My Two Furbabies...

These iphone shots are from last week, or the week before... I can't remember... anyway I was home in bed not feeling well and had these two sweet little monkies to keep me company...  My sinus is burning and my face is aching, I'm freezing cold and still coughing... I took some Benalyn... its helped a little bit... I shoulda stayed home in bed today to try to rest this off...

Went out for supper with friends Saturday evening... to Muku... its over by Globefish in Kensington... Ummm... one word to describe this place - yum... we're turning into real foodies with our neighbors... we've been to a pile of good restaurants lately...  Here are a few iphone shots of the food... I can't remember the names of everything...

No sushi at Muku... only delicious Ramen...

I should have snapped a few shots of the menu so I would have remembered exactly what everything was called...  We started with pork gyoza and the shrimp dumplings... no time for pictures of those... we at them so quick because they were delish... Then we all ordered different combinations of the three course option I'll call it... Salad... Rice dish... Ramen...  My rice dish there above was the pork one... and I had Miso Wonton Ramen... it was good but Chris ordered the more spicy Ramen dish... the tonkatsu?..  I will definitely order that ramen next time!..

At first it didn't really seem like a lot of food... but I didn't make it through everything... I still had to order the Green Tea Ice Cream though... om nom nom nom...  I preferred the green tea to the mango ice cream... I've never really been a fan of mango though...

I'm off to make an Earl Grey tea to see if it will help warm me up here this morning...

My Broken Heart...

Things just didn't work out with our sweet little Vince... he wasn't meant for our household... he really needs to be in a single cat home... we really tried... and it has just broken my heart that we couldn't make this his forever home...

So this weekend has not been the best... I'm spending the rest of today putting the house back together... we had to have cleaners in yesterday to clean and sanitize the carpet upstairs and down, the love seat that is upstairs and the couch that is downstairs...

I'm Still Here...

Busy, busy, busy...  not making anything though... this past weekend... what did we do... I think Friday evening I was asleep fairly early... Saturday morning... we went and signed the papers for Vince...  Here is a photo of him taken by the Humane Society... I'll get a better picture of him once we get him...  We couldn't even visit him on Saturday because he was in a different area:

He looks kinda pissed in this picture... he's really pleasant though!..  I think its just cause his one ear is flat there from the top of his crate... see the little scratch on his nose!?.  He had one above his ear too - I think it might be from other kitties in our neighborhood...  He's like a little man version of Cleo...  Saturday afternoon we went to LoungeBurger for lunch.. yum!..

Sunday Furs ended up working so I cleaned the house and did the laundry after a trip to Winners...  Oh we had a wicked storm Saturday evening... tonnes of hail... and my back garden was doing so well... I haven't really gone out and had a good look at it since... I'll have to do that this evening...  Gonna spend this weekend coming cleaning the house too because Momma arrives next weekend!.. and I'm taking the week off that she's here so we're going to be busy busy busy... moving out the front garden, bottling salsa and maybe cherries... we'll see what else... maybe carrots?  

Tomorrow I should have some golf photos here... I spent yesterday out at the beautiful Stewart Creek Golf Course in Canmore, taking photos of our corporate tournament... 

Farmers Market At Lunchtime...

Work And Sleep... Sleep And Work...

Nothing much in the way of creative this week so far...  Just too tired... fingers crossed 4 ams will be over with soon...

Got an update on our little stray...  We'll get a call on Friday to go in and fill out the adoption papers... so we'll do that Saturday morning... and hopefully we'll get to visit him...   then he'll get snipped and his vaccinations will be all up to date and he'll be just out of quarantine and ready for pickup NEXT Friday... I don't know how I'll make it through next week just waiting!

There are a few projects for me to finish up too this coming fall... a couple quilts - treez, rail fence, block of the month (that the Mama and I are designing ourselves)... I'll check and see if I have ANY photos of these projects on my computer...

I can only find two pictures to do with my block of the month quilt that the Mama and I have been working on... I think we have at least six blocks left to be designed and put together in September when she's here for a visit... This block above is for July... two candles for my bro and I's brithdays!  Then this one below is the September block... in paper form before I cut the fabric... the little wooden buttons will be used in the fabric block... 

I really like how this looks in paper form... The fabric blocks are all appliqued and then we're hand stitching around the fabric with brown floss... like on the cupcake block up above...

Tomorrow is Show & Tell Friday... Lets see what I come up with for tomorrow... Maybe the transformation of that bright green birdhouse...

Cloudy Tuesday...

I thought the weather was supposed to be nice all week...  its so grey and cloudy out today...

Haven't been working on anything the past couple days... Oh, I did make Manhattan Clam Chowder... we'd never had it before... it was pretty tasty...  I didn't take any pictures of it though... hmm... next time...

No big plans for the week... gotta do a little changing around in the sewing room... I think we're going to go ahead and adopt the little stray that we found... he's currently at the humane society... after his medical and fixing and tagging and 5 day holding period he'll be ready to go... and they have 6 overfull rooms of cats that need adopting right now... We're going to give it a go and start him out in the house in the sewing room, as neither of other two have really staked claim on that room... we have to pick up a couple of the feliway pheromone diffusers... I hear those might help with any anxiety that any of them may experience... I saw online that a guy had three baby gates to fully fill up the doorway to the room where the introduced cat was so the cats could all see each other... it seems like a really good idea... only I checked kijiji and no luck with that many baby gates... I'm worried about them all getting along, and stressing them out... 

Oh yeah... check this out... got a fern for the front room and put it into the little fern hut that I picked up... hmm... that didn't distract me enough... still nervous about the whole cat situation... 

Where did the weekend go?..

Friday evening we headed down to Booker's Crab Shack with some friends and had this:

Yep... garbage pail lid platter of crabby goodness - snow and king crab legs, crab cakes, crab and artichoke dip, fries, biscuits... and thats a jalepeno mac and cheese there to the bottom left of the platter... and yes that is an EXTRA bucket of crab legs to the top right of the platter...  

Just as we got home we saw a cat run towards the back of our house and it looked just like my Cleo!.. my heart was in my throat... how could she have gotten out!?.  PANIC... so we quickly checked in the house and our two cats were inside... I had to see this cat that had run out back... we have a few outdoor cats on our street but I'd never seen this one before: 

Out under our patio was this skinny little guy...  I called out and he came right out... and we brought him out front and got him some wet food... he ate that so fast... he was so hungry that I ran in and got him a container of kibble... and he had a bunch of that and then he came up onto my lap (I was sitting right next to him) and nuzzled, and kneaded and cuddled... then he ate some more kibble and went and nuzzled and kneaded and cuddled Chris... and back and fourth... food and cuddles... food and cuddles... he was skin and bones... I checked petlynx and kijiji for a description/photos of him but found nothing... He'd clearly been outside for awhile so we couldn't just bring him into our house, just in case he had worms or something... so I ran and got a crate and we brought him to the 24 hour emergency animal hospital...  broke my heart to part with him... but today I'm calling the Calgary Humane Society to get his information so we can track him as there is a holding period in case his owner is looking for him...

Saturday evening we went to check out the Roller Derby Championship match:

I'm thinking out getting some skates and perhaps trying out in the fall... I think it could be a hoot!  

Then yesterday I tackled the 6 layer red velvet cake... I have to say... BAM!..

The 6 thin layers look much nicer than three thick ones I think... and there is a perfect balance of cake and icing in the 6 layer cake...

...now I'm just waiting for 8 am so I can call and see if our little stray had been picked up from the pet hospital on Saturday and brought to the humane society... and what is going to happen with him... if he doesn't get adopted we're going to have to adopt him, he was just the sweetest...

Table Numbers...

I finished the Cootie Catchers and just now the table numbers... They mimmic Tina's invitations in design and will be a sweet little addition to the tables to bring in the wedding colours of pink and brown...  I don't have my dslr on me this morning so its an iphone shot...

Oh, happy Friday everybody!.. What are your plans for this weekend?  I have to AT LEAST finish that one chair cushion this weekend... Saturday we're going to check out the Roller Derby here (Calgary Roller Derby Association)... apparently its the roller derby championship... should be good!..  I'll definitely have my camera with me to get some shots of the action!..

Cootie Catchers Almost Completed...

Take a look at the finished product!  They're almost all complete now... just a few more folds and a little bit of cutting and gluing and they'll be done... I'm going to open them all too to make sure they look good and don't get bent up at the last minute if they're being pulled apart in a last minute rush...

The little brown detail edging makes them look so much more finished than without... without they're just flimsy folded paper...

These are such a sweet little favor to have at your tables at your wedding reception...  They can be filled with fortunes for your guests... instructions to get your guests interacting... messages/instructions for the bride and groom to be called out by the guests even!..

Tried out a new recipe last night... I can't remember exactly what its called... Coconut Chicken?  It has coconut milk, lime zest, grated ginger, garlic, sugar snap peas, chopped tomato, chopped green pepper... so tasty... we had it with some rice... I took a quick photo... its not the best because I was super hungry and just wanted to eat!..

Oh... and there was fresh cilantro in it and then fresh basil on the top... Mmm... I can't wait for lunch today... I bought this dish AND some more of that red velvet cake... Mmm...

Red Velvet Deliciousness...

I found this recipe awhile back and finally got a chance to bake it yesterday evening... I found the recipe here (The Farm Chicks)...  I just have to say om nom nom nom...  I threw it together as quickly as I could... and used this frosting recipe that I found here (All Recipes)... and again YUM!  I'm going to make this cake AGAIN this weekend coming... except this time I plan on taking my time... and actually waiting for the cakes to cool properly so they're not so crummy and the finished cake looks more finished...

Here's a shot of the Kitchen Aid in action... Ooo this thing makes baking a pleasure!..  I'm not sure what it is about red velvet cakes lately but I just love them!..

Here they are fresh out of the oven... cooling on baking racks... 

The cake is so delicious... not too sweet at all... even the icing recipe from that link above... not too sweet... its just right...

I planned on having four layers... I baked two cakes and cut them in half... but I lost half of one of the cakes to the cake gods!..  I was really excited and just wanted to assemble the cake so I was rushing... didn't wait for the cakes to cool enough... decided to assist the first cake out of the pan by banging it on the bottom... the cake did not like that...  so the cake ended up being just a three layer cake... I think this weekend I'm going to aim for 6 layers... I just need one more cake pan... then cut the three thinner cakes in half... Mmmm... buy cool them for awhile in the fridge before I start cutting and assembling...  

I can't wait until lunch time... I brought some cake for my dessert...  I shared half of the cake last night with the neighbors... it was barely frosted and I was running out through the front door to spread the red velvet love...

Cushion One... Lacey Zero...

So perhaps the title is a little over dramatic... it looks good in the picture above... I thought that the cushion cover was a top and bottom piece with a side piece all the way around with two pieces of piping around it... well when I took the cushion cover apart the piping was BUILT IN to the side piece that goes all around the cushion... so I tried it that way... I'm about half way around one piece and it is TEDIOUS to say the least... but now that I'm thinking about it... its not really that bad... I'll give it a round two this evening or tomorrow evening... I'm just going to have to sew around it a second time to get in really close to the piping so that the cushion is nice and tidy...  Oh... I need to pick up some zippers before I can make two bolster pillows for the Swedish couch... and I was just at fabricland... oh well... another trip is in order!

Here is a cute shot of one of my furbabies... Cleo made a nest in the batting that I had downstairs while I was working on the chairs last weekend... she had a couple layers below her and a layer above... It was so cute!

Sunny Saturday...

We started out today with a trip to the Millarville Farmer's Market... We didn't get there until late, like an hour before it was supposed to be finished up, but it was so busy!.. I don't think I've ever seen so many people there... We left with delicious sausages, amazing pizzas and some beautiful fleurs... They look lovely in the front room... now if only the front room was finished...

I'm about to work on the cushion covers for the chairs now...  I finally picked up the last little bit of piping that I needed to finish the chairs... Picture tomorrow of the first chair FULLY completed... nothing much planned for tomorrow except for groceries, a couple loads of laundry and lots of chillin out and watching movies with Furs... (Furs ='s Chris... I'm not sure when or why I started calling him Furs, I just do).  OH!.. When I went to get the piping from Fabricland I picked up a few different sizes of buttons that you cover with fabric... I'm thinking of using them for the pillows that I'm going to make to go in the front room... Perhaps I'll make one roll pillow tomorrow to see how it looks on the Swedish couch...  one more flower shot...

OH! And I finally got the photo for Jada framed... Its currently on the wall in the front room... so that I could take a snap of it and send it to Jada... turns out I really like the size of it for that front room... so I'm thinking for that wall a picture roughly that size would be nice... and then the wall behind the couch I'll have a line of small photos that span the legnth of the wall... I'm going to cut some brown paper and just tack it up onto the wall to get an idea of how a line of small frames will look there before I start putting holes in the walls... Here's a quick snap I took of the room with the giant photo up on the wall...  what do you think of the size for that wall in the room... the wall ends there just past where the photo cuts off on the right...

Sleep...

Just had to post this snap of Milo... what a little fart... if we're outside he's in the window trying to convince us that he should be outside too... "heeey! c'mon... lemmmie ouut!"

Last night we were just going to grab a nap at 5:30 before cooking some supper... well we never got up from that nap until this morning... and I feel like I could still use some more sleep... my body has been fighting off something... a cold? a flu?  I'm not sure... it doesn't feel that great is all I know... and I'd like to get some more sleep... 

Plans for the weekend?  We plan on a drive to Banff or Millarville, somewhere for a picnic... and then other than that SLEEP!.. oh and I have to strip the second chair and change the foam in prep to be covered... OH! and on the way home from work today, grab some piping so I can finish the first chair completely... can't wait to see it with a covered cushion...  time to grab a quick cat nap on my desk before the day begins... yeah so if you were wondering why the lack of posts this week... I've been sleeping!

One Down... One To Go...

I always set fairly unreasonable goals... two chairs on one long weekend!?.  I didn't start them until Sunday... so only one is almost fully completed... The only reason its not completed is because I need to get more piping so I can make the seat cushion cover and the double welt for around the bottom...  I'm not 100% satisfied with this chair though... but after I cover the second I might redo the back on it as there is a little pucker/wrinkle that I'm not happy with... We did get the blinds up and the front room tidied... it's been looking like a bomb struck it now for about a month and a half... the chair waiting to be covered has been sent to the basement until next weekend...

Okay enough chatter... check it!

Here's a snap of me working on cutting the foam pieces for the chair... Picture brought to you by my Christopher!..  I LOVE this photo!..

Here it is just about all stripped down.. I replaced the nasty yellow smelly foam with nice new foam... I even replaced the fabric meshing that was over the springs...

 

Here she is with the foam all changed and the front piece on...  I ended up putting a bit a layer of batting onto of the foam on the inside of the wings, and some loose batting fluff to fill out the wing tips...

The arms were a breeze... as was the back... the wings made me scared... So I took a break after this point... 

Here's a side by side before and after!.. I'm very excited to get one done!..  Now for the other!  Check out the side before and after...

The arms and wings on mine are puffier than the original - on purpose... the green ones are so thin and no comfy... The new ones... so comfy!  

And here's a snap of the blind installation...

Pictures of the whole room once the other chair is finished and the room is all put together...