A good time for chipmunking

You may remember a word I used a few years ago to describe how I go about approaching certain projects. Chipmunking.  I don't think you'll find it in the dictionary.  I mentioned it here along with some other terms I may, or may not, have invented.  Chipmunking is a behavior I adopted after observing a backyard chipmunk visitor.  He used to circle repeatedly....sometimes till he was silly dizzy....around a dish of sunflower seeds before homing in on it for a big feast.

Today I put several unfinished projects in the middle of the Treehouse floor and began circling.  I stopped short of the silly dizzy part (that's my normal demeanor) and homed in on this scarf.  I know it looks finished, but it's not. I think it needs a little more fluff.

Here's how I'm making it. With yarn I crocheted a long strip--as long as I wanted the scarf.  Then, on the right side I used the crochet hook to attach strips of yarn.  Think of rug hooking.  The yarn is lots of colors and textures from my stash. I thought it might result in a dent in my stash, but it just made a little dimple.

Soon I'll be circling again.  I have lots of unfinished stuff.  That little chipmunk was almost like a member of the family.  We named him Bob.  One time Tech Guy was staying at the house while we were gone for a couple of weeks--you know, to keep the house safe.  He invited Bob inside to join him for dinner.  I guess it's a good thing we didn't stay away longer.  We might have come home to deer, foxes, squirrels and a gaggle of turkeys sitting around having a few beers.

Spring? Fagetaboutit!!

Here's the view from my Treehouse on the first day of Spring.  Do you like to display small treasures on the windowsills like I do?  That's a painted house rock on the left--made by a friend's daughter.  The round one is a piece of coral from Grand Cayman.  It was sitting on the edge of a dock--probably placed there by a swimmer who spied it in the clear waters.  Finders keepers.

So Mr. Gadget and I are doing a little shopping this morning.  It's my favorite kind of shopping.  He goes to Costco and texts me at home with a picture of something he thinks I might need or want.  Do I really need/want some kitchen-cleaning brushes?  I thought about suggesting he move on down to the dessert case, but thought better of it.

I'm still working on felted Santa ornaments and will put some beards on them today.  It will be good to have something done early this year.  I'm thinking of trying some snowmen.  Yep, that's what happens.  I think I'm done early, but I'm never done.  It's always a mad dash as Fall approaches.

The week ahead will be a busy one.  Mr. Gadget has a birthday.

He's an easy birthday guy.  He's happy with an apple pie. I did order him a little something though and I'm insisting he stay away from the front door tomorrow when I'm expecting it to be delivered.  I love how easy shopping has gotten these days, but it's lots more difficult to keep secrets.

Big City Girl's birthday was this past week, and she'll be coming to visit next weekend.

Her birthdays are pretty easy too.  She's happy with a gift card for books on her Kindle and a nice helping of chicken parm.  She did tell me that her boyfriend gave her some boxing headgear.  How exciting!  Now that she's moved up to advanced boxing at the gym she goes to, she says she needs some head protection.  Can you imagine someone coming at this pretty little face with a left hook?  Please God, just let me find a good place to stick my head in the sand.

Stirring up some Santas

I've been cooking.  On the menu: felted Santa ornaments.  I already have 4 cups, but I'm thinking it might be wise to make a double batch.  Now that people have tasted them, they might want a second helping.

Yesterday I took some time to clean and organize my fiber pantry.  Food storage bags work great for keeping the colors separated so they don't fight with each other.  They do that you know.  I hear them during the night sometimes. When I was done all that remained was a big pile of crumbs.  So I threw them in my stew pot and added a little wine.

Won't Mr. Gadget be surprised when he sees what we're having for dinner....

A batch of patches

Hi Everyone!  I'm back....after a nice little blog break.  I was kinda burned out.  I'm feeling all rested up now and ready to roll once again.  And rather than rehash everything that's gone on over the last couple of months, I think I'll just start from now.

I do have several projects in the works....with the end-of-year craft fairs in mind.  I'm also considering starting an Etsy shop....if I can get my brain to understand all the tech stuff involved (I did just get the Idiot's Guide and I can only hope I at least meet that criteria).  I also need to consider the fact that sometimes I'm here and sometimes I'm there, and I don't want a shop that's closed more than it's open.

I've been in stitching mode lately and have been embroidering more patches.  I started this patch hobby with the one I made for Big City Girl a while back.  I made one for each of two cousins during our winter stay in California.

 

 

And now I've just finished one for myself.

I do get embroidery burn-out after a while and have to move on to something else, but I find the process very therapeutic and very portable.  It's a great project for when Mr. Gadget starts to drone on about some sort of new tech gadget and my brain goes out for a coffee break.

A kitty ditty

Can I just say the cat ate my blog?

Lately the writing of it seems like a slog.

Maybe the Christmas cookies put my brain in a fog.

I should probably just excuse myself and

go out for a jog.

Stringy thingy ding-a-lingy

So maybe 2015 will be the year of the silly post titles.  I made some progress on the needle-felted string of lights (pictured here on dear-ol'-dad's fig tree with its winter haircut), but now I've put it away until later in the year when I may, or may not, add six more lights.

I have an experiment underway to make paper mache pulp out of cardboard egg cartons.  I put little torn bits of the cartons in my grandmother's old mashed-potato-pot-that-I-can't-part-with and I poured some boiling water over them. 

They've been sitting now for several days and I need to do something with them soon before they get moldy.  Which means that I will have to come up with a paper mache project idea.  As of right now I don't have one.

I've also been knitting on the cowl that I referred to earlier, using Noro yarn I was gifted.  I should hurry up and finish it and send it off to Big City Girl who is freezing her butt off back in the deep freeze that is New York City.  I'm sure her father and I made her feel much better when we sent her a picture of us sitting on the beach in 80 degree weather....

We've been very lucky this winter with warmer-than-usual weather here in southern California.  We did narrowly avoid another plumbing disaster last week, so all is not completely rosy....just so ya know.  Our condo complex is showing its age and needs to be propped up now and then...just like the residents.  I keep wondering who all these old people are who live here...

Red-sweateritis

I was prodded...or maybe I should say needled....into making a few more.  Someone else saw them and asked if I could somehow squeeze half a dozen more into my Christmas crazy time.  Of course I said yes.  So now they are done and I hope they've been received by now.  I had to mail them from California because Mr. Gadget and I are now at the Calcondo (where the temps are in the mid-70's) getting ready to celebrate Christmas with our Cali relatives.

I've started a new knitting project...on much bigger needles...which takes some getting used to after lots of teeny, tiny needles....and I will show it to you next time, after I've made a little progress.  It was one of those serendipitous things.  I had yarn that had been gifted to me and I didn't know what to use it for.  Then I happened upon a pattern for a cowl that is simple to knit, and one of the suggested yarns is my gift yarn.  And since I have some car time coming up (we're going north) it will be just the thing to help me pass the time, and refrain from backseat driving.  I know, I know.  But some people do need a little extra help.

A stringy thingy

I'm off on another needle-felting tangent. The ideas are never-ending.  The other evening I was just wasting time, I mean doing some important yarny research on Ravelry--that fabulous website that sucks me in and eats up my whole day--when I discovered a pattern for a string of knitted Christmas lights.  I thought they were so clever that I mentioned them to Mr. Gadget (I politely waited till an exciting football play was over).  "I'll bet you could needle-felt them," he said.

"Why yes I could!" I exclaimed.  I was gobsmacked by this great crafty idea coming out of his non-crafty head.  I ran to get my felting supplies. 

A dozen lights on a string will be just about right.  I could string them along the mantel, or even wear them as a necklace. 

So it was a busy weekend with me doing a volunteer stint at the senior center holiday bazaar and then our annual condo party (to which I took an appetizer that was a complete bust), and a Sunday dinner out with our cruising friends.  I gave my friend, Jane, a witch for Christmas. I know witches aren't at all Christmasy, but Jane was overjoyed.  It was one she had admired just before I drove the whole coven up to the October craft fair. 

As luck would have it, only this particular witch didn't sell, so I decided to gift it to Jane.  I had to be very tactful though.  I didn't want her to think this witch was a reject--a real undesirable that no one else wanted.  So I told her she had been hiding out at the old hotel and saving herself.  Jane was very pleased.

So now I'm done with crafts for the year.  Well, except for the can't-say-no sweater ornaments.  Someone saw the ones I donated to the senior center and chased me down to ask if I had any more at home. "Well, I might," I told them.  "Let me check and I'll call you back." 

Felting up some festiveness

The last time I was shopping for felting supplies I found some evergreen fiber and bought it with the idea of making Christmas trees.

They would look nice, I thought, sitting on the mantel with the collection of paper houses I plan to make....maybe using old Christmas cards....and illuminate with battery-operated tealights.  I have no idea when I'll get around to this.  Maybe in my next life.....if I decide to come back...

I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving.  Ours was very nice and included some traditional activities-- a jigsaw puzzle and a game of Scrabble.  Luckily I had some knitting to work on because I find puzzles tedious, and my brain works too slowly to play word games with Mr. Gadget and Big City Girl.

No sooner had BCG and her boyfriend left on Friday morning, than our nephew and his girlfriend--both college students in Massachusetts--arrived. Thankfully, we had plenty of leftovers.  Dylan, our nephew, was quick to express his burning desire to visit the nearby go cart track--something he had done on a previous visit--but it wasn't meant to be.  He had arrived on crutches.  Something about a rough game of frisbee.

So, we came up with an alternate plan which was to take a nice picturesque drive up to the old hotel to visit the craft show.  They seemed agreeable although I know they were just being polite.

Once at the hotel, I was eager to show them my craftiness.  But, alas, there were very few of my items on display.  Could most everything have sold on the first day?  Unlikely.  So I checked with the lady working the check-out desk and found out that, yes, it was true that not many of my things had sold and it may have been because some of them were in the basement being saved for the second weekend--this being the first time they've held the show for two consecutive weekends.

I'm not sure I'm happy with this plan.  It probably suits the show organizers because they can have a fresh show the second time around, and they can tell their customers to be sure to come back because there'll be new offerings.  But it doesn't suit the craftsperson.  Something might not sell the second weekend--something that could have struck the fancy of a first-weekend customer.

I like the fact that I can deliver my crafts to the show location and let someone else sell them.  But the downside is that I don't have a say in how they're displayed or, in this case, when.  Whereas in a craft show where I've rented a table, done my own set-up, and stayed all day to do the selling, I have more leeway.  I enjoy that, but the older I get the less I like to get up before the sun and schlep everything somewhere.  So I'll just keep my mouth shut....which has never gotten me in trouble before. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a short post to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  Our turkey is in the oven and Mr. Gadget is on his way to the train station to pick up Big City Girl (delayed a day because of snow).

I'm thankful for so many things.....my wonderful family and friends and my faithful blog readers.  You've hung in during the dry spells and the crazy posts, and that recent time when I asked you all to "please hold."  I'm grateful for all of you!

So Happy Thanksgiving all, and let's think about making this a day to celebrate the turkey neck.  Be proud.  Leave those cowls and scarves in the drawer. Go forth and strut!

Souvenir

I usually don't buy trinkets or souvenirs when I travel, mostly because I'm in the thinning out stage of my life rather than the bulking up.  When I do buy something it's because it will serve a useful purpose and not just collect dust.  That's why I bought this delightfully colorful coffee mug in Portugal. 

I admired the bright colors and the fact that it said "Portugal" on both the front and back.  It would be used, if not every day, certainly on a regular basis.  I do love my coffee.

So by now I'm sure you've realized that it's pretty much just a black mug (with a little unintended reflection).  That's because after the first washing the pretty design began to peel off, and with very little coaxing the whole thing just basically came unglued.  So now I have a plain black mug that will provide no special remembrance of my time in Portugal.  I do have a black t-shirt to match it though, and I will try to remember to drink coffee from my black mug when I'm wearing it.  Well,  at least until I can make arrangements to return it for a full refund...

Recooooperating

I'm feeling much better today after spending most of yesterday in my recliner under my heated throw.  This was all thanks to a flu shot I had the day before.  I've never had anything worse than a sore arm in the past.  Mr. Gadget took good care of me....brewing tea, bringing Tylenol, and even offering to go out last night to get me some frozen yogurt.  I'm feeling much better today.....but please don't tell Mr. G.

I did manage to dose myself up enough yesterday morning to drive up to the old hotel with my handiwork for the Christmas craft show.  The show has always been the first weekend in December, but this year they've decided to do it for two weekends beginning right after Thanksgiving.

Here are a couple of my needle-felted pieces:

I knitted more sweater ornaments this year--some for the craft show and some to donate to the senior center for their holiday bazaar. I think I referred to them earlier as the "can't-say-no" sweaters.  When someone asks me to volunteer to do something, and they preface it by saying  "oh, they're so wonderful and you're so talented and they sold like hotcakes last year," my brain says no, but my mouth says yes.  How does that happen?

 

So now I'm sitting here in the Treehouse amidst the mess--threads, stuffing, little bits of fiber, jars of paint, needles and pins, and little beads rolling around.  Where is that stateroom steward when you really need him?

Interlopers

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the ancient Roman city of Ephesus on the outskirts of Kusadasi, Turkey. The locals, including our tour guide who insisted on calling us "dear guests," call it Kush-a-das-eh. 

We saw the Library of Celsus....

and the Temple of Hadrian.

  This is the huge amphitheater....

 

...and the toilets.  Always plenty of seating so never an annoying line.

But what surprised me the most were these little furballs--clearly freeloaders who were just lounging around like they owned the joint.

Halloween at sea

As I mentioned, after seeing a crate of pumpkins being loaded on the ship in Venice, I was pretty sure there would be some Halloween fun.

This was the hostess who greeted us in the dining room.

I'm sure the kitchen crew had fun carving these during the wee hours.

Two Halloween beauties...

Here are a few of the costumes worn by passengers:

Crafty things along the way

I had a hunch there'd be some Halloween festivities onboard when I saw a big crate of pumpkins on a forklift in Venice.

 

 Cat in a shop window (Funchal, Madeira, Portugal)

Even the sidewalks were crafty!

 

 Store front of a woodcrafter's shop (Orvieto, Italy)

 

                                               Weaving studio (Orvieto)

 

 Fabric chickens (Taormina, Italy)

 

Ceramic jugs (Taormina) 

 

 Paper-mache masks (Taormina)

 

Pretty felted things (Istanbul) 

 

 Buttons and embellishments (Athens Archeological Museum)

 

 Hand-woven carpets (Istanbul)

 

Ceramic basset hound (Sorrento, Italy) 

 

Statue on a balcony (Barcelona) 

 

 Cement sculpture on side of a building (Sorrento)

 

Be-jeweled dog on a sweater (Taormina) 

Street entertainer "statue" (Barcelona)