February's Flying, food, crafts and fun

Wow, I'm kind of behind on the blog having had such a busy few weeks. Doing what exactly? Getting ready for the K9 adoption and craft fair, visiting with friends passing through and my favorite, cooking. Also, I've been having a great time with my crafting pursuits, making more inventory, creating new, fun dazzlers and upscaling some of my booth displays.

So, the craft fair was a mixed result. I don't begrudge the organizers at all, and they had great success with some 18 adoptions. But because it was so dog-centric, there weren't a lot of browsers or much foot traffic. Most of the booths around me were in the same boat, not many sales. I jokingly chalk it up to people figuring out just how much pet ownership can cost. That's OK though, I still made enough to cover my costs and donated most of the rest. It was a beautiful day weather-wise, and here's a shot of one side of my booth.

It's kind of hard to see much about the
inventory, but I had a lot with me.

I put together a Valentine's Day display area for some of my "heart" Dazzlers and had a Valentine's Day helium balloon for outside the booth. Well, the display was fun to make, and I did sell one of my bigger hearts. Fun to make is the name of the game for me. I like to spend my time doing something other than housework or shopping or baking (ugh, my waistline).

Anyway, moving on, we had a great get-together lunch with cruiser friends passing by in their trailer on their was south. We met Heather and Scott (Vermont'ers when at home) back in the mid-2000's when we were in the Bahamas getting ready to head down into the Caribbean for the grand adventure. Fun, knowledgeable and great company, we would see them here and there in the various anchorages and get together aboard 'Scott Free', their gorgeous Nauticat 43' or onboard our sailboat. It was a fun reminiscent session and we got caught up on the whereabouts of common friends.

From the left; me, Ed, Heather and Scott

Speaking of friends, I had a great lunch with Nancy, another ex-cruising friend who currently lives in Jacksonville. Here she is with her magnificent sushi/sashimi plate - wow.

That was a work of art and even 
included fog from dry ice.

More great looking sunrises too, and good weather all around except for about a week of cold, gloomy-looking weather. I think we had 1 or 2 hard freezes but we were ready for them.

We love our lake

We also celebrated our 50th anniversary mid-January, with a romantic evening at home. So wonderful to have a lifetime of memories with someone you love. 💖 We both appreciate how very blessed we've been to have found each other all those long years ago.

On to the upgrade of my custom jewelry display. I had DIY'ed a display of sorts which I used at my first craft fair last year. It was pretty rinky-dink and I wanted something more polished and professional that didn't break the bank, and this is what I ended up. I like it, it breaks down and stores easliy.

The sides of the necklace display fold in for storage
and the 3 bracelet displays come off the base
which comes apart for flat storage.

I'm trying out some new dazzlers using a tree/hanging basket motif. I love them and think they make an excellent addition to home decor in small nooks & crannies. Any thoughts? I guess we'll see if ppl like them, I'm lined-up for a show mid-March.

Mine is on the right. It fits right in and brings some sparkle
 to the party. Since the rocks are glued on, you can just give it a 
rinse if it becomes dusty over time.

I love the winterscape in the middle, my sister favors
 the stone chip and succulents little one on the right. 

And finally, a tiny (2.5" pot) hanging
succulent basket that will never die.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day and come again.

First week of the New Year

Once again we have crossed over the threshold of a new year, and finishing up the tail end of a quarter-century. Lots of water under the bridge.

We had to start the New Year with the "good luck" meal of course. Here's a look at our black-eyed peas, (we make a big batch), and our prep method which ensures a tasty batch. We sauté chopped bell pepper, the more colorful the better, plus plenty of onions. Then after softening, add chopped ham bits, minced garlic and continue cooking until they get a little color on them. Add 2 cans partially drained black-eyes, a cup or so of chicken stock, 1T of chipotle sauce and an envelope of onion soup mix. Add a few herbs of your choice and let simmer an hour or so adding additional stock or water if they are looking dry.

Wonderful black-eyed peas, a little on the "wet" side.

We like them a little wet, over rice or cornbread. So good! We had a delicious mid-afternoon meal of smoked pork chops, collards, black-eyed peas/rice and cornbread with some cabernet sauvignon.

Here's the Boss in one of his new tee's
 getting ready to enjoy the meal.

I'm signed up for a craft fair in early February, so I've spent some time making a few more dazzlers and something new - puff trivets. I've been enjoying looking at my puff quilt lately and my brain came up with this idea. They are a good size for a bowl/plate or casserole dish, would  pretty-up the table, and also, unique I think. Any thoughts?

Puff trivets, about 12"x12". Some ppl
might not like my "twirly" trivets.

Bobby-Dazzlers anyone? I stock a few repeats
of the most popular items but hold them back in reserve.

Still getting the good sunrises on those cold, crisp mornings. Here's today's after overnight low's around 37°. 

Not a stunner like some, but still a pleasant surprise.

The Boss got the Colorado Pontoon boat commissioned the other day and while he was taking his test paddle, he got a shot of the swans having a "bottom's-up" feed. Pretty day too.

That's about it for this post. I stopped making New Year's resolutions a long time ago, however, I am planning on doing more stretching, squatting and "body-groove" style dancing to keep my joints limbered and loose. Oh, and I'm planning on laying-off the Christmas cookies one of these days too, lol. 😉😊 Thanks for stopping by and see you next time.