Interconnectedness

Before there was a digital world wide web, there was the human web of interconnectedness. We've all heard the Six degrees of separation theory which in my real life, I see every day, not just that I know someone who knows someone et al, but in how we help each other along the way.

When you work at home, if I may use that term, your time is pretty flexible. Aside from my museum stint, and of course, the market, I'm pretty free to do as I please, which is a blessing I don't take lightly. Yesterday morning while I was working on a new collage, Karen (of last years brain aneurysm), called asking if I wanted to meet for tea. Because she was phoning from our neighborhood Ross, I suggested she come to the house after giving me a few minutes to get my shower. I was delighted to set aside my plans to visit with her on her day off.

Once she arrived, I put the kettle on. You do remember my new life changing kettle don't you? Suggested by both Tom and Matt while they were home for Christmas, I am loving using it on a daily basis. Well, as it turns out, Karen's dear Mother has recently moved into a retirement apartment with a kitchen equipped with only a microwave for tea making. Anathema to a real tea drinker! Hearing me praise the virtues of my electric kettle, Karen immediately decided that once she'd seen it in action, it was definitely the ticket for her Mother. Tom+Matt+Gail+Karen+Fran. Cool, huh? By the way, I served my special, direct from London, Lady Gray tea, a gift from dear Tom.

My friend Mary, after reading in this blog about the Agnes & Muriel cookbook, decided to buy one for herself to see if it met the hype I'd heaped upon it. After Karen left, I checked the computer finding a message from Mary regarding the Lemon Ice Box pie I made several weeks ago. It's the only recipe in the book missing a measurement of a wildly important ingredient. I decided to just call her with my interpretation. Choices, choices. Two Mary listings on my mobile. Pushing one of the numbers it turns out it was not dear Mary Whited, but Mary Lou Moss instead. So where are we going with this? Well, Mary Lou is a neighbor of Pam and Glen, our friends I served the LIB pie to!! Of all things, during our  conversation, Mary Lou let me know that Pam just raved about the dinner she had at our home. Matt+Gail+Pam+Mary Lou+Mary. Isn't life grand?

So, with that out of the way, let's go back a few days. The shower for our nephew Rich, and his lovely wife Jenn was on Saturday afternoon. Sadly, they did not open gifts while the guests were there so I didn't get to see their reaction while opening ours. Like a silly goose, I did not photograph the rag quilt I made for baby Spenser. While making Matt's quilt, I saw this adorable rubber duckie fabric that I was hoping they would think was as charming as I did. According to Maureen, they did. There I go again, connecting people and ideas!

If there is a cuter shirt on the market than the one Rich is wearing, I've yet to see it! They are bursting with happiness!

I'm not sure about these two shirts,but I adore the young men wearing them:

Bill refused to remove his sunglasses because he had a very late night, or shall I say morning? Friday evening he drove to Clearwater, playing for his guitar sponsor's annual party for the seventh time. Hard to believe he's had that endorsement for so long. He and Melanie drove home afterwards, arriving home around 5 in the morning. Why they didn't just stay there, I'm not sure. Great news on the Bill front. His employer is paying for his  Series 7 exam training, which if he passes, will be a great step on his career ladder.

Saturday evening we went out to a bar. Shocked? Me too! Bruce received an email invitation to see a band playing just up the street at McWells. Rhonda, the woman he works most closely with in purchasing, is the least likely person I can think of to have an aging rocker for a husband, but in fact she does. They were good! With market day looming, we left before we wanted to, but not before we had a turn on the dance floor. Very fun.

By now you may be sick of hearing me talk about this blouse, but here it is anyway:

Trish asked me if I'd made it, which was slightly unsettling because the goal is always to make it look store bought. Flattering me, she said she knew it because you can hardly find clothes with details like mine. I told you it fit me well!

A scad of repeat customers came on Sunday, pleasing me to no end. I love it when they think enough of my stuff to buy more. Actually, that is a bonus,  I most like hearing that it looks good in their homes.

Katie, our niece is moving back to Orlando after quite a few years in South Florida. Seeing her on Friday night, she promised to visit the market on Sunday. And so she did, with our daughter-in-law Michelle in tow.

That's Katie on the right. Both of these young women have amazing smiles, don't they? Oh, to be young again...

Mentioning in my last post how many years I've been writing, I thought about it in another way. Normally I spend about an hour on each post, sometimes more, sometimes less. Using that as a guide, I divided 24 into 803 and got 33 and change. Using that math, means that I've spent 33 full days writing this blog. Am I crazy or what? Apparently, I knew that already when naming this blog.....