Happy Thanksgiving!

{Thanksgiving pageant around 1910 ~ photo via shorpy}

Perfect Presidential Pup!

In my unbiased opinion, what better choice than a WHEATEN SCOTTISH TERRIER for the white house?

{photo from here}

Tiring Day for Sprocket

{images from Hershey}

Let's just say that Sprocket is more of a mounds man these days.

In honor of Sprocket ~ franks & beans for dinner!
(OK ~ that's the last of the bad puns!)

Mid~week Fix

Had to share with you my latest find ~ an ancient beautiful box and linen thread spools! Loved the graphics on both the box and the paper labels on the spools ~ I'm hoping I may be able to use the thread for some projects - maybe crocheted earrings?! I picked this up on my lunch break this week ~ now and then I feel like I need a pick me up, so I escape to the antique mall nearby and get myself in a little trouble. I also got a great midsize globe ~ I'll post on that later when I get a good photo. Not too much damage to my checkbook ~ a low calorie lunch too!

{box of thread from the late 1800's}

Crowns on my mind

I've been thinking about crowns lately ~ there are so many different kinds I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. Well, maybe not the crown frankfurter surprise, but all the rest would do!

1. lace crown, 2. birthday crown, 3. gothic crown chimney pots, 4. crown frankfurter surprise, 5. crown moulding, 6. crowns, 7. crown & bird, 8. tailor's crown, 9. woodland crown
Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Too bad this is the kind of crown I will be investing in:

{image found here}

Wrapture! Wool Wrapped Bracelets

Thought I'd share with you some photos of the wool wrapped bracelets I have been making. I started making these last year and just can't seem to stop ~ the colors and textures are so appealing to me and compared to some of the other things I make, these go relatively quickly. I've been using kettle dyed wool yarns ~ aren't the colors gorgeous?!

Well, I thought I had come up with something new - but alas, a quick search on the internet brought up some similar bangles by designer Elizabeth Yarborough - hers are made of wool and cashmere and go for $45 - $145 here. I guess mine are a bargain at $10 - $18 at my etsy shop.

{Elizabeth Yarborough bangles; image from here}

You Can Judge a Book by its Cover

Well, maybe not all of the time ~ but how many times are you drawn to a book by its cover? When I am out and about at a flea market or antiques show, the covers are always what get my attention first ~ always a disappointment when the inside doesn't measure up to the outside!

{beautiful old cover designs ~ I passed these up}

Great Gaskell's Compendium of Forms ~ the cover isn't quite as ornate as some I have seen, but still a nice design and a wealth of information and images inside ~ everything from business forms, penmanship, poetry, agriculture, architecture, social etiquette (including funeral etiquette), even carving meat ~ certainly something for everyone! I have quite a collection of this type of book ~ many companies published them ~ this one is from 1882 and is in pretty nice shape for its age. I found a sales slip (shown on the last photo) in the book ~ it sold for $3.50 ~ probably pretty pricey for that era. With a book like this, who needs a television?! I did not pass this one up!

{ornate chapter heading}

{beautifully illustrated good and bad manners}

{elocution and oratory positions}

{gorgeous penmanship}

{color lithograph showing how to set a table}

{helpful hints to romance your special someone!}

Featured on Etsy Treasury!

{treasury chosen by embellishedlife ~ thanks!}

It's always nice to be included in an etsy treasury ~ my brooch is upper left. Looks like I am in good company ~ there are so many beautiful handmade things on etsy. If you are unfamiliar with etsy, make sure to visit ~ a great place to find unique gifts for everyone on your holiday gift list ~ and you get to support independent artists as well ~ a good deal all around!

Feathering my nest

Found this feather wreath a couple weeks ago at a craft store ~ and on sale! I love the subtle colors and was really happy with how it looked on my deep purple door. It is always satisfying when the end results are what you envisioned in the first place AND it is a quick and easy solution!

Hooray for the end of the week!

I can't help but feel happy to see this week end ~ the day job has been extra hectic and I feel pretty exhausted ~ on top of that I can now no longer eat Lean Cuisine flatbreads AND my office/tv/porch room smells! I won't tempt fate by asking how much worse can it get ~ I know it could be much worse!

At any rate, no more Lean Cuisine flatbreads for me! In an effort to be thrifty and efficient with my lunch time I bring my lunch to work a couple times a week ~ I had a nice Costco selection of flatbreads in the freezer, so I decided to eat one of them Monday. I followed all the directions, carefully removing the plastic wrap on what ended up looking like a mini pizza, folding the box so it made that handy box to bake it on, and popped it in the microwave for the allotted time. At the ding of the bell I popped open the microwave door to retrieve my delectable chicken ranch flatbread and what was right in front of my nose?! A dead fly ~ flat on its back, all legs in the air ~ right in front of my lunch on the floor of the microwave ~ UGH! The fly wasn't ON my food, so I figured there really probably wasn't anything wrong with the food, but alas, after a bite or two, I just couldn't get the visual out of my head. No more flatbreads for me thanks to that cursed fly!

{goodbye chicken ranch club flatbread!}

Has this sort of thing ever happened to you? I remember a similar result with Ritz crackers when I was a kid. I was snacking on Ritz crackers and peanut butter while watching tv ~ an educational show about gangrene. Needless to say, I couldn't eat Ritz crackers for years ~ I am happy to say they are back on my list of snack foods now ~ a few years later!

Aside from the fly incident, my tv/office porch room smells of death ~ no amount of candles or incense do much ~ even with a bad cold I can still smell the stench. The room is actually a porch converted to a room ~ a space was left between the concrete slab and the subfloor which is where whatever it was (reasonably sure it was an opossum) chose to die ~ just lovely! This has happened once before, but that time at least the smell of death worked out well as we were celebrating D's 50th birthday, so it kind of fit with that getting older theme. One more house project to add to the list ~ hey, that's what weekends are for! Next week has got to be better than this one!
Have a great weekend everybody!

{goodbye mr. opossum)

Milestone for Sprocket

As I mentioned earlier, I am way behind on things ~ so I missed sharing with you one of Sprocket's milestones ~ his graduation from puppy obedience school. As proud parents, D & I noted that while Sprocket really didn't excel in his academic skills, his social skills were outstanding ~ if they had given awards he would have gotten Mr. Congeniality. Despite his poor grades, he looks quite handsome in his mortarboard ~ good looks go a long way!

{D clutching the perfect student}

Holiday Ornament Swap

Now that I am back up and running I had to get caught up with my internet research ~ while trolling around I came upon this Holiday Ornament Swap that cake + pie and freshlyblended organize. This is their 3rd year and I finally managed to find out about it before the entry deadline passed ~ I just squeaked by though as it was yesterday ~ I think I may have been one of the last people to enter! I think there are 434 entries this year!

The basic premise is that each person that enters agrees to make 10 ornaments by December 10th and mail them to the 10 others whose names you are given. In return, you get a handmade ornament from the 10 people that you sent one to ~ what a great way to start an interesting collection! You can read more about it here.

Well, it isn't as if I don't have enough on my plate, but this really sounded like it will be fun ~ plus a good excuse to push myself to create something new ~ afterall there is a deadline, so I will have to get it done! Stay tuned, I will post about what I make and what comes my way! Go here to see some of the ornaments from last year.

{cake + pie and freshlyblended's Holiday Ornament Swap announcements}

Return to the Living

{image from here}

It has been over a week since I have posted anything on the blog ~ yikes ~ I have fallen behind on my schedule! Actually, I do have several good excuses: my workload got pretty crazy both at the day job and at home as I was preparing for the Crafty Chicks show AND then I got stricken with the flu! Not quite as bad as what is shown above, but that is pretty much how I felt! Sore throat, stuffy head and nose, sneezing and coughing ~ the works ~ I think the worst is over ~ hopefully for the whole winter season!!! Back to my regular schedule ~ hope to have more interesting posts as the week progresses!