Down the road

 I took a walk the one day and on my way home I snapped some pictures. This is a building that used to have a small store in the bottom part of it. Someone is now living in it. They change out the big front windows for all the holidays and seasons. 

This is what the building looks like. It's pretty old and really not much to look at.

Those windows are delightful though. Some of the displays they put in there are pretty impressive.

I spy with my wandering eye.

 I was out in the back yard with Gibbs the one day and spotted this.

We had had quite a bit of rain the day before so there were actually quite a lot of these all over the yard. Of course I had to grab the phone and get a closer look.

A few days later I got another picture.

Just for the heck of it.

 It's been a while since I've made a cell phone bag. I didn't have an order for one but wanted to see how some fabric I had would work. This is sort of a wool like fabric. Definitely a wintery looking bag.

I thought it came out pretty good. The fabric is a little heavier so the slide on the adjustable strap is a little on the snug side. It still works though. I probably should have tried to find a bigger slide buckle. Either that or made the strap thinner. 

One last post on peonies.

 We've had a couple of rain showers since the peonies bloomed and they are now done for. They did last longer than usual though with the help of the cage around them to keep them standing straight.

In the pictures there are still plenty of petals on the flowers but now they are totally gone.

Year 2 week 2 drawings

This weeks 2 of my drawings are in the 4th sketch book. I decided I would make a change and use colored pencils instead of markers on those. These are in no particular order. Can you tell which 2 I used colored pencils on?

Lunch out with a friend

 I was feeling a bit down the one day because I had just gotten a call that I was not chosen for a job that I interviewed for. I texted my friend that I used to work with and told her I didn't get the job. She asked if I needed some human contact and suggested we go out to lunch.

We went to a place that neither one of us had ever been to. It's called the All Aboard Dinor.

The place isn't much to look at on the inside but the staff was friendly and the food was good. It sits right next to the railroad tracks and we did watch a train go by while we were there.

The train was also running inside the dinor. The track runs all the way around the whole place.

When we went to the register to pay they had a sign saying they offered a senior citizen discount for anyone over 60. I said to my friend, that's me. Enough said because the girl gave me the dicount.

A day with Presley

 My daughter-in-law asked if I wanted to take Presley the one day and of course the answer was yes. It wasn't the best day weather wise so we spent most of the day inside.

She wanted a snack so we made popcorn and then settled in on the couch.

She pulled out a chest of toys I've had and I decided to disguise myself and we got a selfie.

She heard the camera take the first picture and then looked at me like "what are you doing" I of course played innocent and said I had no idea what she was talking about but of course snapped another one.

She was pretending to be a famous chef and cooked me an excellent play doh meal

Crafts in the Country

 There is a little store not far from me called Crafts in the Country. It's on the owners property and she doesn't have regular business hours. She does however occasionally hold an event with other crafters. Amanda and I went recently to check out what was there.

Amanda bought these 9x13 carriers. One for her and one for me. They are like a bowl cozie for 9x13 dish.

I bought some of this flavored chex mix. It was kind of a rip off for the price and even though I had sampled some, it wasn't as good as what I had tried. 

There was a nice selection of items available and of course it's always fun going out and doing something with Amanda.

Peonies

 The last time I posted about my peonies, they hadn't bloomed yet. These pictures were taken on the 7th and 8th

You may recall me posting that I used an old tomato cage turned upside down to try and keep these from ending up on the ground. It never fails. After these bloom it rains and they all end up laying on the sidewalk and that's just about the end of them. This year, as usual, it poured after the peonies bloomed. Thanks to the tomato cage, they are still standing tall and looking beautiful. They may be a little crowded in the cage but at least they are lasting longer.

Drawings year 2 week 1

 I can't believe I'm still doing this. Here I am in my second year of drawing almost every single day.

In the bag

 I've been working on a lot of things for Christmas. I know it's way early but it keeps me busy and if I procrastinate I'll never get things done. 

These are just a couple of the things that I've made.

Hot cocoa bags in two different sizes. The smaller ones hold packets of hot cocoa mix and the larger will hold the mix and a mug. These would also be good for holding candy or other small goodies

This is the small and the large size.

These are all the smaller size

Next up is a bag made from a Dollar Tree placemat. I simply folded it in half, sewed up the sides, boxed the bottom and sewed on ribbon for handles. I'll use these for gift bags but they could also be used for a small tote bag.

Cleaning out the cobwebs

 Since I'm not working, I decided to participate in the town yard sale this year. I've been searching my house for things to get rid of. The one day I went into the crawl space to see what I could find. It's a bit filthy and musty in there and tons of cobwebs. I was freaking out every time one touched me. I found several things and put them in a pile close to the entrance Then I went to settle in on the couch and relax.

I looked over at Gibbs and could not stop laughing. He had joined me in the crawl space and brought out a few things himself.

Visiting dogs and softball

 If you follow me on Facebook you probably already read about this. I was outside the one day with Gibbs when I spotted 2 large dogs approaching through the back yards. I tried to get Gibbs inside but he was too busy playing tough guy and barking at the intruders. Thankfully the dogs were friendly and didn't seem to mind Gibbs at all. As I was trying to coax Gibbs in the house the big black dog was more than willing to go inside, Gibbs was not.

They eventually saw all they needed to see and moved on. I found out later that they belonged to the brother of a girl I used to work with and that they did find their way back home safe and sound.

Presley is playing softball again this year so I've been going to her games. I haven't taken many pictures but I did snap this one through the fence to prove that I was there.

Acrylic, fabric and vinyl

 I made some more of the acrylic signs. I may have shown some of these already so if I'm repeating any I apologize.

I've been working on making Christmas presents and this pillow will go to my son. It's an envelope style pillow cover with a 16" pillow inside. I first did the eagle vinly design and applied it to the plain fabric. Then I added the blue star fabric around that. The back is also the blue star fabric. I love the way this turned out.

Last but not least is a pink canvas tote bag for Presley. I added the butterfly in white glitter vinyl.