Arlene's Treasure Chests

I introduced you previously to a couple of my talented friends and promised to show you what one of them makes.

(Arlene and Gizzy)

 

Arlene is a woodworker and makes these adorable treasure chests:

She has all kinds of woodworking tools to make these pretty vessels for friends and customers. She said they are not just glued together, but screwed as well, so they are nice and sturdy. The bands on top may look like leather, but are actually pieces of wood that have been cut, shaped and bent to fit. Lastly, she rubs the wood with some type of varnish or stain to bring out the natural beauty of the wood and to protect it.

She gets leftover wood from a local cabinet shop, usually Pine or Birch. The metal embellishments are store baught (i.e. chains, hooks, upholstery tacks and locks.) The inside lining is made from upholstery remnants that she gets from a local boat maker company. All materials are new and have never been used, but are from scraps that otherwise would be discarded.

They all come with a lock and a removable jewelry tray. Sizes vary from small: 9 1/2" X9 1/2"X 8 1/2" to medium: 12" and large: 14" wide. She even makes big, dowry chests/or linen chest, about 30" X 30" X 24"

I have listed one for her in my Etsy shop to see if there's any interest for them. She's been making these for years and everyone loves them. She's especially busy during Christmas, so order early! I think they are adorable, don't you?

Blogger Problems

Hello fellow blogging friends. I've been experiencing problems with my comments and lost at least eight yesterday...so, if for some reason things look odd to you, I'm aware of it and hope I'm not running out of memory.

I was told the other day that blogger starts to charge a monthly fee once the allotted memory has been used up. I've been having problems uploading videos, which is why I've not done it lately, so please bear with me.

Have a great day!

p.s. and now, guess what? They all showed up - go figure ;-)

I'm a lucky ducky

I received this box last week from Bev of One Yarn After Another, a fellow crocheter and dear blogging buddy, who has developed a wool allergy and I was the lucky recipient of this wonderful stash of wool yarn:

I jumped for joy when I unpacked this treasure of lovely wool, some of them still having the Knit Picks sleeve indicating "Wool of the Andies."  To be honest, I can't afford to buy that stuff...I'm more of an acrylic and cotton type of a gal!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Bev. Now I can felt!

As if that wasn't enough, I found another nice surprise in my mailbox last week. It's from one of my other friends of Krafty Max Originals who sent me this really cool hard cover "Doggy Knits" pattern book.

LOOK, GIZZY!

She suggested the pattern on pages 34-35, which of course is this cute little bee outfit:

(Oh, mom, don't tell me I have to be a bee again at the Honey Bee Festival this year?)

YES - YOU DO!

(Ok, I guess I can... I'll just win another trophy - again!!!)

Thank you so much! I love all my gifts! I'm so happy that I'm doing the happy dance!

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How I spent my Independence Day: by Gizzy!

Hello, this is a post from the dog, me, Gizzy!  Mom is resting and I'm typing while Middi is holding the keyboard - Nooooooot!

In the morning I had breakfast in the park:

(I was hungry like a wolf)

After a nice little stroll investigating and inspecting, I sat on the porch of my dream house:

Then, I sat on a park bench to take in the scenery. It wasn't as hot as it normally is.

Of course, my  mommy always has plenty of fresh water on hand for my BIG thirst:

(Mmmm...that hit the spot)

After that mommy took me to our friend's house where I visited with her two doggies:

Tuffy (who's about my age)

and Sasha (who is Tuffy's daughter)

I love going to Sandy's house, because I get to stroll around the garden without the leash on and there's always very interesting and new smells to discover.

Mommy and Sandy sat on the porch talking and watching the birds, such as this handsome Cardinal:

Later, we walked across the street to visit a neighbor's dog who was in the back yard all by himself:

This is Paco, the Chihuahua, who seemed very friendly, but not very well mannered. He lifted his leg right on my face and mom had to rinse me off with the garden hose - yuk! (He barely missed my eye!)

Sandy gave me a big, soft towel to roll on and dry off:

 A few hours later, it was time for all of our naps (yes, we are seniors!) and I went back home:

As we walked out the gate, Sandy invited us back any time. Isn't that nice? (Note to mom: Find us a place like that! I like it here!)

Sandy's grandson took this group photo of us:

Hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day too!

(Uh-oooooh, mommy's coming. I'd best jump off this computer and scurry back to my bed. I know how she is about dog hair on the keyboard.)

Happy Independence Day, America!

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Summer fruit - it's the berries!

I think you know by now how fond I am of fresh fruits and veggies, especially locally grown or hand picked (by me.) This year I'm totally taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to me by picking enough blueberries to stock my freezer for the winter (maybe I've been watching the squirrels for too long?) and treating myself to summer fruit while it's available, such as these lovely cherries:

I found my trusty cherry pitter and here's how that works:

I've got this fascination with kitchen gadgets, especially the old-fashioned, manual kind. I wish I still had some of the ones my Oma (grandma) in Germany used when I was a kid.

You can tell I've been shopping by the full and puffed out skirt of my crocheted Kitchen Kitty (that actually turned out looking more like a mouse.) That's where I store my plastic shopping bags now instead of stuffing them in an empty space between the wall and the the refrigerator (like I used to do.)

I usually do my major grocery shopping at the beginning of each month. You can tell when it's time to go again, because the skirt gets flat and empty as I reuse the bags for the trash.

The produce department looked especially inviting today as they have revamped and reorganized that section and I must say, it looked pretty nice. I complimented the produce manager, who was very happy to hear this. I might do it in a follow-up letter. Hopefully they'll keep it up. She even told me that she'll try to order some organic carrots for me since I use a lot of those.

The strawberries looked nice, so I got some to make a red, white and blue fruit medley with a bit of honey:

That, with a dollop of yogurt and a piece of toast will make some nice breakfasts for the next few days.

These strawberries, however, will last me for a good long while:

These handmade strawberries came to me all the way from Hamburg, Germany. They were made and sent to me by a fellow blogging buddy who is also named Doris and you can visit her at     Babydoll 1962 Kreativ Ecke.  Doris does wonderful quilting and sewing work and has a Google translator on top of her blog, but she also speaks English and is a really fun individual and a very busy Bloggerette Sister of the Bloggerette Sorority.

I have more to show you, but I don't want to bore you. I'm just very happy to have met you all and am really enjoying this blogging experience and meeting so many like minded women on the internet.

For now, I'm content: the fridge is full - the bills are paid (as much as possible), the animals have what they need, so let the snow storm begin! (yeah, right - wishful thinking!)

July 4th is just around the corner; I hope you're planning something fun with the family - or like me, the Gizz! I will most likely go for my usual early morning walk around the lake and then settle in for a Netflix movie while Gizzy snoozes. I have a tentative plan to visit my two friends (the crafty sisters) with a homemade blueberry pie for us to share..we'll see!

A gift from Gin

I won a prize from Gin for commenting on a post in her blog called Keepsake Moments. What a lovely surprise to find in my mailbox. Made me smile all day. Here you can see what I received:

From left to right: A little journal that says: "Plant a seed of friendship and watch the blessings grow." White terry tea towel with a red robin applique. Gin did a great job stitching the bird onto the towel. It looks very pretty. I will safe this for Christmas. A white dove magnet carrying a swag of flowers.

I just love my gift of birds. What a nice way to start my day. Thank you so much. It made me very happy!