Happy Zombie

Have a napkin or bib ready… I was just at QuiltersBuzz and Gina has a really nice post about the recent Road to California Quilt Show. I wish I could have gone… next year for sure! Anyhoo… Gina has a link to the R2C winner’s gallery. Jaw drooping drop dead gorgeous drool inducing quilts. The quilts are the Manolo Blahnik’s and Prada’s of the quilting and textile world!

Posted in Quilty n Crafty | 11 Comments

I’m neat, I’m tidy, I’m organized… I’m full of crap. I’m exposing myself in the hopes my public humiliation will bring about change. THIS is my reality. Stacks, piles, notes, more stacks, more piles… and then there’s the disorganization in my head too. What was I doing? Where am I walking too? What was I gonna get?

As you can see in the photo, I have totes and bins, ready to be filled and tucked neatly away. But sigh, I’ve just stacked those into piles as well. My studio/office is just shy of being 10′x10′. I can use the lack of size as an excuse, but the gist of it is, is that if my space was 100′x100′… my mess would only be bigger.

I recently redid my studio/office. I (read: my DH) hung white cupboards and base cabinets with a counter also. The walls I painted this soft, soft pink (they used to be a light butter yellow). All my treasures were parading neatly on little shelves. My fabric stash cozy in the cupboards away from sunlight (now THAT’S funny… sunlight, in Oregon!). So what happened? I don’t know! I’m going to point a finger at the pink paint. Just because.

Yesterday I picked up more cabinets at Lowes and I’m filling them with skinny shelving so I can have 10 or 12 shelves to make my piles in/on. I’m hoping this is the ticket and I’ll soon have the neat and tidy space I dream of. When I’m at my computer, my back is to the mess. By having this photo on my blog I can’t escape it. Plus it’s helping motive me to get off the computer and get crackalackin on the studio/office redo. BTW… no longer a studio/office (I’m tired of saying that)… it’s officially now a STUFFICE! Stephen Colbert’s not the only one who can make up words!

Posted in Quilty n Crafty, How I Live | 14 Comments

I’m having one of those “sigh… I love blogging” moments today. So I’m cruising around Blogland this afternoon, seeing everyones photos and reading wonderful little tid-bits of their lives. I thought to myself how awesome it is that bloggers like to show morsels of their lives, stopping for a moment to snap a photo to share. Where once there was just life going on, now thanks to blogging life just stops for an instant with the opening and closing of the shutter and we truly stop to smell the roses.

Maybe it happens outside the gates of Blogland? I do not know. I do know that I catch myself seeing things in a new way now that I want to capture the moment for my blog. I catch myself saying, “FREEZE… this is for my blog”. My son even says things to me like, “Don’t you want to take a picture of that for your blog?”. In reality only 1% of things I snap end up on my blog or I end up writing about. It’s just the mere fact that I’ve stopped (like the Road Runner putting on the brakes with his feet) for those few seconds to enjoy the extraordinary beauty of an otherwise ordinary moment. For months I’ve been trying to figure out just how it is that blogging changed my life (aside from the wonderful sister friends I’ve made). And today I had this realization!

You may find my Happy Meal weird, or boring, or that I’m koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs… but for a few seconds while I snapped the photo of my Beckmann’s German Farm Bread and Saag’s German Bologna (Best Lunch Ever)… I experienced the extraordinary beauty of an ordinary moment. And that my friends is what I call “The Bloggers O”!

Posted in How I Live | 17 Comments

SIGN-UP FOR THE POTHOLDER SWAP IS NOW CLOSED
Swappy good fun… it’s a potholder swap! Easy cheezy fast and fun. Nothing tastes better then a casserole removed from the oven using a beloved potholder. Both my boys at some point in their younger years each made me a potholder, and to this day they are my favorite to use.

This swap is for one potholder and your favorite casserole recipe. Your potholder can be quilted, embroidered, crocheted, knitted, a vintage gem… it’s up to you! First time to join a swap? This is a fun and interactive way to meet other crafty bloggers, as well as have something to cherish, hold, and use that goes beyond your computer screen and keyboard.

So… who wants to play!?!?
SIGN-UP FOR THE POTHOLDER SWAP IS NOW CLOSED
1) Sign-up deadline is February 5th, 2007 at 11:59 PST.

2) To sign-up, email me at thehappyzombie [at] gmail [dot] com with your: IRL Name & Blog Name

Snail Address
Email Address
Blog Address
Flickr Address (if you don’t have a blog)

3) You will receive your swap partner on February 6th.

4) The deadline to mail your swap partner the potholder and recipe is Feb 14th. I will send a reminder a few days prior. Please email me once you’ve sent out your swap. If emails come back invalid or unresponsive, you will be removed from the swap (I know… I’m so mean).

5) This is an international swap from the United States. If you wish to only to swap within the US, please let me know so you don’t get matched internationally.

6) If you don’t have a blog or Flickr, please email me your photos of your swap (sent and received). Once the deadline has come and you’ve received your swap partner, I will have a photo pool of the swap. UPDATED: I have set up a Flickr photo pool for the swap. Feel free to join the pool now!

7) This is a serious commitment and a lot of fun. But… [begin Mommy voice] If you fail to send to your swap partner… I will out you on my blog [end mommy voice]. The more the merrier… tell your bloggy pals about the swap and encourage participation!

Fake Questions… Real Answers:

Q: Can I make my potholder now, or do I have to wait until I’m paired with my swap partner?
A: It’s up to you. You can make it a reflection of you, or you can wait and find out what your SP likes. Chances are your SP will say “do what you like”. I personally think it’s more fun to receive something that reflects the person who made it.

Q: Can I make an oven mit?
A: SURE! You can make an oven slipper if you like! Ok, not really on the latter.

Q: I signed up but have not heard from you.
A: If you have not received a thank you note from me for joining the swap… that means I did not get your email submission. Be careful with my email address. It’s “THEhappyzombie”. Don’t forget the “the”.

Q: The health department issued me a citation and confiscated my recipe box. I have no casserole recipe to send. What do I do?
A: How about a “Top 5″ list of your favorite food haunts in your hometown. Myself being one who is recipe challenged… I would love that!

Buttons! Would you like a Potholder Swap button for your side bar? Easy cheezy… just paste the code below into your sidebar and you’re done! There are two buttons. One with a white background and one in aqua. Pick one… pick two!

For a button, copy and paste this code:
<a href=”http://thehappyzombie.com/blog/?p=97″><img src=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_CqYDMUhDoEk/RbPv3b8KjeI/AAAAAAAAAJc/-i4tL6ZDtJM/s320/phs_buttonaquared.gif” border=”0″ alt=”Potholder Swap” ></a>

Posted in Rico Swappy | 19 Comments

I got tagged by Raesha with the 6 Weird Things About Me meme. I’m supposed to write six weird things about me. The problem is narrowing it down to six, so here goes!

1) I eat my fries with mayo. If you’re German and reading this… it’s not so weird.

2) When I buy fabric yardage, especially fat quarters… I refold them so you can’t see the raw edges. I also like all my FQ’s to be folded the same way, into a neat little chubby folded pillow of cotton delight. Is this weird or anal? Don’t answer.

3) I like to pull the little “pills” off fabric and roll em around my fingers. I’m sure it’s some weird Freudian thing that dates back to babyhood. Ok…. That’s REALLY weird. It’s how I live.

4) I can’t just sit. Sitting and doing nothing, for example watching TV. I have to be doing something with my hands at all times (I’m guessing this is how #3 fits into my life). Quilting, embroidering, appliquéing, etc. It’s why I don’t like going to the movies. And to my English teacher Mrs. Nuccio at Foothill Intermediate in Walnut Creek… way back in the stoneage of 1975ish… you sent me to the office for not sitting still and playing with some elastic band I had from sewing (home ec). You said one day I’d grow up and be a well behaved young lady and sit still. I’m still waiting. Oh, and Mrs. N… I had a cigarette on the way to the office.

5) I can’t sleep on an airplane. Too many conversations to eavesdrop on! And what if I miss the food service while sleeping?!

6) I can’t drive my car without toting along a cup of coffee. I also never get lost while driving. I have this internal TomTom I’m equipped with. I may forget why I’m going there… but I know how to get there.

Posted in How I Live | 7 Comments

I haven’t posted a Sew & Tell in a while… maybe because I haven’t sewn in weeks (talk about being too ill if I’m not quilting!). A few quilts from recent past… pre-blogging stuff! There’s a designer I discovered a little over a year ago I just love, and her name is Lori Smith. I can open a magazine or my favorite catalog (Keepsake Quilting, the “Victoria’s Secret” for quilters!) and see a quilt and I just KNOW it’s by her because it’s something that makes me want to run and make it. And that’s saying a lot because I find more pleasure in designing my own.

Anyhoo… Lori has a really cute pattern pack called Fat Quarter Quilting: Four Fabric Quilts. These quilts I made are the finished size of a fat quarter. All you need are four fat quarters (five if you use a FQ for the backing). The first two I have made were samples for the shop, so I kind of stuck with the fabrics/colors like in the pattern (though I do dig the black & white with the birdie toile) .

I hope I don’t sound like an infomercial… I just want to pass on something fun, fast and pretty. These little patterns are a great way to use some FQ’s you just love but don’t know what to do with (plus you get six patterns in a pack - talk about bang for your buck!). From start to finish this is a nice little weekend project. Piecing, quilting and binding…. HUGE satisfaction in getting a quilt done fast! The quilts finish nice and “square” (I know, I know… they’re rectangles!), though my photography is not (ugh).

The third was purely for me. It’s the same quilt as the second one but made with some of my all time fabric. I love, love, love this fabric collection by Linda Hohag for P&B Textiles. Did I mention how much I love this fabric??? This quilt took a little longer since I hand quilted it… but boy was it fast to quilt compared to quilting a bed size quilt! Satisfaction!

Posted in Quilty n Crafty | 4 Comments

It is not uncommon for my friends to have to wait for me. My parents, my doctor, my dentist, my guild, people behind me in line at Safeway or on an airplane, you name it… all have had the unfortunate opportunity of having to wait for me. So here’s the thing… I took this photo of DS and Kathy Griffin last night at about 8:10pm. Kathy’s show was supposed to start at 8:00pm. So to all the nice people in the sold out and packed Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall last night… I’m really sorry you had to wait for Kathy because of me DS and I got to go backstage to meet Kathy and you didn’t! Ok, so I’m kinda sorry you didn’t get to meet her too… because she’s so sweet, friendly, gracious and warm IRL. HUGE thanks to my cousin Bobby for hooking us up!

Kathy’s show was so funny and she really is a comic genius. But the funniest thing happened when she spotted the sign language interpreter signing some of her colorful language… which ended up being a show in itself. Kathy started feeding the interpreter all kinds of deliciously bad and naughty words and phrases. If you know me IRL… you’ll know that I’ve increased my wordpower to a new level! Watch my hands friends… watch my hands!

And speaking of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall… While EVERYONE is so friendly who works at The Schnitz (actually, ALL of Portland is sooo friendly), there is this one lady usher who just shines and oozes kindness and joy. This usher is Phyllis and she’s got a smile and grace that just warms your soul. We’ve been seated by her a few times now and last night I told her how wonderful I thought she was. Phyllis is warm apple pie served on the very best china. I told her I was going to blog about her… so here it is Phyllis!

Because I’m so obsessed with our snowfall last Wednesday night… I of course have more to show! This was this morning on Hwy. 30 heading west into Astoria. Photos can’t convey the enchanting and breathtaking beauty of this winter wonderland. If you’re inland missing your now melted snow… head on over to Astoria for a magical treat! Some of the trees looked like lace or that they were spayed with marshmallow fluff. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Enchanting.

Posted in Stuff I like | 10 Comments

This postal goodness comes via my own hands. My dear friend Cindy was blogging about things she misses in the Pacific Northwest. Since I’m in the Pacific Northwest… I miss things from the C-word (California) and the Bay Area. I don’t care to argue with anyone (don’t even try… I don’t wanna start a Rosie/Donald thing over bread), but there is no better bread in the US that is as good as bread baked in the Bay Area, more specifically the East Bay and Sonoma County. Canada… I give you the butter credit, especially butter from BC (OMG… YUM!).

So anyhoo… When ever my folks come up to see me, they ALWAYS bring me German Farm Bread from Beckmann’s Old World Bakery. Likewise, when I’m visiting my folks, I always bring this bread back up with me. Shout out to my mom: What gives… only one loaf when you came up? Ok, ok… not like you and Dad didn’t shower me with love and gifts when you came… but only one loaf? I could sit back and pout, or I could do something. I Googled Beckmann’s, got a phone number, called, and asked if their bread was retailed anywhere in the Portland or Seattle area. No… but they do UPS! WHAT… UPS me the bread… right to my front door??? I don’t even have to get dressed and drive 2 or 3 hours? OMG… I’d like six loaves of “oval” German Farm Bread please! A few days later… I’m in bread heaven! BTW… Beckmann’s number in Santa Cruz is (831)-423-2566 and you can find it at better grocery stores in the Bay Area. Now if I could only get a Nation’s Giant Hamburger or an In-n-Out burger UPS’d to me!

I’ve been waiting since JUNE when I first got my chubby little hands on these tickets for tomorrow night! My cousin Bobby hooked me up and tomorrow night is going to be an “A List” blast. I’m sure it will be a night I won’t soon forget! I think Kathy Griffin is so funny, witty and smart… even if she doesn’t read my blog.

And last but not least… I got my Summer Stitchettes to go with the Fall Stitchettes from Hillary Lang. I have no plans yet… maybe a quilt. Maybe tea towels. Who knows, but one thing I do know… these are sooooooooo fugging cute! Anyone with some ideas?

Posted in Stuff I like | 7 Comments

Taking a break from playing in the snow, just a few pics I took of BEAUTIFUL Astoria. It snowed buckets of snow last night! Needless to say, it’s a Snow Day here in Astoria. I won’t bore anyone with too much blah, blah, blah about the snow… but I’ll post all my pictures to a gallery later (if you’re interested). But for now… there’s a sled calling my name! (
Wende has some awesome photos on her blog too! What’s really funny is that she has a photo that looks like one of my photos. I was half expecting to see me taking a photo in one of her photos!

Hey Wende… next photo shoot we should meet up so I can shoot you shooting me shooting you shooting me. What? Um… you know know what I mean, right?

Night time is play time!

These last two photos were taken at about 1am. One is looking up our street (no flash because it was really that bright out). The other one is of DS checking out the snowfall in our backyard.

Posted in I Heart Oregon | 6 Comments

I’m running around the house jumping up and down with joy… The iPhone is here, the iPhone is here! OMG… THE iPHONE IS HERE! The dream has become a reality. Sigh… now I’m counting down the days until it’s for sale (and I have no idea when that is).

For YEARS I’ve been saying how I wanted Apple to have an iPhone. Oh I’d hear rumors it was “being worked on”, but they were just that… rumors. Oh I’m so happy! My excuse for not being organized has been that I can’t completely sync my Treo to my Mac. Will the new iPhone change my life? Unless it can vacuume, cook and do laundry… sadly no. But I KNOW it’s going to help me keep on top of things thanks to a sync’d iCal. Good-bye Mac-unfriendly Treo… Hello iPhone and synchronistic joy!

Posted in Stuff I like | 6 Comments