Puppy New Year

We have another puppy in the house to ring in the new year with.  We've named her Polly and she's Pearl's half sister from the same daddy, Duke, and different mamma boxers all from Parson Pups. 

Christmas 2013

 

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Rest in Peace Sheba

Well, we knew this day was coming.  Two years ago the vet gave her six months so all this time we had with Sheba somewhat made this day easier to bare. Needless to say, it's been a difficult couple of months losing our fur babies.

December @ the Flea

Somehow during all my dog life drama and this busy holiday season, I managed to put together a knitwear inventory for December. 

This morning the weather turned cold and icy but that just helped to make my hats and mitts fly off the display.  The headbands w/crochet flower (shown in picture) were the most popular but just about everything shown sold and I'm already thinking about next month's collection.

Precious Pearl

Puppy Pearl's personality is taking shape.  She's energetic, sweet and affectionate.  She likes to sit under the tree and I like to watch her sleep with her mouth open. 

 

The Best Dog I Ever Had

You never know what a day can bring and how quickly things can turn upside down. How life is so very precious. Molly has been having seizure-like episodes the past couple of weeks just starting two days before we got the new puppy. She had a couple episodes this morning and didn't pull through it. She died in our arms leaving us heart broken. We are guessing it was a genetic heart condition. I had the most beautiful dog in the world and so many good memories in our short time together. Rest in peace my sweet baby boxer. You brought me so much happiness every single day.

Molly 6/15/11 - 11/24/13

November Flea Market

I pulled together a nice inventory of hand mades to take out to our monthly flea market setting up next to a fun friend and her collection of antiques -- and we ROCKED the flea.  I had the Pistol Annies playing the back ground and I sold soooo much of my stuff.  My things tend to have an edgy western flair from cowgirl train cases, repurposed western shirts, pendants and my hand knits.  And boy did those hand knits sell like hotcakes!  Everything from fingerless mitts, boot cuffs, hats and scarves.  It was a huge success and we are signed up to do it all again next month so I gotta get busy on a new inventory!

Puppy Pearl

We found our next dog online at Parsons Pups and had to wait several weeks for her to be weaned.  It was exciting waiting for today, the day we met Bonnie at a halfway point close to Missouri to get our little white boxer.  Her dad, Duke, is a champion breed and I'm so excited to now have two boxers in our household.  She's a sweetie and hit it off immediately with Molly and Sheba. 

Jewelry Shrine

I have jewelry strung all over my bedroom and need a big display.  So when I saw a rustic window frame backed with chicken wire at market, my mind went into creative mode. I struck up a $20 deal and went to Lowes for some hardware.  I don't do power tools so I had my husband attach some curtain rods, a hook, metal shelf ($5 flea market find) and some glass drawer pulls for what turned out to be a nice jewelry shrine for most of my favorite pieces.  Having it all visible and in one place makes getting accessorized in the morning a breeze.

Miss Lanora's Miscellany

I've got a handmades inventory, some business cards and a logo rubber stamp.  I guess you could call it a business venture.  Really, I just need to down size and make room for new stuff.  I knit and craft to wind down and relax from a stressful work-life so being able to make a little money off of it is an added bonus.  This month I will set it all up at our monthly flea market and give it a GO!

Oklahoma Reunion

 

 

The best part of Fall is my annual reunion in Oklahoma at Osage Hills State Park.  It's where I meet up with my family of Okies and we sit by the campfire at night and hike during the day.  This year I took my kayak and ventured up Shady Creek with Molly.  I'm so lucky to have a dog that likes water!  As we paddled up river, I could hear laughter echo across the water as my family repelled from high above down the rocky bluffs.  As always, the weekend was an adventurous outdoor slice of heaven.

Still Amazed

After all these years, I am still amazed at what can be created with two sticks and some string.  This will be a long lace scarf/stole when complete.  I'm at the halfway mark, finishing one skein and starting the second.

This project went on forever.  It's a simple 2 row pattern that I set down for awhile and came back to months later to complete.  Once blocked it opened up to a nice lacey, long scarf.

Pine Forest Baby Blanket



Need to knit a baby blanket for a shower in one week?  No problem when you get the flu and have to stay home in bed for two days.  When I wasn't sleeping through fevers and could sit upright in my comfy adjustable bed, I was able to knit several row sections at a time.  The Pine Forest baby blanket pattern is a very simple 4 row lace repeat.  I modified the pattern for 137 cast on stitches making the final blanket measure 35" x 37".  Now I'm way ahead of schedule (after washing out the germs) and can move onto another knitting project.

Love the Ballband

I've been busy knitting up dishcloths for Fall gifts.  Been knitting a lot of them - 10 so far.  The pattern is my all-time favorite, tried and true, Mason Dixon ballband. 

Walnut Valley Festival 2013

 

I've been looking forward to this campout and bluegrass festival all year.  A chance to hang with my good riding and knitting friend, Karen, and her family.  There was good music, good food fixed on the campfire and knitting.  Lots of knitting.  We made bibs for baby Iris, I completed an alpaca/llama cowl from yarn I purchased at Lost City Knits at the festival.  Lots of yarn from Lost City Knits.  Seriously, I am so stocked up for winter knitting.

More Reconstruction

I'm on a roll sewing these reconstructed western shirts lately.  Some for me and some as gifts.  They are so cool, comfy and girly.  Just perfect for the summer that I don't want to let go of.

Mountain Camping

I made another trip to Washington State to see my childhood BFF, Laura, again. I only had a couple days off from work so it was an action packed long weekend. There was a day in Seattle, happy hour(s) at her home, a Jeep road trip for mountain camping in Leavenworth with her husband and a tubing trip down the rapids of the Wenatchee River. LOVE THIS LIFE!

Reconstructed Western Shirt

Cool temperatures and rainy days has me spending a little free time in my sewing room. I found inspiration in a reconstructed western shirt tie top I purchased in Canton Texas and then I made my own from one of my grandfather's snap shirts.

Flea Market Basket/Cart Liner

For $2 in two large burlap coffee bean sacks and $8 in two yards of fabric I made a liner for my flea market basket/cart.  You can buy plastic liners but I wanted something more uniquely mine.  I just measured the sides allowing 1/2 inch for seams, added inner pickets, ties at the bottom and tabs for the top.  Now it's ready to hold some great flea finds in style.

A Busy July

July has been passing by quickly.  It's a month with plans every weekend.  The work days have been busy.  I've caught a few rounds of golf on the week days, the top has been off of my Jeep and the warm temperatures have me spending time at the pool working on my tan.  Summer projects have turned to the crochet hook making swimsuit coverups.

And a patriotic crochet Star Spangled Banner bunting for the front porch.

Independence Day (and weekend) was spent shooting fireworks with the neighbors and a block party of sorts stay-cation campout in the front yard.  The kids loved it almost as much as the adults.

Time has passed slowly at the lake(s) with the dogs, friends and my inflatable kayak.

I absolutely LOVE summer!

Milk Painting

I had a houseguest this weekend.  Melanie and I went to the lake, rode around in our Jeeps, to the drive-in to watch zombie and superhero movies and finished our busy weekend with a milk painting class at Absolute Vintage Boutique.  It's a shop packed full of old stuff made new again and they have painting classes on the outdoor patio.  With the right mixutre of the retro milk paint, we painted old, outdated chairs with a base coat, then a second coat of a different color and then sanded until the base coat came through.  I have intentions to repaint some bedroom furniture like I did my chair but all that sanding (even with electric sanders) plum wore me out.  I may just have to tackle one piece of furniture at a time.

Lake Day

Molly & Sheba - Fun in the Sun 2013

Beach Bag

My knitta, Jackie, always inspires me with her cool projects.  We met for breakfast and she was working on a crochet beach bag for her daughter and I had to go straight home and start one for myself.  It's too hot to do much else than sit in the shade anyways.  The bag is stretchy with plenty of holes to allow sand to shake out or carry my yoga clothes to work.  Quick and easy!

Junk Hippy OKC

Girl road trip+Jeep+Teenage friend+Waffle House+Jukebox+Oklahoma City+Junk Hippy Roadshow+Antiques+Boutiques+Junk+Shop+Money Spent+

Lots-a-laughs+Bricktown+Hotel+Room with a view+Ballpark+Thirsty+Bar hop+Cool night breeze+Water walk+Live bands+Coyote Ugly+Shut up and dance+Closing time+Not tired+Full day+Big adventure+Home sweet home
=Lifelong friendships

Wichita River Festival 2013

I miss working downtown, more so now than ever during this year's Riverfest. So I called up a couple former coworkers and we spent the night eating funnel cakes, drinking beer and hooting it up to country outlaws, Montgomery Gentry.  They put on an excellent show and we shared a few old-time laughs.

Beehive Baby Blanket

I found my favorite baby blanket crochet pattern in this book (mine is without stripes) using 4 skeins of Patons Beehive Baby sport yarn in Grey on a #G hook.   I like this bias pattern because I can make a triangle with half the yarn I choose and then decrease for the remainder to make a square blanket that typically measures 36".  I finished it just in time for a coworkers baby shower this weekend.

Oh, Joy!

A very special delivery arrived in the mail today.  I like it when I forget that I order something and then am surprised when I look at the package.  Oh yeah - JOY - it's that Miss Maggie Rabbit kit I've been coveting from posie.   Homemade goodness from the talented Alicia Paulson.  Besides living in a simply magical place (Portland, OR)  she is my most favorite blogger, the best writer, talented beyond any measure sharing little parts of her life with total strangers so effortlessly and genuinely.  I have a couple projects to complete first and then I can't wait to get started on my special little rabbit from the Northwest.

Rocky Mountain High

I (we) needed a getaway.  Time on the road with nothing but the wind in my ears and my own thoughts.  Time to make peace with the stress, worries and disappointments that have filled my days.  As I think through all the issues in my head I take in deep yoga breaths and let them go with each cleansing exhale.  Within a couple hundred miles all my worries are gone and only a favorite song lyric comes to mind.  It's amazing how a long weekend traveling on the road with good friends can put things back into perspective.

We have a cozy A-frame cabin on the creek, great meals, small town shopping in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs all the while surrounded by a snowy Pikes Peak mountain.  The priceless kind of therapy professionals and/or medications just can't provide.

Shakedown

The weather has warmed and a busy summer riding season is upon us.  We like to take a short shakedown run to make sure the bikes are running well prior to making a longer trip.  I suggested my favorite BBQ joint in Pawhuska, OK, Bad Brad's Bar-B-Q for ribs and cowboy beans.  The meal was good as always, the bikes are running well and we came home exhausted.  Even riding a motorcyle is something you need to condition your body into for those longer rides.

Leather Carving

I've been wanting to learn leather work for quite a long time.  Embossed leather is my favorite so I decided to take a leather carving class at Tandy Leather.  I even talked my good friend, Melanie into going with me.  We found it's not as easy as it looks.  It will take skill to have just the right tap on the tools to get a uniform design but I think it's something I can do with practice.  If only had the time to devote to another hobby...

Spring Outdoor Market

Mom and I headed out early to Benton for The Red Barn Outdoor Market.  It's held out in a field scattered with antique vendors, handmades, shopping, food and music.  It was a muddy mess, overcast and cold but we still had a very good time.

Decoden iPhone Cases

I'm on a roll embellishing iPhone cases with charms, beads and rhinestones.  Doing just one led to four with the purple one a gift for a good friend.

Antique Chandelier Earrings

The knitting needles continue to sit on the sidelines while I find inspiration in making other things for a change.  I found inspiration in some chandelier-type earrings that I saw on Pinterest and made them my own.

Austin Inspired

Travel inspires me.  I can go to a place, take it all in and feel a vibe.  Then I bring ideas home and make something that reminds me of my trip.  This time, with the artistic help of embroidery designs by an Austin artist, Sublime Stitching, I was able to recreate a day spent in Austin, Texas on South Congress Avenue (SoCo).  From the hip strip of eclectic shops with Dia De Los Muertos art, western flair at Allens Boots, reconstructed rockabilly clothing boutiques to the largest urban (Mexican free-tailed) bat colony that departs nightly from under the SoCo bridge. 

This hand embroidered western shirt captures it all.