The "Designing" Female

Last Friday, I was apparently really busy although I don't remember now what the heck I was doing, but whatever it was, it caused me to forget all about doing a post for the "Only the Good Friday" thing that Shelley, over at This Eclectic Life, introduced about two months or so ago now. The purpose of this is to find -and blog about -things that often are of the mundane variety in our lives, even sometimes not seeming to be all that great, but then to turn those things into seeing the good side of events, things, people, etc.

The kids -as is usually the case here -have been doing their normal thing, getting into everything and anything they possibly can. All too often that means they've been into things they SHOULDN'T be messing with too though. Sometimes, when their "efforts" result in more mess than the norm, it can be a bit difficult to see the "good side" to things but if you take a long, deep breath, count to maybe a thousand or so much of the time, eventually there can usually be found at least a little humor in these things.

With two small children, both autistic, it does make finding humor at times a bit trickier than it might be with other small children because it can be so frustrating to try to find ways to redirect the child, sometimes finding the humor in any of these things can really be a long reach.

This past Sunday was one of those days where finding the good was rough. The reason being little Miss Maya had once again found -and used -the implement here that likely will become our nemesis and her favorite and funtime tool -scissors!

Trying to find a hiding place for the scissors has become almost a full time job here! They need to be someplace that is handy because we have to use them every night to open the packets of allergy medicine Kurtis takes daily. However, virtually every spot in the house where one could stash a small pair of scissors that would leave them easily accessible to the adults and totally inaccessible to a certain little girl, is already in use -or so it seems. Took me a while of looking around in the kitchen but finally discovered I could slide the scissors along the side of the top shelf in one cupboard -well out of Maya's reach even if she tried to use the step stool but also in a place were they are easy to see, reach, get out, put away too, for any adult needing to use them! See -there's something good that came out of her finding and using the scissors the other day, isn't it?

And just what was it that she used those scissors on that got her into hot water this week?
Well, I have some pictures to put up here to show you but blogger won't open the picture thing for me right now -for whatever ornery reason it has -so I'll just have to tell you about this until I can get the picture thingy to work. Ah - finally got it to work for me! Here's Maya, after getting her bangs evened up as much as possible with what she left behind!




She found a pair of sharp scissors on Sunday afternoon and in the blink of an eye, half of her bangs disappeared! Cut a big, big hunk out of her bangs -clear back to the top of her forehead!

And, although that was not a pleasant sight to see, after Mandy trimmed the hair back a little and then, a nice trip on Monday to go see Linda, the hairdresser, I think the "new do" looks pretty cute after all, don't you? Gives her even more of an elfin look now. See, found the good in that bad act and nasty gouge of the hair on Sunday even though initially both Mandy and I were worried this one might not be correctable. Ah, the power of positive thinking -and some trained hair stylist can work wonders!

Remember yesterday, I was grumbling about getting these two new tablecloths to embroider and having issues with all the floss I have but that I DIDN'T have the colors recommended for either of these items? Well, the GOOD NEWS here is that when I opened the one kit yesterday -after having found colors I thought would work, and that I had enough of each color too that I could do this cloth? Well, I had a big surprise when I opened the package as out fell a packet from inside the packaging that contained floss to use on this particular tablecloth. I was really shocked because it doesn't say anything on the package that the floss is included nor do I recall it saying that when I ordered it either!

But, needless to say, that was most certainly a good thing for me, wouldn't you agree?

So now, I am working on yet another tablecloth. This one is a Christmas design -a candle, with pine branches around it in each of the four corners, plus in the center, four more of those candles and pine branches too! A really pretty and very Christmassy design, for sure! And also, one that if I stay with it, I should be able to get it finished in time to wrap it for one of Mandy's presents this year!

The roads here yesterday were pretty crappy -icy, very, very icy! Lots and lots of accidents recorded on the alert thing I get on my e-mail about accidents and/or fires in our region. But the good news there is -luckily -none were really bad, at least no fatalities recorded and that's always a big relief.

Mandy got in the mood yesterday to try her hand at baking some cookies so she did up a package of the good old Sugar cookie mixes and by this morning, they'd almost completely disappeared! Didn't even have a chance to decorate them, that's how quickly they made their way from the countertop to the tummies of two little kids -as well as a couple of adults helping out in that department too!

Which reminds me -I'm gonna have to bite the bullet here sometime next week and drag out all my baking supplies and get a bunch of cookies done up for us for the holiday season too now. Normally, by this time, I used to have several dozen cookies already baked and stored away but this year, the urge to bake has been in hiding. I'm gonna have to drag it forward though -probably kicking and screaming all the way, but I'll get a couple kinds of cookies and some bread done up between now and Christmas.

And now, I'm going to go back to work on my latest project -the new tablecloth! I hope it turns out as pretty as the picture on the package and when it's complete, I'll show it to you here. Provided, that is, that good old Blogger cooperates with me!

This Sunday night will be the St. Lucia Pageant and "pot luck" dinner at our church. I really look forward to this program (and dinner, too) very much every Christmas. It's a program to honor St. Lucia, a patron saint of Sweden, and our church has had this event every year now except for one, since 1981. Both my daughters served as St. Lucia for the program when they were in high school -something they may not have thought of as such an honor then but today, they look on it as having been just that! A way to pay tribute to ur ethnic roots as we remember St. Lucia and her good deeds in Sweden!

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures next week to share with you from this event.

Now, stay warm, stay healthy -or if you already have the "plague", please get well soon! And, have a wonderful weekend, full of lots and lots of interesting things as we get closer to Christmas Day and all the blessings of the season before us.

Peace and may you always discover a way to find the good in everything!