Japanese Sweet Shop

At Recess~

2009-03-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

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I miss my girls on Flickr and Etsy so much!

This weekend, a group I've been working with and I will launch an important website.

But I am beside myself with excitement to think about when I can return to my other life of adventures in cuteness!

I hope you're all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as always, and swimming in cuteness 24 hours a day!

Mwah!

Ah-choo!

2009-03-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

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We're living in a dustbowl. ( * o * )

Even though it looks as if not much progress has been made, progress really has been made! The dust is oh so challenging, but the end product will be so worth it. Fortunately, all dollies and treasures are not sneezing though, because they're safely in hiding.

This photo shows all the walls that were moved for one bedroom, bathroom and the laundry room. We just ordered the stair balusters and contemporary doors. I'm so excited that this bathroom will have a checkerboard pattern of black and white shiny marble (or is it granite?), which has always been one of my favorites.

The two photos below are of my sister's house, who used our contractor/team before us. We've been waiting for them for quite a while. They moved a tiny bathroom in her foyer to open it up. Brett also does beautiful woodwork, which she was able to take advantage of. She had a big space at the end of a hallway, which was perfect for the cushioned bench he built for her.

Nothing will be better than to escape all this chaos and get back to making everything frivolous!

I hope all of you are up to something fun and cheerful. Mwah!

Demolition Eve

2009-02-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

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Bright and early tomorrow morning, the second phase of our remodeling begins. It's so disruptive, and such a mess, but envisioning the "after" will put any woman in a good mood!

I "paced" a lot today, wondering if I had everything ready to go. But my way of pacing is often fiddling with fabric, pens, or whatever I can find. This little bunny was born today, and her bright lime green felt has her named "Margarita."

She's about 3" tall, and has a cloth face with painted eyes.

Sweet dreams!

Happiness Is Mending

2009-02-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

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Obviously, I am lying.... happiness is being all FINISHED mending!

I've always taken hemming/mending to our seamstress, but since I've promised my husband to not spend extra money right now, I was procrastinating hemming a pair of his pants for about 3 weeks.... when I realized he couldn't be wearing corduroys this spring, I knew I better get them done. They are cute pants so they were fun to look at, at least. This designer uses colorful contrast trim, and as his linings too. He's unbelievably expensive, but I got these with a great discount.

Seriously, the only wife and mom tasks I wanna do are the creative ones. Look at these party favors by Bekah ("fullofbliss" on Flickr). Valentines for her kids' classes.... aren't they unbelievable! Make sure to look closely, at all the details. Look at the little bears' feet, notice how all the bunnies are accessorized differently, and see how those iPods are actually boxes of conversation hearts. Bekah is so cute!

I recall being on auto-pilot when I had assignments like this with my own kids, just loved it! Costumes, treatbags, party invitations, posters, science projects--they'd just go to bed because I'd inevitably go overboard and need to stay up till 2 AM to finish. I can't imagine ever rising to the level of Bekah's creations, but it got me thinking about not letting myself be so selfish about hemming a pair of pants. When my husband drops everything to help me with something, I need to show a better attitude I think!

So here's to being happy to do all the boring things we need to do as wives and mothers.

Cheers!

Representing No One

2009-02-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

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***To everyone that visits my blog sometimes, you'll probably notice that what I wrote today hardly sounds like me. Since I've been nicknamed "Sunshine" for many years (for my cheerfulness and silliness), please forgive my uncharacteristic anger today. I'm still Sunshine, but today I'm feeling more like a mother just trying to protect her cubs.

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It isn't often that I find a day in which I'm inspired to create nothing. Nothing. I don't even remember the last day I felt like this actually.

First of all, Bush couldn't have left soon enough. And like so many others, I am thrilled about the freshness of our new President and all the excitement of repairing so many outrageous failures these last few years. Psst, I admit I was secretly hoping for Hillary, though. :o)

Now, almost overnight it seems, all my liberal and conservative loved ones nationwide feel disillusioned by their "party". When has that ever happened?

A while back, I was delighted to receive the stimulus check from Bush. That's nice, I thought at the time, and didn't think much more about it.

But later, I realized it had successfully stimulated nothing. Just another Bush failure. Then I began to consider our economy more deeply.

Next, when the first "bailout" package was proposed, I actually spent long hours in organized efforts to oppose it, since various business people I knew gave outstanding arguments against it (more often than not). Actually, I was first convinced when DH, who's been in the automotive industry for nearly 40 years, remarked to me that one of the biggest solicitors for government funds was GM, a company he fully knew had been mismanaged and faltering for years. He told me that any government funding they received would simply delay their likely dissolution only, and would hardly "save" their corporation like everyone was being led to believe. Darling Mister explained that before GM even sees a dime on any of their vehicles sold, thousands of dollars first go to retired executive pensions, the UAW, etc. Dang, that certainly would be wasted government funding then. The other automakers have similar pension, etc. requirements also, but GM was notoriously in the red the deepest. Now I see why DH was rather ticked about these CEO's flying in on their fancy carbon tootsie-print flyers. Thankfully, he doesn't work for GM.

At any rate, none of that mattered in the end, because, just like the BILLIONS that simply vanished for Katrina aid (can you imagine?), countless companies and banks cannot account for again, BILLIONS received from Uncle Sam (ultimately YOU and I, of course). So did Bush's bailout #1 help our failing economy? No.

So now we are supposed to be pacified again? With our so-called representatives passing an even more astronomical "bailout"? A "bailout" that is literally a jumbled mess? A bailout that has so many components that aren't related to creating jobs? Just how foolish can we be? Millions of dollars designated for one of my very favorite museums, the Smithsonian? I am hugely supportive of the arts, but jobs are what we need! J-O-B-S. I'm no economist, and I'm no mathamatician. But why would we throw more money at a problem that other money we threw at it didn't help? And why would we toss this second wave of hard-earned money without the proper oversight to protect it? Especially since we released Bailout #1 with virtually no accountability measures, resulting in the billions just "lost"?

Can you imagine other countries laughing out loud at our bumbling Congress, a Congress that can't even make sure this damn "stimulus" is read and understood before it's presented?

Yeah, we need to do something. Yeah, any fool would realize we do need a stimulus. How about $200B for immediate relief now, and see how it goes? This is beyond insulting to our intelligence, and very troubling to the future of our precious children.

With one of the most promising Presidents to ever be elected in our nation's history, I never believed that I could care less about that whole event now. Both parties have shown themselves to be bickering, manipulative, double-speaking, greedy, and 100% phony "representatives" of us, We The People. I don't know enough about our two-party system to understand how, but I think our citizens would do better to start their own party and just tell all of Washington to f*** off.

I'm signing off before I start swearing 10 words for every 1 that's meaningful. Then I'm going to find some kind of happy photo to add later hopefully.

XOXO
Annette

Your Inbox Is Empty

2009-02-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

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Have you ever personally received this message? Maybe I'm naive, but I can't imagine anyone receiving that message. Ever. I surely never have!

It's just so difficult to keep up with regular mail, e-mail, phonecalls, you know what I mean. But my mom regularly receives this message, just ticks me off, hee hee. This illustrates the degree of organization in her life. If it was medically possible, my darling mother would possess a severe allergy to clutter. Any kind of clutter, even e-mail. You know how parodies about people often highlight familiar sentences like John McCain was constantly saying "My friends"? For my mother, it would be "Well just get rid of it!" So funny.

This is on my mind tonight because I'm currently quite behind on paperwork and correspondence. Makes my high-strung self even more high-strung, don't like that. It's about the only thing on my to-do list for tomorrow, so tomorrow will be a wonderful day!

For now though, sorry I don't have any show 'n tells for myself lately, but I will again soon~

In the meantime, here is the cutest little wall-hanging she made? Those "sweaters" are really small. When she first showed it to me, I actually laughed. It just struck me as so funny, but funny like adorable.

Now we're nearing about 1 1/2 months until my mom and dad come home, halfway there!

Roses Are Red, Violets are Blue....

2009-02-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

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this poor dolly needed something pretty for her head!

This otherwise beautiful dolly had an exceedingly unattractive hat on her pretty little head. It even had shirring like the lining of a coffin, ick! At any rate, I'm a snail as a seamstress (thanks Mom, my constant-do-over trait comes from you, lol).

Finally, I think her new winter hat came out sassy and cute. There is permanent gathering at the back of her neck like a ruffle (forgot to snap photo). I cut the mink trim from a vintage coat I bought years ago, and I have used almost every last piece of it! I bet I've put the stuff on 50 projects by now. Off topic: real fur is so astonishingly gorgeous, but I am so sad how it's harvested. It's heartbreaking. Please think twice about buying new.

Also bright red are enormous fire engines.

Last night, I came home about 10:30 and when I pulled in the garage, I smelled a pungent burnt smell either in the garage or very near outside. DH stepped outside and agreed it was signifcant, but we couldn't find anything. He was hesitant for us to call 911 because we couldn't see anything and it was late for sirens to be sounding. I'd never forgive myself to ignore something like that so we compromised. I called the police and asked for a squad car to check it. About FOUR minutes later, DH peeks out the front door, "yup, here comes the big dogs." So loud! So bright! So flashing!

Meanwhile, I'm happily married, but I still have eyes, lol. These three guys were darling! And men in uniform are just cool. It didn't hurt that they were so considerate and thorough. And 4 minutes, impressive!

I digress. All was well, and we woke up with our house intact.

Digressing further, this morning's news reported that Denny's was serving Grand Slam breakfasts free till 2PM, nationwide. My oldest son burns major calories, besides the fact that he hunts for "free". Lord knows where he got that from because my husband says I hunt for the retail price. :o)

I knew Matt would be in class so I texted him. "Thanks Mom! I was already there with about half the team." (college baseball)

At 1PM, I get another text: "Hi Mom! I just had my 2nd Grand Slam breakfast!" OMG. I feel guilty that he sniped another, but I couldn't help laughing at his glee.

My other grown bundle of joy sent me this e-mail:

"Mom, I thought you'd like

this."

Short and to the point, hee hee, but I'll take thoughtfulness in any form. This video is only 30 seconds and he was very right that I'd like it.

Change the batteries in your smoke detectors regularly. :o)

Apropos Vintage

2009-01-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

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This is just so "me". Anyone would know that I was meant to find this at an estate sales a while back. I've loved ribbons and baubles for as long as I can remember, and I think this is the most cool sales sample ever.

What's the best thing about a blog? For me, it's all the reminiscing and pondering I do. When I ran into this old Teen magazine today, I vividly remembered how my sister and I would be sooooo excited to receive this magazine every month when we were teenagers. To read the dating advice and makeup tips in these old periodicals now, my very un-teenager self realizes that it was the most worthless advice ever, lol. On the other hand, the positivity of the magazine for me was definitely how it fueled my hyper imagination during those years, and all my restless dreaming, dreaming about fashion, style, pretty things and boys, boys, boys. :o)

She's so pretty on this cover, but do you think that wherever she is now, that she lets her eyebrows grow a few extra strands again? Wow, we butchered them in those days!

On the inside of this issue, look. I found Delta Burke. Isn't that a sweet bio underneath her picture? For some reason, she seems like a very kind person.

Now this last picture of the day.... it only lets me reminisce about the last 24 hours! I can barely peel potatoes, ha ha, but look how cool the blob of melted chocolate landed on this cracker I made? How very gourmet of me! I think I'll even show DH. On second thought, I better not, I don't want to blow my cover as the worst cook he's ever met, hee hee. Seriously, DH is every girl's dream to happily take over in that department. Please don't think I'm mean about it, because he actually finds it relaxing (can you imagine?) and he is very, very good at it. It's pretty sad when your kids' faces light up when they know HE'S cooking.

If you click on the pic, you can read how silly that cracker concoction came to be born.

I hope you make something adorable this weekend, even if it's a snowman in your front yard.

Why Kids Are So Cute

2009-01-29T23:06:00.001-08:00

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I miss the days when my sons were little and scampering all over.... when they would come out with the cutest mispronounciations and mixed-up phrases.

My twin sister's kids are quite a few years behind mine, and she told me that her son came home from school last week and told her that they watched "The Obligation" at school that day. So she asked Tanner what the movie was about, and he said, "Mom.... the obligation.... you know, President Obama?" Ah-ha, the Inauguration. He's such a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed sweet little boy. Yeah, I miss that adorable interaction.

Two things I'll never forget of my own kids were when my oldest son somehow realized that the Easter Bunny wasn't real, and he was quite upset about it. But just a moment later--and I can still even remember the exact spot I was in at our old house--he immediately thought to ask if Santa wasn't real either. I gave him the bad news and he said, "That is such a rip-off!" Some kids kind of shrug it off, some kids react otherwise, but Matt genuinely felt cheated. I guess that's how much fun we had kept Christmas for him. :o)

And then, when Ben was about 3 or 4 years old, I told both of the boys that we had to get in the bedroom because there was a tornado warning. Suddenly Ben came running down the hallway with saltines and a flashlight! That is what he thought were good choices for supplies for the occasion, it was so adorable.

Tonight my mom sold such a precious little sweater she knit for Blythe, that I just had to display it here. I want to keep all of them that she knits! The bottom photo is one that she just finished for Petite Blythe, which is even smaller:

Now it's your turn to take something in your house, even if it's something you're about to throw away, and turn into into something cool!

A New Post!

2009-01-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

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Wow, it's been almost two weeks.

At this very moment:

1. I've just about caught myself on everything finally, and I've also made some new things.
2. There are warm fuzzies all over the place from sweet messages from cyberspace.
3. It's one month down, two to go, until my parents return from Arizona~~~~
4. And there is a huge pile of snow outside!

Nighty-night.... and for sweet dreams tonight:

5. Feast your eyes on this work of art by Bekah (she's also fullofbliss on Flickr). This would out-shine just about every other piece of fiber art I've ever seen, it's amazing!

All You Need Is Cute

2009-01-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

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You know the Beatles song that goes, "Love, love, love.... love is all you need."

If you replaced every time they said "love" with "cute", I'd agree with the song! Not really of course, but it's such a nice mental picture I think.

Btw, if you don't know already, my dog is like my third baby, and that puppy on the right has the exact passiveness of mine, whenever I have to do something to her she doesn't like. She is just the sweetest little dog I have ever known.

See you soon!

Netty's Been Knitting

2009-01-15T22:53:00.000-08:00

I am so crazy about the little sweaters my mom (Netty) knits. I think she gets annoyed that I want to keep them all! Lately she's also been felting them slightly, so they look a little fuzzy too.... they're just a couple inches big, so cute....

It's nice to go to bed for once after watching some good news on TV for a change. The pilot that brought that plane down today in New York is such a stud. What a miracle, too, that he didn't hit the bridge, that those ferries were so readily available, etc. I just know DH would have the same skill and cool-headed reflexes in that emergency; he's proven it more than once to me. He's considered renewing his pilot's license before, and it would be great if he'd do that some day in the near future.

Sweet dreams of cute sweaters and other treasures to you~

Hand-Me-Downs

2009-01-13T21:00:00.001-08:00

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I never thought I'd inherit a hand-me-down from my kids. When I was gathering some clothes for Goodwill that no longer fit my sons, I spied this chocolate brown shirt with turquoise pin-stripes (a little difficult to see, it also has nice turquoise snaps down the front). I also spied a turquoise shirt with a cool quilt-stitched beautiful inset applique. I stitched the inset to the back of the brown shirt I liked, and cut out that section so it was now exposed on the brown shirt instead.

For the front of the brown shirt, I cut up a few circles of the same turquoise shirt (I love working with that Modal), felted some green leaves from an old cable cashmere sweater, and added some curly pinky/orange yarn. 45 minutes later and here's my "new" shirt!

I was also tagged today, to list 16 things about myself:

#1 I'm complicated--or maybe everyone is--and think I've been misunderstood a lot in the past.

#2 As a child vacationing in Colorado during several summers, my eyes would sometimes be almost swollen closed from mosquito bites. But a spider bite I got a few years ago was one of the worst things ever.

#3 I could watch "The Sound of Music" over and over. When Maria turns the drapes into cute matching outfits for the kids, and when Scarlett (GWTW) makes her dress also from the drapes, that would've been me I think!

#4 I freak at the mention of eating "contests" like Chubby Bunny, etc. Isn't carefully cutting up our toddlers' food, and promoting the awareness of the Heimlich maneuver ironic, when we "entertain" by cramming food down as fast as we can? Besides, my husband's relative died when he didn't get to a hospital in time after a peanut-eating contest. He didn't choke, but his body couldn't handle so many to digest at once. Cringe. Other than that, I really, really love games, lol.

#5 Even though I was never a Girl Scout, I'm hyper-prepared about certain things. I have things like my we're-all-sleeping-in-the-basement-tonight-cuz-a-tornado-might-be-coming set-up, and "the" bucket in my car at all times. One of my friends would tease me about this. Until last year. We were in Florida, and HER niece was getting sick in my car one night, but my car was nice and fresh the next morning!
My friend proudly showed me the bucket she bought a few days later.

#6 I have that sensory disorder or something. If I have a hair inside my shirt, I can't concentrate till it's gone, and I've had to leave the room from people smacking. And sticky door handles, even my kids know to just be quiet and make them be gone. I'm sure there are hundreds more. I don't like taking pills, but I wish there were a pill for that.

#7 I think the world would be a better place if everyone were a waitress for 6 months, and then a secretary for another 6 months.

#8 I'd like to not go back to more formality per se, but more formal gestures. Like the popularity of small dinner parties for 8, never visiting someone's house empty-handed, the art of conversation, and lots of handwritten letters and cards. I still try to do them when I can even if someone thinks it's stupid.

#9 "Planet Earth" is one of the best series ever made, who'd have believed that a show about nature could be so riveting. My sports- and music-obsessed sons even watch. I wish someone would've warned me about the baby penguin chicks getting lost from their moms.... I had to fast-forward.

#10 My boys' father is a respected friend, and it really hasn't come easy, don't think that. If I hear someone bashing their ex, I'm always praying that they do it in private, because their kids can't NOT be affected by their hero villifying their other hero.

#11 And when I was dating as a single mom years ago, I paid close attention to how they treated the waitress, how they spoke of their mother, and especially how they treated my kids. DH could win Stepfather Of The Year award, so I think my criteria paid off. Mwah!

#12 Even though my house isn't spotless, I can't clean anything without being thorough.

#13 I've learned that everyone's had a unique journey, and it's important to know that each person is passionate about their convictions for very important reasons.

#14 I've never ever heard someone say, "Wow, she has the most beautiful mouse-y brown hair!" Yeah. I dye it.

#15 When no one's looking, I might be watching "The Real Housewives" or siphoning all the Luckies out of the box and leaving all the Charms.

#16 Well, going back to #1, I guess I can't easily give short answers because I like to explain myself!

Nighty-night~

Curtain Call

2009-01-12T23:01:00.000-08:00

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Here are three of the girls taking a bow before they leave to meet their new moms:

I know this picture looks kind of silly, just like the poor darlings all fell over sick or something, but they just wanted to rest on the bed of hearts, no worries! I know some shoppers like to see the backs (me for one, lol), and how they're finished, too.

Among much of my stash, I've accumulated quite a collection of ribbons and trims through the years, and I thought these might be good choices for new pins and/or dolls, in consideration of all the pinks and reds of the season.

Isn't life events through the course of a day strange sometimes.... today I learned that a good friend's son just became a father today, so she's a grandmother for the first time. Oh, that newborn delicate smell and tender skin.... I'm so happy for her.

But on this same day, I learned that another friend's husband died after such a horrendous bout with cancer. It was one of the worst ordeals I've ever known. They are both wonderful people, and I just can't imagine what her mind is doing as she puts her head on the pillow tonight. She is first in my prayers, and I hope I can hug her very soon.

It Can't Be :o(

2009-01-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

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....time for Matt and Ben to return to college again.

I'm all warm and fuzzy in the heart to see them as such fine young men, but boy do I miss them terribly at times. I know, all parents love their children, and most of us probably want our kids to be smart, talented and nice-looking. But the older you get, the more thrilling it is to hear someone tell you, "I can't believe that Matt helped me with this ______", or "Ben just went out of his way to spend time with ______ when everyone else ignored them." It's them thinking about others that makes me melt.

On a lighter note, do you know how much extra $$$ I have to spend, with all those groceries I do not have to buy for the next couple months??? Yeehaw, I feel like I just got another big raise as Domestic Executive at home! Cool, huh.

Here's something that I've been working on that's warm and fuzzy too. Little girl brooches, just a little taller than 2", and they're fashioned after old ones manufactured in Japan more than half a century ago. After finishing three of them today, I again felt such admiration for their handiwork during those years--with so many of our modern conveniences, tools and supplies--supplies and tools that they surely did not have at their disposal. It's quite remarkable. Today, we have all these wonderful helpers to work with, and I still reject 75% of the finished product, lol, because I don't feel they passed inspection! Their workplaces and factories were so rudimentary, it's just so intriguing. I would love, love, love to take a time machine back to be with them while they made their own tiny doll brooches. And find out for what occasions they were worn, and by who.... women or little girls, for instance?

Meanwhile, here's my take on them (and an actual completed one instead of the many-boo-boo'd Miss Experiment from a couple days back). And they're in my shop tonight:

A Karma Prize?

2009-01-09T20:36:00.001-08:00

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Do you think it's possible, lol?

Even though I'm a Christian, I still believe in karma, soooo... do you think that karma can return to you in prize form?

I just had a blog giveaway that I had so much fun with, and since I stumbled upon a great contest on someone else's blog, I wondered if maybe good karma can come back to me for sending Renee that box of stuff, so now it can be my turn to win a prize? Truth is, I never win anything. :o)

But that's just fine. I'll keep joining the fun, and heck, if my life-long losing streak continues, ha ha, I'll still believe in karma (the good kind!), and I'll still post the banner of this beautiful new shop:

To complete the rules for this contest, it was easy to find several things I really like about the shop! I LOVE the curtain opening on the homepage, awesome! For user friendliness and ease of shopping, I really like that the photos are clear/large enough to have an idea of what the items are without needing to go into any particular listing only to find that it's not something you'd collect. But the best part to me is, the most beautifully charming creations made with accessories like vintage Japan little pottery girls! Yummy, yummy, they will satisfy your appetite for cute!

Best wishes for your new site Cathy~

P.S. Click

HERE to go see the treasures for yourself!

Prototype Proliferation

2009-01-08T20:09:00.001-08:00

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Here's my latest "baby":

But she's like me and stuffed with many many flaws!!

Still, if you know me well, you know that I have made hundreds of prototypes for different stuff 30+ years now, so I am getting better at easing up on my perfectionism. Maybe the prototype compulsions are diminishing.

Otherwise I wouldn't be able to reveal this doll's blond "locks" just yet, since they look more like a fuzzy set of headphones, don't they. I wouldn't let you see her hastily painted face, and I definitely wouldn't admit what I used for the white sections of her eyes--because I didn't want to wait overnight for my regular paint to dry properly (hint: we used it to correct mistakes when typing years ago... what's a typewriter? asks some obnoxious 20-year-old reading this, just so they can make me feel old. Just kidding!)

Make that New Year's Resolution to pitch all those prototypes of your own self that especially we women keep working on over and over. Do that Pretty Woman thing and go to Neiman Marcus with no make-up and cheap t-shirt like I do sometimes. But make sure you go to the cosmetic counters and other departments and enlist their help to really annoy them! Nordstrom's much more professional staff puts them to shame anyway, love them.

The Reliability Of Technology - Not!

2009-01-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

The best thing to do sometimes? Take your cue from the family pet and just go to bed!

My sewing machine wouldn't loop the bobbin thread. Keep in mind this is the sewing machine that I bought recently because I didn't think my other was reliable!
My computer has molasses running through the bandwidth today, grrrrr.
And finally, what should be a no-brainer. I'm unable to add more links (friends) to my blog here...

With my frustration causing me to mentally swear like a madwoman, I feel this furball literally crowding me out of my chair. Always perpetuating her spoiled attitude, I just put the camera way above my head and took this picture of her taking over my space... again. :o)

Simply Better Than Getting A Splinter Out!

2009-01-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

First of all a warning to you: Just in case you're easily grossed out, lol, do not scroll down to look at the disgusting job I had today!

Disgusting, but sometimes disgusting turns into clean and nice. :o)

We have a really nice finished bathroom in our basement, and we have lots of company coming for Christmas, so I decided I had to make sure it was in proper working order, because we've not used it whatsoever since moving in. I cleaned everything well, but just double-checked all drains, etc. The bathtub was hopeless! I've unclogged drains before (even 2-foot hairballs, ewwwwwwwww), but I was getting nowhere with this one.

Always hesitant to bug my hubby for help around the house if I can figure it out myself because he works so many hours, I went to my trusty www.doityourself.com. It is the best site ever! There are the most helpful (usually) guys on there, and they offer help for everything, it's wonderful. It is really amazing, check it out sometime. In no time at all, someone told me how to undo that drain plug, but..... this is what was in there! My husband figures that some carpenter cleaned out his drywall mud in that tub, and didn't rinse it properly. Start to finish, I think it took me 2 hours, yes 2 hours!

Meanwhile, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I want to especially thank everyone so sweeeeet about my recent worrying about my son, Ben. I am so relieved it is pretty much all resolved, and now I guess he can go back to being a 19-year-old that doesn't need his mom for anything. :o)

Please see my Etsy shop and Flickr for new dolls I've been working on. I have a really bad self-criticism always going on, and I actually think some of my creations are cute for once~

Many thanks to all the darlings, who know who they are, for supporting my stuff as well!

Best wishes to you for 2009~

Poetic Justice

2008-12-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's kind of like poetic justice or something--that with my writing contest, the winner would be someone special....

No one to vote for, no other stories to read, boo hoo.... but it's still okay! Renee (Reyney) deserves a gift more than anyone.

See? Someone that's one of the hardest working people I know, always doing stuff for others, has one of the most sacrificial/dedicated vocations, besides being just plain cute.... sometimes these characteristics magically come back with some kind of love. Hugs to you Renee!

Rather, there's a bucket of babies on its way too!

(It'll be sent soon after Christmas, and I'll post pics here of what is sent.)

Freedom

2008-12-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

I know we live in a "free" country, but our own personal freedom is so interesting from person to person.

For me, it's all the bills paid (hate owing anybody), all correspondence, shipping and phonecalls caught up, food in the fridge for any unexpected visits by enormous kids, and certainly all the dishes and laundry clean.

Psst, if your house is spotless, you ain't no artist, hee hee. That's my own personal joke, probably the only one that thinks it's hilarious!

Anyway, tonight I am pretty free! Maybe I'm at 95% of the above criteria, but that's free enough, lol.

Speaking of which, my honey faithfully watches CSI every week, when I'm probably doing my own thing. But I always hear the most awesome tracks at the end of that show, and I like how they vary them from genre to genre. If Ben is home, I can ask, "Who is that singing?", and he'll know immediately, new artist or not. Since he's not home right now, I googled the song they played last night and just love it.

Hereit is if you have a chance to listen. The lyrics are really cool, and it gave me goosebumps, because he sings about the underprivileged challenges for some kids growing up, something many of us will never have the faintest idea about.

---------------------------

Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes man you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free (Konvict)

From Senegal West Africa,
To St. Louis, Missouri
Thanks to Catherine Dana
For giving my pops his glory
He came down with his drum
And a dream to change the world
In a free uplifting world
And that's all he ever want
Mom came a little after
Gave birth to my brother
then all of the pressure
Made em' fight one another
See, the pain would never last
Did the best with what they had
He knew the world was out for grabs
And he searched to find his

Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, (Oh)Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes man, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free
So I search to find my(find my)..
..Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free, yeah

As a kid I never knew
I'd have to hustle just to make it through
So I found myself skipping school
Cause' the girls don't think I'm cool
And because of that I didn't care
Whether or not I went to jail
I just wanna be treated fair
Cause thats all I ever knew
Tellin' me I need to slow down
Cause everybody in the whole town
Cause they know how I get down
Foreigner from another town
Can you believe we still around?
After so many hit the ground
And we ain't gon stop now
Until we get that

Freedom,(ooohh) Freedom,(oohhh) Freedom, (oh)Freedom
Everything I have,(have) everything I own, (own)
All my mistakes man you already know (yea)
I wanna be free, (free)I wanna be free (free)
won't stop till i find
my freedom, my Freedom,(Freedom) my Freedom, (Freedom) (oh) Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free, yeah
If you wanna be free, and the land is drug-free
put your hands up, (ay)put your hands up (ay)
If you wanna be free, from all your misery
put your hands up, (ay) put your hands up
If you wanna be free, with plenty money (ay)
put your hands up, put your hands up
If you wanna be free, just praise G-O-D put your hands (ay)up, put your hands up (ay)

Freedom, (ohh)Freedom(Freedom), Freedom, (ooh)Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl you already know
I wanna be free(wanna be free)

----------------------

So now I wish I was also free from needing to do anymore Christmas shopping. What on earth do you get 19- and 21-year-old young guys that don't really want anything (except maybe a new car?) anyway?

Why, thank you for asking!

What you do is you march right over to Etsy vintage to insideously train them to love vintage!

Matt and Ben often get together with lots of friends to play Nertz Solitaire (or Peanuts). You MUST play it sometime; even if you hate cards, you'll find it addictive. My mom and sister notice my pathetically compulsive, game-playing competitiveness while I play, I'm the sorest loser you'll ever meet. Nobody gets that about me.

Anywho, what would catch my eye at Etsy vintage? Why, a darling green metal card shuffler! It's so cute, and so cool. Sorry for the un-crisp pic!

I Spy......

2008-12-15T22:12:00.000-08:00

all my missing stuff!!

Here is just one lost item that I found today! This particular item is what I used for a "catch-all" at our previous house; I hadn't seen it since.... and that equates to almost 7 months.

All these missing things were driving me crazy. The most painful would have to be one of my favorite Christmas decorations--a dolly-size vintage Japan fireplace. Well it was in this same box, oh happy day.

We have a fairly organized house, and somehow there were 3 other BIG moving boxes, still sealed, sitting by all our Christmas decorations. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that I had quiet time and prayer today, which I've completely blown off lately. We all run ourselves ragged and I'm sure God was showing me that slowing down will always make our lives better.

Two other wonderful surprises were even more amazing! I received the most fabulous, wonderful, creative, darling and colorful package from Linda of Felted Folksies fame! Her packages are the most spectacular because her little chenille darlings are about as cute as they come. I never like the "new" or reproduction chenille products, only vintage. Well her creations have changed all that! Please check out my Flickr page (today) for the prettiest vignette starring her sweet babies.

As if it couldn't get any better, it really did! Jana Maresh e-mailed a photo of my newest baby, Little Cupcake Girl! I've never been lucky enough to find a vintage cupcake pincushion, but Jana's creations are super duper sweet! She worked very long and extremely hard at perfecting them; that's obvious. I'll be very sad if I can't buy another one in the future, they're just like feeling cheated that you only ate one cupcake. Who wants only one cupcake? Again, check out my Flickr page for the picture she sent.

Dolly friends are the only friends to have!

A reminder: Please send me your stories for the contest no later than a week from today (Monday) by midnight, so we can vote!!

Felt The Fun

2008-12-12T23:08:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of my mom (and dad of course!), but she has a flair for beautiful and detailed work no matter what she's making. Every since I was small, I can't remember a time when she didn't want something "just so."

Hey, I wonder if that's where I get my habits of crooked artwork on walls just bugging me to pieces??? Ha, honestly there's a mile-long list beyond that: one stray hair hanging over someone's eyes, a kid's nose that desperately needs a Kleenex, sticky kitchen cabinet handles, misspellings.... actually, I better stop or I won't be able to go to sleep, lol.

Regardless, my mom made the most beautiful fiber art today. Here's the little piece, it's even 3-D, with real pine cones that are only about 1/3" long.

I'm proud of her because she doesn't want to grow older and boring, or older and cranky. She chooses to be a very positive and fun person.

To be fair, my father is just as much fun. He's a better sport about getting teased than just about anyone I know, and he's always wanting to know what his kids and grandkids are up to. The worst thing about him? If you try to stump him--about a historical date, a geographical location, the spelling of a word, you w-i-l-l not win. It's uncanny. My latest "pop quiz" was, where is Belize (I have a friend from there), and how to spell poinsettia. If it wasn't so funny, I'd be so annoyed!

The bucket of vintageness below is some of the prize that will be sent to the person with the most votes for their story: a cute preview for you!

I know this is a busy season, and several friends have written saying they're working on it, but I hope a few of you still write in. Just a paragraph even, I'd love to hear from you~

Sweet dreams!

Peace of Mom

2008-12-10T22:57:00.000-08:00

For those who know my mom, she's always making something, it's hilarious how she just can't sit still....

Well, she often makes small things like I do, though, and I might be stealing this miniature sweater she made: the little wooly tree is only about an inch tall, and I love how she designed it~

What to buy for a couple you hardly know? When we visited, they had the most unbelievably beautiful Christmas decorated home I may have ever been to in my life, so I settled on this below. The picture's not that great, because the tiny ornaments are quite colorful, and the whole sign is much bigger than it looks (a bugger to package for shipping). It was fantasticly vintage looking, and I thought you wouldn't have to be a vintage lover to appreciate it hopefully (just in case they're not). Almost wanted to buy one for myself....

Ho, ho, ho!

Life In Pictures

2008-12-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Ever since I learned to read, I always gravitated to books with pictures. I just had to be looking at photos and illustrations related to what I was reading. So, how perfect that the first story I received for this contest arrived with the cutest photo!

Here is Collector Story #1:

"One of my relatives has been a doll collector for as long as I could remember. She collects vintage dolls, mostly hard plastic from the 1950's. I would always tease her and call her the crazy doll lady! I never ever liked anything she bought! Until one day, she showed me an Asian doll on a stand. It was kinda like the Bradley dolls I remember my grandmother having, but this one was special. She had the most beautiful painted face, and the biggest head I have ever seen. She's wearing a pink kimono and a little bouquet of velvet flowers. I fell in love. AND it became my quest to find her lots and lots of friends. I have since learned so much about these kinds of dolls and the rest is history.

I'll attach a pic of that special dolly...."

To my blog readers, sorry the photo's not bigger--that's my fault, not the author's. I forgot how to download it properly, and I'll try to fix it later. Anyway, I hope you can see how cute the doll is. She has those way-too-cute vintage flowers that I wish I could sew onto every single thing i wear.

Lastly, because I have so many friends here that appreciate clothing details as much as I do, here's a Christmas vest I swiped from my sister because the feltwork appliques are just too cute!

Protecting Your Valuables

2008-12-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't we just kill to protect all our precious dollies and stuff!

But, tonight I'm contemplating protecting something intangible for once.... my rest! I short-change myself so often lately (naps just ruin my day), so tonight I go to bed at a reasonable hour for once--something I imagine a lot of us women should try to do more often. EveryONE and everyTHING else first, we shouldn't do that!

FYI, I've gotten several e-mails conveying other stories are on their way, but I got my first paragraph tonight, AND it even has the cutest dolly pic with it! Tomorrow I'll blog it. It's an easy winner imho, with its cuteness content, but just remember, she's wins the cool prize by default if no one else shares their story.... which is fine by me of course, hee hee, but it would be wonderful to share more stories with eachother. ( ^ * . * ^ )

Nighty-night.

Backseat Bunny

2008-12-05T20:44:00.001-08:00

Bear with me, I just need my cute bunny photo fix again. I would love to have one some day. Anyone ever have one, and you'd recommend it? Isn't it cute how you don't even need to catch them "being" cute, or in a cute situation? They're just cute.

Ben went back to college a few weeks ago with a friend's bunny in the backseat with him the whole way. There. The thoughts in my head just turned cute too.

Mmmmmm........ had my parents named me Bunny, this is what I'd be wearing:

Ha, my sister is saying, "that dress is just YOU." Of course she has my personal taste by memory, or telepathy, hee hee.

The dress is just so fab. You would find it in my closet right NOW. Except that when I found it on Etsy, I didn't think it'd fit me right. Vintage clothes are awesome, but darn it when you only have one size to choose from.

I got myself (back) on Etsy tonight, trying to figure out if I should continue my commitment to Pappashop (having an independent website). It's definitely more work. Etsy is wonderful anyway, so I'll probably try it for a couple months.

Tomorrow night we have our first Christmas party, and you know you have a creative obsession when you'd rather "play" at home all by yourself! We always end up having a great time, I need to snap out of it. Poor husband 'o mine; it's so important to put him first, so I'm just gonna be happy about it. :o)

You're A Prize

2008-12-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

**Christmas Thank-You Contest Instructions Below**

About the contest in just a minute....

Today, I sent a package to a soldier in Iraq. All I sent was Catch Phrase (one of the most fun games, very portable too), a pile of candy, and my letter. After reading more about this program for adopting soldiers, I've learned that it's not expensive gifts they want, but simple and inexpensive thoughtfulness from all of us here at home. For instance, they'd prefer 3 letters from their adopter in one week vs. one big box of "stuff." I'll try to be frequent in letters/packages, instead of extravagant, that does make sense. Please consider sending a letter or small package even once. They're short on people volunteering to do it at this time, and I'm sad just thinking about it.

I'm not trying to harp on this, I just think it's a fabulous organization that makes a real difference. But no more words about it from me anymore, just never underestimate the power of small gestures towards others. :o)

Here's an outrageously darling photo to prove I'm changing the topic for good.

If you're ever having a bad day, go to

www.cuteoverload.com.

About the contest. It occurred to me last night, that my online friends (and customers from JSS) have been so incredibly sweet, that I very much wanted to say thank you to all of you somehow. I guess it's no accident that my shop is named "sweet". It's because of you. I can't thank you enough really, but I'll try. Hopefully in a creative way.

Even if it's just 2 short stories I receive, this will be interesting!

I simply love to hear how fellow collectors of vintage Japan, pose dollies, 70's nostalgia, etc., or like me, all of the above, got bitten by the "bug". Please e-mail me your story (short is best of course), and I'll post the stories anonymously on my blog (and number them so readers can know they've not missed any). In about two weeks, when we've hopefully gotten a few stories, I'll ask you to vote on which one you think is best (or funniest, interesting, etc., whatever you personally define as best).

So the person with the most votes tallied through my Blog Comments will get a very cool surprise! The prize will be several items, but I will offer the winner a couple choices. I'll also ask the winner if they mind me revealing their identity, which would be cute for curious readers. Please keep your stories somewhat brief, but descriptive(!), and maybe tell us about your Holy Grail, or your prized possession (I reserve the right to do some basic editing to preserve anonymity, hee hee), and simply explain what triggered your quest to gobble up all the adorable stuff of days gone by! Any revelations of personal identity that is accidentally missed by me will not disqualify you, but I was hoping to keep it as such. I wouldn't want any of my favorite people here to think I was favoring anyone, K?

Signing off tonight with a photo of a special surprise I received from a wonderful person. Elizabeth is Creative_Breathing at Flickr, and after admiring so much of her work, look at what arrived in my mailbox! Here it is below, properly showing off on the doorknob of my office. She's super talented, her work is meticulous, and she's just really special.

What Are You Doing?

2008-12-02T23:50:00.000-08:00

When you are so disappointed to see the day end, because you have to quit what you love doing? What are you doing when you can hardly get yourself to eat or go to bed because it will interrupt your bliss? Where are you when you can't believe how many hours just passed because your immersion made you unaware of time?

I know I find myself most lost in time when my favorite people are around me -- doesn't matter what we're doing really. And I'll be really, really lost in time if you give me those favorite people and put me in a room stuffed with stuff. Markers, beads, fabric, vintage trim and trinkets, old books and records, dolls and toys, sewing machines, tools, papers and graphics, and the list is embarrassingly long!

If my enormous pile of stash didn't just give me the giggles every time, I'd probably be crying instead, lol, over what I've spent through the years, or how much sooner my husband could've retired, or how much more my family could have seen of me had I not had my myself buried in some project. :o)

Whatevah, whatevah. It's still where and how I'm happiest -- just like today.

My mom made some of the cutest little sweater ornaments today, and we both worked on all kinds of things in general. The mini sweaters have the cutest little insets of fabric under the knitting, with Christmas decorations besides.

Here's some of my stash that I turned into something to frame for one of my mom's powder rooms. The cover illustration seemed so perfect for the occasion! Oh, that chubbiness of Jerry, he's a cartoon character ferpetessake and I could just squish him with kisses.

Now I'm Stuffed.... But It's Time To Get Stuffing Too

2008-11-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Stuffed from eating so much yesterday! Do we ever learn, hee hee? But wouldn't it be great to have perfect and elaborate dinners like that every day, when everyone talks more than usual and makes time for their family? My favorite things were these green beans with Ritz crackers all over the top and made with sourcream and onions I think, and also this pineapple, marshmallow, walnut and pistachio stuff my sister makes. They always seem to be the emptiest at the end of the night too. :o)

The most fun for me yesterday was seeing our sons, with all their cousins of various ages, playing "Rock Band" altogether. Does it get any cuter, when they play those instruments and sing with total abandon and lack of inhibition? (Btw, it's really cool how many of the songs are from my era, like Boston, Pink Floyd, etc.) Anyway, we often grow into certain levels of self-consciousness and hesitation to just be silly and have fun.... THEY certainly have more wisdom in that area, definitely. I know I'd probably get less migraines and more sleep if I gained some of that wisdom. Gotta work on that.

Also getting "stuffed", will be all these little pieces today:

Thank you to all my special supporters out there, because your words actually pushed me to make my little pixie girls in the first place~ I appreciate it so very much, my own words aren't enough to express that. XOXOXO

Now that we've crossed into the Christmas part of the season, you must take a look at these more-than-fab creations by J. Nichelle. They are really the best designs with re-purposed vintage Christmas treasures I've ever seen. I could look at them all day! Her user ID on EBay is "j.nichelle", and below is my favorite one she's made so far. They should be selling for 10X what they actually do, but I just bet they'll grow exponentially in value as more people discover them.

Even though there's nothing "black" about Black Friday, lol, I hope you're finding great deals today!

Adoption.

2008-11-25T19:38:00.001-08:00

Today, we received our first e-mail from a soldier we adopted! What an incredibly wonderful, organized and efficient program for appreciating our military. This particular one is adoptasoldier.org. Sometimes I think they are so forgotten, especially during times of a war we despise... even though we despise them all. No matter what, these guys are amazing, completely selfless and hardworking--having to contend with the intense heat and sandstorms alone. Just can't wait to mail the first package before Christmas, he sounds adorable.

And speaking of adoption, today I was able to finish the first Christmas pixies I feel OK about! Here one I found resting on a pine bough:

It's hard for any of us to understand the blood, sweat and tears that go into the creation of what we find online, but I think I just won the prize for most prototypes ever created, or most self-critical. Either that, or the longest period of time for Rejection of the Pixies! Poor things, I've tossed dozens through the last year or two, beginning when I got my first vintage twin pixies ornament from Japan, which I quickly uploaded for my Flickr avatar. I know I'm the only one who never changes avatars, but that's how much I love that pair of twins.

My quest began as a simple attempt to duplicate these pixies that always seemed to be my favorite treasure to hunt. (Most collectors choose the knee-hugger elf kind, but I am crazy about these instead.) Anyway, my attempt to duplicate them was simply because they were difficult to find for even my friends who actually lived in Japan, so I was always sad to have so few.

Ha, then my bright idea. Well heck, I sew, I told myself. And I can paint those faces. And they look to be such easy and elementary crafts, don't they? Wrong, wrong, and wrong! I didn't even find the proper crepe fabric for months, which means poor DH has unknowingly paid for a lot of fabric that would end up being impossible to work with! Good grief.... too dark, too light, not textured enough, too thin, etc. Once I began working with various vintage Japan doll patterns I've collected though, and I finally had all the supplies, I have acquired an immense appreciation for the women that made these darling little pixies years ago. It's really amazing when you look at the sweet details on some of them, not to mention the speed with which the women produced them. How I'd love to time travel back to visit them in the factories, it would be a dream.

And finally, what I mean about the Rejection of the Pixies, all those prototypes I killed, really comes down to mostly the face painting. There's only one way to practice painting doll faces, and that is to paint doll faces, lol. And, paint them on this precious and difficult-to-find fabric of mine, eek! Oh, it drove me nuts to keep messing up, it killed me to not be able to erase and start over. Finally, I took a much welcome break when we moved to a new home a few months ago, so it makes sense when someone advises to "just walk away from a frustrating project, because coming back will give you a fresh start." This absolutely solved my frustration, because after all this time now, their little faces turned out quite authentic looking, and I think their features are just so cute.

This is not a huge entry of whining, but hopefully a brief story of how I'm so happy to have not given up. Now I don't have to bug my Japanese friends about finding my pixies so much anymore, because maybe I'd be content to decorate my trees with these imposters, hee hee. And since you can often find the pixies for a few dollars--when you finally find them that is--this is hopefully also the story behind their slightly expensive price. They are difficult to make, I'm a perfectionist about them, and even my mom approves. :o)

In the meantime, all this pixie talk doesn't even begin to cover the next level of expertise, which would be what we've all come to know and love as the real Japan pose dollies, specifically the doggy walkers.

You simply must stop in to check out the creations of Boopsie's sister on Etsy. Her shop is The Poppy Tree, and you will be in awe. Do it right now, go! I'll wait for you to come back....

There! Are you in shock or what??? Now we know that the talent runs in the whole family, because her tiny pose dolls are difficult to believe in their details alone. They're just unbelieveably beautiful, ridiculously cute. In addition to the dolls, she should be offering observation days in her studio, because I'm sure it'd be a blast to watch her make the little darlin's.

Hooray for the ever-increasing love for Japan cuteness!

Cyndy Who?

2008-11-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

Someone I adore, who's blog I follow, had the self-quiz below on her blog tonight, and it's really cute. Renee said she stole it from Cyndy, but since I don't know who Cyndy is, thank you to Renee I guess! Kinda makes you think....

Where is your mobile phone? jeans pocket
Where is your significant other? sleeping :o)
Your hair colour? don't even know!
Your mother? "that should just be pressed a little"
Your father? all-American dad
Your favourite thing? hard one.... kids, dog, DH, family (not necessarily in that order!)
Your dream last night? none thankfully
Your dream goal? 100% organization
The room you're in? livingroom
Your hobby? hunting treasures
Your fear? kids getting hurt or worse
Where do you want to be in 6 years? relaxed
Where were you last night? up very, very late talking to my son, love that~
What you're not? laid-back
One of your wish-list items? VHS-to-DVD converter for my old tapes
Where you grew up? Milwaukee/Chicago suburb/New Jersey
The last thing you did? helped my sister choose an outfit for tomorrow PM
What are you wearing? jeans/hoodie/Nat's designed tee!
Your TV? big HD(?), don't even know what it's called (ha, waste of money)
Your pets? dog
Your computer? miss it
Your mood? neutral at the moment
Missing someone? no! quiet time is great sometimes
Your car? black
Something you're not wearing? shoes
Favourite shop? Target
Your summer? no humidity please
Love someone? many
Your favourite colour? pinks
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? Wednesday

Brrrrrr.......

2008-11-07T21:40:00.001-08:00

Just trying to stay warm over here! :o)

I giant coldfront just blew through the area, and poof! It's wintertime.

I cannot WAIT until our computer has service returned, I miss it very, very much. My sweet sister has helped me handle all my basic e-mail, etc., but I'm discouraged.

Life is still wonderful, and it's never good to pout.

Lol, I just turned on "Sex and The City", and one of the funniest characters on that show was Charlotte's friend, Anthony. They're in the upscale bridal boutique right now, and Anthony, who is extremely bossy, keeps yelling "Hates it!" at the salesperson every time she brings out a new dress. Charlotte never speaks up for herself, and he does it way too much! His character is hilarious.

Hope you've had a great week, and we will visit again soon~

Election Day~

2008-11-04T17:17:00.001-08:00

It's been a good while since I've updated here, but.... how often is a person's computer service down, their land phoneline down, their husband's Visa numbers stolen and used to go shopping with, AND their car needing repair?? It's been a trying week.

Glad it's almost over..... we learn how much we rely on our stuff, huh???

Now here's a cute photo with nostalgia. I was visiting at my mother's house, and spotted an almost 50-year-old handmade piece of vintage! It's a knitting needle keeper that my father sewed for her (the only time he used a sewing machine in his life, lol) as a surprise one day! But, don't you agree that the other cuteness is the corduroy he used to make it? I remember the sweet little jumper my mother sewed for me with it, and now I wish I had yards and yards of it to use myself!

I'm looking forward to catching up with you, and hoping everyone is doing well~ xoxoxo

Birthday Party

2008-10-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful birthday party for my father at my sister's house. He turned 74 already.

It's just past midnight here, so technically the party was yesterday, but it was Friday night.

I'm smiling in particular about my brother's daughter tonight (she's 14 and adorable). I knew she wanted another roll, and since I was near them about 20-30 feet away from her, I could not resist calling her name, and throwing it to her overhand. It was hilarious because she caught it like lightening with just one hand, not even her favored hand.

We had such a great time. If a tape recording played it all back, maybe you'd say, "They are very loud and chatty, but it sure sounds like they're having fun."

I always like the way all the banter travels at these gatherings.... from one topic to another (nothing's off limits, ha ha, we talk about everything), everyone has their say (no conversation hogs), and it's 100% relaxing because we can just be ourselves. There are no family squabbles, no rudeness, no grudges festering.

Yeah, our family has all kinds of colorful past, and problems like any other, but we are so fortunate to have the dynamics we do.

Shame on me for kind of whining to my mom earlier in the day about always having too much to do. Once she handed me the Mary Engelbreit mug with "The Crab" on it, I snapped out of it. I was reminded once again (when will I ever learn, lol) that family time is a 10X better investment than chipping away at all our work and errands that just have a bottomless pit.

To Everything, Turn, Turn, Turn....

2008-10-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

....There is a season, turn, turn, turn.

I haven't heard the Byrds in ages, but they started singing in my head when I was reflecting on the long weekend, when we visited our son at IU in Bloomington, Indiana. Sheeze, I wish I'd taken more photos! I'm so much better at remembering to take my camera, but now if I can only remember to use it more.... I'm so disappointed.

Anyway, the weather was perfect, and I mean perfect.

Ben's cheerfulness to be around his parents put that one little tear on my pillow.... because.... I saw how desperately he wanted to fly on his own, maybe more than most, before he left in August. I noticed his autonomous bliss in this enormous and still very much anonymous world he couldn't wait to get his hands on. It was wonderful seeing his environment, meeting his friends, confirming that he's not malnourished or homesick, yeah right. :o)

What was happiest to me, though, was his spunk in meeting us as much as possible. His answer to, "Do you talk a lot on your cellphone when it takes you 15 minutes just to walk to one class?" "Oh no, that's great study time." His tender interaction with an unattractive girl he's just met, when his own girlfriend is beautiful according to our useless worldly standards. His asking if we mind taking the stairs because he likes to, to keep up with his conditioning. His reference to helping a friend with a math course, even though he's got a hefty course load. Sensing that all that fun he figured out how to have without drugs/alcohol throughout high school, maybe now he's subconsciously grateful for that environment his parents worked so hard for on his behalf.... he's not out of the woods yet by far, but it encourages us still.

Oh, I wanted to get him that tidy haircut, I wanted to remind him of his table manners at that restaurant, I wanted to badger him about getting his absentee ballot in....

DH corrected me in private later, and isn't a good thing we men and women balance eachother out that way?

I absolutely adore the architecture of all the very old stone buildings here:

You gotta love how all the campuses in our country have their Starbucks. DH used to mock all the hype, but look who's hooked now too?

With the weather like it was, it was particularly lovely to wander all the trails through the woods, across all the darling little bridges. This pic puts that lump in my throat, you know....

She just about wore out the pads on her paws this weekend:

Wth?

2008-10-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

While catching up on e-mail, etc. today, I also discovered two friends' recent creations, and a thump on the floor was heard. Omg!

Using their names in alphabetical order, hee hee, because they are both so special, here's some "cake" I found....

The picture is ridiculously artful by itself, but look how cute! Just amazing. And so perfect. Natalie is often self-effacing and sweetly humble about her talents. I'm always asking myself, what the heck? Nobody likes arrogance, but Japanese Sweet Shop's banner is her creation also... so why doesn't she appreciate her works as much as her fans? Hopefully we can talk her into offering her stuff more frequently, but

here is her shop nevertheless. She is working on being featured at another venue, but let's keep bugging her about WHEN!

**SHORT INTERRUPTION**

I can't resist letting you peek at her adorable real-life doll, here's Natalie's 2-year-old.... the button nose, oh my! The bluest eyes, oh my! The gazillion ringlets, oh my! Is it hilarious adorableness to see those ruffles on her pants hems, and those BOOTS???

**BACK TO THE BLOG**

The other bump on my head is from spying these:

Simply the most adorable felt stuff!

Maybe the symptoms of Talent Diminishment Sickness are contagious, because Renee has it too! She downplays her gifts and talents equally so, but I guess that's why we love her so much. You can find her feltwork at

this shop , and you can find different adorable stuff at her other shop, which is in my links, at right.

Renee and Natalie make such beautiful and happy things, I hope they never stop~

The First Boopsie Baby?

2008-10-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

Have you ever?

Seriously, have you ever seen a child this cute? A picture this cute? And the father there, I'm happily married but not blind, and he's pretty easy on the eyes~

This photo is really the property of

Boopsie Daisy , and I'm sorry I stole it Missy. But I just knew we had to deprive as few people as possible of a child/photo this cute!

I would say this finally puts to rest the burning mystery of the original prototype of Missy's ridiculous Boopsie babies? Shut up! Now we know she was the hiding the fact that the first one was her real-life baby!

We're packing tonight for a small rest in Bloomington, but I just had to publish this photo in order to leave with warm fuzzies and this uncontrollable smile.... sheesh, that's cute.

Lastly, it was the perfect day yesterday, to take photos of Molly in the backyard in two new party dresses.

Star light, star bright.
How does it go?
The first star I see tonight.
I wish, I wish, I wish I had Molly's hair...
or something like that.

Fabric Happiness, Beads And Stuff Too

2008-10-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

It was a long day....

Not sad, I just wish there were more time in the day.

Here are some fabrics I was using tonight. I never will tire of working with, looking at, or designing with my fibers and findings! Never. These are from Japan, and are extra special to me, sent by someone I love very much.

All my life I've been obsessed with sparkles and detail, objects in miniature, and the endless possibilities of color. I made a teeny applique duck for a sweater of Blythe's tonight. She proudly wears a scarf like women did in the 1950's, so cool, and I used unusually small beads to make the flower on it. And then I did what Ben would say is "bedazzling" another dress of hers that my mom knitted. She has a yarn/fiber stash like a candy store. Put us together and we shop too much, talk too much, dream a lot, and solve the world's problems.... ha, a hidden camera would give up some embarrassingly silly behavior too.

Boopsie Baby Gets Blogged

2008-10-13T22:42:00.001-07:00

Boopsie Baby Gets Blogged
Originally uploaded by JapaneseSweetShop

If you haven't been to the

Boopsie Shop yet, where ya been?

I don't know how Missy even sleeps because she's just like Linda; so busy with love and attention for everyone else, it's impossible to believe that she can create as much as she does....

I had wanted one of her original dressed-up darlings forever, but my fingers couldn't click quickly enough, just kept missing them!

Finally a chance to pounce, and look what baby arrived in the photo above! The pictures really don't even do them justice, they're amazingly sweet dolls, I want 50.

After originally corresponding with Missy, how quickly I discovered a very special soul, someone that you just know would heal all the wounds of the world if they could just wrap their arms around it. Between she and Linda, you'd just have to know them.

When my baby finally arrived, I was smitten. I finally released her from my white-knuckled clutches at bedtime. I can be obsessed with things like double-checking locked doors, and I can do the same thing with making sure my favorite dolls and other temptations are way out of reach of our dog, or that they aren't near any drinks that could get knocked over or something. I always check one last time.

So, here comes Hurricane Ike that evening, from many miles away, of course it's supposed to have diminished a lot after traveling so much mainland (well, maybe not!). So here we are in the middle of the country, when have we ever known a hurricane anyway? I always get up around 3AM or so, but this time I felt like I was dreaming.... our quiet cul-de-sac was like a rushing river of water, just unbelievable. And the wind was different too, really odd.

Next morning, my husband was awake first and gave me this funny look when I walked into the family room. We had THREE leaks in our ceiling; the family room, one in a hallway and a bedroom. Our roof had been replaced quite recently, but that's how freakish this storm was. It had compromised an arched vent like a dormer, and that was causing all three of them.

So, what do you think the chances are that, contending with many square feet of living space, three separate 1" square drips would find my bunka baby by Boopsie??? Up on a high shelf, even in a recessed area of the room?

I was so upset, she'd just come into the world! Thankfully, we had to be somewhere that afternoon, so I had to take my mind off her bright eyes temporarily. Her torso had absorbed a lot of water, but it seemed like the water had dodged her face, bonnet and legs completely. That was hopeful.

Being afraid to get my hopes up, I managed to find an almost dry dolly when we came home that night. Even now, I can't find any watermarks or damage on the little darling! I keep thinking I'll find something, but nothing. I love her so much, she will be treasured Missy, especially after surviving Ike here in Missouri.

Dangerously Cute.....

2008-10-13T21:58:00.001-07:00

Dangerously Cute.....
Originally uploaded by JapaneseSweetShop

Dangerously cute even further!
Originally uploaded by JapaneseSweetShop

I've known Linda of

Felted Folksies fame quite a while now, and it's quite amazing, because even though we've never officially met, and she lives half a country away, her vibes of outrageous kindness, sincerity and tenderness just fly through the bandwidth....

I honestly felt like I'd known her for years after only about a month.

I don't mean to be overly gushy here, but really she is one of the most incredibly wonderful people you'll ever meet. At first I suppose I was skeptical of her, lol. The icing on the cake would be her beautiful outside too, some people have it all. :o)

She had originally ordered from our shop, but we were in the middle of our move, and I was completely distracted. When we were halfway settled, I stumbled upon her own profile, only to discover that she is an extremely talented artist, and a very humble one at that. Her work is so tiny and detailed, very original, and cuter than if you were literally on the movie set of Alice In Wonderland.

The two photos above were part of a package I received from her recently, and I think I rest my case. This package just made my day, I was beside myself. I still am. I also wish I could restore the package to its original fanciness and decoration, because everything was "presented" in a fashion that is impossible to describe--how does someone capture cuteness even in the packaging so??

I love her to pieces. I'm sure many people fight over her attention because you just want to catch some of her contagious spirit. {{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}} Sista!

A Reminder

2008-10-08T21:02:00.001-07:00

My next entry will feature the adorable Boopsie and equally special Linda and their special deliveries to me! They are both super talented, but more important very much loved~

Nice People

2008-10-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just when you think that there's no such thing as Customer Service anymore, just a bunch of grumps and jerks in retail...

We bought a washer and dryer 5 months ago at a famous appliance retailer. Because we were not officially moved in for quite a while, though, I didn't realize any problems with our new washer until after the 90-day window for the return policy. I called and explained that we came in for a top-loader, and the nice salesman upsold us to a much more expensive front-loader, which was fine. Not experienced with front-loaders, we didn't realize that sometimes floors need reinforcement for the vibration, especially if it's not sitting on a basement floor. A couple service calls later, the guys wondered why we hadn't been told this... meanwhile, the washer is physically re-positioning itself during each wash cycle, lol. Not too nice to think about eventual damage to our tile floor either. After multiple calls to the company's independent-contractor department of customer service, each person without a face got more and more rude, telling me that if I exchanged it, we would be charged a re-stocking fee, and, if it was a less-expensive model we were replacing it with (of course top-loaders are about half the price of front-loaders), there would be no refund. Wtf? The last guy I spoke with was obviously a woman-hater, and seemed delighted to let me know that, even if there were any kind of refund, their company distributed them, certainly not the retail store we purchased it at.

Imagine my surprise when I decided that maybe I should start from scratch and call the store I bought it at, and speak with a manager. After repeating the whole story for about the 10th time, he was positively the most blood-pressure-reducing, and kind gentleman I've spoken with in a long time. I told him we understand that we can't expect to get an entire refund for the difference, but he went a step further to say, "No, a 100% refund for the difference in price of the units is only ethical and fair." What? I had to see it to believe it, but here we are today.

We have our new top-loader machine, and the 100% refund for the difference is documented and being processed as we speak. I know, it's "only" a few hundred dollars. But the actions of this young man were what was really valuable to me in the end. Thank you Adam!

Also, it is my oldest son's birthday tomorrow, and he will be 21! He's aware of how many years I wasted on alcohol/drugs, and he doesn't drink. So, there won't be any excitement for him there, lol. We are going down to see him at college, but I also mailed him a big box of stuff. One present is the clock below. It was just $16 at Wally World, nicely made with a glass face. It has the cutest big round holes for photos, so I cut out photos of all his siblings/cousins. I know he's going to love it, especially since I snuck in a few more of my sister's daughter, who he is especially close with. You can see her at 3:00 and 9:00, and she had such a cherub face as a little girl. Huge eyes and really big dimples and button nose. I used to kiss her and cuddle her until she was annoyed. My sister let us take her to DisneyWorld years ago with our own boys, and I taught her to read on the way down, I'll never forget it. I saw those wheels turning as I kept reading with her, and over-emphasizing each syllable, until finally I saw the little lightbulb go on. There's two separate photos of Kristin at the very bottom. Hee hee, I can tell that's me doing her hair; evidence that I was very much in a boy's world with my sons. I would go crazy on clothes for her too. Boys' clothing was ultra boring back then, and I think it still is, isn't it?

Surprise Visit

2008-10-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our younger son, Ben, was able to come home this weekend unexpectedly. It's just like yesterday that he was a kid with blond peach fuzz on the sides of his face that shimmered in a photograph. We are so proud of his passions and ambition as such a young man.

Hopefully this coming week, we hope to see our other favorite son, Matt. :o)

This week, my mom and I worked on fashions for Blythe. Then Blythe took a stroll in the garden one more time before all the leaves start falling.

Sorting Stuff

2008-10-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

I've been going in so many different directions lately, so I'm really trying to stay organized. As I was putting this blog back together and adding a few things, I was hoping anyone would let me know if I'm forgetting to add your blog or shop, etc.

I don't want to add anyone that doesn't want their link added of course, and I surely don't want to miss anyone either. It's been so long since I worked on this, that I hardly know where to begin, so I started with the basics for now. :o)

Be sure to message me if you'd like to exchange links, especially if we talked about it many moons ago, ok? There are so many dreamy cyberstops out there, my pages look pretty bare at the moment. But this is a good start.

Meanwhile, I had a wonderful day with my parents. I absolutely love when they come over for the day. Now it's already time for bed (and one of those frog-sized mosquitos is stalking me, yuck, how did he get in?)...

But we were talking about everything going on in the country right now, and the anxiety it can cause. My mom is so helpful in keeping perspective. So, taking my cue from her, whatever is going on in our life, whatever that stupid scale reads, whatever we are frustrated about... let's think about our child's face sleeping, or how we can laugh ourselves silly with the family who loves us, or let's remember the time that someone dropped everything to help us... believe it or not, as I was writing this, I remembered that this was my ex-husband one time, when he had actually been my ex-husband for 14 years.

2008-09-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Quite a shock that Congress didn't pass the proposal yesterday~ Don't you wish you could march over to the Capitol, tell them to just snap out of it? And is it really a time for Bush bashing? Are you kiddin' me?

Missy Speaker, we don't care about who you're mad at, sheesh! We do care if our 401Ks start sinking in the flippin' quicksand.... Ohhh, I wanna slap someone, hee hee. Fire 'em all, let's start over with a whole new government... only Pollyanna, Shirley Temple, how about Leisl from the Sound Of Music, and Carrie from the King of Queens can be the leaders. All girls, and they're either hilarious or adorable. Wouldn't that be a whole new tone for Washington?

Dave Ramsey has been all over the news today, and I liked him. He seemed to have an excellent idea. In light of a $700 billion-dollar IOU for all us that may NOT even fix the problem? Maybe another plan is worth some consideration, hmmmm.....

I decided to sign that petition at www.daveramsey.com and forwarded the link to family and friends. I couldn't even get through to the House of Representatives contact page, because of so much traffic apparently. For once I guess Americans are really speaking up. We're so used to feeling silenced, aren't we. About decisions like staying in Iraq, how to spend all our tax money, the list goes on and on.

Who knows how this will all end, but I hope it ends soon. :o)

Meanwhile, the most darling picture just came my way! Look at it below, is this cute or what? I need to re-enact this scene in my own bedroom, with my Blythe and pose dollies. So adorable!

AWAKENING OF THE BLOG~

2008-09-28T13:21:00.001-07:00

Hello to everyone I love!
Don't let the space of time since I last journaled here fool you into thinking that we've been up to nothing, ha ha.
I was going to give up this blogspot last year, but decided to think about it instead. And I'm glad I did.
Since then, we've 1.) been through the longest transition of moving to a new home that you've ever seen; 2.) our sons are both in college now; and, 3.) we've gotten through some difficult personal circumstances as well.
I felt this blogspot would be redundant, alongside the posts at my webshop and Flickr site.
But now, I would prefer to journal my happenings in this separate place. It's peaceful in a way, and it helps me stay organized.
I hope to link up with friends that have blogspots also, and I hope to hear from friends that I have not yet met too!

Great For Fabric Organization~

2007-12-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

I found these at The Container Store. Actually, I bought a lot of other stuff there too, because the shop is fanastic, there's something for everyone.

2007-11-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

I went shopping this week, but this was my favorite purchase. What a sweet clock! I just love it. Japanese cute in every way! Doesn't Target have the cutest things, for such reasonable prices? I was trying to take a pic of the actual clock on the wall, but the moving eyes always blurred the shot. Anyway, this is the box it came in for a halfway decent picture. All the other styles of the clock, especially the bunny, are super cute too. Not many Targets have any left though, so hurry to get one if you like them.

Ahem......

2007-09-30T21:27:00.001-07:00

Ta-da! We're announcing our online shop! I know, there are tons and tons of cybershops already. I shop them all myself. But I'd love to find more that are strictly vintage Japan themed: unique and cute, great quality, and mostly girl stuff. Some existing shops are already adorable, but sometimes they're just stationery products, or maybe they're just Japanese fabric. The worst for me is having to sift through hundreds of items before you find the darling girlie stuff. Truly the best shops are in Japan of course, but they usually don't offer shipping to the USA. If they do offer USA shipping, there are over-the-top handling fees.

So, check

Japanese Sweet Shop later this week to shop the first inventory~

TOO CUTE TO EAT - MUST BE THE DADDY~

2007-07-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

From our garden today, look what I found, hee hee. Cherry tomatoes just like me--twins! They never separated though, how funny.

So oblivious.......

2007-07-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sorting fabric today, I had a perfectly folded group all done, I go to move it, and the little darlin' thinks I made her another cozy bed! It doesn't matter that she's way too big for the pile, she just doesn't get it. She's a bossy brat, lol. Our pooch doesn't normally wear dresses, but she just got a Frontline treatment, and they work great to keep the poison you put on their fur off the furniture.

2007-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Ah, today the weather was resort-like, the pool was so relaxing! Making bubbles in our swimsuits, monster hair, Tabasco drinks... a great time. Family is everything.

2007-06-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE to learn what it's like to be Amish
(notice the cameo by Mrs. Carol Brady)

--talent scouting courtesy of Matt Walker

The Art Of Needlefelting~

2007-06-04T17:56:00.001-07:00

I just found this work of art by Zada Creations. WOW!! Such talent~
My mom and I have been needlefelting for years, and I'll be trying to get some pictures up of some of our favorites. It's a wonderfully diverse and tactile medium of texture and detail. It's also quite relaxing, and a great way to spend time with your mom!

2007-05-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

On behalf of a regular reader of mine, I think she'd appreciate the designs of this vintage Barbie outfit. Not quite as adorable as her designs, though...

2007-05-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

Pinch me, it's dolly mirrors by the case!
Don't they remind you of some Avon products in the 70's? All are sold, so the finders are keepers. I'm a weeper.

Always Remember From Where You Came

2007-05-19T11:45:00.001-07:00

Humility is always part of the recipe of success, agreed? One thing's for sure, it never hurts the equation.

The EBay boycott will be dying down now, but I know so many, many sellers (and buyers) that have given up on EBay. So the boycott remains a success regardless. It appears that EBay doesn't care about this segment of their buyer/seller demographics, but I'm convinced in the long run, the boycott spoke to them ethically, and to some degree at least, in their bottom line. EBay does not look out for the buyer or the seller. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I could cite countless examples for you personally, but unfortunately this journal entry would then be miles long. Observing the escalation of their focus on profit, profit only, while also observing them eventually eliminate all measures of quality control, along with important seller/buyer protection, is very sad for me.

Really sad. I began with them when they began. Ebay meant the thrill of shopping, and the shock of a job really being fun. It was such a dream, a place to actually make friends while you discovered wonderful treasures, or make friends while you made some cash too.

Capitalism is wonderful, and innovation is even more wonderful. EBay deserves credit for achieving both so impressively. But they forgot where they came from, what made the site so great. It was Grandpa Joe and Grandma Milly selling special treasures from their attic. It was all about Lucy, living in the middle of nowhere, USA, being able to find that treasure in such a unique and exciting fashion. Our enthusiasm about EBay was MOST DEFINITELY not found more recently, in dealing with the faceless, scammer Guy From Who-Knows-Where, a guy selling worthless junk at breakneck speed, right before he obtains a new seller ID and disappears.

EBay would still be able to pursue their mega corporate goals, go for it I say! Diversify in any way you wish, freedom rules! You'd think that as a basic token of honor to the early members that first grew their company, they could have at least attempted to salvage their group of "senior" sellers, departmentalizing us in some fashion. Fat chance. Their conscious decision to "expand" to ridiculously inefficient and impersonalized customer "care" with some Mohammad in India, puh-leeze. Expecting us to combine our thoughtful, quality inventory with all this mass-produced, unregulated crap from other countries tells me everything I need to know about EBay's backward priorities.

I do absolutely everything I can to avoid going to EBay for anything now. It was an easy decision. I know it won't make a speck of difference to Mr. or Mrs. CEO of EBay, I realize that. But I like to feel good about where my money goes, and who I support. So, it's back to good old flea markets, auctions, antique malls, estate sales, and garage sales. I like Etsy a lot too. Actually, changing shopping methods has been a nice change. And also, I don't have to be so upset about how EBay changed so much. Out of sight, out of mind.

We seldomly hear the phrase "too big for their britches" anymore. Here's to hoping and praying that a place like Etsy never finds themselves just that, ever.

Bulb Is Not A Logical Word Sometimes

2007-05-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

Note to self: a "clove" of garlic does not mean the whole bulb! Today I realized that I thought a bulb was equal to a clove. Being recipe challenged, the directions called for a clove, but in went the whole bulb. The elephant species on top of that, sheesh! All the while I'm thinking, "Hey, this press is pretty nifty!" Gag, all that time spent cooking--and I do love garlic--but it was virtually inedible.

On a happier note, the perfect weather today made me want to walk our baby for miles. Bright blue sky, sparkling sun, little chilly.

And here's our daily Sweetest Special Find on eBay:

Bambi On Jumper Cables

Is this antique toy ridiculously cute or what? The lucky buyer had to pay $375.00 for it on EBay, and they need to lock it up if they ever invite me over. ^_^

Finally, some actually beautiful "bulbs", lol, are seen

here. The color is breathtaking, don't you think? This is also where my mom grew up.

CLICK To Get To Know Me Better Through Pictures

2007-05-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

Everyone should get a Flickr account. Really, it's super fantastic.

Happy Mother's Day To Us!

2007-05-13T07:45:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! D'ubby made the very best dinner featuring Beef Tenderloin. Dessert was those Drumsticks in the cardboard box for a little juxtaposition.

Hazelnut Mocha Tall Non-Fat Please

2007-05-12T22:35:00.001-07:00

The best afternoon is a long stop at Starbucks with my mom and punky sis. The Starbucks by her house always has the coolest artwork. Today they had a piece I really wanted for our house by Eloy Zuniga, I think the name was. Time to Google them. Ok, "them" is really a

HIM.

Crowded House

2007-04-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just back from Spring Break in Florida. My parents are home again this weekend. I'm so happy to be home myself! Florida was absolutely beautiful this time, just perfect weather, and the house was darling. The owner is a needlepoint freak, and she had her work everywhere. She had all the rooms arranged with little vignettes of her completed projects. In the kitchen, for instance, one of the framed pieces said "Sandy toes are no-nos". Many of them had 3-dimensional details, like a pair of glasses on a teddy bear's face! The house had the family-like atmosphere of a beach house on Cape Cod that's been used for generations.

My Personal DJ

2007-02-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ben just made me a Favorites cd, including songs like "Run - Snow Patrol, "Landed" - Ben Folds, and "Karma Police" - Radiohead. Itunes is great.

R.I.P. Hamtaro

2007-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Matt pitched his first game of the spring season and did so well.

Ben is going to help me with some stuff this week, and we're going to rule the world, lol.

I accidentally killed Sis' hamster while she was on vacation, and I feel terrible about it.

2007-02-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

One of the few things that I'm sad I sold on EBay....

The ittiest, bittiest, all Sterling, mesh purse, almost a century old. Either some kind of charm, maybe a salesman's sample. I'd researched a very long time to try and find out exactly which, but no luck. I've studied these purses for years and years, and even contacted some official experts about it, so I thought I would overcome the mystery.

Anyway, this little treasure is just perfectly engineered, right down to the legitimate "click" it makes when being closed. It has an amazingly precise and symmetrical frame at the top. I found it for $15.00 many years ago, and sold it for about $250.00--rather inconsequential when I realize I've never seen another one like it since, that it was truly a favorite of mine. Don't we all have a shoulda, woulda, coulda story like that? At least we can try to learn from it.

Our Furriest Fur Baby

2006-08-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here's our little darling below, she's almost 4 years old now. She came to our family in a unique way.

I grew up petrified of dogs, and I mean petrified. Even a tiny, or laid-back dog could make the hair on my arms stand up. It's not fun to have a fear like that.

My husband grew up with many different animals, on a big horse farm, and they went fox hunting every weekend. His family had every dog breed possible at one time or antoher: Dalmation, Standard Poodle, Pomeranian, Yorkie, Beagle, Chocolate Lab, English Springer Spaniel--he can't even remember them all, lol. So DH was rather indifferent about dogs when we got married. He liked them well enough, but hadn't been attached to any in particular growing up. He also felt that having any pet now may cramp our style. One thing was for sure, though. He told his mom that if he ever got a pet again, there'd be "no little dogs, no sissy dogs."

Anyway, when my sister was having her home remodeled about a year ago, she asked us if we would keep her dog at our house until her drywalling was completed at least, to protect her dog from any dust inhalation. I reluctantly agreed, after wanting desperately to chicken out. Those first couple weeks, I was so uncomfortable when she would follow me through our house, it made me nervous and downright annoyed. Unless you've ever had the fear of dogs, you don't understand. Even though you despise its huge effect on your life, and you would do anything to make it go away, you make yourself somehow deal with it, realizing that almost no one ever gets over this kind of fear. It's embarrassing. It interferes with visiting people, especially going to someone's house for the first time. There are so many rotten aspects to it.

I can't remember exactly what occurred, but after a couple weeks, I began to "trust" our dog--that she wouldn't bite me or something. First of all, I began to not mind so much if she was following me around, or sitting near me.

It didn't seem possible that this irrational fear was diminishing! Then there was the real 180 turnaround. I began to have a fondness for her, a transformation very difficult to explain. What was really hilarious, btw, was when I came home one day to find "no sissy dogs" DH on the sofa, sweetly "talking" to her, all the while looking positively smitten, as a parent would be with their child! What an precious memory.

Ultimately, my sister had witnessed such an attachment to this dog by my DH and I, that she didn't have the heart to take her back home with her. She got another Shih-tzu, and we kept "ours". Is that a sister's love or what. :o)

If you're reading this, and you think this is a silly rendition of something greatly exaggerated, or that this is something trivial to write about, well... it's always good to consider that maybe anything is possible. Yes, anything is possible.

All those years of not understanding in the least, how anybody around me could be devastated by the loss of a pet... Not comprehending at all what a pet's being "part of the family" really meant... Being unable to empathize with the "Lost Cat" sign stapled to the utility pole on the way to the grocery store.

It's been a real eye-opener as you might imagine. A very happy eye-opener. These days, I especially love to go on Flickr, or someone's blog, and see photos of them with their pets, because now I can really relate to it. And it tells me something wonderful about them too.

The Lion Speaks Tonight

2006-02-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings to the online journaling world. ^_^

I have a ton of vintage jewelry, since I've been collecting for 20 years at least. Here's one of my favorite pieces. Circa 1920's/30's, by Wallbank & Co., which is also still in business on the East Coast.