Random summertime photos

It's been a cold and rainy day today. Everyone was bundling up today at work and taking lots of extended afternoon naps. People are complaining that summer is over, but I keep thinking, "no it can't be, after all we are the sunniest city in Canada". Other than working all weekend, I have absolutely nothing interesting to report. I'm looking forward to enjoying the long weekend Monday tomorrow with my family and a few friends.

I had a look through some pictures today to remind me about the summer, just a few random snapshots. We really have had a very wonderful and fun few months.

Lizzie perched on a very cool 'pleather' couch at the clay arts studio. Just would not take that lollipop out of her mouth.

Two of the skinniest, yet completely well-nourished, children that I know. We spent a very special afternoon in early August with some dear friends when they came to town. These two little ones, Lizzie & S were the best of friends until they realized they were female and male respectively. I suspect their relationship went seriously downhill the year Lizzie had a "tooth fairy" birthday and invited all the guests, including boys, to dress up like fairies. The final nail in the coffin was Lizzie's decision to paint her room bubblegum pink. S wouldn't even cross the threshold. However, they've since learned to bond over waterslides and arcade games...as long as no one is watching.

This is my friend Oliver "helping" me make the bed. Normally both cats pounce on the bed as soon as I fling the sheet across it. Oliver is just too dumb to get out before I start tucking the sheets in and Rain inevitably starts attacking him when he's "under-cover". 

Help us resolve an ongoing issue in our house. I think this is the sweetest little kitty face and Javier considers him uglier than sin. 

So, what's the verdict, Sweet Face Oliver or "Ugly-ver"?

I've got the fever

The SILVER FEVER that is...just in case you forgot.

Hopefully, next spring this will be my....er...I mean, my family's new toy.

Photobooth Fun

Lizzie and I love planning around with the Mac.  Javier always teases me because I always have lots of Photobooth pictures of just myself. A little confession: sometimes I come down here and take a photo to make sure my hair looks okay.

Last weekend, I shared a bed with Lizzie when we were staying at the hotel. I woke up at one point and her head was on my shoulder. I'm sure it was not on purpose, but still.

Trying to get a decent 'side' shot. I got my hair cut yesterday. Remember the haircut from before? I went to the salon a few months later and she slaughtered me! I tell you, no good hair days for at least 2 1/2 months. So it was time for yet another new stylist. I'm very fickle and was afraid that she'd slaughter my hair again. Not sure about this new cut, but time will tell.

I think the camera is trying to steal my soul. Lizzie thinks it's pretty funny.

That's it for now. Happy Friday everyone.

Little monkeys jumping on the bed

I have a bit of a confession to make. Somehow I've managed to make my daughter HATE shopping with me! Sob. When it was time to go back-to-school shopping last weekend, we both approached the task with something akin to dread. Her because she dislikes being dragged around while I enjoy my "ooh, look how cute this is, and this, and this" before running on to the next store. Me because I dislike being presented with multiple shrugs and eye-rolls as I hold items up for her approval. We also have quite different fashion styles, so my cute flowy bohemian styles that I think would look so lovely are quickly shot down. Sigh.

We decided that the only possible solution that could help us make it through the experience with our sanity and good natures intact was to invite a friend along. Better yet, a friend AND her mom. And turn it into an overnight trip. So in the end, we had two moms, two preteen girls, a hotel room, and a mall to conquer.

Before any shopping was to be done, we had to check the beds for bounciness. I laughed when I saw my friend's face as I told the girls to go ahead and jump on the bed, as is normally the tradition when we stay at hotels. However, soon all four of us were bouncing on the beds.

And quickly dissolving onto the mattress in a giggling mess.

The girls also had some fun mimicing the statue down the street from the hotel.

We did some major shopping damage the next day. 

The weather has turned cooler the past few days. We were even forced to pull out socks this week! School starts next Tuesday and despite minor protestations, I think Lizzie is ready to go back. Her brand new backpack is packed with a full array of school supplies. Her closet is stocked with a new fall wardrobe. New shoes will arrive via courier any day. I think we are almost ready.

Thanks for all the laundry room love. So far, I've done 6 loads of laundry and it was pretty nice to work down there. Even Javier approves.

While you were out

My dear Javier has been away for a few days and I've been busy. 

One of the house projects that's been on my to-do list for quite some time now was to pain the basement floor. Like many older homes, the basement is not the most attractive part of the house. Dark, dingy, 'concrete'y, yucky. And the laundry room is usually situated down there as well. Subsequently, doing laundry becomes even more of a chore. 

This is our laundry area before. Yeah really yucky. Doesn't exactly inspire one to do laundry.

After Lizzie and I painted the floor, I was feeling kind of motivated to continue. The laundry area needed a little spiffing too.

This is the end result. It still is obviously a basement laundry room. I can't do much about the hanging electrical wiring or the pipes, so please pretend they are not there. Also, please pretend that my washer and dryer match! I gave everything a nice clean coat of white paint.

A few picture frames, black & white laundry photos printed off google.images, wooden letters from Michaels, some fabric, and some repurposing of decorations from elsewhere in the house. It probably doesn't look like much. I mean its not Saucy's laundry room by any stretch, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Hopefully, laundry will be a bit more fun from now on. Probably not, but one can always be optimistic. 

Plus, I found a place for some of my aprons.

Javier should go away more often. I get a lot accomplished when I'm lonely! I hope he's surprised when he gets home.

Ch-ch-ch-cheetah

Last night the movie "Cheetah Girls: One World" debuted on television. Lizzie and I celebrated the best way we know how. With a special dinner of course.

We are not equipped with proper Cheetah Girl wardrobes so we had to settle with a leopard print headband. We are saying it's cheetah print instead. So lovely with a pink polo-necked t-shirt dress. 

What did we serve?

Well, CH-eetos, of course!

And CH-eezy CH-icken Casserole

We washed it down with CH-erry colas! 

And finished the meal with CH-ocolate CH-ip CH-erry CH-eesecake!

And yes, we did have a bit of vegetable for a well-balanced meal...CHEW-cumbers, I mean cucumbers.

And the movie? Well there were more song & dance routines that I was expecting, but the whole thing had a nice "Bollywood" theme, which I always love.

Oh yeah. Miss Lizzie loved it too!

Embarrassing Songs

Ms. Jillian from Jillian's Pages tagged me this week for an embarrassing songs meme. Will you even visit me again after I reveal that I secretly like these songs?

1. "Start of Something New" by the High School Musical Cast - what can I say? I find it uplifting.

2. "Baby Don't Hurt Me" by Haddaway. Made famous of course by Chris Kattan & Will Farrell on SNL & Night at the Roxbury. My head starts jerking to the right every time the song is on the radio. Can't help myself.

3. "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dione - okay, this one is VERY embarrassing, but I saw part of the movie the other night and then found myself singing along to it quite loudly in the car yesterday. I'm never going to show my face again.

4. "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers - some friends put this on their wedding CD and I find it impossible to starts singing when I hear it. I try for a slightly Western twang, which I'm sure is delightful to all who've ever heard it. I know all the words, except not without the music. I like a song that tells a good story.

5. Every song on the "A Mighty Wind" soundtrack. We lost this CD and frankly, life has never been the same since. I don't really find this too embarrassing and maybe you won't either, especially if you like folksy type music. Plus I love any Christopher Guest mockumentary. However, my sister-in-law thought we were a bit weird when we all (all meaning Javier and I) knew all the words and sung along. I tend to get really carried away when listening to this.

Well, that's it. Hopefully I won't lose all my readers. Do you still respect me?

As this is a meme, I really should be passing it on to others, but I'm never sure who likes and dislikes memes (sort of like the chain letter thing). If you would like to play, please feel free!

Creating

Have I ever mentioned that I like to make things? Just checking if you remember. I started this blog as a way to share my creations, but somehow along the way I veered off into the world of cats, Airstreams, and family. No worries. I have no intention of changing my blog. I just wanted to share with you what I've been working on lately.

This is my latest submission to the Sassy Apron Swap--Fall Edition. We had to sew a full coverage or bib-style apron. I decided to take the Subtle Halloween approach. Javier said it looks a bit like Spiderman's apron. The orange trim is hand-crocheted lace & for fun I added a little tulle to the bottom.

It's my favourite of all the aprons I've made so far, though not necessarily the most perfectly sewn. I think I could perfect my technique if I kept making the same apron over and over, but I always need to mix things up a bit.

We also had to send in a pot holder. I went with the same Halloween theme, not so subtle anymore. I used Annie Oakleaves which turned out so cute I think. I think a set of Halloween tea towels might be in the works.

Today I'm off to paint the basement floor with my helpful little assistant, Lizzie. And then, hopefully I get around to visit all you bloggers. Forgive my commenting absence!

Happiness

I know there are some bloggers out there who don't like cats. For those, I apologize for the following post.

Do these cats look happy?

One cat is sure happy at least. Oliver is purring away cleaning the top of Rain's head. If we could harness the energy of his purr, I think we could solve the world's energy crisis.

My poor little Rain. Oliver torments her so. In this picture, she's feigning sleep while he is grooming her incessantly. He does this to her all the time. I tell myself that it's because he loves her, but I strongly suspect, he's just trying to get the prime position on the couch. He will continue to lick her until she pretty much begs for mercy. She growls at him and stalks off. Sometimes he chases her, other times he looks at us quite innocently and settles into the warmed up spot.

Rainy is not without her quirks. She looooooves hair products, or maybe its just wet hair. Lizzie was resting on the couch after swimming yesterday. and Rain attacked her head. It's really  quite obscene sometimes. We have to hide our hair brushes or they become victims of Rainy's furious attentions. We've both lost a few locks of hair to Rain's loving. I guarantee you, Rainy is extremely happy here.

My favourite model

She's only 10 and her mother is already driving her crazy. Last week she attended a pottery & clay camp at local Hycroft China. When I dropped her off all she saw was an opportunity to create with clay & make new friends. But what did I see? Photo ops, of course. There was plenty of eye rolling and "more pictures?!".  How can I resist when she is just such a lovely subject?

This last picture was taken during our summer holiday. I call it the "Paparazzi" shot.

Favourite Corner #1 - Revisited

I've been feathering my nest (the home office) a little bit over the past few weeks. I'm preparing for a new arrival. No, that that kind of arrival. I'm talking about the arrival of back to school. It's just about the beginning of the new school year and my last semester of nursing school. School starts in September for both LIzzie and I. However, this December I will be writing my final school exams and walking across the stage to get my nursing cap & pin. 

This is how the office looked last January. 

It was a pretty good room. Cozy, but a little boring. Note glowing cat eyes on sofa. I wanted to make it a little more me, a place where I will enjoy spending many hours studying and writing.

And here it is now. Let me show you few of my favourite things in this room. 

I embroidered the small green linen pillow last summer and covered the bigger cushion with some tropical print fabric. I'm liking the colours.

And my chair! Still not very comfortable, but much better to look at, I think. This green is one of my favourite colours. More tropical print on the seat.

These are a few little treasures I've accumulated. A toadstool jar, a sweet bird, 3-D sunglasses, and an Empire State Building. The framed picture is yet more embroidery, a type of sampler this time that I did last winter.

Lastly, I want to introduce my new friend, Dorothy. She found her way into our trailer after a shopping trip in Couer d'Alene. Javier burst out laughing when he saw me dragging her out of the antique store and I'm sure said a little prayer of thanks that we had a truck with us. I had to do some convincing at the store as they weren't quite prepared to part with this little sweetheart, but I guess I was charming enough. She's in pretty rough shape, but I love her just the same. Plus, I now have a place to display at least one apron at a time. 

For those who remember this post from a while back, I still haven't decided how to display the aprons. Right now they are in a big pile in my craft room, hopefully to be organized sooner rather than later. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Editors admission: I cannot tell a lie. The previous first AFTER photo was totally staged. I looked at the photo above and decided the whole room looked a bit too cluttered. So, I uncluttered and reshot the room. I am so ashamed...and I completely blame my OCD. HOWEVER, I did recently determine, after a conversation with one of my instructors that...apparently most really good nurses have a touch of OCD. I choose to translate this as all the COOL nurses. YES, more confirmation that I am a totally cool person.

There's a new restaurant in town

Last night, Javier and I were invited to dinner at a new place, Restaurant a Fancy. It was very nice, very homey. The most amazing thing is that the head chef is only 10 years old. Isn't that amazing.

We were ushered in to the lobby, where we were asked to wait for our seating. We had the option of the patio or the dining room. We asked for the patio of course. The hostess, who is also the chef, seemed a bit pushy. I tried to sneak a peak and I was promptly reminded to "to wait to seated". Oops.

Once we were seated, we were able to peruse the drinks menu. While the Roy Rogers sounded interesting, we decided on the wine. We had one option: red. Our favourite.

This is the sommelier, who is also the hostess & head chef. Boy, she really needs to hire some staff. 

 

After enjoying the complimentary shrimp and bruschetta appetizers, we looked at the Spanish-themed menu. Mmmm! The menu fijo  included Pollo Curruscante, Ensalada, & Mice in Jackets, plus a special surprise dessert of Spiders a la Sweet.

Check out this house specialty...cute little mice made from baked potatoes.  They were delicious. 

And now for some dessert!

We decided they were mutant Spiders. Cream puffs with gummy lifesavers and licorice.

A toast to the chef for an excellent meal.

And then some well deserved relaxation time.

Editors note: Miss Lizzie spent the afternoon with her Grandma preparing this magnificent feast. She snuck the dress out of our house in her backpack, sneaky little devil. I think she had a wonderful time and I think Grandma did too!