Thrifted and Altered

I noticed artprints/artwork were being altered  so figure why not.  I found this framed print at the thrift store and knew I was going to alter it into a Halloween theme piece.  

Loved the animals.

What do you think?  How'd I do?  This was fun and I will be setting it out during the Halloween season!  Great trick or treaters!

 

A New Dog Around Here

My dad decided he would like a dog.  He is ready for a small companion.  We headed to the local Humane Society since we knew they were full right now with animals.    A small dog and an older dog was what he thought would work for him.  My dad is elder and slower, so he didn't want a dog to overpower him.  We headed to the small dog area and we found at least five  to six possibilities, however by the time we inquired about all them they had been adopted or were no longer up for adoption.  We decided to walk through the whole building and man there were so many medium to large dogs, so many german shephard and pit mixes.  It was a very hot day and the shelter and it's volunteers worked so hard keeping the shelter cool and clean.  The place was busy and dogs were getting adopted.

We left feeling defeated.  On the drive home I checked on Craigslist and low and behold I saw a post for a dog and it needed a new home at no fee.  He was house trained, doggie door trained, leash trained and kennel trained.  He was four to five years of age and around 20 pounds.  Almost to good to be true.  I contacted the owner and no one responded yet and asked if we would like to meet his dog.  We met up the next morning and the gentleman, who was a senior and told us he lost his wife six months ago and thought a pet would help.  However, he is now dealing with some serious health issues and fearful he would not be able to care for his dog, CABO.    Cabo was friendly and easily approached my dad.  We were happy to have him and reassured him Cabo is in good hands and wish the man the best.

This is Cabo, he's so good and has warmed up to my Dad so well.  We may rename him in that he was also a shelter rescue and not much is known about him.  The gentleman had him for 2 months.  As of now he doesn't recall to Cabo very well,  a name change seems possible.

 

Pool, 113 Degree Day, That's Why...

 

Little Road Trip

Headed to Mexican Arts Imports, 340 N 24th St in Phoenix.  This place is filled and I mean filled with so much fun, colorful, beautiful, unique and fabulous things.  Pottery, wood carving, metal works, clothing, textiles, flowers, leather, home decor, garden decor, dishes, crosses, paintings, religious statues, water features, etc.

I recommend checking out the store.

 

Blue Door, Part 4

The blue door, after sanding, touching up the blues, aging it and now on it's hinges.  Still need to add a door jam stop, the handles, house number and then the bell.  Love how fresh it all looks.   The blue door is so heavy and I'm glad no fingers or toes were hurt in moving it!

Father's Day

Me and my dad, he's 89 yr old.  There's so much he has taught me.  He's visiting which I can't put into words what it means to have him around.  Love this man.

 

Blue Door, Part 3

I've been waking up so early to avoid the heat and the sun beating down on me while I work on the blue door.  We sealed one side yesterday and this morning we flipped it over to finish the other side.  One board needed to be replaced because it was beyond repair.  I also repaired the water damage areas.  

Repaired all the water damaged areas.

Bought three shades of blues to touch up the faded areas, too.

The final look.  Touched up the whole door with the 3 blues.  The replacement board matched up nicely.   Put a light coat of seal, but it's so hot out the seal is tacky.  Hopefully, it will dry in the next few days.  We will be ready to put the door on the door jams, which we also replaced and painted.  I have to clean up the bell and it'll all look so nice.

Moonlight, Midnight & Plants

 It's very hot during the day around here in AZ.  Not much going on while the sun is out.   I am, by nature a night person so it's going out in the moonlight at midnight to do outdoor things is fine by me.  The house and the night is so quiet and peaceful.  I have a few plants that needed to be repotted.  

Boy, this plant is so overgrown.

I repotted a total of seven plants and now they can thrive.

Moon is always by my side at this time of night.  He loves having his photo taken and it's so natural for him to come and sit while I'm photographing the plants.

P.S.  work on my blue door continues,  photos to follow.

Blue Door Repair, Part 2

We took the door off the hinges and it is extremely heavy!  Removed one board that was heavily water damaged.  I used a two-part bondo to repair all the cracks.  It all got a good sanding.  It refreshed the blues.  Found a piece of wood in my wood pile to that fit exactly.  It was a very early morning so we could avoid the hot sun.  Tomorrow morning I'll tackle the other side.

We removed the bell and I'm not going to touch the finish.  I like the look of it.  Love the sound the bells make.

 

Blue Door Repair

I took a trip to Mexico many years ago.  We stayed in Patzcuaro, Michoacan for a week and it was one of those weeks where I ended each day thinking this day was even better than yesterday when I thought yesterday was the best day.  The sights, the people, their craftsmanship, the food and which made my soul overflow.  Across the street from the motel was a wood shop full of carpenters and carvers and they let me spend the day watching and learning.  I drew lots sketches and when I came home we put up a courtyard wall and it needed a door.  I built this door from my sketches.  I painted all shades of blues and aged it.  I love my blue door, everyone knows my house because of my blue door.  The bell inside the window was from another stop in Mexico.  This door was built around 2007 and boy it needs some TLC.  Plus, the side boards need some repair so the door had to come off today.  I will be replacing some wood and repairing some boards.  I'll get busy finding matching blue paint colors to refresh the color.    

Side story, when we had our house painted and all the trim was painted black.  As they removed the paper and tape from the windows, I saw my blue door painted black!  Omg, I rushed out and said take that black off!  The painters simply said oh, we'll paint back to blue for you, I'm like no, it's layers of this blue and that blue.  Luckily the wax finish on the door protected blues underneath.  They spent an hour peeling black latex paint off.

 

Thrift Find

Went thrifting today just for the heck of it.  Nothing in mind just needed a morning out with my dad.  I came across this workbench.  It was sturdy and not too big.  It would hold my vice and grinding wheel.  It was solid and would work well with my stamping and cutting metal tools.  The issue will be where to store it while I'll keep working on clear out my garage.  For now it's all about unboxing the house.  I will  find the perfect spot.

 

Baby Boy Shower Gift for the New Daddy!

Got invited to a baby shower.  I'm not one for baby showers but when I do go I always make some kind of gift.   I've known the baby boy's dad to be over 20 years which I decided to make him a daddy tool belt.  I've been making them for some time.  It's always fun.

The new baby's theme was rockets.  I found some rocket clipart to transfer on the tool belt and luckily found a few rocket items, like star whatever that is, and a rocket chewie.  Blue is the color of as many items I could find, bottle, duckie, gloves, diaper pins,  pacifiers, it was fun to put together.  Finished it off by wrapping in clear wrap.  I think he'll have fun opening it up.  Found out, the favorite name so far for baby is Javi, love it.  Momma looked sweet and the shower was so nice, I won a gift!  A scented candle.

 

Trip to Florida

We flew to Orlando for a wedding.  Never been anywhere in Florida.  Orlando is amusement park heaven.  Disney, every Disney, Seaworld, Epcot, and a million others I'm sure.  We weren't there for the parks but boy were there tons of amusement park tourist all over Orlando!  The weather was rainly most of the week.  However, we had a nice day and took a drive to Canaveral National Seashore Park.  It was so windy which kept away people I guess.  There was no one there but us.  It was pretty, can't ever get tired of seeing the ocean and that beautiful blue water.

 On our way back to drove through New Smyrna Beach looking for a place to sit and eat.  We googled pizza and that lead us to Prima Pizza @ 112 Sams Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168.  It was a small place and it was full and an hour wait.  We ordered to go, then went for a walk in the area.  I'll tell you the wait was well worth it.  Met a few locals and they raved about it.  The pizza was fresh & delicious .  Garlic rolls, amazing!   So much butter and garlic.  If you ever find yourself exploring outside of Orlando,  go there and eat.

Sweet Salsa

On a visit with one of my sister-in-laws, she offered up some salsa and chips.  I, of course asked for the recipe and she mentioned it was a family recipe and I told her I understand and finished up the bowl of salsa.  I searched the internet for a similar type recipe and found a few.  A few weeks later she sent me the recipe, happy salsa dance day!    

 Chopped up ingredients

Tomatoes!

Everything all chopped up.

All in a pot and finish up with the spices.

Set to boil and then simmer.

It came out so good.  
Thanks so much to Carla for generously sharing the recipe!
I need a bag of chips

Do you make salsa? 

 

Bacon

Everyone loves bacon, right?  Okay I am a crispy but not burnt bacon eater.  Others are more of the I would say "under cooked"  types.  I saw a clip of someone saying for the perfect crisp bacon you need to "boil" it in water first!  

I decided to try it, because I LOVE me some crisp bacon and eggs.  I put water in the frying pan and added 1 lb bacon.  Set the burner temp med-high and waited for the boiling to begin.  I let it boil til all the water was gone.  What was left was bacon grease.  The bacon was not rolled up but more even and straight.  I lowered the temp and the magic happened!  The bacon cooked and became so crisp!

It cooked to so evenly and flat.  This is the finished boiled and fried bacon.  It was perfect!

This bacon was a hit!

 

On another note, I also baked a pound of bacon in a 350 degree oven to compare.  The oven bacon was cooked unevenly and was limp.  I didn't leave in oven to crisp because it would of over cooked in some areas and undercooked in other areas.

I say "boiling" your bacon is the way to go, try it!

Chef Silvana & Barrio Cafe

Barrio Cafe has closed their doors.  Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza held a closing celebration.  There was music, food and other artist booths.  Lots of people having a great time.

I became familiar  with her when I was looking into Latino artist and found out she exhibited local Latino artist in Barrio Cafe and also a small gallery next door.  I loved her activism and her generosity to her community.  I finally met her during Covid, I made and delivered masks to her for the employees.

 

I purchased her book and while I was there she was happy to sign my copy and also gifted me a copy of Sunset magazine she was featured in.  

Happily got a photo with her!

A couple of side stories.  I thanked her for helping me find my way to Pablo Luna.  I wrote about him in previous blog posts of August 11, 2021 and October 9, 2022.  Once I said that I knew she was grieving his loss so I gently moved on to another subject.  Asking her to sign my copy of her book.  Once we moved to the table where she was preparing to sign the book, she told me Pablo Luna's sister was standing behind her.  I was introduced to her and told her how I knew Pablo and gave my condolences.  His sister, (which I have forgotten her name) told me she recalls Pablo telling her about me and how he painted a mural on my office wall when he was in his early 20's.  I could tell her loss was still fresh.  She mention there is plans with a foundation in his name will be planning functions.  I'll make sure to follow up.

The second thing, I met an artist who had a booth with her laser cut items.  Very unique and pretty.  I was so overheated by the hot tempatures and needed water, which as a result I wasn't at my best and needed head to my car and AC.  I got her business card and I will write more about her an upcoming post.  Overall, a great day and felt such amazing energy all around.  Great day for my soul.

Meet Moon Dog

Back in 2020 we decided to get another dog.  Bella was aging and we've always had more than one dog at a time.  I started checking with friends, breeders, shelters and occasionally Craigslist in the area.  Nothing locally turned up or the cost of a "purebred"  lab was out of our price range or interest.  We were getting ready for a long camping road trip.  I decided to check out newspaper ads and craigslist in the states we're traveling through.  One day Craigslist post caught my eye, lab puppies for sale in a small town outside of Lincoln, Nebraska and we were headed that exact area.  I contacted the seller and he had 6 puppies up for adoption.  I quickly sent a relative to place a deposit to hold a puppy.  They were all beautiful little things.  I got the second pick of the litter and I couldn't decided and just let faith take it's course and this is the puppy we got.  He came up to my feet and that's all it took.  We didn't name him for a couple of weeks,  finally he glowed like the full moon and found out he was born on a full moon night.

This is Moon as a puppy

Moon loves the snow!

Moon travels everywhere with us.  He's been on a farm, city parks, forest roads, sandhills, mountains, lakes, rivers, so many fun trails.

This is at the Petrified Forest National Park.

Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park

This Moon today.  He's so used to me taking his photo,  he knows exactly how to pose. 

 He'll be four years old in September.  The best dog and everyone who meets him always walk away saying what a good dog he is.  Sweet, loving, gentle and the best fetch dog.

 

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

 Getting ready for my Dad's visit.  Living within boxes made it easy to rearrange the guest room.  The biggest challenge turned out to be washing pillows.  My pillows have been stored in my camper and needed to be refreshed.  I put them in the washer  and one pillow was fine but the other was a disaster.  My washer was having no part of spinning out the water of this pillow!   First, I removed it and wrapped it in towels to soak out all the water, it was so heavy and water filled.  The washer would not spin enough to get the water out.  Finally, I sat it outside and with all the sunshine and heat it should dry and then I'll set it in the dryer to fluff it up.  I should of taken a pic of what it looked like out of the washer!

Another thing happened today... T*ump guilty on all counts.   

Sewing and Quilts

I have a few of my Mom's finished quilt tops.  Today I made the backing for two.  I have a good friend who will be putting them on her long arm quilting machine and finish them with a simple quilting pattern.  She'll send them back and I'll finish with the binding. 

I hadn't seen this quilt top before.  She made this some time ago.  She hand appliquéd all the houses using fabric I remember giving her.  She loved anything in shades of purple.

This quilt top also includes fabric I recognize.  It's machine sewn and I can tell she made this later in her life.  The seams are less straight nor even.  She loves sewing and it didn't matter if anything was straight.  It's still lovely and knowing she sat and sewed this in her 80's.
 

Stationery

Found a random roll of piano music roll. I thought to toss it in the recycle since I knew I have more packed somewhere in a box. My studio is far from unpacked and finding a spot for seem ridiculous. But, instead of tossing it I wrote letters to a few friends! I had to tape the paper where some of the note perferations were since the roll is vintage and somewhat delicate. It was actually fun using as my stationery! As long as you can put pen to paper why not use it.

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Banana cream pie

Today is memorial day, which also gives a day to some good food. We cooked out burgers and then I figure I'll make a banana cream pie. Not from scratch scratch, though. I used store purchase graham cracker crust, Jello brand banana cream pudding and cool whip. I had bananas. It came out good and sweet. Next time I'll use sugar free pudding mix and pie dough crust.

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Sunday Breakfast

I'm not a early morning person which also means I'm not a first thing in the morning breakfast eater. Today I set the alarm so not to miss the Indy 500 race. It was on a rain delay. So what to do with my extra time this morning. Why not have breakfast. Nothing fancy but kinda fancy for me.

The only thing missing is BACON! What is your not so fancy kinda breakfast?

Spring flower bush scent - Lilac

If you know, you know that scent. I don't live near not one lilac bush, but I want to. So the next closest thing is I bought a Lilac scented Yankee candle. I shared my love of lilacs with my mom. Lilac bushes line the back fence of her yard....this photo is proof!