Just wanted to say.....

Good Evening Everyone!
Hope this has been a great week for you.
No long post tonight, just wanted to share a few things with you.

Well, the first thing is that my Mead is ready to be bottled. I will share more of that story and some pics as soon as I get the corks to do them with. Didn't take any photos yet, as there is only a one gallon jug....nothing impressive. :)  LOL!

My wife and I are discussing having the floors redone. Again, no photos, just random visions of what we want. If it turns out like I have it in my head (yeah, what are the chances of that) it will be amazing.

I have started back to exercising again. Hopefully with a little more 'ummph' this time. If you look on the right side of my blog you will see that I have started a page just for that. My blog says that I already have "page" views set up on my blog.....damned if I can see or find them. Anybody  got any ideas? Maybe the  layout I'm using isn't big enough? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. So for right now it's just a link to that page....and the first of what I'm sure will be many awful photos. :)

I haven't been overly creative this past week. Seems to be a slump. Lots of ideas, just no drive to do them. Not to worry though, I've been done this road before. I seem to work in 'bursts' of creativity.

I did pick out some new curtains and got them installed....does that count? No, probably not. HA!

I think I will leave you with that....hopefully I will have something to post about this coming week!

til then...
Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!!

Seems we have a new member too!
Say Hello to Mystic2awesome! Some really nice 'reclaimed' work! Go check it out!


TTFN

New Etsy Item! Valentine Wee Stuffie!

Good Evening All!

Hope you've been having a great weekend!

Just a short post........

I FINISHED MY VALENTINE WEE STUFFIE! 

Despite still feeling BLAH!

She is now posted in my Etsy Shop. 

from this.......

to this!!

You can see more of this Wee Lil' Lass at my Etsy Shop - you can use this link 

or the one in the upper right hand corner of my blog!

Have a Fantastic Week!!! Talk to you soon!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

Attack of The 'Big Arse' Bug!

Hello All!
I feel like it's been an eternity since I've posted.......
Oh wait, I guess it has been.

I have been fighting the Flu for the past six days now. I am now, at least, able to sit up long enough to type. And oh so tired of being in bed. It hit me last Saturday and I spent the weekend in bed. Then on Monday I went to the doctor and was told that I had 'a flu' not 'the flu'. Yes, I had that same 'what do you mean' look on my face. I was informed that the strain I had was not the one that was going around and causing so much grief. This was based partly on the symptoms I didn't have.......well, that I didn't have on Monday. I came home from the doctor, took the medication he gave and went back to bed. I woke up Tuesday sicker than I was on Monday. All the symptoms that I thought I had missed miraculously made an appearance. I don't think I've been out of bed for more than ten minutes at time since coming home from the doctors office. This morning I woke up with an upset stomach and have been visiting the toilet on a very regular basis. Lord, I hope this garbage is almost done.
Well, now you know why I haven't been present on my blog.....

Let's see what else I can conjure up.....

Some time PTBS (Prior to being sick) I read a write-up over at Artifex Almanach about the Popovy Sisters. These ladies create some stunning dolls. I have been a fan of theirs for quite some time now. If you make dolls, you may have already heard of them. If not (whether you are a doll artist or any other variation of artist), I highly recommend visiting their site. I promise you will not be disappointed! Milena at Artifex Almanach did a really nice write up with lots of pictures. The Popovy sisters also have a website - Popovy-dolls - that you can visit. They also have a blog! Popovy Sisters. I'm only going to post one picture...otherwise, I would have to post everything they have done. :)

Popovy Sisters - Model #8

A couple of weeks ago I started back to exercising. I got a 'bicycle trainer' for Christmas. This simply makes your bike stationary. I used it three times and realized that somewhere over the past forty years that my posterior has really, really outgrown the sliver of material they call a seat. So what else could I do? I went out and got me a 'Big Arse' replacement seat. :)  Aaahhhhhh, much better! I was doing well too! Until the Flu snuck up on me. It's been a week since I've been on my bike. Blah!! Hopefully I will be able to get back to it some time in the near future.

new 'big arse' bike seat

On my last post we were waiting for confirmation......
Well, it has been confirmed! My baby is having a baby. She is six weeks along now. :)
It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time. She's been really happy about it! I'm happy for her too! I think my kids are trying to see how fast they can turn my hair white (it's almost there) or make it fall out (that's almost there too). :)
This is for my children - I Love You Both! And I Am Very Proud Of Both Of You!

I also got an announcement this past week - and for the life of me cannot remember from where (I blame it on the flu) that led me to this page....Spoonflower. You can create your own fabric. I'm sure that some of you are probably thinking 'yeah, already know about this', what can I say - I'm slow sometimes. :)  It's well worth looking at if you haven't seen it yet. And if you have, I only have one question....Why didn't you tell me about it? LOL!

And here's a sneak peak of what I was working on PTBS last week. It's a new Wee Stuffie for my Etsy shop for Valentine's Day. I hope to be able to finish it shortly to get it posted in time. Maybe I can do some of the sewing from bed now that I can actually sit up. Yes, the flu brought this project to a screaming halt. Which has done nothing but annoy me for the past week. As soon as I get it completed I will let you know! *fingers crossed*

new material to play with -

Valentine stuff on the left and the lower right is

burlap....just really liked it for some reason  :)

Valentine stuffie waiting to be stuffed

head and button placement (pinned)

even added ears this time  :)

added nose, eyelashes and 'stockings'

eyes and ears attached

beginning of lace attachment

Well, I guess that's all for now.
I hope you all have a fantastic week! And I hope you are all able to avoid this flu that is making so many people miserable! Stay Healthy!

Looks like we have a new member too!
Hi Suzan! Thanks for stopping by!!

til next time,
Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!!


TTFN

The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a fantastic new year's eve (and a safe one too).
Can you believe another year has gone by? Wow, where does the time go?

I had a pretty good New Years. We were invited over to Alex and Thomas' for a party. It was a really nice evening. There was about a dozen people there. Just the right amount. Some dancing, some drinking (I only had one and then come champagne at midnight) and lots of conversation. This was the first time in many, many years that we've gone out. Usually we stay home, bang some pots and pans and make some noise. But it was great to get out. I made some fudge to take with us. Everyone seemed to like it. Troy kept trying to hide it in the cabinet so no one else could have any.
I started with a recipe, which quickly went out the window. Our local store didn't have the ingredients it called for. So I revised it. :) 

the ingredients......

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup Baileys 'Irish Cream' Coffee Creamer

36 oz. Chocolate (24 oz special dark / 12 oz. premium white)

almond slices

cherries

In a sauce pan, combine chocolate, condensed milk, and creamer.

**I split the condensed milk and creamer between two pans,

one for the dark and one for the white. No definite measurements,

I 'eyeballed' it - I've been cooking and baking far too long**

Over low heat, stir constantly until chocolate is melted.

Spray a 9x9 pan, or use parchment paper.

Make sure you don't let the chocolate scorch.

Once the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and add

almonds (I added them to the dark chocolate) and the

cherries (I cut these into smaller pieces before I started melting

the chocolate, and then added them to the white chocolate....

which turns the white kinda pink. I think next time I will

reverse the almonds and the cherries).

I then layered the dark first, leveled it out, and then

added the white over top.

the fudge while waiting to cool, before being cut of course. :)

I'm calling this "Irish Almond Cherry Fudge"

If you make any be sure to let me know!

everyone dancing (The Twist) at the New Year's party.

this was taken from the upstairs balcony (beautiful house).

there was even a birthday party (cake and all) slipped into

the festivities.

the 'last' picture of 2012

(technically it was before the party -

but you get the idea. LOL)

I want to thank Alex & Thomas and Troy for inviting us to their party. We had a great time. Looking forward to getting together again.

I even met someone who I am trying to get to model for me. I actually met her at the Halloween party - but apparently she washed my business card. So wish me luck! 2013 is going to be a great year! I also met a couple at the party who run a marketing business....you think this is a hint or what? I'm really excited about the upcoming year! My daughter may be pregnant as well. So it is definitely going to be an interesting year. We won't know for sure til next week sometime. That will make five grand kids.....I think my children are seeing if they can make me older than I already am. :)

That's the post for now......seems awful short, doesn't it?

Anyway, I hope your new year is off to an amazing start! Here's wishing you and yours ALL THE BEST!!

til next time....

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN