R&R...

I had to take Griffin to the vet yesterday since he's been having a hard time with his shoulder...old puppy injury thats giving him trouble now as he gets older so its anti inflammatories and strict rest...no walks, no rough housing with other dogs...bummer.

 So I am spending lots of time in the studio... 

...working on my mole toes...

...for some mole feet...

 I keep this little book with me wherever I go now to have a place to jot down ideas...

...I write down music I hear on the cbc for later reference, doodles, quotes, recipes and anything else that catches my fancy...

Speaking of recipes....I made these delicious home made oreo cookies yesterday thanks to smitten kitchen.

You can't go wrong with chocolate, butter and sugar!!

Too bad Griffin can't have one...I'm sure Tom will eat his share!

YUM!

Song for Friday...

This news story took over the media when the murder happened and 23 years later, when the accused was finally set free...seems appropriate that the Tragically Hip would take it on and turn it into an iconic song for Canada and the rest of those innocents, jailed for crimes not committed.

Mail...

Today on the way home from the village, I stopped at the mailbox and was surprised to see a little package for me from my old neighbours. Sandy, Humphrey, Boo and Tai used to live across the road from us but moved for Humphreys job a few years back. They now live at least a day and a ferry ride away so we've only seen each other a few times since then. I miss the girls a lot...going for tea and dog walks, trips to the city, Chinatown, swimming at the lake and hanging out with the horses when my nieces would come in the summer. They were good nieghbours...the kind you could call on for anything. Anyway ...the package...

First of all it was covered in wonderful stamps!

And inside were lots of little goodies...

Now I must tell you about Boo. She is 13 now and ever since I met her at age 8, she has always been so creative. I used to call her the Master of Ceremonies because of her pomp and circumstance when it came to ANY celebration. Out would come the mixing bowls, the icing, the flowers and the gifts. Her and her little sister Tai would make the most amazing little parties for us and they really loved doing it just for the sake of doing it! So now Boo is making all this miniature stuff and in this little box was the most incredible little bridal!

Her attention to detail is beyond words and even her little tags are a gift...

She is on her way to becoming an expert crafter and will go far in her extraordinary abilities to create.

I think she should start her own etsy shop so if anyone needs miniature horsey stuff let me know .

Here's the lovely card she made...

They never forget to add some yummy chocolate (free trade of course!). These were half eaten before I finished unpacking! I think I've caught a bit of a buzz from them too!

...and some of Sandy's magic potion to help with Griffin's bad shoulder.

It's people like this who keep my world turning and who will be close to me no matter how far away they live.

Book review...

Have you ever wanted to run away and join the circus?

This book is a tale from another time. Sara Gruen is a born storyteller and proof of that is this short but intense and moving book. Her writing will take you back to the days when the circus was the biggest thing that came to town.

The story also takes you to the darker side of the lives of the people who were part of this world.

After reading it I had to go and find out more about the circus life of the '20's and '30's and although Sara's writing took me there in my minds eye, I still was intrigued and had to see more...

I won't give away any of the story ,but if you want to escape this here and now and twine yourself up in the suspense and messy, personal politics of the world inside the Big Top, I recommend you take a chance...

 

Back in time...

I think in another life and time I would have liked to have had a General Store. Not the junk food laden convenience store that's open 24/7 of today, but the old, creaky floored one stop gathering place of the '20's and '30's.

You know like Ike Godsey's store in the t.v series 'The Waltons'. It would be the kind of place where you could come to buy a bag of flour, horseshoe nails, gumdrops and butter.

On the shelves there would be wide mouth jars of licorice and cobalt blue bottles of milk of magnesia. Big brown glass bottles of tonics would be kept up high and jars of buttons would sit amongst bolts of cotton and gingham...

This paper roll once sat in my grandfathers butcher shop because back then, there were no plastic bags...

Things were wrapped with brown twine and plain paper...

A simpler time.

Project for a rainy day....

One of my favorite blogs to watch is www.the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com. It is full of inspiration and ideas. This project is a combination of two different projects of Dawn's which I put my own spin on....

Take one large old canning jar with or without the lid...if you use the lid it will help keep the dust out of your finished montage...

I had this nice glass one kicking around.

Assemble some stuff thats just waiting to be turned into something pretty.

These broken egg shells were collected last spring from the forest floor.

I discovered that this project is kind of like building a ship in a bottle and requires a steady hand and some patience...

 

Voila!  Spring in a jar...

I added a bit of an Emily Dickenson poem...

Its the sort of thing that was popular in the Victorian era when they did little terrariums with ferns and such. You could also make it with a beach theme with some sand, pebbles, shells and such.

I am thinking spring...

Have fun!

In the words of Mumford and Sons...
"And if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves..."