window by the computer table and vice versa. And it was pretty hard to get to the shelves which had too much stuff that really wasn't in current use. (Below -- after, with the two tables shifted.)

While Rick was away and with a load of projects staring me in the face, I realized that if I wanted a place to work productively I had to take major action.

Now, I still have lots of sorting to do, and the shelves aren't very tidy because my main goal was moving furniture, electronics, and "the big stuff," purging the sometimes-supplies, and getting in order. So my table and shelves are still needing work.

But here you go! (And it's amazing what you can find underneath that desk and art table!)

A few spots...like the cigar boxes...

The paints...(sewing machine drawer from a great antique show this summer)...

The display rack Beth D. made me filled with work by my friends (including dolls by Joanne). I got the birdcage idea from either Beth L. or Karla eons ago...

Here's a better view.

The closet door makes a great storage space for knit and silk pieces. Inventory is low. Show is soon. Gotta work.

The PBS wall of fame -- aka, the "vanity" wall!

And of course, the entry!

Here's one of the "inspiration boards" with pieces from friends and swaps.

A postscript. Sunday morning -- very early. Couldn't sleep so I came in to blog and for the first time ever, I saw a sunrise from my table as I typed.

It was a beautiful quiet moment and while the photo isn't a good one (the photograph of the heart is better), it's one I'll cherish.

SummerFallWinterSpring

With the unseasonably awesome weather over Thanksgiving weekend, I put up my wee outdoor tree near the front door.

You could say this is an arrangement for all seasons -- springtime thyme, summer's geraniums, autumn's pumpkin and the holiday tree.

What's up with the weather? (The way it's turning, I suspect the geraniums will be bloomless by the time this posts!)

Last year, our December looked like this!

Michigan. Gotta love it. Totally unpredictable. No earthquakes. Hurricanes. Minimum wildfires. Marginal flooding. Not too many tornadoes. Not so cold as Minnesota.

But really unpredictable!

How I Named My Blog Day -- The Marmelade Gypsy

NOTE:! Welcome to December! All month, at least one holiday image (it may be the only thing in the post!). AND over at Chopsticks and String I'll be posting an ongoing holiday survival and fun series -- some of my favorite tips for the holidays from movies and books to party fun to present wrapping! Check regularly (or look for updates in my sidebar here on the Gypsy.

Today Ruth is celebrating "How I Named My Blog" day over at syn-chro-ni-ci-ty.

Hopefully, you are participating too, because she is offering a "major award" -- and besides, I want to know how you named your blog!

The Marmelade Gypsy didn't begin as a deliberate decision. You all know that Mr. Gypsy Rose is my overly sweet, needy, orange cat. And you probably know that orange cats are on occasion called "Marmalade Cats" for their rich color.

So, it seems obvious. But the first name for the blog was "Le Chat Orange" (The Orange Cat). It was a play on the French series of cat work by Steichen called "Le Chat Noir" (black). I thought I nabbed that name for Blogger --but who knows? I could never find it or whatever address I had at that time to synch up! All I know is that when I went to "claim it for real," Blogger said it was taken. And I've never found another with it.

So, I made a test blog -- The Orange Cat. I still have this as not-public to experiment without fear!
Ah, but the "Marmelade" part. It seemed like as good a name as any -- I often called him my "Marmy Boy." In fact, lots of you think that's really his name and now it has become one of them!)

(It will come as no surprise to you that the musical "Cats" and T.S. Eliot's poetry collection that inspired it, is one of my favorites. If it's one of yours, you'll know how "The Naming of Cats" poem/song lists all a cat's names -- and one can have many! Gyp's include "Gyppy," "Mr. Gyps," "Gypadedoodah" "Gypadoodledoo" and "Punky Monkey." When they were a team, Gypsy and Stimpy were my personal "Mungojerry and Rumpleteaser" whose song in that show is my favorite!)

Boldly, I typed it in, claimed my Blogland identity, and didn't stop blogging from that moment on.

I don't know why I never noted that spell-check kept questioning my spelling. Or why, when I googled myself, it would say "Do you mean 'marmalade'?"

Basically, I'm a pretty good speller -- but not that day. And naturally, I picked probably the most visible platform on which I could ever choose to write. And while it's not so bad a typo as "pubic television" (and yes, it has happened, but not by me), it's still a little embarrassing. I suppose I could change it, but maybe now I think of it in the way people who say "Kool Kats" or take a perfectly easy to spell "Sara" or "Sarah" and turn it into Sarhrahe (the "e" is silent).

So, share your blog story -- and don't forget to link it to Ruth's -- you may learn all sort of fun stuff today!

(And to learn how I named "Chopsticks and String" head over there!)

What Was Missing This Thanksgiving

It wasn't until Wednesday morning that Rick and I decided we would make Thanksgiving dinner (rather than drive to his brother's in Grand Rapids). He was pretty tired and knew he had a long drive to Missouri on Friday; I was just tired. The boys were with their mom. A quiet dinner would be good.

That evening my friend Judy invited us, friends Mike and Kate, and Judy's wonderful daughter and her guy, Dick's parents and next-door neighbors for a small, informal potluck. Subs, dessert. I'd bring the salad bar. So, when I stopped at the market on TG Eve to get my veggies, I picked up a turkey breast to supplement my make-it-easy dinner the next day.

Judy's home is always festive, the mood was warm, loving, grateful and cheery. Through the course of the evening I learned both she and Dick and Mike and Kate (who had celebrated the year before) had no solid Thanksgiving plans. Hmmm.

I've been pretty hesitant to commit to anything in recent weeks. Between my broken rib and Rick's crash recovery, we aren't the most energetic couple on the planet. And the last thing I wanted in my world was stress. It was a non-starter.

But we had this food. I was going to cook it anyway. What's a few more potatoes in the mash or using all the stuffing crumbs instead of half? Why not bring up six turkey plates instead of two? And with a couple of calls, we had a plan.

You need to know this about me -- I am a control freak. No one thinks so and they're often surprised when I say so. But when it comes to holidays, I like plans. Timing. Specifics. Party favors. I don't like it to think of myself that way. But it's there.

So, this "spur of the moment" thing was different for me. And it was wonderful.

I pulled out a bunch of stuff from the closet and art room for a centerpiece. My new gourd, the tablecloth, a basket, some raffia, some craft leaves, candles. I bought flowers the night before. Twenty minutes. Centerpiece.

Dishes had been carefully packed last year and didn't need more than a cursory wiping. Same with the silver. And then came mom's crystal.

I have long believed if you have it, use it. And I'm pretty darned good at using things that would cause at best a heartbroken gasp and at worst a flood of tears of damaged. But I'd never used mom's crystal -- almost paper thin with a mulberry etching -- one she had trouble finding replacements for in the 60s. I was too afraid.

The person I love most in the world and the friends who offer so much richness in my life were coming. If I'm going to break crystal, I want to do it with them. Maybe Rick's near-brush reminded me that I could live my life without using those glasses, and oh, how sad that would be. In many ways, with lots of thoughtful layers, doing so was one of my most meaningful moments of the day.

The menu? Well, apart from the turkey, I had all the stuffing "stuff."

Leftover greens and veggies from the super-salad from the night before (just enough for six!), green beans, jazzed up cranberries and apples (next year I'll go back to the regular relish), mashed potatoes (no milk; low-fat sour cream, butter and compliments!), bread I'd picked up at a bake sale and the homemade apple pie from the high school band fundraiser.

Rick and the guys grilled the turkey down at his place, while at mine Kate's gravy bubbled, the table was ready, the food was in the oven. We sat around the table in my tiny dining area and laughed, talked, shared. And it was wonderful.

My friend Richard (of the Crytal Project for longtime readers of The Gypsy) came by for dessert as we were talking about things over the course of the year for which we were grateful, something I sure many families in our communal world also did. The conversation covered our personal gratitudes (not just the obvious, like "Rick didn't die") but the shifts in our lives for which we were grateful.

Joy after great sadness. A gift. Reconnecting on a different level with now young-adult children. A gift. Connections with friends we'd not seen in a long while -- or perhaps have never "seen" and how they changed our world. A gift. Seeing how the trials so many of us have experienced directly or indirectly this year because of our nation's challenging economic issues has changed our focus into what really matters, how we live our lives, save, make different consumption choices, reframe our values. A gift.

And Richard, who walked in on the middle of this, may have made the most quietly profound observation of all. Gratitude brings with it more gratitude and more for which to be grateful. And sometimes, in the end, the bad isn't always all bad -- even if it takes awhile to find the good. Oh yeah.

It was the nicest Thanksgiving I have ever experienced. And what was missing?

The stress. And the party favors.

Rick is off to visit his family and since my doc said riding in the car with my ribs would be a bad thing, I'm here with the Gypsy for the weekend. My body is telling me to stop. Don't overdo. Rest. It's time I listen.

How I Named My Blog Day

Ruth is promoting "How I Named My Blog Day" on December 1.

Edited Note: Ruth's sign-up post has dropped "below the fold." Here is the direct link to that post and the comments page to sign up! Thanks, Annie, for letting me know!

Much of the copy in this text is based on Ruth's entry but hers is much more fun! Still, read on...

The idea is "How did you name your blog?" Sometimes easy, or a really complex decision that means something powerful to you and intrigues others.

(Why The Marmelade Gypsy -- and why is it spelled that way?) Are the photos in this post clues?

Did you have lots of ideas, or just one. Regrets? Did it launch a new business or path?

Ruth's "inquiring mind" wants to know! So, she's asking bloggers everywhere to take a break from your regular content stream (be it life in general, a thematic blog, a deeply thoughtful series of posts) and tell us ALL how you came to choose your blog name.

Ruth says (and I quote, but really -- you must visit her fabulous blog with gorgeous photos and such delightful content): "On December 1, publish your own "How I Named My Blog"post!!!!

Participate with THOUSANDS - perhaps TENS of THOUSANDS - of Bloggers around the world in this first time ever highly anticipated truly GLOBAL event!

And yes -- she is going to bestow a Major Blog Award to ONE blogger for "How I Named My Blog"

A straightforward name of small proportions may impress her with simplicity, subtlety, nuance and grace?

Or your ordinary name could "unfold a titillating and seductive tale - fiction or non-fiction."

Will your post on this be poetry, humor, essay?

And best of all, she will explain how she named synch-ro-ni-zing on December 1st, too.

(But will she also speak of Paris Deconstructed?)

Ruth says there are no rules or criteria (except no epics), and all are welcome.

Go to THIS LINK (Ruth's) and comment at that post that you are going to participate in posting your very own story of "How I Named My Blog" on December 1, leave the URL for the blog where you will post it, and she will list and link to your blog that day!

Ruth will "read every last one of the posts posted by posting participants and choose a WINNER!!!!

December 1. Be there or be square! Prepost if necessary!

(Really, you must go to the link and read her whole post -- even though I cribbed the top part of it unashamedly. This is a wild and crazy woman on the loose!)

If you want to know more about The Marmelade Gypsy's back story, don't forget to stop back here! And let me know you're playing, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May Your Thanksgiving Day Be Wonderful!

Please feel free to copy any of these antique postcards from my collection for your art. (I should have posted them earlier, but hey, there's always next year!)

We'll celebrate with much to be thankful for this year -- particularly Rick's being OK and those who have been so supportive and loving of us both. That includes you.

And, since my pumpkin roll baking is done, a big monkey is off my back! (Check out last year's pumpkin roll tutorial right here.)

How nice to have days simply to say "thank you."

I'll be back in a couple of days!

Thanksgiving Countdown! Almost Here!

Run for your life, Tom Turkey! Your days are numbered!

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I'm grateful for the people who really make my life worth living.

That would include Rick and the boys, of course...

My family and wonderful friends, who hang with me when times are tough, laugh when they are funny and care in so many ways.

Those friends include all of you who read The Marmelade Gypsy and who leave wonderful comments. I love visiting your spots, too. Thank you for inspiring me, motivating me, and enriching my life with your ideas, creativity and thought. You make me smile more often than you know.

I am grateful that we have food on our table, a roof over head, and enough love to keep us going when we get sticker shock at the store.

Enjoy that turkey or whatever you have to celebrate Thanksgiving.

(And if you happen to be in a spot of this world that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you find something wonderful to celebrate this Thursday!

Harvest. Don't you just love it?

'Tis (Almost) the Season...

'Tis almost the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly!

And, while I'm not quite ready to bid farewell to pumpkins and mums, I am stocking up on the greens!

It was greens market day in the charming small Michigan town of Northville, not too far from Ann Arbor for you Michigan folk. And quite the wonderful place it is!

So, my buddy Jan and her mom, aunt and I headed that way for their annual greens market.

Now, we weren't seeing snow flakes -- in fact, after our chill October, November has been remarkably warm if not always sunny. But it was lots better than last year's pouring rain! In fact, it was downright perfect -- sunny, 50s, festive.

Here's Jan -- picking a great wreath. I ended up with a centerpiece, wreath, some holly and a beautiful kissing ball for the hall.

And this gourd woman's work was just amazing.

You can bet I left with something from this stall. A little too much from that stall!

And after, a visit to a wonderful garden/home decorating spot. But the photos for that? That's another post!

Then late lunch/early dinner at a nearby restaurant, and eventually home. I've got to say, with my bruised (broken?) rib(s) and only five hours of sleep, home was good.

Holidays are nearly here -- which leads me to the holiday crazies. Buying the greens is easy; figuring out all the rest of it -- that gets tough!

I've lots of UFOs to finish for an upcoming show, and I'll share some of those soon. Here's one I don't remember posting. Meanwhile, we're just taking it one day at a time!

Rick continues to improve and is appreciating all the good wishes you passed along his way! I'm grateful to finally get back to creativity and for all the inspiration I draw from you! Now if I can get that badly needed dose of energy and rest and a little less discomfort, I'll be a mighty happy camper. That might take a few...

(Now at Chopsticks and String -- a fun new book meme!)