Hello!...Let's Talk Food, Water,...Weddings!

(Set of 10 Personalized Hello Happy Camper Noteflat Recycled Stationary Cards by rachelink)

         Just like the stationary in the header photo, I'm a "Happy Camper" today! That's because I had a really good day yesterday. I slept almost all day...which is the beginning of any good day in the 'Wug' household! LOL

        I watched tennis...Saw a preview of the Tour De France bike race stages...YAY! The Tour De France coverage started about 20 minutes ago! :-) ...

 (Vintage Wooden Bycycle Distressed Box by MyHouseOfDreams)

        I ate well!...Hubby made a delicious tuna and egg noodle and peas casserole, with hot pepper seeds and sprinkled Parmesan cheese....YUM!!!...

      It's hard to take a picture of tuna and noodles and make it look good...but I tried! :-)

      I guess you'll just have to take my word for it! LOL..."Thank you, Honey!"

     I was also able to finish one of the wedding boutonnieres for my customer...barring his approval that is. I hope he doesn't mind me showing it to you! :-] ...

        His colors are "Autumn Red" and "Persimmon".

      The button is translucent in the middle, with silver around the edge...I was even able to find some pins that I'm able to sew onto the back of the boutonnieres!! :-) I've been looking for some of these for quite a while! (I'm not a fan of putting glue on my crochet.)...

     Hopefully I'll find out later today if he likes them. If not, back to the drawing board! ^_^ He's a repeat customer whose a fan of my boutonnieres, so it'll be a pleasure to do them any way he wants! :-)

       Yesterday I was also able to finish my project that I've been tinkering with.....wanna see?!

      And it's NOT what you think either!!! ^_^

      It looks like a mitten, but it's...

     .......a water bottle cozy! :-)

      If you work at a desk that has all kinds of desk-like things on it, a computer, a pen or pencil holder, a note pad, etc...and you're a conscious water drinker...who hides your water bottle in your bottom desk drawer or in your pocketbook...now you can display it as a little point of colorful interest on top of your desk! :-) And if you need a little swig of water every now and then....go for it!

      I especially thought about this one day when I was talking to one of my friends who said that she freezes her water bottles over night during the summer months, but that by lunchtime it usually has melted all over her desk!...This would kinda help that, right?! ^_^ 

     I guess time will tell if this is "The Next Big Thing"! LOL In the meantime, I'm working on a turquoise one right now...with a slight pause to make some more wedding boutonnieres when I get the 'go ahead'. :-) I'm telling you, if it becomes something that I can sell through the summer months...my slow period in my Wuglyees shop...it will be music to my ears! 

(Silver Stud Guitar Earrings by 360Jewels)

      Update: I just got a message from my customer. He loves the boutonniere!!! :-) He wants me to make 7 for his groomsmen, and another one for him too now...different colors and a different button! :-) I really am a "Happy Camper" now!!...I hope you all have a good day today...like I did yesterday....and like I'm hoping to have again today!!! ^_^ ...With a little stop for a musical note.....Okay GO!

A Music Note

A little 'boogie-woogie' bouncing,
and a tapping toe or two,
and my mood is quickly lifting,
and I want to dance with you.

A little harmony and humming,
and some soul and country too,
and I'm feeling pretty chipper.
So "Let's dance!" My poem is through! 

      

Sometimes You Win, And Sometimes........

(Wimbledon on Facebook)

      Those of you that are not sports lovers have been winning this week, because I haven't been driving you crazy with all of the scores, updates and news about the Wimbledon tennis tournament! :-) In fact, you might have thought that maybe I wasn't even watching it, with the scant amount of attention I've been giving it on my blog!

       But if you thought that, you'd be WRONG! LOL I've been thoroughly enjoying the matches!....until yesterday, that is. :-( ...The match between the new-comer Lukas Rosol and "Baby Boy", Rafael Nadal, confirmed why I love tennis so much, and also why I watch each match so intensely, no matter who is playing!...The reason is because I know that, no matter what two players are facing each other on the court, ANYTHING can happen!

      Yesterday ANYTHING happened!!!...Rafael Nadal, the two-time Wimbledon champion, who for the last seven years has not departed a Grand Slam event below the 3rd round, got a royal "beat-down" by the world #100, Lukas Rosol, in a 3-hour and 18 minutes 5-setter, which ended 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4...and which Rosol himself referred to as a "miracle"!

        Nadal refused to elaborate after the match, about what he thought had happened. He probably still doesn't know today! I know I'm still in shock!!...He said in an interview afterward though: "The bad thing of this is anything that I will say now will sound against me. So it is not the right moment for me to say what happened out there because it's going to sound an excuse, and I never want to put an excuse after a match like today..."

       That's why I like Rafa so much! He always plays to his best ability, and no matter what, win or lose, he still gives credit where credit is due...and moves on! :-] ... I'm sure he must have been VERY disappointed!...I sure was!!!...But, to his credit, I don't think he lost one fan in this loss. We know that he did his best and we know he'll be back!! :-)

        I also like what Rosol said yesterday too: "It's always open – it's sport. Nobody's unbeaten. Everybody can lose and everybody can win. We're just people, we're just humans,"..."Before the last game inside I'm not sure if I will be shaking or not because it was the first time against Rafa and first time also in Wimbledon Center Court...You never know what to expect. So it was not easy, and I survive."

      Yes you did, Lukas Rosol!! You survived!! :-) Congratulations to you!...Enjoy it!!

     Some friends sent me some greeting cards recently, and the photos on the front of them are appropriate for this post. After that match yesterday, and hardly any sleep last night...again!...this is gonna be me at some point today...

      :-)) ...But after a bit of sleep, and a few phone calls to my friends, I'll be back to my old colorful self! :-) ...

       I'm working on a colorful crochet project right now too. I'll be able to show it to you tomorrow I hope...And then, over the weekend, I'm gonna be getting started on a custom order for several men's boutonnieres...for someone's wedding! ^_^ Isn't that exciting?!!! And it's for a repeat customer too!

      Okay....off to get me some breakfast, a nap, and get ready for today's Wimbledon matches! :-) Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stephens, Marty Fish, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams are all still in it!!!....And so am I!! ^_^

Have a good weekend!

Spend some time with your kids,
do the errands you been meaning to do,
do a little grocery shopping,
maybe make a chicken stew.

Organize your messy space,
clean the closets, throw things out,
watch a little mindless T.V.,
and replace the bathroom grout.

Take a walk around the park,
play some board games with your friends,
maybe even cut your hair
(but just a little bit, off the ends).

Take a trip to Grandma's house,
do some gardening in the yard,
give new projects a little finish,
but nothing that might be too hard.

It's the weekend, after all;
It's your week's tail, at a wag;
No need for scurry, hurry, rushing.
No! You want this time to lag! 

Trash...Or Treasure?...We Found Out From The Best!

(Vintage Wicker Basket from Luncheonettevintage)

     When I'm talking about whether something is trash or treasure, I'm NOT talking about this wicker basket (in the header photo)! Clearly this is a treasure! In fact, it's treasured so much that someone has it reserved on their wedding registry!

      

      And I'm not talking about this necklace...

 (Crocheted Fabric and Bead Necklace by katrinshine)

      Again...this is clearly a treasure...as crocheted jewelry naturally is! ^_^ ...Okay. So I'm a little bit biased on the crocheted jewelry subject. :-))

      No, what I'm talking about is the vintage love seat and 1968 RCA color TV hubby and I own. Hubby is determined to get them out of the house! So we decided that we needed to know what they were worth before we just tossed them!....Enter the Keno brothers, Leigh and Leslie! 

      If you don't know who they are, you probably don't watch "The Antiques Roadshow". They are the antique furniture, collectible experts on that show...

        We found out that they had an email address where you could send them pictures and info about your items and they would tell you their value. So yesterday we took pictures of our "treasures"...

        We have two of these old, not in very good shape, reupholstered love seat chairs. (They were given to us somewhere along the way.)...

       And this old RCA TV...

      We were prepared to wait two weeks for an answer back, if need be..Imagine our surprise when we got an email back within a few hours. It said that as far as they knew they were not valuable. :-(
      Then later on we got another email from Leigh directly. He apparently had found out that the RCA TV, if it was working, was about $250!...The love seats?....We need to chuck 'em! LOL...Thank you, Keno brothers! :-) Now I can stop giving hubby a hard time about throwing out my "money"! ^_^ ...Sooooo, anybody wanna buy an old RCA TV?!! LOL


      Thankfully I still have lots of color in my life to keep me occupied, so that I don't do too much whining over lost love seats! :-] What am I talking about now, you ask?!....My newest crochet project of course!...

      It's a 'Ugly Wuglyee' brooch...

      As I've been crocheting my tiny applique flowers I've had small bits of the different colors of thread left over. And since I don't like to waste anything, I've been just saving them until I thought I had enough to make something else out of them. Yesterday I made this!...

      When I finished it I only had one little strand of orange left! ^_^ Makes me very happy!

     It makes me so happy that I might now even sell this one! :-] I'll put a back on it and add a necklace or a pin.....and then I'll decide....It's too pretty to be called an 'Ugly Wuglyee' though, don't you think?! ^_^
      It's more like the 'happy residue' from some of these...

      :-) I'm having entirely too much fun making these tiny flowers!!...But what else is there to do with tennis on day in and day out?!! ^_^ ...Answer?! Prepare for the meeting tonight!! O_O Yep! I've got some studying to finish...Have a good day, Everybody!...Treasure it! :-)


Antique and Collectible

Antiques and collectibles,
with their stories hid in time,
unlocked and displayed by me
in verses set in rhyme.

Worn and leg-less tables,
pottery and cuckoo clocks;
Paintings and some old tin cans,
coins, baskets, rocks.

What could be the story
why we gather this old stuff?!
And why appreciating aging
of ourselves is not enough!

I know, for me, I see
the symbolism of it all.
That 'Old' does not mean 'useless'.
It's just time, slowed to a crawl.

Antique and collectible,
is what I want to be,
so when I'm old, the folks I love
will hold and value ME!

It's Another Edition Of "Things I'm Loving Right Now!"

(A Cheerful Multi-Colored Dog Bow Tie by CharlieHeartsDiesel)

     Okay....so I'm ALWAYS loving crochet...anyway!...but when I saw this little guy sporting this colorful crocheted bow....I just knew I had to get back into the "Things I'm Loving Right Now" pool! LOL

      Although I don't own a dog right now, I recognize cute when I see it. And he's as cute as he can be! ^_^ But it was not just the puppy that got me back in the pool....so to speak. It's the whole Etsy shop that sells these doggie bows and things. The whole shop has me wanting another doggie!...And WARNING! If you click over there you might just be heading to the pound too! ^_^

    And I think that's what she wants you to do, because in the description for this bow it says:..."20% of the sale price of this item will be donated to the homeless and abandoned pets of the Riverside City Animal Shelter..." How could you not be loving a shop that's loving the animals like that?! :-)

        Of course, thanks to that cute little puppy's bow, I also noticed this bow...

(Large Galaxy Bow by jasminefabre)

        Bow-wise...this is NOT the "final frontier" for me, I'm sure! :-))

      Okay...I haven't done a 'things I'm loving right now' post in a while, so I thought it was time. "Thank you, Puppy,...and bows...for the inspiration." :-) ...So, with no further adieu...here's some other things I'm loving right now!...

     I'm loving my own crochet squares...from my Wuglyees shop...

     ...and my own tiny crochet flowers... :-)) ...which those of you who follow the blog already know! ^_^

      I'm also loving rings!...especially pretty GREEN rings!...

(Rough Peridot Sterling Silver Ring by metalmorphoz)

      And while I also don't have a baby, I'm loving interesting baby shoes right now!...

       Both pair of these baby shoes (above) come from an etsy shop called GrowingUpWild. Just click on the photos if you're interested in seeing the details about them.

      I'm also loving blue. All kinds of blue. Blue necklaces...

(Turquoise Necklace by NatureLook)

         ...Blue pillows...

(Decorative Pillow Cover by HeartsandDecor)

      ...and Blue purses...

     (Sunglass Case/Frame Purse by thezakka)

      I'm also loving things with a lot of blue in them, like this...

 (Gone Fishin' - Matted Print of an Original Watercolor by danielpowers)

        ...and this...

(4x4 Treasury by Kathy R from vanishingpts)

      And I'm loving the fact that she chose one of my crochet flower necklacs to be in her treasury too! :-)

(Wuglyees)
 

         Thanks Kathy R!! :-)

      Okay...I'm almost through!...ALMOST! ^_^ Here's three more things I'm loving right now...

(Barefoot Sandals by Lasunka)

(Farmhouse Art Bottle by BeauMiracle)

        Last, but not least...

(Custom Monogram Cufflinks by 9design)

       These are all the things I'm loving right now.....These, and catfish and grits, apple pie and peaches mixed together and heated with butter, and the new fried sweet potato fries at Burger King!! :-)) If you love sweet potatoes like I do, and love making french fries out of them...like I do...you'll love just being able to drive through the line and...honk! honk!...pick 'em up!!! ^_^ {And for those wondering, yes! They taste good too! ^_^}

(Super Small Lilac Heart Brooch by Sweetkeetle)

       So....what are you loving right now?!....Come on....SHARE! ^_^ And have a good day too, Y'all!

All The Things I Love

If I listed all the things I've loved
I could rattle on forever!
Whether by 'order of importance'
or by a poetically quick endeavor.

Right now it's Tennis...Well, all sports,
and reading informative magazines.
And crocheting, food and music.
Well..that might be in my genes!

I've loved teaching and line dancing,
So many things in my short life.
But I've never jumped from a plane,
or whittled anything with a knife!

With every passing moon
I find some other thing that I love.
Whether grassy patterns on my lawn,
or phenomenal skies above.

Yes, if I listed all the things I loved
my words could fill all space,
It comes from curiosity,
and an Ooo-ing Awww-ing place!

Why?!...What Are You Looking At Around Your House?!

        *Yawn*...Me and 'Backyard Holly' just got up...kinda sorta. :-] And frankly, she's looking better in her morning bathrobe than I am this morning! I'm all gnarled up and creaking like an old farmhouse door, and she's standing out there with open arms, fluttering in the light breeze of the backyard sunrise! :-)
     And, while I look a mess!...she's just beautiful!...

        Hubby can't believe how fast and beautifully the hollyhocks are growing! They're making the backyard look so pretty! :-) They almost make hubby distracted enough not to be mad about his sunflowers!
       He only had two that were growing...Now he only has one! Somebody came into the yard and pulled one up!!!!!....No! I'm not kidding!! Grrrrr!...The nerve!!!!!...Now hubby's got a 'Neighborhood Watch' group of ONE on high alert!....Yeah, that would be HIM! LOL...I have to keep saying: "Why are you staring out the window?" 50 times a day!! ^_^
       So, 'Thank You, Backyard Holly' for giving hubby something else to focus on in the yard! :-) ...Well....that...and the new visitors to the backyard! One of them being the little chipmunk that was staring at us in the window that I showed you a little while back. He's decided that he likes the backyard. He's all over the place out there! :-)
      Hubby thinks he may be up to no good though, because he's seen him going back and forth in the neighbors tomato plants!! ^_^ Hubby keeps joking about seeing a flying chipmunk any day now, when the neighbor realizes what he's doing! LOL I said: "Why don't you just tell the neighbor what's going on?! O_O"...He just smiles at me like I'm the silliest person he's ever seen...I think watching that chipmunk is like watching a reality show on TV for him!! LOL


       The other backyard visitor has fallen in love with our patio...

       It's a humongous slug!! :-)

       Why our patio is so attractive.....we don't know! But, whatever! 'Enjoy yourself out there!...Backyard Holly is!'.....What? O_O ...You don't have slugs and chipmunks in your yard?!....How boring is it around your house?! LOL


     Speaking of houses, Briana, of the blog art life, is renting her sweet little house out! She lives in a quiet neighborhood in a town right near me, in Easthampton Massachusetts. In fact, it's available to rent as of TODAY!
      It has 2 bedrooms, a detached 2-car garage, and all kinds of other attractive features...including the beautiful hard-wood floors!...

      And a cute bathroom!...

       There's a lot of other photos and details on her blog --> HERE <--. If you're looking for a nice place to live in the Massachusetts area,...and you can afford $1550 a month,....can pay the first and last month's security,....and can sign a 12 month renewable lease, then this could be the place for you....right now!
     
       Okay...hubby is trying to make some rope sausage for breakfast. I may need a gas mask with all of the smoke he's creating!....Ugh! You gotta love husbands with no real cooking skills, but lots of good intentions, right?! ^_^ That's what I get for telling him I was really hungry! O_O...Hey! I'm still alive after some of the other questionable things he cooked!...so I'll vouch for him....if I'm still able to breathe in about a half an hour! ^_^
       Have a good day, Everybody!....And if you hear a fire truck, no worries! It's probably just them coming to take us for a little ride! LOL

  Hungry Stomach

My empty stomach's grumbling
was as noisy as could be!
So demanding in it's urging,
and it's "Hungry" symphony.

I awakened to it's music,
and the fluttering that it caused.
I tried to just ignore it,
with its twist and turning gnaws!

Like a 'stick-in-hand' conductor,
setting music to a riot,
I'll direct some food into it,
so that it will just be QUIET!