Welcome and A Bad Mom Moment

First off, welcome to Julie Old Crow from Northern Crow Country who has a beautiful blog with some fabulous pictures. Plus she sews and knits- gotta love that! Welcome, Julie! Happy to have you here.

Also, I delivered the hats to my friend at work who was delighted with them and said her sister would cry in joy, knowing that other people care and she isn't alone. That made me cry too. I am quite pleased that I spent time working on those hats to make someone else happy. That feeling is what I strive for every day. Unfortunately I don't always achieve it. Like last night.

I had a bad mom moment. After a day of shopping for shoes and cleats (son started Winter ball this week) for back to school, we got home and my daughter made a comment that she couldn't see. When I really looked at her I realized her bangs were in her eyes.

You know what's coming, I'm sure. The thing I swore I would never do to my own daughter, I went right ahead full force. How hard can it be to trim a little girl's bangs? Well, when you don't know what you are doing, it's hard. I know to cut them dry. What I forgot was the cardinal rule of cutting a tiny bit at a time until they are right. Don't just start hacking away.

Long story short I made a mess out of her bangs. They seriously looked like a crazed person with a butter knife went after her hair in the night. She cried, I cried, and she went back on track with a hat on today. I felt awful all day about it. I didn't take a picture because I just wanted to forget the whole mess.

The local Great Cuts made them at least look presentable tonight, and all is well, except that I am left with that sinking feeling of how it felt when my mom did that to me. To Great Clips credit they did not make me feel bad at all. To them it was just the same old same old, I guess.

I suppose it could have been worse. I could have made her wear those fancy dresses with pinafores and knee socks in the 70's and 80's when all the other little girls where wearing Chemindefer jeans (remember those???). Oh, wait, that was me. I guess in hindsight one bad hair day is not therapy fodder. At least not for her. :)

Tonight I am loom knitting a pretty "scarflet" in chunky Paton's yarn that I love. I'm taking an online looming class and they are making jewelry on the loom. Earrings and a bracelet. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. It looks really cool! I have most of the materials so I'll get started on it probably tomorrow night. Maybe I'll make my daughter a pink bracelet to make up for the ooops haircut. :)

The Mad Hatter. . .

I have a friend at work whose sister is starting chemo this week for breast cancer. I thank God we live in the time we do where we have so many choices and chances, but I sometimes wonder if the cure isn't as bad as the disease. Her chances for survival are good, so that's a blessing.

At any rate, yesterday I felt compelled to make her a couple of hats since her hair will be lost soon and the summer heat is winding down.

The fastest way I know to make a hat is to loom knit it, so last night I pulled out my green Knifty Knitter loom and started a hat. (It's the one of the left.) It only takes a couple of hours to whip one out on this thing if you don't do anything fancy. I got held up when I turned the brim down because the stitches got very tight and it was tough to knit them off, and I have a bit of a sore hand from working through them. But once I got through that, the rest went quickly and I got it done.

I had crocheted the beret in the picture a few months ago, and I decided to gift it as well. It was an experiment and is a little big (check your gauge!!) but I think it works, and will help keep my friend's sister's head warm.

Both hats are made with Lion homespun yarn. I've read on some forums were people put that yarn down, but I sure love it. It's so warm and soft. One of these days I am going to make a shawl from homespun. Nice and cuddly! You know, in all this free time I have. Maybe it will be my project for all of those hours I sit through my son's baseball practices. We got word this afternoon that we will practice three days a week. Oh, the things we do for our kids! :)

What a Bargain!

My friends from work and I like to go wander around Ross during lunch now and then. Sometimes I find nothing, and other days I do really well. Last week counts as a "really well" day. I found this adorable sun dress on clearance for - are you ready- $1.49!


The zipper was missing the slider. I thought at first that I could just put a new slider on it. That turned out to be a lot more trouble than it's worth- believe me. I'd get one side one and the other wouldn't go. I was thinking that if the zipper couldn't be fixed then I'd use the fabric for something- it's really a cute pattern.


This morning I ripped out the old zipper and sewed a new one in the dress and it's good as new! $2 zipper and less than an hour of sewing, and it's all back to perfect. I'm pretty proud of myself because I haven't sewn a zipper in ages and I remember them as being a big pain. But this one wasn't bad- probably because the dress was all set up where the old one was.

It's hard to get a good picture of it, but the zipper was an invisible one that runs up the back. Maybe I'll get a shot of me wearing it later. :)

My weekend of getting all kinds of things done has been hijacked- my son starts little league practice today for Winter ball. It doesn't feel very "winterish" since it's 103 right now. I worry about the boys practicing in heat like this. I guess I'll learn later today how much common sense the new coach has.

In the meantime I'm hiding out in the air conditioning and loom knitting a hat.

I'll catch you later!

Another UFO Done!

I finished the crochet blanket tonight. Not the pink and white mini one, but the baby sized one made from cream colored baby yarn. This isn't the best picture of it- it's so hard to get a good picture of crochet! I really admire those who can take good pictures of minis and stuff. I like my picture of the mini afghan from earlier today. That was a pretty picture.

Anyway, all I had to do was crochet a scalloped edge along the edge with the foundation chain. It took about 20 minutes and voila! Baby blanket done. If I decide to give it away I think I'll add a ribbon in an appropriate color around the edge.

Everyone who touches this little blankie oooh and ahhs over it. My friend at work said it makes her think of butter mints. I like that.

I'm thinking of using the same pattern for a shawl. Seriously, you just want to wrap up in this thing. It's been riding around in my crochet bag and when I'm having a bad day I just pet it and snuggle it. Just like when I was a little girl. Hmmm. . . What does that say about me? :)

I'll ponder that later. Now it's time to sleep, perchance to dream. . . I know I'll dream about some more projects I can get finished!

Welcome New Follower!

I'd like to (and donkey would like to as well) welcome Sylvia to my blog this evening. She has a really beautiful blog with some great pictures, so make sure to check it out!

http://lotjesdollshouse.blogspot.com/

Thanks for joining us, Sylvia.

Mini Crochet

Casey's comment on my last entry inspired me to try mini crochet. She's always reminding me that I can do whatever it is I'm attempting this time. :)

This little afghan isn't complete quite yet, but it's coming along. Aren't the colors just yummy?

I had trouble at first keeping the thread on the hook, but then I discovered (after a few emails to Casey) I was using the wrong size, meaning that the hook I was using was too small for the thread.

This project is being done with crochet thread (I believe it's size 10) and a size 7 little hook. I think that hook is actually for sock darning, but it works for this quite well. I think I mentioned that I bought a whole set of crochet hooks at 50% off at Michaels a last year, and I've been very happy with them. It's nice to have the hook you need when you need it!

One of the really neat things about mini crochet is that it is so portable. I carry a project around with me all of the time because I get bored easily and also because we seem to spend so much time waiting for this or that these days. It's nice to have something fun to do when you are waiting around.

Attack of the UFOs!

OK, I'm actually attacking the UFOs, but it feels like the other way around. I have so many unfinished projects, I planned on devoting the entire weekend to getting some things done and finished. (UFOs are unfinished objects, in case you aren't familiar.) The thought of not having unfinished objects lying about is completely foreign to me, but apparently some people actually finish everything they start. Wow, who knew?

Anyway, in case you are wondering where I've been since Tuesday (the day of my last entry, and I've been so good this month about blogging!), it's just that life has gotten in the way. Just a couple of nights of being busy, and last night I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I haven't been sick in ages (knock on wood) but about lunchtime on Friday I felt feverish and generally "fluish." As soon as I got home I went to sleep, only to get up for dinner and then go right back to sleep. I either dodged the flu bullet or was just exhausted. Either way, I feel more like myself today.

The first UFO I finished is an Angels blanket for my husband. I found the fabric on our trip to Bakersfield over Memorial Day weekend. I thought I had found something rare, but it turns out this particular fabric is in just about every JoAnn and Walmart around. Oh well.

I was looking around on how to bind this two yards of fleece, and most things I read said to either tie it off, or use blanket binding. The little bows were too girly for my manly, baseball loving hubby, and the binding just didn't make a big impression on me.

I bound this pretty easily. I simply stitched a very small folded edge under with a straight stitch (maybe 1/8 inch) all the way around, and then I folded that over to 1/4 inch all around, mitered the corners, and stitched it all down with a feather stitch. Easy, pretty, and done. Maybe this is such a no brainer that no one writes about it, but I was surprised no one offered it anywhere I could find as an alternative binding for fleece.

If you remember from a while back, I mentioned how I meet with a group of fabulous friends at work most afternoons for break, and we are all crocheters. Actually, we are all crochet learners, but we are very supportive of each other and enjoy our short afternoon breaks.

I bought a pound of yarn last year to make a baby blanket for a friend, and I ended up using entirely different yarn and knitting a whole other project. So I had this pound of cream yarn lying around, and I decided it counted as a UFO.

My friends are all wild about this diamond stitch and I gave it a try. It's so easy! Basically it's a single crochet, chain 3, 3 triple crochets to create each "shell," which actually looks like a diamond.

So I'm zipping along on my crochet blanket. The plan is to make a baby blanket to have put away for the next time I need a baby gift, but you know how I hate to give up these things after I put so much work into them. I get attached! :)

Those are two UFOs - one done and one getting there. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Like a Lead Balloon. . .

Thanks to Evelien for pointing me to a blog that recommended using lead cord used in drapery making to weight down the ends of my little quilt.

Here is picture of my quilt laying on a bed. Now, I won't be leaving it on this fancy bed permanently. It was just for display purposes. See how the quilt just sits there? I washed it to soften it up, but it is still too stiff to drape naturally.

Here is a picture of the lead cording. I found it at Joann for 99 cents a yard. Not bad! It looks like regular cord, but it has little lead beads in it and is heavy. Since I didn't plan for it (not realizing this would happen) I couldn't sew the cording inside the quilt without ripping it up. So I just basted it on the back of the quilt at the bottom edges I wanted to drape down.

And finally, here it is draped with the cording attached. I think it would be better with the cording sewed into the seam of the quilt (which would pull it down), but it works this way.

Of course all of this probably won't matter in the end if I make a bed and glue the whole darn thing down, but I just wanted to experiment some with the whole lead cord thing.

Nighty night!

Welcome New Follower!

Welcome to my new follower, Ed! As far as I can tell, He has a blog called Wandering Panda Travel and has recently traveled to Vietnam. That kind of travel sounds very interesting. One of my dear friends is from Vietnam and goes back often. One of these days I'm going to tag along.

You are welcome here. Thanks for stopping by!

Otters and Fairies

Otters and Fairies kind of sums up my day. Today was art class at Randi's. We worked in colored pencil, which is my favorite medium. I drew a very content otter. The background is marble board, and it makes a nice watery look.

I don't think this is my best work by any means, but I think it's cute, and it would be a nice companion piece to my turtle from last month. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't seem to think much of my artistic endeavors, because when I showed him this piece, he stared at it for a few minutes and then asked me, "Umm, what is it supposed to be?"

To be honest, it hurt my feelings a little. I then had to explain that otters lay on their backs in the water and eat abalone from shells on their tummies. I know it's no great work of art , but it looks like an otter to me!

After I finished the mini quilt yesterday my daughter asked me to make one for her Build a Bear owl (it's an owl that came from Build a Bear, in case that didn't make sense). My daughter still believes that mommy can do anything, which is a good thing, but is sometimes hard to live up to. :)

I took the fairy fabric we found last night during our Walmart run and whipped up a little mini quilt for her owl. I didn't do anything fancy with the quilting- I just stitched a cross in the middle and diagonally across the corners. And not too straight, I might add. Yes, I need to measure, mark, and so on. But my daughter and her owl do not care. The whole project took me less than an hour. That's good because it's Sunday night and I like to relax and get ready for work tomorrow on Sunday night.

Making this little quilt was good practice using my sewing machine that I haven't messed with in ages (before yesterday), and I got to practice self binding the quilt and mitering the corners. And at least the owl and my daughter knew what it was when I was done with it. The owl "flew" over to kiss me and thank me for her new quilt.

One thing I learned to do this week was to buy a box of bobbins. For those of you who sew, I'm sure you will laugh at this. But I only had two bobbins, so when needed to change colors and both were full, I had to unroll or snip the thread off of the bobbin and start over. You can imagine how annoying that was! So I bought a box of 12 bobbins, metal ones too, which I really prefer over plastic. Now I can just pull off the bobbin, pop it in the box for next time, and grab a new one. I know, but it's the little things that make a dig difference!

Welcome New Follower!

Welcome to my New Follower, Dora! She has three blogs, as far as I can tell because my Spanish is no bueno. :)

Miniatures are here: http://lasminiaturasdora.blogspot.com/

Painting here: http://pinturascarmendora.blogspot.com/

And more minis here: http://premiosdora.blogspot.com/

When I get a few minutes I'm going to let bable fish do some work for me.

Welcome, Dora!

Quilt Complete!

I finished my mini quilt tonight! Yippee! This is in part due to the fact that I fixed my sewing machine. Yes, I actually managed to get it working without needing my husband, taking it to a repair center, or making the problem drastically worse. I'm doing the happy dance at the moment! :)

My first problem was that the presser foot did not move up far enough to get the fabric under it easily. I solved this by taking the side off, removing one screw, adjusting the height of the bar holding the presser foot, and putting it all back. Now it goes up to the right height when I push the lever up, and snaps right into place when I put it down. Just like it is supposed to!

The other problem wasn't as easy. The automatic needle threader kept whacking against the presser foot. This was really noisy! After messing with it for an hour or so, I realized that it is just out of position, but I can't figure out how to get it into the right position. There isn't a screw or anything holding it in place. So. . . I mickey moused it. I took a piece of yarn and tied it up about 1/8 of an inch higher than where it sits and now it doesn't whack the presser foot and the machine is quiet. I can't use the threader, but I rarely did anyway. I wanted to take it off entirely, but there wasn't any obvious way to to do that. So I'm happy! Quiet machine that works again. Yeah! Score one for the girl who thinks she can fix anything!

I started doing a little quilting by machine and that was quick and fun, until I broke a needle. So I went off to Walmart for new machine needles, some bobbins, pins, a seam ripper, etc. My daughter even found a remnant of Tinkerbell fabric so we picked it up to make a quilt for her new Build a Bear owl. Don't ask. :)

Here's the quilt with some machine quilting work done on it, just about ready to be bound. Next was to press it, and then start folding the binding.

For this little quilt, I decided to use the backing and do a self binding, with mitered corners. Mitered corners are pretty easy on this, and that says a lot because I really hate mitering.

First, press your edge over. I took a small edge and pressed it. This is the edge that you will fold again over the top of the quilt to have a nice, clean, folded edge on the top.

Now to miter. Fold the corner in. Then simply fold one side in and the the other side. This miters the corners. Do this for all four sides, pinning as you go.

Then stitch it down. I chose to just stitch over the top. Blind stitching looks nice, but I like the look of a stitched edge as well, and it's a lot easier, so I opted for that. Plus it's much easier.

So here's the finished project. Of course it's not perfect. I messed up the miter on one corner, and it's a bit stiff right now and doesn't want to lay nice on a bed, but that doesn't matter. I finished my first mini quilt and I got my sewing machine working. I'd say that's a good day!

Quitling on the Brain

Sometimes I wonder if it is normal for a person to get so sidetracked with something. Last week I was happily working away on my cross stitch Firefly Fairies and little things for the San Fran. Then a couple of blogs show entries on mini quilts, and I go off into the magical world of quilt obsession. Does anyone else do this? I mean, I am really easily distracted, but then I get really into whatever the distraction is.


I've learned all kinds of fascinating "quilty" facts this week. Things are going somewhat slowly because I insist on hand quilting. I probably could have had this little practice quilt done in an hour or two if I would have just done it on the machine. . but I am really terrible on the sewing machine. How is that possible? I'm not sure, but nothing ever works out right with me and the sewing machine.


Have you ever really wanted to do something well but just can't seem to get it right? That's me and sewing. It's so bad I can't even get a very straight line. It's the machine, I try to convince myself. I have a Brother XL-3022, which is a good little work horse. Say, didn't I write an entry about it being the person and not the equipment a while back??


I hate threading the bobbin- but I've never used a machine that makes that easy. Why can't it just have a button that you push that says "Thread the bobbin"? Worse that that, something is not right with the machine. The presser foot doesn't go up high enough and the automatic needle threader hits the foot as I try to sew and makes a terrible clanking. I believe it's time to visit the authorized Brother repair center. I'd feel better if I knew what I was talking about instead walking in there saying it clanks and the foot is stuck. Once I get it fixed I think I'll look into some sewing classes. I think I need them!


Anyway, here is the progress on my miniature quilt. I have most of the squares quilted, which is what you would call "stitch in the ditch" on a real quilt. See, I've been reading up! I quilted the little flowers, and I started quilting the little red flowers. Then I was thinking about doing some fun, free hand quilting on some of the squares. And then I think I should just skip any fancy quilting, finish this little project, and move on. As you know, I can get so carried away that nothing ever gets done.

Researching quilting reminded me of my little sunbonnet quilt my grandmother made me when I was a little girl. It's so well loved that it is in sad shape by now. I had the brainstorm to restore it so I can use it for another 30+ years (ahem). Why I think I can rip apart an old quilt and give it new life when I can barely sew a straight line is beyond me. But you know I'll do it anyway.


At least I got some advice from a dear friend who knows quits and she agreed it needs to be pulled apart, given new batting, and "requilted." I'm thinking I should wait until my sewing machine is fixed before I start into this daunting task. I'll really need luck for that one! I'll post pictures of my beloved sunbonnet quilt in a future entry.

Quilting 101

With all the talk of quilting on so many blogs lately, I felt inspired to try my hand at one.

Digging through my stash I found a couple of fat quarters that were perfect for a mini quilt. I just love Americana type designs. I see this piece as too country for the San Fran, but never mind that. The fabric already looks like a patchwork quilt.

Fat quarters (in case you are wondering) are 1/4 yards of fabric most often used for quilting. Instead of being a strip that's 9" x 44" as it would be off the bolt, a fat quarter is an 18" x 22" rectangle (so it's fat instead of long).

I like to look at them at JoAnn because they are lined up around the cotton fabrics and are so pretty, and you don't have to wait for someone to cut them. Bonus! And they are only $1.49 at JoAnn. You can go cheaper if you keep your eyes out, but I find that to be pretty inexpensive and you get plenty of fabric for mini projects.

I learned to quilt from my grandmother when I was a little girl, and it's been a while, so I thought for a first try it was easiest to not piece a quilt top and go with one that looks like a patchwork quilt. This fits the bill, doesn't it?

I sandwiched my layers (backing, thin batting, and top piece) and pinned each side to keep it in place, and then I started hand stitching the squares. You'll probably have to click on the picture to see it larger to actually see the stitching. I'm planning on quilting the flowers in those squares and adding a bit of bead work for fun, and just because I can.

As Casey showed in her blog recently, I'm planning on self binding the edges, which means that I will fold the bottom piece (the pretty red) over the top and stitch it down, and miter the corners. "Miter" comes out like Willy Wonka trying to say "parents," but I practiced the technique on a piece of paper today and I think it will be more forgiving than wood, and a whole lot less frustrating.

So that's where I am with this project. It's going pretty quickly and I'm really enjoying working on it.

Cabinet Complete!

Can you believe it? I finally finished something! Of course it wasn't all sunshine and light. As usual, I didn't measure well, and when I put the cabinet in and the stairs over it. . . well, the cabinet was too high and the stairs didn't fit.

I had to cut off the bottom trim and shorten the cabinet, and I had to cut off the crown molding off of the top of the left side to fit. The way the staircase is slanted made the molding stick out too far to fit correctly. Trimming the molding and shortening the cabinet made it fit.

I really wish I would pay more attention in the beginning and measure properly. I made this same mistake back when I made a really neat bed (from scratch no less!) for the Cardinal House last Summer. It was beautiful and tall, and didn't fit in the house. You think I would have learned! Here is that bed, in case you are interested: Cardinal House Bed

I had to cut the bed posts short, and then I even lowered the floor in the Cardinal House! Seriously, measure first, measure properly, and then measure again to make sure. Or you can do it my way and do everything three times to get it right. It's up to you!

Here is the finished product. You can see the left side in the picture at the top where I cut off the molding at the top, but it looks fine once installed behind the stairs. And the color isn't bad. Don't mind that I didn't tuck all the wires in. You get the idea, right?

It serves its purpose of hiding the light wires and strips, and I like the color of the paint. It's burgundy with a little burnt umber mixed it. A coat of clear varnish and it will be all done. So I guess it's not totally done because it needs to be varnished, but close enough.

Thanks to Casey for suggesting I use molding down the center. It looks good like that.

Oh, and I found some really pretty fabric in my stash to make a quilt, so that's up next. To be continued!

The Electrical Cabinet

I knew I needed a way to hide the plug strips for my electric system. For once I had a few hours to work on something for myself today so I thought I'd give it a try. You can see from my blog I've been busy having fun lately, but not doing much art or minis. It felt good to play today!

Before I get into it, we went to see GI Joe tonight. I wanted to see Julia and Julie, but I was overruled. GI Joe was really much better than I expected, especially when there was a cameo by my favorite leading man, Brendan Fraser, in it! You only get to see him for about 5 minutes, and he isn't even given credit that I saw at the end, but there he was. The movie was very entertaining, and that's always a good thing.

Here's the spaghetti mess I started out with. I figured out a long time ago that I would need a cabinet or something there to hide the mess. I couldn't find a piece I liked well enough and that fit properly pre-made, so I decided to be brave and build one myself. I guess Casey inspired me- she does this kind of thing all of the time!

I had some balsa wood lying around in my stash, so I measured and cut out the pieces to make my little cabinet. As you can see, I don't cut very straight- bad carpenter! But I knew I could hide any ragged edges with some trim, so I let it go.

The metal tray it is in is my little glue jig from Micro Mark. I love this thing! It comes with magnets so you can make things glue square by setting them in the corner and using the magnets to hold them in place while they dry. It was great help when I put together the addition windows in my San Fran.

So then I glued my pieces together. I even braved cutting crown moulding to go around the top, and floor boards for the bottom trim. If you've read my entries about the Storybook Cottage (also known as the Cardinal House) you will remember how much I hate, hate, hate, hate cutting moulding with mitered edges. This is the only thing I really like my EZ Cutter for. But actually this time it went together pretty easily.

Here is a shot of it put together. Don't mind the wings behind it- that's just the eaves of the terrace door. I wasn't paying much attention to the background of the picture. Ooops.

I was going to stain it, but I got a little crazy with the wood glue and a bit of Spackle, so I think I'll have to paint it instead. That's OK. I can mix a reddish brown color that looks like mahogany to match the library room furniture.

Here is what it will look like behind the stairs in the library. I haven't finished hiding all the wires, but it's sure an improvement, don't you think? I'm going to paint a line down the middle and add beads for doorknobs so it will look like a wardrobe or a storage cabinet under the stairs. I'm just going to use a little library paste to stick it on so it is easily removed for lighting maintenance.

And yes, I got carried away cutting holes for the stairs, so I need to do a little patchwork on the floor.

So that's what I got done today, and I'm pretty happy with it. File it away under "Not bad for a first try!" Let me know what you think!

Now I'm inspired with all the posts at other blogs (like Casey's Minis) who are making quilts. I'm off to see if I have any appropriate fabric in my stash. I'm going to try to paint my cabinet first or you know I'll never get it done.

This Little Light of Mine. . .

I'm gonna let it shine. . . I just have to share how much I love this little light. As I'm getting a little older (tossin' pennies into the fountain of youth. . .) I find it helps to have more light when I stitch, read, work on minis, und so weiter. Also, I love to read in bed but it's hard sometimes to get enough light.

Enter this cool little clip on light! And yes, I did get mine in pink. Only because they were out of purple at the time I bought it, and also to help keep my boys (both hubby and son) from stealing it. It's from the Mighty Bright Company. There are two versions of this- one with one light and one with two. I like the one with two LED lights because I need as much light as I can get. I can't believe how often I use this little thing.

It puts out a lot of light from two little LED lights (it has two levels). I clip it on to my needlework stand so I can see that darned 32 count linen. I put it on my book when I'm reading in bed. I take it in the car so I can read when we're traveling late and I'm bored. I keep it in my purse so I can read menus in those oh so dark romantic restaurants. OK, scratch that. I have two kids and I can't remember when I was last in a romantic restaurant! But sometimes it's hard to read the menus in any restaurant so I keep it with me.

This is the best darn $14 I've spent in a long time. I say get one and let there be light! :)

Welcome New Followers!

Hey! I have three new followers this evening. You like me! You really like me! (If you are too young to get that reference, go look it up, LOL!)

First off, welcome to Tink from Mini Tink. I love fairies and especially Tinkerbell, so her site is great fun. And she has some great pictures on her site. She is working on a Swiss house and it looks like it's going to be very nice!

Next up is Ffairywings. Fairies are the order of the day around here! :) She doesn't have a link to a blog in her profile, but if you have a blog, ffairywings, let me know so I can post it here.

And then there is Mary from http://mizmaryminis.blogspot.com/. She has a cool owl avatar which I'm guessing is meant to look like Hedwig. And you have to hear a funny story.

I use the theme from Harry Potter as my ring tone on my cell phone. When I went to Miz Mary's blog I heard my cell phone ring. I was wondering who was calling my cell phone at 9:45pm, but I ran downstairs to get it. No calls. I came back up and heard it again. I ran down. Nothing. Out of breath and confused, I realized Mary's blog plays the theme from Harry Potter. I must be exhausted from playing ball last night! My kids were cracking up watching me run up and down the stairs.

Anyway, Mary does a lot of stuff like me on her blog- a little bit of everything including musing, so if you like my blog, you'll like hers. And at the top her blog says "Minis, Mischief, Musings." I like it! Anyone who owns up to mischief is OK in my book!

Welcome! I'm happy to have you all here. :)

Take me Out to the Ballgame. . . NOT!

Well, I got the call this afternoon that my husband's softball team is short a girl tonight. It's a co-ed team, in case you are wondering. So he called begging - er - asking me to play so they don't have to forfeit. I reluctantly agreed, and then he told me it's a double header. One at 7:45pm and one at 9pm. No fair!

I'm a spectator, not a player. Wish me luck, everyone! I can speak to a room full of thousands without a butterfly, but the thought of getting out there and playing softball scares me about as much as getting on that aerial tram on Saturday.

I played for this team once last year and it was fun, but still scary. I played catcher so by the end of the night my arm was wiped out. I guess they figure I'll do the least damage in the field as the catcher. Smart thinking. Maybe I'll get knocked down in the first game so I won't have to play the second one. . . Hmmm, blocking the plate? It could work, as long as I don't hurt my hands. An artist can't work with hurt hands!

I'll update you later as to how it all went. I'd rather be home working on my San Fran. In fact, I'd much rather be doing that. HELP! :)

Update: 11:35pm I'm so tired and sore I can't think. Two games at once is more than enough for this girl. I had fun- walked a couple of times so I got to run the bases. I struck out too many times, though. I need to learn to hit that darn ball! When I was at bat and the fielders all started coming in close, I suddenly was 10 years old again and the last kid picked to play. I never was very athletic, in case you hadn't noticed. :) Funny how those memories pop up. But hey, I caught the ball and almost got the guy out at home. I know, almost doesn't count in softball. It would have been sweet!

Oh, and it was kind of scary at first. I mean, everyone is looking at you when you are at bat! But the team was really nice to me and thanked me for coming out. That was cool. I'm going to take some Tylenol and crawl into bed. See you later!

Let's Go For a Swim

One of the things we like best when we go on a trip is a really great pool. Our Palm Springs hotel had a really nice one. My daughter and I love the water.

This resort has a rock water slide. The pool is huge. I think the pool area is almost as big as the hotel itself! I wasn't glowing about the actual rooms- they were just fine, nothing special- but this pool really makes up for anything. It's just so great!

Behind that waterfall in the middle is a jacuzzi. It was just too hot for me to be loving the jacuzzi, but maybe in January if we go back. . .

There are two water slides- one specifically for the kids and one for the bigger "kids." The big one gets going really fast. I was surprised at how fast I got going. No way to avoid going under at the end of this one. But the water was nice and warm.

Here are my darlings going down the little slide. I went down this one many times and it as a lot more fun that it looks.

One thing we also loved about this pool is the far side (to the right of the slides) is only 1 1/2 feet deep, so we spent a lot of time just sitting on the bottom of the pool. Underwater basket weaving anyone?

The Scairest Thing I've Ever Loved. . .

Ever do something that just terrified you but afterwards you were glad you did it? Taking the Palm Springs aerial tram was just one of those things. I was so scared I wanted to cry the whole way up, but once we got to the top of was happy I braved it. The park at the top of Mt San Jacinto is absolutely beautiful. It was worth every terrifying 11 minute of the ride up there.

My husband has always wanted to go up there, so we decided to check it out. This is what you see from the parking lot. Can you see the thin line snaking up the side of the mountain? That's the cable that takes you up 8500 feet to the top of the mountain. I told my husband no way. Absolutely not. He told me it would be fun. C'mon!

I spent the tram ride to the station thinking up ways to get out of this. I mean, look at that cable! Does that look safe to you?

When we got to the ticket booth I asked the poor man about a million questions and finally he said, "I can guarantee your safety." So I was stuck.

The tram holds about 80 people, and the floor rotates so you can get a 360 degree view of the desert floor as you swing up the side of the mountain. Great! Some of the windows are even propped open. Even better. I don't think my kids have ever seen me so frightened.

As you head up the hill you periodically go by a tower, and for a moment you sway and get the sensation that you are weightless. Couple that with my darling daughter making giggling comments about plummeting to our deaths, and I was kind of a mess.

Here we are looking cute and I'm trying to mask how terrified I am. And gee, another floppy hat! Are you surprised?

I finally figured out that if you look straight out, and not down, it's not too bad. That is until my daughter asked if that was our car down there. Why did I look?? My husband took all the shots while in the tram because I didn't trust myself with the camera. The parking lot is about dead center in the picture.

We zipped up to 8500 feet in about 11 minutes. The tram people say it's like going from Sonora, Mexico to the Canadian Tundra. And once we got to the top I was stunned.

Talk about not researching well and knowing what you are getting into! There is a full state park at the top and it is beautiful! My daughter and I were in sandals so a serious hike was out of the question, although we did a little 2/3 of a mile hike.

I want to go back in the Fall with a picnic and plans for a real hike. I would even consider camping there and I am not a camp kind of girl.

You walk down a kind of steep path that is paved and has railings to get to this meadow off of the first trail. The place smells of pine (reminds me of being a little girl at my grandparent's home in the Sierras). The place is full of Jeffrey pines and if you sniff the bark of one, it smells of butterscotch. Really!

We walked around a bit and I got a great shot of the desert from up here. We thought there was a lookout point at the top of the ride and that was about it, not this lush, huge park with a million things to do. In the Winter you can come play in the snow. I think that sounds like a lot of fun.

We played around for hours up here until it was almost dark, then we braved the tram ride back down. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect or maybe because we were heading down, it was not nearly so scary. It was really pretty at twilight, that's for sure.

But we were all freezing by the time we got on the tram. It was about 110 degrees in the desert when we took the tram up the mountain. Up there it was a beautiful 72 degrees. By the time we headed out it was about 60. But of course it was still 90 something in the desert. Amazing, isn't it?

Bottom line is that I highly recommend braving the ride for the treasures that await you on the top of the mountain. It's kind of like life, isn't it? :)

Tagged with a Challenge

Casey over at Casey's Minis tagged me with the latest challenge going around these days. I am to post the fourth photo from the fourth file on my computer and tell a bit about it. Then pass it on to four other bloggers.

My picture is of the boys on our baseball team warming up for a game in the Spring two years ago. I was the team mom that year and it was quite the adventure- very busy. We had good kids and parents on that team, though, and they all kept the drama to a minimum. That's a good thing, because if you've ever been a parent of a kid in organized sports you know it can be a total dram-rama!

The picture does show how pretty Southern California can be, though. The hills in the background are very nice in the light of the picture.

OK, passing it along. . .

1. Katie at http://dollhouseminiatureart.blogspot.com/
2. Kat at http://minikatslittlethoughts.blogspot.com/
3. Kathy at http://kathycalhoun.blogspot.com/
4. Staci at http://thefrugaldollhouseaddict.blogspot.com
   

Have fun, ladies!

Never Order Fish in the Desert. . .

Or how our Palm Springs weekend trip was not an exceptional culinary event. I love food almost as much as I love books. I was really looking forward to some good food in Palm Springs but sadly, it wasn’t to be this weekend.

This is from the Palm Springs web site, http://www.palm-springs.org/:

“Come explore our desert oasis with a cosmopolitan twist. Palm Springs Hotels feature legendary resorts, boutique inns & vacation homes. Dine in world class restaurants & discover why mid-century modern architecture enthusiasts are raving.”

The world class restaurants were either hiding from us or weren’t quite so world class in the blazing Summer months.

It started out badly when I hit the market for a gallon of milk. My little ones still drink milk every night before bed, just like when they were babies. And the hotel has a full kitchen so I thought I'd get a few things for us to have to eat. This was a very expensive market! It was a major chain store, not a specialty store or anything. $2.99 for a gallon of milk was shocking when I'm used to paying 2 gallons for $4. Let it suffice to say that for a box of cereal, a gallon of milk, a few bottle (little ones) of cream soda, a bunch of bananas, and a small vanilla creamer I paid about $30. That's a hard way to start a vacation. I would expect that in a 7-11, but an actual market? This is a community of retired people. Where in the world are they shopping, because I hope it's not in this market! :)

Anyway, Friday night we ate in this BBQ place that was expensive and very mediocre. I never mind spending money on good food, but lousy food that is expensive, that I mind. One platter, an appetizer, one sandwich and a kid's meal was over $80. No alcohol, no dessert. No thanks!

Saturday night we got a recommendation from the hotel for a good restaurant. They even gave us an $80 voucher (for sitting through another timeshare presentation), promising that it was more than enough for the four of us. Well, it would have been fine if my kids' meals didn't end up being $14 a piece. $28 for a hamburger and chicken strips. And you know they didn't eat more than two bites!

I had chicken piccata, which I should avoid because I love mine so much at home (it was lousy), and my hubby had Mahi Mahi which he said was either so bland it tasted like nothing or so fishy and nasty he couldn't eat it, depending on the bite. Which reminded me of a very good axiom. NEVER ORDER FISH IN THE DESERT!! How fresh can it be? Vegas is a good exception because they get so much food sent in, but in the low season in Palm Springs, no fish.

We did find a wonderful little coffee shop that I remember from my college days in the Northwest- Elmer's. When you've had a number of lousy and expensive meals, good, fresh food tastes really great, especially when it's reasonably priced. I always like a good coffee shop. I worked in a Shari's in college in Tacoma. So if you are ever in Palm Springs and want a good coffee shop, check out Elmer's on Palm Canyon Drive.

But remember, never order fish in the desert. :)

More to follow on our thrilling (and terrifying for me) aerial tram ride and the fabulous pool at our resort. Are you excited to read that???

Welcome New Follower!

It's been a while since I had a new follower, but I am pleased to welcome Folk Artist K Arthur. I just spent an hour drooling over her beautiful punch needle rugs. They are to die for! I'm hoping she will sell some patterns because I love punch needle, but I'm not much of a designer all by my little self.

She has two blogs:

Punch Needle in Miniature Penny Rug

and:

Dollhouse Minatures and Folk Art

Do yourself a favor and take a look. Absolutely beatuiful! I'm happy to have you here, Katie.

Home from Palm Springs. . and an "Every Day" Dinner

We are home from Palm Springs. It was a lot of fun and very hot, but you have to expect that when you go to Palm Springs in the middle of Summer. The town is hopping in the Winter when the rest of the country is freezing. Out there it's mid 70's and 80's in January. Perfect.

But in August, well, it was about 110. I'll tell you all about the fun things we did and the restaurants we really should have avoided in the next few entries.

The kids are off track this month so today was their first day off. My husband and I took the day off to enjoy a much needed rest. We lazed around until it cooled off late this afternoon then did some yard work. Really exciting, right? Well, it had to be done.

Tonight I made my easy, Summer "every day" dinner that can be put together in about 15 minutes. It's chili spaghetti, salad, and bread. Yum, yum. We ate on the back patio, our new favorite place to eat. :)

What is chili spaghetti you ask? Well, it's spaghetti noodles and your favorite chili for sauce (chili like you eat on a chili dog, not like salsa). It sounds weird, I know, but I started eating it at Bob's Big Boy years ago and I'm hooked. I cook the pasta, heat a can of chili con carne (without beans), make a salad and put together some bread, and we are good to go!

Here's the table right as we started. And, yes, I burned the crescent rolls. They were dough and then I put them back in and forget them. Ooops. Well, we peeled off the top and they were still good. You can't see the chili in the picture, but it was in a gravy boat and we poured it over the pasta.

My hubby puts cheese and onions on his chili spaghetti. I eat it with just pasta and chili. Sometimes I get daring and add cheese. :)

Now my kids prefer spaghetti with brown butter. This is soooooooo good. I take 1/2 stick of butter and melt it over medium low heat. Watch this every second or you will burn it! Melt the butter and then let it foam. Let it foam about a minute and you will see it start to turn golden and then tan. Turn off the heat right then or it will burn. It will smell heavenly. Brown butter sends my kids running to the kitchen every time. You could strain this through a cheese cloth for a browned clarified butter at this point, but I don't bother.

I then toss cooked spaghetti noodles with this and serve. You can't imagine how yummy this is! I sometimes serve this as a side dish with a meat. Spaghetti Factory tops the brown butter pasta with mizithra cheese and that is heaven, but I can never find the right mizithra cheese anywhere unless I buy it from the restaurant directly.

Anyway, that's my quick fix dinner that makes everyone happy. Try it. Everyone I've told about chili spaghetti loves it!

Palm Springs mischief up next. :)