A new month

So you thought it was the beginning of September when it was really October Afternoon (manu of the month at Scrapgal) - I love the quaint charm of the thrift shop collection and used it in the above layout. The little line of girls was cut from an old book on sewing and the flower is a layered one -  Making memories paper pink flower for the base, gathered pale pink crepe paper for the next layer, and a yo yo made by Kimmie at Whimsical Twist (thanks Kimmie) for a topper.

As I said in an earlier post, I plan to keep super busy in September and NOT buy anything but necessities. This is the morning of day 3 and I have started off well :
Day 1 -Dan dentist - $183 for cleaning and xrays (yearly exam)
Day 2 - weekly groceries $60 (whole chicken, spare ribs, beef shank, bacon(on sale), bologna(on sale), bread, eggs, mayo(on sale), refried beans, pickle relish, romaine, tomatoes, green pepper, cucumber, radishes, green beans, cantaloupe, bananas, and 2 big jugs of water (our water is very chlorinated so it is pretty nasty to drink)
  gas for Dan's car - $32
  weed & bug killer for yard - $15
This morning Dan is working at the golf course and I will be working at the used book store today so no chances to spend any money.
I also got new bedroom curtains made for our bedroom - when we moved back into our house after the repairs from the hurricane, I had purchased some white Pottery Barn linen and cotton curtains on ebay for my studio - I ended up with 6 curtains rather just the 4 I needed so I put the extra ones away. I washed the ones that were hanging in my studio and they came out so lovely (even though it said dry clean only) and then cut and sewed the 3rd set to fit the windows in our bedroom - fortunately the curtains were 63 long and both of our windows are short - it was tight but I measured and cut very carefully and now they are hanging in the bedroom and look great - and I spent $0!!!! I will give the previous bedroom curtains to a thrift shop - they were a closeout at Lowe's and marked way down so that's why I had bought them - 5 years is long enough!

When I took the watercolor class several weeks ago, the teacher recommended a special book for us to read about the theory of painting by Richard Schmid (probably one of the best US or even world painters alive today). Unfortunately the book was written in 1999 and is out of print so - it is ridiculously expensive on amazon and ebay - $70 for paperback and $150 for HB - I took a chance and requested it from our library through interlibrary loan - and they got it for me - I picked it up yesterday and started reading it last night - it is brilliant and just so inspiring - I want to compliment our library for their fabulous service. Right now is a very difficult time for libraries in the US - so many cuts, and ours is doing the best it can despite the budget issues. Both the used book store and the gift shop in which I volunteer(work) benefit the library here (I also serve as secretary on the Board of the Friends of the Indian River County library which runs both stores) - I am so glad that I can help out as I truly believe that libraries are very important to the future of our society.

Let's see, what else have I done......I have also been painting everyday and exercising - I am going to step up the exercising a bit now that it is a little cooler (LOL!) and probably do more yoga also.

This long weekend will be quiet here - Dan will cut lawn and practice and play golf. I will paint, scrap, knit, cook, exercise, and read - and of course, there is lots of baseball, college football, and Nascar - did I mention that I am married to a sports junkie?!  I feel bad for the people who live in NC and on up the Atlantic Coast - I so hope the hurricane stays out at sea.  We were hit dead on by Hurricane Frances on Labor day weekend in 2004 and then by Jeanne exactly 3 weeks later. And then of course, several years later, watching Katrina on television and praying for the people who lived there and suffered through such devastation and then such mismanagement.

Thanks for reading - this ended up being a long post.

Hope your weekend will be wonderful - full of  happy times, yummy food, and good company!!!!!!!

ttfn
Chris