One neighbor's trash...

Is another neighbor's treasure!

I noticed a set of four chairs in my neighbor's front yard this afternoon. They were on the corner of the property, along with boxes of trash and piles of bush and tree scraps, waiting to be towed off by the garbage truck. The seat of the armchair is split right down the center, about an inch. But that's easily remedied. I don't really have a plan for the three side chairs, but I have a feeling the armchair is destined to be my art table chair for ever more.


I'm having a tough time deciding--should these all be painted the same color? If so, I'm thinking definitely black lacquer. If not, what color? If they're a color other than black, will they all be the same color? Coordinating colors? Three black side chairs and a neon yellow armchair at the drafting table?


I got four free chairs today! Ha!Ha! I get to make them look however I want! Ha!Ha! (Actually, I shouldn't rub it in, or you'll recommend something ugly!)

So as mentioned before, I cooked up the meatballs from the recipe that my Chelsea posted on her blog here. I must say, Carlton and I were both soooooo impressed! These meatballs were absolutely delish!

Unfortunately, because of my pitiful little excuse of a spice pantry, I didn't realize I was missing my jar of parsley until after I got back from the grocery store. I substituted thyme (a rosemary -slash- parsley tasting herb), and was very, very pleased with the end result! See this tiny box above my microwave? No room for hardly anything! And so hard to find stuff anyway, it's so high up and in the dark.

Here are my ingredients all mixed together and ready to be balled up and stuck in the hot oven. I have to admit, I used to turn my nose up at even breaking eggshells open over a bowl of cookie dough, so the fact that I'm squishing eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, and raw ground beef together with my bare fingers is pretty much a milestone.

All my happy little balls, lined up in perfectly straight rows, perfectly separated from their own neighbors from all angles:They're done! Carlton came in just a-sniffin' before I even asked him to log off Warhammer!!! "No more scenarios, babe, it's just about time to eat!"

I served these up plain style, with quick and easy Lean Cuisine pastas on the side. Since (my love and obsession) Fresh and Easy had Lean Cuisines on sale for $1.60 each, our freezer is jam packed FULL of these things. Carlton picked the ever-so-classy fettuccine alfredo while I stuck by my soulful mac-n-cheese. (*And both Carlton and I both agreed - our favorite part was the bottoms of the meatballs. I accidentally overcooked them by 1-2 minutes, and the bottoms had a delicious sort of burnt cheese crust that was di.vi.ne.*)

Vespa loved her meatball (and a few scraps we slipped her on the sly) so much that she had to rush to her emergency H2O rations that Carlton keeps on the desk, right behind her favorite napping spot on the sofa.

Full pup needs a nap! Just look at that fat tummy.

Chelsea, thanks again so very much for sharing this special family recipe with us all! This one's for the book. Oh, and you didn't warn us of the stank-butt burps we have as a result of this yummy goodness!!!

Peep! Peep!

This afternoon I got home from work and walked up to the front door... we're parking in the driveway and coming in through the front door because our garage door committed suicide again and I've been too lazy to call our "Repair Guy Dave" and have him come over to ghetto-rig it... again.

So anyway, I got home, and the Hubs and I talked over our days, and he decided a few minutes later to take a short nap while I got dinner ready. I decided I wanted to make a new something special for dinner tonight, and was excited about trying out Chelsea's MMM!'s (to be captured in blog format soon). Unfortunately, I didn't have two of the ingredients and decided to make a quick-like-lightening run for the grocery store. When I closed the door and started walking towards the car, I looked down and noticed a totally inconspicuous tiny little box against the support pillar near the sidewalk. Saunders Jones, Birmingham, AL. Carlton's granddaddy had sent something! We never know what crazy something will arrive next, and it's always fun to open the next little gift.

Something bright and pretty and colorful...

A "he" and a "she" for him and for me.
Two happy little peeps filled with bubbles for blowing!

My very own "Trisha Do" list

I've been shopping around and have found just a few projects I really want to accomplish this year. Most are, of course, knitting projects, but others involve other crafty endeavors. And some things are just things that I want, which will in turn lead to more projects to complete. I don't have any set timeline for finishing any of the projects, I just know that I've found quite a bit of new materials and inspirations and must chronicle them as they are checked off my list.

1) What started this was a simple internet search through a fantastic knitting "blog" site I am a member of - actually, I'm more of a silent stalker. I don't post there, haven't presented any projects there, but have found lots of great knits and have been very inspired. My very own Desert Rose was a pattern purchased from the site, so it's obviously a trustworthy place to shop around. Lots of knitters post at Ravelry.com and tell how easy or hard a project is, share their likes and dislikes about the patterns, and even offer their own custom changes to many knits. So, I found this summer sweater that I'm head-over-heels for, and absolutely must knit.

It's very me, with some white linen pants and yellow flats... for some reason. I followed links for search for the original pattern to the sweater and found myself at this site where the pattern is located. Along with the pattern to the sweater I was originally searching for, I also fell in love with at least half the other pieces and have decided that this book is most definitely number one on my list of things to do this year.

2) Not only am I a silent stalker on Ravelry, but my Ravelry silent stalking was a spill-over effect from the same silent stalking practices here on blogger.com. I know, I know. I have been embarrassed to actually click the "follow" button on so many blogs, I have just bookmarked them and check them as often as I read up on my regularly "followed" blogs. One of these blogs was a recent find, and I am so obsessively all about backtracking and reading up on every single one of her knits! She knits a lot, and for her little baby girl niece as well as her two yorkie pups. And for herself, of course. As I was backtracking and looking at older posts of hers, I came upon this post with these:

My house will be littered with these... in jars, on shelves, in bowls... for the rest of my life, and you can count on that. I. Must. Make. These.

3) I want a special, nice, light birch or golden olive wood box to hold handwritten recipes. I want special recipe cards with embossed corners and my monogram in block letters centered at the top. It'll have its very own shelf in the kitchen, open without doors for easy access... but will be reserved for my hands only, and only for special occasions. I have no idea where this idea came from, but my mom has a special recipe box she refers to on only the most sacred of recipes - tea cookies, peanut butter cookies, pie crust, Christmas coffee cake. Some of the recipe cards are barely legible because they've been handled and used so many times, buttery fingers have moved them aside, flour has dashed across them. I want my own! In a very special box. On very special cards. Reserved for the very specialest of special recipes. And favorite recipes. I want holiday recipes and birthday cake recipes and old family recipes. I want to collect the recipes of those who are close and special to me, too. They'd all go in the box. Where will I find this box? Or, should I have this box made for me?

4) I need to have one of these rugs in my own home. I am in love. Wouldn't this one be perfect, simply butted up against an L-shaped sectional in a sort of nude-gray oyster color?

5) Knit a pair of socks in my size.

6) Knit a pair of house slippers.


7) Be a better player on this site.

8) Find someone who loves this hootin' sweater enough for me to make it for them, enough to wear it with pride and show it off exactly how it deserves to be shown. I love it, but I just can't see myself wearing it for some reason.


9) I want to organize my yarns, according to fiber, color, etc. in an open-front-open-back divided shelf like this one:


10) Figure out how the heck to make this bag for a few special ladies before 6 weeks have passed. Any help here?!?!!??

Poppin' parties, fun findings and hilarious happenings

Lately at work, there have been quite a few little pops of light that remind me why I love my job so much. On a regular basis, I play hostess to birthday parties for very little ones, middle little ones, and big little ones (this translates to average ages between 4 and 12). Pizza, pottery, cake, balloons, streamers, candles, and presents... just the way I like to spend my work days! Yesterday there was a small party of five girls ages 10 and 11, and they were so sassy and silly and prissy, and they welcomed me with open arms into their conversations and vogue-style pictures. Oh, these kids and their hats, pleated denim skirts, leggings, ballet flats, and feminine menswear vests. We were never so stylish when I was that age! Bold horizontal stripes are luckily a thing of the past. The Twilight DVD was the theme conversation of the two-hour ordeal.

Pottery painted during a birthday party:

Just a few days ago, as I was unloading a kiln of pottery from the day before, I came upon a small box that a man had painted. It was a box shaped like a treasure chest. Inside the lid of the box, the man painted, "Marry Me?" Oh, how sweet! I wish him all the best. Sadly, I left the studio and got all the way home before I remembered to take a picture, and by the time I was back at work the next day, he had already come by to pick it up.

And then there was last night. When working at a pottery shop, it becomes a semi-regular experience to hear a brand new, unpainted piece of pottery fall from a child's hand, or get knocked off a tabletop, or fall off balance from the shelf. Well, last night a t-rex dinosaur's movement-sensitive eyes spotted the movements of a young boy. His attempt at making a hasty attack resulted in an unfortunate fall from many stories (shelves) up, and he needed an immediate amputation of his left leg from the knee down. Poor guy! The surgical team (my comrade Nicole and I) were able to save the dino's life and give him a new life purpose - he is now a one-legged pirate dino, complete with a parrot on one shoulder, an eyepatch, and wooden leg. Needless to say, we had a tiny bit of time on our hands, and the little boy's heart wasn't nearly as broken in the end. Yaaaargh, mayteee!


Why do you love your job?

Where for art thou, green carnations?

Let's just say, I'm glad I wasn't holding my breath! It's now Sunday, and here are my results for the St. Patty's Day green carnations:


There's an overall vaguely green tint to everything, but nothing is really green. I have been holding out, waiting for a definite result, but nothing has really happened. The lavender, on the other hand, has taken well to the dyed water, and has a purpley-green color now. My mom suggested cutting the carnations one more time, and maybe even smashing up the stems a little bit on the cut end, to open them up even more to the water. I'll give that a try and try to keep you updated.

St. Patty's Day project

Carlton flew out of Sky Harbor this morning for a quick trip to Georgia. There's an interview at a company in Marietta that he's really interested in, and that's scheduled for tomorrow at 10:30. New suit? Check. New shirt and tie? Check. Lots of studying? Absolutely. So say your prayers, peeps!

I'm off work all day today, and have decided to make it a lazy day immersed in crafts and other fun projects. Nothing big or busy, just a little lazy fun. As I was watching Martha this morning I was entranced by some naturally spring green carnations she was building into a shamrock shaped arrangement and decided I wanted some green carnations for myself. Of course, those that grow green naturally are probably only found at lavish flower shops and specialty markets, and all I've got is a dinky grocery store floral section to choose from. That'll do; I'll just make my own.

Select a container first. I couldn't shy away from one of my favorites, a crystal wedding gift we received from some very generous neighbors. I use it regularly on the painted brick fireplace mantle, and love the contrast between the intricate glass and choppy white brick.



Fill the vase with water and flower food as well as a generous amount of green food coloring. I added some yellow into mine as well, to hopefully get more yellowy-green petals. I just don't like the plain green that food coloring gives you.



Pull a few unsuspecting plants from outside - fragrant lavender will be a nice compliment to the scent that the carnations put out, and any purple I can get is sweeeet! Some buds from the pomegranate bush for a bright pop of neon orange in the front, plus they'll bloom in a few days and be gorgeous with the green flowers. And some fat leaves from our bird of paradise plants that have yet to put out a bloom since we moved in, to fill in a bit of empty space in the back, and to push everything forward.



I've heard carnations will begin to show the food coloring as early as an hour in the colored water, so I'm going to try to keep an eye on them during the day and see how they react. Here they are at 12:30:


And again at 1:50, no visible changes yet. But stay tuned for more updates!


FINALLY! Below is the first inkling of green creeping up into these flowers, at 6:45 tonight!!!


Next projects on the list:

- finish my sundress for the cruise
- start Sister's sundress (at least cut the pattern)
- try to find something interesting to use my new kitchen rags for (you can see the edge of one of them in my "selection of vase" picture above)
- work on my Toula a bit more
- think of what I want to eat while Carlton's not here for a couple days (he limits my menu!)

Finally!

Yesterday all I did was whine and moan and groan and complain about having to go into work. I HATE working on Saturdays and Sundays! Luckily, there was a little surprise payoff for going in from 3-11 last night - Cynthia brought in the baby!!!

This was the first time I got to meet Lilly outside her momma's tummy, so I was very excited to see those tiny feet and that fuzzy little head! She was asleep when they first came in, and because I was working with a small line of customers, Patty (the studio manager) got to her before I could. But when I could finish with the customers I ran out to the MINI and grabbed the little purple baby blanket I worked so lovingly on for soooo. looooong! I have been driving around with it since Lilly was born, hoping I would be in the pottery studio just once when Cynthia stopped by with her. And this time, I was!

So I brought the baby blanket back in from the car and Patty had put Lilly back into her stroller because she had to work with some customers. It was my turn to get a picture with Lilly, and validate the blanket that I had knitted. Woohoo!!!

No worries, Katie and Saunders, I was not accosted by this tiny baby girl. No groping, no latching on, no attempts at suckling anything! All this baby wanted to do once I picked her up was cry. And cry, and cry, and cry. "Cynthia, she hates me," I whined. "No she doesn't, she's just cranky. Here, give her the bottle." Gave her the bottle and all she would do is spit it out and scream some more. Gave the baby back to Cynthia and grabbed the blanket. I was going to get a picture of this baby in this blanket no matter what! "Okay, Cynthia, I'm ready for her again. Here's my phone. Get a shot quick!" Cynthia gave me Lilly again and grabbed for the camera phone. I wrapped the blanket around Lilly the best I could and caught eyes with a customer in the back of the store, who was staring at me, an awkward employee holding a screaming baby. "Look at me! I'm holding a screaming Mexican baby!" For some reason, it was a funny comment. Who cares if she's Mexican? She's screaming! Make it all stop! Cynthia quickly got a picture through her own laughs at my comment and soon had to be on her way back home.


What a little grumpy pants! It was nice to finally get to meet Lilly, no matter how much she hated me at the time. Congratulations again, Mommy Cynthia!

Spring has sprung!

The weather here lately has been so unbelievably beautiful! There is a constant easy breeze. The high has been between 80-85 degrees. No clouds. Bright sunshine. Early sunrise. Late sunset. A moon bright enough to literally cast shadows.

As a result of the arrival of spring here in Arizona, our backyard has become a swarming blend of aromatic sensations! Our next door neighbor has a couple of orange trees in his backyard which hits up against the side of our backyard. Our three prized plants in our own backyard are magnificent - the French lavender is blooming like crazy, the rosemary bush is soft and fresh with new growth, and the pomegranate bush is putting out fruit with tons of quirky, tart juice inside. What a treat spring in Arizona is! No flowers, but these plants surrounding our yard sure are great.



From the desk on the back side of our huge great room, through the 6" gap we keep the sliding glass door open, across the yard and into our neighbor's yard, the orange trees have bloomed and that scent is the most pungent, sweet, honeysuckle-y scent I think I have ever smelled. And honeysuckle is by far my most favorite scent in the world, so you can be sure that I have been soooo happy lately! It floats all the way from their yard to my nose behind the computer desk inside. Heavenly. The lavender is blooming, but I'm doing some research tonight to see when it's best to clip it back to save most of the scent. I've heard it's best at a certain time after it has bloomed, but I'm not sure when. The rosemary is cooking right now on our dinner, which I'll share in a later post.

Does anyone know how to make soap at home? It would be such a waste to leave this lavender in all our windowsills and doorframes, which I am obsessed with doing, because it keeps scorpions out of the house. (We haven't seen any so far, but I'm not about to take my chances of an encounter with a spider with a butt tail stinger and crab claws!) Of course, there is plenty more than enough for the sills and frames, so I'm looking for other uses. Why not soap? I'm a little apprehensive about looking up internet recipes for this for some reason, because I can just imagine myself cooking up a purple soapy concoction in a huge pot in the kitchen and forever ruining my stainless/copper cookware as well as my spirit!


Would anyone like some freshly-clipped rosemary or lavender?

Vespa is hooked!

Not too much going on lately. Lots of cleaning. The repair guy is here working on a possessed garage door cable that snapped (fortunately, when the MINI was OUTSIDE the garage door because it was on the MINI's side of the garage where the cable snapped and the giant spring pulley thing busted loose). I've been knitting (of course!), and sewing (not-so of course, but more like, oh that's nice). Work for both Carlton and me has been nice lately.

This morning I was picking up all of this. It's the guts from a toy she recently terrorized, as well as a harness we put her in when we walk her (I like to call it her "underwire").


I heard two yelps of pain and terror coming from the back yard. I ran to the sliding glass door and opened it all the way (it was cracked open for the pup) and saw Vespa tangled in her own playtoy. This dog. Uh. She's always had this thing for hangers. She loves hangers! They're one of her most favorite toys she has and they're not even toys. She chews on the hook that wraps over your closet hanger bar thing, as well as the little hooks that hold onto those satin support strings inside sweaters and dresses. Well, because there's been so much cleaning going on, I've also been catching up on a lot of laundry. And, you know my complaints about myself, if I do one part of laundry I have to be able to do all of it including folding/ironing/hanging/putting away. So I've been doing lots of ironing. A few hangers ended up on the floor under the ironing board because they were tangled together and Vespa took this opportunity to take them to the backyard, apparently where - in her mind - they are off limits to me.



This is Vespa bringing a hanger through her slim opening of the sliding glass door. Sometimes it'll take her a good 5 minutes to turn it just right before it fits through those 6 inches. Check out that form! Looks like she does this a lot, huh?



Now here she is in all her backyard glory. The guts from an unsuspecting republican elephant squeaky toy (shoulda bought the donkey but I wasn't thinking this far ahead, or of this result!). She's working on a hanger in this picture, too. Can you find all six?


Her terrible little yelps of pain were because she had gotten stuck in a hanger. Head through the middle of the hanger, the hook was hooked around one of her back legs. When she moved her head the hook would dig into her "pup nugget" as we call it, her thigh, and it was hurting her. When she saw me rush around the corner and swish open the door she stood still until I could lift the hanger back over her head to set her free. At least she understands I'm coming to help her, so she didn't run away.


I got this picture later this afternoon. Not phased in the least! You can definitely see how the corner of the hanger could get over her head and the hook around her leg, huh? Dummy.


Poor little Puppa.

Guess who decided to show up!

So, you'd think cleaning out your car would result in everything coming out of it, right? A few straw wrappers, a jacket, a couple pairs of shoes, and, in my case, a few pottery pieces from work that are waiting to be glazed as well as a large bag full of pottery tools, clay, and an apron, which I carried to my pottery throwing class in Mesa a couple months ago.

By now, I'm sure everyone who knows me knows that I lost my beloved camera some time just after Saunders and Katie visited us in September. I wasn't so upset about the actual camera missing, but rather, the memory stick that was in the camera. The camera was going through some psychosis, or even worse, a bit of Alzheimer's, and didn't really function properly all the time. About half the time, when I turned it on, it would power on, open the lens, and then power off with the lens still extended and open. So, like I said, the camera wasn't really what I was missing. The memory stick was filled with great pictures, great memories, great experiences! And I lost it.

Well, as a result of cleaning out my car this afternoon for the second time since September, I actually found the damn thing. It had slid waaay up underneath the driver's side seat and decided to camp there for as long as I let it. I know! I actually found my camera!!! Here are just a few reasons why I was missing it so much:

Vicki and Grandmama visited us, and we drove upstate to see the Grand Canyon:

Grandmama treated us to a helicopter ride over, through, and around the Grand Canyon!

A pretty shot I captured as we stopped on our drive out of GC Park to check out the scenery:
A typical evening at the Jones house:
Saunders and Katie visited, and we had a great time at the UGA v. ASU game!
Got a little sun and had a lotta fun.And who could forget, the amazing Sedona car ride? I have a goal to take a road trip with Katie one day because of THIS RIGHT HERE. (Be sure to watch the entire video, at least twice! You'll miss a lot through your laughter if you only watch it once, I promise!)

So, needless to say, I am very happy to have been reunited with my good ole trusty Sony Cyber-shot. Hello, long-lost friend! Even though you've got some mechanical issues you've been good to me for a long, long time. Hello, long-lost pictures! I'm so glad to have you back, safe and sound.

Now, leave me alone about losing my camera! I knew that I had it all along, I just didn't know where. I told you it would show up some day!!!

If you ever find someone's lost camera, go to this website: I Found Your Camera. You could return a lost camera to its owner! I like to check this site when I think of it (not very often, probably a few times a year), and it's funny, happy, and "awwww" kind of feeling when a camera finds its true owner again.