The top ten

 Cuba

 The pool rooster

 Rain

 In my next lifetime

 Restaurant

 Doorstop

 The accommodations

 Sunset

 Boat

Iguana



A view from a beach chair

Greetings from Grand Cayman....where the palm trees and iguanas are plentiful, and where poultry--one rooster and two hens--patrol the pool deck.  The iguanas come out in the afternoons to loll in the sun, and the chickens make their appearance around the cocktail hour.

The weather has been great and I've been spending most of my time reading.  It's good to give the knitting muscles a rest now and then.  On my Kindle I have Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill who was the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her.  And from the library I have This is How by Augusten Burroughs.  It's a departure from his usual style.  In it he writes about how to deal with many of life's challenges, and his suggestions are simple and refreshing.  I'm about halfway through The Shoemaker's Wife--which I wasn't able to finish in time for a library discussion group before I left.

I did get word from the deciders...who decided my idea for a "Celebrating our Creativity" day at the condo complex was a good one and that they will even provide some food and drink and clean-up.  Did I ever mention that I'm not an organizer?  I'm the type who likes to work in the background--doing posters, serving coffee, taking the trash out and those kinds of things.  I wonder what's come over me?  I think I'd better go back out to my beach chair and contemplate things....

Leaving the perch

Mr. Gadget and I are going away for a week.  But, alas, it is not a cruise!  Our friends have a timeshare in Grand Cayman and have invited us to join them.  And we have an empty week on the calendar, so why not?  We have to leave for the airport at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, but after that it should be pain-free.

So I thought I'd share a photo of something I made for Big City Girl.

Tree placemats and wine-glass cloth napkins.  I tried to find fabric with leaves for the napkins, but no luck, so I went with the wine.  She has some red dishes that should look nice with them.  I'm hopeful they won't morph into dustmops.

Now I'm going to finish packing and get to bed at a reasonable hour.  Then I'll lay awake worrying about whether the alarm will go off. And if I packed everything I'll need.  And if there'll be road construction on the way to the airport.  And if the flight will be bumpy.  And if I'll have the courage to wear my bathing suit.  Sometimes traveling can be a lot of work.....but somebody's gotta do it...

Roosting on a perch of possibilities

Finally, after four years in the Concondo, the building next to ours is finished and we have a new neighbor. She seems like a pleasant woman, although how much can one discern from a quick howdy-while-passing-a-plate-of-cookies moment?  Time will tell. 

 

Her condo is a mirror image of ours, so my Treehouse windows are almost directly opposite hers--although I doubt that she names her rooms like I do. But I'm kinda curious what she thinks of the crocheted rocks on my windowsill.

And crocheted rocks are a little unusual in themselves, but what must she think of the critters that live on them?  I'm assuming her eyesight is better than mine.  Then again, I've been known to get the binoculars out if I'm really intent on poking into someone's business.  

And it's not as if there's just one critter.  They seem to be multiplying.  This new neighbor may have already decided to keep a safe distance from me.

So, I'm about to hatch a plan.  An idea bubbled up in my brain the other day (Mr. Gadget calls these brain farts).  Wouldn't it be fun, I thought, for all of the creative people in the complex to gather for a show-and-tell.  There are many talented residents.  There's Mr. Gadget with his woodworking. There's a Norwegian knitter, a model shipbuilder, a textile artist, a jewelry maker.....and me with all my stuff.  And new people are moving in all the time.  Who knows what treasures are yet to be discovered?

I've proposed the idea to the deciders and am now waiting for an answer.  Soon I should know if it's fledge-ready.....or if I've just laid an egg.

A short wedding verse

It was a lavish and high-spirited production;

the ring-bearer's pillow was the star.

 

Of the interesting cast of characters,

Big City Girl was most beautiful by far!

 Today we're all in recovery

from the open bar and cake.

But mostly from the earsplitting music

that caused us to shudder and quake.



 

More blood-letting

I've discovered a new hobby.  Not that I need a new hobby.  It's called needle-felting and it's almost as life-threatening as woodcarving.  Good thing I stocked up on bandaids.

And really, the dried blood doesn't show much on the black.  This is the first of my felted bags--the one I wasn't thrilled with.  It's not obvious in the photo, but the edge of the flap doesn't lay flat.  So I decided to use it as a practice piece.....and now...I think some of the thrill is back.  I'll put the strap on and a snap closure and keep it in the family.

I decided, for a change, that it might be wise to get some lessons on needle felting before jumping in blindly--as I am so often wont to do. So I went to that magic how-to-do-anything place--Youtube.  It's so handy to have an everything teacher right here in the house.

After viewing a few videos I just sort of belly-flopped in. And, surprisingly, it's pretty easy to do.  Certain needle-felted items might take some practice, but just punching colorful wool fibers into an already-felted bag wasn't all that difficult.  The trick is to keep the barbed needle--the tool of the trade--away from your fingers.  So it helps to have the bandaids handy.....and an urgent care facility just down the street.

I'll tell you more about needle felting soon.  Now I need to prepare for Big City Girl's arrival later today and the big wedding extravaganza this weekend.  The bride will be sorely mistaken if she thinks she'll be the center of attention at this gala affair. It will most definitely be the ring-bearer's pillow, don't we all agree?  I'm going to try to arrange for a spotlight to follow it down the aisle.  

Thirty-two

Mr. Gadget has a way with words. He always knows just the right words for what he means, and he rarely goes off on tangents like I do. 

So when he shopped for a card to give me on our anniversary yesterday, he selected one that was short and to the point.

He waited until today to give me my gift.  He went with a friend to the car show in NYC, and left me in the house alone all day.  It was almost as good as chocolate.

I felt a little sorry for him though.  Since his friend was driving, Mr. G. offered to pay for the parking.  The bill was $60.  That's New York for you.  Actually, it was just $50, but there was a premium for a pick-up truck....which is what his friend was driving.  But his friend took pity on Mr. Gadget--since they had no idea the parking would be so expensive--and he offered to split it with him.  So it was almost a bargain at $30, and left him enough to pay $5 for a third-rate hot dog. 

I enjoyed my alone time, and was blissfully wallowing in the solitude...until the grounds crew started up one of their fancy machines.

It was a mulch-spreader-hose thingie and it was loud.  And it took two guys to operate it.....one to hold the hose, and one to talk with Mulch Headquarters to get specific instructions on spreading the mulch...that he then passed on to the  hose guy.  Mr. Gadget arrived home just as they were finishing the spreading of the mulch, and then it was time to decide what to make for dinner.

So I'm thinking this anniversary gift was clearly defective.  And I'm thinking of asking Mr. Gadget to return it for a better one.  One that's much quieter and a lot less mulchy.

Don't look a gift purse in the mouth

I've been working on felted shoulder bags and today I actually finished one. 

This will be a gift for a friend who really appreciates handmade things. Some friends don't.  It's a big mistake to give those friends handmade gifts.  That's something we makers of handmade things usually find out the hard way.  The only time we get to see the gift is when the recipient takes it out of the wrapped box. Then it moves on to a bottom drawer somewhere, or they pass it on to someone else--who they hope you don't know and therefore don't socialize with.  Because, otherwise, well, it could be a bit awkward or downright embarrassing.

The friend to whom I'm gifting this bag is always appreciative.  She'll be using this bag the very next time I see her, and she'll tell me how much she loves the color and the flower, and how the strap is just the perfect length, etc. etc.  She'll gush.  I'm always a little uncomfortable around gushers.  I'd just like to say, "enough already."  But, of course, I wouldn't do that.  Gushers love to gush, and who am I to deny them the opportunity.

I added a few sparkly beads to the flower.  This friend, who already has one of my red flower pins, commented once that I should make some with bead embellishments, since many women love a little bling.  I'm not the blingy type, so I don't often think of that.  But this friend, in addition to being a gusher, loves her bling.

She's also a dog person.  She has a Boston terrier.  So I'm thinking of making her a little something for her dog.  Did you see this free pattern from Joann's?

Isn't it the cutest!  It's almost enough to make me gush.