My heart is racing!

* Once upon a time, I met a man on the internet. Last February, I decided to show him how I felt by making him a very special stuffed monkey. He loved it, and the rest is history.

And now! q.D. paToOtieS, the designer of the pattern, has featured the Amazing Love Monkey on her blog! Hooray! Thanks q.D.!
ALM and his jaunty hot rod reside in my husband's studio. Hopefully his head won't get swelled by the attention.

thrift stores galore

* I've been having sooo much fun up here visiting thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales and used book stores. There's a pile o' printed goodness on my desk just waiting to be scanned!

First up, Modern Needlecraft magazine, Fall Winter 1963. A thrift store up-island had tons of this magazine, but since I can neither crochet or knit I only bought one (the purple-and-black color scheme on the cover played no part in the decision ;) I kinda like the sweater on the cover, but as a busty gal it would NOT work on me at all.

There aren't many scan-worthy ads, but the Lane Bryant one is a keeper. IF you're STOUT? How kind of them to notice! And look at the teeny waist on her, with her gloves and pumps.


How about some thrills ... fun ... earn? "If you seek increased independence, greater happiness, and a worth-while hobby, and you feel you have artistic talent, write for this FREE booklet." I have never heard of this hobby before.

The ladies seem to be all a-flutter about Cardigan Cal. And he knows it!

Mr. Dobbs, is that you?


A yarn ad on the back. The woman at the top looks suspiciously like Julie Newmar.

* Thanks to those who let me know I'm not the only one having blogger issues! As you can see I changed some things around, and although Preview still doesn't match, the Compose part is fairly close to the final result.

Well now. Now that Blogger has a new design template interface, I did some monkeying around to fix my preview problem. I did manage to get the text columns wider on my blog, but the preview still doesn't match what shows up when it's published. hmmm.

blogger issues

hmmm. The Preview doesn't match what shows up on my blog. I think somehow the text box has shrunk in width. Must do research!

FarmVille is a vampire

That "one post a week" idea? yeah. Blame FarmVille.

* But I did take the time to upload some more goodies to Flickr! The story: way back in March, us newlyweds and my parents took a drive up to Tennessee to visit relatives. While there, we visited a Saturday flea market. Not a whole lot to look at, but a shoebox of sewing patterns caught my eye. How much? $2 for the box. Sold! And voila, 30 patterns, 25 from the 1950s. swoon! I only wish I were a 50s size 12 and my life would be a technicolor dream. I can just see myself flitting around the garden party in that floral number on the left. (I wouldn't trust Red over on the right to get anywhere near my beau, though.)

* In other news, Canada is cold! Well, much cooler than Florida and (according to Glen) cooler than normal for this area as well. Last weekend we used a free hotel room and spent the weekend at Parksville. Fantastic view of the beach from our balcony - too bad we needed sweaters to walk on it! We also had fun watching the bald eagles fly back and forth taking twigs to their nest. Rathtrevor Beach was amazing; the tide goes out for 1 km! I'm sure not used to walking for 20 min just to reach the water ;)

Life here has been quite active so far: trip up-island to see Coombs Market; Lauren's star turn as a wise-guy March Hair in Alice in Wonderland Jr.; watching the amazing Snowbirds and ships from around the world at the International Fleet Review; Buccaneer Days in Esquimalt; Celtic Festival and Highland Games; and Eddie Izzard LIVE!!!!! (I bought a bag that says "Cake or Death" :) I'm enjoying every minute.