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Tales from the dog side!





Hello!  I know that my new Mom has told you all about getting me.   After being called  "girl'' for a few days my new Dad decided to give me the name Rae. Mom slips up and calls me Girl sometimes but I don't care.  She's older and I've heard they have trouble with things like memory sometimes. She seems to be nice, most of the time.  She has yelled at me and gotten this sound in her voice that seems a little angry.  It happens when I pee or poop on her floor.  I think I belong to the man who is my new dad because I hear Mom say,  "he's your puppy'',   "you wanted a new dog...well, she needs to go out...NOW!''

I'm busy getting to know my new home.  There's lots of things to chew on. When Mom and Dad aren't looking I really go for these long wire looking things.  Mom is always telling me, "NO NO...that will shock you''! I wonder what shock means...hope I found out...sounds like fun!  Our house has these two long pieces of furniture that Mom calls a sofa or couch. I love to lay under there.  Dad thinks I'm hiding and that I like a cool dark place to nap.  Well... really, I saw all this dust on the floor that Mom must have trouble reaching and I thought it was the least I could do...my fur makes  really good dust mop!

They are constantly saying my name.  Come Rae, don't Rae, let's go Rae, Rae are you hungry? Rae, do you want a drink?  Really?  Do they think I'm so stupid that I can't remember my name already? I'm sick of it and I've only had it a few days.

Oh well,  I do like it here. I get to sleep inside and I do get plenty to eat and even a treat now and then.  
I hear talk that I'm going to get a sister soon...that sounds like fun...

What is a sister?  Wonder if it's the same thing as  "shock''?

Company!



I pulled out my volume of Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged printed in 1957.  Wine red in color and containing two huge volumes of words, the books were rescued by Hubby Honey from the trash...grabbed because of the date of my birth, 1957, and knowing that I would want to have them.  These books are kept close at hand as I work on the computer.  Yes, I have spell check and the dictionary through the web, but I love thumbing the pages of paper to look up a spelling or meaning.

Sorry, got sidetracked.  The word "company" has a long list of meanings.
" 9. a guest or guests; a visitor or visitors."

I have company coming!  My BFF from TN is on her way!  Packing her car as I type this and will be here either tonight or in the early evening tomorrow.  She is coming a couple of days earlier than planned and I can't wait.  I hope you are like me and have at least a few of those very special friends in your life that will come to your home and not care in the least that:
a. floors need to be swept & mopped
b. sheets washed and put back on the bed
c. frig could stand a good cleaning out
d. guest bath spiffed up
e. furniture dusted
f. laundry done

I have a few of those kind and they are my favorite!

She'll be here soon...and we'll catch up on everything 
except...

CLEANING!

New arrival!


We are  proud  parents,  I meant to say owners, of a new baby girl.  She is a mix of grey, black, brown and a touch of white.  She has four legs, is six and a half weeks old and was delivered to us last night.  I use the term  " us'' loosely as Hubby Honey is out of town which leaves  "little girl'' and me to ourselves. 

As you have guessed, we are a  "dog's as pets'' family.  When the children were young an  "outside'' dog was permitted.  You could NOT have one IN the house.  You might get hair everywhere, have pee on the floor, end up cleaning  poop from places you'd rather not even think about, yes...even kids will do those things too! But, somehow it was different if it came from the children...at least a little bit.

Anyway, our daughter and youngest, developed a really rare and difficult disease while in her early teens and after her first surgery she was given a Boston terrier puppy. Our first, stay in the house dog.  Do you know, all those dreaded things happened.  Hair, pee and poop!

Strange though, so did love, companionship, loyalty, entertainment, conversation, (Hubby claims I'm a dog whisperer...so, beats talking to the wall!)  and just an all around good thing!  He lives with her and her hubby now, and so...

 






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we have a new arrival! 

Another is expected in about four more weeks so that Hubby Honey and I will have a  "his and hers''...

When he leaves town I suspect that they will be mine and mine!

I feel a stirring under my feet...wonder if it's for pee, poop or a ready to play...

maybe... we just need to talk!

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $


Money!

Have any?  A lot?  A little?  Just the right amount...whatever that is?

I have on my mind this morning the cost of items we either want to purchase or sell.  You make a decision in either case...how much money am I willing to pay or how much money do I want to make!

As a seamstress, I am faced with the question, How much?

" OH!  I LOVE THAT...how much is it?'' answer is given and then you get "OH! Okay!''  see 'ya!

If you are looking at a product that has been handmade, it's ONE of a kind, the quality is EXCELLENT;

then count the cost...

time

materials

equipment

idea

All of the above factors into the cost of an item.  Just the minimum time that I have in a weekender travel bag that I'm making now is 11-15 hours!  To make each bag unique takes time.  To give it the quality you want and deserve takes time.

If you want the same thing that everyone else has and you want it cheap...

Shop WalMart!


From a little...comes much!


Before I got sidetracked by the need for a new email, I had plans to show you some projects that have been taking place in my nest. The following will let you see the wonders of a little time and some velcro! 


If you are like me and need to use every inch of space for storage, but don't like the way it looks,then...


take any fabric, or in my case, the skirt of a dress bought at a garage sale and a shirt found at the thrift store sack sale ...





and hide it!!!

Yes...I know,  someday, I must address the issue of the clutter that hides beneath...

Just like the bodies that hide underneath our clothes, I don't have to look at it while waiting on the day of ...Oh! that's perfect... to come.

 You don't sew?  Okay, no big deal.  You can use the iron on products that are available to  "hem'' your fabric and attach trim, then use the sticky velcro to attach the curtain.

Happy hiding!

Wonders never cease...



Wow!   I sit here in shock!


I logged on to my blog account this morning to compose a post about the clever, new tidiness of my sewing room, complete with pictures.

Well, due to changing our email address recently, I could not access my log in.  In the past this would have promted a panic phone call to my computer whiz BFF.  But, due to her patient teaching and encouragement in the past...thank you Teresa...I managed to cick and follow and click and ( call Hubby Honey, but only for email addie info) follow and behold...there I was...done!  I had replaced my old address and logged in with a new one and hadn't lost anything!  


I am amazed, proud, encouraged and Yipee...excited!

Wonder if Bill Gates has any openings?













Excitement!!!!!!!


ex.cite'ment, n. 1. the act of exciting or the state of being excited;  according to Mr. Webster.

When I was growing up, Christmas was a really BIG deal!  We got excited weeks in advance and could not wait for Santa to come. You couldn't sleep, it was all you thought about and all you talked about...esp. with four sister's under one roof!  Even after the  "truth'' of Santa's identity came out it never diminished the excitement.  We have Mom to thank for that...!  So...thank you Mom!

I am FULL of that kind of excitement now!  

Why?

Well...my TN BFF is leaving her house at the end of this month and heading west to my house.  We will then load my stuff in her car and head to my BFF who lives in NW AR  for days of fun. 

We will talk, talk, talk and then talk some more...subjects?...  oh, they won't matter, just the chatter and sound of our voices will be enough for me.  We'll have a day trip to Eureka Springs and will tour  Mrs. Quigley's home and grounds.  http://www.quigleyscastle.com/    We will take tons of pictures and come home with awesome ideas for our own yards and gardens...I can hear the hubbies groaning already!  We will walk the streets for miles, stop to rest on a park bench, eat ice cream and watch the people go byWe will gather and store hundreds of memories to bring home and save for a rainy day. 

Another day will be spent at the famous Fayetteville Farmer's Market. On the our way, we will keep well trained eyes wide open and on the lookout for garage/treasure sale signs!  We'll walk the aisles at the Health Food store and stock up on supplies for home-made granola!  C and I will listen closely to T as she patiently tries to teach us to have and to live, healthier lives!  http://www.goodlivingathome.com/ 

I'm feeling just a little sorry for T's hubby!  Bless him...three fifty something teenage women in his house for ...well, maybe we shouldn't say just in case he reads this and gets cold feet about allowing us to come!

My friends...through thick and thin!

Excitement...doesn't even begin to cover it!




Nest Builder!


Just had an  "a ha!'' moment!  One of those...never thought of that !  I love those moments.  They can be serious, fun, or simply, Oh...okay!

This one is in the fun and oh...okay department.

I'm a nest builder!  I love to arrange and change and dream of arrange and change.  Drives certain members of my family crazy ( if I ever get a daughter-in-law I must warn her)!

My "a ha'' moment happened this morning while cleaning the kitchen...I know...sometimes it's really weird...those ''where did that come from''!  Anyway, I'll get on with it.  I realized that I have been a nest builder all my life. As a child of the late fifties and the oldest of four girls, we were raised in the era of playing outside just about all the time that the weather permitted.  One of my all time favorites was to make pine straw houses!  Did you do that?  Oh, the homes we built!  We would take the rake and our hands and rake the straw into the outline of walls complete with doors and windows.  Huge homes that covered the yard.  No going  "over'' the wall to come inside, you had to step through door openings only.  I wish I knew how many houses and how many hours were spent in that play.  I don't remember a lot of T.V. watching.  I'm sure we did our share but it must not have had the appeal that a pine straw house did because that's the memory I have.

Along with...

Bag Swings,
Monkey bars, 
An empty oil drum that my Dad removed the bottom and top from and was  climbed on and in and ''walked'' like a circus performer all over the yard...miles of fun!
Barbies that were sewn for and had houses that were kept arranged and changed!

I'm a nest builder and always will be.  And that's okay!

We've taken some  "nothings'' and made some really cute ''somethings'' and I'll share those with you soon!





Green grass!


I need you to do something for me...

Stand...legs straight...bend at the waist until your elbows touch the floor and rest on your forearms...stretch your neck as far forward as you possibly can...

Sound impossible? 

I'm sure a few of you are flexible enough to actually do this...me?  ...what do you think!



While making a "check the chickens run" last week I witnessed this feat!  A large bovine that belongs to the neighbor down the road, was  down on her front legs with her head stretched through the barbed wire reaching as far as possible for, what she thought was greener grass!  

I wanted to stop, roll down the window and yell..."hey! Stupid...look at your feet...your standing knee deep in beautiful, green grass...look...it's all around you."



I wonder...


How many of us are standing, knee deep, in blessings and still...we will stretch ourselves to the limit to attain more and more "stuff" when...if we would look down, up,and all around, we would see how green the grass is under our feet!