Many people try to squeeze in vacations in August and September. I work. Too much. And get cranky. Too cranky to blog. Then there is a breather and life starts looking pretty good again. Of course, some things help that along. Like puppies.
Evan and Ned raise Leopard Curs, handsome hunting hounds who are also friendly, loyal pets. They have six adult dogs and now six puppies. Evan brought this tub-o-pups in the house the other night while Poppy, their mom, took in a little exercise.
We weighted each puppy on the kitchen scale. These two little white guys were the largest and the smallest at five pounds and three pounds. The one on the right reminds me of the Buster Brown shoe dog, so I call her Buster. Her big brother is Chunk.
Next we have Cleo on the left, who looks a lot like her mom. On the right is Pete, who is the
spittin' image of his dad.
And finally we have little Susie and Jed who look much like Belle and Orville, two of the other resident hounds. Actually, I don't have naming rights to any of them; that will go to their new owners. Or, if there is one who stays here, Evan and Ned get the naming rights. I can only hope that one of my favorites gets to stay in spite of my protests about too many dogs.
And now for the pumpkins ... If you've seen the current issue of
Country Living magazine, you've seen the beautiful decoupaged pumpkins on the cover. It was love at first sight for me. The magazine's directions suggest photocopying fabric to cover the pumpkins. Since our printer is not much of a color copier, I opted to just use fabric. For this one, I cut strips approximately 3" wide, tapered the top and bottom of each strip as I applied it, and loved the results.
Of course, doing one wasn't enough. This brushed cotton was torn into strips -- I thought the torn edge would add some charm -- and applied in the same manner.
Once these are dry, I'll give another thin coat of
Modge Podge before deciding on varnish. (Did you know that there is an entire blog devoted to
Modge Podge? It's true. Check out
Modge Podge Rocks for a little decoupage inspiration.) I found the pumpkins at Michael's, used about 1/3 yard of fabric, a sponge brush and matte finish
Modge Podge. It was a great way to spend an hour or two and get into the spirit of my favorite season of the year.
Although it may look out of place with my harvest colored accessories, it was a delight to receive because right there on page 26 is a little article about my daughter. Of course it is a tribute to Alyssa and her blog to be contacted by the magazine after reading the post about last year's baking party. More importantly though, the publication of Grandma Ruesch's date pinwheel cookie recipe along with the story speaks to the special relationship the two of them shared.
Grandma, even though she reveled in grandchildren, would not have accepted any credit for inspiring Alyssa's caring spirit and success in the kitchen; she was far too humble for that. Anyone who knew both of them, however, knew that baking together was just one of the ways they worked and shared with each other. They really were a good team. Midwest Living brought all that home right in my mailbox. What a welcome holiday gift!
