Here are a couple of websites guaranteed to keep you busy for a while, after you have finished shopping PennyMichelle, of course!

A cute Halloween-themed game sent to me by a customer:
Haunted Cat Bowling

And a website I hadn't visited in a while that is much-improved:
Paula Begoun's cosmeticscop.com
I have bought this lady's books before, and now she has lots of reviews available on the website. It can be fun and sometimes a little disconcerting to look up favorite products, especially for a beauty-store junkie like me. Good News: the foundation both Penny and I use is highly-rated. Bad News: the Papaya Enzyme peel I like so well is probably worthless, LOL.
Also good: I found a super-high rated mascara to try for less than $4!! I don't leave the house without it, so I'm excited to try this.

I have linked to the Antique Rose Emporium many times before, and yesterday's visit (with Bunny of course) confirmed what a special place this is. Need a rose that was introduced before 1850, has white flowers, and smells like heaven? The Reference Chart is sortable by these categories and more. They've also added a slide show of their wonderful display gardens. The picture below was taken years ago, the layout has changed and expanded quite a lot, that building is an authentic log kitchen from the 1850's or earlier!


Have a Happy Halloween, don't forget to turn the lights out or Trick or Treaters might show up and want your candy!

This morning marked my return to cappucino for breakfast. I'll still have tea sometimes, but I am delighted to be back on the coffee wagon!

So I was sitting outside with the dogs, reading the paper and enjoying my cup, the dogs working on their respective chewies, when Lamb Chop decided he wanted to join us! I got up and walked two steps to the door to let him out. When I turned around, there was Grendel slurping up my nice foamy cappucino! Bad Monster!! Doesn't he know the caffeine will stunt his growth?! I suppose I should just be grateful that he didn't knock the mug over and break it. For a monster, Grendel is a surprisingly tidy slurper...but that didn't make the leftover coffee any more appetizing....

I love him, but I don't want his face in my coffee!

Hey don't forget to vote in the top-25 (link on the left hand side of the home page); then email Penny and say "I voted", you could win the Be Strong charm! What a nice gift that would make for a friend.

Well, the Astros managed to be the first Texas team ever to make it to the World Series, and though everybody is disappointed, I hope they won't forget that!
I'm not generally a big follower of baseball, but of course this was pretty exciting. It has been exhausting though! Those games lasting late into the night are just murder, and there's the tension of waiting to see if they can strike just one more guy out to get another shot at scoring.
I did my best to stay up last night, was dropping off for the last couple of innings though. Plus, the dogs woke me up at about 6 this morning (I do not get up at 6. ever.), so I ended up oversleeping my usual time by about an hour. I went through the usual routine, starting the kettle, putting the dogs out, and the doorbell rang! I figured it was a package or something but when I went to the door, it was Steve, delivering a load of trees we've picked out over the last few months. He was supposed to call before he came, so he paid the price by having to see me in my blue velour monkey pj's and purple fluffy slippers, with as fine a case of bed head as I've ever had. Never one to be flustered, I greeted him with aplomb and showed him where to unload the trees. I even fixed my tea, donned the pixie hat, and went out to watch and calm the dogs. He'd already suffered the worst of it when I came to the door, no need to hide after that!
Anyway, the trees look great, and now hubby has a nice project trying to dig enormous holes for them in our concrete-like soil.

On the beady front, got a couple of things off my plate yesterday and am focusing on new stuff for the website...stay tuned for new colors of zinnias and waves, and we'll be getting some koi lentils up on my page, too! Not to mention that I do have the Houston Bead Society show coming up in a few weeks. And I've scheduled a trunk show at the local bead shop for Nov. 19. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get people to come...

In doggie news,
Mr. Stanley has an appointment for his eye surgery in a couple of weeks, so he's going back to Houston this weekend and I'll have another foster to fall for...he will surely be missed around here!

Ok, I seriously need Stanley to get out of here! He is so easy to love! Then I found out this morning that he's never had a real home environment before, how sad. He's so well behaved and sweet...but there is just no way we can adopt another one.

Yesterday I thought it would be fun to take Grendel to Petco for a visit, but I forgot about him+slick floors. He made it to the end of the treat aisle, and hit the deck. I wish I'd thought to put his booties on! Several people came over to say hello and pet him, but finally we had to drag over the door mat to help him up. He promptly flopped again so it was kind of a door mat relay till he could get off the slick area and I took him to the car. Not really a successful trip, but I think he enjoyed himself pretty well...now I am off to shop for some paw wax that is supposed to help with traction on slick floors, for those times when he doesn't feel like wearing shoes.
*Wow, I actually managed to find all three dog products I was looking for at the same website...Paw Wax, Odokill, and a Combat Squeaky Man...

And below, witness my first attempt at off-mandrel work:

It's hardly perfect, but something fun to play with anyway. I think I should make the bail pretty thick for strength, as I think most pendants like this are made from hard borosilicate glass.

Tonight, I hope everyone will be rooting for the Astros! I hear that there is some debate as to whether they will be allowed to close the roof for a home-field advantage...if there is anyone who doesn't think that the cold weather in Chicago affected 43-year-old Roger Clemens, gimme a break! The Sox had the cold as an advantage, let the 'stros do all they can to win...besides, a couple of wins would extend the series and of course mean more TV revenue...am I cynical?
Enjoy the fun!

So here are my first attempts at cat equivalents to my lollipup beads. I'm happy with them for the most part, though that black one on the bottom is a bit walleyed...Hey, who is that on the bottom right? Could it be the famous Mr. Bojangles himself?
This was a big deal for me, as I often struggle to draw or create kitties; I guess I'm just not around them enough, whereas dog images are second nature .

Speaking of dogs, meet Stanley, our new foster!

This little guy will be ready for adoption as soon as his eye is fixed, or heck if you really like him and want to adopt him and get his eye fixed yourself, I'm sure no one would object! And when I say 'little', I do mean it! He probably weighs 16-18lbs, and still seems to have a bit of puppy in him. He loves to chew toys and talks to us to let us know when he wants dinner!
I finished up those necklaces at the bead shop yesterday, and nailed down a date for a trunk show there. It will be Saturday, November 19, so if you're in town, drop by!
More beads on the agenda today, I think I'll take another stab at those kittypops...

Here's a trend I can get behind: big jewelry and lots of it! I bought some pretty resin beads from my neighbors at the Austin show, and finally made a necklace:

It's about 20" long, using of course Penny's Puzzle Piece findings! It took me forever to come up with a design I liked, so finally I went early to bead group last week and just sat down and it came together perfectly. I had been trying other findings before that were just too small with the big resin guys. I seem to do my best designing at the bead shop, that's where I sketched out Penny's fabulous cuff in minutes flat! It might have something to do with the fact that there is no barking there...

Two more fun bold necklaces here:


Shelly the Turtle looks so cool with this shell bead, when I saw a strand at the bead shop I had to grab them, one thing led to another, and now I have two great necklaces to wear together or alone. LOL Of course they are for sale...I just have to put clasps on them. I had delusions of making my own s-hooks, as few things are easier than that, but I'll probably buy them...Hey, I support my local bead shop!

What do you like to do with your PennyMichelle findings?! Let us know, send pix too!

I went out of the room for a few minutes and this is what I saw when I got back:

Grendel lies on the window seat sometimes just for the view, but this time he was after a chewie.
He would climb into our laps until past his second birthday; I have never known such a sweet baby dog before .
Webb got adopted Saturday by a super nice couple, I think it was love at first sight (Webb is terribly handsome), and Bo went back to stay with his former foster dad. When Bo saw him Saturday, he was just beside himself with joy and couldn't wait to get back up into his lap. Grendel is very happy that Bo is gone because Bo picked on him at every opportunity. We will be glad not to be hearing the almost daily bloodcurdling baby moose calls of Grendel with his ear in Bo's mouth! I kept telling him that one good bark would probably stop the torment, and while he never tried it with Bo, as soon as new guy Stanley came outside, Grendel decided to do his best tough guy act, which is altogether unconvincing. It consists of hopping around with his tail in the air, blocking the path of the other dog with a great big bark. Stanley seemed puzzled by this, but wasn't fooled, and now they chase each other around the yard. Fortunately Stanley doesn't seem inclined to really terrorize the Monster, so we are looking forward to a peaceful time with him.
I'll take a picture of Stanley soon, he is adorable, very small, black and tan. It will take some doing though to get a shot where he doesn't just look like a blob though, black dogs are hard to photograph...and I need to get his good side, as he has an ugly red cherry eye that will be fixed soon.

Beads are on the agenda today, tomorrow I'll show pix of the new trendy bold necklaces I put together with some PennyMichelle findings!

Don't forget to vote in the top 25!!! and email Penny for a chance to win a cool quilter's charm! They are cute even if you don't quilt.

This guy sure knows how to enjoy autumn!

I got this picture this morning from one of the Cocker Rescue ladies. She used the pumpkin in some fall-themed pictures for the website and left it outside overnight...She found a giant hole in it this morning, and thought a raccoon had gotten into it until Roman ran over and in her words, "started eating out of it and was guarding it like it was his last meal."
He doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from his feast...yet.

Here's the long-promised picture of Bunny in her stroller:


She doesn't look too excited to be sitting there, does she? I think she's waiting for me to take her for a ride, or at least give her some kettle corn...Sorry girl! This trip's just for show! Well, maybe later this afternoon we can go for a spin around the yard.

Another sign of fall has appeared around here: I am doing my best to catch a cold. I've had a sore throat since Sunday...Nope, not from yelling during the TX-OU game, I mean really, after a while a polite golf-clap sufficed to acknowledge yet another touchdown...

So here I've had this yucky sore throat for a few days and now I'm getting stuffy and blah blah blah, and I just wish that when this kind of thing starts I could just sit down and reason with it: 'Look, okay, you got me. I know I'm going to be out for at least one day. But can we negotiate here? I simply must go to Houston on Saturday, Thursday is a bead group meeting I don't want to miss, and honestly, today is the only day that works for me. So if I make my nest on the sofa and take my cold-eeze, couldn't we make today my 'sick' day? '
But I guess viruses don't make deals. How uncivilized. I think I'll go cuddle up with my Kleenex.

As of 9:44am CST, it was actually cooler here than in San Diego.

Well, Bunny's trip to Round Top yesterday was a ringing success! We went to Marburger Farm, and though it was a bit warm, she rode in the stroller like a champ. Our progress was fairly slow, as of course every other person we passed had to stop and pet her and tell her what a good girl she was. Bunny was quite shy when we first got her, so her poise when confronted with crowds of admirers was a real accomplishment for her! Many people said their dogs would never sit so quietly while being rolled around and you know, it's funny but I never gave that a second thought. Bunny rode in state like she was Cleopatra entering Rome. I really just thought she'd curl up and go to sleep, but I guess she was enjoying the attention (and the kettle corn) too much for that. I'm charging the camera so I can take a picture of her on her throne for the blog.

As far as the shopping went, only picked up a couple of small things; left a couple of interesting pieces behind and were very tempted to go back today since the weather finally turned, but it looks like they'll have to wait till next season. Maybe. No, really, I have a lot of stuff to do today. But there were two entire shows that we missed. But REally, I have lots of beads to make! Uuuuh, I guess I'll keep one ear open for the phone in case hub decides we need to go back.

Some of the interesting things we saw yesterday we had seen before and had to make a point of 'visiting': the vendor with the most gorgeous Black Forest wood pieces, including a massive clock featuring two Saint Bernards; 'my' ring, a large heart covered with seed pearls and topped with a ruby- and diamond-set crown; we used to 'visit' a stuffed two-headed piglet which was displayed complete with newspaper clippings from his sideshow career, but someone apparently bought it.

Oh yes, and remember that water bottle holder I knit for myself just so I'd have it for RT? Well, last week I looked high and low and couldn't find it before we left-I could have used it too, as it was quite hot. I found it the next day, in the cabinet where I keep purses--I had of course looked there at least twice before...Then yesterday I forgot it. Some day, the silly thing will make it, and I'll probably lose it.

Vote Vote Vote in the Top-25!

I am terribly suseptible to snacking on junky magazines and gossipy snarky websites. They are like potato chips, "you can't surf just one!" When you finish one, there are links to more, each funnier and meaner than the last...and just like a junk food binge, it leaves you feeling kind of logey and unwell...
So to spare you, I won't be sharing links to websites devoted to bad plastic surgery or other celebrity fugliness!
I decided I'd better come here to my own blog and do something constructive to get that greasy taste out of my brain.

Making lots of beads today, as tomorrow is another RT trip, with Bunny in tow. I'm so excited, I've wanted to take her since the first time we went. The weather is supposed to be great, a high of just 80', should be wonderful and we'd better get an early start.
Sadly, my favorite channel on the satellite radio has been discontinued; I used to listen to it all day at the torch. I have already sent two complaining emails but I don't have any hope. I guess I'll just have to collect all that music myself and use the CD player or my digital music box...it was much easier just flipping on the radio...phooey on you Sirius! I was disappointed when I heard they had paid some ungodly sum to get Howard Stern, but figured that it wouldn't affect me if I just didn't listen to it. Now I'd like to blame that big contract for the loss of my beloved Swing Street. Oh and guess what they replaced it with -Sirius Spa- New Age crap elevator music. What a drag!!! Ok I'd better catch my breath, don't want to get myself worked up into a full-on Rant here!

I guess I'll just put 5 Frank CD's in and soothe my savage self that way.
Aaaaahhhhh, Frank................!

Don't forget to vote! We are getting killed in the top-25! Don't make me do a Vulcan mind-meld on you and turn you into an army of clones!
LOL have a good one!

Heheh, we are back up in the high 90's around here, but that little break last week was like the light at the end of the tunnel for us.
I've got LambChop on my lap, which makes typing a bit of a challenge, so bear with me...

The plants I bought Friday are still alive, I feel a real sense of accomplishment there...

Yesterday I found a stroller for Bunny to ride in so she can join us at Round Top!! We took several spins around the yard last night, she seems to approve. The other dogs each got a turn if they wanted, but mostly they didn't like it as well as Bunny did. Webb didn't like it a bit! I suspect the bumpy ride on his bony rump was fairly uncomfortable. Both Webb and Bo have been in rescue for a while but remain very slim...that is a rarity with cockers! It's usually the other way around, as evidenced by Finnegan, the 55-lb. cocker...

My recycled cashmere cardigan is coming along nicely, only about 3 inches to go and I'll finish the back. So far I've only noticed a couple of mistakes in the pattern...I'm trying to figure out a cool way to add my pluckyfluff yarn along the edge. It has big poofs of Yak down!

Hey, we are doing really lousy in this month's top-25, so don't forget to vote and email Penny, you could win a pair of cool Star Link findings! Vote Vote Vote! I am shameless!

One of the reasons Houston and our area were spared the wrath of Rita was the fact that this horrendous high-pressure system was sitting on top of us; it also caused the high temps that made so many people (and pets) suffer during the evacuations. Records were shattered every day as temps topped 105'! But at last a front came through Wednesday night; it's all anyone can talk about .
It's a good thing it came, too, because this and next weekend are ROUND TOP, the biggest antique/flea market event you could ask for! We went yesterday, and though vendors were a little thin-I'm sure it was a struggle just getting here, not to mention setting up in that heat-everyone was optimistic and having a good time. We found a couple of treasures, actually the main thing I bought were plants, appropriate because the other thing I usually get at RT is flower pots! I love the kind with the attached saucer, they are usually from the 1930's. There was an orchid seller there whose prices were just crazy low. I would have taken an armload of them, but I'm sure it will be all I can do taking care of what I've got...I know, I know, "orchids are easy", as they all say. Well, I am a plant murderer, and very forgetful as we know, so I'll just do my best and maybe get another one next time .
Lots of people had there dogs, saw a few cockers, one riding in a stroller, which I have always threatened to do with Bunny, and the most perfectly primped poodle I have ever seen! One of these days I'll convince the husband that Bunny really needs to be there. She will work her magic on the vendors and make them give us big discounts!

In bead news, I finally completed a commision from a local beader who wanted an angel and devil to wear as earrings, as though they are advising her...a cute idea! My version: kitty devil, doggie angel. The dog will get a jump-ring halo when they are finished...they're about 8mm tall...
Now before all you cat lovers get annoyed with me, I want to say that there are practical reasons for the kitty being the devil bead. There's more room between his ears for the horns, and the nice long tail looks great with a heart-shaped point on it. Honestly, I LIKE cats!

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my Longhorns are playing Mizzou's Tigers today ...