"Ummmmm...Help Me! I'm Buried!"

We've been  having a bit of "weather" here in the Pacific Northwest. It's really perty, but many of us just wish it would go away. Living at a higher elevation than the end of our short county road, we get from 2-5 additional inches at our house when it snows. I was taking these pics yesterday and when I imported them, I just had to laugh at this one. My poor car (notice the license plate) seems to be saying...

"Ummmmm....Help Me! I'm Buried!!!"

How pretty are these icicles hanging off the eaves...

And the trees are decorated with "Fir Frosting" ;-)

This is the "front pasture" view from the deck. Now, that's just what we've always called it. There IS no "back pasture." And, truth be told, since we don't actually have any farm animals, I'm thinking it isn't really a pasture anyways, LOL!

Wonderful Swap Package from CJ

Boy, it's been a busy week! Finally finding the time this morning to post about the terrific swap package I got from my good friend, CJ, in Oklahoma! Well, I guess I have some time on my hands this morning, because we have about 4" of that white stuff on the ground and more coming down as I'm typing this. So I'm thinking dinner will be whatever I can scrounge from the fridge and pantry! (I'm sure we won't starve.)

I can truly say CJ is a friend, because Aunt Pitty Pat and I got to spend time with her and her hubby, Ken, when I visited APP in Kansas last fall. She was such a gracious hostess-with-the-mostess, and Ken even took us all down to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building to view the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial - both breathtaking and solemn, especially at night.

But, back to the aprons! For Country Pleasurer's Valentine Apron Swap, CJ sent me this most fabulous apron package! Here's the VERY cute apron - I just love it! It even has heart-shaped pockets! 

But if that cute apron wasn't enough, CJ sent me.....

Not ONE...

...not TWO...

...but THREE!

Three of her most sought-after pincushions! I have been lusting after these pincushions since visiting APP and getting to use the ones that CJ sent her! And now I have THREE of my very own! They are soooo cute and soooo wonderful to use! I love love love them, CJ! And I have already loaded them up with pins! Thank you, Thank you!

But that's not all....here's the cutest ever little needle book. She says she made up the pattern herself - I love the little triangle flap on the left side and look - she machine-emroidered the felt pad with little hearts - such a sweet touch :-)

Here's the front: 

But wait! That STILL wasn't all! She also sent me another beautiful Mug Rug! Probably because I've told her that I am using the one she sent me for Christmas as a candle mat, year-round, in my kitchen ;-) Ain't it pertty?

 

Thank you, CJ! You spoiled me but I'm so glad you did!



Flirty Apron Swap - My Package from Shareen

I got a lovely swap package from Shareen in Shawnee's latest Flirty Apron Swap. Here's a link to the post on the FAS blog. Thanks so much, Shareen for a great swap package full of goodies and a beautiful apron!

Tiny Beads - Big Impact!

My hubby "mall walks" every weekday morning, and he has made a lot of friends since he started seven years ago. They do get lots of healthy exercise...but after about four trips 'round the mall, they sit at tables in the food court and drink coffee, "critique" the shoppers passing by, and tell each other really bad jokes. They know the details about every store moving in or out, and even help the mall staff by pointing out hazards observed while on their morning trek. They even have "assigned seating" - they've been occupying the same places at the tables for so long that no one better sit in someone else's usual spot, or there'll be heck to pay, LOL! On Wednesday, one of his mall-walking friends, June, brought in these earrings she made for him to bring home to ME! How lucky am I!!!

Now, it's hard to tell from the picture, but June uses the TEENIEST, TINIEST beads to make these earrings! I can barely see them, let alone imagine how hard it would be to make something with them! My hat's off to her and what must be her Superman-like vision! They are just so adorable, and when hubby brought them home, I immediately put them on and trotted out the door to have lunch with friends and got several really nice comments on them! Thanks so much, June - for the earrings AND for putting up with hubby's bad jokes. Ok...I guess I do have to admit that SOME of the bad jokes are ones that I find on the Internet and print out for him to bring to the mall and share :-)

Move Over, Malibu Barbie..."Post-It Note Ken" is Here!

Some Spring cleaning in February rooted out some mysterious finds, the most bizarre of which was a small blue plastic tub in the bottom of a closet. It held miscellaneous small toys that my mom (gone 13 years now) “collected” (think: treasures dropped by crying children in the Safeway parking lot) for those odd times when she was visited by guests with small children needing to be occupied in hopes they wouldn’t prey upon her coveted Lenox figurines while the adults drank tea out of Royal Albert china cups and saucers and ate frozen Christmas cookies in July, pulled from the freezer for just such occasions.

We went through the tub, pulling out a mish-mash of Legos and Duplos, My Pretty Pony and Polly Pocket accessories, a gaudy plastic necklace, and two wild-haired, naked Barbies. Ok, one of them wasn’t quite naked, but scantily-clad (or entangled) in an iridescent, floofy boa – where’s a stripper pole when you need one? And then….at the very bottom...was what we instantly dubbed “Post-It Note Ken.”

Ken's (non-existent) man parts were swathed in bright green 3x3s, his left arm raised in what must be "The Post-It Note Salute." One can only wonder who felt compelled to dress him - armpit-to-crotch - in sticky notes, and more importantly, WHY?

One final word, Ken - Stay outta those tanning booths!

Flirty Apron Swap - Here's What I Sent!

I was in Shawnee's  "Be My Cutie Pie" Flirty Apron Swap. I must say, I had a hard time finding suitable fabric. We have two quilt shops, and NO Valentines fabric in one, and just last week the other got ONE bolt, which I didn't care much for. JoAnn's had a bit more, but still a small and unsuitable selection. I did find this 60s retro fabric which I thought was very cute and seemed appropriate to the theme - I'm using 60s here as "vintage" ;-) I paired it with some Michael Miller dot and some white-on-white from my stash. I used the Vanilla House Four Corners Apron pattern, but added a white ruffle to the front point and pocket to "girlie" it up a bit.

 

Here's a closeup of the pocket ruffle:

 

I added a matching potholder and tea wallet including the same ruffle trim, plus a Seattle Chocolates Rainer Cherry Chocolate Bar and a Valentines rubber scraper. The pink "paint" can is empty in this picture, but you'll see it filled with cookies in a minute...

 

Here's a closeup of the tea wallet outside:

 

And inside:

 

I made a cute fabric tag for the paint can - I'm loving using the ink jet printable fabric sheets!

 

Here's the can with cookies, and a retro tea towel I tucked in to satisfy the vintage item requirement.

 

Adam's GF, Katie, modeling the apron. The pic didn't turn out too well - bad lighting, I guess, but she's a REAL Cutie Pie :-)

Giveaway - Two Frog Home

Two Frog Home has a giveaway for what looks like a great companion planting book. I hope I win! Run on over there and check it out:
Soil Mates: A Review and Giveaway