When Life Gives You Ground Delays, Giggle!

So the other day I made a mad dash through the Phoenix airport to catch a plane. My first flight had landed just a few minutes before, and the late landing and a connecting flight in the next terminal meant this was not going to be an easy task.

I rounded the corner just as they called my group to get on and out of breath, I handed my boarding pass to the gate agent and took my seat.

The airplane gods were being good to me that day, or at least that's what I thought. I had an exit seat with a lot of room. Well, a lot of room relatively speaking. The flight attendants quickly went through their spiel, and with my seatbelt securely fastened across my lap and my backpack situated underneath the seat in front of me, I felt the plane lurch backward...and then stop.

"Uh..." said a voice from the cockpit, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word that there are major thunderstorms in Texas and they've called a ground delay in Houston, so we're going to have to sit here for an hour. Please feel free to get out your phones and computers."

Phones and computers, are you kidding me? I thought as I reached into my backpack and grabbed an RDCB. This is the perfect time to fold a book! So I did.

I had gotten just this far...

...when the voice from the cockpit returned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we just got word from the dispatcher that we're free to go. Please restow all your personal belongings. We'll be on our way shortly."

A collective sigh of relief came from the passengers as the flight attendants made sure we were buckled in and tray tables were stowed. The plane began backing up again, pivoted, and began its way to the runway...and then...

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, but even though the dispatcher told us it was OK to go apparently he hadn't checked with Houston and there is still a ground delay. We're going to have to wait another hour. The flight attendants are going to go through the cabin with a beverage service."

The collective sigh of less than a minute before now turned into a collective groan, but not from me. I reached down and grabbed my RDCB and started folding away. I made it as far as... 

...before the pilot came back on one last time to tell us that the ground delay had been lifted and we had been cleared for take off. By the time the flight was over, the book was finished...

just in time to give it to this lovely mom-to-be for her baby's nursery.

Because let's face it--whether you're sitting on a plane for a two-hour delay or sitting up at two o'clock in the morning waiting for a baby to burp, sometimes the best thing you can do is just giggle.

School Daze!

Back in the day, it was my favorite day of the year--the first day of school.

Yep, I was one of those weird ones who couldn't wait for the teachers to hand me my new textbooks. Better than that was when my mother took me to the school supply store to pick out the notebook that would hold my world for the next nine months, the cool stuff that went in the zippered pocket, and best of all--the mousetrap folders!

I liked school so much  I ended up going to four colleges and getting two degrees and a teacher's certificate. My teaching career, however, lasted exactly one semester. I found out quickly that I was a much better student than I was a teacher. Or to paraphrase a teacher friend of mine, "I thought I was going to teach history, but they wanted me to teach teenagers."

I knew my career was over the day the master teacher walked into my room mid-class holding a shoe. Apparently it belonged to one of my students and another of my students had thrown it across the hall and into her classroom during her students' read-through of Julius Caesar. I hadn't even noticed. Doh! 

All you who think that you can teach just because you used to sit in a classroom, I double dare you to try it yourself. It's not nearly as easy as it looks. In fact, it takes a lot of work to make it look that easy, and a special kind of person--I believe the formula is 50% genius, 50% crazy. 

Anyway, remember this book?

Well, I got a request the other day to fold it for a brand new math teacher named April, so here it is.

And I think Edwared Tufte's titles might describe this combo art piece/mathematical tome to a tee.

So here's to you, April! Best of luck to you and all you other teachers as the new school year begins. And all of you remember this very important formula:

 number of students you teach x 2 = appropriate number of shoes that should be in your classroom.

To Kill a RDCB

When the day of reckoning comes and I have to make a list of Coolest People I Ever Met and Great Friends, Missy is going to be near the top of my list. And I say that even though I don't think I've seen her in 25 years.

Here's what we looked like back in the day. That's me back in the back in the pink sweater, and that's Missy peeking in from the side with her #1 son in the Eskimo Joe's t-shirt in front of her. And that's my #1 son with the ears and the stripes having a really great time at his 4th birthday party.

Missy and I met a year or so before this picture was taken. We were both commuting to Oklahoma State University at the time and decided to carpool. I liked college a lot--which is why I attended four of them--but driving with Missy that year was just icing on the college cake.

Why was it so good? Well, for one, Missy is a great storyteller, and she always had great, crazy stories to tell--and they were all true. In fact, at one point I made her sit down in front of a video camera and tell them to me, so I wouldn't ever forget them. I still have that tape. (And Missy, it can be yours if the price is right. ha!)

For another, Missy loved books. Loved them as much as I did. Missy is the woman who taught me it's OK to be reading three books at a time--one next to your bed, one in the bathroom, and an audiobook in your car. A rule I've tried to live by ever since. In fact, at some point that year we started listening to audiobooks from the library and I was hooked.

And all of this leads me to this book. Remember it? I got it at the church rummage sale the other day.


















It's from 1961 and it's got some great titles--Fate is the Hunter, The Winter of Our Discontent, and The Agony and the Ecstasy.

And everyone's all-time favorite, To Kill a Mockingbird. It's one of Missy's favorites, too, which is why Missy did the coolest thing ever and...

(wait for it)

...named her daughter Scout.

Last week Missy got in touch to ask if I could make something for Scout with that book and here's what the book looks like now.

A cool book for the girl with the coolest name.

And speaking of cool. That list of Coolest People I Ever Met and Great Friends? Don't worry, the rest of you will make it, too. I make it a point to surround myself with cool people.

Saturday Reading With Scissors Style

This is Babette.

If Barb is my spiritual advisor on all things decorative, then Babette is my advisor on all things to do with running a small business. And she should know, she runs three, including Print Me Prim who was responsible for all the invitations, programs, and seating chart and other sundries when my baby got married, and Kraft Outlet, where you can get some of the coolest crafting supplies ever.

Babette is a fellow Oklahoman, has the best stories, and always keeps me in stitches. She also is a great bird dog for RDCBs, which is how I ended up at Marilyn's estate yesterday carting out a couple of boxes of the coveted books.

I'm loving these pink and blue lovelies...

...and especially these blue beauties...

and these neutrals with a bright red accents.

And then something new. Reader's Digest Condensed Books of Murder and Suspense, with this cool spider web motif...

...and this black volume with an embossed Sherlock Holmes on the cover.

And here's a mystery for you. RDCBs normally always have 576 pages--no matter what the year or story, but these Mystery and Suspense books both have more than 600. What gives? Ah who cares? It's room for another letter or two!

So after I left Marilyn's, I went over to Barb's for a wedding shower.

And look at Barb! She's folding flowers, too! She decorated her luncheon tables with these cute purple and orange flower and matching RDCBs from the Reading With Scissors collection.

She got rave reviews from everyone!

And here is the beaver that always stands in Barb's foyer wearing her wedding veil and giant diamond ring. 

Just because.

Except After C and Umlatts

Do you remember that old rule from grade school spelling tests?

"I before E, except after C, except when as ay as in neighbor and weigh."

Well, guess what. It holds true in German, too. And just for the record you should know that before you start folding a book.

Remember that cute couple that got married in the Gloss Mountains. Their last name is Kliewer. So I decided to make them a Mr & Mrs book and I got this far...

and thought to myself, "Self, that doesn't look right." And sure enough. Doh!

So I started over with a new book (which I don't have a picture of, but it turned out pretty cute!). 

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with a Kle book. Ideas?

By the way, I blame Brian Stecklein for teaching me the wrong rule about German names way back when. 

Profit Sharing!

My name is Stephanie and I'm a dish-holic.

Wait, you already knew that.

Wait, no you didn't. You just know about all my books.

Well... I like dishes, too.

A lot.

There's my regular dishes, my Christmas dishes, and my wedding china...

 

...the set of Old English Roses china my grandmother gave me...

...that set that I got at Pier 1...

...various and sundry dessert and appetizer plates...

 

 ...and then there are my melamine sets.

So Saturday morning I looked down at my feet and realized I needed a pedicure and that meant a trip through old town Tomball. (Stay with me. I'm going to get back to the dishes.)

Old town Tomball is cute little area full of antique shops and there are several new ones just opened, so of course I had to go in a few just to help out the local economy. Just doing my part, America. (For you locals, check out the Turquoise Door. Cute stuff!)

I was just about to leave for the nail shop when I noticed Cherry Street Antiques. It's in an old building that used to be a grocery store back in the 40s and more recently a pretty jam-packed antique/junk store that went out of business. Well, it's all been redone as an antique mall, with neat, tidy booths so I went inside...

...and look what I found. Vintage beauties! So guess what, Reading With Scissors just cut its first profit check and bought me a new set of dishes.

I love, love, love these!

 

And the vendor at the antique store threw these way cool vases in for free! 

Uh....but this is supposed to be a blog about books. So...

...after I got my toes done, I went to the Tomball Goodwill and got these. The aviation book is going to be part of a professions series I've been planning and will make some pilot very happy, and the Chicago Manual of Style the same for a writer. And the 500 Appetizers, well, I just liked the orange color so I may just smock that one.

Oh, and here's what Roasted Chicken Breast with Root Vegetables from America's Test Kitchen looks like on my new dishes.

Life is good!

Oooooooooooklahoma!!

I went back to Oklahoma the other day to see my BFF from high school, Laura. Here we are about 10 years ago when we were leaving high school. (Ok, maybe 15 years ago.)

And here we are the other day. 

We're all dressed up because Laura was becoming a mother-in-law. Check out her gorgeous daughter, Lauren!

And check out the beautiful scenery behind her. We were in Cheyenne Valley and those are the Gloss Mountains. (OK, you Colorado friends, quick snickering at the word mountains.) They provided the most remarkable backdrop for a lovely, lovely wedding.

My hometown sits just beyond these mountains, and like most things that you see as a kid all the time, you really don't notice them after awhile. But at the wedding I couldn't help reveling in them. After so many years, the red dirt, green grasses, and white gyp capstone layers just took my breath away.

So when I went home, I decided to make an Oklahoma.

The technique is called iris folding and it's something that caught my eye on Pinterest. 

It done by layering different kinds of paper in a spiral pattern. There are all different kinds of patterns you can use. This is one I made myself based on a quadrilateral.

I used pages from an Oklahoma atlas (look, there's Wakita, where our farms are)...

...and dictionary pages (of course).

Then I added a sparkly star on top of Fairview.

Actually, the sparkly star is probably closer to Seiling or maybe even Taloga. 

But still. 

Close enough for a first try.

I do think I'm going to try more iris folding. It really is fun and all the possible combinations of paper and patterns makes me giddy. Seriously, do a search on Pinterest and see all the cute stuff.

And speaking of cute, is this the cutest new family or what??