Where's My Camera?

I keep forgetting to take my camera when I leave the house - missing some good pictures.

Gracie stayed overnight last night and we had a good time "cutting" - her new favorite creative adventure.  She made pictures of the Grinch's house for her mother.  An unusual choice of subject - perhaps not done by others but I certainly respect her right to creative license and she took it very serious.  I'm sure every great painter started out with an idea and just needed positive reinforcement. 

Today lunched with "Ladies Who Lunch" at Good's Furniture.  Most of the group was at their winter condos in Florida or Texas.  Walked through the furniture store while I was there and was amazed at how much the cost of furniture has gone up - wowzer.  Pretty much tripled since we last bought furniture. 

Been pretty quiet here.  Painted the above picture for a charity auction; Jerry made the frame.  Hope to start another soon.

I've been making "wine sacks" or I call them wine wraps.  Initially, I over engineered the quality needed.  I made the first one as if it was a purse that needed to hold 500 pounds.  Since they will be sold essentially as gift wrap and perhaps thrown away, they needed to have less permanent quality and more ease of construction.  I have enough fabric to make one for every bottle of wine sold in the free world.  I'm sure I'll loose interest long before the fabric is gone.  Right now it's a winter creative thing.

Pretty much finished my 6 cookbooks.  Love it when a job is done as I want and then finished.  Now to start trying them.  How can you go wrong when you have almost twenty different Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie recipes to try?   I have recipes from mom's and mine and then have collected from family and friends.  Anyone who wants to donate their favorite recipes, feel free to send them to me.     

Enjoying the mild weather.  The creek across the road is more than half full.  If we get heavy rains this weekend, it will be overflowing again. 

The dogs were taken to the doggy spa for a bath and they are so much nicer smelling and looking.  Got all their bedding washed and they are happy little doggies.  Since it's so muddy, they won't stay clean but they will still smell better. 

Jerry's has started his bird house gig.  Two down.  The wood one is his "prototype" and the second was creative use of used stuff.  Since the snow has melted somewhat, birds aren't at the feeders much.  Neither are the squirrels but for a different reason.  We had about eight squirrels this year (it doubled last summer).  During the night and day of the heavy blizzard, we apparently lost several.  I suppose some of the nests at the top of the trees in the woods went flying.  Nature culls.