Red and Blue

Nighty night.

Progressive Scars

Nighty night.

Half Oreo Chocolate Cookie, Double the Creme

Nighty night.

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

Nearly every girl enjoys wearing some pretty jewelry, and India is no different. In fact, today she wore a necklace for the first time. And she put it on all by herself.

Someone I knew a long time ago once told me a story about the cutest little girl. She and her family were planning a visit with this person. When they arrived for their visit, the host opened the front door. And without skipping a beat, the little girl looked up and asked, "Where's your 'joo-ree'?"

Nighty night.

Bag of Cherries

So, here are the promised photographs of a recently completed sewing project. The photo above shows the front of the structured tote bag I made.

This shot includes the entire front. Notice that the bag's bottom is not visible.
Again, here is the front view; in this shot, however, the bottom is folded upward to expose my method of shaping said bottom.

This is simply a close-up of the previous picture.

This shot highlights the floral decorative stitching I added to plain, 3/8" red grosgrain ribbon, as well as the double zig zag top stitching I applied to the bag's top edge. Both techniques can be studied more closely by double clicking on the picture.

This view shows the plain, but pretty, back side.

Here is the back side with the bottom folded upward.

Here, a sneak peek at the bag's interior shows the lining was made with the same fabric used for the bag's front pocket. I made the straps with that fabric, too. I bought that material during one of our trips to Fort Worth, simply because I liked it, and I think I bought less than a yard. I'm glad I at last found a use for it. (I had nothing else on hand to coordinate with the cherry fabric.)

I made what I call a "modern bow" to use as an accent for the bag's front pocket. The red helps unite the two fabrics.

India is sleepy.

Deutsch is sleepy.

Scout is sleepy.

After a huge homemade meal of grilled, barbecue pork ribs, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and coleslaw, Squidley and I went to a movie. We actually did not fill up on junk because we had just eaten a really good dinner. Oh, and just a by the way, we went to see "Letters to Juliet." We both thought it was a surprisingly good film. And even though the scenery was real (It was shot on location.), we're pretty sure the background of the last scene was a matte, simply because the desired background didn't line up with the desired medium shot.

Well, it is beddy bye time for the five of us. After a fun morning/afternoon outing, other activities, and a movie, we are plum tired.

Nighty night.

Berries of Blue

I sorted through some North Carolina blueberries that Squidley bought on sale the other day. I froze seemingly a ton of them but kept out enough for a blueberry crunch cake. The above is my first dish of the scrumptious dessert that Squidley baked this evening.

The batter was made first and poured into a pan. Then fresh blueberries were strewn on top.

Next a crumbly mix was generously sprinkled on top.

This is the beautiful reward that resulted, thanks to wonderful Squidley.

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend.

Nighty night.

The Nickname

Tonight Squidley had to pick up a few items from the pet supplies store, and while there, he got another cute outfit for India. It is especially appropro because of the lettering on the back: Little Pupcake. Like Deutsch and Scout, she has many nicknames, and one of my favorites is "Cupcake." So, when Squidley showed me his surprise for her, I was delighted.

I finished a couple of sewing projects today and will post some pictures of them soon. I've only photographed one of the completed projects and will catch up on the other tomorrow.

And I've also been knitting pretty much every day during recent weeks. Nothing exciting for posting. I'm knitting ten-inch, cotton squares that are actually wash cloths, and I'm using natural and light-colored yarns (such as pale yellow). I plan to donate these, via a group that is coordinating this project, to an institute that is working to clean animals affected by the oil crisis. (The natural and light-colored yarns, I think, will be less likely to irritate the wildlife than yarns that are heavily dyed.) The pattern I'm using starts with casting on four stitches. After knitting one row (of four stitches), I then increase each row by one stitch (by adding a yarnover). When I've reached the row with forty-three stitches, the knitting will be triangle shaped. At that point I will begin decreasing each row by one stitch. When I have a row with only seven stitches, I will begin casting off.

Well, I'm ready to get into the beddy bye.

Nighty night, everyone.

Indian Sari

Scout and India, in tandem, eagerly await Squidley's entrance into the room.

India shyly looks toward the camera.

India is happy to model her first dress, which arrived yesterday.

Squidley picked out the dress, so cute with flowers and hearts and bees.

Deutsch has this adorable look where one ear is laid back and the other sticks straight out.

India can do cute things with her ears, too.

Well, it's off to beddy bye for us.

Nighty night.

Coming Attractions

This is just a little preview of something I recently finished making. I will post additional photographs once I've shot them.

Late this evening, we had some lightning that sounded awfully close. In fact, I happened to be looking out one of the back windows one of the times lightning sounded, and I kid you not: it appeared to me as though the house shook. With such high temps and hummidity today, we were not at all surprised by the storm. (It was quite brief.) And according to the weather forecast (prediction), tomorrow just might be a rubber stamp copy of today.

Meanwhile, I am quite tired and ready to climb into the beddy bye.

Hope your week is going along grandly.

Nighty night.

Sunny Side Up

Nighty night, everyone.

Maybe It's Maybelline

I wasn't even outdoors when I first spotted this little creature through the back door that leads to the patio. He flew randomly around the back windows before falling down through a side opening of a kennel on the patio. I opened the kennel door, shot some pictures, and left him to his own devices as far as getting out. I was concerned that an attempt on my part to pick him up or move him in any way could possibly injure him.

He is a striking little guy. His body, a leafy green, reminds me of the outer leaves of cabbage and is dotted with a few off-white circles and other markings. The top edges of his wings and his head are dramatically outlined with a soft, sable color, quite similiar to one of my favorite eyeliners. And grabbing onto the eye makeup theme and running with it, each of his antennae resembles the brush end of a mascara applicator.

Well, we've had a most pleasant weekend, and I hope yours, too, has been nice. Have an enjoyable week, all.

Nighty night.

In the Pink

Today was nice and sunny and quite the day for getting out and about, which is exactly what the five of us did. I hope your day was pleasant as well.

Tired and ready to fall into bed.

Nighty night, everyone.

Rub a Dub Dub

When Squidley telephoned me one recent afternoon while on his way home from a golf tournament he had participated in, teamed up with three of his colleagues, he delivered good news: each of the four had won a brand new set of golf clubs. I was jumping for joy, happy that he and the others had done so well. Incidentally, I was figuring Squidley might also be willing to hand down his old set of clubs to me. Well, I guess no further explanation is necessary on my part. That is, of course, if you've checked out the above photo. Cute, huh?

The bell peppers are not going to be outdone by anyone else on that patio. And I have to say, they sure look cute (yes, cute) in their present "miniature" stage. Oh, and does anyone else think the bell pepper cap somewhat resembles the little beanie worn by Elroy Jetson?


so lovely

Because this picture was shot during the daytime, it's pretty much impossible to see that this is a double spider web.

another photograph shot on our patio this evening

Well, our day has been quite busy, and we are tired, perhaps even more so for a Friday evening. So it is off to the beddy bye for the five of us. Oh, and just a by the way: three of us that are going nighty night are squeaky clean. Squidley, tired though he is, threw a pool party for Deutsch and Scout and India. And I must divulge that those three smell remarkably better than the two of us!

Wishing everyone a good weekend.

Nighty night.

Tailor Made

Just want to share a another handful of blooms with you, starting with these colorful and dainty snapdragons. (These are a variety called Tahiti Mix.) This is the first year I've tried my hand at growing this particular type of flower, though I've had a strong liking for them since childhood. The blooms are quite delicate but are shaped in such a way it seems a bloom would "pop" if pressed between forefinger and thumb (kinda along the lines of bubble wrap). These snapdragons are, I must say, odd little creatures. Just when they look as though they've nothing left in them, new buds appear, and the results are glorious. And seemingly as quickly as they appeared, I'm left dumbfounded by their speedy exit. And then the process begins again. It's such a little thing, yet it's fascinating.

This is the first bloom on my second dahlia, a flower that looks as though it was tailored. Its fluted, lemon-colored petals lie in a precise, origami like arrangement.

This yellow squash blossom is part of a volunteer that showed up unexpectedly this spring.

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend.

Nighty night.

Green Berets

Those bloomin' plants are at it again. And the white blossoms and green, pleated "caps" look like they were delicately carved from white linen-colored and bell pepper-colored wax.

As pretty as the blooms are, they are, one by one, bowing out gracefully to their successors.

Love those jalapenos.

Twins!

More are "in the oven."

Tomatoes, jalapenos . . . hmmm . . . I'm thinking, maybe, salsa.

There are many, many gardens out there, and most are probably much larger than ours. However, if one enjoys gardening, as we do, even raising one plant can be pleasurable. So, no matter where your home is, chances are you can grow at least a little something.

Wishing everyone a very good day tomorrow. Take very good care.

Nighty night.