Happy Zombie

Seriously. Go play on the freeway. Or at least here in Astoria… go play on US 101. Yesterday was the 26th annual Great Columbia Crossing. Starting on the Washington side, over the Astoria/Megler bridge and finishing at Astoria High School on the Oregon side. I know of no other time one can walk or run across our little bridge. It’s no Bay to Breakers, nor is it the Golden Gate… but it is big in fun and community pride.

Our youngest son was volunteering at the race (along with his XC teammates) . Finally a chance to get to see him run in an event. DS2 is on the Cross Country and Golf teams at school. Both not very good spectator sports for parents. This was a great opportunity for us to see him run like the wind and cheer him on! Ooooooh mahm.

I dragged DH out of bed and pumped him up with some coffee and off we went. The city of Astoria and ODOT did a fantastic job of diverting traffic and staging those of us who wished to drive across the bridge. We could see the hundred’s of people on the top span and hoped we wouldn’t miss seeing our son. The runners are not visible in this photo… but there were gobs of them.

While waiting to get onto the bridge (what felt like ferry parking), there was our Oregon State Senator Betsy Johnson (who I adore) handing out treats while we waited. And I think she brought the sunshine in her goodie bucket as well. We discussed the benefits of running - and buns of steel. And we both agreed the best buns of steel were dusted with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with icing.

And here’s our boy! I couldn’t believe we actually found him in the thousands of runners. DS2 is in the gray sweatshirt/black shorts. The back of his team XC shirt says, “Our sport is your sport’s punishment”.

This year’s Great Columbia Crossing poster/t-shirt (in the top photo) was done by local (Ilwaco, WA) artist Don Nisbett. I love this man’s work. Paula has a nice sample of his work as well (I think I saw it on her blog, but now I can’t find it - if that’s where I even saw it). Anyhoo… I especially love what Nisbett did from a photo by Lori Assa for the Daily Astorian/Coast Weekend from an article about our quilt guild a few years back. When art imitates life. Something like that.

Posted in I Heart Oregon | 20 Comments

I realize I’m the last person on the planet to be Simpsonized… but here is moi:

I title this self portrait, “How I spent killing an hour on the internet instead of pulling weeds on a rare sunny day”.

Posted in Stuff | 16 Comments

I love Redwork and embroidery.
I love tats.
I love watching LA Ink (and LOVE their theme song from Nouvelle Vague).

If Redwork had a scandelous trist with a tatoo… this is what it’d look like.

I haven’t found such a great combo since french fries & mayo. I learned about this M’broi-d’tat (my new word - so very Stephen Colbert-esque of me, eh) from Floresita, and you can get your own Santa Muerte tat here - for free. Love her work… and I’m especially fond of her Zombie Girl.

If you’re from Astoria, you’ll get a kick out of this.  The place the cruise ship visitors flock to en masse.

Posted in Quilty n Crafty | 24 Comments

My one lonely cranberry… Mr. McCrannycran. I don’t know that I qualify as a cranberry farmer, but he’s been nurtured in his little glass womb on my windowsill for a few months now. Picked with love from my friend Karen’s bog. Maybe his buddy O’Pee-weecran will grow to be as big and strong too. Mr. McCrannycran’s brothers and sisters are now in their new home at Ocean Spray, waiting to become a part of your family. So if you see one of his siblings… give a shout out to them from his brother, k.

Posted in Stuff | 16 Comments

Or more appropriately… On pins and needles - jammed in my foot  (and I know I’m not the only who kicks off a shoe to sew).  I use a lot of pins and needles ’round here.  And they don’t always end up tucked snugly back into their emery cushions and sharpen while I sleep.  My cat Mochi has a pin fetish, so I must keep my straight pins secured.  My safety pins on the other hand get raked into a jar.  I do most of my basting with these killer and incredible anodized basting pins from EZ Quilting by Wrights.  Oh but what a pain to open, close, open, close, open and close those little suckers all the time.  I’ve found that it doesn’t have to be that way, and now I keep my pins permanently open.  Oh yes… what a time-saver this is.  Not to mention sooo much easier on my pudgy appendages.

What looks to be a jumbled mess of side-show salad… all you need to do is GRAB - LIFT - DROP.

And this is what you get.  It’s magic.  If only I had a fast trick for my other most used tool… my seam-ripper.

Posted in Quilty n Crafty | 18 Comments

That was me yesterday, just like this Happy Girl. Well… I’m always pretty happy, but mix me up with my friends and some fabric… I feel like I float with joy. Sappy… but true.

Yesterday my friends and I went to the NW Quilting Expo in Portland. A little fabric, a little lunch, a little side trip… and a whole lotta laughing. The photo above I named “Happy Girl”. I do not know what the quilt’s name is or who made it, but was my favorite quilt at the expo. As with all the quilts I will show from the expo I regrettably didn’t note the makers’ names or the quilt names and I’d be happy to share the info if anyone knows.

The Expo is kind of a giant shop hop rolled into one location. Shops and vendors from all over the west come and taunt you with their delicious delights. The expo also hosts the Hoffman Challenge and a quilt show. This was my third year attending, and I’m always amazed at what quilters can do with the world’s butt ugliest most challenging fabric. Amazing.

Below are a few of my faves (even if I’m not a fan of the fabrics), and you can see more of my faves on my Flickr here. Not many of the fabrics uses are what would be my choice, but I did see past some of the fabrics and saw gorgeous, gorgeous quilts!

Super mini small (see the safety pin and/or straight pin in relation to size?).

Incredible quilting. You MUST click on photo to see it.

Looks like a vintage board game. Bold, graphic and stunning.

Gotta love a well hung label. REALLY… couldn’t the person in charge of hanging the labels and ribbon have picked a better spot to hang it?

Fabric & Eggs

I’d like my eggs over-easy with a side of fabric, please. After the expo we went to Country Manor Fabrics in Battleground, WA. Or as I like to now call it… Fabric & Eggs. For years I’ve heard of this mysterious place - a quilt shop in someone’s basement out in the country. Though no longer in a basement, the shop is now in a pole barn. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of bolts everywhere. Agility is a must. Lots and lots of older collections one can’t find elsewhere anymore, and complete lines at that (so it seemed). I saw stuff I hadn’t seen in years or had never seen. If I’m ever on the hunt for That One Fabric… this is where I’ll come. Especially now that I know it’s top secret location. Which BTW, is on NE 179th just off the I-5 just north of the Clark County Fairgrounds. But you didn’t hear that from me.

Posted in Quilty n Crafty, I Heart Oregon | 33 Comments

And I’ve declared it!

I heart you my friend… my wondertwin… my muse… my daily cup of joy!  CONGATULATIONS!

Posted in Stuff | 11 Comments

I’m always either incredibly early, or always annoyingly late. I’d like to believe it’s the former - though I know there’d be a long line around the block to dispute that (and my family’s at the head of the line). So anyhoo… what would summer be without a good “beach book”. I usually like to read intense novels by authors like Patricia Cornwell or Dean R. Koontz, but lately I’ve been in the mood for something light, something fun, something with no murder or cops who chain smoke or scary people in the dark of night. I’ve had very little time this summer to read, and I wanted something I could pick up a week later and not have to back read 4 pages so I could remember what was going on.

So there I was in Costco in the book aisle. I noticed 3 fellow shoppers had picked up a certain book - from what was now a short stack (the sign of a best seller… New York Times, New York Schmimes - the Costco book aisle is where it’s at!). I’m not one to march to the same drum… but I was somewhat curious intrigued about this book! So I pick it up, glance at the back cover, and think - what the heck, and toss the book like a Frisbee into my cart - and on to the rest of my shopping. I love learning about what fellow bloggers are reading… a much bigger indicator I might like something someone I cyber-know likes… but those three other Costco shoppers can’t be wrong, right?

Mistake #1. I picked up the book to read a few pages before I had finished unpacking my Costco booty. Oh I’ll just read a few pages.

Mistake #2. Reading, reading… OH CRAP… it’s a freaking romance novel! Nothing against romance novels, but I think the last time I read one was over a quarter of a century ago - and it involved a rogue pirate and his throbbing manhood & a heaving bosomed damsel stow-away (granny porn).

Mistake #3. Assuming it was going to suck now that I knew what kind of novel this was.

Correction #1. I kept reading. And reading. And reading. And reading. HOLY CRAP… I LOVE this book! So now I’m addicted. I’ve taken this book where ever I go. Seriously… where ever I go! So many rich characters and every chapter leaves you hanging and thirsting for more! Kind of like Desperate Housewives… not the same story of course… but that same kind of guilty pleasure. I can’t leave the house without my coffee… and now I can’t leave the house without my book as well.

The book is Dakota Born by Debbie Macomber. As it turns out… it’s the first “Dakota” book in a trilogy. OMG, now I have to get my hands on the rest of the series!!! Come to find out, there’s another series she’s written called the “Cedar Cove Series” (aka “the address books“). I’ve scoured Amazon and local booksellers and I managed to acquire the entire series (which takes place just a bit up north in Kitsap County, WA). With the Dakota Born book finished (sadly) last night, I was now able to dive into the first of the Cedar Cove series - 16 Lighthouse Road. Delicious.

I haven’t been this excited about a book/series since I was a kid and devoured the sweet word nectar of the Nancy Drew series. And thanks to this author, my garage continues to look like this! My tip of the day: If you’re moving into a new house, IGNORE these books! So anyhoo… what are you reading???

Ok, these tennies have nothing to do with this post, but how effing cute are they! Serious cute. So cute, I was blinded by the hefty price tag. So what do I do… buy them, feel guilty about the price, decide to take em back for a refund, snap a photo, and then blog about them. Very satisfying, I must say. It’s almost like I’m wearing them, but not. The annoying sales girl at Adidas (who couldn’t pronounce Deutschland to save her life, even though she was selling a German product) went on and on about how this was a Reggie Bush signature sneaker. WhatTF? Um… THIS is a tennie to go with a cute aqua dress and vintage apron, while I place a fresh baked cherry pie in the window to cool. Reggie Bush. What-ever.

Edited in for all those that have asked who Reggie Bush is: Reggie Bush was USC’s football darling. He’s now with the NFL and I have no clue (or care) what team he is on. As for the shoes being “Reggie Bush’s”… hardly! And the chatty/pushy/know-it-all clerk even tried to tell me that red and white were USC’s colors. I just let it go (even though I wanted to tell her that I was from California and that I KNOW what USC’s colors are)…. but I thought it’d be more fun to let her continue to make a fool of herself… and then blog about her. Moooo ahhh haaa haaa!

Posted in How I Live | 37 Comments

My pal Raesha (aka Freddy Subaru) posted a fun little name game on her blog and I thought it was cute (though Raesha must be warned I will forever be calling her Freddy Subaru now!). Wanna play too? Allrighty then… TAG, you’re it! Leave a comment that you’re playing or if you don’t have a blog - play the game right in your comment.

The Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Toxi Magnum

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Rainbow Sherbet Snickerdoodle*

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
M-Sol

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Pink Puppy

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Linda Walnut Creek

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Sol-Mo

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Aqua Coffee

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Paul Paul

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Sweat Pea Charleston Chew

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Anne Esquivel

And a few more…

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Sundquist Seattle

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Autumn Dahlia

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Strawberry Flip Flopie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Honey Bunches of Oats Willow

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Quilting Snowstorm Tour

Any others anyone can think of? Have fun - Toxi ;-)

*They have ganstas in the Castro, right?

Posted in Stuff | 33 Comments

Yes.

Mmmm… yes.

Oh my gawd… yes.

Oh my gawd, oh my gawd… it’s coming, it’s coming… ohmygawd it’s coming. OH. MY. GAWD. Fall is about to arrive! YES!

Sigh.

Posted in Stuff | 29 Comments