Quote # 4

I am just a big kid. There is no question about that. The reason I say that is because every once in a while, my son has a reaction or exclamation and my husband looks directly at me and says, "I wonder where he gets that from?" I have the same silly expressions, exaggerations and defiant looks as my son. Exactly. We even react to injury or defeat in the same way. I was reminded of this after reading the 4th quote from my neighbor Mary. I am saddened to say this is her last quote and I haven't received a single other quote from the neighbors, but I'm still clinging to the hope that I'll have a stuffed mailbox tomorrow.

"The only difference between you and an adult is experience - and size!" Mary @ 59

Thanks Mary! Your quotes were wonderful!

Quote # 3

One of the most wonderful things I have experienced as a parent is to see my son succeed at a task when I was tempted to walk him through it or hold his hand. I wrap myself in a huge blanket of patience and just peek out to see how he's doing. On his own he is perfectly capable of trying, failing, learning and then - success! The satisfaction is much deeper and clearer for him when he figures it out for himself. Here is Mary's 3rd quote of 4.

"Never fear a mistake. If it teaches a lesson, the mistake will go away." - Mary @ 59

Come on neighbors! If you are checking out my blog to see whether you want to participate, just do it! I am having so much fun and it is such a lighthearted project with really no risk at all. I would love to hear the whimsical, serious and soft side of everyone on the street. How often have you ever felt the need to dole out unsolicited advice? Well, here's your chance because I'm asking for it. I'm hoping for a mailbox stuffed with inspirations.

Quote #2

This next quote really hits home for me and those of you who have been following my blog will see that instantly. It is about following your dreams. Practically everything I blog about is following my dreams. It's about surrounding yourself with people and things that inspire you and following your passion. The amazing thing is that this neighbor has no computer, hasn't read my blog, and I think we've only met once about 6 years ago. So that just shows that following your dreams is a universal bit of advice.
"Dreams have no boundaries. Whatever you really love to do - follow it thru, the outcome may amaze you." - Mary @ 59

Thank you neighbors. Keep those quotes coming!

Advice for an 8 Year Old Kid

I have never been so eager to receive mail in my life! I guess it's partly because my son is involved and I want this little project to be successful for him. Every day since we delivered the letters we have eagerly checked the mailbox and today was the day!
My plan is to spread words of inspiration out my door, down my street, into cyberspace, and to also be inspiring to my son because he inspires me so. So I came up with an idea. I sent out letters to all of my neighbors asking them to send me their own original quotes from any members of their family for me to display on my blog. The blog is called:
Advice for an 8 Year Old Kid: The Neighbors of Royal Salinger Road
Today I was thrilled to slowly pull the mail from the mailbox and see one of the envelopes I had sent out politely re-stuffed with a response. Hooray! This is so exciting! I am grinning ear to ear. Not only was she the first neighbor to step up to the plate, but she commented on how "novel" my idea was and she submitted 4 wonderful quotes. I will blog about one quote per day. So today I officially launch the first neighborly quote.

"The best way to feel better when you're sad is to help someone, start with your mom or dad." - Mary @ 59

Now, my son is sound asleep of course. But this one single sentence tells me that Mary is pure sweetness and I can't wait to share this quote with Gavin tomorrow. Thank you Mary!

The most thougthful gift

Well it is 1:00 a.m. and I am just about to finally crawl into bed. My entire family is sound asleep. I realized today that I have not sewn a thing since Mother's Day! This was the first time I got to enjoy my new chair which was a Mother's Day gift. It is a very snazzy looking chair as you can see from the photo, and it is also extremely comfortable. I usually realize it's time for bed when my neck or back get tired, but with this chair I could sew all night. I can't believe I used to sit for hours on that hard wooden kitchen chair. What was I thinking? I actually stopped sewing today because the buzzer went on the clothes dryer and scared the pants off me. But I did manage to whip up a quick sample pillow for the kids' class I'll be teaching this summer. And I also did a quick mini landscape featuring a few different types of stitches. I'll be teaching that to kids too. It should be so much fun! I'll post some photos of those samples tomorrow. Night night.

New idea!

I really enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia which was all about self exploration, food and some life changing blogging and I have also been hooked lately on a great blog called Things My Dad Said. You have to check it out to see what I mean. It is hilarious.
So I got to thinking about the reasons I love to blog. I determined that I love to blog because it allows me to write about the big things and the little things that inspire me every day. It also puts me to bed each night on a good note. I realized that the person that tends to inspire me most is my son. And the thing that inspires me most is that he lives in the moment. So I started to contemplate how I can blog in a way that spreads words of inspiration out my door, down my street, into cyberspace, and that could also be inspiring to my son because he inspires me so.
I came up with a brilliant plan (moo haa haa) that includes the 61 neighbors on my street. My fingers are littered with paper cuts and my printer ran out of ink, but Gavin and I had a whole bunch of fun hauling the wagon and the dog today going door to door delivering letters.
Keep watching my blog! I'll tell you more about it when I get the first response from a neighbor. I can't wait!

You are absolutely invited!

The show is open! I announced on my blog 2 weeks ago that I now have representation for my fibre art landscape series in the Woodlands gallery. To get a preview of all 17 pieces check out the gallery's website and click on Gallery Artists. You can also view her blog for the announcement on May 27th. For a live viewing, stop by the Woodlands Gallery at 535 Academy Road in Winnipeg.
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday to Friday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday & Monday – Closed
Your only limits are the ones you choose!