It is remarkable when you’ve had a towel for at least 6 years and then find that the little plastic tags are still there. What? How did I miss this for so many years? They are scratchy irritating little things. Anyway, they are gone now. Here is a picture of Thor the cat trying to help (he loves fabric.)
Here is my confession: I do not craft everyday all the time. I do go and hide in a video game for extended stretches because sometimes I just need to go into a battle I’m confident of winning. The latest obsession has been Stardew Valley. First off, crafting is a heavy element in the game, so it appeals to my maker’s soul, and then there are the mines where I can cathartically destroy rocks and monsters. Creation and destruction coded into a beautifully addictive game. Oh, and there is fishing. Yay fishing! I have been so absorbed that I have reached end game, 100% perfection, as it is called. Yes, there are a million things to remake and rebuilt and rearrange, but the overarching goals have been met. I even have a golden chicken that lays golden eggs. Hm. Maybe it is time to get back to my real life craft room.
I love, love my wood burned Celtic knot morning glories on my rolling pin, but I feel it could use some color. With the lines solidly established, I felt confident adding some diluted acrylic paint to make the design pop.
I know from experience that acrylic paint does well under coats of tung oil, so I am not in fear of losing this design to mineral spirits. But I have a new problem. The old rolling pin handles are a different wood and thus a different shade than the new rolling pin center. Not pleasingly, either. Paint to the rescue. I sanded down the old finish on the handles to prep for paint.
I used the darkest blue acrylic paint that I used in the design to paint the handles. Next step, finishing!
(Part 7 of 8 in this blog series)
I add a bit of Elderberry syrup to my morning orange juice (just a little of both, to get some more Vitamin C). When the dark purple syrup hits the orange, it makes very interesting patterns, which are different every morning. It feels like the patterns could be read, much like tea leaves, but unlike tea leaves, the liquid swirls and changes rapidly. There isn’t much time to let the brain make up images. Except one day, when my OJ smiled at me. Surely that would be a positive sign? Unfortunately that day was quite traumatic, and the next day was worse. So maybe it wasn’t a smile, but a leer. Beware the grinning breakfast drink.
When we first moved here, there was an army of baby frogs in the summer; tiny jumpers here, there, and everywhere. In the intervening years, we have seen less and less little ones, but a fairly consistent number of adults. When the snake ate the Gulf Coast Toad from the backyard, we stopped seeing any toads by the back door (so apparently it was just one toad that hung out on the doorstep asking about tea). Now, we are seeing younglings again! Not an invading hoard, but toadlets here and tree froglets there. I picked up a water dish to dump the June bugs and realized not all the critters were insects. A little green tree frog regarded its situation for a moment before hopping off. Maybe we will also get another threshold toad (although I have not missed shooing a toad from the door).
Critters and Craft 