Project : FINISHED

Here is my new bookcase!!!!
We still need to remove the carpet from the front edge all the way to the wall past the stairs and replace with some tile, to deliniate the "office" area from the den area.
Here is the reason we started....Timmy felt we needed a hand rail so his mom would feel more comfortable going down our stairs. Still a bit of touch up to the stain. Gratuitous shot of Hamish. 

Our Kitties

I realized I have shown only one photo of these two sillies, and it really wasn't too flattering (although it was SOMEWHAT true to their personalities.)


Mr. Big Eyes here is Hamish The Red, or Hamish McCloud. (William Wallaces friend in Braveheart)
Or Hamish the BAD!!!! He came to us in 2003, found by a friend of Timmy's out on the road during an ice storm. He was scrawny, and had worn every nail down to the quick....his pads were bloody, and we were unsure if he had been declawed or something.

He obviously had gotten himself out of some very bad place, and to this day he is skittish with strangers, and insists on opening the cabinets
in the bathrooms. Closed doors in general bother him.
Miss Tatiana was brought home in the spring of 2004, as a pet for Hamish, in a last ditch effort to get him to leave us alone at night. We thought he needed a friend.

It turns out that Tatiana has no use for Hamish, and Hamish considers her less than entertaining. He still would prefer our attention over hers.
They do get on well enough; they share food, and toys, but don't spend too much time together.
Miss Tatiana named herself. I tried names day after day, attempting to find one that she would respond to, and when I asked if her name might be Tatiana, she came out from behind the couch and over to me.


These two kitties certainly make our house a home! 

Mmmm Chocolate kisses....

Mmm, I smell chocolate! I love chocolate!
I think I will treat myself to a piece.
No one will see me swiping this piece on the end.
Indeed, how could they claim I was stealing it? I'm so fast you can see Daddy's foot behind my head!

This is Hamish the Red (the BAD)

Workshop thingies...

... quilt studies, I guess. I took my first ever quilt workshop last weekend with Pamela Allen. What fun! It was more about design, and "art" than about quilting, which was cool, I haven't had an art class in some time! Makes me long for college days...

First study was Black and white.... . She said make a composition with 2 veggies and a flower. Can you find them?? ( a mushroom HOUSE, a brocolli TREE, and a SUNflower) I think I will continue to work with this... I like the simplistic, childlike layout, and in the photo, I like the fact that the white tree trunk fabric is sheer and you can see the background. I think I will use only a few primary colored embrodiery flosses to embellish.

Bed frame by Pamela.... LINE was the topic, and its different than line with a pencil!! Subject...a piece of furniture. I can see this improving if I had the options of fabric from my real stash, with a more thoughtful palette....don't know if I will work on it, but I would use orientals, to somewhat emphasize the bed shape looking like a Chinese character...

This one MUST be finished!! I love it. Monochromatic was the topic, and FISH was the subject. I call it Midnight Snack. It started fun conversation when I declared I needed a dragonfly.


This is our Portrait (not Self-portrait!!!!) She is turning out to be some type of Polynesian Princess.... I want to enlarge this one, add some space and get her off center. She will be able to be heavily embellished, too, I think.


I really enjoyed stretching my quilt comfort levels.... Nothing here is finished, nothing sewn down, and now at home, I will look at them, replace with My fabrics things to help make it more sucessful..and have a blast doing it!!! 

Lavendar Days...

...and violet nights.... well, someday, I will find violets to plant in my yard!! They don't seem to be around in the yards down here, lovely heart shaped leaves and mounds of dark purple flowers, but I really would love to add some violets to my garden.

Here, however, are a few photos of my lavendar that I have growning in the front yard. I am very happy with it's progress this year.
The soil is staying moist, it's richer in my little raised bed than the surrounding yard, and I am having some successes!

This fella is very glad, too, that I am providing him with some yummy nectar.
A more realistic shot.... 

random thoughts....

Two photos, 30 something years apart, about the same age....WOW...On the left is Michael, and on the right is his nephew and godson, Matthew... Pretty wild, and Anoki, you are the one that made me do this!!


My Alzheimers Quilt... "Wouldn't Aunt Gene Be Proud"... To be Auctioned off, or sold, or displayed somewhere...in the hands currently of Ami Simms http://www.Alzquilts.com


Timmy and I took his mom to Lancaster Pa the week after Mother's Day for a belated celebration. They wanted to go to the Rod and Custom Car show. I went for the Fabric!!! And these shots were taken out the rear passenger window, while we were riding along in the area of Bird-In-Hand... LOVE MY CAMERA!

The weather was gorgeous. The fabric sublime. And I know one place I definitely can't ever move too, or I might find a touch of domestic life appealling...Morgantown! Where the Grocery store doubles as an incredible fabric store!!! I'd be saying constantly, I need to run to the store for milk! Oh, let me COOK dinner tonight, I'll just drop by the store on the way home.... nah, too dangerous!