Running With Scissors

Pupdate

Miss Stella has settled right in here and is very busy keeping us all on our toes. She weighs a whopping nine pounds (up from six when we got her) so she seems to like the chow. She enjoys her puppy training classes, although I'm afraid she's like that annoying kid we've all had in our class -- you know the one that's always raising her hand and shouting "Pick me! Pick me!" The teacher says to sit, lay down, or come and Stella does it -- whether its her turn or not. She does not enjoy taking turns. I'm pretty sure she thinks the other dogs are there just to be her audience.

Stella loves Ozzie the cat, perhaps a little too much. She is constantly gnawing on him, pulling his tail, or laying on him. Oz is a saint. I would have given Stella a good scratch long ago. We've designated that red striped chair the Stella-free zone, so that the poor cat can get some peace. Stella would rather sleep on that pillow than her kennel during the day, so Ozzie decided to try out the kennel. Unfortunately for Oz, Stella decided to join him. Very cozy.

Happy Valentines Day!

Turtle Spotting

One of the highlights of a trip to Hawaii is the chance to see the large green sea turtles (honu), who are on endangered specieslist, that live in the beautiful, warm ocean there.

Although our stretch of the Pacific is beautiful, the water is a whole lot colder than Hawaii. So imagine my surprise to find out that there is a colony of sea turtles living in the San Gabriel River. The dividing line between Long Beach in Los Angeles County and Seal Beach in Orange County, the San Gabriel is an urban river and not particularly scenic.

Apparently the view is not that important to sea turtles. They have staked their claim to a section of the river about two miles from the ocean where an electrical plant flushes warm water that raises the river water temperature way above normal. No one knows how or why this little colony of turtles found this spot so far north of their usual tropical hangouts in Mexico or Hawaii.

As soon as I read about the turtles I had to get a look for myself. My friend Wenda and I headed up Pacific Coast Highway this morning to find them. And we did. Eventually. It's an easy walk up a bike trail from the Alamitos Bay Marina to the power plant where the turtles hang out. The hard part is actually seeing the turtles. They like to hang out in the turbulent outflow from the power plant that is rough and not particularly clear. But we were (relatively) patient and eventually figured out that the turtles were hanging out in the very middle of the river. They popped their heads up and flipped their flippers, but they never came close to the bank. Which is fine. I was happy just to get a look at them.

If you go to see the turtles, try to go at high tide (it was ebb tide when we were there), that sounds like when they come closer to the river bank. And be patient. It's worth it.

So Far 2012 Is Not My Favorite Year

I have spent the last 11 days with the most obnoxious cold of my life. Not the way I wanted to start the year, but now that I'm feeling a lot better I thought I should tackle the mile-long to-do list that I created while recuperating and puppy watching. A new wreath for the front door looked like more fun than cleaning the oven, so I thought I'd start with that.

I covered a straw wreath with strips of burlap and hot glued on an assortment of shells.  Tied on a ribbon and hung it up. Check that off the list.

Introducing Stella!

Our newest family member is a 6-pound ball of fun named Stella. She's a Decker Terrier, an unusual breed I stumbled upon last year when I was researching rat terriers. Very similar to rat terriers, and often called giant rat terriers, Deckers are supposed to be a larger, sturdier, calmer version of the standard rat terrier. We'll see.

She's 10 weeks old and is adjusting well to her crate, but still a little unclear on the whole potty training thing. She loves Ozzie the cat, who seems to return her affections, for now. The jury's still out on my Dad's dog, Figgy.

 

 

Christmas Card 2011

Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions. I love coming up with the ideas and sending them off as much as I love receiving them. I especially like photo cards, but the most photogenic one in the family was off in Philadelphia all fall (but he's home now -- yea!) foiling all my best ideas.

I'm not sure where the idea came from to use old photos, but when I stumbled upon these pics of my Uncle Frank it was a done deal. Charlie came up with the title. Please do not mock my rudimentary photoshop skills -- desperate times call for desperate measures.

We lived in Minnesota at the time and were not a bit surprised that Santa would stop by our house before travelling around the world -- St. Paul is right down the street from the North Pole, right? That is me on the left and my sister Sue on the right (Mom was still in her dress the girls alike/hats phase). I don't think it bothered us that Santa came in the front door either. Clearly, we weren't the most detail oriented children.

That summer we moved to Dallas. Since we were now so far from the North Pole, Santa couldn't come by while we were still awake. We were reduced to watching his progress on the TV news radar.

Thanks Uncle Frank helping to make my childhood Christmases magical -- you were the best Santa ever.

I thought I would throw in a few more Santa Frank photos for fun.

This photo is from a couple years earlier -- they seem to have refined the costume over the years -- that mask was scary. It didn't bother me though -- I was all about the loot.

My Uncle Skeeter and Aunt Patti in the background.

 

Aunt Rose in the background.

Bad Kitty

I thought it was a little quiet, so I went on an Ozzie hunt.

He was busy.

Apparently there is a downside to those open-ended toilet paper holders I was so happy with.

Gratuitous Cat Photos

I can't help myself, I'm completely smitten.

This used to be my "Completed Knitting" suitcase. Ozzie has decided it makes a swell cat bed. I keep it on my desk, and when I sit at the computer he hops right in. Which is much better than draping himself across my keyboard or sitting on my mouse. My desk is a 6-foot pine table, so there's plenty of room for both of us.

I guess I will make him a little quilt to go in his suitcase, instead of the old pillow sham he has in there now. Darn, another quilt to add to the list.

 

Hey! I Did Finish A Quilt!

This is my friend Angie's t-shirt quilt -- she made it for her boyfriend Don out of a mountain of his old t-shirts. I said in the title of this post that I finished this quilt -- and I did -- but I didn't start it. Angie liked the quilt I made for Casey so she started her own with some directions from me. When I went up to visit her earlier this summer, she had the t-shirts cut and ironed to the interfacing, the accent fabrics cut, and a good deal of the sewing done. We enlisted the help of our pal Sandy (who was stuck with all the ironing) and Angie and I took turns piecing the strips and then sewing them together.  

After the top was finished, I volunteered to take the top and back of the quilt home and complete it. It sounds generous of me, but it really wasn't -- I was eager to see what it would look like! And I like binding quilts. I'm glad Angie wasn't there to see me sandwich the quilt top, batting, and back because it was an ugly process. For some reason this top gave me fits in what is usually a pretty straight forward process. Maybe it was the knit fabric? I don't know, but there were a lot of swear words involved. 

The quilting went well I think. Pairs of vertical lines, most of them even straight. I bound it in the red solid left over from the top. I backed it with a cool black/white/gray print from JoAnns -- some JoAnns fabric is horrible and some is pretty good -- this was pretty darn good. Tossed it in the washer and dryer and then . . .

I forgot about it. This crazy summer overtook me and well, I have no excuse really. Last week I got the brilliant idea to finish up Angie's quilt so it would be ready for her visit in October.  Pulled it out -- and voila -- all done!

So, Angie -- it's ready and waiting for you!

Carded

 
Have you taken Minted.com up on their free "Mommy" cards offer? I did -- and I really like them. More casual than a business card but not nearly as dorky as the back of some receipt I dug out of my purse. Lots of cute designs to choose from too. Plus, the box they come in is adorable. I ordered another 25 cards for $5 more. Apparently I anticipated meeting a lot of people in the near future.

Here's how to get yours:

1. Browse Minted's collection of over 150 unique, fresh card designs.

2. Personalize your design. Add your name, your child's name, or any other personal information.

3. Check the "get free business cards" box on the order page. Pay $7.95 for shipping.

Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

[This is just a gratuitous Ozzie photo, because he's cute and doesn't complain when I take his picture.]

What the heck happened to summer? I think I missed it this year. I hate when that happens.

I did get a few things accomplished and I'm writing them down here, so when I have to write my "What I Did This Summer" essay I'll be all ready.

1. Travelled:  Arizona, Northern California, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii

2. Hospitalled: Dad has a tuned-up heart and a spanking new eye ball!

3. Remodelled: New laundry room/powder room (can I get an amen?)

4. Emptied: My nest (sniff, sniff)

5. Adopted: Ozzie (smitten with my kitten)

6. Finished: Exactly no quilts (helped a friend with one and did one top, but that's it)

I guess that isn't so bad, but there is room for improvement. Definitely.