BloomingPink

Tonight's dinner was an experiment making gourmet out of leftovers.  On Friday night, I made a large amount of rather spicy meatloaf with turkey and bison. Plenty of leftovers. Which lead to tonight with Meatloaf au Duvet" or simpler still "Gourmet Stromboli".  This came to me while jogging with Oliver and Dave in the park this afternoon. I was craving swiss chard for some reason.  And mushrooms. One of my favorite simple white bread recipes was used to make the crust. Browned some mushroom slices and leeks with butter, and chopped a bunch of raw swiss chard. This was layered over the thinly sliced cold meat loaf on the rolled dough, topping with parmesan cheese shavings and mozzarella cheese.  Sealed shut and pierced with a fork so that it could vent whilst cooking. Served this with a simple cucumber, onion, and fresh dill salad  and an easy bean/corn salsa. I guess I was also craving apple cider vinegar.  Go figure. Very Good. This is being lin

Circa 1947.  Cleaned up photo of my mom in 1st grade.  So sweet, yes?  This photo took quite a bit of work in Photoshop to cleanse.

I've had a few of those myself....perfect days.....I remember one summer in college when I went to the lake many Saturdays with my daughter and we played in the sand and water...from about 10 AM to AS LATE as possible. That's when I felt there was an end in sight.  Like the cloud would lift and my future was out there. Okay, enough of that.  I imagine my Mum felt similar on this day.  With her beau.  Adulthood was just about there.  It was there.  And this was her beginning. Her perfect day. Who knows.  Maybe not.  But if this were my day....it was.

1962.  Cumberland Falls, Kentucky.  With a date.  Looks like she was having a good day. Isn't her bathing suit classic? Stamps used are from this set:   Sweet Summer Memories  (currently on sale at almost 40% off) Well...Oliver isn't soaking up any sun today.  We have snow!  And here he is disappointed that he had to wear his sweatshirt in public. This is the last day of Angela's mad birthday sale, so if you have been procrastinating...you better get over there and increase your rubber stash!

Here are the layouts I did for my Mom and Dad's wedding.  If you look closely, you'll notice that I used the owl I did last week on the first page. Aren't their clothes awesome?!  My mom was quite the dresser...always so fashionable and so Audrey (Hepburn).  And Dad, he always wore suits (to work). And black.  I'll have to load one of the pages of them at a party.  All the men wore black, slim ties...and they all smoked.  So early 60's.  Dad wasn't a wise guy in the Badabing way..but he was pretty smart....one of those geeky mechanical engineers that worked on nuclear stuff...mostly reactor stuff...not the bombs.  You know...just sayin'. Fun and simple design, but geesh...it took all evening on Thursday to put together. Enjoy your weekend!  We are getting some wintery weather....finally, giving me a chance to hunker down and craft! Oh, and no post is complete without a quick shot of the lil dude.... We were out walking along

I found another card that I can totally CASE using THIS ippity stamp set.   CHRISTI did this and she has more wonderful stuff on her blog. I have a few correspondence I need to get in the mail.  This might work just great! Silly photo of Oliver during a walk.  He was wearing his sweatshirt showing off!

I was surfing around looking for inspiration and this colorful circle card caught my eye.  Isn't it great!  I didn't do it - MICHELLE did. It was done by one of the Unity designers and uses THIS set. I think I just might have to borrow this design!  There's a couple folks I need to thank. In the meantime, isn't this a weird picture of Oliver?   We were decompressing after the day-o-hell at the office and watching "2012" (yes, such a relaxing flick,HA)....and he kept sticking his tongue out while he was sleeping/laying on his back. Weird.

Well, unfortunately, my job has kept me in my own stall, impeding the progress of my mom's scrapbook.  But just a little hint of what I have in mind.... It's gonna use this great set.  I think it will be perfect for some of the pictures of her and her siblings. So stay tuned.... On another note.... And it's official.  Angela HAS gone LOCO.  She extended the sale through this week!  I imagine she'll realize what she's done soon enough and then savings like this will vanish for a while.  I stocked up on a few things I really needed  wanted and am awaiting their arrival!

Time to bottle our beer we started over Christmas break! Here is Dave siphoning beer into the largest container!  This one I plan to share when it gets warm with our next door neighbors. One thing so funny ... 'lil Oliver is JUST so much like a child that you take way too many pictures of.....Look at this... He sat so still...and JUST as soon as I pulled the camera out and said, "Sit Baby"....acting all like he knew the camera would eat him up. So, silly.

Dear Mum, Aren't we going to have any fun at all today? Arf, Oliver Sent from my Mum's iPhone, 'cause I'm a busy boy!

I don't know why, but I get a little happier when my fridge looks clean. Can you believe that I have at LEAST 6 bottles of different mustards? Next step, find and cook a recipe for each condiment that's been hanging out in there unused.

Isn't this owl about the cutest?  I knew you'd think so. Now, I need to associate it with ONE of the three fellas in my life.  Can you guess which one? If you like this owl, you can snag it this weekend at a great price with coupon code below (ANG39). The CEO is celebrating her birthday and she went a little crazy in the process!

There is a big sale going on at the Unity website covering two major events: (1) Angela, one of the the principals, is turning 39! (2) You can find me on the site just like you can find Waldo! Okay, well (2) isn't really about me...it's more about ippity and Unity changing.  And to launch, there's a great sale going on.  So while I'd like to think it's all about ME, it's really all about making it easier to get your favorite stamps faster! And what a sale too!  Isn't that fun!

My mom's parents in the background.  Not sure who the boy in the front is.  Circa 1965.

I've been working on a scrapbook for my mom.  This is the opening page. This picture of her at 6 months is the only baby picture she has.  Such a serious look.  I wonder what antics the photographer was doing to generate that expression! Here's my take on it.  She didn't really want to sit there while they fiddled with the large format camera.  She didn't want to sit still.  She wanted to crawl around with her sisters and brothers (of which at that time there were 5) having fun. Or she was about to tip over because she'd been sitting there long enough and that sit-up jazz was a new skill. The stamp I used for her name is from this set: I ADORE YOU

Oliver was tickled that it was Saturday.  I think he must have thought we were on vacation again! He attended doggie daycare three times this week...and just like children, he would have much rather been at home with mum.

I put this together last night for an upcoming workshop in March. Finished, it measures 7.5L x 2W x 6H. We are having some warm weather this weekend.  Warm for January, that is.  It's over 50F right now.  I want to say, "awesome", but it concerns me - global warming and all.  We should be experiencing 20-30F instead. But the future of our earth aside, I'm going to enjoy it in the woods in just a bit, jogging with mine pupster (Oliver) and husband.

So, a little bird told me that big changes were coming.  And no, it's not about the Mayan calendar! But let's just say the hint is in the image details of this card! The inside is a note to self:  I really should be doing more of what makes me happy and less of any other nonsense...as we all should! A little more of hint is seen from the inside... NOTE (wink wink) there is a combination of Unity  and  Ippity images being used! Go see the big news here: UNITY

Just finished.  My first completed knit of the new year.  It's a simple cabled cowl design that I worked up over the holidays.