Easing Into The Season

Trader Joe's helped me finish the Halloween decorating.
They have wonderful brooms scented with cinnamon.
My front door area is completely covered.
When you walk to the front door you see pumpkins,
the brooms parked, and the scent of cinnamon.
It's really nice!

I like the succulents at Joe's.
This one is perfect for the Day of the Dead.

Around the neighborhood,
my favorite dragon is back!

I met this fisherman on a morning walk.
Very clever!

Finally!
Fall arrived.
We don't seem to ease into any season down here.
We went from 90 degrees one day to 55 the next.
That meant it is chili time!
My Halloween mug from Fiesta is the perfect size for chili.
You can find my recipe (easy) here.
YUM!

The baby afghan is finished.
I found this wonderful Patchwork Animal pattern book from Annie's Attic.
Great stash busters!
I decided to make the Teddy Bear first.
Every child should have a Teddy Bear.

Here he is all finished.

Now I'm trying to decide which animal to crochet next!
Maybe the puppy?!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Keep In Touch

Little Things Thursday

Just Around The Corner

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Mr. Dreamy

A gift from my knight in shining armor the month he passed to the stars.

Anyone want chocolate cake?
The teapot is Emma Bridgewater.









Big Love by Emma Bridgewater

Smooches an Original Sock Dog Pet by Stacey Hsu. 

This is the first of several mosaics I've made for Valentine's Day.
I'm thinking about making cards -- eventually! 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

SaveSave

A Tale of Two Bears

Today I'm going to tell you a tale of two bears.

When Mr. Dragon and I first moved to Galveston Island,

we discovered their holiday festival called

Dickens On The Strand.

For 38 years, Dickens has been centered on

The Strand National Historic District.

Parades, strolling carolers, roving street entertainment --

all dressed in Victorian garb.

 

That first year, we made a trip to San Diego

for a professional meeting for Mr. Dragon.

On the waterfront, we found Mr. Dickens Bear.

He was perfect!

His top hat, velvet vest ... with his heart for all to see.

I sighed over him and we made the trip home without him.

Or so I thought.

But on Christmas Day, Mr. Dragon surprised me with 

Mr. Dickens Bear.

This year, Mr. Dragon is no longer with me.

My first Christmas without the love of my life.

I decorated the house, inside and out.

I put up two trees and today,

two days after Christmas,

I came home with the Court Jester Bear. 

I love his old loved look.

It just seemed right.

Two friends who can tell each other stories

and can bring a smile to my face. 

***

There are other Christmas bears who have their own stories.

Several more bears who dress in Victorian garb,

but their stories are for another time.

I have done well this Christmas.

I miss Mr. Dragon, but I know he would want me to

*suck it up and get on with it*.

No tears were shed ... until THE grandson ... on 

the other side of the country said:

"Merry Christmas Nana Snap.

Santa came to visit and this time he got it right!"

Wishing YOU well and JOY filled holidays!

Boo!

Today I'm sharing a black and white tea for one

with Ms. Abracadabra and her little sister, Boo!

I think I'm going to brew some Chai to go with the Ghiradelli brownie 

and the chocolate chip mini muffin.

The black and white Tea for One pattern is called Quill.

The tea for one came in a wonderful box and I took a picture of it

to show you the information about the cup.

You would need a magnifying glass to read the same info on the bottom of the cup/saucer

and tea pot! 

Thanks to our tea party hostesses.

These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Tea Party Tuesday

Tuesday Tea For Two

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea! 

This and That

It's time for a little This and That.

One of the churches in the neighborhood has a Sticks and Hook group.

This knit and crochet group would like to make 400 scarves to distribute

to the homeless during the holidays.

I thought that was something I could help with and hit my stash.

 

There are no rules for the scarf -- just that it be 6 ft in length.

They didn't care about pattern or what kind of yarn.

Here are my first three ... one skein of Homespun in each scarf.

Each is a little different in pattern -- to keep me from getting bored!

I think this one is my favorite.

A girl can't live by scarves alone, so I took a little break and am

making 14 of these.

Fourteen before I can go on with the pattern.

Hmmmmm ... what is it going to be?!

(A big thank you to Mr. Brown for being the model. He is my grandson's

lovey when he visits.)

***

I am sure at least one of these is in my future!

Who knew there were so many Amineko fans on Flickr?!!!

***

I wanted to share with you my very FIRST color pencil sketch.

Mr. Robin at the bird bath in Musashi's Garden.

***

A little story.

Mr. Dragon always bought a teddy bear for me --

on my birthday, our anniversary (we had two).

On February 1st this year, he looked at me and said he was

sorry he didin't have a bear for me on our 30th anniversary.

To be sure, when it was all over, to get a bear.

I promised him I would ... a very special bear.

I'd like you to meet Holland.

He arrived yesterday.

He is the perfect -- very special bear.

Holland came from Ginger.

She is a wonderful bear artist and has a delightful blog.

You can visit her at Bearbits.

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful weekend.

To my friends on the East Coast ... hunker down and please be careful.

Hurricanes are no fun. 

I know. 

There's a Mystery for Every Interest

(From fotosearch.com)

There are mysteries of all kinds, covering all sorts of interests, for all different readers. There are hard-boiled mysteries, Noir, urban fantasy, cozy mysteries and all sorts of combinations. There are mysteries for readers who like to cook, who like to read, who like scrap booking, tea drinking, falconry, needlepoint, collecting antiques. You get the idea. How about for collectors of teddy bears and knitters? You bet!

DIED IN THE WOOL: A Knitting Mystery by Mary Kruger is the first in a series of cozy myteries. Ariadne Evans is the proud owner of her very own knitting shop. She enters her store one day to find longtime customer Edith Perry strangled to death with homespun yarn. Now Edith wasn’t the easiest person to get along with so there is a long list of suspects. Detective Joshua Pierce, may or may not have designs on Ariadne (a little romance never hurts in a cozy mystery). Ariadne decides to do some sleuthing of her own. Hopefully, the killer isn’t as crafty as she.

I’m behind the times as this book was first published as a paperback in 2007. I thought it was well done and I like the characters -- something that is very important in cozy mysteries -- and I’d like to visit Ariadne in her shop. I do love yarn and the description of the purple heather hand spun, hand dyed yarn used to kill Edith really sounds lovely! There are several more books in this series and I’m looking forward to getting to know Ariadne and her friends better.

THE CRAFTY TEDDY: A Bear Collector’s Mystery by John J. Lamb is the third book in this “sort of cozy” police procedural. I say sort of because Mr. Lamb is a retired homicide detective and hostage negotiator. He has all the police procedural part of the books down to a science. He and his wife collect teddy bears (at last count had over 600), so he also knows the teddy bear business. Definitely an interesting combination and one I have really enjoyed.

From the back of the book:

“Retired San Francisco cop Brad Lyon is settling into a quieter life with his wife, Ashleigh, in Virginia’s mountain country, where they collect and create teddy bears. But even here, stuff happens...

The peace of the Shenandoah Valley is shattered when an intruder breaks into the Lyon home and makes off with the antique Farnell Alpha teddy bear -- one of the most celebrated stuffed animals in history, and also Brad’s gift to Ash on their twentieth wedding anniversary.

Afterward, life seems to be getting back to normal -- until a trio of Japanese gangsters inexplicably shows up in town, and then the local museum director is found dead. Even though it all seems a bit fur-fetched, Brad knows he’s got a 187 on his hands -- that’s California penal code for murder ...”

These are fun books. Well written and fast paced. Not too cozy or too hard-boiled. Brad and Ash, Tina Barron the County Sheriff and Sergei Zubatov (Brad’s best friend and the owner of Pinckney’s Brick Pit barbecue restaurant and former Soviet military attache -- or, in other words, spy) are all wonderful characters. Add the great information about bears (there are always ideas about where to buy bears and usually a bear artist or two are featured in the books) and a well written mystery -- well -- it’s the perfect brain candy for a rainy afternoon. I’m glad I have two more in my stack!

Even a rainy day brings JOY!

Camera Critters Halloween Party!

There's so much excitement in Blogland. Halloween is coming and there are parties everywhere. The lovely Ms. Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is the hostess with the mostess for her annual party. It just so happens that it falls on Camera Critters day, so I have combined these two fun events. I hope you'll visit Ms. Vanessa and all the other party goers and visit Camera Critters to see all the wonderful critters around the world!

The candles are lit.

(From BHG.com)

The witch is busy cooking up something defrightfully good.

And, Snoopy has decided he had so much fun last year
he's back for another year.
He's all ready to look into the future and
he invited a few of his friends to join him.
The only catch -- they had to bring Halloween jokes for you!

Here's Snoopy with his crystal ball and tarot cards.
It wouldn't be fair if he didn't bring a joke, too.

"What happens when a ghost gets lost in the fog?"
"He is mist."

This is Jack The Jester.
He'll do tricks and tell a few jokes.

"What kind of tie does a ghost wear to a formal party?"
"A boo-tie."

"Where do vampire children eat their lunch?"
"At the school casketeria."

Ms. Abracadabra is all dressed up and plans on doing
a few magic tricks. Until then -- a joke?!!

"Why did the skeleton cross the road?"
"To go to the body shop."

"How do ghosts take their coffee?"
"With scream and sugar."

Merlin the Magician is happy to join us.

"Where do goblins get their lottery tickets?"
"At the ghastly station."

And, last but not least (!!!)

"Why don't ghosts like to play sports?"
"Because they get booed."

Here's hoping you have a wonderfully delightful day
and

Happy Halloween!!!

Security Blanket

Julie over at Moments of Perfect Clarity (an outlet for the madness with occasional flashes of insight) and some of her blogging friends are telling a secret about themselves every day for 30 days. Her first secret was - she still has her security blanket. She's told other secrets about hitchhiking, being deported, going on a friends honeymoon - all delightfully written, but it was the security blanket that I kept thinking about.

I don't remember having had a security blanket as a child. Did you? I do remember a couple of stuffed toys that I carried with me everywhere - or tried to. Each one had a music box in them (love of music came early with their help). One was a little brown dog with large floppy ears. I remember that to wind the music box I had to twist his tail (do not try this on a real dog). He played Rock a Bye Baby. The other was a brown teddy bear. He had white paws and a white muzzle and he played Rock a Bye Baby, too. I don't know what happened to the little dog, but I do remember that the poor teddy was falling apart. He had been repaired so many times. One of his legs was hanging by threads. He disappeared one day. So sad.

One day before Mr. Dragon and I left New Mexico for Texas, I went shopping (junking) with a dear friend. I found this:



Oh my goodness. I'm sure the whole world heard my cries of delight. White paws and muzzle, big head and a music box in his belly that plays Rock a Bye Baby. No major damage. Just a little dirty. He looked so lonely and unloved. I took care of that. He was my only purchase of the day. Guess I was looking for a security blanket to take with me on our big move. New Mexico had been home for 23 years. We were leaving a life we knew for one we had no idea about.

Soon he wasn't the only teddy that came to live with us.

I found this little guy soon after coming to Texas. He's smaller, newer and plays (thank goodness) the Teddy Bear Picnic. These two bears started my bear collection. I really don't have that many. I've given some of my bears away. These two bears remind me so much of that little girl who loved animals and who loved her security bear. They'll always be my favorites. I'll share more of my bears some other day.

Did you have a security blanket?

My security blanket today?
Easy.
Mr. Dragon and myself.

Joy to You!

I Have A Cold

What a title for a post! I Have A Cold. Well, I do. And this too shall pass. I know that. Meanwhile, I feel sorry for myself!

Quite a lead in for Surrendering to Creative Cycles, the next chapter in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. The cold is a cycle of sorts -- it will end and I'll feel better about everything! Cycles I understand. By the time you have lived 5 decades on the earth, cycles became a part of you. Listening to the moon. Enjoying the seasons. Which brings me around to another quote I remind myself of often. It comes from Gardening At The Dragon's Gate. It goes something like this: "all four seasons of the year are present in the span of one day. Thus, spring is the dawn of the day, full summer is high noon, autumn falls at dusk and father winter oversees the midnight hour." Life is the same. I'm at the end of summer and entering autumn. I am nearing a crone and proud of it. I actually believe, at times, that I will make a terrific wise woman!

Creativity follows cycles, too. I wasn't very creative this last week and I'm blaming it on my cold, but I did get one journal page done.



This is Teddy. I moved the chair so that I could put my journal in it to take a picture. He decided that it was his chair and if any picture was to be taken it would be of him. Look at his eyes! Too funny!

Monday was the Lunar New Year 4707 - the year of the Ox. I am an Ox -- calm, hard working, with a resolve and a tenacity that at times is tiring! I didn't like how my stencils in the corners turned out -- too much paint (even though I thought I used very little) so I wrote over them.

My word for the year is LISTEN. There's a message to the cycles in my life -- LISTEN!

Happy Day Everyone!

Dragonflies, Teddy Bears, Elephants and Classes

Here are some more pictures of things that keep me busy! I have made four dragonfly afghans so far. I love the pattern. Easy to carry around and work on as it is crocheted in squares. This sage green (have you figured out that green is my favorite color?) was the first dragonfly afghan I made. I usually make something first and keep it -- figuring the pattern out and getting the mistakes made and corrected -- then make it again and give it away. The afghan pattern is called Dragonfly Dreams and I found it in the July 2006 issue of Crochet Magazine.



Another one of my favorite things -- Teddy Bears. The pattern for this bear and his toys can be found in two booklets -- Birthday Blankets and Bears Volume I and Volume II (1993). Each bear comes with a toy and his own crocheted blanket.

This little elephant (not so little) -- Ellie Phunt -- is my latest finished project. She is going on a journey today to California to her new home. Every time I look at her, I laugh. She is soft, funny and has a great multicolored tail that you can't see in the picture. Ellie is from the booklet Safari Friends. Safari Friends includes directions for 6 friends: elephant, tiger, giraffe, lion, chimp, and alligator. I ordered this booklet from Annie's Attic.

Today Dick starts the fall semester with a new art class. He was off early this morning trying to miss the school traffic (also first day of school for all the kids in town). Mid-September I start an online class that will, hopefully, make me make time for more mixed-media.

It amazes me how busy everyone gets with the first hint of Fall and the start of school. I've been trying to schedule time with two good friends for a Girl's Art Camp and it's tough. I know we'd have a great time and I'm not going to give up!