Welcome Painted for my Daughter

Made for my daughter for a Christmas gift.

Carved into the wood and then painted
One side winter the other spring

Recycle Seed Starts

The last two weeks have been really warm so of course I got my seeds started.
We have snow today but the seeds are started and will be moved to the cat buckets under plastic in about 3 weeks.
My seeds are started in egg cartons inside recycled cake containers.
I set them on top of the freezer or fridge for a few days until they sprout then move to a towel on the kitcken island for another few weeks.
You just lift the egg cartons out cut apart and plant straight into the soil when there ready.

Recycle Cat Litter Buckets

Many of you have asked do I recycle.
Well of course.
I have a cat and there is nothing better then the cat buckets for ,well,everything.
In the winter they sit on the counter with my herbs growing in them.
In the summer they make great planters with a bit of new soil each year.
WE painted the buckets White and left the handles on .

I drilled holes in one all the way around and use it as a potato bin.
Cat litter buckets !

Way Past Christmas

Yes I know it is way past Christmas.
But I was ill over the holiday and still wanted to post.
These are my handmade.
Some of these are 40 years old and the patterns long gone, but still cute just the same. Most were gifts from my mother but my favorites are the walnut shells.
The Eskimo and Snow people are walnut with filbert heads.
The Dolls are clothespins and cork.
The beads are created around small mirrors.
The snowman is wooden dowels and buttons.
I see on etsy they are back with a modern twist.
Would love to see your handmade and post on the site with any patterns or tips and your name.

How to wrap your cat

Cards made from Scraps

I save every scrap of paper to make cards at the end of the year.

I could buy cards but these seem so much more fun and frugal.

Eastlake bench Almost Done

As most of you know I love to buy junk and turn it something fun.
We found an old eastlake antique bed and gave it a new life as a decons bench in the hallway.
I still need to stain and oil it but here's the finished design.

The Pow Wow

For many years the hubby and I have attended the local Native Pow Wows.
Our friend JJs Aunt Pauline Bell Riggs is the founder of the Selitz Pow Wow grounds. She was a fine woman and dearly missed.

We were there for grand entry and the royalty ceremony.
The photo is outgoing royalty and the young woman in the dark purple has served 14 years .Her name is Jennifer Easter and part of JJ's family. Grand entry is where everyone comes in flag ceremony and national anthem is song. Prayer follows.
We enjoyed the grand entry and dancers, the fancy and grass dancers are my favorite and always a joy to see them dance.

This weekend is followed up by next weekend in Grandronde at spirit mountain casino.
http://www.grandronde.org/
I did miss this year the quality of venders that usually attend the event. There were allot of cheap jewelry and foreigners food venders this year.

Evan so everyone should attend at least once in there life.

Wondering Fish

While strolling through the art section in Sisters Oregon a few weeks ago we came across this marvelous item.
I have done a little work in metal but nothing as fantastic as this metal fish.
Look closely at this marvel of patience and skill.
I would love to own this beauty and display it on the table my hubby made but alas it is 2,500 dollars well worth the time and skill,but way out of my tiny art budget.
One can always dream and there are always pictures.
Enjoy the marvel of the metal fish.

.

Different Problem

What's up

What's Up ? The Ring of Mountains.
Today I thought I would share my section of the country with you.

The high country of Central Oregon.
We have in view the Mt.Hood, Mt Washington. Mt Jefferson, The Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor.
These are a few photos from around the town.
Not all my photos.
I am the red truck with the sisiters in the background.Shot while out junkin
Hope you enjoy my Oregon.

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

Jefferson

The Cat

Well it would not be a real blog without a photo of a cat.

Ok cat lovers, this little trick will make you love your cat even more then you already do. I love my kitty' s but I hate cleaning up hair balls.  Turns out there is a super simple solution that I wish someone had told me about years ago. All you need to do is put a tiny bit of liquid flax seed oil  on their food. It costs only a few dollars for a bottle and because you only need a little a bottle it should last you a month or two depending on how many cats you have. The flax seed oil is perfectly safe for you cat. Basically what it does it keeps the hair balls from ever forming. The oil breaks down the hairball so it can pass through your cats system. If you have cats I suggest you give this a try, since I have started doing this I have cleaned up zero hair balls!

I called my vet to make sure this was safe before trying, you may also want to do the same thing.
I have also used Olive oil one cat loves it the other hates it. One likes flax the other not.
So give a try on both.

High Heels Bows and Bumper Cars

I want one of these ! It would be the best of both worlds....riding in something we all loved as children and enjoying it even more as an adult ! I am now looking for anyone who has built one of these. I would love to see one up close on a rack and talk to you.
In my youth both the hubby and I were huge Motor heads. We love cars.
I am a girly girl with bows ribbons and high heels but have torn a few engines and transmission apart in my day.
Enjoy these cute little cars.

Because it's True

Even when opportunity knocks, you still have to get up off your seat and open the door.


1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to
immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when
you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap
when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm
pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you
how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

The Guys Table

Tutorial found HERE

The T-shirt Quilt Update

Materials
Tee shirts (4 to 36 = number depending on size of quilt), Interfacing (fusible, woven type), woven cotton fabric for sashing and borders, fabric for backing (woven cotton, flannel, or polarfleece) and batting if you choose to use it.
Interfacing
There are many brands of interfacing. Look for a woven type or a nonwoven that is not stretchy (don't use a knit interfacing). You are using the interfacing to make the knit tee fabric non-stretchy for ease in sewing. Some interfacing needs to be pre-shrunk with water to avoid bubbles on the surface after fusing so read the directions from the manufacturer and test on a plain piece of tee shirt knit fabric.
Cotton Fabrics
You'll be using woven cotton (ie. regular quilting cotton) for the sashing and borders of your quilt. You want the stability of a woven cotton, not stretch from a knit. Pick a fabric that will frame your tee blocks nicely. You don't need to use a sashing, you can sew the blocks directly to each other.
Batting
You may want to use batting. A polyester batting with loft is fun if you are going to tie your tee shirt quilt. A cotton batting or blend is better for a machine quilted project. If you want a thin style quilt you could leave the batting out completely.
Backing
You may want to use tee shirts pieced on both sides if you have a lot of them. If not, a plain cotton backing used with batting is good. Or a flannel or polarguard backing is cozy and you can leave out the batting with these, too.
Preparation & Techniques

Decide Layout
Assuming you have all your tee shirts out and have studied them and possible layouts so you know your block sizes (see the section here on Blocks and Quilt Layouts to help plan, also look at the Gallery page to see sample quilts).
Washing & Cutting
Wash all tee shirts, if not previously worn you may want to wash them twice. Take the side seams apart (or if they were knit in the round you can slice one side and remove sleeves. Remember to save all the image areas if you t-shirt has small logos on sleeves, etc.
Fusing
Pre-shrink the fusible if needed. Cut the fusible interfacing about 2 inches larger than the size of your unsewn blocks. You may want to use a 1/2 inch seam allowance for your tee shirt blocks rather than the traditional 1/4" of quilting to make sturdier seams. Following fusible manufacturer's advice, fuse the interfacing to the tee shirt sections you plan to use.
Cutting the fused tee shirts
If all your blocks are to be the same size, you will find it convenient to make a template from cardboard, mat board or plastic template material. If you are a quilter with a rotary cutter, this is definitely the tool to use. Cut using a long acrylic rotary ruler and a mat. If using scissors, trace your template and cut. Cutting the sashing and borders: remember to leave 1/2 inch seam allowance if you choose to have extra. Thus a 3 inch sashing finished sewn size will mean you should cut a 4 inch wide strip.
Arranging blocks
If all your blocks are one size you can go directly to arranging their order. But, if you are using some smaller units of tee shirt images to make larger blocks (in a 4 patch block for instance) sew those first. Then clear off a place on the floor, a bed top or hang a big flannel sheet or batting on the wall to arrange your blocks.
Sewing
Sew blocks in rows, either horizontal or vertical inserting sashing pieces (if desired) as you go. Then assemble rows and add the borders.
Finishing
Layer top with backing and batting (or leave batting out if you choose) and quilt. You may want to finish this tee shirt quilt in the "reversed bag method" which is especially easy for a tied quilt. Layer the parts this way: put the top of the quilt right side UP and tape to the floor or tables with masking tape evenly around all edges, then put the backing fabric right side DOWN against the top (ie. the two right sides are together), then place the batting on top (if desired to have batting). Pin or baste to hold the edges together. Sew around 3 full sides and 2/3 of the 4th side leaving an opening with a 1/2 inch seam. Trim the batting close to the seam, but don't trim the fabrics and turn the whole quilt right side out. Hand sew the 1/3 opening on the 4th side. Tie closely every 4-5 inches or quilt the quilt

Past Treasure Mine

Being on Olympic year I dug this little photo up out of the archives of the scrapbooks . Thought I would Share .
Being a brazen hussy on more then an occasion or two, I asked the torch runner of we could have photo with him.
He was stopped just outside of Hayward California in 1984.
Our daughter was 8 years old.
She really did not know how lucky she was until just recently when looking back on some of our Ta Da photos.
This was not a regular stop for the runner ,no police,no press ,no fan fare nothing in 1984.
Just a wonderful Ta Da Moment in our life's journey.

Another Wasted Day

Although I spent the day at the Hospital being tested again today I did manage to hang some of my artwork I have mine .moms and daughters up now .
Still need to get great grandmas up. Maybe tomorrow.
Another Wasted day

Well after a few hours in the ER

Well after a few hours yesterday in the ER I am once again back at the boards.
I will say Redmond Hospital has one of the nicest staff I have ever run into.
So for today I found a very nice Fabric Flower Hair Clip Tutorial   HERE at Anniescupboard.
She has a great bunch of ideas worth checking out.