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Monday, April 16, 2012
VLV 15! Photos and A Day-by-Day Synopsis (Part I)
This is a detailed post so I will break down events by day.
Without further ado, here we go!
Day 1: Wednesday (April 4th): I wake at 5:30 am to get ready for my 8:18 am non-stop flight to Las Vegas on United Airlines. Having packed the night before, all I had to do was shower and get dressed. I also needed to take out my foam rollers I set the night before. (I covered my hair in a shower cap whilst bathing).
Even though I used Lottabody on my hair, my curls looked like a "chia pet" on crack! I attempt to tame my hair but I end up putting the savage mess in a ponytail. Just before the cab to the airport arrives, I put on a 50s camp shirt, my Freddies capri jeans, Remix wedges, and a red wool Pendleton 49er jacket. I do my makeup later at the airport gate. I need a double espresso!
After a 5 hour flight, Big Daddy and I arrive in Vegas! It is 10:20 am and all I can think about is getting to our hotel (the Rio) and eating some food!
We get a cab to the Rio and check in. We are in the Ipanema Tower, on the 16th floor, and in room 1623. Check out our view: First photo is the right and second is to the left.
Day 2: Thursday, the 5th: Big Daddy and I wake early (because we are on East Coast time) but fall back asleep for a while. We wake again and order in room service breakfast. I get the Egg Beater omelet with tomatoes and mushrooms and a fruit plate and Big Daddy selects the steak and eggs. Everything is delicious!
After breakfast, I iron and steam my clothes:
Before lunchtime, I get ready for the day:
At the event, there's music, dancing, and just people hanging out! Everyone looks fab in their vintage couture!
After the "Hooch and Smooch," Big Daddy and I get a drink and then make our way back to the Rio for a quick rest before heading out to dinner.
For our evening, we head to the Caesars Forum Shops to dine at Il Mulino. Before our 8:00 reservation, Big Daddy entertains himself on his Blackberry as I browse the aisles in Sephora. I buy a Nars' lipstick and some hair products from Living Proof.
Our dinner is amazing! The service, the atmosphere, the food, and cocktails are off the charts heavenly! Instead of a cab, we need a wheel barrow back to the Rio! We eat too much but it is so worth it!
Day 3: Friday, the 6th: Continuing to be influenced by East Coast time, Big Daddy and I wake up early again but manage to fall back asleep. We wake around 9:00 am and order a lovely room service breakfast.
For lunch, we head over to the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino to dine at China Poblano, a restaurant that features a fusion of Chinese and Mexican Cuisine. We order guacamole prepared fresh table-side. Big Daddy orders Chinese fare and I select the Tuna Ceviche and a small taco stuffed with lobster. Everything is too delicious!
Afterwards, we get a cab to Frankie's Tiki Room, which is next to the University Medical Center (near downtown, ie Old Vegas).
Once inside, Big Daddy and I are greeted with dark lighting and small space! I cannot believe how tiny Frankie's is! There are so many Viva people there too! Basically, it's packed!! Tiki drinks and a room full of rockabillies! I am so happy! I order a Mai Tai in a ceramic souvenir mug and I sit with Barbara from Moxie Tonic blog and her friend Gina!
Me and Big Daddy:
Later that evening, we eat dinner at the hotel and I head to the Orleans to browse the vendor rooms. Remix shoes and tons of vintage jewelry catch my eye!
Part II is next! Stay tuned for the auto show, Saturday night glam, JD McPherson, Sunday, and my journey back home to DC!
11 comments:
More more more.... i can't wait. Looks like an amazing start :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks! It was a fun time for sure!Delete
Makes me wish we'd had the opportunity to go. You look great. Love the glittery eye shadow.ReplyDeleteReplies
If you have just once chance to go in your life, go! It is so amazing!Delete
Love all your food descriptions - all sounds lush!! Looking forward to more :)ReplyDeleteReplies
The guacamole we ate in Vegas was so good! One evening I had a fabulous wild mushroom ravioli with a cream sauce! Total vegetarian and totally to die for!Delete
I'm so glad we managed to meet up!!! How fun was Frankie's?! Although terribly disappointed I couldn't track you down Saturday night - I really wanted to see your dress in person. I think I saw your head, lol, but it was so crowded there was no way of maneuvering any further towards the front!ReplyDeleteReplies
Frankie's was a blast! I was sad not to meet up with you and Gina on Saturday too! The main ballroom floor was jam-packed! I was at the front of the stage with Kim. But like you said, the people were stacked in tight!Delete
Man, I blew it and didn't make it to Frankie's once! I just should have gone with Jessica, but was afraid of missing something. I did get to take a bath and power nap while you were all sipping tropical drinks.ReplyDeleteReplies
At least you got in a good power nap and a bath! Frankie's was so packed and it was fun to hang out with Jessica, enjoy drinks, and talk about tattoos! Maybe next year we can all go again!Delete
Cat eye glasses got develop numerous timeless in conjunction with unceasing alluring suitable in the past time.


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Away from the usual self-advertising and PR plugs for a change. Two items I read recently – one on a website, the other in The Observer – set up some scientific musings. Science to me usually means fascinating things which I don't understand, but it often leads to trains of thought I wouldn't otherwise have.
The first item was about chromosomes. I know, of course, that they're made of DNA and proteins and carry our genes. When I checked Wikipedia, there was stuff about regulatory elements, nucleotide sequences, eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells as well, but (as they keep saying in the film Airplane), that's not important right now. What is important is that we (humans) have 46 of them. But – and this is the interesting bit – it's also possible that we have 48. And why is that interesting? Well, we all know that chimpanzees also have 48, but – and this time it really is the interesting bit – so do potatoes.
In the evolutionary ladder, therefore, we are on a par with potatoes. (The temptation at this point is to digress into the class structure implicit in varieties such as King Edward, Belle de Fontenay, Duke of York and Saxon. Instead, I'll just point you to the admirable website http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/.)
The second piece of science, however, offers hope that such parity will soon change because stem cell researchers in
have succeeded
in cultivating new brain cells. Not by sucking out real brain cells and prodding
them, or from the practice of using bits of embryos, which upsets so many
people who think only God should do that. No, instead they've done stuff with skin cells.
('Prodding' and 'done stuff with' are scientific terms.) Thus, we can look
forward to a future in which our descendants are clothed not in skin but in
brains, which will give us a clear edge over our potato cousins who, even if
they did manage to follow our evolutionary lead, would still get peeled and
thereby lose their powers of ratiocination. Edinburgh
To some of you, this may seem a frivolous misuse and indeed misappropriation of important scientific advances, but I take my lead from one of the greats of British comedy, Tommy Cooper, whose use of statistics was exemplary. He once revealed the following:
"Apparently, one in five people in the world are Chinese. There are five people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my dad, my older brother Colin, or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu.
I think it's Colin."
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subset: commoncrawl


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Vastly unimpressed by my visit to Norma's (great food, worst service ever) on my last trip to New York and quite impressed by the myriad great bakeries my original plan was to not sit down for any "proper" breakfasts while I was in New York – I wasn't about to wait 2 hours for Clinton Street and, on my previous trip to Shopsin's the place just seemed very stand-offish and 'sceney.' Browsing the online reviews I read of a lady named Carrie Levin and a store called "Good Enough To Eat," however, and it piqued my interest – especially considering the impressive "down home" breakfast I had at Dottie's during my trip to San Francisco. Pancakes, French Toast, and a bakery case with cupcakes sold me.
With plans for the Met before lunch and then a long tour of Chelsea I arrived at GETE approximately 10 minutes after they opened the doors and there was no line. Seated promptly at a small table (oddly with another solo diner despite the place being near empty) I was amused by the quaint appearance and amazed at how fast the place filled up – literally, full by 8:25. Expecting good things I browsed the menu and made my selection plus a coffee and a water. Checking the bakery case there were no cupcakes present and most of the pies/cakes simply didn't look overwhelming so I held off to see if more would appear as the meal progressed.
Waiting for approximately 10 minutes as the restaurant filled up I asked my server once again about my coffee – the (very) young girl responded "oh, I forgot." Fine and dandy, I guess – "my water too, please." Waiting another 5 minutes I got my coffee – the water would come shortly thereafter. The coffee, quite frankly, was terrible – a mix between Folgers and something worse even with equal (brought by myself from Bouchon the previous day.) Sitting and waiting I looked around at the amusing baubles and trinkets strewn across the room and had an peculiar Cracker Barrel meets Bob Evans kinda vibe – it suddenly occurred to me that, perhaps, some of the appeal of this place was simply that New York City doesn't have "down home cookin'" in the plethoric number that Ohio does.
Another 5 minutes passed and my order arrived – called "Good Enough to Eat French Toast" the dish was apparently the house signature and for an extra $2.50 I added the cocoa, sugar, raisins, and walnuts to the cinnamon-swirl bread, maple syrup, and 'famous' strawberry butter. Despite the awfulness I requested another cup of coffee to go with the dish – at $3 I at least wanted my caffeine fix – and it took until I was nearly done to receive it (and I'm pretty sure the waitress said MAYBE 10 words during the whole course of the meal.)
First tasting the butter I was quite underwhelmed – it tasted like standard grocery store butter mixed with a bit of sugar – I could barely taste fruit, let alone strawberry. Next, examining the dish, I wasn't really sure what I paid the $2.50 extra for, but whatever it was there is no way the "topping" should have cost extra – all 7 walnuts, 6 raisins, and cocoa of it – I'm certainly not cheap, but I don't like getting ripped off either. Topping the bread and "topping" with some "famous butter" and syrup I dug in. My first impression – no lie –was "my mom used to make this out of wonder-bread, eggs, and skim milk with cinnamon – but she cooked it more firm." Eggy, limp, boring – barely "Good Enough to Eat." Finishing up and sipping my water to cleanse my palate I asked for the check – a check that took about 10 minutes to arrive and was simply set down in front of me without a word. Paying with credit, per always, a small tip was left – along with some written "tips" on how to be a better server – life is all about feedback.
I'm from the Midwest – in the Midwest we do "home cooking" and although I haven't been to Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel in easily 7 years I would go to either before ever going back to GETE. Dottie's this is not…one of the worst breakfasts in recent memory it was. I'd sooner go to Norma's again.
Disappointed/annoyed but leaving GETE by 8:50 and not even close to full I strolled across Central Park only to make it to The Met 20 minutes before opening – and the line was about 200 deep. Having done my research I knew that two "agenda" stops were nearby and decided to keep right on walking and head back to the Met when things settled down. No cupcakes at GETE – time to get some cupcakes at Two Little Red Hens!
Having read very good reviews of Two Little Red Hens despite its obscure location I admit I went in with high – but tempered- expectations, especially given my breakfast. Walking up to the shop it certainly appeared quaint and entering the doors I was struck by its uncanny farmhouse resemblance to Good Enough to Eat. Greeted pleasantly by one of two friendly young ladies and offered a sample of the lemon pound cake the service was already better than GETE and browsing the selections I decided two would be optimal – first selecting the standard Red Velvet and then asking the other lady what she suggested – Black and White – I made my purchase (a bargain $2.75 each considering the size) plus a coffee (an organic fair trade blend whose name I unfortunately forget – though it was quite tasty.)
Making my way to the street and the bright New York Sunlight I stopped to photograph my cakes and decided to dig right in – clearly confusing a short elderly lady who stopped to ask why I was taking pictures of my cupcakes "like a dang fool." Ignoring her and taking a bite of the red velvet my tastebuds jumped for joy – THAT is what Red Velvet tastes like! Truly creamy cream cheese frosting that is dense but aerated, super moist cake with a great cocoa base but hints of vanilla, and a perfect cake to frosting ratio – the best Red Velvet I've tried outside of Bouchon Las Vegas and the one at Bouchon only gets the nod for the cake density and the fact that it was filled.
Unable to resist I next took a bite of the Black and White cupcakes – apparently a mix of the "Brooklyn Blackout" and Vanilla according to the sales girl – and another run-away winner. Half Vanilla with creamy and airy white frosting, half chocolate with a thick ganache and entirely excellent in taste, texture, and proportion. Paired with the coffee the cupcake was actually possibly even more delicious – almost as if the coffee had been selected (Citizen Cake or French Laundry style) to "compliment" the sweets. Having now been to Magnolia, SSS, Babycakes, Crumbs, Dessert Club, Amy's, Ruthy's, Eleni's, and Bouchon in NYC only Chef Keller can hold a candle to the Hens and that is DEFINITELY a compliment.
With one last stop on my morning walk before heading to the museum I decided to make the trip south to the Madison Avenue La Maison du Chocolat. While I am not really a chocolate guy, I do admit I can tell the difference between a good chocolate and an average one - additionally, my aunt is a chocolate lady and as such I made it a point of my trip to New York to get her some chocolates from La Maison.
Despite my lack of love for "chocolates," I do love macarons that comes from my mother who loves the amazing little cookies. Not having the opportunity to try the originals in Paris, I will admit I've tried a number here stateside from Keller's at Bouchon to Paulette's in Beverly Hills to my personal favorites - those at Pistachia Vera in Columbus.....or, I should say my previous personal favorites.
Recommended by another foodie I really didn't figure one Macaron could be THAT much better than all the others previously tasted - and I was wrong. With smalls at $2.50 each (a single bite - or two if you want to stretch it) and larges $5.00 (3-4 bites) both varieties were perfect - a light and airy crumb, heavenly intense yet creamy filling, that familar "crack" of the shell giving way to a transcendent pillow of flavor.
Sampling a large chocolate with chocolate ganache center, and two smalls -pistacchio with chocolate cream center, and a caramel with chocolate center each were amazing and buying my mother two larges at the time (and a box of smalls the day before I left town, at the Wall Street Shop) she was able to sample the wonder as well. Refined, perfect - pricey but every bit worth it.
As noted above, I visited both the UES and the Wall Street Shops during my visit and found the service at Wall Street to be much more friendly (giving me a sample of a candied honeycomb and a dark chocolate covered prune while I shopped for my aunt's chocolates) while the selection was better and less picked over - to be fair, there was almost an air of snootiness to the lady at the Madison Avenue joint, who despite my shirt, tie, and blazer acted as if I "didn't belong" because I told her I was uncertain which chocolates I wanted as I was shopping for my aunt – thus preventing me from buying them on the initial visit but instead holding off until the following day (05/20,) a day on which both the chocolates and the macarons I bought were actually removed from the mailer direct from Paris and handled with white gloves from removal to placement in my box/bag which was tied with a golden bow.


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Broadcasting & Cable has an interesting read on how the networks' mid-season shows have fared (mostly, not all that well!). It won't be any surprise to people who regularly follow the ratings, and neither will this:
Preston Beckman, executive VP, strategic programming and planning at Fox, says Lie To Me is likely to return next season, as the network will give it summer repeat airings.
"As ABC has learned painfully, when you put shows on in the spring you have to really be careful how you evaluate them," he says. "[Lie to Me] feels like a show that with patience and in the right time period, next year can really grow into a player for us."
I believe "likely to return" in this context loosely translates to "unless the ratings for its final episodes blow, it's coming back."


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Malmø: Police arrest suspect in anti-immigrant shootings
Swedish police arrested a 38 year old man Saturday on suspicion of being the anti-immigrant shooter in Malmø. He's suspected of 15 shootings directed at immigrants in the city (out of 50-60 shootings overall in Malmø recently). One 20 year old woman was killed and eight people injured in the shootings. The woman was the only non-immigrant victim, but she was with an immigrant man at the time, and he was seriously injured.
Source: Berlingske Tidende (Danish)
Update: The police held a press conference (SE), where they said that the man, who owns two licensed guns, denies the charges. They did not want to comment on most questions.


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text: Sailosi Tagicakibau extends with Wasps Wasps are pleased to announce Samoan winger Sailosi Tagicakibau has extended his contract to stay at the Club next season. Tagicakibau, who signed from London Irish last summer, became a regular starter for Wasps, scoring four tries in 15 appearances, before a hamstring injury put him out of action for five weeks. The Samoan flier is now back fit and firing and is delighted to have re-signed with Wasps, saying: "I've really enjoyed myself since arriving. I was fortunate to get a lot of game time early on, so it has been a relatively smooth process blending in. "It's a great set of boys here at Wasps, with a mix of talented youngsters and a few more experienced heads amongst us and it's been good to see us starting to click in some of the games this season. "I'm really enjoying learning from the coaching team of Dai Young, Stephen Jones and Brad Davis. I've also been impressed by the calibre of new signings the Club is bringing in next season and am really excited to be part of the Wasps set-up going forwards. "The move to the Ricoh Arena, playing in front of some big crowds, has also been an exciting experience for the boys and I'm looking forward to carrying on playing in that arena." Tagicakibau joins a long list of players who have extended their contracts with Wasps including: Josh Bassett, Chris Bell, James Cannon, Carlo Festuccia, James Haskell, Ruaridh Jackson, Joe Launchbury, Simon McIntyre and Phil Swainston and Director of Rugby Dai Young.


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by: Shireen Cohen
In the above image, Gwen Stefani, playing "blonde bombshell" American actress Jean Harlow goes to the premiere of Hell's Angels on the arm of Hughes, the film's producer. Here, Stefani wears a long silk gown, with a white fur shawl ornamented with orchids.
The Aviator tells the story of troubled film producer and aviator Howard Hughes mostly between the years 1920-1940. Part of the film focuses on the many romances of Hughes, which includes Hollywood magnates Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner and Jean Harlow. All three women were played in the movie, by current Hollywood magnates Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale and Gwen Stefani, respectively.
Cate Blanchett, who was nominated for Best Actress for her role, played the part of fashion icon Katharine Hepburn. Hepburn was credited for breaking the fashion dress code for women and instituting men's trousers are part of the dress code. Here, the actress is portrayed by Blanchett at a formal affair wearing a long, golden gown.
The above image is a still on set of Kate Beckinsale playing famed American actress Ava Gardner. Here, Beckinsale wears a long colored gown with long satin red gloves and a fur shawl.
All three images depict the simple elegance that was common at the time for formal affairs. Jean Powell, the films stylist, won the Oscar for Best Wardrobe for the film.


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A Review of Hugh Hewitt's "A Mormon in the White House? Ten Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney"
Your humble servant, the Hedgehog, has a lengthy review of Hugh Hewitt's book, published today in Meridian Magazine. It's written from the perspective of a committed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormons").


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Now the just shall live by faith: but if any
man draw back, my soul shall have no
pleasure in him.
Can I remember a time recently when I felt God's pleasure in my life?
My faith is growing for God's pleasure.
Dear God, I confess the doubts of my mind which have cut me off
from your pleasure; and I return my mind to you now.


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If you love to travel and you are interested in most amazing villages in the world, this photo gallery is perfect for you really. We chose the world's most beautiful villages to explore in this large list. Fully 35 lovely villages are waiting you with the names and their great photos in the list below. There are wonderful places in Europe, especially for travel enthusiasts. The most popular cities, historical villages and top holiday places usually take place on the European continent. So they are preferred by people very much. We hope you will like the photographs below. These are small but very charming places with their low population. Also they have great nature views that will amaze you.
1. Bibury Village, England
2. Burano, Italy
3. Gasadalur Village, Faroe Islands
4. Manarola, Italy
5. Kastelorizo Island, Greece
6. Hobbiton Village, New Zealand
7. Hallstatt Village, Austria
8. Gordes Billage, France
9. Procida, Italy
10. Shirakawa-Go, Japan
11. Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
12. Riomaggiore, Italy
13. Rothenburg, Germany
14. Myggedalen Village, Greenland
15. Morro De Sao Paulo, Brazil
16. Village Household, Serbia
17. Wengen, Switzerland
18. Toledo, Spain
19. Tobermory, Scotland
20. Sapa, Vietnam
21. Reine Village, Norway
22. Popeye Village, Malta
23. Pennan, Scotland
24. Niger River Village, Mali
25. Juzcar, Spain
26. Groznjan, Croatia
27. Grindelwald, Switzerland
28. Goreme, Turkey
29. Giulio Island, Italy
30. Fairytale Cottages, Wales
31. Eze, French Riviera
32. Cochem, Germany
33. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
34. Bourtange Village, Netherlands
35. Alberobello Village, Italy
I hope, you are having good time. We will continue to give place to enjoyable contents on our website, don't go anywhere.


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Stephanie lives in the D.C. area and, when not writing, performs polka variations of billboard top 10 songs at subway terminals using her (patent pending) one woman band music suit (this consists of an accordion harmonica, cymbals, jazz flute and full drum set among other instruments. All told the suit weighs 150 pounds and Stephanie has several trained helper monkeys and a shopping cart to move it around). She is a self-described "Polka Visionary" and pursues writing as a means of turning polka into a popular genre of music.
Stephanie can be contacted by looking at a mirror in a darkened room and repeating the words "Candy man" three times slowly. Unfortunately this methodology seems to result in a large number of unsolved murders and anyone contacting Stephanie this way does so at their own risk.
To learn more about Stephanie check out her personal blog at http://www.howmanyfrogs.com.
Connect with Stephanie Dorman on Twitter
Annalise never thought she'd live to see the apocalypse, but after the 2012 election she finds herself in a world that is falling apart. Riots are occurring everywhere and when her ex-boyfriend Cort texts her with an escape plan, she accepts the invite and follows him to the mountains of Western Maryland.
Once they make it to their destination though, everything is not as it seems. The power has gone out, cell phone service is non-existent, and the six friends find themselves trapped in a vacation home with no way to discover what is going on elsewhere in the United States.
Turns out, they might not really want to know after all…
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Zombies / ChickLit
Rating – PG13
My Review
4 Stars
First off, let me just say that I really was grabbed right from the get-go by the cover. I love it! It's creepy but cozy, too – does that make sense? Probably not, but that is exactly the feeling it evokes in me. The whole mess starts in D.C. which I found humorous. What can I say? In my opinion, our Capitol is already filled with a brain-dead Congress. So that started the book off on the right track for me. Told from the perspective of a savvy young protagonist who has actually prepared for years for an apocalyptic event, the author gives a credible, realistic and sympathetic voice to her inner thoughts and actions. When she and her old group of friends meet up, she is forced to face some unexpected hostility and less than ideal circumstances (putting it mildly). Her Ex, Cort, is saddled with some unwelcome baggage, but as the situation deteriorates the small group is forced into a kind of detente if there is to be any hope of survival.
I love the show The Walking Dead, so it is not much of a stretch for me to enjoy this book. The writing is crisp, and the story moves along very well. The characters have their flaws and their quirks; that made me care about them and kept me enthralled in the story. There is less action than I would have preferred, but I felt the conversations were interesting and not stilted. I dislike contrived conversations that feel like the author is conveying information to the reader rather than channeling his/her characters' thoughts and opinions. I never felt that here. This is the start of a series, and I am eager to follow the adventure.
A complimentary copy of the book was given to me in exchange for my honest review.
Reviewed by Laurie-J
Nest Few Stops
8th December – Twitter View with Pandora Poikilos
9th December – A Reader or Writer at Zombie Girl Shambling
10th December – Twitter Blast with Pandora Poikilos
11th December – Book Review & Challenges You Face at Vamps & Stuff
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am an Orangeberry Tour Host and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Orangeberry BookTours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*


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Tenth Annual Magical Elves Holiday Party. Magical Elves were the original producers for the first five seasons of Project Runway. They currently are the people behind Top Chef, Top Chef Just Desserts, The Real L Word, and others. The company--headed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz--has been having a Holiday Party for the last ten years!
For the "ELF Fest X", they went "all out" as usual, fake snow blowing at the entrance, fully-stocked bars, food for DAYS (the Vegi-Pizza slices and Pigs-in-a-Blanket were my fave), a Sushi Bar and much more.a fake cut-out of Justin Bieber for drunk--and not-so-drunk guests to live out their "I LOVE ME SOME Justin Bieber" fantasies. I brought along a couple of my best friends, naturally.
Say (Holiday) Cheese: Nick Verreos with friends Erik Moreno (l) and Matt Brubaker (center), Magical Elves Tenth Anniversary Holiday PartyThe annual party also asks its guests to bring a toy to benefit the USMC Toys For Tots Program. Waiting to get into the party--with my huge Barbie Gift--it looked as if I was the only guest who obliged by this special "Gift Request", but once I got in, it was nice to see that the "Toy Boxes" were full!
Producer Love: Nick Verreos and Michael Rucker, Emmy-nominated Producer (and friend)--Love his Vintage X-mas Sweater Vest--yes, it's a SWEATER VEST!As always, I had a BLAST (I always do at the Magical Elves Parties) and it was especially nice to re-connect with my old Project Runway "family" from back-in-the-day (Gosh, Season 2 was SOOOO long ago!). They've always been kind and respectful to me, and I will always return the sentiments. Can't wait for next year's Holiday Party!


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Sorry that I have not barked at you for a while, but I have been a bit under the weather, and Mike was in the hospital having his left knee replaced. After he came home, we had nothing but windy, very windy weather. While the sun was out, the winds did not make sunbathing enjoyable. Hopefully, with the Iditarod off, Spring will come, and the snow will melt, replaced by sweet tasting grass!
Mike has not received any names of military folks in the war zones that we can pass on to you for you to send cards and notes to them. Mike thinks all of his contacts are out of the loop now and the media's focus is not on the wars as it use to be. However, Mike's Church, St. Michael's has as "Project Soldier" going on right now. They are planning to send boxes of cards, notes, and goodies to our troops. If you want to send a card or note to a military person, just send it to
Solider Project
%Rivers Books
PO Box 876308
Wasilla, Alaska 899687-6308.
Mike will deliver them to the Church to be included in the packages going out. If you want to participate, please send your card(s) before March 23. The Church plans to send the boxes out by the end of March.
Well our good buddy Patty did it again. She presented us with a beautiful painting of Tundra. Really good and such detail!. You can actually see the "hook" in her ear as the result of a "cat fight" with one of her sisters many years ago.
As you can see, Patty is a very accomplished artist. She loves painting dogs. She did our paintings from our pictures of the dogs. Patty also sent us a picture of the painting of her daughter's Horse Dolly. Believe me, while Patty may love doing dog portraits, she is excellent at horses as well. Mike told me that he saw Patty's portfolio of other things she has painted, landscapes, flowers, etc and they are just great. Patty may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Well, that is about it for now.
Take care,


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Diwali is a fesival of happiness and sharing for people in India who exchange gifts as a token of love and warmth with their dearones in the form of these diwali exclusive wallpapers for this auspicious occasion of Diwali. Get into the mood of celebration with your dearones and nearones by sending them these wallpapers on deepavali.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Diwali Exclusive Wallpapers
Posted by Valentine Cards at 9:45 AM 0 comments
Labels: God-Goddess, lighting, wallpapers
Diwali Celebrations Wallpapers
Diwali is the most celebrated festival in India when everyone in busy in their preparations to welcome various god-goddesses and seek kind blessings from them in the form of good luck, wealth, health and happiness for all. They celebrate the festival by practising various traditions and lighting candles to remove away darkness. Place any of these Diwali Celebrations Wallpapers to your PC to express your excitement and craze.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 9:36 AM 0 comments
Labels: celebrations, wallpapers
Diwali Mobile Wallpapers
Give your mobile latest and fresh look of the diwali festival with these glowing lights, fireworks, Ganesha and other designs in these diwali mobile wallpapers. These themes are freely downloadable for all our lovely visitors. Along with the beautiful photo or design you can get diwali wishes written in the wallpaper.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 9:29 AM 0 comments
Labels: backgrounds, wallpapers
Widescreen Diwali Wallpaper
Watch out our widescreen wallpaper for diwali with designing patterns of diwali candles, lights, fireworks, god-goddesses, lighting and other scenes along with wishes of good luck, happiness and prosperity for all. Explore these free wallpapers in resolution of 1024x768, 1280 X 768, 1440 X 900, 1600×1200, 1920×1200 and more.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 8:46 AM 0 comments
Labels: backgrounds, candles, lighting
High Resolution Diwali Wallpapers
Diwali is a festival of Hindus who enjoy celebrating their traditions, rituals and customs to welcome Maa Lakshmi and other god-goddesses to visit their home, offices and other areas and shower their kind blessings. Place these high resolution diwali wallpapers on your desktop or laptop to express your enthusiasm for deepavali festival.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 8:26 AM 0 comments
Labels: happy-diwali, wallpapers
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Diwali Wishes Wallpaper
Diwali is a festival of celebration, traditions, sweets, decorations, gifts and other activities. People exchange gifts as a token of love on the festival with heart-felt best wishes. Enjoy auspicious occassion of the year by sending your warm wishes through some of these Diwali Wishes Wallpaper.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 1:58 AM 0 comments
Labels: wishes
Lakshmi Ganesha Saraswati Wallpapers
Indian people have respect, faith and love for their god-goddesses whom they worship everyday with great devotion and honor. During the festival season of Diwali, three god figures are given more importance to bring wealth, good luck and happiness. Those three diwali related idols are Saraswati Lakshmi Ganesha who are placed in puja ghar. You can express your deep affection and honor for your favorite god figure by downloading these Lakshmi Ganesha Saraswati Wallpapers.
Posted by Valentine Cards at 1:35 AM 0 comments
Labels: Ganesha, God-Goddess, Lakshmi, Saraswati
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The rabbit's clock.. nowhere to put the rabbit on the cake hehehe
Is this tea enticing?
Tweedledee and Tweedledum.. Oh I love these boys!
My foolproof paint! so real!
Paint the roses red!
My curly hair Alice definitely needs more practice..
Every bit of details I love! lalalala...
Happy caking everyone!
Have a blessed monday!


text: FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- A young boy still lives in every old man's heart. And in Emory Clark's heart, that boy is still paddling his canoe. It's been 54 years since the retired Lapeer attorney's parents gave their son a 1952 Old Town canoe for his 14th birthday. In September, he and his wife, Christina, were again paddling it down the south branch of the Flint River, thanks to a yearlong restoration effort by Dave and Roxanne Wermuth. The couple from Lapeer County's Lapeer Township, about 45 miles north of Detroit, has a passion for building and restoring wood canoes. After years of hard use and a lifetime of memories, the ancient, leaky craft had ended up in the rafters of an old barn on Clark's Metamora Township farm. Clark doubted the boat was worth restoring -- but he also knew he couldn't bear to throw it out. "It leaked, but it was OK. I just have to have a canoe, it's part of my psyche," said Clark. "I used it less and less on the river, but I need to be able to know I can (use it) anytime." It might have hung there forever if Clark hadn't met Dave Wermuth, a social worker who often crossed the attorney's path at the Lapeer County Courthouse. The pair struck up a friendship at a local gym, and Wermuth offered to take a crack at fixing the battered relic. "Emory brought it over in a pickup truck, and what a sight that was," said Roxanne Wermuth, laughing. "We'd never seen anything in such bad shape before. It was ready for the burn barrel." But the little boat's story was one the sentimental couple couldn't resist. It wasn't Clark's first boat -- his grandmother had already given him a wooden rowboat that he loved. But the rowboat was exactly the wrong boat for the river that ran near the family farm -- too big and unwieldy for the narrow, twisting water filled with deadfall and rocks. "When this thing came along, it freed me," said Clark. The little 13-footer became Clark's constant companion on frequent floats from Metamora to Lapeer. "All summer long, I spent my days down there on the river, catching frogs and looking for turtles and snakes, seeing wonderful stuff," he said. "It was a marvelous way to grow up." That early love for the water served Clark well. He went on to become a champion rower on the Vesper Boat Club team in Philadelphia. Later, he was a young Marine stationed on board a ship in the Philippines. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Clark's eight-man rowing team won the gold medal -- a feat that's since been accomplished by only one other USA team, in 2004 in Athens, Greece. Clark later returned to the Lapeer area to open a legal practice and raise a family.


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Best Kitchen Design – Kitchen-design-go-back-to-modern-gloss-grey-pine-kitchen-design
"And the best way I know how to do that is to model a behavior that Because of its cutting-edge design, the Loring uses up to 83 percent less fuel than conventional drum roasters, while producing a fraction of the smoke. The second reason is good We squeeze lemons with our hands sideways, so why should our kitchen lemon squeezers go top to bottom?! There are benefits doing it our natural way, and for this reason, Citro is the first sideways squeezer! Unlike its top-to-bottom rivals, it leaves no Our builder is telling us that the granite-topped island in our kitchen design will need two pieces, therefore it will need to be seamed. I don't want a seam. Is there a certain dimension that I have to stay with in order to get one piece. If so, what is that? said a simple sketch can work out "flow" issues that may come up in a kitchen. The design needs to take into account the social and storage needs, he said. And, it's best to include skilled labor in this sketching stage so they can let you know Begin this initiative by removing everything on top of your cabinets, tables and in bookcases, and then place it all in a box, says Keith McCleary, academic director of Interior Design at The Art Institute of York – Pennsylvania. If there are other random Cooking on the stove-top? Electric heat can be just as or more precise of today's bathroom renovation trends Decor through the decades: How kitchen and bath product designs have evolved .
Before making a purchase, it's best to work with a professional Many homeowners choose to build an island within their kitchen as a place for family and friends to gather and socialize. A multi-level design with stools on one side can provide casual The best contractors can provide you with recent references for the full renovation package. Design the perfect layout A well-designed kitchen adheres to a "work triangle" model that allows easy access between the sink, oven, and refrigerator. The 'Best American Riverfront' voting has ended and Spokane placed SPOKANE, Wash. – For the past few weeks, we've been pushing you to vote for Spokane as USA Today's "Best American Riverfront City." And the voting certainly helped. >> SPOKANE There you are, standing in a kitchen design store or home center What you'll want to know: Prices often range from $4,000 to $8,000, but don't expect top performance and this is not the time to go with the least expensive model. .
More Amazing Home Images And Articles Collection of Best Kitchen Design
Best Kitchen Design in 2014 – Best Kitchen Design 2013
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Best Kitchen Design 2014 – kitchen interior design top quality minimalist kitchen interior design
Great Best Kitchen Design – Position: The Modular kitchen should be installed in such a way that
Elegant Best Kitchen Design – Modular Kitchen Design Ideas


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March 11, 2012
(Reuters) - Banks are foreclosing on America's churches in record numbers as lenders increasingly lose patience with religious facilities that have defaulted on their mortgages, according to new data.
The surge in church foreclosures represents a new wave of distressed property seizures triggered by the 2008 financial crash, analysts say, with many banks no longer willing to grant struggling religious organizations forbearance.
Since 2010, 270 churches have been sold after defaulting on their loans, with 90 percent of those sales coming after a lender-triggered foreclosure, according to the real estate information company CoStar Group.
In 2011, 138 churches were sold by banks, an annual record, with no sign that these religious foreclosures are abating, according to CoStar. That compares to just 24 sales in 2008 and only a handful in the decade before.
The church foreclosures have hit all denominations across America, black and white, but with small to medium size houses of worship the worst. Most of these institutions have ended up being purchased by other churches.
The highest percentage have occurred in some of the states hardest hit by the home foreclosure crisis: California, Georgia, Florida and Michigan.
"Churches are among the final institutions to get foreclosed upon because banks have not wanted to look like they are being heavy handed with the churches," said Scott Rolfs, managing director of Religious and Educationfinance at the investment bank Ziegler.
Church defaults differ from residential foreclosures. Most of the loans in question are not 30-year mortgages but rather commercial loans that typically mature after just five years when the full balance becomes due immediately.


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So, this is yet another wine blog. Joe Roberts (aka 1 Wine Dude) is a wine blogger that I enjoy, and he kept yelling at me (and the world in general) to start a wine blog. Never say that peer pressure doesn't work!! I've already joined the wine conversation via Twitter (@SirenaDiVino) and Facebook, so this is another venue to explore.
Really, though, I wasn't sure that I had anything to offer to the blogging conversation. I'm an involved commenter, but I don't know if I have the "juice" for original posts. I didn't know how to start, or what to say. I picked out a blog name over a month ago, and I have zero public posts to show for it. This particular post I've started and stopped at least 5 or 6 times 😛 Yay writer's block!
So in the end, I realized that I have to start at the beginning (duh). I have to start at the beginning of my wine story……
Wine was an accident for me. I wasn't looking for it, and I sure didn't see it coming. I grew up in an alcohol-free house; neither of my parents drink. Part of that comes from the long history of alcoholism in our family, so my family just chose to not engage with alcohol in general. I was always scared growing up that one sip of alcohol would turn me into an alcoholic (after much introspection and experimentation, that thankfully seems to not be the case!). I didn't have my first drink until I was in college, and I didn't get drunk for the first time until I was 19 (it was technically legal too — I was in the Australian embassy at the time). So where does the wine come into it?
My wine story started 5 years ago in 2007 when I met a couple who owned a local wine shop. I met them because I worked at the pre-school across the street from their Cellar, and both of their children happened to be my students. I had turned 21 not too long before, had recently moved back home to Tampa from Washington, DC, and FINALLY decided that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I'd been at the preschool for about 9 months when my colleagues decided to show some local small-business solidarity and start a wine-and-cheese night once a month after work (the fact that we worked with toddlers all day had NOTHING to do with our need for alcoholic beverages!). That night, someone put a glass of red wine in my hand for the first time. To this day, I have no idea what that wine was. All I remember was thinking "Hey, this is pretty good. Gimme another."
I'm a naturally curious person, a fairly skilled student, and I HATE being ignorant and uninformed. So every 3 or 4 weeks I'd go back to that Cellar on my own, I'd tell Shawn the owner "I have $12, what can I get for that?", and then I'd pester him mercilessly with questions about wine and what I was drinking. The preschool job ended a few months later, which the couple from the Cellar heard about. They called me up that summer, wondering if I'd be interested in taking a part-time job working for them. The Official Decision Time Clock reflects about 2.5 seconds for an affirmative "oh, HELL YES!"
After my lightning-fast snap decision, I got a bad case of the guilts (I blame my Catholic upbringing for that particular tendency), called Shawn and Mary back, and confessed that I knew absolutely NOTHING about wine. I still wanted the job, I was over the MOON about the job, but I felt obligated to make sure that they weren't under the impression that I was some kind of "wine professional".
Shawn said "Don't worry, just come to the Cellar this Tuesday at 11". When I showed up, there were 12 bottles of wine lined up on the bar and he said "We're gonna taste them all". That day, he walked me through the basics of wine (which I promptly became thoroughly confused about and forgot most of), and I came to the conclusion that I obviously had the coolest job in the world (even though I hadn't really started yet). Shawn also gave me The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeill (my reaction — there's a Bible for wine?!) and told me to read the first 100 pages.
After that, I became a stalker……….
No seriously! A stalker of wine and wine knowledge, that is. Every time Shawn or Mary helped a customer with a selection, you could usually find me lurking around the corner, creepily staring and avidly listening to every word. I continued my pestering of Shawn with questions and also expanded that annoying habit to any poor wine rep who happened to walk in the door. When possible, I would even come to the Cellar early and "stalk" the weekly tasting meetings Shawn had with wine reps. I attended every public class and tasting the Cellar put on. I re-read the intro to the Bible again, hoping some of it would stick this time. And I drank wine. A LOT. Everyone says (and in this case, everyone is right) that the best way to learn and put new knowledge into context is to have concrete examples to pair it with. In our industry, that means incessant drinking and tasting — cheers, y'all! Luckily, my new work atmosphere included many people who loved to share and talk about wine with me — the extraordinary largesse of fellow wine geeks, I salute you! This continued merrily on for about 3 years.
BUT! …… I was still in school at University of South Florida as an education major. I loved wine, but I loved teaching too. Life conundrum — which path do I follow? Is wine just a hobby, and I"ll get a grown-up teaching job when I graduate? (My parents: Yes, pick that one, since that's the degree we're paying for!) Or do I try to figure out how to get someone to pay me as wine geek for the rest of my life? I'm equally good at both, I love both, and I didn't know which to pursue (Yes Mom and Dad, I know which you want me to pick…). One troubling consideration was when it came to wine, I didn't really know what my options were or how to make a life out of it. If I picked wine, did that mean I was supposed to stay in a little suburb of Tampa in this neighborhood shop all my life? Was that going to be my wine "career"?
In the midst of all this "what am I going to do with my life?" and "is wine really a viable career for me?" angst, I was promoted to Wine Retail Manager during the expansion of the Cellar to include an adjoining high-end, full service Bistro. Without ever making a fully, consciously intentional decision, I found myself in the middle of 50-60 hour work-weeks while trying to juggle a diminished class schedule of increasingly irrelevant courses for a degree that I probably wasn't going to use. I found myself switching from an education focus at the last minute, giving up my final internship placement, and went with a straight-up Literature degree focus (the idea was to use the straightest, shortest path out of school so I could geek out more on wine). It was also right around this time that someone dropped the Court of Master Sommeliers bug into my ear. Life was in fast-forward, and I wasn't sure if I was in control of any of it………
End of Part 1


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If these people learned anything tonight it should have been that I can be used as an excellent early warning system. I was the first in the house to know what was going on tonight. The rest of the family was completely oblivious. How in the hell did they missed the rumbling as it came rolling in? I tried to warn the fools who were just sitting there all slack-jawed - catching flies in their open mouths and blinking their eyes but they were just too dense to understand. I'm there crying and walking around in circles and all they can think to ask is, "What's wrong with the dog?" What's wrong with the dog? What the hell do you think is wrong with the dog?! Get under a table or something you idiots! Finally, once the house starts shaking, they then get their epiphanies at the same time - looking at each other and saying in unison, "Earthquake!!!" I'm thinking - really? Are you guys sure? Maybe you want to discuss this a little more before coming to this snap decision? I mean - the house is lifting off it's foundation - are you sure it's just not gas? Maybe we should gather a blue ribbon panel to discuss this further? Or maybe you can just skip this nonsense and listen to the freaking dog for once!
Luckily the whole ordeal only lasted a few moments. Before they even realized that running past a brick fireplace during an earthquake to get to the kids was a bad idea - it was over. One can only hope that tonight's experience woke them up to the importance of reviewing the old family emergency plan every once in a while. Having fresh food, water, and medical supplies for your family and pets during trying times just might be a God send! Have a good day folks.


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Question put, That the preamble to Paragraph 52 stand part of
the Report.
The Committee divided.
Ayes 9 Noes 3
Mr Colin Breed Miss Anne McIntosh
Roger Casale Mr Laurence
Mr Michael Connarty Mr Anthony Steen
Tony Cunningham
Mr Wayne David
Jim Dobbin
Mr Mark Hendrick
Mr Jim Marshall
Mr Bill Tynan
Paragraphs 52.1 to 53 read and agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Committee
to the House.
Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the House.
Resolved, That the Committee inquire into democracy and
accountability in the EU and the role of national parliaments.
Resolved, That the Committee do visit Brussels from 21
to 24 October 2001. (The Chairman.)
Ordered, That the Chairman do seek the approval of the
Speaker for expenditure in connection with the said visit.
Ordered, That the Chairman, two Members and the Clerk do
attend the XXVth COSAC in Brussels from 3 to 5 October 2001 in
a representative capacity. (The Chairman.)
Resolved, That the Committee's normal time of meeting
be Wednesday at half-past Ten o'clock. (Mr Connarty.)
[Adjourned till Wednesday 17 October at half-past Ten o'clock.


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Papaver (taken)
I finished the ATC's I started in Bonaire.
So if you are interested in trading please have a look on my ATC blog .
And send me an e-mail.
Have a nice Weekend!
As usual...another lovely ATC! I love the blended soft colors of pink and orange!!!ReplyDelete
Such vibrant colors. I hope you have a great weekend too.ReplyDelete
I like the simplicity of thisReplyDelete
I never heard of this pretty flower.
I used to have a pink and orange bedroom. I love those two colors together!
happy weekend, dear friend!
oooh ek sien die klein giraffie, en hy wil graag in london kom woon.ek stuur jou n e mail nou.xxReplyDelete
Stunningly beautiful! The blend of colors is exquisite. This would look so pretty on fabric. Wow!
Marianne, thank you for your very sweet comments!
It is just beautiful Marianne!!!ReplyDelete
Love the colors here.ReplyDelete


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Another dream
I dreamed the other day that I was a cosmetic surgeon. It wasn't actually cosmetic surgery, but in my dream, what I did was called that. And some young Somali girl was asking me about it. And I said some stuff as I walked down some stairs. What it was that I did, and what I told the girl, are totally murky.


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(And here's yet another in an increasingly long and annoying series of posts about comics, my career, and where I'm heading. Clearly I enjoy the sound of my own voice a little too much, even in written form. But for anyone who is interested, you can read the other parts here -- part one, part two, part three)
A lot has been said and written about the bold, glorious, and ultimately failed, experiment that was CrossGen Comics. No one had set up a comic book company quite like it, at least not for a long time. Artists, writers, business types, all working under one roof, getting regular regular paychecks, medical coverage, and retirement benefits.
When you're a freelance artist scrambling month to month to pay your rent, living under constant fear of getting sick and having to go to a doctor you can't afford, and generally existing in a constant state of near-crippling panic, you dream of a place like CrossGen.
So when I was asked if I'd be interested in joining the company, I thought my ship had finally come in. I'd never even been a regular artist on a monthly book before (well, other than a brief stint on NIGHT FORCE, which was cancelled two days after I was offered the regular penciler position on it... yeah... not sure I can count that one), and here I was taking over for Bart Sears on THE PATH, with the promise of a small, but steady, salary and health insurance, which I hadn't had since I left Disney.
Oh, yeah... you better believe I wanted in.
The first thing they did was fly me down to Tampa to meet everybody and tour the offices. The whole thing was overwhelming, and utterly awesome. You wouldn't believe the sheer amount of talent that was under that one roof and what it was like to walk into that when you're young, hungry, and desperate for some kind of stability.
I made a downpayment on an apartment within easy walking distance, and got ready to settle in to a job that I had every hope of doing until the day I retired.
And then something funny happened. I spent most of my tour with the writer I was going to be working with (Ron Marz) and one of the CrossGen artists I had known back in my days just starting out at Caliber, Mike Perkins. At some point, Mike - one of the few people in the industry even aware that I had once been writing and drawing my own stories for NEGATIVE BURN and doing one-shots like WALK THROUGH OCTOBER -- was introducing me around and we got talking, and he said something that has haunted me ever since...
"I love your work," he said, "when you're doing your own stuff."
I doubt Mike even remembers saying that to me, but you better believe I remember it. There isn't a day that has gone by that I don't think about what he said. He loved my work, but what was all that about doing my own stuff?
Those words ate away at me for months, all through the process of moving down there, getting settled in and taking over a monthly comic, with all the work that goes into jumping on a monthly comic in the middle of its run, especially a book that had been drawn by a beloved artist like Bart, who had been doing the best work I'd ever seen from him on THE PATH.
Yeah... no pressure.
But there was that thought Mike had put into my head. What did he mean by my 'own' work? And why, when I finally had a regular job and everything I had been working for since that first mainstream comic book gig at DC, was I so miserable?
I was drawing the tightest, slickest art I was capable of in those days. It was a cross between Mike Mignola and guys like Chris Sprouse and Adam Hughes, and it seemed to be what editors wanted from me at the time. Lots of shadows, but none of those wonky lines, thank you very much. That look got me a gig drawing a NIGHTCRAWLER mini-series, a spot in the big UNCANNY X-MEN 400th issue special, and my new job at CrossGen.
But after three months sitting there in my little cubicle at CrossGen, Mike's words ringing in my ears, I realized that I wasn't doing my own work. I was trying to be something I wasn't. I was trying to be a different kind of artist.
Now, I'm not an idiot... well, at least not ALL the time... so I went to the rest of my team on my book (Ron, Mark Pennington, and Mike Atiyeh) and declared I wanted to change the look of my art. And to their credit, they went along with it, though I'm sure they all thought I was crazy, pretentious, or more likely, a great deal of both.
The only problem was, the boss, who had never really liked my work much to begin with (his tastes in art ran to much slicker artist like J. Scott Campbell and Michael Turner, and as far as he was concerned even my slickest art needed a lot more of the slick and a lot more 'hot chicks'), absolutely HATED it.
And thus began a very, very strange period where every creative instinct I had completely abandoned me. Every time I sat down at the art table, I didn't know what to do. Every page I drew was like pulling teeth. Whatever fun I got out of drawing was completely gone.
And then things REALLY started to get fun.
It's hard to explain quite what happened to CrossGen, but the short version is that it imploded. Dramatically, publicly, and much to the palpable pleasure of a fairly large group of nay-sayers. It was a slow process, with a lot of good days and a lot of bad days, but while it was happening, I seemed to be having a slow motion artistic breakdown of my own.
But after CrossGen went down, it looked like that wasn't going to be much of a problem. With so many top tier artists suddenly back on the market and being snatched up by DC and Marvel, I was scrambling for work, but no one wanted me.
There's a bit in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where one of the characters is tortured with something called the Total Perspective Vortex. They throw you in a box which shows you the entire universe, and then it shows you your place within it... a tiny, inconsequential dot. For me, running back and forth between comic book companies, desperately trying to line up something, anything, was like being thrown into the Vortex.
I suddenly saw my place in the comic book industry, and it wasn't exactly large, or even medium sized. With so many A-list talents on the market again after their CrossGen contracts went up in flames, I wasn't big enough to warrant much thought at all when editors were handing out assignments.
The dream that was CrossGen was over, and so was my career...
NEXT TIME: Things get better...


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Blake took the route less travelled for a Canadian by playing NCAA college hockey in the United States for Bowling Green University from 1987-88 through 1989-90. Drafted by the Kings early in round four 70th overall, Blake turned pro after the conclusion of his third season with the Falcons with 4 games at the end of the 1989-90 season as well as 8 playoff games, during which he would score his first NHL goal and points.
He immediately became a full time NHLer the following season of 1990-91 with a 75 game campaign and never played a single game in the minors throughout his entire career.
The Kings adopted an entirely new look for the 1988-89 season, changing from their original purple and gold colors of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA club, changing to the black and silver of the Los Angeles Raiders of the NFL. The jerseys remained the same through 1997-98, but the customization would undergo a series of adjustments. Blake arrived in Los Angeles during the original specification when the black jerseys had two color sliver names and numbers outlined in white on the black jerseys and sliver names and numbers outlined in black on the white jerseys, which would be the case for the first three seasons.
The jerseys still had the same three color numbers they would retain for the rest of the run of the jerseys, only now with more legible one color numbers.
which was used to cover up the Stanley Cup 100th Anniversary
patch worn during the regular season
In 1993-94, Blake would have a magical offensive season, scoring 20 goals and a career high 68 points.
In 1995-96, the Kings introduced an alternate jersey for the first time, an unconventional design which was quickly dubbed "the Burger King" jersey due to the resemblance of it's logo to the mascot of the Burger King fast food chain.
After just six games of the 1995-96 season, Blake suffered an injury and did not play after October 20, 1995, and the Burger King jersey did not debut until January 27, 1996, meaning Blake never wore the Burger King jersey in a game.
After the departure of Kings' captain Wayne Gretzky, who was traded away from the Kings late in the 1995-96 season, Blake was named the 11th captain of the Kings, a position he would hold until his departure from Los Angeles.
In 1997-98 Blake would be named the winner of the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL following a career high 23 goal season.
In 1998-99 the Kings would return to having purple in their color scheme when they adopted an entirely new look, a quite gothic mix of black, purple and a brand new font for their names and especially numbers, which tended to look like sharp-edged weapons, particularly the axe-like #1.
Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche late in the 2000-01 season, as he was about to become a free agent, and the Kings feared losing an all-star caliber player and getting nothing in return.
When these jersey were originally worn, they had the coat of arms crest on the front and the crown logo serving as the secondary logo. In 1999-00 a purple alternate jersey was introduced which now had the crown as the main crest. Perhaps owing to the coat of arms logo having too many small details, the decision was made in 2002-03 to keep the same jersey style, but reverse the placement of the logos, now featuring the bolder crown on the black and white jerseys with the purple third jersey now sporting the coat of arms.
For Blake's second, and final season of his second tour of duty with the Kings, the league switched to the new Reebok Edge jerseys, which aside from a change in the jersey's template, resulted in the waist stripe going away, as Reebok seemed intent on eliminating as much horizontal striping as possible league wide.
The road white version of Blake's 2007-08 jersey
was once again the Kings captain in 2007-08
Following the 2007-08 season, Blake would leave as a free agent and play two more seasons before retiring as a player.
Today's video section is Blake speaking at his retirement ceremony at the Staples Center.


text:
Here, I will post my successful and unsuccessful vintage and modern sewing projects, along with other things I sew, make, refinish or buy and want to share.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Double Trouble! Estate sale sewing loot
Here is our typical estate sale adventure:
I choose the sales online and make a list. He drives. I navigate using my phone. We usually bicker at least once over his crazy driving or my terrible direction giving. We laugh. We look at estate sales. He carries all my loot. I pay. Repeat. Then I buy us lunch.
This is a pretty sweet deal for me, as this is one of my favorite things to do!
On to my excellent loot!
Then I found a vintage pattern treasure trove, though sadly they were a dollar each rather than a quarter. They are so, so, so cute! I think I might trace them off and then sell the following ones. They are mostly 40s and 50s children patterns and just precious.
Tell me which patterns you like the most!
10 comments:
I like all of the patterns in that last picture, but I think I absolutely adore the 3034 pattern best! Next to the Mary Popins get up, of course. :DReplyDelete
Cute commentary on the drill! Wow talk about excellent vintage patterns, lucky you! I don't think I could choose a favorite there are so many good ones.ReplyDelete
Fabulous finds! Love the mary poppins pattern :)ReplyDelete
I want it all! We have scarily similar taste in what we might pick up at yard sales. If you ever want to re-sell that fleur-de-lis silverware...ReplyDelete
I have the grown-up version of Simplicity 1296! I didn't know they made a little girl's version too... How sweet! Mommy and me sundresses!ReplyDelete
Such a great haul! I am jealous of those patterns! There has not been one decent estate sale here in weeks, unless power tools and dollar store purchased "oriental" decor is your thing. :]ReplyDelete
The silverware is lovely. I love picking up fabulous things at sales.ReplyDelete
What an awesome haul!! Love the Mary Poppins pattern - I think you need to make that stat. Bravo on the silverware find!ReplyDelete
due to your general awesomeness in the world of craft, i nominated you for the versatile blogger award! you don't have to do anything... or participate... but if you want to just check out my blog! also, if you already got one, oops and nevermind! xoxo!ReplyDelete


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1) It turns out that oxytocin is (over)used not just in humans but in .... fruit and vegetable plants. I had mentioned in a previous post the problem of exploding watermelons in China, victims of farmers eager to hasten their ripening for delivery (ahem), but most reports I've seen of oxytocin use in vegetables seem to concern India. See, for example, this article in The India Times. It's hard to square the drug's ready availability to farmers with repeated shortages for human patients, but this just speaks to the complexity of cultural and economic pressures on supply-and-demand relationships for generic drugs.
2) A new article, "Flacking for Big Pharma," has just appeared at The American Scholar. It was written by Harriet Washington, author of the award-winning Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, and details the corporate takeover of medical journals (and, thus, most of the information that guides physicians in treating their patients). It is well worth reading, especially if you're wondering why the medical establishment seems prone to pirouetting on their recommendations every few years. Anyone remember the big turnaround on HRT (hormone replacement therapy)? First Premarin and Prempro were hailed for reducing not only the symptoms of menopause but the risk for stroke, heart attack, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease. A number of years later, further studies not tied financially to the pharmaceutical industry made it abundantly clear that these hormones actually elevated the risks for stroke, heart attack, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease—the very diseases they had been touted to prevent.
I'll excerpt a disturbing little tidbit to whet your appetite:
In 2003... Elsevier, the Dutch publisher of both The Lancet and Gray's Anatomy [the text, not the television show], sullied its pristine reputation by publishing an entire sham medical journal devoted solely to promoting Merck products. Elsevier publishes 2,000 scientific journals and 20,000 book-length works, but its Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, which looks just like a medical journal, and was described as such, was not a peer-reviewed medical journal but rather a collection of reprinted articles that Merck paid Elsevier to publish. At least some of the articles were ghostwritten, and all lavished unalloyed praise on Merck drugs, such as its troubled painkiller Vioxx. There was no disclosure of Merck's sponsorship. Librarian and analyst Jonathan Rochkind found five similar mock journals, also paid for by Merck and touted as genuine. The ersatz journals are still being printed and circulated, according to Rochkind, and 50 more Elsevier journals appear to be Big Pharma advertisements passed off as medical publications. Rochkind's forensic librarianship has exposed the all-but-inaccessible queen of medical publishing as a high-priced call girl.Caveat lector.


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The Aid & International Development Forum recently released their Top 50 Organisations to Follow on Twitter for Disaster Relief, and Aidmatrix made the list at #8. Thanks to AIDF for putting this list together, and for including us alongside all the great disaster relief organizations.
About the list from AIDF:
Welcome to the list of Who to Follow on Twitter for Disaster Relief. This list consists of the most active organisations and experts to disaster relief, ICT technology, logistics and water security on Twitter. The aim of this list is to raise awareness online and to pay attention to current issues and information about the latest technologies and services in disaster relief, water security, ICT technology and logistics. It benefits people by building a network of some professional and influential twitter accounts. Join in the conversation with #AIDFwhotofollow #AIDFdisasterrelief and follow all of those who work in ICT, logistics and the emergency area. Ifyou find more interesting accounts, please share them with us.
Read the full list


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This information is provided for your convenience and may no longer be valid.
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first SILive.com user to add photos or videos of Carpet Clean
My cousin had her rugs cleaned by Carpet Clean, and they did a great job. They finished very quickly, left the house stainless, and she pai...
Carpet Clean is located at 57 Wallace Ln, Woodland Park, NJ. This business specializes in Carpet Cleaning.


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NBC plans 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympics coverage
NBC plans 3,600 hours of coverage
NBC Sports' coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics will challenge horizons not even the Beatles attempted to conquer — not eight days a week, mind you, but eight days per day.
The network said Tuesday its televised and, for the first time, live streaming broadband video coverage of the 2008 Olympics will total more than 3,600 hours. That averages nearly 212 hours a day for 17 days, or the equivalent of more than eight days per 24-hour cycle.
In addition to about 1,400 hours of coverage on NBC, Telemundo, USA Network, MSNBC and CNBC, plus USA HD and Universal HD, the network said it will stream about 2,200 hours of coverage at NBCOlympics.com
The Web site, which relaunches today on the one-year out anniversary of the Opening Ceremony, also will offer on-demand replays and highlight packages.
Officials with the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee have tweaked the schedule so that NBC will be able to air live coverage of swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball in prime time in the United States from Beijing, which is 11 hours ahead of Central Daylight Time.


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For decades the intense light of quasars has blinded astronomers trying to learn more about them and the galaxies they inhabit. But that's about to change. In a new study, published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics, researchers used gravitational lensing to see through the brilliance. Until now, scientists have applied this technique by finding a massive galaxy directly in front of a quasar, a super-bright object that sits at the center of another galaxy and is powered by a black hole. Because of gravity, the galaxy bends the light from the quasar and produces multiple images of it to astronomers. But this time researchers tried the opposite: finding a quasar directly in front of a galaxy, a task much harder because of quasars' tendency to conceal whatever is behind them with their bright light. The team hopes that by learning the mass of the quasar's galaxy, they can learn more about how quasars and their galaxies evolve, and whether galaxies with quasars are at all different from galaxies without them.
See more ScienceShots.


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June 22, 2010
Mourners farewell devoted family man | Stuff.co.nz
June 18, 2010
Tragic day - the loss of Arch Richardson 1949-2010
Tuesday started with a visit from the police in the cold, dark hours of dawn, their torches flashing in the hallway outside our bedroom, scaring us as we woke in confusion. They asked for me, My world stopped as I fumbled to pull on a robe. I braced myself for news, chaotic thoughts and head counts of the children in my head... had my youngest son ever arrived home last night - was this it? The police told me the news... they came to notify me as official next of kin.. my apparently not missing son erupted from his bedroom with a wail, soon joined by my daughter, and within a short time, the others arrived. We had a long wait all day while they investigated the scene, recovered his body by helicopter, transported him back to the city and finally finished at the morgue to formally identify him. Three of the children and Sharon and I went there together. It is 30 years this month since our first date... we are comfortably separated, forever united by our love and pride for our children and it is still difficult to believe he has really gone.
We have been surrounded by friends and supported by a range of wonderful people. We could open our own florist shop...the heady scents and beautiful flowers surround us as we talk, and write copious notes and stories, sharing the music and tales that add meaning to our memories of his journey through life.
Last Saturday our youngest son turned 19, and today is Jess's, our daughter in laws 23rd birthday, tomorrow our daughter is 25... certainly a week we will never forget. We decided to give ourselves time and space and hold the funeral next Monday and we are grateful for the chance to plan without rush.
The children have been devastated but gathered strength from being here together. We have lost track of many things and often just look blankly at each other as we realise we cannot remember what we are supposed to be doing... but no one has had to go to work or classes and the days have been filled with many small but essential tasks. Shared grief is a blessing - and talking helps at a time when so much does not make sense and there are so many questions.
The police have been wonderful. Also, Mt Hutt as they investigate further. We may never fully know what happened. We believe it was quick.
The children have mentioned more than once after Tuesday that they want me to blog on coping with animals during that first time of grief... their presence suddenly felt overwhelming! From the moment the police arrived.. not surprisingly, we lost any usual routine, so the cats needed feeding and hung around crying and running in to talk to us.. leading whoever was nearest to fling open doors and shoo them outside - until someone else went out and let them in again ... no one managed to actually feed them until much later in the morning. Meanwhile, the dogs didn't know which person to comfort next, but slithered and crawled between us, pressing themselves against us in turn, Saffy slobbering as usual, and both of them shoving their heads under hands, spilling drinks, demanding attention. Jessie, always a licky dog, was particularly distressed that there were so many tears to worry about trying to clean up. They both shed so much hair that the carpets started to look as if we ran a grooming parlour.... and the phone rang and rang and people poured in, filling the sitting room, while we tried to remove the dog hair getting over the furniture so they could sit down.... but there was never the time or the space to vacuum... but I hope none of it mattered... it was just one more thing we coped with, and I know that annoying as they were, I would have hated to go through it all without them!
Thank you to all our friends and workmates for their continued support... tragic and sudden death is always a shock for those left. Only last week I read with great sadness about a fellow bloggers tragic loss of her husband in a sky diving accident ..
I have many psychic friends, and many religious ones ... but I tend to be sceptical. On Monday night I commented to my partner that I could not get warm, Huddled by the fire wrapped in a rug I was chilled and had goosebumps - I pulled up my sleeve and showed him an arm to prove it. I presumed I was getting ill, and slept badly, finally dozing off to be woken by the police shortly after. The timing coincided with Arch being lost and alone on the mountain... and no, I am not ill.
June 9, 2010
June 6, 2010
Dog Groomers are amazing….. and how can they help the oil spill
Our dear Saffy is getting on now, and the weather is cold and damp… I just couldn't face the bathing and the drying and the brushing and the clipping…. in the house, and she has an important date working with our students this week, so she needs to look beautiful!
So, for the first time in all the many years I have owned dogs, I took one to a proper groomers for "the works" yesterday.
WOW- Karen and her team did an amazing job…. and I think they enjoyed the laugh they got when I saw the bow !! But she is the blondest, cleanest, tidiest and sweetest smelling I have ever seen her ;)
You can find Karen and the team at Groomingdales, Papanui Animates, Christchurch. Thanks all of you :)
There has been a lot of news about the oil spill and the catastrophe it is causing to the sea birds and nearby beaches. The shots the other day of the birds drenched in oil were heartbreaking. I was interested to read that many of the dog groomers in America are sending all the waste dog fur to be used to try to soak up the oil.
If you want to help, or get your own groomer involved look here:
So what does the oil do to the birds?
Please be aware, that the birds that are brought to rescue centres are often frightened, cold, emaciated, dehydrated, exhausted and suffering from the internal effects of oil. Initial procedures may involve cleaning the eyes, nasal and oral passages of oil and dirt, applying saline eye solution, giving oral fluids and activated charcoal solution, but not washing.
To wash a bird that is already highly stressed and not medically stable could mean death. Many oiled bird's die because well-meaning people, anxious to get oil off the bird, wash it immediately, resulting in death from stress. It is actually more important to give oiled birds the much needed nutrition, hydration and medical treatment they need before they are washed.
Read more http://www.ibrrc.org/oil_affects.html
What does it take to fix them? Have a look at this video from the rehabilitation centre…
I guess I might avoid BP for a while. But it could have been any oil company ;the birds and area are a casualty of our need for petrol. Just can't believe how long it is taking to get the leak stopped!
June 1, 2010
Boy sees burglar kill dog
So sad - a brave dog, Troy, killed defending his home and family...
Just glad the boy was alright ...
I know we feel safer owning our dogs, possibly a false sense of security, but if nothing else they are an early warning system when intruders do arrive, and our neighbours and friends and the postman...
I certainly sleep better owning dogs I have been known to say I will not replace my two when they go. If my quality of sleep suffers when we donpt have them, I might have to reconsider that!
Meanwhile - RIP Troy and sad thoughts for the family.


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Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 169697
SMP kernel builds enable incompatible APM support
Last modified: 2007-11-30 17:11:14 EST
From Bugzilla Helper:
User-Agent: Opera/8.5 (X11; Linux i686; U; en)
Description of problem:
This is a request, not a bug report:
It is well known that Linux Advanced Power Management (APM) is incompatible with
SMP support. That's why the kernel disables APM support at boot time. So why
is RedHat/Fedora building SMP kernels with APM enabled?
Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
How reproducible:
Steps to Reproduce:
1.Boot SMP kernel
2.Note logged message stating that APM is being disabled
Actual Results: Logged messages at boot time:
kernel: apm: BIOS version 1.2 Flags 0x07 (Driver version 1.16ac)
kernel: apm: disabled - APM is not SMP safe.
Expected Results: Kernels should not be built with incompatible options.
Additional info:
In future SMP kernel builds, please do not waste memory by building the unusable
APM support. Thank you.
it's needed for power-off on smp systems without acpi.


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For quite some time I have believed that " Winning is not important.. it is how you get there that matters". I have been trying to teach Nia the same thing for some time now too. I have been telling her that the journey is as important as the finish. That even if she doesn't win or come first, as long as she enjoyed what she did, it is good.
But the competetive self in her doesn't buy it. She sees the pleasure and the glory of a winner and strives to get there. No matter how much I tell her to enjoy something, her goal is to be a winner in it. It could be anything – dancing, singing, painting, running or even collecting sweets at a carnival. I mean how does it matter if another child collected 2 sweets more than you? You have a basket full and the chances are you are not going to get to eat them anyway… But no.. she needs those two sweets cause then she will have the max number… in short she becomes a winner!
I watched "ek mein aur ek tum" the other day and felt sorry for children who have parents like those of the guy – instead of celebrating the silver medal they are rebuking him for not winning the Gold…. And then instead of letting him try further, they just put him into a new activity… Poor guy spends his entire life trying to please his parents n "WIN" them something…. Nia had a bit of that attitude too. If she thinks she can't win it, she won't even start it. By telling her again and again that winning is not EVERYTHING, I have been able to coax her into trying new things now.
But I do realise something. " Winning is not important.. it is how you get there that matters" – this is something that you would say to someone who hasn't won. It is more of a consolation line than really meeaning it. Won't I like Nia to win everything she gets into??? Ofcourse i would. And how many times do you go to a winner and ask " Did you enjoy it? cause the one who lost enjoyed it!" No – the winner is so busy enjoying winning that he doesn't care if he enjoyed it…Even if he didn't, he is making up for it now. So would I like to teach her the same again??? ummm Noo.. I think what I would like to teach her is that Winning is important, but so is how you get there. If you put in your best efforts, enjoyed what you did, and still didn't get to be the winner then it is ok. You should not STOP doing something just cause you can't win it. If you enjoy it, continue. If you can win something but don't enjoy doing it, then what's the point in doing it again?
God knows I am not the best dancer around.. but I love it too much to stop dancing. Even on a " Bad- Back" day, I can still dance to my favorite song.. But I know I have the brains to solve dull Maths problems.. I can do it in my sleep.. but they are so boring to do that they make me wish I were asleep everytime I start solving them. So .. my hope is that my kids can one day understand that Winning may be important, but it is not EVERYTHING!


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Our church has one of the best childrens' programs I've seen. Micah looks forward to Wednesday nights with much enthusiasm. He asks every day if its Olympian night, even if he was just there the night before. That boy absolutely loves Olympian Club.
The program, much like the name implies, allows the kids to earn medals. They earn bronze, then work up to silver, and with diligence can earn the gold. At the end of the year, an awards banquet is held to recognize the kids who put so much work into earning their medals.
I just want to go on record that Micah's teachers work just as hard as he does. Probably harder most weeks. While that boy absolutely loves church, and Olympian Club, he doesn't like working all that well. He loves doing what other kids are doing, and has memorized all the motions to songs with great enthusiasm. But while he's perfectly capable of repeating a verse or doing sign for it, it's not his favorite thing to do. In fact, sometimes he'll just flat out refuse to do that and much struggling and fighting will take place as a result. That boy is nothing if not headstrong and determined.
But due to nothing but the perseverance of his teachers, Micah earned the gold medal this year.
That boy loves nothing more than to do what others do, and when others are earning medals, he wants a medal as well. See that boy going to get his medal? That is the picture of a boy on a mission.
Mission accomplished. Micah was a gold medal earner this year.
And on behalf of Micah, I'm giving his acceptance speech. I am thanking his teachers, who made this possible. Without their dedication in pushing Micah every single week to just do what he should without a fuss, this would never have happened.


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SNARKY RESPONSE: Yep. The Grocery Store. The Office. The Gas Station.
"You are one of those people who goes places in life."
Road Trip! Let's go. I love getting behind the wheel and heading off for somewhere, anywhere. Heading down highways wide or curving country roads, I don't care, just let me go. It's the end of July and vacation time is in full swing!
|Niagara Falls, US Side
In my tiny world, there are a few little routines that accompany even the most spontaneous adventures. Even something as mundane as filling the tank with gas becomes extraordinary.
Usually, I'm a "pay at the pump" kinda gal, but a road trip requires a foray into the convenience store. Simply going inside is a break with routine and when I step through those double doors, that convenience store suddenly becomes a fluorescent-lit Aladdin's cave of treasures. Of course, the formally "stated" goal is to get bottled water, but there are all those aisles you have to pass on the way to the coolers. Aisle after aisle filled with tasty, high-calorie, low-nutrition wonders. Chips in shiny bags, candy in colorful wrappers, pastries peeking through cellophane windows, and other foodstuffs you'd never even think to drop into your cart in a grocery store. Somehow, despite my best intentions, I always end up collecting a handful of crunchy, salty snacks along the way to that cooler stocked with bottle waters.
After the gas tank is filled and a bulging bag of snacks is stashed within easy reach, the other road trip routine is driving through the drive-thru to get a breakfast biscuit. Again, breakfast biscuits are verboten in real life, but there is something about heading onto the highway, breakfast in hand, coffee cooling in the cup holder.
Crank up the radio, we're outta here.
What's your road trip routine? Do you have one?


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Yesterday I made a list of patterns I wanted to tackle in the next few weeks and this shirt was on the list. It is from Ottobre 03/2011 and is #19. What I love about it is that it is a plain and simple T-shirt. We like classic and comfortable in our house.
I had 1 yard of 48" wide rib knit fabric. It is nice and soft with 25% stretch and considered medium weight. I traced and cut a 146 which is the highest this pattern goes. Miss K is a size 8 RTW. The pattern asked for 3/4 yard of 60 wide single jersey with 30% stretch. I had plenty of fabric for the shirt and some left over.
The tracing and cutting went fast as there are only 3 pieces. I opted not to add a design to the front of the shirt because my pattern was busy enough. Sewing was also fast and easy on the shirt. I didn't look at the directions because the sewing was pretty straight forward; Shoulders, binding, sleeves, sides, hems.
My wonderful husband went into the fabric store alone last night on his way home to pick me up another twin stretch needle (since I broke mine last week). Perfect timing on the needle because I used it on this shirt for the hems and for the shoulder/sleeve top-stitching.
Great pattern, quick sew, classic look and the pattern can be easily manipulated in the future for long sleeves, pockets, tank top, etc. The fit is a bit loose on Miss K but she loves that. The shirt is also a bit long - I like that because she can be wild without her belly showing. This pattern earns a spot in my top favorites.
I love this fabric. Reminds me of spring and April. Even with our never-ending snow! I picked it up just recently from The Fabric Fairy for $7.19 for the yard.
Now I'm actually off to bed because a nasty cold has settled in my lungs. Yuk. No pneumonia please!
~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~


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Let's just get this out of the way first, so we don't accidentally bury the lead.
There are just so many things that we can say about this: from the shadow of the dragon soaring above the red keep, to the champion of Mereen charging headlong towards Daario Naharis. From Tyrion in shackles to Jaime being fitted for his golden hand (with short brown hair, wtf?!)…
There are so many moments in this trailer that mesmerize, but my initial impression is that the greatest among these is Oberyn Martell talking to Tyrion Lannister "Tell your father I am here, and that Lannisters are not the only ones who pay their debts." In that moment, I feel all doubt about Pedro Pascal was wiped away and only excitement remained.
Cersei shows exactly how bad she is at being her father, while Joffrey sneers over his new bride – doing a very good job of not giving us any indication of that thing we all know is coming.
Of course there are so many more tiny moments (I never even touched on the Melisandre or Night's Watch moments in the Trailer) that I could go on for hours about this tiny, two-minute clip. Suffice it to say… my excitement has really been raised by this trailer!
How did you react to the trailer? Are you as excited for season four of Game of Thrones as I am? Let us know in the comments; or email us at castinthedarkness at gmail dot com, or tweet at @castinthedark using the hastag #CitDTrailer and who knows. maybe this post itself is merely a preview some something bigger yet to come!