Simple Pleasures ~

~ ~ ~ WELCOME ~ ~ ~

Thursdays are normally "Jake" days so after work I headed over to pick him up. It is so much fun spending time with a five year old. They get such pleasure from the simplest of things. I could hear him giggling in the bathroom and I knew what he was up to. He finds it hysterical to rearrange my band boxes.
Since it was a beautiful day, we headed for the pool. He even talked me in to wearing a bathing suit ~ that doesn't happen often. Then he talked me in to getting in to the water! I am one of those people who go in slowly rather than taking the plunge and getting it over with. It is just so painful that way.
Jake soon be swimming like a fish. He is fearless and can now swim a good ten feet under water. I don't think the goggles keep the water out of his eyes, but he just thinks they are so cool. At five, his dad was already on the local swim team.

Pretending to pout.

Practicing his underwater somersault.

Just having fun :-)

Thanks so much for dropping by. Please come again soon.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Around the Yard ~

No, this picture is not from my yard {only in my dreams}, though I do live only two blocks from Lake Erie. This was taken from the restaurant overlooking the marina where I had dinner last evening. My little camera just did not capture the beauty of the setting sun. It was the most brilliant orange ball that you could imagine.
The most recent antique show I attended was a real bust :( Probably 20% of the vendors were selling jewelry, something I normally don't even look at. I am not a jewelry person and always wear the same few pieces. For whatever reason I looked in one booth and found a really neat silver ring with what may be my birthstone, so for a mere $12.00 I bought it. I tried, but could not get a clear picture of it.
In addition to the ring, I bought a tomato red coneflower. I had never seen one before, so I had to have it. If I get a good flower, I will show that at a later date.
This was my big splurge. The most wonderful sprinkler. If my friend Belinda hadn't egged me on {she bought one last year}, I probably would not have bought one. Because I normally don't water the lawn, my water bill will probably spike. It turns and shoots out the most beautiful pattern of water. It is made of copper and I sure hope no one steals it!!!
Around the yard....south side of the house.
My little water fountain normally has a few goldfish. This year, I killed about a dozen of them so my fountain is fish free. It does not get much sun and plants generally do not do well. Sunday I was visiting a friend who had a large water garden filled with water hyacinths, so she gave me a few. Hopefully they will look good for a bit.

This is on the north corner of my house. For years I have had stella d'oro daylilies in this corner and they never did well because they did not get enough sun. Finally today I stopped at Home Depot on the way home from work and got a few hostas. I'm sure next year they won't look so forlorn. That's my little frog hut. It still hasn't grown any moss though I water it at least once a day.

That's it for the ten cent garden tour today.

Thank you so much for dropping by and please come again soon.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Rugs to Share ~ ~ ~

Friday I took a vacation day and headed to the library to spend part of the day hooking. When I arrived, there were only three fellow hookers, but as the day progressed, more dropped by. It was great to be out of the heat that has engulfed us and much of the country! Thankfully we got a bit more much needed rain last evening/night and with today's heat and humidity, maybe we'll get lucky and get some more. Brown, crunchy grass is not on my list of favorite things!

I'll apologize in advance for the poor color of some of the rugs. It is just so hard to get good color, especially under the fluorescent lights.

Lisa was very close to completing two rugs, but did not bring ample wool to finish either of them. She was very close on both. This rug is based on an antique design. The background is the most gorgeous muted green plaid.

This is another antique adaptation Lisa is working on. She got quite a bit more done before she ran out of wool. Here choice of color is magnificent ~ always soft and old looking.
Leah brought this sweet doll she completed.

A close-up of the hooked face.

Leah's sunflower rug with a proddy flower. I love the colors of her sunflowers.

A close-up of the mouse in the lower left corner. She gave both the mouse and the crow little bead eyes.

A Karen Kahle design hooked by Deanna. Believe me, the colors are wonderful!

This is a better representation of the colors.

Carol is the queen of antique adaptations. Here's the latest she is working on. The original is found in the book "American Hooked and Sewn Rugs" by Joel and Kate Kopp. This description is taken verbatim from their book. "A glass dome protects the flowers in a large ornamental urn set on a pedestal. It is placed side by side with weedlike wild flowers in an environment made even more enigmatic by a wriggling garden snake and symbolic stars and crescent moons." The original is dated 1877 and was hooked by John Filker of Amherst, Ohio, which coincidentally is my hometown!

Three hookers are currently working on this antique adaptation from the book "Rags to Rugs, Hooked and Handsewn Rugs of Pennsylvania" by Patricia T. Herr. Carol was the first to hook this rug a few months back. It is a fun rug that makes you smile :-)

Deanna is just getting started.

Arlene is a bit further along.

Mitsuko was working on her binding. She is using a wonderful plaid wool to bind it.

Sylvia is working on the same rug as Lisa using a totally different color scheme. It is amazing how the same pattern can look so different depending on the wools used. (The picture is terrible. The background is much more muted.)

Here's the rug I've been working on forever. I've made very little progress. I haven't had much time to hook and I'm working on birthday gift number three. If I'm going to make gifts, I really need to start so that they will be done in a timely manner!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you will stop by again soon!

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Pictures from the Pug Pen ~

Saturday afternoon was spent at an adoptathon in Akron, Ohio. It was VERY HOT ~ thankfully there was a breeze. Considering the heat, the pugs survived quite well. Here's my sweet Eema.
We had many pugs looking for their forever homes. We do not do on-site adoptions, but hopefully several of the people who expressed an interest will fill out an application. We just don't give our pugs to anyone!

Just a few random shots of the pug pen. We were constantly moving the X-pen to give the puggies shade.

The black guy in the blue harness is Salty, the pug I picked up in Toledo the previous day. He was going to his new foster home that afternoon.

Ohio Pug Rescue's booth. We even had a visitor to the pug pen. Isn't she a cutie?

Thank you so much for dropping by and please come again soon!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Does this pug make my butt look fat?

~ ~ ~ WELCOME ~ ~ ~

Yesterday after work I headed an hour and a half west to pick up a pug that had been left in a drop box at a shelter in Toledo, Ohio (home of Tony Paco's of M*A*S*H* fame). Normally I only foster female pugs ~ boys pee WAY to much for me! When Salty (he looks more like a Pepper to me!) got out of the volunteer's car, he immediately peed on her tire. When I put him in the crate in the back of my little SUV, he peed again out the side of the crate, thankfully missing me by only inches.

The shelter said Salty was about 8, but I'm guessing he is closer to 4. He has very little gray and boundless energy. He obviously had been someone's pet and was well taken care of at one time. Last evening watching a movie (Amelia ~ a so so movie IMHO) he was glued up against me or on my lap. He is crate trained, appears to be house broken and picky about what he eats. He would not eat dry food, but I gave him wet food and he quickly ate it like a little gentleman. He was a little stinky so a bath was on this morning's agenda and he bathed without problem.

Shortly I am taking him to an event in Akron where his new foster mom will meet him. After being neutered, micro-chipped and brought up to date on shots, he will be ready to begin his new life in a forever home.

He is so black it was impossible to get a good picture of him with a flash.

How could you not love that face? (Except for the gray on the chin, his face is all black ~ not sure what is showing in the picture.) Here he is with my Eema.

PLEASE!!! If you are in the market for a new pet (dog, cat, horse, even skunk!!!), please consider a rescue animal. There are SO MANY looking for their forever homes. Please do not support puppy mills by purchasing from a pet store.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

No Real Treasures...

...but I did find a few things at the antique show in Milan. The dealer thought this table top size weather vane might be from the 30's, but I don't think it's anywhere near that old. Nonetheless, I liked it, so it came home with me.

I love little footstools so this little three legged milking stool is now mine. The small hooked mat (not one of my creations) fits perfectly. The stool has a great patina.

I couldn't resist this well worn pair of baby shoes. They probably aren't that old either, but for a mere dollar, I couldn't let someone else snatch them up!

In addition, I bought a wood masher and that was it. Oh, there was LOTS I could have brought home with me, but you know how it is. We must be conservative, right?

One dealer had this set up by his booth. I'm not sure if even he knew what it is.

Great old iron-wheeled wheel barrow.

The show is always very well attended.

This barber pole could have been yours for only $900.

Milan is built around a town square and has the most wonderful old buildings.

The town hall.

Carriage rides were available throughout the day.

I am so lucky to have such a patient DSO. {He really does have a name ~ Frank ~ aka Fritz.} We shop at totally different speeds, so when we antique, we split up and browse at our own pace ~ mine happens to be about four times slower than his, so he will go to the truck, to perhaps read or catch a few zzzz's. Luckily he had a nice shady spot.

Thank you so much for stopping by and listening to me babble. There's another antique show Sunday I plan to attend and hopefully will find a few more items to share!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Dogs by Kat ~

Yesterday was DSO's birthday and I always try to buy him something unique. I figure he can buy his own clothes and other necessities, so I go for the fun stuff. When we first started "dating" many, MANY years ago, I bought him an antique wagon, not sure if he'd appreciate it or not. {I offered to keep it if he did not like it. I was almost disappointed that he liked it...lol!} He does have an appreciation for antique and vintage items, but this year I haven't been antiquing much and didn't have anything for him :(

Sorry. I'm digressing. A couple weeks ago, I worked a dog event for Ohio Pug Rescue and a local watercolor artist, Kathy, was also set up. She does the most wonderful pet portraits ~ at a very reasonable price. She works from photos and she truly captured Loocie's personality. Check out her website at Dogs by Kat or email her at dogsbykat@i-love-dogs.com. Dogs by Kat ~ I just love that moniker.

{The color of the close-up is not very good, but I wanted you to see the detail. The nose roll and forehead thumbprint are expertly done!}

Woohoo! Today I got my 80th follower. I was stuck at 78 for so long, I thought that number was never going to move. I thank each and every one of you for reading my blog and an extra thanks to those who are followers. I really do appreciate you taking the time for little old me!

Tomorrow is my favorite antique show, located on the historic square in downtown Milan, Ohio, birthday of Thomas Edison. I hope I find a few treasures that I can share with you.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Hookin' at the Liberry

{{Don't you just hate when people call it the liberry?

It's one of my pet peeves.}}

I have a few pitchures {{another pet peeve!}} to share with you

from last evening's hooking at the library.

Not a whole lot to share ~

a couple of the hookers were nearing completion

on rugs I've already shared

and a couple were just getting started on new rugs.

Karin {eBay seller primitivespirits} is simply amazing.

She just started on this wonderful turkey.

She's completed this eagle.

Okay. I took this picture Tuesday evening.

Karin started this rug on Monday

and by Tuesday it was hooked

and bound.

How does she do it???

The next two rugs are Carole's ~
another prolific hooker.
The colors of both rugs are very bad in my pictures.
They are truly lovely in person.

Candy was knitting these yummy looking socks
on a size zero needle.
Andrea from That'll Do Farm was also knitting
but left before I got the camera out.
I was working on a punch needle piece.
It is a design from Pat Cross' book
Purely Primitive.
The backside of a punch needle piece
sure isn't pretty.
It is a bit on the large size, 6" x 9 1/2".
Had I had quick access to a copy machine,
I would have reduced it a tad.
Hopefully I will finish it in the next
day or two.
Thank you so much for stopping by
and taking the time to read my blog.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren