What's Wrong with this Picture?

Marie, better known as Olde Lady Morgan, recently purchased these drawers from me.  They were something I purchased many years ago and though I loved them never found a spot where they would work.  It's not too often that happens. Anywho . . . she BUYS them from me . . . and she sends ME a couple of her to-die-for-wonderful-primitive-pumpkins.  How lucky can a hooker get?

I think the orange one is just perfect sitting here on the doll that is probably not going to be the gift she was supposed to be ;0)

So sweet.

I just LOVE green pumpkins and this one is much more prim in person.  Both of them have real pumpkin stems.

Thanks so much, OLM!  You are such a sweetheart.  If you've never bought anything from her, you need to take a look at her creations.  They are just fun, especially her "dammit dolls".

The little paper mache pumpkin in the middle is the newest edition to my mache family.  It has seen better days and is missing its paper face insert, but it is such a sweet little size.  I was happy to find it for a reasonable price. 

Even though I only live two blocks from Lake Erie, I didn't make it down to the beach often this summer.  The other day on the way home from work I did take a few minutes to search for beach glass.  It was a pretty good beach glass day and I found what may be the largest piece of light green glass I have found to date.  If you look towards the top, in the middle, you will be a piece of amber glass that looks a bit different.  It is a piece that has been tumbling around for a while, but its edges, though not sharp, are not as rounded and smooth as the other pieces.  

Not much else going on.  Of course I'm most happy that tomorrow is Friday ~ and payday ~ but it's scary how fast the days, weeks, and months are flying by.

Thank you for the visit.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Colors of Spring ~

I took a vacation day tomorrow to have an extra long weekend.  There is so much I want/need to get done.  I had planned on getting a load of mulch delivered, but that didn't work out.  (I think I am secretly happy about that.)  I need to edge, mow, weed, plant a few things, etc.  It would be nice to get the yard back in to shape.  Lots of errands to run.  A small cookout.  I'm sure I'll run out of weekend before I get to everything on my list.  I hope I make a little time for some fun stuff!

Isn't this a gorgeous peony?

Siberian iris are one of my favorite flowers.

A neighbor's blue spruce.  I just love the color and the feel of the new growth.

A few days ago I took a quick trip down to the beach in search of glass.  It was a good day.  Isn't it amazing how many different shades of green I found?

These are some of the largest pieces of glass I've found to date.  The amber piece is larger than a quarter and quite thick.  I love the small amber piece in the shape of a heart.

Happy Friday to everyone!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

This 'n That ~

The Western Reserve Rug Hooking Guild held their annual hook-in last Saturday.  Chairperson was Heidi (aka Wendy) of Woolnuts.  She and her committee did a phenomenal job!  Our welcome gift was a tote bag, the food was yummy and plentiful and they had the most amazing door prizes and raffles.  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the table decorations that were the door prizes.  Many people spent many, many hours hooking flowers and animals that  were attached to sticks and put in vases.  They had the best raffle prizes.  They solicited donations from the vendors and hookers throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Over sixty raffle prizes in all.  The Guild is very generous so all the money made on the raffles will go to many good causes.

Because of limited space, they had a "virtual" rug show in lieu of the real thing.  

I only a few pictures.  Of course I wish I had taken more!

Here's Kay hiding behind her Wendy Miller rug that she is in the process of binding.  She is one of the most talented hookers I have ever met!

I LOVE this rug!!!  It was hooked by Betsy of Heavens to Betsy fame.  The strips are 1" wide hand torn strips.  It was heavenly to walk on!  The braided edge was pretty cool, too.

Jane's lollipop basket made with lots of quilly circles.

This Maggie Bonanomi rug was being hooked by Kathy.

Here is Betsy's booth . . .

. . . and Donna's from Crows on the Ledge.  (Alice ~ I can't believe I didn't get a pic of your booth.  So sorry!)

The hook-in was great fun and I actually pulled a few loops!  I'll share my progress soon.

* * * * *

Around the yard, the iris seem exceptionally beautiful this year!

Sunday morning Jake and I headed down to the beach in search of beach glass.  It was a pretty good haul for us.  Though it did not have sharp edges, the one cobalt piece we found did not have the very soft, rounded edges of most of the other pieces.  The longer a piece of glass has been in the water tumbling around, the smoother the edges.  Jake calls the little shells in the upper right hand corner "tornadoes".

Thanks for stopping by.
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

Best Beach Glass Day Ever ~

It was a gorgeous fall day on Ohio's north coast today ~ sunny, warm and slightly breezy.  Since hooking was cancelled, it was the perfect day to go gather black walnuts at the park on the shores of Lake Erie.

I decided to take a quick walk on the beach to check for beach glass.  I hadn't looked for any in many weeks.  I am so glad I decided to make a quick check and and hour plus later I had my best haul of the season.  The lake was quite rough so the waves were churning up many pieces.

I found my first piece of turquoise glass . . .

. . . and also my first bit of red.

Clear glass that has become frosted is the most common that I find.

The green piece on the top is probably the biggest piece of green I've found to date. 

Amber is also quite common.  Lots of broken beer bottles . . . lol!

I also gathered my walnuts ~ just in case I want to make some walnut dye.



Thanks so much for stopping by.  Tomorrow evening I will be picking my give~away winner.  Good luck to all.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren