Learning something new

Hi y'all, well we so enjoyed Thanksgiving but not with Turkey but with Shrimp Scampi.  So easy to make and yummy.   I know not everywhere celebrates Thanksgiving and I think our Northern neighbors celebrate in October.

A typical Thanksgiving meal is turkey, gobble gobble, and Dressing or Stuffing.  I think it depends on what part of the country you are from is what you call the Dressing or Stuffing.  Dressing is what is put around the turkey or side dish and stuffing is STUFFED inside of the turkey.  Well to me that is the difference.  Mr. G does not care for dressing or Turkey so I cheat and buy a little pan of already made dressing.  I can have dressing for several meals, well I put the left overs in the freezer and enjoy it when my taste buds crave it. 

One time my Mother cooked duck for Thanksgiving.  She was from England and sometimes we had different things to eat....like Ox Tail soup.   Now you can imagine a 5 or 6 year old  or so eating the soup and said this is good.  My brothers and sister all liked it also.  Well the ones that were old enough to eat the soup.  I said what is it?  She smiled and said Ox Tail soup.   Now you can imagine what we did.  I said arg quite loudly and spit it out.  Of course brothers and sister did the same.  I did feel bad about it when I was older and laugh about it.  But an OX and it's Tail?  I couldn't imagine.  I think we were either in Tacoma Washington or Geronimo Oklahoma. I am not sure but somewhere in those areas.

We just keep learning about different things in life don't we?  I am not sure if  I will ever try to make the Ox Tail soup though.

I am trying to make a category of recipes and I am thinking a atab of  guest recipes with their stories also of their family favorites.  I thought might be fun.   BUT........ I am trying to figure out and learn how to do this on a separate tab up top with different categories.  They say we are never to old to learn so this ole grey mare is trying.

Just had to touch base and let you know what is going on in my world at the moment.

Thank you for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today.

                                                        Annette
                                                        xoxoxo 

Purses, Books and Mermaids

Hello there, just checking in and touching base.   Funny how sayings or little quips of words stick with you.  I have nearly almost always used this phrase especially the touching base.  Playing kid games when younger and now when we have invested a lot of time watching baseball games. Touching base has a different meaning to me.  Like did a runner touch the base when he crosses the base?   

I have several purses I have made in CQ style and one is a boho bag and big even though I made it smaller.  I tried carrying it for an everyday purse but just to big.  Great for traveling though.  Hubby says I can even stuff our 60 pound dog in it if he folds his legs up.  I don't think it is that big though.  I have one purse I made when I first started with Pat Winter and her on line class. wow did it ever open an artsy door for me.   After all these years still love the embellishing part, not the figuring out what to do with it after it is embellised but that is ok also. 

I have gone back to the older purse and just happy to have it and the right size to carry everything I need in it.  

Here is the first one I ever made and you know  the dingle fringe on the bottom has held up so well and I don't think but lost one set of beads.  It is not a giant purse but that is ok.  

The back side of the purse, now it has under gone an operation and brought back to life.   The pretty fabric on the back started to come apart some and I happen to have some pretty lace and I think did a little dye job on it and now it is pretty and ready for another 5 years or so use.  Of course I had to have a bling button for the closure of it.  Some places I go people love it and comment on it but here in Abilene Texas I don't believe one person has said a word about it.  

I shared last time with you a Halloween inspired piece that Lydia and I worked on.   So for the last two Octobers I have done a little fun project called Jentober.   Jenny Manno with  Next JENeration Art on Facebook gives us 31 prompts and we joined them together how we want and to create. A page a day and it is fun and good for us to do art everyday.  There is no right or wrong, my kind of non pressure, we just create.  

Last year we were in the middle of packing for our November 14, 2018 move but I hung in there and got them done.  This year was fun also, no pressure on the home front.  I got to thinking, hubby says that is dangerous when I think, the pages are to fun just to sit in a box and do whatever they do while they are in there.  I don't think they are like my Faeries, have parties and drink your wine at night while we are asleep.  I have a friend Kathleen Klein who swears that is what they do at her house and  hides things from you.

Now several years ago when I was in Roses on My Table with Zinnia she taught how to make journal books.  So I thought why not do one for each of the years?  

The now finished two journal books

The spines of the books, I thought they are ok but need something else.  You know I needed some Annette bling on them.

So here you go some pretty rayon ribbons. I left the spiders on the one with the glass pumpkins and glass candy but need some fill in pretties.  They don't look half embellished.  Not sure if you can see the "diamond" in the silver spider.  

The inside cover of the book I painted and the splish splashed some acrylic inks on the pages and did the back inside pages this was also. 

One of the prompts and how I dressed the opposite page of each page.  The prompts was Elvira.  Bet you could have guessed that. 

The unembellished spine but shows the back and front of the book.  I used one of the prints off of my daily paintings and added it to the front.  Lots of color and texture here. 

The inside of the 2019 book. I did the same method of  embellishing it as the 2018 book.  Hey as the saying goes if it ain't broke don't fix it.  You never know though if next year I don't fix it lol   Who knows , I do like the look though and kind of fits the theme of the book. 

Inside the book with one of the paintings, the whole 31 prompts had to do with mermaids and this one had to be with flowers.  So I instantly thought Day of the Dead.  Now this is not original from my head, most of it anyway.  Thank goodness for pinterest.  I had more of the papers from scrapbooking and then added a little story about each page. Stories like how the mermaid was thinking or feeling.  Just ran with it and had fun.\

The embellished with ribbons spine but still shows the front and back of the book with lots of texture and a painting and spider on the front.  

Just fun and all of this out of watercolor hard cardboard backs put together and embellished.  

I did stray from last years paper.  Last year I used water color paper and this year Mixed Media paper.  Wow I didn't realize the difference in the thickness of the book.  I will stick to Water Color paper next year..  I guess with the mermaids in there they needed more room.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing the books and how they now proudly stand and not shoved in a box or drawer .  I think some of the mermaids could be CQ images like for a under the sea theme.   Mermaids are mainly under the sea.  Most of the time.

There you go and thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.

                                                            Annette

                                                            xoxoxo

Lydia's Halloween Wall Hanging

Hello there again.  Well I am going to try and revamp my blog, you noticed I said try didn't you?  If not I have always heard if it isn't broke don't fix it.

Now since the last real post we have moved from Rockport Texas on the coast.  We did want an adventure and did survive Hurricane Harvey.  I did share some of the pics in earlier posts of the damage that was done there.  We knew what we went down there it was just for a while.  Well 18 months later our while was up and did find a home in Abilene Texas. 

We had no idea where we were going to settle but after staying 2 weeks in Abilene during the Harvey experience we thought why not there?  The people are friendly and will say hi and not look at me like I was an alien when I visit with them.  Sometimes total strangers do that but not here.  The traffic is not fight for your life when you venture out and we have found some good eating places.   We do have to limit ourselves to maybe 2 eating out ventures a week.  We could do more but the hips scream no no no Annette.

I am fortunate to have an ART ROOM and a SEWING ROOM.  Now that is the cat's meow as a saying goes.  Two perfectly good rooms to clutter up like crazy, clean it up after a project is finished and start again.

It does take a while to get back into the grove so to speak of sewing and painting but I am doing it. You know when you move there is always things to do when you move and now the weather has turned to winter,we did have 2 or 3 days of Fall, so yard work has basically come to a screeching halt.   Yea, I love doing yard work but not 12 months out of the year.  Know what I mean?

 Now I am so blessed to have many artsy and non artsy friends.  We are on the same page of life and as said I am so blessed.  They get me and that might be scary for them but I love it.   In this wonderful group I have a twin.  Yes, she and I are cut from the same cloth as the saying goes.  This angel loves the same colors as I do and we have found so much in common during our live's path that I figured we must have been twins  in another life. She also does Crazy Quilting and very good at it. She puts fabrics together like a breeze and a great color sense to go with it all.  She had pieced 6 blocks of Halloween design and I offered to embellish them for her.  She had a lot on her plate of life at that time and you know to me the embellishing is the best part of it.  Like eating a piece of good yummy candy.


The first block I did add some glass pumpkins and lots of stitching.  Lydia puts the prettiest fabric together .  His crop of wheat is gathering the black crows and I know the corn will attract them also.

The next one I had to add one of Raviolee Dreams little appliques of a kitty and of course embellish the kitty also. Raviolee  Dreams has beautiful hand dyed laces you will love for any art you may want to use it on.  This little girl looked pretty frazzled so I thought the kitty would cheer her up.   

The next one with Lydia's pretty fabric and of course I had to really doll this lady up with shoes and all.  A garden spider had to peek in in the upper corner.

Oh oh, this next block of Lydia's almost had garden spider overload.  The girl in the block  looks like she has been thru it doesn't she?

Now this little mummy was trying to get around and I though ok maybe some crazy corn, love that stuff.  Hubby says it is pure sugar and what is wrong with that I ask?  I did find some crazy corn
"beads" at Michael's craft store.  Right up there with Hobby Lobby but not as big.   I don't get into as much trouble there as I do Hobby Lobby.  You all know what I mean.

Now last but not least is the trick or treating lady.  She doesn't notice the bat and witch's boiling cauldron I put in there.  She is busy trick or treating or maybe shopping and the pumpkin is her purse?

Now the finished piece, all the blocks put together with Lydia Talton's expertise.  She just makes all the blocks sing.  

Here is the finished wall hanging.  I loved the polka dots she edged this with and the black border just make the pieces sing.  

Oh I have to share a visit I had yesterday.  We went to Chick fil A  , wonderful chicken,  and Hubby went to the book store near by the chicken place.  I knew he would be a while, a long while so I went and stood in line.  Well ahead of me was probably 30 or more young men and women in Air Force fatigues.  I got in line and a young man behind me was standing there and you know me if they are breathing it is my duty to talk to them.  I had a great conversation with him and was a great topping of the day to me.  He said he loved my visit and learned a lot of history.  Hubby laughed when I told him that.  Well yes, he was 20 and I was 75.  A lot of history there.  Ok had to share the topping of a warm day for us.  

I better stop for the minute, I don't want to wear your eye out but will be back soon.  No telling what the subject is but you are use to that by now. 

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is happening in my world

                                                      Annette

                                                      xoxoxo

We are alive and kicking

Hi dear readers, now don’t faint but it is really me posting. We have moved and resettled and will post some stories for you.  Thanks for being there and will get back to you soon.  I bet you thought the world just drew us into a black hole.

I just wanted to touch base and no telling what I am going to do with my blog.  I have been painting and crazy quilting and lots of pics for you.

Hugs to all.
Annette