Happy Birthday Daisy!

My sweet Boston Terrier Daisy is having her birthday and she got a humongous parcel from her boyfriend Stetson, he lives in Arizona. Yes, you read it right. Daisy and Stetson send each other parcels, letters, cards and emails as well. They have such a sweet romance and yet to meet! They look exactly alike only they have different white spots on their face.

DH and I went over my parents' house to give Daisy her parcel and she had a blast inspecting all the toys!

For Daisy from Stetson



"Oh I'm so shy, nervous and excited!"



Fancy tissue paper!



"Woau! Lookydat load of toys! It's my birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and all rolled up in one!"



"Mommy, better help me before I jump out of my skin!"



"Num num, this tastes so good enough to eat!"



*lick lick*



"Better hide my toys!"



"Another one! Dang, I must've been good or something's wrong.. oh heck, who cares! Gimme dat!"



"Tastes good!"



"My handsome man, Stetson"



"Hubba, hubba.. *pant pant*



"Thank yew Mommy for bringing dat parcel for me!" *lick lick*



*suck suck* Dreaming of Stetson...



That's my sweet Daisy, the little sucker.. she still sucks on her stuffies to put herself to sleep. *sighs* Sweet little girl, happy birthday!

A joke

I just wanted to share a joke with you from this book, "Boots on the Ground", authored by Karl Zinsmeister, that DH is reading.

Noticed DH kept chuckling and he nudged me to read an excerpt of the book and I had to share with you all!

"My senior class was eight. I French-kissed seventy-five percent of the senior class girls before I graduated, and sixty-percent of the girls in the junior class."

"Why Sergeant, I didn't realize you were home-schooled."

This book is authored by Karl Zinsmeister who toured with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Irar for a month to learn about the soldiers' experiences and what they do daily.

What exactly does it feel like to travel with a spirited body of fighting men? To come under fire? To cope with the battlefield stresses of sleep-deprivation, and a steady diet of field rations for weeks on end? Readers of this day-to-day diary are left with not only a flashing sequence of strong mental images, but also a notion of the sounds and smells and physical sensations that make modern military action unforgettable.

Ultimately, Boots on the Ground is a human story: a moving portrayal of the powerful bonds of affection, trust, fear, and dedication that bind real soldiers involved in battle. There are unexpected elements: The humor that bubbles up amidst dangerous fighting. The pathos of a badly wounded young boy. The affection openly exhibited by many American soldiers--love of country, love of family and hometown, love of each other. This is a true-life tale of superbly trained men in extraordinary circumstances, packed with concrete detail, often surpassing fiction for sheer drama.

Boots on the Ground

Catnaps

Mosey and Ashy just seems to do catnaps the best and when they lay down for their catnaps on our bed, I just want to join them. Usually I do! Their body heat relaxes me and I love how they purr and knead me.

Ashy was a wee little girl when we got her and now she's grown into a little lady. Sometimes Chris has to ask me which one is which! I point and say that's Mosey the little chubby one and Ashy is following suit!

They made great subjects when they were napping, DH went out to get ice-cream as they were still on sale for a dollar. Yes, a dollar! Smarties ice-cream and French Vanilla ice cream! Yummy-o!



If I find them like this, I usually join them! I firmly believe all the world wars would be finished and over with if everyone took catnaps like this. *sighs*

Mosey, my sweet chubby little boy, I love kissing his little feet pads because they're just so soft. I just love cuddling with him and sniffing the feet pads. I'm weird I know. I grew up with Boston Terriers and would always do the same to their feet pads. I guess I have a foot fetish, heh heh!



"Mommy, there's something hiding behind this paw and it ain't a claw!"



Mosey was NOT pleased having his nap interrupted with the constant camera shutter clicking, the light flash in his eyes BUT I wanted to capture the beauty of his eyes.



Ashy, sweet little girl Ashy, she kept her eyes firmly shut!



Of course, being a lady, she sent a much subtle message!!



A picture says a thousand words!!

You can see how much I love my Mosey and Ashy!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Handy tip - credit to Graphic Pretties

I came across Graphic Pretties from Altered Stuff and I came across a very handy tip!

At the edges of the foil wrap box has a tab on each side that you push in to hold the foil roll to prevent them from popping out when you pull the foil out.

I was reading Graphic Pretties' entry and I was thinking to myself "Must be an American thing" and I just had to go and check it out for myself! Sure enough the foil wrap had that and I was just so pleased to pop those tabs in!

I had to leave an entry in Graphic Pretties to show my appreciation and to share this great tip.

Big thanks and credit goes to Graphic Pretties for this handy tip!

Tactile smile,
Patty

Americana T2Ts

Tonight I did an Americana T2T in honour of my sweet DH's home. DH is from Dayton, OH and it won't be long until it is the American holidays. I wanted to do something to honour the American holidays and also my DH's country as well.

I came across a paper flag, I just was not going to desecrate a real flag as I am a Canadian and would be upset if someone desecrated the Canadian flag just for a candle.

I had several prims and decided to do an Americana T2T and my sweet Christopher loved it very much.



This beautiful Americana candle has a special place on top of our stove and the light dances quite beautifully at night time.

You`ve been tagged!

I`ve seen this Tagging going around in some blogs but wasn`t going to wait until I was tagged myself & decided to tag myself.

Here is my twist on the tagging, put down the abc`s of what you like, who you are and what is important to you.

a- aunt,ashy
b- backrubs, brunost
c- chocolate, christopher, communication
d- Vitamin D
e- empathy
f- footsies
g- ghost stories with DH
h- hugging people with throaty hugs
i- intimacy
j- jennifer, janet, jake, joe
k- kayla, kyle
l- loved, love, loving
m- marriage, mein bruder,mosey
n- new things, newfound friendships
o- observation
p- patty with an y, not i, not ie, only a y.
q- quality time
r- relaxation, romance, rediscovery
s- sensuality, sexuality, sweets
t- tactile, touching
u- understanding others
v- victory, vim, verve,vitality
w- wit
x- xylophone - my first toy as a child (the colourful keys, the loud pings)
y- yielding to others
z- zest for life

I am tagging my friends and those who have been tagged, please share your ABCs!

Banner picture credit

Credit goes out to deafutahhiker for taking wonderful pictures and allowing me to use the clover picture as my new blog banner.

I love nature and animal subjects & using them as banners for my blog headers. Please feel free to drop a comment with your blog link if you want to share your pictures with me.

Alertmaster® 6000 Combo

I've placed a request with the CNIB for the Alertmaster® 6000 Combo because I have a really important and valuable need for this viable safety model.

The Alertmaster® 6000 Combo has the features I need for the flat.





I will also be getting the personal tactile signaler that comes with the Alertmaster.

Meowy Birthday Daddy!!

Meowy Birthday Daddy! We sneaked in your laptop when you were sleeping, hee hee! We're not that cute all the time, hee hee.



Purrs and Licks from Mosey and Ashy oxox

Happy Birthday sweetie!! Today's my sweet DH's birthday which is Flag Day in USA. Last night, we had dinner from Lotus Leaf and it was nice. This AM, we got up very early and went grocery shopping at 7 am. It was at the grocers first then at the Farmer's Market. We love going to the Farmer's Market as it's very cheap to get our local fruits and vegetables.

Since our recent scare with Ashy, we have decided to go organic for the whole family's health. Ashy was rushed to the vet's with a badly swollen foot pad and it turned out she is highly allergic to both plastic and household cleaners.

I just made Mexican dinner for Chris' birthday and Ashy & Mosey got Chris two cupcakes with "Dad" on it, it's sweet. I also got Chris a very unique multicoloured rose, it's called "Rainbow Rose".



I wasn't able to take pictures of the cupcakes as they were long gone before I remembered to take pictures, heh heh!

The kids were lounging around enjoying the nice cool air and Chris took this picture, they look like Geminis - Chris' horoscope sign.



A great picture of Chris with Mosey and Ashy, you can see how much Ashy has fattened up since we got her. She was less than 5 lbs when we got her, a real skinny girl and now she's a healthy 9+ lbs lady.





This AM, we saw a "Yard Sale" sign and of course, we just love those and had to stop by. I saw several "T2Ts" potentials but I wanted to barter for the cost first.

The old fashioned clothespins were priced 25 cents each and there were 10 of them. I asked if I make an offer on them, I was glad the lady said sure. I asked if I could get the 10 clothespins for a dollar rather than 25 cents each.

I saw the wood puzzle, they were 50 cents each as well. She gave me the three puzzles for a dollar.

The trees/stars were actually a part of a Christmas sign but broken off. I didn't want the sign but wanted the trees/stars and offered a dollar although the whole sign with trees/stars were still a dollar. Just wanted the parts.

Just paid $3.00 and I have plans to do T2Ts - wind chimes, christmas lights, clothespins lights and I will show you in my blog later on.

I was so pleased to grab them early in the AM as they make great T2Ts potential!

Have a great relaxing weekend and a Happy Father's Day to all fur and skin Fathers!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Uptown Waterloo

DH and I went to Uptown Waterloo as we love this particular store - Whole Lotta Gelato. We get our weekly treat of delicious concoctions of gelato and I just love the smooth & delicious taste. DH got one scoop last week and I had two, of course, I offered to share but I didn't, heh heh! It was that delicious!











This week DH got two because he wanted the sweet vanilla bean and the oreo gelato. I had the sweet vanilla bean and the cappucino, *drools!*






Are we making you hungry? Good, you're supposed to enjoy those delicious pictures, heh heh! Now feast your eyes on the beautiful background we were able to take in when we enjoyed our gelato.





Many thanks to Whole Lotta Gelato for allowing us to take pictures of their establishment.

We went to Bark & Fitz, (where else!) to get more treats for Princessipia Mia, more catnip for Mosey & Ashy and check out new toys there as well. I just love Bark & Fitz because this store is so bright. They have drapes imprinted with dogs' silhouettes on it and it's just so cute! The aura is so relaxing.

Mosey and Ashy just loves their new toy - it's the laser cat toy and it's $10.00. Worth it, believe me! You point the laser toy to a wall and the picture at the wall is the shape of a mouse. The kids go crazy chasing the mouse silhouette!



You can see how much I love the furkids.. there's a lot of catnip on the carpet! If you see the pink plastic ice cubes, I use them for the cats. I buy them from the dollar store. They make excellent toys for the cats during the hot weather, the cats think it is a toy but it is to cool them down as well. I just wash them after they play and put it back in the freezer and take it out every couple of hours to let the cats play with them. I also put ice cubes in their water to keep them cool. This is a great idea for dogs as well.

DH and I relax for a bit at Starbucks as it was getting a bit hot for me. I needed a place to cool so I pointed to Starbucks as I knew it had A/C. I ordered White Mocha and DH had pop. We shared a dessert. Ohhhh the white mocha, *drools*





DH guzzled his as he was so thirsty!! It was that warm outside with the walking and so on.



Ohhhh taking the time to savour my mocha.. FIKA!!



I asked the gentleman for permission to take his picture and he obliged, was so pleased to be a subject for my photography.



I particularly liked this layout of frames in Starbucks.



Tactile smile to all and have a great day! Do take the time to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea or drink. FIKA!

Patty oxox

Homemade Tea Tree Oil shampoo

I love the Paul Mitchell's TTO (tea tree oil) shampoo but my wallet does not love the price tag at all!! Each time I visit SIL & BIL, I'd use their Paul Mitchell TTO and I'd stay in the shower practically massaging my scalp with the shampoo. I just love the tingly effect on the scalp and the mini-fingers all over my hair even after the shower.

I would constantly search for the "generic" version but the generic version just didn't have the "mini-fingers" effect that I craved. I'll be honest here, losing my sight so quickly, I start to crave sensation because the remaining senses are so heightened to the point where sensation is quite euphoric for me. Some will say, it's just shampoo!! For me, it's a sensation I enjoy ... tingling and smelling at the same time.

I was able to capture the exact sensation and scent- I found the generic and frugal solution to Paul Mitchell's TTO shampoo!

It's not only Tea Tree Oil, it's also Peppermint Oil as well! Tea Tree Oil adds the cooling effect whereas Peppermint Oil adds the tingling effect.

I use the "personal care" oils as it's cheaper for me, both bottles cost me $8.95 each. The pure and concentrated oils cost $29.99 each and I didn't have that kind of money.

I put 25+ drops of each oils in the shampoo bottle. You can use your favourite shampoo and conditioner. Just make sure you shake the bottle(s) well.

Enjoy your generic and homemade tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Prim as the way I love it!

As most of you know, I love to prim and do trash to treasures. If I'm not doing T2Ts, I'll be doing Prim. I think almost anything can be primmed up and DH teases me that he is afraid he'll wake up to find out I have primmed up our two cats! Heh heh!

I've done several creative ways to save money as prim can be costly if you want an authentic prim lamp or another prim shelf. I do try to cut corners being on a budget. I also try to use my creativity. If you saw from my other posts, I posted a T2T toilet roll lamp. I once saw a waxed toilet roll lamp, it required the toilet paper being dipped in warm wax. It was around 10 dollars and now I didn't have money for that but I had all the supplies and extras. Presto, I made the lamp and now my two sisters want them and it was the sister that gave me those supplies, heh heh!

This weekend and this week, I did several prims and T2Ts as well. I have to admit I am quite impressed with myself!

I had a gauzy looking peach mini lamp that I used in the kitchen during evenings when I need the extra light so I don't trip or slip. It's this particular lamp that stays in the kitchen because each time I turn the lamp on, the neck of the lamp just wobbles. This lamp has been dropped or toppled over too many times to the point where I tried to repair it but my hand can't fit through the small hole on the base.

I just had the brightest idea to do a T2T lamp makeover! I took a hammer and smashed the ceramic part of the lamp and no, the police did not come over! Heh heh! I saved the lamp plug part. I had been saving a huge pickle glass jar for the longest time because I wanted to do a T2T but wasn't sure how to apply the idea until this one came along!

I had to throw out the cap of the pickle jar because it smelled quite garlicky although I washed the pickle jar with vinegar, lemon and hot water. I used a salsa cover jar because it was black and what I wanted... a dark cover. (You can laugh, K. Heh heh!)

I glued prim fabric on the shade and it looks great. The plaid fabric is tan with mustard, burgundy and hunter green with a hint of navy blue.







A great suggestion for everyone to cut corners and to prim up your jars too. When you are burning your candles and are left with remaining wax. Don't throw out the remaining wax in the trash, cut them up and save them in a ziploc baggie until you have quite a bit to store in a mason jar. Call it chunkies or melties. I was able to save quite a bit of leftovers and store chunks in a mason jar. Part of a Christmas gift, I received a bath and body set. A wooden scoop was included in the bath salt kit so I used that in the prim mason jar. I just used ribbon to tie the wooden scoop to the mason jar to apply the melties idea together.



There is a particular brand of lights I love and it is called silicone lights. I always get my silicone lights from Prim Silicone Bulb Shoppe because Robin specialises in different colours, sizes and shapes. Robin also does scented bulbs.

I order my bulbs from Robin and I'm always satisfied with her bulbs. It's the texture and the colour.







DH and I had the poem "How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning framed and given out as wedding favours and there was a particular recycled paper I got for $4.00 because it was a big size and the colours were vibrant. This particular paper had so many interesting things between two sheets of paper and I wanted it behind the poem in the frame. The bright light picks it up so well. This makes excellent scrapping paper as well.



At Walmart, there's a section of odds and ends materials that I always raid each time I go to Walmart. You can find a lot of prim materials there because it's not a yard/metre but it's great to start off with as it's always less than 2 dollars. It's even good for small sewing craft ideas as well like this one. This only cost me 3 dollars and I have a lot of materials leftover.

This is a plastic bag holder and I have so much materials leftover that I plan to make more.





I'm going to show tidbits of our home.. enjoy!

















I had an old cheese grater that didn't grate well and rusted as well. I decided to grate an old candle tart that didn't scent well on it. I put some star ornies around it, raffia and a tag completed it. At night, I use a battery operated mini light and it looks cute in the kitchen.



This is a Martha Stewart basic drape that I have in the bedroom. I wasn't satisfied with the exact one in the kitchen. Just looked ho-hum. It needed some prim to it.



This is how I primmed up the drapes.. I love it!




Just wonder how Martha Stewart would react after one of her drapes being primmed up? ( Eh, K!)Ha ha!