Lovely Valentine's Day Projects

 Some lovely Valentine's Day projects for you:

PomPom flowers at Country Living.

Valentine garland at How About Orange.

Heart Shaped Sandwich Cookies from Family Circle.

Key to My Heart Picture Frame from The Noble Wife

Enjoy, have a creative weekend!

More Fun

A couple more weird (real!) companies, according to Inc. Magazine:

Season Shot of Bloomington, Minnesota

Sniff Dogs of Summit, New Jersey

SomethingStore of Huntington, New York

The Texas Lice Squad of Missouri City, Texas

Throx of San Francisco

Tiger Time Lawn Care of Memphis

The Ultimate Taxi of Aspen, Colorado

Unclaimed Baggage Center of Scottsboro, Alabama

Videogames Adventure Services of New York City

WeightNags of Austin

Yelo of New York City

You've Been Left Behind of Harwich, Massachusetts

Service for contacting the dead. Terminally ill patients memorize messages and deliver them when opportunity permits.

In a perfect world, you wouldn't have to lie to your wife/boss/parents about your whereabouts Friday night. In an imperfect world, these guys have your back.

A million-dollar company that makes a single product: foam balls for car aerials.

Members create and track lists of things they want to achieve before they die.

Drive-through strip joint.

Runs events at which adults "explore communication, boundaries, and affection" by donning pajamas and getting physical. Ix-nay on the naughty stuff.

Writes full-length corporate theme songs. The ultimate in hold music!

Creates pregnancy announcements that purportedly come from the womb.

Video-game-coaching services. Offers "world-class instruction" in Halo 2.

Menu features a quadruple bypass burger, flatliner fries ("deep fried in PURE LARD!"), and Jolt cola. Also available: unfiltered cigarettes.

The Proustian madeleine of natural lighting. Travel down memory lane with scents such as pancake and dryer sheet.

Buys and sells engagement rings for that magical time when one or both members of the couple come to their senses.

Sells plastic wishbones. Because turkeys have only one.

Vanity, thy name is Rover. Testicular implants "allow your pet to retain his natural look, self esteem and [aid] in the trauma associated with neutering."

Sells wadded-up pieces of paper for $10. Wadded-up pieces of paper with a haiku are $15. Yes, it's a joke, but/ It uses PayPal, and so/ It counts as a business.

A large tumbleweed goes for $25, which sounds about right.

Sells animal mannequins (that's one of them above, skydiving) for veterinary training and pet owners wishing to practice "mouth-to-snout resuscitation."

Massages are for wimps. At Sarah's, the seriously stressed take out their frustration on innocent dinnerware.

It's ammunition and a taste sensation in one! Why fill tonight's dinner with buckshot when you can shoot it with a biodegradable pellet packed with lemon pepper, honey mustard, and other yummy flavors?

Hotwicks Candles of Portland, Oregon

Apparently, they can make candles that smell like anything.

(In case you can't read the labels, they say Beer, Fresh Bread, and Man. Yes, there is a Man scented candle.  I do not want to know...)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Downton Abbey (file under: Stuff I Like)

Any other Downton Abbey fans out there? Airing on Sunday nights on PBS- I am hooked. Period costumes, English accents, scandal, romance.... what more could I ask for?

In the brisk opening sequence of Downton Abbey, a telegraph comes in over the wires. It’s a few minutes after dawn on the morning of April 15, 1912, and the Titanic has just sunk in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Among the ship’s doomed passengers are James and Patrick Crawley, the two male heirs to a sprawling estate in Yorkshire, England. Their horrific deaths will have seismic ramifications for the staff and family of Downton Abbey.
According to the peculiar English inheritance laws of the time, Downton Abbey can only be entailed to a male. So when Robert’s cousin, James, and his son, Patrick, die in the disaster, the future of Downton Abbey is instantly thrown into disarray: Who will inherit the estate, and what is to become of the Crawley girls?

Maggie Smith plays Dowager Countess Violet, with the usual sublime acerbity. Love her!

Cora: Things are different in America.
Violet (played by Maggie Smith): I know, they live in wigwams.

This is a wonderful series- there is only 1 more episode left to air, but it is available on DVD (and it would make a great birthday gift. Mine is in August. Hint.)

Test, Write, Eat, Repeat

 

It is getting harder and harder to fit into my clothes... what with all of the cooking and baking going on here lately. I have been working on recipes to include in my book... I am a good cook, but I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-now-too-tight-pants cook. I have a hard time following a recipe- let alone actually writing one down. There are a lot of favorite things we like to make and eat... but none of them written down. So I am testing and writing. And eating. Test, Write, Eat, Repeat.... Hence the tight pants. Fortunately, nothing I make is very complicated, just yummy home cooking like my mom and my mother-in-law and probably your mom used to make. 

 Pictured today: ingredients for a rustic casserole. I like to cook with wine (and sometimes I even put it in the food, bwahahaha.)

 

So now I think I need to go take a looong walk. Oh wait, it's 23 degrees outside (and that's the high for today!) Maybe a nice cup of tea instead...Have a happy, warm Monday.

A Little Color

Last week I told myself I would get a little color in the house. And then look what I found for only $3 a bunch at the local supermarket:

 It is amazing how adding some "living things" at this time of year can breathe new life into a room... a little bit of spring amongst the snow and ice and grayness of January. And normally, I can't wait to throw out the poinsettia's right after Christmas, but this is cute isn't it? I am still enjoying it.

Another cure for the January "blahs" is, of course, fabric. Preferably in lovely spring-y colors. I recently picked up these up for an upcoming project.

Below is a sneak peek of a table runner project for upcoming book:

When we were in England last summer, I picked up lots of ribbon and trims (I am, after all, a trim tramp and fabric floozy) . I got this ribbon, and want to use it in a project, but I need 2 more rolls. So, maybe another trip to England is in order, so I can get more to finish up my project. It would be a work related expense, yes??

Today is my grandmother's 85th birthday- she taught me to sew and crochet and paint ceramics. Without her legacy, I don't think I'd be doing what I do today. Daughter had off from school last Monday, so we all went out for a birthday lunch at Grandmom's favorite restaurant.  Happy Birthday, Grandmom!

Under Construction

One hundred wool flower pins started. I figure they'll be done around 2013.

And in this box, my new kitchen sink...... *squeal*.

(Fragile', must be Italian.)

We still have to order new counter tops and a new hutch, but the sink is here. Hopefully the kitchen will be done sometime this year (probably before the pins.)

Happy Wednesday.

In the Studio Today....

 Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better. 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Working on book illustrations...

and sketches for fabric line...

Finishing up some embroidery...

Daughter has been busy in the kitchen (rosemary flatbread)...

Maddie has been busy, keeping track of the bird population...

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.  

Martin Luther King Jr.

Fun Friday

According to Inc. Magazine- One of America's Weirdest Businesses:

Throx of San Francisco

Tiger Time Lawn Care of Memphis

The Ultimate Taxi of Aspen, Colorado

Unclaimed Baggage Center of Scottsboro, Alabama

Videogames Adventure Services of New York City

WeightNags of Austin

Yelo of New York City

You've Been Left Behind of Harwich, Massachusetts

Service for contacting the dead. Terminally ill patients memorize messages and deliver them when opportunity permits.

In a perfect world, you wouldn't have to lie to your wife/boss/parents about your whereabouts Friday night. In an imperfect world, these guys have your back.

A million-dollar company that makes a single product: foam balls for car aerials.

Members create and track lists of things they want to achieve before they die.

Drive-through strip joint.

Runs events at which adults "explore communication, boundaries, and affection" by donning pajamas and getting physical. Ix-nay on the naughty stuff.

Writes full-length corporate theme songs. The ultimate in hold music!

Creates pregnancy announcements that purportedly come from the womb.

Video-game-coaching services. Offers "world-class instruction" in Halo 2.

Menu features a quadruple bypass burger, flatliner fries ("deep fried in PURE LARD!"), and Jolt cola. Also available: unfiltered cigarettes.

The Proustian madeleine of natural lighting. Travel down memory lane with scents such as pancake and dryer sheet.

Buys and sells engagement rings for that magical time when one or both members of the couple come to their senses.

Sells plastic wishbones. Because turkeys have only one.

Vanity, thy name is Rover. Testicular implants "allow your pet to retain his natural look, self esteem and [aid] in the trauma associated with neutering."

Sells wadded-up pieces of paper for $10. Wadded-up pieces of paper with a haiku are $15. Yes, it's a joke, but/ It uses PayPal, and so/ It counts as a business.

A large tumbleweed goes for $25, which sounds about right.

Sells animal mannequins (that's one of them above, skydiving) for veterinary training and pet owners wishing to practice "mouth-to-snout resuscitation."

Massages are for wimps. At Sarah's, the seriously stressed take out their frustration on innocent dinnerware.

It's ammunition and a taste sensation in one! Why fill tonight's dinner with buckshot when you can shoot it with a biodegradable pellet packed with lemon pepper, honey mustard, and other yummy flavors?

Canine narcotics-detection service for your teen's room.

Pay $10, and it will ship you something. No telling what.

Professional nitpickers. No job is too small.

Sells colorful socks in packs of three. Dryers: Do your worst.

OK, so the photo is really kind of creepy, but I happen to think this is a pretty clever idea. I have a whole drawer full of single, odd socks. I have no idea where their partners go. Is there a sock graveyard somewhere that I don't know about??

Have a Fun Friday and a great weekend!