Hooray for Hollywood ~

 

Back from vacation ~ back to reality.  It really is good to be home . . . not so great to be back at work but my desk wasn't as bad as I had envisioned.

 

We made it to Los Angeles without incident.  I was even able to get through security with my scissors (less than 4" blades) and two pumpkin rolls.  My son (fondly known as LA Bill) LOVES pumpkin roll, so I surprised him with two.  I think he was happier to have the pumpkin roll than to see me :)  He already has asked when I will be back because as of Tuesday night, it was almost gone. 

 

We were typical tourists in the LA area.  Our first excursion was to Hollywood.

 

What a gorgeous theater.

Outside TCL Chinese Theatre (fka Grauman's).

 We walked many blocks to find this star.

We were there the day after Robin Williams died.  It was a media frenzy.  One never knows what demons live in others.  So sad.

Our next stop was Griffith Observatory. 

 

 

The sundial was accurate
to the minute.

 
 Set high atop a hill, it afforded beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  In the coming days, I have much more to bore you with :)

 

Pug hugs,

Lauren

Just a Quick Hello ~

Judy wanted to pop in to say hello.  I think I am going through blog withdrawal :). I was hoping to post a pic I had taken of the Oakland Bay bridge, but can't figure out how to do it from my iPad.    Gggrrrrr.

Having a wonderful time here in California.  We spent a few days in the LA area visiting with my son and his girlfriend.  It was very hectic trying to cram as much as possible in a very short time.  Yesterday we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Sebastopol.  A very long drive (13+ hours), but so worth it.  The scenery was breathtaking!  DSO's son and fiancée live in the country.  What a change of pace.  So quiet and peaceful compared to LA.

I'll have lots to share upon my return home.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pugs hugs :)

Lauren

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the REALLY Ugly ~

Around the yard

 

The good . . .

My mom always call these naked ladies :)

One of only two flowers on my hydrangea.
 Winter was very hard on them here in northern Ohio

Passion flower

The Bad . . .

 

I think this hydrangea is called limelight. 
 It blooms on new growth so I would have had flowers . . .
but ~ you can see the bitten off ends.
They did the same to my viburnum.

 

Deer LOVE hostas

The ulgy . . .

My weeping cotoneaster is dying :(

The really ugly . . .

 

Still having email issues.  If you reply to a comment I've left on your blog or send me an email, I may not get it.  I am so tired of dealing with tech support but I finally have been in contact with a supervisor who will actually call me back as he has promised.  If I made minimum wage for all the hours I've spent on the phone in the last two weeks, I'd have a nice little paycheck. 

 

I'm going on vacation tomorrow . . . yippee . . . get to see my #1 bad boy (aka son Bill who just turned 35 ~ how did that happen?).  So . . . if you don't hear from me, I'll be back soon.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Penny Rug Fini ~

 

 

I don't often finish a project and absolutely love it.  I like it, but that's usually it.  I think I love this penny mat.  The colors are drab but much better in person.  The finished size ended up being about 10 1/2" x 16 1/2".  The larger of the pennies measures 2 1/2"

 

Perfect on the antique stepback cupboard in the dining room.

Well, I'm still having email problems.  The problem being that for two days I haven't sent or received an email.  Last night (after a good hour and a half on the phone) I was assured the problem would be fixed in 2 hours.  After that time I was assured it would be today.  Well, now this afternoon I was assured it would be up and running in two to four hours and that he double checked everything to be sure it was done properly.  He doesn't know why I keep getting locked out of my account and we know that there are 199 messages in the inbox . . . sigh.  Enough already.  I am getting frustrated beyond belief.  I am ready to change my ISP, but the thought of updating my email address in so many places is daunting.

 

Thank you so much for listening to me whine.  In fact, I think I will have some later - without the h.

 

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Thank You for all your Kind Comments ~

Thank you so much for all your kind comments regarding my last post.  I didn't mean to insinuate that I was going to quit blogging, just was wondering if I was the only one who was noticing a change.  I think I have a lot of blah, blah, blah left in me . . . lol :)  I would have liked to personally respond to many of you, but I'm still having email issues.  Last night I spent another hour and forty five minutes on the phone.  UGH.  Hopefully with the advice I received I will be able to reload the program (well, actually have DSO do it) and finally have a resolution to my issues. 

Still nothing on the hooking frame, and since I am going on vacation next week, there probably won't be until after returning home.  I have been working on my first penny rug and even though my stitches aren't perfect and some of my pennies are just a bit wonky and off-center, I absolutely LOVE how it is coming out.  The best part is that once the pennies are sewn on, it is D-O-N-E :)  No binding to sew on.  Nothing left to do but enjoy.  I am going to take pennies to stitch on the plane (commercial, not DSO's).  I also purchased a couple cross stitch patterns from Tina Woltman, Early America, the 1815 Shoppe, so will probably get one of those ready to stitch, too.  You can find her patterns on her Picture Trail.  I'd go stir crazy if I didn't have something to work on.

So close

Debbie over at Woolen Sails often offers her patterns in give-aways and I was a recent lucky winner.  I chose her antique cat pattern.  What a generous soul.  Thank you so much, Debbie :)

Has anyone tried this?

 

 

I ate the whole thing - alone - in just a few days.  No willpower . . . sigh . . . but it was worth it.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren 

Is Blogging Becoming Passe?

 

Welcome friends.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Is it just me or is blogging falling by the wayside to Facebook?  I know it slows down in the summer, but my daily views and comments are WAY down.  Or is it just me . . . lol?  I have been getting on Facebook more often, but there is so much to scroll through that I know I miss tons of stuff, not to mention all the feeds (is that what they are called?) that I have no idea how or why I'm getting them.  I am still Facebook stupid.  Blogging just seems so much more personal to me.  Does anyone else feel that way?

 

Can you believe this is post #800 for me?  I know I can't.  My first post was on May 31, 2009.  You can read it here.  I knew this was coming but it still snuck up on me.  I'll have a give-away after I get back from vacation so stay tuned. 

 

I added a couple pieces of white ironstone to my small but growing collection.  This is a soap dish, complete with insert. 

 

I also got this covered dish.  The cup was another purchase.  I don't think it's flow blue, but not sure what it is.  It is heavily damaged, but for $.50 I couldn't pass it up.

Here are all the pieces I have collected so far.

I also got this great table runner made from an old coverlet.  The colors are different than any coverlet colors I have seen.

It looks great with a bowl of stone fruit, though I think I need to trade it out for a bigger bowl.  I LOVE stone fruit.  It's one of my favorite collections.  You can see more of it here.

 

 

Another weekend bites the dust.  How can it be August?  So many people are thinking fall and pumpkins.  NOT ME!!! 

 

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Penny Rugs ~

 

I needed a portable craft to work on on the way to Chicago.  I can't cross stitch in the car (no Ott light) and I didn't have a punch needle project in mind, so after reading Cee's blog and watching her You Tube videos (they are WONDERFUL), I decided to make a penny rug.  She is so sweet and willing to share her knowledge.  I emailed her a couple times, and she quickly responded.  I've done a little wool applique, but not an actual penny rug.  She is offering kits, but I didn't have time to order, so I got out the dye pot and added small pieces of many wools.  I also dyed some lightweight twine I had, but it ended up being just a bit to thick for my liking, so I bought some #3 crochet cotton thread, dyed it and it is working well.  Louise over at Dogwood Farm has already received her kit and is nearly done.  The dye formula is from this book.

 

I am not dyeing for a certain color, just to have all the colors blend well together.  It is #85 - Emma Lou's putty (old).

 

One thing I didn't factor in to the equation was this . . . sweet Loocie who sat on my lap for 99% of the trip.  Needless to say, not one penny was stitched. 

 

{{Loocie is my houseguest for a few days.  She normally stays with daddy (aka DSO), but he is off to the big airplane extravaganza in Oshkosh, WI.}}

 

I have made a little . . . very little progress.  My pennies are larger than Cee's, and unlike Cee, I am stitching the two pennies together first. 

  

I'll keep you posted on my progress.  I still don't have anything on the hooking frame and am beginning to have symptoms of withdrawal.  Like Bobbie posted on her blog, I also have a case of TMPTLT ~ too many projects, too little time.

After being disconnected a number of times and spending more hours on the phone with my ISP, I am still having email problems.  Everyone I talk with has a different reason excuse for my issues.  I just wish it would be resolved.  I am a patient person, but my patience is wearing thin.  I just can't bear to call them tonight, so that is on my list for tomorrow.

 

I drink more of this than I care to admit (I don't drink coffee).

 

My niece was excited to find this.  How fun.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren