New Sweater for Bosley

There is a new man in my life. His name is Bosley, and I love him! My boyfriend has adopted him and I'm lucky to get to enjoy him also! He is so funny and cute!!

So it's getting cold, and this little one has sleek, short fur... not the best for high elevation living! So I got right on it and designed and crocheted this sweater for him. I learned the ribbed stitch to make a nice collar.

I will take custom orders, since it seems hard to match to the many different sized dogs there are. Contact me and we can discuss details for your dog!

A Snowy Tale

"When snow falls, nature listens" ..... - Antoinette Van Kleef



"After every storm the sun will smile".... - William R. Alger



"The impossible is often the untried." -Jim Goodwin ...... this is my impossible to pass through road



"Snowmen fall from Heaven unassembled." --Author Unknown



"The sun will shine in my back door some day"..... I know you Rider, traditional song


“Are cats lazy? Well, more power to them if they are” .......Ziggy is just bored with it all. He's too lazy to run and jump and play like some other dogs!

More Snowy Goodness

Crazy icicles. Beware, don't get stabbed.


Burned some calories shoveling today. Is this the San Jacintos, or the Rockies?


Pretty boy, Ziggy. He thinks it's very inconvenient to get around, and hardly worth it. He chooses to sit and watch the boy, rather than join him.


My own little view of the peak.


WARNING: RANT AHEAD!.....
Why must I have the neighbors that have their road plowed, then have the burm totally block the road? Hello, we live down this road too!! While no one's gonna be driving for a while here, and I do luckily have another easier way out, they will eventually come. They did this in December, and people end up getting stuck as they drive down the road. Then even after it melts there's this huge bump in the road, which will only be worse now after this latest act of neighborly love.

Snow Day

We've been getting our fair share of snow this week. So much that they actually called a snow day today. That's a rare occurrence since the District Office is a couple thousand feet lower than we are, and they have no idea of road conditions up here.

Here's my little mountain cottage (that's a quaint way to say dinky house), with lots of snow accumulating around it.


It's been a while since I've seen this much snow at once... and it's still coming down! Ziggy doesn't like it a whole lot, but does venture out if we go with him.


And even little Cleo went out into it. She complained a lot, but I think she's less of a wimp than the big-ol-dog!

Tomorrow I hope to leave my yard, and hopefully get some really amazing photos. Problem is, you usually have to get up really early for the best shots... just not my thing!

Inspire Me Thursday / Creative Core

I've got a project that I was able to combine into two different challenges.

First... I joined in on a brand new blog The Creative Core. On this blog you'll find a new assignment posted every Thursday, and you are to be done with the assignment by the following Wednesday. The first assignment was "Polished Blind Contour" using 3 items. This is my second attempt. First I blindly drew Cleo, then the bench, and finally the fir tree. Cleo is little too big, but I guess that's what happens when you can't see what you're drawing!

You can see my original pen drawings vaguely through the watercolor. And I think I do like the line movements of them more than when I was looking at my drawing. I enjoyed this very much. I noticed that it was hard for me to draw one item for too long. I was very fast, and loose, and became afraid that I had lost control of the drawing. So that's why the original drawings are pretty sparse.

The piece was done with a Micron pen, watercolors and watercolor pencils. It's in my 10.5 x 7.5 sketch book, entitled "Cleo Napping."

You still have time to join in on this assignment, if not this week, then maybe next!

Second... Inspire Me Thursday had a theme I felt I could participate in... "Find the Art in the Everyday. As you go through your day, look for the beauty. Find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Take a photo, draw a sketch, journal about it."

Caring for my garden, daily, is one of the beautiful things I see, on a daily basis. And of course my cats! So I thought of Cleo enjoying her nap on a little garden bench in my garden. Since I live in the forest, this picturesque fir tree was also added. It is possible to take the beauty of the mountains for granted when you are living your everyday-hustle-and-bustle-kind-of-life!

Summer's so wonderful when you actually have time to do the things really want to do!

Springtime - It was great while it lasted

Yes, we had our return to Winter, now that Spring is just days away. But it gives me another chance to share some wonderful mountain snow pictures, maybe for the last time this year.



Ziggy likes the snow.



Snow can be very tiring, but what gorgeous photos it does make. This town of mine has such picture-perfect scenery with it's quaint cabins. I can never get enough!



Here's my own Little House in the Big Woods. Very private and sheltered from the rest of the world.

I'll enjoy the winter scenery, because any day Spring will arrive for reals!

NibbleFest - 2 animals make 1

I was able to do NibbleFest this month! Yay for me! The theme this month was to combine 2 animals into 1. So here you have a "Bird Dog". He looks a little like Ziggy and a fancy rooster or peacock.

I hadn't listed anything on eBay since October. It feels exciting to have an auction up again, although I have to say eBay is so not user friendly anymore! And I hear people complain about Etsy not being user friendly. I like Etsy's interface much better. But the auctions are fun, and I love watching how they progress.

This is a little ACEO(2.5x3.5) watercolor and pen and ink.

And don't forget to search NFAC while there on eBay. I love looking at all the other entries, and they really came out for this one!

-SOLD-

Meet Cleo!

I realized I haven't introduced you yet to our new addition to the family! We've had her about a month now. She's very cute, even if her eyes are a little "dull". Well that's what we've decided! She's a very bold little cat and loves to play fetch. She's the second cat I've had in my life that plays the game. And she is VERY good at it! She needs to give our dog Ziggy a lesson on it. But oh, the trials of a little cat in the house... climbing on your things and knocking everything over, chewing your stuff, interrupting your crocheting because yarn is just so much fun, waking you up when you're in desperate need of sleep, and let's not forget ALLERGIES!

Now I don't know what I'm allergic to, but they have coincidently gone hay wire right around the time she arrived at her house. But I always have had cats, this is my 3rd one right now. Only sometimes do my allergies go off, even when a cat is constantly in my house. So why now?? My other cats come and go, in and out, throughout the day. This cat so far is in all the time.

I just don't know, but I am going a little crazy with the allergies going on for so long lately!!!! Maybe it's the dry, dry, weather we've been having, and drought. I really need for that to change NOW!

Another Trip!

We're leaving on another trip. Not as far this time, but don't expect to hear from me until after August 21. It's been a while since we've been to the bay area, and I'm so looking forward to it! As usual, my time is running out, so I've just found an older painting I did of my dog, Ziggy. He's all grown up now, almost 2.

Why did I choose Ziggy? Well, he's going on vacation with us, and whenever a huge dog is with you on a road trip, well it pretty much takes over a lot of your thoughts!! I've got my list of all the beaches that allow dogs, and we'll be camping, so I think we'll do ok!

Look for me after the 21, and do enjoy the remaining moments of your summer!

Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap - 2007

I participated in the lovely Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap last month. I love anything vintage, and my entire house is basically filled with old stuff, except for my electronics. But vintage kitchen has got to be my favorite. I like my kitchen to look very cheerful. Maybe it's a way to try to make myself seem like I'm an old fashioned housewife who makes lots of homemade bread and other goodies, and always has an extensive, healthy meal at hand. Which I'm not! But it's nice to dream! So I decided to join in on the fun with the other wonderful girls and get myself a swap partner, and hopefully be able to send something her way that she would enjoy.


This is the package sent from Melissa out on the Jersey Shore all the way out here to California. Very Spring-like in it's packaging!


This is the oh, so fun, collection of goodies sent to me from my swap partner. How much fun to open and find the surprises! There's an old tin box, vintage inspired yellow bowls (so very cheery and always needed!), a muffin tray that I can always use for sorting my supplies, a very old pie tin, very quaint recipe cards with an adorable crochet flower, three vintage inspired cookie cutters (some that I don't have-amazingly!), and my son's favorite - a goody bag of yummy Easter chocolates (those didn't last long). What fabulous stuff! Thanks so much Melissa! It was so wonderful meeting you!


I love this sweet tin box the most! I have an extensive tin box collection. I'd rather store all of my supplies in an adorably-old tin box, than a new plastic box with no personality. No matter how many I get, I can always find something to put inside of them. So I put my collection of tiny boxes inside this cute one from Melissa!


Phoebus really liked the leftover tissue in the box from Melissa! What a cozy bed!


These are the goodies that I sent to Melissa. She collects Mexican floral batea trays and I wanted to get her one. I know I have one floating around in my shed or somewhere lost in my house. I looked, but no luck. Just couldn't find it. I was bummed about that. Instead, I decided to paint my own batea-inspired little plaque. I like how it turned out. I hope she had as much fun in this swap as I did! And thank you, Jenny, for organizing the fun event. Hope to do it again!