Guess what day it is?

Wednesday already!! Sheeeesh...they blow by so fast! the days that is....... we have had 3 good ones in a row (+20C on Monday!!) I have been getting some exercise.....raking and cleaning out major debris (mostly leaves) from under shrubs and off the lawn. My shoulders know it. I raked up a "Hefty" size bag of cones from one 15 X 15 foot square of lawn; we have no trees.............the neighbour has two huge spruce that are not healthy...ick....they lose piles of needles and cones during the winter. A windy day when it blows from the northwest?.... we get absolutely peppered with them.









So,............ABC day at Mrs. Nesbitt's again ..... and the letter is "O".

These are not new photos...but they are my own from Christmas time. My "O" word is ornament. It could also be origami...because that is what these little beauties are. Made by folding pieces of paper in order to achieve this particular shape.













This is my favourite that I have made so far. Probably because of the colours; love the teals. It is made from foils and the patterned bit is a piece of gorgeous gold and teal doubled up tissue paper. The tissue paper is a bit fragile to use if not doubled or glued to a firmer paper for a backing. It still needs to fold well.. not buckle under pressure, and must hold the shape when folding is complete.










This gives you an idea of the size.










Oh, look... chocolate box wrappers.... all foil-y and shiny and so perfect. You can also use any wrapping papers...a great way to recycle some of the pretty wrapping paper you hate to throw away. If you have origami papers with tiny flowers or patterns on them, they are lovely added to the mix.










I bought my first little origami ornament several years ago. This is it. It includes proper origami papers with pattern of tiny flowers.










Actually, I bought 3 because I didn't know if I would ruin them all trying to figure out how they were constructed. I still have all 3. That number must mean something... because they are made with 3 pieces of 3 inch square paper. I took one apart and it took me 3 days to figure out how to put it back together again. Each year when I try to make another...it takes me 3 tries to get it right. I don't know if I could explain in less than about 33 pictures and plenty of uhm-ing... how to do it. I have searched for a tutorial on it... came up with this. It is not quite the way I do it.... mine is just what I figured out in my own bumbling way and it works for me.










Look at all the beautiful colours I've made... hahah...then I got really silly...and made some half the size ...ohhh, was that fiddly! They can be made into cute little Christmas earrings....!. String a golden thread, add a bead or two and look how beautiful they are. They are such fun to make.

ABC Wednesday

If you would like to play ABC Wednesday..check out Mrs. Nesbitt's site.....

Today is "N" .......I chose needle ... .. so I'm showing a few pics of my fun hobby...stitching small bears with needle and thread. Here is the latest little guy I just finished. If the bear is small.... under 5 inches, I do the whole thing by hand. If it is over 6 inches I sometimes try to do a few pieces by machine...but, still do the head, foot pads and ears by hand. If the fur is ultra fluffy, like this stuff...I find it easier to do it all by hand.










This is the bottom of a leg and foot... all the fur must be tucked in out of the way before attaching the foot pad. This is a strange faux fur with some very long outer "hairs". It was a cushion cover that I bought on sale and took apart... silly as a cushion..but, great as a little bear!










In order to keep the fur out of the way while using my little needle to do the tiny stitches, I use many clips to hold the paw pad securely to the bottom of the foot while I stitch around it. It is a bit awkward working around them...but speed is not of the essence.....perfect stitches are....and each stitch is only about two of those teensy squares (squint hard and you can see them).. I don't want things slipping and sliding while trying to keep stitches neat.










Once the pad is stitched into place... turn it all right side out and there you have it...foot pad... and all the fur pointing in the right direction. Needle work complete.













His nose is another type of needlework... embroidery...
it is a smooth satin stitch.. stitches done very close together and keeping them all the same degree of tightness in order to form a satin-like finish. Noses can be tiny or large...and many different shapes... depending on where or how I place the stitches with my needle.......

when life gives you lemons....

you know the old saying, right? ... "make Lemonade"











....
Well, my response is always... hey..lemons!! I can use those..... for Lemon Loaf.... or Lemon Blueberry Muffins.... or my sister's Lemon Squares... or.... well, anyway.... there is absolutely no shortage of what to do if I am handed lemons or find them hiding in my crisper. What?...it doesn't mean literally?..... oh...........well, so what? Let's make 'em anyway.











Lemon Cranberry (or, Blueberry) muffins. When I heard that Tim Horton's was coming out with lemon cranberry muffins, I absolutely had to try one because those two flavours together?... all I can say is YUM! Ran out to my car with my lovely coffee and a muffin as soon as they began to sell them... ready to savour each bite in peace and quiet... yech! I couldn't believe how awful it was. Store bought muffins...ptoooey. Tossed it. What a shame. Home I went, and over the winter, perfected my own. Then, I also tried them with blueberries... Yeah... I know I'm a bit of a nut case.. but I do love a great muffin. ...and if you do as well... check out my recipe some day. My Lemon Blueberry muffins are pretty darn good if I do say so myself; and I'm cheeky enough to do just that.... They get great comments from anybody who tries them and I even have people that call to order a batch every so often for their own freezers, so, they must be pretty good.

Check out all the other folks and their word for Wednesday...today is the letter "L" .... and it stands for Lemony goodness here at the house of bears....

ABC Wednesday

A new logo for Mrs. Nesbitt's group of shutter bugs.

Today the letter is J .....













for Jester......

According to Wik.... a jester, joker, fool, or buffoon are names of a profession that came into popularity in the Middle Ages. Jesters are always thought to have typically worn brightly colored clothing in a motley pattern. Their hats, sometimes called the cap ’n bells, cockscomb (obsolete coxcomb), were especially distinctive; made of cloth, they were floppy with three points (liliripes) each of which had a jingle bell at the end. The three points of the hat represent the ass's ears and tail worn by jesters in earlier times. Other things distinctive about the jester were his incessant laughter and his mock scepter, known as a bauble or maharoof.













Hahahah.... mine seems to be "laughed out" !













My jester is made from bits of silks that have slightly faded colours. I wanted him to appear a bit worn.... his bells are brown and rusty... he has been around.......













..but, then, so has Mingus.... the traveler carrying him.

I attached my jester onto a stick and he then became a marotte.. which is..

"a prop stick or scepter with a carved head on it. Typically carried by a Jester, the miniature head will often reflect the costume of the jester who carries it." But... this time it is the jester.

They were made for a challenge called the Dungeon Master.

ABC Wednesday

Today is ABC Wednesday over at Mrs. Nesbitt's... and I had absolutely no Inspiration ...
AT all.
"I" was tough!
I was not even going to post this week, but then, I decided ... even my lack of Inspiration could be considered an "I". Whew, enough with the "I" s already... and should it have an apostrophe "s" in this instance? probably not..but how to signify the plural...?? hmmm.... I'm sure I will get some info from my teacher bloggers...

Yesterday was a pretty special day. The postal truck screeched around the corner and ...hey...trucks!..yet again! They do play a huge part in my little life don't they? Anyway, out jumped the uniformed driver and delivered this. The "IT" in a Pay It Forward that was happening at some food blogs that I frequent. What a gift from Lewis at Table Bread. He said he wanted us to have something related to bread making as that was what we were blogging about at the time. I have just begun to bake my own bread and Lewis was definitely my inspiration for that. I never in a million years expected anything as generous as this! Thank you so much Lewis. I have yet to send my gifts to the people who offered to play when I tried to do the same. There is a year in which to do so. For some reason...I struggled to find people who wanted to play a "pay". I thought the crafters would jump at the chance...but, nope. Once again I misread things. Anyway, my gift will not be anything bread related people, so relax... I know many of you don't cook, much less bake. ... ..but something more along the lines of my other interests... crafting..... etc.....









Look, the first page opened to Italian bread ! How perfect. Lewis is en route even as type..to Italy. How perfect and how unusual ....






















This is just something I tossed in ....

Turned around while making coffee this morning and look what I saw on the wall. The sun was coming up behind neighbouring houses.. all pinkish...making a beautiful shadow picture of a small orchid on the kitchen wall. Grabbed the camera and just in time... (things don't stay long when you rely on moving objects).... it was only there for a brief moment or two..and then ... the mullion of the window was in the path of the shifting sunlight.... after that, the sunlight had nothing to show me... well, with the exception of beautiful, golden rays of sun.....a lovely warm and brilliant day here.

Heirlooms

One of those words that is pronounced so unlike you might imagine. The French side of my family says (HAIR-loom) .. or even (hair-LOOM)...they never add the "s" to make it plural... you are supposed to guess it is there.... uhm.. I guess. The Brit side gets it more correct...but it still sounds like (err-looms)...or something.. not quite like I would pronounce it... which seems more like ..(Air-looms). Always different strokes for different folks isn't it?

Anyway.... it still means.....
"Possessions handed down from generation to generation"... and, these are mine.













Some of you who have been reading my blog for a bit will have seen these before, but for Mrs. Nesbitt's friends... these are two little vases .. English ... not sure how old, but were carried in hand luggage by an aunt who immigrated to Canada in the 70's.. when she was in her 50's .. originally belonged to my Nan Jackson (her mother) . I have no idea when or where my grandmother would have acquired them. The tall guy has a missing toe. Click to read more about that if you like.










Another of the pieces she passed along to me.. a gift from Whitby it says...I love the open lace work edge..and it is rubbed with what I believe (or even if it is not...I still choose to believe) to be real gold.










The guys love to play in it..and usually there are a few golden/sparkly Christmas decorations in there as well. They are not being disrespectful..they just like it and they do play gently.










This little handkerchief is so dainty ... I am quite sure nobody ever thought to use it ..even to wipe away a single tear.










The open work on the edges is delicate and beautiful. It was kept in a sea farer's chest for many a year. No knowledge of its history.













Uh, oh.... somebody likes to play on that as well.... but...he is just sitting ....and he is behaving.










This spoon is silver... and as you can see...doesn't get polished often.










It is 9 inches long. Again, I don't know much of the history... it also came from England... was my Nan's.... looks to be a casserole or fruit/dessert type serving spoon.











And...last, but not least, .... and where else would a grand old tea pot hail from? England of course! Again...brought by my dear old auntie when she arrived here (although she was not old when she arrived) ... whew... don't want her to think I ever thought that. Of course, she and my Mom are long gone now... but they never, ever seemed old to me. A couple of real pistols in their time together after she moved here... almost til the year they passed away. Separately, they were .. .. erm.. almost reserved and sedate..but get 'em together..and watch out...they were too much fun!

It took about 20 full minutes of polishing to make that one shiny area nice enough to get a photo to show it off at all. It usually sits under my sink... black and blueish.... Silver is so beautiful when it is silver...but it is soooo much work to maintain. I have heard that if you use it regularly it stays shiny.... anybody know if that is true?

it should have been glasses...

Honestly, on Monday I thought it was going to be glasses for the ABC post at MrsNesbitt's... but that was on Monday.










Then, yesterday, while standing in the kitchen, I heard a big truck..no, not a fire truck, but the next best thing. A garbage truck! Bing, bing, bing..... A big "G" !!! Now, before you all think I truly am an ambulance or fire truck chaser...hear me out! I'm not. I started to laugh and thought...hey! maybe I can redeem myself here.










Grabbed my camera and got a quick shot just as he sped by the window. Even with the slight zoom on... not close enough. Darn it.
Okay... that does it! All I could hear in my head was the voice of Stanley Tucci in Devil Wears Prada.... "Gird your loins" !!.......and that did it.

Out I went. Today I mustered some nerve for all of us who can't do it every day... today.... I was determined to take one for the team and just do it!
The truck had turned down the alley before I got outside...so I waited. Wandered up and down on the lawn..checking to see if anything in the garden was looking un-dead......nope. Nothing worth a pic.... checked down the alley... he was coming. I was giggling to myself by then... a nervous giggle it was and I was sweating already.... NOT going in the house!
Finally it was really loud... all of a sudden, there he was at the neighbour's and then roaring past the shed..I got him.













Even at the speed with which it all happened, the driver had the presence of mind to wave ... probably thought.. what a silly woman.. taking a picture of a blinking garbage truck.













The guy on the back leaped off and I snapped a couple more... he was laughing, but I started thinking that I was probably making him nervous too......













Surely, he would be wondering what the heck was going on. Somebody mentioned in a comment that all we have to do is mention our blogs if we need some explanation and nothing comes to mind. Well, I couldn't resist...had to yell at him over the noise of the truck..."you're going on my blog!" He hollered back at me .. "If I had known I would have fixed my hair!" ... ahahhaha.... we both laughed ...he hopped on the truck and gave a huge grin and wave as they sped away.










These guys are my new firemen! What great sports!! I took my camera in the house, then went back out for the can;...carried it almost inside the back door before I realized I usually leave our garbage can outside...uhm...I knew that. Stupid nerves anyway!!

Waaaaahhhhhhhhh

.... that is not the sound of the Fire engine. That is just me, doing my Lucy imitation, because I did not get the pics I wanted of a beautiful, big, close-up of a Fire engine sitting in the bay at the Fire Station!

Yesterday, I left the house with great intentions for photos for ABC Wednesday... check it out at Mrs. Nesbitts blog ..... hopped in the van with my camera and drove off to a Fire station. Parked as close as I could without being in the way if one had to whip out and walked over to ask if I could snap a couple of photos. Some days I just have more guts than others for some stupid reason. Yesterday was not one of those days. As I walked towards the place, I got all nervous... couldn't make myself go in .... and, so... wandered right past the front door and down the block.... carrying my camera.... damn!! But, that's me some days. Other days I am overly confident and manage to do things that could make a sailor blush... sheeeesh! Later, I could just kick myself for lacking the courage to do a simple thing like this. Oh, well, I have managed to do plenty in my life that I am proud of ... and... there will be other times. I keep telling myself that ... a lot.










As I wandered back towards the station I was thinking... "I bet if I just hang around for a while, one would come out"... after all it is a big city..."I bet they are pretty busy coming and going all day.... Hahaha.... wouldn't you know it! the big door opened and the red ladder truck rolled out just as I was getting close! I got so excited whipping out my camera that I forgot to set the zoom for a bit closer. I snapped the first; got a jolt when he turned on the siren that close to me, (I think they laughed when I jumped about 4 inches off the sidewalk) and quickly snapped a second while feeling hot prickles of surprise shooting up my spine and into the back of my head. Off he sped! Whew. Got 'im.... not a great shot, but at least I did get one. Actually I got three... here is the rest of the story.










I went back to my vehicle... briefly considered being an "ambulance chaser" of sorts (only this time it would be a fire truck) ... chase him down and get a close up, but decided to head towards home instead. There I was, stopped at a red light, when lo and behold... guess who was already returning to base? Yep..you guessed it. Big Red...again; grabbed the camera again...forgot to zoom again....and snapped him speeding past en route, again.

ABC Wednesday

Something new to try. ABC Wednesday at Mrs. Nesbitt's
Last night I checked and saw that E was the letter for the week. Then ... just kind of sat there. Stumped already. Great. Why is it a person can just chat away on any subject in the world when there are no guidelines? ... hmmmmmmm strange that......

But then I found myself looking into the beautiful eyes on this cat picture that I just got from Anna. That did it. Of course! EYES! What a wonderful E word ......










I love eyes...... as a matter of fact it is what started me making dolls. The faces ... and in particular, the eyes. In the beginning I was looking at classes offered online; found a cute little Elfin face... and that led to a class where I learned to make Eyes with water colour pencils and Pigma pens. Pages of notes on how to make them look 3 dimensional. Now, I draw them on Everything .....










So far, I have done a few that I really love.... plenty that I don't love quite so much... but I definitely still like them all.
























Look .... this poor lady still has no Eyelashes, no Eyebrows.... notice how important they are to the overall appearance.








Experimenting on smaller shapes... here is one on a self covered button... using a catalogue model for inspiration.













She ended up being a mermaid...















Brown eyed button gals .....
















I Even gave glass eyes a try .... in a polymer clay face. Mingus









But.... the Emerald Eyes ... on soft cloth ..... yep, still prefer those.