A new member to our family!
We lost Buddy 2 years ago.....almost to the date!
Amber got a new puppy yesterday. His name is Rufio!!!!!!! She is in love with him and the WORK of training and teaching begins! He is really a sweet little guy! He is a Bichon Frise and Shi Tzu mix! ADORABLE! :0) I think he will fit our family well! HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all!

Here we go.....our Christmas tree for the family room...themed ANGELS and a view of outside this morning! Booooohoooooooo , yup, SNOW! I really am hoping we do not have a winter like last year, because we got soooooo much snow! I really do not like snow....nothing good about it.....except friends of mine seem to think it is lovely, pretty, fun........bahhhhhhhhumbug! Hehehehe! I will survive! :0)Thanks for looking!

This is my entry for the blog challenge for the arch group.......theme Silhouette's, such fun! You can check out the challenge blog here......
http://gothicarches.ning.com/

I hope you are having a great week! Hugs,Patti

Hi everyone! I have been tagged by Beth at
http://beths-babble.blogspot.com/
and I am supposed to tell 7 quirky facts about myself!

I am not too interesting, but here goes......
1. I like PEPSI(diet and caffeine free), and I know when it is Coke.......there is no fooling me!
Diet Pepsi is my favorite dark soda.
2. I used to be called "carrot top" in school because of my natural red hair! :( Now I have to dye it red, because it is getting too gray! Double :(
3. I would love to win the lottery and play art all day long........and cook too. That would be fun.
4. My feet get cold alot, even if the rest of me is hot. Odd right??
5. I dislike WINTER lots! I used to like it as a child--building snow men, sledding, etc., but it has lost all it's sheen to me, since it became all work and no play.......scraping the car windows, shoveling the driveway and walk, and mostly I hate it when my nostril hairs freeze up from the cold! Grrrrrrrr and brrrrrrrrrrr.
6. Fall is my favorite season EVER......and the changing of the colors to me is a miracle, just glorious!
7. I am confused as to what has happened to my sweet baby girl that used to look up at me in the morning from the crib with rosie cheeks and a big droolie grin..........because last time I looked.......she is marching around the college campus and telling me she is too busy with friends, work and studying to barely get a hug in! Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM my Mother! (That part is ok, my Mom is amazing! :0)
There you go...........7 things about me.........if you feel like playing........do! I don't want to tag anyone and make them feeled pressured. If you play, let me know so I can read your facts!
Hugs! Patti

Halloween at work! We dressedup with the Hawaiian theme and had great fun! Cathy(Owner) made Witches Brew with dry ice and it was spooooooooky! :0)

Pictures: Top-Steve, Ryan and Chris
Next-Cathy and the steaming brew, that was green and had gummy worms too! Muahaha!
Next-Chris, Patti(Being silly) Julie and Steve
Next-Julie and her sweet little grandson Ethan in his adorable Elephant costume and lastly,
Chris, Cathy, Julie and Steve!
FUN! Ryan even brought the palm tree that was in the background, and we played Hawaiian music and that was fun! Happy Halloween!

Witchy Finger Cookies........aren't they scary? The nails are slivered almonds and the red gel is the finishing touch! :0)

A Halloween canvas (6x6)for a personal trade! Muahaha! I hope she likes it.........what a spookie exchange...BOO!

Pumpkin Sculpting time!!!!
Wheeeeee! This year, I was inspired by the food network...they are having a SHOW tomorrow Sunday the 26th with 4 WONDERFUL pumpkin sculptures, and I wanted to try! Of course, I have no tools....so I did this with a SPOON and a pearing knife! Sheeeeeesh! They use tools for clay sculpting which I may go to Michaels to see if they carry them! Anyways, this was great fun and I enjoyed it! Remember, I am just trying because it looked fun! To me this was more interesting than just carving like usual! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!! You try and let me know if you do! Happy Haunting!
Halloween Hugs,Patti

These are Row Houses made for a swap. They are cut from matte board and altered with fabric and paper, transparency, silk flowers etc. We are swapping 3/3 and I look forward to receiving these...the small one is for the hostess!

I have a friend who does lots of volunteer work for the Greyhound Rescue in FL!
Petfinders is holding a contest called the $100,000 Shelter Challenge. You can cast one vote every day (this is per computer so you can also vote from your work computer, etc!)
Grand Prize is a $25,000 grant
Runner up is $10,000 grant
State Winners $1,000 grant
Weekly Winners $1,000 grant
Voting started on 9/29 and ends on 12/14/08. Please pass this on to everyone you know and don't forget to vote daily from each of your computers!
Go to www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Click on the large purple box
At the very top click on the red "Vote Now"
Enter Florida, Enter Daytona Beach
And Select Greyhound Pets of America Daytona Beach

Even if they do not win the BIG prize, with all of their dog's medical expenses any of the above would be a great help. Thanks much!!!!!!

Amber and I went to the Tattoo Convention in Milwaukee yesterday! It was a long and fun day at the Wyndham Hotel. I took my design with me and after meeting lots of tattoo artists, I had a young man named Clynt Costley from Taboo Tattoo in Dallas,TX do my tattoo! I have worked at Martino's since I was 14, making Chicago Style Hot Dogs and my sweet Mary is the owner. She survived Breast Cancer(Pink ribbon) and is now battling Ovarian Cancer(Teal Ribbon back side) so I got this tattoo in honor of her taking me on as a young kid to work and over time becoming like a second family to me.Clynt did a great job of bringing that hot dog to fun life with all the condiments too.....and the ribbon with Mary's name to honor her! I love it and it's above my right ankle. Just a super job and I have made so many of these hot dogs.....this one looks good enough to eat! :0) I think Mary will think it is hilarious too! I cannot wait to show her! I will let it heal first so it looks it's best! By the way, a Chicago style hot dog is a Vienna all pure beef dog, nestled in a steamed poppy seed bun with mustard , relish, onion cubes, tomatoes, pickles and sport peppers! I skipped the peppers, because the tattoo would have needed to be larger to have a clear view of all the greens...and this was large enough for me! Ouch! Hehehehe! (It is my 3rd tattoo and I am actually grateful that they hurt some.......or I fear I would LOTS MORE!)

Two cards for friends.
One is more of a thank you and the other...just a note of encouragement! :0)
Weekends are wonderful....a time to be outside and also get some art finished....always a joy for me!

My letter is "S" for the banner........everyone had a color choice and then some a theme too. Here are my fabric banners for a swap for the word...ARTISTIC.

Today we cut the grass and edged and then set up our Fall fun! The little hay square, skeleton hand(coming from underground), spider on the real pumpkin, corn stalks(from Dad's garden) and little Fall scarecrows! Now, if you look in the left front window, you will also see a ZOMBIE! :0)Muahahaha!

Last weekend I worked on making the second little garden there on the right, and I plan to extend the left one some and then add a walkway in between to join to the sidewalk from the drive! It should look great when it is done! That might not be for another year! That is ok, we will get to it when we can. Everything is always MORE work than one thinks.....you know how that goes. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs,Patti

Amber took this picture! Isn't it beautiful?
We have seen a few monarchs lately and they are grace in the air! And every so breath taking to see up close! :0)
Hope you have a great start to your week!

Sad news at our home this weekend :o( Amber's little pet rat "Sweets" died unexpectedly last night. She was a very sweet and gentle little creature and will be missed. Lots of tears over her here.......sniff sniff. Amber loved her and you can see the happiness she brought in the picture of Amber and Anthony and Sweets. Such fun in a small bundle. Bye Sweets! <3

Here is an envelope for my Nephew Ben who is at Bootcamp for the Navy! I have been writing him once a week and getting more and more creative with his envelopes! Hehehe, I am sure he misses his family , so on this one....I have my Brother, his wife and the kids all there and I put a sailor hat on Ben! I think he will get a kick out of it! I will have some fabric art to share with you soon..........everyone have a happy Moanday (Not a spelling error! :0)

Lori, from Paper Imagery Designs is having a little giveaway on her blog for her 1 year Anniversary with some beautiful Halloween images for a gift! Here is her website......
http://paperimagerydesigns.com/
and her blog link to sign up for the giveaway.
http://alteredartexpressions.blogspot.com/
Is everyone starting to get into HALLOWEEN??
I am already thinking on what kind of pumpkin to carve! Muahaha! :0)
Have a great day and good luck on the drawing!
Hugs,Patti

Here is our card for Mary(all us girls from work--left to right, Julie, Diana, Cathy (Mary's daughter in law), and ME! The pictures are below, but this one is the one I chose for the top! I will send this in a cello envie, so she can see through it and have the fun before she even opens it!
Mary's birthday is Sept. 1st --please keep her in your thoughts! She is suffering from Ovarian Cancer.

These are the sweeties I work with! Julie, Diana, Cathy and myself! I brought my camera today so we could get a couple of pictures, and from these, I will make a card to send Mary......something to brighten her mailbox! She is suffering from Ovarian Cancer and I think this will bring a smile her way! I will try and show the card when I am done! Aren't these girls adorable? Aren't we silly?

My hibiscus are opening, is there anything prettier?? They are amazing! LOVE THEM!

It is the HARLEY DAVIDSON 105th ANNIVERSARY here in Milwaukee! There are bikes everywhere, and the streets are filled with a special rumble! :0) Anyways, here are some bikes I saw this morning on my way to work! The bikes are truly BEAUTIFUL, custom and fun! Love seeing them! WOW!

Finally, Amber graduated in 2007 and I promised her I would collage the matte around her graduation picture with her and her friends faces.......so I ran the pictures in black and white and collaged with some wording! She loves it and I think it compliments her picture well! It will be a nice memory keeper for her in the future......she can look back at those silly faces......all summed up by one of the quotes on the frame which says......"Life is better when it's fun!"

Amber took some flower pictures here in our garden! Aren't they stunning? I love the close ups! She did a great job! Flowers ----their colors, shapes and beauty just make me LOVE NATURE!