weekend events

Friday I went to lunch with Aunt Sue and two friends that I worked with at the courthouse. I have not seen these two friends in a year and it was really nice to visit with them. We went to a little restaurant next-door to the Pensacola Victorian Bed & Breakfast. The restaurant's name is The Cottage. I got a picture of the desserts that my friends ordered but I didn't get a picture of the food we ordered. It was good, too. I think Magnolia Sun and I will be going there soon. After lunch, I had to get home to finish up some work that I had. I was expecting more work but it fell through, which was fine with me for the weekend because I wanted a break for a day or so.

Saturday, one of the ladies I went to lunch with on Friday came over to fix my computer that was running low on hard disk space and being sluggish. She works in the IT department and knows so much about the workings of the computer. She spent 3 hours here and it was nice visiting with her while she cleaned up the computer like I don't know how! I took notes...so we'll see if I can do these things in the future.

After she left, the husband and I went over to his brother's house because the nephew and his wife and the twins were in town for a few days. Also, our niece who was recently engaged and her fiance were in town, too, to see her brother and SIL and her nephews. The twins are six months old now. It was so fun to see them and spend time with them. They were so good, too. Happy little guys. Their mom says they nap three times a day and sleep through the night for the most part. She has no complaints. The niece's engagement ring is so pretty and sparkling in person. They haven't started the plans other than maybe May of '09 for the wedding.

After we left there, I told the husband to go downtown to the seafood market so I could get some shrimp for Sunday dinner because the parents' were coming over to visit and meet Emma. We forgot about the mardi gras parade down there. We got stuck in the traffic. We ended up on a street where the floats that were finished in the parade had gone to park so I got a few pictures. I had my window down and we were stopped in a line of traffic and some mardi gras parader in a costume came up to my window when I wasn't looking and put his head almost in the car and said "HEY." I screamed. I was not expecting that. He was walking along drinking his beer... He apologized and then said, "It's Pensacola." Like that's supposed to okay for someone to stick their head in the car window when you're not looking...like if I was in New Orleans I should be scared and not here??

Sunday, Aunt Sue, mama and daddy came over and I fixed lunch...Destin Shrimp...it was really good and they all like it. Put that on sourdough bread. I made coleslaw and a artichoke/cheese pasta baked in the oven. I didn't take the first picture...I don't know why I didn't think about it.

I'm looking for a new pasta machine so that I can get back to the claying...I might be able to make a few things without the pasta machine. The one I want it a little expensive, so I might wait until next month's payday...so I might not be showing anything any time soon.

If Magnolia Sun and I get to lunch tomorrow, I'll be sure to take pictures!

If you want to see some good mardi gras pictures, go see Barrier Island Girl's blog.


Here are some floats we passed while stuck in traffic.



This kid had a big trash bag full of mardi gras things that he caught from the parade.

Me and little Andrew...and Beau the great dane! Beau weighs 170 pounds. He is so sweet.

This is a video of William in the bouncy seat. These boys are so sweet.

Emma got something in the mail

30 Something sent a surprise to Emma and we got it today. Goodies from the doggy bakery and a toy. Sugar is enjoying the bakery treats too. They smell wonderful. I even took a "TINY" taste of the pizza one...it smelled so good..but it's not for me. But it smells like a real pizza. And the cute green toy will be enjoyed too. Thank you 30 Something!

Here is the pizza one....smelled so good.


This one looks like a piece of fudge or a brownie.

Emma's goodies from 30 Something

my first clay thingy

These two are doing really well together. I saw Emma laying her head on Sugar's back this morning while Sugar was working on a chew.


Here is my first clay thing I made. It's a turtle and I went way overboard on decorating it. But it was fun to mix the clay up and see what colors would come out. I used ecru, moss and gold on the turtle. I mixed some of the together and mixed all colors together for different things. I made a little starfish. And the pin and the razor blade, I made little handles for so I could pick them up safely. There is a little bead made from the colors I used in the turtle, too. I baked all this in the toaster oven on a piece of index card paper.

I had to prop the turtles head up with this piece of paper until it baked so that it wouldn't fall down.

I made a few different beads and baked them in the little bead rack. It keeps them off the surface so that they don't get shiny spots or burnt spots on them. They are not shiny when they come out of the oven. They have to be sanded with wet/dry sanding paper and then buffed.

I think I will enjoy making the beads and other things. These are not uniform or perfect and I would not give them away or sell them but the more I practice the better they will look.


I broke my pasta machine that rolls the clay through to make it different widths and helps condition the clay right out of the package. I think I might have to buy a better quality pasta machine so I'm going to look for an Atlas...that will probably cost me about $50 or more but Atlas model has a motor that can be added to it. That's a good feature to have if you are a serious clayer...from what I understand. And the little bit that I've had to crank that pasta machine...a motor doing all that cranking would be a good thing so that you can keep both hands on the clay so that it won't stick to itself.

Emma Lee the Siamese Dog

Sugar and Emma sharing the tent. Yesterday I caught them in there together. I was so happy because that was the first time in two days that's happened.

This was the scene in the bed this morning when I got up. Emma likes to sleep between my legs. Sugar doesn't do that ... I'm glad both of them don't do that.

She is just a little doll.


Thank you for all the sweet words yesterday on Emma Lee. She and Sugar seemed to be getting along great. They sat outside on the front courtyard area next to each other. Sugar and Tiny used to do that all the time. They now get in the tent together.

Yesterday I had to leave the house for a little bit and I was afraid Emma would scratch the door down, but there was no damage when I got home. I tell them before I leave that I'll be back in a little bit and I think she will get the routine pretty quickly.

The first vet that she saw in Jacksonville thinks she is around six years old but I am looking forward to seeing what my vet thinks. I think she might be younger than that.

The husband L-O-V-E-S her. He says she is beautiful. Her coloring is so unusual. She is long and thin and has the color of a siamese cat...so I think we have a cat-dog!

I had a chance to play with the clay so I'll show you what I did...it's so elementary I'm almost embarrassed to show. But it's a start. I have a long way to go!

Emma Lee aka "Emily"

The husband has claimed Emma as his girl! This is her first walk on Sunday.

This is Emma riding on Aunt Sue on the way home from Jacksonville on Saturday.

Emma sat on Aunt Sue the whole way home Saturday

This is where Emma likes to sit while I'm in my office. She is under my craft table.

This is Emma and Sugar on the couch with the husband on Saturday night.


I told you I had a surprise for today!

Alfredsmom sent me a link to Southeast Pug Rescue a couple of weeks ago and it was for little girl pug named "Emma"...imagine that! Emma was a former puppy mill pug and was rescued by Southeast Pug Rescue last November. She has been living with a foster mom since November. She needed a home where someone was home most of the time. And that is a good fit for me.

It took about two weeks from filling out the application until I got the call from the foster mom. In between that time, SEPRA checked out my reference and a call to our vet. And questioned me and sent someone to our house to do a home check. I appreciate that they really check out the person and their home before doing a placement. There is a $250 adoption fee. It goes back to helping the organization with the vet bills. Emma had a mild case of heartworms that she was treated for and she is fine.

Friday, Aunt Sue and I drove over to Jacksonville and spent the night and met Emma the next morning. Emma was living with her foster mom and three other pugs and three cats. It was wonderful to see all the animals in the house. They were everywhere! So much fun. The cats were up on the furniture and so friendly. There was a doggy door and they would all go in and out! We stayed about an hour visiting and playing with the pugs. The foster mom was expecting to get another foster pug very soon. Some puppy mill had just turned over 9 pugs.

I hate that pugs are treated the way that they are from puppy mills. Emma came from a backyard breeder that was not a "puppy mill" so much as just she was living in a pen outside on dirt, grass, concrete. He gave up three pugs including her. The foster mom said she did not know how to eat out of a bowl when she first got her. She has never been on walks.

We took Sugar in the stroller and the husband walked Emma. She walked really well. She rode in the car great. Aunt Sue held her the whole time so I don't know what would have happened if I had belted her in to the back seat. She is just so sweet. She is a little bitty thing. 15 pounds according to the foster mom. She eats really well. She doesn't like to go outside in the cold or wet...but what pugs do??

I think she is going to be just fine here with us. She deserves to have a good life. I am thinking her good life is starting now and she'll live out her days in peace and quiet and comfortable.

I know having puppies are so fun and I recommend everyone that wants a puppy to get one at least once in your life or more...but a rescue pug is just as wonderful and most of the time they are already settled out of the puppy stages and just want to come to your home and sit on you and love on you and have a good life and make you happy. It would be nice for every puppy pug that you get in your life, that eventually you get a rescued, older pug when you can.

Thanks Alfredsmom, for sending me that link! We know have an "Emma" of our own.

seashell michelle

Here's Seashell Michelle, the leader of the dolls.


Stayed tuned for Sunday or Monday I will have a surprise for some of you and it's a good one! Some of you already know what it is and are looking forward to seeing pictures!

dolls come out during mardi gras

Well, thank goodness my daddy sends me pictures sometimes because I have not had time to go out and take any. My work exploded this week and no end in sight....which might be a good thing, but I might need a break for a day.

My mama likes to decorate and Mardi Gras is in full swing just about around these parts. So this is sitting in her living room.

Do you see those doll things on each side? They come alive after lights out and dancing around....I'm glad I have not witnessed that. But there a real big one called Seashell Michelle that is the "boss" of them all. Maybe my daddy will take her picture and I'll show you. I have been trying to get the parents to get rid of these for years.

Belle Tales

Belle, my parents' dog up on the bed ready to go to sleep. I'm not sure if she puts herself to bed or not?? She is a funny girl.



Magnolia Sun and I went to lunch today and neither one of us thought about taking a picture until we were finished and outside. We both took a picture of the palm trees outside, but I'm too tired to go get the camera and load the picture on here. I had to get back home to get some work that was coming in for me so we didn't have long to sit and talk like we like to. So hopefully in the next week or so we can do that again.

I went to Michael's again because the polymer clay was on sale at a good price and bought some...I'm spending too much money on this craft. Somebody stop me. My work has gotten so busy that I have not had a chance to sit down and do the crafting...looks like this week and weekend are not going to allow me to do it then either.

summertime picture

For all my cold friends!!! This was in July of 2006...but I wanted you all to warm up from all the snow y'all had north of here.


I worked all weekend so I have no new pictures. I did go to the clay class Friday night and enjoyed it. I learned several things, including what I was doing wrong when I was conditioning my clay. I learned better how to use the pasta machine for conditioning the clay. I do believe I'll be taking more classes.

Still reading the boring book and hopefully will finish it tonight or tomorrow...it's the third book on the same subject by this author and it's just too boring for the third time.

It was cold here but no snow...just cold rain on Saturday. Maybe I'll have a new recipe to show this week.

conditioning the clay

Tonight is my clay class, so last night I got the clay I am taking and had to "condition" it. You just take it out of the package and roll it and knead it and run it through the pasta machine a few times to make it pliable. I learned a few things last night and here they are:

1. wash your hands after conditioning EACH color. Otherwise, your white clay will end up a bit purple and your purple clay will end up with white bits in. (this goes for all colors.)

2. Don't forget that you have a razor-type blade instrument in your hand when cutting the clay and it WILL CUT you. Ouchy.

3. You need a bigger work table when rolling out the clay with the pasta machine.

4. The clay is sticky and sheets of it stick to each other (even if the instructions say to lay the clay sheets on top of each other and then separate them, it's not going to work for you (meaning me).

5. Your hands and neck and back are not used to kneading clay and you feel like a truck has run over you at the end of a couple of hours of doing this.

Now, here's a few pictures from last night.

My first package of clay. I hope to look back on this picture a year from now and see how far I've come.

The clay after conditioning.

I have a bead roller and I put some of the scrap clay in it and rolled it around and it makes some pretty beads.

Another picture of the beads.


My instructions for class were to make a skinner blend cane. (class tonight not last night) Being brand-new at this I had to find out on the Internet and in books what this was. It looked pretty easy in the instructions so I set out to do this with my white clay and purple clay and by conditioning the clay and then stack the two different colors of clay on top of each other and then cut on a diagonal and then separate the pieces...that was easy except my pieces stuck together like glue and that was not part of the plan. So I said to myself this will have to do anyway. So then it was time to run them through the pasta machine. This is fairly simple except that the clay will stick to itself if I don't have my hand down there to pull it straight...but as the clay gets longer and you keep running it through the pasta machine, you have to have a hand holding it up top and one hand holding it on the bottom and then you have no hand to turn the crank on the pasta machine. I have seen that some people have a motor on their pasta machine with foot pedal. That must be how they use both hands to keep the clay from sticking??

Anyway, my skinner blend cane is not happening unless I get it done before I go to class tonight.

Random things

Wesnlani tagged me to do this...so here goes.

The rules are to link the person who sent this to you...and leave a comment on their blog.. so their readers can visit yours.
*post the rules on your blog
*Share 7 strange/weird facts about you on your blog
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog
*Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog...


1. I grew up loving cats and not liking dogs. Can you believe that?

2. When someone I love dies and I go to the funeral, I cannot wear the dress or shoes or anything that I had on again. It goes in the trash...I don't even want it to go to Goodwill.

3. I cannot watch medical operations on TV.

4. I could not ride a bike until fourth grade.

5. Years ago, I would get in my car and just drive and listen to the music by myself.

6. I don't like to go to bed without getting a shower.

7. When I'm at home, I can only read a book laying down. (this does not mean magazines or study-type books...just leisure reading.) **But if I'm in a waiting room like someone is having a procedure done, then I can read sitting up.

All right, friends, now every time I do one of these, you get to know just how weird I am!

I'm not tagging but if you do this, let me know so I can see what you had to say.

potato and asparagus frittata

Here is a recipe that I made the other day. I changed the ingredients in my dish but I am printing the original recipe here. What I did differently was put three whole eggs and three egg whites in it, a little more parmesan cheese. I did not have an ovenproof skillet so I had to transfer it to a pie dish to finish it in the oven.







Asparagus and Potato Frittata

1 large baking potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½ inch pieces
4 large eggs
4 egg whites
½ cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Put the potato into a saucepan and add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat; boil 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook 2 minutes longer. Drain and set aside to cool.

Combine the whole eggs, egg whites, milk, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, the salt, and the baking powder in a bowl. Mix in the potato and asparagus.

Heat an ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat the skillet with nonstick spray and add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add the egg mixture and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook until almost set, about 10 minutes. Uncover the skillet, sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, and transfer to the oven. Bake until the frittata is cooked through and the cheese has browned about 5 minutes. Invert the frittata onto a plate and cut into wedges before serving.

Sugar put herself to bed the other day. I went looking for her and there she was, all up in the pillows.

It's mardi gras time around here. Lots of decorations and activities going on.

Looks like these people used their Christmas tree to decorate for mardi gras.

I saw this bird sitting on a twig on a bush.

I found out this doggie's name is Snowball...I think he/she needs a "person's" name.

Santa is still waiting to get in the garage...the reindeer took off without him.


I have a recipe to share tomorrow. Other than that, my work is picking up and I don't know if I'll get out of here to take pictures the rest of the week.

I won the grand prize in Girlville's blogaversary giveaway!! It's the newest book by Mary Kay Andrews titled Deep Dish. Girlville is going to take it to the book signing in her area soon and then she will send it to me. I can't wait to read it and then it will stay on my bookshelf as a special book. Thank you Girlville! I hope to do giveaways like that one day.

I am working on a small craft project now for one of our blogging friends will soon be adding to her family! Anyone can guess who that is?? I hope it turns out like I want it to. I can't show you all because it's a surprise for her. It's not my clay craft. If it turns out cute, I might make this same project with a different theme for a giveaway! I know you all like the suspense of this.

I shopped online at Crate and Barrel after Christmas and got these items half price. I wanted some picture frames for Chichi and Tiny and Baxterman and Sugar ... so I had already bought a frame I saw somewhere else for one of them and then saw these so got these three. So now I'll have these to hang on a tree in the future with their pictures in them.

Sugar in her stroller

Naomi requested to see pictures of Sugar in her stroller! I'm always happy to show Sugar riding her stroller. The stroller really is her favorite part of the day and I think it is mine, too. So here are some picture of her from the past couple of days.







I worked all weekend and I'm still reading the boring book. I don't think I picked it up but once last week. Today I am giving Sugar a bath and cleaning up some around here...I've let it go too long and it's messy because I was working.

One of my nieces got engaged this past weekend! She works in Tampa, Florida, and her fiance is a wonderful guy and they met the first day of university at Florida four or five years ago and have been together ever since! I asked her to send me a picture of her ring because I love to see the bling!!! It didn't photograph too well, but I'll be seeing her in February so I'll get a better look then. But here it is!


I think I'll be planning some type of party to give her...not sure if it will be a shower, or bridesmaid lunch or engagement party.