no fair

no, this is not a whine (ok, maybe just a tiny one)

after spending some considerable time perusing the booklet of categories to enter at this year's State Fair I have decided that the five or six entries I would have do not warrant making three trips to the fairgrounds -- or even the mandatory two trips

maybe next year

another hour and a half of stitching and the project is progressing

looking good

and yes, because of the very disciplined format of this piece, my brain is already on auto pilot while I'm stitching -- thinking about the next piece already

heh, not even surprised

more art work from the garden

this is what I picked yesterday morning -- another zucchini, more beans and the first tomato and peppers

I've been picking about this many beans every day for several days, so now there are enough that we'll be eating a batch tonight

and the little zucchinis have been being cut into small pieces and tossed into salads -- very tasty

we're finally beginning to be rewarded for all of the hard work of tilling and planting and weeding

and we continue to do the "No Hail" chant


my dad is notoriously difficult to buy a gift for

at 85 there's just not much "stuff" he wants to acquire

in fact, for the past couple of years my Christmas gift to him has been a year long process of making up frozen meals and taking them to him during the year

yesterday we were walking around the new Antiques/Art Mall that has recently opened in our area -- I've been trying to decide if I should put some of my art in there, so I'm keeping an eye on what's there and talking to vendors as the opportunity arises

while I was strolling through this red pick up truck reached right out of the glass case and grabbed me -- it is a die cast metal model of a 1956 Ford pick up -- and (as you can tell by the picture) the hood, doors and tail gate move -- and since my dad only ever had Ford pick ups, it seemed to be just the right present for him

neat

and then, in another booth there was this

this is an additional house that goes with the set that were my grandmother's (which my mom gave me a couple of years ago)

there actually were two little houses like this one and another, larger structure in the booth, but the larger structure was too big and this was the one I liked best

the colored cellophane is in really nice condition and the tree is nice too

it was fun to add to this little collection with a piece that is the same vintage as the original set

so for now it's sitting on the bookcase in my studio, and it will go in with the rest of the pieces when we do the decorating for Christmas

time to go get some breakfast