Saturday, October 31, 2009

Something so cute...

Happy Halloween! And Happy Pink Saturday! What a wonderful day it is to have 2 events on one day. Join Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more pink pumpkins!
Here is a eleven year look back at my pumpkins, my daughter, (who is dressed in pink!) is only 2 months old and my son is going to 6, in 3 months from the time this photo was taken. This was the year of the vampire and the cute little pink Minnie Mouse.

We still feel that our son makes a great Eddie Munster, even to this day!

Sweet sleep, dreams-full of candy.....C&G Design



Friday, October 30, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Bradley dolls

I picked up a truly marked Bradley doll the other day and I'm chomping to share it. I'm thinking she is of the "Southern Belle" series, and although that's enough to know about her, I'm still researching her name.


The Bradley doll (click to see the yellow safty pin dress) company made the wide eyed, stockinette, or boudoir dolls from 1954 to 1984 when the company was purchased by Hasbro. They originally started with the diminutive features, like the ones shown on my doll.


Bradley dolls aren't very expensive but currently being sought for collection, until recent years the market was flooded with these beauties.




I'm so lucky, another thrift store find. C&G Design.





Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Morning Greetings

Have a happy, hot cuppa' java! C&G Design

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tuesday's child, full of grace



I have this set, I'm going to use the weekly doll on those days where posting is hard for me. Today is a bit of a stress because yesterday my hubs had oral surgery and that fills the entire day. Once all my child's are feature I will talk about the collection. It makes me think of the day my kids were born, both on the same day of the week.

Thanks, C&G Design



Monday, October 26, 2009

A New Movie

I'm excited to announce that this Friday there will be a released remake film of "The Prisoner", a series that aired 1967-68, starring Patrick Mcgoohan, 1928-2009. I watched the episodes on PBS as a kid and I've never forgotten about it. Also my 11th grade English teacher (voted most fave teacher for 8 years) dressed like the prisoner and acted very similar to him. The Prisoner is a spy, sci-fi, psychological thriller where a un-named government (?)worker resigns from his position only to be gassed, kidnapped and contained to a mysterious village, assigned the name of number six. The opening credits have the main character driving a Lotus through the streets of London which Mr Mcgoohan insisted on. Number six tries to escape his imprisonment by running to the beach (end of the world) and "Rover" the big white sphere is always there to bring him back! No matter.


With episodes like meeting ones alter ego and having a show down for Number 2 (Who is number 1!) or being in the center of the village playing chess with human chess pieces, "The Prisoner" will have you wanting more.




Click on the link to see the opening credits.






"I am not a number!" "I am a free man!" Sorry I couldn't resist. C&G Design

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Boo!

Last night the elementary school had their annual Halloween party, there were some really cute costumes like a Twister game (One of madame's close friend) she had a short skirt like blouse with large Twister dots on it and the word "Twister" imprinted on the lower hem. One little girl was a cupcake, she had a white layered collar (overlapping and larger on different sides) made from felt with a brown pocket like shirt (starting under the arms) appearing like the ripples of the cupcake paper and a felt cherry pinned to her head, so cute! Madame, who is a fan of Tim Burton, went as the corpse bride, so simple for me this year. Her gown has sleeves with the same strips of fabric and so does the bottom of the gown, no one recognized her! Good!
UPDATE: To Friday's post and the status to my son's high school football.
It was a tough game fought real well, the opponents started out strong and scored right away, then again at the start of the 2nd quarter, we rallied back at the last five minutes of the 2nd by scoring and kicking a field goal, now it's 14 to 7. Well, with .8 seconds to go before half our side had a illegal receiver down field and the penalty put 12 seconds back on the clock. Good thing because they fumbled, the ball bounced into our hands and the player ran for 35 yards and scored, we kicked and tied with 00 seconds on the clock. Break to the half. Our bleacher were full, it was senior night and the band also had a halftime show they couldn't play during homecoming because the parade was cancelled due to rain. The youth pass, punt and kick took place also. I must say.....it's very exciting to have every spectator rise to their feet at once, we just wanted a score before the half and now we had a chance. My son finally had a run once on the second play, up the middle for no yards but it was all it took. A kick-off return brought a run from the other side to almost a touchdown, alas, my son was last on the sideline containment, no way! No way will he catch this guy. He did, he told us as parents "I didn't know I could run that fast, my body was ahead of my legs and I thought I'd fall, but I reached and I pushed him out". Our local radio station said and "z....m... showing speed!" My husband and I, who were sharing earplugs, laughed. It wasn't going to happen that they would touchdown on that play, not on his starting day.
Well, we scored again in the 4th, so did they, tie again. With 5 minutes and 38 seconds left of the game they had another touchdown and 2 point. We had a turnover 2 times with in the remaining time and couldn't pull it out. 28 to 21, tough fought. The players ended this season the best I've ever seen them end, everyone did their best and should be proud. My son has another year playing and is quite happy being a back, (tail, half, or full) he worked hard this year and I hope to have that feeling rub off for the remaining of the year.
This year's Viking horns (peeled off the helmet, after being earned each year) are stuck on top of his bedroom door facing the family room, let it be a reminder....C&G Design

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pink Saturday with Eeyore

"Eeyore, did you know that Christmas is on two months away?" "Did you know we have to have Halloween and Thanksgiving first!"

" Bundle up and be happy!"


Okay, Happy PINK SATURDAY! Click here. C&G Design



Friday, October 23, 2009

The Last Hurrah



Tonight, it will be all over until next year. My football player is ending the season on high clouds. He will be playing tail back tonight and may run the ball for yardage. Tailback is just in front of the quarterback who fakes/completes hand offs to others, the tail being top choice. My son tells me a particular play was added at practice just for him and if all goes, it will be his ball.



He is also playing tight end, to guard on the side of the line. I guess he earned this position because they need for him to wipe the opposition side out and in a coaches words "Your there because you can't get your caucus there quick enough." Tee hee, Dad and I laugh because that's how ya handle him.



Our school had it's first win in 3 years this season and if we win tomorrow we will have a great chance in being in the play offs. We still need a little help from others (If so and so loses, and they win) but it looks good.



Keeping my fingers crossed. C&G Design

Thursday, October 22, 2009

I won!

Yesterday I announced the winner of my give-a-way and today I'm posting on a give-a-way I won! I've known about this for 10 days now but I was waiting for the delivery through the mail, well it arrived safely yesterday. Prim and Whimsy Gals, a collective site for crafters, hosted a Halloween give-a-way with 9 winners, 9 winners! I threw my comment in because all the prizes are wonderful, they are donated by the people who support the site.


Never, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd win first place, I did! It is this 17 carat African amethyst gemstone with a 16 sided polyhedron oval cut and I have such a urge to set it in a ring, what do you think? It was donated by
Dorothy from The Big Rock Show.


The camera doesn't pick up the sparkle from this rare gem but it glistens in the light, it has a lot of fire and depth to it's appearance.

It also shimmers with red. C&G Design



Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Give-a-way

Let us not forget that today is Raggedy Wednesday and it being "Raggedy Wednesday", it's time to reveal the recipient of my 500th post give-a-way.


I entered everyone according to what was ruled in the post introducing this give-a-way, some were entered 3 times, some twice, and some once. (Even Debbie was entered as a follower! She was nice and opted out as she won the last give-a-way).


Madame picked the winner from a cute red Christmas basket (it has bells on the side). There isn't any volume because it's still my old camera, and worse, I can only download the video on my laptop which made the picture grainy. Apparently, not a lot of programs are available for the new camera and it's video download //*_*\\. It bums me because I have footage of the play house I mentioned yesterday, sigh. I'll figure it out. In the meanwhile, I apologize for the bad picture on the video but I think you will be able to still make out the winner.




I have to say, I enjoy a give-a-way but I wish that everyone could win! I know it doesn't work that way but it prompts me to have more give-a-ways. I'll think of another one shortly in the future.


I will let the winner know by her blog but be assured I've been a commenter on her part of the world for awhile, she is a devout follower of Sunbonnet Sue and has shared many, MANY! Beautiful free patterns. Email me your addy if you are reading this! My email is listed on my profile.


Enjoy! C&G Design


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

October Garden Update

Well, after last update we still had a few things growing in the veggie bed, a few...not much.


My gourds were a HUGE disappointment, and that was about all that was huge about them. This picture is pretty but the gourds grew to three quarter the size of my pinkie!

And the Maximilian sunflowers were 999,999 short. I planted them late though. Every stem had a flower so I guess that was better than nothing. I picked them all for the dining room table, I didn't have the heart to let the frost get them, they were very pretty.



September 20 was the weekend we started to pull vegetation, the beans to be exact as they had expended all their strength. Veggies were still growing in other areas of the garden.


We spread the good soil from the potatoes, I'm not sure we will use the tire method next year or not but if we do we will start over.


This area is about one third the size of the garden but since I can only get my husband's help on the weekends this time of year, we decided to do what we could. He tilled it all under, the newspaper shredded and buried itself really easy, we have decided to newspaper the entire garden next year, no weeding!


The little people went on vacation to a warmer place, closer to the sun, my attic, HA!


At the time of tilling, the cherry tomatoes were producing like gangbusters, I had a hard time keeping up and let some of them go.


We pulled the tomatoes and what didn't fall to the ground got hung upside down in the basement for further ripening. Most all the rest of these were a slight size bigger than a egg and some were tough, what's with that? I found slicing one that it had alot of inner core instead of seeds. Humph.....



And this was what we got for the remaining squash, my one pumpkin is in the back of the right row, I ended up pitching it because of a bad spot. My husband and I believe that when we filled the holes under the mounds with manure, we had more shavings and chips than the manure. We found this the hard way by sinking into the ground after everything was pulled, our guess is to much air space in the dirt. Funny, we did the same for the tomatoes and they thrived and didn't have any sinkhole. Live and learn. My surprise on this day was the large cuke I found hiding!


More cherries.



I decided, after eating tomato sandwiches everyday, I really needed to can what was getting to soft to keep, I know my mom and my employee wanted some but it was spur of the moment, I say that because I canned alone for the first time.


Although about the time these we freezing in the sink, I really wished I had a set of extra hands!


There was a lot of little ones.


Success! After the last time we decided to can the tomatoes with tomato juice, much more appealing to the eye. I'm so proud of myself!

Finally, after everything was pulled, dead or frostbitten we moved the burn pile inside the gate, we felt the ash would do it good since the tomatoes were planted on the prior burn pile and did well. Trouble was...we really needed to keep it small otherwise it would melt the orange fencing. Not a problem and not a problem to start a fire on this deary day, one of the perks in working with heating oil, it seems you get plenty of waste oil!



It was my job to supervise and feed the fire, thank goodness the water was right there as the wind picked up and made me a little distressed. Tartarus laid about eight feet from the flames but decided better of it after he saw me move the chair outside the gate, it got warm and too many sparks landed on his nose! Warm on his ole' bones and it didn't seem to bother him.


The veggie bed is the only place to burn, we burned a pile back in the spring and although we had sprayed water on the tender hemlock branches, the heat still got to the needles and turned them brown. I guess the tree trims will be the start of the springtime pile. No more burning outside the veggie bed.


Some of this wood is from the tree house that had been in the play yard for years, most of it being logs that took awhile to completely burn because they were thick logs. I'll save the story about the tree house for another time as it is still in the play yard.

That's it for now.....even the grass got bit. C&G Design


Monday, October 19, 2009

Another Game

Another game today, we will have a junior varsity game at home and guess who will be wearing a back number? He is so ecstatic! So much so, there was a grade check for eligible and since Babe had a few assignments to do, he was on the "no play" list Friday, staying up until midnight last Thursday night to get it done is enough said! A need in three classes became insignificant compared to running as a back.
I know the jv will win tonight, they are 4-2, winning the last four straight. Next year is going to be formidable and challenging as these players move up.
C&G Design
PS-I will get the vote for the blog redesign out on next Wednesday (this wednesday is the give-a-way), I have a few great ideas that everyone will enjoy seeing it just will take me all week to add text. So Hold on! There is a vote to count! Without chads and all!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Under Construction

Good morning everyone!
I thought I'd have a bit of a surprise for everyone by changing the look of my blog in celebration of my 500th post (which was yesterday). I really had this wonderful idea of a prim Annie but now I'm considering a actual illustration of Ann. What does everyone think?
Should I have the gingham or polka dots or rick-rack? My husband thinks the gingham is a bit much and overwhelms everything. I really love the Ann and Andy theme and I want my readers opinion.
I'm thinking I should post a series of images and have a vote? Either way my look is under construction. C&G Design

Saturday, October 17, 2009

A Few Favorites

I'm becoming obsessed with my blue room, every since I finished the couch I've been itching to reupholster all the other furnishings.
This is a post about pink Saturday though, join Beverly for others who like me....enjoys sharing their pinks too! This is one of my upholstering projects, it will be my second time restoring it. I have no idea of the age because it was another Goodwill find, I really wasn't looking for a chair at the time because I had no room for it, but the poor guy that was in charge of keeping the floor in the store organized was tired of moving it. Maybe as a joke he offered it to us (while lifting it again), for $1.99 and we foolishly took him up on the offer. I recovered it with this lovely pinkish rose fabric and placed it in the office for my employees to sit on when they arrive for their workload. Big mistake. Heating oil service technicians don't always stay clear from soot and over time the arms and the left wing became too stained, too quickly. I have another pink ribbon/rose fabric picked especially for to new cover on this chair.

I love these pillows, I made them all except the satin one, my mother in law made that one for a Christmas present. The little black one I crocheted about 20 years ago, it was a first attempt at the pineapple pattern. I goofed it, the pattern is supposed to lay flat but instead mine curled like a hat. So the plan changed and it became this adornment for the black velvet. At the time I was so proud how vintage it appears, today it is vintage! I also had to pry it from Madame, I didn't realize she had it until I was mentioning it's location to my hubby.
I made the brother and sister dolls too, they sat in the dining room until they lost their spot to another doll! Moving my collection around is what I do. C&G Design

Reminder* Drawing for my give-a-way will be Wednesday, click on the Ann and Andy photo for more details* ENJOY*

Friday, October 16, 2009

Early Season

Last night it was in the low 30's and high 20's for a outside temperature, seems like winter is arriving rather quickly.
On Tuesday, snow fell about 30 miles from me and today it is predicted to fall even closer and more wide spread.
Summer consisted of two weeks with hot weather but mostly 2 months of heavy rainfall, what happened to summer?
This is picture of a potbelly stove in the dollhouse, I thought it was rather fitting to the seasonal changes, Maine can be brutal in the winters so nothing is better than sitting next to a wood stove. I miss it. I remember fondly of those days when I babysat and spent a cozy time with the kids next to the raging wood stove.
Madame has added the piglet to the dollhouse, she is determined to have a farm even though it's only pretend. C&G Design

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Lap Robe

Everyone seems to be having crisis right now, my son is being inattentive to his classwork and giving a "sleepy teen" attitude. Okay. I'd be wealthy if I could figure a cure for it.

I went to the dentist yesterday and after almost 2 years from a deep decay filling, the dentist has decided I need a root canal. I've mentioned the pain and discomfort every 6 months since the filling was done and they kept suggesting a different solution, I even had a impacted wisdom tooth removed due to that side of the mouth pain!
Then thinking my husband was okay with his periodontal disease, he has 4 cavities. Today, (after his deep scale cleaning) he came home for work and doubled in pain from a alternating molar, (not the cavities) and no one can explain it. (I called the dentist) He had updated x-rays which seem fine. Ugh! He seems better tonight but the morning will tell.

Madame has added youth cheer leading to her growing list of things to do. It's coming to mom arranging appointments for a kiss goodbye from her as she flies off to school!

Anyway. I wanted to show you another old but new thing I've worked on. It's a lap robe for my family room couch. I have a really unique couch up here, it's a whiskey keg (3 of them) seater. You may of seen the back of the couch in the pictures that have the round wooden background, it's black and marked with the makers initials wood burned into the side of it. Well, since it's vinyl, it's chilly. We sit on it and find it's okay as couches go, (no dream bed though) but it needs a little zest.

This lap robe is the thing. It is fabric I cut from a winter coat from the 70's, I cut it in the 80's. (can you imagine!?) I never put it together because I didn't know what to do with the pockets. They are added to the robe as hand warmers and can be seen in the photo. The solid black is a pair of velvet pants from the same era. My blocks are 8'' x 7'' and the blanket is 3 blocks by 5. That is approximate 45'' x 20''. Vintage, I would say.



About time I came across it and put it together, brings back memories! C&G Design

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

From WikiHow


How to Be Raggedy Ann for Halloween

Here's a cute, original and simple, easy-to-make costume that looks great. It's a blast back to the 1970s, when Raggedy Ann was a hit with the young Generation X-ers. Read and find out how easy it is to make a Raggedy Ann costume for you.


Steps
1.Assemble the clothes needed. See "Things You'll Need" for suggested clothing. The hair is the most distinctive feature, so this will the most important part to get right, followed by the striped tights. Don't forget to check in your closet to see what you might already own and visit a thrift store for missing items.
2.Put on the dress. A dark color, preferably blue, is best. It is an added bonus if you can find a dress with floral prints on it. Look for old Laura Ashley clothes from the 1980s in your local thrift store for the right sort of dress.
3.Add red and white striped tights or knee-length socks. If you cannot find tights like these, try knee-length socks or buy tights of either red or white and sew on ribbons of the opposite missing color. Be creative in your solutions!
4.Pull on your bloomers. Try to use something that resembles bloomers. The bloomers only need to peek out from under the costume, so any type of shorts that are white might work. You could always sew white calico lace to assist in creating the right effect.
5.Put your apron over the dress. Raggedy Ann's apron is a pinafore shape, both above and below the waist. Preferably it should be a little shorter than the dress. You might need to improvise here and use a normal apron and sew on a white cotton top half with some
ruffles if you cannot find a full-length apron.
6.Fix your hair to look like Raggedy Ann's. There are two possible ways:
*Fix your own hair. Find a can of red spray dye suitable for temporary hair color change and spray your hair red. Wash and curl you hair if it is long. The more "raggedy", the better. Add a red ribbon when it's done.
*Create a wig. This is probably the easier and less messy option and more likely to give a Raggedy Ann look. Perhaps purchase a wig from a dollar store or get creative and make one by dying a mop-head red and turning it into a wig.
7.Do your makeup. Add some freckles, exaggerate the smile by drawing cartoon style wide smile lines to the sides and create wide, open eyes with mascara and eyeliner. Follow the photo above as a guide.
8.Put on black boots. Lace-up boots, if possible, are best.

Tips
If you have a real Raggedy Ann doll, carry her with you for added effect. It will help people to recognize your character and it will look sweet.

Warnings
Don't get too hung up on details. If you can't find elements of the costume, improvise and always go for the most distinctive features first.

Things You'll Need
Tights that have red and white stripes; or knee-length socks
A blue dress with long sleeves (or add a long-sleeved blue t-shirt underneath a short-sleeved dress)
A white pinafore apron
White bloomers - if possible
Red mop-like wig
Black boots
Makeup - especially reds and rosy pinks
C&G Design

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Urgent

My son who has been playing the center position (player hiking the ball) for 9 years has just moved his position number to a full back, who-hoo! He has wanted this for along time coming. Last varsity game he was sent in as full back (player who clears the hole for the ball to be ran thru or the player actually running the ball for "down the middle yardage")
In my sons words he almost hyperventilated thinking he may do something wrong. My husband and listened to the game on the radio and when the announcers said "he was really clocked, he's down with equipment failure", I said to myself, that sounds like a hit from my son....NAH! Sure enough, he knocked the kids helmet clean off his head. The announcer couldn't say his name because he had a lineman's number, in fact the other team complained about that even though their full back is about the same size. My son has non-stopped talking about it ever since, he asked for the video to bring home and let us view it and the coach told him "Penn state called and wanted to see it!" Ha! I guess it was all he needed to muster the courage to ask for another jersey number, and guess what!? According to the answer he got, he will be wearing a new number this week. To which I reiterated, he needed to work his behind off, both academically and physically! C&G Design

Monday, October 12, 2009

Greetings

Happy Columbus day!

And happy Autumn! C&G Design