Serene Saturday

It was a much needed quiet day today. Liesl and I did not leave the house at all. I got a bunch of weeding and tidying up the yard done. I also got all of the laundry done, my homework for my class done, the house cleaned and most of all, my craft room organized. For several weeks now, I have had the craft room/office exactly the way I want it and I am finding myself hanging out in here more and more. It is very peaceful in here. The television is off, the house is quiet, and I am inspired when I am in here to create things. I even have a little bed in here for Liesl, who seems to prefer the floor. I also got tired of the paper piles that I kept accumulating so I got a small tabletop file holder in a basket style to put all of the accumulated paper into. No more piles. It looks pretty good.

Okay, so I think I am in love with a new craft. When I was in Calistoga, visiting my girlfriend and her hubby, she had the most beautiful baskets. She told me that she had made them. I asked her where she got her materials and she shared with me that they are made out of pine needles! No kidding! They are stunning. The book she uses is called, "Pine Needle Basketry" by Judy Mofield Mallow. When I got home, I found it used for about $5. These baskets are so incredible and are truly works of art. Most of all, they look relatively easy and can be embellished with some cool stuff like beads. Liesl and I may have to take a walk tomorrow and pick up errant pine needles. My friend has just the right sized needles all over her deck and I jokingly told her a few weeks ago that I was going to go over and sweep for her once a week. LOL

The one thing that I did not get to do today was stitch. I did sit around and look at stitching books though. I think I may do a red blackwork sampler next, to be a companion piece to a large black Permin sampler that I have done. I do like blackwork. It is so easy, covers a lot of space and is kind of dazzling when it is done. I will have to look through my stuff to see if I have a good piece of fabric for it.

Ooh, I have one more piece of news to share. A couple of weeks ago the Monterey Herald had an article that said that miniature schnauzers are one of the smartest dogs. Now, of course, I knew this, but I also know that they can also be notoriously stubborn, and full of mischief in a fun way. These make for an interesting and complex dog, and an always exciting day. She makes my life very interesting and fun.