Fairy ornament

For February, our ornament was the Fairy!

I had such fun with this one. I created a bendy doll ornament using this WONDERFUL tutorial from Princess Nimble Thimble.
Go ahead and try it...it isn't hard but you do need a fair amount of dexterity to hold the floss tight while winding....my poor hands got pretty cramped!

I included one of my toadstool pokes and another little ornament (or charm) with the crocheted acorns....I like how it turned out too.



Here is the rest of the package....

I am so glad Missy liked everything!

February's toy drop....

I have no idea what this is other than a lima bean shaped stuffie.
I just cut out the fabric and took it from there.
I did have fun making the mouth into a wee pocket! LOL!


That being said, we dropped it this week at at local clinic. The receptionist stood up when I hung it on the door......I'm sure she was curious as to what I was doing!

Fairy House

Here is our Fairy House! Curly Girl was the architect, while her friend and I put everything together. I grouted it Friday and finished the roof Saturday...

See the little shell portico? Curly Girl has such good ideas!


the little 'pool' will be quite refreshing this summer...

close up of the back door...



and some evening photos.


here is one with the flash off...all the light you see is from the 'fairy fireplace.'

I made them for Missy's swap and made a few extra for our little fairy house!

I'm sure this summer, we will see Fairies dancing around the fireplace outside their home...but with this chilly weather, they seemed to appreciate a warm home.

Mardi Gras!

For Fat Tuesday, we went into 'town' to have fun at the Mardi Gras parades!

This particular parade is the "Truck Parade"...they have 110 18 wheelers that are decorated for the parade....too much fun!

Ripstick Boy got these great clown glasses. He wore them for most of the parades....then some guy on one of the truck floats begged him to trade...so he got 2 huge bags of beads in exchange for them!

here is the guy with his new glasses getting his bags together for the trade....

The guy was screamin 'YOU DA MAN' as he drove away....too funny.
Even thought that was great, the fact that girls were pointing to him to come get beads from them made his day even more...

Here we are in between floats...I have NO idea what everyone is looking at.... it makes a funny picture though!

The kids got a lot of beads....and had a lot of fun. Poor Dean got a sore neck!

But we ALL had a great time!

See ya next year!

Valentine's...and a birthday!

Dean revamped the computer this week so I've not been able to load anything...it is amazing how much has gone on already!


Sunday, we had a great day together celebrating Valentine's Day. We started the day out with heart shaped waffles...and little crocheted heart pins.

I don't know WHY the guys wouldn't wear the little crocheted heart pins though...hmmm.

Later, Curly Girl and I went to get Mojo a birthday gift for his 9th birthday! You'd never know how old he is because he still acts like a puppy.

We went to several stores to get him a new collar. I don't know about you, but my he-man dog does NOT wear foo-foo collars. And NO BLING. He's a MAN DOG! LOL!

A nice tartan plaid would be perfect..afterall, he IS a Corgi. We've got 3 more pet stores in town...so we'll be checking them out today.

Here he is with his new toy....we had to get Ginger one too because she steals!

Later in the day, Suki got in some cuddle time...she is really starting to become a snuggle bunny.
She likes getting in your lap, which is hard to do in our family because we never sit still for long!


To wind up the day, I made Patricia Steak for dinner. It's my dad's recipe and FABULOSO! The kids fight over it......LOL!

How do you like the BLUE plate!

Ha...reminds me of the blue plate special in diners! I guess next year I need to plan ahead and get out the good stuff......

Bodice Ripping, say CHEESE!

So...Friday school was closed due to the winter storm. The kids were playing and I was puttering around, getting things straightened up.
I turned on the local news to see WHERE the snow was because it WASN'T in Slidell!

The news was over and The Bold and The Beautiful came on. I don't watch soaps anymore. I used to watch Y & R and when I was in college I watched AMC, GH and OLTL.

It caught my attention because Don Diamont was on the show...he was killed off on Y & R. I remember when he was the POOL boy...or gardener or something.

Anyhoo, he is apparently a 'bad boy' on B & B now and I was trying to figure out his new look with all the facial hair. He was having a conversation with some girl who was trying to seduce him.

The phone rings and it is Dean so we talk for about 15 minutes.

I get up to turn the tv off and then Leo barfs 6 times (I counted) and I had to clean it up. Leo is REALLY sick...please send him some good thoughts.

Anyhoo, while cleaning up cat barf, I am hearing conversation ...him telling the girl she is getting in over her head. How he is a MAN, not a little boy, etc. etc. I start cracking up because it is so flippin CHEESEY. I mean, do guys really talk like that? LOL.

I leave to get a towel (it was a LOT of barf) and when I come back in, I see Brad turned Bad Boy...oh yeah, his name is Dollar Bill....I mean, how MUCH did they pay him to call him that? HAH!

Okay, so he walks over to this girl and RIPS her blouse open....you know...the way your HUSBAND does every time he sees you, right?
I am HOWLING. The kids are like, what is so funny? I guess I just missed the point entirely.

I mean, the FIRST thing I could think of is " how much did that blouse cost?" I mean, REALLY. Blouses are expensive...at least good ones. Did he rip the blouse to hear the buttons pop? Or just for effect? Did the camera guys laugh out LOUD when the blouse ripped?

I mean, these folks on soap operas are supposed to be loaded, right? So, let's just say that particular blouse cost 200 bucks or so. Would you REALLY be into it if some guy just RIPPED a 200 dollar blouse because he was...ahem...REALLY attracted to you. And what happens to all those buttons?

Just wondering...that's all. So, tune in next week for Part 2. because I'm going to tell you the about the last time I recall having a bodice 'ripped...' And then, maybe for fun, Dean and I can put on cheap shirts and see how hard it is to actually RIP a 'bodice'....hee hee......

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

From bats to birds....

Dean is cutting down a big gnarled tree that wasn't pruned properly. Since he had a big ladder out, I asked him to help me with an idea.

I intended to put an old bat box up...but then decided against it. The yard is small and we have pets and kids....I decided that if it did attract bats, I didn't want their guano in the yard. After all, bats don't use litter boxes!

It was too nice to just toss so I did a bit of research and found that the box is the right size for red headed woodpeckers.
Dean took over from there. He added a removable floor, some ventilation holes and the little entry hole. He also on added the little perch for 'looks.'

Now I'm crossing my fingers they will use it....or that SOME bird will!

Saints Parade!

Tuesday, they closed schools half day so everyone could go to the parade to celebrate the Saints Superbowl win.

Dean's office is on St. Charles (in the Emeril building) so we didn't have to go find a place to sit for the parade but it was sooo cold!
We all thought we were dressed for it, but the wind was really blowing and so everyone was frozen by the end of the night.

Here we are waiting for the fun to begin in front of the building. The guy with the camera is Patrick, he works with Dean. I can't WAIT to see the footage he got from the night!



Here is PART of the escort.
I think police officers from every parish were there. The sound from all the motorcycles was deafening! Take this photo and multiply it by 3 to get how many were really there!

Several times, they stopped in front of us and chatted everyone up.
One cop had a skull mask on but Dean couldn't get up there fast enough to take a picture....pretty neat though.


There were loads of helicopters flying down really low and we had 2 Blue Angels type planes (F18s?) come down RIGHT above the roof line and then they tipped their wings above us.
They were so low that if they didn't pull up, they would have had to go sideways between two buildings.

Dean works in Emeril's building and during the parade, Emeril was right next to us.


This was at the front of the parade.... letting you know the Saints were close behind...


Here are a few photos once it got dark.
Many are blurred because of all the flashes and neon.
Plus the street lights there are set to come on in the dark. So when the camera lights started flashing, the street lights would turn OFF and take a few minutes to come back on.




We didn't get a good photo of Brees, Shockey or Bush. We saw them all but the photos we took were totally wrecked. Bress was on the top of a float and was facing the other way the entire time. He was having fun though, dancing around throwing beads. After seeing everyone else wear a jersey with his name on it, it was weird seeing HIM wearing it.

Many people brought pens so the players could sign their stuff. I can't believe we didn't think to do that. The kids had on their Shockey t shirts....would have loved to have gotten him to sign them...*sigh*
Curly Girl did get hands slapped by most all the players so that is pretty memorable!



They had Hartley in a SHOE, appropriate! (even though it was a pink stiletto!)


This was the last float...a long train with Coach Payton at the end.... he was getting ready to toss a football signed by all the SAINTS! The crowd was going crazy!


As we were leaving, we could see how crowded it was down Canal and I am SO GLAD we weren't down there!

its about time!

We move so often, I am constantly making new curtains.

This time I was simply not interested...so I took some green ones we used in our living room in the last house and put them up in the bedroom.

After a year of seeing them....WAY too short and thin, Dean 'urged' me to either make some or buy a new bed set that included some!

After searching for ANOTHER year, I came to the conclusion that I would revamp the green ones. I just could not bring myself to spend the amount of money I've seen on new bedding and curtains!

So......I begin searching for fabric...which took about 6 months.

I found some on sale and used it to lengthen the curtains and to make the valances. I didn't actually like the valances at first so I ran out and bought some tassel fringe and added it to them.

Now I love them!



here is the side view so you can see how it ties into the bedding.

So after almost 3 years, the master bedroom is COMPLETE ( except for the crown moulding we want to add...)

On another note...I ADORE this medieval tapestry fabric but cannot find it ANYWHERE...not even online. I only had a remnant...but would love more....if any of my sewing friends know where to find it, PLEASE let me know!

Weather advisory: Hurricane Who-Dat

Outlook for the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Who-Dat is predicted to make landfall on the South Florida coast in the
vicinity of Miami on 7 February 2010 at approximately 2200Z (5 PM EST)
This extremely powerful hurricane is expected to produce damaging Shockey waves
and Category 5 Brees.

Reports from shipping indicate that this unstoppable storm has blown a huge flock of Cardinals all the way to Arizona and has sunk a replica Viking longboat, the Brettigfavren.

Livestock, in particular young horses, will be in severe danger of decimation..
Predictive damage estimates are unavailable at this time, but are expected to be significant.

All interests in and near the Miami area are advised to prepare for a storm surge of
catastrophic proportions as Hurricane Who-Dat begins to arrive...

Next advisory update scheduled for 07 February, 2010 at 0300Z (10:00 PM EST).

final....Saints 31, Colts 17

BLESS YOU BOYS!

5 year challenge

I visited Rhonda's blog the other day.

Her post was all about the 5th year challenge. It is where you go to your photos and take the 5th year, 5th folder and 5th photo and tell about it.

here is ours:

Curly Girl was in 1st grade!

This was an art show for Keller schools in Texas, where we used to live.

She is so proud because her little piece of pottery was chosen by the teacher to be exhibited in the show.

in the SAME folder, here is a photo of Ripstick Boy in 3rd grade!

This was the MOST fun! The two of us went on an overnight zoo field trip. We got ZERO sleep but had a blast visiting all the nocturnal animals.

Keller has the BEST school system ever....boy do we miss it...such fabulous memories.