Buddy, the non purse puppy

Hi Buddy!  You were so good when I was ill and during my recovery.  (just a virus)  You kept me company and slept and then when I felt a little better you stayed beside me while I sewed a new tote bag.  Want to help me take its picture?  OK

Here's Buddy making sure there are no stray sticks around to get in my way. 

And here it is hanging on the blueberry house.  DH has gotten half the roof on and the other half was rolled and propped up in the house.  Buddy barked and barked because he knew he hadn't seen it there before.

It's ok Buddy, I'm safe.  Let's take more pictures.

How about a close up of the tiny mother-of-pearl buttons I got at my LNS.  They are too cute and fit perfectly on the tree flowers.

Better get a picture of the inside with pocket before we get out of this 90 degree heat.  Whew it's hot.

Come on Buddy.  Lets see what you look like as a diva's purse puppy.  Hmm, Really?

Hey, where's he going?

Here I am!

Come on now.  Let me out of here.  I am NOT a purse puppy!

That was Buddy and my big adventure the last couple of days.  Lisa P (no blog, but she really should have one) gave me this pattern for the Madeira Sewing Tote.  Her's and Jenny's are really pretty and more traditional.  I always admire them.  I've had mine pieced for about 9 months. Instead of stitching I felt like sewing, so I pulled it out and got busy.  It's nice and large (16" H X 13.5 " W X 4" D) and very sturdy.  Thanks a bunch Lisa.  It was a nice project for a recovering sickie.

Buddy then proceeded to help me set up the fountain and got soaked.  This picture doesn't do the wet puppy look any justice but it sure is a goofy one.

Thanks Buddy.

Marsha

California Dreaming

DH and I spent 6 days in California visiting with our son and his girlfriend.  DS turned 30 on the 13th, DH turned 60 on the 2nd and we celebrated 35 years of marriage on the 1st.  A BIG year.  DS moved to California almost 3 years ago so we thought it time to visit and celebrate our large milestones.  It was a great trip.  Here are a few of the highlights.

We rode the subway system on the first day of our visit.  Who knew LA had a subway system?  Not I.  It was great.  This was the Hollywood station.  Those are all film reels on the ceiling.  Very cool.

And here is the obligatory picture of one of the many stars.  I guess you knew I am a dog lover so when I saw this I had to take a picture.  The only other star I took a picture of was Perry Como.  .  I LOVE Perry Como and have since I was a little girl.  So handsome and what a voice.

This is a picture of the ceiling where the subway system meets Union Station the railway station. 

One of our destinations was a town celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  They had dancers performing in the very large stage gazebo.  This was the next group that were waiting their turn but enraptured with the group already performing. 

Our last visit of the day was Chinatown.  It was late so there weren't many stores we wanted to visit and quite frankly, my feet were TIRED and what time is it REALLY?  I wish I could have seen these lights at night.  I bet it was very cool.  I liked the name of the 'Sincere Gift shop'.

The next day we walked to the Santa Monica farmers market and bought a variety of  fresh things for a pinic lunch - bread, pesto, dilly beans (which we promptly forgot to open), strawberries, almonds in wasabi powder, cheese, and a coconut for Lauren.  Here is our son, Adam, and Lauren.  Aren't they cute?

After our picnic, we walked back towards the pier and rented bikes.  We rode from Santa Monica down to Venice beach and took in the sights - flea market, homeless people, people swinging on rings (hard to describe but amazing), the ocean, sand and most importantly SUN.  DH and I craved the sun.  We rode back to Santa Monica, dropped off the bikes and then explored the pier. 

The next day we went to the Jay Leno show.  It's a half day affair to get there, wait in line and see the show but we enjoyed it a lot.  Jay is a gracious host and very down to earth (like I know him).  No pictures are allowed and they are serious about that.  Afterwards, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory. 

Very nice views.  LA is different from what I had in my mind.  The hills are much higher and more of them than I thought.  It's very dirty - there's no rain (unlike here, and that's an understatement) to wash grime away, traffic is 70 mph to a complete stop in a heartbeat (heart stopping really - glad I was in the back seat the whole time) and busy all the time with the noise that goes with that.  Glad I don't live there but visiting is great.

The next day we visited the nmission, San Fernando Rey de España.  What a beautiful place.  The peace is palpable.  We had the place virtually to ourselves and enjoyed exploring all the buildings, chapel and garden.  The buildings were museums of furniture, paintings, sculpture and artifacts.  Very interesting.  The chapel was beautiful and intricate. 

At the very end of the property was a small plague 'Hope Memorial Garden'.  We decided to meander the path and there was a guard stationed there on a bench.  Couldn't imagine what he was there for but, oh well.  We walked the path along a babbling brook and enjoyed the quiet, the water sounds and the flowers.  We got to the end and saw this half dome structure, what is it, some one's buried here, who is it?

BOB HOPE?  BOB HOPE!!!  He is!  We've found out since that his wife asked him where he wanted to be buried.  He said 'Surprise me'.  She did and us too.  He has a nice place there.

Our last day we spent at Huntington Gardens.  I highly recommend it.  Desert gardens, Australia gardens, Japanese, Rose, Herb etc.  Just gorgeous. The Japanese gardens are being renovated but the view from outside was so nice.

But wait, there's more.  Lots more.  The home (mansion) is now an art museum.  So gorgeous.  So many paintings.  Did you know Blue Boy and Pinkie are there?  These are incredible paintings!  This was one of my favorite paintings besides the above two.  I don't remember the artist but here is a little girl that was knitting and has fallen asleep.  So sweet.

There were other buildings to explore but we ran out of time.  You could spend days there.

Well, those were some of the highlights.  We had a great time.  The food was awesome.  We had a different ethnic meal every lunch and dinner and visited the Baklava Factory twice.  I hope our son continues to enjoy his work and Lauren gets the work in film and plays that she so loves.  It was a wonderful trip.

And now it's sunny so I'm going to take Buddy for a walk.  (He actually knew me and was sooo excited to see me when I picked him up after we got home)

Marsha

Just a quick check in.  I like to read Cinderberry Stitches, Natalie's blog.  She lives in Australia and makes the most delightful quilts, bags and other cute things.  Her color palette is bright and cheerful and makes me happy to see it.  I read that she is coming out with a new book soon Cotton Floss.  I can't wait to receive my copy.  It can be ordered from Daisy Cottage Quilting in the US.  But anyway, while I was ordering it I (of course) had to look around in the web site.  I had to have this 1/4 yd roll of fabrics.  They're bright and Cinderberry-like and kind of old fashioned too.

I opened this piece and the saying just cracked me up.  This is me all over.  I prefer to ease out of bed after being awake for awhile.  Right now getting up with Buddy means I'm popping up like I was in a toaster but it's not my preferred mode of operation.

I found this pattern for a new bag and it looks like a winner.  I even have the grommets in my stash.  It comes in 3 sizes.  Might take awhile to make it but I think I'll get to it eventually.

And lastly, my secret stitcher was very kind and generous again.  I just LOVE both of these charts, especially the bunny pulling the chick.  I'm waiting for the rest of the threads so I can start it.  Who knows, maybe by next Easter it will be hanging on the wall.  Thanks a bunch secret stitcher.

Hope you have a great week!

Marsha