Meet Hazel!
She's our brand-new, 8-week-old Spinone Italiano puppy. She's a sweetie, but of course into everything. A real handful!
Harry has been great as a big brother. At first he was a little skeptical, but he's getting the hang of it. And he plays so sweetly with her! Take a look at them playing outside and inside. Aren't they great?
So...she's my creative project for the time being!
Now that the play is over (it went really well, by the way!), I can get back to my crafty stuff! I'm looking through my sewing patterns, just ordered some fabric, and trying to figure out my next project. I also have a necklace underway which needs completion, so I've got plenty to do!
In the meantime, a couple of pics of Harry...a fairly dignified one:
...and not so dignified (but I love it!):
OK, once again I haven't posted in forever. But here's my excuse: I've been rehearsing for the play I'm going to be in! I'm very excited...I spent my whole youth doing theater, but have only had sporadic opportunities since then. And this one just fell in my lap, and I'm thrilled!
I'm having lots of fun rehearsing, and I've even sewn some clothes for costumes! So I've been keeping busy. My friend Rebecca generously spent some time with me to take my headshot, and I'm so happy with how it turned out!
And I have to include a picture of Harry. Here he is in the living room, enjoying the sun.
Well, back to practicing lines!
Now that Christmas is over, I'm busy prepping for my birthday party. I'll be 40 on New Year's Day, so this is a biggie! I've got grand plans for all the goodies I plan to cook and bake...probably more than I'll actually be able to accomplish, but who knows! I've got Tuesday and Wednesday off before the big event on Thursday, so I do have some available time to get things done...and can't forget the cleaning, oh god! David's already being a big help in that department, although the combination of dog and mud are a major opposing force. It's warmed up and all the snow is melting into a big soggy mess, and Harry is constantly romping in and out. Here he is last week after the snow had just fallen:
Back to my baking plans! I took on the big project of making a cake decorated with gum paste flowers. I've been working on them for a few weeks now, and here's what I've got:
The cake will be covered in chocolate fondant, which is a lot darker than the background here, so they'll look a little different. It's hard to take a picture of them, because the colors shift, and the luster dust I've used to give them a little sparkle reacts strangely with the camera. But you get the idea. It'll be a two-tiered cake, so now I have to figure out how to arrange them.
I have a conundrum: how to attach those little vines to the cake. The fondant will be basically dry, so if I want the ivy vines to climb up the cake, I have to figure out a way to get them to stick. The flowers are easy...a little royal icing piped behind them will "glue" them on well and won't be seen. But the icing would stick out the sides of the vines. If I don't figure this out, they'll have to stay on the flat surfaces of the cake.
Anyway, back to cleaning...the really fun part of prepping for a party!
Yesterday I took Harry for a car ride to the bank. The teller at the drive-thru said he looked like the creature from "Neverending Story", which I never saw. I later talked to a friend, who said the teller must have been referring to the Luck Dragon. What do you think? First, a few recent pics of Harry (all looking a little serious, I must add...there was food around):
Now, Falkor, the Luck Dragon:
Any resemblance?
Here's what I've been up to, sewingwise:
The shirt is my adaptation of New Look 6621, and the skirt is self-drafted. You can't really tell from the picture, but the skirt has inside-out French seams, making nice vertical lines down the mid sides of the front and back (I got that idea from a Vogue pattern). The shirt is a bit brightly colored for me...I usually go for earth tones...but I had the material and was feeling ready for spring! It's a stretch cotton so it fits really comfortably and wrinkles less. I like the pattern and will use it again, now that I've made all my adjustments on it. The two pieces weren't necessarily meant to go together, but they teamed up nicely for the picture, I thought.
On to other subjects...Harry's in big trouble! Turns out he's been stealing from the neighbors. We were aware of a few mishaps..."borrowed" gardening tools and the like...but we got a call from a neighbor last night that Harry had chewed up his baseball mitt, and two of his bicycle helmets were mysteriously missing. One of the helmets was discovered this morning, its condition, shall we say discretely, a bit worse for wear. So...he'll be getting some new helmets and a mitt on us, and Harry will be a bit more supervised outside!
...and what I get to do is stay home from work! A foot of snow is expected today, and our driveway hasn't been plowed, so I'm not going anywhere. Whoo-hoo!!!!
I'm so pleased! Here's my first-ever pottery project, glazed and fired. It's not fancy, and it definitely has flaws, but I love the way the glaze turned out and I'm very satisfied with my first attempt. I might have to go back and do more!
Here's Harry, looking pensive after watching the Westminster Dog Show. You see, Wirehaired Vizslas are still not recognized by the American Kennel Club, and he's disappointed. Poor Harry.
Harry found a plastic water bottle outside, and who knew? It was the best toy ever! Here's what happened:
