Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Finding Fun in Hobbies
I have lots of hobbies. I love to read, write, bake, sew, knit and crochet and those are just a few. I also love to run, play tennis and hike.
But, lately, I've been focusing on my knitting a little more. I love to visit yarn shops and walk around and look at the beautiful colors and touch the textures and fabrics. Plus, I've been looking at youtube videos on-line.
Here's one new site I just found that I'm enjoying:
Michele Wang's website.
She lists patterns, shows designs and even has youtube videos where she shares monthly favorites.
I've spent some time finishing a few projects I was working on. Mine aren't anything fancy. I just knit for fun. But I finished a scarf I was working on for my son.
I bought this beautiful, chunky, bluish-purple yarn at The Stitching Post in Sisters Oregon, which is really famous for their Quilting Festival in July but they have some beautiful yarns too.
I started the project when I went to my niece's wedding in January and when we got back home I put it away. But I figured if I didn't finish it soon, the warm weather would roll in (I hope) and my son would never wear the scarf. So, I pulled the project out of the closet and went to work.
You can't tell by the photo above, but this is a really lush wool, so soft and thick. Perfect for cold, wet, windy Portlandia days.
Labels:
bake,
fabrics,
hike,
hobbies,
knit and crochet,
Michele Wang,
play tennis,
Portlandia,
Quilting Festival,
read,
run,
sew,
Sisters Oregon,
textures,
The Stitching Post,
write
Saturday, October 29, 2016
HERE’S TO A SUPER HALLOWEEN
I don’t know about you but I LOVE Halloween. How many other
days in the year can you get free candy and sweets simply by asking?
And, dressing up and decorating is like being a star in a movie.
You can create the character you want to be and make your own setting. What
could be better than that?
So for this year, I’m planning a SUPER Halloween, with
heroes at my doorstep. And it’s simple to make this dream come true…with a
little paint, time and patience.
Here’s how I’m doing it.
First I started by sketching on some pumpkins. Don't worry if you make mistakes, the paint will cover that:
Then I paint them
Then I started on some standups
You do the same thing as with the pumpkins. First sketch the character then paint
Then I had to make my costume. First I went to the fabric store to find some material on sale...
And all I needed was some gold duct tape to make my fingerless gauntlets, crown and shirt (which I used a running tank top for)
The gauntlets were simply plastic drinking cups after I cut off the bottoms
My lasso of truth was a strip of cording I bought at the fabric store and duct taped to my shirt.
It was all SUPER simple ;D
I hope you have a SUPER Halloween too ;D
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Halloween is Right Around the Corner
With Halloween coming around the corner, I had to paint my fingernails and then stick on some little skull stickers because what would this holiday season be without a few skeletons lurking about on the tips of our fingers.
And, just wait, I'm only beginning . . . because I LOVE HALLOWEEN!
And, just wait, I'm only beginning . . . because I LOVE HALLOWEEN!
HALLOWEEN is scary enough without being a MISSING PERSON...check out this new book
Blurb:
Brett Cole is one of the nearly three thousand Americans who go missing every day; however, in Brett’s case, he disappears willingly. Thirty years old and disillusioned, he packs his bags (including his Smith & Wesson) and vows to reach Mexico.
Halfway there, Brett stumbles upon a kidnapping and FBI Special Agent Hayden makes it clear that Brett has stumbled upon something far greater: Operation Ethereal (OE), an ultra-secret branch of the FBI in operation since the Hoover Administration, “took” Brett as a young boy because of his ability to pick up timeprints, impressions of the past. After erasing memories of the first eight years of his life, OE reinserted him into society for observation. Now that he has gone off the map, they want him back in their custody.
As Brett flees from the FBI, he must come to terms with his newly awakened gift and what it means. Can his past be redeemed and his future rewritten?
Halfway there, Brett stumbles upon a kidnapping and FBI Special Agent Hayden makes it clear that Brett has stumbled upon something far greater: Operation Ethereal (OE), an ultra-secret branch of the FBI in operation since the Hoover Administration, “took” Brett as a young boy because of his ability to pick up timeprints, impressions of the past. After erasing memories of the first eight years of his life, OE reinserted him into society for observation. Now that he has gone off the map, they want him back in their custody.
As Brett flees from the FBI, he must come to terms with his newly awakened gift and what it means. Can his past be redeemed and his future rewritten?
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Missing -Person-William-Michael-Davids on-ebook/dp/B01E8JZ2R4/ref=asa p_bc?ie=UTF8
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:
Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/realwm davidson
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com /WilliamMichaelDavidson/
William Michael Davidson is the author of the children's book, The Dragon Who Pulled Her Scales (Winner of the 2013 OCD Book Festival Award), The Dragon Who Tamed Her Temper, Missing Person, and Living Sacrifice. He lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife and two daughters. Always reading, always writing, Davidson is drawn towards stories of suspense and adventure that delve into man's inherent need for redemption.
Labels:
Halloween,
Missing Person,
William Michael Davidson
Sunday, October 2, 2016
HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE - TIME TO GET READY
I LOVE Halloween...of course I LOVE almost every holiday but Halloween is especially fun for me because crafting is a creative way of expressing myself without much time, effort or money.
So...
I decided to do a Wicked Witch of the East inspired craft.
So...
I decided to do a Wicked Witch of the East inspired craft.
I wanted to have Witchy looking tights and red shoes sticking out from underneath a house...but it's hard to slip tights underneath a tiny house... unless you just happen to have one sitting around.
So, I asked my husband if he could build me a tiny home...No. Not one of those itty-bitty homes you see on HGTV. I was talking about a little house I could use to squish a witch with. Now don't get upset with me because this is a WICKED Witch...you know, from The Wizard of Oz fame. And not the sweet Elphaba we all know from WICKED. No this is her evil sister.
Anyway, my husband said he could throw one together in about fifteen minutes. And he did. Here's how he did it.
First he grabbed some old scraps of wood. Yep, we have those types of things just lying around our house.
Then he cut the wood - just eyeballing the pieces to fit together.
When he was finished cutting, I jumped in to hold the pieces while he screwed them together.
And when it was all screwed together, I started painting the project.
But I wasn't happy with a simple little white house and roof...I needed to add a door and window to really make it feel like a home.
After it dried, I added a little doorknob and put it all together on my porch.
And for a quick little project, with a lot of help from my hubby, I was really happy with this DIY Decorating project for Halloween. I'm really hoping all the little kids will love it :D
(Quick photo collage recap below) ;D
(Quick photo collage recap below) ;D
Wishing you all a Haunted Halloween!
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
DEADLY ALLIANCE by Kathleen Rowland
Title: #RomanticTravel
to Lake Arrowhead #Tirgearr Deadly Alliance @RowlandKathleen
Blurb
for Deadly Alliance, romantic
suspense
Finbar Donahue, former Army Ranger, walked on the wild side in Iraq, but now he lives in the shadows. After his evasive partner, Les, was shot in a random drive-by, Finn discovers cash is siphoned monthly. He fights to keep his investment company afloat. When the late partner’s girlfriend, Amy Kintyre, applies for his bookkeeping job, Finn suspects she knows about his company drain and hires her.
Amy needs a nine-to-five with free evenings and weekends to get her fashion design business back on track. She unearths Les’ s secret bank account and alerts Finn. Freezing of the money laundering account sets off havoc within an Irish gang. Amy witnesses a gang fight between a brutal ISIS fundraising organization and the Irish. Desperate to escape a stalker’s crosshairs, she seeks refuge with Finn. As danger heats up, sparks fly hotter.
Chapter One from Deadly Alliance
“You know I love your sportswear designs, right?”
“I’m glad you do.” Amy Kintyre sat opposite a buyer, none
other than Kira Radner, at a coffee shop in Lake Arrowhead, California. This
sudden opportunity to re-launch her sportswear designs gave rise to the
jitters, and Amy clutched her hands under the table.
Kira pressed her face forward, Amy’s sketches drawn on
figures in action poses. With the portfolio spread between them, she flipped it
sideways to examine the fabric swatches stapled along the sidebar. Their earthy
tones blended with the marred wooden table.
Amy stilled the chatty urge.
“You know your presentation is in two weeks.” Kira was
giving her the green light with Recreational Sportswear, Incorporated.
“I appreciate this, Kira.” To get her business back on track,
she needed blocks of time to sew mockups. Amy inhaled the spicy aroma of the
raw cedar wood. The under-construction décor of wide, timber planks on the
walls made her think of her new self.
Crazy how thirty felt like seventeen when embracing life and freeing her
artistic side.
“Then I beg you,” Kira said, “please, please, please have
your product samples ready. Deadline is the first Monday of November.”
“Got it.” Fear over the tight time frame tasted sour in her
throat, but this break called like no other.
Kira leaned forward. “Impressive functionality with the
shorts. Who would have thought this pocket holds a Swiss Army Knife!” The
buyer’s fingertips traced the pick-stitch hem, made with thread matching the
fabric, appearing invisible. “Nice detail.”
Amy’s only mock-up kept their face-to-face meeting running
like the hum of the fluorescent lights above.
“Oooo,” Kira said and raised both her eyebrows. “Classic
nostalgia with a twist. A pocket knife for hikers!”
“Useful, I think.” The bright light flickered over
associates who’d worked together in the past, but Amy didn’t share the
difficulty of making the deadline. Her breathing shortened, and panic carved a
hole in her chest.
“Gotta bounce,” Kira said. “Get to work.”
“I will.” She pulled out a notebook and jotted down a to-do
list ending with the file with various size patterns. After a half-hour of
regrouping and rethinking, she stopped tapping her pen. Kira Radner took a
chance on her, but to turn this chance into a reality, she needed evenings and
weekends to make the deadline.
Last Sunday while pouring over Craigslist classifieds,
she’d zeroed in on Finbar Donahue’s bookkeeping ad. After her inquiry, his head
accountant sent her a message. She still favored the toe she stubbed after her
in-box pinged.
Thanks to what happened, the call from Kira, she needed
Finn’s job. Her mind raced to her third interview for his nine-to-five.
Tomorrow morning, if all went well, she’d land the regular-hours job, tailor
made for her time frame. She ran a hand through her hair, picturing the
arrogant know-it-all with a never-ending string of women hanging on his arm.
Handsome wasn’t the word to describe Finn, her late,
ex-boyfriend’s partner. She’d been around Finbar Donahue enough to know he
looked at his world as if he were the Almighty himself. The former Army Ranger
made her way too nervous. She tensed up to such an extent, her voice broke.
Romance wasn’t part of this equation. Her dream to launch
herself, stitch by stitch, came down to landing the job. On a mission, her goal
was simple. She closed her eyes and prayed tomorrow she’d nail it.
Deadly Alliance buy link: www.tirpub.com/DeadlyAlliance
* * *
How about romantic travel to Lake Arrowhead, California,
where Deadly Alliance takes place? Fall colors mix with evergreens around this
pristine mountain lake. Bring a picnic basket and rent a pontoon!
Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is devoted to
giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling love story
sure to melt their hearts. Lily’s Pad and the Intervenus Series: A Brand New Address and Betrayal at Crater’s Edge are
sweet. Deadly Alliance and her work-in-progress, Unholy Alliance, are contracted with Tirgearr Publishing and
written for adults.
Kathleen used to write computer programs but now writes
novels. She grew up in Iowa where she
caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake
Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and
sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were
lightning bugs in California.
Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry,
in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores time
spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors. While proud of their five children who’ve
flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write. If you’d enjoy news, sign up for Kathleen’s newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Rowland/e/B007RYMF7S/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1450835163&sr=1-2-ent
http://www.kathleenrowland.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.rowland.50
Monday, September 12, 2016
PALEO DESSERT
If you're looking for something that's tasty and healthy here's a simple Paleo dessert you can make in about 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups dates (soak them for about 5 minutes in warm water) (chop into pieces)
1 Tb vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup craisins
1 teaspoon kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pulse ingredients in food processor or on high speed in your blender. Form into balls sprinkle with coconut flakes and bake at 350 on greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted to a warm brown color.
ADVANTAGES OF THIS PALEO DESSERT:
There is no added sugar, no processed foods and it tastes sweet and delicious...like a true dessert.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS:
Appox. 5 pts per cookie
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups dates (soak them for about 5 minutes in warm water) (chop into pieces)
1 Tb vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup craisins
1 teaspoon kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pulse ingredients in food processor or on high speed in your blender. Form into balls sprinkle with coconut flakes and bake at 350 on greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted to a warm brown color.
ADVANTAGES OF THIS PALEO DESSERT:
There is no added sugar, no processed foods and it tastes sweet and delicious...like a true dessert.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS:
Appox. 5 pts per cookie
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