A Cozy Cottage In The Woods

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

May love continue to grow and flourish in your life!

Serene Saturday

2012-02-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Serenity is a good thing. Since today was so drizzly and cold, we just stayed in. Liesl napped in her big blanket. It was just a perfect indoor day. I did some work on my kitchen. I was rearranging drawers and cabinets that did not really work with the flow of the work area. After almost four months it was time to remedy that situation. I had bought some organizers that really did the trick. I have all of my spices in one drawer in an organizer. It looks so purty when I open that drawer now.

I finally got my paint samples up on the wall. Am I ever glad that my friend convinced me to put samples up first. The color I was originally going to go with ended up looking really bright in a mustard yellow kind of way. This would be really bad and would eventually burn out my retinas, I am sure. So the color that I am going to go with is a soft buttery gold color. I think it will go perfectly with the beautiful valance I am ordering from Overstock. My best friend called me today to tell me that she wanted to make plans for my birthday, but that she also wanted to make plans for her to help me paint. Now, I will tell you that it is really hard for me to ask for help, even when someone offers. I just do not want to impose. But she told me that she is a master painter's taper. And well, I sorta hate taping. I like the painting part. I think we will be a good team, aside from the giggle fits and ice cream breaks.

I worked a little on training with Liesl. Schnauzers are one of the smartest dogs you can find, and are referred to as "the Dog with the Human Brain" because they use a lot of the same reasoning and cognitive skills as humans. In fact, overall they act very human much of the time. They can be easy to train, when they are in the mood. Which usually has to be bought, with high value treats. I had asked the behaviorist for a couple of easy tricks to teach Liesl this weekend, because she seems to really like going through a repertoire. So I thought we would expand it. So she is working on taking a bow. She also learned "touch" which is touching my hand with her nose. It is a focusing technique. She also loves "find it" which consists of taking a treat (I was using Charlie Bears) and tossing it and then telling her to find it. The idea is to expand to the point where I can put her in stay, then hide a treat and tell her to find it. Liesl loves hide and seek in any form so this was the big hit. One issue with training really smart dogs, particularly schnauzers is they do not like too much repetition, as they get bored easily once they "get it." I knew we were done when Liesl took a Charlie Bear then proceeded to spit it out in a very dramatic fashion. She cracks me up.

I really love to read up on the traits of schnauzers. One thing that caught my attention recently is that schnauzers really want the family to be all together in one place. I think it goes back to the herding part of their breeding. It made me laugh though because when the family is all together at my house, and one person gets up to go to the restroom, Liesl will always go off after them, snorting under her breath and wait for them outside the door. When they come back she always looks kind of proud as she trots into the room with them like she is returning them to the herd. I also read that they have to be in the center of any activity. This is also true, because she will sit on the bench ottoman in the center of the room so that she can see everyone and they can see her.

I am really glad that I got to putter today. I feel pretty relaxed and comfy. I am so glad that we got the surprise rain!

Rainy Day

2012-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Well, there was no rain whatsoever in the forecast. However, we have something here called "AT&T Weather" which means that whenever the tournament with all of the big stars and golf pros is in town, the rain will fall. There were little suns with smiley faces lined up in the weather forecast, yet last night it rained. Today is just drizzly and cold. Which is awesome. Truly. We needed a day to stay in and be cozy. I am puttering and putting in my cabinet and drawer organizers that came in from Amazon this week. I also have to put my paint samples up on the kitchen walls. I have looked at Lowe's online and found several of the most perfect kitchen lights ever. Since I am planning to make the hour drive to Gilroy anyway while I am on vacay anyway, I can pick one up when I am there. Whoohoo! Things are coming together.

Liesl has been snuggled into a blanket most of the morning. She believes in the cozy Saturday and loves when I plan accordingly. If I can work in neck scratches and belly rubs into her day, all the better. Of course her nutritional demands for the day is "more cookies."

I am happy to be inside for the day. I have my slippers and polar fleece leopard print jammies on. (Grrr, baby! LOL) I have a cup of coffee with pumpkin spice creamer in it, and I am about to pick up my stitching while I watch HGTV (always a bad idea, they put ideas into my head.) I have to work from home today so that I can leave my office under control for a week. So it all works out! I think I will put a nice dinner in the crockpot so that I can smell delicious smells all day.

Well, a duck toy has just been shoved into my lap, so I guess I have to go entertain a certain schnauzer. Have a happy day!

Getting Closer To Painting Time

2012-02-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

After talking to several friends about my paint choices for the interior of my house, all shared that I really needed to have paint samples and try them out on the wall. The light and shadow of house can really alter the color of a paint. One friend said that when she was trying out an eggshell white on her walls, the color came across as pink. She said that she knew pretty fast that it was not the right color for her house. So tonight after work I went to Home Depot to pick up samples. My camera is really distorting the color a bit. But I am going to put them up on the wall and live with it for a week and see what happens. I am also going to put up a new chandelier and have it narrowed down to two or three. I am figuring that I have to remove the current fixture and paint all the way to the box anyway, so I might as well get it all done at once.

While I was waiting for the nice man in the paint department to mix my samples I was thinking about my kitchen and living room. I plan on painting the living room a more light yellow color. I have two arched doorways from the living room. One leads to the kitchen and the other to the hall to the bedrooms. The arches were one of the things I fell in love with. I was thinking that it would be really nice to free hand some sort of scrolling pattern on the inside of the arch. But I am too chicken to do that. That was when I looked over and saw that Martha Stewart (I heart Martha) has stencils in exactly what I pictured in my mind's eye. I think I am going to do this between the kitchen and living room as a cool feature.

It was so funny because while I was in Home Depot I ran into the nice lady that sold me my house. She is a delightful person and we said that we are going to have to meet for lunch soon. I told her how much I love my house. It was funny because as I was going into the store I was thinking that I would have to call her soon, because I am thinking about installing a small island in my kitchen and was wondering where she got the crystal granite counter tops for my kitchen. She gave me the name of the company in San Jose and said it was the only place she and her husband do business with. She also gave me the name of the actual pattern. It is so pretty. I started to tell her how much I love the old single panel interior doors in my house. She said that she was in love with them, too, and had to save them because the original plan was to demolish them. They have so much character. (My house was built in 1964) She said that she had been looking for the old crystal knobs for them, but was having trouble sourcing what she needed so she put in antiqued doorknobs. I have often thought the old crystal knobs would look perfect so I will have to keep my eye out in the thrift stores.

We had a nice visit and she thought the golds I was picking out would look beautiful in my kitchen. She and her husband flip houses but do it very tastefully. My friend who is an engineer checked out the structure of the house before I bought it and said that he could not believe how many nice touches they put into the house. He said that most flips are done as cheaply as possible, but mine had really nice custom windows, elegant granite, self closing drawers in the kitchen, custom cabinets and nice appliances. He was impressed with the higher quality of materials and touches.

Now I have to share a story with you that I am a total dork. When I got home from Home Depot at about 6:30 it was already dark. As I got out of my car I looked up because there was a large silvery white disk in the sky, and it was just staying in one place and there were lights flashing on it. I caught my breathe wondering if anyone else was seeing it. It seemed really large and very close. I just stood there watching it. All of the sudden I remembered that the AT&T golf tournament started at Pebble Beach yesterday and there is always a blimp every year for overhead shots of the tournament. It was hovering in the direction of Monterey Airport, probably waiting to land. This was not one of my bri+ghter moments. LOL

So now I am getting closer and closer to my vacation. It will be really fun to do the work on my house at my own pace. I am also planning on going to HomeGoods in Gilroy to pick up some pretties for the house. I think it will be a great birthday present to myself to have my home be in a really great state when I go back to work. It will be my perfect sanctuary to return to after work.

A Perfect Cozy Evening At The Cozy Cottage

2012-02-06T21:23:00.001-08:00

I have been looking forward to this evening all day. I had a pretty good day at work. Before I left for work, I threw dinner together in the crockpot. I had three different containers of salsa, maybe a cup total, that I had to use up before they went bad. So I threw that in with a couple of chicken breasts. I found about a third of a package of low fat cream cheese, so I dumped that it with what was left over in a package of powder mix of ranch dressing. That aroma hit me as I hit the front door. Oh my goodness. It was so delicious. I made a burrito with fat free refried black beans and brown rice. Now I get to look forward to leftovers tomorrow. Yum!

I made dinner early because I was looking forward to my shows tonight. I am hooked on The Voice. Plus the reunion part II of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is on, too. I figured I would cozy in while wearing sweats and stitch. Liesl snuggled up to me for a while as a treat. I shopped online for a kitchen chandelier for a while. It was an evening that made me happy. I do not get a lot of evenings like this so this was a total treat. I think I may top it off with a cup of hot cocoa. Life is beautiful and sometimes I can not believe how much.

I was telling a friend at work today about how well Liesl did on her training this weekend and her new trick. I also told her about the drama involved in the command "Speak." She said that she had a schnauzer mix while she was growing up that did the same muttering and talking. It is so funny when they are doing it. They seem like curmudgeons, but they are such goofballs.

I am off to make my hot cocoa and cuddle with my fur girl.

Amazing Day Potpourri

2012-02-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

What a glorious, amazing, wonderful day! The day started out at church. I was the assistant minister and cantor today, which always makes me feel happy. I got to see people I love and spend time in worship. It always centers me for the week ahead. I am a lifelong Lutheran, and the first thing we do in worship is taking time for confession collectively, silently to God. It is very cleansing before you enter into worship. Some weeks are better than others. However, I know that when I am silently confessing to the one who knows my thoughts, that I am very aware of my words and deeds as I do my inner reflection. It is during these times that I remember that I may have thought mean thoughts about someone, or said something unkind during the week that I really need to make atonement for.

I will tell you that I love SuperBowl Sunday. I am not a fan at all of football though. I love SuperBowl Sunday because it means that all of the stores that are normally crowded are empty enough for me to run down the aisles with my arms wide open. Today after church I headed to Target because I needed one of those corkscrewy hoses. I hate coiling a hose, but it also bugs me when it is laying all over the yard. So I wanted one that would go SPROING, back into shape. I have been needing one for a while but the paradise that is Home Depot does not carry them. I know, I was totally shocked, too. So I have been going to Target once a week to see if they had them in yet. Today was my lucky day and I could have done cartwheels through the semi-empty store, but with my luck I would have pulled something and would have just looked pitiful.

I got so much done at the cozy cottage today. I found all of my packed dishtowels. This was a happy day for me. I do not buy paper towels for environmental reasons, so my dishtowels are precious to me. I had plenty of back up to get me through. I also found my other pair of glasses, which are way cuter than the ones I have been wearing. They make me look a little bit cool. I also got my car cleaned out, a monumental task in and of itself. Whoa, doggie! It was a tangle of dog leashes, tote bags (I love me some tote bags), papers, dog blankets, dog balls for the beach, and various dog treats. (Are you seeing a theme here?) In a moment of what I can only describe as sheer brilliance, I took one of the tote bags and looped it over the headrest of the furry girl's seat. In it I put her leashes, and stuff I need to get to quickly. This cleaned up the floor and made everything more easily accessible.

Speaking of the furry girl, she learned a new trick today. She learned to speak on command. She is so proud of herself. When the behaviorist was in the other day, she told us that it is easier for a dog to learn the quiet or no talking command after they learn the speak command. Now Liesl can't just woof on command. No, no, no, she has to vary her speaking experience because that is how she rolls. Schnauzers as a general rule are very verbal, so she tends to walk around the house muttering to herself, or telling me a story, or complaining about the neighborhood kids who have the audacity to walk down her street. (And she always has to have the last word with a closed mouth bark.) So when I had the treats in my hand, I would tell her to speak, and she would either woof or start a very dramatic and inspiring monologue. She was just changing it up and keepin' it real. She was very proud of herself. We also worked on the knocking, which is going well. I love the connection you feel with your dog when you are training them. She was obviously happy too, because she spent the rest of the evening trotting around with her tail wagging. (Schnauzers are energetic, busy dogs.) She also did not like the way her toys were looking at her and felt the need to pounce on her favorites and toss them in the air with her tail wagging. She is a total character.

So now, I am doing several countdowns. Ten more workdays till vacation. Twelve more days until the NASCAR Budweiser Shoot Out. Eighteen more days until my birthday. Seventeen days to Ash Wednesday. Nine days to Valentine's Day. Fifteen more days until I paint and re-do my kitchen. I am so excited. I love February.

Progress

2012-02-04T22:34:00.000-08:00

I have managed to get a few stitches into my piece this week. I still have so much more to stitch on it, as the piece is really large. However, I feel really good about the progress that has been made. I actually got to sit quietly this afternoon for a while, which was so nice and peaceful.

The day started a bit earlier than I had anticipated today. Liesl decided to be a bit naughty by 8:30 this morning, because she wanted her day to start. Figuring that it would be best to get her some exercise ( a tired dog is a good dog) and the day was already gorgeous, off we went to the beach. She ran and ran, chased her ball, met other dogs and played in the surf. She always looks so proud of herself when she gets more than her legs wet. She seems to think that she is a Labrador and likes to chase them back into the surf. Needless to say, she slept the rest of the day and her naughty antics were a thing of the past.

After the beach, I had to do two weeks worth of grocery shopping. I did this because for one, I hate grocery shopping. Also, because next week is the AT&T Pro Am (the old Crosby Clambake) and the population of the Monterey Peninsula basically doubles with all of the folks wanting to go. This year Tiger Woods is playing so the crowds are even bigger. We have really limited highways, so it usually results in total gridlock. Most locals who do not attend the event know to get their supplies early and hunker down and not drive anywhere. It is great for our local economy but it will be ca-razy here next week.

When I got home, I came home to bad news. My very sweet elderly neighbor came by because he said that he wanted to let me know that there would be more cars parked on the street than usual because his wife, to whom he had been married for 61 years, passed last night. I feel so badly for him, but he said that she had been suffering in pain so badly lately. They have a rather large and very supportive extended family, so I am glad that he will not be alone. I will take some food over tomorrow and told him that he and his family are in my prayers.

Tomorrow after church, I plan a cooking day. I need to make some dishes for the week ahead of time. I am sure that the next two weeks will be crazy as I prepare for my vacation. I already made yogurt today. I love homemade yogurt. I am thinking that I am also reducing my carbon footprint because I am using reusable yogurt cups. Bonus!

So now it is really quiet in the house. Liesie is snuggled under her blanket. The house is warm and cozy. I love this part of the day, as I recall the blessings of the day. This ultimately causes me to think of all of my blessings. It is interesting to me that in these moments I think mostly about the people in my life. I do not reflect on whether I have the newest fancy purse or shoes, or jewelry or things. I think about the riches of love and friendship that are the true blessings. They are the blessings that endure, grow and flourish. Life is truly beautiful.

My Amaryllis

2012-01-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

My Amaryllis bloomed today. My friend gave it to me as one of my Christmas presents. I have waited and waited. Today was the day. It has two breathtakingly huge blooms on it. The other bloom is directly behind this one. I love the dramatic variation of the red and white. It really brightens up my kitchen.

I met all of my January deadlines. I had a facial tick this morning, but my 1099s are out, taxes are paid and I have closed out everything I needed to close. Thank goodness. Now I just have to get my area of responsibility ready for the next few weeks for me to go on vacation.

Today was awesome. An expert animal behaviorist came in to work with us and our dogs today. With our move recently a few bad habits have developed, so a professional was brought in to work with us on any areas that we felt the need to work on. It is really easy to get frustrated with a dog who is not doing what we need them to do. In turn, the dog gets frustrated too. The behaviorist reinforced that you have to be consistent, particularly with the commands we use. Liesl and I have a couple of areas where we can improve. One is if she hears knocking or a doorbell, even if it is on TV. She immediately will go into a state where she can not even hear me telling her to stop barking. The behaviorist said that I need to start with high value treats, something she really wants. Then I should just start randomly knocking around the house. Before Liesl can get into a state of arousal, I should give her the treat while I knock. Ultimately, she will learn to associate knocking with something good happening. Liesl learned it pretty quickly. Now I just have to practice with her a bit. She looks so proud of herself. Here I had been getting louder trying to get her to hear me, and thinking of ways to distract her. I am glad to know that the answer is so easy. (Most animal shelters and large pet supply stores have animal behaviorist on staff and can be really helpful!)

I am off to tuck my little fuzzy headed girl in.

Eighteen More Days...

2012-01-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

Well, this was the next to last day of my busiest month of the year. It looks like I will go all the way to the wire on my deadlines. I went to work extra early today when it was still dark to get a jump start on everything I need to get done. I have the hardest parts done which makes me feel much better. But I will admit that I am really tired. I was thinking all afternoon that I really wanted to do something artistic after work. After I got dinner made and played with Liesl for a while, I picked up my stitching. It just made me feel so happy. I am so enjoying blackwork. It is so pretty and easy to do.

After I finish the panel of the piece I am working on, I still have another panel to complete. Yet, I am already starting to think about what I want to stitch next. I am toying with the idea of stitching the Hummingbird Afghan. I bought the afghan several years ago, so I am ready to go. I have so many other wonderful patterns though and they all seem to be calling to me right now.

I am totally counting the days to my vacation. I am so excited. I was talking with my friend today who is in the construction business. I usually seek his advice on things that I want to do on my house to get a sense of how difficult and expensive it might be to implement some of my plans. He told me that if I need any help at all while I am on vacation with any projects to please give him a call and he would be happy to help me on his days off. I am glad to know that I can have help or advice if I need it. I watch too much HGTV and they put crazy ideas in my head that I need cork floors and towel warmers. (which, of course I totally want!) It would be so nice to have a toasty towel after a bath.

I am trying to figure out how to fit all of the fun I want to have into one week. Just being able to sleep until 7:30 am will be a blessing. Even if it rains everyday, I will be happy. It will be a total of nine days of being able to play and rest, spend time with my favorite people, take long walks with Liesl and just not rush. I will admit that it is fun to dream about it all. It will be here way soon and planning it is really fun.

A Dozy Day At The Cozy Cottage

2012-01-29T21:45:00.000-08:00

Working six day this week, most of which was already overtime caught up with me today. I woke up tired and never got out of my pajamas. I just could not get started. I felt really badly because the weather was beautiful this weekend and I had the best of intentions of taking Liesl to the beach today because we could not go yesterday. I was just too tired to get dressed. Luckily, Liesl seemed to sense that something was a little off and just napped happily next to me. I dropped off into naps a couple of times today and she just was so accommodating. A friend of mine often tells me that someday when we all meet up in Heaven, we will find out just how much more our pets know and understand than we realize. I believe that they do know so much more and are so in tune with us. Normally Liesl would be really busy and would be wanting to go to the beach or play. She was just so calm and let me rest today.

I am also feeling guilty because I did not get anything done around the house today. I watched really bad television, did a little online surfing and stitched. It was really nice. I am so grateful to Ruth for sending me the dye lot that I needed on my DMC 815. The match is perfect and the transition has been seamless. It was nice to be able to stitch.

So now the countdown begins for my vacation. I am so excited. My last day of work is the 17th. I am looking forward to only having fun, having lunch and dinner with my friends, working on my house, going to the beach with Liesl, reading, stitching, staying up as late as I want, and just resting. It will be so much fun to only play and not have any stress that week. Liesl loves vacation too whether we travel or stay home. I told her that we are going to Yosemite later this year. I am looking at the off season so I can get a dog friendly place to stay at a reasonable price. Dogs are only allowed on certain trails but I think it is going to be awesome.

I am grateful for the day of rest today. I feel fortunate that I had a day to doze off and indulge in some stitching. I got to reflect on some really wonderful things in my life and have a comfy day. I am grateful for all of it.

Hope you have a happy Monday!

The Love Of A Dog

2012-01-29T00:08:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere a quote that says that until you have loved an animal, part of your soul remains unopened. I did not know how much you could love a dog until Liesl came trotting into my life. What amazes me sometimes is how much she loves me back. Tonight I had to work one of our largest fundraisers for my job. Liesl is usually with me at work but had to stay home tonight. When I came home, she acted like my walking through the door was the best thing that had happened all day. She gave me lots and lots of kisses. Liesl in general is not much of a kisser. However, when I come home, I get lots of kisses on my nose. It makes my heart tickley when she does that. I did not get home until around 11, but she had slept all evening so she wanted to play. I had picked up a brand new toy squirrel for her earlier today. It looks pretty real, and squirrels are public enemy numero uno in Liesl's mind. She loves her new toy. She had to chase it several times until she indicated that it was time for her tummy to be rubbed. (I jokingly tell people that I sleep in the servants quarters of the new house, LOL)

There are times that other people tell me that I should get another terrier. I so love terriers. I love the mischievous look in their eyes, their little beards, and their big attitudes. But I believe that Liesl would probably not want to share her stuff, including her momma with another dog. I have said the only exception to the rule is if she is head over heels for a dog that would be her dog. But then I would be totally outnumbered and I would have two terriers bossing me around. LOL

Tomorrow I plan on getting lots of rest. I have to clean up the house a bit, but other than that I see naps in my future. I am pretty tired these days. I am looking so forward to my vacation in a couple of weeks. Liesl is looking forward to it, too. I am making lists of the things I need to accomplish on vacation. I can not wait to make some progress on this house. I am so excited about it. I was able to clear a large section of my garage today, which really made me happy. While I could park my car in there, I am thinking that I would really prefer to use it for work space for large projects. It is such a usable space that I could get a lot of function out of it. I have so many plans.

Well, I am hearing soft puppy snores. It is making me sleepy so I am off to dreamland.

One Of Those Big Life Questions...

2012-01-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

I have been having one of those magical epiphanies this week. A simple question has led to a lot of deep thinking. In church on Sunday as part of the sermon, our pastor posed the question, "What would you do if you knew you only had 24 more hours to live? At the time, I thought that I would probably not do much differently than how I live now. I have pretty happy days. I might have a good dinner with all of the people that I love and possibly order all of the desserts on the menu. Other than that I am pretty grateful for the life that I have.

However, that afternoon, I came home and while doing other things I was watching the History Channel. The afternoon's shows were dedicated to doomsday prophecies of Nostradamus, the Mayan calendar, etc., of the world ending on December 21st of this year. (Why do I do this to myself and watch this stuff?) But it has had me thinking what if I only had this year to live, what would I do differently? Wow! That is a big question. What would I do to make sure that I savor each and every single day? I would do a few things that would make life even better. Then I had the epiphany that I can do all of these things anyway this year and fulfill things I have wanted to do anyway. So this is my plan for this year:

Number 1, I will visit Yosemite this year. It is only four hours away. I have lived in California since 1975 and I have never seen it. In the past few years, they have opened dog trails in Yosemite. Liesl and I are going hiking there this year. Number 2, I will plant jasmine outside my bedroom window. I love the smell of jasmine and would like to smell it as I go to sleep. Number 3, I will be less afraid of taking risks and accomplishing those things that I want to accomplish now. I will wear more lip gloss because I love it and think it is pretty. I might try false eyelashes, too. I have to think about that though.

My relationships are pretty profound, but I think that I would try to make the close friendships that I enjoy even better and I will be less shy about telling people that I love them. I will use the good china this year. I have had it for 25 years and can count on one hand the number of times that I have used it. I will not waste time worrying about things that just do not matter. I will live with my full heart and mind and do things that I really care about. My prayer life will be a lot more profound, too.

I think that living like this could be extremely liberating. It sort of gives me that sparkly magical feeling that I could create my life in the year ahead (what is within my power) to be one that is filled with more joy, love, laughter and fun. Thinking about the things that I really want instead of I think should be. I once saw Wayne Dyer speak in person and he gave the analogy of seeing two lamps for sale. We don't really love them,in fact they are kind of unattractive but the price is low, so we buy them and take them home anyway. He said then you see a rug that you don't really care for, but it is half price so you take it home. He went on to say that before you know it, you have filled up your house (or your life really) with things that you do not absolutely love and you wonder why it is not working. (Instead of only bringing things, people and situations into your life that you absolutely adore.)

This will be the year that I do the things that I have wanted to do, treasure what I already have, to bring things into my life that I really, really want, and to add only what I absolutely love. I am so excited.

May this year be filled with so much beauty and happiness for you, too!

A Quiet Evening

2012-01-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Every day I believe that you get little gifts to make you happy. I get really tickled over the small stuff that is just so cool or strikingly beautiful. There is so much to be happy about. This evening was exceptional.

This evening, I decided to leave work on time, but packed up my briefcase with work that I could do at home. It is a rare thing for me to walk out of my office at 5, but my feet were cold and I was thinking how nice it would be to go home and wear a pair of socks that my daughter has knit for me. (It is like getting a really wonderful hug!) It was still light as I was driving home and I was awestruck by the most beautiful sunset. The sky was streaked with beautiful colors of pinks, reds, orange and purple. It is at sunset when I really get a sense of how quickly the earth is turning on its axis. One moment the huge orange sun is on the horizon and then it is gone. The colors still remain in the sky until all at once the sky is dark and the stars start to dance.

I got home and puttered around while I made a really healthy and delicious dinner. Liesl napped while I warmed up her puppy dinner. She has been an extra good girl today, so she got a little shredded cheese on top of her dinner. She acts like it is Christmas when this happens. After we played really tug a war and fetch she got up on the sofa to go to sleep while I watched 30 Rock (only one of the best shows ever!) Here is the best part. It was one of those rare evenings where she decided to come over and snuggle while she went to sleep. This is a rare gift. This is generally just not her thing. I accept it about her (and she accepts me as I am, too) and I am just happy when I get the gift. There are times I wish she was more of a lap dog, but she thinks of herself as a bigger, working dog, so hanging out on a lap is just generally not her thing. (She makes a few exceptions.)

I never got to take the work out of my briefcase. It was just such a nice peaceful evening, I just never got around to it. I thought after all of the joy of the evening, I should count my blessings instead and just enjoy the peace. My feet are warm. I feel good for having eaten healthy food. I got a long distance call today from my friend who just moved to Texas. My dog loves me. I get to feel love and admiration for the people that I am surrounded by.

May you be blessed many times over, too!

Loving Life

2012-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

There are times like tonight when I am driving home along Monterey Bay that I still have to pinch myself that I live here. It is so beautiful to see the lights of Monterey and Pacific Grove lighting up the bay as I drive towards Monterey on my way home from work. I moved here from the San Francisco Bay Area about 20 years ago, kicking and screaming. Now I can not imagine a place that I could love more. I have seen this area change so much, mostly for the better. I love the natural beauty of the place, the goodness of the people, and the historical significance of the area. Monterey was the first capital of California from 1777 to 1846. The area has been home to literary greats John Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robinson Jeffers, and Henry Miller. Ansel Adams also had a home here. I have always loved John Steinbeck and Robert Louis Stevenson and I love to think that I have walked and stood in some of the places that they have. I am sure that most people love their regions as much as I do!

I am counting the 25 days until my vacation. I love to play tourist here. (I love to travel, but I really love coming home.) In addition to doing a lot around the house, I am hoping that the weather will be nice enough to take some really nice walks and hikes with Liesl. The natural beauty here is breathtaking, and the nice thing about having a dog is that they inspire you to get out and walk in nature. Liesl is always up for a walk, even at 6:30 am this morning when it was storming outside. It is really important for her to have this walk as part of her morning routine. Plus, I really like that time with her.

I am proud to say that I finally got the floor cleared in my craft room yesterday. The top of my new desk is also cleared. I had organized piles. Now I just have to start filling all of my shelves and cubbies in my new desk. The craft room has been the catch all room while I have been getting settled in the house. I will take a photo of the desk and chair this week. I absolutely love them and see myself spending a lot of time in that room for a lot of years. The sun comes through the large window in that room every morning, so it will be great to take a cup of tea in there in the morning to start the day. I dream of going in there to watch movies, read books, and create beautiful things. It is the first room that I am really working on and I think it will set the tone for the house and inspire me to work on the the others.

Life is such an adventure.

A Happy Day

2012-01-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

I got a wonderful surprise at work yesterday. Earlier this week, my new friend Ruth responded to my request for where I could find DMC from a 20 year old dye lot. She is so kind and offered to send me hers from her own collection. Yesterday I received her envelope with the sweetest note inside, which made my day! Newer 815 was a pinkish tone to it and does not match what I started my blackwork sampler with. I was growing a little desperate with each stitch as I was running out of my floss. Ruth sent me three skeins and they are a perfect match so I will be able to finish. It was such a nice thing to do and I appreciate it so much!

Well, it is kind of pathetic to admit, but last night I fell asleep in the middle of writing my blog post. I had gotten up in the wee small hours of the morning yesterday to start work early. I worked about 10 hours in all yesterday. It was storming like all get out by the time I got home and I was pretty tired. The wind and rain was a bit crazy. I could hear stuff hitting the house all night. It had to have been raining sideways because it was hitting the windows directly. It helped me to sleep really hard.

When I woke up this morning, it was still storming. There were a couple of things I had wanted to do today, but I quickly decided that they were not necessary. Instead I decided that it should be a pajama day. I took a nice hot bath, but got back into my jammies for the rest of the day. I puttered a bit, but mostly stitched and caught up on my episodes of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It was divine. I had a nice warm blanket to get under on the sofa but somehow Liesl claimed it as hers and I was out in the cold. You would think that I would learn by now.

I am totally counting the days until my vacation. January has been such a busy month so I am totally looking forward to my February vacation, I am supposed to work on my house, but perhaps I will just have nine days of jammies. I am so looking forward to finish unpacking and getting some important things done here. I do not have pictures up on the walls or anything. I am looking forward to taking care of all the things on my list.

Well, my eyes are getting heavy. Guess I better sign off before I fall asleep again.

Such A Lovely Evening

2012-01-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

The rain has finally arrived here on the Monterey Peninsula. It is supposed to rain now for the next five days. It was a good night for comfort food. My friend came over for dinner. I made Pasta Puttanesca (Martha Stewart's Recipe) Pear Gorgonzola Salad, and German Chocolate cake for dessert. It was such a nice evening with great conversation. I feel pretty comfortable, content and happy.

I am glad it will rain this weekend. It is a good weekend to stay in and work on the house. My goal is to finish setting up my office/craft room. I would also like to finish a book I am reading and just snooze with my puppygirl. Most of all, I really want to stitch. It is funny how it just calls to you in a way that makes you feel like you have to stitch. I think I will watch a movie on Netflix and stitch away.

My vacation is now less than a month away and I am so excited. I really have to make a list of all of the things that I want to do on my house. My friend who is an engineer jokingly says that when I am done with my house, I'll have a contractor's license. I am really considering putting in cork floors in my kitchen and bath at this point. I like the fact that they are soft and warmer than other flooring. The additional thing that I like is that they are not slippery for little puppy feet.

It have finally found the paint color for my kitchen. It is a warm, buttery gold by Behr called Spiced Butternut. (My friend at work and I say that we would love to have the job of naming paint colors.) It is absolutely perfect. My best friend has been joking with me and told me to just pick a color already. LOL Picking paint colors has been a much more overwhelming proposition than I could have ever thought possible. I think it is the fact that all of my adult life I have been relegated to white walls and working with them. Now that I have a choice, all of the color options are overwhelming. Now I have found the color and I am ready to get started in the kitchen. I am pretty excited.

Winter Has Finally Arrived

2012-01-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

We have had a crazy winter so far on California's Central Coast. It has been that dreamy California weather that everyone thinks is the California lifestyle. It has been warm and in the 70's. This is totally not the norm. We have been a little panicky because there has been no rain and no snow in the Sierras. This could spell trouble in one of two ways for us. Either we would have drought conditions, which could also mean big fires like back in 2008 (It seemed like the whole state was on fire. It was crazy.) Or it would mean that we would have drenching rain all through Spring. The good news is that the cold has arrived. It was 30 degrees on my way to work this morning. The rain starts on Thursday and will continue for a while.

I happen to love the rainy season. I love the opportunity to putter around the inside of the house, read books for hours on end, take naps with my furgirl, stitch, cook, and just be cozy. When it warms up I spend a lot of time in my garden, but I really like the time during the winter when I can just relax indoors.

It is supposed to be at its coldest for the week tonight. I am grateful that my house is insulated in the walls and ceiling. I have warmed up the house sufficiently and have all of my blankets on the bed. The nice thing about the cold is that I sleep really well. Liesl is already sound asleep and she is obviously having a really good dream because her tail is wagging really fast. I love a happy dog.

As I lay under this pile of blankets, I pray for those who do not have a warm place to sleep tonight. I pray that the most basic needs of people, particularly children, would be met throughout the world. I also ask that all who stop here to read about my little bitty corner of the world would be blessed with much joy and peace.

Stay warm.

Awesome Weekend

2012-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

First of all, I must say a huge thank you to Ruth and Cindy who both responded with offers of help in finding the older dye lot DMC 815. Ruth has so kindly offered to send me three skeins and I am so grateful to her for it. I am enjoying the journey stitching this sampler and was getting a bit desperate as I cut each length to stitch. I was comparing Sullivans, Anchor and DMC trying to find a suitable match. I really should have planned much better on the floss at the beginning.

I have had a really fantastic three day weekend. I got all of the gardening done on Saturday and I am happy as I look out the window or play with Liesl in the yard. It looks like our rainstorms are going to start arriving this week, so I am glad that I got it done.

Yesterday afternoon and part of today, this was my project:

This is the sewing cabinet that I purchased several weeks ago. It has been sitting unassembled in big boxes in my garage since December 23rd and this was the first chance that I have really had to put it together. Beneath this pretty and serene exterior is a plethora of storage options.

First you have the shelf for your sewing machine, complete with built in surge protector:

There are nice shelves, too! But wait, there's more!

The shelf pulls out, the additional shelf comes up and you have a cutting table/sewing table. But that is not all

Underneath that is another pull out shelf for my printer and a stationary shelf, which I think I will use for fabric. After that, it all folds back up to the unassuming cute cabinet at the beginning.

This is its temporary spot until I can move some of the furniture around in my office. I am also going to paint the walls a warm taupe so that the furniture will pop.

If you are thinking that you would like one for yourself, I bought it at Target.com. It is a Sauder piece and I believe the original price was about $329, which was not bad at all. However, the piece weighs 234 lbs and has to be delivered by a semi so the cost to ship was about $118, which you do not find out until you are checking out. I nearly fainted and cancelled my original purchase. However, during the holidays the price was drastically reduced to about $270 and the shipping price dropped about $20 less to where I could rationalize the purchase. I will tell you that I can normally put together most furniture in about 1-4 hours. This took me about 7 hours total over a couple of days because it has moving parts and I think there may be more engineering in this cabinet than in the Golden Gate Bridge. Oy vey!

I love, love, love this piece. It is so beautiful and functional. I will also have to show my craft desk that I bought from Overstock. I am still unpacking this room (there is always that one room left...) and there is some stuff on top of it, so I will share later this week. I love the way this room is coming together.

The rest of the weekend has been fantastic, too! Today I had lunch with my best friend, played ball with Liesl in the yard and went to Home Depot where I found the paint color for my kitchen. I am so excited. I am so inspired and really stoked about my upcoming vacation where I can tackle some big projects on the house. So much fun!

Oy! My Aching Back!

2012-01-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

Those who have followed this blog probably know that I love me some vintage. The other day I was in a local craft store looking for DMC 815 (another story) when I came across these vintage style patterns. They are only $1.19 a piece and I just love them. I love the totally kitschy dishes one. I got the Dutch Girl pattern because I am of Dutch heritage. I found out a few years ago that my Dutch ancestors were professional embroiderers in the silk mills in Paterson, N.J. I think the Dutch Girl patterns would look great in a delft blue. (You can also find Aunt Martha's patterns on Amazon.)

Okay, so here is my DMC sad story. I am afraid that sometimes I do not plan floss in advance very well. (Sometime I will share my story of a monochromatic sampler that I did that ended up costing me $150 total in silk floss...) I went to work on my blackwork sampler with DMC 815, Obviously, this is an old 815, about 20 years old, I would guesstimate. Unfortunately, back then 815 was more of a brownish red. Now 815 is more of a pinkish red. I am now almost out of my old 815. If anyone knows where I can find a twenty year old 815, please share with me in the comment section. I would really appreciate it. I know, I should have planned better.

Today was awesome. We are having a heat spell here that has lasted several weeks. This is normally our wet and cold season. Generally, it rains a lot in January! My drought resistant plants are even looking a little dry. I can only water them on weekends because by the time I usually get home from work it is very dark and cold. I do not want to water and have ice form. Anyway, I was planning on sleeping in until 9 today because it had been a long week. Liesl had heard birds chirping though at 7:30 and decided that we must go see them. I walked outside with her and it was already very warm. While she was taking care of business I started to pull some weeds that were starting to overrun the flower beds. Sadly, I was tempting fate because I was wearing my leopard print pajamas. When you are wearing your Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Ooh La La, leopard print jammies (they are polar fleece) and you have serious bedhead and yesterday's makeup giving you the Tammy Faye look, the likelihood is that your elderly neighbor will also come out in her yard and want to stick her head over the fence to say hello, which indeed occurred.

After letting enough time pass, I pulled myself together and put on some decent clothes and spent the remainder of the morning working in my yard. I waged my ongoing personal battle with oaxalis. Liesl decided to befriend the enemy and found a nice patch to lay in, directly in the sun to snooze. I got so much done and gave my plants a good drink of water. I am already feeling the burn in my back and legs...

I spent the rest of my day cleaning house and re-arranging my furniture. The cozy cottage is looking pretty cute. My friend is coming over to dinner tomorrow night. (I am thinking of making ratatouille. I love ratatouille. It is really good comfort food.) The house is really shaping up to be what I picture in my mind's eye. I just love it here and I love how comfortable Liesl is both in the house and her yard. She has been such a sweetheart today. She can be such a sweet and gentle soul. At one point she even found one of my sweatshirts and was totally cuddled up to it. So darn cute!

Knitting Club

2012-01-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

We have been on hiatus for a little while from knitting night. It seems like everyone got busy at once. Tonight we got together after about three months. Several of us have been looking so forward to it because we have missed each other so much. Girl time is so important to our mental health and well being.

We have so much fun in our group, which is made up of an amazing group of women. We usually start at 6, have pot luck dinner together, then chat and/or knit. Our dinners are amazing. So delicious and comforting. I think most crafters tend to be really good cooks as well. We usually go until 8 or 8:30. Tonight we were talking, laughing and catching up until about 10pm. I have not laughed like that in so long.

I love when we get to show off what we are working on. My knitting is not really great because I tend to stitch more. The women is this group are really talented knitters. I got really inspired tonight. One of our members even has published a pattern for a beautiful sweater. She brought the sweater tonight and it was absolutely gorgeous. I totally want to knit one. I feel really inspired as we go into the weekend.

I really appreciate this time spent with other really creative fun women. My friend Heidi has done such a super job getting us started and bringing us all together. She told me that she chose women that are really down to earth. I think this is why we get along so well. Our group just really works well and we have so much fun. I really enjoy that we always start with a meal together. I also love that it is on Thursday and kind of starts the weekend a bit.

If you are thinking about starting a craft group, I would totally encourage you to do so. This is one of the highlights of my week. You can start small and it does not need to be official. In fact, the less formal is a lot more fun. And try inviting people from varied age groups and backgrounds.

Life Is Beautiful

2012-01-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

You know those days where you wake up and you just feel so much joy?! Today has been one of those days for me. It was a little bit hard to get up though. It was cold and I was all warm under the covers with Liesl all snuggled up. I woke up to dog toes in my armpit. This may be her best idea for keeping them warm. Anyway, it is pretty hard to wake up anything but joyful when you wake up to dog cuddles. I kept thinking how fortunate I am to have such love in my life.

It has been a pretty busy day today. I had meetings all afternoon and ended up bringing work home this evening. I do not have to do that very often, but this is my busiest month of the year, so I do not mind so much. I get to work in my jammies and can spread my papers out on the sofa and ottoman or the bed. In general, I do not think it is a bad thing. I am grateful to have a job that pays my mortgage and keeps us in puppy cookies. I am also grateful to have medical insurance and work that I love doing.

I am pretty excited because I ordered some used decorating books on Amazon. They should be here by Friday, so I can have fun this weekend. I am hoping to get some great tips. It is a three day weekend, and I hope to get a few things done around here. One of them is to change out my bathroom fan. It currently sounds like a jet engine. They made them with varying levels of noise (referred to as Sones.) I watched the Lowes do it yourself video and it does not seem that hard. You just have to do a few calculations (yay! I am an accountant!) and then be very careful. I have decided that I need a reciprocating saw though. I was telling my contractor friend about all the things I want to do and how many trips I have to make to Home Depot. He laughed and said that he has a feeling that I will have my ashes spread over a Home Depot when I go to the big tool department in the sky.

I have just felt so happy today and in love with my life. I feel pretty lucky about that. I just love my dog, my work, my house, my neighborhood, my books, my family and friends. Thinking about all of the blessing really makes my heart sparkle some days. I feel so very grateful. I am not financially rich by any stretch of the imagination. But my life has been so richly blessed with things that I find truly important. Love, faith, and being humble in it all. So many incredible gifts. I hope I wake up this full of joy tomorrow, too.

What A Great Day!

2012-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today was awesome. It started out at church. I was the assistant minister and cantor today, which made me happy. I love being able to serve in that capacity. Before church I was working with the organist, who is also a very close and dear friend. She told me that she had my Christmas present and wanted to give it to me. It is so cool!

I love this bracelet for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is gorgeous and I can wear it with anything. The second reason is that sales of this jewelry,( the company is called Ember), helps women in Uganda, East Africa to own their businesses, which ultimately helps them to rebuild their homes, educate their children, and have better lives. Uganda has been ravaged for 20 years by poverty and civil war. I love the fact that my present helps to make someone's life a little better. It makes me feel good to wear it. If you are interested in looking at the jewelry line, you can find out more at http://emberarts.com

After church I had to run to Target to pick up a few things. I ended up forgetting half of what I needed to get because I was happy dancing as I found these:

Big bags of Coconut M&Ms! I am a happy happy girl! Target had lots of them in their big bagged candy section. I do not need to panic anymore.

As always, the best part of my day was coming home to a little furry mustachioed face that was so happy to see me. My face was covered in kisses, which made me so happy. We spent a quiet afternoon together and I got a little puttering done. It was the perfect end of the weekend. Next week is a three day weekend. I am chargin' up the power tools as we speak! I am already making the lists of what I want to get done. It's gonna be great!

Nurse Liesl

2012-01-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

I never fail to be surprised by the amount of empathy and compassion that animals can show when you are sick or in pain. Sometimes it is more than you can even find in humans. Yesterday morning I woke up with a rotten headache that lasted all day. Headaches are rare occurrences for me so I figured it was stress related from all the stuff I had to get done yesterday. I came home and went to bed early with my book. I was asleep by 8:30. I woke up at 10:15 sick as can be with stomach flu. Liesl followed me down the hall and stayed with me for the worst of it, looking a bit worried. She stayed glued to me the rest of the night and laid absolutely still on the bed next to me. I was still feeling a bit yucky this morning and she stayed close and quiet. We both were feeling better after a nap this afternoon. I am impressed how dogs and cats take their job as nurse so seriously. It is funny how they always know when we are feeling better, too, and go on about their business.

I am happy to say that it was just a 24 hour bug and I feel so much better. I was able to do a little light puttering around the house this afternoon after my nap. I got my shoe organizers put together and cleared a lot of real estate on my closet floor as a result. It looks so organized. I organized my bedroom a bit more, too. I also changed the shower head in my bathroom so that bath time will be a little easier for Liesl with the new handheld shower spray. The weather was gorgeous today so I even pulled weeds for about ten minutes just to get some fresh air.

It is funny how much time I spend thinking about all of the stuff I want to do on my house. I will be walking by something and I will think to myself, "You know what would look good there..." I am thinking about the yard these days. Right now it has low maintenance plants, but I am thinking that I would like to create a cottage garden feel. I want to put in sod so that Liesl will have a grassy play space that is all hers to roll around in. It is so nice to have the freedom to make my house and yard exactly what I want them to be. It is a slow process, but is a lot of fun.

I love this part of the day when the house is totally quiet. The neighborhood is totally silent and everyone is in for the night. I feel so peaceful and relaxed. I made myself comfort food for dinner, have on my warmest jammies and a great library book at the ready. Liesl is tucked in, relieved of her nursing duties and is dreaming about chasing squirrels. It feels like paradise. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."

An Ode To M&M's

2012-01-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, why has no one told me of this? Apparently, I have been nary aware that there is such a thing as Coconut M&M's. This combines two of my very favorite food groups. All of this time I have been unawares. How could this be? Tonight, I had to cruise by Target to pick up Liesl's compressed rawhide bones (she got a granola Busy Bone, too, much to her delight.) As I was standing in line, minding my own business, my eyes came to rest on the red clearance sign. You now know that this is how I roll. Beyond that sign I saw Coconut M&M's. This is one of the greatest pairings since Harry Met Sally, or there was Laurel & Hardy, or hot cocoa & marshmallows. I bought a handful of them, but am now a little panicky that I do not have enough now that I have discovered that they are a limited edition. I may have to tap out an email to the Mars company for taunting me like this...

I have put in for my vacation next month and all looks well. I usually take my birthday week off in February, so that I have time to do all of the things that I love. A friend of mine told me a couple of years ago that birthdays are sacred and we really should take the time to enjoy them. I took those words to heart, so I take that time to allow for the sacredness of it and spend time that week having lunch and dinner with friends, taking leisurely naps, and just playing. I truly make that week a celebration. We all really need to celebrate our own lives. We are here for a reason and need to express joy and be blissful that we simply are.

This birthday week seems especially celebratory because I get to play in my house that week. Generally, it is raining here on the Central Coast around then, so it is a good week to stay home and get some things done. I plan on doing some work on the house and basically playing HGTV. I am excited that I will not be inhibited by bedtime schedule or appointments. I can just have as much fun as I want. I have plans to go away on vacation later this year, as well, but I am really looking forward to playing at home in February.

Well, I am off to tuck a spoiled little furgirl in. She has just laid down on her bed (which is actually a large dog bed better suited to a golden retriever.) She has let out her last sigh before she falls asleep. I need to go tuck her blankie around her so she is cozied in.

My Clearance Adventure

2012-01-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today at lunchtime I had to run in to a local craft store to pick up more DMC 815 for my project. I figured one item, I will be in and out of there in no time flat. Well, that was until I heard the siren song of clearance tags bidding me to look at the merchandise. It was a song that said on red flyers all over the store "Christmas Items 90% off." Seriously. I tried to stay focused but it had the same effect as flashing shiny objects in front of me. Plus, if you have been in a craft store lately, you know the cross stitch floss is pretty darn hard to find, as it is usually stuck in a dark corner somewhere. So I had to walk past all of the sparklies. I was doing okay, until I spotted this button garland at 90% off. I looked at the tag and it originally sold for $19.99, which meant that it was on sale for $1.99. It was almost like they were paying me to take it home. Plus I just so happen to be decorating a red and white craft room. I bought three of them and I am thinking of working them into the window treatment. I also bought two gumdrop style garlands for $1.79 for my kitchen tree. I totally scored. And best of all, I even remembered to purchase my DMC floss. It was a good day.

It was good to be back at work. I am pretty busy, as usual. Everyone is back from their time off and we have everyone back in the office. We have such a good balance of people in my office, so it is nice when everyone is in.

The best part of the day was Liesl and I coming home. She loves her home and pops her head up to look out the window when I make the first of two turns to our house. Then she motions with her nose to the top of the window that she wants to ride with her head out the window. She is so excited and has her ears back with excitement. I love walking into the house and the way that I feel when I am here. I love the new bookcase that I bought yesterday. It just looks perfect where it sits. I am really getting settled here although there is still much to do. I think it will always be a work in progress.

Oh My Goodness! What A Great Day!

2012-01-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

I woke up today to a typical Monterey Bay foggy day. It was just gray. I had been thinking about taking Liesl to the beach again this morning, but she was looking at me like she was not down with that plan. I was not feeling it either. We were both feeling like a cozy morning at home. She went to go lay on her blanket on the sofa and I headed to the kitchen.

I had planned on making yogurt this morning. You have to start pretty early in the day because it takes about 10 hours. I have not had any success in finding yogurt that isn't sweetened with fructose, so I decided to make my own. It takes about a quart of milk. I do use a yogurt maker, but I understand that you can just make it just as well in a bowl. While I was waiting for the milk to do its thing, I decided to clean out the fridge (I LOVE my fridge, with the freezer on the bottom.) I had an overabundance of veggies, so I decided to make tomato vegetable soup. I threw a few leftovers in there to and ended up making the best soup I have ever made. My daughter had given me some Penzey's spices for Christmas. They are quite possibly the best spices ever made. Much tastier than grocery store spices. I am hooked. They made my soup wonderful.

While I was getting the veggies out I found a spaghetti squash that I had totally forgotten. I threw that into the oven so that I could have it ready during the week. When I pulled it out of the oven to shred it into Tupperware, Liesl got herself off of her napping spot and made it clear that she wanted some. That little dog would not stop eating spaghetti squash. She loves sweet potatoes, too. As a side note, dogs are omnivores and can eat certain fruits and veggies. They should never be given grapes, onions or garlic as they can cause serious illness and even death. However, most fruits and veggies are good for them and healthy snacks. Liesl loves her sweet potatoes and they are pretty good for her. I think the spaghetti squashy probably smelled the same to her, which is why she became so excited about it. She also loves white potatoes and would eat a whole bowl of brown rice if I let her. Spoiled, yes, she is.

After my cooking-palooza, I went to have lunch with my best friend. She has such a great sense of humor and is a lot of fun to be around. It was nice to have some friendship time today. I left her and ran to Target to get my memory card for my camera. Only I ended up finding several other things I needed too, like shoe organizers for my closet on sale, a shelf unit for my laundry area, and a gorgeous hard wood bookshelf that is PERFECT for my living room and is exactly what I wanted. I got to play construction all afternoon! Of course, I still have not put my sewing cabinet together, but I sure had fun today.

Now I get to stitch and catch up on my episodes of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I am looking at my bookshelf that is just amazing. I am super happy about it. Now I am thinking that I may have to paint a red accent wall in my living room...

Today was the perfect end of a great weekend. It was just so simple and so lovely today. Perfect!

2012 Is Gonna Rock!!!

2012-01-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

I woke up with that magical, excited feeling that this is going to be a great year. I have a lot of plans and goals for the next year and I have so much to look forward to. I just think it is going to be an exceptional year.

We are having a bit of a weird winter here and today it was gorgeous and in the 70's. A great day to be at the beach. Liesl knows the word "beach" and once I tell her that we are going she is so excited and harasses me until we leave. It was such a beautiful day, a good start to the new year. It took longer than usual to walk because there were a number of schnauzers at the beach today. Some we know and others were newcomers. There is such a breed loyalty that other schnauzer parents will always acknowledge each other from far away and make an effort to say hello and meet other schnauzers. So we got to visit a lot today. There was also a nice lady on the beach that saw Liesl and had to meet her. She said that she had had schnauzers growing up and misses them. Liesl was extra nice to her. We also got to meet a beautiful giant schnauzer, the second one that I have ever seen in person. What an amazing dog. Her parents said that they always have to warn their overnight guests that she loves to sing in the morning and not to worry that something is wrong. Schnauzers.

I got to stitch for a little while tonight. It is coming along so beautifully and will look perfect in my craft room. I went to take a photo of it to share but I am getting a message that my five year old memory card is now write protected. I think the little locking thingy broke off. So I will have to head to Target this week before I can share.

I am thrilled to be off work tomorrow. I am having such a great weekend! I am supposed to have lunch with a friend and the rest of the day is set aside for puttering. I really need to set up a white board over my laundry sink in my garage to keep track of all of the projects I want/need to do. I have my drill charging and I am stoked to use my power tools. This is way too much fun. I have to stay off Pinterest.com because I keep finding more and more cool house projects. I guess I know what I am doing with my next vacation. LOL

Life is good. 2012 is going to be awesome!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a New Year filled with love, peace, prosperity and laughter! Thank you for all of your kindness and sweet comments in 2011!

Ahhh. A Cozy Night At Home

2011-12-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

It is amazing how these four day work weeks seem much longer than a regular week. I have crammed a lot of work into this past few days. I was really happy because today I solved two mathematical issues that have been plaguing me for weeks. I left work with a happy heart and a clear head.

I actually got off early today. I had intended to run a couple of errands, but decided that I really just wanted to go home and have a cozy evening. I came home and fixed a fancy dinner of Coq Au Vin, watched the news, played with Liesl and puttered around the Cozy Cottage. I fully intended to stitch, but was feeling kind of comfy and lazy.

I am reflecting on the past year. It is hard to believe it is over already. It has been such an amazing year full of so many gifts. A year ago at this time, I was forming the plan to buy a house, and here it is months later that I am in my dream home. I am thankful that I have a job that I love, coworkers that I really like and respect, a family is that is so beautiful, and a small dog that I adore. My health is remarkably good and I have enough groceries.

This has been such a good year of books. I love books as much as I love stitching, I read everyday for an hour at lunchtime and generally before bed. I have read such good books this year that have really had an impact on me and made me think. I think my favorite has been "A Tale Of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. It was such a powerful book on so many levels. I still have a huge reading list ahead of me. So many books, so little time.

This has been such a happy year for me. I look forward to 2012 being even better. I wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Is It Saturday Yet?

2011-12-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is how I found Miss Liesl this morning when it was time to go to work. Normally she is a bit of a morning person, and is usually up and at 'em when it is time to go. Today she just looked at me with one eye like she was hoping it was really the weekend. She had cleared all of the pillows off of the sofa except the one for her head. As I have shared in the past, she makes no apologies for her comfort.

I had to run her by the clinic today for her rabies shot. It is hard to believe that three years have passed since her last one! I was so proud of her. She did not even flinch. She is such a good little dog.

The big holiday weekend is quickly approaching. My dance card is filling up fast, but I really want to devote some time to the house. I really need to put my sewing cabinet together and get my craft room/office organized. I am holding off on ordering the daybed until I get my cabinet put together.

I can not believe how much I love this house. I love walking into my home at the end of the day. I have these beautiful curved arched doorways that I just think are so beautiful. One leads to the kitchen and one leads to the hallway and the bedrooms. They were one of the elements that I fell in love with when I saw the house. There are so many small things that my eye will catch and I will just be in awe. I did not know that you could love a house so much. Of course, I still have a few upgrades in mind...

Three Days Of Perfection!

2011-12-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this work of art from my friend's Christmas Eve dinner party the other night. One of the other guests had brought it. It is a dessert made entirely from gelatin in different layers which gave it a 3-D effect. The flowers and leaves are actually gelatin poured in various layers. It was so beautiful. It was a little denser than Jello, but quite tasty.

Christmas was perfect. I was with my favorite people in the world. We all had a great time. My daughter made the best prime rib that I have ever had in my life. She had marinated it overnight in a mixture of whiskey, mustard and some fancy spices. It just melted like butter, it was so tender and delicious. Liesl made sure that she made the rounds to each person, who each indulged her. My daughter also made an amazing pumpkin pie that was so silky and delicious. Much better than the ones I make. We were all in a food coma afterward.

I always seem to forget in the shopping for all of the gifts for my loved ones that I get gifts too. I always have that moment when I am a bit surprised that I get presents as well. Every single one of the gifts that I received were so thoughtful and wonderful. Absolutely perfect. They make me so happy. The best gift though was having my children together at once. We have such a great time and laugh a lot. I am so proud of my kids. They are such kind, loving, hard-working, and wise people. I have truly been blessed with an amazing family.

Today was my day to relax and indulge in comfort, or so I thought. Liesl decided that I should get up earlier than I wanted to. I kept hearing something thumping around in the kitchen and in my half awake- half asleep state I knew I should get up and check. But I tried to go back to sleep, that is, until I felt sniffing about my face and felt damp schnauzer beard grazing my cheek. (She had just had a drink of water) I went to the kitchen to make coffee and saw the source of the thumping. Liesl had found an errant potato that I think escaped during the big peel yesterday. She had been throwing it around for emphasis. She would never eat it, particularly raw, she was just making her point. Schnauzers...

I figured the best way to curtail any more potato throwing would be to take her to the beach for lots of exercise. She ran and chased her ball. The ocean was quite angry today and pounded the beach. It kept coming up kind of close, so I kept one eye on my little water dog to make sure she did not end up with the fishes. Luckily, she was exhausted and napped the afternoon away (Bwa-hahaha!) I got to stitch, drink hot cocoa, putter, do some paint planning (I am having all of my friends over for a painting party!) reading and daydreaming. It was heaven. Now that Christmas has passed, I feel like I can really focus on all of the projects that I want to do to my house. I have several upgrades in mind. There is so much I want to do! I feel like I have a great big craft project. LOL I love every minute of it.

Best Christmas Eve!

2011-12-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

What a great evening! It started at church tonight. I was the assistant minister, which is always a joy and an honor. It is truly a calling and I feel privileged to serve, particularly on the Holy Days. I usually serve as both the Christmas and Easter assistant minister. One of the prime functions of the role is to write the prayers of the people. I feel tremendous responsibility doing this, so I usually say a prayer before I start to write asking God what He would like for me to talk about. It sort of flows from there.

After church it was my best friend's annual Norwegian Christmas Eve Family Dinner. This was the third year to attend. I love this and treasure my invitation. I am in on all of the family jokes and get to be a part of the large family at the dinner. The food is amazing. The men in the family make Norwegian meatballs from a very old family recipe. It takes about five hours to make them. There is also salmon, potatoes, red pickled cabbage, a fancy salad, and lefse, which is sort of like a Norwegian tortilla that you eat with butter and brown sugar. For dessert we had homemade krumkakke with peppermint ice cream. We were absolutely stuffed afterward. We just laughed and laughed over dinner. My friend's hubby read a piece that he had written for the evening (he is a retired pastor) which was absolutely beautiful and heart touching.

Afterward, while still in our food coma, we opened presents. My best friend gave me a gift certificate to Home Depot to use for paint in my new house. She also gave me a pair of the most beautiful slippers that she got on her trip to Turkey, an amaryllis and a new little tote that is the perfect size for my lunch. She also made sure that Liesl got a little bag of special dog cookies.

I had such a good time and felt surrounded with love. I am so thankful for my closest friends. I have the kind of girlfriends that are just loyal, honest, kind and funny. They are my every day gift. I am really amazed at how much we really know and understand about each other. What I love most about my friends, is that we tell each other the truth and not what we think the other wants to hear. One of my friends said that while she may be blunt, she will never lie to any of us. This is awesome particularly when I need some feedback or advice on something really important. I think my friend said it best when she said that our friendship within our group is just so easy. I think that it comes from the trust and the support to say what you think. Love and family come in many forms and I am so fortunate that I got to experience that again tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Whoooooo! Ready To Party!!!!!

2011-12-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

After I get some sleep that is...

I am done. I finished my Christmas shopping the other day. Tonight, I waited until about 8:30 to do my grocery shopping in hopes it would be somewhat less crowded. My worst case scenario was waiting until late night to shop at the 24 hour Safeway that we have in the area. Luckily, it was not too bad at 8:30. I got in, followed my list and I am happy to say that I have everything I need for the next two days of celebration. What a relief. People were driving so crazy after work that I am presuming tomorrow will be just as bad.

Now I have to interject here, that Liesl just seems to know stuff. I do not know how she does, but she just seems to have an intrinsic understanding of stuff. (She is also very opinionated, but that is another story.) Generally, she will let me know if she wants to come with me or not, mostly opting to stay where she can have a good uninterrupted nap. Tonight she made it clear that she was coming with me. I was a little concerned about leaving her in the car because we have a freeze tonight and I did not want her to get cold. She was pretty insistent though, so she rode along. She is really good company and gave me kisses along the way.

Meanwhile back at the grocery store...Someone in training at Safeway should really have a little part of the program that states, "When someone in a friendly way says, "How are you today?" that a proper response is: fine, good, etc." Perhaps this is not an opportunity for the checkout cashier to launch into a free form one way discussion of all that is going crummy in their lives. A one way discussion that is probably best reserved for their next therapy session. Nor should they launch into political rants, rants against credit card companies, or their managers, the grocery worker's union, etc. I generally just give a totally blank look and try to change the subject. Tonight's cashier did not get it as he was telling me "How to stick it to the credit card companies." I was going to tell him that he was harshing my mellow, but did not feel like engaging him any further. I was over it.

But I am done. Tomorrow I can sleep in, clean the house, play with my dog, engage in some hall decking and get ready for the evening's activities.

It has been such a great week at work. We have an tradition at my office of giving small inexpensive gifts to everyone in the office if you feel like participating. No was is expected to participate. Basically, every day this week I have walked into my office to find a small gift on my desk. It really makes you feel special. They are small, special, meaningful things. One of the ladies at work is a really talented photographer. She made us each a small collection of greeting cards of some of her beautiful nature photos. Another top manager made special pickled peppers and put them in a pretty jar for each of us. Another lady brought us each a truffle that was decorated like a reindeer. This year I found really nice LED flashlights with 6 settings to share. Our parking lot is really dark, plus the flashlights have a flashing red light which are perfect for walking the dog so others can see you. It is really fun to participate and it was fun to feel special and make others feel special.

I am really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Liesl really cuddles up on these cold nights. There is nothing like cuddling up to your furbabies on a cold night.

Merry Christmas To Me...

2011-12-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, let me start by saying that I am not much of a shopper (except at Home Depot, which is more out of necessity at this point.) Generally, I prefer to spend my free time out with family and friends, walking with Liesl, reading my books, stitching, or any number of activities that do not include my being in a store. I celebrate it in others who do like to shop, it is just that I prefer so many other things to it. The problem with being in a store at this time of year is that I not only find gifts for my loved ones, I also find things that I want for me. This could mean big trouble.

Today I had to go to Target at lunchtime to pick up a gift and a couple of small stocking stuffer type things. I saw this beautiful Smith and Hawken wood roses wreath on clearance for only $19.99. The color red on it is absolutely perfect. I plan on hanging it on my door for the next week or so, then I think it may go up in my red and white craft room. I am still deciding on that one. It is so pretty. The photo really does not do it justice.

After work, I had to run by Kohl's for the last present I needed to get. I do love Kohl's, which is why I have to stay out of there. It could possibly have me change my policy on shopping as a recreational activity. I found these gorgeous plates on sale for 50% off. I love dinner plates and have an assortment of colorful ones. They make me happy. I love the rustic look of these dishes and just how colorful they are.

The other thing that I like about them is that they are nice and substantial.

I am so looking forward to Christmas. The family is coming to my house. I offered to let my daughter & son in law host because I want them to have the opportunity to do so if they would like to. I am sensitive to the fact that others want to host, too. But my sweet daughter said that they feel that they should celebrate my new house, too. So she is bringing a rib roast over to cook here. She makes an amazing roast. I am so excited. I am making the sides, and she is bringing dessert. I have champagne ready to celebrate all of us being together at Christmas. I am so happy. I love having all of the kids together. Of course, Liesl will believe that they are only here to see her. She loves the family so much. She might get a little taste of roast, too. It will be exciting to have the first celebration in my little happy home.

There are so many times that I just feel so blessed for this life. I feel so much love and joy in my heart for the blessing of friends and family. My best friend and I were talking on the phone tonight about the fact that we love normal life just a little bit better than holidays. We do love Christmas but both feel that some of the internal preparation for the religious holiday gets lost. We both came to the conclusion that we must really treasure our everyday lives to say that we miss it a bit during the holidays. I like when my friends and I give each other gifts for no reason, because we saw something and thought of the other person. I like regular dinners with my family and friends. I love taking the time to watch a truly beautiful sunset instead of seeing it out of my car window while I am rushing to the next place I need to be. I guess this is a sign that I truly love my life and all who are in it. I love ordinary days filled with reading great books, drinking tea, and taking a nap with my dog. I love time spent in gratitude and prayer, when I can connect to Spirit and feel peace. Life is amazing and magical, especially in the ordinary.

2011-12-20T21:53:00.001-08:00

Well, I am happy to say that Liesl is back to her sweet, spunky self. It is hard when they are sick or hurt, because they can not tell you what hurts or hint about what is going on. It just makes is scarier. But tonight she is back to hogging the bed. (Is it necessary for a small dog to stretch out right in the middle of the bed?!) We both slept really well last night and one of us did not get out of bed when the alarm went off this morning, electing instead to stay with her head buried under the blankets.

I am very excited because my sewing cabinet arrives tomorrow. It is so awesome. I will assemble it on Monday. I already have the space picked out for it. It is a different company than the one that delivered my desk. I made sure to ask that it not be put on a pallet with a wooden exo-skeleton like when I had the desk delivered. They assured me that they would do no such thing and then probably doubted my sanity when they hung up the phone.

I am getting very excited about the holidays arriving. There is so much going on this week and it is just thrilling. I still have to wrap all of my gifts, but that is a small detail. I am finding that Dollar Tree has the very best deals on gift bags and the tissue paper liners for them. The only problem is that the place is packed whenever I go in there.

Well, I am off to dreamland!

An Early Day And A Very Long Night

2011-12-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

It was a very early day today. It was a payroll processing day and I had to be there early to insure that everyone gets their paychecks before the holiday. So off Liesie and I went at 6:30 to be there by 7. She was a little sleepy eyed but so was her momma.

We had a tough night last night. About 45 minutes after I had fallen asleep, I woke up because Liesl was running around in circles on her bed. Generally, I have only seen her do this when she is in pain like if she is stung by a bee. She looked a bit bleary eyed and started licking her bed. I was really scared and scooped her up onto my lap and just held her. This is not something she lets me do a lot. She fancies herself to be a big dog, and therefore she does not always want to be on a lap unless she is cold, sick, scared or hurt. I tried to get her to drink some water but she refused. Then I took her outside into the cool air, hoping that would help. I did not know if she had a bad dream or was really ill. I was so scared and tried to remember the route to the emergency clinic.

When I brought her back inside she started going in circles again but was not wimpering or anything. Again, I held her and she started falling asleep so I put her down on the bed, where she fell back asleep. I stayed awake though worrying and putting my hand on her throughout the night to make sure she was okay. This morning, she will still acting really odd, so I thought I would go in, finish payroll then run her to my vet. Luckily, I was telling my coworker about it this morning and how worried I was. She said, "Oh yeah. My border collie does that whenever we apply Advantix to her. She has sensitive skin and it irritates her. She licks the bed, because she can not get to her back." Wouldn't you know, Liesl just had her first application of Advantix yesterday. The vet had switched from Frontline because there were so many complaints of it not working during this really bad flea season.

I felt an instant sense of relief after I talked to my friend. I am not sure I want to put Liesl through that in the future though. I may just wait until after winter to see what happens.

The nice thing about going in early was that we got to leave at four today. It was still light when I got home so Liesl and I went for walk around the neighborhood. I had renewed appreciation for having my little companion trotting along side of me. Schnauzers have such a happy, bouncy little trot. I was so thankful that I get to have more walks with her and that we did not have to deal with something far more serious and scary. Thanks be to God!

Life Is So Good!

2011-12-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ahh, it is so peaceful in the house right now. I love that moment when I turn off the lights in the rest of the house and head to the bedroom for the evening, book tucked under my arm, little dog trotting beside me. She is already fast asleep, all stretched out on the bed, breathing deeply. In a few minutes she will start dreaming puppy dreams of chasing squirrels, causing her little feet to run in place. In the meantime, I am in awe of the stillness, the peace of the evening, and the joy in my heart. I am able to reflect on all that is important to me.

It has been a busy and incredibly fun weekend. I was able to fit a couple of house items into the weekend's agenda though. I am so happy because I was able to assemble my banker's chair for my craft room/office. It is exactly what I wanted. I could not be happier. This week, my sewing cabinet arrives. I am so excited. I am even considering some built ins for that room, but that is way off in the future. I even think I have found the day bed that I want for my room. It is very girlie, white metal scroll work. It will be a good place for Liesl to nap when I am in there working or crafting.

I told my friends that I wanted to make my craft room exactly perfect and have everything that I totally want it to have. My friends have told me that they want my craft room. I can't wait until I get it the way that I want so that I can play in there. All of my stitchy toys will have a place to live. Plus it will be so girlie and romantic styled that it will be a place where I can totally enjoy being. I am thinking about getting a subscription to Romantic Homes to get some new ideas for the rest of the house.

One of the fun things I got to do this weekend, was take Liesl to the doggie boutique in Carmel, called Diggity Dog. (Check them out if you are ever in town!) This store is awesome and the sales staff give your dog a cookie as soon as you walk in. Leisl thinks this is pretty great. She was really in need of a new collar, the only outfit she will wear. They have a beautiful selection. Plus, Santa whispered in my ear the things that she would like for Christmas. He said that she has been very good when she wasn't being naughty.

As a side note, I wanted to pass along some important information that came to me the other day. The FDA has issued a serious warning about Chicken Jerky treats that come from China. They can cause serious illness and even death in dogs. This is Liesl's favorite treat but no more for her. I buy the big bags at Costco, and sure enough when I looked at the bag it said that they were a product of China. I walked over to the other treats in the store. They have beef jerky strips for dogs, which say that they are made in USA. They are higher in fat, but I give her smaller pieces. Hope this information helps someone else. None of us want to risk the health of our beloved companions. Here is the info: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm054448.htm

TGIF!!!!!

2011-12-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I have been looking forward to this day all week. I have had some long hours at work and it was getting harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning. It has been particularly hard because it has been so cold at night, right about freezing. As a result I wake up to a small dog all snuggled up to me. It makes it really hard to get out of bed.

I originally had some plans for tonight, but I really wanted an evening off (plus I worked late again.) Liesl and I came home, I made dinner then started to clean my house. It seemed a bit untidy because I have been in a rush all week. My new banker's chair arrived and I really wanted to put it together, but figure I should do that when I am a bit more awake. It really felt so nice to clean my house. I have a bit more to do tomorrow because I have company coming over. I have a party to go to on Sunday afternoon and I need to work on whatever I am going to bring.

I have really been thinking tonight just how happy I am and content with my life. Again, I have rotten things happen, I have kind of a high stress level in my life, and I work long hours like most people. But in general, I also get to play alot, own my home, do fun things and be around really wonderful people. It is not all sunshine and roses all of the time, but I feel that my life is way more happy than the alternative. I have a lot of fun!

I am really looking forward to the small joy of sleeping in tomorrow morning. I have been counting the days until I get to sleep in. I think this is going to be a terrific weekend.

One Of Those Really Great Days

2011-12-14T20:25:00.001-08:00

Today was awesome! Today was our company-wide Christmas party. Our HR person does a great job on our parties. We work pretty closely together on a wide variety of projects and today I got to help her set up the party. We were on a tight timeline and got everything done with 15 minutes to spare. While we were setting up in our classroom that we have onsite, Liesl and her dog friends were running all over and playing. Dogs are always invited to the parties. Liesl has been to several parties and knows that when we are in this particular room something good is about to happen. She loves the parties because it means seeing all of her people and dog friends and eating a few tidbits of something yummy from her momma's plate.

Every Christmas party has the best lasagna around for lunch. It is from a place called Gino's in Salinas. Gino's and their lasagna are an institution. Each pan of lasagna weighs about 20 lbs each. In addition to lasagna we have holiday trivia with prizes, a visit from Santa, and a video presentation of the year and all of the employees, thanking us for our work. It always makes us all laugh and a little teary eyed. Liesl did get her picture taken with Santa, but she looked like she was not happy about it. I will share when I get a copy.

I stayed to help clean up before a workshop we were having in the afternoon. I got sent home with some lasagna, rolls, and salad for my dinner. I quickly ran Liesl home, who started falling asleep in the car. She was absolutely exhausted from all of the excitement.

Our workshop today was just fantastic. Those things are always a little iffy. But it was really good.

I was looking forward to going home, where I was greeted with puppy hugs and kisses. I made Liesl's dinner, then reheated my lasagna for dinner. Liesl let me throw her ball for her three times. She then wanted me to rub her belly, whereupon she fell asleep before 7. This meant some time to stitch for me. I was happy to be able to get some more done on my sampler. I think it looks really pretty. I am getting ready to start another page of the pattern. It was a great way to end the day.

Dinner With The Girls

2011-12-13T21:37:00.001-08:00

I had the best time with my two best friends tonight. We had dinner at a local restaurant and laughed, solved the problems of the world (if they would only put us in charge. LOL) and laughed some more. We have not had a chance to have dinner in months due to my house hunt, move, their vacation schedules and life. It was so much fun to sit down and just be silly. I would hate to think of life without my girlfriends. I have several close friends in my circle, but these are the two that you can call at 3 am (not that I ever have.) They are awesome, smart, funny women.

My best part of the evening was coming home to my furgirl. She greeted me with lots of kisses. She got to play with her best friend at work today. He is a Queensland Healer. They chase each other and wrestle. She boxes him in the nose with her paws then he puts her whole head in his mouth (he never closes his mouth or bites her. She totally trusts him.) Afterwards, her fur is all crisp from dog spit. They totally tired each other out today with their shenanigans and rough housing. Liesl will play with other dogs and chase and such but this dog is the only one she will really wrestle with. He is about 3 times her size. It is pretty cute because she gives him kisses on his muzzle, too. He is her best buddy.

So now she is tucked into her bed with her blankie. She will come and cuddle up to me when she gets really cold around 1:30 am. I always look forward to her cuddles.

I feel pretty happy and content from such a great evening. My friends and were talking about the fact that we are fortunate because we have enough. We said that we are so lucky to have shelter, a warm bed to sleep in, and enough food. On tough, stressful days it is still easy to remind ourselves that we are lucky to have jobs. It is amazing to be with other people who also share that state of gratitude. We also pray for these things for others.

I am so looking forward to the weekend of New Years. As much as I love Christmas and I am looking forward to it, I know that three day weekend will fly by. I am looking forward to the following weekend being a lazy one. I can have a meal with a friend, take naps with Liesl, putter around the house and just do what I want. I shall have to develop a plan...

I Have Offended The Schnauzer...

2011-12-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

And now I must pay. LOL

Today little Miss Liesl got into trouble with me. Someone came into our office mistakenly and wanted directions to his proper destination. Liesl became instantly riled up about the "Stranger Danger" and started yelling "Security!!!!" in her shrill doggie bark. She was going off. I told her to knock it off. She kept it up, so I told her "No Barking!" and made her go lie down in her bed under my desk (it is a little cave for her.) She kept adamantly barking so I told her that she was being a bad girl.

Now if you have ever known a schnauzer, or any terrier for that matter, you know they are highly emotional. They can be total drama mamas. They will let you know if their feelings are hurt and they will hold a grudge. Liesl sat under my desk for at least ten minutes after the guy had gone, grumbling (she is a talker) and throwing in a few closed mouthed barks for good measure. Schnauzers always have to have the last word, usually in the form of a closed mouth bark. I could not believe how long she went on muttering and grumbling. It was almost comical except that I was busy with a work project.

We had to leave 45 minutes later, and she refused to look at me, just headed for the door. I came home and warmed up her dinner and then played with her. Hopefully, she has forgiven me for my errant ways. LOL

Schnauzers...

If I Was My Camera, Where Would I Be?,,,

2011-12-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, well. It seems that the location of my camera is super top secret. So top secret that it seems that I have hidden it from myself. I spent the last 45 minutes hunting for its whereabouts to no avail. Alas and alack, I can not take photos of my stitching to share. I am so proud of it, too. I will say prayers to Saint Anthony, patron saint of lost objects and hope it turns up before the holiday parties get into full swing this week.

Today was a super awesome day. I started off at church and got to see many of the people that I love. My closest friends are the people that I have met at church and have known for years. It is a joy to be in worship with them on Sunday mornings. One of my best friends came up to me and said that she had my Christmas present because she could not wait to give it to me. It was a smaller calendar with Schnauzer puppies!!!! They are so cute with their little mustaches. We both have schnauzers, although hers is a standard. Many of our phone calls include discussions about the love of our furbabies. They are a special breed. As I was talking with her and her husband, we were looking at the pictures of the schnauzer babies, all with floppy ears. I told them that it bothers me to think that someone docked Liesl's ears and tail and that I wish the practice would be stopped. They said that they heard that the practice had become against the law, which I totally support. I just do not think it is necessary to do that to a dog and it hurts my heart to think that Liesl may have been in pain so early in her life.

I had decided that today was the day and I was going to start my Christmas shopping. After church I had to do my weekly drive through of Home Depot. I picked up paint samples, and I am happy to say that I have found the color gold that I am going to paint my kitchen. Plus, it totally matches the pumpkin color that I intend to paint the accent wall. Awesome!

Off I went to Costco after that. I told myself that I was going to go in with a sense of humor, patience and open to just looking around and not hoping to find the perfect gift. I had a great time, and got several things. Then I went to Target and found some great items. Afterwards, I came home and checked out Amazon. I am happy to say that I am almost done and I have found some great presents. I have to make a couple of stops on the way home from work, but I think I should be done this week and ready to just have fun at my parties. What a relief.

I spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing with Liesl. It is cold and rainy right now and she was more than happy to just nap. I curled up on the sofa with her. It makes me happy to think that I have a couple of three day weekends with her this month. I love rainy afternoons with Liesl.

So, it was a great weekend and I feel really good going back to work that I am ahead on things that I needed to take care of. The Christmas shopping being out of the way is a huge relief. I feel like I can just enjoy the holiday now!

Happy Day!

2011-12-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Lastweek was a pretty full one and I ended up working more overtime than usual. I have been kind of dragging. I had wanted to do some Christmas shopping today, but when I woke up, I thought to myself that I really needed a day to myself to get my house cleaned, putter, stitch and watch really bad television. I felt a little guilty that I did not take Liesl to the beach, but she seemed very content to be rolled up in her blankie snoozing on the sofa all day. Holiday parties start this week, so I really need to be rested up.

It was so nice to get the house cleaned. Of course, I am still settling in and have a few things still in boxes. I addressed just a couple of the boxes so that I would not be overwhelmed. I worked a little on my office, too, although I am still waiting for my sewing cabinet and chair to arrive. It is going to be such a great space.

I am on the search for my camera because I got so much stitching done today. I got a whole band done, and 1/3 of the way done on two more bands. It is such a magnificent piece.

I came to a major life decision today. I am going to paint my kitchen gold instead of pumpkin. I think the gold will flow better into the other rooms. I spoke to my decorator friend and she totally agreed. She suggested that I could have an accent wall in pumpkin. That would be so cool. I told my BFF who has a beautiful house. She just said, "Oh great, now I have to return the pumpkin towels I bought you for Christmas." She is hilarious.

I am so glad I took today. It was so nice and quiet and I feel a bit more rested. Liesl just napped all day. I am just so happy that I got to stitch and watch HGTV. I have some great ideas for my own house. For dinner, I made bacon and scrambled eggs which were perfect. It was just an ideal day.

I Think I Found My Christmas Spirit

2011-12-08T21:46:00.001-08:00

It's true. I think I found my Christmas spirit. Nine of us from a much larger organization are currently working in a satellite office in Salinas while our office undergoes renovation. I work with pretty nice people and we have really transitioned well. This morning we walked in to our Christmas present from one of our coworkers. She had beautifully decorated our conference table and made us breakfast. We had quiche, fruit, coffee cake and muffins. The cutest part was that she had a little basket with dog cookies for all of the employees' dogs so that they could join in the fun. It was perfect to do on a Thursday as the energy level starts to droop a little. Everyone was so happy and well fed. It smelled so good when we walked in. It was such a kind and thoughtful thing to do for our little team. It really made our day. It was such a great idea.

So I think I will get on with decking the halls, doing some baking and playing Santa. I think I am in the mood now. It certainly is cold enough here to be Christmas. It was 29F degrees this morning on my way to work. The bonus in this cold weather is that I wake up to warm dog cuddles. The downside of that is that it is hard to get out of bed.

It is hard to believe that we will be starting a new year in a matter of weeks. 2011 has been filled with so many blessings. I think it has been one of my best years ever. Big things have happened and I just feel so incredibly happy and blessed. I think that 2012 will be even more spectacular. I have some things that I am really looking forward to and some goals that I would like to achieve. I a looking forward to settling into my little house a bit more and making it exactly the way I want it. I look forward to starting my garden, to meals with friends at my table, walks with my Liesl, lots of great books, cross stitching and all of the things that make me happy. I think 2012 is going to be awesome.

A Nice Quiet Evening At Home

2011-12-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

I had such a pleasant evening tonight. My plans for the evening got postponed, so I go to spend a relaxing evening at home. I had even left at five minutes to five this evening. Okay, so I was in at 6:45 this morning, but I still was able to leave by 5 pm. I woke up at 4:30 this morning, thinking about all of the stuff I had to get done at work. I knew there was no way I was going to get back to sleep with all of that accounting noise in my head so I figured it was best to just get up and go in and get started on the heap of paper that was accumulating on my desk.

Tonight I was able to come home, cook a great dinner, and eat it relaxed. Liesl napped next to me on the sofa. I just puttered around the house a bit, caught up on an ever growing email correspondence and even got to watch two back to back episodes of 30 Rock. That show cracks me up. I even got to do a little laundry. I also thought about some more design for my little craftroom/office, I have more ideas than I have space. I am pretty excited because my white banker's chair has shipped and is on its way here.

So now the house is really quiet. I have gotten used to the sounds of the house settling in the evening, depending on how hot, cold, wet or dry the weather is. The hardwood floors kind of creak with the temperature drop. Outside is so still. The only sounds in the room are soft puppy snores and the tapping on computer keys. I stop and reflect on a busy but productive day.

I have not yet gotten caught up in the spirit of the Christmas season. For the first time in many years I am being gentle with myself and not stressing about it. It will come. I am also coming to terms with the fact that my gifts may not be perfect to each person. There is no material thing that I can give to someone that can express how important they are to me. Instead, I can try to bring joy or a smile for a short time. The real gift is being a loyal, trusted and loving friend or family member throughout the year. It also means not trying to do things perfectly but to just do my very best. I think it is very liberating and a way to actually enjoy the holiday instead of getting through it.

Brrrrr!

2011-12-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

Oh, my goodness, it was so hard to get up this morning. It was in the low 30's last night. I poked my arm out from under the blankets to test for cold and put it right back under the blankets. I was too comfy to get up when the alarm went off and I hit the snooze. Liesl was under the blankets curled up to my side , so I had major puppy warmth going on. Puppy warmth is just about the best heat source you can have, but will cause you to not want to get up in the morning because it is so cozy. It is kind of like getting a really great hug. I was a bit jealous as I had to get up and get ready while her little furry self stayed under the blankets and did not even move as I was fumbling around trying to find my slippers. She makes no apologies for her comfort. LOL

It has been a really good day. Target online had my white banker's chair and a great sewing cabinet on sale, so I ended up saving a lot and getting exactly what I want. The sewing cabinet has awesome storage and folds up so compactly that it is ideal in my office space. I am so inspired to get my craft room/office to be exactly what I want it to be. I am picturing something right out of the pages of Romantic Homes magazine, but with very clean lines and very little clutter.

I got to speak with my old friend and real estate agent this evening. He was checking to make sure that everything is okay with my new castle. I told him that it is crazy how much I love this house. He is always remarking how amazingly well things fell into place in my buying this house and that things happened that he has never seen in his career (like my offer was accepted the same day without counteroffer.) As things fell into place or turned out better than we expected at each step, he would always express amazement. I told him that when you are going in the right direction, God's hand will throw open the doors for you. As I looked around before I found this house, there would always be a little sign that others were not the right one. I always told him that it just meant that those were not the right houses for me. I had absolute faith that the right place would come and it would be in God's time, not mine. It just works out the way it is supposed to. Anyway, we had a great conversation tonight and he just had me cracking up. I really like my friends who make me laugh.

So tonight I am reflecting on all of the amazing people God has brought into my life. Incredible family and friends, amazing co-workers, loving church family, great neighbors. It is all of these relationships that inspire me daily, and make me feel so grateful to be surrounded by so much love and friendship. It makes for a pretty wonderful life's journey. I also have to add that I am also grateful for puppy warmth on a really cold night.

Feeling A Bit Sassy Today!

2011-12-04T19:47:00.001-08:00

This has been a great weekend. I have had a blast. We were up pretty early this morning. I have a lot coming up on my plate at church the next few weeks, so decided to take a day to catch up on a few things at home. We were at the beach by 8:15 this morning, and it was COLD! I wanted to take Liesl to the beach again today (we went yesterday morning, too) because 1) it is her favorite place on earth and it makes her happy to go there. 2) because we both get a lot of exercise in the form of a two mile walk and 3) I had a lot on my agenda for today and knew that Liesl would be tired out and sleeping, thus allowing me to take care of my business. (Otherwise, she has to be in the middle of what I am doing, which is not always such a good thing.)

When my BFF called me today and asked me how my day was, I listed off the items that I have taken care of thus far. She laughed and said that I was playing "Homeowner." Yesterday morning, I had decided that I had had enough of walking into a cold house and went off to buy a digital thermostat that I can set so that it will say, "Patti will be home soon, better get the place ready for her." I had watched the how to video online which was made by Home Depot. It seemed fairly easy and the package said that it would take 15 minutes to install. I turned off the electricity then attached the little wires where they need to go. Afterwards, I programmed it to speak the same language as my heating system. I am happy to say that the heat has come on as it was supposed to this weekend. I am feeling sassy about myself.

Today, after I got Liesl home from the beach, I had to give her a weekly bath. I know that seems like a lot, but that beard can hold some icky smelling stuff, plus she had played in the water and was sandy. The salt water is bad for her delicate skin, so she is all clean now. The bath was too much for her and she was off to dreamland pretty quickly. I took this as my opportunity to work on my front yard and do some weeding and take care of the shoots on that tree that were threatening my view. I found that I have some nasty weeds in my yard with thorns that make your skin sting after you come in contact with them. I got out the weed whacker to finish them off. I will not mess with them again.

I came in from that task and Liesl was still passed out on the couch. I laid down next to her for a few minutes but started thinking about my next task. My new desk was calling to me to be assembled. So I got out my tools and set to work. Now I have to say that when you move, you have that one room that everything that you don't know what to do with ends up in. This is my office so I had to do a few work arounds. I have to say though, that I LOVE this desk. It is so awesome. Here is a link to it:http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewing/EZ-View-White-Craft-Desk/4127262/product.html

The desk is large and has a lot of storage in it. It has a plexiglass top so that you can see inside the cubby hole drawers. It is even better than I expected. I love it. I plan on getting a white banker's chair to go with it. It goes perfectly in the room, although I will paint some existing furniture white and the walls a darker shade of beige. The accents will all be red and very floral/vintage. I am still on the hunt for the perfect daybed that I can get locally. I have been thinking about the other things that I have wanted in a house since I was little girl and I remembered that I would love a really pretty, girlie chandelier. This is a room where I will spend a lot of time creating, reading, working, etc. so I really want it to be exceptional. The desk is the first step in that. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend on a desk for myself, but it is exactly what I wanted. I was thinking as I was taking the cardboard out to the recycling bin that this is the fruit of all of my hard work and working late. I have something to enjoy out of it.

There was not a lot of day left after that so I puttered around doing small things to get caught up. I am actually impressed with all that I got done. I was thinking that I could totally use another day. But it will be nice to sit still at my desk. LOL.

I am proud that I got so much done. I am thinking of putting up a whiteboard over my laundry sink to keep track of all of the projects that I want to do. I need to keep track of my ideas and such, as well as my ongoing Home Depot shopping list. There is so much I want to do. I will take photos to report on my progress as it happens.

Living Joyfully

2011-12-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

I love the feeling of driving up my driveway, waving to my wonderful neighbors, and opening the door to my house in the evening. I love watching Liesl trot out the back door to her yard, ready to explore her little world. I love making dinner at my stove, reflecting on the day, and daydreaming about the future. I love the peaceful, quiet, and still neighborhood. I love how warm, sunny and bright this house is. I love watching the bay in the early morning as the sky turns rosy colors above it. I love standing in each one of the rooms of my house and thinking about the future plans for each. I think of the friends that will gather here, possible future grandchildren playing here, and all of the love that can be contained in this house. I am so in love with this little house that it is amazing. It holds the present and hope for the future. I am so blessed for being able to live in this place.

My dear friend and decorator told me to take time with decorating and to only bring things into the house that I absolutely love. I nearly forgot this and was on my way after work to go buy a table that I did not love but would be most functional. Luckily, I got snarled in a huge traffic jam, and took that as a sign from the universe that I should not go get this table. I took a side street and made a u-turn to go home instead. I have to keep my friend's advice closer. She told me that if I do not fill my life and home with things that I absolutely love and adore, I will just be filling a space. I guess this is good advice on many levels.

This weekend promises to be an active one. I do need to put my new desk together and putter a bit. Yes, Home Depot is on the agenda. I am also looking forward to spending some time with my friend.

I am hoping to have my house looking somewhat presentable some time in January, because I will be having a House Blessing. My pastor has advised me to do this as a party. I think that this would be a great alternative to a house warming party. I have so many people that want to come and see the house and it would be great to have them all come and say a prayer together for it. My pastor said that when she has done them in the past, appetizers are served and then everyone walks together from room to room to bless the space together. I think this sounds so cool. The house has such great energy as it is, so I think it will be even better.

Lately I have been a little tired, but mostly I feel joy. I feel so happy for all of the good people and good things in my life. Just like everyone else, I have tremendous pressures, stresses, and sad things that happen. But I have to say that in spite of all of that, I feel so much joy and gratitude for I have been blessed indeed.

May you be blessed many times over, too.

My Big Delivery!

2011-11-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

After looking at desk after desk on the internet, a couple of weeks ago, I ordered a craft desk from Overstock.com. It has lots of cubbies and storage for all of my craft toys, so I was pretty stoked about it. I even had a $20 off coupon and free shipping. Yesterday, the shipping company in San Jose called me to tell me they could deliver it today between 1 and 5. I told them that I could not take the time off from work and to please leave the boxes next to my garage in my driveway. I figured I would not stay late, I would just come home. The desk needs to be assembled and was arriving in three boxes and I was not worried about anyone taking them.

I drove up tonight and I had to laugh. I was expecting three boxes (the two sides and the top) that I would just move into the garage. What I found was the three boxes bound together with that industrial lacing, sitting on a pallet, encased in some sort of wooden exo-skeleton made from 2x4's and other wood. It was humorously gigantic, similar in size to a 1970's Buick. All I could figure is that they do it as a deterrent to someone walking off with a box or two. But that bad boy wasn't going anywhere. LOL

I looked at it like, how in the heck am I going to get that into the house? Luckily, I have been in enough industrial work situations that I have seen other people crack these kinds of things open. So I walked outside with my work gloves, a hammer and still dressed in my skirt and pearls from work (it was already dark by this time). I used the hammer like a crow bar and got each of the boxes out and left the exo-skeleton and pallet next to the garage until I can figure out what to do with them. What made my day in this is that while I was carrying the largest box with the top, my sweet elderly neighbor came out to ask me if I needed some help. I love my neighbors. I appreciate that they keep an eye out for me and one another.

My boxes are sitting in my garage. I will put the desk together this weekend when I have more time and daylight. I will also put my digital thermostat in. I think this will be a good weekend for puttering (and napping.) I am really excited about the desk. It is my first piece of furniture that I have purchased for the house. I am looking forward to spending time in my craft room and have a plan for how I want it to be. I am still on the hunt for just the right day bed, but know it is just a matter of time. This is pretty fun stuff.

Mild Monday Evening

2011-11-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

I guess it was a message for me to go home, but our network died at work about 5:30 this evening. It was going to take a while to get it back up so I took it as a sign to go on home at a reasonable time. I made it home a little before six and decided to putter around the house for a while. I do not know if I have mentioned this, but I am so in love with my kitchen that it is ridiculous. It is my favorite room in the house. I have a lot of counter space and I love my appliances. I love my industrial stove and how it cooks. I decided that I wanted to make a big pot of turkey noodle soup this evening to use up the rest of the turkey. It came out heavenly and was so much fun to make. I will have some good lunches this week!

I got my kitchen all neatened up and headed out to play with Liesl. Liesl is a busy little dog, as are all schnauzers. They need a lot of activity, exercise and interaction due to a high energy and intelligence level. (Potential schnauzer parents need to know that these are working dogs and need a job. They are also extremely intelligent and need a lot of stimulation, because smart and bored can lead them to entertain themselves with your stuff.) I make time every evening to play with Liesl. She loves to chase things, play tug a war, and loves hide n seek. Sometimes, I will even hide treats around because she loves to look for them. Schnauzers (which refers to the nose) are scent dogs and have been known to get lost because they will follow their noses. So she loves to have a scent of Charlie Bears to follow. I love my play time with her and she loves to see me getting down on the floor because she knows she will have fun. Our playtime usually ends with her getting lots of scratches behind the ears and kisses on top of her sweet head.

After play time, I got out my stitching to do while I watched the Sing-Off, which is one of the best shows on television. Pure entertainment. It made me happy.

What I loved about this evening was that I came home and did the things that I love to do. I felt like I nourished and nurtured my spirit. So as I go to sleep tonight I feel peaceful and a bit fulfilled. It was a blessing to come home earlier.

Quiet Sunday

2011-11-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! My four day weekend sure went fast. It was nice to be home, have a celebration, get some things done around the house and get some rest. It was a good weekend.

I woke up early for church today, so I puttered around until it was time to go. I was the assistant minister and cantor today so I had to be there early for last minute details. I love being at church. I also love being able to serve as an assistant minister, which is also very humbling. I feel a strong sense of responsibility. Afterwards, I got to work on some small group and solo music for the upcoming holiday. One of my dearest friends is the organist and she is such a joy to work with and an amazing musician. We giggle alot while we are trying to get things done.

No Sunday would be complete without a trip to Home Depot. I had to pick up a tree saw because my tree in my front yard is trying to send out shoots that threaten to block my bay view. This is no bueno. So I am ready to deal with them. My next project from Home Depot is to install a digital thermostat all by myself. I do not like coming home to a cold house, so I want to be able to preset it so it knows to kick on before I come home. It looks pretty easy from the videos I have watched online. Plus it does not coincide with my being on the "No Plumbing Parts" watch list at Home Depot. LOL My friends tell me to just say no to plumbing and made me promise to always hire a professional for all plumbing needs.

By the time I got home from Home Depot I had a bit of a headache and was feeling pretty sleepy. I got my book and got under the covers for a while to rest. The one benefit of Liesl's hair being so short now is that she gets cool enough that she wants to snuggle up to me on the bed now. She gets under the covers and snuggles up to my hip. There is something so amazing about a dog cuddle that can make you feel so happy. We both ended up taking a really long nap, which was great. I did not want to harsh my mellow from my nap so I made quick leftovers for dinner, played with Liesl and stitched the rest of the evening. It was heavenly. I have missed stitching so much and now I feel a bit more normal even though I still have boxes unpacked. My friends tell me that I really need to be a lot more gentle with myself because I will have forever to get the house the way I want it to be. So I am glad that I got to have a bonus peaceful day.

So the photo above is my progress. I am almost done with the center section and have two more sections to stitch. They are so large that each section takes a whole page. Hopefully, I will be able to move to a new section by January.

Have a happy week!

Awesome Day!

2011-11-26T21:14:00.001-08:00

Oh, my goodness, we woke up to the most beautiful Monterey Peninsula day today. It was in the 70's, the sun was shining brightly and it was just plain gorgeous. It was a great morning to walk on the beach and get a certain canine to stretch her puppy legs. The waves were pretty high today, and it was a bit rough. All of the dogs on the beach seemed to know better than to go into the water today, including mine. There were about four rows of waves.

This is a view with the tip of Pebble Beach in the background.

This shot has Point Lobos in the background. Those little dots in the photo are surfers waiting for the next wave. They were having a great time today.

My sweet Liesl taking a rest from chasing her ball. She looks so pretty with her new haircut.

It was such a beautiful day that we took time to smell the roses, or rather, the ocean. We decided to sit on the sand for a while and watch all of the action on the beach. The sun felt so good, and I got to sit and cuddle with my furgirl. She had such a good time. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her falling asleep in the car on the way home. We had such a good time at the beach. It was unseasonably warm today, and it was so nice to relax for a while.

I came home and finally got the rest of Thanksgiving cleaned up. It takes a couple of day to soak that roasting pan and put everything back in its place. My house is all cleaned and I am close to making a decision on what shade of pumpkin to paint my kitchen. I have the paint cards lined up on my counter top. I would love to paint soon. My BFF says she will help me, too. I am going to order my new dining room set this week, finally. I want to have it in place before Christmas. Too much fun!

Best of all, I finally got to stitch tonight. I have missed it so much. I started packing in September, so it has been way too long since I had needle and thread in hand. I forgot how peaceful I feel when I stitch. I will post a progress photo tomorrow.

Hope you had an awesome day, too!

Rest and Relaxation

2011-11-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, today was rather relaxing after cooking-palooza yesterday. Little Miss Liesl had become a ragamuffin, and had to go to the groomer first thing this morning. It has been so cold here (38-40F) in the morning, so I had been holding off so she would stay warm with the longer fur. She was looking overly shaggy and it was time. I dropped her off and then relaxed and caught up on email this morning. I also figured that I should go get her a little sweater since she would be shaved down, and I hate to see her shiver. Now she hates to wear clothes, but I want her to be warm so hopefully this won't be too bad.

Off I went to Petsmart, which was having a huge Black Friday sale. It included dog sweaters and coats for 50% off. I got Liesl a cute little pink polka dot sweater and a cute little hounds-tooth coat. Petsmart is in the same parking lot as Target. I looked over and the lot did not look too bad so I decided to brave Target. It was actually not too crowded. I was surprised, and dashed in, got what I needed and was outta there. I decided not to press my luck after that.

I was so happy to pick up Liesl after that. I always feel a little lost without her. She gave me lots of kisses and then walked around the groomer's like she owns the place. My groomer said that Liesl is so beautiful and is the epitome of what a schnauzer should look like. She also said that she is surprisingly mellow for the breed and what a wonderful, alert little dog she is. At the end she added that Liesl is SO stubborn and a bit of a prima donna. Wow, that was a surprise. LOL (My groomer specializes in schnauzers and has always had schnauzers herself, so she knows this is standard for the breed.) The groomer says that in the end she will usually give up and work on Liesl the way that Liesl wants it done. (Again, totally normal within the realm of schnauzer behavior.) She was laughing telling me what her day is like when she has 5-6 schnauzers in one day, lined up for grooming. I can not even imagine.

My Thanksgiving was awesome. I was so happy to have a nice leisurely day with my son. Dinner turned out perfectly. I ended up making my stuffing in a crockpot and it was superb. It had a crust on it and everything. Yum. As I was getting ready to put the turkey in the oven I saw Bobby Flay on the Today show saying that in addition to basting his turkey he puts chicken stock in the bottom of the pan. This creates a steam in the oven. I decided to try it and my turkey came out super moist as a result. The best part was the sweet potato pie. I love sweet potato and make it southern style with nutmeg and orange zest as the only spices. Oh, my goodness, it was so good.

We had such a nice quiet day, talking and laughing. Both of us were so full. Liesl got her dinner, too. She loves sweet potatoes so that is what she had mostly. She also got a little turkey breast, mashed potatoes and green beans. She ate everything and promptly fell into a food coma.

I am itchin' to stitch and think I will pull it out again tomorrow. It has been way too long! I am still unpacking, but I have plenty of time to do that! No more postponing fun...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

Wishing you the very best Thanksgiving. Let us all be thankful for all of the blessings in our lives. May we also ask that all of the people of earth be blessed with peace and joy this holiday season. We pray for our service people abroad on this day and for their brave families who have an empty chair at the table this year. May everyone be blessed with bounty and good things.

I am so grateful for all of my friends here, who check out my blog for tidbits about life in my little corner of the world. I am grateful for your comments, blessings, advice, wisdom and sweet things that you share.

On a side note, as you all know, Liesl is a major blessing in my life. She will be happy to receive her share of turkey, sweet potatoes, and maybe just a little bit of pumpkin pie (she likes the whipped cream.) My son will be here soon and she will probably hog him all to herself, because, of course, he is only here to see her. Schnauzers...

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

T-Day Minus 48 hours

2011-11-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

I had this brilliant idea today. I decided that I would stop by good ol' Safeway on the way home from work before the Thanksgiving shopping madness begins. It was such a brilliant idea that many people had the same idea and decided to contribute to gridlock in the parking lot. I was a bit disappointed that people feel the need to honk in a bad way at each other, particularly at the time of year where we should make a special effort to good will to all people. Anyway, I was armed with my list, searched for a free shopping cart and went in on a mission.

I am happy to report that I have secured all of the necessary ingredients for a Thanksgiving feast including lots of sweet potatoes, Liesl's favorite. I love this time of year when Safeway has "Buy One Get One Free" so I can stock up on staples for the upcoming months.

It is really cold here this week. What blows my mind a bit is that people are already camping out for the Black Friday sales, in freezing temps. If I decide to go shopping on Black Friday, it will be at a civilized time, preferably after I have had significant amounts of coffee (and have slept inside.)

I am a bit overwhelmed as I begin to think about all of the things that I need to offer thanks for. This has been an amazing year and I just feel so absolutely blessed. I was talking to someone at work today who was venting about a small irritation. I said that while I heard her frustration that it is important to remember that we have jobs. We have been so fortunate because we have not had to downsize or take a pay cut. On top of that we work with a great team of people and do meaningful work that we are passionate about. I just feel fortunate that I have enough. Enough food, enough shelter, and more than my fair share of love in my life. My house is warm, I get to live in a beautiful area of the world, and I have a little furgirl who loves me just the way that I am. Everything else are extras. So much to be thankful for.

Whoohooo!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-20T21:21:00.001-08:00

Back on June 26th of this year when I took this photo of the actual Sprint Cup at Infineon Motor Speedway, I had serious doubts that my boy, Tony Stewart, was even going to be in the Chase. Now he is the 2011 Sprint Cup Champion. The last six races have been monumental, culminating in today's race, which I swear was the MOST exciting race I have EVER watched. Usually during that 3-4 hours, I watch a little, putter, stitch, take a nap...Today I was riveted. I did not know a person could run a race under that much adversity and just keep coming back. It was amazing! That last 36 laps I do not think I could even breath. I kept waiting for a yellow flag, the rain, or something else to happen. I am a bit headachey from the not breathing. Both Carl and Tony fought to the final lap like true champions. It was thrilling. I was happy to see Tony win, but I have to say Carl ran a tough race. He is a true class act the way he was first out there to congratulate Tony. A true sportsman. I am so happy to see an example like that for kids.

I woke up this morning to a rainy day and a small dog curled up against my hip under the blankets. It was so hard to get up. I was going through possible excuses in my head for not going to church, but know that God is way too smart for my lame excuses so off I went. It is amazing to me that next Sunday is the first Sunday in advent. It goes so fast.

I came home today and changed immediately into my jammies, which is a pretty good idea on a cold, rainy afternoon. I also decided to take my new jammies to the next level by also washing my sheets. Clean sheets are one of the best things in life. I should sleep like a rock tonight.

I think I have shared that I am totally hooked on Pinterest.com. Apparently, flavored water is totally in right now. I need to drink more water but do not like the taste of it. I prefer Cherry Kool Aid with Splenda. Not really glamorous, but that's how I roll. Anyway I decided to try one of the recipes. It is a sliced cucumber, 1 lemon sliced, and 12 mint leaves. I put it all in a pretty pitcher then covered it with water. I was surprised at how good it is. It is quite refreshing and tastes mostly like cucumber. So now I keep a pitcher of it in the fridge and just keep adding water. Good stuff.

Well, I have to be at work super early, so I am off to dream about Tony's big win. I think I will ask Santa for Tony Stewart fire suit jammies.

A Pretty Good Day!

2011-11-19T20:24:00.001-08:00

Today was a good day. I woke up at around 6:30 after a night of nightmares. It was kind of crazy. It is such a rare occurrence for me to have bad dreams. I maybe have one a year. Last night was weird, I would wake up from one (and get up and turn on the lights) then fall back asleep and the nightmare would continue where it left off. I do not recall that happening to me before. All I can figure is that I have been so overly tired this week, and I had pepperoni pizza a little too close to bedtime last night. Lesson learned.

It was kind of nice to get up early this morning. I had plans of running to Home Depot and taking care of some things, but I decided to be gentle with myself and take it slow and stay home today. I started with a leisurely cup of coffee. I got the kitchen cleaned up and straightened. I so love that room. I love to just touch those pretty counter tops and look out at Monterey Bay. I puttered around the rest of the house and decided I was going to work on my office. The office was the one room I had not gotten to yet. It was a total wreck and packed across the whole floor with boxes. I have all but two boxes unpacked. Now I have things in piles. I am still organizing what is going where and what is going to charity. I cleared the desk and can actually sit at the desk. I am ordering a new desk that is specifically for crafts. It is so pretty and just what I am looking for. I am still looking for just the right day bed, too. I am so excited about that idea. It is nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel for getting settled. Today is the one month anniversary of moving in,. I forgot that it takes a lot less time to move out than to move in. Moving in and finding the right place for everything takes a long time.

It was nice enough that I also got to do a little gardening today. I planted my hibiscus, Then I waged my own private war on oxalis. It is a never ending battle with this little weed. I also put in my little lights that line the walkway in the yard that I bought on clearance a couple of months ago at Target for $1.40 each. Schnauzers will always notice anything new, so Liesl had to go touch her nose to each one so I knew that she was aware of the change.

Liesl was wanting extra hugs today. She has been very cuddly and wanting her kisses on her sweet little head. She has stayed close today and was so happy that I found her other toy box in my office. I was happy to give her lots of attention today and she looked like she was happy about it, too.

What is making me super happy tonight is that I have brand new jammies on. They are polar fleece with a leopard print. (Grrr, baby!) I happen to totally love jammies and totally wish that the dress code at work allowed for jammies and big fuzzy socks. I guess that look does not inspire confidence in the accountant, though. Anyway, I do love them, and on several occasions I have been known to change right into my jammies when I come home from work. I have also been known to wear them all day on a Saturday. New jammies are a total treat and now I am sorry I did not buy more pairs.

Tomorrow is the last race of the season. Go Tony for the Championship!

Posting Early Tonight

2011-11-16T18:50:00.001-08:00

This has been a whirlwind week. I have been working some long hours. I have been going to work early and not getting home before 6:30 or 7 at night. I eat dinner, watch a couple of minutes of television and checked out Pinterest.com. Then I am asleep between 8 and 8:30. It is pitiful.

I got great news earlier this week. My son works for an airport so it was going to be iffy for having him for a holiday. (Quick Mom brag: He is currently the Employee of the Quarter!) I figured we would work around it, somehow, but his hours wildly fluctuate. My BFF invited me to their big family Thanksgiving and said that if my son got off, we should both join them. (My daughter and son in law will be going to his mom's for Thanksgiving (but I get them for Christmas. Yay!) )

Well, I got the phone call the other day that my son has the day off!!!! I asked him what he would rather do and we decided that we are going to cook together at my house. We figure we can take Liesl for a nice walk, maybe even to the beach if it is nice, eat great food and then relax and watch movies. We may even go over to BFF's for pie. Yum! I am really happy about it and planning a menu. Liesl loves Thanksgiving, too, and is looking forward to her very own serving of turkey and sweet potato. She will sleep well that day. LOL

Liesl will be so happy to have family around in the upcoming weeks. Liesl loves my friends in general, particularly if they are also a puppy momma. She will generally be happy to see them, but will eventually go off and do her own thing. But she really, really loves the family. Somehow she must just know that we are all related and all her pack. When the family is over, she has to be in the middle of the fun. She knows people's and dog's names and can find them if I ask her where one is. But if I tell her that my daughter is coming over she runs straight to the window and stands on her hind legs looking for her. She will run in circles then go back to the window, so excited. She will cry and bark in excitement. She will be happy to have my son to herself next week.

Well, I have made it past 8:30 but can feel my eyelids getting heavy...

Have a good evening.

Grateful

2011-11-13T19:29:00.001-08:00

I must have totally overdone it the past couple of days without realizing it. I totally overslept and missed church. I was feeling really badly about it, and then I remembered that church is everywhere. It was a beautiful morning, so Liesl and I went to the dog beach in Carmel. The beach at Carmel is so beautiful and I am with a small dog who is so joyful that I can not help but feel how fortunate I am. I feel so grateful in these moments that I remember that it is a form of church.

I love watching Liesl at the beach. She is in a state of bliss running into the water, chasing her ball, and meeting the other dogs. She just looks so happy. I love walking with her, smelling the salt, feeling the cool ocean mist on my face, and the warmth of the sun on me. There are times I look at the view and the sheer beauty of it takes my breath. I am blessed to be able to live here in such an amazing place.

Liesl slept the rest of the day, while I watched the race and puttered around the house. She had her weekly bath (that beard collects dirt like nobody's business.) She just got up a couple of times for her loves, kisses and neck scratches.

It has been a really good weekend. I got a lot done, but mostly, I have spent most of my weekend walking in gratitude. I am grateful for the blessing of my house, my little Liesl, my family, friends, job, and all of the love in my life. I am grateful to live in a place of so much natural beauty, for gorgeous sunsets, and the sense of serenity and peace in my life.

Day of Total Awesome

2011-11-12T20:16:00.001-08:00

Oh, my goodness, I had an epiphany today! Yesterday I had said on this very blog that I wanted a sofa bed in my office. But nay. I remembered today that since I was 18 years old I have wanted a daybed. (Smacking forehead.) Today I had my vision! A white brass, very scrolling, very girlie daybed, with lots of pillows. My whole office will be in white and red. Red is my fave color so it is only logical. I will paint the existing shelving white, too. I am envisioning a very cottage look, very feminine. I can totally see it in my head! This room overlooks my garden, which will be perfect. With the daybed I see it as a perfect place to read, take naps with Liesl, watch movies and stitch on a Saturday afternoon. It will be a little nicer, too, for friends to stay over and sleep on a real bed rather than a sofa bed. I am so excited. This is going to be awesome. I am on a mission.

Today was such a good day. I got my garage almost done, and a lot more organized. I have discovered way more Christmas ornaments than I thought I had. I have to buy some heavy duty garage shelving from Home Depot to put all of my big totes. I am impressed with all of the space now and am looking forward to the day when I actually get to park in my garage. The need to get organized was born of the fact that my daughter and son in law were coming over to pick up my old/new dryer. When I moved in here I had to buy a gas dryer, which dries lightening fast. My electric dryer was less than a couple of years old, and thankfully the kids can use it. They did that truck rental from Home Depot where you get the truck for 75 minutes for $19.95. It was a pretty good deal. I will remember that when I have to pick up my big ol' shelving.

On top of getting my stuff done today, I had the chance to talk to one of my best friends on the phone. She is one of those true blue friends that always has your back. I love talking to her and she motivates me to be a much better person. She is absolutely, unshakably loyal. She is the kind of friend, who remembers if someone was unkind to me years ago, long after I have forgotten and is still mad for me. LOL She is also quick to stick up for anyone, and would be sure to call me on it if I was unkind to someone else. I love talking to her and getting her pure, honest perspective on things. I do not know what I would do without my girlfriends.

The one smart thing I did today was make chicken teriyaki in my crockpot early in the day. I was way too tired to make dinner after all that moving around today. I ate my dinner while sharing the chicken with my furry sidekick who makes her presence very well known at dinner time. I then rough housed with her for as long as she wanted to play. She is a little rough neck and I am always a bit surprised at how quick she is. She loves to play rough but is still always very gentle on her momma and makes sure she minds her manners. I then made the mistake of laying down on the sofa. Liesl has a set place on the sofa and I was in it. No other spot will do. She just sat there giving me the hairy eyeball. We made up and all is well, but I had chills for a few minutes there.

I will be on my daybed mission tomorrow. There are some nice ones online and I am going to look at a local place after church. I would like to have my office in place by Thanksgiving. I would love to spend the long weekend in my playroom. This is too much fun!

Progress!

2011-11-12T09:09:00.001-08:00

I got so much accomplished yesterday! Liesl woke me up at 5:30 so that she could step outside and I just could not get back to sleep. So I got up and started moving. I had to drop off my car early to the mechanic. It had been sounding not good and had bucked a couple times this week. So I was pretty worried. My co-worker and his wife who are also dear friends were there picking up her truck this morning, so luckily I got a ride home. They also said they would pick me up when my car was done. They are pretty nice folk.

I figured I was home for a couple of days and was glad for it in a way. It was pouring down rain and a good day to nest. Liesl's plan for the day was to sleep so she spread out on the sofa and got to her work. I was determined to get the house into shape, so I started in the kitchen and got the clutter cleaned up, the boxes opened and everything cleaned and orderly. Now I was really motivated, so I headed into the other rooms. I got order restored and made notes of things that I want to add such as curio shelving and stuff, so that I can make my Home Depot trip today (Oh, darn! LOL) I now only have my office/ guest room and garage to finish organizing. I still have to decorate but now I have a sense of the space and how everything flows. My hallway is clear of boxes. I have to organize closets and I still have boxes in the garage but I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I think I will be donating a lot of stuff to charity. I am also getting excited about moving into the decorating phase. I can not wait.

About 2:30 I got a call from my mechanic saying that my car was ready. Whoohoo!!!!! All that was needed was a tune up. Turns out my spark plugs were gapping badly. My mechanic said that he has a long commute so he drives a PT Cruiser just like mine and knows it well. He gave it an oil change, a cleaner for the fuel injection, changed the wiper blades and fixed my squirter for my windshield. He said that the tune up should fix the problem. It already sounded better when I picked it up. Yay! It is always an anxiety prone time to drop off the car for repair.

Today I am committed to getting my office in shape. I have picked out a new desk that is designed for crafts so it has lots of drawers and cubbies. I still have to order it and decide on the color that I want. It will be really cute in there. I am also trying to decide what color sofa sleeper to put in there as well. I want it to be a very functional space where I can work during the rainy season.

Off to walk my favorite furgirl and Home Depot! Have a happy day!

One More Day!

2011-11-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

I have one more day of work this week. My company gives us Veteran's Day off, so I will have a three day weekend beginning on Friday. I can totally use that third day to get somethings done around the cozy cottage. Friday I have my car scheduled to visit the mechanic first thing in the morning. My car is making a couple of funky sounds that I want checked out. Please think good thoughts for me. I figure that it is really good that he will get it on Friday in case he has to keep it overnight. I also have a work person coming to the house on a small home warranty issue that needs to be addressed.

I am glad that I have to stay home that day because I really need to get the cozy cottage organized. Living in different rooms in various stages of moving in is really starting to bug me. So I will organize, decorate and purge what needs to go. It is also supposed to rain on Friday, so it will be kind of cozy.

I am really rather excited about getting the place cleaned up this weekend. I would like to try baking something in my oven. The lady who did the remodel on this house said that she had baked cookies in the oven here to make sure it worked. She said that my oven baked cookies better than her Viking range. So I would like to try that out. I have a recipe for pumpkin spice cookies that I would like to try out.

I would like to get as much as possible done on Friday so that I can relax the rest of the weekend and play with Miss Liesl. I would really like to relax on Saturday, but we will see what the weekend brings. In the meantime, I will be so glad to get a lot of work done. Hopefully, I can take more photos.

2011-11-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things is coming home to dinner cooking in the crock pot. The aroma of dinner greeting me as I put my key in the lock of the front door. I seem to get really hungry between the front door and the crock pot. Early this morning I threw together a recipe from Pinterest.com. It was all I could think about all day.

Here is the recipe:

3-4 chicken half breasts
1 can black beans, drained
1 can rotel
1-2 Cups frozen corn
1 8oz package cream cheese

I cooked mine for about 10 hours on low and served it over brown rice. I could have used a bit more spice to it and was thinking that next time I would put in a small can of green chilis or something. However, it was excellent and was really good comfort food, perfect for the cold evenings we are experiencing.

I have a lot left over, so I am going to put it into individual servings in plastic bags for freezer meals.

It was pretty nice to have dinner made so I had more time to play with a little furgirl.

This made me really happy.

A Day Of Total Awesome

2011-11-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

What a great day! Started out at church on a clear morning, which had followed a rainy night. I love my church. It feels so good to be surrounded in so much love there. My church family are pretty wonderful people and it feels good and right to worship with them. Afterward, a small group of us stayed to work on some special music for the upcoming holidays. I do so love to sing, and it looks like I will be attempting a solo of Ave Maria, if my nerves hold out. I am excited about it because it is such a beautiful piece, but I want to be able to do it justice. The arrangement that our organist brought is beautiful and in my key so things just might work out. Afterward, she gave me this housewarming gift from her and her mom. I absolutely love it. It is so pretty.

I left church feeling so good and happy and headed home after a quick dash by the grocery store, or rather an intended quick dash by the grocery store. The last couple of weeks the supermarket has become a hot social gathering and I keep running into old friends, particularly those I used to work with. It has been kind of fun. Anyway, I knew that a race was well underway so I was in a hurry to get home.

Now if you are a follower of NASCAR, you know that Tony Stewart won again today. He has won the last 4 out of 5 races and is three points behind Carl Edwards for the championship with two more races to go. I am pretty sure that it was me that he was blowing kisses and pointing directly at me, letting everyone know that I am his number one girl.

Besides my race I had a lot to do on my checklist. I got my bills paid and my address changed on all I could think of. Hopefully, it was the last of my moving details. I felt sort of proud because I got my first property tax bill. It was just a small one to cover a couple of weeks. I know it sounds weird, but it was awesome. It made the fact that my house is mine (and the bank's) more real. I am still getting used to it. It still feels a little surreal.

The best part of the day was getting to spend some quality time with Liesl. While I have played with her and given her attention, I did not feel that I was always fully present because I had so many things to take care of. Tonight I gave her her bath and wrapped her up in her little after bath towel burrito. She always naps on my lap for a while after her bath because she is all warm in her towel. Then I played with her for a long time, gave her dinner, and trimmed her eyebrows. She was so good while I did it then I realized she gets this done all of the time at the groomer. I can readily see her eyes now.

I was thinking tonight that no one really tells you just how much you can love a dog. I had no idea before Liesl came along. She is such an amazing little soul. She knows she is funny and will try to make me laugh. She is loving, loyal and such a good companion. She can also be quite emotional (it is a terrier thing) and even dramatic, which makes me laugh. I am just so glad we had time to play this evening and now I am happy to hear the soft puppy snores. It makes me happy.

It's A Rainy Night In Monterey

2011-11-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

The rain is raining all around

It falls on field and tree

It rains on the umbrellas here

And on the ships at sea.

RL Stevenson

From the time that I was about five years, A Child's Garden of Verses, was an almost constant companion of mine. I read it over and over again and loved it. To this day I still remember a few of the poems like Going to Bed By Day and My Shadow. Robert Louis Stevenson was quite an interesting person. The circle is somewhat complete with RLS in my life because it is well known that RLS had travelled to Monterey and Carmel Valley and stayed in the area for about five months in 1879 while he had become ill. I find it exciting to think that I may have walked and stood in the very spots here that he did. (He and John Steinbeck.) I have loved his books forever. They are classics for a reason.

I digressed a bit here. I started with the poem because it is indeed raining here in Monterey. It is raining quite hard, in fact. I am happy to be inside under blankets and ready to read my book. It has been such a good day and I am so grateful for it and that my day is ending peacefully.

The day started out gray and cold. It was a perfect day to have a cup of coffee, classical music playing, Liesl snoozing and me puttering around the house. I got a lot done and I felt really good. My best friend has been travelling and so we have not been able to get together for a few weeks. We decided to have lunch and met at a great place near my house. She just traveled to Turkey and had an amazing trip. She brought me back a beautiful tile trivet for my house and a gorgeous tapestry book mark. We both love to read and trade books back and forth, so we both love book marks. She is such a cool friend and we had a great time catching up.

Afterwards I had to run my errands. Yes, that was me, yet again, stalking the aisles of Home Depot. I swear I am there every weekend. They should just put an orange apron on me. LOL I love Home Depot. I went in armed with a shopping list, but still spent an hour in there because stuff kept catching my eye. I could spend an afternoon just looking at all of the natural stone tile. So pretty. I am looking for something intriguing for a backslash over my stove. I love the gorgeous bas relief type tile that generally is fruit or angels. I have to find a nice tile store. Apparently, it is easy peasy to put in.

Anyway, I bought my stuff, like drill bits, a new mailbox, and assorted items that I am sure that I will not be able to live without. I am finally at the point where I think I need a tool box instead of a kitchen drawer. Another reason to go back. I suddenly remembered as I was roaming the aisles of HD that I had pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer that I have forgotten about all week. How could I have done such a thing? So I scuttled along, came home and had my ice cream. Delish.

I am proud to say that I also got my drapes hung this weekend. This has been a bigger task than I had counted on, but I have to say they look really good. Now I am down to the big decision of the evening. It is Daylight Savings. So should I stay up an hour later or do I sleep an extra hour?

As I go to bed for the evening, I am so very grateful for so many things in my life. My very close friends, my family, my job, my house, my dog and my church. I feel so blessed and so content.

May you be blessed as well.

Brrrrrrrrr!

2011-11-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

It is so cold here right now. We had a rainstorm last night. Tonight it is high winds and cold. My friend wanted me to go to a party this evening, but all I wanted to do was come home and get warm. My stomach bug morphed into a cold this week, so all I could think about doing was picking up a nice hot pizza on the way home, getting into my jammies, snuggling with my dog and going to bed early. I know, I lead a very glamorous life.

I am going to bed early in hopes that tomorrow I will be feeling 100% better. I have big plans of playing at home this weekend. By playing, I mean working on my house. I figure that I will be roaming the aisles of Home Depot and Target a few times this weekend. I really want to have the house in shape by the holidays.

The other thing that I want to do this weekend is cook and bake. I have gotten some really great recipes off of pinterest.com. I totally want to make some yummy things this weekend. I think I am also in a mood to make some really yummy hot cocoa out of my collection this weekend. I also want to take some good walks with Liesl and maybe explore my neighborhood a bit more. I love it here. I am so pleased to have such wonderful and friendly neighbors.

My stitching is also calling to me. I really want to get back to my blackwork sampler so hopefully this weekend there will be some time. I miss my stitching. It is time for life to settle down a bit.

Have a great weekend.

New Pretties For The Cozy Cottage

2011-11-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Got to do a little shopping on my break today. Our office has relocated and there are some cute places in the immediate area. Two of us in the office have been coveting the fleur de lis wall sconce below since last week, but the little boutique where it was happened to be closed for a few days while the owners were off doing a trunk show. Today, my co-worker went by and saw they were open so she went and asked about the sconces for us. The lady at the counter said that she had not gotten the price yet from the owner but would call us. She called my co-worker back with an amazing price but it was for a pair of them. So my other co-worker and I grabbed our wallets and walked briskly to the store. In the store was this sign. I fell in love with it immediately. This was the very last one and they are not selling anymore. Had to have it for my entryway. It is quite large.

I took about nine shots of this photo because someone furry kept walking right in front of the camera with the slow shutter speed at the last second. I have had to delete 8 shots of a dog butt or tail in my picture. Apparently, she thinks this is hilarious.

The same thing happened when I went to take a photo of the sconce, except this time I got her sweet little head in the photo. I forget that when something is on the floor it automatically becomes Liesl's. (PS: I really need to trim her bangs.)

I thought I was doing okay here but note the hint of schnauzer beard in the upper left candle holder.

I am pretty pleased with my purchases and can't wait to put them up.

I have to think of something nice to do for my next door neighbors. For the past few weeks, my next door neighbor who is retired has been bringing my garbage cans up and putting them away for me. Last week I thought maybe I had put them in the wrong spot and he was trying to get them out of the way. So today I put them on the other side of the driveway, just in case. I came home and he had put them up where they belong next to my garage. This is such a nice thing to do. I am really grateful for it when I come home from work after dark. Nice people are awesome. I shall have to bake him and his wife some nice cookies. Thank goodness I have wonderful neighbors.

Sick Day

2011-11-01T21:21:00.001-07:00

Oy vey, was I ever sick today. I do not know if I have a stomach bug or food poisoning (I have been eating a lot of fish for the past week.) I started that weird achy feeling in my head at about 2:30 am and things kinda went downhill from there. I finally was able to walk to the kitchen about 3:30 this afternoon and am feeling kinda human. It is kind of a drag about this time of year that this kinda stuff starts up. I have been running kind of ragged lately, so I guess I was run down enough to catch a bug.

Liesl is pretty amazing how she will take care of me when I am sick. Dogs just intrinsically know to be caring and compassionate. They are just so capable of so much empathy. Liesl is a pretty good nurse and will generally lay very still beside me when I am not well. She is such a sweet little dog. I was just thinking tonight how she, like all dogs is just incapable of being mean. She is a schnauzer and can get a good cranky going when she is tired, just like her momma. Generally, though that takes the form of stubborness and intolerance of doing certain things. She is just so sweet 99.99% of the time. What is amazing and somewhat humbling is how much she trusts me to understand and take care of her. People tend to laugh, but if she has a burr in her foot, she knows to kick it and then hold it up so that I know to remove it. She does this if a stone is in the pad of her foot and she can't walk it loose. She just stops, knowing that I will take care of it. Afterwards, she will often walk on with her ears back and a happy trot to let me know she is okay again. It is pretty endearing how dogs and people take care of each other. Life is much happier with Liesl in it.

I stayed in bed pretty much all day. I did not feel like going out to the living room to watch television. Late in the afternoon, I got out my laptop just to fool around for a while. I found the most amazing website ever on the planet. It is filled with so many happy, beautiful, and inspiring things and is constantly changing and updating. It is called Pinterest and it just made me happy to look at it. Here is a link to the main pin board, just be prepared to hang around for a while on the site: http://pinterest.com/

Well, I am off to sleep the rest of this yucky bug off. Have a good evening.

Found The Camera!

2011-10-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the cozy kitchen. I could not get full photos of the cabinets that go up to the ceiling or a the full span of the kitchen because my lens is a bit limited, but you get the idea...

I am still thinking a warm pumpkin on the walls would look so pretty.

I am so glad that when they remodeled the kitchen that they chose this natural granite. I have always liked the really dark counter tops that I have seen in other people's kitchens, but I love the neutral tones in this granite. There are so many different ways to accentuate the colors. Because this is the natural granite there is the rust color similar to pumpkin from the iron in the granite. The swirls and whooshes in the granite keep the eye moving. If you look closely at the photo you can see the sparkle of quartz in the granite. There are some larger sections of quartz that are so pretty.

The kitchen is not decorated yet. I just put some of my silk flowers up so that the photo would not look so bland.

I am still unpacking, although I did take some time this afternoon to watch Tony Stewart win his third race of the year. Whoohoo.

Today was one of my favorite days of the church year. As a practicing Lutheran it is an important one as it is Reformation Day. I was the assisting minister today for this important service. We always sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" on this day as it was written by Martin Luther, who was an accomplished composer. It paraphrases Psalm 46, which is my favorite Psalm. (PS: If you are going through tough times, the Book of Psalms can be a true source of strength and comfort.) Psalm 46 reminds me that no matter how big the trouble in your life is, God is there with you. My very favorite line is "Be still and know that I am God." It reminds me to not get caught up in drama or get worried or apprehensive. It reminds me to be calm, for God is in control, and my prayer every day is only that his will is done. When I worry and over think things I just get stressed, but when I hand the problems over, things usually work out better than I could have planned.

So it was a beautiful day. It ends with my feeling so grateful and with a small dog stretched out hogging the bed. She makes no apologies for it either...

'Twas A Good Day

2011-10-29T20:57:00.001-07:00

Okay, I did not get one single thing done today. Zip, zero, nada. But I did have fun...

The day was so beautiful, so little Miss Liesie and I headed over to the dog beach in Carmel. She ran and ran and played with other dogs. She particularly likes to chase the labs back into the surf. She has always done this. I don't know if she thinks she is a lab, too, but I do get a kick out of how confused the much bigger dogs look after they get "schooled" by Liesl. LOL

Because the furry fraulein is a wee bit spoiled, I wrapped her little wet self up into her puppy blanket into her apres beach burrito. She was dozing off in the car all the way home and just wanted to go to sleep after I put her in her bath,

I must have wanted to totally get my money's worth on my massage late this afternoon. I was almost out of Liesie's favorite puppy treats so I decided to run out Costco before I went to my massage for an extra dose of stress. Costco on a Saturday is like the running of the bulls in Pamplona. There are no winners, just people with new stories of danger and feats of strength. I fear for my own life in there. I made it through and headed out to the spa.

I get about two to three massages a year as a special treat to myself. This was an emergency situation to get that tightness out of my lower back before it finally caught at an inconvenient time. My massage therapist is a miracle worker and an amazing person. I have known her for 10 years. It was kind of cool because she told me that I look more vibrant than she has ever seen me. It made me feel really good and I immediately made a note to buy more of whatever moisturizer I last got on sale. Anyway, she made my day and got my back all straightened out. She also suggested that I not do any moving and unpacking for the rest of the day. This was no problemo because I sort of floated out to my car and back home. I have been ready to go to bed since about 7 this evening.

So now it is 9:15 and I feel like I have reached the end of the day. I will have to putter around the house tomorrow.

Joy!

2011-10-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am having a really wonderful week. I am exhausted but all is going well. Today was the big move of our admin offices. I was at work until 7 last night getting the last minute details ready for my office. Much of my responsibilities are maintaining confidentiality and security, so it was important to make sure that nothing slipped through the cracks.

The new offices are beautiful. Most of us do not have doors now. We have the option of having baby gates to keep our dogs in. Today they were free range. Liesl had fun with her doggy friend investigating the new place. She also decided to go trotting down the hall to visit the CEO and even shared his chips with him. She looked pretty happy and collapsed in a nap next to me while I set up my office. I had expected her to not look so happy on our commute to and from work. Now that we have a longer commute on a particularly dangerous stretch of road (I have seen some horrible crashes there myself) I have her in a harness attached to the seat belt. A dog her size would be a missile in a car at high speed, so I want to make sure she is protected as possible. This one has a nice padded lambswool piece that cushions the dog's chest from the straps in an accident. Liesl actually looks like she feels more secure in it and there was no drama. I swear she just knows stuff.

We are settling in at the cozy cottage. Liesl looks so excited when we are coming home. I have to admit that my heart skips a beat, too. I am getting unpacked and looking forward to the weekend to really dive into it. I so love this house. It feels so wonderful to walk into at the end of the day. I am happier and more content than I have been in many years. Liesl seems really happy, too. She is more relaxed than I have ever known her to be (schnauzers can be a little, shall we say, high strung). She has always either slept in her own bed or at the foot of my bed closest to the door to keep her vigil. Now she comes and lays next to me in a very content and peaceful way. She also loves that backyard and has to go play as soon as we get home. It is so cool to see her so happy, too.

I am so excited about the weekend. I plan on taking Liesl for a nice hike, working on the house, and getting a massage. My lower back is super tight from 9 days of moving home and work. I figure I either have to pay for a massage or pay more for a doctor and treatment if I do not deal with it. The massage is like a mini vacation. I also will play with my house and get stuff arranged. I really want to get work done on my office/craft room. I have so many ideas and so little time.

I do hope to take photos this weekend. There are still quite a few boxes to unpack and my camera is in there somewhere...

Back To Work!

2011-10-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

I was pretty happy to get back to work today. After all of the physical exhaustion of the move, it was nice to get back to my desk and do some accounting. I love accounting. I know that a lot of folks think it is a big mystery, but it is really just a language of common rules and processes so that everyone works by the same standard. I love the organization of it all and really love the teaching moments that come along, where I can help someone understand the how and why things need to be done a certain way.

When I got back to work everyone asked how the new house is. I asked a couple of friends if it is possible to be in love with a house. They assured me that it is absolutely normal and looked at me like they totally understood. It is that giggly, giddy feeling. There is so much fun ahead.

I keep finding out new things about the house. The drawers are self closing when you get within a couple of inches of shutting them. It is pretty darn cool. Tonight I found out that the acoustics are great in my kitchen. I love to sing, so this is awesome. My kitchen is the room that I really really love. Tomorrow my new fridge arrives and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I am not sure if I will be able to sleep. This fridge is so pretty and shiny. It is stainless steel and matches the kitchen. I will have to go grocery shopping tomorrow after work. A trip to Home Depot is also on the agenda. Yay!

Okay, so here is where life gets a bit hectic. I had that huge move last week and this week we are moving our office to another city in the county. We are undergoing construction so part of my department is locating for a year or two. I packed up much of my office before I went on vacation. My boss' granddaughter also helped us both out big time by packing boxes and helping out. So things are pretty busy at my office while we all do prep. Luckily, we have professional movers doing the heavy lifting, but we have to have our stuff all packed and ready to go. This should do it for getting any and all moving out of my system for a while.

Still looking for that elusive camera...

All Moved!!!!

2011-10-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

I finished moving the very last item and got the former cozy cottage cleaned at 7:30 last night. I had started at 5 am, so I was doing the Frankenstein walk up the driveway last night. My feet were throbbing in my sneakers. I hobbled into the kitchen and made Liesl's dinner. She had had enough of the move, and had a good cranky going. I had enough strength to make my own dinner--a beer and chocolate covered donut, and settled in to watch Talledega Nights and fell asleep. Liesl and I hobbled into our cuddly beds and both slept 12 hours! She got up at 7:30 to take care of her personal business but we both went right back to sleep.

We woke up to a gorgeous Monterey Bay day! The sun is shining, the bay is bright blue, and there is a gentle, warm breeze. I feel so happy and so in love with my house. I woke up this morning and thought, "I am home." (Living between two houses when you are moving is really hard on the spirit.) My favorite race of the year, Talledega, is on today and I am staying home! I have to install my mailbox (I am shopping for a prettier one if anyone knows any sources) but other than that I am resting and getting the house set up. I have the back door open so Liesie can go play in her yard to her heart's content. She is pretty tired from the four days of moving so she is still pretty sacked out. She has been a trouper, but by last night we were both over it.

A quick funny Liesl story: My basket of yarn is on the floor of the living room. This is a temporary situation. Liesl loves her some yarn and saw this as a gift from Heaven. She laid down and put her paw on it ready to get to work. I caught her and told her to stop. So she took her paw off but kept licking the end. In my best stern momma voice, I said, "Liesl!" She stopped licking it, but kept the tip of her tongue on it and broke out into a big smile, like she thought she was hilarious. She is a crack up. (The breed is notorious for a pretty well developed sense of humor where they know they are funny. At the same time, they are a breed where you have got to be known as the leader and have a very firm hand.)

I hope to post tonight and I really hope to find my camera. I wanted to at least check in this morning.

Hope you have a really happy day!

Settling In And Still Looking For My Camera

2011-10-21T23:12:00.001-07:00

It was a good day at the new cozy cottage. Liesl is settling in and is a lot calmer. She had a really good night last night. She has been opting to cuddle up with me to sleep, which is pretty cool. She loves her yard and disappears for long periods to explore her little world out there.

The bummer part of the day was that I woke up with the head cold from heck from stress, moving, not eating right and not getting enough rest. I ran to Target to pick up necessities, and then ran by the old house to pick up one load. By then I was super dizzy, so I came home, and decided to lay down on the sofa for a couple of hours under a blanket, watching HGTV. I also called my friend, who placed a call to one of his friends who is a hauler to move the rest of my stuff like my washer and dryer, and my patio furniture from the old to new house tomorrow. This is the last of the stuff, so I just have to vacuum and wipe down the kitchen and I am totally moved out.

After I rested on the sofa for a couple of hours (HGTV is awesome!) I puttered around the new cozy cottage and got a lot organized. The kitchen and living room look pretty good. I really am in love with my kitchen. I was able to look closely at the pattern in the granite counters and it is just so pretty. I think I will be spending a lot of time in there because it is just so beautiful.

Tonight my daughter and son in law came over with dinner to see the new cozy cottage. They loved it, too, and thought that it has a great layout. We got to sit and chat for a few hours which made me feel so happy. I love having my kids around. My daughter, son, and son in law are such amazing people and I really feel so full of joy when they are with me. It looks like we are going to start having monthly Sunday dinners at my house so that we can all get together on a regular basis. It makes me happy just thinking about it.

Moving Day, Part 2!

2011-10-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to say thank you so much for your kind wishes and thoughts. It means so much to me! I really appreciate you taking the time to write such nice things to Liesl and me.

Had a pretty great day, but not as much fun as yesterday without my son. I had such great conversations with him and so much laughter yesterday. He gave me a great gift today though. He said that with what I had left to move today, that I really did not need a moving truck. He said that it was too hard for me to get somewhere and park it to get something to eat. He said that he would prefer that I was in something smaller, easier to move, and a bit more comfortable, so he got on the phone and arranged a rental of a minivan. He was absolutely right and today I was moving the boxes (we did the furniture yesterday) in a beautiful top of the line minivan. It was a lot more comfortable and I was able to go through the drive through. I have it tomorrow, too, so I should be totally done and will be able to spend my energy on the new house this weekend.

The seller had to come by this afternoon. I have met her and her husband before and she is so lovely. Someone I would totally have as a friend. She has been a person of her word and a joy to work with. She and her husband remodel older homes and make new beautiful homes out of them. I thanked her for making me such a beautiful home. I told her what my best friend and son said about how the house has such a good feeling. She said that she had to confess that she has every house that they remodel blessed. She told me that she and her husband also pray together all of the time and ask that just the right person for each house would be shown the way to it. I told her that it was that way in my case. We had a few minutes of being able to share faith and asked blessings for each other. It was a profound and unexpected good surprise of the day. This house will be blessed twice because I have arranged with my pastor to bless it, too.

As she was driving away, my best friend drove up with dinner. We were supposed to go out this evening, but I am not looking my best (not smelling my best either.) On top of it, Liesl is having somewhat of a difficult time adjusting. She has cried a few times and has been super clingy which is not her style. So I had left my best friend a message explaining that I just did not feel right leaving her when she was not feeling secure yet. (Schnauzers do not like change, today should look like yesterday, and tomorrow better look like today. Liesl thrives with routine.) My best friend gave Liesl lots of love and it seemed to perk her up. Liesl loves puppy mommas and having someone she knows and loves come over seemed to make her feel better. She is all stretched out comfortably on the sofa now and breathing deeply in her sleep. (She had very shallow breathing last night.) So seeing my best friend seemed to be great medicine for both of us. We had dinner in my kitchen and had normal conversation.

After my friend left, I took my first bubble bath in my brand new bathtub. The water was the perfect temperature (hot!) and lots of it. At some point, I intend to put a tankless water heater in, but I was really happy in my bathtub and feel so much better. I have my cable TV, my jammies on, a full tummy, had a good day, saw my best friend, and now have a little cuddler snoring sweet puppy snores. I am actually getting to enjoy my little house this evening. I am also thinking about all of the wonderful neighbors I have gotten to meet today, too. Some will just call out,"Welcome to the neighborhood!" if they do not have time to stop. Everyone takes good care of their homes and yards and are so friendly and kind. It really feels like home here.

I realize that a house is really a beautiful home when people you love get to join you in it. My conversations the past few days have been about future family dinners, knitting club, inviting all of my friends over and having space to cook them dinner. What is really exciting too, is that Liesl absolutely loves her yard, every time I ask her if she wants to go into her backyard, she gets really excited and wags her tail and trots off to the door. It warms my heart that she likes her space, too.

Moving Day!

2011-10-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. Received my keys to the new cozy cottage today! I had planned my move for today and my awesome son arranged his schedule to help me move the big stuff. I met my real estate agent at the new house for my keys. He could not believe that I was driving a 26 foot truck. I try to explain to people that I am a mild mannered accountant by day and deadly ninja by night. LOL So we moved the big furniture today. My son is a lot of fun to move with because he has a happy attitude when moving, so we end up laughing alot. We had a great time, but both of us had nasty swollen feet, bruises and are exhausted. My BFF brought us lunch at noon, for which we were so absolutely grateful. This was one of the greatest gifts while we were in the middle of a move. A complete meal.

My BFF and my son said that they love the new house and that it is so totally a Patti house. My son said it just looks like me. He said it just feels good when you walk inside it. It was funny because it usually takes us half the time to unload vs. loading a truck. Today it took us twice as long, because my neighbors were all coming and introducing themselves and welcoming me to the neighborhood. Every single person is so nice, and pretty much everyone has a dog on my street. Each neighbor said how nice the neighborhood is and how nice everyone is.

Liesl has been a little stressed today with all of the change in activity. Schnauzers do not like their schedules upset and do not do well with change. She is staying very close to me. She did get to go to dinner with my son and I. I had promised him a nice dinner but by the time we were done unloading the truck we wanted burgers. We went to our favorite burger place to get blue cheese and bacon burgers. Oh my goodness, they were so good and we felt so much better. They are dog friendly, so Liesl came with us and I ordered her grilled chicken breast, her all-time favorite treat. She was a happy girl and was ready to drop off to sleep on the way home.

So, now I am totally exhausted. It is time for me to sleep and cuddle my furgirl. Can't wait to unpack my camera so that I can show you photos!

A Busy Day!

2011-10-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

It was a very busy day, but I got so much done. After a cup of tea this morning, I went into my office/craft room to pack everything up. This has been the only room where I have felt a pang of sadness. I have really loved this house that I have been renting. My little office has been a special place for me. I thought about all of the time that I have spent in there. I have studied for my classes in there, sewed, written cards, wrapped Christmas gifts, framed my stitching, taken work home from my office, or just went in there for quiet in the evening. I decorated it to look so cute and comfy. Now it is entirely packed up. While it did make me a little sad, it also felt good to get it all done.

The other thing that I did today was go purchase my refrigerator at Home Depot. I was going to purchase it online last night because I would save an extra $100 online, but it would take two weeks for delivery. I went into the store because I have never had to wait that long when I have had appliances delivered to my rental. I took in the model number to the store. The super nice man in the appliance center said that he thought that they could do better on the delivery date. Sure enough, he got me a delivery this week on the day that I wanted it delivered. On top of that he gave me the internet price. Home Depot rocks! My refrigerator is stainless steel with the freezer on the bottom. It is pretty. It even has an ice maker, which is good because I am terrible about refilling those ice trays! As I was getting ready to leave, the salesman said, "Now that you own a home, we will probably be seeing you in here alot." Totally.

I must tell you that if you ever need anything spackled, I am your girl. I have been spackling nail and screw holes today. I must say that this is a handy little talent to have. It has actually been pretty fun. Who knew there were so many different kinds of spackle?!

So one more day of work and I am on vacation. This is such a big, exciting week. I can't wait to spend the first night in my new house. I can't wait to get my fridge. I am excited for Liesl and her new yard and look forward to playing ball with her in it. The house looks pretty empty without all of the decorations up right now. But soon enough, I will have more projects than I can keep up with! This is so awesome!

A Day Of Awesome!

2011-10-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it was an eventful night at the cozy cottage. About 1 am a family of tap dancing raccoon decided to try out some new choreography on the roof of the cozy cottage. Liesl was beside herself over this turn of events and decided that shrill barking and running back and forth in the house was in order. Surprisingly, this did nothing to deter the chorus line of masked rodents on the roof and made Liesl's momma a bit grumpy. Luckily, we were able to go back to sleep, at least until 6:30 am when Liesl had to go out. Unfortunately, I had it in my head that I had turned off the entry alarm. This proved not to be the case, however, when I opened the back door and something akin to the old air raid siren went off inside the house. I am sure the neighbors were thrilled.

My Liesie girl and I were able to get back to sleep and woke up to a grey and dreary day. It was kind of yucky, but I had promised Liesl and myself that no matter what I was taking her to the beach this morning. She has been so patient and dealt with boxes encroaching on her play space. I love taking her to the beach. She knows the word "beach" and gets excited and runs to the door. She also gets so excited on the way to the beach. I usually open the window so that she can smell that we are close. She is like a little kid. She will ride with her head out the window stamping her little hind feet in excitement. It is about the cutest thing ever. Since it was a funky day we had much of the beach to ourselves. She ran in the waves and made me use that ball throwing thing over and over. She likes to carry the ball and show it off to other dogs. I think it is a canine fashion accessory.

After her bath, Liesl slept the rest of the day. This was a good thing because I had much to do. I signed my closing papers yesterday at the title company. Now we just wait for the transfer of funds to be complete early this week, then I get my keys. I had momentary panic wondering if I had done the right thing and made the right choice. But then I saw the house again today and fell in love with it all over again. My real estate agent met me there and helped me remeasure the cut out for the refrigerator. Somehow I had missed in the past visits that the granite counter tops had sparkly flecks of gold in it. It looks so pretty. The staging furniture was all removed, too, so it looked bigger.

Afterwards I got to go to the Disneyland for homeowners, Home Depot. I still think they have the most amazing staff on the planet there. I am pretty impressed with how helpful they are.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the large selection of stainless steel refrigerators at HD so came home to cuddle with Liesl for a while. In the meantime, one of my closest friends dropped over. She is pretty awesome. I was telling her that I was having a hard time figuring out fridges. She mentioned that I should consider not getting a side by side, because you can not fit a pizza in it. She was right and it helped me to choose the one I had my eye on. A freezer on the bottom fridge, which is on special and has a Tier III energy rating. She is my friend that is helping me with my decorating and was suggesting color palattes and just gave me super ideas. I am so excited!

Off to bed early, hopefully the racoons will behave tonight.

Walking In Gratitude

2011-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

On Sunday of this week, our pastor issued a challenge in the form of a homework assignment. She told us to take a piece of paper, draw a line down the center of the page and on one side of the paper write what we are thankful for. On the other half we were to write down what our wants are. She said it would be interesting to see which side is longer. I immediately started thinking about where I would start. It would definitely be what I am thankful for. There is not a whole lot that I really want. God has blessed me with more than I ever dreamed of for myself. That is not to say that there are not things that I think would be nice to have, like say, a Kindle Fire. However, it is not really a want.

Last night at dinner my friend and I talked about all of the things that we are grateful for. We both love our jobs. However, we both said that bottom line we are grateful to have a job. Then that we have livable wage jobs. Then that we have jobs that we enjoy and feel passionate about. We talked about our families, our friends, and pets. It was interesting that it was not about "stuff." Nor could either of us think of anything that we would really want. (If I could want for other people, though, I would wish that there would be enough livable wage jobs to go around for everyone who wants one.)

I am realizing this week that I have more friends than I ever realized. I have had so many offers of help for my move. (What is they say about real friends help you move...) Several amazing people at work have made serious offers and have made sure that I have cell numbers and their schedule. (We run a seven day, around the clock operation.) I am a bit overwhelmed by the kindness and everyone's willingness to spend their well deserved days off helping me out. (All of my coworkers work really hard and long hours.) I am terrible about asking for help and it is so nice to have people let me know that they seriously would like to be there. It is a bit humbling. I am fortunate to know so many people with such huge hearts and generous spirits.

Today I was talking on the phone with a friend at lunchtime. She had the most spectacular idea for my first get together in my house. It was such a great small party idea and I got pretty excited about the idea of having my wonderful friends all together in my new house. I realize that I have so much to look forward to in my life. Great gatherings of family and friends. So if I were to fill in that side of the paper with the wants, it would be plenty of time ahead with those I hold so dear to me in times of joy and celebration. My wants are hugs, laughter, smiles and gentle words between all those around me. Of course, those wants include lots of puppy kisses and doggie snuggles on rainy Saturday afternoons. So much to be thankful for.

It Is Starting To Sink In...

2011-10-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

It never fails to amaze me that the real estate business and related business are a 24/7 business. There are no such thing as business hours. It is interesting how many people have to come together to make a home sale happen-title companies, the real estate agent, mortgage companies, underwriters, insurance agents, appraisers, inspectors, etc., etc., It is a truly interdependent group of people that each have a really important part of the plan. Last night, the inspector's report that we were waiting for came in via email. Late this afternoon, it all of the sudden hit me how close this is. I got a little overwhelmed by the emotion of it.

It was a drizzly afternoon and evening. It was nice to come home after a busy day at work. I came home with a small schnauzer who was in rare form this evening. She was totally dramatic and hilarious. I warmed up her dinner as I usually do. But she was so excited about dinner tonight. She ate her dinner, licked her puppy lips in the most exaggerated way, made a very dramatic yawn, then plopped down where she stood and fell right asleep. It was a performance that was truly Oscar-worthy. She makes me laugh.

I am thrilled by the way that my blackwork piece is turning out. I have to be pretty careful because there are quite a few errors in the pattern. I have had to free hand some of it to make it work. It is so pretty to me though and I love the shade of red. (DMC 815.)

The other thing that I did tonight was look at drawer pull hardware. I really want something really interesting and different in my kitchen. I love cast iron and there is something called birdcage wire that I am really looking for. It is fun to play with details like this. My friend who is going to help me with the decorating told me that I need to live in the house for a while and then we will decorate. I need to get a feel for the house. Plus she reminded me that I will only want to put things into the house that I really, really love. She said that if I go shopping too soon, I am likely to just buy something to put in a space. She is so smart. I heard it said once that your house is the artistic expression of who you are. This is all very exciting.

A Day Of Love

2011-10-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today was such a wonderful day. I decided this weekend that I needed to be a bit more at peace during this home purchase. I have been postponing joy until I got the papers signed, until I actually got moved, until I get things set up just the way that I want, until, until, until...Today I had a day of joy, peace and normalcy.

With the pending move and all that I need to take care of, I had missed church the past couple of weeks. This was a bit hard on me as church really centers me and gives me strength and nourishment to face the week ahead. I was so happy when I walked into church today. I feel so surrounded in love there and that I am truly at home with my church family. We take care of each other and look out for each other through thick and thin. My church family is so excited about my home purchase and I received many offers of help in many forms today.

After church I ran a couple of short errands and came home to a loving welcome from Liesl. After lunch we both decided a nap was in order. It felt good to just rest. I decided to just focus on the present moment today and spent time playing with Liesl, brushing her hair and giving her tummy rubs. I also watched documentaries, stitched, made dinner plans with my friend for this week, and talked long distance with a dear friend who just moved away.

The theme of my day has been love. Love of church family, love for my amazing family, love for those around me, love for my little dog. It has brought me great peace today and I feel like I can face the challenges of the week ahead. I am fortunate, because my friends and I always tell each other that we love each other. It is not just a great gift to hear it, but it is just as beautiful to be able to say it. Love is meant to be shared, cherished and treasured. Most of all, God loves us and blesses us every single day.

May you have a blessed week.

New Cozy Cottage

2011-10-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had to go to the new cozy cottage today to sign some paperwork while an inspector was there. I figured this was a good time to finally take some measurements and figure out layouts for the furniture. I had also planned on taking some photos, but this was the only one I got to. I love the industrial top of this stove. Love, love, LOVE it! I see myself cooking lots of meals for my loved ones there! Okay, but picture for a moment with me. I am seeing that wall, which is actually a nice neutral beige color, in a warm pumpkin, I think it would look awesome against the warm color of the cabinets and the stainless steel.

Liesl finally got to see the house and yard, too. She approved, and made sure that everyone knows the yard is hers, if ya know what I mean. She sniffed the whole house and seemed quite pleased. She did not even smack talk anyone today. I got to meet the terrier that lives next door. He had to let us know he was guarding his dad and we were too close to his territory, but his favor could be obtained with a few scratches behind the ears. He is adorable and is also a smack talker so I think he and Liesl will be fast friends. In fact, there are several terriers on the street so we are in the right spot. The street was so quiet, even on a Saturday morning. Yay!

As I said earlier, I meant to take a lot more photos, but I got distracted. My agent has also been my friend for years. He has lived on the Monterey Peninsula for over 40 years and was a deputy sheriff for 30, so he pretty much knows everybody. He loves to tell stories and when he starts telling stories, I just have to listen because they are fascinating, and quite funny. So today was a story day and I could not help but sit down and shoot the breeze with him. He totally entertains you with his tales. Hours flew by but I had a great time! It was funny because he had to bring by some papers to my office a few weeks ago and everybody there has known him all of their lives.

After reluctantly leaving my new house (if all goes well with this last inspection) I headed off to Home Depot to look at refrigerators again. I am not sure that it is possible for Home Depot to hire a nicer, more helpful and more knowledgeable staff. Every single time I go in there, the staff is so helpful and friendly about it. Now that I think about it, I should really write a letter to their corporate headquarters to let them know what a great place this store is. Too bad they do not sponsor Tony Stewart anymore...

Enjoy the rest of your day!

I Love Autumn! (And Other Random Thoughts)

2011-10-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had two days and nights of really hard rain. It has been nice, actually. I have had the two best nights of sleep that I have had in a long time. I love the sound of rain. At one time, I actually had a tape of rain. I wonder if you can get that on iTunes. It is just so peaceful.

In any case, I am happy it is fall. I love fall. The crispness in the air. The smell of the first fires in fireplaces. I love the recipes for fall because I love pumpkin. I am looking forward to making my first sweet potato pie of the season. I love soups and it is the time of year for it. I am also getting out my fall sweaters. The colors of this time of year make me happy. It is the time for snuggling inside and spending days quilting, stitching and reading or napping, curled up with a warm, small dog (even though she snores).

I did not get to do much this evening. My friend called me in the early evening to tell me a silly story. He had me laughing so hard! I will share that I have a very silly sense of humor, well honed in my youth on Bugs Bunny cartoons and Abbott and Costello movies. Laughing is one of life's great joys and I am grateful to have people in my life who make me laugh. I also work in a place where there is a lot of laughter heard in the office hallways, and we always remark that this is not normal for an office.

I have been blessed in the past year with finding a fantastic doctor. She is a GP and is not only a great doctor, she is a phenomenal human being. The other doctor in her office and my doctor are people of tremendous faith, and have both told me that they pray for their patients everyday. They also have an amazing staff that are so kind and compassionate, and are just so nice to you if you are sick, even if you have a cold or flu. Anyway, my doctor and I always end up having these really great conversations, particularly about faith. A couple of months ago, I was sharing some stressful situation. She stopped me and said something that I think about every single day since then. She said, "Remember that God will never put you into a situation where he does not have your back. God has always got your back." Those words have just stayed with me, and help me. Those words keep me from being angry, scared or worried. I thought that I would share them with you, because maybe you may need to hear them today, too.

Have a happy Friday!

Snuggled In

2011-10-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wow! It absolutely poured last night. It rained so hard that neither Liesl nor I woke up at all. It was one of those rare occasions where I woke up feeling rested. Of course, I could have stayed in bed for another couple of hours with a book, but alas, Liesl and I had to get up and face the day.

I do not think that I have ever shared this, but Liesl is afraid of puppies. She does not like them and will usually make a wide berth to avoid them. They do not know the rules of play and will bite and nip. She will not stand for any of it. This is actually a pretty common occurrence in dogs. A friend of mine's dog will not even look at her if she is holding a puppy. However, my co-worker has a little 6 month old terrier puppy that Liesl is over the moon for. She has had her for a few months now and Liesl cries if she can not see her. This little puppy licks the inside of Liesl's ears and climbs all over her, including on her head. Liesl just sits there and smiles. Liesl will also go into play bow and will play terrier chasing games with the puppy, except Liesl will hold back in a way that she would never do when she is playing with big dogs. It is so cute to see her play with this little fuzzy terrier puppy.

I did not get to stitch tonight but did make it over to Trader Joe's. TJ's is starting to get in their holiday foods, which is so exciting. They always have really interesting items around this time of year. There is a Vanilla Spice Tea that you can only get during Christmas. This year I am going to stock up because it is so yummy. I also noticed that they have chocolate covered potato chips. Yum. I did not get any, but I have had them in Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack. Delish!

With my move date kind of up in the air, I had been putting off grocery shopping because my pots and pans are packed and I did not want to have to move food, too. It looks like we are closing next week (Yay!) so I did a good grocery shopping trip tonight to get me through the week. Since I thought I was moving last week, I had been eating a lot of Lean Cuisine for dinner. That got old really quick. So tonight I made a great homecooked dinner of gnocchi with gorgonzola and roasted garlic tomato sauce. I had a fancy salad with it. It was such a good change from Lean Cuisine.

Well, I am off to another good night of sleep. But I leave you with this. I keep seeing those ads for Food Network's show "Sweet Genius." Am I the only one who thinks the dude reminds me of Dr. Evil?

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2011-10-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

Rain arrived on the Monterey Peninsula yesterday afternoon. It really poured! It has been really cold and kinda funky at night, too. This is strange for us here because September and October are our summer months here. It is time of year that the locals live for. It is usually warm and sunny and time for those wine grapes to sweeten up before harvest in late October. This year we had a couple of days of heat and that was it. I'm sorta disappointed.

The first rain of the year is also a time of drama for a certain small dog. She will stand at the back door staring out into the rain, not wanting to get her little puppy feet wet. The look on her face totally says, "You expect me to go out in THAT?!"

This morning was also our first walk in the fine rain. Liesl, the same dog who loves to play in the surf at the beach. The same dog who bites at the water coming out of the hose. The same dog who will walk through a random puddle. This was the same dog who only wanted to take care of her business and come back home this morning. She had an air about her that suggested that I had forgotten that she is undoubtedly a sugar cube. The slightest bit of rain will indeed make her melt. As I tried to give her a schnauzer pep talk, she looked at me as though I should remember that she is made of sugar. It is going to be a long winter...

The one nice thing about this time of year is that she does like to cuddle when it is cold. The other night she had decided to sleep in her own little bed. In the wee small hours of the morning though, the temperature had dropped and it was quite chilly. I woke up to her letting me know she wanted up on the bed. In the darkness, through my sleep laden eyes I could see the dark silhouette of two pointy ears over the side of the mattress. I picked her up, where she immediately took the warm spot. She made it clear that I should hike it over and make space for her under the blankets where she could cuddle up to me.

She is bossy. I am starting to doubt that I am at the top of the food chain in this household. I can't help myself though. I just love her so much.

A Little About My New Abode

2011-10-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have heard it said over and over again and again, "Do not get emotionally attached to a house when you are house shopping." I thought, "P-shaw, I am an accountant,rational, analytic, pragmatic and a whole lotta other big words. Yeah, that went out the window when I walked into the new cozy cottage. I fell in love. Like head over heels, giggly schoolgirl, hopping up and down love. So much for my accountant adjectives (and decorum).

When I started looking around, I told my real estate agent and dear old friend, that I just wanted a little fixer upper, something affordable. I told him that I was ready to put in some hard work and sweat equity to make it what I wanted it to be. He told me that the fixer uppers are going first and quickly in this market with a lot of competition for them. So we looked and we looked. It has been an adventure. I have seen some gorgeous houses and some that were, uh...Note to sellers-Just say no to mustard yellow and gray sponge paint in the bathroom, just sayin'...

My pretty cozy castle was one of the houses on my list of to-sees, but for one reason or another kept missing the opportunity over several weeks. Finally, at the end of a house shopping evening, I mentioned that there was house that I had on my list for weeks and could we just run by it really quick?

Now, all of my friends and the people at church told me that I would know the house when I walked into it. We opened the front door, I walked inside, and felt like I was home. While we were there, one of the craftsman who had done the work stopped by to take after photos of his work. He also showed us the before photos. Basically, this house was gutted, stripped and totally remodeled from one end to the other. Totally remodeled kitchen with custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops. The bathroom had been totally remodeled with beautiful custom tile-work and granite. The cast iron plumbing had been pulled out and replaced with pvc/copper. The original hardwood floors were rescued and restored. This craftsman was so proud of every inch of his work. The roof is brand new and both the walls and ceilings are insulated. The landscaping is pretty, too. Funny, I still can't help but think of more upgrades I want to make...

I got an email at 6:15 this morning from the mortgage folks telling me that they are rushing my file this week. They have been so absolutely kind and wonderful. All of the people involved in this have made this such a beautiful experience. This has been a faith journey, too, and sometime in the future I would love to share that part of the story because my own faith has been strengthened as a result of this journey. I knew that I would be led to the place where Liesl and I needed to be. I can not wait to move her bed and toys in, because then it will truly be home.

A Very Happy Day!

2011-10-02T20:42:00.001-07:00

What an exciting and happy, happy day! I have to say that I am really impressed with folks in the real estate and mortgage business. They work seven days a week, all hours of the day and night. The team of people that I have been blessed to work with are so awesome. Last night I received a voicemail from my mortgage broker that the report we were waiting for had come in and we are ready to go. Whoohoo! I don't think I slept at all last night. My heart was just pounding. Mostly, happily, although admittedly it was partly panic, too! I would think this is normal. The documents were flying back and forth via email today. So much to sign! Each signature brings me closer to my set of keys. It is so exciting.

I will be happy to get moved. Trying to navigate around these boxes is wearing a little thin. Liesl does not have much floor space to play. Mostly, I miss cooking and puttering around the house and garden. My cookware is packed, the oven is cleaned for move out, and I am a bit too busy to cook. I am so excited because my new stove is gas and has that industrial look and industrial cook top. It is so pretty!

Liesl is really adapting well right now. She is her usual happy self. She loves a new game that we invented. She loves it when it is cookie time and I take her cookie and break it up then hide the pieces. She loves the treasure hunt and gets all excited. I hide the pieces under her toys all in one room. She thinks this is so much fun.

I am hoping that I have wonderful neighbors at the new house like I do now. My neighbors have been stopping by and talking to me over the fence. They have all said how happy they are for me and they they are going to miss Liesl and me. It makes me a bit sad to say goodbye to them. I have been living in a neighborhood with about 4 foot fences across the backyards, so we all talk to each other over the fences. My neighbor was saying today how important it is to have neighbors that you really like when you do not have a lot of privacy from each other. Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold!

So this will be a very exciting week. So many blessings and so much to be grateful for. So much to be happy about!

Work In Progress

2011-10-01T15:38:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post today to show the progress on my blackwork piece. I still have so much more to stitch because this is a huge piece. I am having fun though!

Just a little bit of trivia about blackwork. I did a little research because I just find the design style so interesting. It is most readily identified with Elizabethan era costume. It is widely believed that it was introduced to England by Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII and daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. Catherine was an accomplished embroideress and is believed to have embroidered several of King Henry's shirts and tunics. She was also said to be a fashion icon of her time, and may have inspired the fashion of the day featuring blackwork and lacework.

Blackwork apparently originated in Spain (and is often called Spanishwork.) There is a influence of the Moors on the designs, which are geometric and scrolling in nature.

Potpourri

2011-09-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sick. I have a bad sore throat and just feel like crud. I am already in bed for the evening. I just had a flu shot a couple of weeks ago. My friend at work thinks it is stress though. She said that even though it is happy, lifetime dream coming true stuff, it is still really stressful. I am trying to keep all of the balls in the air and am just showing the physical effects of it. Grrr. I am going to go to sleep right after this post and hope to be perky again in the morning.

Well, it turns out that it was especially good that my move is not happening this week. (It is so funny how generally things just tend to work out for the best!) There is a cold front moving in and rain is in the weekend forecast. So it is really working out. I called my 23 year old son (a super cool guy!) last night to let him know that the schedule got readjusted. He was planning on coming on Friday to help me move some things prior to the big Saturday move with my other helpers. I figured that he would want to know early that he was getting his Friday evening back so he could make other plans. What was so cool, was that after I told him that the move was postponed, he said, "Well, we should get together anyway! Let's have dinner!" It made me so happy and just made my day all day today. He is taking me to a place I have not tried yet but I have heard great things about. Yum! What a blessing. I am so looking forward to it!

Tonight I was talking to a dear friend on the phone. We speak a few times a week, generally. She is a wonderful person, and retired about five years ago as a professional interior decorator. I have another friend whose house was decorated by her and it is absolutely beautiful. Well, I was telling her how I am absolutely in love with my new house and how much I can not wait to show it to her. Then I asked her if after I get moved in if she would not mind making a girl's day and going to look at some pieces of furniture with me because I would love to have her opinion. She was so happy and excited and said that she will help me make my house exactly what I want it to be, my beautiful sanctuary. I feel so honored! I had really wrestled with asking her because I did not want to impose, nor have her feel that I was taking advantage of our friendship in anyway. Now I am super excited and know that we have lots of fun ahead. I really envision something comfortable where my friends can all come over.

This post would not be complete if I did not mention how much I want a Kindle Fire. They came out today as an alternative to the iPad, but are not shipping until Nov 15. It is beyond cool and is calling to me...Why did this instrument of coolness have to come out at this particular moment?...

Stitching Update

2011-09-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the progress on the piece I am working on. It is the weekend's progress as I have not had time to work on it the past couple of nights. I really love this piece. There is so much going on it overall that it really keeps the eye moving. I can not wait to see what it looks like finished.

I got to have dinner with my dear friend of about 20 years tonight. She is such an amazing person. She has been through so much in her life, yet she is so positive, caring, wise, and an inspiration to everyone who knows her. I was so happy to share a meal with her. It is wonderful to have such old friends, where you know each other's history and you can pick up at anytime with each other. Most of my closest friends have been friends for 10-20 years and we have gone through so much together, good and bad. They are such treasures.

I have a very wise doctor who I would love to have as my neighbor because she is so smart and interesting to talk to. We have had some really interesting conversations whenever I have gone in for an office visit. She told me once that there are really only a small number of people in the world who truly know how to be a friend. They are the people that are truly loyal, have your back, care about you in good times and bad, and speak only the truth in a kind way to you. The rest are all acquaintances and are the people you have to be a bit more careful around. The real friends should be treasured.

I received some news last evening that, at first seemed like bad news but was a major blessing in disguise. I got a call letting me know that the escrow has to be extended a week or two on my house purchase while they await some documents. I guess this is a fairly common occurrence because I told a few people and each one said not to worry, that the same thing happened to them and is pretty common. When they first told me I was kinda bummed out. After a minute or two I realized that this was probably for the best for several reasons. First and foremost, it is for the protection of both the seller and me. Secondly, I am taking some vacation time to move and set up. Unfortunately, the time I was going to take fell in the first week of the month. This is my very busiest time of the month at work, particularly at the end of the quarter. I was really a bit stressed about how I was going to make everything work and make my critical deadlines. Now, however, I will be able to get all of my work done prior to the move, so that I can really enjoy my time off and setting up the new house in a state of happiness rather than stress. It also allows me to lower my stress level on getting everything packed and making sure that everything on my to do list is done in a more relaxed and focused manner. Everything has actually fallen into place so nicely with this new development so I am now feeling like it happened for a good reason.

Another Great Day!

2011-09-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's start off with the super great news. Tony Stewart won again today. The second race in two weeks. He is now #1 in the points. Whoohoo! Just a few more races to go before the Sprint Cup Champion is crowned! Hopefully, it will be Tony!

It was a really good day. In the past, I think I have shared that for a small dog, Liesl is not a lap dog, she is more of a working dog (Schnauzers are farm dogs). She is also takes her job as the protector of momma very seriously and sleeps at the foot of the bed closest to the door so that she can keep watch at night. As a general rule, she does not come up and cuddle unless she is cold, sick, hurt or scared. Early this morning, she decided to come up and hog my pillow and cuddle up to her momma. It was a special treat to fall back asleep with a warm little dog all cuddled up. It was a like a love present from Liesl. It set a great tone for the day.

I have my kitchen totally packed. The cupboards are all washed out and ready to go. It is a big relief to have the kitchen done. I am almost done with the office. These are my two biggest rooms in terms of stuff. I actually ran out of boxes. Luckily, we have a lot at work so I will bring home a stack tomorrow and will probably get the office done tomorrow night.

I took this evening to relax and stitch. My new q-snaps are the perfect size. So I just stitched and had a nice quiet evening. The rest of the week will be hectic in a good way, so it was nice to sit and be quiet. It was also a good time to count my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for, once I get started it just blossoms.

Have a blessed week!

My Day Of Awesome!

2011-09-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

What a great day! We slept in until about 9am today. Oh, my goodness! It felt really decadent. It had rained last night and was dark and looking drizzly this morning. This, sadly, meant no beach walk today, so we just took our time getting up slowly. I got under a blanket and sipped my tea. Little Miss Liesl positioned herself under my feet, which keeps us both nice and toasty. Liesl dropped off to sleep again.

After I finished my tea, I figured that I needed to get the day in motion so I could get everything done. My hair was getting a bit unruly so I went off to my hairdresser so she could tame it for me. She fit me right into her schedule, because she is awesome. She has been doing my hair for about 16 years. I never ask her to style my hair a certain way. I sit down in the chair and she works her magic. Now it looks cute again and I am happy.

On the way back home, I gassed up the Patti-wagon, then thought I would stop in at Marshall's. I remembered that they had beautiful granite type stone items like lotion bottles for use on bathroom counters. I want something really pretty to go in my new bathroom, so decided to check it out. I love Marshall's. You never know what you will find in there. I went in and found a gorgeous stone lotion bottle and dish. They are so pretty and in a warm color. Plus they were on clearance. Yay! The will look perfect on my bathroom counter. Then I saw something ideal for my BFF's Christmas goodie bag. Nice. As I was heading back to the registers I saw the cutest sweater for work with a ruffled edge for $20. I reshuffled my items in my arms, then picked up a cute full sized toy rabbit for Liesl in their pet section. I knew I had to get out of there, but that was when I saw it--THE perfect purse. Red, crocodile. The perfect size and shape. I had officially run out of arm space and so I had to get out of there. A good haul! (Liesl loves her bunny.)

I was totally craving my favorite salad from Trader Joe's, but thought twice about going there. TJ's is a scary place to go on a Saturday. It is usually packed and the parking lot is a house of horrors. If you actually make it inside, there is mayhem. Nevertheless, I thought I would live dangerously and I would check it out. Just as I pulled into the lot, a spot opened up right in front of the store. I do not think that I have ever had a spot right in front of the store. I ran in, scored my salad(s) and headed home. I had my salad- a Thai citrus chicken salad to die for! So yummy. And I felt like I was a good girl. I was feeling happy and thought I would pick up the phone and call my daughter, which always makes me happy. I told her that Alton Brown is coming to the Bay Area to do book signings, so it looks like we are going to try to go together to one of the book signings. I love Alton Brown. Good Eats is one of my all time favorite shows. I have one of his official salt pigs and everything!

It was time to face the music and get down to the business of packing. I got so much done! I have thrown out a lot. I also called to arrange a pick up with a local charity of some furniture and items that I would like to donate. I washed out cupboards, stacked my boxes (some up to the ceiling), and talked to the nice people at Comcast about moving my service. They were fantastic and so accommodating about the scheduling. It was such a good customer service experience. I feel like I accomplished so much today!

So tonight, I have played with Liesl and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, which she loves. I feel so badly because in a 600 square foot house, floor space is at a premium. She has even less space to play with boxes everywhere. So I am trying to keep her from getting stressed. She seems to be eating okay and is still ornery as all get out, so I guess all is well. Tonight I am watching Brian Regan on Netflix, and getting ready to stitch. I love me some Brian Regan, he makes me laugh out loud. This has been such an awesome day, so laughing is a great way to end it.

I love days that have simple, cool and happy things that happen all day. This day was awesome and kicks off a week that is pretty darn special!

A Quiet Friday Night At Home

2011-09-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well, if close of escrow is on schedule this upcoming week, this will be my last weekend in my current house before Liesl and I move to the new Cozy Cottage. Therefore, I cleared my social calendar for the weekend so I can focus on my moving prep. I decided that I would enjoy my last Friday night in this house and relax. The rest of the weekend will be focused on errands, packing and cleaning. I am trying to keep everything as low stress as possible so that the transition is a calm process for Liesl and she does not get really stressed. I have really loved this little house and hope that the next people will enjoy it just as much as I have. I am just so excited and wonder how I will sleep in the next few days.

I received my order from 123stitch today. I really love the ornament issue and plan on stitching quite a few of the ornaments. I think it was one of the better issues in years. I am really excited about the Emblem of Love ornament. I will finally have room in the new house to put up a Christmas tree and decorate for the holidays. I am very excited about this and the years to come. I hope a certain schnauzer cooperates with the festivities...She was adopted around Christmas 4 years ago. That year, not knowing a schnauzer would be joining the household in the later part of the month, I had baked Gingerbread people and decorated them with royal icing, then hung them on the tree. Then this little 4 month old puppy came along and thought she had found the lucky cookie tree. All the sudden I would hear the rustle of pine boughs and jingling of ornaments and see a little gray blur running victoriously down the hallway. By the time she could be caught, she would be eating a gingerbread man as fast as possible. Thank goodness, she did not eat the hooks.

I am not sure I have ever shared the meaning of Liesl's name. When she came in and took over the household, (she had come from a bad situation where she was mistreated) she had a funky name that did not suit her at all. It was agreed that since she was a German breed that she should have a Germanic name. I arrived at Liesl from the Sound of Music. It turns out that Liesl is a derivative of Elizabeth or Elise and means "God's Promise." I loved it when I found that out. I have done some research and it appears that there are several promises in the Bible, including supplying us all of our needs. I am so grateful that He saw the Liesl and I needed each other. She is a happy little blessing.

One last note-everyone who knows Liesl says that her name just suits her. She is most definitely a Liesl. She has always answered to it, too, except when she was running away with the gingerbread men. She seems to understand German, too. I know a couple of people who speak to her in German. One is a very close and dear friend from church. He speaks to her in German and tells her that she is beautiful. She gets this very dreamy look on her face, like she understands and is mesmerized. I have to wonder if on some level she understands.

Getting Really Excited Now!

2011-09-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the big day is looming large and I am about to burst with excitement. There are still so many details to attend to, but this is a special time. So I am trying to stay in happiness and gratitude and not stress about details.

I was talking to my contractor friend today and was telling him that I found the cutest plans for an adorable potting shed that has a weather vane on it and everything. I totally want to build it. He told me that he has a lot of leftover wood and material from jobs that he has done and when I am ready for my little construction project, that I am welcome to anything in the shed. Is that too cool or what?! He also said that while he was in Home Depot the other day he noticed they had a list of the free workshops they give with the upcoming dates. Apparently, there is a pretty good list of stuff I would be interested in. I am so stoked! I want to put in a little workbench in my garage so that I can work on projects. It will be so fun to take those workshops, too. I'll be a total Home Depot groupie.

We had a little excitement around here this morning. Around 4:30 am Liesl was insisting that she had to go out. I got up and walked to the back door all squinky eyed. Then I switched on the large backyard light, just as I put my hand on the doorknob. That was when I spotted the bandits stealing and eating my tomatoes like apples. Five of them, they had masks on and everything. Those five little faces looked up at me like, "What're you lookin' at?" Liesl was beside herself because she wanted at those five little raccoon. Unfortunately, raccoon are notorious in the horrible things they can and will do to dogs. So I made her stay inside while I tried to make enough noise to scare them off without waking the neighbors. Liesl was fit to be tied and paced the house for while, sniffing the air for her little furry friends. A little too much excitement too early in the morning.

Well, off to dreamland...

My Little Busy Bee...

2011-09-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has ever loved a miniature schnauzer, knows that these little dogs are total characters. They are super smart, have a great sense of humor and are extremely busy little dogs. Such is the case with Liesl. She is a busy girl. Schnauzers love toys and need a lot of stimulation. I have always read that if you do not have toys for them, they will "make their own fun" usually with your stuff. Liesl loves her toys and will usually run in the door when we get home, go straight to her toys and take inventory of the favorites by touching her nose to them.

Tonight I had the best time watching Liesl. She goes from toy to toy, tossing them in the air, grooming them, and carrying them with her while she trots around the house like she has somewhere she has to go. At one point she found an open box that I had left in the living room and she packed her ladybug in it. (Schnauzers will copy your actions.)

At the end of the evening, she will have me take off her collar, which she prefers not to sleep in-- I am just the staff here. Mine is not to question. LOL Then she will back up to the sofa to let me know that she would like her head rubbed and her neck scratched before she puts herself to bed. The photo is of her little sleepy self.

It was nice to have the opportunity to watch her play and to be happy. My friend who also has schnauzers always point out that they are such happy dogs. I love watching her little spirited self just be in her joy. It makes me happy, too.

A Really Good Sunday

2011-09-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today was a really beautiful day. I was still feeling a bit blue from yesterday and decided that I just wanted a day of quiet and reflection today. So I stayed home. I woke up late, and took my time drinking a cup of tea and answering my email with Liesie keeping my feet warm. I realized that we have not had a slow, quiet day in a long time. My house has been disorganized with the pending move, and I have not had a lot of time to give Liesl an abundance of attention.

Today, I got to follow my bliss. I hugged Liesl a bunch and played her favorite games with her. She was so smiley that it made my heart soar. I also got to stitch while watching bad television, and she joined me under the blanket and snored little puppy snores. It was wonderful. By the way, Hillbilly Handfishin' was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. LOL After we had rested to our heart's content, I got up and organized and cleaned the house. I like things organized and shiny clean, so the disorganization has been adding to my blue funk. I have been concerned about the owner wanting to show the place, and have been worried about how it presents. Now I am proud of the way it looks in spite of the boxes. I also got a lot of packing done. Liesl decided to herd me while I worked. She thinks this is hilarious, which makes me laugh. So I am feeling loads better.

Above is my progress on my sampler. I decided to move up a row since I have run out of room and I am too lazy to reposition my Q-snaps. I actually have a pair of 17 inch Q-snaps on order, which should solve the problem. I got to place an order at 123stitch today, a rare event these days. The new issue of the JCS Ornament issue is in, so I had to get my order in. I have about 10 years worth and could not break up the set now. LOL Of course, I have to make the postage charge worth it, so I ordered the larger Q-snaps and additional red floss, just to be on the safe side.

So now the house is quiet. Liesl has turned in for the evening. I get to reflect on all that I am grateful for. There are so many blessings to count. I am grateful that I had the gift of today to be with my little furgirl and to take care of the stuff that has been weighing on me. I am grateful that I had the time to think about all of the people that I love. I am grateful for work and play. This has been a wonderful day to walk in gratitude, to be thankful for the abundance in my life, and to think about how much God really, really loves us.

My you have a blessed week.

I LOVE Better Homes & Gardens

2011-09-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

I have gotten hooked on bhg.com. I have loved the magazine for years, but I have recently gotten hooked on the website as well. They send emails with great ideas every day. I totally love their garden plans. I was playing around on the sight, getting decorating ideas when I stumbled upon the photo above. I love this room. Like really love it. Like, love it so much that I am going to make it happen in my new house. The window placement matches my house's layout. Of course, I will put my own personal touch to it, but I love the window treatments and use of color. I love red, so this is totally the room for me. I have so much work ahead, but it will totally be a labor of love. I can't wait to get started. This is going to be so much fun!

This has been kind of an emotionally hard day. Today was my dear friend's memorial service. It was beautiful. My friend had been a POW so there was a beautiful letter from former President Bush and Laura Bush, honoring him. Our Congressman was also there and other dignitaries. There was even a flyover of two F-14 jets. I was able to see a lot of old friends that I have not seen in years, too. The service was so beautiful, but I was teary eyed, and trying not to break out into a noisy cry. I truly feel that I am a better person for having had such an amazing example of integrity, compassion and friendship. My friend was a true blue, stick by you in thick and thin, loyal friend. I know that our paths will cross again, but I still can not process that he is not of this world anymore. I truly miss him, and know that I must honor his memory by helping to support his wife, who I dearly love, in the hard days ahead. I cried my eyes out when I got home and had one of those ugly headaches from holding it in for so long.

I spent the afternoon trying to pull it together and could not seem to do anything that felt right. I decided one way to feel calm and feel better would be to treat myself to a pedicure, so I trotted off to the mall in the late afternoon. I have not had a pedi in a few months, so it was a nice treat. I picked out the deepest red with sparklies in it. It made me feel a bit better. That and a really super healthy salmon dinner. Liesl got to have the salmon skin so she was super happy and gave her momma extra kisses tonight. (But she did have fish breath...)

I knew that today was going to be rough, so I had planned for a nice quiet evening at home. I have stitched this evening, and reflected on the wonderful years that I have gotten to spend with all of my friends. I am also glad that I have friends who understand how precious and fragile life is. We all tell each other that we love each other, and always share how important the friendship we share is. I am really blessed.

Blackwork Pattern

2011-09-15T21:16:00.001-07:00

As always, thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments. They mean a lot to me. A question came in about the pattern that I am working on so I thought I would pass on the information to all.

My pattern comes from the book above by Lesley Wilkins. She has written several books with blackwork patterns. I found mine on Amazon several years ago. For some reason the price on this book has escalated in the past few years though. You might try your local booksellers. Otherwise, she does have several different books to choose from. (My apologies, no plans to sell my copy any time soon. There are several patterns I want to stitch. I am sorry I could not be helpful.)

It is cold here. Like I had to turn the heat on tonight cold. I had to work pretty late, then decided that since I was tired, worn out and hungry that I should torture myself with a trip to Costco after work. I was almost out of Liesl's favorite chicken jerky, and I would not want to know what would happen if I did happen to run out. She has been really patient with a distracted and busy momma lately, too. (I did get to pick up some nice new lip glosses at Costco (4 for $9.99) so I am feeling pretty glam.)

I did get to stitch tonight for a little while after I played with Liesl and her squeaky ball. It was nice to put a few stitches in and watch the design grow a bit more. I am looking forward to starting a new motif on another line. I believe there are about a dozen rows of motifs, some way larger than others in this design. Usually, I can't stand backstitching but this is pretty fun and I think it looks so pretty.

If you are interested in blackwork, another good designer is Laura J. Perin. I have had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Perin on a couple of occasions at the old CATS shows several years ago. She is a delightful person and really talented designer. I encourage you to try blackwork, it is really a lot of fun.

2011-09-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, things are getting more and more exciting. I am in a flurry of paperwork these days, securing hazard insurance and keeping up with everything that has to get done. I now understand how necessary escrow is in keeping everything on track and making sure that all legalities are covered. There are so many details that go into the buying and selling of a house.

I was feeling a bit stressed the other day by all of the things that have to get done in the next few weeks. I was sharing this with a dear friend because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. She is such a great friend and told me 1) to pray and 2) to enjoy this time because it is such a special time. She was right and now I just feel happy, blessed and excited. I go to sleep thinking about playing ball with Liesl in her new backyard. I think of how I will set up my office/craft room. I think about the chandeliers I will put up (I have my heart set on one at Home Depot!) I think of how I will cook dinners in the kitchen while looking at my peek of a view of my beloved Monterey Bay. The kitchen and appliances were designed and purchased with a cook in mind. I think of how I will invite my family and friends over for supper, or a cup of coffee and cookies. I wonder how my tomatoes will grow there, how the rain will sound outside my window, and if I will be able to see the purse seiners (fishing boats) from my kitchen window.

I was talking to a friend at work and asked if there is such a thing as a local handyman class where I can pick up some mad skillz for working on my house. I had gone online to DIY to learn how to install a refrigerator line for the built in icemaker and water for the fridge I am purchasing. I was made to raise my right hand and swear that I will never mess with the plumbing, that I will call a licensed plumber, yadda, yadda, yadda. I have a feeling that my work ID photo has probably been circulated at the cash registers at Home Depot with instructions not to sell me copper tubing or a pipe wrench. So embarrassing!

I am finding that I spend a lot of time on Home Depot. com, Ikea.com, Ashley Furniture, and Overstock, looking at home furnishings, lighting, a fountain for my yard, etc. I am having a blast. It is so exciting and fun. My friend is right that this a special time. I am so grateful and feeling blessed. It will finally seem real when I pull the truck up to start loading my stuff!

Whoosh, There Went The Weekend!

2011-09-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here is my blackwork piece that I have been working on. Everything is done in bands. I love it! This is going to be magnificent when it is done! It is also going to be huge. I love large projects! They are so dramatic.

After church today, I came home and packed. I got so much done. I have about 20 boxes packed and I am purging a lot. I ran out of boxes. A huge bunch is being held for me at work. So I can pick them up tomorrow and work on it during the week. A few boxes a day and I should be able to be ready when escrow closes.

I was able to get so much done today because I have a small dog that has been standing over a gopher hole outside, waiting. I am afraid for the day that she catches the gopher and hope that it will not be brought to me in the form of a present. Ewww. She has been vigilant and tenacious in her waiting.

A quick funny Liesl story. Every morning, Liesl goes into my boss' office to visit her Malti-poo first thing in the morning. Every once in a while my boss will give her a treat when she is in there, but only if Liesl sits. So on Friday, Liesl sat right in front of her in her very best and prettiest sit. She waited a couple of seconds and then started to nod her little puppy head in the direction of the treat jar on the filing cabinet. Schnauzers. They are masters of communication.