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Archives |
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Saturday ~ December 1st
Happy December!
In honor of a brand new month, I thought I should get back to the "Where in the World is Carrie" contests, so click here to get you to this month's contest. I hope the picture clue isn't too obvious, we'll see.
It's going to be nuts around here next week so I'm really enjoying a relaxing day today. I've done almost nothing all day & I think it's time for a little soak in the hot tub as a reward (ha!). |
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Sunday ~ December 2nd
Wild At Heart & Serengeti Soul ~ auctions ended, thank you.
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Monday ~ December 3rd
I was walking by the kitchen window yesterday when this Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker startled me. It's quite an exciting experience when you're not expecting it & you see something like this eating away just outside the window (thanks Pat for the suet bag!). Despite the fact that I took a gazillion photos, it was dark out & I didn't have the flash on, so this is the best shot. Here's a better photo of a flicker. We also had some Bohemian Waxwings zoom in yesterday to eat the berries from our Mountain Ash. And this morning I looked out the window to see two hares sitting out in the yard, digging through the snow looking for something. One of them had the biggest ears I've ever seen! Lots of activity I suppose because it's so cold outside.
I was up a little too early today & now I'm feeling a little sluggish, but I've got to shovel the walks before yoga, so I best bundle up & head out. The riddle contest is below, keep scrolling down for the link. And I'm hoping to post some more beads for ebay, but probably not until next week as we have another jewelry show this Thursday & I have to concentrate on that. But I would like to offer some Heart beads soon so stay tuned.
Have a wonderful Monday! |
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Wednesday ~ December 5th
On the subject of birds (last post), my mom sent me this email with the subject heading:
"How to tell if you're mom's favorite?"
I nearly spit my coffee out when I looked at this. But now I'm wondering if mom just sent this to me or to my brother too? Is that me being squished or being fed? Is this a secret code mom, do you like me best? Hmmm...
And on the subject of young ones, here's a really cute video. Man, the fun you can have ripping up a magazine, who knew?
I've been insanely busy, what was I thinking that things would calm down & I would have hours & hours of free time? I'm not sure where the days go, but someone is up & stealing them on me.
We're having a very informal open house tomorrow night, I sent off an email to everyone on the mailing list - it's for those last minute goody gifts, ya know, or if your friends are jealous of all your sparkly jewelry & want some for themselves. We don't have a ton of stuff, but we have been working on some new items like pendants & wraps, so email me if you want the details.
O.k. time to make beads. |
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Friday ~ December 7th
The World of Etsy
This year, I've spent some time searching the internet for cool gift ideas. Etsy is a wonderful resource for handmade crafts. And here's some other things I think are great:
Little Bunny Follows His Nose ~ when I was a kid, I collected every scratch & sniff book out there. They don't print too many of them anymore, but this was one of my favorites.
Changing the Present ~ very cool idea for charitable gift giving.
Shocking Beauty ~ the companion to The Jewel Box Garden, which is a fabulous, beautiful book for any gardener.
Tea Stick Infuser or Tea Skewer
I love this Trucker from Queen Bee, but they also have Banner Bags, which are ecofriendly - cool!
Palmistry Poster or Reflexology Socks
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Tuesday ~ December 11th
Rocket Bird
I forget a couple of things on that Christmas list like the t-shirts at Threadless which are quite humorous & they have a sale on until the 16th so get them while they're really cheap! The picture above is of a shirt I have. I love this bird, he's an ingenious timesaver but Chris reckons he uses a rocket pack because he's lazy ~ you be the judge.
I love this Indoor Compost, does anyone have this & if so, can you tell me about it? It seems too good to be true.
This is the mailbox I want for our place. I'm torn between the black one & the bronze one. Black because our siding is grey with black trim, but that bronze "looks" like it has a purple tinge to it which I think would be quite cool, hard to decide when you can't see them in person. I also love most the antique mailboxes on eBay, but they don't seem too practical for the size of mail that arrives here regularly & I don't think they really go with our house, but I am considering putting one on my garden shed next year in the hopes that some love letters end up in it (*hint, hint Chris*).
We had a wonderful weekend, including a night out to see our friend Marie Josie sing at The Blue Chair cafe. I've never been there before, it's casual & open & the food is pretty good. Of course Marie Josie has such a magical voice & she plays the accordion, something you don't get a chance to hear too often, so it was a total treat.
We also had our friends from Airdrie, Tricia & Mike in for a very brief visit. They came up for a little holiday cheer & to go to the Santas Anonymous auction that we go to every year. It's held at a pub in town & it's run by another friend's dad who is a retired cop. He works on it for months & months & it's just such a great time & such a worthy charity to support, all proceeds go to make sure the less fortunate children in this city have toys on Christmas.
On Sunday, Chris & I went to the Vinyl Cafe & boy was that a wonderful time! Have you ever listened to Stuart Mclean? He tells these fabulous stories on CBC radio that are filled with clever, clean humor & he tours around Canada doing live shows. He brings with him Canadian musicians that have small sets in between his stories & he's very interactive with the audience. Check out his tour dates & see if you can make one, it's totally worth it. We topped off the evening & the weekend with a delicious dinner at a new Indian restaurant in town.
I'm back to work, I've cleaned up my studio & will be making beads this week. |
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I don't know how it happened, but my cats match the furniture. Remember Maggie Ball? That's Nu, my other kitty, relaxing in the sun, looking all blended in with the chair & that's a beautiful poinsettia that Chris brought home for me the other day. It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here. We have our tree up ~ this is only the second year that we've had a tree so it's still surprisingly exciting. I've finished all the Christmas shopping & I've wrapped everything & they're all under the tree. I honestly can't believe how much I've gotten into the Christmas spirit this year ~ it's very strange for me.
I've had just a superb week, catching up on things that I've put on the backburner due to our busy season. That said, I haven't had much time to make beads, but the beads that I have been making are in the style of Luxor. I made some similar to these a couple of weeks ago & was going to post them for sale here but we did a last minute open house so I "donated" them to my mom to make jewelry. They are fast becoming the most requested beads ever! I have a plan brewing in my head so that all of you interested can get your hands on some... stay tuned for that.
I started a new book which, even though I'm only a few pages in, I think is going to be excellent. It's called How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci. Have any of you read it out there? Thoughts, comments? Any books from 2007 that you can recommend?
This is what I'm making for our annual Aurora Borealis Fireflies (Bead Group) Christmas party tonight. They're pretty simple to do & more delicious than you could possibly imagine. The first time I made these for Chris as a surprise snack when he came home from work, he was over the moon about them. Try it out, they're really tasty-tasty. |
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Monday ~ December 17th
Can you spot Maggie? She's camouflaged herself as a present under the tree!
Chris & I went to a party this weekend & we brought bacon cookies, not even kidding (thanks Rosanna for the link). Problem was almost every guest at this party was a vegetarian. If YOU, however, like bacon & want to try something different & are going to be around bacon eaters, than I recommend making these. But don't bring them to a party of vegetarians because vegetarians are not amused by such shenanigans.
I will be showing some beads for the offering here this week some time. Please be patient, I finally started the massive project of converting my archives into publishable books. It's totally got me sidetracked & is so much fun but takes forever, I'm still on the year 2004.
By showing this, I'm revealing two of my dirty, little secrets (yes, I love Shatner & WoW, there I said it, please still like me). Oh & Mr. T is pretty funny too! |
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Thursday ~ December 20th
Yesterday's sunrise
I have some Luxor beads but I'm not completely ready to go with my plan for them & things are getting a little hairy around here, so I'm not sure what will transpire in the next few days... I'm sure you're all very busy anyway getting ready for Christmas & what not.
Chris starts his holidays tomorrow. He's so excited, he's been singing little countdown songs to me all week. Speaking of "singing", my cat Maggie is howling away in the hallway & banging around chasing imaginary bugs or something. She has a little mid-afternoon freak out every day lately, I think she's just antsy for summer & being outside with the butterflies? Heck, the first day of winter isn't until the 22nd... those butterfly chasing days are awhile away. Do any of you notice your cats go a little nuts during the winter?
My mom, my friend Tamye, her daughter McRae & I went to feed the birds yesterday morning. It was quite chilly down in the creek valley & though the chickadees, nuthatches & juncos were surrounding us, they were too shy to come for a nibble in our hands. We'll try again in the new year.
Last night Chris, mom & I went to the Legislature Grounds & walked around looking at all the lights. I like to go every year just to ramp up the Christmas spirit. Afterwards, our "new" friends Mike & Nancy who had us over for Champagne, Glogg & treats (thanks for the great time!).
It's been a nice wind up to Christmas for sure. Hope you're holidays start soon, if you're not already on them. |
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Monday ~ December 24th
Snow Moose photo courtesy of Trailtribes
One last riddle clue here, get your answer in if you haven't, I'll be drawing the winner's name January 2nd ~ good luck!
We are off to visit family for the next couple of days. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas! |
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Friday ~ December 28th
Howdy! I'm being so lazy that I'm not even bothering to put a picture up here & I don't even want to talk about how long it's been since I've torched... what can I say?
Chris & I have been visiting with family, doing a wee bit of shopping & we've watched the entire first season of Heroes. Today I went for a facial & for lunch with my mom & tonight, Chris & I are off to see The Golden Compass (finally).
It's been fun, but I am looking forward to getting back to a routine in the new year.
I received some really thoughtful & wonderful presents this year including a gift certificate to buy a guinea pig as I've been mentioning wanting one for a little while, but now that the possibility is there I'm kind of scared. I don't know how that's going to go down with my kitties. Do any of you out there have cats & guinea pigs living in harmony? Heck, do you have guinea pigs & do you like them (email me if you have any comments)? I just think they're so darn cute. |
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Sunday ~ December 30th
Hoarfrost on the Spruce trees ~ Goldbar Park
It's been stunningly beautiful outside lately. We've had lots of fresh snow, but no wind so it's all deposited on the trees like pure sugar piled up on each & every limb, coating them with sparkle & making everywhere you look seem like an enchanted fairyland. And the Bohemian Waxwings have been collecting together & sweeping above in the sky, making a sweet trill as they go. I just realized, as hundreds of them flew over me today, that their trilling is the exact same sound Maggie makes when she purrs.
Wishing you a safe & fun New Year's Eve & all the best in 2008.
I'll be back in a couple of days. |
