Little Dog Thoughts

"Well, there she goes, again. Prospector says that she is going to see her mother in the city.....

I will wait for her.., right here. That way I can see the car coming up the road...., or maybe I'll take a nap....

I'm having a dream that she is here and I am in her lap. I'm happy and warm. She is rubbing my ears and telling me how wonderful I am....

"I will be back in 3 days little one. Take care of the Prospector and Maggie until I return."

Vintage Thursday

Last Saturday the Prospector and I went to town and on the way back we stopped at a farm/yard sale that a neighbor has about 4 times a year. We found this Vintage Cosco 3 shelf metal kitchen table/cart in almost mint condition. Didn't every family have one of these back in the 50's or 60's? I love the wheels. They are plastic with "sparkles". Very "mid century modern". It's now in our laundry , by the back door, for misc. dog stuff., shoes and temporary storage. The price was $10.00 but we got it for $6.00

This is what my sister and I needed, at the Art & Soul Workshop, to carry all of our supplies back and forth. It's a folding cart with wheels and it's BIG. Like the Cosco table, it's in excellent condition. Even the plastic handle covers are intact. This was $10.00 too. But we bought a couple of small items with it and got all of it for 9 bucks. I think it will be handy for carrying big bags of potting soil and conditioner into the backyard or down to the veggie garden...,or keeping the Pupster in control on long walks. A couple of pillows and some water, a few biscuits and an umbrella attached...., What do you think?

Carl had his second puppy training session yesterday. He's learning to heal, sit and stay. He is so cute to watch as he goes through his practice session with the trainer. His short little legs just moving along right next to the trainers. (She calls him "vertically challenged") Then we get to do it too and the trainer critiques us. He does all of it so well for her, but for me , not as good. It will take time to get the Prospector and I trained.
So, in a month or two, he will be trotting along beside me without a leash and coming when I call him. Right? This IS how it's going to be ISN'T IT?

Please check out all the wonderful Vintage things on Colorado Lady's Blog. She hosts this Vintage Thingies Thurdays post and there are some great old photos, stories and vintage items on the listed blogs.

Wordless Wednesday: Antiques in my sister's home

Mystorian Book: still a work in progress.

This is the front cover of the book that I started at the workshop in Asilomar. I have decided that it's finished. That sounds like a simple statement but it's hard to know when to stop adding things and say to yourself "Enough." The front cover is a piece of metal that was tarnish in liver of sulphur (nasty stuff, but it gives metal an interesting finish.) Then I glued an old piece of lacework to it . On top of that I glued a piece of bark, a metal dragonfly and two metal flowers, some pieces of agate(from the Oregon Coast) and a piece of wire with pearl beads (as a kind of imaginary tail on the dragonfly). There are two odd shaped pearls tucked in too. I had sanded the three metal pieces to tone down the gold tone so I covered them with a coat of matte Mod Podge to protect the metal and give it a bit of a shine. The collage is not centered because there will be fabric attached in the left side to form the spine of the book after I get all the pages done. What do you think?

I'm not sure this is done yet. It's an old photo frame that Nina Bagley (our instructor at the workshop) gave to me. I took out the old mean looking lady photo and inserted a copy of a photo that I took at my house. I stamped some leaves around the picture and stamped "Dog Farm" on the left side, "Sanctuary" on the top (It's kind of pale and hard to see). The top is a piece of lace and two pieces of the frame that I had cut off for a border. Then I pasted an old picture of a woman with 3 dogs on the right, colored them with pencils and glued some driftwood over it. On the left is an almost dry helleborus flower and a couple of small rocks. On top I glued two cabochons( flat backed, polished stones ) and a couple of old jewelry pieces. Everything got a coat of Mod Podge to hold it in place and protect everything except the center of the flower (it wasn't completely dry and I didn't want it to mold) and the cabochons.
Seems like I need to do something with the slot on the left side, but I'm not sure what.

This is about Creativity and the month of June. I accidentally covered the word "June" with lace, but I will pull the lace down a bit and secure it with a little "something" so the word can be seen. The metal flower and hummingbird were applied the same way as the other pages, then I took very thin pieces of mica and glued them all around the backing. Sometimes you learn by doing things and making mistakes. I should have done the mica first. It would have been easier than trying to fit the pieces around the bird and flower. Oh.., and before I had anything on the mat board I glued a "month of June" piece of clip art on and stamped a large green flower in the middle. Then I added the fabric and lace. The hummingbird is wired on at the top so I didn't have to glue it too much and it gives the bird more of a look of movement. I only used Mod Podge on the metal pieces . I wanted the mica to shine on it's own and the fabric to stay soft.

I have three more pages almost finished. I will show them to you very soon. I LOVE DOING THIS ..., it's so creative, but it's time consuming and takes up the whole kitchen table. I make a big creative mess everyday. Every night I have to clear it off for dinner. I'm lusting after the work spaces I have seen in a magazine called Where Woman Create and a workshop I saw recently of a lady artist here in our county. I NEED MORE SPACE.

The gourd art is on hold until I finish this book.

Happy 65th Birthday, my Prospector.

July 1967
Vacation on Russian River
The Prospector and I
He was 23 and I was 22.

(We had been married for 2 years and 1 month)

Happy Birthday to the love of my life. You worked so hard all your life and now you can enjoy everything you have today. Be proud of the things that make you who you are. I am. I love the sureness and determination you show in everything you do. I love the way you can be so sensitive about others and how you carry your heart on your sleeve. I love that you cry watching sad movies and the way you hold Carl and talk to him.

We have had a good life together. We raised two boys and they are something to be proud of. We have two cute grandkids. I hope that you can look at these 65 years and all the places you have lived, the things you have done..., and say "It's been a good ride." I wish you love, happiness and good health. .., and more life together. Look at you, you're still a handsome dude.

With love forever, your adoring wife.