Mail Order Bride.

My Mail Order Bride is on her way.

We connected online, and I was charmed by her.

She travelling through BC right now, and should arrive by the end of the week.
I'm completely thrilled.

She's not going to require too much space, which is good. She's going to sleep in my bed, anyway, and hopefully her clothing won't take up too much room.

I will post her photos as soon as she arrives.

Her name is Lillah.

Somebody went to Comicon...and all I got was...

...This FREEKIN' AWESOME TEA POT!!!

Dr. Who Tardis Tea Pot

I wanted to go. But I'm a mom. and Mom's just can't jump ship for a weekend to go to Comicon. Not yet, anyway. Some adventures will just have to wait until they are all launched.

And when they are, I'm going to paint a trailer on wheels to look just like this teapot, and I'm getting myself a companion every season or two. ADVENTURE!

Anyway. I got a very very cool teapot. If it's bigger on the inside, I will FOR SURE never ever finish all the tea I brew. (A habit which has become a running theme with me, I guess...)

Also. Yesterday was Mothers day. I took the kids out to the Cheapest Pizza Place in town. It was really nice having all 3 of them there. Then, the waitress gave the girls a rose and some chocolate to give to me. WOW!! It was so sweet. Best family restaurant ever.

The Teenager-Man gave me 2 boxes of chocolate. But waited till his little sisters were in bed to give it to me. Because he was convinced they would beg me for treats. Heh.

The day begins.

Irish Yoga

Sometimes, I giggle.
Oh bahjayzus. Fermented Potaaaatoes makes fer d'Irish Yoga.

And, then, I found this too. I have never been able to do a french braid in my hair. So uncoordinated.

"Good heavens Miss Sakamoto - you're beautiful!"

Spent the morning outside "dirting". Yes, that's a 'thing' now. I have a poetic license, remember? *snork*

A few nights ago, I'm watering the plants, and see this peeking out of the damp bag of hollyhock seeds: Oh hai! So, I open it up to see all sorts of little seedlings not waiting for me to put them into little paper pots before sprouting. Naughty seedlings.

As I said, these were taken a few days ago. The squash is ALREADY out of control (zucchini.) They are in egg cartons, remember? So, I'm going to have to do something about those this afternoon. This will require me to get covered in newsprint to roll them little potlets.
Again, a few days ago. These are the random sunflower seeds I had in a baggie for, uh, at least 2 years. I had to raise the lights yesterday, I'm worried they are growing too tall, too fast.
The weather has been completely mad, with snow and rain storms - I hope they can wait another 2 weeks before going outside. Below, is the tray of Box Car Willie tomatoes I planted. I hate these little seed starter things, but it was the only tray the store had that I happened to be in.

And, (heheheh) Check out mah new specs:

Because you NEVER know when you're going to have to BLIND someone with SCIENCE! (Or give peace a chance.) Also, Clearly Contacts was having a STUPID sale - They're perscription, and INCLUDING the 2 day shipping, they were $28. So, yeah. I get goofy glasses.

Ok. I've eaten my lunch and chatted on the phone with my bro, so I guess I should sit my arse outside on the step and finish banging holes in the bottom of coffee cans so I can fill 'em with dirt.

Happy Saturday!

~Lori

I've Got A Brand New Pair of Scal-li-ons....

Arse. Swears. Filth Flarin' Filth.
Yeah, I said it.

The seedlings in trays on top of the fridge have been coming along swimmingly. The first peppers and eggplant were potted in newspaper cups I made. They were a bit big, so the next round I made smaller. I also made the mistake of sticking a greenhouse lid on them (the clear ones that come with the black plastic bases.)

and what did I discover a few nights ago? Dampening mould. Eww. And Arse.



It's been a very long time since I've had this problem with my seedlings. Years. What did I do differently? Well, I'm blaming the newspaper cups. It's the only variable.

Oh, and the coco peat (coir). any other year I've just pressed my seedlings into the starter soil, and off we went. So, I'm guessing between using newspaper, with a bit of coco peat on top of the soil, and with the lids on, it was just too damp.

ARGH. I covered them with soil the night before, and haven't watered since. The seedlings are all starting to pop out of the soil I topped, but some of the dampening mould is on some of the newspaper. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to dry out the paper fast enough, and keep the seedlings alive. The sun is nice and bright out, but it's not warm enough on the step to just put them out so that the sun can kill the mould. (they've been living on top of my fridge and lit with a flourescent lamp up nice and close.) So frustrating. But I'm hoping it'll all work out.

in other news, I've had Air Supply stuck in my head. "Making foooood..outta nothin' at all..."
(hehe. I'm not entirely sorry for sharing that little bit of nuttiness.)
I had a single clove of garlic left from a gift basket that came from my good friend Monika and her loving garden last fall. I stuck it in water to see if I could make it root, and I'm going to plunk it into the boxes somewhere out there. A total experiment.







I've also done the same thing with some Green Onions (Scallions) that we had in the fridge. The tops were shrivelled and have gone into the "It'll be soup someday" freezer bag. See how purdy they've rooted, and are coming up brand-new-green.

(oh there's another one. "I've got a brand new pair of Scal-li-ons.. you've got a brand new feed...")

Ok, that was reaching a bit.
Any thing you want to share about the dampening situation would be appreciated. Hopefully there'll be some super hero stories about saving the baby plantlets from the evil damp, instead of the dreaded "Get rid of them" that I'm figuring I'll be hearing.

~Lori

It Ain't Garbage - It's my Garden!

So, my yard LOOKS like a disaster, but looks can be deceiving. I'm pretty sure i'm THAT neighbour on my street. The front yard at this time of year is pretty unsightly, to onlookers. However, to me, it's just a spring work in progress.




First, there's the very dirty looking crab - used to be a sandbox for the pixies when they were wee little. NOW it's the place I start the last of my seedlings. Usually the tomatoes end up in here, or anything that gets started a little later in the spring, and still needs some over night coverage incase we get frost.



Then, there's the pile of .. what is that? It USED to be a metal shed. It crushed under the weight of snow, despite being fortified with wood. My teenager assumed I was clearing it, and I assumed he was, and then the first warm day of spring last year, CRACK! So, I had these piled up hoping for someone to come and take them away. This never happened and they got covered in snow. NOW, these pieces are holding layers of newspaper down (so they don't fly all over the neighbourhood.) so that hopefully come time to put the melons in there, I will NOT have to weed it. When the compost is ready, It'll go on top of the newspaper, for a nice layered mulch.
Oh, and look, Martha, a random 2 x 4 thrown in the yard.

Actually, it's sitting on the yard as a reminder to the children that underneath those leaves are some rows of my heirloom strawberries. Do NOT stomp past this piece of wood, pixies!

There are other things in the yard. Buckets that will be filled with soil for the container gardening plans, a big fish tank that is going to make a lovely green house for seedlings if it gets frosty..

Mind you, there is a broken fish tank out there, and some random acts of metal bits (some that are going to be used for trellises and tomato stakes - those big Boxcar Willie heirloom tomatoes get BIG and heavy) All of these things I'm going to try and make use of instead of just dumping them. Reuse, right?

But, there is a dump run on the list of things to do still. A few things absolutely unsalvageable.

However, all I see is potential. I wonder if I should go to the end of the driveway and explain to the concerned couples that there is a PLAN HERE?

How To Make Kids Eat Almost Stale Cupcakes...

So, I made these mini cupcakes a few days ago, and they went almost stale... you know what I`m talking about. Just this side of edible, because they had a little crunch going on.

So, I broke out the Watkins Chocolate pudding-pie filling mix. I bought some when it was on sale (I tend to stock up when things are on sale, with all things. In the long run, it saves you moolah.

There were about 20 of these mini`s left. So I broke them all up, and half went into a ziplock and into the freezer.


Watkins dessert mix is an old fashioned behaving one - You have to cook it over medium heat till it thickens. Let it cool, then pour in cups or pie filling. I poured mine in a casserole dish (one of my favourites, from my neice and her whole family.) on top of the 10 broken up mini muffins.

I`m going to let it cool and have it with tomorrows lunch - only because it`s hardly fair to load the kids up with chocolate at 6:30 and then scram to Stitch N Bitch and leave my beloved with them all wound up. hehe.


The trick with this little dessert is that the cupcakes MUST be getting snubbing reviews from your kidlets. If they are moist, they probably won`t work. This way, they are still going to be somewhat firm and not gone to mush.

I hate throwing food out. I love making left overs into new food again.

It`s a good skill to have!
Now, I must actually bring something to STITCH to Stitch N Bitch tonight.

Toucha Toucha Toucha Touch meeeee

From January 18th...

Yesterday, a well made up lady dressed in a very fluffy blonde fur coat and walking in heeled boots, in full make up and hair stood behind me. Then she moved besde me, waiting on the corner of King and Hugel, to cross to the Valu Mart. She nearly crossed on the wrong light, using the lights audio cue instead of looking at the lights. She looked at me, why was I not crossing, and realized her mistake.

Me, in my blue "kay way" pants, the ripped bottom hidden under my mens green little-too-large coat, red hood/toque, topped with my greenish hat, cream ratty mittens and solid winter-walking black boots. My back pack has been extremely full. If anyone were to judge the cover my book has been wearing... well, the thought makes me laugh.

This perfumed lady started chatting with me. Ofcourse, the language I use reveals me as I am underneath these mismatched layers. She continued to chat across the road. I walked beside her incase she needed catching, in those impractical and no doubt expensive boots on the slick and slippery cross.

She was SO made up. But, I smiled at her first, and I suppose that opened her up. Once we crossed and I was sure she was steady, I picked up my normal walking pace and turned into Valu Mart.

I thought about how she decided not to snub me or judge me, made eye contact and smiled as easily as I had, based on my image.

But, I think I may have judged her, based on how she looked. Better than me? Or just a well put together cover??

Basement Swimming Pool. No Movie Stars.

I'm on a basement break. Itchy eyes, burning lungs. (Sounds like a great film title... Maybe that's what I'll call my next poetry book.)

Last night, snuggled in with Beloved, A Pomegranate, and The Big Bang Theory... The Big Tall Boy knocks at the door.

"Uh, the basement is flooding."

Say wha?

Utility sink backed up when the laundry tried to drain. The kitchen sinks are also not draining properly. This has happened before.

So, after at least an hour of TBTB and I taking turns mopping, scooping out buckets of water from the utility sinks, running them up the stairs and throwing them out the back door, My beloved comes with a snake and a "One Second Plumber" from his parents house. All my efforts with the plunger did nothing.

Snake didn't work. And, we all got shot in the face with backed up water that came flying out of the laundry drainage pipe when we put the One Second Plumber gadget to work. (Poor sweetie got the worst of it, I think.) The absolute BEST however, was having to drag the cat litter box that had overflowed with water that had spilled over into it, out to the freezing cold yard at 10:30 or so. Maybe 11.

Yum. And Brr.

Lots of stuff got wet. Lots of stuff has been thrown out. I'm feeling whelmed, and the world weighs heavy on me in this moment. My "studio" is supposed to be down there, but today I feel like giving up. There's no room for the girls to play with toys, between the shipping boxes, the stuff in bins listed on etsy, all my crafting stuff, laundry, the guinea pigs huge cage, and the CRAP. It's an unfinished basement. So uncomfortable, despite all my efforts and optimism.

Today, I've been going through it all, but it's hard for me to be down there for more than 10 minutes without exploding. My eyes are itchy (I changed the Squeakers bedding today. That didn't help. I've got the air purifier running, the dehumidifier running, and my clock radio to block out the noise of both.) We need to move. I don't want to get manic over this. I also don't want to QUIT. Quit all of it. Quitting at creating, painting, sewing clears the house off tons of stuff, but will surely leave me picking my cuticles in agitation.

I checked my ING direct account on one of my basement breaks. Watching it's balance rise makes me happier. I found out I got accepted for the trial version of their no fee chequing account, so I set that up. I had to call a customer service rep to ask a question, and he suggested their tax free savings account, explained it all to me, and I switched that over too.

My plan is to close my regular banking chequing account, as it runs me $13, and earns me NO interest. It might take a few months to make sure everything is running smoothly with all my direct debits and all, but the whole thing has lightened my mood.

And given me a chance to have a tea, and rest my itchy eyeballs, before heading back down there.

The Party Don't Spock till I Vulcan...

This made me howl today. I watched it twice...
It's a non stop Star Trek Party. dig.



In other "news"... I'm at Karma Marketplace in Penetanguishene doing tarot readings this Saturday from 10am till 1, with a pile of other very cool vendors! Pretty exciting stuff always happening somewhere in our pretty area :)


*****

This is the first Rememberance Day that I didn't go up to the Cenotaph in years and years. The weather was beautiful, and I was parked at the Rye writing. I stopped everything while the radio played In Flanders Fields, and then a moment of silence.

It's been a quiet day, and I think it was needed. Reflection was the theme of the day. Wondering about the Universe Message today. There is learning in everything.

RainBlows and Soft Gangstas

Actually, I don't mind a rainy day. Just when it falls on Market day. My one day a week to "go to work" and today was a rain out. I had made a few extra critters for market, and after cleaning my sewing desk (and area) for over an hour looking for my plain black Safety Eyes (YAH!) I gave up, sat at my computer, and found a little bag of green ones! So, made a few more critters.

They look a little gansta here, don't they? Soft Squishy Cute gangsters.

You can just tell the Rabbit, to the right, is a Wise Guy. White kitty is front and center: "You talking to ME?"

This kitty above, I think is the Boss. Despite her cute cherry exterior, you can tell she's bad ass. "Where's my money??"

This little kitty is the youngest. I think she took a dive for her gang, because she's still wearing stripes. She looks a bit pensive.

This is probably what they'll look like in the police line up. "Ma'am, is the Soft Gangster that stole your heart here?"

Ah well. I'll work on the rest of their gang today, for next Sunday.

Words of Wisdom for Mothers Day

The littlest pixies classmates were given the beginning of wise old sayings.. and had to fill in the blanks...

Strike while the ... enemy is distracted

It is always darkest before... bed
...light

Never underestimate the power of... your dad

You can lead a horse to water but... it might get wet

Don't bite the hand that... is dirty

No news is... on the TV

A miss is as good as a.... kiss
.... Mr.

If you lie down with dogs, you... could get fleas
...fall asleep
... you might get licked

Happy is the bride who... marries a man

A penny saved is... one cent

Two is company, three is... a family
... busy
... more than one

If at first you don't succeed... then its too late

When the blind lead the blind... it is love (this one was by my daughter. lol.)
... they get lost
... they always bump into things

An idle mind is.... a person not thinking


Happy Mothers Day!

You Can Buy EYES Online If You Wannoo??? YaH!

Ok, they aren't people parts... But they ARE going to be a part of all of my fluffy little creations!



I finally got my buns in gear to get some safety eyes (and everytime you say "safety eyes" you MUST say it like you are saying "safety DANCE!" and kick a "yaH!" in there. And Do the little arm move. Every time. Try it now. mwhahaha)

I've been using beads and buttons, which ARE cute, but many of my customers are parents buying something for their kids at market - so I want to make sure they have some choices with the Safety Eyes "yaH!"

I mean, they are adorable, and I"ve had some friends request them for their adults selves (because mostly, my friends are big kids pretending to be adults. That's probably why they are my friends in the first place. But, adults don't need Safety Eyes "yaH!")

I got some plain black Safety Eyes!
Some multi colour Safety Eyes!
Green Safety Eyes! (YaH!)
Safety eyes... Safety eyes... it's SAFETY EYES..

Forgive Me. It's early. And I entertain easily. Bwahahahhaha. I've totally overkilled this jest with my sweetheart already, dancing around the house, making up lyrics. "We can craft if we want to..."

And, You can buy eyes if you wannoo... at 6060's shop:
SAFETY EYES!



On another note, the Steamer I earned free with my Watkins rewards points from THIS NOTE arrived yesterday. I thought it was my product order and catalogues arriving, but was happily surprised that it's here. Our garden veggies (and the veggies from my sweetie's parents garden ) will be SO yummy in this. I was going through the little book, and there are intructions for doing EGGS in it! "boiled" eggs in a steamer. The kids are pretty excited about that.

Have a wonderful day!



SAFETY EYES!

Squatters in the Dollhouse...

The dollhouse is sat on my hopechest (a wonderful piece of furniture that my father made me when I was 19.) The hopechest is the perfect size for it. The hopechest hovers over the heater vent, and sits in front of the front window. This, apparently, is the perfect spot for the cats. I heard that this can happen with houses in renovations... I have squatters in my dollhouse.


I'm going to have to devise some way of keeping them out, when we start filling this. Although the naughty idea of making a "cat" house, complete with red velvet walls and fringed hanging lamps made me giggle.
There were a million bazillion staples securing wallpaper and corrugated plastic on the walls, and holding the carpets in place. There were pieces of wood that had been intended to be an elevator, and a scary piece of wire stapled on that was supposed to be a carpeted stairway (which I had previously ripped off, but not entirely removed.

the bottom center and left room had it's carpet GLUED on, which was a cause for some sweat to remove - but the pixies and I managed. The entire stripping of the house took about 2 hours.

That was the easy part! I'm excited with the planning. The girls have already chosen "their" bedrooms, and I'll just have to work around the rest! (Because, dang it,I want one too!)



Oh, and I registered a new domain name for my business...

www.ewebyz.com

With thanks to a friend for helping me brainstorm it!!!

You Can Love Your Sock Monkey, But You Can't LOoooVE Your Sock Monkey.

I've been making sock toys, again, with the intention of "stockpiling" for the summer markets. They are so much fun to make (Making them makes me happy in a simple way.) It'll be a bonus if they sell in the summer. If not, well, this is what you're getting for Yule from me :)

This guy looked a little mean, before I added the french-knots in the eyes, and the big pink felt heart.

This little dude came out looking like he was wearing a knit cap, and he's got a bit of a teenage attitude when I hold him...

Like "Yo, Mama, Be cool. Don't make me hang out with all these other baby monkeys - I'm too old for dat."

Love Monkeys for Valentines Day.

Gingerbread Art!

I couldn't get these posted for some reason, the day I took them (Just couldn't get them off the cam.. finiky robots.) So, here are the ginger bread cookies that my family WOULD have gotten, if everyone over there DIDN'T have the stomach flu and cancelled the family "Christmas" dinner, until today

Here we have a rather frightened moose - I made these for my F.I.L. as he's a hunter. Beside him is a "suit-and-tie-guy" complete with watch, who also looks a little stunned. (Corporate Office Work will make you look like that. hehe.)

These two little numbers were for my S.I.L. and B.I.L. An alien and a vampire... because I get BORED making traditional looking Ginger bread people... I'm totally segueing here... I'm not married, so these two wouldn't be my "in laws." They'd be more my S. and B.B.C. (Sister and Brother By Choice.) I think that's better.... ok, gingies continued....

I can't remember who got these ones (or who was to get these ones!) A man and woman are on vacation, and he got a little burnt. I loved these guys. hehehe..

Over the holidays I signed on two new Watkins Associates. Come Monday I'm going to sit down and look at my entire organization, and do some restructuring. I'm giving some people in my downline some extra associates under them. I still benefit, and it will build a stronger team. It also helps my associates earn a little extra too! If you are interested in building a long term home business, but DON'T want to do the selling part, take a look at our TEAMS Watkins site.

I did a little math, and I'm on track to my $3000 a month goal. If I continue working my business with the same momentum as I have in the last six months, I'll reach my goal by this time next year. I"m excited to be taking my team members to my goal with me! (Because if I'm earning, so are they!)

(I've been doing some extra training over the holidays... I'm excited and re-energized! )

Oh, I listed some brand new doll furniture on etsy over the holidays too. Wing chairs, nursing chairs, and a couch. (These are in 1:12 scale, but I can to them in 1:16 or 1:24) See etsy for more detailed pics.

Hope everyone had great holidays!

Viking Dad gives Vintage Witch some Solstice Advice... (need a giggle? hehe)

Viking Dad is a new series by some people I adore...

I got a little advice from the "Ask Viking Dad" crew on what to get my boyfriend for Winter Solstice.. hehe. Check it out..

Viking Dad

Enjoy! If you want Viking Dad to answer any of your questions, join the Facebook group. Tell your friends!

Lori.

In An Effort to Make More Money on Crafts Than I Spend (is it possible?)

So, last night SOMEHOW I ended up on some blogs where some lovely ladies were making CARDS using stamps and ink and sparkles and all sorts of yummy goodness. My brain almost exploded with the possibilities, and the desire to create. And the momentary impulse to buy an entire kit just to learn how to do it...

This is NOT the month to start a brand new craft, and folks, I have a wall-o-craft that has enough goodies in it to make many many projects...ALSO, after a before-bed budget scribble for December, It is clear that I need to MAKE more money then I spend this month, in order to pay off the dentist AND have a few gifties under the tree.

So, I started messing around with what I've already got on hand today. And on hand means more like "piled up and stashed." The dresser is full. The boxes are overflowing. There are a tonne of wood projects ready to be finished. And just look at my poor nekkid mannequin... You'd think I could take a moment to sew up an apron or something....
But, I knew I had a handful of plain green cards and envelopes. Got out the stampers, some decorative paper from last year, cheapie ribbon, pencil crayons, and designed a few (all the while singing VERY loudly all by myself in the kitchen.) I'm pretty pleased with the results, for a first go, and a bit of time floating around blogs and youtube looking at tutorials... however....




The incredible mess I made going through my stuff, fiddling and finding new stuff, will probably take an hour to clean up.... I wish I had a ROOM so I could just leave this stuff until I'm finished with a project. Alas, dinner demands the dinner table!

Purging the Cluttered House is Healing

Get a kick at me leaning over sideways (in the mirrors reflection) to take a sideways pic... yeah, that's exactly how I play Nintendo, too... with the controller all over the place.. because you ALL know it helps Mario jump and run faster... and yes.. I totally said Ninteno.. SUPER Nintendo, that is..

If you need a dresser, this one has to go... I've loved it a long long time, but I need to make room for a standing wardrobe. It would look super "chic" if painted white!

I've been in the basement for four hours today. My body is exhausted. There are 5 garbage bags of toys to go to the Thrift Store (all perfectly good, but completely unplayed with and grown out of for a LONG time.) Plus, three bags that are just GARBAGE. I've been making a list of all the stuff that just HAS TO go to the dump. Broken unsalvagable toys, old old furniture that was probably salvaged in the first place... It will feel so good to have the basement back for the kids to use as a play room again!!

This has taken some will power. I'm the sort of person who has to TOUCH and CONSIDER every dang thing before letting it go. (it's been a problem in the past!) But I've made great head way today. And the basement looks so much better already. The fact that the good stuff is going to go to a thrift shop and be enjoyed by other little kids, or to help a family who needs it, makes it much much easier.

***************

If you are local, I've got daytime tarot bookings available - for one or a few! For those of you who are long distance, and looking for the FREE tarot reading offer, please see the blog below...

Have a blessed wonderful day! Find some bliss - It's all around us :)

Bump It!

So, in a giggling fit this morning, I've agreed to take some pics of me in a "bump it". yes, I bought a set. And, I love them. hehe. These 2 pics are how I normally wear my hair. and , Normally, I would roll a piece of my hair , and brush the front layer over.







this is the smaller bump-it. (and, I've just thrown it in, it took 2 minutes, didn't fuss much.)
I took pics of my hair up with the bigger bump it, but I'm having issues trying to get it off the memory card (clearly, I need more coffee) Which is too bad, because DANG that's some big hair!

I'm sitting here in my sweater and jeans, waiting for the mail man to peek through the front door like he does every day, and laugh at my big hair.

Anywho, I know they sell them on TV for about $20, but I got mine at Claires for $13.95, and they had a special, buy one get one half off. So, ifyou go in with a girlfriend, you can each get them for less.

There's the giggle of the day! (and when I can figure out what's going on with my pics, I'll post the BIGGER hair. hhahah.)

L