Elsie's Handiwork

My mom, Elsie, did beautiful, meticulous handiwork. She used to say that the back of her embroidery needed to look as good as the front. I never understood that at the time but now as I look back I realize that much of her handwork was on things like dish towels where one can clearly see the front and back on a daily basis.

When my mom passed away 35 years ago I inherited her embroidery thread roll. I love all the memories attached to it. Mom would cut up pieces of cardboard in a bobbin shape to roll the embroidery thread around. I still have many of them. I love the rainbow colored bias tape that mark each pocket for color sorting.

Sady, in 1999, just after Buddi adopted us she decided to chew on this precious heirloom. Stupid little dog! It has remained in that damaged state ever since then (but I'm not sure why!)

I've done quite a bit of embroidery lately on my wool purse and on a wool purse for DeLoris (more to come on that). Lasterday it hit me! Why don't you repair the damage made by stupid-little-dog? (let's not get hasty!)

I think part of the reason I couldn't repair it before is that I didn't want to lose any of my mom's handiwork... not even the tiniest bit. I agonized over how to repair it so that I kept as much of it intact as possible. There was a 1 inch piece of bias tape that I removed (and it killed me! I said right out loud, "Mama I'm sorry to take out your beautiful, tiny little stitches!) Her stitches are so tiny and invisible AND strong- a talent that I didn't inherit from her.

Rather than cut off any thing Mom had done I decided to just patch it. I looked in my Sterilite tub of white and off-white fabric and found a piece that nearly matched this 60-70 year old fabric. I dumped all of the thread in to a smaller box and hand washed the roll (definitely the first time I've ever washed it). And, believe it or not, a quick search in my tub of ribbon and bias tape turned up a near match for the old bias tape!

I decided to add a little tie to close it up. I've been using a straight pin and noticed that it was starting to wear the old fabric.

I'm so pleased with my newly repaired heirloom.

Why don't-cha...

...just rip my heart out and let the dog chew on it??

Where am I coming from?

I'm just home from seeing Marley & Me.

I should know better than to go to movies like this... so why do I go? I seriously don't know...

It was an excellent movie. You know the kind. They suck you in and make you care about the characters and then they pull the rug out from under you. And did you ever notice that these kinds of movies are always released at Christmas time? (Like the year the movie Step-mom was released and billed as the "Perfect Christmas Gift". In what world is that? One that wants to plunge you into even deeper seasonal depression than normal??? Yeah, it took me weeks to get over that one!)

As I left the movie in tears there were two women (I assumed mother and adult daughter about my age) leaving, also in tears. They both told me about how hard it is to lose a dog and then the younger one of them says, "Yes, people with children just don't understand how hard it is to lose your dog." Oh really??? I had to bite my words of loss and sorrow, grieving and pain back. What good would it do to try to explain?

So rather than continue to rant about the above topics, which are so real, I will instead share some of my happy pet memories from my wonderful furry, four-legged friends.

Chronological order seems to be the best plan for this trip down memory lane...

My first long-term furry friend was Timmy the dog. He was a black cocker spaniel. Timmy was an outside dog. The few times we let him inside he went hog wild and did things like run around behind the Christmas tree and knock it over. Timmy is the dog that dragged me across the back porch when I was holding onto his tail. (I'd been asked to put him in the dog yard since we were going to eat on the back porch. In the drag he pulled me across a popped-up nail and it cut my knee, badly! The doctor kept asking if this wasn't a dog bite. Even at that young age I knew that my Timmy would never bite me!!) He was a wonderful 13 year friend. We found him dead in Daddy's shop one morning.



Next on the scene was my first big orange cat, Tiger. For more happy memories about this purr-box go here. He also lived 13 years and was a wonderful sleeping buddy.



Pat was a rescue dog... long before they called it that. We got him at the SPCA in Oakland. He was actually Sue's dog. She'd hoped that he would be more German Shepherd than "mix" but that wasn't the case. Sue soon left for college and he became one of my best friends. He used to love to go wherever I did, especially when I was riding Blue. He'd been hit by a car when he was only a year or two old and broke his front leg. Mom carried him in and out for a week or so while he healed. We taped a tall round Tupperware pitcher to his leg so he wouldn't lick out the stitches. I think that time of healing saved him from being an outside dog.

He became our inside friend. Well, until one night when he needed to go out and when he came back in he'd had a close encounter of the stinky kind with a SKUNK!! Oh did that ever stink! He stunk so badly that even though Mom put him right back out it took us days to get the stink out of our cloths and house. When I went to school people kept asking, "Do you smell a skunk?" I went back to my locker between classes and it reeked!! I ran home trying to blow the stink off!! In his older years he got arthritis. He would limp so bad when he came with me on trail rides that I would get him up in the saddle with me. He was so embarrassed! Poor old dog. I don't remember his exact age, but he lived well over 10 years.



This little maniac was next... Gypsy. Sue had just gotten married and was living alone!! No dog!! (yeah, she had a husband but that didn't count in my 11 year-old mind) A friend's dog had a litter of pups so I went and chose one for Sue for Christmas. Her name was Blue and she was a dandy!! By the time Sue was going back to Provo after the Christmas break I'd gotten attached to Blue so Mom asked if I'd like one of Blue's litter mates. Let's just put it this way... Sue got the pick of the litter!

Gypsy was one of those little dogs that is neurotic! We never could break her from pee-ing on the carpet, or walk on a leash without sounding like she was being killed, or barking at Daddy every time he walk into the house... even if he'd only been outside for five minutes!! This is the little maniac that almost burned down our house! Mom and I had gone to Reno for the day (100 miles one way) and we'd been invited to stay the night with Thelma, but Mom just felt like we needed to go home. When we arrive home the house was filled with acrid smoke. Gypsy had dug and dug at the electric blanket and foam rubber pillow until she'd shorted out the wires. There was a big smoldering hole in the mattress. Mom and I dragged the mattress outside and threw it from the back porch into the snow! Gypsy lived about 7 years. She died just days before Daddy. We laughed and said that there was Gypsy waiting at the Pearly Gates to bark at Daddy when walked in. (The picture below is me winning grand prize at a summer school dog show. WHAT??? I think it was rigged, no way! Maybe this just shows how unruly all the other dogs really were!)



Next was Blue... the realization of every little girl's dream to have a horse. He was my senior by 2 years and taught me so much about courage, patience, endurance, love, acceptance and never giving up! I could fill a book about this wonderful animal. He would wait at the fence and nicker at us the minute we walked out the back door. I could catch him with a piece of string and a dog-biscuit (strange, but there you are!) except on parade mornings at 6 am... then we would play the run around the pasture game for half an hour! He never bucked, never reared, never left his rider behind. He was a gentleman... albeit a high-spirited gentleman. I had him from the time I was 13 until I was 21 and then had to sell him because I had two babies to take care of. I often dream of Blue!



We went for a lot of years with only short-term dogs, cats and horses. I suppose it was a sign of the tumultuous years that we lived through. They were kind and happy for the short time we had them.

But the next, and frankly, best animal to join our family was Amber-the wonder dog! I'd heard about dogs like this but never quite believed them. But here was Amber... the embodiment of all those wonder-dog stories. She was very obedient, ever faithful and the perfect protector-dog that "spoke" English better than many humans! We could tell her to go get ____! and she would come back with that person. I never worried with Amber on duty; several male neighbor friends had to use the lion-tamer antics with a plastic lawn chair when they came into the backyard uninvited! Amber was our "Marley-like" dog as far as attachment went. She wasn't just a dog! She was our friend and family member! We were all devastated when she died unexpectedly at 12 years old. That wasn't part of the 15 year plan!



Big orange cat #2 is Simba. He is still with us; he is an old-man cat of 14. I got him because I wanted a cat, but we all know that we don't own a cat, a cat owns us; Simba owns Stuart. I've never seen a cat that thinks as much as this one! He thinks up devious, but not mean, tricks to play on his fellow occupant in HIS house. My favorite story was how he used to lie in front to the dog door and block poor little Buddi out. He tries the same thing with Harley, but Harley is much bolder than timid little Buddi and crowds right through the dog door pushing Simba aside amidst yowls that would make you think that Harley was hurting him; not so... but Simba is a poor loser! In his prime Simba weighed 15 lbs! Now he is Skinny McCat*! Poor old man! (*Thank you, Douglas!)



And here is my fur-covered-sack-of-love dog! Buddi adopted us on 9/9/99! Gordon says the doggy-angels told her to come to our house; he was so right! Buddi came to ME just at a time when the Lord knew I would need a friend who loved me unconditionally. There were times, with 3 teenagers all trying to emancipate themselves and a husband who was stressed to the max with his career that I felt like she was the only "person" who loved me! Sadly, Buddi was only with us for seven and a half years. She still has a large part of my heart.



Of course, lastly, is Harley the fur-covered-sack-of-trouble dog! He has more personality than any dog deserves and promises to be a entertaining friend for years to come.

I am so grateful for these wonderful animal friends that have enriched my life. I am grateful to know that I will have these same family members with me in the eternities.

Baby Caden

Don't you just love it when you start remembering all the fun stories that are rattling around in your brain? I do! But, for those who know me, you know that I am such a story girl!!

Yesterday's reminiscencings about Brock (and my niece Sarah's comments about her niece Amy almost eating a beetle!! Ugh!) made me remember some of my favorite Caden stories... so this is his day to shine!

My first favorite thing that he would DO is walk up to me and put his little hands up, just so (ha! I have photographic proof!) and then open and close them to indicate that he wanted me to pick him up. (Now you tell me... doesn't that just melt any Grammie's heart?) Then once I got him up he would gently pat my shoulder. (Just like we did to him!) The happiest thing about this sweet little boy is that at 9-years old he still gently pats my back. (But fortunately, I don't have to pick him up!)







The grossest thing this little guy did was, well, GROSS! Simba, our enormous orange tabby cat had his litter box in the downstairs bathroom. When the little boys were visiting everyone was usually pretty good about keeping the door closed, BUT one day someone left the door open and little Caden went in, opened the cupboard under the sink, found a toothbrush and proceeded to brush his teeth... WITH CAT LITTER! (eewww!)... CLUMPING CAT LITTER!! (triple eewww! notice we skipped the double?) Rebekah had to dig it out from behind his bottom teeth with her fingernail (shudder!)

(This is Caden safely locked out of the cat-litter room!)








On a visit to Grammie's house in December 2000 Caden created the fodder for one of his funniest stories. Buddi, my little American Cocker, just loved "her babies". She would cry with joy when they arrived for a visit. Caden had a little toy stuffed dog that looked a lot like Grammie's Buddi, so he named his doggie, Buddy. Caden loved to chew on his Buddy's nose. So one evening he marched right over to Grammie's Buddi and opened up wide to chew on her nose! Funny thing is, she probably would have let him if we hadn't stopped him.

What a joy to have these happy memories all stored away for future use!!

Cute Page... took TOO long!

Lasterday (yes, this IS a real word!) I started working on this LO. It's the PSF (Photoshop Friday) challenge at Jessica Sprague's blog. The technique was the circle accent. (I chose to make mine off-center... a little like me!) I started with different papers and elements. I tried recoloring them but the more I worked on it the worse it got! Rebekah called making a very needed interruption in my frustrating day (interestingly enough, when she called today she told me she had a very similar day! Hmm... must be hereditary or something!)

After Bek's phone call I went back to the drawing board and started all over again. I just wanted paper that had more pop to it, something that matched my monochromatic animals! I got this one mostly finished and decided that I wanted the yellow mat on the circle to have texture like the journaling strips... SO... it was back to the drawing board again for that circle element. Fortunately, I'd made the first one a set size (10") so I could make the new one and drag it onto the layout. Since I'd added an adjustment layer all the "erased" part of the new circle could be erased with just a couple of matting clicks! Whew... I was almost finished!


I think the part I liked the best was when I started using my Distressed Tool Set No.6 by Anna. JSprague said this was one of her favorite tools/brushes and now I know why! It was so cool to brush on the white ink and not get any on my fingers. I have always liked that distressed or grungy look on scrapbook pages.



So now that I have blabbered on about how difficult, no, how time consuming getting this particular layout completed - do you think I should move on and actually post said layout? (Let's be brave, little Joanie... )

Buddi was the most gentle little soul there was. Gordon says, "Buddi's a fur-covered-sack-of-love!" And that best described our little Buddi-dog. She was always so kind with Simba. If she was eating anything and he walked up she would back away and share with him (not that HE ever appreciated that quality!)

We hadn't been in our house too long before Simba devised his most evil plan. That naughty boy-cat would lie in front of the dog door and not let Buddi in! What a skunk! He thought if he just laid there long enough that "stupid little dog" would go away... and he was right. Buddi did go away last March, most unexpectedly. The funny part to all of this is Simba didn't know when he had it good.

Now Harley is on the scene and an altogether different kind of cocker than Buddi was. He is much smarter (sorry Buddi) and he knows how to play (I don't know, maybe poor Buddi was to traumatized to play from being on the street for so long.) Harley is always ready for a game and he will give Simba as good as he gets.

I told Stuart, Simba's boy, that Buddi hooked up with Harley in Heaven and told him what a rough time Simba's boy used to give her ("Step-back or the little dog gets it!!", Stuart would say.) She told Harley, "Now it's pay-back time!" Harley isn't mean to Simba, perhaps a little pesty and he just wants to play and, frankly, Simba can't be bothered with the canine-variety.