Easter shoes

I decided to make my Easter shoes this year. Just kidding. These are for an angel doll I'm making for a friend who needs a little extra watching over at the moment. The white one is coated with gesso, which acts as a primer to cover the fishnet print. It's much more fun, not to mention faster, to paint doll shoes than old walls with dermatological issues.

Just a little randomness today, since I can't think of any good stories worthy of a blog post.

Mr. Gadget is over at our old house where he's had a delightful meeting with the septic guy. He reports that the broken pipe has been replaced, and fortunately no further septic problems were detected. They are now awaiting the arrival of the health inspector to sign off on the project, but he has been delayed....most likely getting one of those sweet coffee drinks and a chocolate donut.

I had my hair cut yesterday and I've decided that my hairdresser, a new grandma, is the most obnoxious new grandma ever. I hadn't been sitting for more than a few seconds before she foisted a whole packet of baby pictures into my lap. I oohed and aahed...to be polite....but really, don't new babies all look pretty much alike? Well, maybe mine were especially photogenic.....

It's snowing in my neighborhood. Isn't it spring now? Yesterday the grass was looking noticeably greener and the flowers were popping up. They're really gonna be confused. I know I am.

Big City Girl got a new job. I hadn't mentioned that she'd been out of work for 4 months. She got a raw deal at the old place. I won't go into it. But the new place seems happy to have her, and very lucky to have the experience she brings. The other day she went on a business trip to the Bronx Zoo. Funny. Where I used to work, I had a zoo right there at my fingertips...

A few minutes ago, an older gentlemen in a large car pulled into my neighbors' driveway. He knocked on their door and soon they came out with suitcases. I wonder just where they think they're going? I'm thinking of starting a sign-out sheet, so I can keep track of the folks around here. One benefit of living in a small condo complex is that I can now use my binoculars strictly for bird-watching.

Mr. G and I will be leaving on our cruise at the end of next week. We were feeling rather smug about the great deal we got on our flight home from Spain. Then we noticed the part about baggage charges and thought maybe we should have just bought a seat for our suitcases.

Tomorrow morning we are having an awning installed on our back deck. It will be a nice green awning, as are all the awnings in the condo complex, and it will extend and retract by remote control. Very soon Mr. Gadget and I will have a whole battalion of remote controls and we'll have to hoist the white flag of surrender because they will be in charge....

A day at the zoo

I finished the clay-faced-green-haired witch doll, and have been trying to think of a name for her.

She has the distinction of being the first doll constructed in the Lighthouse.....well, except for her west coast face. From what I hear, some of the best-looking faces are constructed out there.....

I'm pleased with the spider and will likely be using more spider embellishments. I think they make even a serene-looking witch look frightful.

I've never mentioned this before, but Mr. Gadget and I have an elephant living in the house with us. He's been our companion for most of our marriage. In fact, maybe all of it. He might have been a wedding gift come to think of it.

He's really a cookie jar, but because I have a tendency to fill cookie jars with cookies, I decided to re-purpose him. He's our receipt elephant.

Mr. Gadget is very good about feeding him. In fact, he heads up that department here at the zoo. I feed him sometimes, but usually I just leave food scraps around the house and let him fend for himself.

I think these kinds of traditions....if you can call them that.....are really important in a marriage. I like to think it's some of the glue that holds it together. That's why I'm diligent about my zoo duties......

.....making sure the cat's bath water is well-supplied with Q-tips.....

Gotta Llove a Llama!

Yesterday hubby and I met some friends for lunch in San Juan Capistrano, and afterwards we took a stroll around town. Even though we had no children with us, our inner kids insisted that we stop at a petting zoo.

Since this was not a fiber festival, there wasn't any yarn in sight to satisfy my inner knitter. But there was plenty of cute face. So if I ever decide to make a llama, I'll have this face on file. And if I ever need to be reminded to hold my head up high, I'll look this guy up!

Many years ago, my husband worked with the male half of the couple we lunched with, but they had lost touch. Every now and then I would ask about him and suggest that he look him up. "Yes, I should," he would say, and then more time went on and nothing materialized. So one day I decided to do a Google search and there he was, along with his company name, telephone number and email address. I wrote it down and stuck it where I knew hubby would find it quickly--on the remote! No....just kidding! A rendevous was planned, and we've shared a couple of fun times together with him and his wife when we're on the west coast.

Wouldn't you know....I have another pet peeve. This one is Number 3 on my life list of pet peeves. Car alarms. What's the point? The condo here is on a fairly busy street. It's a two-lane road with a bike lane on each side as well as parking. At least 6 times a day, a car alarm goes off--one of those with a variety pack of sounds. It seems that the least little rumble of a truck going by is enough to set it off. Does anyone ever pay attention to a car alarm? I think not. I am tempted to go over and stick post-it notes all over the car, or spread sticky peanut butter on it. But of course I would set off the alarm, and with my luck, the police would come out in record time and take me off to the slammer.

And if you don't think miracles happen.......Big City Girl found her cell phone. This is the expensive one--a gift from boyfriend--that disappeared from her office desk two weeks ago. I'm not sure of the details, but it has been returned. So I'm suggesting that she find a way to chain it to her belt or wear it around her neck or have it permanently affixed to her ear. And I guess if none of those measures work, she could try covering it with peanut butter.

Big city biz trip

Pardon the cliche, but it seems like only yesterday that I was sending Big City Girl off to college with a few mom-words-of-wisdom about life. Now she's out in the big work-a-day world taking business trips. And good thing she thought enough of her dear ol' mom to send a text message, "I'm off the train, out of the taxi, and at my hotel." Moms never outgrow their need to worry.....

I never traveled on business when I was working, before my marriage to Mr. Gadget. Well, unless walking important documents from one building to another qualifies. I worked for the guy who negotiated our airline's fuel contracts. That was back in the day when fuel was hard to get. I'm sure he's happily retired now and relieved that he doesn't have to handle the paying-for-it part. But anyway, we had to keep the company president and his underlings informed of fuel issues and often that required me to hand-carry important stuff over to those plushly-carpeted, nicely-upholstered offices with the mahogany doors......through airplane hangars where mechanics, many hanging like monkeys from wings and struts and cargo holds, entertained themselves by making zoo-like sounds when a female in any kind of low-cut or short-skirted attire had to pass through.

Mr. Gadget, who's taken many business trips over the years, has vowed to hold off spilling the beans to BCG that eventually business trips get to be a pain in the butt. I guess it's a lot like snow.....

So the big wedding on Saturday was very nice, and my handiwork was festively displayed and much appreciated by the bridal party.

The flowers and ladybugs and dragonflies all went home with the wedding guests. Now, if I could only find a nice home for these lingering ants......

Warning!

I'm back, and I have only one thing to say. See above. The fun is over and this business about three meals a day followed by desserts at lunch and dinner, and don't forget the occasional afternoon tea and detour to the ice cream place, has got to stop. I'll be back tomorrow with some cruise stories, and I'll try to keep them lo-cal but I'm not promising.....

This cute sign was photographed at the Hilo Zoo. I think I need to ask Mr. Gadget to install one on my cage.......