Día de los Muertos...

As part of my daughters high school art class they had a big project to do this semester for Día de los Muertos, (Day of the Dead). Emily choose to do her project on her Great Grandmother, Grace Durland. She was able to spend a lot of time with her Great Grandmother up until she passed away a few years ago and has very fond memories of her.


She used a lot of creative materials to make all the items in the "House" she built. The couch was made from Popsicle sticks and upholstered with fabric and cotton balls. The table and chairs were made out of balsa wood, with the tableware coming from the miniatures section of the craft store(this was allowed). She made the basket for the balls of yarn out of fimo sculpting clay, made the knitting needles and rolled all the balls of yarn herself. She used a small gift box to create her television and even found a picture of Sesame Street on the internet to put inside, since that is what she would have been watching while Granny lived in this house.

She used sculpting clay to make the table lamp, made the remote control for the T.V. and included a copy, handmade of course, of a crossword puzzle on the coffee table. It was something Granny did everyday! The stairs and the fireplace were made from both wood and cardboard, then painted. She even found a picture of a fire for the fireplace to make it look authentic. All in all, it was a very accurate representation of My Grandmothers house. It is amazing all the details Emily remembered all on her own. I don't think she asked for any help on what to put in the house. The only help I gave was with finding construction materials to make some of the items, but she built everything all by herself.

I went to the school to see her finished project along with the other items done by her classmates. It was very interesting the array of subjects that were chosen to be honored. Grandparents were very well represented, as were pets, followed by celebrities such as Patrick Swayze, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, but by far the best represented celebrity/musician was Kurt Cobain. I was somewhat surprised by this. There must have been 6-8 different kids doing a piece in his honor.

I think Emily really enjoyed this experience and the opportunity to remember her Great Grandmother in a special and unique way.

Freyja... Day Two...

After an event filled first day, Freyja actually went to sleep in her new kennel without much protest. She slept all night until around 5:00am when she woke up and whined. Bob got up and took her out for a potty break. Upon returning her to her kennel, she decided that she was going to let us know she wasn't interested in being in there any longer. This was expressed in some world class howling, barking and whining, which after 10 minutes Bob decided that they would just get up. All of this excitement had Quinn a wee bit wound up, so I let him get on the bed with me thinking he would just settle down and go to sleep with me... wrong! I kicked him off, only to have him nudge me every 20 minutes or so for most of the rest of the morning!!! Needless to say, I didn't get what you would call quality sleep in the morning.


We decided to give Freyja her first bath and wash off the kennel smell that came with her. It actually wasn't bad at all, but I thought she could us just a little freshening up. She on the other hand didn't think it was such a great idea!


She spent most of the time trying desperately to get out of the sink. The more shampoo I got on her the more slippery she got. She was one squirmy little bugger!


I have to say I think she was the most resistant to a bath of any puppy we've ever had. I don't give my dogs baths very often, but they do happen every now and then.



Once we were all clean it was time to dry off and have a good reassuring little snuggle. she has a very dense coat, but dried off pretty quickly. She now smells as sweet as can be and is oh so soft!


With all the stress of having a bath, she was one tired pup, so she curled up in between Emily's feet and went to sleep! It was just too cute!



Since Emily had to get up and do other things... chores... Freyja relocated to another warm place and continued her nap. I believe right now she is assisting Bob and Emily with Easter egg coloring in the kitchen. I don't do the coloring part, I buy the eggs and coloring kits, I cook the eggs. Then I make yummy deviled eggs out of them on Easter and take them over to my in-laws and pig out on them. I eat them only once a year and I make the most of it.

Lima Bean Turns 15!!!!

I meant to do this post weeks ago, being that I was sick for a good three weeks, it has taken me a while to get back in the swing of things. While I was in the throws of my lovely sickness, my beautiful Lima Bean, as she was affectionately referred to while I carried her inside of me, turned 15! This photo was taken on her first birthday. The very next day she broke out from head to toe in the chicken pox... poor honey. She has always been a pleasant person and has a great deal of compassion for others. We are very proud of the person she has become and know that she will continue to grown into a fantastic adult. I don't know how this all happened so fast. It seems like she was just turning 5 a few years ago. It seems like you blink and they grew up on you.

She has been sporting this head of curls since she was about 18 months old. She is less than appreciative of it now, but it is still the one thing people compliment her on most! I tell her all the time, people pay good money to try an achieve what you been given by nature. She just cranks up the straightening iron!!!

I suppose she has the best of both worlds since you can see from her latest picture, taken this fall, during her freshman year at high school, she has mastered the art of straightening. No one would ever know from this picture she has curly hair! She is enjoying the social aspects of her freshman year more than the academics, but I can't say I was any different. She is taking art and french, both of which she loves! Some days she can be a teenage handful, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world! I just adore my little Lima Bean! Now I just have to come to terms with the fact that she can get her drivers permit!!!!

Whiny Sick Girl!

What is it about getting sick that makes some of us so whiny? I am just horrible! Today I got hit with a fever, body aches, and some other unmentionable symptoms, that have left me just a great big mess. I am so sore I feel like I was run over by a truck and they backed up just to make sure they didn't miss any spots. I have a fever but am chilled to the bone! I have been sitting down stairs in my big chair and a half with a down throw over me and the fire place on. I also have 90lbs of Golden retriever in my lap as well. I think he feels his frequent trips up and down are a way of massaging my sore muscles.

Emily was sick with this same thing last week for several days, I hope it doesn't last too long. My co-worker needs me to fill in for her on Friday, so I need to be better by then, but it of course isn't something I actually have any real control over! I certainly don't want to screw up her plans, but I can't help being sick. Sometimes the timing of these things really sucks! Emily's 15Th birthday is Saturday and I have a feeling what I was planning on making for her family party isn't going to happen. Not only will I not get to the Asian market I need to go to, I don't have the energy to make the food she wants, Dim Sum.. We may have to come up with plan B.

In the mean time there is still a great 40% off sale going on in my Etsy shop, it's a good thing I can manage that in my pajamas and no one knows the difference! Things are selling nicely so I'd go take a peek while there is still a good selection to choose from. Thanks for stopping by!