Little Red Riding Hood...

This is the little red sweater that I finished for Christmas. Isn't she just precious in it!

I'm done...

with knitting Wallaby sweaters for now. This is the 2nd one I've done for gifts this year. I have just finished it and am super happy, just very tired. I'm gonna have to pick my eyelids off the floor in order to leave the room!

I'm happy with it and I hope the little fella receiving it will love it too. This is the one gift I didn't get in the mail soon enough. His little sister has the red one with white popcorn yarn on it. I didn't get a picture of it before mailing it off. I hope to get one of her wearing it though.

Now that I've finished a major project, what to do next? I think I need to do some scrapbooking now. I've still have plenty of Mother's photos to work with and plenty that I haven't had time to scrap for myself... and I could make a photo journal/book for my dad (who lives in MS).

Never fear projects are always near!

I have found two new blogs to visit this coming year and I hope to keep up with them..
First I found Project 52 and then there's Overlooked.

I'm really excited about both and of course I will try to keep this updated with my latest and greatest!! But for now... I need some rest!

Merry Christmas!

Santa has checked the list twice.. all are accounted for..
Packages have been shipped..
Still have one or two things to pick up..
Still knitting one gift, it will arrive in the New Year..
More packages mailed than stay at home..
No pecan pies..
It is COLD!
December passed so quickly, I know it isn't over yet, just kinda feels like it.
I love to give..
I like all the decorations..
I like the little spur of the moment gatherings..
I like surprise gifts..
Cooking an untraditional Christmas dinner..
Parties, Plays..
Work.
Time off..
What will the New Year bring?

Handmade Christmas con't ...

Knitted Wash Cloth

Size 8US (5mm) knitting needles
Lily Cotton yarn

Cast on 4 stitches
row 1: Knit across
row 2: K2 YO K to end (increasing)
Continue row 2 until you have 45 stitches (to make bigger increase by multiples of 5, I like 55).

Next row after you've reached 45 st: K1 K2tog K to end (decreasing)
Continue decreasing until you have 4 st, K2tog, K2tog

Weave in your ends.
And ... you have a completed wash cloth.

This wash cloth makes an excellent Christmas gift, especially when you do them in colors to match the giftee's kitchen. (This one was made from scrap yarn from another gift). Enjoy!

Handmade Christmas

I love to make homemade gifts for Christmas presents. I really feel like I'm giving a piece of myself. My MIL had the idea to do these for neighbors and friends last year and I got to help her. We used fresh garland and other assorted evergreen type foliage. I think they turned out pretty good.

This is the one I made for myself. There it sits adorning the table.


This year we have invited some friends over to help them make one for a friend. So instead of a cookie making party, we will have a center-piece making party. I think we will have needles from wall to wall when we are done. I'm looking forward to the fun!

I have some other homemade gift items that I will be featuring later. Maybe this year I will take pictures of the process and do a sweet little tutorial for you guys.

I will leave you with a picture I took today. I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!!

WEEKLY MONSTER You've just gotta go see this! I love it!

Happy Friday :)

Knitting tips

I was looking for some knitting tips at YouTube and this is what I found. So funny!

Currently Working on this ...

Look what I bought today. I've already started on it too. I've got 3/4 in done of the ribbing on the bottom. I'm so excited. I think this will be really sweet and super cute. Although I should keep this hush hush; it is a surprise for someone special. I have never done one of these before, but I heard you can get hooked on them ;)

What kind of homemade projects are in the making out there for Christmas presents? I'm always on the look out for something quick, easy and gets a big bang.

~ lisa

Tagged by Cat

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Jewelry Sales
2. Shoe Sales
3. Operations Manager
4. Admin Assistant

4 Movies I Could Watch Over & Over:
1. Anything with Audrey Hepburn
2. You've got Mail.
3. The Bourne Series
4. The Pink Panther Series

TV Shows I Watch:
1. Heroes
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. The Office
4. Desperate Housewives

Places I've Lived:
1. Biloxi, MS
2. Modesto, CA
3. Dublin, CA
4. Eagle River, AK

Favorite Foods:
1. Shrimp
2. Thai
3. Italian
4. Give me southern any day!

Places I'd Love to be Now:
1. San Francisco, CA
2. exploring some area I've never seen, like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc..
3. on a highway I've never been before
4. on a National Geographic photography trip with professional NGP.

Names I Like, But Would Not Use for My Children:
1. I would not use a name of someone else that I know.
2. Richard
3. Robert
4. Oh. the list is so huge I can't possible just list four!

Simple but getting it done...

I'm now working on the 2nd installment to the set of albums to be released to my mother.
This is just an example of what this album will be like, multiple photos and simple. This album will be all about us as kids. Even though it's simple, I think I'm doing them justice.

I love looking back at old photos. It's great to see how we were as little kids. I love it how my brother has the same smile now as he did then, so sweet. Although I don't wear pigtails any more, I still catch myself standing like that. This is why I don't mind scrapping; I want to preserve the memories.

Random...

Wish I could get to sleep earlier. Don't know what my problem is.

I wanna go to an island resort and just veg.

I want the magic of Jeanie & Samantha all at once, 24/7!

Glad I got the bottom half of the house decent this weekend. My honey did a great job at helping me. He's a sweetie.

It snowed! I've been keeping track every year since I've lived here, not the earliest and not the latest its arrived. Life goes on... now the darkness is approaching.

Sweet tea is sanity.

Here's the love of my life:

Finished with first installment to Heritage Album...

I'm so happy. This past weekend I finished the first installment of albums I'm making for my mother. I think by the time I have them all done I will have:
- one with all her pictures from her birth to adulthood.
- 2nd with all her children's pictures from birth to adulthood.
- 3rd one with all our school photo's k-12.
- 4th one family gatherings and friends.
- 5th, grandchildren

This album has taken me a year to finish. I hope to do the 2nd one much faster. When she gets it, she has homework, because these are her memories, I've left space for her to journal. I hope I inherit most of these books I'm making, not anytime soon of course, but in due time :)

Ingrid Michaelson on Carson Daly - "The Way I Am"

This soothes my soul.



Have a good Friday!

Music Box by Regina Spektor

This is cute! I don't know what it is lately (think I'm watching to much TV - it's Premiere Week!) but I'm getting these songs stuck in my head.... and they are just yearning to get out...

Feist 1234

I just love this! I think it is spunky, fresh, unique and original. Go check out some of her other stuff! Have a great day :)

Lisa's Fall Line Up!

Monday night it's NBC all night!

• Chuck - I'm going to watch the pilot and then decide if I should keep up with it permanently. It looks light hearted with a goofy secret agent twist. Could be cute. I will let ya know.
• HEROES! Ok, just to let y'all know, I need no interruptions while watching this show, no phone calls, no looking at me, no talking to me, let me have my space, Please people! Oh, and you absolutely must take a look at the graphic novels, well if you are a fan like me you already know about the novels, and you have gleaned some of what maybe in store for future shows.. did you get all the clues?
  
• Journeyman - Another newbie that I'm thinkin' I might like... I loved Quantum Leap, so this might be a more modern fix.

Tuesday night it's F.O.X. (Can you spell Dog? uh, Cat maybe) F.O.X

• BONES - Back for more. I love the chemistry in this show and how all the cases are solved and Bones seems to be out of touch with humanity itself, but is slowly learning all this human stuff.
  
• The Doctor is in the HOUSE! No explanation necessary...

Wednesday night... who will win my undivided attention... it's pretty iffy at this point. I just don't know. A girl does need a night off and you can only watch so much television.. but I might take a gander at Pushing Daisies. Just don't know yet.

Thursday night! Seriously! Seriously! Grey's Anatomy ! Another night of hold the phone, no looking at me, no talking to me... well you get the point. I only have three shows I feel this way about. I love the blog. Have you read it?

Friday night.. hangs in the balances. I'm waiting for Men In Trees and I think Medium is going to be returning to Friday's but I don't know, so just waiting it out.

Saturday, is my day with my man. And I don't really care to watch television that day.

Sunday night! Cat fight! oh no, I mean Desperate Housewives. Love this show, which means.. No, well you get it!

And that folks is my Fall Line Up. Of course there will be some shows added here and there like maybe my one little reality indulgence, Project Runway. I have no idea if there will be a season 4.


And, this is what it looks like these days. It was actually a very nice sunny day, clear and cold. I knew there would be snow up there when the clouds moved away. I like the change in the season. Pretty soon it will all be white! but maybe not. I have heard of "green" winters.

You Never Know!

Ok, so here's the deal... Its my birthday today!!! 34.. Glad I made it this far.
And if you will notice in the picture above, two items that were on my wish list(to the left)
have miraculously made it into the Birthday Loot picture..
How did that happen? You ask...
Well it seems I have some sneaky lurkers, Sneaky Lurkers who Love me!
Isn't that just the sweetest thing. Who doesn't like to get pleasantly surprised
by things they actually like or want for that matter. I'm blessed.
The frames in the picture... well that's another story.
Most Saturdays the DH & I meet my MIL for coffee at our fav little coffee shop, Jitters.
Now if you know Alaskans, they like their coffee and if art comes with it, even better.
Jitters is joined by Picture This Art Gallery.
And after we've had our coffee (mocha breve, 1/4 shot vanilla, no whip for me) and
maybe a bite to eat, good conversation, maybe run into a friend or two,
we go next door to Picture This and browse through "what's new." Fun, Fun, Fun.
Well, not to long ago, they had this amazing sale on picture frames and I just love frames..
and I mentioned if any one was looking for ideas, here's one, here's one, here's one and
here's one... You get the point..
Guess what!?! It worked! How brilliant is that? Thanks MIL & FIL!

And other Booty...

From family in Mississippi. Thanks Mother, Callie & Tyler! I love you guys!!
You should hear the two bottom cards, there's gotta be a new word for
Absolutely Hilarious! What a riot.

I also got the most beautiful bouquet of roses and stargazer lilies from my DH
today at work. I told all the guys I work with, they gotta
start takin' notes!

I've had a very lovely birthday! You never know who's listening when your
making a wish so don't be afraid to drop a hint every now and again.
You might just get pleasantly surprised!

SWEET SURPRISE!!

And I do mean sweet! Take a look at this! I have never received anything from anyone internationally. How fun. Even though Canada is practically next door. I just love Love LOVE! this package!! Can you feel my excitement yet! I so needed it too. DH is in the hospital and has been since Thursday and I've not been feeling well and well... this package did the trick... or treat.. which one.. BOTH!
This Sweet Surprise was sent to me from Sasha. I have been enjoying her blog and all that it has led me to since I received her name for the RVA Favorite Things Swap.

Great minds is right! I sent her a spice and I got a spicy candle. Oh it has the most amazing smell.. I wish I could share the smell its so nice. I sent her a music cd, I got a music cd. I sent her something orange, I got something orange. I sent her something very southern and she sent me something very Canadian! And the cotton candy lip gloss, absolutely divine! That's my favorite type of applicator. Sasha couldn't have did a better job if she had known me for a 100 years. I love it every bit even down to the confetti. And when this lady says she likes to put a nice package together.. I think she sincerely means it. Thank you so very much Sasha for making my day and Thank you RVA for introducing me to swapping!!

Airborne, Tissues & Hot Tea...

So last week sometime my DH came home and said that the office was passin' around this crud, ew! I told him right away, "I don't want to get sick, go take an Airborne right now!" He did and did the rest of the week and right through the weekend. I should have followed that wonderful advice.. because here I sit with a box of tissue and hot tea wishing my eyes would quit tearing up, my fever would go away and my nose would quit running. I'm just plain miserable. I missed work yesterday, today and will tomorrow. Next time I'll take a dose of my own medicine.. LOL! Good night!

I've started working on a few things for myself. I'm putting that huge heritage project aside for a little while.

I've had Hal saving his cigar wrappers for a while. He's so cute, when he says "I need to relax" he really means he is going to step out and have a cigar..

So I thought I would do some pages all about him and his methods of relaxation.

This is just the beginning.

I miss my sister. It was so much fun to show her around, visit and just have a grand time.
We called them "sister dates." This time last year we took her down to Seward and
she landed/snagged her first salmon. What a blast! We were all so excited. As much
as I like to take pictures of everything, she doesn't mind being in them.

She took that humpy home and cooked it. She said she liked it...
That was fun!

Out at the Lake...

Here are some scenes from the Lake. My Honey took a week off and spent some time out on the Lake with his dad. M is responsible for the wonderful pictures of the wildlife there. Its such a nice place just to let loose and unwind. I'm glad H had this opportunity.

There were all types of little creatures to be found there: Swan, a little weasel, rabbits, moose and even a baby eagle.

Sure wish I could have gotten out there this summer, but hey.. maybe I'll get out there this winter and turn up the snow.

Oh what a beautiful day we had here today. It was Wonderful! I can stand all the rain during the week IF.. I have can have all the sunshine I had today during the weekend.

The day began with a breve and tomato soup, yummy! Then, we took a a drive out to my very favorite LSS where we saw the adorable Casey who has set up her Etsy shop! She has some very pretty bracelets for sale. I especially like this one...

Later, I mowed some grass, helped take down an old rotten fence, transplanted some yellow raspberries, weeded some flowers, had some wonderful smoked steak made by my honey and dinner with his lovely parents who provided a very nice pot of beans.

So what about the view... huh? I just love the view from our front yard. So I'm thinking if it stays this nice for a little while, I will not care so much that Fall is tapping on his wrist watch and raising his eyebrows at me.

And there ya have it...

It hasn't been the greatest of weeks this week. Kinda blah actually. A friend died and was buried on Monday and Tuesday I saw a yellow tree. Now I know you are thinking, wha? why blah about a yellow tree... its just I know winter is coming and its like I barely blinked and there it was staring me in the face shouting winter is coming! Fall is one of my favorite times of the year because those are all my very favorite colors. I Absolutely Adore the way the tundra turns the mountains red and how the Fantastic Yellows compliment the red and the gray days, but I do love the summers on so much more. So I think Fall has arrived to the AK today, and summer has said its goodbyes and winter is teasing us....

Old w/the New...

Heritage Album Update

This page is an addition to my mother's first album installment. She gave me so many pictures to work with that I am going to have to give them to her in installments. Also! I'm going to have to break after this one and do some scrapping for myself. It has been 3, yes 3, Years since I've done any scrapping for myself and I'm collecting all kinds of scrapping goodies that I just can't wait to get my hands on! Especially, the art journal kit I received from Red Velvet Art... I really admire their work and am itching to get going for myself.

This page happens to be one of the few I've actually 100% completed. I consider a page finished when it has some journaling on it. I like to mix it up, as you can see.

Sunshine and Mangos

See how the sun is shining through the Mango tree and see how wonderful those mangos look? I was just remembering how nice the sun felt in Puerto Rico and how delicious those mangos are! Pure sweetness.

Thank God it is Friday! I'm going to Madscrapper and get some major work done tonight on my mom's 1st album. I hope to 100% get it done tonight and ship it out Monday... here's hoping.

Oh how I'd like to be on a beach somewhere right now... throw up a hammock and lather up with some sun screen and soak up the sun... I hope we have a sunny weekend!

btw... these are both pics I took while visiting in Puerto Rico in May.

A Bowl of Greens...

Mmmm... Good....
Went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday. So glad I got up early. I usually sleep in.
Had to get those Mat-Valley peas if you know what I mean!
Oh and of course... the greens too, lovely collards, turnips and mustard.
Had creamed peas on Saturday, collards on Sunday and Monday
and tonight was Mustard w/Turnip... so so yummy.
Now I know most of you out there, your first reaction is !yuk!
But I'm tellin' you, these things are Delicious. Nothin' better than a bowl
of greens with cornbread and a cold glass of sweet tea!
Kinda made me feel like I was back at my Grandma Williams house...
I can hear the conversation now...

"See Lee! (my grandpa's middle name)... I told you we was gettin'
company today. Soon as I cooked them greens, I figured
well probly Myrtis and her babies is comin' cause they like
them greens and cornbread the best... 'specilly that Lisa 'nette!
Now you younguns come on in here now, Myrtis put those bags down,
come on in the kitchen.. I'll warm up them greens..
sit down, let me get y'all some bowls and you babies can eat and have some tea...
After all that drivin' I know y'all are hongray.
I got some buttermilk too if y'all want a bowl of cornbread with buttermilk?
Sure glad y'all come to see us old folks.
Now y'all tell grandmaw what y'all a been doin'?"

And you can believe it or not, but most of the time when I visited with Grandma,
she knew I was comin' and she would most likely have a pot of
greens and some cold cornbread and sweet tea.

Now that's what I see, hear, smell and taste every time I look at a bowl of greens.

55 degrees and its July!

Yikes can you believe it! 55! this morning and its July! ok... I know that most say the summers are usually like this but I was spoiled with a couple of really nice summers and I want them back! I need at least 90 more days of Saturday.. no clouds, temp in the 70's, gorgeous sunshine.. it was perfect. And then yesterday, the sky falls. Ya think that if its going to do that it would wait until a person went to work at least. So now, I'm thinkin' that I'd better get finished with this sweater I started in January. Knitting is a nice winter sport, but if I want to wear this thing this winter I'd better get to crackin' !

There's a reason I don't get bored... keep my projects open and one always going.

Happy Monday!

Lovin' the Flowers

Not only do I love flowers but so does Purrcules. He's an inside kitty (doesn't have the shots or the claws for the outside) and every time he senses that we might be headed outside, he darts for the door. He's quick too. Somehow he gets out that door before us. I think he even enjoys the back deck as much as we do too.



I feel kinda like the Purc, every chance I get I want to enjoy the summer while it last. I was just out raking the yard, and yes, Alaskans can do that at 11pm! and was just thinking how much I really do love the summer. I love the smell of fresh cut grass! And have you ever smelled stargazer lilies... oh you have not lived! and mixed with the cool fresh mountain air... well there's just no substitute.

Messin' Around...

I was just messin' around with Elements. Not professionally done by any means, but just havin' some fun. Two reasons why I purchased Elements was to learn how to create my own paper for traditional scrapbooking and to create more custom backgrounds for digital scrapbooking. I like both. However, I'm just getting into the digital scrapbooking and I'm loving it. Here is one I created today. What do you think?

Tag, I'm it ...

So I got tagged by Carrie and feel compelled to play along.. 8 interesting facts:

1. I'm from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I dearly love it and miss it very much. I moved from there to California where I married Hal and then on to Alaska when he separated from the military.

2. I absolutely love being in multi-cultural settings. I like meeting different people than myself and I like to learn about their cultures and where they grew up and how they came to be what they are. I truly love diversity. Coming from a very southern upbringing, I had an unusually open-minded mother who encouraged leaving your "mind wide open."

3. I kept a journal from the time I was about 8 years old until I became engaged to Hal (20 years!). I burned them all before moving because I wanted to start a "new life" and I have. Hal is the best husband/friend a girl could ask for.

4. I play multiple instruments and come from a very musical/artistic background. I was a "band geek" and still am and played a variety of instruments, clarinet (primarily), bass clarinet, baritone, xylophone, bells, drums, and I taught myself the piano. I'm still working on the piano, but I can pick up a tune and play along on most instruments I know how to play, including the piano.

5. Now this one may seem mean and unusual, but I do NOT like animals for pets. I like them in the wild just fine and in the environments for which they were intended. My family had every kind of pet that you can image growing up and since my 2nd pet left us, I've not ever wanted one again. My husband has a tabby cat, Purrcules and I like him very much and will be very sad when he leaves us, but if it were my choice, we would never have gotten a pet. I don't even like fish... Now I hope you don't think me unlovable, or not nice.. but that's just me.

6. I love to create, be it sewing, scrapbooking, drawing, cooking, gardening, knitting, refurbishing older things, if it's creating, I like it. But sometimes I'm hard on myself and quite critical of my own work.

7. I'm eclectic. I like a variety of things such as in music.. metal, r&b, classics, pop, old soul hymnals, rock-n-roll, the blues, bluegrass, folk, zydeco.. and in decor.. modern, contemporary, pop, country, french, old english, colonial, western, cabin like, new country.... I could go on and on.. :)

8. Other things to note: I'm blunt most of the time (in younger years got me in trouble with employers and personal life), but I'm softer around the edges now. I encourage organization and being clutter free. I can give an opinion when asked and keep a neutral open mind about it. Sometimes I give advise on the "fly."So funny... the other day I was in the public restroom in the food court at the mall, and this itty bitty girl (must've been about 18) was trying on a size 2 jeans and was talking to friend trying to figure out how she could keep the 2s and not get the 4s... I told her to wash 'em in cold, don't put them in the dryer, simple as that.

WIDE AWAKE!!

I'm just too excited for words, darn it! Now I can't sleep. I blame Layla and maybe that cup of coffee.. but coffee never seemed to bother me before.. or it could be all these ideas rolling around in my brain that need to get out. The two photos above I did with Adobe Elements 5.0. I love Love LOVE Elements! They are both the same picture, I just edited the same photo twice differently each time. The color in the first picture is just how my trusty little Nikon captured it (no adjustments) and the second one is thanks to the hue/saturation level adjustment made. Which one do you like the best? I learned this technique from a video I saw online. That's where I learn everything now. My internet bill is well worth the education I've received. Too bad I can't put it on a diploma somewhere.. hmm... gotta work on that one.

I'm getting excited about SCRAP PINK and the classes I'm going to teach... that's what's keeping me up tonight! Gosh darn it. Better turn out to be a good class since I'm losing all this sleep and to think I almost nodded off two times at work today.. I just can't seem to get enough S.L.E.E.P. Hopefully, this blog will work as therapy and I will get to snooze soon.

A Work In Progress

This is a scrapbook page that I'm working on for my Mother. (Sure wish I could remember what products I was using to give credit, but honestly, I can't remember. Next time, I promise to recognize!)

Hurricane Katrina got a lot of Mother's photo albums wet, so she went through them and took them out of their old magnetic pages and put them in a large box and sent them up to me. I volunteered to help put her pictures back into albums, I just didn't realize just how big of a project it would be for me. Oh.. here it is June 2007 and Katrina was Aug 2005... I'm not 100% complete with one single page, but I've got about 10 pages started. THANKFULLY, my good friend, Layla is having a Midnight Madness crop at her shop The Mad Scrapper tonight or I might, never, Never, NEVER, get this done...

I have tons of ideas rolling around in my head to get this all done, now just to get them out into reality. I think I'm going to start an idea book. When I see something I like or that inspires me, jot it down real quick in my handy dandy notebook. It can be anything from magazines, books, TV.. what ever inspires, then jot something in my book to remind me what it was I was thinkin' to begin with. Its a work in progress....

A new day begins...

With every day comes a new beginning, a fresh start, a new outlook, a fresh perspective and a chance to just get on with it... Yep, doing that. Sometimes you just have to jump in feet first and figure it out as you get to whatever it is you are trying to do. But for some reason, I get stuck at the "I'm contemplating" or "just gotta think it over" ... So, here's to me just jumping in and inserting myself into this wide world of bloggers and hoping some good will come of it and I can continue on ... "every day."