a frosty morn'.....

If the curtains or blinds keep the warm air of the house from getting to it...this happens on a night like last night. A pretty bit of frost.

Yesterday the temperature plummeted and it is now -31C with a pretty stiff breeze. Very cold. The planes make the loudest ssssssing noise as they go by... they fly by regularly as we are on the flight path to the airport. However, at least today the sky is a brilliant blue and the sun is making things sparkle. The snow was fairly light but the drifting is the problem. If you don't shovel it off fairly soon after it lands it does crust over on the surface and then it is a much tougher job to clear the sidewalks.

Sunday, while driving around, it seemed like we were in the true frozen north.... even further north than us... like, say, the frozen tundra regions. Swirling wisps of new blowing snow was snaking along above dry pavement that looked just like dark, frozen water ... those wisps grew thicker quite quickly and visibility suddenly dropped to about 500 yards. At least traffic slowed to a crawl and not even one idiot zipped past pretending his 4X 4 was equipped with super duper x-ray vision or could stop on a dime on ice. There were plenty of accidents but, luckily, traffic that we were involved with was behaving and ...we made it home safely. Can you believe "somebody" wanted to search for the perfect plant to stand behind Studley? Today??A real plant probably wouldn't have survived the trip from store to house anyway... could have been frozen to death just getting it to the vehicle. Good thing "somebody" has heated seats too... or my derriere might have frozen..to death! Good thing too that we found a silk bamboo that was not expensive and looks pretty darn great.
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Saturday, a friend came to "play dolls" and we got a bit done on our mermaids. We laughed a lot and probably had more fun that we did actual sewing... ..but, we did practice FME(free motion embroidery); didn't wound any fingers, and I got my body stitched up...












Her tail is a fabric called liquid silver; very thin and very stretcy.. I ironed on some stabilizer which will help to maintain the shape when I stuff her. Next I will use silver metallic thread on the outside of the tail fins to outline, flatten and finish them a bit... then...... FME to achieve the look of scales. I do want to practice a bit more yet though. I want to do it justice and at least try to get some as nice as Judi did on hers.
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Finally........ I feel guilty. MightMom awarded me this. I arrived at her blog awhile back, by a circuitous route involving some very funny submarine stories. .. just kept going back for some more fun. ..... but, ... lately, I have not been very "daily" in my musings. Funny how it goes sometimes. They just zip by at warp speed. The days that is. I am sure I have mentioned it in the past and I say it again.... there are just not enough hours in most days. I am actually working on how to find some more time in each day and I do have a few suggestions...mostly for myself...but may find some to share.







The first of course, we all know. The computer is a right royal time waster. (but such fun, entertainment and quite honestly a perfect way to exchange information; to make some special friends, and for for others, it is even a good way to showcase themselves and their crafts/craft even further).
There is plain old blogging.... and then there is also blog hopping, and, further, commenting and even reading backwards a bit ... keeping up if things are interesting ... or if there are tips or new things to see. Say, in the crafting or artistic area... (yeh...like I need any more new things to try!) Linda was mentioning that very thing on her own blog today when I stopped by to check things out. It all takes a lot of time and some commitment if you want to "play the game" so to speak. And... it also boils down to a bit of blog etiquette as well.

It is a common problem; I hear about it regularly..... especially from crafting people. Where to find as many hours to play as we would like. Honestly!! so much "other" stuff just seems to get in the way. You know the stuff I mean.... annoying stuff ... ... like, trying to work out or exercise, making meals, turning on the vacuum cleaner once in a while to scare off the dust buffaloes ...swish an occasional toilet, banking or other run-around errands that can't be handled by phone, then mail... phone calls... occasional visits... snow shovelling, and that is all before we even get a chance to look into our "playroom", or wherever it is we keep the fun stuff. Oh, and if you have kids...wow...I don't know how those women do it at all!

I am passing on this award to some folks whose blogs I visit regularly. Some of them are not daily either...but they are pretty regular (uhm... that didn't sound quite right did it? .. sounds a bit like potty humour) sorry guys and gals...don't mean it to sound quite like it did and I am sure you know full well what I meant.

Susan ... who lives at 29 Black Street.... and who recently lost her senior Golden Retriever, best friend and companion, Jake. (Jake was 13!) It has been the saddest week ever. If you don't feel up to this Susan... don't even bother... wait for a sunny day...whenever. You are my window to the east coast of Canada (something about which I know nothing) and a special look at the world of furry companions and best friends. I am unashamedly living vicariously through your beautiful words and right now crying right along with you at the unfolding of events at 29 Black Street.

Darly at Pearls n' Peapods ... she makes me laugh out loud just sitting all by myself at the computer. My sense of humour is as warped as hers??... who cares... I think she is hilarious and from what I know of her... a very generous, caring human being. Another site of fun with furry friends.... . and so much more....

Lewis at Table Bread ... great recipes .. really well documented efforts for his Daring Bakers challenge (which I want to join too) always up to something... and just seems like an all 'round fun guy...

Linda at Window of My Life ... a beautiful site; amazing pictures and wonderful art on a very regular basis. Often a mini holiday on the Gulf Coast of Florida .... with dogs... hey a recurring theme here. Maybe I need a dog... although I would prefer a cat... but... "somebody" else around here doesn't really care for cats. Probably cuz he never had one as a kid. My theory anyway.

Judi of Art Dolls ... chock full of info relating to crafts and especially dolls..... a fun read from Alaska .... if you need help with anything crafty...ask Judi! If she doesn't know...she has friends who do! Oh, oh...she too has dogs...her dog Zach even had his own website.... I think he gave it up .....

Okay...this is about the longest post I have ever done.. ... your poor eyes!!!! I must stop... so if I have not yet gotten around to giving you this award...and I comment on your sites...please consider yourself awarded also....I can't go on.... must get offffff here....!! my own poor eyes! Blabby ol' me as per usual.....sigh.......