"Pursing!"

Today was a happy day at the Little Bayou House!  Darling Daughter, Elizabeth, came to visit!  Her time here is always filled with much happiness for me as I do not get to see her often.   She lives in Columbus, Mississippi with her husband, Robbie.  Whenever she can get a free weekend to come to the Bayou, our days are most likely to be filled with some sort of crafting and much chatter as we need to catch up on both.  This weekend has been no different.  We each worked on projects but chattered and giggled far more than worked.  I decided that I must share two of the items that she created while here.  

As she told me, she spent her time "Pursing". Nope..she did not sit and pucker her lips which is the dictionary's definition of the word (and notice, her word is capitalized!).  Instead, she made purses! Elizabeth handcrafts the most astounding purses and handbags!  Most folks do not realize how involved the process is.  As she cut, ironed, pinned, sewed and more to create the bags, I felt a bit "under" creative. (If that is even a proper phrase.)  Anyway, the detail that she puts into these wonderful bags truly makes them works of art!  I am impressed with the quality and durability of each one she makes.  Each bag is beautifully stitched and is even lined with gorgeous fabric!  Another plus to her bags is that no two are ever alike!

Elizabeth's "Pursing" efforts are definitely something that she should keep doing!  Also, her coming to the Coast is something she should keep doing!  After all, it makes her mom happy!

Where there's a will, there's a way....

There is a saying that when life hands you lemons...make lemonade. In other words, make the best of a situation for this, too, shall pass......in time. For a young married couple dealing with student loans and part time jobs any problems that run into money are bad ones. Such a situation just sort of smacked my daughter and son-in-law. Her car had problems where most of the wiring and computer related parts shorted out and rendered the car unusable. At first this sidelined them. What were they to do? He had to use his car to get to work and she needed transportation to college and clinic. Things did not look promising. The total bill for repairs was quoted to be in the thousands..thousands that they do not have. Mark and I had dealt with such incidents in the past and were willing to help them but to no avail. They wanted to do it on their own. We managed to convince them that help was something that they could not refuse at this time but to our dismay, they would only except half. Hmmmm...again, what were they to do?

A very classy, black purse with a ribbon flower and side ruching handmade by Elizabeth!

Well, you just can't keep these two down! They will find a way or make a way! Their determination will definitely see them through any tough situation! Son-in-law, Robbie, took on extra work to help pay the costs. He is quite the industrious fellow and besides his regular job, teaches ballroom dance lessons! He is an amazing dancer and instructor so it was no problem for him to gather in more work but Elizabeth did not want him to shoulder the full expense. She pondered the situation and came up with her own way of contributing extra to the finances! Elizabeth is an excellent seamstress and has a very creative mind so she combined these two talents. She started creating handbags and purses! Soon, the orders started pouring in and a "in home" business seems to have been born! When she is not in class, she sews and trims these purses. Her costs are minimal as she is able to use fabrics she has on hand or some from the sewing room here. Box after box of fabrics and trims have been shipped to their home from our house. (This, in itself, is a huge help to me as it clears out a lot of stuff that I may never use!)

A very fun, denim handbag with bright floral lining and strap with a hand appliqued flower handmade by Elizabeth!

By using their talents, they have found extra income. These two talented young people were not going to wallow in despair and bemoan the fact that the car needed repair and finances were short. They put their heads together and came up with a plan then immediately started putting that plan into action! They made "lemonade"!! Things are starting to look up again for them as now they can see the light at the end of that dark tunnel. The car is being repaired and both of them have some self-satisfaction that they can beat this. It makes me smile to know that somehow these two will succeed even if life hands them those lemons!