No More Reality, PLEASE!

Yeah...I'm a little done with reality right now. I'm going to Pamtown and not coming out. Wanna come with me? I feel like I haven't devoted enough time to my blog lately and I am so sorry for that. Between my father being under the weather and having surgery and Lola Mae having problems from getting older, I just haven't been able to devote the time I wanted to. Don't you just hate when reality tries to control your life? 

Since taking care of a sick dad and sick little Lola, I have been stitching like crazy and reading a ton. What have I been reading...nothing special except, TRASHY ROMANCE NOVELS! Hey, it's the summer, which means trashy romance novels, don't judge. 

I am really having fun reading them and I prefer to go for the PG-13 romance. The X-rated ones just make me giggle too much. I have found that there is a certain formula to these novels, they break down like this:

City girl has crappy disrespectful boyfriend and for some reason they just broke up. She then decides to head to a small town because 1-someone wronged her family and she is getting property to make it right or 2-she wants to start a bakery or a wedding planning business in a small town because that's all she can afford. 

After she is settled she meets a very attractive man who is widowed and his wife at the time was having an affair, caring the child of her lover or the child is sick and the mother has left because she can't handle it. The man has a heart of gold around the rough edges. 

Boy and girl meet, they get into fights. She is independent but he loves that. She loves that he is a caring dad/cares about animals. 

They finally give into their lust and live happily ever after. All problems solved and she ends up pregnant with his child. The end. 

I am not making fun of this formula, it works and I love it! I love it so much that I will sit and read a book in one day. I think they are very sweet books.  

Some of my favorite authors right now are Lori Wilde and Debbie Macomber. Yes, these authors make quick easy cheesy books but they also restore our faith in romance and love. You want to see the couple fall in love at the end, you want the bad guy get what's coming to him and you want it tied up with a nice bow. I am a firm believer that we all need a little summer romance. 

Down By the Sea

I have been going swap crazy on Craftster. I am currently in a Hit the Beach swap. We had to make our partner something that was beach themed. Of course I decided to make a wreath. I was inspired by My Very Educated Mother .

I started with a dollar store swimming pool noodle. I taped it up to make a wreath form.

For the ocean (or the sky) I used chunky blue yarn and for the sand I used burlap. I added some shells and there ya have it, a beach wreath.

For my small item. I decided to do a sea glass vase/jar and fill it with gummy sharks. The paint came out a little darker than I wanted and I really wish the directions told you for a completely smooth finish you really need more coats or that it take 4 days for it to dry and then bake. I'm still pretty happy with it and may play with other shades.

Now on to the next swap....Sideshows, Halloween and Make a Friend. Yahoo for crafty goodness!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Someone once told me that idle hands are the devil's workshop. If that's the case, I've got nothing to worry about because I have been super duper busy.

First, I just finished up another Craftster Quickie. This time I made corn starch clay. It was pretty cool! I love the white porcelain look of it. 

Second, I've been stitching like a mad woman. I've been picking little projects that I can do while watching movies or TV.

First, a group of cuties with pups!






Yep, I was totally singing the Wonder Woman theme when I did this one last night.



If that wasn't enough, I had to do a beach scene to get me in the mood for summer!







Whew! June was way too busy! I need a vacation! Who am I kidding, stitching and crafting are my vacation! 

Cool Stitching

Over the weekend the heat was a little more than the pups could take so instead of worshiping the sun gods, I stayed inside with the A/C blowing on me, stitching, while Lola, Pete and Jujube crashed around me. I decided to watch a few shows I had on my Amazon Prime watchlist. 

The first show was London Hospital. Such a great series. Unfortunately, BBC only filmed 2 season. Boo on that! The series is set during the industrial revolution in London. It centers around the famous London Hospital. Be warned! This show can be gory! It depicts the era with gritty realism. The stories are based on newspaper clippings, journals and hospital records. At the end of each episode they give you a bit more information about the history of the story. 

After watching London Hospital, I needed something a bit lighter, so I went with Sherlock. Yes, I know...I'm late to the party about this one. Can I just say, BRILLIANT! Love this series and I can't wait for the next season. The story is set in modern London with the usual suspects, Sherlock Holmes, Watson and Moriarty playing games, creating and solving crimes. Steven Moffit of Dr. Who fame has his hands all over this series, which makes for excellent writing and producing. 

What are you catching up on this summer? Any series that you are just dying over that I need to see? There are a lot of hot days and a lot of stitching ahead of me. 

Scrappy Dog Sunday

Last Christmas a friend of mine sent me a great dog treat recipe. Great because it was so simple! Having three dogs can pose a few problems, one being that each one has a different food thing going on. These treats perfect for all three. These treats are great for older dogs because they are slightly soft.  

Peanut Butter Dog Crackers
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons oil

• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and form a dough ball

• Roll out dough with rolling pin and cut into small bites. I have used small cookie cutters before but they really were too big for my dogs. I also didn't make them too thick so they could chew them. Cut them do your dog's needs. 

• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes. 
• Cool on rack
• I put a little baggie full next to the door and freeze the rest. They can last in the freezer for about 6 months. 

A few things:
I tried it with natural peanut butter. It was okay but I might reduce the oil by about 1/2 next time if I use the natural stuff

I used regular flour but if your dog has an allergy, you can certainly try different ones and maybe adjust the cooking time.

You can put these treats on a baking sheet pretty close to eachother. They do not spread. On a big cookie sheet I used about half of the dough.

As you can see, these treats are so good, they even brought the elusive Emo Jujube out of her natural cave habitat.

Scrappy Dog Sunday

Having an older dog is a mix of emotions. You are happy because the dog is trained (well, mostly in our case), well behaved and laid back. You are sad because you know that the time you have with them is limited. I guess you know that about all pets and people but it seems to resonate more when you can see the change come over your best friend in such a short amount of time.

Lola seemed to be doing a lot better for the past week and then over the weekend slowed down again. Little things seem to take a lot out of her. Just giving her a bath will put her down for the rest of the day. We also noticed that her eye pressure is back up, hopefully not as bad as before but it is slowing her down.

On the upside, a friend sent us a doggy stroller so we can take her out on longer walks with Jujube and Pete and she likes to sit in it next to me while I lay out in the sun. Jujube loves it so she can get away from her stinky brother.

We take her back to the vet tomorrow for a checkup. I know it will take so much out of her and she will be down for a day or two but we will get more information about her eye.

Another great thing is that the urinary tract infection looks as if it has cleared up and we are having no more night accidents.

Don't get me wrong, Lola is still a spitfire. She is still barking at the crows, runs around with her brother and gives Jujube baths. She is eating, although extremely picky. She loves trying to play with Pete at 6 in the morning and runs around the house. The recovery time is a lot longer but I don't think she is willing to give up yet and we aren't either. We adjust our lives to fit her needs right now and really, the adjustments are that extreme at all. We might wake up a little earlier, have to make her food for her and be a little be more gentle but it is worth it.

Her quality of life is still good and she plans on harassing us every chance she gets cause that's what Lolas do.

Winner and Other Stitchy Goodness

Big huge honking thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. The winner is....(drum roll, please)

Poppy (xperimentl)!!!!!!

Yahoo! Way to go! Never fret, my favorite peeps, there will be other giveaways, just around the corner! 

Now, are you ready for some stitchy goodness? I have been crazy busy stitching up tea towels for a swap with my friend Helen. 

And sticking with the cake theme...

I also stitched this glamour puss up for the Hoopla Along on Craftster but she got ruined! I used quilter's wax to tame the metallic thread, forgot about it and ironed. The wax melted and bled the ink everywhere! WAHHHHH! 

I can't wait to show you what else I have been working on-so many fun summer projects! Stay tune!