Things in progress

This plant was given to me on MOTHER"S DAY 2009, it survived a long winter in our garage, all dried up and neglected, and came back to life for just another season.

Starting some new crochet tops for my shops, I loved to do those while I was still selling as Retro Chic Boutique.

Tomatoes: cannot wait until they turn red:)

Owl scarecrows as protectors again bird theft, and since I love my owls and mushrooms deco inside of our house, I finally found some for the outside as well. (Handpainted and manufactured in the USA, a great inexpensive find in a local small seed shop.)

Lena won the Eurovision Song contest for Germany

So I got news yesterday (my daughter called and I basically enjoyed the final voting live with her over the phome) that Lena had won the Eurovision song contest for Germany.

Big deal if you know the longstanding European tradition of an annual song contest.

I have watched it every year, dating back to my child hood.

The last time a German contestant won, was 28 years ago, Nicole with "Ein bisschen Frieden".
Anyway, this Lena is a fresh 19 year old high-school graduate, with a London accent (she sings her song in English). A bit on the ironic side. And she's cute, no doubt.
A musical masterpiece?
Probably not, but fun:)

Crochet as a therapy

Crochet is more than just a craft; it can be a very relaxing, therapeutic technique for many people, especially those that tend to be 'high strung' or even anxious. Crochet can take your mind off things in everyday life that can cause a great deal of stress or anxiety.

Crochet is a very tedious and time consuming form of arts and crafts and takes a great deal of concentration and patience. It also requires dexterity and gives ample distraction to stressful situations.

Engaging crochet can give a very positive effect in your life because it allows you to relax. Crochet is something you can do while you are sitting on your couch watching tv or listening to music. Because it is such a time consuming activity, taking a long time to complete a project, it most often is cheaper than seeing a therapist.

Once you learn how to crochet, the different things that you can create are endless.

Engaging in the activity of crochet will set you mind at ease and allow you to come back to the stressfuls situation(s) in your life with a clear head. Crochet is addictive, like many other artistic activities. Because it is therapeutic and relaxing, it's a healthy addiction. Using crochet as therapy, you can find a dramatic difference in your ability to relax and cope with the stressful situations in your life.

(I don't particularly enjoy writing longer texts in English, which is my 2nd language. I seem to have to go back and edit them over and over again. Sometimes I borrow text passages that I find online and maybe I change some of the wording, but I always give credit to the original source.

I have copied a big portion from http://www.mycraftywoman.com/2009/04/23/crochet-as-a-therapy.html

Honesty shall set you free:)

I had successfully used crocheting for the last few weeks to overcome the stress and anxiety of the car accident.

I must have produced about 40 tam hats, but never found the energy to take pictures and list them for sale.

Today I have finally updated my website with some of the new creations and there are many more to come soon.

Al Green in concert

While my memory is still fresh and filled with all the great songs to sing along "Good Times", "Let's stay together", "Love and Happiness" I am sharing a few pictures from his live concert in Newkirk Oklahoma (First council Casino event tent) tonight.

Had I expected an aged Al Green I was proven wrong. He hardly looked any different than on his album covers at the height of his successful years in the Seventies, ok, maybe a bit older and fuller around the waist, but boy did he put on an energetic show.

And his voice was amazing.

He gave us all the great hits we were expecting, funky dance rhythms and melancholic love songs like "How can you mend a broken heart".

I loved every minute of it.

Classic soul of the 1970s will never grow old!

Happy Sobriety Day, Sid!

My husband's birthday is today and we did the "gift opening and going out for dinner" thing which was fun.

But tomorrow will be his special day of 20 years sobriety, happy 20th birthday, baby!

I am very proud of you and love you very much!

Life must go on...

and instead of just striving for getting back to normalcy I am determined to make it even better.

After the shock of being involved in an accident with a school bus last weekend and losing my beloved eco-friendly Saturn I am moving on with life.

Thank goodness I had not been at fault and there were no school children in the bus at that time.

Material loss and some soreness on my part only. We all got uninjured out of our vehicles, I count my blessings and my belief in the concept of a guardian angel has been reaffirmed.

Shortly after this event we went on a one-day road trip to New Mexico to bring home lava rocks for our sweat lodge, along with cedar and yucca plants. It's time to renew spirituality.

On the crafty side of life there is a sneak peak of a new patchwork skirt, a tundra green skirt in plus size and suitable for shorter mamas, too.

Happy Friday and more updates soon.