National Pretzel Day...And More Food

Today's Post is brought to you by National Pretzel Day (tomorrow!) and by my growling stomach.

Pretzels are one of the world's perfect foods. Few can argue this fact. Warm and yeasty, sprinkled with just the right amount of salt--Mmmmm. Straight out of the bag, crunchy, salty--perfect in their simplicity. Dipped in chocolate, Nutella, cheese, mustard (if you so lean)--so versatile! So in honor of tomorrow's national holiday, I give you: The Pretzel.

Which also led me to a few more culinary delights in my photo stream. Please enjoy these mouthwatering selections from a recent trip to Williamsport, PA: A cannoli from the bakery, paired with coffee from Alabaster coffee, followed with a Mediterranean bowl from the pub.

What does this have to do with my business? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Earth Day Every Day!

There is always more we can do to protect and preserve our natural resources. I'm challenged to make small changes in my lifestyle and choices that are kinder to the earth. I find that the kitchen and bathroom are two major consumers of plastics, so I concentrate there. I use these beeswax food wraps which are made from organic cotton and organic beeswax. They help to keep food fresh without wrapping in plastic. This year for Christmas I selected silicone zip bags to cut down on plastic ziplock bags. In the shower I now use soap and shampoo bars instead of bottles of shower gel and shampoo. I have a long way to go, and when I walk my street and see the insane amount of trash from other homes on trash collection day, I can get discouraged. But little by little, with many people making an effort, perhaps we can indeed leave lighter footprints on our planet!

Bridal Fridays

Bridal Friday!

Let's talk bridesmaid gifts. These days (as I'm learning...) it's custom to give your girls a gift when you ask them to be your bridesmaid. And then you give another gift associated more with the wedding. This gift may be robes or pajama sets to wear while getting hair and make up done the day of. Or it may be jewelry to wear for the wedding. Back in my day <insert eye roll> I gave necklaces to my bridesmaids that they wore for the wedding. Who remembers the 1928 line of jewelry? Yep, that was it!

Naptime Inspirations is happy to work with brides to create custom pouches or clutches to gift to bridesmaids. They could be "Ask" pouches with a pretty card inside to pop the question. Or they could be "Day of" pouches so they can keep their make up and essentials handy. Let's chat!

What about you? What did you give? What are the best ideas you've heard? What are the worst ideas you've heard??

Restoring Old Textiles

Orphaned quilt blocks

When I buy (acquire) old textiles there is a process to get them ready for a new life! The first step is to be machine washed. Then they get hung up to air dry. Then they get soaked overnight in a special fabric restoration detergent. I spared you the photo of the dirty water after the soak! It was disgusting! And that was *after* they had been washed! Ew. From the soak they go through a machine rinse and spin. Then they get hung out in the sunlight for the final step. It's *amazing* how that soak and line dry brightens them up. They look so much younger after that! Then I lovingly iron them all before I fold them up and store them until use. Ironing is when I Ooh and Ahh to myself. These old textiles never cease to give me joy!

Feed sacks blowing in the breeze

This is an old quilt top, waiting to see what it will become…

Legacy

Grandma’s quilt on Grandpa’s quilt rack.

I am blessed to come from a long family legacy of faith, service, kindness, and creativity. I didn't "do" anything to earn my ancestry but I reap the blessings of it. And I'm mindful of the legacy that I will leave for future generations.

This new little knick knack that I recently acquired reminds me of that legacy. I received it from my aunt a few weeks ago when she was downsizing. It was made by my maternal grandparents when they were in their late retirement years. My grandpa was a skilled wood craftsman and my grandma was a talented seamstress. Together they made these miniature quilt racks to sell locally. The quilt pattern is printed on the fabric, but my grandma hand-stitched around the pattern, in her perfectly even stitches, to make it look quilted. I didn't appreciate this when they were making them, but now that they are both gone I love that I can have this reminder of them that both their hands have touched.

May we all be mindful of those who have gone before us and those who will come after us. And do our part to make this world better while we are here.

Look at my grandma’s tiny stitches!

Preserving Your Cherished Textiles

Did you ever wonder what goes into preparing old textiles for their new lives??

Admiring the talented work of someone else’s hands

Step 1. Acquire said items. Recently I attended the "Yardage Sale" held at the Materials Resource Center of @mccpeace in Ephrata, PA. Not only do they have an enormous quantity of vintage textiles, but I know my purchase will further their mission. I also frequent thrift stores and friends give me items they no longer need.

Step 2. I machine wash everything I get (if washing it won't completely ruin it). Most of my finished products can be washed which means that the materials they are made from have to withstand the washing process.

Overnight soak

Step 3. I inspect the items for stains. After the initial washing, if items are stained they go into the overnight soak. I use an environmentally friendly cleaner that is formulated to be safe to use on old textiles.

Step 4. Rinse and hang to dry in the sun. I time the overnight soak so that the following day I can hang the items in the sun. The sun can do wonders to brighten textiles!

Step 5. Machine wash and dry again. This removes any residue.

Let the sun work it’s magic

Step 6. Iron. Now the items are ready for their new lives!

Ironing is meditative for me. It allows me to carefully inspect each piece and to admire its beauty again!

If you bring me your sentimental textiles to be made into a custom order, sometimes it's necessary for me to follow all of these steps before I can even begin to make the designs. That's part of what's included in the consultation fee for custom designs. That consultation fee applies towards 1-5 items. I stand behind the quality of my work. I want you to be 100% pleased with the final product!

Mom Guilt?

I recently spent 24 hours alone with my 16 year old daughter, Eden. We had the BEST time together! We went kayaking, went out to dinner, stayed in a fancy B&B, and went shopping. We really packed a lot into a short time. But wait—I have 4 daughters. How did I pick just one of them to be with?

Here’s how it happened—Earlier this spring I took my youngest daughter, Lily, along to Massachusetts to bring another daughter, Ellen, home from college. To be honest, I didn’t ask Eden if she wanted to go. 1. She doesn’t like long car trips and 2. I only had space to take along one daughter. After the fact Eden admitted that she didn’t want to go, BUT she would have liked to be asked. About a month later I booked a beach vacation. Turns out, it was the same week as the camp that Eden had her heart set on attending this year. Truth be told, she preferred going to camp and is not the biggest beach fan so it wasn’t as big a deal as one might think. When we reunited after the week of beach/camp I proposed to Eden that she and I plan a short getaway, just the two of us. Eden likes to describe this as our “Mom Guilt” vacation!

She’s not totally wrong. I did feel a twinge of guilt from enjoying these vacation/times away (is bringing your kid home from college considered a vacation??) without Eden. “Guilt” is definitely one of the more prominent emotions that I experience since having kids. I know there are healthy boundaries, self-care, filling my proverbial bucket, yadayada. But I even experience guilt if someone asks to accompany me to the grocery store and I say no. I probably default to guilt frequently because I desire peace and tranquility in the lives of my loved ones. I work hard to bring that about, to the best of my ability, but obviously that’s not in my power. Frankly, there are times when the emotional needs of others are so overwhelming and I bump up against my finite-ness and that’s a hard place for me. It can also be a good reminder.

It’s in those times when my inadequacy smacks me in the face that I am reminded that no one, least of all God, expects me to fully meet the emotional/mental/physical needs of others. I’m much better at preaching about how resilience is developed in the cauldron of adversity than in being comfortable with my loved ones being in that cauldron. Enter Mom Guilt. Even while on my Mom Guilt vacation with one daughter I felt twinges of guilt for leaving 2 others at home. I haven’t even mentioned Daughter Hayley whom I’ve only seen twice this entire summer! Surely I’ve scarred her for life!

Ah, Mom Guilt. I think it also stems from believing I have more control over circumstances of life than I actually have—like an elevated sense of my ability to affect the situation. Kids will endure decisions that they label “unfair.” It’s impossible to treat all kids equally and that’s not the goal anyway. In the end my kids know beyond a doubt that I love them and I will fight for what is best for them. It’s healthier for them to see a parent that loves but is flawed. It’s in that space that they develop in resilience and courage and find God-given strength to grow. I could conclude with an exhortation to “Throw off the Mom Guilt!” but that’s easier said than done. Instead, I’ll recognize the guilt, but choose to rest in Grace instead!

What's Your Motivation?

What motivates you?

What treasures are in your drawers?

In life? To get out of bed in the morning? In business? In your career? In relationships? I am not a goal-setter or resolution-maker. I think it’s a combination of fear of failing to reach the goal and also a propensity to take each day as it comes. I am a planner and I am organized. So I’m not a “fly by the seat of my pants” type of person. I scoff at the question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years.” But I do have motivation to do the things that excite me.

When I started Naptime Inspirations I didn’t have a goal in mind. I didn’t set out to start a business. I merely started to make fun things and then thought I should try to sell them so that I could make more! I didn’t know the first thing about running a business. What I now know I learned mostly through trial and error and the advice of like-minded people. And, very importantly, Cathy, my S.C.O.R.E. mentor! I’m still not great about setting goals, particularly long-term goals. I have a general idea of where I want to be but it’s probably that fear of not meeting the goal that prevents me from making the goal in the first place.

Keep that special loved one close to you on your wedding day

The part of Naptime Inspirations that is most motivating to me is transforming customers’ personal or heirloom textiles into new creations. If you have a stack of Grandma’s crocheted doilies or delicate floral hankies tucked away in a box or drawer, I can help you to breathe new life into them! And then you can enjoy them around your home or give them away to family members, thereby sharing these precious memories with them.

Do you have a wedding coming up? If that special someone can’t be there with you on your big day, you can still have a reminder of them to keep with you. A piece of lace from your mother’s wedding dress can be incorporated into a small clutch or even a ring bearer’s pillow. A piece of dad’s favorite shirt can become part of your make-up bag that you use on your wedding day.

These pouches were made from the jeans of a dear brother who departed too soon. They were shared with his sisters.

Have you recently lost a loved one? I’m sorry for your loss. Grief is such a personal process—we all have a different path. If you are one who craves a tangible reminder of that loved one, please reach out to me. I’d love to work with you to see what we could create together that would give you that visual reminder of that precious person. For one grieving family I made pillows out of sweatshirts and jerseys and zipper pouches out of blue jeans.

The personal connection we have to textiles is so poignant. Did you have a favorite blankie or pillow when you were little? My brother had a tiny pillow that my mom made for him out of a garish 1970s polyester print. She made matching shirts for my brother and dad out of this fabric and then made the pillow. My brother still had that pillow even after he graduated from college! My daughter has slept with the same plush cow for 20 years now. If I reach WAY back in my memory I can recall my tattered blue blankie with the silky edge that I carried with me during my preschool years. Just imagine if we could glimpse these comfort objects once more! What would it be for you??

Quilts that are too worn to be used on a bed can still be made into smaller keepsakes like pillows, wallets, or zipper pouches.

What motivates me? Bringing new life to precious textiles! It feels like I’m reaching into the past and reintroducing the world to something that was once forgotten or hidden away. Now go ahead—scour those drawers and boxes and see what treasures you find. Then let me know what you found and we’ll work together to create something wonderful!

Family Tales

I love my family. My dad is one of 5 siblings and my mom is one of 6 siblings. I won’t try to count all of my first cousins because I will inevitably forget someone and feel terrible. Given enough time I can name them all. On both sides of my family I fall pretty much in the middle of the cousin line-ups. A large percentage of my aunts, uncles, and first cousins live in the same general area as I do which means that as I was growing up, family was the main social group for parties and picnics. We don’t all agree on political or religious matters, but we are careful to remain politely tight-lipped on such topics. We also aren’t keen on conflict.

The Mother Land

Although this fact is not unusual in these parts of the woods, I can think of at least 2 cases where relatives on my dad’s side of the family are related to relatives on my mom’s side of the family. For example, I have an uncle on my dad’s side who is a first cousin to an uncle on my mom’s side. I’m not kidding when I say it can get complicated. I’ve even instructed my daughters that if they have their eye on a romantic interest, they need to run their choice through my family tree first to make sure we aren’t already related!

I once met a second cousin of mine when I walked into the bank to do my banking. She was working as a teller and somehow we figured out that we were related. Up until then I didn’t even know she existed. There are many more where she came from! I also became good friends with a woman, only to find out 3-4 years later that we are third cousins. No joke. I can’t even explain how we’re related but one of my aunts is a wealth of family knowledge and she knows the connection.

Speaking of aunts, my parents hosted a picnic on Memorial Day this year and invited my mom’s sisters and their spouses. Coming out of the Year of Social Isolation we hadn’t seen these family members very much, so it was especially entertaining to spend an evening with them. And although these ladies do talk amongst each other with some frequency, there is something exciting about getting together in person. It was a thing to behold! It was so great that I even took notes on the conversation.

Which hat would Terri wear??

The First Lesson that I noted was to designate a Men’s Table and a Women’s Table. While this may be unusual to those outside of this culture, this has been the natural course of events at all family gatherings as I grew up. No announcement is made; it just happens. There was co-mingling during the meal, but the after-dinner conversation was segregated. I figure, if it worked on Downton Abbey, then it’s fine. And there is definitely no brandy or cigars, so it’s really harmless. It was during this time of conversation that Aunt J (names withheld to protect the innocent) announced to her sisters to gather around to hear her news! My mind went wild with excitement! What big metaphorical bombshell was she about to drop? What “tea” was about to be spilled, Sister?? Guess what? J had recently visited her friend at the retirement community and while there had decided to pop in and surprise another woman resident who was friends with her sister, my Aunt C. This surprised woman (it was 7:30 and she was already in her pajamas) didn’t recognize Aunt J who had to explain who she was by saying she was C’s youngest sister. Oh yes, then the hypersomniac (I looked that one up) recognized the cheery woman at her door. If memory serves me correctly, and I may have this mixed up, but I think this woman now goes by a different name. Not a totally different name—it’s more like if you were called Debbie all your life and now you go by Deborah. Or Pat/Patty. Or Chris/Christopher. You get the idea. During the course of conversation another name change was noted. This led me to Note Number 2:

I found Terri!!!

When you reach a certain age, you can change your name! Oh the possibilities! My name is Theresa. It’s long. I so envied girls who had nicknames. In second grade I tried hard to convince people to call me Terri. It didn’t work. I’ve never had a nickname. Apparently I need only wait a few more decades and I can reinvent myself! I could finally become Terri! I’m already imagining how cute the nameplate on my door of the nursing home will look. Maybe Terri has a different personality than Theresa. Perhaps Terri is the life of the party—outgoing and gregarious. Fearless. Not afraid to speak her mind. I did just buy a Hawaiian printed t-shirt. Terri would wear Hawaiian shirts and floppy sunhats. Terri would wear white capris with palm trees printed on them.

Aunt J told another lengthy story that I did not follow completely. It involved another visit to a retirement community. Or maybe it was all the same visit. That part is fuzzy to me. But once again she ran into acquaintances whom she knew but they did not know her (how does she have all these one-sided relationships??). Once again, the mystery was solved by describing herself as “the youngest sister of C.” The interesting thing about the people in this story is that we are, apparently, related to them. What’s even more interesting is that my daughter’s boyfriend is good friends with one of their grandsons! How did we discover this, you ask?? First of all, Someone obviously wasn’t sitting at the Men’s Table. Whatever. We’ll let it slide. He recognized the last name and one thing led to another. Besides knowing the entire family tree, Aunt C also knows what church seemingly everyone in the county attends. She was able to put 2 and 2 together and if I understand this math, it turns out my daughter is related to her boyfriend’s good friend!

The best part of being privy to my aunts’ conversations is to see their personalities expressed in all their glory. They are all kind, generous, thoughtful, polite individuals. Yet, like all of us, they have quirks that contribute to their wonderful individualism. My daughter leaned over to me and whispered, “Let’s match up Aunts with us girls! Which one are you? Which one am I?” In the end, we couldn’t do a one-for-one match. It turns out that we are all unique individuals—I prefer to think that one generation passes on the best of themselves to the next generation. That, I’m sure, is true of my Aunts!

Baby Photo Shoot

lisahahnphotography.com

Sometimes in life the perfect opportunity falls into your lap at just the right moment. Recently in one of the Women Entrepreneur Facebook groups of which I am a part I came across Lisa Hahn, a local photographer who was adding brand photography to her repertoire. I was interested in taking more brand photographs for use in my social media and website postings, so I contacted her. LisaHahnPhotography.com

lisahahnphotography.com

Our first meeting was via Zoom and Lisa asked all kinds of questions about what kind of style and look I prefer to represent my brand. She had already looked over my website and social media accounts so she had an idea of my products and style. Her questions were specific and helpful and figuring out what we could do together. After that first meeting we communicated via email and Lisa sent me some links to check out. One helpful tool she told me about was a photo template that may work for highlighting my pillows. Basically, you take a photo of your pillow front and them upload it onto the template. It’s really intriguing. I’m not sure exactly how it will work because of the detail that is on some of my pillows but I may give it a try!

lisahahnphotography.com

Then we discussed possible locations for photo shoots. We emailed back and forth links to various indoor locations that can be rented. I wasn’t ready to do an indoor shoot until post-COVID, so we decided to pursue the baby photo shoot first. That we could do outside and seemed quite safe. My daughter, Eden, was instrumental in connecting me with the moms of 2 beautiful babies. Eden has “Baby-dar” (Baby Radar) and gravitates to the wee ones. These moms graciously agreed to give up an hour of their time to bring their babies to the location where they wore various bib selections from my inventory and Lisa snapped away. Lisa was great! She worked quickly and efficiently. She understood how babies move and was able to capture them looking natural. When it was all over she edited the pictures super fast (!) and made the gallery easily available online for me and moms. She was even to able to accommodate some of my fussy edit suggestions—Did you know you can edit out drool??

I love the pictures so much and I’m so thankful to have a supply that I can use for advertising and on my website. Now if I can just get the website updated…. Next I’ll start to think about a photo shoot to highlight some of my other products: wallets, pouches, backpacks, etc. I’m always amazed at what a skilled photographer can do to make a picture tell a story and evoke emotion. I look forward to working with Lisa again!!

Open House Preview

Just a quick post to let you know, or remind you, that the First Ever Naptime Inspirations Open House and Pop Up Sale will take place on June 5, 9am-3pm (1844 Cloverleaf Rd, Mount Joy, PA).

There are 2 highlights to this Open House: 1) Amazing discounts on discontinued inventory. It needs to go! Now. 2) See for yourself the results of the studio renovation that we did over the winter. Admittedly, the renovation reveal would be most impressive if you knew what the “Before” looked like. But I still think the “After” is beautiful even on its own. It’s also very functional, so for any of you crafty types, you will enjoy the organization.

The man in the plaid is my dad. He built that workstation out of used cabinets. He also installed all of the cabinets in this renovation. The man in the sweatshirt is Tyler, Ellen’s boyfriend. He lent a hand with the awkward angles and heavy lifting.

It seems the organizational bug is spreading in our family. Tom has been organizing the books in his office and he has LOTS of books to give away! They are Theology and Christian Living books. Let me know if you have questions about what he has and I’ll find out for you.

I’ll include a few pictures here but I’ll wait until after the Open House to show all the photos.

Existing cabinets and shelves. I intended to use all IKEA Ivar shelves (such as these). But they were out of stock when I needed to begin the project. Therefore I decided to go with a combination of unfinished stock cabinets from Home Depot and IKEA Ivar shelves.

Please mark your calendars for June 5! I’ll have a tent in the backyard for the items for sale. There will be snacks and beverages if you get the munchies. Bring a friend and make it an outing! If you can’t be there, you can tell your friends!

Here’s the IKEA Ivar shelf from the above picture after it was moved to a new location and painted.

Some days I felt like I would be painting shelves and door FOREVER.

I searched Pinterest for inspiration for inexpensive drawer/cabinet pulls and came across the idea to use skeleton keys. My in-laws have a stockpile of old keys in their basement, leftover from a hardware store that was a family business in Manhattan many years ago. They graciously gave me all the keys I needed. My dad figured out how to solder spacers onto the keys. Easier said than done!

Road Trippin'!

The Grill at Great Marsh

My daughter, Ellen, attends college in Massachusetts, 7-8 hours away from home. It’s a drivable distance but most often on the trips to and from college the focus is on getting there and getting home. We don’t build in much opportunity for seeing the sites, which is unfortunate because the North Shore of Massachusetts (Cape Ann) has SO much to see!

On our first visit up there we visited the Essex Peabody Museum in Salem. It is a MUST see. It was so good. We also toured around Salem a little bit. We’re not into the whole “witches” thing that most people associate with Salem, but the town does have some cute shops, yummy restaurants, and a to-die-for French Patisserie! The historical stuff is very interesting.

Those 2 in the background dipped their toes into the ocean. I did not.

When I drove Ellen back to campus in early February this year we had extra time and tried to go to the Essex Peabody Museum again because there was a really awesome traveling exhibit we wanted to see. But alas, Massachusetts was actually enforcing their COVID travel restrictions and since we did not have proof of a negative COVID test we were not allowed into the museum. We drowned our (deep) sorrow in delicious pub food from the restaurant across the street and ate our take out in our hotel room. Not wanting to repeat that scenario this time around I took my youngest daughter Lily for a COVID test 2 days before we traveled, per the MA travel advisory. Since I was fully vaccinated I didn’t need to be tested.

Hammond Castle

Lily is almost 13 and we have never been on an adventure like this, just the 2 of us. We were excited! We left PA before 7am, stopped once about half-way through the trip and arrived at our destination by 2pm. Our mission: to pack up and move Ellen’s belongings out of her dorm room and into the car. Ellen was still going to spend that night on campus because she was ushering for commencement the next day. Somehow we successfully jammed everything into the car. I was metaphorically (and in reality) sweating it because I realized I should have removed one of the back seats before I left! But those Tetris skills paid off, nonetheless.

Isn’t she just adorable?!

In the midst of packing up I decided to call the office where Lily had her COVID test to see if they had the results. I was told they would be texted to me but I was impatient. “Yes,” they told me. Her test was negative. “Great!” I said. “Please email me a copy of the results because I’m out of state and need proof.” “Oh, we can’t email that to you.” “Ok, I was told I would receive the results via text. You can text it to me.” “We can’t do that. Here’s 2 phone numbers you can call.” I called the first number. It’s not in service. I called the second number and spoke with someone who was very confused as to why I was calling her. Eventually I was connected to Diane at the office where Lily had the test. Here’s the kicker: the lab has the ability to text the results ONE TIME. But they had my phone number wrong. It was off by one digit. So of course I never received the text. Ok, have them resend it. They can’t. They can only send it once. I explained that the whole point of the test was for me to have proof of a negative test for travel purposes. I needed the results. They can’t be emailed. They can’t be texted. But you know how they can send them?? FAX! Welcome to 1999! How is that more secure than emailing them to me?? I checked with my hotel. Yes, they have a fax machine! But Diane can’t fax it until I am physically there to receive the fax. May I give my verbal consent over the phone? No, that would need to be in writing! This is just comical now! The farcical story finally ended with me calling Diane back after I checked into my hotel later that evening and I did indeed receive the fax! The second kicker? No one in Massachusetts ever asked to see proof of a negative test. Of course. Am I a rule follower? Yes. Yes I am.

The many stages of Lily tasting her first cannoli!

Once we stuffed the car full to the gills we set off to find some grub! We headed to the famous Woodman’s of Essex for some fried seafood but the line was long and Lily declared she was not waiting in the line. Two doors down was The Grill at Great Marsh, a local brew pub, so we went there. Now, we were really hungry by this point, having eaten breakfast at 5:30am and no lunch to speak of, but that food was SO good! Lily is still raving about her crab-topped Mac and cheese. My Baha tacos were scrumptious and Ellen’s fried fish sandwich and fries was mouthwatering. The girls then asked for ice cream and I thought they must be joking because we couldn’t eat one more blessed morsel. I used the oldest Mom-trick in the book: I told them maybe we’d get ice cream the next day. The girls also had their hearts set on visiting the beach. There was talk of donning bathing suits and jumping into the surf just to say that they did. But I talked them out of that craziness. Dipping their toes was enough since the sun was setting by then and temperatures were taking a dive. Singing Beach in Manchester by the Sea is a favorite spot for Ellen. She and a group of girlfriends would drive there on Saturday mornings to watch the sunrise, in all kinds of weather, most of it very cold! Eventually we took Ellen back to campus and Lily and I settled into our hotel room.

The beach in Gloucester

We didn’t need to wake early the next morning because Ellen needed to work commencement from 6am-5pm. Since the class of 2020 missed out on commencement last spring, the college held 2 separate ceremonies—one for the class of 2020 in the morning and one for the class of 2021 in the afternoon. It was outside on the quad, rain or shine. Thankfully, it was literally the perfect spring day and it was gorgeous! Lily and I had booked a tour of Hammond Castle for 11:00 and we made it there with a few minutes to spare. That’s one of those places that people keep telling me I need to see so I was determined to make it happen on this trip. It was interesting. I’m glad I went, but it was a little disappointing because some of the rooms were not accessible due to an extensive restoration that is happening. We still had several hours to occupy until Ellen would be ready, so we headed to downtown Gloucester. We browsed and shopped and then made our way down the street in search of food. We mostly let our noses guide us and soon enough we came across an Italian market with several people waiting on the sidewalk out front. A woman passed us and said, “Go inside and order and then they’ll bring your food to you outside.” Ok! They had an extensive menu of hot sandwiches. Lily chose the breaded chicken cutlets with prosciutto and cheese and I ordered the eggplant with prosciutto and cheese. Fun fact about me: I LOVE breaded eggplant. Fried or baked, I could eat an entire eggplant. Being in an Italian bakery I made the command decision that Lily needed to have her first cannoli, so we bought one of those to share. We left the shop with our booty and found a bench outside to sit and eat. Heaven.

Once having eaten tremendously large sandwiches and rich Italian cannoli, we needed to move our bodies. There’s a huge park in Gloucester, sight of the first settlement on Cape Ann. We went there and discovered a tiny sandy beach—heaven on earth! It was just what we needed after all that food. We laid down on the beach and tried to nap off our food coma. I refused to even put my feet into the water because I knew it was freezing. The high temperature that day was in the mid-70s. It was the first truly warm day in New England so far this spring. But there were kids swimming in the water. Crazy! Those New Englanders are made of hearty stock!

Isn’t that the cutest little beach? It kind of reminds me of Gilligan’s Island!

After our rest we reluctantly left the beach and drove back to campus. Ellen still had another hour of work so we waited for her. FINALLY we were able to get on the road. But remember that ice cream I promised? Thankfully there was a delightful local creamery literally right off the highway in the direction we were traveling. We were now fortified for our long journey into the night. We were on the road by 6:30pm and pulled into home at 1:45am. Lily drifted off after our stop at 10pm. Ellen stayed awake except for the final 1.5 hours. But we did it! It was a whirlwind of a trip but it was so much fun! The weather was perfect and Lily and I had a great time making memories together. New England truly is charming!

Wedding Legacy

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

This large motif I lifted off of the dress and then hand-stitched to the front of the pouch.

Recently I had the privilege to make several zippered pouches (make up bag/clutch) for my friend Joy to give to her daughter and future daughters in law on the occasions of their future nuptials. Joy sacrificed her own wedding dress to make these pouches a reality. Most married women will recognize the generous nature of this gift. The wedding dress is perhaps the most iconic image from a wedding. Much time, dreaming, and planning go in to choosing the perfect gown for that momentous day. But let’s face it—even if your dress was the epitome of fashion in the year in which you were married, the chances that someone from a future generation will wear your dress is very slim. Joy accepted this fact and boldly decided to share her dress with the next generation in a creative way.

This pouch featured the scalloped beaded lace from the train of the gown. I laid it over another piece of satin.

The process began with Joy bringing her dress to me and we discussed what she wanted made out of it. She had already consulted with her future DIL about some of the features that appealed the most to her. Typically I make the body of the pouch out of linen and embellish it with the heirloom textile. But in this case Joy asked for the pouches to be made from the satin of the dress. This really was the best look since it maintained the consistent style of the dress. Much of the beaded lace on the gown had discolored over time, but there were sections that had not and I was able to use those. The long train had a scalloped edge of beaded lace and Joy hoped that I could use that in some way.

Making the first cut felt sacrilegious! The back of the dress provided the largest sections of plain satin so that is where I began. I also used the seam ripper to remove the smaller motifs that she wanted to incorporate. I quickly realized that the beads were basically all strung together. When one thread was snipped they all began to scatter onto the floor. That meant that I needed to secure the beads on the pouch sections that I was using. It wouldn’t be ok for the pouches to lose their beads! A little hand-stitching solved that.

This is the back where I incorporated the smaller motifs that Joy desired.

The front of the pouches featured the largest sections of beaded lace. I embellished the back of the pouch with the smaller lace that Joy wanted to incorporate. I lined the pouches and made a wrist strap with white linen. These are the perfect size to either be a make up bag for the wedding day or to carry essentials like phone, lipstick, and tissues.

These smaller elements were hand-stitched to secure the edges.

I enjoyed this project so much! I absolutely love to take heirloom or sentimental textiles and give new life to them. Some of my customers keep these items for themselves to enjoy, but many customers have me make multiple items that they then gift to family members. Zipper pouches are a very useful gift. Pillows are also a great way to display and enjoy those special textiles. If the cogs are turning in your mind, drop me a line! Here’s how it works: There is a $35 consultation fee which includes meeting with me to look over your textiles and discuss what you want. If any cleaning is required I’ll explain how I’ll do that. The consultation fee applies for up to 5 items. And then there is a cost per item which varies depending on the item. There’s never a bad time for a project like this. But if you’re thinking of having Christmas gifts made, getting your order in by October would be awesome! A wedding order needs to be in at least 2 weeks ahead of the deadline, perhaps more depending on what you want.

Enjoy the pictures of Joy’s pouches!

The collection! On the lower left pouch you can see how the sequins discolored over time. But it’s still a beautiful element. Joy ordered 3 pouches but I thought she needed one for herself too! After all, it was her wedding gown that she sacrificed. So because she’s my friend, I made an extra one for her. She can use it at all 3 of her children’s weddings!

Thank you, Joy, for allowing me to share these pictures, and especially this one! Your generous gift fills my heart with joy!

Love Languages

I was social distancing before it was a thing!

Recently I awoke to find a text from my daughter, Hayley, who is away at college. She sent it to our family group chat, which incidentally is called Grosh #savetheturtles #noplastic. I have no idea why that’s the name of our family group chat. But I digress. Hayley sent a link for a quiz to determine one’s Love Languages, along with the request that we all take the quiz and share the results.

Quick Primer: There are 5 Love Languages, as described by author Gary Chapman. These are: Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Receiving Gifts, Words of Affirmation, and Quality Time. The premise is that each person has a primary language by which they receive love. It’s the avenue that speaks love the loudest to them.

I’ve taken the test many times so it was no surprise to me that my primary love language is Acts of Service. If you want to show love to me, clean up after yourself! Or help me do a task that I don’t enjoy doing. My 2 lowest categories are Receiving Gifts and Physical Touch. I’m well-paired with Thomas in the Gift category because he scored a big fat Zero there! Ha! It means that neither of us gets bent out of shape come holiday time. We’re both happy with a chocolate bar or equivalent value. I do recall one gift he gave to me that was out of the blue and turned out to be one of the most useful things I own—a postal scale! Thomas scored highest in Words of Affirmation which I also knew already. And hopefully this serves as a reminder to me to be more intentional of showing love to him by affirming his gifts (not presents).

Here’s where things get dicey—Lily’s and Hayley’s scores were pretty even across the board! So I guess we could call them High Maintenance! We need to love them ALL the ways. That fits pretty well with their enneagrams too. Ellen and I both scored a measly 3% in Physical Touch. Guess what Eden’s highest category was?? Physical Touch. That girl just wants to hug and be hugged. All. The. Time. This explains well the button (pin) that I asked Ellen to make for me a few years ago. It reads, “Take a Step Back”. Some people just need that reminder to get out of my face. Pretty Please.

Much of my day is spent with someone hugging me.

The Love Languages are a helpful tool. There are all kinds of spin-off books now, focusing on Love Languages in marriage, with children, singles, dogs, etc. (I’m kidding about the dogs). It certainly doesn’t explain everything but it is good to identify. Identifying one’s own love language is interesting, but identifying the love language of your loved ones is even better. Love is inherently self-sacrificing, so loving someone in a way that speaks to them is way better than forcing love on them in a way that speaks only to yourself. And that is why I spend much of my day hugging my family members! Except Ellen ;). Unless she asks.

Pandemic Soul Searching

Does anyone else feel anxiety about life “getting back to normal???”

I’ve heard of these Buddy Benches—Presumably if you’re sitting on the bench then you’re looking for a Buddy to play with.

Now that we’re facing the very real beginning of the end of the pandemic (hopefully!) I feel some degree of anxiety about adding more activities to our lives. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert, but when the world shut down last year, and in varying degrees throughout the year, I felt a sort of relief. Maybe my anxiety has less to do with introversion and more to do with anxiety! Perhaps that’s my bigger issue. Interestingly, when families are asked to reflect on the positive things to come out of this experience, many of them cite the relaxed schedule: No more (or way less) running from activity to activity, family dinners together, evenings and weekends at home. I concur and yet I feel the tension—I want the kids to have the rich experiences that come from those activities. As a church we’re grappling with the same tension—how to add programs and activities to meet the needs of our congregation without causing families and individuals to hop back onto the hamster wheel. I don’t want to miss or ignore the valuable lessons to be learned from this past year, but I’m not the best Out of the Box Thinker. Have you thought about this? Have you made any resolutions about how you’ll spend your time going forward? How will you protect the unexpected blessings we have experienced.

So I joined Lily on the Buddy Bench! I’ll be your buddy, Lily!!

Even as I write the above paragraph I feel a twinge of shame. For many people this pandemic has heaped suffering and trial into their lives. I recognize that I speak from a place of privilege, and I hope that I use that privilege to only bring a balm of healing to those who have endured undeniable losses and grief. If you’re able, in the midst of your pain, can you share the lessons you learned? Maybe you’ve learned something that is difficult for others of us to hear. It’s in open and honest communication that we learn to understand each other better.

Mom Tax!

One privilege I experience these days is being able to choose how to spend much of my time. As a mom of four, two of whom are online-schooling, sometimes it doesn’t feel like I get much say in how I spend my time, but I do. Today I took advantage of this most perfect of spring days and pruned some trees and pulled some weeds. This evening Lily was asking for some time to get out of the house and do something fun, so I took her to Rita’s and then for a quick romp on the playground. Pro-Tip: Take along a cup and spoon so that you can glean part of your kid’s Rita’s! Call it the Mom Tax!

Liturgy of the Ordinary

Tonight I ventured into a place I haven’t been in a very long time—teaching adults! I had to add “adults” there because (pre-COVID) I taught Bible lessons to 1st-3rd graders for about 5 years. Although it’s a bit more nerve-wracking teaching adults, I also don’t need to deal with anyone doing somersaults while I’m teaching, so that’s nice.

Photo cred: Thomas, Proud Husband

Since we haven’t been able to offer in person adult electives this year our church is offering a Midweek Refresh—an hour long service of worship, teaching, and prayer. Tonight was Week 2 of Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Warren and our chapter was about Making the Bed. Actually it was less about making the bed and more about examining how you start your day and what that says about your heart. Here are a few highlights:

Remember that blog post I did about bed-making practices? Here’s where it relates. An act as ordinary as making your bed can be a tool that you use to draw near to God. If making your bed is something that you can do first thing in the morning, you can create a “sanctuary” of sorts, a place set aside in which to meet with God. Sit on your bed and be quiet. Listen. Pray. Meditate. Pause. Order your thoughts and your day before the Lord.

There are many stages of life when demands are placed on you from the moment you awake. If you have children younger than about 12 you are in this category. If you are a single parent with children at home you may be in this category. If you are the caregiver for an adult you are in this category. All hope is not lost! If the first action you do in your day is to change a diaper, take that opportunity to pray for your child. Or use it as a prompt to pray for grace as you encounter the messes of the day. The point is, it’s a tangible reminder that prompts a heart attitude—liturgy! If the first thing you do is to brew coffee, take a whiff of the coffee. Pause. Use the aroma of coffee to remind you of the presence of the Holy Spirit. That aroma is the incense of the ordinary!

Our daily lives are filled with ordinary, mundane things. If we believe the lie that the only time we can meet with God is when we have no distractions we will rarely, if ever, meet with God. Not only that but we’ll miss out on SO MUCH that God wants to teach us! Newsflash: there is no dichotomy between sacred and secular. Take every moment captive to God. He’s already in those ordinary moments.

That’s the much-consolidated version of what I shared with the adults tonight. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to walking through this book together. Check it out!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 371

Dear Diary

7:15am: The first day of Spring! The signs of spring—birds chirping, crocuses blooming, trees budding, and a wood pecker trying to attract the wood pecker mate of his dreams by drilling loudly on the roof of my house! Good morning!

Here’s the bottle of water I found. Would you drink it??

7:40am: I chose to forgive the Lonely Heart Wood Pecker and got on with my run. It may be the first day of spring but it was a frigid 27 degrees this morning!

9:00am: Since Eden missed school yesterday for the college visit she had a Biology test to make up. I offered moral support.

10:15am: Lily and I left for a morning of errands (which stretched into the afternoon). First stop was a delightful little shop on Main St. in Mount Joy called Cypress and Myrtle. This beautiful boutique features thoughtfully crafted baby gifts, home decor, dishes, jewelry, and so much more! And now it also carries Naptime Inspirations! Do check it out sometime!

Beautiful baby gifts abound at Cypress and Myrtle. Now carrying Naptime Inspirations’ bibs!

Then it was off to the mall, a place that I have been to maybe twice since last year. Malls have become depressing places this year. I know many of them were on the decline before the pandemic and I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, in recent years malls have lost the appeal they once held for me. I no longer desire to wander the mall just browsing and buying. I find most of the clothes to be cheaply made an over-priced. And, as confirmed once again today, I have become a Fuddy Duddy regarding fashion. I was never a fashionista! But observing the fashion trends from my middle-aged vantage point results in quite a bit of mocking. On the other hand, I have a certain nostalgia about malls. I was far from a teen mall rat but it was always a location to go with friends and family. Lily so helpfully pointed out to me today that my life was probably at least half over. I do have some good genes for longevity and my grandma is currently 98 years old, but in all likelihood, I’m on the downhill slide. Then I think she felt bad and told me I’ll probably live to 170. Unlikely, but I appreciate the effort!

Back to the mall—I was very surprised at how busy it was today! It felt almost pre-COVID! There were definitely shuttered storefronts and many food kiosks were gone, but there were a fair number of people there. The smaller stores are practicing social distancing by limiting the number of people allowed inside at one time. So if you do have to go, allow yourself some extra time to wait in line. The parking lot was crazy full! But then I realized I chose to park near the vaccination clinic (held in a defunct department store space). I was happy to see the crowds going there! Looking forward to the day when I get to go! We lunched at Qdoba which wasn’t crowded at all. PSA: They offer a mini burrito bowl. It’s perfect for lunch!

When we returned to the car I found a fully intact, unopened plastic bottle of water lying just under my car. I picked it up and took it home. Lily was appalled. What should I do with this bottle of water?? In the very least I saw no reason to leaving it laying in the parking lot. I could dump the water onto a plant and recycle the bottle. But I could also drink the water. It hasn’t been opened. What would you do??

3:15: After returning home for a short time I headed back out, this time with Eden. She had arranged a walk date with some young women from church. So I dropped her off and went on my own walking date with my friend Molly. We covered 4.4 miles and many more topics of conversation. Time flies when you are chatting with a friend! Walking has been my social outlet this year and I think it’s one pandemic adaptation that I will continue! As delightful as that was, I have to admit that my legs were in need of a rest this evening! After my supper of leftovers I laid down on the couch and fell asleep for another 10 minute nap. This post-supper nap is becoming a Thing!

Lily “vlogs” in the car. I pledge not to delete the video she took.

If you’ve been keeping track, this is the 7th installment of the Social Distancing Diaries Reboot. It’s been fun to re-engage with readers again in this format but it does take me about an hour a day to write these posts. So I won’t be continuing with the daily posts. I try to write for the blog once a week, but Life sometimes gets in the way. Look for new posts on Thursdays. It’s been helpful for me to reflect a bit on the changes of this past year. I hope that you have done so as well. As our Pastor Adam has so aptly encouraged in his current sermon series, let’s allow the events of this year to change us for the better. It’s undoubtedly been a difficult year. Some of you have experienced tremendous grief and loss that won’t ever be glossed over. Despite the physical distance between us we need to support one another, rejoice with one another, and mourn with one another. If you read this blog please know that you can reach out to me, whether or not we’ve ever met.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 370

Dear Diary

8:00am-8:00pm: Spent the day on a college visit with my 16 year old, Eden. This was her first visit and she assures me that there is nowhere else she wants to attend, so I guess my work is done!

Is it really a college visit without a photo in front of the school sign??

About a year ago Eden expressed interest in attending the University of Valley Forge. The school holds special visitation days for high schoolers. Typically they are overnight affairs, but COVID restrictions has turned them into one day visits. I found it to be part youth retreat-part college admissions visit. A lot of students attend with a youth leader, so there were a few groups of high schoolers there, along with the single kids-with-parent(s). Nothing was said about tuition, financial aid, or scholarships but we did sit in on 2 classes (among many other activities). It’s an Assemblies of God school and I get the impression that the AOG are a close knit group. These events for high schoolers are really popular with the AOG youth. It’s a small campus but everyone we met was extremely friendly and welcoming. I think Eden would fit in nicely there. Check back in 2 years to see if she changes her mind. I doubt she will. She described her decision making to me like this: Either she is totally indecisive or she knows exactly what she wants. There’s not much grey area in Eden’s world.

Eden insisted we visit the library

Eden knows 2 current students at UVF and we were able to spend a bit of time with them both today. That’s always cool to hear about school from the insider perspective!

We had high hopes of winning the scavenger hunt that was to go throughout the day. But sadly it was scrapped due to technical difficulties. It did leave us with some weird photos we would not otherwise have taken! Nothing like coming out of your comfort zone in an effort to win a t-shirt and beanie!

Hi Aleysha!

Fun Fact: The campus of UVF used to be the Valley Forge General Hospital, a WWII Army hospital. The college bought the property in 1976 for $1.

8:00pm-9:40pm: When we came home Eden eagerly shared every detail about our day with dad and Lily. Lily eagerly shared every detail about her day with Eden and I. That pretty much sums up my day! I have no doubt that Eden will declare this post to me “not funny”. Hopefully I can redeem myself for tomorrow—the last post of the Social Distancing Diaries Reboot!

Hi Kayla!

We made sure to snap our obligatory selfie

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 369

Dear Diary

What I look like when I help the kids with homework.

8:30am: Plumbed the mysteries of the sock drawer. Tom is very helpful around the house. He even puts my clean socks away into my sock drawer. Some time ago I showed him my System of sock organization. From left to right I organized my socks by color and type. Rather than being a Type A personality, this merely reflected the practicality of being able to pick out the right pair of socks in the dark. Post-COVID however, my sock wearing habits have changed. Tom still put my clean socks away using the old system. Being the consummate Conflict Avoider that I am, I quietly rearranged my socks each week to fit my current system. This morning I noticed that Someone Else had obviously rearranged my sock drawer. I could tell that effort had been made. So I removed the drawer and proceeded to RE-rearrange my socks according to MY system! As Tom watched. Overcome by curiosity, he desired an explanation. So I explained the differences between the No-Show socks and the anklet socks. And why they needed to be separated. I can only wear the No Show socks when I’ll be wearing shoes because the socks don’t stay on my feet if I wear no shoes with them. And I certainly don’t wear them with my running or walking sneakers, so they can’t be mixed with the anklet socks. I often need to grab the anklet socks in the dark as I head out for my run. It took a bit for him to wrap his brain around the fact that I wear socks that don’t stay on my feet. But that’s just part of a larger discussion of the total impracticality of women’s fashion and I love him too much to do that to him.

Vulnerable Moment: This is my actual sock drawer. It is organized by type.

I’m a little embarrassed about revealing the inner workings of my sock drawer. Please assuage my shame by sharing your idiosyncrasies.

I spent a good part of my day sewing. That translates to a good day!

After lunch I helped Eden with her Biology again not because she particularly needed me to explain anything to her but mainly to help her with the typing. In In-Person school she receives accommodations to assist with typing and note-taking. In Online school I am that assistance. I know the technology is helpful as far as tools go, and online school would not be possible without it, but writing on a computer screen is challenging! Throw 46 year old eyesight into the mix and woah! I’m forever asking the kids to turn up the brightness on their devices when they are showing me something on their screens. And asking, “Can you make that a little bigger??” We have our fair share of battles over the screens! Kudos to them for being able to tolerate looking at a screen all day.

5:45-6:15pm: Does anyone need to take a nap after dinner? No? Just me? I can’t tell if it’s a food coma or that fact that I finally sat still, but that’s twice this week. I considered another cup of coffee, but here’s the (scandalous) thing: I switched to decaf! I add a wee bit of regular to my grounds, but mostly decaf. I blame this on the pandemic. A few weeks into the lockdown I noticed those pesky heart palpitations coming back. I’ve gotten these at other particularly stressful times of my life, so I knew it was stress. I exercise, eat mostly right, blah, blah, blah. I also knew if I saw my doctor about it the first thing I would be told was to cut out caffeine. So I did. My ticker is happier and I don’t mind decaf. No more caffeine sweats! I find it’s the ritual, warmth, and taste of coffee I really crave, not the caffeine. Now I want a cup of coffee…

6:15pm: Speaking of helping with homework—shout out to Grandpa Ginder who has taken over math homework help for Lily! I’m not sure how I got squeezed out of that one, but I’m not going to ask too many questions either. As it stands, every evening Lily goes next door and Grandpa helps her with her lengthy math homework assignments. There is a special place in heaven for that man.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 368

Dear Diary

7:30am: Went for my run. I had to wait for daylight, but the wind did not thwart my meager efforts today!

Neither of these is authentically Irish. Both are delicious! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

8:00am: Breakfast. Since it’s my blog I can talk about the food I eat. I just pretend someone cares. I just discovered Overnight Oats. Am I a few years late to this party? Probably. I don’t usually care for oatmeal and I REALLY don’t care for quick oats. But Overnight Oats is 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Put it in a jar in the fridge overnight and eat it for breakfast the next day! Or a few day later. I add a little more milk in the morning and then microwave it for 30 seconds to take the chill off. Today I added half a banana to it. Yummo! The only downside is the pile up of eggs in the fridge when I don’t eat one every morning. And now that I add spinach or asparagus to my eggs, those aren’t getting consumed as fast as they should. I need to balance the egg vs. oatmeal breakfasts.

10:30am: Today I met with a delightful local shop owner who is interested in carrying my things. I won’t spill the beans until it’s a done deal, but she was just a treat and her shop is wonderful!

Afternoon: I tackled the dreaded pantry. I needed to find homes for all of the fun Sharp Shopper finds from last night. The task was made a bit easier by propping my phone on the shelf so that I could watch Netflix while I stacked cereal and Cheez-Its. Then I finished sewing together the top of my patchwork blanket. I hope Grandma would be proud! I still don’t know what to use on the back so who knows when it will actually get done, but the hardest part has been accomplished!

Trigger Warning: I’m going to talk about food again.

Organized chaos

Supper was chicken soup. This decision came about because of the rotisserie chicken bones I cooked off last week. So I had a bowl full of broth and a bag of chicken. Eden is eating a special Lenten diet for 2 more weeks, so I took a portion of soup out of the pot before I added the chicken to the rest of it. This meal was also prompted by the abundance of frozen carrot coins in my freezer, courtesy of the daily school lunches. The soup was broth, wild rice, carrots, green onion, and fresh ginger. Y’all, do yourself a favor and add fresh ginger to your chicken soup. Trust me. At the last minute I was inspired to make some Irish Soda bread. I loved Darrenkamp’s Cranberry Orange Soda Bread—I would get it when it was on the “Day Old” shelf. A quick Pinterest search resulted in a simple recipe that I could make in less than an hour. It was not what I would call “Irish Soda Bread”, but it was delicious. Definitely cakier than it should have been. Now I can look forward to a slice with my breakfast eggs and asparagus!

I like to think that Grandma would be proud!

6:00pm: Off to our church’s Midweek Refresh (worship, book study, prayer). Tonight was the first of many Wednesdays to come. The book is Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Warren. It’s excellent. Next week is my turn to teach, so turn up or tune in. It will be Zoomed.

Shout out to Brenda who shared such kind and encouraging words with me about my blog. I told you you might make the blog! Thanks!!

7:30pm: Tom and I popped into the coffee shop to steal a few minutes together before heading home. It still feels so strange to be in a restaurant. We were only there while we waited for our drinks to be made, but it feels unfamiliar. I guess a lot of things will be like that for a while.