My life has gone to the Dog....

Take a good look at my latest time...monopolizer. Fiona has been fun to have around, but much like having a new baby in the house. There's the getting up at the crack of dawn to walk her, (done by me), feeding her, bathing her, (Hunnybunny does that mostly)and the cleaning of the carpets...constantly. Her first week with us, we found her with a U.T.I. I guess I'm an idiot because I wasn't aware a dog could suffer something like that. But she went to the vet, and she's on doggie amoxicillian.

Then there's the chewing, retrieving, eating paper, jumping up on furniture, terrorizing preschoolers and howling she does. The chewing I expected. Some jumping on furniture was expected, too, as she'd never been around any. But the howling...oh, how pitiful! Just like a kid, she knows how to get to you with the crying.
The picture isn't at all as bleak as I'm making it...she is a very loving dog. I'm sure that with time, and maybe obedience training, she is going to be fine. Look at that face...she certainly has endeared herself to us. And despite all of the aforementioned, we all love her to death.

So, maybe I'll be even slower to quilt. At least now I have a valid excuse...an excuse named "Fiona".

Surprise, Valentine!

I haven't figured out if I'm a softie, or just plain insane. You be my jury:
Hunnybunny and I had been watching the dog show on the USA network last week when I finally said the words,
"If you were going to have a dog, what breed would you pick?"
"Retriever, like a Labrador or a Golden Retriever. They're really good with kids."

I offhandedly told this to my buddy, Jane, (who has the most wonderful Golden Retriever). The woman has the most incredible memory of anyone I've ever met. She and her son were at the store when she heard that someone had a 10-week-old, black Labrador retriever pup that they wanted to give to a good home. And she, of course, thought of me.

My first thought: "Oh, no. Now I have to back this up. I told him we could get a dog."
So, Jane, and her family went with me to meet this family that had this puppy. It was a small, two room house, and the owners knew this arrangement wasn't going to work out logistically. The dog wouldn't have room, they didn't have a back yard, and a new baby was coming on the scene. With two cats already in the house, I was wondering what exactly they were thinking!
I watched the little 7 year old girl as she held on to that big puppy. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. This was the last thing she wanted to do. Thankfully, Hollywood, The Pickle and The Diva had come along. So maybe seeing I had kids made it a little better for her. The family had named her "B.B.". That stood for "Butterball". And she definitely had roly-poly tummy.
"I will at least leave her middle name B.B. Is that okay?" And she shook her sad little head.
The ride from their house to mine was somewhat comical as this puppy had obviously never been in a moving car before. She managed to pry away from Hollywood and get herself in the back window.
Hunnybunny was coming in from Indy from his usual monthly business trip and Jane's family waited with us to surprise him. I wasn't sure he'd love her immediately. But he did, as you can see from these photos. That's what made it worthwhile....that sweet look on his face. Here was something, besides his family, that he's always dreamed of having.
Oh, you know what happens next, right? Carpet cleaner, walking her, and apparently I'm her new chew toy. She has been sleeping with Hollywood, and he just loves her to death.
And no, we didn't leave her first name as "B.B.". After exhausting the laundry list of acceptable names, Hunnybunny settled on yet another Irish name: Fiona.
Named after that beautiful brunette on Burn Notice. We call her "Fi" for short. And she seems to like it, and us.

Stars Fell on Alabama borders quilted!

Since a couple people have asked, and I'm more than thrilled to have a reason to use my new Sony Cyber-shot, I decided to show you how I marked it. First, let me say that my hat is tipped to those of you who can mark a quilt with chalk. My art teacher told me to stay away from art implements as a child as I just can't draw. What you see here is your garden-variety quilt stencil, although I guess any stencil would work. I made sure there was enough clearance for my binding strip which will be put on next.
What I have in my hand is a Quilt Pounce. It looks like a big eraser, and has dust in it. The dust is a kind of corn-starch material. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turned out to be just that.
I run it over the smooth side of the stencil so the rougher side can "grip" the fabric. The best part of using a Quilt Pounce is that if you mess up, it's easily corrected. Maybe you move the stencil slightly causing a double-vision: just take out your iron, and it irons completely off! You just gotta love that....











And there you go. And that's not you..I have a little double-vision aspect going on here. So, do not adjust your eyes. This pattern is a little forgiving, so I think I can follow it.

Thanks for asking. Now we'll get into the squaring and binding next.

Pink Panther 2 addicts another generation

Okay, let me be as clear as I can about this: I utterly HATE slapstick. My sweet Hunnybunny adores it, as most men do. The ads for Pink Panther 2 were popping up on Nickledeon and therefore, seen by the under 6 crowd at my house. When your five year old can do the whole "hamburger" shtick from a movie that isn't even out yet, you know you've lost. You're going to yet another movie that you didn't pick out. But you think you can stall. "We don't have to go on opening night. Surely to goodness we can wait until the reviews are out." But then you don't' know my husband. He had it all planned out and used two little co-conspirators. Hunnybunny briefly mentions that we MIGHT be going this evening, that is, provided MOM is on board with it. Oh, yeah, let's just make MOM the bad guy. You have to give the guy kudos, he knew how to work the room.
Of course I said yes. Two sets of big blue eyes looking at me, hopeful, I didn't stand a chance.
And it is funny, in that warped, man-joke kind of way. I'm sure this movie will be on the top of the weekend ratings as next week the men will (or should!) fork over the choice of the movie to their sweethearts for Valentine's Day. Diva and Pickle were mesmerized by the antics of Steve Martin. It's nice to know that in this age of worrying about what are kids watch, Steve is always around to do what he does best. Make us laugh without being crass or inappropriate. Well, at least the last couple of years it's been that way. (Cheaper By the Dozen,The Pink Panther)
I was thrown a bone....there was some eye candy for me, Andy Garcia. He just ages with fine wine. I wouldn't give it a major thumbs up from me, as I'm not a slapstick kinda gal, but according to my family, it's THUMBS UP!