My Dear Sweet Eema ~

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here,

that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends

so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food and water and sunshine,

and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor;

those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again,

just as we remember them in our dreams

of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing:

they miss someone very special to them;

who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together,

but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.

The bright eyes are intent;

the eager body quivers.

Suddenly he begins to break away from the group,

flying over the green grass,

his legs carrying him faster and faster.

YOU have been spotted,

and when you and your special friend finally meet,

you cling together in joyous reunion,

never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face;

your hands again caress the beloved head,

and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet,

so long gone from your life

but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together . . .

* * *

It is with great sadness I tell you that dear, sweet Eema went peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge last week, held lovingly in forever mom Dolly's arms.  I could not have asked for a better mom to Eema.  Dolly is truly an angel on earth and I will be forever grateful for the life she gave Eema. 

Run fast and free, my dear sweet girl.




I've fallen and I can't get up until I get a belly rub!

 


With pug sister Cher (L) wintering in Florida

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

That'll Do ~

~ Farm, that is.  I'll get to that in a minute :)

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining, but something is just not right.  It is November 27th, I live in northern Ohio, and yesterday I had the door open.  I smelled freshly mowed grass.  (I cut mine, too  - easier than raking.)  Grandson Jake and I were playing outside and he was in short sleeves with no jacket on.  Well, to me it's not quite that warm, but to a 6 year old it is!  I'm lovin' it.  Friday I took Jake and my two great nieces Sophia and Alexis to the lake to search for beach glass.  They are predicting a harsher winter than normal with an over-abundance of snow.  Oh, how I hope the weather-guessers are wrong.

My niece, her hubby and daughters Sophia (age 8) and Alexis (age 5) made their annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Ohio from Chicago.  Friday we thought it would be fun to head to That'll Do Farm.  Hooker (and knitter and spinner) Andrea welcomed us and gave us the grand tour.  Here an alpaca . . .

there an alpaca . . .

. . . everywhere an alpaca-paca.  Oh, wait.  Wrong farm.

 

We got to feed Joey the llama and the goats he protects.



Son J feeding Joey



Jake and Joey

Niece Elise

Alexis feeding the goats

I hope the chickens don't feel too left out. I forgot to get a picture of them. Andrea tried to get Jake to help clean the chicken coup, but he would have nothing to do with it!

If you are ever in the northern Ohio area, be sure to stop by and say hi. If you are a knitter or spinner, you will be in heaven.  Gorgeous, soft wools.  Makes me want to learn to knit ~ in my spare time . . . lol!  It is a fun place to spend an afternoon.

* * *

I found the cutest masks at Dollar Tree (I love that store!) for the kids.

They were glow-in-the-dark.

And just because she is so darned cute ~ Loocie :)  To me she always looks like she's depressed and needs some puppy Prozac.

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know I have much to be thankful for.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Happy Thanksgiving ~ ~ ~

May your stuffing be tasty.

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious.

May your pies take the prize.

May your Thanksgiving dinner

stay off of your thighs.

MAY YOU HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY HOLIDAY

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Gifts from Friends ~

I have been very remiss in showing some of the treasures I have received from friends ~ some I have met and some I know only through blogland.

Doris from Moments in Time gifted me with this stained glass rug hook when I saw her at the ATHA biennial.  I get many compliments on it.  Saundra from Woodland Junction made me the sweetest little snippet bowl.

I received the most wonderful little quilt from Lori at Homespun Prims.  Her work is perfection!

Dolly, who adopted my Eema, gifted me with these really cool beach glass identification cards.  The last time I saw her she also made me a yummy pumpkin cheesecake.  I just love cheesecake!

Karin, eBay seller Primitive Spirits sent me one of her hooked hearts.  I have it hanging on an antique cupboard and it is just perfect!

Also, Judi and her pug boyz in Florida made a generous donation to Ohio Pug Rescue.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!  I will treasure my gifts for many years to come.  I am blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Hooking Troubles ~

Recently, I've had great difficulty hooking.  I normally hook sitting on the end of the couch with the Ott light to my left.  Annie has decided that she is going to sit to my left and there is no stopping her!  Today she was chewing on her toy, shaking it as dogs do and pushing up against my leg.  Other times she insists on putting her head on my lap while I am trying to hook!  Oh, what we put up with for our furbabies.

I hope your week gets off to a good start.  As I've said before and I'll say again, I just can't believe Thanksgiving is here.  Shouldn't it just be Labor Day?

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Furry {and not so furry} Friends ~

I can't believe another Friday has rolled in.  How is it possible that next week is Thanksgiving?  At least Thanksgiving is early this year so we will have a few more days to prepare for the Christmas season.

Last night I visited with my Eema.  I am so sad to report that the tumor continues to grow. I had a very nice visit ~ not sure if it was my last :(  I know Dolly and I will remain friends.  I am so thankful that she became Eema's forever mom.

Here are a couple pictures of Eema from her healthier days.  I will not say happier because she is still as sweet and as happy as ever.  If you didn't see the tumor, you would have no idea that she has cancer.  This picture is from when she first came in to my life ~ before I fattened her up . . . lol!

And here she is ten months later.  She is the foster I had the longest (11 1/2 months) and she will always hold a very special place in my heart.  

Here is Sam, our work cat, mouser in residence.  He is so spoiled that when we get to work in the morning, he cries and carries on until he gets his morning lunchmeat!



My orange pumpkin did not make it to Halloween, but I thought just maybe the white one was going to make it to Thanksgiving.  I guess it wasn't meant to be . . . sigh!



Jake had $2.00 that was burning a hole in his pocket.  Now unless you are at the dollar store, what toy can be found for that amount of cash?  Luckily part of Grandma's job is to spoil the grand!  {He picked out the picture he wanted posted on the blog . . . lol!}





Thank you so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

On the Frame ~

I need to get busy.  Somehow I've got to get three more hooked mats done for Christmas presents.  I'm not sure if that will happen, but I am going to try.  This rooster is based on a doodle by Tonya Benson of Mad Hen Primitives.

I absolutely love the reversible black wool I used for the rooster.  It's not the Wool Studio reversible black (which I love, too!), but a wool I got from Alice quite a few months ago.  I really NEED more of this wool for my stash!  The other wool is the texture I am using around the rooster.

Last night was hooking with Katie (and I forgot to take out the camera!) and tomorrow is hooking at the Farm.  No wonder I'm not getting anything done at home!

Pug Hugs :)
Lauren

To All My Enabling Friends ~

Saturday I killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.  There was an antique/craft show that I wanted to attend and it was just about halfway to the antique shop where I had found the pie safe.  Well, since I was already going to be halfway there, it just made sense to continue south and get the pie safe.  Right?

Since the pie safe would not fit in my little SUV and I thought I was not going to drive back to get it, I did not look it over that carefully.  It is in a little rougher shape than I thought it was, but I love it.  After a good cleaning, it is perfect to hold my wool.  Geez, I didn't realize how much wool I had hiding in the closet.  Probably about 2/3 of this has not yet been washed (and I still have more that is not yet out.  Can you say addiction?)

Here's a picture without a flash . . .

. . . and with a flash.

I really need to sort through the wool and arrange it a little better by color.  Here is my other wool cupboard displaying the hobby horse I got the previous weekend. 

I really did not buy much at the Gathered Treasures show.  There were lots of "prim" goodies, but none came home with me.  I hadn't bought a cookie cutter in years and have bought two in as many weekends.  Also a couple little tart tins and some scrabble tiles.  I just think they are fun.

Some vintage Christmas that I thought was a real bargain ~ $6 for everything.



A punched tin chandelier that will go in the hooking room once I switch the hooking room with the guest room (but first I need to paint so that won't happen for a while).



A big THANK YOU to all my enabling friends for encouraging me to get the pie safe.  You are THE BEST!!!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

And the Winner is ~ ~ ~

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all my readers.  I am totally overwhelmed by all the entries to my secret give-away.  {I forgot to mention that the top and bottom wools are reversible.}  It has been my most popular give-away to date.  I had 48 entries by comments and two by email.  Once again I've enlisted Annie to pick the winner. 

Congrats to Wool Woman, aka Mel in Florida.  Be sure to check out her blog.  She is an incredible cross stitcher, knitter, needle pointer and yes, she also hooks rugs. 

I've finally gotten my Halloween decorations taken down, but they haven't yet made their way to the attic.  I'd say it's about time!  So many of you ready to start decorating for Christmas.  Yikes!  Not me.  Usually by now the bulk of my shopping is done.  Not this year!

Thank you again for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my ramblings.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Happy Veterans Day ~

My all-time favorite hooked rug.
Hooked by Donna Hrkman

If you can read this,

thank a teacher.

If you are reading this in English,

thank a veteran.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

and

GOD BLESS OUR VETERANS!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Rug Progress ~

I should be working on Christmas presents, but have not gotten around to drawing out a pattern, so I'm pulling a few loops on the rug I started at the ATHA biennial in a class with Maria Barton.  I have a confession . . . this rug is so not me, but I'm loving it!  What a fun rug.  Lookee, Alice, Maria got me to use purple :)

 

Can you keep a secret?  I am having a give-away.  I am not announcing it in my title, nor will I remind anyone that I am having one.  Please do not mention this on your blog.  This is for people who are actually reading this post!  As always, entering is simple.  Leave me a comment on this post or send me an email with give-away in the subject line.  I will draw the winner sometime Sunday evening.  In case you are wondering what you can win, it's hookers crack as Kim would call it.  Five pieces of new, off the bolt wool, washed and ready to hook or craft with.  I think each piece measures about 1/4 yard.  Most of it is from Heavens to Betsy and one of the wools came from Searsport Rug Hooking.  I'm not sure if any of it is Rebecca's.  Good luck!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Beach Glass Class ~

Daddy is out of town for a few days so Loocie (even though she technically is half mine) is staying with me and Annie.  I'm trying to convince Annie she needs to be on her best behavior and stop with the "canine google search", but we are only partly successful.

Loocie's favorite spot is on the back of the couch.  She will sleep there for hours on end.  Sleep is what she does best.

Annie, is well, Annie.  We are working on some of her issues, but I think she chooses to be a slow learner.

This evening, Melissa (new blogger EverThyne) and I took a beach glass class at the local metro park.  Dolores has been collecting beach glass for twenty years and making jewelry for three.  Here she is showing us how to drill.  You must drill underwater so the glass does not break.  I was the only one who volunteered to try it.  It was not as easy as I thought it would be!

Here are a few of the more unusual pieces she's found.  On the top right are perfume bottle stoppers, the piece with the flower is a piece of pottery and the small, roundish yellow piece is a marble.  On the bottom right is a piece of safety glass.  You can see the embedded wire.  The blue piece said "bromo" as in bromo seltzer.  The large red piece is extremely rare. 

It was a very informative evening and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to attend.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren