The Not Finished For Friday Post

Next week, I will have something to share for Finished for Friday. I just need to track down where I found the pattern for an embroidered dog that I finished before my surgery. This was my second attempt at stitching it and I do believe Version #2 is jinxed. Every time I take pictures of it, I find a hair on it (I know it's not the same as one in my salad but still, ew) or a piece of thread or a mystery spot or two that wasn't there last time. So, I'll be showing it off next week. Unless it spontaneously combusts one night and burns down the house.

Speaking of embroidery, do you like kitties? And anthropomorphic silverware? And Santa? Well, check out the vintage patterns over at Green Jello.

And, in more embroidery news, when you get a chance, go take a look at Martha's ABC blocks (that's the main page of her blog so just keep scrolling down to see more). I promise you will swoon over them. I tend to drool.

Hope everybody has a safe and super fun 4th of July!!


(That's about the only semi-patriotic picture of one of my dogs that I could find in my stash. I have no idea why I added a green background to it or how I even put that hat on her.)

Back To Blogging

I hope you all had a happy holiday and didn't get any coal in your stockings!

Llyn is having a giveaway for her 200th post. The prizes are her favorite book of the year, a handmade plastic bag dispenser (she made it from a pretty tea towel), and a vintage cake decorating set. She's going to be picking a winner on January 1 so go enter by leaving her some comments on this post.

Llyn shared some photos of her doggies under the Christmas tree on her blog, and that reminded me of one I recently found of Sophie. I only had her for three years and every Xmas she ended up under the tree.

The other night I made English toffee from the recipe on Elsie Marley and dang, is it ever so good! It's so buttery, nutty and chocolate-y. In the past, I've made fudge, and I can whip up caramel for caramel corn but I hadn't used a candy thermometer since home ec in high school back in 1979. But Meg's instructions were really easy to follow and it helped that soft ball and hard ball and dodge ball were all marked on the thermometer itself. Now I want to try making peanut brittle. Good thing there's a recipe for it in one of the 137 emails my best friend Martha Stewart sent me this past week.

Fourth of July

Here's a picture of my dog Sophie from a few years ago. I guess I added the hat because it was Independence Day but I have no idea why the background is green. This is a perfect example why I don't do graphics.

Happy Fourth of July!!

Oprah And Sophie

I finally watched Oprah's puppy mill show that I recorded last Friday. I admit I rolled my eyes when I first heard she was doing a show on the subject but they truly did an excellent job. Oprah, Lisa Ling, Bill Smith (my new hero), Wayne Pacelle, and the other guests covered everything that people should be aware of: where pet store puppies come from and the alternatives to buying one from a shop, the awful conditions at the mills, euthanasia at animal shelters, and the importance of spaying & neutering. Color me very impressed, Oprah.

The show got me to search for a picture of my dog, Sophie, from when she was at the animal shelter. I tried writing a post about her but I couldn't get it how I wanted it. So I'll just share two photos of her. The before and after shots.

Sophie's picture on the animal shelter's website, August 2001



Sophie at my house, September 2001