I’m sure I’ll tweak it here and there, but for the most part, it’s pretty darn close to my vision.  I think the bed crown needs something — maybe some little lights or even a paint job — and I’ll probably sparkle up a couple pillows.  And I’ve got to find another spot for the hope chest so we can appreciate the bed frame.  Aside from that, I think it will be a luxurious bed in which to heal.  Daisy seems to love the new bedding and enjoys bathing on it.  In all fairness, however, she would enjoy a cot.

Yeah, that bed crown definitely needs some jazzing up.  After quite a long search, I found it on ebay.  Not only was it the least ostentatious, but it was also the cheapest.  All the other crowns started at 200!  I just couldn’t see spending that amount of money and was getting ready to give up, when the ebay elves led me to this find.  (To all my family, the macramed light in the back was made by Bopka and hung in her Florida room for years!)

I still don’t have anything on the walls, although I definitely have visions!  It took us so long to paint, that I am a bit weary to start putting holes in the wall.  I guess I should just go for it.

Awww!  I love all our pillows.  Chucklebutt always makes a snide comment on the amount (oh yeah, there’s 15) but they are so comfy.  With the exception of 4, all are feather.  The cross stitch one I found at an antique store and immediately fell in love with it.  I didn’t buy it right away, but after a few days, it was haunting my dreams.  I had to have it.  It’s just the right amount of feathers and reminds me a bit of one of my mother’s pillows.

She’s such a pretty kitty.  Thank you Chuck for letting me girly up our room!  Nice photos.

Life has had it’s ups and downs.  I was in a pretty big funk at the beginning of the week.  For those of you that have never lived in the desert, you can’t imagine the sun being depressing — believe me, it is.  We’ve had two weeks of 100+ weather.  My car has been overheating and I all I’ve wanted to do is sleep — sorta like a snake.  Why in the world humans ever choose to settle in this godforsaken land I’ll never know.  But then yesterday we had a reprieve — a cloudy day!!  And rain!!  And today we were greeted with the same glorious weather — rainy and cloudy.  It was awesome and my whole world looked better.  Weather is a huge factor in forecasting my attitude.  I’m a little worried about how Mom is going to handle the heat.  She will be here one week from today.  Yipee!  She’s going to be here soon!  The coming weeks are going to be an adventure for all of us.

On a final note, have any of you seen a live chicken killed?  Today I was the only person in a group of ten that had not seen a live chicken being killed.  Every Thursday I lead a Reminiscing group with my residents.  Today we talked about how we get our food today versus when they were children.  Boy did I learn a lot!  Ice deliveries, coloring lard, slopping pigs, milking cows and killing chickens!  I was amazed and the ladies laughed at my ignorance. Quite a few had actually done the deed themselves.  I learned quite a bit about the nuances of chicken killing (did you know that you have to singe the pin feathers off?). Afterwards I called my mother and asked her if she had ever seen a chicken killed.  To my amazement, she had.  It’s funny when you think you know everything about your parents and then they surprise you with a story.  I wonder what else I don’t know. . .

The first was my invitation for Artistic Affaire.  Kim sure does know how to make a girl feel special.  I’ve been looking over photos from past events and I am getting super excited!

The other package was from my dear friend Jan — otherwise know as Janshine.  In an amazing act of generosity, Jan gave me a box full of her Grandmother Howard’s costume jewelry.  It was like Christmas opening all the wrapped goodies.  Jan, being the organized gal that she is, grouped them by color and style — all the greens were together, the pinks, the golds, etc.  I already have some ideas brewing on how I can incorporate the pieces into my artwork — collages, crowns, oh my!

Check out that eye candy!

I love the green necklaces.  The lighter one reminds me of sherbet.

Thank you so very much Jan!  I promise to honor your grandmother with these lovely baubles.

Thank you Chucklebutt for the photos.

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.

It is an altered, wicker bird cage.  I found it at Goodwill for a buck fifty and used all my ribbons and flowers to jazz it up.  Gail gives us an image and a word prompt each month to get us started.  This month, the word was "forever" and the image was a beautiful ballerina. 

I am a fairy junky and cut out the ballerina and added wings, a tulle tutu and a crown.  She is guarding an egg — I’m not sure whether it’s hers.  This was such a fun project and all my ladies at work ooed and ahhed.

I owe an extra special thank you to Chuck.  He took some really phenomenal shots.  It was a booger to shoot and apparently he had quite some set up trying to get it.  I wish that I had taken a picture of him trying to take a picture.

Thank you again to everyone!