Happy New Year To All!

Frantic! We have been invited to 3 parties/occasions/hullabaloos in the next 2 days. Needless to say, we are terribly excited! SHE has said that under no circumstances, can I wear my new, magic rubber boots to party #2.

I AM going to wear them. I AM. I love them and I am never, ever going to take them off. I am even wearing them now, with my pj's. I didn't know I needed rubber boots until I received them for Christmas, from Gretel. She is a star. Now, when we go tree hunting in the woods for our sculpture wood, I won't mind so much when I step in moose cakes. I love my boots.

She is busy, pounding up steaks for rouladen(German meat rolls with pickles!!)We are bringing it to the pot-luck (party#2, where I will be wearing my boots).

It is very nifty living in a house with someone who makes things.

I took out the meat to make the rolls and said "Hey!! We don't have a meat pounder-thingy!!"

Five minutes later, She came in, having made me a meat pounder-thingy out in the workshop. It is lovely and it works very well. She is doing a terrific job and they will taste yummy. Of course, they would probably taste better if She had been wearing new rubber boots while making them, but poor Gretel only has a small piggy bank. Maybe next year.

Have a Happy New Year EVERYONE!!!!

Photo: Gretel's Magic Boots

My New Meat Pounder-Thingy

The Spy Who Loved Me (Gretel's title for our Christmas Eve Delivery)

We can finally post a few photos of all of our sneaky, Christmas projects. We had orders for chairs, laundry pictures, place mats, pottery flower pots and even a table, but haven't been able to show anyone because they were all surprises!

The chair we are posting is pretty nifty. It is 7.5 feet high and is made from 3 different birch trees. The cats are hand-carved from pine and the birds and leaves were all hand-felted by me. It was madness getting the chair in the car and in to St. John's, but Gretel and I sat in the very back of the FJ (away from the buttons) and held the back door closed. It was all very 007. We had to hide down the road from the clients home until his wife left as the window of opportunity for delivery was very small. SHE says that she was 007 and I was Miss Moneypenny, but I was definitely 007. Definitely.

A Wonderful Holiday!

We thought we were going to have a quiet Christmas but ended up having a wonderful, holiday lalapalooza! On Christmas Eve, after deliveries, we were visiting out and about and had a real mummer come in for a spell! Poor Gretel was apoplectic with the terror and tooted all the way home from St. John's.

On the 25th, we had visits from friends, went for wintry, wooded walks and ate cherry cake. We ended up having Christmas dinner with a marvelous gang at Old Foolish (yum!yum!) and OUR turkey was bird-napped and we had a beautiful pot-luck dinner in Bryant's Cove on Boxing Day! Gretel's nerves were restored by Christmas dinner and she was able to have a bit of turkey, too.

Santa came (it was Lily's turn this year) and everything was lovely. I am exhausted and resting up for New Years Eve!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Things here are frantic. We've had more custom orders this year than ever before....which is a WONDERFUL thing, but incredibly hectic and we seem to have forgotten all about having a Christmas ourselves. We are having a turkey...SHE is being a star this year and is going to do it all! Marvelous! The last time she cooked the turkey she started cooking it from frozen on Christmas afternoon and we had it on the 26th. Bless her turkey-cooking heart.

We've done most of our deliveries, but still have one more tomorrow (YES, on the 24th!!) I hope the poor man doesn't end up in the ICU with heart palpitations..oh, the nerves! There is a lot of pressure making and delivering someones MAIN gift. Lives are at stake. It is serious business!

We will post some of our custom order photos after the big day....don't want to ruin any more surprises.

I am doing all of my Christmas shopping tomorrow afternoon. I am slightly nervous about it, but shall dive right in. (I will take 2 Ibuprofen and drink a large glass of Shiraz first). I will apologize now if I step on your toe in the supermarket or knock you over in Costco. It's a battlefield out there.

People are actually extra lovely during the holidays. Last week I was in the dollar store buying yaffles and yaffles of tissue paper and there were at least 476 people in line behind me. One cash open. Screaming babies. Oopsy-daisy diapers. Very hot. The woman in front of me decided that she was carrying around too much change and it was too heavy. She dumped it out on the counter. Piles and piles of change. Mountains. Glaciers. I can still hear it. The cashier was apoplectic. I started to laugh and to my surprise, so did everyone else....even the cashier. She ended up helping the woman count out $7.00 in pennies and dimes and we all waited and smiled and it wasn't a disaster at all. Happy holidays!

Photo: Papa Luigi "Ho,Ho, Hold the Turkey Still"

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

I think people who dress their pets in human clothes are totally ridiculous. I point and scoff at poodles in tutus and bull dogs in varsity sweaters. It is not cute, it is weird. It is something that we do not condone.

The only acceptable occasions for dressing pets are, of course, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, their birthdays (and when they have to attend other birthday parties), MY birthday, (SHE has requested that her annual gift be NOT having to look at costumed cats on her day of birth) and Labour Day.

When it is chilly, of course, they need to be kept warm. We are not monsters.

SHE gave wee Gretel such a close shave that I had to get her a new hat, sweater and scarf. Wee Gretel is too big for the clothes at regular pet stores, so I have to buy actual real-live human children clothes and cut out ear holes. (I have experience doing this because of an ear problem that I once had, but I'll not get into that now)

Gretel has a play date with beautiful Clio tonight and is very excited about showing off her new hat. (I have a matching one for HER for Christmas. I think they will both look grand!) Will post a photo on the day!

Hallelujah...bottom's up!

Last Saturday was a hoot.....we had a lunch-time party, made some deliveries and then spent the evening at the Basilica and heard Handel's Messiah with friends. It was beautiful and moving and a wonderful way to start the season. The funniest thing was when everyone stood up during the dramatic HALLELUJAH section.......there was a communal sigh of relief because we all had terribly sore bums from the hard pews. A divine intervention indeed!
Photo: "Sleep My Love" by Cara and Pam
Hand-Carved Wood/Acrylics/Mixed Media

Happy Happy Holidays!

It always warms my heart to see how truly excited the animals get during the holiday season.

Lily was especially exuberant when we put down our work for the day and found his wee Santa suit.

"God Bless us Everyone".....was that Tiny Tim?

Didn't he also play the ukulele and sing "Tip Toe Through The Tulips?"

Mount Crumpit, Here We Come!

If anyone is ever doing a stage adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Gretel is available for the role of Max. She has been rehearsing all year. I'd say she's got it down pat.

The Time to Celebrate Cheeses!

Save yourselves. Stay away from Costco this week. They have allowed in, a sweet yet quirky Italian fellow who is peddling fine cheese. You can sample it all. It tastes good, but it is a trick.

After the first taste of creamy, smooth Brie De Meaux we both exclaimed... Yes! Yes! We must have this!

And in the basket it went.

Then the Soft Surface -Ripened Cheese with Natural Vanilla.....

Yes! Yum! Yum! We must have this too.....

And in the basket it went.

The 5500% butter cream dream come true.....

Yes! But of course......YES!

And that too, went into the basket.

Le Pleine Lune 38%M.F...I love you. Tears came to her eyes...yes, she whispered. This cheese must be mine.

And in the basket it went.

We don't like goat cheese. But it was good. So very, very good. It melted in our mouths and goats danced through our heads. They tasted lovely.

We put it in our basket. Proud owners of a Paillot de Chevre. Yes.

We will not be celebrating Christmas this year. We three, will be eating cheese. We made this deal in the store. As I said before, save yourselves. Though you don't have to worry too much. The sweet, quirky cheese man who gave us our samples had cheese on his apron. And into the basket he went.

Surprise!

Custom orders are lovely. Mostly because we get to work closely with our clients and get to know them a wee bit, which makes creating a personal picture much easier. This is a picture we just sent to Ontario for a birthday gift (haha! I hope the party is over and I haven't ruined the surprise. If I have, then...ahhh...SURPRISE! Yes, it IS you!!!! That is YOUR car and egg!! Neat huh?!!!)
NOTE:

I am not good at surpises. I was invited to a surprise party once. I was so excited, I opened the door and yelled SURPRISE!!! before my friend was even out of the car. I have not been invited to any surprise parties since.

I am so touched by the wonderful, thoughtful people who order special gifts for their friends/family/co-workers. You are all stars and I thank YOU for making me love my job so much!

"Mary's Cove" by Cara and Pam

Hand-Carved wood, acrylics,mixed media

Photo: Pam Dorey

Here Comes Santa Claws!

Gretel had her Christmas bath and haircut. When she was posing for her annual Christmas photo, we yelled "Here comes Santa Claus!" and she looked around in absolute terror as she recalled her horrific memory of Christmas past when BooBoo and Lily dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus and tormented everyone with their jingle bells and scary beards. (Mrs. Claus' beard was exceptionally scary)

Photo: Happy Gretel Christmas 2009

P.S. I think we have the only dog in the world who can look in two directions at once.

P.P.S. Loopy, doesn't she look like "Tony" from Coronation Street, with her giant, mad eye?