Saturday, January 31, 2009

Revolutionary Road...

...a sad & depressing movie, but awesome acting by Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio. It's about a married couple that just find themselves living an average, somewhat boring, life. Most people just learn to live that way, but some don't...... If you haven't see "Revolutionary Road" yet, it's one you won't want to miss. I'm sure it will get lots of great reviews & awards. Next week we are going to see "Taken" and then "Slumdog Millionaire" {maybe not in that order}. They are both supposed to be really, really good. We had forgotten how long it had been since we saw a movie in the theatre, and then realized it was 10 years ago when we went to see "The Sixth Sense" in Washington, D.C.! Bruce Willis still had hair! Well, we certainly won't be able to catch up, but we really enjoyed the show. Plus, the improvements to the seating {at least at the theatre we just visited} were awesome. And, I certainly had forgotten how much I loved the popcorn & those tiny little pieces of "crunchy" ice in my coke!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far!! It's gorgeous outside today! I just got finished making flyers for the "Jewelry Trunk Show" that Paula and I are having on February 9th at "The Hobnob". Hey, if you live around here, come by and see us! Jerry & Suzanne will be there playing music, too. It will be tons of fun!!!!!!!
Happy Saturday!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." ~ R.L. Evans

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday Give Away!!!

My promo mirrors & bottle openers that "Kate Black" made, with my "Peace Sign Logo", are just so darned cute that one of each is this week's give away:all you have to do to win them is comment on this blog post. I'll draw the winner on Monday {February 2nd}, which is also "Groundhog Day"! Yay ~ maybe Summer is right around the corner!

Gotta run for now. We are going to see "The Reader" "Revolutionary Road" this afternoon. I'll post later on what I think about it.
Happy Wednesday!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence!" ~ Anonymous

Monday, January 26, 2009

Does a chicken have lips....

....you would think so, by the way they devoured that "fake crab" salad I tossed them yesterday! And, my sweet little donkey friend sure enjoyed the carrots.......and did you know that rabbits eat oranges! I learn something new everyday around here :)But this sweet little goat is still my favorite ~ he comes running to see me every time I show up. It feels good to be "loved". And speaking of loved, the winner of those awesome earrings from last Wednesday's post is Nichole!!! *Yay* ~ Lita picked #3. Be sure and check back this Wednesday {January 28th} for a chance to win something else {it's a surprise and you'll love it, I promise!}.

We are off to Hendersonville for the afternoon ~ have a happy Monday!!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Don't judge each day by the harvest your reap, but by the seeds you plant." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Be Happy!

Even if your "childhood" was not that happy, it's never too late to have a happy one! So many people seem to dwell on the past to the point where their lives are miserable. I guess it's easy for me to just tell them "get over it" and, I'm sure they try and can't. I wish there was a magic button that said "be happy" and all you had to do was push it to erase all of your sadnesses ~ ah, that would be awesome! So, in the meantime, let's just pretend that this is the happy button:Whenever you're sad, just click on it and make yourself smile! And, speaking of smiling, this made me smile:our hike up to "Maidenhair Falls" ~ the ice was gorgeous! And this made me smile, too:a little bracelet I made yesterday ~ named "Green - Peace" ~ you know where to find it!

Happy Saturday!!


"Old age is like anything else. To succeed at it, you've got to start young." ~ Anonymous

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Happy New America!!!

What a historical & wonderful day it was yesterday!Even little Jack was excited!We had 21 people show up for the Sushi party........and it was yummy!!! We had "Shrimp Tempura", "Crab Rolls", "Tofu/Veggie Rolls", some other "un-named, but very tasty rolls", some "Edamame Pods", a tossed salad and lots of wine, and warm Sake.
We are all "professional sushi makers" now ~ here's Theresa with her very 1st Sushi Roll!!!
But, I could have never pulled the whole thing off without the help of my awesomely wonderful friend, Paula ~ not only is she a great Sushi maker, she is one of the most amazing artists I have ever met and, she's really good on the Mandolin, too!
Once everyone was full of Sushi and the inauguration coverage had ended, the party turned into a "Music Tuesday"....even Ozzy joined in on the fun ~ and he sure loved having the little kiddies around to lick!
So I think the most appropriate earrings for this week's give away are these ~ "Change The World" ~ which is what happened yesterday! A day we'll never forget.....all you have to do to win them is comment on this post. The drawing will be Monday morning. Good Luck!

Happy Wednesday!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Mankind are always happy for having been happy, so that if you make them happy now, you make them happy twenty years hence by the memory of it." ~ Sydney Smith

Monday, January 19, 2009

And the winner is....

...Ozzy picked #8, which is Barbara {he really liked that number, too. I had a hard time prying the little piece of paper out of his mouth}. Congratulations, Barbara!!! You are the lucky winner of these fabulous earrings from last weeks post:
But no worries if you didn't win them, you can still buy a pair from the shop. Be sure and check my blog this Wednesday {01/21} to find out what I'll be giving away next Monday!

Gotta run for now & start cleaning house to get ready for my "Sushi Party" tomorrow!
Have a great Monday!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow." ~ Douglas Pagels

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Wonder, Wonder, Wonder....

...so I keep going back & forth about doing shows again. I mean, Etsy has just been awesome for me, but I still like to be able to see those happy faces when someone buys one of my pieces that they really, really love. I can only imagine those faces when I sell something on the internet. I read through all of my comments here on my blog post and all of my feedback on Etsy and try to imagine what each person looks like. But then, I think it's probably a good thing that people can't see me sometimes when I'm shopping on the net. Like right now, I have on a huge flannel gown that is printed with a bunch of little doggies running around on it and then some totally mismatched flannel PJ pants that are horribly checked. And then a pair of Zante clogs that I've had for years and they are so ugly & stained, Lita won't even carry them around! But, if I do start doing shows again, I think I'll stay close to home ~ I mean no longer than a 3 hour drive each way to a show. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on that and also post a calendar, if I decide to start filling it up. In the meantime though....
I'll keep spending my extra days in the woods & hiking with Wayne, Ozzy & Lita. Those dogs just love it out there! This is a picture of them "doubling back" to check on us. They are so funny when they do that. They usually stay just far enough ahead to be able to still hear us, so if we are really quiet, they come running back to make sure we are okay and then they take off ahead again. They get twice the workout we do. And this is a picture of Ozzy, taking a sniff of some ice crystals spiking up out of the ground {I was told by someone on "flickr" that it is called "hoar frost"} It was all over the place and was really neat. Of course Ozzy is always interested in something I'm taking pictures of that's on the ground ~ he wants to make sure he doesn't miss an eating opportunity :)this is a picture of the gorgeous river than runs along the whole "Daniel Ridge Loop" trail. We went on this hike Wednesday ~ it was beautiful! Cold, but worth it:
happy trails to you.....until we meet again :)
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

P.S. I got all of my ingredients for "Sushi" yesterday! Paula is coming over early on Tuesday to help me get it all made for the inauguration party! *Yay*

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

It's That Time Again.....

...OMG!!! How have we even survived since May without American Idol! I hope this year is just as exciting as the last.....we'll see. Of course, they'll never have anyone as cute as Jason again *sigh*.....but this week's "give away earrings" are almost as cute! And they scream "Stardom":all you have to do to win them {the drawing will be Monday morning} is comment on this post. Even if it's just to say "Jason rocks". And speaking of rocks, I was totally inspired to create my own little moss garden, having seen & read the interview from "Made by Mavis", a "featured artist" on Etsy this week:I figured what the heck! It's not like I don't have a yard full of moss {literally}. I'm going to keep it fresh & try adding new little mosses as I come across them. It was freezing cold yesterday, so I threw together this one in about 5 minutes:and it's really cute & the perfect thing to do with that unused candy container that I've had for eons. It was actually in the box of items to go to goodwill, but now it's happy as can be and so am I!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!! And don't forget to comment on this post for a chance to win those awesome little "star struck" earrings :)

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"A rolling stone gathers no moss" - proverb

Monday, January 12, 2009

Happy Monday!

Congratulations to Jen!!! She won these awesome earrings:from this post and is also the contributor of today's quote at the end.

Be sure and check back this Wednesday, when I'll be announcing the next give away. All you have to do to win is comment on the post! Happy Monday!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy!" ~ Louise Bogan

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Roe vs Roux.....

Ah....so our dear friends, Chunk & Van, headed back to Baton Rouge this morning after spending a whole week with us!! We had a wonderful time. Yesterday we went up to "Caesar's Head State Park" and enjoyed the awesome views:Here I am, climbing out of the "Devil's Kitchen", which is a small space between a huge rock that split in 1/2. It's a little creepy, but fun, none-the-less.

So after a full day of site seeing & hiking, Chuck decided that he was going to make a Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. And everybody knows that the key to any gumbo is the "Roux". So Chuck & I head out to the grocery store to get the things we needed for the gumbo. Well, in Louisiana you can actually purchase "Roux" already made in a jar. All you have to do is heat it up and "voila" ~ instant "Roux". Okay, so we just automatically figure all of the stores here will at least carry one variety of the pre-made stuff ~ right! ~ wrong ~ One of the store clerks {whom was the manager in fact, and should know EVERYTHING about food} actually asked us what the difference was between "caviar" and "roux" ~ hee hee ~ he thought we were talking about "Roe". Yuck!!!! Wouldn't that totally screw up a gumbo! So, off to the next store and the manager there thought we were talking about some type of hair color! Needless to say, Chuck ended up making a "Roux" totally from scratch and it was awesome!!!! We invited some friends over and had a little "Louisiana" Gumbo party, which also included, of course, some awesome potato salad, bread, rice & plenty of wine. But Chuck & Van decided that the deficiencies & lack of ingredients needed to maintain a cajun kitchen were worth the sacrifice to live here. So, as soon as they can get all of their business settled in Louisiana, they'll be moving up here for good!!! Yay!!!!!
And Lita, I think, is the happiest of all! She and Van really bonded:she's been searching all over for him all morning. And I miss them already, too.

Well, I'm off to do some cleaning & other things I need to get done around here than have been neglected for the last week. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Be warm, inside & out" ~ unknown

Thursday, January 8, 2009

A Gift...

I feel like I've been somewhat of a "slacker" lately. But I made these awesome earrings today:And I'll be giving a pair away on Monday. All you have to do is comment on this blog post to win. I'll draw a number and that person will be the lucky winner. I made a pair of these for myself and I love them. They are the perfect "go to" earrings when you just don't feel like thinking about which earrings to wear :) Good Luck!!!

Right now I have some house guests and they are actually looking to buy a home up here by me! Yay!!! I know they'll love it. I'll be cooking my Sushi next week, so I'll post about that as soon as I get it done {wish me luck}.

Happy Thursday!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Sushi...

Not that this cute little elf has anything to do with "Sushi" - it was just way to cute not to share. Of course, I just started my brand new "Mary Engelbreit" calendar for 2009 and it is just full of cuteness. I really do think each new one, year after year, is my favorite so far. And now, about that "sushi".......I decided to have a "Sushi Party" for the upcoming inauguration on the 20th. And since I know about sushi as much as I know about fixing cars, I bought this book! I started reading it last night and, I have to say, that I'm really impressed. I'll be trying some of the receipes over the next week, so I'll be sure to share them here, along with any "tips" that the book suggests. Another thing I got was this:which seems to have everything you need to begin your adventure making sushi. I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'll be making lots of new jewelry for the shop ~ like this little necklace that I made yesterday:
I named it "Hint of Spring" because of the colors & because I'm ready for Spring now that the holidays are over.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." ~ Hal Borland