weekend photo round up

usually weekends are reserved for relaxing, but the last couple, we've been busy. This past weekend we worked on our patio ---> screened porch conversion. The framing is all up, and needed to be painted before we can install the screen. Turns out there was a lot more wood there than we thought! Tom stayed up all night (!!) on Friday, getting most of it primed... I started on the finish coat when I got up Saturday morning. The two of us worked most of the weekend on it, till it got too hot to work, and finally finished the painting around lunchtime on Sunday. Whew!! Now, we just need to put up the screen. And cut the trim to length. And paint the trim. And install the trim.... okay, so it's not as far along as we'd like to think, but it will definitely be done by fall, which is okay, since it won't be cool enough to sit out there till then, anyway.

After working outside in the heat all weekend long, THIS is how we both felt!! Ariel is so funny- she has that kitten energy, tearing around and bouncing off walls, then konking out all the sudden...

The pic above was taken this afternoon; Tom grabbed the camera and snapped it quick, before anything happened to upset the status quo-- Butters and Ariel, sitting next to each other, with no hissing or swatting of paws!! It's amazing what hunger can do, hmmm?? Really, it's been going pretty well, all things considered; I've actually seen Butters playing chase with Ariel a few times, till she gets overwhelmed, hisses, and stalks off to sulk. I don't know whether they'll ever snuggle together like Pandora and Butters used to, but getting along together is a good start, after only a few weeks.

These last two photos are some of my latest art/craft projects. The pic above shows two 8x10 inch mixed media canvases that I've made recently. The top one features a Buddha-patterned napkin, layered acrylic paint, gold details, and an inspirational quote. The bottom one features rubber stamping with heat embossing, acrylic paint, hand-dyed cheesecloth for texture, glitter, beads, and another quote (this one from Willa Cather). They're both currently for sale in my Etsy shop, and the net proceeds from the sales will benefit my 3-Day for the Cure Walk fundraising efforts.

These pendants are also currently for sale in my Etsy shop. All proceeds from these will also go towards my 3Day fundraising, and even better, all these have FREE shipping! These pendants are lots of fun to make; the dominos are a fun shape, and not quite as small as the scrabble tiles. I've found it a bit difficult to find patterned paper on a smaller scale that looks good when trimmed to these sizes (1x2 inches and 3/4 inch), but that's what makes it a challenge!

I've been featured in an Etsy Treasury!

One of my items was featured today in an Etsy treasury!! yay!! and I actually had enough time to get a screenshot of it-- lol!! (my item is circled in the photo below) my item (click here to be taken to the listing for it) is a cute little vintage book about a moth's life cycle... I found a handful of really nice vintage children's books a while ago in the Goodwill store, and I had to rescue them from languishing on the shelf.

The second pic shows the entire treasury... there are some beautiful things included! You can click on this link to go to the Etsy treasury page to look at it for yourself. KatrinShine is the nice seller who featured me; her store is here. And don't forget that right now, all pendants in my shop have FREE SHIPPING, and that all summer, proceeds from the sale of handmade items will help support my 3-Day for the Cure walking fundraising and breast cancer research efforts.

it is so worth it!!

Last Friday was our team fundraising event "Pink & Black for the Ta-Ta's." It was a frantic couple weeks, trying to get everything ready, and I was really frazzled leading up to it. The night before, I got totally overwhelmed from all the running around and staying up late to get things done. Tom gave me a hug and said "just remember, you're doing this for all the people who can't." I said (okay, I sorta whined), "that's great advice-- where did you come up with it?" He replied, "YOU wrote it- I got it from your 3-Day blog!!" (awww, both for that comment, and for the fact that he does read my blogs.)

Friday's fundraiser was a great opportunity to see this sentiment in person- the Pink Heals tour was there with their pink fire trucks (BTW, firemen who wear pink are hot!! lol!), we raised money for our walking team, celebrated with survivors, and honored those who have lost their fight with breast cancer. It was a very moving experience, and it was great to be a part of it. (for more information about the Pink Heals organization and the work they do via the Pink Ribbon Tour, you can click here.)

This woman (I'm sorry I don't know her name) lost her daughter to breast cancer in March. She actually found her daughter's name on the fire truck and got to sign hers next to it.

This truck is absolutely covered in names and tributes, which is kinda scary, when you think about it. We (as a species) have the intellectual ability to send people to the moon, invent all sorts of technology to make our lives "easier," and we spend billions of dollars on space exploration, the military, etc. yet we still haven't found a cure for this disease, or so many others out there. I'm glad to do my part.

(Plus, I was on my feet running around ALL DAY long, so I'm counting it as training!!) :D

(all photos were borrowed from the Pink Heals facebook page, which can be found here, for those of you who are on Facebook.)

the rest of the story (in pictures)

the pic below is why it was hard to spell last night...

this is our newest cactus-- Murray brought it over yesterday when he came to finish up the framing... he showed Tom a pic of it, asked if we wanted it, and Tom said, "heck, yeah!" I think Murray may have said what kind it is, but I don't remember... he DID say it came off a plant in his yard that was over 7 feet tall, and a really nicely grouped specimen.

I love the look of it, with the wavy pleats... Murray also said his gets very large, white, night-flowering blooms that are very attractive to moths, bees, and hummingbirds. Now, we just have to wait for it to settle in and grow!

t05- a weekend in pictures

5tthe weekend in pictures-p0oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo the framing for the patio877 screen-porch project is done- next, we need to paint, then her put up the screen. I can't wait!! (the flies were in full force today, since there was a weather system moving thru.

Butters was exhausted, from being mad at the kitten. She loves this afghan. (so do I; it was a lap robe my Grandma crocheted years ago, and it stays on "my" chair in the living room.

and this is how Ariel prefers to relax- I told you she likes to cuddle up right in the crook of a shoulder! It's pretty nice, until she starts kneading her paws on your neck, then does some serious relaxing with play-biting on the nose area... cute, but a bit painful. (and all those misspellings?? those are because she's feeling much better, and is trying to chase the cursor across the screejn. lol!!)jjjjm

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bye!!vgfffffffff

l;.

"""""

I keep finding the best stuff for inspiration, lately!

you HAVE TO go to The Pleasure of Tiny Things and check out this woman's work. She carves CRAYONS into tiny little pieces of art!! (go now, I'll wait till you check it out.)

oh, and I think I must buy some plastic canvas to try making some of these pendants, from Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod.

in other news, I am so glad it's Friday-- I have been up late for the last three nights for various reasons, and am really looking forward to being able to sleep in at least one day this weekend. (getting up at 5 am stinks in general, but it really stinks when you're up till midnight or after.)

This book is waiting for me at the library- I can't wait to read it. (and to look at the pictures!!!)

like graphic design?? mid-century illustration??

...then you need to check out the grainedit.com blog and and flickr page. Be sure to read the story about the mid-century advertising posters that were just discovered in the London Underground!!

in kitty news, Tom decided when he got home from work that Ariel sounded so miserable, he ended up taking her to the vet yesterday afternoon instead of waiting till Friday (he's such a softie!! )-- so now, she gets to take lysine "goop" to boost her immune system, will get antibiotic cream in her eyes (once I fill the prescription), and it was suggested that running the vaporizer would help her congestion. It did seem to help (we shut her in the bathroom last night with it running), but Tom said that when he let her out this morning there was so much moisture in the air , he couldn't see!! (we'll probably turn it down just a bit tonight.)

the vet said she is a bit skinny for her age, but hopefully with lots of love, attention, and plenty of food, we'll take care of that, too!!

if you love paper, you have to check out...

...this blog on paper quilling. Some of the completed project photos are amazing!! Yet another thing I could very easily get sucked into!! (at least the paper and supplies are small, though, right??)

I would love to go...

here and spend the day exploring through the dusty stacks and piles of books, and relax in an over-stuffed armchair with a couple cats sitting in my lap. (wanna come with??)

our new kitten is doing pretty good-- she doesn't flinch at all any more when the dogs snurfle her. (like she smells any different than the last time they smelled her, three minutes before-- I don't get that at all, but I guess it's a dog thing?!?)

Butters still doesn't like her (no surprise there) but she will come pretty close before finally hissing and spitting. Butters has also asserted her dominance by eating from her food (which she definitely doesn't need) and using her litterbox, but the kitten doesn't really care; she's too busy checking everything out and being cute.

her cold isn't getting any better: she is still sneezing quite often and has greenish-yellow goop in her eyes, so she will be going to the vet on Friday for a check-up.

we decided to keep her name, but change it slightly (it was too difficult to think of a different "super-clever-but-still a-bit-cute" name, and the one she had was pretty good, just a bit too pretentious), so now she is Ariel instead of Arielle.

a busy weekend

so much for my plan to sleep late yesterday! :D Tom and his friend Murray started in on a much-anticipated home-improvement project yesterday morning, about 6:30 am... (since the forecast was for 105+ temps, an early start was necessary!) They worked till about 12:30, when they ran out of 2x4s, but they got a nice start on the framing to screen in the back patio. Next week the plan is to finish the framing, then we have to paint everything before putting up the screen. Next weekend they'll finish up the framing, then we'll paint the wood to match the house before putting up the screen and trim pieces. This will be really nice once it's done-- no more flies or mosquitoes to worry about, and the pets can lounge out here without having to keep an eye on them, like when they're in the yard. (and we would, too, cause even though the wall is approximately 6 feet high, Butters has already jumped to the top and over it!)

and, meet our new kitten!! Yesterday after Murray and Tom quit working on the patio, Tom and I headed into Phoenix to the Arizona Animal Welfare League, to look at kittens. There were plenty (it's still kitten season), but we were on a mission for one that would be able to stand up to the dogs-- after checking our a few of them, we brought home this adorable gray tabby girl.

She's so tiny-- this picture shows a good comparison, since she's sitting next to the camera bag, which isn't very big. She likes to climb; she's already figured out how to jump up into the window, up onto the kitchen chairs (and table). She certainly has held her own against the dogs, too-- they were very interested in her, and there was some hissing, but she held her ground and took a couple swipes at them, which is a good thing, in my opinion. (I wouldn't even mind if she had connected-- that would make them think twice about messing with her!)

This pic shows just how tiny she is... the only collars they had at the grocery store were for 8" - 14" and Tom made it as small as it would go. It's way too big, but it sure helps to have the bell jingling when she's wandering around-- especially she can get under and behind the furniture!

she's an adorable little kitty; too bad Butters doesn't think so! There was plenty of hissing and some swatting from Butters, and since then, she's pretty much ignored her. Hopefully she'll eventually come around. And have you noticed, I haven't said what her name is?? That's cause she doesn't have one yet... The shelter called her Arielle, but that just doesn't have a good ring to it, so we're on the hunt for a new one. So far, we're calling her "Kitty," but there's gotta be something better than that out there- it'll come to us (hopefully)!!

thank you all

...for your condolences on Pandora's passing. We knew it was the right thing to do for her, but why is the "right" thing so often the "difficult" thing?? And now we need to do the right thing for Butters-- hopefully getting a kitten IS the right thing for her; not that we're diminishing Pandora's passing, but Butters really won't be able to handle being the only cat in a 2-Sheltie household. So we're going to check out the local shelter for fiesty kittens, and hopefully we will find one that can stand up to the dogs, and everyone will get along okay.

a wonderful 3-Day pick-me-up

Do Something Amazing A bit of inspiration about doing the 3-day walk that focuses on what you can do, not what you can't.