Ah! Compliments de Chef

click to enlarge

Some one heard me and fixed the Picassa Blogger. Now the collage can be seen better lol


The weather today is very blah outside. Rainy chilly dark. Its the kind of day you could sit beside a window in a lazy boy, with a good book, a nice warm blanket and hot tea.
My yard is filling up again with leaves which need raking and I think next good bit of weather we have I will have to go out with fiskars and prune down all the plants since I let everything over grow.
Learn to appreciate the rainbow after cursing the rain. It’s just like loving again after experiencing the pain.


Hope you all have a great day!And Remember
You cannot teach what you don’t know. You cannot give what you don’t have. You cannot forgive what you can’t forget. But you can love even if you’re not being loved back.
----------------------------------------------------
Wine Tasting

Thai Fairy House

When I saw this little piece I could not resist but to buy it.
Apparently in Thailand they believe in garden fairies which look after peoples' homes so they put up these little houses for them or so I was told.

I guess birds could use them as well.
In this one, I put a few temple people with fruit and flowers and monks. They are tiny clay statues which I also found cute and bought separately.
So when you collect a bit of this and a bit of that eventually it all comes together into something nice and leaves you with good memories and a small story to tell of when you were down there.

Have a pleasant day everyone!!! :)

I don't know if you noticed but I have never seen so many different accordions in my life.
They come in all shapes and sizes and I am wondering now why they do not include the Scottish Bagpipes into the accordion collection.
It's almost the same idea.


Dancing with sabres
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=S9axCXdd43E&feature=related

Cinnamon Warrior.

This warrior was made in Singapore. Its is nothing but wood and water.
The joss stick companies take saw dust from wild cinnamon wood,
add water to it to make a dough. This dough they knead and then roll out into
thin sheets. They they use it to make so many different things.
This art has been a family secret for years but since it's a dying art, the family
wanted the world to know how it's done.
When you go to this shop, you can ask them to make anything you want and they do it for you.
I have a set of warriors and a few other things that are still packed away.
The Singapore American School took all its students to see this done and each kid got a bag of sawdust to take home to try out. What fun. :)

The True Hunter

Dancing Cossacks flirt

With death on the horizon

Their hefty steeds stand breathing

Through flaring nostrils

Their wild eyes see the swords flash in the light

Of a crackling raging fire which

Sends sparks into the whistling wind

Flying out into the darkness.

Across the field another group

Sits hungry eyed and lean.

All dressed in black, they hide in

Mountain caverns, cold and clean.

There is no fire, no mirth, or sadness,

Just determination, to win the battle.

Close at hand, against trespassers of nations.

The lone wolf stalks the grassy turf with

Pangs of hunger eating at his gut

The nervous steeds lift their feet and whinny at his scent

The Cossacks search the midnight air

In hopes to find what ails them.

They do not see the lonely wolf,

Hidden in the grasses.

The Black eyed groups sat in caverns,

Well hidden and discreet,

Impatient for the break of day

There would be no retreat.

The smell of blood was in the air but one could not determine

Who be the hunter and who the prey.

Tomorrow had the answer.

At dawn, the soaring Eagle’s cry,

Awoke the hunting parties

Both sides rode to meet the fate

Destiny had written.

They fought a gallant battle.

They died a gallant death.

Just causes were united, in

Dirty bloody fields.

The lone wolf was the winner. Had trophies all around

He howled into the cold wind to call his friends to come

For here they would have plenty, to feast on and to share.

Thanks to these just causes, which brought this prey here.

True hunters hide in grasses, they prey upon the weak

True hunters are the watchers, hidden and discreet.

A Lady's Life

One may buy a house ....but not a home
One may buy a watch.......but not time
One may buy a book......but not knowledge
One may buy a position .......but not respect
One may buy a doctor ....but not health
One may buy a soul .....but not a life
One may buy sex ......but not love.

Some things money can't buy.

Have a great day!

Besa me mucho - Tony Lovello
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8EKN6YYqSw

Lyalya

Lyalya, is short for Lyamara.

It's a name I gave the walking doll, my Aunt Eugenia gave me.(above)
I had another Lyalya which I loved but my Mom burned it when my puppy got rabies.
All the dogs in the neighborhood were afflicted at that time and cats were also disappearing.
The rumor was, someone was eating them.
Since my dog and I played in the basement, all my toys disappeared.

I don't remember how old I was. 8? 10?
When I got my second Lyalya, I thought, I was too old for dolls but then she was nice and she was used for decoration.

She has her original hair and dress but the shoes broke so I put my
sons' baby shoes on her.
I also put on a prettier dress over her old one and my Mothers' old wig.
She decorates my living room so it is never empty and she is great beside the
Christmas tree. She's seen many over the years.

I bet many people remember these dolls way back when.
I recently saw one like it on the Waltons series.
It is because of Lyalya, I bought the new version of her at Walmart. They were on special.
I gave one to our school for Bingo night and I saw the little girl who got her and her eyes were sparkling with joy.
This made me very happy.
:)
-------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPg_xQhvwg4&feature=related
Zoltan Orosz accordianist Dark Eyes.

Christmas Bag

This is an unexpected Christmas bag . I had two pieces I machine knitted to make pillow casings.
Then I decided I can make a bag out of them.So I crocheted a green strip to sew around it with a shoulder strap
It still needs a lining and a lining for the strap so it doesn't stretch. It also needs three big buttons in front and maybe a felt Santa or snow man in the front for decoration. So far, I like what I did.

I might add some pockets to the lining for glasses, keys, phone, and calculator, maybe even a mirror and a pocket for aspirin or vitamins.lol

Something like this, since it's red and white, can also easily be turned into a
good Red Cross bag with many different bandages, peroxide, iodine, hot and cold pads, sun screen, etc....

It's also good to use for over night sleep overs, as a book bag, a lap top carrier, or as a present bag.
Instead of paper, you give something, in something else, a person can use.

So many things can be made out of squares. Toilet paper holders for Christmas with a little ribbon and lace around would definitely enrich any ones' powder room.

Machine knitting is fun and now using felt to make pictures on pieces you knit,
can make you nice projects all around.

Well........who said life is boring eh? lol

Have a great day everyone.:)

Jelousy : by Jacob Thune Hansen Gade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLIAyaQ5hcU&feature=related

Tomorrow Forever

Tomorrow I will sleep till birds awake me.
Sleep till sun rays beat upon my face.
Wait till the wind blows your sweet essence to my soul,
And know my heart will never break.

I will sleep till morrow comes.
You will sweep me off my feet.
I will taste your soft wet lips,
And there will be no time to weep.

I will sleep till time crashes onto the shore
And stops beside this wise old Oak,
Who sees every day unfold
And witnesses me sleep.

I will sleep till I awake.
This no one can stop,
but first I'll call to hear your voice,
Lest I forget to wake.

So much depends on you my love,
Each day and each tomorrow.
No one can love you as I do.
I'll sleep forever in my sorrow.

So hear me well and hurry home.
Don't let my life be slept away.
Each time I look into your bright lit eyes,
I miss and love you more and more.

A Lady's Life.

Paris Musette (serge 1232)

-------------------------------------------------
I got this from Anji's Blog. Still Learning
Very inspiring Speech by Charlie Chaplin.Thanks Anji.

Serenity

Serenity growls
Intruders alert!
Hold onto the peace
They try to avert.

Serenity puts up a quiet revolt
Against the intruders
Who start to recruit.

Serenity barks,
The weapons are armed
It waves out its' arms
Its' stock piles are full
Intruders acknowledge it
For what it is.

Serenity? Ya!
And they retreat
Serenity growls
And lies down to rest
Untouched by the noisy
Intruder's alert.

A Lady's Life

Love Nana Mouskouri

Old Never Dies.

This is a shot of my parents old dresser.
My Mom loved this set when it was new.
She treasured everything she owned.
She waxed and polished to no end.
By the end of some 40 odd years, the wood yellowed from
all the polish she put on it and made it look awful

But I remember her with this piece and decided nope.
I will do something to let it live a little longer.
So I sanded it, stuck on a few corner decor pieces and got a can of gold spray.
I sprayed it all and then appliqued some flowers and such.
Then out came my old Varnish spray to seal everything and voila.
I got a refreshed living piece of furniture again.
Its not perfect but it's a good enough effort at recycling.
My parents' picture still stands on their bedroom bureau.
I added a few tidbits for decoration.
Since I like tea sets,a set made by Adeline Fine Porcelain and
crystal candle holders enjoy the fruitful portion of the piece.

Old Never Dies. It just gets better.
Need Proof??? Watch the videos
lol

Have A Good One :)




More to enjoy about your children.




More to enjoy

I Am Waiting For............

Click to enlarge

HOLY MOSES! Is that Abe Lincoln in the goblet reflection???
Unbelievable. I must be seeing things.
hmmmm.
Mikasa Orchids and polished silver are out of boxes
for a breath of fresh air.
A scented candle and bees wax candles are all waiting to be lit.
What stories do they have to tell being worlds apart?
The candle stick holders come from Thailand and
Mikasa is of course, Japanese,
and Orchids are Singapore's favorite flower.
After spit polishing the silver wear I still can't believe
how people drank from these goblets.
The cleaner is not exactly mild.
Tomato Ketchup
Yes! They used ketchup to clean brass so it must also clean silver.
Another way is to use plain ordinary white toothpaste
A Jeweller said:
"A good way to clean silver using household items is to line a container (like your sink, a washing up bowl or a pyrex dish) with aluminium foil, add your jewellery, very warm water and a couple of spoonfuls of bicarbonate of soda. The water will fizz and clean your silver! Rinse it well afterwards.
Do not use boiling water if the items contains stones as they can crack from the heat.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
This I got (stole) from my Westra blogger . Thanks Vicky:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueP05bkWVvQ&feature=related


---------------------------------
A stark naked,drunken Australian woman,
jumped into a vacant taxi in down town New Delhi
The Indian driver was immediately beside himself
and just kept on staring at the woman.
He made no attempt to start the cab.

What's wrong with you mate,
haven't you ever seen a naked white woman before? â€

I'll not be staring at you lady,
I am telling you that would not be proper where I am coming from".

"Well if your not bloody staring at me mate, what are you doing then?"

"Well, I am telling you, I am thinking to myself
where is this lady keeping the money to be paying me with."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a great Day !!! :)

The Scent of Nature

My Dad lived close to a wild blueberry forest. We used to go picking blue berries there every July/August,Which resulted in buckets full of frozen berries for winter as well as jam.

As we picked we always had to be on the look out for bears, not that we ever sawany but it was suggested that there might be a few of them around.

In September he would go and collect the leaves from these bushes, dry them and keep them in an air proof bag till he was ready to drink it as tea and boy ,was it good tea.!!

He also had Crysanthemums he would collect flowers from, leaves from the apple and plum tree and goose berries.

As a result, I got interested in this sort of stuff.

I Love making perfume.

If you go outside there are so many wild flowers you can collect as well as those which you grow in your own yard. Well I collected some and decided I would try something.

I put lots of different flowers into a large pot half filled with water.Then I added half a bottle of virgin olive oil to it and began to simmer the pot till the water almost evaporated at which point , I took out the flowers and allowed the water to continue to simmer till I felt just the oil was left.

I added a bit of vodka so the scent , the oil absorbed from the flowers, would remain.

When it cooled I poured it into little bottles with corks and put it away.

Needless to say I was not doing a professional job. I was just trying it out to see if it worked.

What I had was essence I could burn or put into a candle or even into dried flowers to use in your closet.

I also had this very soft smelling, a bit oily, substance I could rub on my face and skin making it feel soooooo nice.

I was sold. ....AND the biggy……is that I know exactly what was put into the scent. Nothing was put in that would hurt me.

Well, me being me, ( the fun is in making the things not using them) I put the bottles away and naturally forgot about them for maybe a good five years.

Today I found one bottle and tried my perfume and could not believe how exquisite it had become.

I put just a bit on my hand and it smells so wonderful, I could smell it all day.

After spending 50 dollars each, on my sons Versace and David Beckham after shave, for his birthday, I would say mine smells so much nicer.

And cost me a lot cheaper especially with all the essence I got out of it.

Yes Nature is beautiful and provides for everything. All you have to do is go out and find it.

Now I am thinking I should try the lemon grass they sell for cooking at the Superstore.

Too bad I didn’t record what I did but by trial and error you could create wonderful stuff.

http://make-fragrances.blogspot.com/

This blog explains how to do this the right way loll

If anyone wants to give it a go.

Have a great day everyone!!!

P.S. When the Roses Bloom Again. Here's to those who count.

Head Band and Tie Belts

Click to enlarge

These are some of the tie belts I made.
They adjust. You can make them longer or shorter
.
At the top is a head band.

I should put some beads on it and go back to the hippie days when
Peace Love and Flower children were the in thing.
Those were fun days to see people walking around in long skirts selling flowers
for peace.

I was too young then to understand what it was all about but I had fun watching.:)

A Load of Shit

Click to enlarge. 2 x

A Collage of my pass time hobby.

Two Chemo Hats with matching cuffs, Slippers out of squares, baby shoes out of felt,

1 black seamans' hat, 3 alpaca hats, one puffy pink scarf,

2 baby sweaters, the beige one is beautiful with front buttons, as is the
very soft white and bone newborn blanky that can be used for a Christening.

The blue and white blanky is also quite special at least for me and the white and pink little sweater is also quite cute.

I love making collages.

Have a nice week end.
:)

http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuiv8MJszRE&feature=related
played by nozie on her hohner arlantic

Watching the World Go By

It was done on paper with acrylic paint.
I tried to do it with sponge dabbing within the outline.
Sponge art is very fast and easy to do and if you want to try a mural
it should turn out quite nice.

I am almost tempted to try that my self since
I have walls in my sons' room that require painting .

But then maybe I should just wait till the urge leaves.
Sometimes things done on impulse will take years to finish lol

But then I did do murals on canvas for the drama props.
They were finished, but then this is something you could roll up if you did not like it.

What is good about painting murals on canvass is that they do not damage the wall and provide for more insulation in winter.
:)

nikos kourkoulis

Man on a Mission

This is a small acrylic on paper painting.

Again, I saw this somewhere and decided to try to paint
the man. He turned out rather well, I think.
He would look very good on an egg,
Symbolic of a Biblical event.

The moon seems to pop up in many paintings.
I guess people all look up in wonder.
But we can only see so far.

Brahms no 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J2LBfSpX0E&feature=related

Chagall's Inspiration

This painting I was inspired to paint from, I believe, one of Marc Chagall ' s paintings .
I tried to find it and could not. So I hope it is Chagall.
I have some things to finish on it and then it too will be ready to hang on the wall.


In the mean time This Chinese Swan Lake is very nice to look at and to listen to
Enjoy :)

Picasso in Stone

Click to enlarge

This is another stone with so many jig saw pictures inside.
Both people and animals.
I don't know if on top, you see three horses and a bull
In the middle, more to the left, is a fish.

The more you look, the more you see.
I can't help but reflect on the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments he found etched in stone. After seeing this, nothing seems impossible.
Amazing.

Have fun looking
:)

Octobers' Eggfold

click to enlarge

These are eggs I painted a while back , in 2008, which are waiting to be varnished.
I know because I put the date on the back of them. lol
Otherwise time flies and you do not remember.
They are empty inside so they are very delicate.
I thought they would be nice to display for Thanksgiving as well as the doilies which my son seemed to like.The little bamboo bridge was also made by my son for a school project 4 years ago.
It had to withstand 250 pounds of pressure.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Harsh words exchanged between nature and man
Hold on to the flowers.
Hold on to the skies.
Hold on to the blackness of soil rich in blood.
Our world is a plan so...
Hold on for the ride.

A Lady's Life

Happy Thanks Giving Canada October 2010

October is one of my, most favorite time of year.
It is all a glow with its' own rich hues, which man tries to emulate
the rest of the year.

October is a month of good smells, from bounty
that took a whole summer to grow.
It is the end of summers' hard toils and worries
about weather and machines and workers, that are sooooo
important for the world, to continue living.

We see a suffering world all around us and so, on this special
Thanks Giving week end,
we go out of our way to unite ,
in celebration and thankfulness for another year of
blessings, we Canadians, have been granted.

God,
Love our Land, our Spirit, and our Home.
As we love thee.

Happy Thanks Giving Everyone!!

:)

Rock Of Love

These are two little shoes I tried making from the Martha Stewart
show.
And of course the little tiger is a rock that spoke to me
in the shape of a little tiger .
Reminds me of that commercial about putting a tiger in your tank.
lol

And Of course, I cannot get the glare out with or without the
flash.
Well Its good enough for a blog lol
Comes with a little poem
You can enlarge the photo if you click on it.
It enlarges twice.
Isn't technology great?

:)

Balance and Hope.

Try how I might, I could not get a good shot of this rock because of the glare.It just would not give it to me, outdoors or indoors.(Any Ideas other than a better camera??lol)
You can try clicking on the photo to get a bigger view.

Still , I got a post card out of it.The story this rock tells is this.

There is a wall.On one side there is a King thinking. Above him, his thoughts are of dying.

On the other side lurks evil and evil can be seen biting its' thumb or pointing at the person looking at it, saying I want you. (sorta like Uncle Sam).

In the middle between the King and Evil is an eye set in the dividing wall.

The rock continues to tell the story It has a nice cat challenging a bad cat.
It has a Husky that is wide awake and keeping watch over the King.
It has a sleeping puppy in between the good and evil side.

It has and evil man lurking over a sleeping Golden Retriever.

In front of the king is a worried woman, looking at Evil, wanting to protect her King.

On the Evil side there is a woman whispering into evils' ear.

Then there is Man (on the good side ) representing you and me today, also looking at evil confused, as if to say:

Hunh?

Not fully understanding .... what the problem is. Then if you keep looking the man is smiling at evil as if to say ...ya ...right.

Evil itself does not seem to understand. It wants to be good and is also worried because it doesn't understand why it isn't. Why it has so many objecting to him and why he is chased and needs to hide in the shadows?

Behind evils' ear is a laughing clown face. Behind the King, a naked woman, lying face down weeping.

This is like something from someones dream.
I wish I could get a better picture.This rock is like a Picasso.

According to the rock, Good is winning. Yea!!!

:)

My Moma Loves Me.

If you let the rock speak to you, it's amazing what it can tell you.

This particular rock had the lines to make either a cat or a Pekanese.
So I followed them and the result was this.

I am letting it dry and then will do some touch ups and varnish.
I think its cute and makes a nice post card.
Trouble is....... this rock has another story in the back of it.

Hmmmm ......always a dilemma..... even with rocks.

:)

Little Ruffneck

I love walking on the beach collecting rocks.
I come home and sort them and try to see what pictures
I can see in them.
It's amazing sometimes what you can find in them.


In this little rock, I used the left hand side.
It looks perfect as a tree trunk with the stripes it has on it.
All it Needed was a little Ruff Neck to hide beside it.
So I drew him and now he is drying. It'll take a week or so
but then I can finish him.

I included a ruler just to give you a birds eye view as to how
large this little rock is.

These are fun projects.
Some stones can stand on their own.
Some you can glue magnets to or felt.
Some you can even make jewelry out of or just collect them in a
vase or jar and enjoy them when you want to.
They of course all have to be spray varnished.

Another thing a woman used to do. She'd collect round rocks and cement them into
a wooden frame but those were plain rocks. These painted ones would look great if a collection was put into a wooden frame and set in clear varnish or plaster or even stuck onto a designer jewelry box, individually.
I think if they were all painted like this and collaged into a sort of stepping stone,
one could display it beautifully on a living room table, with a felt backing.

It's your own personal work of art where you can capture your life's history.

Well it's another sunny day. Time to Enjoy!
Hope you have a good one.
:)

Tiger Sea Lady by A Lady's Life

TIGER SEA LADY .

This is a large piece approx 2 ft 5 inches w x 4 ft ht

1/4 inch plywood, oils and papier mache.
I keep thinking to add to it and put it away
because when you look at things too long,
you don't see what you need to.
But now, after about 5 years lol, I took it out and think .......
Nah.
It's fine the way it is.
Then again, I may do some touch ups lol

Then I will spray varnish it and see if I
can have it framed.
This will be my Christmas present.

It is here that it all began,
By the Peaceful sea
By the peaceful storm.
With the peaceful anger and
The peaceful death and
The peaceful life,
That we all live.


Have A Great Day Everyone.
:)


.

Doily

This is a Doily I made about the same time as the sweater.

I was a novice at this, so found making knots, that became something,
quite interesting.
When this turned out I was shocked. lol

Now, we're cookin , I thought.

Gattina ........this was also never washed in over 20 years lol
Thought I'd mention it. lol

I put most of these things in zip lock bags , so they stay dust proof.

Again, it is so much fun to knit/crochet, with multicolored thread because you never know what you will come up with.

Autumn Leaves are falling and the day looks great.
:)

Georgia Wool Hat and Scarf

This Georgia Wool Set I made with my own pattern.

This is the first time I made a pattern for horses.
Once the hat is stretched on your head, it looks very nice.
It was worth the effort.
The Georgia Wool is very soft to the touch,
almost silky.
I love this set.
It's sorta like wearing a merry go round.

When you buy multi colored thread,
it sure makes a difference.

A Pleasant Day to Everyone!
:)

Old but New.

This was my very first attempt at sweater making.
It is a size 10/12. I made for my first son who is thirty now.
My second son also wore it a few times.

By now its quite old. At least 20 years old.
I washed it only once and now its waiting to be worn
again by another family member.
I remember going, to what was then, The Hudson's Bay Co
and found one like it selling for 125.00
To be sure..... I flipped. But I figured out it goes by
how many colors you put into it.

Today the Bay sells pure wool sweaters for 25 dollars
so it isn't even worth going through the trouble of making them.
To buy thread alone is too expensive and then to do the work
but for those special gifts, where a person's hand made item is
valued, it certainly is worth the trouble.

Also you can change colors and create designs special to the person it is meant for.
:)

hats hats hats

Sometimes watching TV can be rewarding.
As long as your hands are busy funny things happen.

Your stock grows.... and grows.....and grows.
Before you know it, bureaus get full of your own made stuff
and one day they will make great personal gifts.

The little green yellow and off white hat was already nationalized by my son
He loves it lol It is done with both knitting and crocheting.
but I have to finish the scarf that goes with it. It needs a few more rows to get the length I want.
It is also green but I cannot find the right shade of green for it, so it is WAY behind schedule.

I do these projects with left over thread But then, like with the green hat, I will have again a lot of left over thread from another roll I need to buy to finish the scarf It will be enough to make another hat and scarf set with .
And so it goes.......

My Newest Throw

This is my newest throw. It's not a big one.

It took a lot of time to do the appliques and to put the squares together.

But its done and can be used for a twin or childs' bed.
or even a normal bed for decoration. You can't see the true colors but they are very bright.
What is good about this project is that if you ever want to continue it to make it larger, you can.

So now that's another project I can put away for a rainy day.
Have a good one.:)