Speck & Sprocket's Day of Beauty

Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day ~ the perfect day for a trip to Picasso Groomery for the boys' spring makeover. The boys were all excited about the ride in the car ~ until they realized where they were going! Since they are both male and terriers, getting spruced up is not their favorite activity, even though their groomer is Tak, a celebrity! Grrrdy, Sprocket's sister likes getting pampered ~ she was honored with the PDG CLient's Star of the Month for June 2010.

After several hours at the groomery, the boys were bathed, trimmed and clipped and were looking pretty darn handsome. Sprocket wasted no time getting back on the deck to keep an eye out for trespassing squirrels and rabbits.

I think Speck has not quite forgiven me for taking him for a day of beauty......

Wish I could get Speck & Sprocket to pose like these guys. . . . .

{Walter & Delbert from here}

New Addition!

Ordered a new couch for the living room this week ~ it will arrive next week! I ended up choosing the taupe leather instead of the cream because the two scots would have it mud covered in no time. Now to look for some pillows ~ any suggestions? I see another knit or crochet project in my future......

Snowing . . . again!

{view out my back door}

Almost the end of March and it is snowing again! After the gazillion inches of snow we have had this year and a taste of a couple of days in the high 70's a week ago, I am ready for spring!

Resolution for the New Year

With every year comes the long list of New Year's resolutions that end up getting pushed by the wayside in a month or two ~ at least that is how it goes for me! This year I thought I would just choose one resolution and see if I could be more successful with a focus. Go visit the To Resolve Project over at motherlanddesign ~ pick a resolution for yourself ~ there are many to choose from ~ here is mine:

{poster by Jon Garza}

Wish me luck! What is your resolution for the year?

Speck is 9 today!

{image via retroroadmap.com}

Today is Speck's 9th birthday ~ Speck is my black Scottish terrier AKA Spectacular, Mr. Speck and Speckita. When asked, I usually tell people that Speck is short for Spectacular, which is true, but I liked the name Speck also because it was one of my favorite places to go when I was little. Speck's (the original one) was a drive in/diner on the road we took to visit my great aunt Verna ~ I remember getting soft serve dipped ice cream cones there. Now I'm not even sure the one we used to stop at is there any more, but there is one in Collegeville, Pa ~ apparently known for their broasted chicken.

While Speck enjoys chicken now and then (although I'm not sure he has ever sampled any broasted chicken), Burger King was his restaurant of choice for his bday meal. This year he ordered a cheeseburger and fries along with the traditional Burger King headwear. The gold crown suits him well, doesn't it?

As the appetizing smells wafted his way, Mr. Speck was licking his lips in anticipation.......

Just couldn't wait, he had to sample a fry before all the guests were served.

Sprocket, the lone party guest, patiently waited for the meal to be served. Happy Birthday Speck!

So long, Summer ~ til next year!

{caprese salad}

Good bye to summer ~ and my favorite summer delicacies. No more caprese salads with fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil, and no more corn on the cob ~ until next year!

The boys also feel a bit nostalgic about summer treats ~ the cicadas are gone as well... Every summer evening around 9:00 the scots get mighty restless and demand to go out so they can rustle up a crunchy snack. I don't know what it is about cicadas that they find so tasty, but they go to great effort to find them ~ Speck is especially fond of them and will do whatever he can to snatch them away from Sprocket. Apparently, it isn't that unusual for dogs and cats to find cicadas tasty ~ if they eat too many though, they can get blocked digestive tracts ~ read more details here.

Can't say I am sad to see the cicadas go ~ they aren't anywhere on my list of favorite summer snacks!

{mmm, mmm, just ripe for the picking!}

{Speck has his eye on an extra crispy cicada}

{Sprocket is busy rustling up a cicada in the potted urn ~ it is the first place he checks}

So Long Scurvy!

{since I like to start the post with a pretty picture!}

It has been rather hectic and crazy in my neck of the woods these last several weeks, so I haven't been doing a very good job of posting. I took this past Friday off from the day job to concentrate on work for an upcoming show, but unfortunately was derailed thanks to Scurvy, an uninvited guest who took up residence in my basement. I have had many run ins with opossums before, but not inside my house!

Now, opossums can be pretty cute ~ as long as they stay outside and away from the dogs. Scurvy seemed to be one of those cute ones at first, but it didn't take long for him to bare his teeth and show his true personality.

Dick called me at work on Thursday to tell me that "we had a problem" in the basement ~ a nice addition to an already stressful workday! When I arrived home that evening, we sat down and hatched a plan to catch the varmint ~ it involved Dick trapping him in the box that he was sitting in, then scooping it into the tub that I would be holding. Seemed like a good plan, but when we tried to reposition the box for optimum scooping, Scurvy jumped out and found a new spot up on the edge of the foundation. At that point, it was obvious that we needed a Plan B, so remembering that our neighbor has a have-a-heart cage/trap, we borrowed that, filled a lid with peanut butter and dog food and placed the whole thing high on the shelf next to the box where he had been sitting.

Not much else we could do at that point except wait ~ of course, all night I kept hearing noises, so I didn't get the best sleep! By morning Scurvy had fallen for our devious trap and was caught ~ here he is, looking happy and content ~ I guess he must have enjoyed the peanut butter.

Initially, we decided that we would take Scurvy to the local park when Dick got home from work that night ~ but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't really like being in the same house with him downstairs. So, I decided I would take him to his new home that morning ~ all by myself. Mustering up my courage, donning a pair of gloves and sequestering the dogs out in the backyard, I headed down the basement stairs. As the cage with Scurvy in it was on the top shelf, I realized I needed a step up, so went back to the kitchen for my trusty kik-step. The minute I grabbed the handle of the cage and began to move it, Scurvy freaked out ~ I guess he really didn't want to go to a new home. Somehow I managed to go back up the stairs and outside, where I had a tub waiting in the car ~ I put the whole business in the tub, got things locked up at home and took off for the park.

About halfway there it occurred to me that I wasn't really too sure how sturdy that cage was ~ I crossed my fingers and hoped he wasn't going to escape in my car ~ after all, it was Friday the 13th ~ it would be my luck to end my days in an opossum caused car accident! Plus, no offense, but Scurvy smelled ~ I happened to notice that shortly after we took off ~ glad I thought to use the plastic tub!

Once arriving at the park, I found a nice clearing in front of a forested area ~ seemed like a decent place for a new home. I thought it might take awhile for Scurvy to leave the cage, but the minute I started trying to figure out how to open it, he was chomping at the bit. In fact, he got out of there so quickly, I didn't even have time to take a photo....

After great food and lodging AND a trip to the forest, this is the final look I got from Scurvy ~ the last I saw of him was his pink foot-long tail slithering into the shadows of the forest. So long Scurvy!

Snail's Pace

How is everyone out there dealing with this heat? As I am in the midwest, I realize it isn't as hot and muggy as it is on the east coast, but even so, it is hot enough to suck most of my energy away ~ I feel like I am moving at a snail's pace! If only there was an ocean nearby! Hot and humid makes me lethargic ~ wouldn't it be nice to just be able to languish in a spiderweb hammock until a cool breeze came along?!

Lovely watercolors shown were painted by Victorian artist, Amelia Jane Murray Lady Oswald (1800-1896) ~ you can read more about her here and see some more of her work here and here.

Object Ephemera

Lately I have been spending much of my free time trying to clean and organize my house and my stuff ~ it has been slow going ~ the dining room table is still not fit for dining! Of course, I am my own worst enemy as I always manage to squeeze in another antique show or flea market between cleaning/organizing binges.

Maybe that is why the grouping of metallic objects above is so satisfying to me ~ everything is all lined up and in its place, the colors are a lovely subtle mix of metallic neutrals, and it is a collection of objects I love. I think I will keep this idea in mind as I am cleaning and organizing ~ if I could get my house looking like this, it would be a good thing!

{Love the intricate pattern on the ladies pocket watch!}

Another thing I really like about the items shown is that they are rather simple and imperfect ~ the roller skate pincushion has a broken wheel, the buttons are rusty and the watch is broken ~ even so, to me they are lovely treasures. This reminded me of a quote I read recently:

Perfection does not exist. To understand this is the triumph of human intelligence;
to expect to possess it is the most dangerous kind of madness.
• Alfred de Musset •

Embrace the imperfect!

Skunk Swat Team

This past weekend there was a bit of excitement in my neighborhood ~ it included a speeding car, a crash, and a man with a gun breaking into a house and hiding out for hours while police cordoned off the area and worked to stabilize the situation. If you are so inclined you can read the full story or view the video that includes an exclusive interview with my boyfriend here.

So why the image of the skunk? It was the weekend of the neighborhood garage sale, so we happened to be perusing our neighbor's goods while discussing the events of above. At the time, the man who crashed the car was holed up in the house and the police were trying to figure ways to get him to come out. Our neighbor's 9 year old red-headed girl was taking all of it in, then announced to the group gathered that she had a solution ~ the police should send a skunk in so he could stink the guy out! Hey, not such a bad idea ~ why not have a Skunk Swat Team?

{That's one bad sCENT!}

Duck, Duck, Goose?

Tonight when I pulled up in front of my house and got out of my car I was greeted by a pair of mallard ducks! Since I live in a residential neighborhood which is within city limits, this is quite unusual! I ran in and got my camera, then tried to get some photos at a respectful distance ~ the ducks seemed on a mission ~ they stopped at a few puddles in the curbs, but hurried off down the sidewalk seemingly aware of the danger of the street.

I'm glad they didn't decide to visit my back yard ~ the scots probably wouldn't have given them a proper welcome ~ after all, they have a stuffed toy that is a dead ringer for that green headed duck! Angus, a scottie from the 30's had a run in with some ducks ~ recommended reading for all! Read more about Marjorie Flack and her "Angus" books here.

Dog Day Afternoon

Sprocket certainly enjoyed his 2nd birthday this past Saturday. As it was a glorious spring day, we set out for a shopping spree at 3 Dog Bakery on the Plaza ~ Sprocket made several new friends and picked out birthday treats to share with his closest friends, Grrrdy & Speck. Grrrdy is one of Sprocket's sisters ~ you can read more here; Speck is Sprocket's best buddy and adopted brother.

After shopping we headed to Sprocket's sister's house for a birthday visit ~ Grrrdy had a treat to share too!

After chowing down on the birthday cake, Grrrdy & Sprocket played party games and chased each other all over the yard.

Playing ball and chasing things makes one thirsty, so drinks were served up next.

After all of the fun & games, Sprocket had to say his goodbyes & thank yous to Grrrdy and her family as he had one more friend to celebrate with before the day ended.

{Sprocket & Speck sharing the last treats of the day ~ what a happy day!}

Terrible Twos

Guess who's 2 today?

Tax Time ~ ugh!

April 15th snuck up on me this year ~ I am ashamed to admit that I have had to get an extension and prolong the misery! I have devised a rather inventive way to organize my taxes ~ out of necessity rather than cleverness.
Over the past several months we have been working on a large home project ~ fixing the cause of sagging ceilings and flooring the attic so that it can be used for storage. Because of this project, the rest of my house is filled with all sorts of items I plan on putting in the attic ~ BUT, the stairsteps are all cleared off to allow the contractors access to the attic thus providing me with the only available space to organize my paper work. Unfortunately, the system is not dogproof, nor did it ensure my success at completing my taxes on time. Curses!

{Synchronicity Stairstep Organizational System}

Bacon Backfires!

With Valentine's Day behind us and no need to keep things a secret anymore, I can share with you my miserable failure of a gift for Dick, my boyfriend ~ well, I should say part of a gift ~ I gave him a book he did like too. At any rate, I've mentioned before about how Dick just loves bacon, so when I saw these bacon beans, I thought they would be the perfect solution ~ cut out some fat without having to give up a favorite food ~ I had envisioned his breakfast as a plate of scrambled eggs, a piece of toast and several bacon beans ~ yum! Alas, apparently they do NOT taste the same as bacon even though they are approved by Mr. Bacon himself!

I still think my choice of the bacon beans was probably a better choice than the soap I was considering ~ the more I thought about it, I didn't think it would be wise to slather him up in the soap and have him anywhere near the scots ~ afterall, they are bacon lovers as well!

Little did I know there were so many bacon themed gifts out there ~ you can try those shown above and more here. Let me know what you think of the lip balm, the dental floss or Uncle Oinker's bacon mints. If you want to be stylish with your bacon fetish, you can get yourself a lovely vinyl bacon belt which should round out anyone's wardrobe. Next occasion I think I will just stick with Mo's Bacon bar or some other gourmet bacon and chocolate combination ~ I have actually tasted a few versions and it can be pretty tasty ~ although probably even more calories and fat than just plain bacon, so kind of defeats my devious plan to remove some fat from our diets ~ curses!

Foggy Malaise

Where has the time gone??!! I had no intention of being away from my blog for so long, but I have gotten a rather slow start to the new year. After a lovely break over the holidays, I seem to have fallen into a rather foggy malaise; knitting, reading and curling up with cups of tea next to my trusty space heater. I know the frigid temperatures, dreary days and the drifts of snow haven't been motivating me to get out and about ~ but ~ my savings grace ~ an antique show & lunch at a favorite spot this past weekend finally got me up and out! Stop by tomorrow as I will share some photos from my return to the living! Happy New Year everyone - better late than never!

Busy Day Ahead!

It's going to be a long & busy day ahead ~ lots to get finished ~ set up for the show starts today and I am still working on a few things. Some of us are getting a bit tired of it all.....

Hive of Activity!

Although I have taken a vacation away from my day job, I am working furiously to get ready for the two holiday shows that are coming up soon! My home has become quite the hive of activity ~ minus the multitudes of worker bees and the organization of a real beehive. I am utilizing every available surface in every room of my house ~ kind of scary! I wish I could say I looked as stylish while working as the bee lady below, but I have opted for comfort, so it is pjs round the clock!

{click on images for sources}

Below are the two holiday shows I am participating in this year ~ click on the image to read more about the vendors and for more information. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi ~ I'll be the one with the dark circles under her eyes!

{Saturday, November 28th}

{Friday & Saturday, December 4th & 5th}