The Tale Of Despereaux

This is one movie I can't wait to see...I am in love with the little characters on the previews! Click on the image above to go to the website and see the trailer....

Holiday Spirit?

Today's the day to keep my nephew, Jackson....he's always so much fun!He hasn't seen my Christmas tree yet. I can just imagine how much he'll like it. I'm listening to Christmas music this morning. Do y'all have any favorites? I always love Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs. When we were little we had 2 favorite Christmas albums--Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry & Rosemary Clooney and a Chipmunks Christmas album. "Here Comes Santa Claus" is playing now (by Gene Autry) and I can just see me & my 3 sisters dancing around to the song and dreaming about what Santa Claus would bring! We LOVED listening to records and dancing....I'm surprised one or all of us didn't end up being singers/dancers! ha! Jackson will be here soon--maybe he'll enjoy some dancing and singing to these song. Too bad the kitties don't enjoy it. They like the singing, just not the dancing part. ;)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

   

Hope y'all are having a good Thanksgiving! We had our family Thanksgiving early so I'm just hanging around the house today. I did a little Christmas decorating--not too much this year though. Instead of putting up my big tree, I bought a small (4 ft) prelit tree and displayed it on a table in front of the window. It was nice that it was only 2 pieces instead of all those branches to sort out! I couldn't use all my ornaments, so I used only red & white. I think its the first time I've ever had any kind of theme. Normally I put every ornament on my tree that I can cram on there, but I knew I couldn't use them all this time. Another good thing was not having to untangle a bunch of lights. 

I put a couple of tinsel trees on the top of my entertainment center, Christmas rug  in front of the fireplace and decorated the mantel and that's it. I may put up my "Dr. Seuss" tree in the bathroom, but I'm not sure yet.....depends on my mood, I guess. lol! I'll share some more pics below and get back to my relaxing Thanksgiving. Hope you have a good 'un!! :)

   

Working at Home....

I LOVE working at home, so here's my top 10 things I love about working at home & being my own boss (in no particular order):

 1. I can work in my pajamas

 2. I can take a break whenever I want

 3. I can take off whenever I want & get to take off on ALL holidays and weekends if (but only if I want to)

 4. I get to sleep as late as I want

 5. I can check on my kitties anytime I feel like it

 6. I can have a kitty on my lap while I work

 7. You know that one person that gets on your nerves at work? I don't have to worry about her...

 8. Shoes aren't required

 9. I have my own "office"

10. No boss to anwer to!

If you work at home--help me think of some more! You don't have to worry about your boss looking over your shoulder, so go ahead!

 

Little Bit

I finally named the little black kitty--I decided to call her Little Bit because she is just so tiny! She has been in my studio in a kennel and on antibiotics for over a month. I was getting worried because it was taking so long to get well....the vet was worried too, so that made me worry more! We tried a new antibiotic and she was already getting better the next day. So took her yesterday to be spayed and she is back outside today. She's a little scared right now, but I know she's glad to be out of the kennel! She & Frasier were good buddies and I was afraid they might not remember each other after so long, but he is staying right with her now. And speaking of Frasier, he has gotten even bigger and fluffier! Below is a before & after picture of Little Bit and a new picture of Frasier!

 

 

 

 

 

And I forgot to mention before that I bought the cutest painting while I was at my show. I saw it and said I'd come back after I made some more money. But that night I kept thinking about it and that it might get gone before I made it back over there. So the first thing the next morning, before the show opened, I ran over and bought it. I kept thinking this is probably what Rusty looked like when he was a baby! I didn't' get to meet the artist (Diane Williams), but she is from Alabama. Diane--if you happen to read this post, I love my painting!

I'm still here!

Maybe you've been wondering where I've been! I have had so much going on! I got back from my show and have to take care of some kitties and some other stuff. Strawberry had to have FOUR teeth pulled! It was scary for me to have it done, but I'm glad its over with. He seems to be feeling good and has been pretty playful! He has had problems with his gums for a long time, practically his whole life (it has just gotten a lot worse in the last year) and has had his teeth cleaned so many times. So I'm hoping this is what was needed.

 Here's a picture of my booth .... remember I was going to make curtains for my Halloween booth? I ordered the fabric, bought a bunch of tulle and lights and never made the curtains and didn't have electricity for the lights....Well, I was going to make curtains for this booth. I ordered a bunch of red with white polka dots and after I got there, I decided I didn't want to use the red after all! My "Dr. Seuss" tree

was a big hit with the purple lights. People kept trying to buy the tree and my mannequins from me!  It was a long show--I was there almost a week--so I was happy to be home. I've been spending time getting my house cleaned and doing a little holiday decorating. We're having our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so I may put up my tree on Monday!

Free Pattern

 

I wasn't sure if I told y'all about this new free pattern I have on my site. I put it up a while ago and think I forgot to post it here! Anway, I hope I'm not repeating myself!!

I was still sick Saturday, but went to the Halloween party anyway. It was fun, but would've been more fun if I hadn't sniffled & sneezed and coughed the whole time!

  Poor Elvis is sick....I took him & the new black kitten to the vet on Thursday. The kittens tests all came back negative so SHE is on antibiotics. (I thought she was a boy!) She wouldn't let me pet her before, now she's a big baby. As soon as she's well, I'll get her fixed. I was planning to find her a home, but she is soooo sweet! Elvis has a sore leg. I knew something was up because he didn't come home Wednesday night. I spent all morning looking for him Thursday until I finally saw him curled up under a neighbor's tree. I brought him to the porch to eat and noticed he couldn't stand on his leg. The vet thought it was an abscess from a cat bite so he has been taking antibiotics and should be better by now. I let him out yesterday morning and he didn't come back so I had to search for him again this morning and found him next to another neighbor's house. He seems like might be having a little more trouble walking so I called the vet. She thinks it could be a sprain so I'm trying aspirin and if he's not better in the morning, he'll have to go for x-rays. Poor guy! He's in the living room by himself -- Pumpkin really wants to go snuggle with him, but Elvis isn't in a snuggling mood!

I have my Christmas music playing in my studio so I can get in the mood to do some Christmas stuff. I haven't prepared much for my next show, so I'm doing what I can this week!!

 

 

Halloween Party

 

Well...tonight's our Halloween Party! We've made up lots of gross sounding stuff, put them in glass bottles and jars and I made labels for them. We'll see how it goes over--we tried not to make it too gross. Just enough to make it fun! Of course I'll take lots of pictures....I'll probably dress up like a witch. My nephew says I need to be something different because "I always dress up like a witch every year." I was going to try something different, but I've been sick and just dug out the ol' witch hat this morning! I thought I had strep--not sure because they didn't do a test. I went as soon as I started to get sick (Thurs. morn) to get some antibiotics so I could go to the party. I had to cancel my Haunted Trail ride with Tara but maybe we'll go next week.

Gotta run and get ready for the party....I'll fill y'all in on the fun later!

The Cabin

Here's the cabin we went to last week--one of our favorite places to go! Its an old cabin they tore down and rebuilt at Lick Skillet. (Don't you love the name?) Its near Little River Canyon .... we went through there but I didn't have my camera. I wished I did because it was so pretty. Maybe I'll go back when the leaves start to turn more.

Wouldn't you know it .... when we got to the cabin and walked onto the back porch, there were two gray kitties back there! One was pregnant and friendly, the other kind of cautious of us. I let the Momma cat inside and look what happened.... it made me feel right at home having her there!!

This is the view in front of the cabin....its down a long dirt road, secluded just like we like it! We stopped by an antique store we've been wanting to visit for a while too. I got to pick out some stuff as my anniversary presents while I was there. I got 2 old quilts, a jar of buttons and piece of furniture that has slots, maybe for sorting letters or something? I thought it would be perfect for organizing some of my paper stuff I've collected over the years...

As much fun as I had, I was happy to get home. Strawberry has been sick so I was anxious to come check on him. As a matter of fact, I came home on the 2nd night so I could check on him and give him & Bilbo their medicines. It wasn't too far and it made me feel better to know everything was still okay at home!

Here Comes the Bride....

This is my favorite picture i took at my sister's wedding....you can probably tell that's my sister standing. ;) I just wish her new hubby had been in the picture too! Her wedding was at her husband's aunt & uncle's house. Its surrounded by trees with a really pretty yard--a perfect setting for a wedding. We did the decorating and food and I think everything turned out great! I even helped Jamie get ready--something I've done for her since she was little. That made me sad in a way, but I was happy she still wanted me to help her now that she's all grown up! I was almost 15 when she was born, so even though she is grown up now, its hard for me to believe it....they spent the week on the beach for their honeymoon. What fun!

Its October already???

  I can't believe its already October--it even feels like fall outside today! It was actually cool enough to do a little work outside today (and enjoy it!).

I had a good time at Homestead Hollow--I sold lots of stuff, especially paperclay-headed dolls and jewlery. I sold lots of witch dolls--I think I only had one left. Unfortunately I didn't get to make my orange polka dot curtains. I even took the fabric with me and planned on doing it every night, but I ran out of time. On the last night I finally decided it was too late and stopped hauling that bolt of fabric around with me! Maybe I'll have time to do the red ones for Christmas Village.

 

Now that the show, my sister's wedding and my vacation are over with, I have lots of pics to share....it may take a while to share them all! I guess I should start with some of my pictures from Homestead Hollow....some of these dolls will be patterns when I ever get a chance to finish them up. ;)

    

 

Here are some jewelry pictures....these are my new displays that I LOVE! I have one more that I want, but it was too expensive to buy them all 3 at the same time.....maybe I'll add the 3rd one next year! I am never, ever satisfied with how my booth looks, but I liked it better the last 2 times than I have ever liked my setup, so I guess that's a good thing!

   

Homestead Hollow

The first thing I want to do is remind you about my fund raiser for the stray/feral kitties...click here  to read more about it. I only have a little over 2 weeks left on my campaign--if the total isn't met, I'll lose the donations. This is Pumpkin with his best friend, Elvis. Pumpkin wants to be sure Elvis is microchipped so he will never lose him! Elvis doesn't visit inside often, but as you can see, Pumpkin enjoys it when he does. Notice they are holding hands!

I'm spending the next few days pricing and getting everything together for my show. I'm really looking forward to it. If you can make it, stop by and see me. If not, I'll post some pictures after the show. You can check out my NEW website, Full Moon Folk Art, to see some of the new designs I'll be bringing to the show. If you'll be near the Birmingham/Springville area, check out www.homesteadhollow.com for more info about the show and directions.

I just added a new FREE pattern to my site! Go to The Cat's Pyjamas Patterns and click on the "free patterns" category to download it. This is another project to be featured on PBS--I think they'll either be on in October or November....

Help me Help Kitties!

Our city has a new law that will go into effect Oct. 1 of this year.All pets have to be licensed for $3 each. That's not a problem, the problem is keeping a collar on the kitties outside! (I wonder how much money I have spent on collars???) So I am trying to raise enough money for microchips for the outside cats. I'm afraid they may be picked up while I'm out of town or something, so the microchips seem to be the best way to help me find them if they are picked up by animal control.

Here's the link to the fundraiser:

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-09-19.9007263788

Any amount you can give will be appreciated!! Please pass this on to your friends or if you have a blog and would post the link, that would be great. You are welcome to use the picture of Frazier at the top right of my blog to link to it.

Doggie Adventures

I had another doggie adventure a few weeks ago...I volunteered to transport two sweet Beagles! I picked them up in Gadsden and took them to Trenton. One was a puppy and even though I thought I had cleaned up my truck well, she found all kinds of things under my seat and pulled them out. By the time I got to Trenton I had it all piled on the dash so she couldn't eat it and she was in my lap. I believe this is Maggie in this picture, the older and calmer one. She mostly slept during the whole trip.

You know, looks can be deceiving....CJ looks like the sweetest kitty with his big blue eyes, doesn't he? He can't stand for me to pet any other cat or play with them. He even bit and slapped at me tonight. Maybe he was mad that I was playing with another cat? It didn't hurt, but it still wasn't nice! He bullies all the other cats. I thought getting him fixed would make him mellow out a little, but not so far. You'd never guess it by looking at him though!!

And here's my Daddy's pretty cow....we think she looks like a Betsy! ;)

I've been busy working on new designs for my show and for some new patterns this week. I finished about 10 jack-o-lantern make-do's last night! Can't wait for my All Halloween themed booth!! I hope I remember to bring my camera and my media card to this show!! 

TGIF!

I'm glad its Friday! I had gotten into the habit of working every single day so I didn't even look forward to the weekend. For about the past couple of months I've been taking off for the weekend, then I don't do much work on Mondays because I babysit Jackson. Before, Friday was just another day. Now I actually look forward to the weekends again! So TGIF!

I think I've mentioned that someone dropped off a kitten a few weeks ago. Maybe it was longer because he's grown a lot. He's still scared, but he'll play with me and sometimes bat me on the hand, then run away. Or I can pet him, but then he runs (only to be back in a few seconds). Since I already have 13 cats, I'm hoping to get him used to being petted so I can find him (or her?) a home. We have a baby possum too! One night I saw something out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a squirrel because it was so small. I happened to have a flashlight so I saw the little squirt running across the yard. It comes to eat on the porch but its kinda cute and so little that I just let it eat. And I've been trying to get a picture but I can't. I need to hide out one night before he gets big and ugly. ha!

Last Saturday was my sister's bridal shower....we were at Michael's one day and saw this Cinderella pumpkin and I had to try it! They didn't have all the supplies so I had to make do, but I think it turned out pretty cute! I used a white pumpkin and cut out holes for the frames to fit in. (It has one on the back too). I painted the pumpkin with a pearl white paint & sprinkled on iridescent glitter. I put some red tulle inside (one of her colors) with battery operated white lights. For the base I used the top of a papier mache box, papier mache ornaments for the wheels. I put a wood dowel through the box lid and let it stick out on the sides to fit through the ornaments (one layer only) then painted them to match. The pumpkin just sits on top of the box lid and I added some crystal beaded stems around the top. Its pretty easy--I think you could even do something like this for Halloween. Maybe a bunch of little glittery white pumpkins would be cute too.

 

Rusty is on his way to being well....he's still living in my studio and I haven't decided if he'll stay there or not. I think he likes it in there and never acts like he wants to leave and he's always happy to see me. That may be partly because I bring him canned food twice a day! After he eats, he curls up in my lap. It makes me happy to see him looking like himself again. When he came home he was skinny, dehydrated and bleeding from where he has scratched and pulled out fur. Plus he had huge swollen lymph glands on his belly and a UTI so he was in pretty bad shape! Now he's finished his antibiotics, his skin is healed and his fur is growing back. And his eyes are nice & bright so he looks like himself again. He's even getting his plus size figure back!!

Y'all have a fun weekend--my sister & her fiance's engagement party is tomorrow night so we'll be meeting some of her soon to be new family!