HippieDog

Seven, eight, lay them straight

One, two, buckle my shoe

Three, four, knock at the door

Five, six, pick up sticks

Seven, eight, lay them straight

Nine, ten, a big fat hen?

Ok, so we've been Spring cleaning. Just a way to keep busy and they always say your life will be a little easier with some organizing. 

Jars of flour, sugars, cocoa and baking chips.

Pasta, oats and cereal.

Even snack jars of popcorn to pop, pretzels, fruit gems, peaches, carrots and granola bars.

You just never know when you will get inspired and for me it was Amy's blog. I happened to spy this book at the library just by accident (lucky girl here). The cute little kitchen in Amanda's book inspired me to make one for Jake. He actually has a little stove that is painted brown. I just added a little shelf for his baking supplies and look! He even made a crow pie :) Jake loves slamming doors and dumping things in and out of containers, so this is fun for him. A little hook holds his craft apron that my sister Cathy made. I'm still trying to find an "old school" broom for the corner.

"Never take an old broom to a new home." Wow! I have never heard of this!














Jake and I have a crafting date tonight. These little goodies shown above are for me to create when he falls asleep. We have a lot planned this evening.......friendship paper rings and a paper pal doll (my mom made these in the early 70's. Wish us luck!

 

Better start dinner, I'm trying this marvelous Ranch- Hand Soup from Farm Chick.  YUM!

DoLLs and pINk PooDles.................

Well, I'm a bit late on the Toy Party. A big thanks to Scrappy Jessi for putting this cute little toy show together :)

I still have so many blogs to visit and can't wait to see all of the dolls and toys you all played with.

We lost our beloved Basset Hound, Clarabelle this week. We are heart broken to say the least. It's so hard when they are such a big part of your family. I'm really not sure what else to say because it's so difficult to talk about.......so I will show you some dolls and toys from my childhood.

Every girl needs a baby doll and a pink poodle. Yep that's me! I've been fortunate enough to be born a blond, turn into a red head and grow up as a brunette! Does anyone know the name of the baby doll I'm holding? Maybe she's a beanie baby?

 

I still love chairs to this day, I'm sitting in a lawn chair that my mom made for me, I had tons of these. Yes, that's my grandmothers chair from my Craft Studio, just covered now with different fabric. I had no clue it was plaid! Wish I still had that fabric.

Oh my gosh! Am I wearing Mary Jane's? I just noticed this....not sure.....gosh I hope so! lol

If I could pick one thing from my childhood to keep, it would be this darling rocking chair. Maybe someday I'll find one for Jake :)

OK, back to the toy party. Of course my fondest memory, Kiddles. You can read about them in my previous post here.

I still have my Crissy, Velvet and Tiffany Taylor dolls. I loved them! Probably because I could make their hair different colors, long or short. I would have photographed them but they are not in lady-like mode....they need some clothes. Someday I'll dress the gals up :)

I loved playing with the Sunshine family dolls too.....that grandpa always cracked me up, he was suppose to be an old man but had such a boyish face.

What would a little girl do without her Raggedy Ann and Andy. Don't you just love the little I love you hearts on their chest? That is my favorite part. Andy is missing his hat but other than that they are in good shape.




Of course I had tons of Barbie's and only have a few of the originals now. My favorite all time Barbie was P.J. Malibu Barbie. Not sure why, maybe because she was so tan and had groovy sun glasses. I bought the throw-back a few years back. I do have quite a large collection of Barbie's and Kelly dolls (my husband has them locked away, and in the original boxes). Maybe I'll open them up someday.....aye? Just kidding :) *wink*.

Remember the Atari? I thought I was such a "cat" playing pong.

Some of my favorite games are still popular today like Pay Day, Yahtzee, Boggle, Operation and Mousetrap.

During recess we would play "Charlie's Angels". I always had to be Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith), or I wouldn't play! lol. Now why oh why didn't I keep these dolls! Oh, and last but not least (my husbands personal favorite). The Bionic Woman---I loved this doll! Especially her red "huge" handbag. I've always loved handbags! Rumor has it my husband had a small crush on her. A much larger crush for this one....and he still does. We are currently watching all of the MTM dvds. It's so amazing all of the decor that we are all using now! The huge Letter "M", for Mary....OK, or Michelle that is in her apartment. Tea towels, clothes, dishes. I get so carried away looking at her apartment, I forget to watch the show. I've never had much of an attention span.

Thanks for looking into my little world.

We miss you Clare, we will take good care of Dolly for you.
August 30, 2001 - April 30, 2008
Love,
Daddy, Mommy, Aaron, Jake,
Dolly Moonbeam and Maggie Mae

The Sweetest thing......

Because he would not take no for an answer, I had to say yes.

Every morning it's the same thing. Coffee for me and a yogurt smoothie for him. We do our chores, get dressed and Jake heads for the door. Outside Ma?

What more could a mommy want? A fence! I have always had homes with fences and landscaped yards....full of trees. This has been a very difficult thing to get used to. Finally, our fence is going up. Hopefully, by this weekend it will be complete. Hooray!

Yesterday we picked up some library books that I reserved online. I love this! Whoever invented this, is genius! There is a cute little park close by so we stopped for some fun. I found the sweetest-little book about a Betty doll. A daughter is going through her late mothers belongings and stumbles upon a letter wrapped with ribbon around a doll. Her mother knew she would read this when she was no longer with her. It was so sweet and will really make you think about the important things in life. I was really happy to find that she has a website full of her books and stories.

Isn't love the sweetest thing?

Warm my own hearth with treasures..........

While Peace and Content Bless my little thatched cottage, and warm my own hearth with the treasures of home.
Beatrix Potter

My husband made this delicious Toscana Soup. It's a very close match to Olive Gardens. We passed on the bread sticks, I have a date with the treadmill next week.

I know most gals love dolls and collect them in some way. My fondest memory, besides the wedding doll my Aunt Ruth gave me, are Kiddles. I know you remember them? If you don't, I'm much older than you. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep my originals and I've been lucky enough through the years to find a lot of them again.

Aunt Ruth and my mom would take me shopping every Thursday. Town Day, they would call it. I would beg for a new Kiddle and while they were still shopping their little hearts out, I would play with my new doll right in the middle of the store. Packaging, receipt and bag thrown to the side.

You know, all the girls in my family still continue the "Town Day Tradition" faithfully each week. I do not love shopping, I'm a "guy shopper" (oh how my husband loves me for this). I love going for lunch, buying a lovely hand bag and shoes.....and that's all I can handle. However, I do love getting McFelius clothes and Matchbox cars. An exception to my rule would be an old fashioned county fair with all the trimmings. Handmade quilts, aprons, pies, cookies---now this I would spend hours and hours enjoying.

Oh they are not all the "real" Kiddles you say? You're right. I love the knock offs too.....and I do love their imperfections. Aren't they the sweetest? Lots more to show you someday.

What a beautiful view. A storm is approaching, so it's getting a little spooky outside. I love opening the windows and watching the curtains dance. It's just the little things. Rain will be good, the tulips are almost open. I will have pictures of them for you next week.

Oh! A diet coke for me? Yes, please.............

Enjoy your week :)
xo

Pincushion, buttons and rest........

Taking a little break

You haven't? You haVEN'T? Oh, but you must!

The funny part is, I never knew what direction this room would take. I envisioned something whimsical, magical and probably cottage like. My room is cheery yellow with touches of pink, chocolate, creams and golds.

I do have fairies flying in for a visit by the window but they never do stay long.

Old dance costumes, love letters and shoes.

Three weeks ago, I would have never thought I would purchase this paint color, rug or curtains....but it just happened....one by one. Most of my room was a no cost decorating project. I just used what I had and made the most of it. It's always nice to get lovely new curtains though :)

All of my fabrics, paints and supplies are kept in the crafting closet. Now I can be a little messy and just shut the door :)

Everything in this room is from my heart. Childhood memories, notes and handmade items from family and friends. If you have ever written a note to me, it is saved. I keep them all. Things from my grandmother---her lovely chairs, crochet hooks, old buttons and old threads. I never knew her but I heard so much about her. She is the reason I sew and create.

Enjoy the pictures. Lots more to see on my side bar, under "Craft Studio". I will be adding more throughout the week.

   

   

Last but not least, I wanted to make sure that I had a beautiful view. Watching the sunset and my beautiful McFelius McBee at play. Thanks for letting me share my little studio with you :)

Knock knock.....who's there?

Knock, knock....Who's there?

Orange......Orange who?

Orange you glad to see me?

I need to get out more :)

Dan made his delicious baked chicken , mashed potatoes and gravy with huge ole rolls. I was in charge of dessert and this is always a yummy favorite. It reminds me of my sister, she always makes this for family parties.

Would you believe it snowed again today? I wonder what the flowers were thinking, having their hopes up to come out.....but then the snow falls.

My craft studio is finished, now I just need to take pictures....waiting for a little sunshine to come in, much prettier photos.

I will leave you with a few pictures of my favorites so far. I can't wait to start using my organized room. Hope I can find everything.....I did have my own disorganized way of knowing where everything was. Have a wonderful week ahead.

a stitch in time.......

I have been tucked away in my craft studio for days. Painting, cleaning, organizing, decorating and getting long lost projects ready for the making.

It has really been fun, in a way--to find everything again. You just never realize how many supplies and odd things you have until you start cleaning.

I may just hold the world record for fabric scraps, buttons, tulle and embroidery floss (not wound). Why did I think that just maybe I would need that 1" piece of funky fabric? Well, to be honest that would make a lovely pocket for a pumpkin man or a little apron. Dolls do need pockets. OK, well it was time to buy new fabrics anyway, right? I hope I do not have next day, throw out fabric -- regret. Oh and the picture, yes it's a scream! My favorite Farside ever :)

Things I'm working on for fun:

1. Spring kitchen towels.
2. Pin cushion softie.
3. French memory boards.
4. Three unfinished, almost done quilts.
5. Pillow cases for McFelius.
6. Hand bag.
7. Gazillion embroidery pillows.
8. Apron.

Maybe I'll actually finish these if I post them? Good grief, some of these projects date to 2001. By the power of Grayskull!

I guess I won't be too hard on myself if these projects take a year and a day....McFelius is almost 2.5 years full of mischief.
 

Spring Begins................

For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

Algernon Charles Swinburne  (1837–1909)

Wishing you a beautiful Easter weekend and a lovely spring. I'll be back next week with some pictures of my new craft studio and some recipes.

See you soon :)
Michelle

Wearing Purple Today?

St. Urho, Legendary Patron Saint of Finland. This is one of my father in laws favorite tales he would tell my husband as a child. He has now passed it along to us. I remember my husband always asking, "Are you wearing purple today? It's St. Urho Day! I think we were sad to find out it's only a legend....or is it? Well, we'll still wear our purple :)

The legend says St. Urho chased the grasshoppers out of ancient Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the jobs of Finnish vineyard workers. He did this by uttering the phrase: "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen" (roughly translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!"). His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. St. Urho is nearly always represented with grapes and grasshoppers as part of the picture. To learn more about St. Urho and see pictures, please visit St. Urho.com.

I have to work tomorrow night, so we decided to make our St. Patrick's Day dinner a wee bit early.

Corn chowder, huge rolls and my friend Brenda's yummiest ever Creme DeMint Cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Just divine.

"May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door".