Calamity Kim

Earl the Squirrel says Merry Christmas!

Earl the Squirrel says Merry Christmas!, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Ever since Earl's Aunt Betty died playing dodge cars he's been kinda mopey and sad. Today he looked like he was in a festive mood and I am so relieved! He learned a big lesson from her and will never forget that sometimes it's better to stay in the tree than run in the road!
I hope you are all getting ready for the ho, ho, holidays!
xo, Calamity & Earl

Dec 9

Dec 9, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

It looks like it's getting ready to rain.
I am sewing up a storm- that's for sure!
Happy Countdown to Christmas!

Dec 8 Harold de Lapin hunts a proper evergreen

Dec 8 Harold de Lapin hunts a proper evergreen, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

I set this up, took the shot and then added some flare in the picnic edit program on Flickr.
Harold stays out all year, because he makes me happy. He is a Bunnies by the Bay stuffed rabbit with wire snow shoes and tiny felt mittens. I just love their work.
Happy Holidays!
xo, calamity kim

Dec 7

Dec 7, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

The elves came out to help me decorate. The gnomes are really too tiny to be helpful with ornaments that are bigger than they are!

Dec 6

Dec 6, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Getting the table ready for Christmas. The gnomes are busy wrapping gifts.

Dec 5 cards to write

Dec 5 cards to write, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

went on my semi-annual visit to the Scandinavian Store and found the best wrapping paper and cards!
Santa card illustrated by Helge Artelius
Tomten on upper right from Tomtens in the Forest by Svein Solem, Norway

According to Scandinavian legends, the tomten is the protector of the farm through many generations. He is very small, usually dressed in gray or blue, has a long beard and wears a red cap.His only demand is a bowl of rice porridge on Christmas Eve. Ah, but if the farmer forgets, there will be trouble. Instead of protecting the farm and family, the tomten will play tricks on them. Tomten is a Swedish name. In Norway he is known as nissen.
"God Jul" means Merry Christmas in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Dec 4

from Ikea, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

The gnomes want to help us countdown too!

Dec 3

I love Ikea, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

For the tree.
Red and White
Woven pockets to fill with love.
Ikea knows

Dec 2

paper stars Ikea, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

red paper stars from Ikea will decorate the white feather tree I found on eBay. I could have made them myself, but Ikea made it easy for me to use my saved time to possibly bake some cookies.

Countdown to Christmas

tablecloth from Home Goods, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

My friend Lynn is doing a countdown to Christmas so I thought I would join her~ better late than never, we will pretend that this is for Dec 1.

The Flickr Group is here if you want to go check it out.

I have a passion for Scandinavian decor. I have an Italian, Scottish and Cherokee Indian heritage so I don't know why this appeals to me but it does. Thank heavens for Ikea opening up in Tampa. I might have taken a field trip to Atlanta if they hadn't opened up in April.

Things to be thankful for. Ikea is on my list. And Home Goods where I found this tablecloth. I'm going to do the table in red and white.

Happy Holidays

calamity kim

a letter to u

some mornings i sit at my computer long after the coffee has gone cold and i just can't seem to break away.

i know i should get up and do something but my brain is so engaged with images so wonderful and delightful that i can't remove myself from this room.

i imagine u r with me as i sit and swing on this front porch.

the soft, gentle breeze blows and we talk of things we would like to make, or do and what is new or help each other deal with some grief or sorrow. perhaps share dreams of travel. i say paris. u say greece.

that's what friends do. they listen and share and comfort and pretend everything is gonna be ok.

is happiness just a state of mind?

can u control your mood so deliberately? can u jump out of a bad mood into joy at any given moment? r u choosing to be angry or sad? is that even possible? is there a choice to be made? is it out of your hands?

i always let my emotions rule me and now at middle age i seem to feel less intensity. i still get angry or sad or feel happy but these moods seem like a watered down version of what they once were.

and yet, the thought of losing you makes my eyes water and tears spill down my cheeks before i can even stop them. i taste sadness on my tongue as surely as if i had just eaten from that birthday cake left out in the rain.

i don't want to lose you. i just started to get to know you.

u r complex.

u r difficult. sometimes. we both can be. but

u r so bitter and hurt deep down in your heart and yet someplace inside you that small child is reaching out for love. hello, little girl.

i would have a party under the moon with lanterns in the trees and sparklie twinkling lights if i could to celebrate u.

i would bake the most wonderful pies and have lovely cakes of cream flown down from boston, just for u.

we r so different, u and i. is it the years between us?

is it our life experiences that have molded us like clay, made hard by the fires of disappointment and given us worn, weathered textures like raku pottery sitting on the dusty shelf waiting for the next flower to temporarily live inside us. is that too poetic for u? would u rather just not discuss it?

i know it hurts.

i know it isn't easy or polite but we need to talk before u go. we need to get it all out and unburden our hearts. not about things of the past, that has all been said, but things of hope and desire so that i will remember u until that day that i too am gone.

how much time do u think we have? let's do this before u don't feel like it at all. can we sit and hold hands and wipe silent tears with tissues until our voices come back? the tight knot has been in my throat for weeks. u know the way it feels. like u can't swallow or that your heart may burst within any moment.

don't say i am dramatic.

usually i try to look at the bright and happy side.

lately there doesn't seem to be an up side. no words to make it all better. facing reality with a brave face. we've both had to do that more times than not, haven't we?

i know u r tired. i know u r afraid. i am trying to be strong for u but i can't stop crying and feeling this sadness inside me. i hide it well. i keep it locked up with all those other things i don't want to think about. the real life things. no unicorns or rainbows or afternoons at the park in there. i don't like that place. i want to make it disappear.

maybe that's why i don't want to leave the computer. images of every possible kind are here to console me, take me away, umbrellas and balloons soar into the sky.

over and again i save these sky photos with colorful, happy objects that float.

i can analyze myself, thank u and we both need help. we both know it.

there is no one else to share this with because they are all cactus, loving us from a distance is safer than too close. the balloons would be broken. just like our hearts u say. i agree. don't get too close. here, pin this name tag on your dress and don't forget your sweater. stay on the bus until u get far from here. don't look back. she made her choice and we have lived with the consequences all of our lives.

it will be ok. we r safe. no one can hear or judge or laugh or abandon us anymore. we have each other, i promise u that until the day i die, even if u go first, i will love u and remember u.

i will remember good things about u and forget the painful memories when we were young and didn't have a connection. wild hearts running from the damage done to our hearts. only running makes the pain stop long enough to take a breath. shaky uneven breaths. does that pain ever stop? that's life u said. it hurts most of the time. that's how u know u r alive.

yes, i will dance with u, until the music ends. let's make s'mores and giggle about boys and movies we love. lets share stories again, lets get blankets and make a fort, u grab the flashlight, i'll get the pillows. we'll pretend it's a tree house up in a magical tree filled with paper and silk lanterns all glowing bright.

why not? let's play! move the table, now we need a way to strike a tent- maybe some string and clothespins. that would work. this is fun, isn't it? we never did this before. we never played together in a pretend house with symbols of love everywhere but we can now. we can rewrite history and shun the reality and have a dream be real because this will be all that we have left. what we remember. its a choice, isn't it?

i see u across the room and imagine u are a flower fairy, risen early, washing your face in dew and drinking honeysuckle wine before putting on your wings. don't waste another moment- let's paint our toes and wear beautiful scarves on our heads while we still have time. i love u

really, u r. inside u somewhere is that girl with a ponytail and gingham dress. she wants to do it all right this time. thinking and choosing carefully instead of letting the first arms that hold her bind her and keep her from seeing clearly. always searching for love, faithful love. always getting rejected and abandoned. wait there's that past we said we wouldn't discuss. make it go away. can it? is it possible? can we pretend? please? try, just for me.

i could not write this in a letter. well, maybe i could. but it's so pretty here with these images borrowed from this miracle machine. it gives me joy, great joy, to be able to see these beautiful pictures and float away.

i wish we could find these places and go there together and share tea cakes and warm freshly baked bread. we could talk of Alice and Dorothy and Marylin and what really happened to them. we could spend hours window shopping in LA or hiking in the Grand Canyon. we could go to france and greece and fall in love with those countrysides and make memories to last a lifetime.

we could wear out the soles of our shoes dancing under moonbeams and chasing falling stars. we could spend time together knowing that in the end we tried. we gave. we listened. we loved. we were sisters.

wouldn't it be nice. it would wouldn't it? to sneak away and have a retreat with just us and our daydreams? we could knit, finally, because i learned how. maybe we could just relax and with a deep sigh, let it all go. have a fresh start at the end. living life backwards, that's how i roll. never realizing how important forgiveness and acceptance really is until it is too late. what a shame.

why does it take till u r middle aged to see things so clearly? does it require the absence of hormones to finally be able to put it all into perspective? is that why older people can be so blunt and ruthless- they don't have time to sugar coat anything? there is so much i want to do in my life- i assume i will have the time. if i heard the word terminal i would be angry at me too for being so self assured and loose with my days. please don't be angry with me. or with anyone because u r sick. i didn't do it to u and who knows, i might be next. look inside and see the anger and pull it out, use the cherry pitter if you have to and then burn it. ashes don't hurt.

no one knows how u feel, u r right. i can't imagine. i grieve. i try not to worry but i do. i think about u all the time. when we talk i am not even sure u can hear me, the cell phone crackles the distance is too great. it's hard not to see u. i imagine u in your home, that cat is so scared of everything.

i found this picture of a cat wearing a fruit helmet.

do u think that's funny?

i wanted to make u laugh. don't be sad, lets not dwell. do u know i love u? can u feel it? am i a cactus too? i really hate these cat pictures and will probably get a million of them now, clogging my email, making me mad. such a silly thing isn't it? to be mad at what? not getting your way? a mistake someone else made? they drove too fast and had to pay? why r u so angry about these small things that should be given up and not worried about. stop seeking vengeance. let it go. did that make u mad? why? nobody cares. this is here for u and u alone but even though everyone may see it they won't know it's written to u. they are my friends anyway and love me. therefore they must love u too. open your heart to the love, and let it fill u up with a good and joyful light. be free. let it all go.

really. i do. fill in the blank. what do u love me more than? godiva chocolates? a good book? a new pair of shoes? it doesn't matter. my self esteem is all wrapped up in showing u how much i love u. being needed makes me feel loved. knowing u are honest with me makes me feel loved. the small things. thank u for all the thank u cards. they r nice. u love me. u gave me your time. that's all i ever wanted.

and we knew each other in it. even if from a distance.

i feel better now.

thank u for reading this

i love u, my ______.

Yes, I said I was a Yarn Snob...is there an app for that?

I just posted over at my Fiber Fairy Tales Blog ~ go check it out!

The Thanks Giving Giveaway Winner is...

Annie of AnnieOfBlueGables has won!

I want to Thank Everyone who took the time to participate in this Giveaway! I appreciate everyone who reads my Blog and shares their own artistic experiences and adventures. It really is rewarding to be able to connect with other creative people in this way. So, thank you. Also Thanks to Ruth for generously providing a copy of her book- you rock!

I have a few local Art & Craft Shows coming up and will be busy until the 19th working on stuff to sell. I hope to share some projects here with you before Christmas- sock monkeys, flowers, tote bags, and a nifty wool baby shoe ornament I cooked up.

Then on Christmas Day I am planning on doing a 12 Days of Christmas post- an updated modern version with robots, gnomes and vampires. I am making an ornament each day and then sharing the pattern here with you. I think it will be fun for the down time after Christmas and very old-fashioned and Victorian with a modern twist!

So, Happy Holidays, Dear Calamity Readers! Let's have a cup of tea and get busy knitting!

Yee Haw!

Love & Stitches,

Calamity Kim

A Thanksgiving Giveaway in Calamityville

first a little story...

Everyone in Blogville, the tall and the small, are writing their menus and shopping for giant roast beasts. They think thoughts of thankfulness as they prepare their feasts.

In a small pretend cottage, on a street in Sunny Sarasota, a woman nicknamed Calamity is making her lists and hurrying about through much needed raindrops. She wishes the sun would come out but is happy to have the rain. 

If you could sneak a peak into her home you would see that she has been busy, oh, so busy, making things and finishing projects and you would see her smile as she crosses each thing off her list. Right now, at this very moment,  she is writing something on her computer, her face lit by the glow of the screen as the rain dances on the roof and the words pop up before her.

It looks like the words are saying Thank You.

Ms Calamity must be grateful for something.

Maybe you can run around the yard and knock on her front door, distracting her while I look closer and see what this is all about! Just pretend that your dog is missing and ask if she has found any strays lately. I only need a moment- then we'll meet back here and I'll tell you what's going on.

Oh what fun! She is posting a Thanksgiving Give Away!

It seems that one of her Flickr Friends has written a book titled layered, tattered & stitched and after she wrote her to congratulate her on how wonderful the book is- her Blogging friend generously offered to give one away~ why, this is marvelous! Stupendous! So kind and thoughtful is Ruth Rae- Calamity can hardly, barely believe  she would make that offer and so after creating a small wee apron from the book she is going to share pictures and is writing all about it! Maybe I can take a picture of the screen and show you.

Thanks for indulging me in a bit of whimsy. Smiling as I imagine readers sneaking about my overgrown flower beds. I would be out chasing you away with the broom if I caught ya! Anyway. on to the good stuff:

I am thankful for all my readers who come here and visit with me each day. I try to provide some fun, a little whimsy,maybe something to make or do and a video or two. I wanted this Blog to be a place for me to be happy too- to share my hopes, dreams and wishes and it has been a wonderful experience so far.

I know what I am grateful for and that is my husband, son and sister who share my life and are supportive, loving and generous and always listen when I need to vent. They always talk me down off the ledge. They put up with my shenanigans, gnomes, fairy tales and procrastinations. They let me be who I am and don't tell me "I need to change to be better". They know I try to be a good person but accept my faults and shortcomings and don't judge me or love me from a distance. They let me get close enough to have a hug and hold me tight when I cry or am sad. They laugh with me or tell me jokes (well, not my sister so much, but she's fun to shop with) and love me no matter what. That's love. That's what it's all about.  I am thankful for 3 precious little boys in Clarksville that call me Nanny. I have friends who are also like my family- online and in real life and without them my life would not be the same. Every email and comment gives me joy and love and I thank you all.

So- to get to the heart of this Thanks Giving Give Away Post I would like to say that between now and Monday at noon everyone who leaves a comment and tells me one thing that they are grateful for will have an opportunity to win  a copy of Ruth Rae's new book, layered, tattered & stitched (maybe even autographed to you- I asked Ruth and am keeping my fingers crossed) and an apron ornament I made from the book. I had written Ruth to congratulate her on her wonderful book full of inspirational and soulful things to make and told her I was Blogging it and she offered to give one to one of my readers. How loving and kind is that?

I'm so Thankful for the ability to Blog and have my small little space here.

Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

Happy Thanksgiving and I'll be back on Monday to pick a winner.

xo, Kim

oh, the calamity!

where the glitter gets spilled, the fabric bolts and the glue gun is always smokin!