Aaaa!!! It's snowing!!!!!

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I love the snow. It makes everything so pretty and soft and bright. It sparkles in the light. It makes everything sound and smell different. Snow is not only lovely but also beneficial as it can be "poor man's fertilizer" depending on what time of year it falls. Snow serves as natural insulation and it shows you which critters have sauntered through your yard.

If you don't like snow, live a little - go outside, crane your neck back, and catch a few flakes on your tongue!

Welcome, snow!

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Waldorf School Christmas Bazaar

Every year I have meant to go to the Christmas Bazaar at the local Waldorf School but every year I missed it... Until this year! I am so glad I went. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Here is my bounty - not a great shot due to the light, sorry - I got a felted lamb made by the students, a music box, a wooden gnome from Germany, a wooden game from England, (can you tell I love wooden toys?), a felted flower for my car dashboard, and two adorable books by Elsa Beskow.

Here are some closer shots of Elsa's work. Though her books have been around for quite some time, I had never seen them before. I love their nature themes.





I also bought a recipe book featuring a collection of soup recipes from Waldorf Schools across the states. Here it is. You can see that Mr. Biddles approves of this book.

"I approve of this book."

He also approves of the wooden gnome.

"This gnome is satisfactory."

And it was love at first sight for Mr. B and the lammie.

"gimmie kiss"

Felted flower and perfect pawsie.

The usual suspects:

More Sun Modeling

I went to the kitchen this morning and found Mr. Biddles sunbathing. He looked so sleepy, toasty, and melty (that's a word, isn't it?) that I had to take some pics.

BiddleBelly!

Bunny feet!

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The Sickening Thud

No, I do not believe that is the name of another Lemony Snicket book.

If you are a bird lover, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you are not a bird lover, I am referring to the sickening sound that is heard when a bird mistakes the reflection of a tree in a window for a real tree and they fly to it. Sometimes the bird flies away in confusion, sometimes the bird dies from injury.

I've been feeding birds since I was a kid, and this is the only house that I have had problems with bird/window collisions. Fortunately I have not seen evidence of any of these collisions here resulting in death, but I am not one to tempt fate. I bought the window clings that are supposed to divert birds but they are not working for me.

I hope I have heard my last thump. I found this product called CollidEscape. Please note ordering and/or getting information on the manufacturer's home website is a little confusing, but when I called them to order, they were excellent. I received my roll of film quickly and have installed it very easily. It does make your view to the outdoors a bit darker, like a screen, but I find this personally to be an easy "sacrifice" if it means no more bird/window collisions. It cost the same as the amount of money I have spent on window clings which did not work, and it is sized for a rather large window.

There are advantages outside of the bird aspects as well. It allows privacy, as you can see from my photos. It also diverts the sun's glare. It is basically a window cling but stickier. It can be peeled off and removed. I rent, so this is very important to me. Unlike window clings, you can see through it.

I will definitely create and addendum to my post if I find out at some point that there are any problems with this film.

Here it is from outside after I stuck it to my window. You can barely see any reflection in it, as you can see by comparison to the side window:


Close up of the white side which faces outwards and is not sticky:


Close up of the black side which is sticky and goes against the window. (I have it peeled back from the window for this shot, so the white you are seeing through it is the non-sticky side.)

Knitting for Spite

Yes, you read correctly. I am dusting my needles and beginning to knit again, and it is for spite.

You may think you are experiencing deja-vu, but be not alarmed. I have used this mohair/poly yarn before to make this scarf.

It was a present for my mother. Why am i knitting the same scarf twice? I will save you the ridiculous details and tell you the condensed version, which is that basically one of my mother's nitwit acquaintances stole my mother's scarf, used it, then returned it to her AFTER SHE WASHED IT. Not a little handscrubbing under the cold tap either. I could tell from the way it looked that this was a full-on cycle in the hot washer.

Mohair, folks. Mohair. I know you can feel my pain.

Essentially the scarf was felted/fulled, flat as a pancake and lifeless, and of course extremely shrunken.

To top it all off, my mother has a hangup about confrontations and anger, so she has buried any anger and resentment towards this nutty scarf-stealing woman. I was livid at the whole situation and reconsidered ever making anything for her again. But, of course I will, cuz after all, she is my mother. To remedy the situation, I feel I must make her another one, same style. Fortunately we had purchased 2 skeins of this yarn and I used only 1 before.

Once I give her the replacement, I think I will recycle the other one into something, if I can. It is neither happy, nor practical right now as a scarf.

October's South Sun

One of the many benefits of this time of year is the angle of the sun. As it gets lower in the sky, its warm golden touch stretches further into my kitchen and dining room. Allow Mr. Biddles to demonstrate, please.

{ahem}

Mr. Biddles, would you please model the sun for us?

"You mean, like this?"

(note the dangling pawsies)

Yes, Mr. B. Thank you.

You're the best, Mr. B!

Welcome, Harvest Moon

What would we do without our moon?

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If you want to go bonkers....

Try house hunting.

I have not crafted a darn thing in ages cuz all my creative juices have been sucked dry. I have been looking into buying a home for over a year now off and on. I'm tired of renting. House shopping is exhausting.

I don't like that I have been neglecting the blog lately, and I apologize to anyone who is annoyed with me for not posting regularly. Sorry! I hope things change very soon.

So, no crafts presently, but I have been cruising Etsy. What a wonderful showcase of crafty stuff. It seemed that I could not resist purchasing some small "homes" there since I could not find them in reality:




This one kills me:


Does it get any cuter? No, but here's another. Superbuzzy is another great place to shop. Here is some adorable fabric I could not resist.


It feels like I'm trying to make a house materialize by buying all these miniature representations of them. Cross your fingers for me!!

I'd like to live here:

Mr. Biddles Gets A Leaf (part of the "Gawd I Loves My Cat So Much" Series

=^.^=

What's that you got there, Mr. Biddles? Why, is that a crunchy old oak leaf?


Get the crunchy old oak leaf, Mr. B! Don't let it get away!


Are you sure you want to play with the crunchy old oak leaf instead of the nice clean fuzzy mouse that cost me $7? It's right there.



Or maybe you'd rather play with the smushy cloud ball? It's not that far away. See?


"No. I just want my leaf please."



cronch crunch cronche croinch



Ok, Mr. Biddles. You play with your leaf. Whatever you want is okay with me.




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The goofiness continues...

Another silly pose

What's going on here? Mr. Biddles, you silly!

A thousand apologies for being so remiss. My inspirational moments tend to evaporate quickly in this summertime heat. I have been trying out something new with a punch needle but making slow progress. Plus, I have been aggressively home-searching for my first house and having very little luck. It's exhausting!

I have recently seen a classic film called "Harvey" starring James Stewart. A fun, feel-good, warm-fuzzy movie that I highly recommend. If you like comedy of errors as I do, you will enjoy this.

Thank you, posters, for the prodding. You know who you are! :)

Mid-Summer Misery

"I'm pleased that this hot summer is nearly over."

"Wait! It's only mid-July!"

Biddles and I both have a case of the grumpies. I do not fair well in the Summer, and can't help but complain about it. I can't wait for the autumn. I'm in the midst of a crafting hiatus, but I am sure the creative juices will be flowing again soon. I'll keep you posted!