The Berlin Reunion - The Big Picture - Boston.com

 The Berlin Reunion - The Big Picture - Boston.com

If you want to be reminded about how wonderful the world can actually be click on the link above for a pictorial feature that the Boston Globe ran.  I don't want to give much away so I won't tell you any more about it but this has really brightened my day even though I'm stuck in bed with a very bad back and had been feeling very low about it.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with the creator, Jean Luc Courcoult, of this theater group and I think it is very Peter Pan-ish.  I DO believe in fairies!


"I have seen adults crying asthe giant leaves. They have obviously lived other things, sometimes difficult, and yet this makes them cry. I don’t believe they are crying because he is leaving but
because of the loss of their imagination. Over several days, they have dreamt as
adults and now it’s finished. Most adults have difficulty dreaming. When you are a
grown-up, you weigh things up, you don’t dream."


 
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Trash to Treasure

My sweet, considerate hunk of a man brought home a drawer that he found being discarded at one of his work sites last week.  I had mentioned to him that I was on the lookout for one to transform into a shelf.

Yesterday he spent most of the morning in his garage shop adding little shelves and something to hang it with and emerged with an AWESOME shelf to hold some of my rubber stamps.  I am so excited!  After he hung it I started looking around my studio gathering some of my favorite stamps to display.  This lead me to think that maybe I should put stamps on there that I would use the most in the coming weeks - Halloween is right around the corner and I collect all things Halloween.  I think I will change this little display with the seasons or various holidays but I wanted to share with you how it came to be and what it looks like now.

 

So, there it is at this point.  Thanks for looking!

Backyard is My Sanctuary

I've always loved working and relaxing outdoors. When I lived in apartments I made it my first priority to have a large balcony or patio so I could have a small garden and an outdoor sanctuary. When I bought my house I was more excited about planting my gardens than finishing the indoors. I've been in my house for 7 years this December and, while I don't have the money to do the yard the way I'd really like to - I'm pretty satisfied with what I've got so far. I'm still anticipating that huge lottery win though.

Following are some pictures (clicking on a picture should bring it up full size) of the yard...


Here is a funny picture of my Manx kitten Brutus who is discovering the joys of climbing - everything. This is the trellis Chris and I put up to hold the Moon Vine.


The evergreen tree next to the window was thoughtfully planted for me by a passing bird I suppose. I know I didn't plant it - but it sure is nice. I'm wondering how big it will get because I don't want it to cover the window. It grew a lot in the past year.


We had a rough time with our herb/pepper garden this year because the weather was so horribly hot but since it has cooled down some they are looking good and trying to provide us with some treats now.


We also planted Hyacinth Bean on another trellis and it has been been so fun to watch grow. The bees love it and I've heard the hummingbirds do as well but so far the little guy who visits my yard seems to prefer the wild morning glory (below) that volunteered and sort of looks like Sigmund the Sea Monster (according to Chris and it's been verified by a few of our friends).




In writing this I seem to have had an affinity for vining things because this is another trellis which is growing a newly planted purple honeysuckle (you can barely see the trellis against the fence behind my still small Live Oak). I LOVE the smell of honeysuckle and remember it growing wild in my neighborhood when I was a kid. We would always snap off a few sprigs and tear off the flower to suck the "honey" at the bottom.


And finally here are a couple pictures of some of my favorite backyard critters. My boyfriend Chris who loves being out there just as much as I do. We start the day with coffee on the patio and wind down in the evenings with wine (beer in his case) every evening. He's here with one of my dogs - Bucky - and they both are trying to rev themselves up for a day of yard work.



A parting shot of Brutus because he is always within about 15 feet of me no matter what I do. My other cats are too dignified for me now but they are somewhere in the garden watching what's going on. I believe cats are the soul of the garden.

The "Bath Butt"

I have been having a lot of fun making soaps lately so I thought I would progress to making a fizzing bath bomb. I have been having a bit of trouble in my endeavors however and have yet to make a perfect batch. I had high hopes for this bunch and they started out looking and behaving wonderfully. I made them in the evening and went to bed anticipating the "reveal" the following morning. I don't think you can imagine my horror when I arrived to find this...

Two of them melded to become the monstrous "bath butt" and the heart just became bloated and sickly. They still smell delightful though. I used Bramble Berry's Wasabi fragrance oil. Here is a shot of some "normal" bath bombs I made the next night to show just how crazed the mutation really was.

The Accessory

Many of you who know me know that I probably have the world's largest soft spot for animals. I am a rescuer of crittters. I truely believe I was Dr. Doolittle once. Well, I don't believe in reincarnation but if it DOES happen then I must have been him. Anyway, my newest stray dog is going to be treated for heartworms this Friday and I'm already getting nervous. I thought she could benefit from some web-ish well wishes. Here is the story of Rita. How scared she was when I first brought her home,

her big surprise for me me one month later,

how she became known as the acessory,

and how she is my biggest competition for the adoration of my handsome fella.

Patchwork Kitty - first sewn project in years

I'm not really sure what has gotten into me lately. For a few years I haven't wanted to do anything "crafty" whatsoever but now, all of a sudden, I'm sewing and making soap. Here is a little cat fella I am making with a pattern from Barbara Brandenburg. It could be a cat girl if I make a skirt for it but right now I'm just glad it is mostly made. I think I'll be doing more stuffed critters. I recently went to a new-to-me store in Austin called Craft-O-Rama that had the kitty pattern and a book called Cute Dolls with the cutest stuffed animal projects. It's amazing how many cool, funky new ideas are floating around now. I've seen some fabulous blogs too that have really been inspirational.

Melt & Pour Soap Mishap

I'm just starting to make melt and pour soap and brought some new slab tray molds from BrambleBerry. I didn't realize how much soap you needed to melt in order to fill the tray so this batch didn't turn out so good and maybe someone out there can tell me how to correct.

I first melted a clear glycerin soap base and added color and fragrance but it barely filled the mold half full. As I stood and scratched my head looking at what puny bars of soap I had made, I finally concluded that I could melt more soap (I only had opaque left to melt) and pour it on top of the clear to fill up the rest of the mold. I decided to gussy up the opaque and add some lavendar buds I had leftover from another craft project. It took a little while to add the opaque to the top of the soap already in the mold but it was still a little warm but with a good firm surface. I sprayed alcohol like I had heard (only a spritz or two though) and poured the mold almost full - I still didn't make it up to the top of the mold.

After a few hours I went to cut the soap with a butcher knife and as you can see the two layers of soap neatly separated. BUMMER! It all smells so nice and has such a nice color I don't want to lose the whole set. The uncut soaps are still melded but I am afraid to cut them.

Is there a way to stick the others back together?

Will the rest of the soaps separate if I try to slice?

What is the best way to cut these tray molded soaps?

If any soapers out there know about this I would love your advice.

The road to hell was paved with good intentions

I created this blog site but so far I haven't posted anything. Truth is, I've been lazy. Oh, don't get me wrong, plenty has been going on. Bands have been watched, a job or two has come and gone, I became engaged. But when the time comes to actually do something constructive I'm a stone cold balker.

When I find myself with free time there will be no constructive stuff. Just pure indulgence which generally takes the form of reading, napping and wandering around the internet.

I thought I would post pictures of anything crafty, or some adventures I've taken. But no. But maybe soon...

What it takes to be a blogger?

I wonder if I am made of the right stuff. Creative stuff. Or even semi-interesting stuff. I know it runs in the family but there is a large humble lump inside of me that wonders if the things I do on an everyday basis will appeal to anyone else out there. I've seen some fabu crafty blogs and people who must read "how to take wondrous photos" or some such and I'm really just a point and shoot girl who dabbles in many different crafty past-times on good days and lazes around reading on most days. So, I guess this will be a hodge-podge of the mundane. For posterity and inspiration! Onwards!