we have squatters

I walked into the dining room with supper for Miss Ellie, and spied this fellow deep in our little 2'X3' pond, washing his dinner.

He was promptly chased up a tree in an attempt to get him off the property - after all, we don't like cleaning up the mess these guys leave in our garbage cans.

An hour later, I could still hear him chittering away to himself up in the cedars. Then there was the sound of rustling, and I went to the window to see if he was indeed coming down from his perch.

Not at all.

What I heard in the bushes was the Mrs. and the kids coming home. Yup. It appears we have a whole family of 'coons living in our cedar trees.

Time to lock up the trash!

One plus one equals nothing good

One is fine.
The other is cute too.
Put them together, and you realize you're really dorky, suddenly.


Someone came to the door today while I was cooking supper (and wearing my super-cute apron).


After he (yes, he) left, I realized that I was also wearing my matching hairband.



Ah well. At least he was short, not cute, and only trying to sell me something.

One down, one to go

The sewing machine is in the shop ... again... so I'm glad I signed up for Death By Socks - gives me something to do instead of moping around my empty sewing cabinet.

Also (and this is not necessarily a good thing) it has introduced me to the yummiest sock yarn in the whole wide world. Cascade Heritage, in case you are wondering. It's soft, smooth, springy, and easy to knit, and it feels sooooo nice. Now I want to buy all the colours and make lots of socks, and maybe a shawl. Like I said, not a good thing :)

Okay... off to start the second sock. Hopefully I can make it past the first round this time, unlike my Sock Wars experience.

Making a Purse Zipper - Tutorial

Are you frustrated because you can only find purse zippers in the most basic of colours?
Fret no longer. You can make your own, in whatever colour you choose!













1. Buy two zippers: one in the length you want for your project, and one to cannibalize.












2. Make sure that the numbers/letters on the back of each zipper pull match each other. This is VERY IMPORTANT! If they're different, it means that the pulls are different sizes, and the new one will not slide smoothly on the zipper.













3. Cut off the ends of the shorter (unwanted) zipper...










...and remove the pull. Throw away the rest of the zipper.



















4. Cut off the ends of the longer zipper. Note that I have cut them at different lengths. This makes it easier to thread the ends through the new pull.














5. Put the extra zipper pull onto the longer side of the zipper, and pull it down til it's flush with the bottom of the pull.














6. Put the shorter side of the zipper tape into the other side of the new pull. Pull both sides of the tape through the pull. This is where it gets fiddly, and an extra hand would come in ... handy, so to speak.












As you can see, the ends of the tape are all frayed now because of the effort it takes to get the zipper moving.
















7. Quickly, before anything bad happens, sew across the end of the zipper to stop it from coming apart.









And you're done! Cool, hey?

Now go make a purse or something :)

Oops!

How do you catch up???

I could talk about celebrations... the Boy turned 16. The marriage hit the 20-year mark. The oldest Girl got the top award for Grade 12 3D Art.

I could talk about projects... my glorious death in Sock Wars III. The cute clothes I've made for the youngest Girl. My own (very domestic!) Emmeline apron.

I could talk about the weather... how even though it's June, I'm still running the heater because it's so. damn. cold. outside. and it won't. stop. raining.

But it seems so inane, doing it after the fact. So I'm just going to leave you with my Icebreaker Mosaic courtesy of Spiralling. And hopefully I won't wait another month before posting again.



1. Wendy seppia, 2. mini roasted veggies, 3. 275 of 365 - Hi from pleasant valley vermont, 4. Cobalt Paperweight Squircle, 5. Adam Baldwin @ the Serenity Premiere, 6. Strongbow, 7. Ρόδος - Μεσαιωνική Πόλη - Rhodes, Greece, 8. How I love thee, creme brulee!, 9. Call of the Raven (formerly Nature's Special Effects), 10. The spirit of laughter_, 11. Zany Guitarist, 12. Whimsey Garden3

The questions:

1. First name: Wendy
2. Favourite food: roasted veggies
3. Name of your high school: Pleasant Valley
4. Favourite colour: cobalt
5. Celebrity crush: Adam Baldwin
6. Favourite drink: Strongbow
7. Dream vacation: Greece
8. Favourite dessert: Creme brulee
9. What you want to be when you grow up: Happy
10. What do you love most in life: Laughter
11. One word to describe you: Zany
12. Look up your flickr name: Whimsey