Please don't take this the wrong way, but: Have you thought about taking a class in photography? This is not so much a comment on the above pictures but more a simple suggestion. One of the things my mother did when her husband passed away was to invest in a really nice Nikon as well as macro lens and tripod (she never spent that kind of money on me!). A few months later she took a photography class or two in the Villages and her pictures went from nice pictures, much like the ones above, to framable art. And I'm not kidding, she actually has a few pictures that she had stretched onto canvas and is now hanging on her walls. Everyone who has seen them has wondered where she bought them, never guessing that she took them herself. Here are are just two of the macro shots she took after her classes:

When we moved 7, 8years ago, i took the opportunity to thin out the toys. The original owner, a single mother, put in a downstairs back room baking kitchen for extra income. We use it as a project room and pantry so i still have all the toys but none of it is upstairs in the main kitchen. It has been nice to just have the basics and my favorites. No appliances like a toaster, microwave, or any counter clutter. Wanted to go back to the basics of chopping by hand, cooking fresh and rustic. No plastics, glass fridge storage pyrex, etc. Oh, sure, it all finds its way back up every once in a while but i do a 'sweep' once a month or so and back it goes. My drawers are no longer junky and stuffed. My favorite things i remember when i moved... -all fresh new spices, one set was a gift -treated myself to good cooking oils and vinegars -2 new big cutting boards,(even though i have a dozen misc ones) -restaurant quality water kettle and coffee grinder -fresh new pot holders and kitchen towels. I've always had good knives and cookware, cast iron all sizes and enameled cast iron, all sizes. No longer use non-stick anything. 2 appliances most used and loved that have easy accessed under counter storage... Breville juicer and Blendtec blender. So worth the high cost for quality. I never wanted a kitchen aid since i don't bake but found one at a yard sale last year for 15$. Finding many uses for it now that i have one. (it had a loose screw in the housing that made it run with a gruff rumble, brand new and fixed with-in minutes of bringing it home) -yard sales are still a favorite way to add something 'new' without the sticker shock. Like triciae, i always have something collected from years of traveling like a pot or bowl with something fresh from the garden or a vase with flowers from the yard. A few weeks ago it was sunflowers...last week it was a leggy purple cabbage and chives, this past weekend i treated myself to a small rosemary tree.

Yay Jackie! This should suit your creative design style perfectly.:~) I am so jealous - now you can embroider while you piece. Great gift ~ Enjoy ~ Merry Christmas

Haha, Robbi, my quilting frame is in the dining room, too! DH tells everyone I'm taking over the house. I've never seen an old Pfaff treadle! I had no idea they were in business that long ago. So now you have two totally different machine sewing techniques to learn! :):) Donna