A true road trip with Ruby...and Scarlett & Henry

This was our home sweet home for two weeks.  We drove the MH as I like to call her back to Iowa and Minnesota.  I say "we", but I don't drive...way too big for me for me to even imagine parking.  I'm the part-time navigator, sandwich maker, and snack go-getter.  I'm also companion

        to the dogs and official driver, husband Paul.  It's a great way to travel.  It has all the comforts of  home for the most part.  We did the camping in the Wal-Mart parking lot thing four different nights.  I think it's great that they allow RV's to park there.  You can go in, buy a few things, and head out to the parking lot and go to sleep.

 

Here we are heading across Colorado.  What a beautiful state.  The mountains make me queasy sometimes, but the view is hard to beat.

 

I think I slept through Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.  I definitely perked up when we crossed into southern Iowa and saw this Maid-Rite.  Those loose meat sandwiches are one of the things I miss most.  There's items made by the Amish for sale inside, so I shopped and walked off some of the calories.

 

 

Even though I'm a Midwest girl, I had never been to a state fair.  It was full of all the expected things, and everything you can imagine deep fried and served on a stick.  I wanted to try the deep fried butter, but fortunately for my thighs I never saw it offered.

 

 

I did find the sheep though.  I LOVED them!

 

 

And here is the famous butter cow.  Paula Deen would have loved it!  We were there the day that some animal rights activists broke in and spray painted it red after the fair closed.  I don't remember their exact cause, but it's made of butter, people!

 

 

I enjoyed the textile displays, of course.  Not being a quilter, I can certainly appreciate the fine work.

 

 

After Iowa, we drove up to the Rochester, MN area to go to an antique show.  I didn't do too much damage to the bank account. 

 

 

Back in AZ, almost anyway.  This is the Four Corners Monument where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona connect.  Even though we had awesome weather, enjoyed the visits with family, ate too much, and saw some different sights, there really is no place like home.

 

 

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A sweet sign of spring...

It's hard to believe that nestled behind these petunias...

are these two baby doves.  I was quite surprised to see that the eggs had hatched this morning.  It seems like just a few days ago that mama made her nest.  I think she picked a perfect spot.

London Calling

It's windy and my allergies have been making me a mess.  I woke up with another smashing headache, and my first instinct was to crawl back under the covers and forget about the day.  I'm happy to say that I didn't give into that idea.  Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I turned on my favorite 80's channel from Boston and got to work on this printer's tray from 7 Gypsies.  It seems that my favorite inspirations revolve around my passion for the UK.  The background paper is also from 7 Gypsies. Some of the ephemera like the London Buses ticket are leftover from a trip across the pond.  The spoon on the right came from Wales, and the coin in the little glass pendant is a Twenty Pence.  I actually came home with a little spare change in my pocket.  The sheep in front of the red phone booth is off a Christmas card that I received from a British friend.  I tried to make a throne by adding some bling to a tiny chair.  I tore my craft room apart looking for my sequins and never found them, so I used red Stickles instead.  The large crown was a great find at Hobby Lobby.  It was actually a knob, and I just took the hardware off.  Each picture can be enlarged by clicking on them. 

Ruby's Turn

I have sadly neglected my Ruby blog for a long, long time. It seems a bit easier to keep my Scarlett blog updated since it is primarily about stitching, which I do a lot of. But, that being said, I so love collage art, and I need to spend more time with Modge Podge making my fingers stick together. This storage cabinet for odds and ends was once an old spice cabinet. It was in really rough shape, with something that resembled tar spilled all over it. It was headed for the dumpster from my brother's house. I think he thought I was crazy when I wanted it. At the time, I had no specific idea in mind, but I knew it would come to me eventually...

After a primitive coat of black paint...

some favorite scrapbook paper...

vintage photos and ephemera, lots of Distress Ink, a few old buttons, some sequins for the bling factor, and two new knobs...


I have something fun to sit on my work table. I forgot to mention that all but the two bottom drawers were salvageable. I used paper mache boxes that I covered in the same paper as the cabinet. Each side is something different.
I have two more projects in the works, so I'll be back soon.

I've learned a new craft

A few months back, we made some minor cosmetic changes to our guest bathroom. We replaced the old shiny gold/silver faucets with rubbed black/bronze ones. A new light fixture took the place of the one that looked like it belonged in a carnival, and the wall mirror was reduced in size and framed. The frame was one that was in my collection for the samplers I stitch. Everything turned out great, but there was one thing left to tackle...the medicine cabinet. It was the typical sunk in the wall type with a mirrored door trimmed in gold. Not my taste at all. I love the look of punched tin, and I saw a cabinet that I liked from Irvin's Country Tinware. The problem is that it would have been a huge hassle to remove the old, add sheet rock to cover the hole, and so on. I came up with the idea to make my own version. I ordered an plain blackened tin panel from Irvin's the same size as the door. Copying a pattern that I like, I then drew the design on the panel with a white marking pencil. Using a board, a nail, and a hammer, I punched the design. My husband made the simple frame for it, and after painting it black, I sanded and antiqued it. Paul then attached the whole thing to the existing door. I love it. It is exactly the look I was going for. My poor hubby hates it when I come up with these projects for him. I can do the visualizing...but he has to make my ideas work. Occasionally, we can get a little put out with each other while in the process, but in the end it always turns out great. We make a good team!

One bathroom down, one to go, dear!

The maiden voyage

Do they look excited? We recently bought this to take the "kids" along on our bike rides. The girls were all for it and behaved perfectly. Henry was, well...Henry. He has to stand up and bark the entire time. It's like he's the town crier, and he thinks he needs to announce to everyone that we're coming. We rode about nine miles round trip to the bark park and back. I thought they'd be pooped from running at the park. They were, but Henry's still found the energy to announce our return. Mr. B is going to get a good workout pulling these three.

Paul has since modified the carrier. He put a solid platform on the bottom instead of the canvas floor. We added a comfy cushion, and now they can ride like the pampered, spoiled rotten pets they are.

Happy anniversary to us

Six years ago today...I'd do it all over again.

It runs in the family...

Granddaughter, Olivia, is an artist in the making. She is only five, but already is rarely without a crayon or marker in her hand. I, of course, love it. She drew this picture for me on her last sleepover at our house. I think it's an excellent likeness of one of the girls. I do occasionally dress them up in sweaters when it's cold, but not the leg warmers. For Christmas this year, I gave Olivia a crayon maker. I don't know who was more excited about the gift, me, Olivia or her Daddy. It's supposed to melt down broken crayons and produce brand spanking new ones. You can also combine colors for a swirl one. As a kid, nothing was better than opening a brand new box full of all those fantastic colors.

A gift

Today, I'll show a collage that I made for a gift. It's on a 10x10 canvas. All of my work seems to have a central theme of birds. I can't seem to help myself. They must inspire me to create.

Happy Birthday, Ruby Doobie Do!

Ruby is 4 years old today. She can be such a love, and then that fast, be such a pain in the butt. I've never known a dog with a personality like hers. She is the boss. She gets what she wants, whenever she wants it. No exceptions...ever. Who'd have thought she could have wrapped a certain man around her little paw like she has? Scarlett just wants cake.

Look who stopped by

I'm going to come clean and admit that I have been secretly harboring jealousy. What does that have to do with birds , you ask? Well, here's the truth. My sister has the most incredible amount of these Goldfinches that show up at her feeders everyday. It's just amazing to see. We get plenty of the red bellied variety, but I could never attract these guys. We decided to try a different type feeder, and I think it's the solution. I was so thrilled to see them today.

Way too long

since I've posted on here. Ruby has reminded me that Scarlett has been the center of attention long enough. I've been away from my other passion way too long. I've missed my other creative outlet of collage making. I'm the type of person who gets singularly focused on one thing and it takes priority over everything else. My stitching is a priority, it's an everyday thing, but after a while I start to hear the nagging voice of other creative pursuits. Ignoring it no longer, I sat down the other day and made these journals. I'll put them on my Etsy shop and see if there's any interest. Speaking of Etsy, I'm almost at the point of being tired of painting my little needlework accessories. I love it that people have been so receptive, but if I get to the place where it's no longer fun, it ends there.

I'd like to give a shout out to my dear sis-in-law, Julie, who's recovering from surgery. She recently pointed out that I've been neglecting this blog. She's right, so this post is for her. Get well soon, Julie, and make your way to the warm sun soon.

Too stinkin'hot...

here in AZ, for most flowers right now. These are from my brother's garden in IL. He was kind enough to send the picture so I can enjoy them, too. Hydrangeas are so beautiful, and one of my favorites. I just came in from watering what few plants we have left. My geraniums are gasping for air, the roses are just sad, and everything else is about to give up. I hate this time of year. I miss my patio. Everything is covered with a film of dust from the monsoons, and hunkered down so nothing will blow away. I long to sit out there and listen to the birds, which are also keeping a low profile on these hot days. I see them gathering in the birdbath, splashing and cooling off. At least, July is almost over, and fall will be here eventually.

Funny story...sort of.

Remember the visitor from last week? The real owl? Well, my hilarious husband played a trick on me last night. We were in the middle of a monsoon storm, it was dark and raining like crazy. I walked out onto the patio to see if anything was getting wet, and I came face to face with this guy sitting on the fountain. I almost died, or had a heart attack at the very least. Believe me, he looked real in the dark. I froze in my tracks, and when I turned around, there was Paul laughing so hard. It must have blown off some one's something because Paul found it laying in the middle of the street. Pretty funny, honey! Not!

This family of Gambel's quail showed up in the yard this morning. They are scared off easily and hard to photograph. I was hiding behind a bush, that's the reason for the green corner. They are so cute when they run. Their little topknots are just a bobbing.

I love this shot. It's looks like Jr. is getting a scolding.

"Keep up children, and don't fall off. "

I think I should change the name of my blog to the Bird Blog!

Look who stopped by...

Yesterday afternoon, I was looking toward our big tree in the backyard, and saw a brown spot. At first, I thought it might be a swarm of bees. When I got close enough, I was stunned to see this owl perched on a branch. I have no idea how common they are to AZ., but I have never seen one before. We have heard one screeching in the middle of the night, but that was several months ago. This particular one wasn't camera shy and allowed me to take several pictures.
The eyes are what really got to me, kind of creepy and intense. I have to say that I am a little worried about Ruby and Scarlett. We've heard stories about small dogs being attacked by owls. We'll just have to be alert.

Feeling old, and yet still cool...

I always wondered when I was much younger what it would feel like to get old. I'm starting to find out. While I'm not exactly ancient and decrepit yet, I do feel old some days. Mostly, it's just my body. In my mind, I still think I'm pretty cool. I probably just dated myself with my use of the word cool. It was THE descriptive word of my youth, and I still like saying it. I'm positive that my kids would say that I'm anything but cool. They'll get it one day though. It's weird when you feel younger in your head than you look on paper. I still think cool thoughts in my head. I still like cool music. I love to play my all time band Crowded House loud and sing along when I'm painting or making something cool. Speaking of Crowded House, they have to be the most underrated band ever. I was fortunate to see them perform live in the early nineties. I'm so glad that they are still at it, sounding cooler than ever.

Maternity Tree

Today while I was filling a hummingbird feeder, I happened to look up into this tree, and I was surprised at what I saw. Nests everywhere. I counted seven, but there could be more. It's almost like a maternity ward. The doves are very tame, and they don't mind being photographed. I don't think all of the nests belong to doves. As I approached, several small birds flew away. It will be a busy place if they all hatch at the same time.

Mama #1

Mama #2