Happy Thursday everyone!

Well it's time for "I like Thursdays" and fill the internet with positive energy.  If you need more pick-me-us, visit LeeAnna our hostess at Not Afraid of Color to see what bloggers share with gratitude!

After Scout passed, some of my sweet neighbors insisted I accompany them to paint pottery.  They told me it would relax me...and it did!  And now I have candy dish all ready for St. Paddy's Day!

I am taking my Mom's dog Kerry to the park with me now.  It's a surprising form of therapy for me.  After Scout passed, my lower back was really bothering me.  I walked alone at the park for a week or two but it didn't help my back the way it usually does.  I took Kerry...and voila!  A totally different experience and now my back is fine.  There's something about walking with a dog that takes you out of your head and sorrow and heals one!

I may have posted this before but I have to say that I love Barilla's "Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles"!!  It makes the lasagna prep so much easier and a good recipe for it is here.

I'm grateful for the return of Nate and Jeremiah's Home Project show on HGTV.  Those two make me laugh and I like the designs they create.

Spring begins in 18 days but I think my husband and are really looking forward to setting the clocks ahead on March 12 more.  We are early risers but being awake at 4 a.m. is getting ridiculous.  😜

Lastly, my husband and I have made some decisions.  We are going to wait for my second hand surgery before getting another dog.  I just think it is more responsible to take on training with two good hands versus one.  This way I have the time I need to get my head together as well.

This week's prompt is about our sewing rooms.  LeeAnna asked:

"what do you like about your creative/sewing space?  do you have a dedicated space that is yours alone?  What works in there for you?  How do you feel when you're there?"

I LOVE my sewing space!  

It's never as tidy as I want but as my friend Linda reminds me, it's a workspace.

My brother designed and decorated the space for me after the last child moved out.  He chose the wallpaper, did the wainscoting, brought a table out of his storage unit for me to sew on, and even made little shelves under the window that overlooks the garden.  He said, "you sure have earned it."

Before that, sewing meant getting everything organized in the dining room.  I sewed (for all to brief a period) and then put everything away again before dinner.  

I don't feel one spec of guilt about my territory being the entire second floor of our home.  I raised my child without any assistance or support from my ex-husband.  I got married after my daughter went away to college and then ended up raising my two stepchildren while my husband worked on the road 45 weeks of the year (and yes, I worked full-time as well).  When the grandkids came along, I quit my job and happily babysat them for five days a week so their parents could save money.  My brother was right.  I earned this space.

At one time, my husband suggested he move upstairs to do his fly tying up there as well.  I squashed that suggestion like a fly tied bug.

My sewing room is my serenity spot in an otherwise crazy world.  We nicknamed it "the nest" and it fills with peace to be there.  I change it from time to time but it's my space to do as I please.  

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!