while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...

Now get to bed and go to sleep so Santa can visit. Remember-he won't come if you're still awake!

Don't forget to leave some goodies for Santa :)
Sweet dreams and may Santa be good to you...because I know you've been good :)

Happy Festivus...

...for the rest of us !!!

I hope you celebrate by airing of the grievences and performing feats of strength. And don't forget the Festivus pole. What you do with that is up to you ;)

Walkin' in a winter wonderland...

Looks pretty, doesn't it?while it was still snowing

outside the kitchen window

And just a bit of color to brighten things up...

A pillow I made. Not sure if I am going to give this one away or keep it for myself. A gift was the original intention but I really, really like it :)


And now ...(drumroll please)... one of the totebags that have taken so much of my time. I am really happy with how they turned out. The handles are denim on one side and print on the other and this bag is lined with orange polkadot fabric. The little white "taggie" thing sticking out is a piece of ribbon that says "Blah Blah Blah" . Every one that I made is different. None of the 17 have the same fabric combinations so each is unique.

A few of these may go in my etsy shop in January . Whadda u think?

Please allow me to introduce myself...

...I'm a man of wealth and taste. (ok,I couldn't resist saying that)



After a long wait and a few mishaps I am pleased to announce the arrival of Tucker T. Remlik. Tucker hails from Upper Northernmost somplace where it is very cold. He stays warm by wearing velvet (at least around his neck) and snuggling.





Since Tucker dislikes the cold so much, while he enjoys visiting here,he is planning a move to the West Coast and the warmer climate of So Cal. He thinks he has a face made for the movies.(horror movies if you ask me! Just kidding,Tuck). He will be in need of a traveling companion as he CANNOT be unsupervised. Trust me on this one. Should any 12 year olds be going that way,would you mind if Tucker tags along?

His lifelong ambition is to have a lifesize Lego replica of himself created and permanently installed somewhere. If he visits you,please remember no fermented tofu for him (refer to snow drift incident for clarification)


Ready for my close up!!!


I think he fits right in here, don't you? Clovis and Mavis have taken an instant liking to Tucker. I wonder why???

PS-Miss Maybelle says she will have no part in "such childish behaivor". (She means she's not going to show you her bum)

More coming soon!

Hooray,Yippee,Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to add this.

Unemployment saga continued...

I received the written notice of my appeals decision. It reads "Original determination OVERTURNED". In the conclusions section it says "The claimant did not quit". It says other stuff too but that was the point I had been arguing all along.

I was informed I should receive my first check, including benefits retroactive to the week of June 6, within 7 days of the determination. Hooray!!!

Happy to have the whole thing over and done with :)

The weather outside is frightful...

...and is not so delightful. We got about 18" of snow in the past 24 hours. Yikes!!! Looks like anyone who wanted a white Christmas will be happy.

I spent the past 2 days sewing and sewing and sewing some more. The end is in sight!

There has been a weather related delay in Tucker's arrival. After his snowbank incident (which I believe was a result of too much fermented tofu) he is a bit hesitant to venture out in the snow. Being from Upper Northernmost somewhere or another, that can be a problem. Maybe if we put a bag over his head so he can't see the snow...

I will have some pictures tomorrow. I left my camera at my in-laws house (which I have been using as my "holiday workshop" since they have been in Florida).

Stay warm :)

Ain't no rest for the wicked, baby...

What have I been up to? Let's see-more babysitting, driving back and forth to swim practice and lots and lots and lots of sewing. I really hope the recipients of what I am making like their presents.




Partially assembled tote bags. I am making 17 of them for the Divine Miss H to give her friends.

For those of you who have been following my unemployment saga, I finally had my appeals hearing (only 4 short months after requesting one). My former employer did not show up. This was very good for me. I still have to wait for my official written notification but am 99.9% sure things will be in my favor. It is so nice to have that over with. It's freakin' ridiculous that I originally applied for unemployment almost 8 months ago and things have taken so long. I am thankful I am not the primary income earner in my household-I would be screwed!!!

I do have a new friend on the way. I believe he has been trekking through a blizzard to get here but he sent along a few pictures.

Face down in a snow drift-

A (little too) close up-

His name is Tucker and that is about all he has told me so far. A sort of mysterious fellow if you ask me. I do know he would prefer to live in a warmer climate and is a vegeterian as long as you don't consider bologna to be meat (no fakey fake stuff please). He should be here in the next day or two. I think you'll like him.

A bunch more to talk about but my thoughts are very unorganized right now. When they get unjumbled I will get back to you :)

unoriginal thought for today: The young regret what they did,the old regret what they didn't.

What do you think?

I can't change the "dids" but I am trying like hell to not have "didn'ts". One of the things my sister told me in the days before she died is that she had no regrets. What a wonderful way to have lived your life.

Remember me?

Sorry for my absence. I have been busy, busy, busy. Since I last posted my baby girl turned 16 and we had dinner at my mum's to celebrate with my brother and his family, I helped my mother at another holiday fair while spending the weekend on the Cape, met some people there that I will tell you about later,hung out with my friend Susan, went shopping and out to lunch with my mum, babysat for Cassie and almost finished cutting out the Christmas gifts I am making (all 27 of them!) Needless to say I have been quite tired when I get home and don't even feel like sitting at the computer. I have actually skipped a day or two checking my email. Now that's busy.

To make it up to you here are some more altered photos. I have started to put them in a journal that has painted pages and my own photos will be the only images I am using. I have stuck a few in there using colored masking tape. I will take a few pictures if the sun ever comes out again( so I can get some good light).

Hopefully I will post a few "real" entries soon. Hope you like the pictures :)

Well it's about time!

Introducing Mavis Yvette Vanderfelt. She was being difficult so it took awhile to get her to cooperate for this photo shoot but I think she was worth it :)

Everyone says she looks like her brother but she disagrees and feels she is MUCH better looking. I attribute the attitude to her general diva-ish behaivor.

Just look at that face. Trust me, she is lucky she is cute!

One of the reasons for her delay is she stopped somewhere in her travels to get a tatoo and insists on showing it off.

Maybe tomorrow she will allow me to take some pictures of her and Clovis together.

Altered photos

Some altered photos. These are so much fun to do. Once you start it is hard to stop. Fun,fun,fun!
Please excuse the quality of my images. I had a hard time getting good pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day surrounded by those you love-and a pie or two!




Dig in!!!

and no turkey day is complete without pie-chocolate cream for me(I don't like pumpkin)

Are you getting up early to shop tomorrow? If so,get to bed early!!!

More estate sale treasures

lovely ladies gloves-even came with the package. These made me remember wearing gloves to church on Easter Sunday as a child.

beautiful vintage linens-2 pillowcases and a large flat sheet. I am thinking about making a throw size quilt using vintage linens. They have such nice colors and a soft hand.

Don't you love these napkins? The clown's smile says "Happy Birthday". I could not resist this little child size toy baking set.

Vintage coloring books complete with colored pages, scribbles and a child's writing. Tammy book has paper dolls to cut out on the back cover and matches the cards I got that day.

Funky vintage fabric scraps-aren't those colors groovy? There are a few completed yo-yos and more cut out. The piece on the right is a little patchwork square. I just have to make it into something!

I have been helping my friend Susan get her studio ready to host classes with the ever so wonderful and talented Kelly Kilmer. I cannot wait until she arrives in December!!! Classes will my Christmas gift this year and I can't think of anything better. I must have been very good this year :)

I have been altering piles of photos. It is so much fun and I find that once I start doing them it is so easy to keep going! I will get pics of those up soon, I promise.
Another gray, rainy, chilly day here in New England. Winter is coming (brrrrrr)

If I don't get back to you before tomorrow-have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I'm going to be spending some time today thinking about all I have to be thankful for and how lucky I am to have people who love me (even when I am not sure why they do).

gotta give this a new name

Aren't those illustrations gorgeous? Even better in real life. They are from a 1957 children's book titled "Circus Girl". The cover is a bit shabby but the pages are in great condition. What first caught my eye were the names of the illustrator and the author. What do you think of that? Cool, huh?

A matching game deck of cards. The graphics are so cute and the set is complete-2 of each design.
These 2 playing cards were randomly mixed in with the "Tammy" game ones. Aren't they adorable? It was like getting a free bonus surprise :)
These are just a few of the goodies I bought on Saturday at an estate sale. I wish I had more to show you tonight but lighting was bad today and I did not get many good photos. I will try for some more tomorrow.
Enjoy!

Time in the thinking chair

I have been thinking a lot but am tired so not much tonight but plenty to say this coming week (I've been writing it down). Aren't you excited?

Here are some more of the fabrics I am using to make Christmas gifts-all washed, dried and waiting to be ironed. They look so pretty spread out that I almost hate to use them-almost :) I cannot wait until I finish some of these projects so I can see if all the measuring, cutting and sewing come out the way I hope.

Saturday I had planned on going to a few yard and estate sales as well as a nice craft fair but ended up only going to one estate sale because it was so awesome and I had a wonderful time. I can't wait to tell you all about it but I need to get some pictures of some of the goodies I bought first so I can do a little show and tell. I can't show you everything because I may have gotten a thing or two as gifts for people and you never know who is peeking ;)


Here are a few photos of outside and the rear building on the property.



It was great because I got to know a little about the property and people who had lived there. Being there felt like stepping back in time to when I was a child at my gramma's house. If only I had appreciated "vintage" things then and not thought they were just "old people stuff" like children do.



Hope you had a nice weekend :)



PS-Mavis has been delayed because she can't seem to decide what to wear. What a diva!!!

Not what I had planned...

Today that is. The Divine Miss H woke up this morning with an earache and proceeds to tell me she has had it for "a few days" and now cannot hear from her left ear. So a call to the doctor and an 11 am visit to find out she has a fungal ear infection. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Oral antibiotics and antifungal eardrops should clear it up in 5 days. I told her (in her good ear) that she really has to tell me if something hurts for more than 1 day. I always feel bad when my baby is sick-but she is a bit better already, at least it is not hurting so much. Oh, we also have to buy special earplugs because swim team starts in less than 2 weeks and we don't want any kind of ear troubles. So that's the story.





So now some visual pretties. This past weekend my mum was in a holiday bazaar. She makes all kinds of decorated sugar cookies, chocolate covered things and other yummy stuff to sell. Thought you might like a few pictures-





Iced pumpkin shaped sugar cookies

sugar cookie turkeys ( the little leaves/pumpkins are tiny separate cookies)

and my favorite, chocolate dipped pretzel rods...I may make some to give at Christmas. Want some?

I couldn't leave you without some artsy pretties to look at-

I am working at finishing my "Soul Journeys" deck that I started this summer in a class with the wonderful Kelly Kilmer. Like a mini collage on each card.

a few more-isn't that little girl cute?

Nothing else from me tonight though I did hear that Clovis's sister Mavis was arriving in town soon!