I've been accumulating. I've been accumulating good things for giving. And it's time to pick some numbers!
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Out of 2000 comments (oh my, oh my), all the luck and the goodies go to...
#1057: Jill -- "Great giveaway! Congratulations on everything new going on - how exciting!"
#156: Jenny -- "what great fabric! i love it!"
#1306: elliebelle -- "I love the new layout of the blog - it looks great! The colors of your new lines of fabric are so fun and fresh. Great job!"
So, Jill, Jenny, & elliebelle, email me with your addresses & we'll get your packages shipped this week. And, don't forget to tell me which color/style of Trash Ties you'd like!
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This time the pear photo is no taunt -- no longer a forbidden
fruit. I'm kicking off my sewing patterns this month. Our ducks are
just about lined up & ready to quack. I couldn't be more excited
to wrap up these first patterns and this is the week. Then it's just a
little wait for the printers to do their thing.
Oh, and there
are other things. Other fun, fun things. But, I'm not saying a word
for one more week or so -- which is not such a long wait anymore, as
I've been keeping some of these things to myself for almost a year
now. Can't wait to show you!
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"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect
of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the
approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false
friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of
one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy
child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played
and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one
life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have
succeeded."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
I've
been thinking about this statement a lot lately. Who was this Emerson,
to speak such a truth? "To have sung with exultation (whether a good singer or not, it is no matter -- it's the singing) ...to find the best in others ...to endure the betrayal of false friends"; the
comfort of gardening and the blessing of a healthy child. Simple
truths, but so powerful. When you boil this life down to its essence,
it's where your heart is at that matters. Love is the thing. 
I think it's that old unpublished
Gettysburg- Address-post in me trying to sneak its way out again.
Perhaps it's wisdom to just let Emerson do the speaking, but I've had a
tender heart these last few months. My understanding of the human
experience has come into greater focus this year & I'm just aching
to wax philosophical.
It was
along this line of thinking, that I had originally wished to become a
doctor. In my teenage mind, being a doctor was perhaps the best way to
be of service to humanity. And though I'm grateful for modern medicine
& the blessings it brings so many of us, I now know that there are
opportunities in all walks of life to strengthen the world around us.
And it all starts with kindness & goodness within -- bulletproof
kindness.
I've just been thinking. And I could so
go on here.
Of course, Emerson died over 100 years ago. If he were still around, he'd certainly amend his list to include "to dance a mad-dance to Another One Bites the Dust" -- my own universal truth. (Emerson might not approve of the lyrics, but he'd agree with the dancing.) Queen is so fabulously all-over-the-place.
Hmmm, kinda like this post.
