The Dogwalking Professor who loved bleach too much!

Yes, the fine Professor is having a sordid affair with bleach.  Bleach is the answer to all cleaning conundrums.  I failed to tell my gentle readers when we were cleaning our 2nd hand sofa that he wanted to daub bleach on the white checks in the gingham fabric.  I caught him just in the nick of time, that should have been the shot over my bow but sadly it wasn't.  Yesterday when I was leaving for work, I was in the bathroom and I smelled the strong odor of bleach but saw nothing amiss so I dismissed it.  When I got home last night I stepped out of the shower to discover little white bleached out spots on the new bathroom rugs I had bought.  I knew instantly what had happened.  I think I need one of those huge gun safes, like my brother has.  I think I must lock up the Clorox and the Professor can only use it under the supervision of an adult of the female persuasion.


I was relieved to learn I am not the only woman with a bleach loving man.  Hip Hop Dot had her darling hubby get into the shower with his shoes and use bleach on the tiles.  She discovered his hard work ethic when her bathroom rug sprouted 2 shoe prints in white.  What is is with men and bleach?  The allure must be over-powering to males.  Perhaps we women should daub some behind our ears to attract a little of that loving attention!  Ladies, I warn you...if your loving man is seen carrying a white bottle of bleach you may want to subject him to a little sodium pentothol treatment to find out what he intends to do with it.  If not we can only imagine the horrors that might mysteriously appear in your homes.

Let me explain about my beautiful 12 year old Britney Spaniel Rose.  No the above picture is NOT my Rose but it is what a svelte young Britney does look like.  Rose is old, has an arthritic hip and is 73 pounds which is about 28 pounds overweight.  She hasn't been on a walk in so very long.  Her butt is quite big and I haven't fed her treats in a long time.  I give her medicine every night but Professor is very free with the treats, I think that may be why she seems to prefer him over me.  I lovingly pointed out to my dear man that the treats that he gives her 6 or 7 times a day are lovely but they are making her butt bigger and that isn't good for her.  He says he will walk her daily.  So today I am getting an IM from him.  They got about a half mile from the house and she did just fine but on the way home she grew very tired and it took him an hour to get her home.  I had told him to slowly increase the distance, start out like half a block and just increase it daily.  Now I didn't realize half a block sounded anything remotely like half a mile.   Yes I was a bit concerned about my sweet Rosie Roo Roo and told Professor he was lucky he didn't have to carry her 73lb butt home, although it would have served him right to have to do it.  I think I am going to have to start writing my instruction down for Professor, I love his energy and his excitement about doing all these lovely things but sometimes I just shake my head and wonder.

I was browsing through a Spanish speaking blog and like me she posted some interesting projects she had seen on the Internet.  The above is a lovely crocheted throw, it is the colors that I love.  Sadly there were no instructions or yarn colors but I love this, it looks like a Lilac Thicket. 

I thought this was an interesting recycling project, bottles for a chair, glass or plastic, I don't think it would be very comfy. 

Another idea for wood pallets, but this looks like a day bed.  Really it is pretty cool looking. 

This absolutely could be my Rose in younger years when her butt was much smaller.  Also Rose loves to bury things such as toys, bones, slippers, dead birds, mice or squirrels.  Gentle readers, if you fail to hear from me, you may want to alert the authorities, she just may have buried me in the Lilac Thicket for later use.  God Bless us Everyone.

For sale! One Professor!

The weather has warmed up considerably here in the Lilac Thicket.  I am a bit surprised that it took so long.  Usually April is the month the heat and humidity cranks up.  Sadly my tomato seeds have not sprouted.  I think I need to make a hot house tent over them to keep the moisture in.  So many things I want to get to and I have been working overtime in hopes of catching up with some bills.  Stitching has definitely been on the back burner. 

Professor has his self in some deep trouble.  He had pushed the bed back to clean under the bed.  He was sprinkling with his fingers water to keep down the dust while he vacuumed.  I offered him my pretty pink spray bottle from the bathroom, it had water in it and I used it for my pin curls and to tame my bangs.  Today, I was dicing a tomato and I see my little pink spray bottle with something foul and orange in it.  I asked him what was in there.  He put the Pledge floor cleaner in my water bottle.  I asked him why he did that and he said I gave it to him.  I told him he was incorrect, I told him he could use it to spritz water not to take it and put whatever unwatery substance in it.  Oops...I'm sorry!  Let us also not forget his vigorous cleaning on the entertainment center and knocking my Precious Moments sculpture off and breaking it into a thousand pieces.  My brother had given that to me for Christmas several years back.  Then he threw away my beautiful garland that I had on the entertainment center.  Oh and I caught him taking a wicker sconce off the wall to throw away because it had dust on it.  Yes, my well meaning Professor might find himself in the garbage very soon!  He gets very excited about cleaning and loves a tidy house, which I love and appreciate but soon, I won't have anything left except that horrible little blue boy figurine he bought at the thrift shop.  Oh my, I might have to vigorously clean it into a thousand pieces of shattered plaster pieces.

So I saw the following and think they are marvelous!  I am going to try this.

http://www.larkcrafts.com/jewelry-beading/paper-jewelry/

Love these and they are made out of paper!  Remember when we folded gum wrappers to create a chain?  This is similar!

Our baby robins are growing and occasionally see their little heads pop up.  Momma is busy feeding them.  I have no idea how many they are but can't wait to see them fledge.

So my fine and gentle readers, I pray your week is full of joy and peace and not the kind of piece I found my Precious Moments.  God Bless us Everyone!

Happy Mommo's Day!

Mother's Day started out well for my neighbors!  The Professor mowed the lawn.  Yes he fired up that bad boy at 7:30am this Sunday morning!

 I baked up some special brownies to take over to Mom's and we visited with her an hour and a half or so.  Yes I will share my secret brownie recipe with you later in the post.  We had a nice visit.  My sister had sent her the coolest balloon design.

It's a dragonfly!  I had never seen a balloon sculpture like this and I thought it was darling.

On the way home we stopped at Lake Jacomo, it was such a gorgeous day.  We stopped at the marina and got out and went and visited the public dock where people were fishing from.  My baby looks SO GQ, doesn't he?! 

And then there was me, ugh!  But I really enjoyed my day.

Swallows were building their mud nests under the roof on the pier and they kept visiting their babies to feed them.  Just by chance I got one flying away.  You know darn well that I couldn't get a picture on purpose like this.  They never co-operate with me. 

 I got my ivy starts all potted.  My tomato seeds still haven't spouted!  Hope they will soon.  I have my taste buds all set for homegrown tomatoes.

Almost forgot here is my secret brownie recipe!  Yes they are yummy!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.  We sure did here in the Lilac Thicket.  God Bless us Everyone.

Weekend's almost here for stuff

Hello my fine and gentle readers, yes it will be almost warm enough for me to don my flour sack bikini, grab my umbrella and inner tube and take a dip in the girlz water dish this weekend.  I think that perhaps my left butt cheek might squeeze in that drinking receptacle without the remaining paraphernalia. 


I am working 2½ hours overtime tomorrow morning and will get off in time to take the Professor to church at 9:00am. I really am hoping to finish cleaning the spare bedroom this weekend. I have an itch to make something wonderful and can't until I get the 2 remaining bedrooms cleaned up.  Tomorrow I will make a double batch of brownies to take to Mom's Sunday, so she will have a sweet something for her family when they come to visit and give her heartfelt felicity.


I plan on making nachos sandi grande for dinner on Saturday evening and then I am not sure what I will make on Sunday.  The Professor is not a big beef eater but he is sure to begin clucking one of these days as he eats copious quantities of chicken.  I think I would almost prefer clucking over his singing.  It is painful to hear the baritone pitched voice try to hit high notes.


So my finds on Craft Gossip are many.  These are great projects which I might someday find the courage to actually make!

Lori on 1-2-3 Stitch! Message Board posted this finish and I have to say, I adore this and when I do have a few extra dollars in my wallet, if I ever find it, I will have to buy it.  Yes my gentle readers, my wallet is still missing as is the debit card, but the Professor did find his house key, it was in the the pocket of his jeans!  Now tell me, why didn't I think to ask him if he had looked there first?  Beats me!

No link to this one but I bet if Google "Very Jane" you could find the site.  Love the headband!

http://sheekshindigs.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-post-flower-pops-from-decorated.html
Are these the cutest.  I was thinking what a delightful little cheer up prezzie they would make.

http://www.asewingjournal.com/home/2011/5/5/linen-and-lace-table-runner-how-to-make.html
A linen table runner!  I like it and it looks vintage.

http://www.judaicaneedlepoint.com/aleph-bet-charts.aspx
Okay this is cool.  You can type in a name or phrase and it generates it Hebrew!

http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/
This is the second cool idea using a wood pallet!  How darling this pallet garden is!

 http://jaynsarah.blogspot.com/2011/05/vintage-bowtie-skirt-diy.html
I do not have the waist line for this skirt but I adore it.

No link but I loved the pink slipper cookies!  They look so like fuzzy pink house slippers.

http://www.themotherhuddle.com/tutorial-button-headband/

Another cute hair thing!

 http://blog.themakingspot.com/2011/04/26/how-tuesday-make-crochet-flowers/
Crocheted flowers!

http://www.planetjune.com/blog/free-crochet-patterns/basic-rose/

Crocheted Roses...love 'em!

http://vayou.over-blog.com/article-grille-gratuite-bateau-72354751.html

I like the cross stitch freebie.

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/04/mason-jar-key-hook.html

Okay, love, love, love this hook thinky, what a great idea with the vase!

 http://kincavelkrosses.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/floral-bookmark-2/
I liked the bookmarks, especially the pink and green ones.  This whole sha-bang was on Craft Gossip, the pink and green ones are at Kincavel Krosses.


I hear the sniffing and soon the sobs will begin because I am signing off here in the Lilac Thicket.  May all your dreams be big and may you stay blessed.

Our new table

Our new dining table, the chairs are in the garage awaiting tightening of the legs.  The center piece is something that caught my Mom's eye at an estate sale some time back.  It looks lovely on the table.  I think I want different color candles though.

This is a ladies handkerchief that I bought at the thrift shop a long time ago.  I love the crocheted edge and butterfly!  We had dinner at our new table last evening.  I made spaghetti and blueberry cobbler.  It was a lovely evening here in the wilds of the Lilac Thicket.

We do believe our Mama robin has hatched her eggs.  Yesterday afternoon I saw her fly off with a piece of blue something and it was I believe part of an egg and then she came back and appeared to be feeding something.  We haven't seen or heard the baby birds but we believe they are there.

Well gentle readers the residents of the Lilac Thicket wish you a great week.  God Bless us Everyone.

Animal abuse, domestic abuse, audio abuse

It was a lovely day yesterday.  I picked up Professor after church and we went in quest of nature.  We drove out to Prairie Lee Lake looking for the big fish that you could feed.  All the roads to it were closed and I guess it is closed.  So we drove out to the Marina at Lake Jacomo but Professor didn't want to stay.  We ended up at a boat dock somewhere and then found the bison down by Missouri Town. 

There were lots of people with kids there feeding the bison carrots and apples.  Bison #40 seemed to be getting most of the action, snorting and throwing it's head up and down.  There were 3 or 4 calves there and one kept running up near the fence but just beyond a tree, keeping it's space from the silly folks.  I did enjoy them very much.

Professor became an expert at checking out the hind quarters of the bison and determining their sex.  I think I should be troubled by that.  We also were comforted by the fact we still do not like children.  There were a couple of boys trying to poke the bison in the eye with sticks and throwing things at them while their beloved Auntie stood by and did nothing.  God is good, he knew I would not like children that is why he blessed me with NONE!





Another troubling event at the Lilac Thicket...dog abuse!  Professor tried to make my Rose a beast of burden by forcing her into giving stuffed bears dog back rides!  Do you see that beseeching look on Rose's face?  She is wondering why I am taking a picture rather than coming to her rescue.

Professor also perpetrated domestic violence upon me when I tried to take a revealing picture of him being domestic.  He launched the stuffed bear at me.  Now he has been assailing me with his singing.  Do you have any idea who told him he could sing?  I would like to string them up.

So here at the Lilac Thicket we will be moving furniture from my Mom's home to our home later today.  Right now I need to find some cotton for my ears if I have any hope of staving off deafness.  God Bless us everyone!

Sun bathing dogs, crashing angels, seeing a man about a job

It has been a lovely week here in the Lilac Thicket.  Professor has been hard at it cleaning our new sofa, planting the lovely flowers (pictured above) and other cleaning marvels that have never before seen in our lovely secluded Eden.  He claims that our beloved 12 year old Britney Spaniel has been supervising him and that is why various things happen or don't because Rose is/is not watching close enough.  Case in point, I get an IM that he has broken my folk art angel on the entertainment center in pursuit of an over-vigorous cleaning.  It was Rose's fault she was too busy sun bathing to supervise him properly.  Oh well the angel is now in heaven where all angels end up.  I am enjoying every minute of Professor's cleaning, no matter how many angels end up in heaven.

Professor and I were discussing our printer issue, we needed to "find" something to put it on in the front room.  Mom's neighbor had his house repossessed which is very sad but the bank cleared everything left out of the house into the front yard.  My mother went over and got a lovely dining table and 4 chairs AND a bottom half of a china cabinet.  She called and told us to come over to take a look at them, she had thought of us.  The chairs need to have the legs glued but it is definitely a lovely set for the cost of nothing.  The cabinet bottom has a top that is marred badly but a nice doily or table runner would cover that, Professor and I think it is tall enough for a sofa table.  My darling brother is going to pick them up and bring them over this weekend.  My current little kitchen table, we are going to put it in my craft room as a work surface, as soon as that room is cleaned out.  I am so excited and Professor keeps proclaiming how all is coming along so smoothly, we both believe it is God working for us. 

But to get back to the printer table we walked over to the pile in my mother's neighbor's yard and we both spotted the above end table.  It needed cleaning and it also needs a screw or two in one of the legs, but it sits nicely in the corner and hides a lot of the cords for our laptop.  It was a great solution and it cost us nothing but a little gas and elbow grease.

Professor Kleenz It Up quickly changed into his Professor Birdwatcher attire on Wednesday, he should have dressed in pants not shorts because there was a cool breeze off the water and little sunshine.  But we drove out to the lake and broke in his binoculars on some birds.  We spotted a Great Blue Heron, a blue bird, swallows and ducks and ducklings.  We sat up at the Marina and just marvelled at all the shades of green and the sound of the water lapping onto the shore.  It was a wonderful morning and I enjoyed sharing it with the Professor. 

This weekend I am going to start my tomato seeds and begin the cleaning of the guest bedroom.  I have a special dinner I plan on cooking for my Professor Lover Boy.  Besides my brother bringing over our furniture we will make a trip over to my other brother's to see a man about a lawn job he wishes Professor Lawn Care to do for him.  We should have a wonderful weekend in the Lilac Thicket and I am certain it will go by far too quickly for my taste.  May you know the happiness and joy we residents of the Thicket know.  God Bless us Everyone.