New Mothers Day aprons

New aprons for Mothers day that include a matching dish towel.

Fitch is in a new article.

Small animal channel and ferrets magazine has published another Fitch story. They can't get enough of his antics!

Seattle Aquarium

 I love the Seattle Aquarium. They have multiple otter exhibits as well as interpretive guides to the Puget Sound. I also adore puffins and the northern fur seal. But the otters win for cuteness! There are a wide variety of tropical and local fish to stare at. The pacific octopus is a winner and has even caused an uproar when they placed him in a tank with sharks and the sharks got the shit end of the deal. My video has a bit of them all but of course extra otter photos.

Fitch and Earl playing amongst packing peanuts

A Letter to the aweful daycare nextdoor

I have sent numerous letters to this daycare that moved in to the church next to my house. They are just horrible. Outside of the blood curdling screams coming from the children themselves during "playtime" more like "I'm being murdered time". The parents gather just below my bedroom window and yammer for 30 min three times a day. Some bring dogs that either bark in the car or run loose and freak out my dogs. Other times they just idle and fill my house with exhaust. It's a living hell.  The "teacher" likes to park right in front of my house , right in the middle of the curb so we can't park there and have yelling conversations from her car. I have suggested that she park in their own lot instead. So here is a copy of letter #3.


"I  believe it's time once again to remind the parents of the new year to be quiet while waiting for their children. I do not believe that they know that their waiting spot is unfortunately placed right beneath my bedroom window. The cacophony is not just irritating in its obnoxiousness but does affect my sleep which in turn affects my moral and energy at work. I would also like to address the latest trend to bring dogs and either tie them up outside and let them bark, or leave them in a truck or car to bark, or let them run loose to (you got it), bark. My dogs are not barkers by nature unless there are (intruders) on what they think is their property. Please ask your people and staff to leave dogs at home in the future. I believe you are running a child daycare not doggy daycare (imagine the letters then!)
 The other thing is exhaust coming from cars that are idling in your parking lot outside of my house. It is illegal to idle in the state of Washington and you also waste at least 10% of your fuel in doing so. The other day I also asked you to not yell out to others across my property. I trust that the remedy to this is not to park in front of my house but to use one of the many parking spaces in your parking lot. Please park there and talk face to face instead of yelling across my lawn it's just common decency to respect a residential neighborhood.

Below you will find the codes and laws in regards to idling. Thank you.

Washington Municipal Codes Title 15 Air Quality
Chapter 15.02 Carbon Monoxide Nonattainment Area Implementation Plan
Section 15.02.020 Idling Defined.
"Idling" means the running of an engine which supplies the motive power for a vehicle, when not for the purpose of moving the vehicle with the normal flow of traffic on a street or roadway. Idling does not include running the vehicle's engine while stopped at a traffic signal or waiting for the passage of other vehicles to permit safe entry into the flow of traffic.
Section 15.02.040 Excessive Idling Prohibited.
1. Excessive idling in the Central Business District Portion of the Nonattainment Area Prohibited. Unless permitted by subsection (2) of this section it is unlawful for the operator of any vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine while located in the CBD portion of the nonattainment area to cause said engine to idle for a period longer than sixty seconds.
2. Idling Permitted. To the extent necessary for the specified purpose, idling is permitted in the following cases:
a. police, sheriff or other law enforcement vehicles, including meter patrols, as required for safe and effective performance;
b. fire department vehicles, ambulances and other emergency vehicles when responding to an emergency or when the use of special equipment requires that the engines remain in operation;
c. construction or demolition equipment or other machinery when actually employed at the site of such work, and only to the extent necessary for efficient operation;
d. trucks, buses, or automobiles equipped with lift gates, winches, or other devices powered by take-offs from their engines, to the extent necessary to allow use of those devices provided; provided, however, that this subsection does not authorize idling solely for the purpose of operating any heating device, radio, power-assisted brakes, steering, seat adjustment or any luxury device not then required for safe operation of the vehicle;
e. vehicles participating in parades if licensed under Chapter 10.39;
f. buses or other mass transit vehicles while operated on a regular schedule" Spokane Municipal Code

Christmas is over

I had many custom orders for aprons, and now embroidery, this holiday season. I also worked my butt off at work so I didn't get to sew as much as I would've liked. My DH (dear husband), also DH are his first two initials, got me a Brother SE 400. It's a combination sewing and embroidery machine! It rocks but dang machine embroidery is an expensive hobby. Designs are at least $5 and it takes about an hour to actually sew the things. I'm still working out the machines buttons and switches but it is my new best friend.
Finding designs that aren't boring was the next quest. I am a huge fan of  Sublime Stitching. Jenny Harts designs are right up my alley. Unfortunately they are only hand embroidery designs and I need digitized designs to transfer by USB to my machine.

 So I put a request on Etsy to see if I could pay someone to digitize my own art and its way too expensive, upwards of $20. Then, I just searched and searched and eventually found greatness in Urban Threads. Oh holy mecca of cool machine embroidery designs!! Skulls, tattoos, cute critters! I immediately blew a wad of cash on these designs and started an embroidery habit that just won't quit. Everything looks so plain now without an awesome design on it. I also found some koi on a disc at a special Brother store that cost a bundle but are very professional and super cute. So here's some pics of my holiday projects.

Sorry for the low quality cell pics. I promise to take better pictures soon. The other thing that makes this an expensive hobby is thread. Some designs need 5 different shades of blue. So I went back to Etsy and ordered 50 spools and I still need more! Well I'm happy Christmas is over but I'm dreading the work week until NYE. Then 4 days off to travel to California! Yay!

Xmas Card!

Starry Snowflakes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Visit Shutterfly.com for classic photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.