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Art Retreats
Petticoats and Parasols
An Affaire in Wonderland
An Artistic Affaire - L’Automne
An Artistic Affaire - Printemps

Blog Parties
Hauntingly Magical Celebraion

Testing the Blogging Waters

Chucklebutt is the best husband ever! He has been hard at work designing a new blog for me. While I have enjoyed my time at Live Journal, I must admit I have had blog envy for quite some time. I have pined for pretty backgrounds, awesome badges and my own play list! Last night he surprised me with my new and improved blog. It rocks! The possibilities are endless and I am completely overwhelmed! So right now, I am merely testing the waters.

While we have been busy working on shows and painting our room, we noticed this weekend that our yard is completely out of control. It is so bad, we have hawks circling above waiting to pluck the unsuspecting mice, marmots and bunnies from their hiding spots. Despite this, our bougainvillea is gorgeous.

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Isn’t that color beautiful?

So I have lofty aspirations for our backyard. At Christmas time, I purchased this fabulous book:

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Do you know Magnolia Pearl? I adore Robin Brown and all her beautiful creations. I discovered her quite a while ago in Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion and have been smitten ever since. Alas, her work is out of my price range, but it’s fun to imagine. She has a wonderful section in her book on outdoor living spaces. The possibilities are endless.

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She and her partner built that gazebo. If you notice, the gate is an old iron head board. Awesome!

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Wouldn’t it be decadent to have an outdoor bathtub? It reminds me of where a fairy would bathe.

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I want the area off of our bedroom to look like the above. Okay Chucklebutt, get too it! 🙂

Here is another book I discovered recently–

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It’s super cool and as soon as I actually start doing any housework, I’m sure it will come in handy. hahahahahahaha! (That’s probably what Chucklebutt is thinking.) Do you like the pretty dish rag? Oh yeah. I made it. How crafty is that? One of my residents taught me the pattern. It was the first complicated knitting piece I have ever done. Chuck always seemed to want to talk to me while I am counting. Go figure.

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The lemon dust cloths sound really neat. We have dust like you wouldn’t believe out here in the desert. It’s out of control! Chuck hates Pledge and always pitches a fit when I use it. (He’s a bit melodramatic and launches into coughing fits.) The lemon/vinegar concoction sounds like a great alternative minus the chemicals.

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Here are some more rags that I have been working on. The ladies at work introduced me to Sugar ‘n Cream. I love this yarn. You can bet that all my friends and family are going to be receiving pretty dish cloths in the mail.

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Every Friday at 10am, a group of us get together to work on different projects. I’m also learning to quilt. Thank you Vera for all your patience and time!

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I’ve had these little girl dresses for a few years and was waiting for just the right project. Once I learned the hexagon pattern, I took my seam ripper to the dresses and got to sewing. I’m sure this is going to be a long term project.

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This was taken after a long day of painting. We were pooped. So too was Daisy — but then again, she’s always pooped.

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And finally, we have one lone bloom hanging on to the Christmas cactus. So pretty.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

My great-great-great-great (there may be a few more greats thrown in for good measure) grandfather was from Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in the mid-seventeen hundreds and his name was Joseph Gibson. Here’s to Papa Joe!

I discovered this today and laughed my booty off.

Chucklebutt discovered something amazing in our garden:

Is that a leprechaun?

One of the many joys of working with older adults and young people is that you get to dress up for every holiday and nobody things it’s weird. Mind you the folks driving on the freeway definitely bowed up and took notice, but I just waved and smiled.

This weekend we continued the task of painting our bedroom. Chuck has to work, but in between phone calls, he managed to slap on some primer.  You can’t tell, but it’s a light blue.  I was a bit bummed at first and wasn’t really thrilled with the color.  It’s growing on me, and once I get my girly things up on the wall, I’ll be a lot happier.  Chuck is very tolerant of my girly things as long as I don’t mess with his garage or office.

Yes we’re wearing the same shirt. I told Chuck we are just a few years away from this:

Or this:

Is it too late for us? Ah who cares! We have lots of fun!

If the girls had opposable thumbs, we would have put them to work. As it was, they snoozed in various places.

This is Scooter’s favorite spot — Chuck’s seat. She stalks him, waiting for him to get up so she can ooze into his chair.

Daisy loves the bed. You can find her there anytime day or night. I’m a sucker for pink noses and pink foot pads. I just want to eat them up!

Happy St. Paddy’s to everyone.