Terry’s Christmas News

Terry’s Christmas News  ~  2012 in Review

                It is my prayer that this Christmas finds you full of joy and peace, with the birth of Christ Jesus at center of your celebrations, the love of God in your hearts and good will toward mankind. 

 

I am writing this news review with a heart full of gratitude and remembering this last year as one full of adventure, travel and family love.  

 

I am still at Seattle Pacific University and hard at work towards my degree in Fashion Design.  In February, I was chosen for a competition called “Project Red Dress”.  As one of 12 fashion students from Washington State we were picked to create a red dress in 16 hours, it was for the American Heart Association charity for women with heart disease.  We had a blast, there was a great fashion show, and it was filmed for Channel 5’s Evening Magazine.  I was featured in You-tube videos also. J 

 

Then I threw a wrench in my graduation plan by deciding to do a quarter abroad.  The first week of March I flew to London, to begin studies at the American Intercontinental University there.  I got a chance to travel with the school to Scotland, visit the white cliffs of Dover, Canterbury, Stonehenge and Bath. I had a great time and am so glad I decided to do it!  My friend from High School, Karen came to visit.  Audrey and her step daughter Bailey came to visit me on my last week there.  Whew, we had a whirlwind of fun!

 

This spring Charlotte graduated from University of Washington!  She is working part time for a game company and doing some design commissions for individuals.  Charlotte and Jace continue to live in Bothell and they continue to be a happy and busy couple.

           

After doing some construction projects at the Whidbey Island house, my summer continued to be full.  Both of my kitties were adopted into a new home at Jaces mom in Pennsylvania.  My trip to deliver them included 3 days in New York for sightseeing and shopping; yes … I had to do that!

 

 Charlotte and I went to Texas near the end of the summer to visit Audrey and Reed in their new home (with a pool!).  More fun!

 

            Once back in Washington, I settled into my new dorm room, this time I have a rental with a wonderful view of the city and the water.  I am busy back at school, finals are looming and I am reworking my graduation plan.  Visit me if you get a chance, I love to stay busy and visitors are a great excuse to go out!

 

Love and prayers continuing!                                             Terry Ann Skipper Wilson                         

I Phone Apps I like :)

Here is a short list of apps I like... don't feel like you have to have them all or that you need to buy the ones that are not free... I haven't found one that wasn't worth the small price however.

Social type apps;

Words with friends ~ a scrabble type app were you play with others and can communicate also ! I like to play with family, I'm not too good but it is helping me with my spelling. To connect ~ (leave a comment and I will send you the info about how to play with me)

Facebook ~ social interaction and information, I keep up with my daughters lives and they check in with me as well as share photos and info... about charities and other things I am interested in... (I am Terry Ann Skipper Wilson)

Instagram ~ I love taking photos and there are simple filters here to make little works of art, I keep up with friends I know in real life and get to see some inspiring work of my friends... (I am Terryanns)

EMOJI ~ these are those emoticons, the little smile faces and tiny cartoon drawings of items that add to your text and emails etc... it adds a second keyboard to your texting.

Work;

I have a stylist, since I have fat fingers and my nails are in the way of the keyboard, I use it to type when I need to do a lot of it. It also keeps me from making mistakes when I need to "select" things ... I miss-dialed too many times. Purchase one from the apple store, but you have to ask for it they don't want you to think you need it.

Any Dictionary app ~ I like Dictionary.com ~ look stuff up and has a voice that will give you pronunciation.

YP ~ Yellow Pages Mobile - works when other apps fail me to find things and has good phone numbers etc...

Smart Traveler ~ state department app for travel warnings and itineraries...

Microsoft TAG ~ Scans those tags, both the multi color and black and white blocks that connect to more information about places, events, items to purchase and people.

News;

Get your local news apps for local news info while you are away from home...

CNN ~ News of the world

BBC ~ British News of the World.

Finance:

Your Own Credit Card ~ to keep track of points, travel plans and charges

Your Own Bank~ to check your balances, and to deposit checks with a photo.

Other Stuff;

Pandora ~ a self controlled radio app, you choose an artist or a type of song and the app will play other songs in that same style... you can like or dislike each song and it responds by playing more things closer to your style...

Zippo Lighter ~ just a fun app that makes a flicker from an old style lighter.

Starwalk ~ once you learn the app, you can aim this toward the sky and it will label the stars and constellations... as you move it across the sky...it is a beautiful app.

Games;

It is difficult to tell someone else what games to get some are free, most of them cost a couple of $ up wards of 5 or 6 dollars... Here are a few that have made my eyes cross... from playing them so much...

Angry Birds

Chuzzle

and

Bookworm...

Enjoy!, I find my iphone so flexible and fun that I am willing to get stronger glasses to keep using it. My whole family now has one and even my mom loves hers and plays words with friends with me... It is an easy way to keep in contact with her without making a call.

You Flurt!

The story of Malcolm the kilted tour guide...

     A tour of Edinburgh --- We all got off the train and assembled on the platform near Chris (the schools representative for the trip) for a head count. Just then a beefy, curly long hair, Mell Gibson looking Scot in a kilt went by looking around like he was looking for someone... I spoke up and said “girls look our first kilt"! All eyes turned toward him as he walked away from us. I turned to ask Chris "what's next" he motioned towards someone who had walked up behind me. "Hello my name is Malcolm and I'm going to be your tour guide".... Duh! There standing 3 feet from me was the kilted cutie.... As he spoke to the group about what was next... "and I'll be escorting you..." I stopped listening, bent my head toward Chris and asked "are you responsible for hiring Malcolm the tour guide?"

"Yes" he answered, uncertainly.

"Good Job" I enthusiastically said, smiling and nodding.

     Right away, I decided I liked his muscular calves and lovely accent... So after checking his ring finger for marital status I decided to be especially nice to him and smile, ask questions and see if I could get to know him. For the next two days he lead us around, taking us to castle, hiking trails that lead to a spectacular view over the city and down winding "close" to hear stories of famous and infamous people from Edinburgh. I was attentive. At the end of day two he announced he would be at a certain pub that specialized in scotch that evening if anyone wanted to join him... I was ready... However during these two days I had also befriended two girls, it was more important to be with them than for me to go drink in a pub, so the other group of "popular girls" went off to the pub and we went to the pub at the hostile we were staying in... Funny thing it was too! We ordered drinks and sat at the bar, in a few minutes I had scanned the room and discovered that it was full of gay men... Ok, we just sat talking and then at about 11:30 went up to sleep. The other girls came in about 12:30 but apparently Malcolm didn't show and they went to a couple of other places ... Hummm....?

     Early the next morning we met Malcolm at the Parliament Building for a tour of the floor and offices. He was there and escorted us all through the security and retrieved the security badges on lanyards, we all had to wear around our necks while in the building. He was holding them in such a way that as he tried to pull them apart to distribute they tangled terribly ... I could see right away that if they were pulled out from the bottom they would not tangle so I took them away from him and said "here this is how to do that", he smiled at me and said " how did you figure that out?" quickly and with a lilt in my voice I said, "it's because I have a brain"..., and I smiled everyone sort of snickered... And suddenly he looked at me with a different unreadable look. The rest of the day he was right at my side but didn't talk to me, he caught up to me as we walked, he sat by me when we sat down and he continually looked at me ... I kept smiling at him, whenever I looked at him. That evening he escorted our whole group to the train, all aboard safely except for one of the girls who had to find a restroom before she got aboard. Because he would be responsible if she missed the train, Malcolm kept watch standing on the platform. I was at my window seat in the train car, right across from where he was standing, we were only about 15 feet apart... me in the train, at the window looking out at him, him on the platform keeping an eye out for the late girl. She finally arrived with just a minute to spare, but Malcolm kept standing there looking me... and still there was an unreadable look on his face. I kept eye contact.  Just as I felt the first tug of the train’s movement out of the station I gave him an exaggerated wink... his chin hit the floor. I turned and sat down. That was a great visit to Edinburgh.

The names were changed to protect the author!

Shoes and Shoe ~~ gasm !!!

     Dear Reader... I was walking down Carnaby Steet, London, last spring, minding my own business...when I was stopped in my tracks by a store window...a shoe store. 

Irregular Choice! 

click to go to store website

SHOE~GASM!

     I went in and decided, I needed nourishment in order to shop, there were too many good choices! I was late for lunch.  Returning with energy, I tried on about 10 pairs and left with these three pair.  Whew!, I could have purchased several more but stopped myself.  The brown pair in the back left are by "Bed of Roses", the ones in the back right are by "Poetic Licence" (saw these yesterday in Nostroms, in other colors) the center front pair, my favorite are by "Irregular choice, Mutiny"

     Shoes for women can sometimes be a sexy accessory or they can be hobbling and make you walk like you are an overweight 90 year old with bunions.  As I have matured, I have rediscovered my love for sexy shoes, however, they must be comfortable enough to actually walk.  Please take time to try on shoes and really walk around in them, do a few dance steps, bend down, sit down, stand up and turn around a bit.

click to go to the MK store

     These black sandals with the wide straps are another of my favorites, they are tall platforms and yet I can wear them, without fear of falling.  I have actually worn these all day without getting a cramp, they are really comfortable, and sexy and isn't sexy susposed to be comfortable!?  These are Michael Kors, I have them in black, tan and the white ones are on order.

     Other sexy, fashionable shoes include these two, a pair of high heeled hikers (unknown info) and a pair of heels that feel like fishnet stockings for your feet, by Steve Madden.

click to go to the SM site

 

     Of all the shoes I have, flats, sandals, flip flops, boots aplenty, and heels... this pair does it for me more than any other pair... they are not to tall, comfortable, soft, well made, I can dance, run, walk and party in them with out noticing any discomfort at all.

Thank you Charlotte Olympia!

click to go to CO site! drool!

 

 

So go find your sexy shoes! and be comfortable!

Everyday Dressing ? ~~ Fashion Questions?

I got answers… they may not be much, in my humble opinion, however, here goes…!

Q;  I have difficulty deciding how to dress every day, should I wear my best stuff, or just save it for good?

A; Every day is a good day, today is good, you are good and you are worth wearing the best items you have in your closet.  My advice can best be explained by this…--->>> You should dress like you would, if you were to going to be meeting your lover today.  If you are married or in a steady relationship you ARE meeting your lover, if not then well, are we looking?  Then dress like he/she may walk right into your life that day.  The clothes in your closet are going out of style and aging just hanging in there.  Do not save things for best, as today is best, and as long as it will work for your schedule, you should consider today a “best” day.  As you pick out what to wear each morning, choose things that will be appropriate for your daily activities, but remember you may meet your lover and don’t you want to look your best for him/her? 

Jeans for Boomers ~ Fashion Question

Fashion Questions?

I got answers… they may not be much, in my humble opinion, however, here goes…!

    Q: I am not so skinny or young anymore but I still love to wear jeans.  What style of jeans are the best for us “older” jean wearing, young at hearts? 

    A: Jeans are for all ages! Jeans for an older body must fit correctly and have some stretch in them so that they are comfortable.  Anyone can find a pair that will work for them! you must try them on, walk around, sit down and stand up, wear your shoes with them. They must stay where they are supposed to, not grab you in the wrong place and be comfortable in all the positions you will be wearing them.  As for the style they should not fit to the waist but somewhere between 2 and 4 inches down from the natural waist, with a slight curve upward in the back. The color should be blue or dark blue to a black to look more like slacks, even perhaps with the crease down the front like a pair of slacks.  Whatever pair you choose do not pick a neon, pair.  If you must buy a colored or a white, pair make sure it is part of a complete outfit, which is also stylish.  Oh and as far as the "skinny jean" trend goes, be careful... only for those who are already skinny. There are several companies that make good choices for older jeans wearers.  Here are a couple of my favorate ones....

1. Not Your daughter’s Jeans, carried by Nordstrom's
2. Lucky Brand, has a few with lots of stretch.
3. 7 for all mankind, also has a few that are comfortable the price is quite high however, find these at the thrift to save some bucks.

Statement of Facts ~

     I am home on Whidbey, but already  bitten again, by the travel bug! I my Facebook entries have journaled a varied and busy visit to London, my Blog entries illuminate much of my classes and some of my thoughts about life and school. For some reason I feel the need to go back to London or to keep traveling somewhere. Soon I will get an apartment in Seattle this time with a view!  Perhaps I will at last finish school and that my new adventure will begin again a new phase… perhaps I will find romance, or a new charity that will grab my heart… I await God to show the way, knowing it is going to be good.

Being at Graduation ~ As a family member

It was fairly fustrating to be at the UW Graduation for something like 3,000 people. 

There was just no way to find where she was... so we texted, "Where are you?"  But because of so many people doing the same time, most of the texts didn't go through the first or second time... It went on for hours, but some time in the first hour I got this text photo, along with a general location description...

So here she is...

AND there she is somewhere over there....

So I replied with a general area where we were sitting and this photo...

It was raining just a tiny bit.

Later that evening I got a good photo of her hat.  It was a great day!

A Study on the Movie "Eat, Pray, Love" and my own working out of grief.

Eat, Pray, Love Ha!

     When grief has got a hold, for any reason, a death, a broken heart, a broken marriage, weariness, or the death of a dream... it is.. more like this....
    It's cry, pray, eat or avoid eating, cry, pray, sleep or can't sleep, cry, pray, shop, shop, shop, cry, pray, hope or lose hope, cry, pray, grab loved ones or push them away, cry, pray, anger, cry, pray, bewildered, cry, pray, shop more,cry, pray, ...
     Find new life, still cry, and pray... stay stuck, cry, pray, Jesus, yes! Pray and ...find joy hiding, be confused and repeat above....
     I haven't read the book, I saw the movie.... when I do read the book I will have the right to criticize that, right now all I know is the bare bones of the story --- according to the movie.  In which a youngish wife leaves her husband behind to "find herself".  I found myself, my true self when I contemplated the same thing.   But my faith in Gods plan and knowing that I had to stay true to the promises I had made --- How could I trust another if I could not keep my own promises?  If I could run away from my life then all my new plans could fall apart too... All I knew ... Gods promises that he had a good plan for me even if I could not see the outcome it would be a good one.  I had to have faith.  It was a good life, it was the right thing to do. 
   I see in the movie she finds another to be her husband and puts her faith again in a man --- I still do not see how this new man will be any different than her first, could she not find herself and re-devoted her self to her marriage? 
     For me now I am free of such entanglement and I am now again on the launching pad of another adventure... something has to give... I have faith.  Big Breath! Jump In!!
     WHEE!!!!

with this group I Eat, Pray and Love...............................................................................................

Brains ~ The Mind as Matter ~ Wellcome Collection

     A few weeks ago I took a detour to the Wellcome Collection, which consist of an extraordinary mix of medical, art, curiosities and brains.  This collection was begun by Mr. Wellcome who was widely traveled, rich and able to pick up objects he found interesting, his interest were medical instruments, art and odd bits of curiosity. 

Among the items I found interesting enough to note were,

Napoleons toothbrush

Darwin's Walking Stick

Disraeli's death mask

Slice of the human body (head to toe)

All sorts of Medical oddities including ~
a part of Einsteins brain
and
Chastity belt

      In one room of interactive exhibition's there was a computer that took a photo of my face and compared it to the data base -- the result was -- "there is no one in our data base that compares to you", He He...then it showed my face shape compared to the "average face" shape and mine was very thin --- it morphed my face to look more average and I looked really bad!  I am thinking differently about my looks now.

It was a really fun exhibit!

Almost a Hat!

May 17^th  ~~~  Nearing the end….

Oh dear, I am having a hard time realizing that this next class will be the last one!  I could keep on doing this … yep just keep on … I love sewing and talking and this class allows both.  We chat about our week and tell fantastic stories about things we hear or saw… and we keep sewing! 

I got a lot done this week even though again, I spent the entire class sewing four seams.  I seem to have a heavy hand with the thread and it shreds after a short time of sewing.  I think it is a combination of the delicate silk thread and my pulling to quick and hard on the stitch.  Here is a photo of my hat as I began today.

First loop attached...

Second...

here a little pile os shreded thread :)

Third and almost done....

Next week is it!

Wow Hats!

E E E E E E E e e e e e e e

May 14, 2012… EEEEEEeeeee.

Today at class we became aware that there is only one more class!!! Yikes, the bank holiday last week and the busyness of the past couple of weeks … suddenly the pressure is on! 

Our Photo shoot today was for Escada, especially perfume.  The current theme for their advertising is a garden hedge and roses, with the model sitting on the hedge and roses around the bottle etc…. I was determined not to do flowers.  The color of the liquid reminded me of pink champagne so I began to work on that idea. 

Here is a sample of the result.

Journal of the Hat - Slog On!

May 10  2012… Sew Sew Soooooo……

  Today I took up the entire class to sew three seams… by hand.  The thread kept shredding, with infuriating often-ness. Here are a couple of photos that show some of the progress and I have pinned up the bits to give an impression of what the hat will look like when finished.  Hopefully I will finish next class!

Marie Antoinette... in person!

May 4… Wallace Collection

     Marie Antoinette, was in full costume and described her life at court… she was so good and interacted with the visitors like they were people at court… It was fun

Royal Feathers ~ Reign Royal Insane!

April 30… Sunny Day Outside…

Reign Royal Insane ~ Inside, with a side of steam!

  Todays photo shoot was fun.  The “kids” were giggling and I was too at times. The model was a man and the challenge given by the teacher was to make something for him.  I made the hat, the bow tie and the gloves.  I used left over feathers from my “WEAR the wild things” shoot, and purchased blanks of the top hat, bow tie and cut off gloves from the costume shop.  I had to hand sew everything because I could not get time in the Lab.

     I explained to the model, the idea….he woke up on a tropical island and the natives had made him king, and feathers were the jewels in his crown.

      I tried for an intense Royal reign, with just a bit of insanity, boarding on anger, and silly poppy cock.  I hope it worked… here are a few of the photos...

 I think it was a success.

     

Journal of the Hat Continued....April 26th.

April 26 … Moving forward … The Fabric…

   Today we had a great time in class!  I learned much more about using my fabric, and got quite a lot done. 

 

     In between working on hats scary stories began to circulate….. It started by talking about the movie “The Gray” with Liam Neeson, so scary!  Then we moved on to personal horror stories, it included everything from giant splinters in someone’s backside, to a perfectly illustrated story about someone’s eye popping out… there was some muted screams and nervous laughter, I had a great time in class!

     Here are some beautiful petals, several of the other girls are making flowers for their hats and I am going to catch up and do that too.  So I am following their work… they used an egg iron to press these shapes into the fabric petal pieces.

WEAR ~ The Wild Things !

April 23 ~~~ Another Rainy Day in London…
Hot Photo Shoot.

I enjoyed the challenge today and was way over prepared. I ended up not using several things I brought along, and used some things I wasn’t sure I wanted to use in the beginning.  I made the hat, stockings and the necklace.

 There were two challenges that pushed me today.  The first was the time limit, with only 20 minutes to work with the model there was no time to put on fake nails or use the wig… her hair is very fluffy and it would not have worked. Perhaps I will put it on the male model next week.  Secondly, the model was tired, all day of changing and trying to perform and portray what each student had asked of her.  I had a hard time getting any other face but “cute”. My theme was “animal instincts” and my idea was a kind of mysterious animal in the line of “Where the wild things are”, silly  somewhat frightening… I called it.

WEAR ~ The Wild Things.

There were about 38 shots taken and I believe I got 2 or 3 that are good…

Take a look at some of my favorites…what do you think, did it work?    

Journal of the Hat April 19th....

April 19^th, 2012 ~   This was a day with loads of sewing…. Attached the crown… iron till it was crispy and smooth…pop off the block and cut shape…

Attach a strip of bias…

One of the other students was cutting petals, here is the pile of scraps, and they looked so pretty I had to take a photo.

Next week start working with the fabric …. At last!

 Here is my sketch… a rough one…

The Wallace Collection

April 13… At the Wallace Collection ~

   A Madam Pompadour tour would be given at the Wallace Collection at 3pm… so I went…

      An actor gave a guided tour of the paintings of her character, complete with embarrassed giggling and French accent. 

     Notice her costume matched the painting.

It was great, then I had delicious tea in the enclosed garden.