July 20, 2015 by Born To Organize

Pilates and Cards of Destiny

Elizabeth’s initials between glass beads

Moving your body is key to good health. In addition to getting plenty of shut-eye, exercise gives you energy, strength and endurance. It’s also terrific for your heart, your lungs and your soul. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a mover. I joined the gymnastics team in high school, then moved on to dance in college. Tap was my favorite. After college I took Jazzercise, then picked up running as well. I hiked and even took a few belly dancing classes.

Years of injuries started to take a toll. I spent more time with physical therapists than I did on the trail.

Then I discovered Pilates. The exercises keep my back supple and give me the strength I need to work. The classes are challenging but that’s also what keeps them interesting. Keeping strong means I can continue to organize clients.My work involves a lot of bending, lifting and twisting. I attend two, one-hour classes a week and have stuck with it for a decade.

Tru-Balance Pilates Fitness

Elizabeth Cassidy owns and operates a Pilates studio in the Willow Glen community of San Jose. I have her to thank for the improvements to my posture and strength. Many of her students come to her with injuries. She has an innate understanding of how the body works. She’ll take one look at you and say “your back is out” or “what happened to your foot?” Even in group classes, she finds ways to accommodate our individual needs.

When Elizabeth’s birthday rolls around, I like to do something special. She’s passionate about cards and has her destiny cards displayed in the studio. She studied the science of cards in a destiny workshop with Robert Lee Camp. She made a copy for home, but damaged it in a move. That’s what inspired this gift. Now she has a second set to display at home.

Elizabeth’s Destiny Cards

I bought a few tools and some beads with guidance from Laura at Sew Beadazzled. Getting the holes just right was the most challenging. Once all four corners of each card had holes, I joined the rows with easy-bend rings. Laura said to open the rings in a twisting motion, instead of prying them apart. I’m sure I saved myself hours with that little tip.

Elizabeth taped her set of destiny cards to the studio wall, but these cards needed to hang free. After some thought, I bought a thin dowel, had Mike cut it into two pieces, then covered each piece with playing card-inspired Washi tape. I tried a shoe string, some ribbon and even considered more rings to hang the entire thing from the top but none of those options were quite right. Then I pulled out a black and white eyeglass lanyard from my craft supplies and yelled “Eureka!”…or something like that. With that in place I called it done.

I bought a large polka-dotted gift bag and added cards and butterflies to the mix. The gift card is a series of playing cards hinged together with Happy Birthday spelled out in black vinyl letters. (I forgot take a picture). I made an envelope using an over-sized vintage envelope from my friend Donna’s vintage booth.

It was lots of fun creating something new and different with only a general idea of where it would lead.

Gift bag close-up

Vintage, over-sized playing card, made in to an envelope

Vintage, over-sized playing card, reverse

Have you tried something new lately, something you wouldn’t normally do? Please share in the comments below.

July 18, 2015 by Born To Organize

Catching the Light, Sharing the Love

Given the time, I could write an entire book on my extraordinary trip to Virginia and D.C. earlier this year. One of many highlights included the unveiling of the light catchers, intricately hand-crafted and lovingly presented by Pauline King. On our flight home, Pauline offered to make one for my sister Sharon and within weeks it arrived at my door.

Here’s Sharon’s reaction when she opened the gift:

It’s difficult to convey how special these are. Pauline describes her process in a recent post found here. When writing about Sharon’s light catcher, Pauline says:

I have made my light-catchers for a few years now – rather sporadically, as I enjoy making them especially for someone. They are my gift of good wishes, good fortune and a bit of magic woven into beads and charms and crystals for someone special. I like to think of the person I am creating for, then I choose colours and shapes and crystals and charms especially for them. Then it all just weaves itself together.

Like most artists, Pauline is far too modest. She weaves a special charm into each one using glass, crystal, semi-precious gemstones, beads and the most delightful charms you’ve ever seen.

The enclosed card says “the charms have been especially chosen for you and represent the following”

Teddy Bear: for the child within, may there always be cuddles.

Boot: for fashion and style!

Music Notes: May there always be music in your life.

Jigsaw Puzzle: for when you need the last bit of the puzzle.

Ballerina: to remind you when the body can’t dance, the spirit can!

Cat in the Moon: to remind you of the magic and mystery of both.

Babushka Doll: we all have hidden layers…..

The Witch, the Skeleton and the Spider: for your love of Halloween.

Book: for the places your imagination can go.

Purse: may there always be enough.

Pentagram: may you always be protected.

Fairy: may you always see the magic.

Sharon has tall ceilings in her home, so I’m enlisting Mike’s help so we can hang it in the perfect place. After one foolish mishap, I count my lucky stars and no longer climb up a ladder alone.

The following bloggers enjoy catching the light:

Julia’s green light catcher hanging in her window.
Laurie hangs her light catcher over the table before a gathering of friends.
Boomdee hasn’t blogged about hers, however (spoiler alert) it’s aqua.
My own beautiful light catcher.

July 15, 2015 by Born To Organize

Too Busy: A Haiku

Life is too busy
my brown garden parched and sad
summer, hot and long

What a complainer, eh?

I miss my gardening nirvana, that blissful state that comes from weeding, pruning, planting, bug-picking, harvesting, and all things gardening. Today after work and before an evening engagement, I soaked my sore muscles in a hot bath, then saved all that water for the trees.

I used a one-gallon jug to bail the water, then carried it outdoors with a lightweight trash bin to catch the drips. It is so blazing hot that I raced back inside for gallon after gallon, knowing our trees are in a bad way. I bailed about ten gallons that would otherwise go down the drain, and delivered guilt-free water to the tree’s roots. They’re in a lot of distress.

Bailing water to water trees

The city-imposed water restrictions allow for two days of watering a week, regardless of the circumstances. On a cool, cloudy day evaporation is less of a problem. With the start of another heat wave however, (high 90’s F or 34 C) my garden droops.

On the plus side, yesterday’s water bill shows decent conservation: We’ve reduced our water usage from 403 gallons a day (for a household of four) to 318 gallons. In 2013 we were using 515 gallons a day.

July, 2013 515 gallons per day

July, 2014 403 gallons per day

July, 2015 318 gallons per day

The discouraging part: we’re still over our allotment, thought not by much. We’re allocated 10.012 ccf for this period, and we used 10.229. So close!

Additionally, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is raising rates by 6.44% effective July 1st. So our usage is down, and our rates are up.
Here’s the latest from the Santa Clara Valley Water District:

For the first time in state history, the Governor directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25%. Please remember that most areas in the county have a restriction on irrigating ornamental landscape with potable water to two days a week.

The rainfall year that ended on June 30th was another below-average year in the county. The California Department of Water Resources found no snow during its April 1, 2015, manual survey at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada. This was the first time in 75 years of early April measurements at the Phillips snow course that no snow was found there.

The District will continue to conduct limited groundwater recharge using available surface water. However, total groundwater storage is predicted to fall in the Severe Stage at the end of 2015 if water use reduction for the rest of the year is similar to that in the first five months of the year, highlighting the need for continued water use reduction at the 30% level or above.

And so it goes. What’s the weather up to in your neck of the woods? I think it’s off kilter all over the globe.

July 6, 2015 by Born To Organize

Something Old, Something New

You’ve heard the Olde English wedding rhyme “something old, something new”. How about “something new from something old”?

That’s exactly what arrived in the mail last week: a charmingly attired wire dress form, an unexpected gift from Marlene Herself. The attached tag reads: “A Gift of Something New from Something Old” hand crafted from vintage linen by That’s My Sisters Donna and Colleen. I love it!

Something new from something old

Marlene, who blogs at In Search Of It All, is a wonderful seamstress and quilter in her own right. She knows how much I like dressmaking forms; I bought one in my size for the first time last year. This little charmer is about a foot tall and arrived wearing a crisp apron, hand-crafted from vintage linen. It’s pictured here in my garden between a begonia and a geranium, but only to show it off. Begonia’s and geraniums have their own vintage vibe, too, don’t you think? The darling dress form holds court on my bedroom dresser below, but I never have much luck with indoor shots. You can see how pretty it looks against the blue wall, but I could only capture the details when I took photos in the garden.

Vintage Apron Details

Marlene said she made “two women happy” when she bought this gift, but I suspect she’s been making many of us happy for years.

Thank you, Marlene, for this treasure and for a daily reminder of your kindness and friendship.

Bodice Detail

Word(s) of the Year

Serendipity was my 2014 word of the year. This year’s word is connections. Here’s a bit of both. I recently connected with Kerry through blogging. I followed a link to her Etsy shop and fell in love with one of her vintage, hand-embroidered linens. In the same week I ordered the beautiful tablecloth pictured below, Marlene’s delightful package arrived in the mail. Serendipitous worldly connections, I love you so, and I love your hand-embroidered linens, too. ♥ ♥ ♥