Fun with mom

Here's what greeted me this morning when I decided to make myself some poached eggs for breakfast.

Tech Guy, who is staying with us temporarily....though I can't say I've received any free tech support....decided to have a little fun after a night out with friends. He especially enjoys toying with the fridge.

Here is the bird factory--wherein I work for minimum wage.

Notice those cute little bird scissors!

Here is the area immediately surrounding the bird factory.

This is the table between our two recliner chairs in the great room. The lamp on the table effectively makes both Mr. Gadget and I invisible to each other, except for our legs and feet. Add this to our diminished hearing due to the high ceilings, and maybe this isn't such a great room after all. Or maybe we are just getting old prematurely.

Notice, too, the neat little arrangement of remotes on Mr. Gadget's side. It's really amazing we've remained married 30 years.See these stacking basket thingies? Mr. Gadget bought them for me at Costco last week. I'm going to use them to store all of my various factory jobs. Now I just need a hard hat.

From the hanger factory

I know I promised to hold off on the bird pictures till I had a whole flock. In the meantime, here's a whole flock of mini-sweaters. Yesterday, while I was at the senior knitting group, I sewed the sweaters to the hangers with little tiny stitches so they won't slip off. A few days ago, while watching The People's Court (I wonder just how clueless some people can be?), I went into hanger-production mode. They go pretty fast, once you get the hang of it.....

These little sweaters seem to generate lots of conversation. Non-knitters think it's magic that I can knit something so small. Sometimes I tell them I've had lots of sock-knitting practice and it's not unlike that. And other times I just keep my mouth shut and let them think I have super-human powers.

So the other day I decided to organize a small portion of my kitchen that's been in disarray for the whole two years plus that we've lived here in the Concondo--the cupboard that holds the plastic food containers.

For 3 bucks at Target I got the little green thingie. It holds all the lids. This is shaving at least 2 minutes off my kitchen clean-up time. I wonder just how clueless some people can be?

A tad tardy

I meant to post this picture on Easter. But then it was the day after. And now it's the day after that. How did that happen?

I've been enjoying the mindless knitting of dishcloths. Today I was at Michael's looking for wire to make mini-hangers for the mini-sweaters, and I thought I would pick up more cotton dishcloth yarn. But the regular price was twice the sale price I paid a few weeks ago, so I'll just shove this project to the back burner.

On Easter morning, as Mr. Gadget and I sat with our coffee and the newspaper, I found myself harking back to an earlier Easter morning at the home of my grandparents. My grandfather, who I called Grandpa Guy because his first name was Guy, was as excited as all get-out when he called me over to look outside the kitchen window. There in the dirt below were two big footprints he was sure had been left by the Easter Bunny. I've never forgotten this all these years later.

Here is a picture of my grandparents with my mother when she was about 18. It was taken in the late 1930's.

My grandmother, whose name was Cleo and who I called Grammy, was a cat person. She always had several cats and I can still see her sitting in the rocking chair--one of those glider ones--with a cat in her lap, belly side up, with a flea comb. She was quite an accomplished seamstress and needleworker, and I have several yards of her beautiful tatting that I still have not found the perfect project for. She loved to feed the birds. She'd wire old tin cans to the back fence to hold bread crumbs and whatever else she thought the birds might like.

My Grampa Guy was, for several years, the postmaster in the small town where they lived just north of San Diego. I used to spend time with him in the post office...which pleased him....until the day I mixed the stamp money with the money order money, and then he wasn't so happy. Sometimes I would sit on his lap in the afternoons while he listened to Drew Pearson on the radio. And once in a while I would ask him to write something so I could admire his beautiful handwriting.

There were two special things I loved to eat at Grammy and Grandpa Guy's house. One was fresh apricots just picked from their apricot tree. The other was cake donuts dipped in coffee. I didn't like coffee, but there was just something about dunking those donuts that appealed.

Grammy died quite a few years before Grandpa which left him feeling rather lost. He would often drive up to our house (about 100 miles north) in his green Chevrolet and spend a few days, or a month. We never knew. I remember very few things about that time, but I do remember this. He would watch TV by standing right in front of the set with his hands behind his back. He would drink milk right out of the carton. And each night he'd leave his false teeth in a jar by his bed. Neither have I forgotten this all these years later.

Entertaining my inner child

So yesterday I was at the grocery store and, on a whim, I purchased this...plus an extra dozen eggs. We don't celebrate Easter in a big way at our house, but I do have fond childhood memories of dyeing eggs and hiding my basket for the Easter Bunny to find and fill with goodies. Those dyed eggs would always find their way into my basket. My mother assured me that the Bunny always knew to look in the fridge....just like she assured me that Santa always carried a set of master keys so he could get into our house without a chimney.

For the first time ever, I consulted a cookbook to check out the directions for making hard-boiled eggs. I've always winged it, and always ended up with a few cracked ones.

This time....no cracks! But wait. What is that? How did a mango with an annoying sticker sneak in there?

Here they are....colorfully displayed in a little hand-crafted basket. This was so easy to do. I drew a bunny on paper with long arms stretched out at right angles to his body, then drew around it on fabric. Next I sewed all around and turned him right side out. Then I lightly stuffed him and drew the features on. No need to do a whole bunny....just the upper half because the bottom is hidden in the Easter grass. Finally, just glue the bunny paw around the handle.

Long ago, when Tech Guy and Big City Girl were young, I decided to do a little Easter morning magic. I worked long and hard on this project. I was sure they would be amazed. I hid a whole deck of cards around the house....with each card being in a different hiding place. Then after Easter breakfast, I told them to call out a card by number and suit and I would go find it. I proceeded to find a dozen cards or so, until they got so bored they decided to watch cartoons and eat their Easter candy. My mom magic went over like rotten eggs.

The whole enchilada

The five-course meal came together nicely--especially after I added a few herbs and spices.

I have to admit, I'm a little tired of making these witchy gals. But they do seem to sell, and I've never been averse to puffing up my craft fund.

Yesterday my favorite magazine came in the mail.

Mr. Gadget gave me a subscription for Christmas. It only comes every 3 months, so after it arrives I drop everything, make myself a cup o' coffee, and head for my recliner. I was especially intrigued with this doll--called a burd by its creator.

It bears a striking resemblance to one of mine, don't you think?

Now I'm wondering how The Bawdy One would look in bunny slippers. Remember how attractive they were on Santa?

So Mr. Gadget has recently taken on a crafty project of his own.

He's refinishing a table he made many years ago. For a long time, it was our family coffee table--although rarely did I serve coffee on it. Mostly it was where TG and BCG did their crafty projects, and occasionally their homework. It also served as a handy foot stool. Soon it will have a new life in our great room. Great room. That's just another term for a room with a high ceiling and bad acoustics that lead its occupants to believe they are going deaf much too soon.

The underside of the table is covered with childish scribbles. Even the neighborhood kids got into the act. I made my wishes known to Mr. Gadget that he should not paint over this masterly work of art, thereby insuring it will remain a lasting reminder of just how naughty children can be when their parents think they're in the basement playing nicely.

A la carte

Appetizer

Salad

Soup Entree

Dessert

Bon Appetit!

Sucking it up

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I feel badly about it. It's just that I haven't been feeling especially crafty lately. And now that I've backed off from belittling Mr. Gadget, there's hardly anything to write about...

Today I considered starting a new doll, and then I decided to clean the freezer instead. It's a sad day around here when the idea of ferreting out old, well-past-the-expiration-date food from the fridge is more alluring that sitting down at the sewing machine.

I did, however, discover another use for my handy little Dyson vacuum--my all-time favorite household gadget. It's a whiz at vacuuming up all those little bits and bobs that accumulate in the bottom of the freezer compartments. Where do those come from anyway? Probably the same place as the dust bunnies who move in while we're out of the house for weeks.

We've decided to put off the stair-runner purchase for now. Maybe even forever. I finally came to my senses when I realized the cost of one stair-runner equals the cost of one cruise almost. Good thing I got my priorities straight.

So the other day I got to thinking about the sweaters I started long ago and then banished to the time-out closet. First was the Plymouth. I purchased the yarn on a girls' trip to Plymouth, Mass. a few years go. I can't even remember why I abandoned it.

Then there was The Red Pest. This one gave me no end of headaches. I really should get them both out of the closet and work through the trouble spots. It would be nice to have two new sweaters. I think I'll do that. But first, maybe I should scrub the toilets. Too bad the Dyson can't do those....

A birdless ramble

Yesterday I cut out, stuffed, and applied gesso to two witch doll heads.

This is in preparation for adding clay.

I re-designed the head pattern to be a little longer.

Who knew foreheads needed fore-thought.

I'm also knitting dishcloths with Sugar and Spice cotton yarn.

They're great for washing up a few dishes.

Or cleaning off the kitchen counter.

Then just toss them in the washing machine.

Michael's had the yarn on sale this week for $1.00/skein.

Better hurry!

Mr. Gadget and I have decided we need a runner on our stairway.

Both Tech Guy and I have taken headers on the slippery wood.

My Thanksgiving knee is almost back to 100%.

I have no interest in an Easter knee.

We're leaning toward that dark red swirly pattern.

It's just to the left of the black one with dots.

These are not inexpensive.

Too bad I can't knit one.

I'm still making birds,

but I will hold off on the photos till I have a whole flock.

I wouldn't want to be accused of over-birding.

I kinda like writing this way.

Short sentences that don't require a lot of thought.

No worries about incorrect spelling,

run-on sentences or

dangling participles.

The perfect format for when I have

pretty much nothing to say....

Sometimes you just have to dig something up

There's been nothing but birds here lately, and I fear you readers may be getting bored. So here's just one more, and then I'll talk about something much more interesting....

Ten things about me:

I graduated from college when I was 51.

My favorite food is lemon meringue pie.

When I was a teenager I made most of my own clothes.

I've been to all 7 continents.

I've flown in the Goodyear blimp.

I don't like peas or liver.

I'm not good at games of strategy.

I'm a cat person; I don't care much for dogs.

Many years ago I took the est training and I continue to find it valuable.

I've been parasailing in Mazatlan.

Bird brain

Not much going on in the Treehouse lately other than birds, and I've been able to do most of the work on them from the comfort of my recliner while watching the People's Court. I've learned a lot from that show and if I ever found myself in small claims court I'd be well-prepared. It's all about paperwork. I'd much rather face Judge Marilyn than Judge Judy, that's for sure. Judge Judy would probably make me cry--especially if she called me Madam.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on felted flowers. I was able to do a small marketing study last weekend when Big City Girl was here. She said she was quite fond of them and asked if she could take one home. From this I've concluded they aren't totally lame.

And from the Things That Need Updating file, here's one of those universal symbols you see all over the place:

I think it's high time for an update: