3 Sizes of Blankie Bears

Michelle can now do 3 sizes of blankie bears. The pretty lavender one is the one she's made for her Great-niece to be, coming soon to a niece far from her. The green one is the Hitty size blankie bear that belongs to Hitty Maureen O'Hara. I'm holding the smallest, the blankie bear that I got for my birthday. I like my blankie bear best.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! Look at my present!

Wow! Look at all the goodies inside!

I got an umbrella-will come in handy with all this rain-, a princess tea set in pretty little castle, a purse & change purse, a hand mirror, a necklace, a fan, 5 books, and a mini Blankie Bear just for me! I'm having a great birthday!

Ashleigh Introduces Herman

This is Herman. He is a Gund from the Heads and Tails line. Gregg bought Herman for Michelle for Christmas several years ago. Herman is magic. Herman helps Michelle sleep during the day when she works graveyard. Seems she needs something furry to cuddle with when she sleeps & Gregg works during the day. Herman also has the ability to make the house a safer place. Doug & Riley both have used Herman to keep nightmares at bay, and to help them feel better when they are sick. He is the "Keeper of Secrets" in the house, you can tell him anything & he won't pass judgement or tell anyone else, he just listens. I find Herman to be an educated, thoughtful bear. He's very kind, but something of a homebody. He truly doesn't care to have adventures further away than the living room. Michelle says that's fine, everyone has their preferences, and just because someone else's may be different, than say my own, that doesn't make them wrong. I think she's probably right about this.

BTW, tomorrow is my birthday! I'm very excited...

When Riley has the Camera

Riley has snagged the camera. This is Gracie-you all may remember her as Momma dog to the puppie-and Riley's bunny, Hopper. They were just relaxing on the couch, and then Riley got the camera...now no one can relax.

Here we are just seconds before the previous picture. Hopper is watching tv & I'm just napping w/Gracie. The big bear is one of Michelle's and his name is Herman. Herman has special powers and is able to make scared children feel safe, sick children feel better, and Michelle on graveyard able to sleep during the day. He was a Christmas present from Gregg years ago. I'll do a blog on him someday & we'll explore these special powers in depth.

Blankie Bears!!

A couple of years ago Michelle developed a pattern for what she calls Blankie Bears for her great-nephew Skylar...Her niece wanted a baby afghan, but Michelle prefers to make bears, so this was her compromise. A full size blankie bear is just the right size for toddlers to pack around & wrap up in when sitting down, but they still have a bear to cuddle with. Well, Michelle was just messing around with some new thread she got at Goodwill earlier this week & made some small blankie bears. Her new doll Hitty Maureen O'Hara promptly claimed the first one (the green one on the bottom), and Michelle posted pictures. A couple of people in the HittyGirls group wanted some. One lady ordered three and one lady ordered one. The periwinkle pink w/purple trim on the left is off to it's new home in Washington today. Michelle has one more to make just like it & then the tan & teal and cream & purple will be off with the new Periwinkle pink and purple one to Idaho. My birthday is coming (Tuesday, February 24th) and I want her to make me one, but smaller. These are fine for 6-8 inch dolls, but they're bigger than me. I'm working on Michelle to figure out how to make an even smaller one for me for my birthday-it's only fair isn't it?

Michelle Found Some Spring!

Look! We found a crocus blooming in the flower bed! A sure sign that Spring is coming, maybe the groundhogs got it wrong this year.

And to have some Spring inside, Michelle treated the family to a bouquet of roses for the dining room table.

Ashleigh introduces Build A Bear Workshop

Build A Bear Workshops are a lot of fun. The monkey on the left is Chelsea. Riley built her at the store in Eugene a few years ago for her Christmas present. She has some clothes and also a little heart inside. She also has a special box in her arm that makes monkey noises. Riley got to be there for her "birth" process, from stuffing to the birth certificate. The white & pink bear Michelle found at the thrift store, and Riley promptly claimed. The dinosaur was also found at the thrift store & will be going to live with Michelle's great-nephew Skylar today. The bear on the right is Michelle's bear. She ordered her online last year. Michelle picked out her shirt and also had a box w/Brahm's Lullaby installed. Build A Bears have a wide range in price. Chelsea was fairly expensive, but was worth it for the whole experience. The two found at the thrift store were less than $2 each. The bear Michelle had done on line was only about $15 after coupons were used and half of that was shipping. So if you want to do something extra special I would recommend taking them to Build A Bear for Christmas or birthdays. Chelsea is still very special to Riley, even more than two years later.

Ashleigh Introduces Russ Teddy Town

Russ Teddy Town are cute little vinyl and porcelain jointed bears that are dressed in several different types of outfits. They also come in a variety of professions. These are the three that Michelle has found-all at thrift stores, as they don't make them anymore-and there are tons of them on eBay at any given time. Mostly they are still affordable. I really like the one dressed in her gardening outfit.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone is having a Happy Valentine's Day!

Riley in The King and I

Opening night went really well! The play is great and the entire cast is very talented. This is night 2, Michelle is playing the role of greenroom mom...which means she's gotta try to keep the kids reasonably quiet & make sure they are in the wings & ready to go on their que. Not as easy as it sounds turns out. Here is Riley in complete costume...with all that make-up it doesn't even look like Riley does it!

Here's a close-up of the wild eye makeup...they also have to darken all skin that shows & her eyebrows.

This is Brianna, one of Riley's friends who is also a princess in the play. Don't they look cute together!

Winter came back!

Looks like the groundhogs were right, winter has returned with a vengeance. It started raining yesterday afternoon after being overcast & threatening all morning. Today the wind has started...it's even dried up the roads. Although it looks like it will start raining again anytime. The wind even knocked down the fairy windchime. Michelle will hang it back up after the weather settles down some. Tonight is Riley's opening night for the play that she is in. I'm talking Michelle into taking me...that should cheer me right up.

Groundhogs Day!

Michelle loves Groundhog's Day! So late this morning we went out looking for groundhogs, hoping to hide their shadows from them. We found Phil here out by the apple tree...no shadow to be seen!

Here are SOME of Michelle's other Phils. She's got four more not pictured if you can imagine. (Told you she loved Groundhog's Day) Unfortunately, the real Phil saw his shadow today, so despite Michelle declaring winter over, we now have evidence of at least 6 more weeks of the season, sigh.

My Llama's Name is Artichoke

The poll is closed and the winning name for my Llama is Artichoke! Today is a nice bright, sunny, not freezing day so we took a spin around the yard. Artichoke is a very friendly llama & so very soft.

Isn't Artichoke a pretty llama. She makes a great pet & is already house broken!