Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to Me!!
Happy birthday to several friends who share this date with me: Mary R, Sandy R, Bob W, Brian B. Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Celebrities who also share my birthday? Mary Martin of Peter Pan fame, Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Walter Alston (Dodger's manager) and Reggie Sanders (former Reds player), Lee Trevino and Treat Williams. Many more of course, unknowns like me, whose day will be acknowledged by friends & family instead of the media. Happy Birthday to us all!
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Happy Birthday, DellaJane Hand Dyes!
Five years ago, Becky Hinckley and I started DellaJane Hand Dyes. The name is a combination of the names we don't use (Della Alice and Rebecca Jane). Our first booth (and first sale!) was at the Cottonwood Quilters show in Elkhorn, Nebraska, in October, 2003. 
So much has changed since that first show. At the end of 2004, I bought Becky's interest in the business. I've been working to grow my business since then. Besides cotton fabric, I sell wool roving, wool yarn, silk, baby clothing, a variety of embellishments that includes vintage items (beads, cotton rick rack, yo-yos), an assortment of 50-100 different fibers, and a huge selection of buttons, sequins, game pieces, etc, plus patterns and kits. I'm teaching dyeing workshops and marketing my own designs. My booth at Threads Across Nebraska (held last weekend) shows how DellaJane Hand Dyes has grown.
Sometimes the effort necessary to keep coming up with new "stuff" seems overwhelming. I get tired of making samples and packaging items and planning displays. I hate the bean-counting aspect of being a small business owner. Sometimes, I just want to chuck it all, stay home, and make quilts. But, come the end of October, 2008, I'll be on the road to Houston, Texas, to celebrate five years of business at the biggest quilt show in the world. I wouldn't miss it for anything!
So much has changed since that first show. At the end of 2004, I bought Becky's interest in the business. I've been working to grow my business since then. Besides cotton fabric, I sell wool roving, wool yarn, silk, baby clothing, a variety of embellishments that includes vintage items (beads, cotton rick rack, yo-yos), an assortment of 50-100 different fibers, and a huge selection of buttons, sequins, game pieces, etc, plus patterns and kits. I'm teaching dyeing workshops and marketing my own designs. My booth at Threads Across Nebraska (held last weekend) shows how DellaJane Hand Dyes has grown.
Sometimes the effort necessary to keep coming up with new "stuff" seems overwhelming. I get tired of making samples and packaging items and planning displays. I hate the bean-counting aspect of being a small business owner. Sometimes, I just want to chuck it all, stay home, and make quilts. But, come the end of October, 2008, I'll be on the road to Houston, Texas, to celebrate five years of business at the biggest quilt show in the world. I wouldn't miss it for anything!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Too Much To Do, Too Many Places To Go
Just a week ago, my TO DO list combined with my calendar felt like a weight more than I could handle. Today, my list still has 30-some items to be done before Wednesday, when I leave for Chicago, but... A big BUT! So many things are finished!!
Opening Day came and went. The Reds lost Dusty Baker's first game. I'm so happy that baseball season is here!
"Joseph" finished a successful run at MNHS this week. Caitlin celebrated her birthday as one of Pharaoh's dancers. Alyssa successfully tested for her TDK green belt AND was named Student of the Month. I finished our taxes!! We owe less than $500, so I'm a happy camper. I dyed over 50 yards of fabric, dyed two dozen onesies, rusted about 10 more yards of fabric. I got a new credit card machine. No more knuckle-buster swiping!
We ordered new appliances (range, microwave, dishwasher & fridge) a couple of weeks ago. Choosing them was WAY more work than I expected. Delivery was scheduled for Saturday. When Al unhooked the dishwasher on Saturday morning, the shutoff valve broke. Water everywhere, so we had to get a plumber in at weekend rates. On Friday, we learned that the range we ordered didn't come in. Of course, we had already pulled the old one. Nebraska Furniture Mart came through with high marks - they gave us another model (an upgrade!) so we could get everything at once. All but the microwave are installed & beautiful!! Kudos to the NFM delivery guys. They did a fantastic job.
The new dishwasher is SO quiet! The new range is intimidating. The ice-maker is spitting out cubes faster than we can use them. I'm faced with the daunting task of sorting through all that stuff from the freezer. How long DO you keep frozen vegetables? We really have to get to the zoo to feed the fish all those bread crusts! There were pots and pans in the bottom drawer of the stove that probably hadn't been touched since we moved into this house. Which magnets and pictures and comics move to the new fridge?
Today, we are shopping for a prom dress. If I survive, I'll get to work rinsing and ironing all that fabric!
Opening Day came and went. The Reds lost Dusty Baker's first game. I'm so happy that baseball season is here!
"Joseph" finished a successful run at MNHS this week. Caitlin celebrated her birthday as one of Pharaoh's dancers. Alyssa successfully tested for her TDK green belt AND was named Student of the Month. I finished our taxes!! We owe less than $500, so I'm a happy camper. I dyed over 50 yards of fabric, dyed two dozen onesies, rusted about 10 more yards of fabric. I got a new credit card machine. No more knuckle-buster swiping!
We ordered new appliances (range, microwave, dishwasher & fridge) a couple of weeks ago. Choosing them was WAY more work than I expected. Delivery was scheduled for Saturday. When Al unhooked the dishwasher on Saturday morning, the shutoff valve broke. Water everywhere, so we had to get a plumber in at weekend rates. On Friday, we learned that the range we ordered didn't come in. Of course, we had already pulled the old one. Nebraska Furniture Mart came through with high marks - they gave us another model (an upgrade!) so we could get everything at once. All but the microwave are installed & beautiful!! Kudos to the NFM delivery guys. They did a fantastic job.
The new dishwasher is SO quiet! The new range is intimidating. The ice-maker is spitting out cubes faster than we can use them. I'm faced with the daunting task of sorting through all that stuff from the freezer. How long DO you keep frozen vegetables? We really have to get to the zoo to feed the fish all those bread crusts! There were pots and pans in the bottom drawer of the stove that probably hadn't been touched since we moved into this house. Which magnets and pictures and comics move to the new fridge?
Today, we are shopping for a prom dress. If I survive, I'll get to work rinsing and ironing all that fabric!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Dear Josh, Happy Birthday! I love you! Mom
My favorite son turned 30 last month. (I don't think I'm old enough to have a child who is 30, but the calendar insists that I am.) I wanted to do something different, so every day for 30 days, I sent him a gift consisting of 30 of the same items. The idea for this came from a post on the QuiltArt list (see last paragraph).
My gifts were:
1. baseball cards
2. 6.5" fabric squares
3. pieces of Trident gum
4. smiley face pins
5. drinking straws (bendable!)
6. coasters from Chili's
7. crayons
8. marbles
9. green plastic toy soldiers
10. gel tab sponges
11. blue pom-poms
12. pipe cleaners
13. Capitol One fake credit cards
14. clear pony beads
15. round pasta (don't remember name)
16. chocolate pennies
17. mini ponytail stretchies
18. biz cards w/Happy Birthday notes
19. fortunes from cookies
20. baseball post-it notes
21. ketchup packets
22. $300 in $10 Monopoly bills
23. canceled stamps
24. Simpson cookies
25. green paint samples
26. origami cranes (folded by his youngest sister)
27. Legos
28. songs (downloaded onto cd by another sister)
29. plastic clothespins
30. pictures of himself from age 1 day to 13.
Last Paragraph: At the Chicago IQA show, I asked 30 people to write Happy Birthday on their business card as one of my gifts. Christine Adams happily did so, then told me that her sister had done "40 gifts for 40 days" for Christine's 40th b-day. Christine had posted about it on QuiltArt. I thought it was really neat that the person who inspired me to do this for Josh was actually involved in one of his gifts! Thanks Christine!
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