Let me tell you a story....

Yes, we know, it's been about a zillion years since the RicRac girls have posted. Suffice it to say that life been having her way with us!

Dena is busybusybusy finishing her MLS degree, raising a genius of an 8-y-o, and prettifying her new house.

And Tiffani? Well, I disappeared to write. And, as a matter of fact, my first pro fiction sale just went live recently at Strange Horizons. You can read it by clicking HERE. It's not too long, so it won't take much time. I hope you enjoy it!

And, while Dena has been quite the craft girl (ask her to post pics of her kitchen island and the "booth" she built, complete with fab pillows!), all I've made lately is a laundry bag ... that I'm taking with me on my 6-week writing workshop to La Jolla. :) So I'm sorry to leave again. But I promise to be back some day and to have craftiness to show off.

HOT HOT HOT!

Yeah, you know who I am talking about...ADAM LAMBERT. Sure, he's gay, but that is part of why I think he rocks...he can make both the girls AND the boys melt. Aside from the hottiness, he also has a younger Bono charisma that I appreciate.

Honestly, this will be the first time that I can say I will actually buy an album of an American Idol. Heck, I would even buy an album of what I have heard so far on the show!

Anyway, enjoy the boy---and if you haven't seen it, trust me, he is totally worthy.

Tags of 6

So, Emilia has tagged me--and I must comply.
According to the rules, I must post the 6th picture in the 6th folder in my pictures files, so here it is:




It is hard to see her, but if you open the pic you can see bella leading a very large horse (made much larger by the fact that the poor kid takes after her parents in the vertical department) VERY well. This was last year--she participated in a week long horseback riding camp, and pretty much loved it from the beginning. Bella isn't a team-oriented kinda gal. I think she is always worried about the other kids, and doesn't like the pressure, so horseback riding is right up her alley. I was blown away with how much confidence she had about her riding abilities, and I was pretty impressed with the show that she put on (which is what you are seeing in the picture). She pulled that horse, it did what she led it to do. She got on that sucker and they trotted, stopped, backed up, you name it.

Other kids were racing after their run away horses. I didn't snicker, I promise.

Still Alive

I promise!! Just an update, I am working my fingers to their little nubbins in school so have been ignoring any bloggerific-ness. Solly. Anyway, without further ado, I am posting pics of my step-grandbaby Lily. Hmmm...I wonder who she looks like?






What I have been listening to:



What I can't WAIT to listen to:



(No Line on the Horizon, by U2)

OVer and Out, Dena

Karma...

...is such a bitch.
It was only a matter of time.

Signed--Tiff

LET THE SUNSHINE IN!!

Ahhh....choo! A dusty last couple of days were had, but soooo worth it! As many of you know, we bought a house a few months ago, and I have been giving the wall in between the kitchen and dining room the evil eye ever since. My father-in-law decided that he would come help us take it DOWN, foolish man! (Actually, he did most of the work.)
Before, in all its hideous mustard glory:



During, and notice that dave still has on his pajamas:



Roger, electrical mastermind:



The easy part is done:



Almost done! All we need to do now is some patching and painting...the electical blucky took about 12 hours one day, and another 5 the next. They were three ways switches, and I guess those are harder?? Hm. Who knew.
Silly boys:

Is it Christmas Yet?

It feels as if I've been prepping for the big day for weeks... oh wait--I HAVE! From baking dozens (13? 14?) of cookies to shopping to parties and figuring ot menus, it's been a whirlwind few weeks. OH, and there's also been crafting! But I can't show any pics yet :( We'll show off soon...

STILL excited!

Because of Obama, that is. :)

Strike-Four

There is a really amazing thing that goes with moving into my new neighborhood: It is called Striking. I have never seen nor heard of this phenomenon before, so I will explain: People, most likely little people (and no, Tiff, not LITTLE people), come to your door, drop a bag of loot on your doorstep and run. You, as the parent, let you kid rush to the door and open it, look around (some peeps get a little nutty here, mostly dads, and go running after the hooligans), find the goods, and eat nummies all night. Also, inside the bag, is a sheet with the explaination that the "Phantom" of Worthington has just struck, and that we are to hang an "I have been struck" sign (also included) on our door. The neighborhood doors are pock-marked with these signs.
So, last night, our own little Little was struck, and upon dumping her newly acquired sugar bombs upon her bed, she exclaimed, "Milk DUDES!, A whole bunch of boxes of Milk Dudes!"
Dave and I about died. So, now, they are officially "Milk Dudes."

Strange Stripe hauntings

Beware--the strange stripe may come to your house when you least expect it.

Actually, it is in preperation to have a home for THIS:





A beauty, ain't she? Tiff made this for many over many many moons, and I finally got him a short while ago. The problem was that there was a HUGE shelf where said stripe is, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get it down, so quilty was on another wall, and it just didn't work. Anyway, man figured out shelf (surprise surprise!!) and I took him down. The red is the color it was before I painted it the crazy, but perfect purple to MATCH the quilt.
The pillows I just made this last weekend (Are you noticing a theme here?) to go onto the couch to tie the colors together...more updates as they come along!


Dena

It's that time of year: Shopping Season!

Well, now that I no longer have to worry about trying to sell stuff on Etsy, I can relax and BUY things on Etsy again (especially since my final Etsy sales have added to the Paypal coffers!). I can't show off everything right now because, well, some things are for gifts (and you wouldn't want me to give those away now would you?).

But I can show off these:

I desperately need business cards, and I really wanted something different. I won't be handing them out by the dozens, so I didn't need a box of a zillion. Yet I wanted something memorable, something that said "serious yet creative." So I ordered these (but with my info on them, of course) from LuckyDuckLetterPress. I can't wait to see them in person!

I've also been sporting this around town: It makes me feel like a crafting pirate! AArgh!! Check out the shop, HomeStudio, because they're offering free shipping on all of their pendants until the 31st--and they have some cool stuff! Their second shop, HomeStudio2, has fun pocket mirrors and magnets--all great for stocking stuffers!

So, what have YOU bought lately? Show off your goods!

Tiffani :)

All Done

The Etsy shop, she is now closed...

And I, for one, am glad. No more getting sucked into the whole crazy Promo thing, no more worrying about how to pack soemthing so that it survives delivery, no more worrying if a stranger out there is going to like what we just made and sent. Nope. No more. I'll still enjoy Etsy as a shopper, but my selling days are over. Years ago, I made small velvet reticules at sold them at local craft shows, and that was stressful enough (If I had a dollar for each time some b***h picked up a one-of-a-kind, handmade bag and said "Oh, I could get something like this chdeaper at W*lM*rt" I'd be rich, yanno?).

So from now on, this blog will mostly be a place for sister and I to blab about our personal projects and show off what we make for one another for gifts. And that will be just enough :)

Thanks to everyone who supported our online selling endeavor!
Tiffani

Obama Rally!!!

Went to the Obama rally today in Dayton. And here's the man of the hour:


It was a lot of fun, and I'm not just saying that because they played U2's "City of Blinding Lights" when Obama walked out :) (The choice of music was fab--he closed with Stevie Wonder!)

Though I do follow politics and vote, it was my first political rally. And what he had to say to people here in Dayton was inspiring and true, and I can't wait until Nov. 4.

Tiffani

Closing Shop

Yep, we've decided to close up the Etsy shop. You can find some good deals (and early Christmas prezzies!!) at our shop, RicRacSally, so if you've had your eye on something you'd better snatch it up now!

Don't despair, though. We'll probably keep the blog going so we can show off the stuff we make for ourselves and each other. Plus, how else will we keep up on everyone's news?? :)

We're not in Kansas anymore!

On Sunday, Hurricaine Ike blew through Ohio. No, really. It did!

I know that what happened here is in no way close to what happened when Ike barreled through Galveston and its close neighbors, but this took everyone here totally by surprise. We had 75 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of somewhere around 40-50 mph at times. It was crazy. This is the view out my front door.

Luckily that BIG tree (see the trunk? The tree itself is around 4-5 stories high) didn't fall. I guess it's been there long enough that it would've fallen by now if it was so inclined! However, we lost a LOT of trees in the 'hood... and fences... and some power lines... and roof shingles... and at least one chimney that I know about.
Here's a side street:

They just this afternoon took this tree away.

and the alley:

We didn't lose power in our 'hood, but the 'hood on the other side of the cemetery (which lost some really big, really old trees, too) hasn't had power since Sunday. Schools are all closed, many businesses are closed, and ice is hard to come by.

Unfortunately, sister, who lives 70+ miles to the east, is without power until at least Thursday. I got an email from her last night--she was at school and, of course, they had power! But she's worried for her 1/4 cow, which is slowly thawing in the basement freezer :(

Because of this, and because I leave for my writers' retreat in a few days, we won't be around much the next ten days or so. Take care everyone, and if you were in the "real" path of the hurricaine, I hope you're back up & running soon!

Tiffani

p.s. We have to thank Christina of My Tangerine Dreams and Shannon of Magick Garden Studio for the award they bestowed upon our blog.


We'll be sure to pass it along soon!

WHEW!! Busy busy busy...

We are IN THE NEW HOUSE!! Most of the upstairs rooms are painted, but downstairs, and hallways, etc. still need love. Here are two of the finished rooms (painting wise, certainly not unpacking-wise!): Bella's room, and the soon-to-be craft room! YEAH!




Tiff will be coming out tomarrow--we are celebrating her b-day. She wasn't joking when she wrote that she likes to spreeeaaad her b-day out! Gotta go, need to finish her prezzies in my new craft room! More pics to come!
Dena

A Short Intermission

Just a quick note to let y'all know that sister and I are taking a short break for about a week or so. She's moving in to a new house!!!! YAY!!!! And you know what that means. Oh yeah, paint swatches! :)

Meanwhile, I'm turning a year older, and at my age that takes a few days. Hey, I like to streeeeetch my birthday out as long as possible. More cake that way! Speaking of cake, here's a pic of last year's fabulous creation. My but sister is talented!


See ya soon!
Tiffani

You'll hear me comin'!

Over the past few months, I've found new homes for nearly 600 buttons in my quest to declutter the craft room. However, I kept many, many buttons. The good ones. The ones I inherited from grandma. The ones she inherited from someone else. The really really old ones that I just could not part with. But keeping heirlooms in boxes or bags, hidden away from the light of day, isn't the way to keep them or show them--or who you inherited them from--any respect.

So last night I channeled grandma by setting up shop on the tv tray in front of the Olympics and crafting.

I made two noisy bracelets!

This one has a copper base and is covered with all of the Victorian metal shank buttons in the collection:


This one has a silver base, better to show off the glass buttons.


Aren't they cute?? And NO ONE has a bracelet like either one of them!

I might make a couple more. I still have a bunch of funky plastic and bakelite buttons and several mother-of-pearl ones in the collection.

Tiffani

Road Trip!

The past two weeks have been crazy for the RicRac gals. Seems that nearly everyone in the family has a birthday within the same week, and two weekends ago we had the BIG bash. Lotsa food, lotsa prezzies, and lotsa visiting.


This past weekend Dena & I had to go to TN to pick up the munchkin from her grandma's house, where she had gone for a week visit. The day before that big road trip, we took a smaller trip to nearby Greenville, OH, birthplace of the one and only Annie Oakley!


It's also the home of the shop Mcmaster & Storm. We first heard about M&S in Country Living magazine, and when we realized that we were only about 40 minutes away, we knew we had to go! The shop itself is billed as a mini department store--and it's full of fun stuff, all displayed on and in the most beautiful furniture. Housewares (beautiful soaps, linens, and tableware), craft goods (they have the best pink crepe paper edging, beautiful millingery flowers, and on our visit there were LOADS of clearanced ribbons!), and other fun things are to be found in drawers, cabinets, and even a tiny back closet.


My take? A bunch of ribbons, this fab paper frame, and a bunch of velvet millinery leaves. Don't miss McMaster & Storm's blog and web site, where you can order these goods and so many more.


Across the street we found the cutest flower shop called Ivy League, full of fabulous antiques and decorative touches--and the sweetest proprietress! If you're ever in the area, don't hesitate to stop by.


I bought some great stickers...


...and look how she wrapped them!


The following day we spent 8 hours in the car, driving along some of the emptiest highway--not a lot of stops, but we still found antique stores in Princeton, KY, and I bought this fab vintage sugar shaker for a whopping $5! Whee!

All in all, some rather productive windshield time :)
Tiffani

Have the leaves turned yet?

Every year, I get all excited when the snow melts and spring starts to peek its soft green head up out of the ground. And then it's halfway through July and I could give a flying leap about any of it outside. Too hot. Too muggy. Too many bugs. (And I'm a particularly sweet kind of bug sugar--I have to Off! myself just to walk out the back door.) Right about now, I'm hoping for a tiny cold front--enough so that I can get out my jeans and Docs, a favorite jacket, and go walk arund in the refreshingly crisp air without worrying about sweating. But it's barely August. The only cool thing about August is that my birthday is later this month, and I firmly believe that my birthday should be a national holiday--at least for me :)

Some cool things to look forward to:
As if my autumn won't be exciting enough (those in the know, know), lookie what's coming in November! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the trailer for which has just been released!!

Soup, casseroles, red beans & rice, and crumbles! I just made this tray of blueberry crumble squares (thank you Smitten Kitchen!).


Go check out her pics--waaaay better than mine. Oh, and I only had 2 cups berries, but it still tastes great. (I was supposed to wait until they were fully cooled before eating ... yeah right! I scooped some out and ate it with a fork from a bowl. Had to be sure they weren't poisonous...)

Until then, I guess I'll have to make do with homegrown toms. I just popped out into said buggy yard to dump stuff into the compost and made a pit stop at the mater plants. First of many harvests:


Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the buttons ALL found homes!
Tiffani