Today I am joining Stacey of Poofing the Pillows for the Flaunt Your Reds Friday. When I decided to do this I thought it would be easier to find red in my home.

It wasn't until I started looking around that I realized I don't have very much red. I decorate with blue mostly and neutral colors. So I will show you some of my crafts featuring red such as the jar of crocheted mushrooms above.

Red rimmed granny squares for an afghan I am working on.

I bought this Chinese lantern at a garage sale years ago from a little old lady who wanted someone to take care of it. I have struggled for years now with what to do with it. It doesn't fit my decor at all, but feel beholden to the former owner to take care of it.

A sleepy bear in his red striped nightshirt and a Madame Alexander Little Red Riding Hood, one of my all-time favorite fairy tales.

Yes, I do love mushrooms and the red capped ones are the prettiest!

I couldn't resist showing a picture of my lovely daughter in her red top. Ready for work at the Scrap Nook.

Please check out Stacey's blog and visit others who are joining in this event!

Have a wonderful weekend! Twyla

Hello and welcome to another Barbie Wednesday!

Today I thought I would tell you about several beautiful Barbies that you could go right now to Wal Mart or Wal Mart.com and buy!

This first one is so awesome! She is Corvette Barbie. I really think she is cool and I can't imagine your husband minding you buying this one right?

Here's another that your husband might not mind you getting. The Star Trek dolls. They are sold separate though. Actually your husband might want it more than you do!

Who doesn't love these two! This is definitely one of the most loved and remembered episodes of I love Lucy!The Chocolate Factory was a great episode! You just have to love their faces! They look like they have mouths full of chocolate!

If you are a fan of Grease then you will love these two!First we have Frenchy and then Rizzo which are lovely and pretty dolls even if you didn't like Grease!

This one's called Glamour Barbie. She has such a lovely dress but I'm not sure I like her face.

This is a really sweet Barbie and I think she is really pretty. She is Kentucky Derby Barbie. Of course they had to give her a big hat!

I hope you enjoyed looking at these lovely dolls.

Wishing you lots of fun today, Lindsey

I’ve gotten soft. I decided that I was going to have to step up the exercising. When I lost 100 lbs. nearly 14 years ago, walking was key in my success. My last job kept me pretty active and I quit walking. For six years I’ve done no other exercise except what I got on my job. I have been trying to get back to the walking, but find that age and physical limitations have made it much more difficult.

I have been walking a half hour a day. Pretty pitiful, I know, but that’s about as good as I can do. My friend, Deb, of Garage Sale Gal and I have been encouraging each other to get more exercise. It really helps when you have someone else pulling for you.

One day while out walking I was struck with a great idea. It so helps to have motivation and a goal when you are trying to improve yourself, so I decided that I would walk to Deb! I will go on a ‘virtual’ walk to her house. When I got home I got on line and found out how far I’d have to ‘walk’ to get there. It is 592 miles from my front door to hers.

I have timed my walks and know that I walk 3 miles an hour so that is how I am gauging my walk. As of now I have gone 22 1/2 miles. I hope to step it up and walk more as I get stronger. I used to be able to walk 2 hours a day when I was loosing the weight and I hope to get back to that kind of stamina.

I will keep you undated on my walk and let you know where I am. Right now I am heading north on highway 13. Deb is so sweet, she said to let her know when I get close so she can have a snack ready for me because I will surely be thirsty and hungry when I get there.

The pictures in this post were of my peony bush and roses in our yard. The bridge above the waterfall is not too far from our neighborhood and we pass it everyday. The camel lives on a farm just around the corner. We always get a kick out of seeing him. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our neck of the woods.

Wish me luck on my journey!

Wishing you much happiness, Twyla

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

Hello! Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I thought I would share one of my paper bag albums with you today. This album is called "Life is a Bowl of Cherries".
It's a pictureless book as I hoped to sell it some day. I have to find some way to afford this expensive hobby right? I did add vintage photos of children eating and holding cherries which are really cute!

I added a recipe for cherry pie in a pocket for this first page.

Isn't this a fun little saying?!

Underneath the photo of the little girl with a bowl of cherries is another place for a photo.

I hope you liked seeing my little album. I have been so inspired lately working at the Scrapbook store. It is so fun to see and hear all the cool ideas that our customers have.

Wishing you fun today, Lindsey

Hello, I'm glad you came to see me today! Isn't this magazine layout from vogue Italy awesome?

I love the chair in her hair! How cool it is to see Barbie in this size perspective! I love it!

And this page from Vogue Japan is quite interesting. I love this Evening Splendor Dress. Always one of my favorite dresses!

This is a new collection of Barbies coming out soon called "Pop Life". They are so pretty and retro! I especially love this blonde one as she reminds me of Barbara Eden from "I Dream Of Jeanie". Does she to you?

What funky hair!!! I like the chairs shown in the photos. I hope that they will come with dolls too!

This is such a cute line! I hope I can collect a couple of them for my collection!

I adore these purses!!!!! They have a whole line of different styles and sizes on Barbiecollector.com. They are pretty expensive but oh so cute!!!!!

Maybe I will find one on ebay some day! I really think I need one!

Here is the 1963 Barbie trading card featuring the Sophisticated Lady dress.

Mom and I signed up for the 2nd Annual Mad Tea Party Hosted by Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist. Last year's was so much fun so I hope everyone signs up as I am sure a great time will be had by all!

Wishing you a happy day, Lindsey

No matter what I'm doing or what's going on in my life, the one thing that is always the same is that I am knitting or crocheting something.

I just can't stand to sit down and not do anything, so my yarn is always close by so that I can knit a few rows. One of the most satisfying projects for me is dishcloths.

They make up so quickly and they are cheerful to look at, especially in my pink granite washtub. The dishcloths are knit, but I decided to add a crochet edge on them just to liven them up with a contrasting color.



I have made different patterns that are fancier, but the truth is, this pattern is the best. It's called Grandma's Favorite and I can see why. For cleaning they simply work the best. The truth is I've made about twice this many, but Lindsey comes by and says, "Ooh, I like this one" and off it goes.

I found this pattern for a hexigon patterned afghan on Shabby Roses Cottage. She showed these beautifully colored hexigons and of course, Lindsey wanted me to make her one. I changed the colors just a little. Lindsey's is red, pink and light turquoise.

Only a few more to sew on. I'm going to crochet another row of red around it and add tassels to each corner and then it will be done.

This is one of my crocheted hot pads. They are double thick and look pretty hanging in the kitchen. I love working with cotton yarn and can't resist it when I go to craft stores.

I haven't shown a picture of my babies lately. They are so cute. It is hard to catch them being still long enough to get a picture. They follow me everywhere I go so when I get up to get the camera, there goes the cute pose. They always think maybe Mama is going to get them some food.



That is Spencer on the left and Muffin on the right. Muffin's nickname is Doodles.

Wishing you much happiness! Twyla

Romancing the Bowl

Grandma couldn’t remember how many times she’d served mashed potatoes in this bowl. She sat the steaming bowl on the square oak table covered with a old tablecloth. It had a couple of holes and a few stains that she couldn’t get out, but it all just reminded her of the many people who ate around her table.

There was always room around her table. Whether two showed up for Sunday dinner or twelve, she always had plenty of food. She adjusted her apron around her ample waist, the old apron that was her most valuable tool. She reached in the pocket feeling the old crochet potholder that she’d crocheted as a young bride.

Taking it out of her pocket to reach in the oven to pull out a pan of rolls. Her brood always enjoyed the rolls. She was so proud of her son who worked so hard.

The family always crowded around, passing the bowls. It is a wonder her bowls survived all these years. She was a silly old fool for saving almost everything. That’s why the old wood cook stove sat in the corner of the kitchen, no longer in use, but she couldn’t part with this reminder of her younger days.

It was hard to part with the past sometimes and the people that she missed. Hanging on to her possessions was just her way of hanging on to memories.

She sat the heavy platter with the roast down in the center of the table with a thump. What was that, a knock on the door?

I stood in the flea market holding this bowl. Something about it just grabbed my heart. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times some Grandma had served mashed potatoes in this bowl. My mind started wandering about the woman who’d lovingly used it. The wear on the bowl was evident, but you could just feel the love.

Hope you all have a nice weekend! Twyla