New Year's Eve 2009

Waiting for the clock to strike 12, and it is goodbye 2009!

I must admit that I'm glad to see this year go. It has been a good year, but also I've been plagued with little nitpicking physical ailments. Ugh. It is patch, patch, patch after 60.

I've done some exciting projects this year from building a Backyard Botanical Garden as a first veggie/herb garden, to making shades for the utility room, to learning to weave on a loom at The Old Oaks Fiber Arts Center, to redoing the front bath and designing the fused glass back splash, which is on hold since I need to get to the glass shop to use the sandblasting machine. I cracked my right ankle bone on December 15 and am very hesitant to drive with the "boot." Hubby is my source of transportation. I have to gauge my trips, grocery list, etc., and going to the glass shop is not on the trip list. :D



I love to do projects/crafts because I avoid doing those things I really dislike, such as filing the mail. I can hide it in the desk drawers. In getting ready for 2010 and since there is no escape, I'm filing the mail. Things are going to be so organized for the New Year! What chore do you put off?


My stomach has not quite settled down from the virus that hit early, early Christmas morning, and I decided to make chicken noodle soup. Saltine crackers are getting old and chicken soup just about cures everything. lol And, since I am somewhat home bound, I asked hubby to get some egg noodles at the grocery. However, I did not totally trust him to get the correct item and found this egg noodle recipe online. The lack of trust panned out; he came home with elbow macaroni.



The soup and homemade egg noodles turned out very good. Here's the soup recipe:

1 whole chicken
1-2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup carrots
1 medium red potato, sliced very thin and chopped

Almost cover the chicken with water, add the onions, garlic, and bouillon cubes. When the chicken is done, remove the bones and return the chicken to the broth, add carrots, potatoes and noodles. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Do you have plans for this evening? I hope you have the very best New Year's Eve.

Until next time, God bless.

Weaving and Christmas Gifts

I always look for someway to do something a little different for Christmas gifts and running into this half-grown alpaca from The Old Oaks Ranch and seeing the weaving demonstration at the Pound House Fall Festival gave me the idea of doing handwoven scarves.

These animals have the sweetest face and are so soft.

Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center just happened to be on the way to the Wimberley Market Day, subject of Straight Out of the Camera Sunday, October 3. The shop is so inviting.

Take a look at this fabulously colored fiber. I think it is silk; I'll ask when I go back for the scarf session.

I chose these two colors because my youngest son and his wife wear black leather when riding motorcycles. Both are members of a motorcycle club and he rides his bike to work quite often to save on gas. Jennifer, my son's wife, has trained two dogs to do search and rescue. The weather is not always very nice when she gets a call. This is Peruvian alpaca; and while using the same fiber, I'll do different designs. The weaver sets up the loom and it will probably take about 16 hours to weave two 7" x 60"scarves.

If I really like weaving, hubby will get one for Christmas too. And, then, I may give myself one.

More alpaca in such rich and vibrant colors.

This piece is being done on a hardwood triangle with nails about 1/8 of an inch apart.

The loom studio.

Old Oaks will set up the loom. I really haven't the foggiest idea how to weave but woven fabrics and rugs have always fascinated me.

I think this is a rug in progress.

The rug is incredible.

This is an example of needle felting on a silk scarf.

The finished scarf is an exquisite piece of wearable art.


Fabric wall hangings.

Since I retired, I've taken silversmithing, lost wax casting, and art welding classes at the local community college, jewelry design, wire wrapping classes, hand-formed pottery classes, glass fusing classes, scrap booking and stamping classes, and gad, I may fall in love with a new craft, weaving. However, we'll see after two scarves. I'm doing everything I've always wanted to do whereas before making a living seemed to get in the way. Retirement has been a gift.

Last week I made jars of apple butter for little gifts and have been searching out unusual recipes for a variety. I bought some pears Saturday to make an orange-pear butter with ginger. And, I have a plum butter or jam recipe which I may try. I've never canned so this too is a new experience.

Life is so good. Are you doing anything special for Christmas gifts? If so, please tell us.

Until next time, God bless.

Farmer's Market Challenge, Sept. 09

The Road to Here has a monthly Farmer's Market Challenge. Some of us have the most wonderful farmer's market while others (me) are somewhat limited. However, this is the first year for my little town's market and the drought pretty much wiped out many of the small farmers/gardeners. Baring droughts and severe weather, I expect our Farmer's Market to grow and it is to be held until there is nothing left to offer.

There were not very many vendors this time around.

I bought red cabbage, red onions, and some local honey from this vendor. He had the best selection.

Our local soap maker was at the market and I bought a bar of Brown Windsor for hubby.

To check out the markets around the nation and world, go here. But, I have to apologize for posting my photos a day late -- I've been doing some many different projects that I did not make the time to get this up on the correct day.

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Update, Part I

First off, let me say it is a beautiful morning here because the temperature is a cool 73 degrees. Fall is in the air! I had forgotten just how cool 73 degrees could be. Now, if we only get some rain, then it would be perfect.

Our house was built in 1984. I tore down the wallpaper, textured and painted the walls, replaced the original flooring with tile, replaced the vanity top with Silestone, a vessel sink, and the original faucets with one of brushed nickel. I've been at a stand still since last September. Did I want to repaint this bathroom a red or some other dark color? This bathroom is small, so would it be too dark and close? I made a shower curtain, topped it with a beaded trim valance. It did not work. The bathroom remained blah. Out of desperation, I contacted Layla of The Lettered Cottage, sent her some photos and asked what did she suggest.



As the shows on HGTV do, here is Layla's basic redo suggestion. The red ties to an old leaded glass window hanging in the bathroom window and the brown ties to the mesquite framing around a mirror from my mother's house. The walls can either remain a Swiss Coffee color or be painted white. I'm leaving the walls to last since I hope I will like the existing Swiss Coffee color; but, if not, the walls will be redone in a white: one step at a time around here, live with it for a while to see if I like it.


I spent hours online trying to find some brown trim. There is not much out there in brown. However, I stopped by a really cool shop here in Dripping Springs, Cowgirls & Lace, and found this wonderful trim. It was the only solid brown trim in the shop, and it was the last on a roll. I needed 6 2/3 yards; the roll had 6 3/4 yards. Is that luck or not?!



The trim is basted on the shower curtain for the time being. I haven't decided whether or not to use fabric glue or the sewing machine. Since the curtain is to be in the bathroom, I'll probably use the machine to attach the trim.


I did not get the matching Sileston back splash because I want to do fused glass tiles. Pay no attention to the color, but I have been working on a 4 x 6 tile design. It is a matter of will I be able to do in glass what I can design on the computer? BTW, those switch plates have got to go. :D


This is the plain Jane vanity cabinet. I'm going to add some legs at the bottom to give the illusion it is a piece of furniture, paint it, and add new handles.



This is the cabinet over the commode. The redo photo shows the door off. I can tell you that there is going to be some big time reorganizing for me to remove the door. :D Every inch of cabinet space is spoken for in this house.


I picked up some paint samples at Home Depot the other day. Behr Paints has a Premium Plus which is a combination primer and paint. The samples come in a flat gloss; but, of course, the paint comes in eggshell, satin, and high gloss. I'm thinking I will do the middle color in a satin gloss because if I do not like it, I can easily go darker.


I had company when taking the photos last night. Nasty little creature, isn't it? I promptly picked up my weapon, the fire place shovel, brushed him to the floor, and dispatched him. You don't want to smash them on the wall; you can never completely get rid of the remains. lol

Today, I'm going to permanently attached the brown trim to the shower curtain, sand the cabinets, tape the wall around the cabinets, remove the cabinet door, fill the hinge holes, and possibly start painting. However, you know what is totally neat about being retired? What isn't done today can easily be done tomorrow or the next day or the day after.

Until next time, God bless.

SOOC Sunday

Straight Out of the Camera Sunday

Murrieta 365 came up with a fun new meme: Straight Out of the Camera Sunday. No tweaking or alterations allowed. Click over to her site, she has a striking photo.

I chose this one because it did not require tweaking and the chess set is totally handmade. The board is fused glass and each chess piece was created by flameworking glass. The artist said it took him about 20 hours to make the chess pieces.

I'm posting an enhanced photo below of the completed set but only because the chess set should be seen in its entirety to fully appreciate. It is an incredible piece of craftsmanship and art.

Until next time, God bless.

Trade Days - Fredericksburg, TX

It has been about a year since my friend and I made a quick trip up to Fredericksburg for Trade Days. We are about 38 miles from the Trade Days grounds and it started raining a hour before we left. Being troopers, we were not going to allow a little weather change stop us. It turned out to be one of our best trips; the weather was wet but cool. It was wonderful!

On the way we reminisced about some of our previous trips. One January, ice was on the ground and highway but I kept saying don't worry, the vendors will all have heaters. Let me just say that it was miserable; I've never been so cold. On a couple of other trips, it was unbearably hot. We would spend an inordinate amount of time in one of the "food courts," I use the term loosely, because it had misting machines. We'd sit in front of the misting machines for a time drinking sodas or lemonade, shop, then return to the misting machine to ingest more fluids, shop, misting machine, shop, etc. lol

I really enjoy Trade Days, street fairs, and community craft events because there is no place better to find out just how creative, artistic, and imaginative people are from your child's teacher, your neighbor down the street, your pastor, the retired couple on the next block, or someone you don't know. Their handcrafted wares just blow you away.

Here are a couple of photos of this and that at Fredericksburg this weekend.One of these days I'm going to breakdown and bring one of these home. :D They are so funky.I want one of these for somewhere; perhaps in the little hallway between the master bedroom and the master bath. I've been watching too much HGTV. Thinking about getting this Hoosier kitchen table for my hobby room if it is still there next month. Trade Days are on the third weekend of each month.

Can someone give me a clue as to what one would do with a fuchsia, polka dot washing machine?
I haven't the foggiest idea what this is unless it is an upmarket outhouse. I should have opened the door. If you look close on the right, you see part of a bathtub and beyond that was an iron stove. So.............if you have a sense of humor and want to spend $500, one might buy it for a deer lease. lol

I love cactus -- we have plenty of prickly pear cactus growing all around us but these are so neat.Turkey feeder planter. The Trade Days grounds were once a turkey farm and the vendors had little booths in the old barns. The Days have become so popular that small one or two-story buildings are springing up all over the place.

I couldn't make up my mind: jalapeno cheese bread or 3-cheese bread so I bought an apricot oatmeal cookie.

As we were returning to our car, I discovered these two cool, restored cars in the parking lot.




We had one small hitch on this trip, nothing that couldn't be fixed, and it was. My friend forgot to turn off her lights when we arrived. And though we were only gone for two or three hours, the battery died. But as luck would have it, we discovered her battery was in the trunk. We stood in the drizzle a while until we'd see someone, ask if they had jumper cables, and finally found someone who did. He jumped us off and we were on our way to one of our favorite cafes in Johnson City, TX for a late lunch. All is well that ends well.

Until next time, God bless.

Sol'stice Garden Expressions, Part III

I had a picnic lunch with a friend of mine at Sol'stice Garden Expressions with the hope that the birds would flock around us. I heard them in the trees but not a one flew close enough for me to photograph. Oh well, when one plan does not work, I always have a Plan B. Plan B was to take photos inside. I love funky and earthy items and Sol'stice is filled to the brim. (See February 25 and February 26 blog entries for outside tour of Sol'stice.)

This display greets you at the front door. Don't you just love the colorful painting above the secretary?

This is to the left as you come in the door. The green and copper object on the right is a lamp!

Excuse the shameless promotion, but the above is a display of my pendants and one of my small trays. You've seen closeups under the Plum Wild photo gadget.

I love these concrete pieces. The one on the left has a swivel mirror in the center. Usually the piece hangs in a tree and the mirror swivels in the wind; the birds go wild over it. The piece looks great on the wall, though.

Isn't the mobile on the upper left wonderful? The funky pottery faces hanging on the wall are really neat, too. I have to exert extreme self-discipline to not buy a zillion things when I come to Sol'stice.

Love this abstract on the left as well as the garden ornaments in the wash tub.

This room is a bit of a mess since Chris is painting another room. However, I also love the green, concrete table on the bottom left. It would be great inside or outdoors!

This is another one of those funky lamps. I need to look for a place in my house for one of these.



BTW, this monarch butterfly was the best picture I could get while eating our picnic lunch. lol And, it isn't very good at that!

Two quick questions before I close: Have you bought anything lately for your house or garden? If so, what?

Until next time, God bless.