New Addiction

Yes!  I do have a new addiction.  I just can't get enough of it.
It's Needle Felting in Wool.

Oh, the feel of all that soft wool roving.  And the colors!  And my little artist heart loves mixing the colors.  I've always loved sculpting.  In college, it was with clay.  When I learned welding, it was with metal.  And when I learned wood carving, it was with wood.  When I was a kid, it was bars of Ivory soap.  I'm so tactile, or maybe just the kid in me.  But, I love working with my hands and the feel of the materials is exciting and soothing all at the same time.

Tibetan Terrier and Lhasa Apso 4 and 3 inches high 

Shepherd kneeling

I told you my daughter, the Good Flea, has been dragging me reluctantly into the 21st century.  Well, she gave me some wool roving a friend had given her, and she dared me to find a use for it.  So, I found a site in my You Tube tutorial search that taught me the basics of needle felting.

Calling All Dog Sitters!

     Help!  I'm grandma doggie sitting Chewy and Gadget for the Good Flea while she is in Dallas on business for Jones Natural Chews.  They love to walk on leash and explore the park and neighborhood with Honey.
     But, really - three dogs on leash, all wanting to sniff and explore in three different directions!  What's a grandma to do? Luckily, they only twisted me up in the leashes once this morning.  And, the leashes are only standard length.  See!

Here we go - it's off to the park.  They are so excited.  But, you can see they are already switching places and getting the leads crossed.

Hooray for Chiggers!

What?  Really?
 Yes - Really!  But, WHY?

     Three years ago I moved into this house near the park - a really lush green part of town.  It took weeks of cutting back privet hedges just to find the gas meter and make sure there were no holes along the fence line for Honey to escape.

These privets run the length of the back yard.  Sorry, the snowy scene is my only pic.

Makes a great privacy fence.

     Immediately, I started getting bites that formed huge red, itchy welts that lasted for a week or two.  Oh no!  It's allergy or bedbugs.  The Internet told me so.  A visit from the exterminator and several hundred dollars lighter in my bank account, I was still getting the bites.  For the last 3 years, this has happened every spring and fall.  So, of course, I thought I was allergic to the local vegetation.  I seriously was contemplating moving to a more sterile location.

But Then: