Wednesday, October 31, 2007

~Happy Halloween

Wishing You a Happy Halloween!

Thank you for your notes on my husband's painting. I love his art and I wish he had more time to paint now. But it was so much fun sharing it with you.

Monday, October 29, 2007

~Snickers, Pumpkinheads & Bears

Pumpkin Head Guy and his Sidekick Bear, who is guarding the Snickers.
It's about time to say Trick or Treat and then pack away all the Halloween decorations. Halloween was such a big holiday when I was a kid. I think it was because it was one of the few times we ever got any of that junk to eat. And it was free, just for knocking on the door and politely saying Trick or Treat!

I remember more how excited my daughter was. I wish she would still go out Trick or Treating, but at 28, she just won't go. But she still finds the Snickers bef0re the little kids get here. But that's kind of part of the plan of the Holiday.
Make it a Most Wonderful Day!

Friday, October 12, 2007

~Celebrate ~Autumn


It's a new season, and it feels a little bit like it today! I think we might stay below 90*. Now that's a cool down.

This pretty French iron type flower basket has been sitting waiting for its closeup. The other one you've seen and I've used it for lots of seasons. I found this one a couple of years ago and I am just now getting around to using it. Even with some old elements in it, it seems like a brand new look.

But I forgot to get Halloween on the door before the Fall Decor!
I got a quick picture of it as it gets the spotlight of the sun and falling leaves today. This will go back up after the Halloween decor comes down.
I hope you are having a wonderful day and that your weekend is a good one!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

~Thursday, Re-Creation....Delightful Dolphins & Dessert Lady

Even though beach time didn't work out on Sunday, I had this adventure planned for mid-week, Discovery Cove. The plants are so spectacular. Don't you love how they have the walkways leading to the water areas planted?
Simply beautiful.
The lazy river is quite long and you swim most of the way. With a floaty thing, it's not that hard and you do have areas where it is not as deep. It works up a good appetite for the nice meals they offer as part of the admission. Kind of like cruise food.

It is way too easy to take all of this for granted in your backyard. It isn't until I hear all of the accents and listen to how much it cost others to come here that I really appreciate it. This is such a wonderful place to relax. We got annual passes to Sea World so we can come back to Discovery Cove at a discount for the next year. Yipeeeeee, sounds good to me.

We spent quite a bit of time just watching the dolphins and their interaction time with the humans who come to be with them. Funny, no other animals pay to spend time with humans do they? :)
I've done this twice and it was an amazing experience to touch these magnificent creatures. Oh yeah, we get a kiss, too!

So after spending hours and hours swimming, snorkeling and beaching, all I could think of was the fact that I had ordered chocolate cake at several places lately and none were really great. Somehow I came to my senses and instead of going to the "Dessert Lady" and eating 5 portions of different cakes, we went to one of the health food stores and got the best chocolate cake, by Just Desserts. It was worth every single calorie and bite of fat! After working all morning doing more gardening, it was easy to rationalize it anyway.

I think Saturday will be a great day to go visit Renninger's Antique Market. I wonder what we will find this time.

Monday, October 8, 2007

~Monday ~ Re-Creation...Believe

Saturday Adventure

I love the Sea and so many of her creatures. Although I did visit the sharks too, they don't quite hold the same place in my heart as the dolphins and the whales.

The theme of the whole Shamu entertainment is "Believe." First picture is "Shamu" swimming towards us, and then a shot with a human just for size comparison.

Sunday beach time was cut out due to extreme weather. But I have a couple more quick trips ready to go the rest of the week after a nice day of weeding and gardening. :)
I hope you are all having a great start to the week.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

~October Already!

Soon the leaves will be turning even way down here. The color is just beginning to make a change. It so interesting how many people love the Fall. But by the end of winter, Spring will be the new favorite.
But for right now, we will relish the beauty of this season. Happy Fall!
The only larger art collage that will get done before Halloween I think. A little holiday next week. Maybe the beach, if the storms in the Atlantic let up a bit. We'll just have to see what will be good for re-creation next week.
Have a Great Day!

Monday, October 1, 2007

~Happy Monday, the Backside of a Good Tale (2 Chairs)

You know what? The backside it the easiest part! Oh you are not the only one thinking it was tough. I did it the hard way for a while too. The toughest was when I did the dining room chairs the first 10 times :P because I knew it wasn't forever and I did not want to do anything permanent. So I made fitted inserts and used velcro...no room for error. Oh that was work! The picture here is the way they are now, and it's done the easy way.


Now the secret.
If you look closely, you will see that the cane is actually installed on the front and then there is a piece holding it in place. Turn the chair around and look at the back and you will see the the cane is snuggly inside that area you just looked at on the front. Gently push the cane away from you. See, there is a tiny space.
That is where the fabric goes. You have about a half inch of room. So you do need to cut it pretty close, but this isn't that hard at all.


Get a larger piece of paper, newspaper works well, just messy on your hands.


Then lay it against the back of the chair and make a template for that area to cover the cane. I like to make an exact one first then cut the larger one.


So cut this a little bit larger at first, then put it up to the cane area, check to see how it fits and trim it a tiny bit at a time until it is the exact fit for that surface area.


Hint: Be sure to mark the FRONT as the side facing you, and mark Left & Right. The opening will be a different from side to side. And you may want to center a pattern.
OK, take the perfectly fitting template and make a new one by taking a ruler and just marking dashes around it about 1/2 inch larger. Connect you dashes and cut it out. If you are using very expensive fabric, make a test piece out of cheap stuff like an old sheet or muslin.

Take your final piece of fabric, center it so that it is 1/2 inch over the inset area on all sides.

Now, gently push it into the area between the cane and the back of the chair, with a blunt tool. A butter knife from your eating utensils works well, or a large flat head screwdriver.


Your are "stretching" this piece, which means that you start at the middle of on side and go to the middle of the opposite side, and top and back. Then you work your way in a little a time 3 or 4 tucks then go the opposite side.


Soon you will be done. Although you can use some glue, I have found that the area is usually tight enough that it is not necessary.


If you feel antsy about making the fabric so small, just start with a 1 inch extra border and cut it down as you feel it is a perfect fit.



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