Just life

Sometimes I wish I had something FaBuLoUs going on all the time and then other times I enjoy what I call, “just life”.

Working,

running a few errands,

cooking,

baking, (a fabulous Italian Cream Cake from Pioneer Woman)

  walking the dogs, (loving all of the little tiny flowers that look like a sprinkles on a cake)

dyeing a bit of wool,

a little hooking,

walking around the garden and taking pictures of what is coming up

……..is that what they call balance?

Hey, I might just be on to something :)

If I were…..

If I were a month I’d be. . . . March


If I were a day I’d be. . . .Sunday

If I were a time of day I’d be. . . .early morning

If I were an animal I’d be. . ..a giraffe

If I were a bird I'd be. . . a dove

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be. . .stilettos.

If I were a stone I’d be. . .small and smooth enough to carry in your pocket.

If I were a tree I’d be be…a weeping cherry.

If I were a flower I’d be. . .. belles of Ireland

If I were weather I’d be. . .snow

If I were an element I'd be. . .wind

If I were a car I'd be. . .a Mercedes 2- seater convertible.

If I were a color I'd be. . . hot pink.

If I were an emotion I’d be. . . happy.

If I were a gift I'd be. . . wrapped with a big bow.

If I were a fruit I’d be. . .strawberries.

If I were an instrument I’d be. . . a French horn.

If I were fabric I'd be. . . organza.

If I were a body part I’d be. . . lips.

If I were a facial expression I'd be. . . a big smile.

If I were a song I’d be. . . smooth jazz.

If I were a sound I’d be. . . a chorus of birds.

If I were a taste I’d be. . . salty.

If I were a scent I’d be. . . lavender.


Thanks to Cindy for posting hers…..how fun!

Books of note

A few posts back I showed Kelly working on a geometric rug and there was a book lying open on the table….what is that book?

 

I also received a new book in the mail yesterday.  This is a great book if you don’t have past issues of Celebrations.  This has the readers’ choice winners from Celebrations I –Celebrations XVIII

A great addition to your rug hooking library!  I got mine through the auto-ship program with Rug Hooking Magazine, so they are not out in the stores yet.

I’ve been hooking on my garden rug on a more regular basis….I’ll try to post more pictures soon.

Serendipity

Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.

(Sandy and Tammy with some almost iridescent wool, photo by Dulcy)

This is the kind of thing that just HAPPENS when you put 3 crazy hookers together for a day of dyeing…….SERENDIPITY!

For more pictures of our day of dyeing please visit Dulcy’s blog.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from my home to yours!

The weeping cherry bloomed just in time! Isn’t it glorious?!

Here are a few Easter peeks inside my home.

Some people might find them tacky, but we love them….light up plastic holiday figures….if you look closely at the picture above you can see Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit in the window.

This little guy is in our kitchen

This is the newest addition….Kenny got her for me for Valentines Day…..I think she’s precious.

He also got me this darling Easter duck for Valentine’s day too….he’s just not your typical roses and candy kind of guy….thank goodness….he truly knows my heart!

The duck is standing on a rabbit/Eastery kind of rug that I hooked and prodded several years ago.  This is the first rug where I stepped away from the primitive color palette and started to strike out on my own…..brave enough to do your own thing.

I had a couple of my friends over to dye wool yesterday and I was hoping that a wool order would arrive while they were here…..I did get a package from our mail carrier, but it wasn’t wool….it was chocolate….even better!

This was from my husband’s friend Donna…..she is so crafty and always makes the cutest things!  What a nice surprise!

Well, that concludes the Easter tour…..here are a few pictures of my kitchen before the dyeing began…..I’ve accumlated a lot of dye “toys” over the years….it takes over the entire kitchen!  Can you tell?!

 

1. Cushing dyes

2. Pro Chem dyes

3.  Swatch books, dye books and latest issue of Rug Hooking Magazine

4.  Paper towels and Clorox Clean-up

5. Dye pots

6.  Really big dye pots

7.  Casserole pans for spot dyes and fantasy dyes

8. Electric tea kettle

9.  Glass measuring cups

I’ll have a picture of what I dyed tomorrow and in the mean-time you might keep watch on Dulcy’s blog….she was our photographer for yesterday’s dyeing fun!

Hand-torn

I had a few of the girls over to hook this week and Renee brought along her hand-torn sheep that she had just finished.

Here’s a close-up.  If you haven’t given hand-torn a try, you really should….there is something cathartic about tearing through your wool instead of cutting it…..it’s a great stress reliever.

I made the girls the “Portland Trolley” martinis….they are so yummy…..this is a picture…post hooking….the day after, before I put the martini glasses away…I just loved the way the light was hitting the glass.


Kelly was working on her geometric and as soon as she put it down to get a better view, Lonnie collapsed on top of it….he loves geometrics!

Today, I’m going to be dyeing wool…..haven’t dyed wool since November, so I’m pumped!

Peeking

Lonnie was peeking around in the garden and look what all he found…..

…..signs of spring!

Cleopatra found signs too!

Hooray for spring!

Trying something new

Yesterday, I had a 40% off coupon for Borders bookstore, plus a gift card…..I ended up buying this:

Dulcy and I have talked about yoga a lot lately.  I feel like I need to find some sort of mind/body exercise that I can enjoy for the rest of my life and that I can do anywhere.  Plus, I’ve noticed that the older I get, the less flexible I get……you know the saying….use it or lose it!

I was first exposed to Vinyasa yoga flow by Abby Vakay when I had her as a (hooking) teacher at Mt. Magazine, Arkansas a few years ago. 

This is Abby....will I be able to do that one day?!

I thought this was such a beautiful and feel good kind of yoga, but like a lot of other things in my life, it had been put on the back burner as one of those “someday” activities.
Well, someday is here.
I will start soon.

Every day

Every day we are surrounded with the ordinary.

How can we make the ordinary……extraordinary?

How can we appreciate the ordinary?

Stop

slow down

take a closer look

at your ordinary life

It may actually be extraordinary

and you just didn’t slow down to notice it.

Paintings from Jeanne Illenye.

Why am I so tired?

Oh, why am i so tired? I think I’m getting enough sleep….maybe it’s just that I still have a little bit of the cold lingering on, even though I don’t want to admit it to myself.

I have so many things in my mind that I want to do, but I just can’t seem to get motivated.

Okay, enough with the “poor pitiful me” stuff. Maybe if I just get out of my jammies and into some real clothes….that should help!

I did get a “wool fix” and ordered some wool on-line this morning…..I hate buying wool on-line from a business that I’ve not ordered from before. Wool is just one of those things that you want to touch before you buy…..oh well, here’s to keeping my fingers crossed that it’s not too flimsy and not too heavy…..I promise to use it, no matter what…..it is all beautiful and it shall all have a place. I’m excited because some of it is the nubby boucle wool and some has metallic in it!

Here are a few pics of the swatches:

In this wool I can see landscapes and gardens!

Sunflower middles or dog fur?

Dark leaves, night skies

I think this would make nice animals or would be great over-dyed with greens or reds or oranges….it’s just yummy!

I see this in night skies, Halloween cats…

This one was just too fun to resist!

I’ll let you know when they come and are washed up….were they worth it?!

A most excellent birthday

First off….happy birthday to my brother, Randal, who is turning 40 today!

Yesterday, was my birthday……a most excellent day if I do say so myself.

Lunch with Sheri of Shabby Sheep at Panera……what did I dine on?…..chocolate fudge brownie and a chocolate cafe mocha….hey, if there is a day to indulge, your birthday is that day!

Sheri got me a wonderful necklace from Kelly Rae Roberts…..I love it and I’m wearing it today and thinking of Sheri who is having surgery today….please keep her in your thoughts today!

I went out to dinner with my family and then we opened packages at my grandma’s house.

After that we came home and I got to open my packages from Kenny…….he said it was a “Project Runway” theme. Look at all of these lovely bags!!!

Colorful!

Okay, so “Project Runway” theme…..what does that mean?

Clothes?  You betcha!

I even scored a Michael Kors top…..hot pink….my favorite!

Of course, the dogs had to help me open packages….

Of course they were excited, because one of the packages had new harnesses for each of them…..sparkly black and sparkly red with matching collars!

Cleopatra was interested in ALL aspects of the birthday festivities, from the birthday cards

to the tissue paper!

Lonnie….well, I think he was just waiting for cake…..

Sorry Lonnie…..no cake….just clothes……and the most perfect margaritas!

Low Calorie Margarita Recipe

• 1 tub Crystal Light lemon-lime drink mix
• 2 cups water
• Juice of one lime
• 8 oz. tequila
• 6 oz. Grand Marnier
• 4 oz. Presidente Mexican Brandy

Put all ingredients into blender and blend. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

These may  be low calorie, but they are sneaky good!  By that I mean you’re drinking them and you go to stand up and can’t find your legs sneaky!