Nature's Heart

Nature's Heart

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

"Sew" much going on!

This last week and weekend was a whirlwind filled with sewing projects, painting, auditions for Tacoma Musical Playhouse (TMP) (Cross your fingers for me!!!), emergency trips to the veterinarian and urgent care for friends, acrobalance rehearsal and faire/character preparation for Folk Life up in Seattle!!!

I'm on the flier for Faire!!!!! We were passing out hundreds of these this weekend!

 Ishka and Lumi, all set to go!
 Lumi and Brishen...admiring our green and burgundy color scheme
Yep, Lumi couldn't resist the temptation to sit and try her hand at/on the Iron Throne from the show "Game of Thrones", she even showed a bit of *gasp* ankle!

 Faire folk taking a Kodak moment also known as "Flemish painting".

I have finally decided on my skirt colors and have begun the process of cutting out the yards upon yards of fabric and sewing my tiers. I am determined to have this finished in time for Faire!!!
Well I broke my first needle on my sewing machine...snapped the needle into three parts! Yikes...all because of that last darn/green tier. I might have to break out my serger to get through the thickness of the green fabric...

My Fabulous Find? An adorable pair of leopard pumps for...drum roll....$10, brand spankin' new!


After a morning bike ride with fabulous friends down along the Foothills trail in Orting...(I have to say that those "scattered showers" that the weatherman forecast was complete bollocks! It was a steady and fairly heavy rain the entire time...my body was so numb by the end of the ride that I could barely stand when I got off of my bike to start loading it into my car! Good thing I brought towels! Haha! )

ANYWAY to get back on track, I tried my hand at Looming!!! 
I am in love with it! I finished it in the time it took to watch two movies..."About a Boy" and "Love Actually" both with Hugh Grant playing in the background...It is much fun!!! I have a book that shows some of the basics but also shows some really adorable patterns for so many things such as house slippers, scarves, several different types of hats, cowl necks, bags and much more. I'm going to have to get some more yarn because of course I want to try many of these projects!

You can see the loom, left over yarn and tools still on my couch.

Smile!!! There is the instruction book still open after I read how finish my little hat. I'm so happy with it!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Forget Me Nots and Reviews


It has been almost a year since my beloved Puffers passed away and yes I am ashamed to admit that I put off creating a memorial space/plot that was worthy of his little memory... I was hoping to plant a purple lilac shrub as his little marker but 1. they are crazy expensive and 2. when I finally made it to the hardware store they no longer had them in stock.
I finally decided on Forget-Me-Nots...appropriate, delicate and petite...all which seemed to embrace Puffers' spirit...and the end result I think couldn't have been happier with. It all felt just right when I was finished.
 
I think it turned out so cute! I ended up putting chicken wire over the entire thing...for now at least as there are some feral cats that like to use parts of my yard as their litter box...I hear that sprinkling cayenne pepper deters felines...but I think I need to do more research as I am absolutely appalled at the idea of them doing that over Puffers' final resting place!
I bought a bunny coaster from a local (Gig Harbor) artist. How cute...I couldn't help but pick one up for my art studio...and I justified this $5.00 purchase as supporting local artists!

I managed to find time to read Don Miguel Ruiz's "The Four Agreements" in several days despite my busy schedule...I found it fascinating and the topics that it addresses I have and can apply to my life. There is always room for improvement.
The 4 agreements are:
Be Impeccable With Your Words
Don't Take Anything Personally
Don't Make Assumptions
Always Do Your Best

If you haven't read literature that touches base with these topics, you might find that this book challenges the personal views or possible illusions that we (can) surround ourselves with.

Because I enjoyed this Toltec wisdom that Ruiz Sr.'s book provided, it seemed like a natural choice to choose:

Unfortunately, I couldn't even finish this book. I didn't even get halfway through before returning it to the library (well before it's due date). I hate to say that it felt a bit stale? (and no I'm not talking about that library books aroma!). I used to be so stubborn in the mindset that I HAD to finish whatever book I picked up, even if it felt like torture. I am happy to say that I no longer have that mindset...I want to actually retain some of the information that I read...I hate it when you keep re-reading a sentence or paragraph with out even realizing it, or even more frustrating when you DO realize it but the information just isn't sinking in. Ruiz Jr.'s writing style didn't have that seamless flow that his father's had...perhaps the information felt more like a review for me...it just wasn't hitting home for me like "The Four Agreements".  I don't want to simply "go through the motions" with anything in life let alone reading and how ironic would it be while trying to read about Toltec wisdom. Now, this isn't saying that I won't try to read this book again...maybe I will and maybe it will hit a sweeter note for me, but for now I am moving on.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Mt. Si



You can't do a hike without starting it off on the right note and with the "proper" fuel...so of course I stopped off at the the House of Donuts of Lakewood and picked up a donut for everyone...I picked a blueberry glazed for myself....Mmmm delicious!!!
The perfect amount of glaze, not too dense not to airy and just enough fluff!

The House Of Donuts of Lakewood

The beautiful and breathtaking view at the top of Mt. Si, a 4 mile steady climb. Feel the burn!!!
I saw a few people running up or attempting to run the entire trail and I'm not going to lie, I totally wanted to race'em up even though I haven't trained at all for that...well you better believe that it made me want to run up Mt. Si for myself...Yup...it's going to happen...so stay tuned because you know I am going to have to time myself too.
My cousin who took this picture obviously didn't let us know that he was taking pictures. Lol gotta love a flattering/candid shot.
There we go...now that is more of what I would call camera ready!
Hoorah Ladies!!!

Cousins!!!

Needless to say the next day I felt a bit like this:
I love when I push myself to the point of exhaustion! It's a love/hate relationship when I can barely get up from the couch or it takes me a while to get my sore muscles to start moving again and when my walking gait looks as if I have been riding in the saddle for a week...all you can do is laugh about it at that point. I always associate sore muscles with a job well done...

Friday, May 3, 2013

It's ON!

The last time that Ben and I got to visit each other, we had a Mac "N" Cheese bake-athon...

You better believe that has a crumbly topping!

This time around we managed to get our drink on... Am I beginning to sense a pattern here, because I am not competitive at ALL!!! Ha ha!

Yup, before heading to the Seattle Aquarium on our day up in Seattle we stopped by the Crabpot bar by the waterfront for an Alaskan Amber Ale...the waiter asked us what size we wanted. A "regular" or a "large" one...unbeknownst to us what we were about to get ourselves into when we replied with "a large"...the next thing we know he brings us EACH a stein with a liter worth of beer..
Well I felt my competitive stomach flip and the next thing I knew I was pacing Ben.
Now mind you I'm 5'6" and I was keeping up with this fellow who is 6'6"+!!!...needless to say I was pretty proud of myself...because as you can see (the stein on the left with less beer is mine!!) which hints at the outcome as I am sure you can imagine...YES I won! I also have to mention that Ben was pretty impressed with my pacing skills.


We did manage to make it to the aquarium and in time for feeding time and it was so fun to watch the otters show their impressive oyster shucking skills as we stood their feeling pretty satisfied ourselves as the effects of our beverages kicked in.
I'm pretty sure this one is feeling rather satisfied after a belly full of oysters for dinner!

 River Otters!

Get "Otter"here!!!!