happy halloween

 i smell children...

Crescent City House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

there they are...

 when NoJo was a little guy i mentioned to him that i'd lost my marbles and that they'd scattered everywhere...

so when he found marbles on the playground, he'd bring them to me and say, "nonna, i found one of your marbles!"

and i'd put them in this box...

he was the best little guy in the whole wide World...

rise up

 

stars and ovals

stars for munching...

  ovals for marking...

use it or lose it 

signs from october 11, 2026

 there were some new signs...

use it...

or lose it...

Stargate Atlantis Homecoming by Jo Graham and Melissa Scott

circle circle dot dot

 i got my COVID shot

meow

 well, this happened...

here kitty kitty

this tree is two blocks north and six blocks east of here 

and, for the record, about the same distance from an elementary school 

he/she hung out in the tree till the tranq gun showed up...

snore

snore

SNORE

mountain lions belong in the high mountains - not in the heavily-populated-by-humans suburbs on the plains - if he/she comes back from being relocated, he/she will be destroyed 

and THAT is on everyone who claims that climate change is a hoax

resistance sisterhood

we had to buy two of these - one for me and one for she - cuz i'm bad at sharing...

princess spy rebel diplomat senator general 

they are our protest glasses ... after showing up and exercising our First Amendment rights, these are filled with ice cold Dr. Pepper Cream Soda pop and raised in a toast to Freedom, Democracy, Justice and Truth...

 it's a sweet reward, lemmetellya...

may the Force be with you 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

sticker shot

ugh...

putting that together was absolutely no fun

  especially since it involved the A word - i do detest doing applique 

whose bright idea was that tree in the middle?

 oh yeah, it was mine ... sheesh

close ups of the border

onward...

bruisers

not cruisers...

cute shoes, huh?!? 

that heel is 5 and a quarter inches (13.5cm) from the ground 

yes, and they add more than 5 inches to a five foot frame (not mine - i'm not short, i'm average)

they used to go great with a little navy blue dress - but that was twenty pounds years ago and they went from being a cute accessory to just taking up space ... they were headed for the VVA donation box when someone who shall remain anonymous but her initials are Melissa decided that she still needed them to give her enough height to water some of her indoor plants without using the step stool

one of many  - on the mend

and that worked till her ankles decided that they'd had enough and down she went ... no doubt, the donation box it is...

rest easy, dear Dolly

 

and know that i will always love you 

welcome back

 the sunflowers are looking raggedy and i was thinking that it is time to cut them back ... sunflowers are gorgeous from a distance ... up close they are scratchy and woody and unruly and messy and buggy and they don't smell good and my neighbors think they are weeds...

but this guy?!? this guy has another way of thinking...

he/she and his/her family have been missing since the bird die off six years ago and it was awesome to see him/her hanging out and willing to pose for Melissa... 

the sunflowers are staying...

henry the xxviii

i gave this panel to Melissa for her half birthday in june...

since then i've been highlighting it with embroidery - plain old stem stitch,  for the most part...

after hours and hours and hours of stitching, the only way that i can see a difference is if i look at the back...

june 27

july 4

july 12

july 23

and enhance the picture with the auto feature...

anywho ... it FEELS pretty doggone cool even if it doesn't LOOK much different...

august 16

he's kinda cute, isn't he?

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

it's opposite day

when  the sky is white and the clouds are blue

*note to self - the haze is smoke from wildfires that have killed four firefighters and a pilot in Colorado