Another Lovely Week

I just finished eating supper on my back porch. It was raining gently and lots of little birds were flitting about in the trees, hiding from the raindrops. A bright scarlet cardinal landed on a branch right in plain view and I watched him shake the rain from his feathers and preen himself.

I never tire of watching nature unfold before me. So much can be learned by just observing animals going about their daily routines. This is what I like about Disney's Animal Kingdom and what I dislike about Sea World. At Disney, all the animals are free to roam about their spacious habitats and come and go as they please. They are provided the space to roam and all have a private place they can retreat to if they so desire. At Sea World the emphasis is on performance. Your interaction with the animals is mainly limited to watching them perform choreographed stunts. Yes, I know that Sea World also does animal rescue and tons of research. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm saying that I don't need the animals to perform for my entertainment. Just doing what they normally do is entertaining enough for me. Have you ever watched a family of lowland gorillas just hanging out one afternoon? Maybe you've seen a family of warthogs digging around in the dirt for some yummy grubs to eat. Of course you've seen a bunch of fruit bats munching on lunch. I'm so grateful that I have a place so close that affords me these kinds of opportunities.

I'm also grateful for the wonderful fabric store where I work. The Sewing Studio is teeming with people who nurture my creativity. Both fellow employees and customers alike. Earlier this week I waited on the mother of Alice Leverett. I met Alice several years ago at Disney's annual Teddy Bear and Doll Weekend at EPCOT. We have kept in touch ever since. She does amazing work. Please check out her website and see for yourself. Yesterday Greg Ortiz came in to buy materials to finish some dolls for an upcoming show. Greg's work is breathtaking. He is also a warm and generous human being. A couple of months ago I waited on a nice young lady named Kelledy who is an up and coming local designer. We started talking and I mentioned that I was a doll's dressmaker and she mentioned that her grandmother was the late Fawn Zeller. You can learn a little more about her here. As well as meeting these wonderful people that I can now call friends, I also work with wonderful people who have been sewing all their lives and together can answer any question you could think of about sewing, quilting, fabric and related arts. To top it all off, the owners of the store, Patty and Mark, are two of the most thoughtful, generous and hard working folks I have ever had the privilege of knowing. They too, are not only my bosses, but also my friends. They have been personally instrumental in helping me to grow as a person and have given me a stable and nurturing environment when the rest of my life seemed a shambles. I look forward to going to work every day for the first time in my life. Need one ask for anything more?

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