December Vacation, Day 2

Day 1 of vacation (Baton Rouge to Lake City, FL) was so uneventful that it didn't warrant it's own documentation.     The car had already been packed.  Got up had coffee, drove to Florida and had lunch an an unremarkable McDonalds, drove to Lake City and had dinner at a restaurant with an unusual name - Phish Heads.  That was the only thing remarkable ... food was typical ho-hum.

December Vacation - Day 2 - Lake City, FL to Ft Lauderdale, FL

Beau caught a cold two days ago.   He's feeling better, however, we still had to stop to get some more cold meds ... which we of course, left at home.

This picture is for Glen.  Glen ... the shoes are Purple !

On the way to the freeway, I saw a sign for a Fabric Art Shop.  U-Turn.

Unfortunately, it was only 8:30 and the shop didn't open till 10am.  I suggested we go to yard sales and Thrift Shops to kill the hour and a half.  Beau suggested we come back on our way home.   Being a decent sport (and knowing he doesn't like yard sales and thrift shops), I agreed, even though we'll be back by here on a Sunday .... and they are closed on Sundays.

Further down the freeway was a flea market sign.  Beau can deal with flea markets as long as we don't stay too long.  Between the exit and the flea market, we saw a sign for a Craft Sale at an Adult Community (which Beau calls the Old Folks Home).  Following the signs we landed at a little community center where a variety of elderly ladies were selling their goods.   The usual, jewelry, needleworks, candy and dips.

I bought the green sweater for a measly $25.00.  (No, I didn't bargain them down).  There were wonderful afghan, sweaters, ponchos and more.  All so incredibly underpriced, that when I get home I'm going to send the woman a coupon to buy 10 free patterns out of my new knit/crochet shop.    Another note for Glen .... The shoes are purple !

From there, the flea market, lunch at a mexican taco stand, $32 spent on toll roads, checked into the hotel, ate dinner at Miller Hollywood Ale.    There are no pictures documenting the rest of the day ... none that turned out anyway.   I'm going to have to get out the manual and do some more studying.   (The two video's were supposed to be pictures ... but sometimes, you just get what you get !).

Thanks for dropping by,
Lorrie

Getting Smarter with a telephone

After alot of contemplation and a bit of him and hawing, I made the leap and purchased a smart phone.   This was a H U G E leap in technology for me.   I did have a cell phone that was mostly left at home and was used for travel and emergency only.   Texting ... for me that was something I saw other people doing and wondering why they didn't just talk to each other.  

The decision factor ended up being to better serve my online shops and to blog.   I frequently take pictures for the point of blogging, and then days later forget what I had to say.  Good intentions, poor follow through. Thus, the concept of instant picture taking and blog posting on the go.  Not to mention emails and communications.   That right there put the hammer on the nail and out came the credit card.   So, what did I buy ? 

The Samsung Galaxy S3.  Although it is slightly large in the hand, I like the variety of voice to text features so I won't have to spend much time on a little keyboard.  And, with voice, it will give both Beau (should he stay willing) and I, to provide dialog, when appropriate. 

And, how am I doing, you might ask.  Well, one a 1 to 10 scale, I'd say around a 4.   I've progressed way past turning it off and on.  I can now send a text message and have minimally played with the text features.  Figured out how to take pictures, build a blog post, insert the pictures and post.  Well ... No.   

But, we are now officially on vacation and I'll give it an honest go.  We'll see together what might happen.  

Thanks for dropping by,
Lorrie 

Taco Boudreaux, Baton Rouge of course

It sits over on Sherwood Forest, a minute or so (depending upon traffic) from I-12.    We've passed by it several dozens times already.   It's the art Truck out in the weed filled front that always catches my attention,

The building has that authentic Mexican flair ... the colors right in line and the spirit warm and cheerful, but the writings - Cajun all the way.  

When Beau suggested we go to lunch and asked where I might like to go - it came right out.   Let's try Taco Boudreaux ... you know, that place up the road with the beat up art truck out front. 

The inside decor doesn't come anywhere near as festive ... it's more yard sale renditions of hispanic and cajun, along with some beer signs, of course.  But the menu, has a whole lot of interesting possibilities.   Like, how many places do you find Blackened Alligator Quesidillas or a Carne Asada Po-Boy?   We went deliciously mainframe.   I ordered a burrito type plate with tea and Beau went the Burger and Beer route.

My lunch was quite good.  Everything was seasoned, which is typically not the case with mexican food in this section of the country.  The fusion of cajun was a definite plus.  The jalapenos I requested were bottled, which was a surprise.  Everything was good - on a scale of 0 - 10, I'd give it a solid 7.   Not so incredible that I need to go back next week, but certainly a return visit will be warranted.    The only thing that seemed out of whack with the restaurant was the music - primarily 1950s and 1960s - neither cajun or hispanic.  Who knows whats up with that?  

So, I'd say, give it a try should you happen to be passing by.   You won't miss it.   Just look for that great truck in the front.  

Lorrie  

Tree for Sale, House Included

In May of 2000, Beau and I were house looking in Mandeville, LA.   We came upon a house with this Live Oak Tree in the front yard.

 Now, the picture does not do this tree justice.  The trunk of this baby is at least 50 feet around and it reaches high in the sky.   As luck would have it, after we narrowed it to two, it was Beau's pick.

He picked the tree.   Luckily enough, the house came with it.   We lived here for 12 years and one month - mostly all good.   

But, we were ready for a move from the rural to a more city atmosphere and bought us a new house in Baton Rouge, putting this one up for sale.   

Now, this certainly isn't prime house buying time, and this house is still sitting over all along.   It dawned on me this morning .... perhaps I'm going about it all wrong.     Instead of selling the house, perhaps I need to sell the tree.    

TREE OF SALE, HOUSE INCLUDED  

Lorrie 

Loss of the Hackberry Tree

In our backyard, tucked right into the deck is (was) a Hackberry tree.  Now, most people around here call a Hackberry a trash tree, which is not very nice.   I mean prejudices about a tree ... really !  The tree, right in the middle where the main trunks split, is a deep inset area where the tree has hollowed in the center.  Trash or not, we didn't want to loose the tree and brought out an arborist Tree Company to have a look.

And, when we didn't like the answer, we called another one.   But, alas, the news is the news.   The tree is dying.   We could wrap it up to extend the life, but it was still dying and could come down on the house.  

Woe is us (not to mention the poor sick tree). We forked up our $2400 and the next week a crew of tfour young men arrived. 

Branch by branch, the took the 50 foot tree down. 

 

And hauled it away.  

Leaving us with a hole in the deck.   

 Nothing to worry about though.   Beau made a quick trip up to Lowes, purchased a couple of boards and filled it right in.  

Next Spring we plan on having the deck refinished which will merge in the raw wood and make the Hackberry Tree a distant memory.   Hopefully it will put the other trees on notice.  Stay healthy or go the route of the Hackberry!

Thanks all. 

Thanks for dropping by, 

Lorrie  

Bags at Play

I continue to play with these small lunch sized bags.   At 9 x 9 inches, they are the perfect size for fiber art practice -- they don't take ages to complete and are just enough to try out different techniques without it becoming a major project.  

Made it up to the studio this morning for some play.    I picked up a generic piece of fabric - a pale peach, some paints, a stencil, some misc buttons.   There were no specific design plans.

And this is what happened.   What did I learn?  Well, when writing with the fabric markers, work on a hard surface (I had the interfacing attached) so the ink doesn't bleed. And, for marks, a pencil stays much sharper than the quilting pencils,which do not sharpen nicely (at least mine don't).     Put it all together as the little bag.

I like the way the straight lines connecting from the star tips break any resemblance of a pattern.    The rest ... well ... okay.

I've put together a couple other over the last week.

This piece (front and back) is a result of stuff not yet put away.  The fabric was left from the curtains I recently made for the front bedroom, the flower piece as a broken pin from a yardsale, as was the lace and the bead trim.  It's fun, but a little side heavy.

These two resulted from two shapes - the bird and leaf - that is on the cover of a pattern sold last week from the pattern shop.  Thought ... hummm ... wonder what would come of that and this is the answer.

They were both fun to put together.   I'm loving my new Melody Baby Lock machine and each bag is receiving quite a bit of decorative stitches as I figure out all the different patterns.

That's it for today.   Thanks for dropping by
Lorrie

Fabric Flower Pins

Have you heard of Mary Stanley?   She a fiber artist who creates marvelous small creatures, quilts and objects de wearable art.   She writes a bright and colorful blog called Art Spirit that, if you have the time, is great fun to follow.   She's was also published in the recent Sew Somerset issue, which is where I came across her works.   

In this issue, Mary gives simple pattern directions to make shabby chic type flower pins .... for our purses, bags, sweaters .... whatever.    (sorry that I can't include a picture of the article .... it's a copyright thing).   I decided to give them a try.

The instructions are very simple.  

Cut a circle from a piece of paperstock at 3 or 3 1/2 inches.  

Select a number of fabric scraps.

Cut them to the size of your circle template. 

Mate the circles into color sets of your choice - however many you want - mine are 6 to 7. 

Take each set and layer them; cutting each piece to lay over the previous circle.  Let your imagination go.

Pin them together for stitching.

I matched up 10 of them. 

Take to your machine.

Starting at the outside edge, start sewing around in circles, securing all the layers

(Mary added decorative stitches with embroidery thread)

Sew on a button, (or whatever you want to the center)

Sew on a pinback to the back.

And there you go!.   A great use for those bits of scraps and cute besides.   I finished two of them all the way.   The other 8 I've set aside.   I like having an accumulation of hand sewing to work on in the car during road trips -- which we have on coming up soon.   

Okay, that's it.   Go get out your scraps.  

Lorrie