Where do these weathermen get their predictions?

We've all heard that proverbial phrase, "Spring is just around the corner." It's a particularly long corner this year for rural Ohio-ans. Only one day left in the month of March and we're in the middle of a pretty hard white-out. That means that the ground is covered in snow and more is coming down every minute!

Yesterday, the weather station said that we would be in the upper-thirties with rain for the next three days. They changed their minds by last night and said that it would in the low thirties with a half inch of slushy-snow accumulation. It was changed to a half inch of real snow by this morning, but nothing was supposed to last longer than 4:30 this afternoon. Well, it's been snowing for a solid two hours at least. There is at least an inch of accumulation already, and you can't even see the field across the street for all the snow coming down. Where do these weathermen get their information? I know that the weather reporting room in the town where we grew up did not have a single window. Go figure.

Here are some pictures of the house and yard as it appeared about twenty minutes ago. It's even whiter now. Well, I better get going for now. Pop will be home soon, and I'm going to try to dig up a snack! More later.

Adding Another Photo to the Autograph Album

Elizabeth and I really like The Big Valley TV shows. Okay, some of them are a bit too much, but we just skip over those (mostly the ones with girls --- why do they ever put romance into a cowboy show, anyway?). There are some fabulous gun tricks and rescues. There are even court room battles if Jarrod is the main character! It's like a Wild West "Perry Mason". Elizabeth is really keen on Barbara Stanwyck, so she waits for the shows when Victoria is the main character. I like Jarrod and anytime that one/some of the boys have to rescue another (or a couple) of the brothers.

Over a year ago we sent for Peter Breck's autograph (he played Nick Barkley), so we've got gorgeous pictures of him. Just a couple days ago we received signed photos from Lee Majors (who played Heath Barkley)! That is really cool!

My question is: why is Heath the one that's always in trouble. Jarrod and Nick have the occasional show where they get in real trouble, but Heath is always in some tough spot. Come on, he gets shot in bunches of shows, hanged once or twice (rescued apparently, but those shows aren't on DVD, so we haven't seen them), beat up in almost every show and called terrible names by most citizens in the valley. I mean, they didn't even put his last name on the credits. He spends so much time proving himself worthy of his name, and the producers of the show don't even give him credit!? Poor Heath.

It's supposed to snow a bit tomorrow. Ugh. It was only fourteen degrees this morning, but it did manage to make it up to forty in the afternoon. I'm trying to get Pierrot finished, but I ran out of flesh-tone wool. That means that I've spent some time this afternoon carding some more! It's hard to make hands with nothing! Pierrot is looking lots more presentable, but he's handless and headless. He also needs the "frills" and "fru-fras" on his shirt. About ten more hours of work should see him finished. More later.

Thinking of Everyone as "Young"

It's not always easy to think of everyone as having been young once. Sometimes it's just hard to visualize certain people in their childhood or in their twenties. I used to sit and stare at Grampa (Dad's Father) and just wonder what he was like young. What was it like to be him? What did he think about? As years passed it got easier to imagine him younger, and I had no trouble imagining him acting young.

Actually seeing something is more amazing than ever being able to imagine it. These pictures really hit me a few months ago. Grampa is our age or a little younger in all of them. Even though he looks pretty much the same, it's funny to see him on a Jeep, shooting a gun and just being "cool". It's funny to see the quiet man that I know, doing something like target practice.

Pictures are cool --- they can capture a moment in time that can still be enjoyed sixty years later. Sometimes, in today's world, people just pass off "old folks" as old. Not really understanding problems of the "young" people, not having felt the same things or stuff like that. How unfair. I always love to look at old people and try to imagine them young.



These photos were taken on Grampa's Father's pineapple plantation, Margajitas. If you look on the gun picture, you can see a huge "cage" thing built over one of the trees in the background. Grampa built that over a guava tree and used it as an aviary for pet parakeets. He had another aviary at their town house with pet canaries. He had to let all of his birds go free when they left Cuba.

These are my three favorite pictures of the "snap shots" from Old Cuba.

Spring, Snow and Summer: The Agonies of Waiting

It seems like it's been a really long Winter this year. Even though I'm not quite ready for all the activities that come with Summer, I am certainly ready for some warm weather. Last Monday it was so warm that we actually went out in short sleeves --- without jackets! It snowed again two nights ago, and we're back to coats. Ah well, in two months it will seem hard to remember all this snow.

I'm really excited about Summer. August can't come soon enough for me this year. We're so excite that we're already starting to plan on what we can take down with us. Dad's been talking to his family about everyday, and that's nice.

We went shopping for some new shirts. Boy, the state of clothes in the stores is rather depressing. You either look like you're undressed, or you look like some hick. Not to mention that the quality of material has gone so far down. We did get a couple of new shirts, though. Maybe if we wash them on the delicate setting they will last out the season! ;)

There is nothing to photograph out here. Everything is just gray and gray. So, here's another picture from Old Cuba. That is Gramma and Grampa in the front (aren't they lovely?!) with various great-grandparents, aunts and uncles behind. More later.

Big Summer Plans in the Works

This is probably the first year that I've ever been dying for August to get here. This is a big year for "La Familia Garcia". There are three major anniversaries which include Leilani's 1st Birthday, 50th anniversary of the Garcia's arrival in the United States, and Gramma and Grampa's 60th wedding anniversary! Celebrations are in order. We've got tickets to go down for a special dinner, a party and a family photo. It's been eight years since we had anything like this, and there is a great-granddaughter in the group now. :)

The party will be for all the family and extended family, so we're going to order some fancy cakes from Publix. We're hoping to have the invitations done in the next week! More news will be coming soon. In the meantime, here is a picture of Gramma and Grampa back in Cuba. This is sometime in the early/mid-1950s. Aren't the beautiful? I am so proud to be their granddaughter!

Before the month is over . . .

Wow. The month is going by and I have barely posted anything. Nothing "huge" is happening around here. I don't even have a picture to post. The weather is finally turning into a bit of Spring. There is no snow on the ground today (lots of mud, though!) and it has been in the 40s with sun. Hooray. I can already feel the hum of the lawn tractor . . . soon anyway.

I'm working on felting another doll at the moment. It is Pierrot this time. He's really coming along, so I'm hoping he'll be done by the end of the month.

We went up to Panera today to pick up bread and have lunch out. The most embarrassing thing --- I walked out without all of the credit cards/cash!! Ahh. We had to have Dad call with his card number from work to pay. How terrible. Boy, did I feel bad.

Dad is giving a presentation to his Fly Fishing club tonight. The subject is "Fishing Flies on Postage Stamps". He's done a beautiful job of framing stamps with matching flies, putting a bunch of stamps and First Day Covers in a scrapbook and making a whole presentation. I'll have to try to get some pictures of his stuff. He's so talented. Well, since he's going to be out that means that we get to have an "all girls" evening! More later.

We came home to find autographs in the mail!

Some more responses from the fan mail that Elizabeth and I have been sending out. It's really cool how many successes we've had, actually. This time it is from Ann Blyth. She was a musical actress in the 1950s who starred with Mario Lanza in The Great Caruso. Of all her films (that we've seen so far) though, The World in His Arms, with Gregory Peck, has to be our favorite. It's all about San Francisco in the 1850s and the seal trade with Russian Alaska. And it has a super-romantic ending!


Elizabeth also got a response from Richard Bonynge, the famous Symphony Conductor (also married to Joan Sutherland). She's thrilled, as he is one of her favorite opera conductors. It's always fun to come home to a mail box full of this fun stuff. We were out this afternoon, and it was actually still 44'F at 4:00pm! Trees are actually budding --- some of the early ones. I can't believe that Winter is soon to end. Time flies when you're having fun.

White Pizza and a New Cookbook

This has been quite a good week for trying out new recipes. Elizabeth and I have been dying to try making a white pizza ever since last Summer. We've thought about it a lot, but never actually got around to doing it. We bought some spinach --- and put it in the freezer. We bought some Pesto --- and put it on the shelf. Finally, we bought some Ricotta cheese, and it had to be used. Time to make the pizza. We didn't really have a recipe or anything. We just had ideas of what we'd like (or not) from the couple of kinds that we've had at restaurants. In the end, our pizza came out really well. We were a bit nervous, but it was so fun! We put Pesto and garlic on first, then we spread Ricotta cheese across the whole thing. Spinach went on next (nice liberal portions!), followed by some mozzarella cheese to hold it all together. It was quite enjoyable.



Yesterday, we went to the library and browsed through the cookbooks. That was lots of fun, and we hit the jackpot! We found The King Arthur Flour's Baking Companion book. It's some heavy reading, let me tell you. That is the kind of flour that I've used for baking for years now, so it's cool to find a book that is made for that flour. It was a bit hard to sort through all the wonderful choices and pick which of them to make. "Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal" cookies won out. They were also listed as "easy" and "fool-proof", so it sounded like a perfect first try, right? Well, they were right. They're gorgeous, and they weren't even hard to make. Here are some before-and-after pictures:



All in all it has been a nice day! It's very rainy here, and we're having some flooding. It is supposed to turn to snow tonight though, and freeze tomorrow. Joy. Not. :) I got to call Naomi this morning, and that was fun! It's amazing that it doesn't take any longer to place a call to Wales than it does to call Florida. I don't exactly understand how that works, but it sure is cool. If only we could travel to Wales in the same time as we can travel to Florida!

I'm Pixilated Over You : An Elusive Piece of Sheet Music

Today is a banner day! It is pretty gray and rainy outside, and it was thunder storms all night, so there is a new little pond in the area inside the driveway. This doesn't really have much to do with it being a banner day, but I thought I'd lay the scene out for you . . .

First off, Elizabeth opened a gorgeous little box of chocolates and shared them around. Aren't they beautiful?! I definitely recommend the chocolate truffle. That was pretty nice, as she and I have always wanted to get a "fancy" box of chocolates --- just for the fun of it.

The really cool thing though, actually came in the mail! Ordered from England, and the only copy that we could find available anywhere on the Internet, it is the companion song to (inspired by) Frank Capra's 1936 film, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The name of the song is "I'm Pixilated Over You." It was written by Edward Heyman and Harold Spina. Elizabeth and I have been looking for this song for years now. One other piece of our sheet music had a one line sample of this song. This was supposed to make you go to the local music shop to pick up a copy. Unfortunately, living in the past is not always easy. No music shop today has this song for sale! Years have now gone by, and I think about this song quite often --- wishing that we could find it. Lo and behold, our fabulous Mom finds one little copy on Biblio.com.

It wasn't a far step from jumping around in sheer joy (not really --- that is, not quite) to hitting the purchase button and joyfully paying $14.00 for a piece of music that originally sold for six cents. It's a funny world we live in!

Well, it arrived today, and it's even lovelier than we'd hoped. I'm so thrilled! Elizabeth played it through on the piano, and it's an adorable little ditty. And if this entry hasn't convinced you that I am totally pixilated, then --- well, I don't know!

A Crowning Touch to My KGVI Collection!

eBay is a good way to find things that are unavailable in your own local area, but --- it's also frustrating at the same time. Half the time the item that you receive is not as nice as it was described in the listing. Or the seller is slow and/or rude. Or the packaging of the item is so bad that the item you've been waiting for arrives in a ruined state that is irreparable. Buying on eBay can be quite disappointing.

I'm also fed up with the "sniping" programs that so many people use to place their bids. I bid on an item and wait there, hoping to win, for days. Then in the last five seconds some sniping program comes in and beats you out without even a chance to see what's happened. In fact, I barely look at stuff anymore, and then only bid towards the end. I can't stand getting excited about something and then being disappointed in three final seconds.

Well, Mom and I sat and browsed through the "George VI" category the other day. I've collected stuff from his reign for almost ten years now. Mom and Lizzy even gave me a flag from his Coronation one year for Christmas! That is cool. Not to mention the sheet music song of the theme song at his Boys' Camps. Over the years it has become increasing difficult to find "new" items that I haven't already seen or purchased, so we don't browse through the category very often. Well, we were sitting there eating lunch with nothing else to do (right?!), so we browsed. Boy, did we hit on something cool! A brooch/pin released in commemoration of the Coronation shipment of Cutty Sark Blended Scots Whiskey. It's a gorgeous gold tone, enameled crown with red, green, white and blue accents. It says "Coronation George VI" on the front.

Oh joy! It arrived today, and it's SO much more beautiful in real life than any pictures. Wow! It's been a while since I was this happy with an eBay purchase. I just had to post a picture of it.

I also collect George VI postage stamps (from Great Britain and the entire Commonwealth). We're all counting down the days until the National Stamp Show, which is actually being held in Columbus this year!Oh joy, again! The show is actually four days long, and some of the dealers have told us that it will literally take that just to make it around to all the booths. Not even counting any displays and exhibits! I'm hoping to pick up some of the harder to find stamps --- we'll see how it goes.

And no, we're not going to watch the new movie about KGVI. I'm so irritated, disappointed, upset and disgusted that they would turn my favorite king into that. What a shame. Historically inaccurate and offensive portrayals of some amazing people. That's another post. Sorry that this sounds so "down". I guess that's what I get for typing a blog entry so late in the evening, right?!

Working of Those Winter Projects

Amazingly, the month of February is almost over! Shocking. It seems like just last week we were saying "in January we'll work on . . ." and now we are facing the end of Winter. We've been really trying to clear out cluttered areas in the house. Some of the stuff we've gotten rid of has gone to Goodwill, and some of it has been sold on eBay. All in all, we've gotten rid of quite a bit --- it's just amazing how much more there is to go through.

We did manage to make a little baby quilt. This was for a friend of ours who just had her first baby --- a little girl! This is some of the fabric that we got on "Black Friday", and it was so fun to see it come together into something finished. The colors were so cute, and I loved the hot pink!

I haven't really been doing much felting lately, but we did get this cool book in from the library. It is a catalogue of Commedia Dell'Arte figurines that were made in the eighteenth century. The book itself is in German, but the pictures are amazing! Some of the statues are less than beautiful, but there are sure a bunch that are gorgeous.

The things that I find most interesting are the huge berets on the men. They are so large that they actually drape down their backs. I love that! Definitely going to have to felt a beret like that one day. :)


We're all white again outside, and supposed to be more snow tonight or tomorrow. Well, I better quit now. Mom and Elizabeth are making a gorgeous Dinner of spaghetti and hush puppies, and it's my job to make a salad!!

Mrs. Keultjes' Cheesy Apples!

You know how some tastes and smells just bring back moments and memories. There are quite a few of those that Elizabeth and I enjoy. The smell of lipstick for one, the smell of dill weed and the smell of our grandparents' house (Dad's parents). You've never smelled anything so wonderful. I actually have a table cloth that we brought home from their house in October and have slept with it in my pillowcase ever since.

Well, one of those lovely tastes that is SO special is Mrs. Keultjes' Cheesy Apples. She used to make this quite often when Hannah and the two of us would be playing together. There was even one time that she made a big pan of them and let the three of us eat the whole thing as a snack! Oh joy!

Elizabeth and I have been working for months now to try to make them ourselves, and every recipe we tried just was not the same. It was just like cooked apples with cheese on them. Not like that heavenly nectar that we love. Then, at Christmas, the Keultjeses came over for a Dinner and she brought a whole tray over. We actually forgot to serve them (how convenient!), so we enjoyed them all by ourselves later on. Amazing things! So, this finally gave us the brilliant idea to ask Mrs. Keultjes for her recipe. Should've done that in the first place, right?!

Tonight we made them for the first time, and they were almost exactly like hers!! Victory! Here is her most wonderful recipe, in case any of you would love to try them. You'll never be the same again, I can tell you.

Mrs. Keultjes' Cheesy Apples

3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. flour
Mix these together then cut in:

1/4 butter then add
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese.

Mix together some lemon juice w/some water (3 T each?) and cut into that bowl:

7 (granny smith) apples, cored, peeled, sliced (a scant 5 cups)

Shake off the apples, put in a 9X9 (greased in some way).

Put cheese mixture on top and pat down.

bake @ 350* Let it bake long enough that the topping is nicely browned.
(We baked it for about 1hr. and 15min.)

A Needle-Felted 'Pierrette' of the Commedia dell'arte

She's finished! This is another wool needle-felted doll. I'm working on set of Commedia dell'arte characters. Hopefully there will be seven dolls in the end . . . but we'll see!

Pierrette is eight inches tall, weighs a fraction over one ounce and took about 32 hours to complete. Since she hasn't got a tall hat on she is a lot taller than the gnomes --- even though she measures the same height as several of them.

She was a bit more challenging to begin with since she is so tall and thin. Because of that she doesn't really stand up well by herself, though she can if you have some patience! I'm hoping to start another one later this evening. Elizabeth makes little sketches of the characters for me to use as a guide, so it depends on when she does that for me. She's so good.

This Pierrette doll is actually based on a Meissen figurine. Of course, I did take some "artistic liberty", especially in the hair and hat. The figurine we picked for this one actually appears in the Poirot TV show called The Affair at the Victory Ball. There is a whole set of Commedia dell'arte figures, and Elizabeth and I have always wanted to make dolls out of them. We have also gotten pictures from a book of Meissen figurines for some of the other characters. I'm really looking forward to making Columbine!

I've got a bunch more pictures uploaded in a photo album. If you're interested in taking a look at more pictures: CLICK HERE

This makes the twelfth doll that I've finished in twelve months. Not a bad average, is it?!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Reagan!

Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old today. That's amazing. Elizabeth and I are so thankful to have been born during his presidency (and not that of the "unmentionable" follow-ups). Not only that, but we think of him as he appeared in Hollywood, so he doesn't seem nearly one hundred!

His acting career is kind of eclipsed by his political one, which is a bit of a shame, as he really was good in films. My favorite moment ever is from Errol Flynn's WWII film Desperate Journey. Reagan (with Flynn and crew) crashes into Europe when their bomber is shot down. They are captured by the Germans and taken in for questioning. The German leader is played by Raymond Massey --- who does a wonderful job of being thoroughly despicable! Reagan does a great job double-talking Massey into a right hook. This allows the bomber crew time to escape out of a conveniently placed window in the office.

Double-talking is SO cool. I wish that I knew how to do it, and nobody can do it like Ronald Reagan. He's fabulous!

More Autographs and Misc.

We got another fan mail response back the other day. This time it was from 1950s actress, Rhonda Fleming! We sent our own pictures, and she signed them and even included another one! She plays Princess Sandi in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court starring Bing Crosby (and her, of course!). That is one of the first movies that I ever remember watching . . . and I don't remember a time of not watching it. Oh, when I was little I wanted to look like her . . . well, until I saw Jane Russell. I sure wanted to look like Jane Russell. Oh well. :)


Buddy and Kay brought some books up from AiG for us the other day. Elizabeth had sent a few of our books with them to have Ken autograph them for us (how did those slip by?), and Ken sent us copies of his new book and some other stuff. It was really sweet because he even inscribed them! He's really great! One of these days I should post some pics of all my special "Ken Ham" stuff. I've got tons of it packed away to save for Little Kenny. :)

Tomorrow we're supposed to have a big "winter storm", so it looks like we'll be staying home. Even the auction house has canceled the sale tomorrow! Well, got to go for now. I'm hoping to work on my scrapbook!

'Man overboard! Save the blanket.'

We just watched a new movie last night --- well, "new" to us. It's a movie from 1940, but most of us had never seen it! It's called It's a Date starring Deanna Durbin and Walter Pidgeon. Wow!

If you've never seen it --- then see it! And if the title of this blog post doesn't make sense to you, then definitely see it! Walter Pidgeon is hilarious in this one as "The Pineapple King". The man who makes three cents every time anybody eats a pineapple. Deanna is the daughter of a famous actress, and she's even better than her mother. So she says. The supporting cast is great with Henry Stevenson, Eugene Pallette and Cecilia Loftus. Not to be missed.


Other than selling some stuff on eBay, we haven't been up to much lately. Buddy and Kay were over for a visit today, and we're hoping to make it down to their place in the next week or so! Elizabeth actually bought something on eBay. It's a sheet music book of the six songs from the 1940s film Rachel and the Stranger. Believe it or not, they are all sung (in the film) by Robert Mitchum, and he actually recorded them on record. They're gorgeous songs, and we're thrilled to get the music. Now, on to the practicing. :)

We were snowed in again this weekend and didn't even make it to church. That makes three in a row! It's supposed to stay in the cold temps for another few days. Summer . . . how much do I love you? Let me count the ways.

Pop's Fabulous Fly Tying

It all started because of Foyle's War. Well, that's where it started for the three of us girls. We saw the first episode where Foyle ties a "classic iron blue", and we were totally convinced that Pop should take this up as his full-time hobby. It took a long time to convince Pop, but he finally succumbed. He's even taken up fly-fishing. He says that it gives him a good reason to tie the flies.

As with anything that he decides to put his mind to . . . he's marvelous. Elizabeth seems to have inherited the same skill, which is quite lovely. They decide to do something, and poof! they are perfect at it! Wow. Pop's been working at his flies for the last week or so. I think that his Maytime fishing trip is seeming close. ;)

Well, he tied a beauty of a Jock Scott pattern the other night. It was from a pattern originally made in the 1800s and actually took him three hours to make, so he says it's only for display --- not fishing. His whole table looked so . . . professional. Just like a set in a movie or something, so I had to take a picture of it to post here! You should see his collection of colored feathers. He's always going through craft stores for bags of them, and our cousin even gave him some feathers from his little parakeet named "Pita".

Thoughts on Mohair and Wool Doll Hair for Felting

I ordered some doll hair online last week, and it arrived yesterday. Some of it is really nice, and with that all added to the other colors that I had . . . it's a pretty good collection! Mom picked up a bag full of several kinds and colors of natural doll hair at a thrift store several years ago. This was before I was even felting, but she figured it would come in handy. It sure did. We used it on the little felt dolls that we made (pipe cleaner bodies wound in embroidery floss with wool felt heads and clothes). These dolls were all about three inches tall, so they didn't use too much hair. We ordered two more colors online, but that was the end of it . . . we thought.

The majority of the hair was 100% wool from a company called All Cooped Up. It comes in "braids" around a piece of string. As soon as you pull on the end of the wool it comes off of the string and you have what looks like wavy hair. This stuff is really nice, and the colors really look like human hair (except for their "blond").

There was one long piece that was not wool, but we weren't sure what it was. Turns out that it is mohair. I used that for the first time on the Posey Hornbeam doll, and it really looked like real hair. Mom was sold, and it did look great. She and I were on the hunt for more at the fiber shows, but nobody seems to sell hair colored fiber at the shows. Although, we were able to get two packages of Mohair locks. Those are really nice, and I was able to use the darker color on the Mrs. Hood doll.

So, we thought that we would look up some places online that sold mohair doll hair. We found a place and ordered some straight black mohair and a 36" braid of honey blond hair. I can't wait to try it. I also ordered some new wool braids, and those look great. As beautiful as the mohair is . . . I still like the wool the best!

Mom and Elizabeth have talked me into making a set of dolls based on antique figurines of the Commedia Dell'Arte characters. This is actually pretty fun, as I love the novel Scaramouche, and have wanted to make some of the characters anyway. The first one is going to be Pierette. She's started right now, but she would be way too embarrassed if I posted any pictures of her as she appears in her present state!

Wednesday Night Auction Deals

Last night was the weekly auction at the local auction house. It was snowing a lot yesterday, but Mom and I decided to brave the weather in the truck. We just made it, but it was sure worth it! We came home with a bunch of stuff (Mom got about seven boxes of craft stuff for $2.00!), but there were two real "deals" for the night. First, a whole stack of nineteen pieces of feedsack fabric for only $15.00! We were pretty happy about that, as she's always wanted just one feedsack, but it was a bit out of our budget. Here's a picture of the stack:

The other deal was a complete setting for eight of dishes made in Occupied Japan! Mom collected Occupied Japan figurines for years (before we were born), but had never been able to afford a set of dishes. She was sure that she wouldn't get them, but in the end she actually got the whole set for only $10.00! They are still wrapped in newspaper at the moment, but I'll hope to get a picture of them soon. We've got to decide where to put them . . .

This will be a date to remember!

1-11-11

Now that's a date to remember! This only happens once every decade. Well, the date may be interesting, but we've had a nice nondescript day. I got a new computer game yesterday, and as lazy as it sounds . . . I spent a couple hours playing it! It's called Westward Kingdoms, so I'm a traveling prince out to save four kingdoms! Wow.

Last night we watched a FUN movie. We finally got Lights of Old Santa Fe (with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans) on DVD. That means that instead of the cut version (52 minutes), we have the full version (77 minutes)! Boy, is it amazing. There were three songs cut and most of the plot advancing things. That was quite enjoyable. More later.

Autographs from Amanda Root

Another reply from one of our fan letters came today! This time it was from Amanda Root (she played "Anne" in the 1995 film of Jane Austen's Persuasion). We are so thrilled. She was one of the people that we were really hoping would reply, but no one had replies posted anywhere online. It took Elizabeth a couple weeks to find the address alone!

Not only did she send each of us a gorgeous photo, but she also sent a long letter, too! We've had several personal replies, and that is so nice. It makes the actors so "real". Something makes me think that the two of us are going to be working on our scrapbooks over the next couple of days!

Hercule Poirot as a Needle Felted Doll

Mom has always been a nut about the Poirot TV shows. So, we decided that a little wool-felted Poirot doll would be a perfect Christmas present. This happened in March, as soon as I finished the first two gnomes. It took a couple of months for us to start working out the logistics. We sent for autographed pictures from David Suchet and Hugh Fraser (Poirot & Capt. Hastings in the TV shows), and with the help of a friend in the UK, managed to keep them a secret from Mom.

Added on Jan. 23, 2013:

We have now designed a miniature Poirot doll made of wool and wool felt.

These are available in our Etsy shop, and you can check them out by reading
THIS ENTRY here on my blog.

Added on May 12, 2013:
I have now made two more felted Poirot dolls (slightly larger than this one). To see pictures of them and to read their story, just see their entry by CLICKING HERE.

The next problem was the box. Elizabeth wanted a dark colored box (black or navy blue) with a velvet lining. Sounded good, but no amount of browsing at Hobby Lobby or any other store was supplying even one option. We were even open to covering over a box and making our own lining, but nothing was the right shape, size or feel. This one had to be perfect.

Then, in early June, we stopped in at a thrift store to drop off some stuff. While Elizabeth was looking through LPs, and Mom was looking through something unknown, I just kind of wandered around. All of a sudden . . . there it was! Sitting on a shelf with a bunch of picture frames was a thin, navy blue box. It was the perfect height for a doll. What was even cooler was the fact that it was velvet lined! God is amazing!

We decided to change things around now that we had this perfect box. It opened the wrong way, so Elizabeth sliced the velvet out and reversed the foam lining underneath. Once it was put back together she painted the logo on the top with a white gel pen. She's so talented. We spent a month working out the color and stance for the doll. We wanted the light gray suit, but I didn't have any light gray wool. That meant that we had to wait until the fiber show in September (not to mention telling a few fibs as to why we had to have light gray wool!). We looked high and low through the show, but no light gray was fine enough . . . until the last booth. Again, God is amazing!

Elizabeth decided that it would be really cool if we could put the autographed photo inside the box. The photo that we had was just not the right shape or size, no matter what we tried. So, we sent another photo to Mr. Suchet with a letter explaining what we were making and asking that he return it before Christmas. This was on the first of October, and his response time is usually about six weeks. No problem, except . . . he must have taken some time off, because he wasn't signing anything after September (that we could tell by the fan sites). We resigned ourselves to no autograph and figured that we'd print a plain picture to go in the box.

Work, work, work and the doll still wasn't quite finished on Christmas. Not to worry, though, since Elizabeth hadn't finished the Secondhand Lions toys either. We all voted to postpone out Christmas presents until the following Sunday (January 3). Some point in the middle of the week a #10 envelope arrived. Elizabeth didn't recognize it, so she threw it on Mom's desk with the other mail. I had an inkling of what was inside, so I snatched it up before Mom could see it and ran off to open it. It was! It was the picture with a gorgeous personalized autograph! It hadn't even been mailed through the agency, so Mr. Suchet actually had to do it personally. He had even mailed it before Christmas, and it just took a little while to arrive. We were on Cloud #9 for the rest of the day. God's timing really is perfect!



Elizabeth put the picture in the box with a black mat, and we were almost finished. Actually, we didn't put the finishing touch (the little purple flower in the lapel pin) on until we were actually wrapping up on the very day that we opened presents! Nothing like finishing in the nick of time.
Well, this entry is a lot longer than I had anticipated, so we'll get on to the statistics. Poirot is seven inches tall (including his hat), weighs two ounces and took about 28 hours to complete (felting time, that is). He was felted with a #40 and a #42 needle and is made of 100% Merino wool. His watch chain is actually sterling silver. Elizabeth made the chain and lapel pin with old jewelry parts that she had.

If you want to see more pictures of the Poirot Doll, CLICK HERE.

This is the BEST Present Ever!

What is more fitting for the first post of the year than pictures of the coolest present?! We just opened our Christmas presents yesterday (We didn't get the homemade presents done in time for Christmas day, so we waited a week!). This is a present from Elizabeth and Dad to me. Dad cut them out and put them together, and Elizabeth did all the painting. She is absolutely amazing!!

I'm just nuts about the movie Secondhand Lions --- particularly the cartoons that appear in Walter's workshop and the end credits. Elizabeth has painted two wall plaques and framed a pencil drawing of some of these cartoons. We've chosen another cartoon that, one day, she's going to paint as a mural on a wall in my baby's nursery. Pictures of that stuff to come.

This time she made a set of pull toys and a giraffe. They are all made of wood and she did all the painting! She's amazing. Walter is the leader of the pack and has a nice long rope with a big wooden bead for a handle. Then comes the cute little pig, followed by Jasmine the Lion! Of course, Walter can be pulled by himself or with either of his little friends, but who would want to leave any behind?! The giraffe is just too tall to be a pull toy, so Elizabeth says she'll make a table lamp out of him. All of the tails are made of painted cotton rope. This is definitely the best present ever!

'. . . with a fond goodbye!'

That's what Irving Berlin said about 'kissing the old year out'. God has certainly blessed us many ways this year --- too many to even list here. But I sure am looking forward to a new year. Hopefully 2011 will be more normal.

Today was the big year-end auction at the local auction house. Things started at 10:00am this morning and we didn't get home 'til about 4:30pm. It was really fun to see all the old stuff there, and there was certainly lots of stuff! Well, in just seven short hours this year will be over. And guess where I'll be??? In bed! :)
God bless you and Happy New Year!

'Just like the ones I used to know . . .'

It's finally happened! After more than ten years! We had a white Christmas! In fact, we actually had snow in the middle of the night, so when we woke up yesterday morning the roads were totally covered. They didn't clear off until the afternoon. We had a nice, quiet Christmas together putting up the tree and making cookies and lasagna. A couple of the homemade presents were not finished on time, so we're saving presents until next Sunday.



Today we've had some friends over. Elizabeth and I can't remember a Christmas in Ohio without them, so it's like having family. We always have a Cuban dinner together, and this year we even had a pineapple centerpiece! They stayed basically all day, then we washed up all the dishes etc., so it's getting late.

Merry Christmas!

Five Special Years with Beatrice

Wow! I can hardly believe it, but we've had Beatrice five years as of today. She's my special girl-cat, who actually picked me. We had gone to the local shelter to get another kitty for Elizabeth since her little cat, Deanna, had just died. We hadn't been there for more than five minutes when this tiny, little black cat came up to rub on my legs. She was a little peanut of a thing (she weighed six pounds at the time and was actually overweight!) and so cute, so I picked her up. She climbed right into the hood of my winter coat and went to sleep. Well, I had to keep her, so she came home that night. She was seven months old and had been at the shelter ever since she was a few weeks old. All of her siblings had found their special homes, but nobody wanted Beatrice because she was black. Poor girly.

After five years, she is very happy, and the queen of the house. She never gets over eight pounds, and she's certainly the smallest cat in the house, but she's the queen of the place and everybody knows it! She has frenetic "frenzies" when she wants love and just rubs all over and can't stop moving. The only thing that calms her down in music be Brenda Lee. :) Beatrice is certainly a special little blessing . . . God knew that I needed her!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

Well, it looks like we might actually have a white Christmas this year. That hasn't happened in, probably, over ten years! We've been white for about three weeks already, and it will hopefully stay another week. This is what the yard was looking like last week while it was snowing. It hasn't snowed for a few days, so the bushes and trees are pretty bare, but the ground is just as white.

With only days left before Christmas, we're trying to get everything finished up (presents and all) and get ready for the big weekend. Not a year, since we moved to Ohio, has gone by that certain friends haven't come over on Christmas weekend for a good old-fashioned Cuban dinner. The grand occasion is going to happen on Sunday, so we're going to get all the good dishes down and pull out the special table cloths. Gramma and Grampa just sent a huge box of plantains and that good stuff, so we're about ready! Got to go . . .

If I had $1,000,000 to invest . . .

Mom and I were talking yesterday, and we came up with a brilliant idea! It's just too bad that we haven't got a million or two to invest. Wouldn't it be really cool if somebody bought an old department store, say from the 1950s, and turned it into a consignment antique shop. Of course, not just any old antique shop with booths all over the place. Let people bring in only the nicest of stuff and set your store up exactly like an old department store. Have a clothing department, a shoe department, a toy department, a music department (including records, radios and sheet music) and so on and so on and so on.

Don't let individuals sell whole "booths" of stuff. Rather, let people consign as many (or as few) pieces as are in really nice condition. Tag everything with the consignment number, just to keep things straight, but make it look like a real department store. Don't sell anything past a certain date, and make your store look like that era. Cool thought, anyway . . .

The Timeless Pleasure of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda. That is, honestly, one of my favorite novels (including the sequel Rupert of Hentzau)! Not only was it a stage play in the 1890s, but it's been filmed over and over again in the attempt to bring an imaginary Ruritanian world to life. Opinions differ as to which version is best, but if you ever read the book, then you'll realize that, try as they might, Hollywood never captured the beauty and excitement of the book. Take a look at how Rudolf and Flavia have changed (or not) over the years.

In 1922, Rex Ingram made a spectacular silent film production of the novel. Lewis Stone starred as Rudolf Rassendyll/King Rudolf V with Alice Terry as Princess Flavia and Ramon Novarro as Rupert of Hentzau. I've never seen this version, but it sounds as if they held to the novel better than the later "talkie" versions. Lewis Stone appeared again, in the 1952 film, as the Cardinal.

In 1937, Selznick Pictures built Ruritania in a back lot and tried again. This is considered by most people to be the best of all the Zenda films. I would totally disagree, but it's all a matter of taste. Ronald Colman is Rudolf, and though Madeleine Carroll makes a pretty princess, she doesn't quite capture the beauty and regality of the written Flavia.

Then, in 1952 MGM came back to make an almost scene-for-scene remake of Selznick's version. This time Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr portrayed the royal pair with James Mason as "young" Hentzau. Well, the ages were a bit off, but it's my favorite of all the films. Rudolf's personality is perfectly portrayed, though I would Mel Ferrer looking more like the book's description. It is a true shame that Granger never brought the sequel to the screen. He would have been amazing!

Elizabeth and I have read quite a few books over the years that mention The Prisoner of Zenda. In fact, even Agatha Christie had a special place in her heart for the novel as seen in her mystery Postern of Fate (Tuppence fondly recalling her youth):
"She sighed with enormous pleasure at the remembrance. 'The Prisoner of Zenda'. One's first introduction , really, to the romantic novel. The romance of Princess Flavia. The King of Ruritania. Rudolf Rassendyll, some name like that, whom one dreamt of at night."

If you've read this, then I hope that you enjoyed the book as much as I did. If you haven't read it, well . . . read it.

Rodolfo
Qui in hac civitate nuper regnavit
In corde ipsius in aeternum regnat
Flavia Regina