A Sunny Day

True friendship isn't being inseparable, 

it's being separated
and nothing changes. ~ Unknown

My bestie, Julie, was in town visiting her mother, so we grabbed breakfast and some coffee.

After breakfast we decided to go to the beach for a walk. I took a wrong turn and we ended up wandering around a small old cemetery on Signal Hill. Most of the graves were from the twenties and thirties. I was struck by how most of the people didn't live very long lives. It wasn't unusual for people to have died in their forties or fifties.

 

 It wasn't a particularly pretty place. It hasn't rained in months upon months.

You can see the oil pumps in the background... but it was quiet and peaceful.

 

 Someone had left food and presents on this little girl's grave for the Day of the Dead.... El Dia de los Muertos.

Some of the names were little children, with sayings like "Our Little Cowboy" and "Our Darling"

This one read simply, "Sister"

 

This stone was for a"woodman of the world". 

I'm thinking mine might have a pair of scissors.

  

Thank you, Munhollands, for the nice bench where we sat and talked for an hour, solving all the world's problems. I am so happy to be alive. 

Marilyn.

 

--

“Look at everything as though you were seeing it 

either for the first or last time. 

Then your time on earth 

will be filled with glory.” 

~ Betty Smith

Operation Salad Jar....

We're all about the manias here at Casa Del Aguas. Whether it's guitar building, costume making, painting, paper toys or cooking, we have a tendency to throw ourselves into new things with the wild abandon of Mister Toad.  Somehow, we all ended up with little inner voices that say, "I bet I could..."

So I when I saw this post on Pinterest on how to make Mason Jar Salads, I was transfixed.

 http://karenknichols.blogspot.ca/2012/02/mason-jar-salads.html

It's a great tutorial. After reading it I wanted to try this with all the single minded demanding of Veruca Salt. I wanted salads in jars and I wanted it now.

So I bought five mason jars, washed them, bought a bunch of veg and started filling...

 The first couple jars I filled with balsamic vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, fresh basil, cucumber and lettuce.The dressing sits on the bottom of the jar until you are ready to eat, keeping the salad crisp. Then you can either shake the jar up and dig in or tip it into a bowl.

I filled two more jars with poppyseed dressing, grated carrot, red bell pepper, green peas, and lettuce.

So thank you for the tutorial, Karen at My Not So Simple Life.  Here they are, lined up like little happy greenhouses in the fridge. Next I want to try a cilantro dressing with chickpeas and roasted bell peppers. I was going to do a couple of bacon and spinach salads but someone ate all the bacon that I baked this morning. (Gives the Boy the stinkeye.)

Oh well, next time...

What salad combinations would you suggest?

Nomnomnom,

Marilyn.

PS If you want to follow me on Pinterest, here are my boards... http://pinterest.com/thetoymakers/


---

--> "If we all did the things we are capable of doing  we would literally astound ourselves." – Thomas Alva Edison

Sewing Party!

Getting ready for the Long Beach Comic Con.... The boy and his friend spent the evening sewing costumes. I'm so proud of them!

 They made three robes. They are going as Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts.

 The Boy was assigned to ironing duty and needle threading.

 Sewing Shoulder pads.

I finished my brown jacket. Not half bad, if I do say so. Total cost = less than twenty bucks. I still need to learn so much about sewing. Next project is a tee-shirt.

Tomorrow I'll post picts of the gang dressed up.

Good times, people, good times. :-)

Marilyn.

Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, 

'

                        What?! You too! Thought I was the only one.’  ~ C. S. Lewis

Sewing Mania Continues...

 Don't be afraid to attempt something new.

 Remember, it was amateurs who built the ark.

 It was professionals who built the Titanic. 

JoAnne Fabrics had a ninety nine cent sale on Simplicity Patterns so I snagged a couple of new patterns to try. I'm going to practice a bit more before attempting my Opera Coat design.

 

I'm going to attempt the jacket. It's a boxy kind of shape so I made a few modifications. I lengthened is a couple of inches (to cover my backside) and I'm going to add toggle buttons so I can close the front. I'm also going to add buttons on the 3/4 length sleeves. I bought the fabric at an upholstery warehouse, three yards times six bucks = 18 dollars... not too bad. I think the whole jacket will cost less than 25 bucks depending on what kind of buttons I buy. (Or maybe I could figure out how to make some buttons...)  It's really interesting fabric, a gold with a grey blue under weave. It should go great with jeans and a scarf. I may have just enough leftover to make a hat.

I'm curious to perhaps try the pants just to wear around the house. The pattern has a super simple basic elastic waist. I'm thinking they might be nice in a soft linen with a drawstring waste and maybe a slight flare to be more of a bootcut.

Here's a pict of me wearing my first sewing experiment at the Mission Viejo Reader's Festival. I ended up sewing the button holes by hand because I couldn't figure out how to do them on the machine. Oh well, one more thing to learn. :-)

So what new things are you learning this Fall? Any sewing tips most welcome.

Best thoughts,

Marilyn.

PS If anyone missed my Opera Coat design on Facebook here's the sketch... it's based on a photo of a vintage pattern from http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/Pictorial_Review_8948 I've redrawn it from the photo and now just need to get the file enlarged at Kinkos or Office Max. More later!

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ~ Sylvia Plath

Fall is finally coming! Time for Pumpkins and Sewing!

The wretched heat of September is finally gone. (I hope.) And Halloween is right around the corner. My mom was my adventure buddy today. We stopped by Tanaka Farms to pick up some veg. They have a giant corn maze and pumpkin patch. I love these fall colors...

 My mom is 81 and pretty much game for going anywhere. She is the most amiable travel companion you could possibly imagine. She art directed the photos.

 It was crazy packed with kids all running around feeding goats and jumping off hay bales.

Afterwards, we went and ate lunch at Ruby's over looking the lake in Woodbridge. Then we dropped in on my sister's place and gabbed for a bit.

We finished up with a trip to the fabric store. Joann's Fabric is having a 99 cent Simplicity pattern sale.  I went completely bonkers and bought five patterns.

I haven't sewn myself a piece of clothing in thirty five years and never very into it. I was more of a woodworker, quilter and embroiderer. But last week decided it was time to take up sewing clothes again. Right now I'm in the middle of sewing myself a black crepe jacket. Who knows how it will turn out?

I'm perfectly Hobbit shaped and finding clothes that I actually like is pretty much impossible. Most bigger sizes have huge ghastly prints, colors not found in nature, no shape other than boxy and unflattering necklines. Plus, women's sizes cost more than regular clothes. I shake my fist at you shopping mall! If you won't sell me a decent outfit for under a hundred bucks then I'll make it myself!

So, wish me luck with my new mania.

Here's what the black jacket is supposed to look like.... I've got a lot of Haunted Histories booksignings and presentations coming up and I'm hoping it will turn out nice enough to wear.

 

Next, I'd like to make something like this.... 

Or this... (fake fur would do just fine)

If you could make anything... what would you make?

Marilyn.

"Take your pleasure seriously." ~ Charles Eames

Walking the labyrinth

I wrote this about five years ago and thought I might share it again. Marilyn.

So, I’ve been in kind of a funk of sorts lately. Summer is ending. I had a great time at the children’s book conference but the phone hasn’t been ringing off the hook with a publisher wanting me to illustrate the next Caldecott medal award winner or to say, gee Marilyn, we want to you fly out to New York to meet with you about a series of books that we want you to do. Nope, fame and fortune in the book world didn’t have me on speed dial this week.
.
As I’m looking at this website… http://www.earthsymbols.com and I notice a bit of poking around a labyrinth locator.
.
http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org
.
I get very excited! There is a labyrinth not ten miles from my house! Spiritual centering and enlightenment await me in big Celtic embossed cups!

.

Now you have to know that Orange County is not Stonehenge. It’s not even Sedona or Marin. It’s definitely not like that show on TV. It’s a place where it never rains, there’re billboards for discount boob jobs and places named Bobo Loco. As I turn onto Galway Street, nothing looks very much “Galway” at all. Dried out palm trees, graffiti and a notice that the soup kitchen is closed on Wednesdays. The labyrinth spreads over a leaf strewn inner courtyard, the purple paint cracking and faded in the late summer sun.
.
There are a couple of old guys hanging out in the cool of the corridor behind a metal bar fence. They argue loudly about the war in Iraq. Dang! I had hoped for quiet but hunker down and start walking. Step, step, step. After the first few paces toward the middle the path becomes twisty and turny making me feel like a marching toy soldier as I switch back and forth. The rings smooth out after a while as I wind my way, eyes down over trash, dead leaves, and a long yellow smear of dried hurl. Step, step, one foot then the other, step, step, turn. The labyrinth softens into smoother turns, step, step, step, step, turn.
.
“Blow them all up,” step, step, step, “our boys over there,” One voice that I’ve dubbed the Loud Guy overpowers all the other murmuring…step, step, turn. Bird crap. Dried leaves. More murmuring and Loud Guy says, “It a maze, I don’t remember what it’s called.”
.
Shit! I’ve been noticed. I keep my head down and keep walking.
“It goes back to medieval times. It’s for Spiritual Enlightenment.” he explains with knowing conviction. There is silence for a while as we all ponder this comment.
.
“Spiritual Enlightenment” Is that why I’m here? What the heck am I doing? Step, step, step. My paces lengthen as I reach the outer rings, having to duck under overhanging branches to keep on the path. A few more steps and then suddenly I am winding closer and closer to the middle.
.
Before I know it I make a last few turns and am standing in the center. The webpage says, “Upon reaching the center, remain there as long as you like. Some like to sit in the center to reflect.” It doesn’t mention that there is a drain grate in the middle. I have a childhood aversion to grates and suddenly I’m five years old up in the mountains and my parents trying to get me to walk over a large snow grate into the lodge. I stand with my red cowgirl boots, dripping slush and phobias as they urge me to cross over. It’s about a mile deep it seems to me and I’m sure there are alligators or grizzly bears down at the bottom. I think my dad finally carried me across.
.
I look down at the labyrinth grate into the stagnant water below. I don’t think I want to stay very long at all. I like moving better than sitting. After a few deep breaths I begin the winding journey back. Step, step, step. The trip back is freer and my steps are longer. My Labyrinth Guide 101 says, “There are many ways to walk the Labyrinth.” One of which is with a prayer or mantra in mind. Today I don’t particularly have a mantra. I don’t have anything I particularly want other than the really important stuff that I pray for most days, happy home, happy family, to be of some use in a noisy, dusty world. To have my Toymakers book on the New York Times best seller list slips in there from time to time but today I am not asking for anything. Step, step, turn. I hum a few bars to “Be Thou My Vision” which feels about right. The soup kitchen guys are back to talking about politics. Step, step, step, a swoosh and a turn and then with a flash I’m done.
.
As I’m back in my car driving I smile at the discount boob job billboard girl as she spills out of her strapless satin gown. She smiles back with perfect white bonded teeth and shiny black hair flowing down her arched back. The traffic rumbles along under the freeway past Wal-Mart and Pho soup places, burnt yellow crab grass and carnicerias. I realize that this is my labyrinth, my life, dusty and noisy, filled with too many people and too many cars. I don’t live in some green idyllic place with Celtic harp playing softly in the background. Ah well. I pull a few dried leaves from my hair as I drive. That’s okay with me.
.

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth,
so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.
To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.
To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over
the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
~ Henry David Thoreau

The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Are you ready for a magical adventure? One that is full of fun and PRIZES? Then come join us for the Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory's Golden Ticket Giveaway!

The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will provide hours of fun for kids and parents alike. Based on the beloved story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the boy who wins the golden ticket and enters the magical world of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, this beautifully-illustrated and well-written book entices kids to enter that same magical world and join along in the adventure.

The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an interactive, adventure-filled delight through the Chocolate Factory, with stops along the way to create, laugh and learn. It reawakens the passion and idea of “jumping” inside the pages of this book with the knowledge that each chapter is a gateway into a magical world. Now available on iTunes, it’s your opportunity to truly experience where art, literature and technology meet allowing you to feel the story like never before.

With over 20 crafts and activities for the entire family, the book brings children and parents together to re-live the wonder and amazement that Charlie experienced during his trip through Willy Wonka’s world of magic and chocolate. While meandering through the factory on the Chocolate River, readers stop to learn where chocolate comes from or how gum is made. They work their way through mazes, puzzles and games, and so more much. The best part is that the adventures can be done at the reader’s own pace, providing family fun throughout the summer and beyond.

As an author, parent, and founder of multiple blogs, Audrey Press CEO Valarie Budayr has always been committed to helping families discover the balance between being “connected” and intentionally “unplugged” to create family time and reading opportunities. As an advocate of family reading, Valarie has created the enchanting enhanced digital eBook known as the Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory as a way to encourage families to re-discover the joys and benefits of reading and playing together as a family.

Valarie has hand-picked 5 delightful blogs that she feels carries the message of families learning, reading and growing together through play. These very special blogs will be the "keepers" of the much-desired 5 Golden Tickets. Starting today (September 13^th), readers are invited to visit the following 5 blogs and locate the Golden Ticket.

INSTRUCTIONS:

·       Visit each one of our 5 hand-picked blogs.(See list below)

·       The Golden Ticket will be in a blog post that was written and created within the last 10 days.

·       One Golden Ticket will be found per blog, so readers will need to visit all 5 blogs to get all 5 Golden Tickets.

·       Locate each Golden Ticket, and make note of the URL of the blog page it was found on.

·       After locating the 5 Golden Tickets on the 5 participating blogs, enter the links within our Rafflecopter Giveaway on our Ultimate Guide to Charlie blog.

·       Once readers enter those 5 links correctly, they are “in to win!” 

·       A Grand Prize Winner and several secondary winners will be chosen September 24th, 2012.

Summary:

 MANDATORY:

·      Must enter five golden ticket URLs in the five slots in Rafflecopter

BONUS: Tweet the giveaway for an optional Bonus 

                  “Like” The Ultimate Guide to Charlie Facebook Fan Page

WHO are the 5 keepers of the Golden Tickets??

The Toymaker

Mom 2 Two Posh Lil Divas

Rhythm of the Home

Imagination Soup

WordPlayHouse

What are the prizes, you say?

 Oohhh, fasten your seat belts..these are GOOD:

First Prize:

A brand new iPad! And not just an iPad, but one also loaded with the Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (a $7.99 value) and other Kite Reader books (a $40.00 value)

Second Prize:

Your choice of a $50 gift card to one of the following places: Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, or an independent bookstore listed at indiebound.org

Third Prize:

$50 gift card to iTunes.

Disclaimers for the Giveaway:

·       *Must be 18 years or older to enter

·       *One entry per household.

·       *Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.

·       *Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize

·       *If Grand Prize winner is outside of the US and Canada, they will be given an Apple Gift card to use for their iPad purchase.

 “Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are hidden in the most unlikely places.” – Roald Dahl