confessions of a blueberry bandit

Faded Glory

My first bowling league stint ended several weeks ago, and I've been eagerly awaiting my trophy.  Everyone gets a trophy, but I really felt like I earned mine.  I was consistently the lowest scorer/ worst bowler all season, but I really started to improve right at the end.  Anyway, I finally got it today and had to share...

Um...  There are so many things wrong with this picture.

Where do I begin? 

1. I think it's fairly obvious that I am not a man, but whatever. 
2. I have suffered a lifelong battle with my last name... It seems people can't help turning Kirkpatrick into Kilpatrick.  I pretty much expect it.  At least it doesn't say Fitzpatrick. That one sends me over the edge.  
3. The team name is New Bloodz. Zzz.  Duh.  Why would anyone name a bowling team New Bloody?
4. Getting 5th place out of a team of 4 people must mean that I am terrible beyond reproach...

This is now my most hilarious possession, and I will cherish it until the end of days.  Seriously.

♥

Happy New Year!!!

I think 2012 is technically Year of the Dragon, but I prefer to think of it as Year of the Pegasus.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Mine was busy-busy but very nice.  I celebrated early mini-Christmases with my mom & Andy, and I spent Christmas proper in Atlanta with my dad's side of the family.  I got so many great gifts and felt very spoiled by my loved ones.  Andy & I surprised each other with BB guns, which was pretty hilarious.  Mine is pink.  I am sooo not a gun enthusiast, and never thought I would own a BB gun... But I used one at a friend's barbecue a while back and learned that I am pretty darn good at shooting balloons.  (What's next.. Pink camo?)  Andy also gave me a Chia Pet, something I have wanted more than anything in the world since I was a little girl.  I just think they're neat, ok?  Don't laugh.  So far mine is not growing, but hopefully I can share pictures soon.  Another particularly touching gift was a flash drive loaded with all of my dad's (amazing) recipes... Such a great idea!

I love these beautiful letterpress mushroom bookplates from my Aunt Dana so much...

My mom commissioned tiny sculptures of my pets... Shorty is particularly lifelike.  (Can't remember the name of the artist off the top of my head.)

Andy's brother & our sister-in-law sent us this mini pie maker and a book of handheld pie recipes... I think this is going to get us into a lot of trouble!  Delicious trouble.

Roasted watermelon radishes from Christmas dinner... so pretty & tasty!

After Christmas I spent a long afternoon with some dear friends visiting from New York, and I got to meet the latest addition to their family.  I made a bigger, baby-safe version of my snail out of soft, nubby fleece.

I think she liked it, despite the frown.

They are such a sweet family, and I really wish I could see them more often...

Andy & I spent New Year's weekend at a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with a big group of friends.  I had never been to Pigeon Forge, and it kind of blew my mind. The entire (small) town is one great, big, kitschy tourist trap, especially this time of year, when everything is absolutely blazing with Christmas lights.  Pigeon Forge is home to Dollywood (sadly, it was closed) and a gazillion other crazy attractions (not to mention dozens upon dozens of pancake houses, mini golf courses, and go-cart tracks).  We drove to nearby Gatlinburg and took a (scary, precarious) chairlift up the side of a mountain to ride back down on a (scary, precarious) alpine slide.  It was really fun, despite a frigid three-hour wait in line.  I decided to continue the terror-adrenaline surge by riding a go-cart for the first time in 26 years.  (Have I ever mentioned my traumatic, humiliating childhood go-cart crash?)  I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I survived without incident, and I even braved the "pro" course.  I think conquering a life-long fear is a pretty good way to start a new year, don't you?

Why didn't I buy this sweatshirt? 

Fantasy Mini Golf in Pigeon Forge...

Our "cabin" ended up being in a gated community of many near-identical chalet-style "cabins" all stacked together on a hillside...  It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was very nice & cosy inside.  And there was a lovely view from our porch.  All in all, we had a great time.

Sigh.. back to real life.   I have a ton of work to catch up on this week, but I am planning to finish some new pouches for the shop very soon.  I've had some requests for more snail ornaments as well, so keep a look out for those.  I got inspired to design some little mushroom gift tags for personal Christmas gifts, and I'm considering adding some to the shop.  What do you think?

Wishing everyone much love & happiness in 2012!  See you soon...

♥

 

Summer Haze

Just wanted to pop in with a few snippets of semi-recent life... I have been a bit lost in a fuzzy insomnia-induced twilight, but today I am feeling slightly human again.  Insomnia is so maddening, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!  I will mostly let the photos do the talking for me, as I am still... so... sleepy...

Pink Bunny, one of the first stuffed toys I ever made... Perhaps a bit of a self-portrait in felt.

My little Piddler on the Roof... (He piddles when he gets excited, which is pretty much all the time.)

My sweet baby kitty Junebug, who is never bad...  

Cherries (they always, always make me think of my grandmother)...

I tend to drink tea for two all by myself, but I would share with you!

Mr. Cicada, my new friend...  (Andy is hovering over my shoulder, begging me to call him "John Cicada.")

Sweet little yellow polka-dotted glass(es) I found at Ikea recently...

Amazing customized gift-wrap,from my BFF... (Sometimes very belated birthday gifts are the best!)

Pink polka-dotted straws and a heart-shaped tea infuser... and the most delicious chocolate ever! 

Recently-discovered Car of My Dreams, the Nissan Figaro.  Go ahead, look it up.

My echinacea, just before it started dying...

Lantana...

Portulaca (moss rose)...

Purple coreopsis... ( I also have yellow.  Or did, rather... before the extra-intense summer heat became too much for almost everything in my garden.)

Vintage doll I found at the flea market a while back...

Beautiful spool of ribbon, a birthday gift from my aunt back in May... (Something tells me I am going to hoard this!)

And... a new bear pouch in the shop!

I'm considering crawling into bed early tonight... say around 7 p.m.  Is 6:30 pushing it?  I'm not ashamed to be geriatric.

Hope everyone is having a lovely & sleep-filled week!

♥

Long overdue Hello & new pouch in the shop!

Hello!  Hello!  Hello! 

I've been away such a long time, it seems wise to say it three times for good measure...

I have been more than preoccupied with the usual things...  And I also had to say my final goodbyes to my grandmother (and only remaining grandparent).  Some very relaxing travels have helped with the sadness and strangeness.  Otherwise life is good, and I am feeling very thankful!

Psst... A new pouch sneaked into my shop yesterday!

I hope life is treating everyone well!

xoxo

A Whale of a Pouch (and other things...)

Just listed in my shop!

As I mentioned, I have been working on some new pouch designs, but I am crazy busy right now and haven't had a chance to finish any others.  I promise they will materialize soon!

What has been keeping me so busy, you ask?  Well, besides the usual flurry of work at the ol' day job...

Celebrating my sweet Andy's 35th birthday this past week! 

Rock 'n roll shows and Andy's very first art opening!

Rescuing socks and doormats and undies (and everything under the sun) from this deceptively sweet little beast, who really should know better by now...

And, best of all...

Spending the day with the four baby goats my mom, aunt & uncle just adopted! 

And fulfilling my lifelong dream of squeezing tiny baby goats!!!  

I had hoped for idyllic photos of goats frolicking in sunny meadows, but the day I visited was miserably cold and rainy.  So I had to settle for the garage.  I must say, I've never spent such a blissful afternoon in a garage!  (Forgive my messy state... I was too excited to bother with silly things like brushing my hair.)

Did I mention I got to bottle-feed them?  (No, they're not drinking The Dew!)  Oh my god...  There just aren't words to describe how sweet they are.  They are every bit as affectionate as a cat or dog.  When you pick them up, they make a little heart-melting sort of purring sound.  I swear, it's true!

This is the baby of the bunch... She was born deformed (only one fully-formed ear and eye) and almost didn't survive.  She was less than two days old.   I wanted to stick her in my purse and take her home!  I wanted to take all of them home! 

My mom getting baby goat kisses.  Go ahead and sigh...

My mom & I had to load three of the goats into my car and take them to the goat farm to get treated for sniffles.  (Never did I imagine I would be driving around with goats in my car!)  There were dozens and dozens of baby goats at the farm, and of course I had to touch each and every one of them!  I will be visiting the goats again as soon as I can and will share some better pictures!

If I ever live in a setting that allows for farm animals, you can be sure I will have some tiny goats.  And teacup piglets.  Why stop there?  Miniature ponies, anyone?

Sigh...

Well, I am absolutely drowning in work and better get back to it.  I hope everyone has a lovely and safe weekend!

♥

p.s.

I (finally) ordered some special woven blueberry bandit sewing labels!  They'll be appearing on pouches and softies soon!

Also, Junebug had a follow-up visit to the vet this week and has made a 100% full recovery!  Thankfully there seems to be no apparent nerve damage.  She's a happy cat again!

And one more thing...  I almost hesitate to mention it because we're all thinking about it and hearing about it everywhere we go, but lots of love to everyone suffering and trying to piece their lives back together. 

Not just today, but every day.  

♥

Brave Little Kitten...

 

It has been quite a (crummy, emotional, expensive) week...

 

 

Especially for Junebug, who prefers to wear her collar-of-shame Victorian-style rather than the traditional Elizabethan...  The poor thing was struggling so much, crashing around and knocking things over. Somehow she spirited herself out of both collar and semi-confinement around 4:30 this morning.  Not good.  So in a delirious, desperate state, I decided to try turning it around.  And it worked.  It just keeps her from licking where she should not lick, and now she can get around without having to walk backwards.  And it's just more flattering, if you ask me...

 

 

  Poor Junebug has been through a lot this week.  She disappeared for a couple of days and returned trembling, completely traumatized and mysteriously injured.  There were no obvious wounds, but she was walking strangely and refused to eat.  I was worried she may have been hit by a car or crushed by some large object and sent myself into hysterics thinking she was going to die...

Our (very kind) vet did some x-rays and gave her fluids and eventually determined that she was (quite brutally) attacked by another cat.  And, incidentally, discovered a gun pellet in one of Junebug's back legs... Wait, what?  Someone shot my poor baby? When did this happen? Why would someone do that to a tiny, helpless cat???  Fortunately the pellet caused no damage, but the bites were really nasty.  Yesterday we had to go back to the vet to have three abscesses drained and get more antibiotics.  And the dreaded collar...

 

 

A large portion of Junebug's lower back is shaved, and it looks absolutely ghastly.  But I think she's going to be ok.  I'm giving her antibiotics twice a day and applying warm compresses as often as she will let me.  And thanking my lucky stars that I found her when I did.  There is a chance she'll have permanent nerve damage because the bites were near her spine, but I can't think about that right now.  Instead I'm spoiling her with fancy food and treats and giving her as much love as I can. 

Junebug is enduring the stress, pain and boredom with amazing patience.  She truly is a brave little soul, and, cheesy as it may sound, she means the world to me.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for my dear, sweet little gal...

 

♥

Rogue Blog...

So I logged into my faithful blog this morning to publish a comment from a kind reader, and I noticed that the text on my "about me" page had been mysteriously jumbled at some point.  (I'm assuming it happened during one of the countless TypePad format changes.)  I was horrified to discover that many of my "likes" and "dislikes" had been through the old switcheroo... and it appeared as if I LIKE people who are mean to animals and putting away laundry, and as if I dislike many of my favorite things.  Yikes!  How long was it in that state?  I am hoping not too many readers have taken time to look at that page, but I wanted to set the record straight just in case.

So.  The real About Me:

LIKES: reading, photography, sewing, drawing, doodling, gluing, musing, documentaries, swimming, roller-skating, moonlight bicycling, music that makes me feel, windows with sunlight pouring through them, long face-to-face conversations with a good friend, animals who do bad things, animals with three legs, dogs with beards, cats with funny faces, birds who bathe in dirt, old men with bushy eyebrows, old ladies with pastel-hued hair, eye patches, undies (yes, undies!), gold teeth, sincerity, that delicious crunch of a stepped-upon pinecone, people with twinkling eyes...

DISLIKES: the word "blog", cell phones, putting laundry/dishes/groceries away, waking up to the harsh cry of an alarm clock, stepping in gum, people who are mean to animals, people who are mean to other people, public toilets, the human need to compartmentalize and label everything and everyone.

Thank you for indulging me in that.  I feel much better now!

♥

 

p.s.  Dear TypePad, please stop changin' stuff all the time!

Another Snow Day... Really?

We're having such an unusual winter here in Georgia!   Right now the ground is covered in 4 or 5 inches of snow and more is on the way...  Is it wrong that I'm hoping my internet will fail me so I can take the day off work?  How I would love to spend a long afternoon gazing out the window and reading a book or sewing... I'm sure I can at least squeeze in a snow angel or two.

 

 

 

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday!

♥

Snug as an Elf on a Toadstool...

 

The gifts have been gifted, the snow has all melted, and the year is fading softly to its close... 

I am working contentedly with a warm pup on my lap and realizing just how much I have missed blogging!  Writing these last few posts has felt a bit like returning home after years of weary traveling. 

I think I'll stay awhile this time. 

♥

 

p.s. This sweet elf was a gift from my mom...

My Very First White Christmas!

Just had to pop in and share pics of the first White Christmas I have ever chanced to enjoy!  I think it's the first time it has snowed on Christmas around these parts in over a hundred years...

I'm going to spend the day making a big pot of soup and watching the snow (still) falling!

Hope everyone had a lovely & love-filled holiday!

♥