another monster

Here's a monster for youngest DD.
Ever since I made one for her sister,
the world was not complete, until I made one for her too!

I've put no real embellishments on either of these,
though they would be prime candidates if not for children.

here's an update on the Pineapples and palm trees block

I still think it's missing something though

happy halloween a day late

(Picture by Roxanne Anderson)

whellp folks, no pics today just a little whining

I just started to work again at the jewelry shop, (were i worked before i was hired and inhumanely laid off from the dealership) and i have to say I am not at all pleased to be back. Before the Christmas season gets into full swing, i will be subject to the most stultifingly boooring days EVER!

I promised myself I would not Ever, ever, ever go back to sales, Ever! and here i am, tail between my legs a supplicant to the most dull job in the world, sales.

of course on the plus side i get to spend more time at home with the DH and kiddies, and you, my dear readers whom ever you may be.

in other news i went to Cabela's sporting goods store and availed myself of the wonders of the great outdoors inside this HUGE shop. when they say they have everything they mean it!

they have a simulated mountain mid store, with stuffed representatives of the local game, including the wily and vicious squirrel ( which I found funny) an enormous fish tank with the biggest, fat and happy bluegills I've ever seen, along with rainbow trout, carp, bass, and a muskie that must have been fed into solemnise to not have eaten every other fish in the tank.

in one corner of the second floor to one side of the gun library and a truly startling array of firearms, they've got a shoot'in gallery arraigned like annyhoo yokels backyard trash heap equipped with an assortment of tin cans old boots bottles and other detritus not to forget the outhouse, each furnished with it's own target.

amongst the other wonders of the Cabela's are the buffalo burgers, (MMM Buffalo!) i was expecting them to be gamey but, they're a bit leaner than cow and have more of a musky flavor to them. If you are interested in hunting, fishing, camping or just the big outdoors in general, check them out they're a cool place to while away a few hours and keep the kiddies entertained for a few hours.

room re-do

This what I have been doing instead of sewing since I got laid off.

It started, as most of these projects do, with a leaky ceiling.

In tracking down multiple leaks during a four day rain storm.

We started, innocently enough, just removing a few ceiling tiles only to discover the true extent of the problem(rats!- not real rats just the sentiment) inadequate insulation, gaps and a hornets nest(fortunately all dead and gone!)

This room was always my favorite in the house due to this veiw

and was originally my sewing room.

DS and I switched rooms when it became necessary to further remove the boy from the girls.

it's hard enough to get them to bed without the steady stream of tit-for-tat going on when they were all upstairs together.

and so my sewing room became DS's room and vice versa.

It's now so bright and cheerful I'm almost thinking of switching again!

I suppose it would have been more dramatic to show before and after pics but I just now thought of sharing(Duh!)This is my Ds's Room now. He (poor dear) has been living in the basement for the last three weeks while we tore apart his sanctuary.

I'm very glad we did, as it used to look like this!

This is the mud room, as you can see we use it for coats and temporary storage.

It's just out side his room and done in the same awful paneling!

its dark and not very user friendly.

adding more

I find in going through my older projects the need to add more to some of them and so I have been working on the Pineapples and Palm trees round robbin block,

nancy's block Lori's block

Janets blockAnn's block

taking inspiration from the blocks I got back and incorporating some of the design elements from their pieces into my block.

originalnew

It still looks naked to me

hooligans

Just a few pics of my hooligans
for your enjoyment

HomeMom again pt 2

The nice thing about being home all day is the time to catch up on all those things I couldn't get to on a daily basis and had to resort to "helpers" and for anyone with children knows "helping" sometimes isn't!

The other nice thing is that dinner is no longer an adventure it's Food you can eat, and i get to take and pick up the girls from school, even if the older one walks a block ahead with her friends so she's not seen "with" me;)

I also get to finish those projects that have been glaring at me from the corners of my sewing room, case in point, my purse.

I still haven't decided if its finished or not, it may need a few more embellishments, something isn't quite done about it and I can't figure out what it is.

HomeMom again

Whelp, my foray into gainful employment has ended with the voting down of the bailout bill.

being that BMW's are a purely luxury item, this was not much of a surprise.

what this means to me is spending more time and attention on the kids(much to their dismay) a clean house everyday(instead of only on the weekends), empty laundry baskets, and full meals.

this is all to the good. I still miss the daily contact of co-workers (yes even the annoying ones)

this also means I will be blogging more. weather someone is still out there or not.

maby I'll get my sewing mojo back into the bargain. I did start making christmas ornaments for various co-workers, I should finish them and send them out anyway. their not done yet but here are the beginings.

sorry for the blurry bits

Flora;)

so far on the sewing front

progress on my purse is slow but this is what i've got so far.

Turtle

would you believe this little fellow was the size of a quarter when we bought him in china town July of last year? I had to keep the water low in the tank because I thought he might drown if I filled it to high!
now look at him, the bruiser! hes as big as my hand & his claws are sharp too!

my oldest DD has made him a harness (like a friendship bracelet) so she can take him for walks across the lawn! you've got to watch him though he's fast! His full name is Flap Jack Spot, Flap for short, and with the youngest DD's allergies the only animal we can have for the nonce.
I think he's going to need a bigger tank. Soon!

Hello again

Sorry I haven't been much of a blogger,of late. life has a funny way of keeping you to busy to think sometimes. Suffice to say I haven't been able to keep up with much of anything lately, even my garden is suffering! For the first time, that I can remember, I haven't gone to the nurseries to get plantings the minute they come to the store. & so it's now June & the perennials are doing great, but there are no annuals to fill in the bare spots.... Yet.

Any way work is going well the PYB"S (Powers that be) keep giving me more stuff to do, which means the reward for a job well done, is more work! I've started to ride my bicycle to work more consistently, its a 9 mile ride & it's nice to be able to. I have a place to shower when I get there so I'm not funky all day, also a perk!

I've had no time for much in the way of sewing, tho i did sew a monster for my eldest DD' birthday. Pier 1 provided the idea & DD provided the drawing of Boogger.Ain't he sweet!

Anyhow I need to get back to some semblance of sewing I've just had no oomph!

I got no game.

my get up & go , got up & went.

I am out of shape, well i have a shape, it's just fruit shaped instead of me shaped!

if I keep peddling I'll get there! pant, pant, pant! huff, puff!

Flora;)

Tagged By Gerry a long time ago!

by Carol



How it works: SCATTERGORIES...It's harder than it looks! Erase my answers, enter yours, tag 10 people, post it to your blog, and then notify them, including the person who tagged you."Use the first letter of your first name to answer each of the following.They have to be real places, names, things..nothing made up!Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.



WHAT IS YOUR NAME

Flora



4 LETTER WORD

flap

VEHICLE

Ford Mustang



TV SHOW

Fringe
( my original answer was Fibber Magee & Molly. I'm still not sure it ever made it to tv from radio)

CITY

Flint Michigan



BOY NAME

Frederick



GIRL NAME

Fiona



OCCUPATION

Flobotomist



SOMETHING YOU WEAR

Flip-Flops



FOOD

MMm, Fudge



SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM

Farding supplies

(NO, I did not make a spelling error! http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/farding)



REASON FOR BEING LATE

Fowel traffic



SOMETHING YOU SHOUT

You people trying to get me in trouble?!





OK, who to tag?????

my purse

I finally decided that it was about time to make my own purse.

I may busier than a ten peckered owl but I can still find time to sew!

as you can see its till in the planning stages so please excuse the pins.

& I liked the material I used for Ann's oriental block that I used them again here.

sorry for the cramped nature of the picture, but I can't find my camera & had to scan it!

Flora;)

Has it been a month already!!!

as you know if you read this little blog, I got a job last month.
I thought time was zipping by before!
now I barely have time to sneeze!
My day starts around 5:30am, & ends at 11:30
when I wake up after having fallen asleep in front of the TV. Again.
Work is wonderful, finally somewhere I can go people
actually appreciate what I do for them, so far.
I'm getting to know my co-workers & I even remember some of their names!
the Boss is there enough that my typing is getting better,
but not so much that he's annoyed at the glacial pace with
which I type! I haven't found anyone who will do the laundry,
so I'd better get on it or it will smother us all in our sleep.
sorry no pics. I haven't worked out the logistics of sewing while commuting.

Flora;)

OHMYGOD! I'm A real grownup!

forgive me folks, as I'm reeling from culture shock of the first order.
I have my very first full time job in 17 years!
This is very different from what I have been doing,
which is to say not much, as I was in part time sales.
when you re not standing around doing nada,
you re running around trying to do every ting at once.

now I'm an executive assistant to the owner of a BMW dealership
-which is quite famous here in Chicago.
I've gotta brush up on my typing skills, boy are they rusty!
I have a real job!
now who can I get to do the Laundry that has been piling up since Friday??? HMMM?
Flora

christmas purses

Here are the pictures of the finished Christmas purses I made.

my daughters get one each or WWII develops.

DD#1

& DD#2

Mom



& 2 girlfriends



Flora;)

A little Christmas questionaire

Merry Christmas to all I hope every one had a spectacular day!


A little Christmas questionnaire


1. Wrapping or gift bags? both



2. Real or artificial tree?Artificial, real trees make the DH sneeze.



3. When do you put up the tree?DEC 1



4. When do you take the tree down? Jan1



5. Do you like eggnog? yep!



6. Favorite gift received as a child? 68 count crayon box & a huge pad of paper



7. Do you have a nativity scene? yes, we have my fathers old set ( mom is a non believer)



8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? socks



9. Mail or email Christmas cards? I try to mail cards every year, but it never seems to get
done. I emailed them this year.



10. Favorite Christmas Movie? national lampoons Christmas vacation, it reminds me of Christmases past.



11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I've worked retail for years and I HATE shopping. we go as a family early in the morning to beat the crowds 3-4 days before & have breakfast after to gloat over how much everyone will like what we got.



12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? a deep fried turkey, Prime rib or lamb, homemade fudge, marzipan & peanut brittle, garlic caraway dip, almond cookies. drool!



13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear outside, bubble and colored lights on the tree.



14. Favorite Christmas song? Angelus Ad Virginem, & carol of the bells



15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.



16. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? you betcha!



17. Angel on the tree top or a star? a lit star



18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Christmas morning.



19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Shopping.



20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? Nope, the tree is covered with
ornaments from all over the place & i add to it every year



21. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies and carrots for his reindeer



22. Least favorite holiday song?all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth



23. Favorite ornament? a big fat pink pig with w red bird on its behind & the inch worm

stitch diary #2

I haven't been doing this for very long & i do have other sketch books, but they are not CQ related. Here's the rest of my stitch diary, Enjoy!

Flames have always held a certain fascination for,

probably the reason I married a Fire fighter.
random doodles & American Indian motifs
Book margin & Mexican designs

birds & my name in several different languages
bad doodle & Eskimo designs

henna design inspired, I love the elephant

ancient English pictogram's, & more henna art

doodle gonehorribly wrong, & more ancient English pictogram's

I hope you had fun!

Flora

my christmas stocking

This year I decided to make myself a christmas stocking that says Flora!

I havent finished with it yet, but I think it's a good start!

I've made the old one over to my BIL since I don't think he has one yet.

I made one for Lily too, as this is her first christmas, I know she doesn't have one.

they are spending christmas morning with us this year.

it will be nice to have the whole family together for the first time.

Flora;)