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Monday, May 29, 2017

Memorial Day Weekend - 2017

A very nice 4-day weekend for me and I'm actually quite satisfied with all time spent.

Friday evening I got together with mom and her Assisted Living neighbors at the Veteran's Memorial Flag Service in Red Wing's Baypoint Park.  It was an impressive and touching ceremony to all whom have served with flags being carried for each and every name that was called out.  The lovely evening, the boat traffic only yards away made it all a pleasant and rewarding event to share with mom and our neighbors.

Saturday was a blast up to Diamond's to join a quieter coffee group for coffee; the holiday weekend seemed to keep attendance a bit down. Some shopping, a visit to mom's house and a stop to see dad's sister in the nursing home still got me home before lunchtime.

The 'Guzzi was right in front and that made the selection choice an easier one.

These following 3 photos I saw as some kind of theme, what kind I'm not sure but I can tell you that they all appeared within less than 5 distance/minutes of one another; the first 2 obviously known to area riders on one of our very common County Roads.  It looks as though the Water Park setting has been there for a time but Saturday was the first time that I happened to notice it......the park itself isn't really that prominent so the fact that I missed it on past rides isn't really a surprise.  A U-turn was involved in that capture.

This Old and New source of water access caught my eye.....

 Where I'm going....the Chippewa River Valley in the distance.

Saturday morning was crispy clear.....and windy.

I met my brother in Prescott for a planned loop Route to the north, arriving early enough for a short cup.

Where we eventually went.....

We stopped at Doc's in Balsam Lake for lunch; the establishment was choice #2 based on my plan for the day but after our meal there, that mistake won't be made again.  In fact, a lunch run Directly to Doc's is in order and should happen soon.

The lovely and fast flowing St. Croix River.....another river serving as border between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We separated just north of St. Croix Falls......

I stopped here in town at the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor Center and you might note that the skies weren't all crystal clear blue.

In the map above of the day's GPS Track, you can see that I doubled back to the west on my way home and it was because of another one of these very large dark grey spots in the sky, only that one was between Red Wing and myself.  With careful planning and a jog to the west, I was able to almost completely avoid serious wetness, at least from the sky.  I did ride on roads that were too-bright-sunny but seriously full of road spray.  I left Dresser on County MM going right past the annual mudfest at the Trollhaugen Ski area.

No question about it, I made a mistake not pulling the camera out to take a few shots of the going's-on but it looked like I was mere minutes from a downpour and I'd just put the camera in a safe dry place.  I was busy seriously watching the road as I went through various places where their outfits had made road crossings.  If you think you've seen mud/dirt pulled onto pavement from farm equipment, you've seen nothing like the stuff I rode through Saturday......there was pavement underneath there somewhere, I'm quite sure of it!

No question, this weekend's rain will get that all nicely taken care of......:)

So, my original plan was to head directly home because there were things that needed tending but then those evil looking clouds had me making adjustments and once the adjustments started, I was realizing that the tending at home could wait.  After all, I did have another day to spread that load out over.  We'd ridden right past the Bass Lake Cheese Factory on the way up and hadn't stopped.  I've never been inside so it seemed only right and proper to remedy that mistake.  Some Caraway Jack and Onion Garlic were placed deep into the tank bag.

Somehow, no idea how or even why, I wound up in Bay City at Flat Pennies.

Today (Monday) was all about weather going black and blue.  The 'black' was often suddenly and sometimes even almost overwhelmingly wet, the blue might be brilliant, the total opposite of what had been very dark only minutes before.  I had hoped that during the day to be out on at least a couple of the other machines.

A couple of weeks ago I bought the MN Motorcycle Annual permit and decided this morning to make use of it in our nearby Frontenac State Park.  When I parked the bike we were in a cloud and a quick shower but a big patch of blue sky was coming our way.

Instead of looking down on the lake from the bluff, here we are right next to the water, about 500 ft. less of elevation.

I dropped the old Honda off at the garage, satisfied that it is ready for this weekend's Hiawatha BMW Rally.  The Royal Enfield was backed out (it's so much fun doing that.....!) and off we went for a different loop, this time towards Red Wing.

The site of the Vet's Ceremony that mom and I attended Friday evening....each flag with a name.

 The Eisenhower Bridge was dedicated by the President when I was 5 years old and one of my former workmates was there as a National Guardsman performing security duty for the ceremony.  This bridge's replacement is underway now.

Hope that your Memorial Day weekend was a great one and that you found some time to remember.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

A Wet and Cool 2017 GR3

GR3 = Great River Road Rally in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.

Hosted by the Madison BMW Club and the Soldiers Grove Lions Club in the same lovely setting, Kickapoo River nearby in the Beauford T Anderson Park.  The 'Grove's proximity to the often raging Kickapoo over time has led a great deal of flooding, flooding to the extent that much of the former business district was moved and once those flood waters receded, there was more than one kind of "Green" that occurred.  The Solar Village was a large part of the relocation/rebuild process.
What I can tell you with great certainty is that we motorcyclists really enjoy the park's facilities and the very warm welcome that we receive from the town's residents.

Those of us that MADE the rally weren't all that surprised by those that did NOT....The forecast had been dismal; rainy and very cool.  There were many reminders that not all that long ago, that very valley on Rally Weekend saw a frosty morning (I was in Lincoln, NE with daughter Hanna) that managed to test the gear and sleeping arrangements of the riders.  This year's conditions definitely kept attendance down from near or around 300 last year to this year's reported 155.  Odds were much better for the door prize give away and in our little group of 3 there were 2 winners.

Honestly, without a real detailed arrival plan, Eric and I managed to arrive late Friday morning within minutes of each other.  Too early for registration, we setup in the misty rain before conditions worsened.  My 135 mile trip down along the river was blustery; the last 50 miles wet.  Once tents were up, we were off to seek out some gravel, which we found in nice abundance.

Our weekend's wet conditions were not the start of moisture in the region; it was obvious everywhere we went that big, fast rains had left a lot of devastation around.  We lost count of the driveway slabs across small streams as well as dry ditches that were destroyed or rendered impassable.  Along the great-riding Tainter valley we found a slab so beat up that the road had a big sign stating "Closed" and of course we needed to see why.

Beyond that grassy knoll over to the right, others, not unlike us, were curious about a crossing too.  We were in possession of the technology, so we used it.  As Dave says, "Onward and forward".

It was Garage Sale/Flea Market Mania along the river towns and normally quiet roads were busy with shoppers so we had to have a care.  We found a quiet spot to take a break here.....

A big counter-clockwise loop and the large 6 gallon tank capacity on the KLR had me complacent about a fueling stop.  Suddenly at around the 275 mile mark, I was in need of Reserve for the very first time since I've owned the bike.  I flipped the lever one way and that wasn't the right way.  Quickly rotating the lever the other way, the engine caught again and we managed a fuel stop in Ferryville.  We both filled up but I began to have trouble.  All morning I'd been making nice smooth shifts and suddenly I was struggling to match speeds for gear changes, something I take pretty seriously.  Pulling the clutch in, I found out why.  With an idle speed of 3000 RPM, smooth shifts had become a problem.  Down hill compression breaking was completely gone, causing Eric to wonder why I'd suddenly started to use my brakes on every downhill section and we had a lot of them to go down before we got back to Rally Central.

We made it back to Soldiers Grove but none of my quick fixes were working.  Gas was running out the overflow tube.  Draining the bowl, rapping it gently with the butt of an adjustable wrench nor will power were able to stop the flow of gasoline.

So I parked the bike and it never ran again all weekend.  Saturday's weather made that option only a tiny bit more palatable but it definitely was not what we'd planned for the weekend.  Sometimes that's just how really good plans can go.

There were a lot of things to discuss with the group as there always is.

 Ready for action.....

Saturday morning early my brother arrived on his KLR that ran and still does....

 I wasn't patient enough to wait for the butterflies to emerge....

 John kicking his rig through a couple of times to give the push button option a head start.  Shortly after 11, John, the teepee and the last 2 other bikes were gone.

By 11:30 it was only the KLR (sort of) still standing.  Bill from the Lions came over and while he hooked on to the trailer with the provided free firewood, we had a nice chat.  Shortly thereafter, my lovely and patient bride arrived with the trailer.  She may very well have taken the bike and left me there but I think she was ready to sit in the other seat and close her eyes for the trip back to Minnesota.

In two short weeks, many if not most of these riders and hopefully many other like-minded folks will gather once again across the river for a Minnesota version at the Hiawatha Rally.

I'll be there.

Friday, May 12, 2017

A Bayfield Weekend - 4 Wheels

Up until just a short month or so ago, this first weekend in May was scheduled to be another spring Slimey Crud Run.  It's during this time of year that we've often made a family trip up to the shores of Lake Superior.  The last couple of years Peg's rental of a condo in Bayfield, WI has been on the same weekend as the Slimey Crud Run.  This year I thought it prudent and wise to join the girls, head north on 4 instead of SE on 2.

What's a trip north without a stop at a special Mario promotion at Target for last minute supplies??

We arrived in Duluth just a bit after noon and went straight to the Glensheen Mansion, historical home of the Congdon family.  Completed in 1908 on 22 acres of land, the property is a testament to the great wealth that was being accessed by the early entrepreneurs in northern Minnesota.  Their success came from ground floor involvement in the mining and lumber industries.  I won't go into the details here other than to say the grounds, the home, the successful family and their philanthropy are all quite amazing subjects.  Peg had done the tour last year and I can see why she was very willing to go again and share it with me.

We took the tour that included the 3rd floor, the boys' floor.  The architecture, so many of the home's design features were far ahead of their time.  Amazing thought and planning went into most every detail and I won't pretend to show or highlight anything more than a small sample.  There is a great deal of detailed info available if you're curious, photos and facts, etc.  The family basically willed the home, the property and contents to the University of Minnesota.  Most everything was left as the family had lived with it.

Ticket booth at the end of the parking lot, the Carriage House to the right.

 Carriage House.....

Main entrance.....

 A LOT of Italian marble and a LOT of silver.....

The view from in front of the formal garden.......

 Turning 180 degrees, their boat house which housed their 55' yacht.

After a hearty lunch at Grandma's Saloon in Duluth, we dipped into Wisconsin for the drive along the South Shore, ending up in Bayfield at our condo.

From our deck.....looking lake way.

From our deck, looking uptown.

 Hanging in the hallway.....

 Friday evening in front of our rented condo.....

Saturday was a busy day for the Marina folks, parking lots full of sailboats waiting to get wet.

I try and get up the hill to the Bayfield Carnegie Library each time that we visit.  We made it again but our stay inside was short.....had to make the next ferry over to Madeline Island.

Leaving Bayfield....

 Arriving in La Pointe, Madeline Island.

We saw many signs saying, "Open May 12" both in Bayfield and on the island.  Many businesses were open but just barely.  There was activity everywhere as the business owners were scrubbing, painting, getting things setup for the new season.  The reason we go when we do is for the lower lodging rates and honestly, without ALL of the tourists, we get to see a bit more of the working town, especially once the weekend is over.

Back in the early 2000's when our daughters were attending music camp on the island, I had an afternoon to kill and rented one of these.  When I learned that I'd be joining the girls for the weekend, I right away got online to see if I could rent one again but came up with the same answer...."Open 5/12".  Back then, I hadn't twisted a grip for almost 20 years.

 There are some Free Spirits on the island.....isolation can bring that out.

5 Star dining establishment......If you look closely you'll see the "For Sale By Neighbor" sign.

The park signs are all in both Anishinaabe and English.

  We visit the Town Park (eastern end of the island) whenever we take the car across, something that doesn't happen every trip due to the cost.  The hike along the String of Pearls is worth it though.  We start at the north end (top of this view), walk into the bordering State Park and then around the eastern tip of that park's peninsula where the beach is more rock than sand.

 Nice walking temperatures but anytime that we were not in the trees, the 40 degree temps and wind made the warm sun almost mandatory.

To the lagoon.....

Looking the other way....

Lauren and I on the rocks....

Storm damage from a '91 wind storm, gusts of over 100mph.

 After a coffee and cookie break in La Pointe, it was back on the ferry to cross the channel to Bayfield.

 Almost back to the mainland.....

You can see our condo unit here through the trees.  The little park commemorates this area that once was strictly the last home of watercraft no longer fit to be on the lake.  Topiary, formal gardens, paths, a bridge over a small pond.....I even took the time to watch tadpoles sun themselves in the shallow water.  A very nice place to sit; I spent time there more than once during our long weekend.

When I got up, I headed down the Brownstone Trail, a collaborative project with lakefront property owners.  The trail follows the old rail line that carried goods back and forth between Ashland and Bayfield.

On the Brownstone Trail, looking back to the south end of Bayfield

 My favorite tadpole pond.....

Early Sunday downtown....Magic Time.

 For those of us that twist, this kind of reminder can make all the difference....Lefty Loosey isn't always the path to success.

I got the impression that it might be a training weekend for the Coast Guard cadets......

Hopefully the girls just missed their sailors' return.....

Sunday our plan was to make a loop, working our way over to Cornucopia.  The Delta Diner our first destination.

 A group of riders from Duluth....

My Spiked Grilled Chez Combo.....jalapeno's in both items.

 Peg's PBLT......perch, bacon, lettuce and tomato.

From there on to Iron River, Port Wing, Herbster and finally Corny.

Smoked fish to push back starvation.....

The National Park HQ for the Apostle Islands....

I had seen some of this equipment being unloaded Monday afternoon.  Tuesday morning they were making it go.  Apparently the flags mark footing locations.  The big tapered tube has an auger inside and based on my deductions, the auger assists the "funnel" to go down 15-16 ft.  The loader dumps more rock into the hopper and as the tube backs out a couple of feet at a time, the auger reverses, driving the rock down into the sandy hole.  In those pecks, the tube pushes down, packing the placed stones down into the hole.  It was fascinating to watch.

Getting packed up and ready to head for home.....

 But not before stopping for lunch at Maggie's.....

Such a nice break and almost enough days to really get away.


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Cornish Insurance | Our Products: Gap Insurance
Cornish InsuranceHomeAbout UsProductsDocument LibraryUseful LinksEnquiries
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Cornish Insurance
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GAP Insurance is a valuable addition to your vehicle insurance policy due to the reducing nature of how a vehicle insurance policy would operate in the event of your vehicle being written off or stolen.
If your vehicle was written off or stolen, your vehicle insurance policy will only pay you the amount that they believe your vehicle is, (or should we say "was"?) worth at the time it is/was written off or stolen.

Consider that by the time the vehicle is/was written off or stolen, you may have owned the vehicle for a few days, weeks, months or years, but due to the simple fact that the vehicle is older than it was when you bought it, the vehicle value will have been subject to depreciation and with very few exceptions, the vehicle will now be worth less than you originally bought it for.

The difference between what you bought it for and what it is worth now (at the time of write off/stolen) is also known as the "gap" and a GAP Insurance policy insures that very "gap".

There are however different "gaps" depending on how you've bought the vehicle and as you might expect, different types of GAP Insurance applicable to those different "gaps".

Find the right Gap Cover for you:

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Cargo in Boots

I am fond of the Cargo blush, even though I only ever had one and my husband hated the colour passionately (The Big Easy blush, kind of glow-in-the-dark on me).

There was a time when you could only get Cargo at selected large Sainsburys around the country. In Central London you could get it from the Gloucester Road Sainsburys, and you could only choose from a limited range of Cargo products. Now an even more limited range of Cargo products are available right in Boots, namely the Lash Activator they're advertising in Grazia, and this 7 in 7 kit that gives you 7 Cargo products (individual products not sold in Boots, but possibly available in a Cargo-carrying Sainsburys some distance away) and it's £35.

Cargo OneBase foundation in 02 (Light medium) - the 7 in 7 kits available in American Sephora comes in three different kits with different colours, but I think Boots has a different kit with only has the Light medium foundation.
Essential palette in warm neutral - each strip is labelled with where you should apply it.
Black eye pencil
Lipliner in a 'neutral rose'
Lipgloss with 'Timestrip' in a 'shimmering dusty rose'. Timestrip is a little window in the lipgloss cap that turns red. When it's totally red it's time for you to throw out your gloss. Apparently this lasts nine months.

The kit contains the traditional default neutral colours in kits. Good for Christmas. Possibly excellent for Christmas, since everything's full-size and you could technically separate the items and repackage them for different people.

The Timestrip lipgloss is kind of gimmicky (like many things in Cargo: blu-ray, Timestrip, plantlove), but it's things like it that make me feel all old school and frugal, and only have two or three lipglosses at a time, and throw them out every year in an organised way. The downside to the Timestrip gloss would be the guilt you feel when tossing out a relatively new, not inexpensive gloss when you know you've got years of gloss in your kit. Giant Juicy Tubes and tubs of tinted lip conditioner.

This article says to keep lipstick only a year, and cream blush even less.

Maybe it's time they started making smaller (and proportionately cheaper) tubes of lipgloss and lipstick, and especially mascara. Tubes one person could actually use up. I like those small gwp mascaras from Estee Lauder or whatever because I change mascara every three months, which is apparently what you should do. My current favourite mascara is Benefit Bad Gal Lash, and I sure as hell won't buy a full size every three months.

It's great though. It's great. I like the big bristly brush

Alternatively, I (and you) could pare down our more perishable/non-powder cosmetics to the most basic, bearing in mind that most colours could be mixed. And we don't really need 10 shades of pinky-peach lipstick in our collection.

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Spanish versus English

The first decision I have to take regarding this blog is quite political: Spanish or English? What language should I use?

I already have another blog, written completely in Spanish. So, since the idea is to provide a diverse view of whta astronomer do to a very wide community, I believe that the best option should be English. However, if an entry is interesting enough, I will translate into Spanish and I will add a link to it.

By the way, the blog is named Cuaderno de Bitácora Estelar.

PD (2009/01/05): My friend Franck Marchis, who is also part of the Cosmic Diary blogs, has the same problem. He has decided to write both in French and English. I might, after all, follow suit and include some entries in Spanish.


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Back to school!

The 2015-2016 school year is here! After a fabulous summer, some kiddos have a hard time returning to the structure and routine of the school. Here are a few tips to help them with the transition:

*Remind your child that some back to school jitters are normal. Just like anything new, a new school year can cause anxiety. Remind them that most other children will be feeling the same way.

*Get to know your child’s bus driver. Introduce your child to their bus driver to help ease their jitters especially if it is the first time your child will be riding a school bus.   School bus drivers will often go out of their way to check on children who may be anxious for the new school year and offer to have them sit up front.

*Your child may be nervous to form a new relationship with their new teacher. If your child was unable to meet their new teacher, maybe he/she can make a card for their teacher to start the new school year in a positive manner.

Symptoms of anxiety in children:

 *A change in sleep patterns

*Chronic Upset stomach

*Frequent Headaches

*Excess worry

*Avoids social situations

*Change in eating patterns

If your child is exhibiting any of these symptoms, please discuss them with your child’s pediatrician mental health professional.


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Friday, January 7, 2011

Modern Lighting Decoration

    Modern Lighting Decoration for Luxury Appartment Interior DesignA minimalist interior design scheme doesn't need to be stark and cold!Modern minimalist designs are not the old, harsh decor of years ago. The new look for minimalist interior design is a softer look, more personal and easier to live with. Yes, you can have a real life, or even kids, and go for a minimalist look in your home!It

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Modern Lighting Decoration

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Visit Country House Design for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

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Friday, December 23, 2011

~Wishing Everyone A Very Blessed Christmas

Merry Christmas

Warm Christmas Wishes To You & Your Family!!

Hugs, Jenny

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

~My Lemon Poppy Seeds Update Is Ready

2011 newsletter

My Lemon Poppy Seeds Shoppe  is updated with

many pinkeeps/ornies great for Christmas decorating or gift

Take a look when you have a moment.

If you have any questions about an item just let me know.

~ Wishing You All A Very Blessed Christmas! :) ~

Warm Wishes,


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Home Extension specialists in London for over 30 years

Professional Loft Conversions services also available

Part of the Court Home Extension Company

Specialists in loft conversions, roofing, home extensions and home building

London’s Extension Specialists – Welcome to Court Home Extensions

From small scale extensions such as porches and one room extensions to large scale developments like Annexes or two Storey Extensions, Court Home Extensions can cater for all extension needs.

Your home is probably the biggest single purchase you will make in your life, and with this in mind, we aim to enhance and improve your investment by designing your proposed Home Extension carefully to suit your own personal style, requirements and budget. Home is a place everyone can associate with and, for this reason, it is essential that improvements and extensions are done sympathetically to each owner’s requirements, whilst protecting the amenity and appearance of the property.

With 30 years of experience in the field of residential and commercial extensions in London you can be rest assured that your project is in safe hands. Court Home Extensions design and build services will make certain that all legal building requirements are taken care of including Architectural Plans to full Building Regulations. The benefits of having an extension are almost endless, giving you more space, more flexibility and not to be forgotten, a significant increase in the value of your property.

We have thousands of delighted customers with our quality extensions and ground works throughout the London area. Our experience of the building trade is unsurpassed and we can provide you with the highest quality service at affordable prices. Please feel free to give us a call and we can arrange an appointment to provide you with an free quotation.

For more than 3 decades, we’ve been turning concepts and ideas into reality by adding useful living space to existing homes with professionally designed & built extensions. Suffice to say that our “in house” team including qualified designers, builders, joiners, roofers, plumbers, plasterers, electricians etc. who have a vast knowledge and experience in the construction industry ensure all aspects are carried out to the highest quality. The service we deliver is competitively priced, professionally finished and tidily carried out to create the minimum of disruption to our customers, within the initial time scale given.

For further information or for a no-obligation consultation, you can contact our office by email, by completing our online form, or by phoning the number below.

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Single storey home extensions can create a variety of additional spaces, significantly adding value to the property without the upheaval of moving.

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Two Storey Extensions open up the possibilities for additional bedrooms and bathrooms, creating extra space an enhancing your property's value.

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From a new bathroom to a full home remodelling, a home refurbishment can bring your existing property back to life and enhance the value of your home.

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Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Forever Friends

Evening peeps, loving this weather at the moment and so hoping it will last into the weekend - fingers and toes crossed.  No doubt that is when the black clouds with appear .... lol...

This Penny Black image is borrowed from my good friend Lesley, aka Pinkles Dreams, The stripey paper is from Little Claire Designs.  Letter die cuts are made by my Sizzix Mango Tango alphabet.  Champagne diecut is from a Papernation decoupage diecut set I had leftover.  Numbered peel-offs are from stash as is the ribbon. Other tools used is Square & Oval Nestie diecuts and Swirls embossing folder.  The challenges covered this evening are:-

Saturday, 23 July 2011

Christmas Cutie

Afternoon peeps, had a wee play today with this stamp from Lili of the Valley, isn't she the cutiest.  Gave her a bit of extra sparkle on her wings with some diamond Stickles.   The snowflake papers are from a Forever Friends paperpack.  Snowflake is punched using a Martha Stewart punch and I popped a blue brad in it.  The sentiment embossing folder is from Sizzix.  Other tools used are Snowflake embossing folders and Nesties.  The challenges covered today are:-

Friday, 22 July 2011

Paws for thought

Evening folks - Yay! it's the weekend - Whoop Whoop!  Have you peeps anything planned? A bit of crafting maybe? ... yep... thought so .... can't wait to see all your creations over the next few days.  Just a quick post this evening.

Have used this cheeky cute stamp (sorry, can't remember name) and the papers are from DCVW - as is the tag and stickers.  The challenges covered this evening are:-
Kaza. xxx

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

One for the Boys ...

Evening folks hoping you are all well and enjoying your Tuesday where-ever you may be.  With the new football season fast approaching  (this weekend coming here in Scotland) I'd thought I would share this card with you.  It is a commissioned card I was asked to make for a Newcastle United fan.

The image is from Lili of the Valley, it is one of their fabby pre-coloured squares.  The Black & White striped paper is from Little Claire Designs.  My 'net' is made from a strip of sequin waste.  The trophy diecut is from Sizzix and the other embellishments were seeked off the Goggle images site.  My homemade rossette was made with Nestie diecuts, peel-offs and some striped ribbon.   The challenges covered this evening are:-

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Christmas in July

Morning peep-a-rellies, having a good weekend I hope.  Another lazy day is in store for me today - hay-ho!  Someone has to do it!.  Never won the lotto over the weekend, so it looks like back to work tomorrow.

The Charlotte image is from Whiff Of Joy decorated with some added gold and diamond Stickles.  Design papers are from Papermania.  Snowflake diecut is a Martha Stewart punch.  Ribbon, lace doilies & pearl brad is from stash. Circle sentiment is from Lili of the Valley and other sentiment printed off computer.  Other tools used are Snowflake embossing folder and MS border punch.  The challenges covered this morning are:-

Saturday, 16 July 2011

Afternoon peeps from a soggy Scotland.  Hope are are enjoying your weekend.  Nothing exciting to report as we are just having a quiet relaxing one watching the raindrops belting the windows

The beautiful butterfly diecut is my dream buy from Marianne Designs, decorated with a few gems.  Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.  Tools used were my Round Nesties, Swirls and Roses Cuttlebug embossing folders, Martha Stewart border punch.  Sentiment, pearl brad, paper lace all from stash.  The challenges covered today are:-
Kaza. xxx

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Evening peeps, on the eve of the British Open I thought I'd share this golfing card with you all.  Usually at the weekend I am a golf widow, but I sense that this weekend that old Baza here will be glued to the couch until about 5pm on Sunday evening .... lol .... I don't mind, it will give me some peace and quite ... hehehe.

The decoupaged image is one I must have picked up at a craft fair.  The diecuts are from stash and the sentiment is printed from computer.  The challenges covered this evening are:-

Monday, 11 July 2011

Clean & Simple

Evening peeps.  Been having a play with Digi stamps - first time for everything - and I haven't a clue what I was doing, and by pressing and clicking a lots of buttons - traaadaa!!!  I managed to make a card - woohoo!

The digi-stamps are from Bugaboo (which I have treated myself to one or two...hehehe).  Check paper from scrap drawer and white card have been embossed with a cuttlebug folder.  My faux stitching done free style.  The challenges covered this evening are:-

Saturday, 9 July 2011

Yee haw!!!

Howdy partners!  Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.  So far I'm having a nice, quiet Saturday, hopefully followed by a relaxing Sunday.  I have quite a few commissioned cards to do this weekend so my brain is a bit frazzled coming up with ideas but I am getting there slowly ... but I still have managed to squeeze in a wee time to play.....

The image is from Sugar Nellie, coloured with my watercolour pencils (from Tescos).  Stripey paper is a piece out my scrap drawer.  Flowers I have made using Woodware daisy punches decorated with various brads from stash.  The challenges covered this evening are:-
Kaza. xxx

Wednesday, 6 July 2011

Game Boy

Hello peeps, hope you are all well in Blogland.  Well, that is us back to the same old weather, rain, rain and more rain.  Shouldn't be surprised since the 'T in the Park' festival opens tomorrow and with it only being 20 minutes away we get the same rain showers.  Not been to TITP for a few years, as the saying goes 'seen it, done it, worn the T shirt' and to be honest I like my home comforts now.  There was nothing worst than longing for a shower and your soft bed is calling your name when you could see your own house from the top of the big wheel and you are stuck knee deep in mud with the same clothes on (nearly) for three days... phew! ... my jeans and trainers went straight in the bucket and that was that, no more and don't get me started on the port-a-loo's....

Phew, rant over, back to the card.  The image is from Lili of the Valley, it is one of their die cut squares, brilliant when your colouring-in head is in another room.  Design paper is from K & Co (the Hopscotch paper pack I think)  Fabric covered brads, spotty ribbon and charm are from stash.  The challenges covered are:-


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Frosted Glass Candle Holder

A can of Frosted Glass spray paint, stickers, decorative punches, and a glass vase or recycled jar, the possibilities are endless!

  • Frosted Glass spray paint
  • Glass vase, candle holder, glass jar
  • Stickers
  • Decorative punches

I’m using two sizes of snowflake punches.  Punch out the stickers and firmly place on outside of the glass piece and spray with Frosted Glass (outside) let dry and remove the stickers!

This one I just used the round stickers!

I wanted to make a stripped vase using masking tape, but my tape was too old, so I used rubber bands!

I think my oil bottle has a new life as a vase!

This is a vary inexpensive project, the spray I purchased from Jo Anns with a 50% off coupon for about $3.00 and sprayed four different pieces, (I had the stickers and the snowflake punches), Micheal’s had the glass candle holder/vase on sale $2.50!

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17 April 2008

A New Worldview of Craft Education in the 21st Century

Just thought I would share with you one of my abstracts that has been accepted for the Crafticulation Conference in Helsinki 24 - 26th September 2008. I am currently preparing the full paper and so any comments will help develop my thinking on this issue.

Based on PhD research this paper will demonstrate how the emphasis in craft education has shifted philosophically with different worldviews. Starting with the sensuous exploration of materials and embodied experience (naturalism) of the medieval guilds to the Romanticism of the Arts & Crafts movement (subjective idealism) and an art school education that was concerned with ‘a movement of the mind’. Romanticism however rejected reason and many have suggested that this was its major failing. One of the challenges for craft education within Universities therefore is an epistemological one - to address the nature of reason.

This paper argues that ‘Reason’ however should not be interpreted in its narrow sense of the power of the mind to think and form judgements using logic but rather in a wider sense as fully actualized human beings combining embodied experience with the unity of thinking and doing. This non-dualistic form of ‘reason’ is guided by the heart and refined through critical reflection.

To date Craft has remained impervious to the importance of the discourse and critical thinking. However, considering craft as a worldview can provide a critical framework that will enable us to articulate our uniqueness. It is interesting to note that this expanded concept of reason is central to other disciplines that advocate a craft approach e.g. the craft of archaeology.

A new worldview for craft education in the 21st century will be articulated through reference to contemporary craft practice and writing and the philosophy of Goethe, Jaspers and Dilthey.

11 April 2008

New Domestic Craft Blog

Ebba Redman an undergraduate jewellery & metalwork student here at Duncan of Jordanstone has started a new blog on Domestic Craft skills. Anyone with an interest in this area should check it out and take part in her poll and make a comment. The crotchet ring left (made by Ebba) was what started her interest in this area.

03 April 2008

Postgraduate student conference

Questions & Hypotheses is a conference for postgraduate students in design to be held this October in Berlin. Organised by the Design Research Network, the event promises to be useful and stimulating for all Masters and PhD students in design - including craft disciplines. More details from here.


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About me

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

goodness me

Hi everyone - I don't know how many of you actualy notice the details at the bottom of each post, but one of the things that is noted is the time of the post.
The one I have just posted says 3:30 am - I definitely was not up at that time of day blogging.  It was written a short while ago & was meant to be scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon - but I clicked on the wrong one.  I should have clicked on 15:30 - honestly if I had a brain.

Ah well I hope you enjoy the post.

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Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments - they are always appreciated.


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Portraits of India

Toward the end of 2015, Kirsty and I were blessed enough to have the opportunity to travel India. What we encountered was a culture rich in heritage, bright in colour and welcoming in nature. These are a few of the pictures that we took along the way.


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Monday, October 26, 2015

Colorful Ideas

That secluded hideaway will soon be more out in the open as leaves fall.

 Soon they will be hidden
All tucked in and put away
Ready to plan the new year
A lot of work and some play.

A trail of two cities

Comma Butterfly

Morning greeting

This guy was tiny, about the size of my thumbnail.

  1. Such a beautiful series of fall photos, Steve. Love that sunrise!

  2. orange seems to be the color of the day from the leaves to the butterfly to the dragonfly.

  3. You have an unbelievable number of super photos in this post.

  4. a trail of two cities, that was a good one. I would love to have a secluded hide away like in that first picture

  5. What a neat butterfly. I haven't seen one like that before.

Keep it positive and informative,I enjoy hearing from you!


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Check your car seats before your next road trip

Planning a road trip for the holidays? If you are anything like me there’s an array of things you need to do to get ready. Checking weather to make sure you pack all the right clothes, PACK! Let’s face it, most moms end up packing for everyone in the family! But even when you have checked everything there’s some incredibly important things you might not think of right away but that definitely need to be on your list of things to do before you head out.

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AIP Pumpkin Spice Scones & Maple glaze

Following AIP can be difficult, especially during the holidays. There’s so much temptation and yummy things everywhere but are they worth the tummyache? Or all the crazy, super serious symptoms that might come with falling off the AIP wagon. So on my search for yummy recipes that won’t make me sick for a week, I did some trial and error with my favorite scone recipe, and to my surprise these came out delicious!!!!

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NatureBox is a monthly membership that provides members savings of up to 40% on hundreds of carefully sourced and nutritionist-approved snacks. Members can order an unlimited variety of over 100 wholesome snacks with no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. Snacking has never been so deliciously fun and naturally easy.

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Disney•Pixar’s COCO – New Clip & Featuret te_Now_Available!!!

Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

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O.M.G guys! My kids have all been obssed with Thomas the tank engine for the longest time, and now it’s my 4 year olds turn! He adores playing with the trains and tracks and watching all the movies and episode. So I am so excited to let you know we will be attending the 2017 DAY OUT WITH THOMAS in Burnet TX!!! and you can win tickets for your family too!

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Need Urgent care but don’t want to pay ER prizes?

We’ve all been there, an emergency that’s not a true emergency, a constant cough that all of a sudden doesn’t let  you sleep, on a Friday night. Life happens, things happen and if your life is anything like mine they always seem to happen on the weekends or after hours. And after a few close calls I know I’m not the only one that doesn’t want to pay $500 only to pick up some new germs from an emergency room. Not only that, I have taking up space and precious time from people who actually have emergencies.

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KA by Cirque du Soleil Review

The arts are such an important and fulfilling part of people’s lives, good art changes peoples perceptions, opens our minds and helps us discover and travel without leaving our seats. It’s food for our souls, nourishing parts of your spirit, heart and even your brain you don’t know how to until you experience them. Art makes us think more deeply, strive more intently, and feel joy more profoundly.

When we were planning our trip to Las Vegas, we knew we wanted to see a show, but which one? Like so many things in Vegas, there’s an incredible abundance of options and truly something for everyone, no matter your tastes or inclinations. I knew we had to go to a Cirque du Soleil show. And after a quick search, it had to be KA!

Cirque du Soleil shows are notorious for their amazing acrobatics, mind binding stages and effects, cultural inclusive story lines and they pioneered the animal free concept to an extremely cruel field. And KA did not disappoint.

We started by attending the open house they offer, which is a great thing to do if you’re on the fence about attending a show. It is free and nothing short of amazing. The guided tour shows elements of the show you would miss otherwise, like the tons of sand they use every night, an explanation on the story line, the amazingness of the theater when it’s not completely full and you get to hear lots of interesting details and learn what makes KA once of a kind. Guests of all ages are welcome. (free things to do with kids in Vegas!)  Each tour lasts 20-30 minutes.

The lobby features original costumes used on the show, allowing you to check out every intricate detail you wouldn’t notice from stage. There’s also a huge, colorful dragon originally a prop in Zaia, a Cirque du Soleil show from Macau, China, which was mended and given new life to welcome everyone to KA.  Also in the lobby is one of the world’s largest Earth Harp, created by William Close, and it is played by two musicians before every performance of KA.

Here are some incredible facts we learned:

    •  KA is the first Cirque du Soleil show to have a cohesive storyline.
    • Throughout the show they use a rotating stage, that is reactive to touch, like a giant iPad. One of the techs even gave us a demo.
    • They have the highest choreographed fall at 70 feet.
    • KA has more than 10,000 costume pieces, including shoes.
    • There are 74 artists in KA including eight musicians.
    • The “sand” in the show is made out of granulated cork, because regular sand would obviously be too slippery
    • The entire production budget for KA was $165 million and approximately $1 million of that went into designing the theater.

Excited after the open house,we arrived 30 minutes early that evening, to account to the lines and make sure we didn’t miss the musicians playing the gigantic harp. Once we entered the theater, performers were greating everyone without breaking character for a even a second, it gave the experience an amazing feeling, like we were actually part of the show.

Once the lights came off we got a pretty cool and funny reminder to enjoy the show and not the pictures or video. The performances were both thrilling and touching. Some moments left us on the edge of our seats and gasping at the seeming danger and amazing skill of the performers. KA is by far the best show we’ve ever watched. I hope all these details and amazing facts help you decide and make you check it out. KA will never tour, because of their amazing stage this just wouldn’t be possible, so make sure you catch it before it’s gone.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend both the KA open house and the show as their guest. All opinions are my own.

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Park & Zoom: the best parking spot at the Austin Airport!!

I’m always running late, like always. People that know me will tell me things start a solid 30 minutes before, so I can arrive on time. I think is a Costa Rican thing, maybe we like to make an entrance, haha. So you can see why traveling can be pretty interesting in our household. My mom packs and repacks and gets ready weeks before she travels. I’m more of a ball up everything and hope for the best. More like, can’t put my shoes back on because and have to run barefoot to the terminal after passing TSA. Yeah, you’ve seen my kind and probably shoot your head in disapproval, you know my mom has!

So, to me having to park and wait for a shuttle is horrible. Most extended parking spots are super far from the airport, so you have to account for traffic, lights and having to pick up lots of other people. Ugh, it’s always such a pain! And the same happens on the way back, wait ages for the shuttle to get there and then again until they pick up lots of people. Incredibly inconvenient! But not anymore, I just discovered an amazing choice and I can’t tell you how happy I am about it! Enter Park & Zoom…

Park & Zoom is right there in the airport, so the Zoom in their name is true. They personally greet you and they are seriously friendly and welcoming. They let you know what aisle has an empty parking space. By the time we got off the car the shuttle was right there, no waiting at all. Super nice and friendly staff helped us with our bags and gave us a card to remember our spot.

Prefer Valet parking? It’s only $12.95 per day. And we witnessed three attendants, yes three helping the valet customer to make sure he had an amazing and speedy transaction. You can check flight times on their ABIA flat screen as you get on their VIP Valet shuttle, which runs every 3 to 5 minutes—Zoom. Have an electric car? Valet customers, charge up with one of their free EV chargers while you’re away!

Join the ZoomClub & earn free parking!

  • Earn free parking!
  • Become eligible for special offers!
  • Receive coupons!
  • And more!

Complimentary Amenities

  • Chilled, bottled water
  • Copy of USA Today (while supplies last)
  • Arrival & Depatures screeen for all flight info
  • Earn free parking by joining our ZoomClub
  • Onsite showers & bike racks for bicyclists

Plus, they give back. Park&Zoom is donating $1 to local charities for each of the first 15,000 ZoomClub members who sign up. The charities are:

Car care while you’re away; yes you are not just parking you can come back to a sparkling clean car. So if you happen to leave a bag with the left over breakfast tacos you indulged on, you wont come back to maggots in your car’s carpets. eeekkk! Texas heat people, Texas heat! They also offer these other services:

  • Oil & filter change
  • Windshield chip repair
  • Dry cleaning

Make you to check them out next time you travel. I promise you will never go back to regular far away parking spots! And to make it even sweeter here’s a 10% off coupon! You’re welcome! l

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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Full Endeavour

Lendl Simmons raises a sweat and gives it everything.
Lendl Simmons

1 comment:

livescore said...

Well that's what the Windies are known for they give everything they have to the game and they play with passion and their full strength that's why their every single player is so dangerous.


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10 Year

Clipdex page for "Australia"

Classic Australian Batsmen

Don Bradman: Profile of an Australian hero

Under Arm boilover: as the players saw it unfold (1981)

1975 Ashes: Lillee & Thomson at their fiery best

Check out our other "Australia" videos

Agar, Short fire Aussies to crown: 2018 Trans Tasman Final (Auckland)

Australia in world record chase after Warner, Short blitz: 2018 Trans Ta…

2018: Steve Smith bags his second AB Medal

Richardson shines in crushing win over England: 2018 Trans Tasman No 3 (MCG)

Maxwell survives catch, powers win: 2018 Trans Tasman T20 No 2 (Hobart)

Manjot stars as India win record 4th title: 2018 ICC U 19 World Cup Fina…

Stanlake, Lynn roll over Kiwis: 2018 Trans Tasman T20 No 1 (SCG)

Curran five leads England to thrilling win: 5th ODI (Perth)

Cummins, Head inspire win after England collapse: 4th ODI (Adelaide)

Buttler blitz seals series win over Aussies: 3rd ODI (SCG)

Root, Bairstow inspire win despite Finch ton: 2nd ODI (Gabba)

Warner ton has Aussies on top: 4th Test, Day 1 (MCG)

Aussies regain Ashes after Hazlewood five: 3rd Test, Day 5 (Perth)

Unplayable Starc ball has Ashes win in sight: 3rd Test, Day 4 (Perth)

Smith and Marsh demolish England: 3rd Test, Day 3 (Perth)

Smith dominates after England collapse: 3rd Test, Day 2 (Perth)

England on top after maiden Malan century: 3rd Test, Day 1 (Perth)

Starc blows away England tail for win: 2nd Test, Day 5 (Adelaide)

England on high after Root, Anderson fightback: 2nd Test, Day 4 (Adelaide)

Anderson hits back after England collapse: 2nd Test, Day 3 (Adelaide)

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Derek Molina
Biographical information
Full name Derek Molina
Gender Male
Status Alive
Birth 1985
Nationality Flag of USA American
Residence Grimsborough, U.S.
Profession(s) Venture capitalist
Chief executive officer
Game information
Appears in Criminal Case
First appeared Case #19: Innocence Lost (s1)

Derek Molina was a suspect in the murder investigation of intern Gail Harding in Innocence Lost (Case #19 of Grimsborough).

Derek is a 28-year old venture capitalist of African-American origin. He has long, curly black hair and facial hair alongside brown-rimmed glasses. He wears a white vest and bowtie over a red and blue tartan flannel shirt. It is known that Derek takes energy drinks and uses cocaine.

Height 5'11"
Age 28
Weight 170 lbs
Eyes brown
Blood B+

Events of Criminal Case

Derek is a venture capitalist, whose business partner was Irina Phelps. Derek was also a famous start-up CEO and entrepreneur. When Jones and the player were searching the Stone Cold Motel's room #9 (where the victim, Gail Harding, stayed), they found a credit card receipt, but unfortunately, the credit card number was missing. After recovering the missing number, the team gave it to Alex to analyze it. When the analysis was completed, Alex told the team the number was Derek's. The team then went to Derek to ask him about the credit card receipt.

Case appearances


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Donald Byrd
Biographical information
Full name Donald Byrd
Gender Male
Status Deceased
Birth 1946
Death 2013
Cause of death Suicide bombing
Nationality Flag of USA American
Residence Grimsborough, U.S.
Profession(s) Soldier (formerly)
Game information
Appears in Criminal Case
First appeared Case #13: Bomb Alert on Grimsborough (s1)

Donald Byrd (1946-2013) was the killer of his old friend, war veteran Henry Crosby, in Bomb Alert on Grimsborough (Case #13 of Grimsborough).

Donald Byrd was a 67-year-old man with gray hair and blue eyes. He wore a camo outfit underneath a mocha jacket. It is known that Donald wore orthopedic shoes, was partially deaf and was an explosives expert.

Height 6'1"
Age 67
Weight 197 lbs
Eyes blue
Blood O+

Events of Criminal Case

A photo of young Donald and Henry.

Donald was a retired explosives expert, who first appeared when Ramirez saw him near a hot dog stall. When all the evidences pointed towards him, Jones and the player went to arrest him. However, Donald slipped out of Ramirez's sight and escaped. The team then chased Donald to the public park, where he had strapped dynamite onto himself. He screamed that he would never go back to the Grimsborough Pyschiatric Institution for Criminals and detonated the dynamites, killing himself. To this day, the police still do not know why Donald killed Henry. It is possible that Donald killed Henry for testifying against him after he was charged with war crimes and then admitted to an institute for the criminally insane.

  • Donald, Matt Barry and Samuel King are the only killers in Grimsborough who are not indicted by Judge Hall.
  • Donald and Samuel King are the only killers in Grimsborough who commit suicide.
  • Donald shares his name with the late American jazz musician, Donald Byrd.

Case appearances


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Monday, October 4, 2010

October's Here!

October is here and I must say I cannot complain about this 50F weather. Especially after coming back last night after spending 4 days in Tucson, AZ, in 100+ weather. Ugh. So good to be home! :)

Anyway, I have 2 little somethings to share done with Friday's new releases at ScrapMatters, both Halloween-y. :)
First off, I scrapped a pic of me from last year:

All Hallows Eve by Chelle's Creations
Font: CK mini

And next is a cute coffin treat box I made a few weeks back and I can finally share it! I used a kit by a new designer at ScrapMatters, Jennifer Labre.

After Midnight by Jennifer Labre

I haven't played with my Silhouette in a couple of weeks now and I'm so eager to use it! Busy busy busy life though... :-(

For more Halloween inspiration, check out Craft Critique's Halloween blog Carnival.

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Friday, January 14, 2011

*I Lied!!*

I guess I have to blame this one on the 'SomeTimers'. Sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't. It's hell getting old isn't it? I hate it. I never thought I would see myself here, and really never thought about growing old. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I had to take a couple of pics for work to send to a co-worker in India. My camera has been dead since I wanted to take a pic of the iced trees at the beginning of the week. So I juice up the battery and put it in the camera and take the pics. I go to download them on my puter and there are a few that I did take while in FL that I totally forgot about. Nothing too fur son, of course, at my daughter's house. And the other one is how you make coffee when the coffee pot goes on Christmas night when nothing is open to go buy another one!

Where there is a will there is a way!!! Always!  Thanks to my smart son-in-law I was able to have my coffee that night and the next morning.  :o)

I don't have a whole lot to say except that I think I'm coming down with the crud. I've had a bad headache the last few days and just generally not feeling good. I've not slept real good either this week. My head right now feels like a football. So I think I will make this short and sweet.  Here's to a great weekend of the warming up kind to all of us! (At least that's my wish for us) May you be warm and bright in a world filled with cold and dark.

  1. HELLO FRIEND ! ! ! ! ! !

    You have NO IDEA how happy I am when your blog pops upon my dashboard tellingme that you have posted something I will enjoy 0}

  2. Oh, I hope it's just allergies and not THE CRUD! Stay warm and drinks lots.

I'd love to hear what you're thinking!


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Friday, May 27, 2011

Just Call Me The Bag Lady

I seem to have an aversion to bags lately.

While in my internet travels in the last couple of days I happened upon this hobo bag pattern. What attracted me to it was the fact that it's all one piece. No seams to sew up.

This is such a simple pattern, but don't ya know I messed it up?  Oh I was so mad with myself....again. When I got to the last round of the handle, to go to the back side, I was off by 3 stitches! I counted 3 times to make sure, using stitch markers the last time. So what did I do to fix it? I went back and frogged 3/4 of the round and added the 3 stitches back in during the length of the round (meaning I had a bunch of regular sc in between each). [I'm having a heck of a time explaining stuff lately. My brain does not want to cooperate in it's thinking. ]  You know what I mean right?  Anyways, I don't know where I lost those three stitches except on the previous three rounds I guess, one on each. That's what I get for not counting. I just get lost in my thoughts while I'm crocheting.

You can find the pattern here. Don't you just love that little hand button?  I'm not sure who the bag will be for but I'm kind of leaning toward Kylie, for her birthday. I want to put a liner in it also and then fill it with little somethings in the bag, you know, like a little wallet, maybe with a couple of dollars in there. Stuff like that. She'll love it!
I meant to bring my rose that I was working on to show you how it's progressed. I guess that will be for next week.

We have a long weekend!! Yippee! Mine is going to be full. I've got plans to work in the yard and in the house. Fun huh? Well at least I'll be saving myself money by staying home. The older I get the more I like to stay home. About the only place I'll be going this weekend is to Ft. Stewart.

I hope the storms are done and everyone can have a good (as can be) weekend. Be safe and I'll cya next week!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I Changed My Mind

It's a woman's perogative right? :o) I'll get to that in a minute.

First I want to say that I'm sorry to my bloggy friends! I've been terrible at blogging lately. Busy is one reason, actually the biggest reason. I guess we all have our times huh? Maybe if I didn't have to work for a living it would be easier to blog more often. I am counting my blessings that I at least have a job to keep me busy.

Although if I didn't have a job I have plenty at home to keep me busy too. It's getting hot so the outside gets neglected more in the summer. It was 97 Saturday and 98 yesterday. Though they say we're going to get a cool down this the high 80's. Which believe it or not is a big difference. I will be happy with it.

Anyways, I changed my mind on the Jill bag. I got the squares put together on Sunday and decided that I want to give it to Jen for Christmas. The squares from this post will be used for the Jill bag. I think the one for Jen will suit her better than Jill. I told Jill that I had something in the works for her but needed to put it together. I truly only lack 5 more squares and then I can put it together. Then I need to line it also, both bags are going to be lined. So that brings me to my next thing............

Next month I am going to buy myself a sewing machine!  Oh man....I'm really nervous about it too. I've never been good at sewing. And winding bobbins and all that stuff!!!  But I figure that I can at least make linings because they don't have to be perfect and they will be inside of the bags so any imperfections won't matter. Right? :o)   Wally World has a sewing machine for $69 with I think maybe 10 different seam stitches. I don't need anything fancy. Just something to make pillows and bag linings with. The pillows will be covered with crochet so those seams won't matter either, as long as they're not wonky as all get out!!!  I'm excited, nervous, scared, you know...all of those emotions of the unknown.

Excuse these pics......they are a little bit blurry, dang it. But this is the former Jill bag, present Jen bag.

And you know what I'm thinking I might do? I might do some kind of a stitch on top of the joins. That's what I get for wanting to do different colors instead of the same color squares. See the unevenness (is that even a word?) of the join between the  maroon and purple square? The pattern is out of my Crochet! mag only it's done in an ecru/cream color and it's a join as you go. Which is ok but I wanted to use up some of my cotton threads and then join. I always have to be different, then it always ends up costing me.....

I think I need to find a linen piece with mostly the peach color for the lining. Hmmmm. I haven't done the straps yet. I think that's the last part, after I line it.

I also have been a little busy making a couple of things to send to my great niece who is in Turkey. That's where her daddy is serving with the military. My niece (her mama) saw a pic of this hat and wanted one for CeeCee. Well, I kinda made hers a little bit different but I think what caught her eye was the bee in the flower. I obliged there. :o)

I also made her a headband kind of like Kylie and Bella's too. I hope she likes them. I'm sending these off today in the mail.

That's all that's going on with me at the moment. Nothing big, no drama. Thankfully no drama. :o) Life is good.

I hope life is good with you in your little slice of the world today, and every day!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Fabulous Friday :o)

I have been so busy this week at work. My days are just flying by. I'm so happy it's Friday.

I haven't been doing a whole lot on the crochet front. I'm in a bit of a slump I guess you'd say. I've been working ever so slowly on some squares for a small purse and last night I started a flower for the middle of a doily/pot holder kind of thingy. :o)'s been that kind of week and boy am I glad it's over.

I took a couple of pics with my phone. I can't believe how much better the pics are than my camera! They are taken with an HTC Thunderbolt. I love my phone. It's the first cell phone I've every truly loved.

I'm trying to use up some of my Caron Simply Soft leftovers. I pretty much love all of them except that bottom one. The bright pink is kind of yukky.
I'm really liking the rose with the pink on the outside of the petals. I think it's cute.

That's all I have...for now. :o) I hope your weekend is bright, sunny and fun. It's going to be a hot one here in GA after about 4 nights of 40-50 weather. Cya soon!

Monday, May 16, 2011

My First Real Pattern!

Thank you for the kind remarks on my previous entry about Harry and his funeral. There were 800 people at the viewing but the funeral was a little bit smaller, probably because people had to work. It was still a full house in the church and in the procession to the cemetery. There were at least 150 motorcycles. I don't know if this is done in other states but in GA when a funeral procession is going down the road, other vehicles coming in the opposite direction pull off the side of the road and wait until the procession has passed. This is done in respect for the departed person. I get goose bumps just writing about it. I know they don't do it in FL.

It was hot at the cemetery and I almost fell out. I had to step back into some shade and squat down because if I didn't I would have made a spectacle of myself by passing out. And it was due to sheer stupidity on my part. I hadn't eaten anything all day and this was around 3:30 in the afternoon that we were at the cemetery. I felt pretty dumb.

Switching gears here, I'm kind of excited. :o) This weekend I made a couple of headbands that I don't know who I got the pattern from because I copy and pasted, instead of printing out the blog so it would have the url path on the bottom of the page. I do that sometimes because printing out a whole blog for a pattern wastes mega pieces of paper. So I apologize to the lady who posted the headband pattern on her blog. I can't even steer you to her blog. :o(

When I went to make the flower I made my own! And since I made two headbands, one for Kylie and one for Bella, the second flower I made I wrote down the instructions. I also took some pics. :o) So without further is my very first flower pattern. I don't even have a name for it! I hope I wrote my instructions down so you can follow it easy. It really is an easy flower to make. If you find an error or don't understand please let me know and I will fix it and help you. If someone else has made a flower like this then I apologize, but I really did do this on my own.....I don't copy other's work and pass it off as my own.

E hook
Caron Simply Soft

R1) Leaving a long tail, ch 4, join with slip st and ch 1
R2) 6 sc in ring, join with sl st
R3) Ch 3, sc in next st, around, join with sl st in ch 1. (6 ch 3 spaces)
R4) Ch 1, (sl st to the ch3 space, ch 5, sc in same ch sp, sc in sc) around. Join with sl st in first sc. (6 ch 5 spaces, 6 sc)
R5) Ch 1, (sl st to ch 5 sp, ch 3, 5 dc in same space, sc in 2nd sc {middle stitch between chain spaces} ) around. Join with sl st to first ch 1. Fasten off.
R6) Leaving a long tail make a slip knot with a different color. Now you will be working on top of the flower. Take your hook off of your slip knot and put it through the inner space under one of the petals and through the next hole. (See pics below) Put the slip knot back on the hook and pull under and back through the first hole {kind of like a front post stitch}. Sl st, chain 2. Go under next post and pull up a loop and make a sc and chain 2 again, around and then join with sl st in 1st ch.  {When you get to the double posts together bring your hook in the middle of them and make a sc, ch 2 and join. I started out this round just after the double posts and ended up having to split at the end.}
R7) 18 sc around, join with sl st.
R8) 2 sc in back loop of each previous row's sc. Join with sl st and fasten off with long tail left to attach to head band. I used one of my thread hooks, #3, to attach and weave in the ends.

All of these pics were taken by my HTC phone. I'm happy with the way they turned out. Much better I think than with my camera.
I also have started an original doily and was doing quite well on it until I got about 3/4 of R5 done when it started to pucker real bad so I will have to modify the round. I put it down and started these headbands. I somehow caught a creative mood and ran with it.

Also, when my sister was here for my surgery I gave her a ball of red #10 Coats and Clark thread. She had seen one of my wip dish clothes of #10 light blue and commented on how she liked my dish cloths made of #10 instead of the thicker cotton, so I gave her one of my extra red balls. She called me yesterday to tell me that she made two of them, one with a single strand and one with a double strand and the first time she used them the color ran bad. The water was red. So my red, white and blue doily that I just made won't be washed I guess. If it is the white will become pink. That bites big time. Is that normal??? Or is it just the brand?? I've not made anything for myself before in the red, so I didn't know. I do now. :o(

Here's hoping your Monday will be a super one that will carry over into the rest of the week. Cya soon!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Goodbyes are a hard pill to swallow. I don't like goodbyes, don't like saying it to tell you the truth.

I asked for tomorrow off from work, haven't yet received confirmation that I can take tomorrow off. I need to attend a funeral tomorrow afternoon of a man that was killed on his motorcycle on Tuesday. I don't want to go but I do want to go. I need to go but I don't need to go. Funerals leave me vulnerable and very emotional. I hate funerals but they are a vital part of grief and saying goodbye and it seems that they are happening much more frequently.

I've known Mr. Harry for quite a few years. He was only 65. He was part of CMA, Christian Motorcycle Association. He was a very nice man, very personable. He also sang and played guitar. He had a gospel group that played christian music and he wrote quite a few songs. I actually downloaded two of his songs yesterday so I could hear his voice again.

He was the kind of man that when you talked to him he made you feel good, made you feel like he was really listening and interested in what you had to say. And he made you feel like you were a very good friend, not just an acquaintance, each time he saw you. He is sadly missed by so many people. He touched a lot of people's lives in his lifetime and left a lot of people who loved him.  I saw him play a month or so ago at his church. That night keeps running through my head. One song sticks in my head and is one that I downloaded yesterday and the chorus line reads 'There ain't no Harleys in heaven Lord, but I still wanna go'.  Mr. Harry went doing what he loved doing, riding his bike on his way home from a religious retreat. May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort in the fact that he's where he wants to be.

I was going to do a post tomorrow to show you the red, white and blue doily I finished. If I can get off work I will be going to Mr. Harry's funeral tomorrow so I'll post it today.

It's only a 7" doily but I love the colors. Dummy me forgot the book that I got the pattern out of to show you but the pattern is called Snowflake. It's a real easy pattern and fairly quick to make. The pattern is one color but since I am on this rwb kick I estimated what rounds would be what colors and somehow I got it right so that it would look pretty good. Whatcha think? I was thinking of using a bigger hook and #3 thread and making another doily from this pattern. I don't know......I'll roll it around in my head for a bit.
Also for those of you out there who are superstitious...tomorrow is Friday the 13th.  I'm not real superstitious and normally those days are good ones for me. Tomorrow won't though, it's going to be a very sad one for me and a lot of others.  I hope you have a good one and good weekend also.

Do you know what TTFN means? TaTaForNow. I don't like goodbyes.......

Monday, May 9, 2011

It's so much fun to go to baby showers. Especially when there's a baby there too! Well she wasn't a baby as in small baby but a little 2 year old was there who isn't into the terrible two's yet. I had so much fun with her. Her name is Payton and she is the kind of little girl that likes everyone and will go to anyone. That's good but also bad. And she loves the little cherry tomatoes. She ate almost all of the ones on the vegie tray. She didn't want cake, she wanted tomatoes. :o) I was surprised when she ate because she ate almost everything there was and not picky at all. It warms my heart to see that.

Anyways....I did get the dress done in time for the shower! I was ecstatic. I finished the buttons up the morning of.  There were three button holes but I decided to only put two buttons on it because the third one was really not needed. And I decided not to put the turqua on the border on the bottom. It made it too stiff with both colors on there so after getting it almost half way around the dress I frogged it. I was afraid that it had misshapened the pink but it turned out ok.

The lighting isn't the best. I had to take them outside Saturday morning and put them on a dark towel on the back deck. I was happy with the end result and everyone oohed and aahhed over them at the shower.

I also finished Terrayne's box with a flower on the top. I thought it was pretty. I need to make some more. They're just too cute aren't they?

Yesterday was a quiet day. I stayed home and did laundry, cleaned a little bit of the shed out and took it out to the road and the garbage can (our garbage cans are very large and stay out at the road for the garbage men to pick up). I'm resolved to throwing out a bunch of stuff so I can get back in there and start doing my wood burning again. I'm missing that. It's a great stress reliever too.

I also finished my hearts for Warrior's Walk in Ft. Stewart for Memorial Weekend. I usually wait til the last minute for these but I figured since I had nothing else pressing at the moment I would go ahead and get them done so there would be no last minute stress. I'll take them to the meeting tonight to show the girls. I did them all different this time. I normally do them all the same.

In case you just joined me recently and don't know, we (Bomber Girls LRC) adopted 4 soldiers that lost their lives and have trees planted on Warrior's Walk in dedication to members of the 3rd ID of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. We adopted these particular soldiers because we wanted to show love for our heroes and their trees didn't have much around them. A lot of the trees have little windchimes or other such things. It may be that these soldier's families live far away and are not able to visit their tree as much as they'd like. If you click on the Bomber Girl link above you can see the four soldiers that we adopted. We love them even though we never knew them. They are our heroes.

It's a somber occasion for me and I usually end up in tears thinking about them and how young they were to lose their life for me and everyone else. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. I am ever emotional when it comes to the military, be it the soldier or their families.

The top one is stuffed. I don't know how well that will hold up but I guess we're fixin to find out. :o) The second one is the one I had made before. The blue heart is white on the other side. And see the lines in the pic?? My dang camera is fixin to go. :o(  The last two were done with different hooks, same yarn. I used a G hook on the red trimmed one and an H hook on the blue trimmed one. None of these are my patterns but they are altered to suit me - fyi.

I also started a doily yesterday and was hoping to have it done to show you today but I have 2 rounds to go. It is also red, white and blue. I am on a rwb kick now. :o) But I love how it's turning out. It's really gorgeous. I can't wait to show you.

Well I best be getting to it here. I hope your day and week is the best it can be and that it exceeds your expectations. Much love to you.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Happy Mothers Day!

To all of you mothers out there.........have a wonderful Mom's day will ya? I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but more than likely I will hang out with my little man and crochet.

Friday again......I love Fridays!

This week has gone by pretty quick. I am still working on the dress for Anistyn....the baby shower is tomorrow! I think I will be up late tonight and early in the morning to finish it up. I really want to give it to Terrayne tomorrow at the shower.

I had planned on doing a row of the pink and a row of the turqua a few rows before the bottom of the skirt and then finish off with the white. BUT...I tried that last night and the difference in the yarn did not look right so I decided to put the pink and turqua at the bottom of the skirt. The white is sport weight and the pink and turqua is medium. I have 3 more rows of white and then the two colored  rows. I've also decided to not go around the neck or armholes with color either. I'm thinking I will make a flower and attach it to either the waist or chest. That could change too. :o) But here is where I'm at now.

And before you ask - that thingy that the skein of yarn is on? :o) I work for a company that produces software (our division anyways) and I buy cd's to burn the software on. This is a spindle that the cd's come on and I'm always throwing them away. The yarn that I used didn't start from the middle of the skein, it's one of those outy skeins, which I hate but whatcha gonna do? So I put it on one of these spindles and it works great.

Sorry for the rant yesterday......I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it didn't take much to set me off. I really don't even want to think about's done and gone.

One last thing before I leave you to get on with your Friday and weekend........on the local news this week was a trucking company that was donating an empty trailer and the fuel to take donations over to tornado damaged places in Alabama, mainly Tuscaloosa. People there are needing donations of all kinds. I have 3 boxes put together to donate and will go through my closets this weekend for more to send. The trailer that left yesterday was full and it was such a success that they are going to do it again next week. My stuff will be included in that trailer. I am going to rally my co-workers here and see if I can't get more for the donation trailer. I feel good giving stuff that I don't need to people who do need.......desperately. I applaud the trucking company for their generosity to get the donations over there. As we all know fuel is not cheap these days, diesel is even more expensive. Without them we wouldn't be able to give where giving is needed at this time of devastation. I hope that my little bit will help someone and lift their spirits and let them know that there are people out there who care about them. I just couldn't imagine being them.

I hope your weekend is full of rays of sunshine to sustain you through any dark that might rear it's ugly head. Much love.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

New Threads

Sometimes you just can't help yourself right? Well, I've had this link for a while and resisted it but then all of a sudden I was like, the heck with it, I'm going to order some thread. So I did.

I found these wonderful colors at Thread Art at $1.69 each ball. The only thing is that there is only 175 yards on each one. So you have to plan.....something that is really not in my vocabulary.

I'm contemplating doing a couple of my red, white and blue tree ornaments for Warriors Walk at Ft. Stewart in thread this year. I have one done in yarn already but I need three more for our adopted soldiers trees. I was thinking that maybe thread would hold up better than yarn. Am I wrong in this thinking?
Whatever, I just need to get on the ball because Memorial Day is almost upon us. It's been in the back of my mind but as usual I always wait til the last minute. That's one thing I hate about myself........and it's not everything that I procrastinate on either. Just certain things. Like my crochet.

Lastly today I want to show you something rather yukky but a part of life here in southeastern GA. I don't know what kind of worms these are but look at this worm hole haven. And there is a certain wasp, I don't know which one, but they will get on the outside and look for ways inside the haven to get the worms! I've watched them before and it's way too cool watching wild kingdom in action right in front of your eyes. I'd hate to be those worms!
I don't know about you but I'm happy to have woke up this morning for another day of life. I've been a pessimist my whole life and since the big C scare I am trying to find a positive in every day. Sometimes it's hard for a die hard pessimist like me.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Monday, May 2, 2011

A Weekend of Crochet

Happy Monday morning to ya!

I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was filled with crochet. It was very nice here in southeastern GA. I had the doors open both days until late in the afternoon when my a/c kicked on. Both Saturday and Sunday morning the temp when I got up was 50. That's a tad chilly but actually felt good. When you get used to almost 90 degree days and then get a couple of 50 degree mornings it is chilly. What very weird weather we are all having this year so far huh? I only hope that the tornadoes will cease so that people can start rebuilding their lives.

And hey....what about Osama Bin Laden being dead?? I didn't learn of it until this morning when I got up to go to work. Normally my weekends at home consist of CMT, the Weather Channel or ID on the tv. I don't hear any news all weekend, unless someone calls me and alerts me to it, or I am out and about and hear something. I was happy to hear this news, but I was somewhat disconcerted when they said they buried him out at sea. WHAT??? What's up with that? And I want to see pics. Sorry but I want to be absolutely sure that he's gone. Those two things made me a tad uncomfortable. The world and my last 20 years have made me that way. My trust in a lot of things, the government for one, has gone by the wayside and I need to see that what they are saying is the truth. I'm sure I'm not the only one either. I'm sure there are many family members of the 2,976 people that lost their lives on 9/11 that want to see also, to make absolutely sure that what our government is telling us is the truth about this despicable man. It's about time but I can't believe it's taken almost 10 years for this to happen. It should have happened a long time ago. I said, I was busy all weekend crocheting. I finished Anistyn's blanky. I was happy about this also. I chugged away until I ran too close of running out of the truffle heather. And I didn't realize something until that time either. Did you know that all of the Caron 'heather' skeins have only 5 oz. in them, when the regular colors have 6 oz. ?? What's up with that too? I used the Truffle Heather and the Deep Plum Heather and they were 5 oz each. The Off White and Victorian Rose were both 6 oz skeins. So I had some left over.

I decided to make a little container with a lid in the same colors as the blanky, and I made a doily out of a real pretty pink (can't remember the exact color) #10 thread and #7 hook, and I put the doily in the container for Terrayne. And dummy me...I forgot to bring the book that I got the pattern for the doily out of. I got the book at AC Moore the other day. Sorry, I can't think of everything these days. I'm not totally through with the container though. I'm going to make an off white flower to go on the top of the container.

I also made a happy man for one of my friend's husband for his birthday next week. Men are so hard to make things for when it comes to crochet. I have a really hard time with that. So I thought I'd make something that hopefully will put a smile on his face. These are so easy to make. I've made quite a few of them. The lighting on the front side pic is horrible. :o(

I also made another heart and shell in the purple and cream that I told you about. I think I'm going to send both of these to my daughter for Mother's Day. And ya know what? I was quite surprised and just can't figure out what happened but the purple and cream one is smaller than the other one. Both were made with a #2 hook and both were made with two strands of #10 thread. What gives??  It's not a lot smaller but when I put them together I noticed the difference in size. Strange.

So that's how my weekend was. Full of crochet happiness for me. And Mr. Lick Lick, well he was in and out of the house and laying next to his mama when he fancied. He likes it when I'm home, but I think he also enjoys me going to work so that he can snooze his life away. He's older now and he has been doing a lot of that. I know my time is growing shorter with him, I treasure each day I can spend with him.

May the sun shine and spread warmth throughout your week.


text:
“When your mind and body tells you to quit, your heart will tell you to fight!”

Wod: “Fight Gone Bad”

1m at each station for 3 rnds of: 1m wall balls, 1m Sumo Deadlift High Pulls 75/55, 1m Box jumps, 1m Push press 75/55, 1m Cal row - 1m Rest- (score is total reps/cals per round x 3)

Tim Strawn

Published by Tim Strawn