Thursday, February 28, 2013

Moving this weekend...

...most everything is packed. Just a little to do in my room, the grandchildrens' room, a touch in the kitchen,  more than a touch in the basement.  Have fought off a nasty stomach bug, but now the rainy weather is killing my sinus', which is  pressuring a nerve in my bad tooth, which is horribly painful, & now I'm going to take a nap & hope that that helps ease everything.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday night will be pretty much like...

...Thursday, around here.  First, music (The Pines of Rome).

On the table:
Still at work on the Frost Bearer.
Watching me
is Tortie, the Red-eared Slider.  He (?) studies me for about 10 min. before settling into a nap.
Also keeping me company is
Charlsie. The click & flash woke him up, but not enough to move. He will be 12 yrs. old this December.  He prefers to retire for the evening between 9.30 & 10.00 p.m.
Exciting, yes?  ;)



Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Moving, moving, moving....

Still packing (few hours a day), still working on the Frost Bearer (few hours a day.....just to steady my nerves ;)  Packing is no fun, so I've been distracting myself with the odd giveaway ( Bees' Wrap sounds like a fascinating product),  the odd droolworthy eye candy ,  the odd addition to my (Dear Gods) 12 page wishlist (  the Art of Glamour  ), & the odd burst of bright light , which reminds me of the wonderful Magaly  . 

And, just for randomness, photographic evidence of what happens to a Bratz doll after two days worth of 2yrold play.
It only took 2 hours for the (interchangeable) feet to be popped off & discarded. Both granddaughters do the same thing with Bratz dolls: pop off the feet, discard, & play with the doll, no feet.
 







Saturday, February 16, 2013

2 Quotes, 1 Visual, # 18

The first gardening book of 2013 is Derek Fells' 'Secrets of Monets' Garden'.  This volume is full of photographs which had me lusting over rich soil & bright sunshine. Also pleasing to my eye where the included colour plates of Monets' works pertinent to the subject.   Knowing his audience, Fell includes ideas on how to break down the scale of Monet to a more manageable home-garden size.  Keep in mind, however, that this is not a 'how-to' book.  There aren't any lists of steps needed to improve soil, or what zone a garden is in.  This is an ideas book, ideally suited for those January days spent dreaming through seed catalogs & sketching out planting guides.

Quote 1: "Obviously, Monet was interested in painting the yellow sunflower heads in company with orange-red apples against a clear blue sky.  The base of the sunflowers would not show in his painting, so why bother planting around them?  He was a pragmatist."  (page 45, paragraph 1)
     While Fell is a fan of Monet & his garden, he is not blind to what it is.  The plants were there on basis of need & colour, not to be shown off to tourists on a 'famous gardens' binge tour.  Still & all, I would dearly love to see these five acres in person!

Quote 2: "  'A landscape doesn't get under your skin in one day.  And then all of a sudden I had the revelation of how enchanting my pond was.  I took up my palette.  Since then I've had hardly any other subject.'--Monet, on his water garden "   (page 65, paragraph 1)
     Not only a pragmatist, but particular over what was planted & what was harvested when, as well. A small battalion of gardeners work Monets' garden today, a gift shop as well (of course).  Monets' garden is a lovely reminder that   'pragmatic' does not exclude 'beauty'.

1 Visual:  "Nasturtiums of all colors and saffron-colored eschscholzias collapse in blinding ruins on both sides of the sandy pathway.  In the wide flower beds, covering the irises stripped of their blossoms, surges the surprising magic of the poppies, an extraordinary mixture of tones, an orgy of bright nuances, a resplendent and musical muddle of white, pink, yellow and mauve; an unbelievable kneading of blond flesh tones, on which the orange tones burst, the fanfares of burning copper ring out, the reds bleed and catch fire, the violet tones bri"ghten, and the dark crimson ones light up."   (page 47-8, paragraphs 5-1)
     Wordy perhaps, but satisfying for a gardeners' heart, who misses the growing season.


Thursday, February 14, 2013

More stitches in as unease settles

I've been working on the blues this week past. In stiches
& in mood.  This upcoming domicile move is getting ever closer, but there doesn't appear to be an apartment on the horizon. Hard for me to tell what's going on as daughter refuses to share information.  Could really use Rammstein played loud to help soothe the nerves & motivate. However, they're packed away! My personal spaces are 4/5s packed, 2 1/2 weeks of laundry is nearly dry.  I have a few boxes left for me to pack for myself, then can start on the grandchildrens' rooms. Also have a Big Brother/Big Sister (out-grown) clothing pick-up set for the 20th.  The roads are finally cleanly plowed & the garbage pick-up is only  a day behind, so at least packing is moving forward :/

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Blah Tuesday....

Looking for pick-me-ups, between packing & the weather, even baking sugar cookies doesn't alleviate the fogginess. So, on to a few funnies:
                   Simon learns that it's best to pick up after the cat is fed.
                   Not a funny, but a profile of one of my favorite artist .  I own a few of her 'Strangulations'.
                    The reason why young children don't trust those who wear costuming.
                    A fairy tale re-told.
                    Just beautiful :)
                    Finally, the song I sing myself to sleep with ;)

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Winter Storm Nemo from the front porch

Yes, it snowed. The dogs were not pleased, nor was I as I couldn't get the door open far enough for them to go outside. Boots on!
Getting there!
*Knew* I should have put the garbage bin on the the porch last night....

Charlsie took all of 15 seconds to do his business & return to the door.
So much yet to do. :/  But our electric remained on so it's all good :)
Street view  .   Off to make syrup & pancakes.



Thursday, February 7, 2013

Sweet things

There hasn't been much stitching done this week as I'm too distracted over moving.  However, two sweet packages arrived this week that I would like too share.
Isn't this just a little sweetheart? :) The Ehag emporium has a monthly giveaway to help promote the wonderful artists featured on this blog. I won this cutie from Joyce Stahl . Isn't she gorgeous? :)
This sparkly shiny lovely is one of the creations from Kris of the Laughing Vixen Lounge.  Kris' pieces are beautiful pieces, heavy in weight & charms!
Unfortunately,  my blurry pics don't do justice to this beauty!  Currently, there is a Valentines' Day Movie Marathon contest on the Laughing Vixen blog.  Goodies on giveaway :) 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Tortie turtle

Tortie is Grandchild #1s' young red-eared slider.
He (?) came to live in my space when Papi Antonio & Sara thought he would like more attention than he was getting at their place.  A quick look online ( 10 page PDF ) revealed that a healthy red-ear slider can live 70+ years.
This is his (?) exercise bin.  Little guy moves quick.  He isn't thrilled with show & tell, either, or 2 yrolds yelling when they touch him (gently).  Little guy spent most of the evening trying to climb out of his travel tank.  Instead of working on cross-stitch or reading, I spent the evening watching him not-climb.  Kind of like a lava lamp bubbling away......

Hopefully, Antonio & Sara will help get a proper tank for him (heater, basking rock, 20 gal. tank).  It seems that these little guys can grow 12'' (shell-wise) & need a correspondingly sized tank for swimming........


Saturday, February 2, 2013

2 Quotes, 1 Visual #17

Every year I buy myself Yule & birthday presents. One giftee I gifted myself is 'the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook' (Nora Abousteit, Alison Kelly).  My first handcrafting love is sewing, ever since I was in high school. This book gets me excited, once again, to sew. 

Quote 1: "Patterns are the most valuable tool a fashion designer or sewer possesses. Think of Coco Chanel, who repeated the same basic shape of her iconic box-cut tweed jacket for more than seventy-five years--and it makes just as powerful a statement today as it did when it was first introduced to the world in the 1920s.  Slight variations have been made to the fit, and the fabrics change from season to season, but the essence of that iconic silhouette remains true to the original pattern."  (page29, paragraph 1)
    I love a concise handbook.  This Sewing Handbook is written for beginners, to inspire them to approach patterns &  alterations with confidence, & for the more experienced sewer, to remind them that inspiration & fearless go together.
    The illustrations are clear, the directions on-point ( how to sew a curved seam, page 26, is wonderful), the photographs of finished clothing are as sweet as the photos of BurdaStyle members sewing spaces are cause for envy.

Quote 2: "I hate ironing, and I always tried to skip this step when I first learned to sew.  Big mistake.  Big.  My wonky cloth napkins can attest to this.  A friend told me 'If you don't have time to iron, you don't have time to sew.'  I now know that's true."  --Indiana Adams   (page 60, paragraph 5)
     Nicely spaced with hints from a variety of people, this handbook talks to the reader, not down to them.  Not once did I get the uneasy feeling that the projects within aren't doable.

1 Visual: "I think it could be worn just about anywhere with an olive-green belt, pleated trousers, and a T-shirt in something like mustard yellow.  This should be worn with serious heels, a no-fuss hairdo, and natural-looking makeup.  Alternatively, it would work great over a floor-length empire-line dress, either cream or in a very pale color, worn with ballerina flats, glamorous makeup, and long hair in a fancy updo---although I have yet to come up with the kind of event that would call for such an outfit."--Aicha Hockx   (page 165, paragraph 4)
     It was difficult deciding upon a visual piece as so much of what thrills about sewing for oneself are all of the fabric & colour possibilities.  When I see the patterns (5 basic patterns included with the handbook), I see, I visualize, what these patterns would look like, how I will alter them, what colours, what fabrics drape.  Happiness :)