Happy Halloween!

There's a house just around the corner from the SoCal condo that's always decked out for the holidays. Each year the occupants come up with a new theme, and this year it's "Pumpkin School." I'm not sure exactly what it means. Are pumpkins being taught their ABC's, or are they learning to carve jack-o-lanterns? If it's the latter, I think some serious therapy is in order.

Here's another scene with a pirate theme from the same yard. I'll bet the people who live in this house were having raging arguments, I mean lively discussions, about what theme to use this year, and then, in the interest of keeping the family together, decided to give everyone their own little piece of lawn. There was another scene in the side yard, but I didn't hang around long enough to take a picture. Mr. G and I were on our way to the airport and in a bit of a rush.

So today I'm going to lunch with a friend, and I'd sure like to wear this cute pin I bought a couple of years ago, but I can never seem to find it when Halloween rolls around.Maybe when it does turn up I should just put it on no matter what the calendar says. In my case, it would always be appropriate.

So last night, with slim pickins in the TV guide, Mr. Gadget was watching a show about people involved in a contest to grow the biggest pumpkin. I tell you, some of these grown-men-farmer-types get a little carried away with what they see as the serious business of it all, and if they don't win they're reduced to tears. This might be another situation requiring therapy.

My favorite pumpkin-growing story took place a few years ago right here in town. We have a local pumpkin fanatic who has grown a prize-winner or two. After one of the contests was over, a couple of these big veggies were hollowed out and the mayor and the pumpkin-growing guy each climbed aboard and paddled across the lake. I do believe the rowing was much more fun than the growing.

Happy Halloween wishes to all, and be sure to save a little candy for the trick-or-treaters.....

Whole lotta stitchin' goin' on

The jacket project is finished. And even if I wanted to do more stitching, there isn't any room...... unless I do some on the back, and I've decided not to go there.

Here's a little closer look at the right front. I sewed beads in most of the flowers centers, but left one or two with just the stitching.

And here's the left front. I sewed small red beads along the vines. One of the great things about doing a project like this is that I can go back to it in a year or two and add more stitching if the spirit moves me. Also, there's no need to keep it in the sewing basket. I've been wearing it during the stitching process, and no one has stopped me yet to ask why I have ballpoint pen drawings on my clothing. I guess lately I've been hanging out with folks who are self-absorbed....


So now I've moved on to a couple of other projects. After my usual wing-obsessing, I came up with this solution for the bee wings:

They are made of lightly tea-dyed muslin that I've quilted. Since these wings are a little wider than ones I've made before, I thought they could use a little support, so I wired them. I've never done this before, so I just had to wing it...heh...heh... I know there's probably a very efficient way dollmakers do this. There may even be a book Wingwiring for Dummies that I'm not aware of. I'll save that research project for January when we're snowed in......or better yet, sitting out on the sunny patio in SoCal.

Here's a little peek at Beelinda's collar. I sewed gold beads along the edge of the upper collar. I know it looks time-consuming, but it's really not.....and it adds a little bee bling.

And then in my spare time I'm working on the rooster embroidery.....you know, the bathroom art for Tech Guy.
This will actually be a joint project by both Mr. G and me.....but you'll just have to wait to see his part. I got quite a bit done last night during Monday night football. I'm not a football fan. In fact, in spite of my advanced age, I still don't know the rules. Once in a while I try to ask a question to make Mr. G think I'm paying attention, like "was that a conversion?" or "was that guy offsides?" But mostly I enjoy watching players do the funny dances in the end zone after a touchdown. I hear they can be fined for that now. Some of them try to sneak one in anyway. I guess they think maybe no one will notice. And what's a little fine in the high finance world of sports? Pocket change.


So our early Thanksgiving celebration was very nice on Saturday. BCG and TG both went home with leftovers and their respective Guatemalan souvenirs. Tech Guy got this.....so timely, don't you think?

And Big City Girl got a brightly-colored cloth bag with lots of zippers and pockets.....which should come in handy for walking around the big city with cell phone, water bottle, subway tokens, i-Pod, book of crossword puzzles, umbrella, gloves, hair accessories, make-up, lip gloss, Cheetos, and a snow shovel. Just kidding about the shovel.

So I guess it's about time to start dinner. I weaseled my way out of cooking last night. It took skills though.


"What are we having for dinner?" asked Mr. Gadget.


"Well, I was planning to make pasta puttanesca, but I forgot to get the olives and capers," I told him. "So I was thinking maybe I'd make some chicken cutlets, but I know we've had chicken the last two nights. I could always make an omlette."


"Would you like to go to the diner?" he asked.


Am I good or what?

Topsy Turvy

Things will be a little different in the Macaroni household this holiday season. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving before Halloween. This all because Big City Girl told us some time ago she had plans to join Big City Boyfriend's family for an old-fashioned turkey day in the hills of Pennsylvania--just like the pilgrims did it, only with a hot tub.
Tech Guy, when he heard this, suggested maybe we could celebrate early. So both kiddies are coming tomorrow and I've sprung into action. Don't worry, no turkeys will be harmed. I'm cooking chicken.
And as I was returning from the grocery store I saw Henry the cat darting across the street from our house to his with what looked like a mouse. I guess the birds are but a memory.



Things are looking very Fall-like in the neighborhood, and the unseasonably warm temperatures we've been having are no more. We may get some use out of our fireplace tomorrow....which is a good thing, since Mr. G says our woodpile is starting to lean.


"How do you fix a leaning woodpile?" I asked naively, thinking maybe he'd have to get out the big floor jack to somehow bolster things up.......and remembering the last time he used that same gadget which then necessitated a trip to the ER.


"You build more fires," he said.


"Oh, that's a good idea," I said, suddenly feeling comforted by the fact that I wouldn't need to have sterile towels handy.
So I'm off to put out some festive holiday decorations, and then I'll make a pumpkin pie. I'd better have some food containers handy too, since TG and BCG will no doubt want to take some leftovers home. Oh, and I'd better hide the Halloween candy.....

Giraffe Envy

Henry, my neighbor's cat, suffers from a very rare feline disorder called Giraffe Envy. If only his neck were longer he could graze around the treehouse bird feeder. Poor Henry must settle for hunting chipmunks near the rock walls. His regular diet of dry cat food plus the occasional rodent must get boring.

I've started work on the bee doll. Minimal design work was necessary since I' m just going to use the ladybug pattern. In my whimsical world of dolls, a bee and a ladybug are pretty much the same. I'll change the colors and do a wee bit of tweaking. What? There are no polka-dotted bees? Meet Beelinda. She's the first!

This is an "under contruction" shot. It's the stage where I decide I don't like the doll at all and maybe I should throw it in the scrap heap. But I've learned to just ignore those thoughts and press onward. I usually change my mind once it's finished. Same goes for children.....

While I was sewing in the treehouse, and watching Henry's great disappointment, I got to thinking it might be nice to have a new embroidery project, since the jacket is almost finished. And it might be fun to copy and stitch one of the roosters from Tech Guy's curtain.

It might even be suitable as a piece of bathroom art....maybe to coordinate with the curtain in his manly bathroom. You know how guys are always crowing about something...heh...heh... I'm visualizing a small red frame. Maybe barnyard red.

I've had a few inquiries about the SoCal condo and the fires. Thankfully, we were not affected. The condo is about 3 miles east of the ocean and 15 miles southeast of LAX. The fires were (and some are still burning) in different areas of southern California. I have heard from friends that the air smells of smoke and most schools have kept children inside during recess. My cousin, with whom Mr. G and I had lunch just last week, did evacuate her home as a precaution, although it wasn't mandatory. But she did report seeing flames on a hillside about half a mile away. We left Saturday morning and the fires started early Sunday. How quickly life can change.

So I guess I should crawl down from the treehouse and wash Mr. G's gym clothes. Not only does he like a tidy lawn, he likes most everything else tidy too. Which just goes to show that opposites really do attract.....

You know it's Fall when you get bonked on the head.

We have two big oak trees in our front yard, one on each side of the driveway. In the Fall there are frequent torrential rains of acorns and it's always wise to carry an umbrella......or wear a hard hat or a bicycle helmet.....or none of the above and just take your chances.

And the birds found the new window feeder while we were gone.

I was feeling sorry for the ones having to cling to the screen while awaiting their turn, so I stuck a red yardstick out the window.

This works well, but I probably should have included one of those "take-a-number" thingies. Now that I've lured them to the treehouse, I may speak to Mr. G about building me a bigger, better feeder that will accommodate more visitors. Maybe he can figure out how to add a waiting room.....kinda like an anteroom for the overflow crowds at church. I've never actually seen one, but I've heard reports....

So I've been pondering whether or not to apply for a local craft fair. I've done this show in the past. The first time was very profitable; subsequent times were not so much. Sometimes it's just a fun day, and it's always good to keep craft-fair skills up-to-date. But I have very few dolls on hand and I'm not sure I want to go into high gear on production. I do want to make the two new dolls I mentioned in my last post. I haven't made much progress, but I've been deep in thought....
And I need to finish the bathroom rooster curtain for Tech Guy, who's coming for a visit this weekend.

I happen to know he has at least 4 more windows that need covering, unless he's dating someone who sews and he was able to cajole her into making draperies. If it were me, I'd just do the whole place with a barnyard theme. Maybe some pigs and cows and goats. That way, no matter how messy the place gets, he can just say he was trying very hard for the pig-sty look....

Reunion

Today I had a happy reunion with my east coast sewing machine. While I was away cruising, it was in the shop having a couple of issues addressed, one of which was a light that went on and off at will. I thought maybe it was possessed by a fun-loving spirit who enjoyed playing tricks on me, like leaving the light on if I was sewing in bright sunlight, and turning it off when I was sewing at night. The repairman assured me he performed an exorcism, and for what he charged me I'm going to hold him to it.

As I was driving to the sewing machine shop, I took a few pictures. I could have taken the highway and gotten there more quickly, but in the Fall the backroads have so much more to offer.
Here I am heading down the driveway on my way to the street. Mr. G. will most likely have his leaf-blower out this afternoon. He does like a tidy lawn.

It's usually a very peaceful drive along the lake. You'll just have to visualize the big truck that was bearing down on my tail.

The small white sign is for one of the old neighborhood cemeteries in town. Many have fallen into disrepair. Some local boy scouts took on the project of sprucing this one up.

The yellow road sign is to warn drivers of a deer-crossing area. You won't find many of these in southern California. Mr. G and I are thinking of putting a "deer-eating" sign up in our yard, since everything we plant seems to be a deer delicacy.

And here I am heading up our street toward home. Kinda makes me want to cook up a big pot of soup.


Oh and I should mention the sewing machine shop also happens to sell fabric. So I picked up a couple of pieces with some new dolls in mind.
I've decided to add a monkey and a bee to my cast of characters. I'll be sketching them up soon, so stay tuned.......

The Big Kimchi Dilemma

Mr. Gadget and I are now back on the east coast, and don't you think this is one of my best airplane pictures ever? After all those times of sitting patiently in Seat 17-A, I was finally rewarded with something other than midwest patchwork farm shots. It was all because of this:

And also because of our delayed departure. All the passengers were onboard as were the flight attendants, but the pilots were no-shows. Seems they forgot to set their clocks or something. Anyway....not a problem. I wouldn't have had the photo op if we'd left on time.

So about the kimchi. That online know-it-all Wikipedia defines it as a traditional Korean fermented dish made from seasoned vegetables.

Mr. Gadget is a big fan, and it's readily available at the Asian market just a short walk up the street from the condo. The trick is for Mr. G to finish the kimchi before we clean out the fridge and lock up the condo....and I'm no help. It's just not my cup of tea.

So we found ourselves nose-deep, shall we say, in the Big Kimchi Dilemma. Did I mention it's fermented? It doesn't keep well. Yes, I suppose we could have put it down the garbage disposal, or even flushed it, but we were reluctant to bring on a possible plumbing problem with no time left to deal with plumbers. And we couldn't very well put it in the condo trash dumpster on Saturday morning when the trash truck wasn't due till Monday. I suggested we leave it in the freezer, where Mr. G had stashed it earlier in a double bag. But then he worried we might lose power and, considering the decomposing action and all, we might have to replace the fridge.

In the end, I won out when I convinced him that even if the power went out, it wouldn't be out for long....because, after all, it wasn't the Northeast where we've been known to go without for days.

So I'm hopeful a nice frozen block of kimchi will be waiting for us on our next trip. We will then revisit the dilemma, but with plenty of time to consider all options. I can only wonder how hard it must be to get rid of a body if one had the need.

And to all you blog readers who say you could never start a blog because you have nothing to write about. You can no longer use that as an excuse.......

Bi-coastal pincushions

Tomorrow morning I will be saying "good-bye" to my west coast pincushion. It has served me well for the scant amount of sewing I've done during this visit. It's small and sturdy.....what with all those Chinese children holding it upright....and holds just enough pins for a quick hem job on a pair of pants or a small gift for a friend.
Tomorrow evening I will get re-acquainted with my east coast pincushion--the one that withstood the remodel and can handle just about any sewing project I can fit into the treehouse. And that reminds me of a quick text-message chat I had with Tech Guy yesterday. I remarked that his new apartment, with its front door right on the sidewalk of a major thoroughfare, might be visited by hoards of trick-or-treaters this Halloween. He wrote back that he has plans to leave town to join his sister in NYC for some kind of big city holiday doins'.

"Will you wear a costume?" I texted.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what yet," he wrote.

"It won't require any mom sewing will it?" I asked.

"No," he said. "You're finally free!"

I guess a mom really knows her kids have grown up when they no longer need her for Halloween costume construction.

Mr. Gadget and I had a very pleasant trip to Horton Plaza in San Diego, although I almost thought I was back in Mexico or Guatemala....what with all the colors, not to mention the Spanish being spoken.
And really, who can hear the name "Horton" without thinking of Dr. Seuss? There were so many weirdly shaped buildings painted in wild colors that I was somewhat overcome with a strange desire to compose silly poetry.

We met my cousin for lunch at the Napa Grill, where we found the food to be excellent but the service just mediocre. They seemed overwhelmed by the noon lunch crowd. Maybe next time we should plan to have lunch around tea time.....

The drive down to San Diego brought back fond memories of my childhood. My mother's parents lived in a small town called Leucadia, just north of there, where my grandfather was postmaster. I used to sit on the counter and help him greet customers. Sometimes he would assign me simple tasks, like putting "occupant" mail in all of the post office boxes. I was a good little helper......until I mixed the stamp money with the package money and then I got fired.....

Here's a picture of my mother and her parents back in the day. I hardly ever saw my grandfather without a hat, and my grandmother never wore pants. People dressed up more back then. They're sitting on a blanket at the beach. They had a different idea of sunscreen in those days.....

I'm pretty sure this is a picture of my grandfather (on the tricycle) with his little brother, but I'm going to have to do some checking with family members to be sure. I don't know if little boys wore skirts back then. But at least he's holding his hat nicely; grandpa's is on the ground where he's about to roll over it with is tricycle.

The blog will resume soon, from the east coast, after I've greeted my pincushion and put on some socks......

Where are the pigeon police?

Over the weekend, Mr. Gadget and I took a walk down by the beach and noticed this family surrounded by pigeons having a feeding frenzy.

And with this many pigeons gathered in one place--with more on their way--you just know pigeon poop is inevitable. Now I wonder.....just how healthy an environment is this for a little guy? Then again, maybe a once-a-week dose of pigeon poop is healthier than being around the daily cigarette smoking of his mother who I conveniently cropped out. Gotta wonder.

Makes me think of Mr. G's brother who quite a few years ago was doing graduate work in ornithology. The kids affectionately called him "Uncle Birdie." He was used to regular contact with bird poop because of his field work. But he was always clean-looking and freshly scented when he came to visit. Which makes me believe that it cleans up well.

So here's one of the jacket fronts almost finished. I still have some details to fill in. I'll probably sew beads in the flower centers, and a few bead clusters around the leaves. After I complete the whole project (you know, after the next cruise....) I'll take it out in the sun for a nice photo that will better show its true colors.

And yesterday I met an old friend for lunch and gave her a belated birthday present. This made up for the card I sent much too early. I purchased this hand-painted ceramic bowl in Mexico for a mere pittance (but don't tell her I told you!) and then found the fabric from which I stitched up the little bread cloth. She thought I was very clever. "Cheap" is a more appropriate word than "clever".

So tomorrow Mr. G and I are driving to San Diego to meet my cousin and take her to lunch. We're going to Horton Plaza, which I hear is quite picturesque with many shops and restaurants. I plan to take my camera. I hope there are no pigeons......

Colorful craftiness and more

So moving on from prunes........one of my favorite stops on the cruise was Guatemala. While I oogled and shopped, Mr. Gadget took photos of the local marketplace.
I'm not a very good negotiator. That's really more Mr. G's area of expertise. But there's apparently a law or something that says you can't pay full price for anything in a Central American flea market. And since Mr. G was operating the camera and had no intention of buying anything, I got to practice. Most of the crafts were bright-colored textiles and wood carvings. All of the vendors were (what a surprise!) intent on selling. I picked up a couple of souvenirs and practiced some basic Spanish: "No, gracias!" Even the tug boats were colorful in Guatemala.



And here's Mr. G. as we traveled through the locks of the Panama Canal. It seemed to be a day for blue ships, so I asked him to wear his blue shirt.....just to keep with the colorful theme of the blog, of course.

So now I'm going to look over my loot from today's road trip to M & L Discount Fabrics in Anaheim. Disneyland used to be my favorite Anaheim destination, but not any more.


Mr. G. offered to drive me there and wait in the car reading magazines while I shopped. What a guy! So as soon as the football game is over (Penn State is winning so he's in a good mood!) I'll give him a nice back rub and tell him how lucky I am to have a husband who supports my fabric addiction. Maybe tomorrow I'll mention the yarn shop. No, I probably shouldn't press my luck.....