Annie - Guard Dog in Action

Annie is on high alert.  With the time change I have to walk her around 3:30 pm since it gets dark by 5:00 pm.  She misses her normal group of dog buddies who all walk with their owners after work.  Since I don't have to pass out treats to everyone, I don't have to bake as often.  This morning was a biscuit baking day and as you can see, Annie is guarding the oven door.  She will sit there the whole time waiting for her cookies to come out of the oven. 

Knee Cracker Annie

When Annie was a puppy and too little for tennis balls, I used to throw sticks for her.  This was a big mistake.  Now she loves to chase tennis balls but she will drop everything for a stick.  Being that she is now a big dog, she can pick up big sticks. Her pack (dogs we walk with in the evening) call her "the knee cracker" when she finds a large branch on the trail.  We all know not to pick up or even mention the word "stick" on our walks. Annie will hold on to one end and swing it around like a baseball bat at anyone she thinks will play with her. If you try and take it away from her, it becomes a tug-a-war game. If you try and ignore her she will swing it around you and most of the time hit the back of your legs or knees. All I can do is put her on her leash and hopes she drops it while we walking.  I won't stop to let her pick it back up but I do have to put up with a few good swings.

Some of my favorite things

Here's some things on my "favorites" list.  Bartlett pears have always been a favorite of mine.  I think growing up and playing in a pear orchard must have something to do with it.
I'm also a big fan of chocolate covered apricots.  The best ones I ever had were made by a local candy store in Sunnyvale run by a cranky old fishing lady.  You never knew when the store would be open because she and her workers would closed up if the fish were biting.  She sold her business and the new company never could make the chocolate covered apricots like she did. The ones in the photo are a close second.  Something I just discovered this week was French Prunes.  Now don't be making faces about eating prunes until you've had these.  Hubby and I rarely agree on anything but we both thought these were great.  I really didn't think there would be a big difference between French and Italian (the most common type found in stores) but there is.  I liked them so much I went out today and bought a case of them to give as gifts.  It's a seasonal product so once it's gone, it's gone until next year.  I will be shipping them out all over the US to my foodie friends.

From the auction house

Here are some photos of the stuff I picked up at the auction house this past weekend.  One "lot" had a bunch of cookies tins from Germany and small wooden frames.  No one else was interested in them so I got them for less than $10.00.  This is a way cool  large hinged tin box.  Don't see to many of them around here.

I went to the auction to buy some XL frames super cheap.  The photo makes the artwork look better than it really is.  I've taken all of them apart and have started alter them into display boards.  Will post photos when I get them done.

OK this is way cool.  It's a chandelier made out of rebar and painted pink.  It was in the junk lot section because the top part had broken off.  I like it without the top part (I took a photo of in on so you could see it) and plan to use it as a center piece for a large round table.  The little flowers are candle holders.  Now I just have to find a party to take it too. :)

Red House Cafe

 The Red House Cafe is one of my favorite restaurant when I'm down in Monterey.  I always try and stop by for lunch or dinner.  The last few times it's not been as good as it has been in the past.  I've been planning on making homemade chicken pot pies (I've never made it before) so I was surprised when I saw it was on the lunch specail board at Red House. It was a big disappointment made even worse that it cost $13.00. That's just for the pot pie, salad was extra. It was so bad I asked if it was made at the restaurant or did come in from another vendor. Sad to say, it was made by someone else.  Since my mom ( who was a great cook) never made pot pies, I guess I have no idea what a good one should taste like. Now Red House's roasted pepper soup is excellent, as all their soups are.

I had a little chat with my waitress about my not so great main course.  I asked if the desserts were made on site and she said yes.  She is a trained pastry chef and she made the pumpkin creme brulee.  It didn't have the carmel topping so I would have called is a pumpkin custard with whip cream.  Red House use to carry my favorite tea "Marco Polo" from France but I guess the weak dollar has made it too expensive to serve. :(  So I had to settle for mighty tea.  I'm going to have to think twice now before going there for lunch, (which cost $40.00 for just me) since the "tastyness" of their food has taken a big drop.



Auction Madness



about five minutes before the clos of the silent auction

 OK some of you want to know what it's like at an auction.  I decided to take a photo today while I was at the auction house down in Pacific Grove. The silent auction (junk lots) is down in the basement of the building. It's dark, dirty and cold.  This auction house shuts down the silent auction at noon, so everyone runs down there and stands next to whatever lot they want.  At the very last minute, they will write down their bid.  Some women will go so far as to try and block others out. I went to pick up some XL framed art (I just want the frames) to alter and it's cheaper than going to Goodwill.  When it stops raining I will unload my car and take pictures of what I dragged home.

My Kids

I never know what my kids are up to now that they are out of the house.  Good thing for Facebook.  My son (top photo) is the one in the back wearing tights.  He never did have any fashion sense. He was running in a mud run.
My daughter went to Belize a few months ago to visit a college buddy who is working for the Peace Corp.  Photo of her at the top of this pyramid.

50 pounds of metal

Since people know I do various types of crafts, I'm given all sorts of interesting things.  Today at the Senior Center, a man came in with about 50 pounds (the large one in the middle is super heavy) of rolled metal.  It's the heavy weight foil type of metal used for medical and food packaging. I thought it would be great stuff to dry emboss with my Cuttlebug machine.  I'm a great fan of Ten Second Studios stuff and now I have a tons of metal sheets to experiment with.  

Topiary Card

I was having a creative brain freeze this weekend.  I finally had to eat some chocolate to get everything back in gear. I have my once a month card class down at the Senior Center this week and had to come up with some cards.  Not all the ladies are into holiday cards to I like the make sure I have some festive but not over the Christmas cards for them to make. Topiary stamp and printed paper - Memory Box

Chuddy Bird

This card is doing triple duty.  I made the card after being inspired by Gina K Designs (great how to tutorial site) color challenge.  I entered it in their contest but since I didn't use one of their stamps (you get double points if you do) I don't think I have a chance, but it is a different color combo.
I will also send it May Arts Ribbon to have them post it on their blog.  No contest but fun to see what others are doing with ribbon. I've had this ribbon for over two years and have never done anything with it.  It was an impulse buy at the trade show - very dangerous to buy at trade shows.

 The third thing I may do with the card (if there is space and time to get on the calendar) is do this as a mini make an take at Cranberry Hill. 
I really try and design cards that can be put in the mail.  I've seen a lot of great cards but I know you could never get them in an envelope or have them arrive in one piece. Designing just for show or the major wow factor is a different matter.

Day at the park

I'm at the park with Annie twice a day.  Early in the morning (sunrise) and again in the afternoon. Having her run for two to three hours a day keeps her happy and my house in one piece. German Shepherds are known to be great family pets.  Watching Annie play with small children is proof of that.  When kids come up to her, she will always give them her tennis ball to throw. She never jumps or barks at them, she just waits.  I'm sure she knows they can only throw it so far so it's an easy catch.  I have to carry two tennis balls, since she won't let the first one go until I throw the second one. Something else I see at the park is a couple of teenagers who pitch a tent at the park.  Great why to block the wind, not have dogs jumping all over you and have a little privacy.  Wonder if their parents know what they are doing with their pop up tent?

Penny Black Holiday Kitty

Yes another card I will be doing for my Christmas Circle card class. I thought it was just to funny, this cat in a sweater. 
I don't remember the name of the  Penny Black clear cling set - one draw back to clear clings. Since I used some plaid May Arts ribbon, I think I will enter it in their November  plaid contest.

Hero Arts - Snowman

Another card that I will be doing for my Christmas Circle card class this month.  Stamp by Hero Arts.

Make n Take - Nuts

This stamp from Whipper Snapper is just too funny. 
With the holiday season coming up, I thought it would make a great make 'n take for Thanksgiving if I masked off the "for my love".  I made it into a tag and then had to think about what to put it on.  Thank goodness for SplitCoastStampers! I found a very easy to make bag that used just one sheet of 8.5 X 11 paper. I think it would also make a great gift box for Christmas and of course for Valentine's day.
On my walks with Annie, we come across squirrels all the time.  Annie doesn't have a strong small prey drive but she doesn't pass up a chance to chase one up a tree.

Stampendous Stamp - Card Class

One of the cards I will be doing for my Christmas Circle Card Class next month.

May Arts Ribbon - Mini Stocking

Sometimes you just have to work outside your box to get some fresh ideas.  I decided to enter May Arts ribbon contest this month (they have a monthly contest) with something other than a card. I made this stocking last night after I aged bright red ribbon with a Copic marker.  The red plaid elastic ruffle ribbon worked well going around the top of the stocking.  I hand stitched everything, which didn't take all that long to do.  I made the rosette and aged the button with a black Copic marker. The stocking is made from a soy based batting.  Not sure what that means but it sounds "green".  I will add more to the front later (well when I think of something) to make it more festive. I very pleased with how it turned out.  I may do it for a class later on in the month.  Now I have to go look up what soy batting means. :)
Here's the link to the May Arts Contest

New Class Coming Soon - Wonderful Washi Paper

I finally finished making my samples for my "Wonderful Washi Paper" card class.  Since I do a lot of work with washi paper, I have tons of scraps. I was also asked to do a Iris folding card. I decided to make this class a little sampler of various techniques so a beginner would feel comfortable.
Stamped image by Michael Strong

Quick and Simple Christas Card

I'm still home with a cold so I decided to make some quick and simple Christmas cards now that Halloween is over. It's a simple card that you can do in steps which helps when you have a cold and need to go take a nap. I used Stickles and rhinestones to add some bling.