Itchy-scratchy show

Summer flew by with lots of flower planting, porch painting, and house insulating getting done. I love summer, even all the bugs.

I've now gone into my fall "SAD" depression! I know what's coming- I dread & despise winter and it's dark cold pit of death. Gray skys for weeks on end, snow, ice. Ugh.

My life-sized Rainbow trout is being machine quilted. Can't wait to see it on a wall.

Other pieces I worked on this summer - a baby quilt for my sister's co-worker, finished hand-quilting a small log cabin & applique piece, painting on a another large wall piece- all illustrated. Lately I've been working on scrap piecing for a big quilt- part illustrated and part crazy patch-work, with lots of little things sewn on too. The patch-work colors are keeping me happy as I sew each night after my day job.

We are dealing with a minor flea invasion. My doggy & kitty are doing the itchy-scratchy dance, but we're getting the little buggers under control.

phrase of the day: "sketch everything & keep your curiosity fresh"
- John Singer Sargent

Don't forget to donate to your local animal shelter(s), and go to the
Animal Rescue Site and click on the purple button every day to give bowls of food to shelter pets. It's free!

~Namaste- Betsy

Back to Reality

Happy New Year!

Where did time go? Holidays over, inauguration day passed and time goes on and on.

This was a custom-made purse/bag for a co-worker's parental unit, for Christmas. It was loosely based on a popular designer's work, who the bag's recipient loves. (think "life is a chair of bowlies") Anyway, it has a few hidden surprises which I won't divulge. That's the fun of specially-made goodies. You personalize it for the owner so it becomes a talisman for them in a way. The lady loves it, I was thrilled to hear from her daughter and then her. I love to see someone enjoying a hand-made gift! I plan on making more styles, and selling them on this blog, and a few other web-sites. Email me if you are interested in purchasing.

Time to go make a batch of brownie biscotti with hazelnuts for my sweetie!

Colder than a well-digger's 'Arse

This picture is my life right now! (it's not my photo, but it could certainly be me in my house, and was too hilarious to pass up)

Winter is here and my house is cold. Seeing as it's 100+ years old, any insulation that it once had has long since turned to dust. We are lucky if the house stays at 60, forget about 68! The propane bills are as much as my mortgage payments! Time for space heaters kids! Sometime soon we'll be blowing in insulation, and insulating the crawl space.

Our girl Sammy had to have two teeth extracted last week due to cracks. She is ten years old so stuff happens to doggies at that age. My bank account is still in shock from the vet bill. She got to zip up to Chicago the day before, so the thrill of the car ride had not yet worn off yet! I knew she was fine, post-surgery, when the vet said she was "talking" to them.

I'm actually working on ART again! Yes, I believe somewhere in the dregs of my past blogging I mentioned I was an artist. In the last year or so it's been hard to say that. Everything was in my head, but I wasn't making time to DO it. I feel like I lost touch with that part of me and I can't take it anymore!!!!! Ahh, I feel better...

So now I'm making one of my quilted bags for a friend who's paying me. I also have a couple of other quilts in the works too. One will require lots of game pieces, so I've been scouring antique stores for old poker chips, dice and other little dodads.

Hey, more news on the Big Lebowsky! I recently watched one of the only shows on the idiot box worth watching- Ace of Cakes (my favorite!!) Duff and the gang made a giant 'Severed Little Toe' cake for a Big Lebowsky convention in Louisville.
It was gruesomely cool! I want a job at that company: just pure silliness!

Keep your little toes safe this winter kids!

Peace

Ike

Hurricane Ike brought a bad storm to our area last weekend, and wrecked havic on much of the Indianapolis area. With it came incredible winds, and blowing rain on Sunday afternoon. I had just returned from my sister's house when she phoned to say a tree fell in a yard behind her house and knocked out the whole street's electric lines. Minutes later I heard a huge boom behind my house, my power went out, and I saw a huge branch from a maple tree had dropped and pulled the power lines down from my house. After the fire and police arrived and roped off the area, we waited until late in the night for the power to come back on. We were lucky- many people are still without power! My neighbor's car got hit with a branch and got a dent in the trunk. Not good: now he dislikes me even more than for the O'bama sticker on my car! He was not happy when he found out his auto policy would have to cover it and not my homeowner's. What a great start to my new life in this town! My neighbor asked what I was doing while I had no power. Uh...... STUFF! Like reading, cleaning, watching birds, walking the dog, scraping plaque off my teeth....breathing...

On a better note- due to being without internet, and cable TV for three days, my art studio is cleaned up and ready for art! You can actually have a life when you get off your duff and do something! Why waste time being a voyer into other peoples lives.

And speaking of being a couch 'tater, the 10th anniversary edition of the cult film THE BIG LEBOWSKY has just been released! So crude, but so right on target!

Now where is my White Russian....

Cheers!

Betsy

Goals

This is one of Sammy's goals, not mine! Alas, her bowl-drinking days are pretty much over. She seems to have forgotten this filthy habit in her old age, thankfully. And before the animal-rights people give me their two-cents worth about not letting a pet drink from the toilet- first, I AM one of those animal-rights people, and I only use baking soda and vinegar to clean it so no nasty chemicals. (yes, I'm a tree-hugging, save the whales and environment gal.) I'll spare you a sermon today...lucky you.

My goals would be to get my darn studio in order to make some art again.
I got my gi-normous 10 1-2 ft table in it finally, with the help of three-and-a-half other humans. (another story). My first project on it was a tiny baby quilt that a friend needed to make for someone, and due to a broken wrist, could not accomplish without a little help. We made it in a day and it turned out great!

I'm organinzing all my fabrics now on my shelves- a feat that should not be accomplshed alone- lest one would get buried under a pile when it fell! My dear sister came over to help and we passed the time chatting and trying in vain to keep Panther the cat from getting to cozy in the piles! Didn't have much luck there! Somewhere I have photos of Panther- aka 'Owl'- when you see her you'll know why I've dubbed her that name! She resembles a great-horned-owl I think!

It's the last day of my three-day weekend and I'm savoring my precious free time! Who has time to eat when there is so much other good stuff to be doing?

Have a splendiferous week kiddies!

Working Hard & Hardly Working

I'm all moved in to my new house, after a few weeks of cleaning, and moving little bits at a time. I had a huge storage space I cleaned out. (Yeah! no more rent to pay and no longer having to make frequent visits to see my stuff) I moved several times last year, and the life I used to think I would love- transient, REALLY got old fast! It's funny how you forget all the crud you think is so absolutely essential to living. When you are forced to live with less, it's easy! You find other things to take up your time, rather than dusting and re-organizing and looking for a place for some silly chatzki that you really do not need.

Of course now that I've got my chatzki's back...Ha!..eating my words now!
As I watched all my stuff come pouring back into my life I was remembering my 'salad days'! Well, I'm barely out of them, except for now I own a car and a house, but I still eat salads and bring my own lunch. Saving $$ is always in style, and healthier for you and your bank account. I still love to live lean and stay close to the Earth.

I miss walking miles to get around campus or tossing my dirty clothes in a huge backpack and hiking to the laundry mat. I survived, and was in better shape.
Plus it was a gas to walk around town with people staring at me like I was a nut!
If they only knew! I also used to back-comb my long hair up into a bouffant and run
around for a few days like that, so my art friend Garret could take pictures of me
for his 50's/60's photo-shoots. What a laugh it was to see people pointing like they
thought it was for real! That's the fun in life: being able to have a good time
without hurting anyone, and gently poking fun at yourself while doing so.
I miss those silly college days. At least I still have long hair!

Well coffee break is over so I'm off to unpack more.
"The dude(ess) abides!"

Betsy

A New Home

I got my house! Closed on it at last Friday at the eleventh hour, after a long back and forth, inspections, repairs, estimates, a few more repairs waiting to get done.

The house is in good shape for being so old and has been restored pretty well.
I will enjoy learning about it's history if I can.

I spent the weekend checking out every corner & closet, cleaning, watching half the
yard fill up with rainwater from a clogged sewer drain somewhere near my house.
My crawl space filling up with water...not a good feeling the day after signing your
bank account away! But I have nothing to complain about compared to the people in
the Southern part of the state, most of whom have lost their house and stuff or had
massive flooding. Keep good thoughts for them as they pick up the mess and put lives back together. I am hoping for dry weather so I can get the grass cut and clean the
rest of the gutters out. There was a mini maple-tree farm growing up there.

I'll need to get my 10ft table soon and start setting up my new studio!
Can't wait- I even have great space for a design wall.

Today after a fierce morning storm I saw a beautiful rainbow.

Stay dry kiddies!