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Showing posts from 2011

Nothing Happened Here Either

At All. Happy Next Year Everyone.  We'll probably hunker down and shred (tis a tradition around here). I know.  Exciting stuff.

Newark Farmers Market

I ventured into the Newark Farmer's Market today to look for some Indian Samosas, some dipping sauce, and some Marsala gravy. I just love the produce section because of all the vibrant colors.

Little Treasures

I know, it's a redo..but reallllllyyy....There isn't much to say.  Unity images make everything more beautiful.  I used an image (one of the hearts) from the "We Treasure You" set and their Distressed Dots stamp Several of these filled, with treats, are scattered about ready for an owner.

Wondering

We didn't get into Mutter's because the gal at the front desk noticed my lil guy covertly stashed in his carrier (that is shaped as a purse).  Bummer. So we wondered the streets in the shopping district until dinner time. We had dinner at Tinto.  Highly recommended. And no, they didn't notice Oliver tucked away in his bag.  He even sampled some delicious tapas now and again, but I think he'd pass on another similar adventure, because: (1) He was cold walking about, even shivering at times. (2) It's no fun spending so much time in a pet carrier shaped like a purse even it does mean he gets to spend the day with mum. I don't even know what to say about my expression, but he's always adorable.  And the bag I'm carrying is his covert carrier.  We go lots of places with that bag.

Reflective

Walking along the Schu y lki ll in the chilly wind.

Adventure

I’m on my way to the Mutter’s Museum with my Mum and sister-human, Candace for an adventure in Philly!

Desperate for Roses

Hustling roses and sucking carbon monoxide....for food and cover. Are you as blessed as I am?

Simple Treat Box

Even with the holidays over, I'm still enjoying some time off.  So here is one thing I did with it.

Name that Christmas Tune Game

We had our holiday part at work today.  It's always a feast.  Everyone brings a dish (Breakfast, Lunch, or anytime appetizer), and we just eat all day long...or at least I do. I also play holiday tunes all day from my office.  And around lunchtime, we congregate for a few holidays games (to win a little prize),  and a gift exchange. This year we did Greedy Santa, which was great fun.  Several gifts exchanged hands a few times, which made it loads of fun! I was responsible for one of the games and I found a game somewhere on the web and worked it up so that it could be done offline (so we could do it individually for a prize). Anyway, if you ever have idle time and want to play the game, you can find it here:   HERE

Happy Birthday

John turned 21 this weekend and we celebrated with cake! He spent the weekend with his sister - you know, doing the traditional things that a 21 year old does when officiating their ability to drink in public. If you are a familiar with StampinUp, then you know this image.  BUT, when I made the cake, I boyed it up with masculine colors.  It was a really fun project and is "clean and simple", but folks, let me assure you that this 'lil cake took essentially all afternoon and evening to design and construct. Super Fun.  And Delish.  I used a basic yellow-cake recipe (all home made no box) and yummy home made buttercream frosting.  The inside of the cake included a layer of the raspberry jelly I made in August. So there, an edible masterpiece. Oh...and our last one year older reminding both my husband and I that we are getting closer to empty nest heaven  nothing but older. (ha)

More Beauty in Jim Thorpe

At the bottom of the hill, my little dude and I ventured to the water.  The stillness and colors were breathtaking. Oliver didn't help with the quiet stillness, because, well, he's an active boy, but he did pause for a moment at the water's edge. We made our back towards the start, following the trail under the bridge. Notice the ice on the edge of the road.  That is probably the remaining snow from the bizarro October snowfall....because it really was a pleasant afternoon. When we got back to the parking lot, I thought we probably didn't have much time, because I started seeing lots of bikes.  I thought (based on their attire and intense expressions) that they were probably the faster ones at the front of the pack. It wasn't hard to notice John and Dave when they were making their way towards us.  My bike (the one John road) is BRIGHT yellow and green....when I saw I it, I knew it was them. I was impressed.  Our timing was pre

My Little Woodsman

Or rather Woodsdog.  While Dave and John mountain biked along a portion of the Rails to Trails project trail in the Poconos, Oliver and I went for a hike on the Glen Onoko trail.  It was a beautiful and very steep trail that meandered along a fast moving stream that led a very tall waterfall. It has quite an intimidating warning sign at the base. To give you an idea of the steepness, there were times I needed to hoist my little guy up some rocks.  Needless to say, I was glad he was wearing his harness and leash. He's a little bold fella. Here's a photo of the stream.  I love the flare the sun cast on my lens. Here's a picture of the first level of the falls.  Very pretty. But there's more!  This is the main falls.  Pretty high, but difficult to discern without a reference point...and Oliver wasn't up to cooperating. After tooling around at the base of the falls (Oliver kept splashing leaves), we discovered a way to the top

Bodywork

Here is what I worked on last night and today.  I really need to beacon my creative writing muse because I'm having a difficult time coming up with beautiful and melodic names for my artwork.  I thought I might call this Butterfly Dreams, but I don't know.  That sounds too corny.  It is corny. So I settled with Bodywork.  I guess because ... hmmm.  Well, I don't know why. Here's a closeup of the roses I painted on the vine.  Used several colors of heavy body acrylics, swirling with my brush to try and make it look like a rose.  The leaves were made by quick drawing on colored paper...then I added transparent paints and fiddled with india ink brush markers. When I was done, my fingers were coated in paint and color.  Typical look for me on a weekend or evening. I am looking forward to next week.  I only work on Monday and am taking the remaining days off to vacate my mind of business process flows, requirements, and proof of concept builds. I

Flowers Brim

Flowers brim even through the cracks in the sidewalk.  I started this several weeks ago and finally got around to finishing it 9in between knitting projects).  There is quite a bit of texture - I used a hardboard panel and first added some papers, then some paint base coats, some coarse pumice  gel medium to add the grains (you can see them the best in the sky) and heavy bodied acrylic paints.  Finished with scribbling using a Copic multiliner pen. An interesting package arrived yesterday...months ago I sent some raw wool to Ohio Valley Natural Fibers to be cleaned and carded for spinning.  Seriously...months ago.  I had called them once to check on it and was thinking I was going to need to check again.  They really have a backlog of wool, it seems! Anyway, the wool returned is a wonderful super dark color...the color of chocolate.  It's fabulous.  I guess I'm going to have to spin some soon!  Maybe I'll even be able to spin some consistent enough yarn to make anoth

Knitting Up a Storm - Iced

I finished another Christmas present this weekend...actually put the buttons on today!  This will be a super cozy and warm sweater.  Of course, now that it's done, I can't wear it, because today it was almost 70 degrees!  Oh, that's right...it is a present for someone else...I almost forgot.  I guess one of these days, I'll have to make myself one. I should block it...but not sure that it's needed...I'll wait until it's tried on before I decide...that way I can make the fit exact. Onto the next project.....I am really going to for the 100% handmade gifting again this year, but as usual....I'm behind. Oh, if you're interested in the pattern, you can find the details HERE , which will give you a link to the F-R-E-E pattern on Knitty.com (I love Knitty....great patterns, all free).

Giant Retro Cowl

Finally finished this cowl.  I woke up early this morning to little scratching and chewing noises (there is something poking around our attic setting up winter camp, I fear).  All that was left was sewing in the loose ends and positioning the buttons. These buttons are extremely large, real wood buttons.  Such a nice texture that only adds to the splendor of the yarn and pattern (it's a very chunky stitch). You can find out more about the pattern and yarn on my ravelry page.... HERE

Winter Fun

Well, I have to say that I'm not ready for the flakes to fly, but I do like them on paper...especially like this lil penguin. It's one of the new images from the ippity release this month.  Isn't he adorable?  I love the good natured fun of the sentiment and aren't the snow flakes and swirl wonderful!

Tough

Lil Halloween Devil

He hated his costume, can you tell?

Happy Halloween

We trolled around Chesapeake City, MD, anticipating the fright that would [not] come in our neighborhood. Tiny towns are so nice to visit.

Striped

Just finished these tonight.  Not sure what lucky person is getting these for Christmas!

She Liked to Boogie

Finished this before Dave, Oliver, and I went for a stroll in Fairhill.  I like this one better than my first, because it has richer colors and more texture.

She Was Ready to Shine

MultiMedia Collage Art. Not sure what I'm going to do with it.  This was fun to create, but you should see the mess I brought up from the basement!

We're Going to the Park....YIPPY

I haven't been posting too much about Oliver and thought it was about time to let you know what he's been up to lately. Since the weather has been so lovely the past week, we've been having all kinds of fun in the park walking, chasing leaves (and the occasional squirrel), and jogging. I wished I felt as free and lively as he does - as evidenced by his wonderful smile!

Favorites

Oliver here posting for my mum, who is busy at the moment dealing with a project at work. I totally dig that she gets to work from home more now.  That means we get to do things like take walks in the nearby park at lunch....like this one. In this picture, I was trying to decide it I wanted to walk for myself or talk her into carrying me.

Elegant Thanks

Quick 4.25 square card  whipped up for a friend.

Fingerless Mitts

Yes, it's that time of year again.  Time to start planning and getting ready for the chilly and sometimes unpleasant weather ahead. In preparation, a friend of mine asked if I could make her some red fingerless mitts similar to the pair I made her last year.  These turned out so nice and with the extra yard, I decided to go ahead and make a couple more!

Chevron Socks for Chilly Toes

I just finished these cozy socks for the friend of mine who had the motorcycle accident.  Thought she might enjoy something pretty and colorful to offset that hospital green and sterile white.  I took them to her today and visited with her, her boyfriend, and her family for a bit.  She looked like she was having a pretty good day.  Some days she's in quite a bit of pain, but is improving everyday. She will be leaving the hospital on Monday and transferring to an in-patient physical therapy medical center where she will be busy getting stronger.  In order to be able to go home, she'll need to be able to walk with a walker and get in/out of a car. She's been in the hospital for over 7 weeks.  Her recovery has been a series of miracles. Really.  Everyone is amazed. What a strong woman.
I finished this 'lil project tonight in class.  I was skeptical that I would be able to work the jewel into the bezel cup [do not ask why....I shall peer with reluctance at the question], but when I got home, it went in nicely.  Pha...Ewe! And.So. Because it doesn't smell like a delicious treat, Oliver wasn't AT ALL interested in his new jewel. Silly boy.

Precious Sweet Clyde

Clyde-E-Us Minimus 1994 - 2011 We lost Clyde this morning at 4:30 am.  He died peacefully at home. On Tuesday, he really wasn't doing so well, but I had to go into work and was so worried that he would die alone.  I felt so sick at heart.  He stuck around.  I think to say his goodbye's.  He waited until I came home and stuck with me that evening.  That was our time.  Normally he fiddled around, underfoot, begging for scraps while I cooked.  This night, he couldn't because he was too weak, so he laid next to me while I crafted. And then at about 4:15 AM this morning, just a little before Dave normally got up with him to start the morning routine, Clyde started shifting around.  Dave went downstairs with him.  I think Clyde was waiting to say goodbye to Dave, because that was their special time. And that is when he was ready to let go. This is a picture of him at Christmas in 2007 when he was about 13 years old.  What a pensive look.  Goodness only knows what

On the Mend

This card is for my friend who is on the mend (the one who survived the motorcycle accident).  She has amazed everyone with her recovery, even the hospital staff.  What she has yet to overcome is just the time involved in patching herself back together. I thought this would be a good card for her and hope it puts a smile on her face.  She probably feels alot like this mummy right now, because I bet there aren't many areas on her not covered with bandages and casts. The sentiment I used is from a StampinUp! set from the 2011-2012 catalog.  (I just got these yesterday).  It has 4 stamps, all with this swirly, vintage feel [Thank You, Happy Birthday, Celebrate Today, and Get Well].

TGIF