Wow, I just realized that it has been way too long since I made any entries on my blog. Life seems to have gotten in the way of my writing, but I am hoping that the months ahead will be much more productive. I will be releasing revised versions of both The Friendship Star Quilt and Trouble in Paradys in the next few months. 

An older novel, Woodstock Dreams, written with two author friends Karl Witsman and Donna Carlene has also been released this year. The story is about three people who met at Woodstock but went their separate ways. Now, Fate has thrown them together as they work with promoters for a Woodstock reunion 25 years later. Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, baby!    

   

In Honor of Maxine

In honor of my rant about technology yesterday, I decided to honor my friend Maxine with a Sole Music picture of her slippers.  


Aren't they cute?  I'll bet they are nice and soft, and much more comfortable than the marabou feather trimmed mules I wore when I was younger.  However, I'm afraid those floppy ears would be ticklish against my shins.  If I want something to tickle me and make me feel jumpy, it sure wouldn't be a pair of slippers.


Maxine's slippers reminded me of that pair of marabou-trimmed mules I mentioned. They reminded me of the glamorous, old-time 40's movie stars. Every time I wore them, I felt so sexy.  


Black, feathery, high-heeled.  Yep. Come to think of it, I still think these pretty babies are downright sexy.  I know they definitely top my picks of favorite shoes I've owned/loved/coveted over the years -- although nowadays, I tend to gravitate more to cozy flat-soled slippers.


My daughter on the other hand prefers to wear socks around the house. I never know what she'll be wearing when I go over to visit her. She might be wearing socks adorned with Tigger, musical notes, glittery hearts, or even ones that have dinosaur toes.  Her sock drawers is amazingly fun.  She has socks in a rainbow of colors and with designs for every holiday and season.  It's a worthy rival to my shoe collection.  (In fact, I'd secretly put her in the lead)


But back to the subject of slippers.  What's your favorite kind?  Did you have a childhood favorite?  Does your closet currently hold ones that are sexy, practical, whimsical, or all of the above? Maybe you're more like my daughter and prefer to wear socks or just go barefoot.  


Whichever you choose, enjoy! There is no right choice.  It's okay to do what you want.  Just relax and celebrate YOU!  


Hugs, 
Stephanie

Leaving Things Alone

Okay, I admit it: I am not the most technologically advanced person in the world.  


Unlike my now grown kids and my growing-up-way-too-fast grandchildren, I was not raised with all the technology that they have been.  To them, it's no big deal when a computer service (Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) changes the look and processes on their pages. They seem to instinctively assimilate the changes and just keep on with business as usual.


On the other hand, there's me!  When my services change something -- example my dashboard access to my Blogs -- it inevitably results in me wasting hours of trying to read (and make any sense out of) the HELP sections and RECENT CHANGES pages.  And I get really frustrated when those pages refer to settings that were in their OLD format but not in the new one.  


So I invariably call one of my kids -- especially my wonderfully techno-savvy daughter -- who talk me through the problem, even though I end up feeling like the 5 year old being introduced to the mysteries of the written word by a patient mentor who can't quite hide their "I-don't-understand-why-you-don't-get-this" expertise.  I guess it's turnabout for when I was teaching them (to tie their shoes, learn their multiplication tables, etc.)


Still, it would be so much easier if our computer services just let things be.  If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it, my friends.


And yes, yes I do feel like my comic heroine Maxine today, thanks for noticing!


I'll be better tomorrow.  I promise.


Love you all,
~ Stephanie/Marti/Maxine  

Silk and Satin and Ribbons and Lace

I've always loved pretty frilly, lacy things:  dresses, undies, purses, etc.  I think part of it came from my mother, who as I mentioned in my last posting was also a very "girlie girl," but my inclination also was formed by my surroundings as I was growing up.

One of my favorite things as a child was a series of six beautiful framed "Ribbon Dolls" from the 1930's that used to hang in the stairwell of my Grandma and Papa D's house in Cleveland.  Some of the dolls had dresses made of satin ribbons, some of lace, and some of delicate silk floral petals.  I'd spend long periods of time sitting on the steps (which were a work of art themselves with their oriental floral carpet runner and brass retainer bars), and I'd daydream about these lovely ladies.  As much as I love the color pink, I have to admit that my favorite doll was one dressed in a gown of pale green satin ribbon, each row edged in ecru lace.  I created stories about them -- of course, they were all princesses, who were about to meet their handsome princes at some fancy ball and live happily ever after.  Oh, how I loved those beauties!

Time passed and I grew up, married, moved far away, and started raising a family in the constant on-the-go life    as a military wife and I really didn't think about those dolls any more.  My "handsome prince" and I stopped briefly to visit my grandparents on our way back home to Michigan about 3 months after my oldest child was born, and I smiled fondly when I saw the ribbon dolls still dancing down the stairwell wall.  About a year later, Grandma and Papa decided to sell their home.  They were getting up in years, and their children and grandchildren  lived in other states. So, Gram and Papa consolidated their big, 4 bedroom, 2 kitchen, 2-story home into a little 1-bedroom apartment.  Needless to say, lots of their belongings and furniture were sold, donated, recycled, or tossed.  When Grandma died less than a year later, even more things were eliminated.

Many years went by, several moves, two more children, and eventually, a sad divorce ended my happily ever after.  As I struggled to raise three children on my own, I never thought again about those lovely, ribbon ladies.  Maybe, I'd blanked out the painful memory of the child who'd had dreams that were bigger than life and thought every story had a happy ending.  Life had been so simple then, but my reality didn't allow for daydreaming any more.

Many more years passed, and one day, I went with a friend to an antique fair in a small rural town near us.  We happily wandered from booth to booth, looking at old glassware and furniture, books and quilts.  Then we rounded a corner and I saw it.

A framed, vintage ribbon doll.  She wasn't wearing green or even pink for that matter -- and she had been reframed in an elaborate oval frame with convex glass and a velvet backcloth -- but she opened a floodgate of wonderful childhood memories.  I checked the price tag.  It was more than a week of my take home pay, so I had to pass her up in favor of feeding my family and paying the mortgage. But I took the memories home with me (and I won't give them up again).

These days, as I poke around on eBay and visit an occasional flea market, I keep my eye out for some of these little ladies.  I just know one day, I'll find one or more in the same colors and fabric as Grandma D's.  When I do, you better believe that little princess will be going home with me.

Enjoy today! Make memories for your tomorrow!
~ Marti
              

Welcome to Sole Music

I fell in love with shoes at an early age. My Mom, who was all of 4' 10" tall, always wore the most beautiful high heels, shoes she lovingly brushed and polished to perfection before leaving for her job each day. The moment I slipped my 3-year old tootsies inside a pair of her strappy high-heeled sandals, I was hooked. I felt tall, grown-up and empowered -- a toddler to be reckoned with.

My love affair with shoes was fostered by my Papa D, who always took us to the Red Goose store for new shoes when we visited him and Grandma D in Cleveland. While my sisters wanted practical white-and-brown saddle shoes, I was more interested in shiny, black patent leather Mary Janes or white patent T-straps. Which was fine with Papa as long as the shoes were well-made and properly fitted, criteria I still look for today when shoe shopping.

In grade school, other kids wrote essays about their heroes -- Superman, the Lone Ranger, Barbie, Nancy Drew, etc. -- but my heroes were Ferragamo, Perugia, Amano, and yes, Buster Brown.

In high school, I discovered "French" stiletto shoes with their pointy toes and 4" high heels that could puncture linoleum floor tiles or the foot of your prom date...but they were sexy. Since Mom donated the part of the gene pool that gave me my towering five foot nothing height, the heels gave me that same feeling I'd had as a toddler. Who cared if podiatrists warned women that the pointy toe box cramped the foot and would cause bunions and other foot problems? These heels made me feel tall and elegant, and wearing a pair of these pretty babies, I could actually see more of my date than his shirt buttons, too.

Then there were those white go-go boots. Can anyone forget Goldie Hawn and Judy Carne dancing and giggling their way through Laugh In in those shiny vinyl knee highs? Or Nancy Sinatra singing about how her "Boots Were Made for Walking " as we did the Swim and the Monkey on the dance floor?

And let's not forget the dangerously beautiful platform heels. I don't mean the 6" platforms Elton John used to wear during his concerts, the ones sold at Thom McCann were dangerous enough for someone who had weak ankles -- especially when she's running through O'Hare Airport because she's late and is trying to catch a connecting flight. There's a reason stewardesses wore sensible black pumps back then.

Nowadays, I drool over Jimmy Choo's elegant pumps, Christian Louboutin's trademark red soles, Manolo Blahnik's sandals, and Ferragamo's bold mixing of textures and colors. I admit, more than once I've found an incredible pair of shoes and shopped until I could find an outfit to go with them.

Yes, I love shoes. Always have and always will -- I even collect miniature shoe figurines. That's why I'm currently at work on a mystery novel called Sole Music, and it's why I started this blog.

Hope you'll come along the journey with me and enjoy!

~ Marti