This is me…doing a happy dance…singing and dancing and thanking God. (Well, actually, my hair is a little bit shorter than this.) What is causing all this lightheartedness and frivolity, you ask? My friend, Sherrie, and her daughter, Sophie arrived home last night. They had travelled about 28 hours, and were exhausted…but glad to be home. Sophie allowed Sherrie to carry her off the plane, and into waiting arms. But, she was not a happy little girl. The good news is:
she will be! With her brothers Joshua and Justin, whom she already adores,she will have plenty of attention. Say a little prayer for them as Sophie acclimates to a strange land, strange food, and strange people everywhere she looks. God has guided Sherrie and her husband through this whole journey, and He will continue to guide them and be their strength.

Here is the beautiful fixture hanging in my studio. They are laying the floors in there today. The walls look white, but are a pale green.
This is the little vegetable sink in my island. I just wanted you to see the color. The big sink is the same. Yes, that is dust in there. Sorry.
And, this is where I will be whiling away the hours come next summer!

Lesson #4…A GIRL CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY WHITE SHIRTS !!! And, my closet contents are proof. I really didn’t realize just how many white tops us fashionable woman needs…but it’s a lot.
First there are the “funky” whites. These are in linen or cotton and are always right with a pair of jeans, or a pair of black pants…any color for that matter. I have several of these, some like this pic, some with ruffles around the bottom (which is NOT a good look on these hips anymore), ruffle down the button placket, 2 of these( 1 is creme), and a few short sleeves ones in linen, too. Going to keep 3 of these.

And, that universal look, found the world over…the white T-shirt. It is always right. It looks right all the time, with anything and under anything. It is obvious how much I believe that if you were to see the pile of white T’s stacked on the floor. There are white T’s from every place I have ever visited, white T’s with college logos, white T’s with small designs, and yes, solid white T’s.
There are long sleeved, short sleeved, 3/4 sleeve, sleeveless, and tank white T’s. So, any season, any weather, there is a T to feel comfortable in. Every year, at Christmas and in the Spring, I design shirts for our school. And, believe it or not, these are white T’s with black design. So, that adds considerably to my stash! I just don’t know how I will go about deciding which ones to keep. But, purge, I must!
There are white ‘big shirts’ to wear over leggings or swim suits. And the jackets…white denim, white linen, white with a black print. Gotta keep all of these.
And last, the blouses. I have fitted ones, looser cropped ones, several nicer linen blouses (impossible to iron),in short sleeved and long sleeved. These, of course, are in a range of sizes, too. Most of these are going with me…except the smallest ones.
Lesson #5…I NEVER need to buy another white shirt! Yeah, right.

Einstein said, “If you can not explain something in simple terms…you really don’t understand it yourself.” And, so, I borrowed this ‘comment how-to’ from my friend Jean….’cause I really don’t understand it all myself.
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YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A BLOGGER TO COMMENT ON BLOGS! Here’s how you leave a comment:

1. Click on “Comments” under the written post.
2. Write your comment in the big blank box.
3. Under “Choose an identity” click on “Name/URL.
4. In the Name box write your name, in the URL box write nothing at all because it’s optional.
5. Click on “Publish your Comment”.
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Now, those of you who don’t have blogs…you have no excuse…it’s easy! We bloggers like to hear from our readers. It helps us to know if we are actually connecting to folks out in blog-land. So, come on, leave me a comment. REMEMBER: Be Honest (it is OK if you disagree with me), Be Kind (God says so!) and Be Accountable ( if you say it, sign it). I look forward to hearing from you.

The time finally came to deal with my closet. It had to be done…or I could not move. There is no way I am taking all that stuff with me. The only thing to do, was to start and muddle through it. And I did….start, that is, but this is a chore that will be going on for a while. Learned some things about myself along the way. Lesson #1…I buy too many clothes. Lesson #2…I don’t need to hold on to all these things. I have clothes here in sizes 4,6,8,10,12,and 14. So, here’s what I found yesterday.

DENIM….my most favorite fabric!

SHIRTS: I have sleeveless denim shirts, short sleeved shirts, long sleeved shirts. I have denim shirts with ruffles, with embroidery, and with ribbon. I have denim shirts that I painted for Christmas, and for summer. I have denim shirts that tie at the waist and some with tucks down the front. I have denim vests that are long enough to cover the tush, and short cropped ones. I have dark denim, light denim and in between. I have light weight and heavy weight. These are all just the shirts! And, I still love them all. I am not, however, keeping them all.

JEANS: If I had to wear just one thing the rest of my life, it would be jeans. Really, is there any thing more comfortable? IF they are the right size and properly broken in, of course. I have jeans in all the mentioned sizes. And, in each size, there are cropped jeans, ankle length jeans, dressy jeans, and everyday jeans. In the size 8’s, I must have felt very good about myself because I have cropped jeans in red, white, green and orange! Can you imagine? There are some Ralph Lauren cabbage rose prints jeans, and some red ones with bright Hawaiian flowers on them. There are dark jeans, medium wash, and even an old very light wash. I guess I was smart enough to throw away all the acid wash years ago. There are heavy weight and light weight fabric. And then there are the black jeans. I love black jeans…some are almost grey they are so faded. And those were as comfortable as a pair of sweat pants. There are black jeans that are faded only on the thighs…who EVER thought that was a good idea? And, there are some khaki and white jeans to add to the mix. As the years have passed and attacked this body, the jeans have changed from button fly, to regular fly, to elastic inserts on the sides, to elastic all across the back to **SHUDDER** elastic all the way around. There are straight legs, boot cut, flare legs, wide legs…you name it…it’s in there.
ALL THE OTHER DENIM: And then, there are the DRESSES…jumpers, shirtwaist long sleeve, shirtwaist short sleeve, chemise, jumper with matching jacket, short denim dresses, and even a Hawaiian print denim dress. PANTSUITS are next…these met their demise without my even glancing at the size. JACKETS, next…there are six of these, some prints, most just denim. SKIRTS are next with the assortment including short ones, long ones, tiered ones, and broomstick ones. OVERALLS…4 pairs. Next the PURSES. There are denim purses with short handles, with shoulder straps, denim purses I have painted for Christmas, and for Fall. Expensive denim purses, and cheap ones from the dollar store. Big ones…tiny ones. There are tote bags that could hold a week’s worth of groceries. Believe it or not…there are SHOES…yes, denim shoes. A great pair of flats, a ticking stripe flat, 2 pairs of denim tennis shoes, and a pair of black leather and denim loafers. A denim WALLET, some denim EARRINGS, a cute denim HAT,,a denim BALL CAP, and a big denim FLOWER PIN, two journals with denim covers, and socks. There are no denim underwear…however, I did have a lovely bra made out of bra material…but it was the exact shade of a favorite pair of jeans!

WHAT IS MOVING WITH ME: Two of the denim purses…the expensive one and a small one for craft shows. Oh, and the large tote bag. Four pairs of the jeans…in the size I am not now, but will be before I move, Lord willing! Several of the denim shirts, cause I like to wear them in the winter when my hubby still thinks it is summer outside and refuses to turn the heat up high enough to suit me. The denim cap, and two denim jackets. And, that is all! And, the journals. And, maybe one pair of overalls…OK…no overalls. How about the socks, though? Lesson #3… I am a tiny bit obsessive about denim. 🙂