Lucky me ~

Welcome everyone. Happy hump day to you! I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Where does the time go?

I got very lucky with my computer "meltdown" and I am so thankful. I took it to Mr. Computer Repair Guy and for only $30 he was able to save everything and reload it all. Even though I have virus protection, he said a virus caused the problem. I would have been devastated had all my pictures been lost. Now I hope I've learned my lesson and will back things up or subscribe to one of those automatic backup places (such as Carbonite that Andrea suggested).

A couple people commented on my samplers shown in the background of one of my Halloween pics from my last post. I was a cross stitcher for many years, mainly stitching reproduction samplers. Though not a good picture, here are all the samplers on that wall. They are all reproductions. One of these days I will do a post on them.

Today was a rather warm but windy day on the north coast. There is an elementary school almost in my back yard, so grandson Jake and I took advantage of the weather. He was much warmer than I was. I actually had a light jacket on but was chilly. He was plenty warm in shirt sleeves, but to say he was a bit more active than me is an understatement. There was one other child at the playground, a nine year old girl, so Jake had to show off for her.

Tomorrow evening is hooking at That'll Do Farm, though we probably won't be doing any hooking. I think Andrea is going to teach us how to needle felt. I am actually making some progress on my rug and will post a picture of that soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by and please come again soon.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

I Understand the Concept...

...that less is more, but I can't yet embrace it, especially at Halloween. I did okay on the mantle ~ just a few dried gourds, a leaf garland and a wonderful pumpkin picture from Karen at My Colonial Home. The large witch was a gift from BFF Belinda.

The coffee table is also pretty simple ~ an old carrier filled with mini pumpkins, gourds and some rag balls.

That is where simple ends. I HAVE to display the pumpkin painted by my older son when he was 8 years old and in Cub Scouts. The little pumpkin mat was a gift from a friend.

This wreath was made by my younger son when he was in Cub Scouts. These are things I treasure!

My mother did beautiful ceramics. These are a few of the things she painted. This played music (the Death March) and the eyes in the trunk lit up, but the battery died long ago. I really need to replace it.
This was one of my Mom's favorite pieces that she painted.

The witch and pumpkin were also from her hands and I made the ghost decades ago from paper towels and glue, if I remember correctly.

And yet more of Mom's creations.

Vintage tin noisemakers and paper mache pumpkins.

The next two pictures are gifts from BFF Wink.

Clay creations from eBay.

Some of my black cats.

In the kitchen ~ my witch nutcracker.

Another eBay purchase.

More stuff :) The witch on the pumpkin is vintage.

The ceramic pumpkin I got as a child ~ MANY, MANY years ago.

Like I said, I am just not yet ready for less is more. Oh, and I forgot to take a picture of my tacky, plastic, light up pumpkin guy. (If some of this looks familiar, you have a very good memory. I posted lots of this last year.)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Pugs, Pugs, and a Couple Frenchies ~

~ WELCOME ~

OK. The Frenchies are first because somehow I deleted their picture at the end of the post and cant' figure out how to add it to the end. I even tried going to the new blogger, and I still could not figure it out. So here they are ~ cute as can be. I just don't want you to think I only take pictures of pugs :)

There was a Halloween pet event about an hour from me today. Ohio Pug Rescue had a booth to spread the word about pug adoption. Many current and former fosters were in attendance, along with some non-rescue pugs. This is our Loocie. She's not a rescue, but is the reason I began working with OPR. Everyone has their favorite breed, and mine happens to be pugs :)

I got to see Eema today ~ WOO HOO! Somehow I failed to get a picture of her pug sister Cher ~ probably because Cher didn't sit still long enough for me to get one. When I first went up to Eema, she didn't know who I was, but in about 30 seconds it clicked and she was so excited, jumping all over me and giving me kisses. I truly thought she would not remember me and it did my heart good to see her reaction. She seems so very happy and has adjusted well to her new home.

I think these pugs are all current or former fosters.

Don't you just love this little old man face? He came in to rescue a mess. He is doing so well and is now just waiting for his forever home!

I don't think this is an OPR pug.

This little guy isn't one of ours, either. I think he was only 12 weeks old and just as cute as could be.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Enjoy the weekend.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Eema Update & a New Blog ~

Welcome, blog buddies. Thank you so much for stopping by :)

I wish I could clone Eema's new forever mommy Dolly. If I could, all of God's furry creatures would be in their loving forever homes! Dolly is wonderful and so good to her girls. She keeps me updated and sends me lots of pictures. That's Eema, above, all ready for the Halloween parade. Below, Eema and Cher are decked out in their matching costumes. Have you ever seen cuter girls? I love this series of pictures. Eema sat down and Cher decided to rest her chin on Eema's butt.

Eema's getting tired...

...and here she is, down for the count!

Do you think the girls are getting along? Dolly told me that Cher went in her doggy bed and Eema decided to join her.

This happy ending is the reason I foster!

Please stop by Lisa's new blog, Twice Loved Woolens. She's one of the very talented hookers that I hook with at the library. I've shown many of her rugs in past posts. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Finishes ~

I just don't get it~

I really want to hook. I want to finish my Magdalena horses rug. Have I been working on it? Barely. I want to hook a Maggie Bonanomi pattern. I want to hook a hit and miss rug with hand torn strips like Cathy G over at Orange Sink hooked. (I have rug envy!) There are so many things I want to hook, but I'm not hooking!

Here are a few things I've been working on instead. I just punched this little fall mat ~ a design by Kelly Belfast. I've even sewed on the backing (and Woolfind Kathy-I've labeled it!).

I finished the second of the Pat Cross Bird Dog punch needle pieces ~ once again the back is on and labeled.
Here are a couple of cross stitch patterns I have finished. They need to be aged a bit and then I must figure out how I will finish them.
The first is a little Stacy Nash freebie pattern found over at Pattern Mart. It was charted as Emma age 6, but I changed it to Eema age 8. (Eema is doing so well. I'll post some pictures soon.)
Another Stacy Nash pattern. I don't know how I measured, but as you can see I started the angel much too far down on my linen and had to make some adjustment at the bottom so I did not run out of fabric. Luckily I realized it before it was too late.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Did I jinx myself?

By buying a laptop computer? I finally broke down and bought one a week and a half ago. Just a very basic, low end model. Not to replace my regular computer, but I sometimes wanted to be able "compute" somewhere other than holed up in my computer room. Last night my desktop computer decided to crash on me. No warning whatsoever. Did I have my computer backed up? Unfortunately I think you know the answer to my question. I am just sick about it and tomorrow will head to the computer repair shop and hope that somehow my files can be retrieved, especially my digital photos. I hope all you are there are much wiser than me ~ if not, BACK-UP YOUR COMPUTER.

Thank you so much for all the kind comments regarding my fostering Linnie. All of you have much more confidence in me than I have in myself, but I am feeling a little less overwhelmed. Linnie and I seem to be adjusting. She has calmed down and is no longer pacing non-stop. She slept through the night last night without waking up crying. I've actually had to make a chart so that I remember to give her all the meds. She is on ear medication for two weeks to rid her of a nasty infection. I bought some Glucosamine to give her daily in hopes that it will help with the arthritis. She is also on eye ointment and drops five times a day. Her poor eyes are so dry. The medications must feel really good because she lets me put them in without a fight. She knows how to find her food and water and is usually sleeping in her bed in the kitchen. She has been peacefully sleeping in the dining room for the last couple of hours. She no longer seems to be in pain and for that I am thankful.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have all had a great weekend. It is a beautiful day here on Ohio's north coast. I even washed a couple of windows today ~ just the outside but what a difference it makes. Now if I could only find the ambition to do more.....

Pug hugs :)
Lauren