mlaiuppa

I had no idea I was violating copyright until I joined our local watercolor society and it was part of their rules for entries. I was already retired and taking local community college classes in the emeritus program and the teacher never mentioned it. in fact, she would bring in clippings from magazines as examples for us to paint. I had spent…[Read more]

What a great memory. I actually own a purple teddy. It’s a Steiff. I hadn’t thought of using my teddies as models but I could certain do so. I even have one dressed as Santa somewhere.

Glad to hear I am recovered from the SPAM filter.

Second and third verses (which hardly anyone knows or sings)

A day or two ago I thought I’d take a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright was seated by my side.
The horse was lean and lank, misfortune seemed his lot.
We got into a drifted bank and we? We got upsot.

Now the ground is white go it while you’re young,
Take the girls tonight and…[Read more]

I’ve seen one horse open sleighs. They are darlingly cute. These were Victorian era antiques in museums in Germany. They look like extremely large Christmas table decorations. The sort of sleigh centerpiece you would fill with pinecones and nuts or fruits to decorate a huge table. They’re about the size of a refrigerator only lying down on it’s…[Read more]

Sewing on a machine is as easy as driving a car. You don’t even have to drive a stick! It just takes a little practice.

Hand sewing is much more difficult. It takes fine motor skills, even finer than crocheting or knitting.

Why are women better? Because as girls we were buttoning little doll clothes whereas our brothers were tinkering with…[Read more]

I don’t think dogs process wearing a costume as anything akin to embarrassment. They don’t do humiliation. But they do react to attention and if they associate something with positive attentiona. I had a friend with a pug and she swore he loved to dress up in hats. I was skeptical. So she left the room and when she returned with a bag he sta…[Read more]

If you’re worried about a stray tricker or treater being disappointed, keep a roll of quarters handy. Probably cheaper than candy. Also fewer calories and no cavities.

I love me some cute bats. A much maligned mammal. The fruit eaters are great pollinators and the carnivores can eat their weight in bad bugs (like mosquitoes) each night. Bats do a lot of natural pest control to help farmers.

For more cute bats, I encourage the childrens picture books: Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon and the series by Brian Lies:…[Read more]

Well, since it’s carved so early you won’t be able to eat that pie pumpkin.

Pumpkin pie made from scratch from a pie pumpkin (Cinderella or Pam or whatever variety they have this year) is the best and not hard at all. But you can’t use a pumpkin you carved five days before.

If you want to try, get a pie pumpkin. Remove the stem and slice…[Read more]

My Mother tells me that she took my entire birthday party to the movies to see Bambi. I was probably four or five. I don’t remember anything about that birthday party. All I remembered of Bambi was that forrest fire and Bambi’s Mom getting shot. Scoff at movie ratings if you will but sometimes we need a “what are you thinking” reminder. I was…[Read more]

I always thought that side saddle would be the most practical way to ride a broom. Rather like sitting on a rail fence. I’ve seen vintage Halloween postcards with witches in full skirts sitting side saddle on a broom.

When I was a child we used to have a witches broom. It was for sweeping out the fireplace. It was round, not flat and the broom…[Read more]

For me it was the original Halloween. Nightmares for weeks.

Don’t really care for them.

The Addams Family is about my speed.

I think you should pop Phineas some popcorn even if it’s just for him. Put on Animal Planet or The Secret Life of Pets, put a few kernels in his bowl and let him have his own movie night.

You’ll be happy you did.

My own Ramses will be reaching his final curtain sooner rather than later now that he is over 14. I’m starting to spoil him…[Read more]

I absolutely love the Primatek line and that (and Buff Titanium) were the primary reasons I chose Daniel Smith as my primary paints. I find I can’t bear to be without Serpentine and Green Apatite in my palette. If space allows I also add Sedona, Minnesota Pipestone and Piemontite. Their Amazonite is just lovely. I slowly added colors a bit at a…[Read more]

Unfortunately, the PO49 Quin Gold is now discontinued.

I went to a lecture by the current owner (CEO, President, whatever) of Daniel Smith and learned quite a bit.

Shadow Violet was a mistake. A worker was mixing Moonglow and accidentally added the wrong pigment. An orange I think. He caught it a bit late but brought a sample to whoever…[Read more]

Over the course of two years I eventually bought their entire 24 colors in half pans and then added a few of their limited editions. I removed the black, gray and white to a different tin and took this tin and a sketchbook with me on a day trip to San Juan Capistrano. I loved working with them and the sketches I did came out quite well. They mix…[Read more]

I have keys like this. They lock the rooms in my house. My house was built almost 100 years ago and the interior doors are original and still have the mortise and tenon locks with keys. The front door used to but had been converted to a more modern lock. Pity, as I think no modern burglar would be able to pick this old style lock whereas I’ve…[Read more]

Something is wrong with the Doodlewash settings again. I am getting inundated with posts. Half a dozen about who Anita Sinha is friends with and posted and the same for Sharon Nolfi plus a lot of other people. Is there any way to control this from my end? If not, I am going to have to unsubscribe my WordPress account and I just can’t have this…[Read more]

I went a bit outside the box. I considered one of the hummingbirds that frequent my Mother’s feeder, or a nice fat bumblebee photo I took in Oakhurst on the way to Yosemite but decided to do the small plane my brother flies for some company that is like über for airplanes. A bit boring but it has clouds in the sky and I don’t get to do clouds too…[Read more]