I discovered this today and laughed my booty off.

Chucklebutt discovered something amazing in our garden:

Is that a leprechaun?

One of the many joys of working with older adults and young people is that you get to dress up for every holiday and nobody things it’s weird. Mind you the folks driving on the freeway definitely bowed up and took notice, but I just waved and smiled.

This weekend we continued the task of painting our bedroom. Chuck has to work, but in between phone calls, he managed to slap on some primer.  You can’t tell, but it’s a light blue.  I was a bit bummed at first and wasn’t really thrilled with the color.  It’s growing on me, and once I get my girly things up on the wall, I’ll be a lot happier.  Chuck is very tolerant of my girly things as long as I don’t mess with his garage or office.

Yes we’re wearing the same shirt. I told Chuck we are just a few years away from this:

Or this:

Is it too late for us? Ah who cares! We have lots of fun!

If the girls had opposable thumbs, we would have put them to work. As it was, they snoozed in various places.

This is Scooter’s favorite spot — Chuck’s seat. She stalks him, waiting for him to get up so she can ooze into his chair.

Daisy loves the bed. You can find her there anytime day or night. I’m a sucker for pink noses and pink foot pads. I just want to eat them up!

Happy St. Paddy’s to everyone.

At the moment, I’m watching "Hamlet 2."  The opening sequence begins when a Peter O’Toolesque voice over saying, "Where do dreams go to die?"  The next shot is of Tuscon, Arizona.  Bwahaahahahahahahaha!  It’s gonna be a great movie!   I also picked up "Repo! The Genetic Opera."  The only thing better than Anthony Steward Head, is Anthony Stewart Head singing about organ transplants, wearing black pleather and wielding a knife.  Righteous!  It’s from the producers of Saw and I am such a sucker for those gorey movies.  Mind you I can’t watch any of the new horror flicks that came out this week cause I’m also a big chicken.  I’ll have to wait until Chuck gets home and he can tell me what’s going on while I cover my eyes and plug my ears. 

I have lofty aspirations this weekend.  I plan on painting our entire bedroom.  We bought the paint in October, and I figure this would be a perfect time to start.  Realistically, I’m sure I won’t finish, and I’ll leave all the intricate stuff for you-know-who.  He’s pretty meticulous when it comes to projects and I’m of the half-ass mindset.  I also have started on the Sookie Stackhouse series.  They’re like cheese whiz — not good for you, but enjoyable going down.  Mom has read them all and she has a crush on Eric.  That probably means nothing to anyone except for Maja and she doesn’t read my blog.  Eric is a Viking vampire — in case you were wondering.

Before Chuck left for Daytona, he took some nice pics of my recent treasure hunting.  Check it out:

These were the two boxes that my swap partners gave me.  They are chocked full of all sorts of goodies.  Thanks Lisa and Rosalyn-Sue!  You ladies Rock!  The linens I found at Goodwill for dirt cheap.  Gosh I’m such a sucker for all things embroidered.

See I told you I can’t resist.  Who would give away such beauties?  I guess it’s my fortune.

This too cute teacup I got from the gals at Mystic Paper.  A few weeks ago they invited everyone over to the shop for a tea party.  We got to keep our cups.

I also have a little button problem.  You can never have too many buttons.  Well maybe you can, but I haven’t reached that point quite yet.  A few weeks ago, I took some of my residents to the AZ Quit Show.  There were tons of vendors and I was like a kid in a candy store.  I found one booth filled with vintage Czech glass buttons.  Holy Cow!  They were/are gorgeous!  The gal was from Venice Beach and her stock was very reasonably priced.

Then there was the vendor out of Connecticut.  She was *not* reasonably priced, but I couldn’t resist the above buttons.  The red ones look art deco to me and the ones beside them look like cameos.

The above is not a button, but I thought it was gorgeous.

I found this creepy, cutie and just had to have her.  I realize that she looks like something that might be used in voodoo, but she’s got some awesome shoes.

One of my residents gave me this sheet of music.  It used to be her mother’s so that can give you an idea how old it is.

What’s this you may ask?  This is what happens when Scout is bored and takes it upon herself to shake things up a bit.  Let me just say that it is really difficult to salvage such a mess.  Try wiping with those bits.

Finally, since Chuck has been gone, I have had the daunting task of taking care of all his fish tanks — eight in all!  Scout likes to help with the tank in my craft room.  I hope that she doesn’t slip, because that would be one heck of a mess.

Enjoy the weekend! 
Watch "Hamlet 2"  then you too can sing, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus!" 

Miss and love you!  (Welcome to CiCi’s!)
 

I miss my momma!  She flew home today after a wonderful visit.  She’s had a rough past two days, complete with locking herself out of my house, learning that her pipes in Asheville had burst, and losing her military id at the airport.  Sheesh! 

Chucklebutt made it safely to Daytona and is freezing his cajones off.  While we have been having 90 degree weather, he’s been traveling in 35 degree weather.  Yipes!  Better him than me.  At the moment, Daytona is dead although hopefully it will liven up this weekend.  I had planned on flying out to be with him, but after the past few weeks, I need some down time just to veg. 

I took Mom back up to Jerome and the locals recognized me.  It’s only a population of 400, so I guess any new faces stick out.  Mom loved the little town and fit right in with the aging hippies.

I love the this old gas pump.  I think it would look cool in our backyard.

This is an old abandoned building but we both really liked the architecture.

Aren’t we cute?  We had a great weekend filled with food and shopping.

On Saturday night, we decided to go to a little restaurant below where we were staying.  The food was delicious, however it took us two and a half hours to eat.  Apparently, there was only an older man cooking, and he made ever dish to order.  After the first hour, our waiter brought us some bread.  By the second, we had finally been given our meal.  Mom and I laughed hysterically about the whole event.  Again, the food was scrumptious, but you best not be starving when you head to this eatery.

I want this bus!

I discovered an awesome yarn store — Knit One, Bead Two.  I purchased some really light weight yarn and am working on a fun scarf.  Be sure to notice the sweater on the wall.  It has skulls on it — eat your heart out Chuck!

Once back at our room, Mom helped me with the daunting task of rolling the yarn.  Don’t I look like a muppet?

We had a wonderful trip and I miss her already.  Check out the amazing book she’s been working on:

The above page makes me smile!

This is my other favorite page.

She raided my stash of vintage lace, ribbonry and flowers.  I love how she added the different elements to the spine.  Great work Mom!  Come back soon and visit!

That looks like something out of a Terminator movie. I sure hope he knows how to put all that back together. (Incidentally, yes we are a one car and three bike family. Makes for some interesting journeys.)

“Where does this hose go?” You better act quickly Chucklebutt, it’s almost T minus two days!

Not too much going on at the Gibson-Rice household. Mama Puff flew in last night at 11pm. Chucklebutt leaves for Bike Week on Wednesday, and Mom and I are headed back to Jerome next weekend.

I am addicted to swapping, and have joined another:

I discovered this great blog (A Swap For All Seasons) and have joined the Vintage Spring Sweetness Swap. On the first day of spring, we will mail our vintage treasures to our partners.

Finally, Chuck has been active with DP Challenge. Each week the photographers are given a subject matter and they are to post their pics by Tuesday evening. Last week was pet portrait. Kitties are not very cooperative. Check out the video

Here are some regular pics.  Warning!  Gratuitous amounts of kitty cuteness!

I love how Daisy is looking at me while Chuck checks out his shot.

He draped our bed in black fabric and then gave it a liberal sprinkling of white Christmas lights.  The girls didn’t know what to think.

These next ones are my favorite!

Grr!  I’m going to gobble up all the light!  (Be sure to notice the groovey effect in the background.  It’s called bokeh and don’t ask me how he gets his camera to get it.)

“I said I wanted Salmon in my contract NOT tuna!”

Grumble!  Grumble!  Grumble!

I think this is a pretty shot of Scout.  In a perfect world, Chuck would have gotten both the girls together.  Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

If you click on this link, it will take you to his entry.  He didn’t place, but I think it was still a pretty shot.

So is it just me, or is anyone else out there behind in their life?  I’ve got so much to do for work (2 scripts I need to write plus a newsletter and activities calendar) and haven’t changed my sheets in three weeks.  Chucklebutt and I bought paint back in October to do our room, and it is still sitting where I left it the day I bought it.  Plus, I feel like I have no time to do any creative projects.  I’m behind in my correspondence and my best friend’s birthday is coming up and I have yet to mail her gift.  Grrr.  Sorry to vent.

Hope everyone has a good week!

This cemetery was just below the main area of Jerome.  To the right of Chuck are most of the graves.  They are all enclosed with intricate gates.

There were very few actual tombstones.  They were more like primitive markers. 

I loved this grave.  It reminded me of something from an old Western.

You can see the town in the background and perhaps a ghostly apparition on the right.  ;D  Afterwards, we headed out of town and hit an old pioneer cemetery.

Check out those crosses!

This cross is made from old pipe.  The concrete crosses are deteriorating.

So Chuck has photo-shopped his own blemishes out of this pic.  He left, however, the blem above my upper lip.  All I can say is that I am going to leave the waxing to the professionals.  Ouch!

Valentine’s Day night, we headed to the little town of Clarkdale.

Isn’t that sign awesome?  Clarkdale is a cute little town with fun shops.  Hopefully when Mom and I go back I can check out the yarn & fiber store.  I’m a junky for funky fibers!  Dinner was yummy, complete with tuna sashimi, pina coladas, filet mignon and creme brulee. 

This is looking back towards Jerome.  Notice all the snow on the mountain.   The following day we headed up above Jerome towards the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.

Thank goodness we had the truck.  Those roads were pretty precarious.

This was the first snowman we’ve made in years.  

Like my new hat?  I got it at Lola’s (whatever she wants!).  I could have bought twenty.

The big stalk to my right is part of an agave plant.  Right before this picture was taken, I wiped out in the snow and impaled myself on one.  I think the agave was once called the "cowboy killer."  OMG it hurt like hell!  Not only would it not stop bleeding, but it ached all night long.

I kept chucking snowballs at Chuck (hahahahahahaha!).  He didn’t have a very good aim and I was able to nimbly elude him.      Once we worked up an appetite, we headed to the Haunted Hamburger for some delicious burgers.

Everytime we passed the restaurant, it had a huge wait line.  We decided to hang tough and it was well worth it.  It’s called the Haunted Hamburger because apparently there are spooks living in the building with a penchant for hammers.  

This was the local general store next door.  I had to visit the first day on account I left with my toothbrush, comb and conditioner at home.  (No comment Mom.)  Eventually, we found our way up to Mingus Mountain and lots of snow!

The snow is half way to my knees!

Why is Chucklebutt violating that tree?  It’s a geocaching thing.

It was pretty late by the time we got into Jerome, and there was no one around.  It really was like a ghost town.  Driving up the mountain, we kept noticing people still had their Christmas lights on.  We also noticed quite a few lit up peace signs.  Later, we discovered Jerome was a haven for aging hippies.  It brought back fond memories of Asheville. 

This is where we stayed.

The big window above the cafe was our apartment.  While you really can’t tell from this pic, we had amazing views of San Francisco Peaks the Verde Valley and the Red Rocks. 

Walking through the door, we saw a flight of stairs.

Out of all the windows, were phenomenal views.  It reminded me of Alan and Chuck’s apartment in Asheville. 

I asked Chuck how he knew that a man owned this apartment (it was very obvious.)  He proceeded to tell me it was done in earth tones with a minimalist style.  It was very different from the froofy B&B’s we stay at.  He loved it!

Isn’t that a cute kitchenette?  On the far left is a metal board with magnetic words.  We were sure to leave lots of randy phrases for the next residents.  (Although it may be Mom & I because we’re headed up in two weeks.)

I’m a sucker for old doors.  This is the door leading to the bathroom.  I love the robin’s egg blue.

The picture isn’t good, but I love the shabby pink door.  It was the only bit of pink in the apartment. 

There are incredible shops in Jerome.  I think my favorite was right across the street from our apartment.  The House of Joy used to be a brothel back when the town was in its heyday.  Now it is a store dedicated to girly, bawdy things.  Great vintage ephemera, original artwork and frilly, whimsical bits sure to put a smile on your face. 

Me and the proprietress.

You’re not allowed to take pictures inside, but I couldn’t reisist the widow display.  I absolutely LOVE the doll!

The hotel behind Chucklebutt is the Grand Hotel.

Jerome is defintely not a handicap friendly place to visit.  We walked up more sets of stairs in our short weekend than we have in the past six months.  To get from one road to the next, you have to walk up a flight of stairs.

I swiped this picture off the web, but it gives you an idea about the way the town is situated on the side of a mountain.

For those of you that don’t know, occasionally, Chucklebutt will call me "Puff-n-Stuff"  — usually I’m just Jiggle Puff.  We found this sign and couldn’t resist the photo op.  Little did I realize it was an adult smoke shop.  Sheesh!  Sometimes I can be so clueless.

We stumbled upon a quaint park with a really large slide.  Unfortunately, we remember it being a lot more exhilarating as a kid.  Perhaps our widening tushes created too much friciton.

Look what Chuck gave me for Valentine’s Day.  I collect hearts (all materials and sizes).  The photo doesn’t do it a lot of justice, but it is gorgeous!  Well I need to catch some z’s.  I’ll continue our journey tomorrow.  Think pioneer cemeteries and snow — lots and lots of snow!

Thanks to my in-the-know mother, I just found out I won a give away over at Vintage by Crystal’s blog.  I had no idea until I got an email from my mom congratulating me.  I didn’t know what she was talking about.  What a surprise.  I love Crystal’s critters and now I have one of my very own.  I’m sure I’ll have to get a few more to keep this one company.  Check it out!

Yesterday was one of my co-worker’s last day before going on maternity leave.  She is going to have twins, and a few weeks ago we all threw her a baby shower.  I had all the ladies write various words of encouragement/advice on pieces of paper and then I composed a paper bag book in which to put them all.

There are more pictures, but I won’t bore everyone.  Inside the paper bags, I put all the notes and secured them with pretty clothes pins.  I had lots of fun working on it and I wish her and her babies nothing but the best!

Well, Chuck is ready and we are heading out.  I can’t wait to get there, as I’ve never been to Jerome but I’ve heard super things about it.  Every room in town was booked this weekend except for a little apartment over a cafe.  They don’t advertise and we only found it through word of mouth.  I’m so excited I could squeal!

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

They are large matchboxes.  We were to stuff them with all sorts of vintage-inspired crafting goodies.  Heaven knows, I have a plethora of vintage-inspired, crafting goodies!

I had a great time working on this project.

My partners live in Victoria, BC, Georgia and California.  I hope they like their boxes.

Thanks to Chucklebutt for taking some creative pictures.  I have no idea what I would do without him.  Currently, I’m working on a project to submit to Somerset and it involves a lot of irregular old photographs.  Chuck has been working really hard to get them to a presentable quality.  Hopefully I’ll have it finished by this weekend.

Not too much is going on here.  Everyday that Chuck is called to a major meeting at work, we hold our breath and hope that he still has a job.  So far so good.  He’s getting his bike ready for Daytona, and he just got super exciting news about a rally next year called Ten in Ten.  That’s right happy campers — ten days, 10,000 miles.  Holy Crap!  He has a lot of preparation to do.  Next weekend, we’re heading up to Jerome for a Valentine’s Day get-a-way. Neither one of us have been there, so I’m really looking forward to it.  I can’t way to see our hotel.  Every room in town was booked, however this nice man at the Mile High Inn told us about a room over the Flatiron Cafe.  Apparently, they don’t advertise and business is all word of mouth.  (Can you say "Hostel?")  Sure enough, it’s available and that’s where we’re headed.  Mom’s worried that it’s going to be like "Psycho."  The man at the Mile High Inn called it "precious."  All I can say is that we’re ready for an adventure!

Finally, the tagging — My 5 Obsessions

1. Q-tips  — I think this one is more of an addiction.

2. Kitty Cat Noses — when I see them, I have to touch them

3. www.failblog.org  — if you need a laugh, this is the site

4. vintage lace — I always rationalize buying more.

5. McDonald’s Chocolate Chip Cookies  — you know it’s bad when the drive-though ladies recognize you and call you by name.

Now, I have to tag some more folks.  Christine, Gretchen, Mom and Aunt Pudi. 

Yipee!! It’s almost the weekend.

We were divided into groups of four and will make a box for each of our swap mates.  The women I’m working with live all over — Vancouver Island to Georgia.  I’m so pumped and can’t wait to work on their boxes.  We are supposed to fill them up with various goodies and I have some really fun stuff to pass these ladies’ way.

I wanted to share with everyone my mom’s collection of snowmen.  Every year after Christmas, she puts them out to brighten up her bleak winter.  My Daddy was with her when she started the collection.  Every year without fail, he would treat us to a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee after Christmas.  He always said we needed to be "let-down" easy after the holidays and hanging out in the kitchy, Tennessee town was just what the doctor ordered.  We would stay at the Homestead House in the exact same room and shop and eat ourselves silly.  One year, he and my mother found these precious snowmen in "The Village" and mom was hooked.

These are the first two that they bought. 

I think the one above is my favorite.  It reminds me of a little Alaskan snowman. 

Incidentally, in "The Village" there is a restaurant that makes the best Reuben sandwhich ever!

It’s called the Hofbrauhaus Restaurant and Cheeseboard.  (Daddy and I used to call it Dr. Haufenhauhauhaer in honor of Steve Martin from "The Man With Two Brains.")  Upstairs is the restaurant and there are very few tables.  The waitress is also the cook so the service is slow, but I’ve never had a bad sandwich. 

Oh yeah, and while I probably shouldn’t mention this (I really can’t resist), when I was in junior high school and we were eating there, my mother took her bra off in the restaurant.  Apparently it was bothering her and she whipped it off.  Ever since then, I knew that my mom was a wild and sassy woman!  (Sorry Mom, I really couldn’t resist sharing.)

My mouth is watering right now.  Sigh.  I miss home.

I hope that everyone is having a great week.  To all you that have some snow — I’m jealous!  It’s 75 here in the desert and I would really love some cold weather!