Likes & Loves

My list of fun stuff that I want to create this year continues to grow. For this week’s Thursday 13, I  share the 13 new things I recently added to my list.

• Sew new curtains for L Studio. The above photo shows some of the fabric I’m putting together.
• Sew an iron board cover.
• Make bookmarks out of fabric scraps and beads.
• Reupholster Mama’s love seat that Mama bought in the 1960s. I love this ratty tatty love seat.
• Sew a garden apron with deep pockets.
• Grow dahlias. This year I started the seeds in eggshells and they actually popped up. I transferred 21 sprouts into individual tiny pots. So far, so good.
• Make a jar of pickled bamboo called atchara the way Mama did.
• Sew a dress of many colors. (This will be the year I do it, by golly!)
• Paint at least one mural on the fence.
• Make concrete steps for garage.
• Paint the garage door.
• Paint a wall mural in the hallway bathroom.
• Make Asian dumplings from scratch, except for the wrappers.

To check out other Thursday 13 participants, click here.

The First Time I Saw the First Husband

This week, in honor of love month, LeeAnna, hostess of I Like Thursday, prompts participants,  “Tell us about a time you knew someone was for you….How did you know, what did they do or say that made you look again, this time knowing they were your person?”

Time and setting: December 1984. An evening shindig at my apartment. 

It was a full house. Happy, chatty, smiling friends, neighbors, and their guests stood and sat throughout the apartment. I was in the kitchen seeking my way around the folks surrounding the food table when I saw a handsome, grey-haired Korean American dude coming through the doorway behind a woman who I also didn’t know.

“Who’s he?” I thought, instantly struck by love lightening. “Is he with her? He ought to be me.” I went up to him, held out my hand, and introduced myself, which was unusual for me back then. 

“Hi, I’m Sue. Welcome to my party.” Before he could answer, our mutual friend Ed peeked from behind my future husband to say, “Sue, this is Frank. He came by just as we were leaving the house. So we told him to come along. Frank, this is Sue.” Frank and I said our how do’s and parted, merely seconds. He was not with anyone, and although polite, I could tell I was of no interest to him.

Sometime later, to my surprise, Frank was suddenly beside me talking about the photo of me whitewater rafting. He asked if I liked skiing. Before I knew it, I took him outside to show him my new red Mazda truck. I even opened the engine hood for him to check out, which still cracks me up that I did that.

Frank and I had quite a few mutual friends.  It was a wonder we hadn’t met each other before my party. One month later, after several tries, he finally got a hold of me to ask me out. 

Click here please to find other I Like Thursday participants.