Happy Zombie

… and he asks me for an interview on his show. And then… I wake up.  And then I’m bummed for the rest of the day.  Screw you, my crazy dreams.  BUT THEN later that morning… I get an email from Pat asking me to be a guest on her Creative Talk Network radio show!  Sigh.  All is right again in my world.  Well, besides the shocking news between Pam and Alex.

Tune in tomorrow (10/04/2010) and listen to the live stream, or downland the podcast in iTunes after the show. I’ll be on at 1:30 PST/4:30 EST, or if you set your watch to the center of the world… 2030 GMT.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to sleep so Jeff Lewis can come to my house to do a reno.  I hope he brings Zoila.  Maybe she’ll make me something from Pat’s blog hop The Edge Recipes pdf!

Posted in How I Live | 30 Comments

Today’s the big day… Amy, myself and Pam (AMP’d!) are, well, AMP’d for our turn on Pat Sloan’s The Edge Blog Hop!

Turns out… Amy, Pam and I all thought the same thing - size matters.  And measuring things with Pat’s new rulers from Sullivan’s goes way beyond our cutting tables! I brag that Astoria has the biggest and the best - so with the help of Cap’Tom Crunch as my measuring device equipment operator specialist - my little town of Astoria really measures up!

This is Pam’s Bridge, aka The Astoria Megler bridge. If you live in North America you’ve probably seen it many a time on your tv in assorted car commercials.  Not just great movies are shot here… but so are many car commercials.   Currently running in North America is a Toyota Prius commercial - a nice long shot of a Prius traveling on Pam’s Bridge.

I live over yonder.  Just follow the trail of thread.

The Astoria Column. I tell everyone who visits Astoria to go visit it. What is it?  It doesn’t matter - just go up there and see for yourself. Plus I don’t exactly know what it is. Thank goodness it has a Wikipedia page.

So I guess now would be really off color of me to mention my first time.   Quilting.  I’ll save that for another post. #somedaysIam12yearsold.

One of Astoria’s most photographed (and loved) landmarks. If you’ve never seen The Goonies… RENT IT TODAY. My favorite movie ever.

One of our secret crops.  Not the Botwin’s crop.  Our marshmallow crops.  THIS is where jet puffed marshmallows are grown. We ARE the marshmallow capitol. Of the world.

Marshmallow fields, forever.  It’s almost harvest time. [super-size me]

Part of the blog hop is to post a recipe. I don’t have recipes… I have take-out menus. Rice Krispie treats are right up my baking alley… but I don’t even have a recipe for that. So instead, I’m going to give a restaurant review of the Bowpicker - home of the world’s best fish n chips.

Open in the late spring - early fall (something like that)… the Bowpicker’s hours are from “11ish to 6ish”. No one really remembers the schedule… it’s just something well all inherently know. It’s like we all have bowpicker-dar. When the Bowpicker opens up after Winter’s end… it spreads like wildfire through Astoria (and parts beyond) that the Bowpicker is open.

The Bowpicker is owned and operated by a super friendly mother-daughter team… and the fresh tuna they use is caught THAT MORNING by the dad. A light breading, super fresh delicious (and hearty) tuna… deep fried heaven. A huge side of steak fries makes for paradise in your mouth. Lots of condiments, plus beverages sold from ice bathed coolers are also available. A few picnic tables dot the Bowpicker’s “mooring” spot - and magnificent views of the Columbia River are free with every meal. If you come into Astoria on the east end of town via Hwy 30/Leif Erickson Drive - look for the Columbia River Maritime Museum at the edge of town - the Bowpicker is just a hair across the street from it at Duane & 17th. While the condiments are good, I prefer my own “tarter sauce” and I BYOTS. It’s similar to the white sauce on San Diego style fish tacos. My crazy dill sauce:

Dill Fish n Chip Sauce
⅔ C. Best Foods Mayo, creamed
¼ C. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T. dill (I ♥ dill)

Holy [expletive]! I have a recipe!

Now the fun Part! Pat is giving away one huge treasure chest of her new rulers [treasure chest not included]. All you have to do is

1. Leave a comment on this post by not later than 9pm PST on Sunday, October 3rd. How ’bout you’d tell what big/fun/wonderful thing you’d measure in your town.
2. Leave a comment on each of the blog posts from the blog hoppers that have already posted (Pat, Kelly, Amy, Jackie, Julie and Amanda).
3. Leave a comment on Amy and Pam’s blog today. You WON’T want to miss their posts!!!
4. In days the days ahead - visit and comment on Carrie’s, Polly & Laurie’s, Cheryl’s and Michele’s blog hop posts.
5. Cap it all off with a re-visit to Pat’s blog - where a winner (who’s posted a comment on all the blogs and the respective posts) will be drawn for the loot-o-rulers. Watch Pat’s blog for details.

And be sure to give Pat’s Creative Talk Radio a listen on Monday (10/4/10, good buddy). Yeah… like exactly at 1:30pm PST! If you can’t listen to the live stream, you can always podcast the episode through iTunes.

Posted in Stuff | 418 Comments

Trick-or-Treat… smell my sewing machine feet.

Make some Tiny Treats bags from my pattern in the Fall 2010 issue of Quilts & More.   I have two projects in this issue - one is my Tiny Treats bags project, and the other is my Dressed to Impress organizer quilt project (kit available at the Fat Quarter Shop).  But there’s more… MUCH MORE. 

I love this Halloween fabric.  LOVE IT.  So bold, graphic and clean.

I’m hording my wee little scraps of Boo Boo Bears by RJR Fabrics left-over from the project.

No pets allowed in my sewing room… but one rare occasions I allow the villagers in and let then think they’ve snuck in (and can’t be seen).

This fabric made my heart skip a beat!  Confections by Caleb Gray for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

I had no choice but to lick the fabric.

Can’t stop.  More bags in in the works.  Instead of ribbon, I’m using 3″ strips of fabrics (double folded inward/finished at ¾” and edge stitched - same method as my Poochie Bag’s straps).

I love mixing and matching Elizabeth’s darling new Red Rose Farm line with P&B Textiles.  I’m making some Tiny Treat bags for Elizabeth’s Market booth - and since I’m not done sewing them… they’ll have to wait to be seen at Market!

My Lecien fabric-sister - Rosalie Quinlan and her newest line of Sweet Broderie.  I’m going to send these off to Lecien’s Market booth - IF I have the will power to let them go once I’m done sewing them all up.

I am so in love with this fabric! It sings to both my loves of vintage and modern fabrics. Sing-out-loud sing… like Aretha Franklin beltin’ one out.

Thinking up what goodies would be good in the Tiny Treats bags is next!

PS… Emma Thomsen is hosting a give-away on her blog - a 12 fat quarter bundle of my Holiday Happy fabric.  HURRY… her give-away ends soon!

Posted in Quilty n Crafty, Make Something | 78 Comments

I must be back to [ab]normal… I’m making farting puns. Or it could be because I’m still somewhat full of the gas they pumped into me when my gallbladder was removed (and it feels GREAT to have it gone!). Every time my husband farts - I give him a snarky spewing of “show off!”. Who knew I’d ever have fart-envy.

Art. Recently we were on Bainbridge Island - we met our dear friends from Seattle for lunch. Bainbridge Island is post-card pretty town just a quick ferry ride from Seattle.  A darling town, filled with galleries, killer restaurants, ice cream AND is home of Pink Chalk Studio! You can smell art in the air (and no, not my husband’s version of art). I highly recommend a visit if visiting the Pacific Northwest/Puget Sound.

I love my art dipped in humor. This happens to be a store called “Fish & Chips”.  I also like my art fried and salted. Mmmm… Lay’s chips!

So beautiful (as my adorable little buddy Chloe points out to me). A concrete quilt - smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk.  I’m rethinking our plans of re-paving our driveway with asphalt.   Oh how I would love to turn my  driveway into a gigantic quilt.  Thought bubble over my head… can asphalt be painted?  Light-bulb. Ding sound. I wonder if my county’s public works will loan me one of those big painting machines they use to make crosswalks and other street marking???

At lunch, there’s a chalkboard for the visitors. So I penned my name… and felt like I had contributed to art. All those people who penned before me. From places near and far. All of them with a story. My story is not being embarrassed to take a photo of a silly chalkboard while a teenager watches me snapping the photo - and gives me that “I’d be so mortified if I saw my mom taking a photo of chalkboard look”. It was moment I won’t forget. Kind of an AH-HA. That old adage of “beauty in the eye of the beholder”… IS TRUE.

There is soooooo much art around - I’m glad I found it.
And canvases, too. Hello, driveway.

Posted in Stuff | 42 Comments

Recently I got an unwelcome hello from my now soon-to-be-gone gallbladder. I’m all good and in good hands… but I’m out of comission for a while longer and am unable to answer my email. If there’s anything urgent that requires my attention - or that maybe they can answer - please contact Pam (pamkittymorning) or Mo (lime gardenias). Thanks bunches! Monica

Posted in Stuff | 100 Comments

I love, love, love those plastic webbed lawn chairs. Even that creaking aluminum sound they make, I love. When I was a kid, we belonged to the Orinda Park Pool - every day of our summers were spent here.  My mom and her friends had super cool low-rider lawn chairs, and would sit in the sun and play gin rummy and bridge on the lawn.  This was in the pre-melanoma and pre-mom’s-had-to-go-to-work era.  Priceless childhood memories.   (in the “1960’s Stingers” [color] photo… that’s me, 4th on the left in the front - the one fiddling with her bathing cap - twas the height of the Pixie cut era!)

Oh for the love of lawn chairs, quilts and Moda… I have a Lawn Chair quilt tutorial at the Moda Bakeshop.  One Jelly Roll of MoMo’s It’s a Hoot (I’m so madly in love with this line!!!) and two Jelly Rolls of Moda Bella solids will make TWO 48″ x 75″ lap size quilts (or one 75″ x 96″ quilt).

I started playing around with a Honey Bun (1½” wide strips roll) of Urban Chick’s Sweet (one of my all time fave lines… along with Swell… hoping the Urban Chicks are working on a Savory for me next!!) - and putting the solid in the center.

I’m still in playing mode (which is one of my favorite modes) - and adjustments in the measurements have to be made for the 1½” striping - cutting the 3-piece units into 3½” x 3½”, 3½” x 6½” and 2″ x 3½ units.  I don’t know yet what I’m going to make… or what my finished size will be… I’ll probably figure it all out (and post it) when I finish what I started next week month year.

I secretly refer to the Lawn Chair quilt as the UPS quilt.   Last July, during a freak NW Oregon heat spell - Violet made a tweet the about the heat and her UPS man JUST as I had finished making the Lawn Chair quilts.  I will forever think of Violet (and Melissa too!) and a hunky hot UPS man when I think of this quilt.

[/barry white music]

Posted in Make Something | 46 Comments

Holy schmokes… I’ve shanghaied one of the blog posts on the Where Women Create blog!  Actually, I was asked if I would like to be featured on their Fabulous Friday feature.  It didn’t even take me a nano second to say yes.  Holy schmoly… what an honor for me!

My post is here, and naturally I ramble on as I always do.  Added way too many photos.   I even swiped (or rather, schwiped) one of their graphics and happyzombied it.  I’m feeling rather shanghai-ish at the moment.  Dare I even say schanghai-ish?

In celebration of my WWC shanghai my WWC post, I’m giving away a 25 fat quarter bundle of my Holiday Happy fabric.  That’s 6.25 yards of fabric!  Leave a comment on the WWC post, and WWC will draw/announce the winner after their Tuesday, August 24th at 12:00 Noon (MST) drawing closes.

I’m so touched by all the kind comments left for more me there. I’m unable to reply to them, so please know how deeply touched I am by the kindness everyone has bestowed upon me! Thank you!!!

PS to WCC - if you have a couple thousand extra visits on your blog… that’s just me coming back over and over and over again reading all the wonderful comments!

Posted in Stuff | 107 Comments

Yaaaaay!  I’m a Camp Counselor at Lizzy’s Castle Peeps Summer Camp!  Me… a camp counselor.  Whodathunk.  I’m usually the one sent to the counselor for bad behavior.  My only camp experience ever was on our 5th grade 3-day trip at Camp Silver Spur in Tuolumne, CA.  And it was a blast.  My youngest son got to go on the same type of trip in the 4th & 5th grades… “Outdoor School” it’s called in Oregon.  One year he got to go to Outdoor School in Vernonia, OR… and one year it was a trip to multiple locations in Central Oregon (Bend, Sisters and Kahneeta).   Now I get to relive some of that fun (as a kid and as a parent), through Lizzy’s summer camp.

Using Lizzy’s beautiful new line of Castle Peeps by Andover, I wanted to make something fun and useful.  Something that sang to my inner 5th grader, full of adventure and discovery.
And mischief.
My inner mom screamed not to get dirty. My inner quilter shouted to keep the beautiful fabric pristine. My inner recycling bin complained it was too full to hold one more milk jug.

And then it all came together.  My Dragon Slayer Satchel will pull double duty as my berry picking tote.  I wanted to make my strap adjustable so I can wear the strap across my chest (half a cross-my-heart), so I used a 1″ Dritz Center Release Buckle on the strap.  I LOVE THAT BUCKLE.  So easy to attach, and so very inexpensive (I got mine for just over a $1 at Joann’s with my 40% off coupon). I only wish it came in assorted colors.  Having a buckle also allows for attaching the satchel to things like big honkin’ tree branches and [insert your favorite difficult to hang stuff on object here].

I ramble… and here’s the link to the PDF pattern. Please respect my terms of use disclaimer at the bottom of my free pattern. Go forth and slay, and forage… and have fun.  And get a little dirty.

Posted in Stuff | 54 Comments

Recently I came upon a new blog on tumblr called Catalog Living - the life and times of fictional Gary & Elaine who live in the pages of our catalogs.  Yeah, like who knew Gary & Elaine were even there!?  Catalog Living is the hysterical brainchild of Molly Erdman (the  actress who plays the “wife” from the Sonic commercials).   It’s genius.  GENIUS.  There’s a great article at the Chicago Tribune about Catalog Living - my favorite part was the quote from Molly, “Wouldn’t it be funny if I put these pictures up and made little captions for them?”.  I love that.  When I think all the way back to mid-1970 and being in the 7th grade - and we would write naughty captions in the photos of our ancient 1950’s school books - and could now be a success at it?  Holy schmokes… it’s like a dream come true!

So now I’m thinking, as Catalog Living skyrockets into internet and twitter superrockstardom… it’s probaly too late to ask Molly Erdman if she could “Catalog My House”.   Kind of like Pimp My Ride, or like asking James Earl Jones to record my outgoing voicemail message… but what would Gary & Elaine say/do if they lived in my house.  WWG&ED.

If you make house calls, Molly… my door is open. I may have to resort to trying my hand at it. In the last photo, “Liberty and Madison fear being plucked out of the audience during Bob, Triskit and Mother Clucker’s ‘In Hot Water’ performance“. I think I better leave it to the professionals.

Posted in Stuff | 32 Comments

I’ve been saying forever that cameras should come with an “Oregon button”. A magic button that turns dark Pacific Northwest daylight (that murky damp Twilight-ishy gray)… into happy pretty sunshiny brightness. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman - she wrote about the aperture button on a DSLR camera. Aperture… aka The Oregon Button. And the OB was staring me in the face all this time.

I had to test it out asap. I went a little extreme and over exposed myself a little too much (THAT’S gonna garner me some unwanted spam). Because I’m a PCP photographer (point-click-pray), I have no +/- numbers or metered levels to recite. I just watched my little aperture bar move up and down as I fiddled with the button. I did make this sound as the meter bar increased… [low pitch] blooooooooop [high pitch]. Decrease on the meter bar… [high pitch] bloooooooop [low pitch].

My before and afters.  Because I had the aperture set to steroid levels… reality is somewhere in the middle of the before and afters.

My kitchen and front entry:

My morning joe:

My phone I never answer (I hate talking on the phone):

Throne cam:


Edited in: I was on the throne… not *on* the throne.

I’m sooo happy to have learned about aperture.  Thank you Pioneer Woman - I can now make every day a happy pretty sunshiny day in Oregon.

Posted in I Heart Oregon, Tips & Trix | 47 Comments