I'm Puzzled!

I love puzzles! Crosswords, jumbles, brain teasers, riddles and jigsaws; anything that makes my brain hurt a little--that's fun for me. I hadn't done a jigsaw puzzle in quite some time, so I was surprised when I recently attempted one and the pieces didn't stay together like they had in the "good old days".

Completed puzzle 30" x 24"

The puzzle I completed was 1,000-pieces and was an impressive collage of many of our favorite board games we played as kids. But, because my table wasn't quite large enough to accommodate all the pieces while I was constructing it, I decided to lock together pieces from the same sections, outside the border area, and then place them inside the border when I got a section done. Not a good idea! Once I put together a section, I could not transport it inside the border without the pieces breaking apart in my hands. It sort of defeated the purpose--I ended up having to put the pieces all back together again. No sense putting the sections together twice, so opted to put everything together inside the border after all, cramped as it was.

Frustrating fall-aparts!

In the original days of jigsaw puzzles, photos, or paintings were mounted on lightweight wood, and pieces were cut with a jigsaw (thus the name). Now, in order to produce a large number of puzzles at once, photos are mounted on cardboard and cut apart with a large press containing very sharp blades. For some reason, the blade presses don't hold the pieces together as well; perhaps because they cannot turn as tight corners to create the interlocking "snaps" if you will. So what's a girl to do?

Even though I was a bit disappointed in the way the puzzle went together, once it was completed, it looked great and the pieces held quite well. It's just something I will need to take into consideration the next time I do a jigsaw. Maybe I'll get a larger table, or go out to my shed and jigsaw-cut my own puzzle or two!

I guess a better idea would be to suck it up and enjoy the experience for what it is, or stick to crosswords!

Home Sewing Isn't a Savings!

We used to sew to save ourselves money. That isn't the case any longer. In fact, it is often far less expensive to purchase ready-to-wear than to make something. Those who do not frequent fabric and craft stores don't realize that times have changed.

I was recently asked to help with a church project, sewing flannel pajama pants for a special occasion. There were approximately 140 pair and the fabric requested was Christmas flannel prints. Of course, being a church, there was a rather tight budget. Now I know the general prices of fabrics--all fabrics--because I am a seamstress and fashion designer. So, I was skeptical about being able to come up with fabric and notions to produce PJ pants for $7 per pair. I was aware of several online stores that might be able to accommodate us with less expensive fabric, but 200 to 300 yards was out of the question. In addition, once I'd taken shipping costs into account, it was more economical to purchase fabric from a local fabric store, even at the higher prices. Needless to say, this project never came to fruition. Unfortunate.

Santa Clara County has a slim selection of quality fabrics for fashion. Most of the mills who supply our stores are located back east, or over seas. The fabric mills back east cater mostly to stores in snow areas and do not take into account customers in temperate climates like California. There is a high selection of synthetic fleece fabrics and wool, as well as quilter's flannel which of course, is more expensive because of the higher quality quilting requires. I realize most all of our cotton mills have closed and cotton is usually shipped from somewhere other than the states, therefore, incurs higher shipping which gets passed on to us, the consumer.

On the other hand, a large percentage of our ready-to-wear comes from over seas where labor and fabric is cheaper. So off-the-rack clothing tends to be less expensive than making it yourself. Those days of saving a little money by sewing your own clothing are gone. Today, we sew because 1) we enjoy it, 2) we want a perfect fit, or 3) we want a higher quality product. I personally sew for all three of the above reasons. But I am a rare breed, and much in demand; that is evident in the amount of potential clients I get on a weekly basis, even though I'm not really sewing for people any more (ha--yeah, right).

I think it's unfortunate that sewing isn't offered in public school any longer. All of the sewists that might have been, might not even know they'd like sewing if they were offered the opportunity. Most of the sewists I see now days are home-schoolers; kids whose mothers passed on the skill or hired a sewing instructor to teach them at home.

Times have changed. I'm not sure it for the better, but it has certainly impacted the fashion market!

Sock It To Me!

I have to wonder what the buyers for department stores are thinking when it comes to socks. Am I the only one in the world who cannot find socks in the matching colors of the current blouses and shirts?

Borrrring!

I've been in most of the major stores in the last couple of days, looking for shirts and tops for the new season. Unfortunately, when I find the right shirt, I find no socks to match it. For that matter, I cannot even find a pair of socks that "blends". If you don't want black or gray, apparently, you're out of luck.

Do the buyers for these stores coordinate their purchases at all? Perhaps there are different buyers for lingerie and clothing. If that is the case, I suggest they get together and talk once in awhile, because this isn't working for the consumer.

I have limited time and do not want to go all over the county looking for a pair of socks that matches a shirt I've purchased. It's a simple request; carry socks with the same colors in them as the newest shirts and blouses.

Perhaps I'm one of the few who still wear socks that coordinate. If that's the case, I will not apologize. I have little opportunity to make a fashion statement these days, so I insist on having fun socks to compliment my attire!

When the Matriarch Passes

My cousin's husband died suddenly this past Monday. It is a tremendous loss to her, and though I hadn't talked with her or her husband in several decades, it saddens me too.

I love my cousins but I don't dialogue with them regularly. In fact, it's been over 35 years since I've talked to 3 of the 5 sisters. While I get updates through two of my cousins, I don't feel I know the other ladies like I should. I mean, they're family, right?

When I was young and my grandmother was alive, we spent a good deal of time with my father's brother's family. Of course we had holiday get-togethers; but more than that, we enjoyed time with our cousins. I have special memories of every one of them, in particular the younger ones with whom I was closest.

I have a theory why things change. The matriarch of the family is the glue. She keeps her children together, suggesting ways for them to be in touch, having their families over to her home, encouraging socializing. But once the matriarch passes on, her children often lose touch and drift into their own lives away from their siblings. It isn't intentional, it's just how life works.

My grandmother passed away while I was still in high school. Even though my grandfather was still alive and active with his kids, he wasn't their mother and didn't inspire closeness. Eventually, we cousins saw less and less of each other as we began our families and started traditions of our own. I'm ashamed to say, one day my uncle's daughters became a distant memory for me.

I am sorry for that. I feel responsible for not making more of an effort to keep those relationships alive and fresh. Life happens around us and we spend time on those connections we want to enhance. It is as much my doing as anyone's.

Many times, when the matriarch of the family passes away, so do relationships between siblings. In this case it was my father and his brother, and consequently, my cousins and my siblings. In keeping with that theology, my cousins found they lost touch with one another when my aunt, their mother, passed away. Recently I lost both of my parents and I'm concerned my siblings and I will associate less and less with one another. The glue is no longer there to keep us from drifting apart.

I am determined to break the cycle; I don't want this to happen to my brothers and sister! In an effort to avoid what's happened in the past, I will vow to keep in touch with my siblings and nurture those relationships by keeping connections strong.

I've decided to gladly step into the role of "glue"! God knows we all could use some bonding!

Dress Codes Don't Suck!

A certain high school on Staten Island in New York is having problems with their students falling out of the dress code. It has become a fad, if you will, to go against the dress code and be punished, rather than wear the school’s proposed attire. In a way, the students have made breaking the dress code their own fashion statement.

The school’s philosophy is that the students need to abide by the dress code, which allows no provocative or gang related clothing (including low pants on boys). In turn, this will make them more successful students. “Dress for Success” is their mantra.

While I love fashion (I have been a fashion designer for more than 25 years and have also had more than my share of arguments with my parents about the way I should dress) I have to side with the school on this one. It has been verified that students do better in school if they are dressed to learn, rather than dressed for the beach or a night club. When I home-schooled my children, I found they were far more distracted when I allowed them to wear their pajamas to “school” then when I had them dress appropriately for their day of lessons.

I realize high school students want to make a statement with their clothing. But the statement many of them are making is not conducive to study. Girls in particular are apparently not aware of the distraction to boys, their provocative attire creates (or…maybe they are). I know from experience that choosing something to wear every morning, from your large arsenal of latest trends takes far more time than narrowing the choices with a dress code.

While the Staten Island school does not yet require uniforms, I propose that uniforms might be a better solution than fighting the students every day. School uniforms solve multiple issues; selection time each morning, less identification of wealth class, fewer distractions to both the students and the teachers, fewer regrets when viewing high school photos with your children later in life, and higher test percentages overall. And, if the decision is made to wear uniforms, I do believe the teachers should adhere to the policy as well.

When all is said and done, the uniform rule will not solve the issue of success completely. It has also been substantiated in numerous studies that students are more successful in school if their parents are involved, whether in the PTA, Home and School Club, or volunteering in other ways. And, that may prove to be a more difficult issue than staying with a dress code.

Embracing What We Stand For

Why are Christians are so eager to vocalize what we’re against, instead of embracing what we stand for? We seem to be more than ready to protest something that is offensive to us, but not as ready to share what gives us peace. Perhaps those of us who spend so much time protesting, have forgotten what it is that should make Christians different; a peace and joy that is beyond explanation.

Christ developed relationships before introducing the Gospel to people; He didn’t just blast people with the enlightenment that they were living in sin. He wanted to know about them, about their lives, before He stepped in to bring them the truth.

Today’s Christians seem to get a certain amount of joy from judging and condemning. Recently I was watching a documentary about a particular group of evangelical Christians who were quietly demonstrating against same sex marriage in front of a popular California City Hall. When approached by a homosexual who clearly did not understand, one of the Christian protesters said politely, “We love you, but we hate what you’re doing.” I don’t think that was a loving comment at all. What the gentleman heard was, “You’re a sinner and we won’t tolerate you!” Like everyone else, he knew to ignore everything that was said before the word but.

I think Christians forget several important factors in voicing their distaste of sin. 1) Non-believers are not held to the same standards as believers. They still don’t know Jesus as their Savior so cannot possibly follow His laws through love and obedience. 2) In our effort to introduce people to the Gospel, we forget to reach out in love and grace. Just saying you love someone doesn’t necessarily make them feel loved. 3) We need to develop relationships with people. That was a key ingredient to Jesus’ ministry. How can we possibly introduce someone to Christ before we even know what their needs are, where they’ve been, or what they’re going through? 4) Our purpose is not to judge. That is God’s job alone. We are only here as Christ’s vessels, to love others and teach them about Christ’s sacrifice for them. We’re asked to judge only when we identify another believer is falling short. And then there are specific guidelines to follow to reconcile the believer to Christ.

Let’s start looking at ourselves before we open our mouths about others.  We are all sinners in God’s eyes, and one sin doesn’t outweigh another as far as He’s concerned. Whether it's a teaspoon of dirt or a cupful, it still makes a glass of water undrinkable.

I’m looking forward to a day when we can approach each other with unconditional love, the kind Jesus has for us, and show non-believers how wonderful it is to be a child of God. Aren’t we more apt to bring people to the Lord if they’re able to see in us a more desirable and fulfilled life than what they see in non-believers?

Fly the Friendly Skies?

So, I had occasion to take a domestic flight recently. The last time I flew was actually just a couple of months ago, but that was a 23 hour flight to India so I believe the planes are larger and service is better for an international flight. Not a lot, mind you, but a little.

The particular flight I'm talking about was with American Airlines, but I'm sure you could drop any other airline's name in here and it would be just as appropriate.

Now, I will preface this by sharing that I suffer from slight gait problems and have difficulty moving through tight spaces. That, coupled with the fact that I'm nearly 6 feet tall and just a little heavier than I have been in awhile (not nearly large enough to merit two plane tickets I assure you). But with that in mind, I still believe I'm justified in saying, the airlines need to do something about the tight quarters and lack of distance between seats!

If I had chosen to recline (I use the term "recline" loosely), I would surely have ended up with my head in the lap of the man behind me. "Recliner Lady" in front of me didn't seem to mind the new do I gave her when I had to pull her hair out of my mouth and give her a personal blow dry with my lips. It is no exaggeration that putting down the beverage tray (yes, it is only for beverages now unless you want to sell your first-born for a bag of peanuts) would have caused some serious injury to my person. It's a good thing those tray edges aren't sharp or it might have cut me clean in half had I lowered it.

Because I know how uncomfortable it makes me, I do not recline in an airplane. If for some strange reason (which I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams) I might have to recline my seat, I would certainly tell the person behind me before cranking it back and assuming their knees are out of the way. A courtesy Recliner Lady didn't extend to me. She moved her seat back the minute we were in the air and didn't bring the seat forward again until the Flight Attendant announced we were ready to land. It was only a 4-hour flight after all.

Is it because I've gotten old and crotchety, or didn't flying used to be a lot more fun? In an effort to make a bigger buck, I fear the airlines have taken most of the fun out of flying. I realize the importance of Security and I'm willing to concede that little inconvenience. Moving through the queue like a herd of cattle who are headed by prod to the branding iron, I realize, is for the sake or our safety. I get it. But, I think the airlines could give us a little more latitude when it comes to our comfort inside the plane. Granted, I don't know what it costs to fly a plane from San Jose to Oklahoma, but I cannot imagine that taking away 3 inches of leg room from each passenger to add 20% more seating can possibly be justified. Especially when coupled with the fact that rates have gone way up, additional taxes have been added, and luggage fees are now the norm.

I'm not sure what the answer is. None of us is going to stop flying to teach the airlines a lesson. But, at the very least how about a little courtesy among the passengers? Tell me, is it really that much easier to rest with a minute incline of 1-1/2 inches, than if you use a neck pillow and stay upright the entire trip?

I will give a shout out to Southwest Airlines; even though their seating is tight, their Flight Attendants seem to have a light-hearted approach toward flying, and that does carry over to the attitude of the passengers. I guess the key ingredient is a sense of humor, and expectation of the worst scenario to come out ahead. That way, when your knees are black and swollen after your trip, you can at least say the flight attendant was a hoot!