Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Singing the Blues

Between health issues, the myriad of new medications, my daughter moving to Japan AND my extremely stressful job - I haven't felt like doing much of anything.  I finally decided to suck it up and finish a doll that has been languishing in my sewing room for over a year.
Meet Blu.

Front View

Close Up
Back View












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This was from a class with Allison Marano over a year and a half ago!!  I figured since I was blue - she should be too.
Hope you enjoy her as much as I do!

Summer Romance

My hubby and I had a getaway weekend in the mountains of North Carolina.  I have (in the past) been accused of being a cat magnet.
Meet Charley - my love for the weekend.  Charley joined us for dinner most evenings, and even hung out with us in front of the outdoor fireplace.  He listened to my troubles and showed that he really cared.  It killed me to leave him behind, but I know he loves his mountain home.
I miss you, Charley!  Thanks for the wonderful weekend!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Ode to Bread

Bread - the staff of life!  Yet to some of us - it's a death sentence.
Last August, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  The endless trips to the bathroom, the pain, the bloating - it explains it all.  EXCEPT how to deal with bread withdrawal.
There are mixes and frozen breads - but unless you like eating a brick covered in butter, there's just no comparison.
The gluten free cookies and pretzels and cakes are all tasty enough.  But there is nothing that can compare to real bread.
Crusty French bread, chewy Italian bread, real New York bagels and my favorite from Bread with Appeal in Chicago - the Kalamata Olive bread are all on my permanently-given-up-for-Lent list.  But that doesn't stop me from missing them.
If ANYONE knows of any real bread out there - PLEASE let me know.  I've tried Udi's, Katz's, and every other gluten free brand out there BUT it's NOT real bread.
God, I sure miss bread...

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Fall has Fell...

Living in the woods has its advantages - fall color is one of them!  Behold:


Note the fish hospital in the front of the pond.  Yes, Kamen is still not well, but holding on.

Now for a close up of the leaves:



And Danielle - remember those goofy pink flamingoes from Naperville?  Well, guess who flew south for the winter?



And a couple of more pix - this time of the feline variety:



Sootz in her usual spot.  You know I cannot sew without her.

And last (but not least), this picture tells the IQ of the subject:



What has this cat so entranced is the leaves falling outside.  Yes, there is absolutely NOTHING between those ears (but we love her anyway).

These pictures were by popular request from Japan.  Danielle - we MISS YOU!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy (?) Birthday

Yes, it is the day of my natal feast. You would have thought that your special day would be a good one.
WRONG!
First of all, 2:30 AM there is this tree frog singing right outside our window. Didn't matter what I did, he kept it up. Couple that with the hubby's snoring and there was no hope for sleep. YES - 2:30 AM!!!!
Next, I go up to my sewing room to find one of the cats decided to pee on one of my tote bags. So, I decided to try and organize the sewing room and ended up sitting on the floor in tears. I can't find anything, don't have a clue how to organize it and it's a mess.

This is the main reason why:


I R in yur room shedding on yur fabrik!

Anyway, I wanted to share a story - a love story.
We do have a gorgeous backyard complete with large koi pond. About 2 years ago, we had an attack of "Ich" a fish disease. We lost many of our fish, but 3 survived including our large koi, Kamen (Kamen means "mask" in Japanese - he looks like he's wearing a mask). Kamen kept stopping and going belly up, but our little koi Sakaki kept pushing him along. Whenever he wanted to give up, she nudged him and kept him going. Eventually, he recovered and they became quite an item (they have the children to prove it).
Yesterday, we saw the telltale signs of Ich again. David ran out to get the salt and fungicide, but Kamen is really stricken with it (its strange - none of the other fish have it). Sure enough, there is Sakaki pushing him along. Whoever believes that fish don't have feelings haven't see these two.

Sakaki is the large butterfly koi and Kamen is the gold one.

Get well soon, Kamen! We cannot imagine our garden without you.