Paper Elixir | Corgi + 2

Day 17: Fort FUNston

Thanks everyone, I think I'm feeling better today. I just wish I can get part of my weekend back :P

But I guess I really can't complain, coz on Saturday we had a mega fun day at the beach at the appropriately named Fort FUNston with Bryson!

Fort Funston is probably one of the most popular dog parks in San Francisco. With all the trails in the sand dunes, old battery remains and a long sandy beach, it really has something for every dog.

And with the freakishly warm weather (in the 80's, thanks to global warming), it really felt like summer all over again. Which stood in sharp contrast to our winter trip just 2 weeks ago...

   
Snowy Paws (2 wks ago, 19F)       Sandy Paws (this weekend, 83F)

Here are some more photos of the day:

 
Hopping down a sand dune on the way to the beach

 
Let's see if there's any edible sea junk over there...

 
Oooh, is that fresh sashimi?

 
Oh wait, these don't smell like seafood... Er, are these horses?

 
Look, mommy! I'm wearing a new cologne, Horsie Poopie, like it?

 
What? You don't like it? OK, I changed the scent to Salty Seawater

 
Daddy I'm such a good boy I deserve a treat

 
OK, my stomach is full and I've had enough fun with horse poop. Let's go home.

Day 16: Pepto-Bismol, anyone?

Forgive me for not being able to write a "real" post today.

I don't know what it is, but just after dinner, I've been having this terrible heartburn and nausea (almost sounds like the beginning of that Pepto-Bismol jingle). I just took some OTC medicine (it's OK, I'm a pharmacist, remember?). I think I'm gonna try to sleep before bad things happen.

Hope I can sleep it off whatever this is. Ugh......

Day 15: Dinner at Tube Dog's

Last night, my dear neighbor, Tube Dog's Human, invited Bryson and I over for a gourmet dinner and a healthy round of Friday-night Wii-Off (you gotta find some way to burn those calories off, right?).

Pictured above is her delicious thin-crust pizzetta in the mbaking.

In the amount of time that'll take me to drive to McDonald's and order that Happy Meal, she whipped up 4 of these yummy pies, with gourmet toppings like sauteed chanterelle/portobella mushrooms with caramelized onions, goat cheese, pepperoni and tomato/basil (and many, many other delicacies I can't even recall but all tastes oh-so-yummy). And if she didn't tell me, I would never be able to tell that the thin and crispy crust is just good old pita bread. Genius!

While we're thoroughly enjoying our dinner, gorging our rapidly-expanding stomachs with piece after piece of pizzetta, we completely neglected to keep an eye on the animals. And boy, were we in for a surprise when we finally did...

OK, this crime scene photo probably needs a bit of explanation. The suspect pictured here, Tube Dog (desperately trying to look innocent), was caught "sucking" a treat out of my cardigan's pocket (the highlighted "stain" on my black cardigan = remnant treat-mush).

After careful crime scene analysis, we came to the conclusion that since he's too short to actually reach into the pocket, he chose to chew the treat from outside the pocket, carefully mixing the pulverized treat with his drool, then sucking it out through the fabric like the way a fly feeds on raw meat. Yuck!!!

Meanwhile, Bryson's looking smug that Tube Dog's getting busted, thinking that no one's gonna notice that he's just rummaged through Tube Dog and Kitty's toy box and made a big mess on the other side of the room (wait, what's the blue ball doing under the chair... Bryson?)

Day 14: Signs of Fall- Butternut Squash

Falling leaves, hot apple cider, static shock from car doors... Ahhhh, all unmistakable signs of fall.

But my favorite's gotta be the return of butternut squash (and fig, and sweet potato... yum...). So I'm quite excited to whip out this sensible, low-fat, ginger-scented butternut squash soup recipe and make myself a yummy pot to kick those winter blues.

By the way, I don't cook a whole lot, and usually stay away from recipes that involve complexities such as transferring scalding liquid from a pot to a blender. But trust me, this one's worth it. 

Ingredients:

1.5 tbs grated ginger root
1 medium leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate (undiluted)
3 large golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
3 lbs butternut squash, boiled x 5 min for easy peeling, cut/seeded/chunked
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup fat-free half and half

Instructions:

(1) Combine ginger, leek and apple concentrate in large pot, cover and simmer till leeks are tender, approx. 10 min.

(2) Add apples, squash, and 1 cup of broth, cover and simmer till very tender, approx. an hour.

(3) Puree soup (use a hand-held immersion blender if you're lucky enough to have one, or transfer in small batches to blender and be careful not to cook your hands), return to pot (make sure you rinse the blender with some of the chicken broth so you don't waste any last bit of it).

(4) Lick squash paste off fingers (or let your lucky doggie who's been stuck to your side for the last 2 hours do the honor).

(5) Add remaining 3 cups of broth (or however much you have after rinsing blender), salt and pepper, simmer till heated through x about 10 min.

(6) Turn off heat, stir in half and half.

(7) Scoop yourself a huge bowl and slurrrrrp it up.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Day 13: Make Your Own Font

I don't know why it took me so long to catch onto this (I'm slow, I guess).

But you, my astute friends, probably have heard about this company, fontifier, which I just learned has been offering services to turn your handwriting, however awful (like mine), into a workable computer font for $9 since 2004!

I really wish I've paid more attention to my childhood handwriting lessons. Can you imagine how cool it is if you can create custom stationary with your own computerized handwriting, or simply use it in everyday business communications just to be obnoxious? Ha ha!

All you need is a printer (to print out their template where you'll write your alphabet on), a scanner to scan in your masterpiece, e-mail them your finished template, pay 9 bucks (a few lattes, really), and voila! You have your own True Type Font (compatible with both MAC and Windows). 

So, have you/ or know someone who's tried it out? Love to hear about it! 

Too bad my handwriting is so miserable it'll really insult the $9 I'd have to spend.

Day 12: "New" Letterpress Project- Part II

Enough suspense already, where is the sister letterpress card?? 

(Sorry, when one writes a blog post every day, one has to create an artificial air of excitement so you don't leave me for a more interesting blog...)

Hee hee! Here it is!

 

 

 

 

I hope you like the pair! I'll put them up on my etsy shop when I get my act together, and I'll see if Kelly will take a couple to put up on the pretty, pretty shelves at Relish.

On a completely separate note, I'm growing increasingly dissatisfied with the color on my computer screen. I know every computer screen (and pair of eyes) differ a bit, but one of my computers (can't figure if it's the PC or laptop) is so screwed up that when I touch up a photo on one, it'll look completely ghastly on the other (and when I adjust them mid-way, it ends up looking mildly screwed up everywhere).

I'm a complete novice on this and I need help (come on, I know a few of you pro's are reading this!). I've seen gadgets like this one (and similar ones that can go upwards of a few hundred bucks), and free ones like this that only seem to hurt my brain and strain my eyes...

Are the colors of my photos weird on your monitor, too? Any advice on what I could do?

Day 11: "New" Letterpress Project

This is the letterpress project on the Vandercook that was on my to-do list this past weekend, which is finally done (only 2 days late)!

And note that "new" is in quotations (*making obnoxious quotation gesture with my fingers*). I have to admit I kinda cheated a little with this one. You'll probably recognize that it's the same design that I have previously printed on the gocco. Believe it or not, I almost used up all the ones I gocco'd, but I like the design so much that I couldn't resist printing some more of them, this time on a letterpress for some nice, subtle textures.

 
I designed a slightly different logo/text for the back, which I hope gives it a good balance between style and legibility. Like it?

To redeem myself as a complete cheater, I should tell you that I actually printed 2 versions of this card (and thus taking almost twice as long, ugh). I think the other one turns out almost even nicer (maybe coz I wasn't expecting much), and they really compliment each others.

Wanna know what its sister card looks like? Then stay tuned! I'll post more about that tomorrow :)

Day 10: Gocco Swap- Full Glory!

It just occurred to me that I've left you all hanging about the latest Gocco swap I participated in! *gasp* Sorry!!

I actually received all the swappity goodness the evening before we left on the road trip, and thus had conveniently forgotten to write about them amidst all the post-trip excitement. At least that's my lame excuse.

And this time I got them ALL (all 30 of them!) in ONE big, fat envelope, coz the super organizer of this swap, bless her heart, had everyone send her their cards, which then she sorted, divided up and sent out to everyone. All the work it took... can you imagine? Totally deserve a big round of applause! *clap clap clap*

And here are all the gocco goodness in their full glory:

I'm sorry the quality isn't great (I was tiptoeing on a chair and trying not to fall over), but do try to enlarge it and appreciate each one individually.

This really doesn't do each piece justice as you have to touch and feel each of them, admire them up close, and feel the creativity and personality oozing out of each one of them. Just thinking about the collective amount of creative brain power, time and craftsmenship that went into this project gives me new hope for humanity all over again :)

And now comes the point of deciding what to do with all these great, little pieces of art (don't you swappers all struggle with that?)

I hate to stash them away for them to never see sunlight again (we received 2 of each so one could be used). I'm considering laying them out (like above) and framing it, like a gynormous mosaic-y collage, except for the fact that mine stuck out and wouldn't fit into this nice little configuration! Arrghhh... Any idea or suggestion?

To continue to be inspired, head over to this Flickr group where more individual photos of these postcards are posted by their talented creators.

Day 9: Slacker!

Let's see... 9 p.m. Sunday evening, time for a reality check on my weekend to-do list.

These are things I did NOT get a chance to do (or started but didn't finish):

(Note: Most things a responsible person should be doing, e.g. cleaning, cooking, picking up dry-cleaning can be found here. Slacker!)

• Unpack bags from trip, clean up stuff scattered all over the place, so we can...
• Roomba, whom Bryson thinks is his robotic half-brother
• Take Bryson and Picasso to corgi meet up
• Make ginger-scented squash soup (in my defense I made a different stew...)
• Make Chinese soup (thus still very yeet-hay)
• Find financial planner
• Finish this up so I can make a mad dash to pick up dry cleaning before they close for the weekend, which looks very much like I'll be failing at this point... 
• Finish printing 2 greeting cards at letterpress class
• Read all of your blogs and blogs you read and comment on all of them 

*P.S. I was really tempted to lie that we've at least unpacked our bags, so you don't think that we live like filthy pigs... but alas, I decided to be an honest (yet still filthy) pig.

This leaves us a rather short and pathetic list of things I actually did:

• Plan B: Take Bryson and Picasso to Point Isabel
• Do grocery
• Visit car dealerships to test drive my new company car options thanks for your input!
• Wander aimlessly at Michael's to see what crafty goodness is on sale there wasn't even anything good, what a waste of time
• Pilates
• Gym  OK, pretty happy with this and last one
• Go through all of Bryson's photos this past year and find ONE to submit to the mycorgi.com calendar Thanks for all your help!! I think I know which one to submit now...
• Daily blog

And just so this blog isn't just full of stupid lists, here's the Flickr album I was able to partially update with more of our road trip's photos (more pix to be added when I get some other stuff on my to-do list crossed off):

 

Day 8: Weekend to-do

I have a pretty ambitious to-do list for this weekend. I'm pretty sure I won't get to all of it (as I never do with any weekend to-do list).

To help me see just how ridiculous it is, I've listed what I hope to accomplish here and how much time each item will take:

• Unpack bags from trip, clean up stuff scattered all over the place (3 hr), so we can...
• Roomba (1 min. to pres the "clean" button), whom Bryson thinks is his robotic half-brother
• Take Bryson and Picasso to corgi meet up (3 hr) (already failed, just realized what time it is. Boo)
• Plan B: Take Bryson and Picasso to Point Isabel (1.5 hr)
• Do grocery (2.5 hr) (Safeway for everyday stuff, 99 Ranch for funky Chinese ingredients, and Whole Foods for organic stuff that never fail to shock my pants off with their price tag)
• Make ginger-scented apple squash soup (2 hr) (yumm...)
• Make Chinese soup (which my mom said will help get rid of my "yeet hay" or "hot air") (2 hr)
• Visit car dealerships to test drive my new company car options (2 hr)
• Find a financial planner (no idea, don't even know where to start, just know we need one looking at our bank account...) 
• Finish printing 2 greeting cards at letterpress class (4 hr)
• Sort out and upload photos from our trip onto Flickr and make sure I visit all my contacts' photostream and comment copiusly (1 2 hr)
• Wander aimlessly at Michael's to see what crafty goodness is on sale (1 hr)
• Pilates (30 min)
• Gym (1 hr)
• Go through all of Bryson's photos this past year and find ONE to submit to the mycorgi.com calendar (probably too many hours, let's say 2 hr conservatively)
• Daily blog (1-2 hr for the weekend, depending on how much self-control I have over long-windedness...)
• Read all of your blogs and blogs you read and comment on all of them (1 2 3 hrs)
• Finish this up so I can make a mad dash to pick up dry cleaning before they close for the weekend (30 min), which looks very much like I'll be failing at this point... 

Whew! I think that's about it. So, let's do the math and add up the time needed...

Whoa. That's 29 hr 1 min! And it's already 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The only things I've accomplished are "grocery" and "pilates" (and partially "daily-blog), which means I have another 29.017 - 4 = 25.017-hr worth of stuff to do in the next 32 hrs not counting sleeping, bathing, eating, burping...

*Sigh* Smells like another successful weekened.

You know what though, there's one thing you can help me with if you feel particularly charitable today: below are some of the photos I'm thinking of submitting to the mycorgi.com calendar, help me pick one!!

  
(1) Spa Dog

  
(2) Hope Corgis

  
(3) Melancholic dog

Thanks in advance for your vote!

Day 7: A Green Company Car

I got this automated e-mail from my company this morning, notifying me that I'm eligible for a new company car.

New car? While we're laying off?? Something doesn't add up here... But when I looked at the choices available, it all starts to make sense.

For the first time in my brief tenure in the pharma industry, our company is offering exclusively hybrid (and clean diesel) options. About time! Not only does it make sense to the environment, it also makes economic sense, when you add up the gazillion tanks of gas the company buys over the years.

So, I scrolled down the e-mail, and see that my choices are: Toyota Camry hybrid, Volkswagen Jetta TDi (diesel), Ford Escape hybrid, and Saturn Vue hybrid (the Prius had been available in the past, not sure if we're out of stock or replaced by the Camry hybrid).

Judging from experiences from my disgruntled coworkers who've been stranded in the strangest of places, the Saturn Vue hybrid is automatically out.

For the rest of the 3, I did some googling online, and found in addition to some standard car reviews, that this green vehicle review site by the EPA to be quite interesting:

You can type in any car available in your state, and find out what their gas mileage, air pollution score and greenhouse gas score are. It even allows you to compare them side by side. I thought I'll never say this, but this is one government website that's super helpful! Try it out for your ride! *Note that the Lamborghini has a greenhouse gas score of a big fat zero! Boooo!*

I'll have to read a bit more about these options, anyone has any 1st-hand (or even 2nd/3rd-hand) experience to share about these car options, they're most welcome!

Day 6: Bryson the Rescue Dog!

I don't know if it's the altitude change or the fact that my brain had been briefly frozen these past few days, I'm totally discombobulated and unproductive all day.

Seeing that I don't have much chance of getting caught up with work, I organized the rest of our photos from the trip so at least I can be a productive blogger today :)

So, without further ado, here's a recap of the last wonderful day we spend in the Sierra...

I caught these delicate little snowflakes on our balcony's railing just before sunrise. Little did I know then that we'll have much, MUCH more of this stuff to come later in the day...

   

We've decided that since it's a sunny and warm(er) day, that we'll tackle the Morgan Pass Trail through the Little Lakes Valley in the John Muir Wildnerness all the way up towards the peaks at 10,000-ft elevation. Somehow it escaped my mind that there could still be considerable amount of snow at that altitude on a non-snowing day...

And so we took the hour-long drive towards the trail, but by the time we got near the trail head and found the last 1.5 miles of the road snowed in (and that there were no other cars around), we know we're not in for just a walk in the park...

   

We thought about turning back, but a peek around the bend at this drop dead gorgeous view the trail has to offer (that's a semi-frozen creek above, for those of you who don't live in snow country, like us), and the prospect of having the whole mountain to ourselves, we decided to pack on the layers, tuck our thermal underwear in and trudge on.

I don't know if it's sheer stubborness or our dogged optimism (no pun intended), we trudged on...

  

and on... to progressively deeper and deeper snow...

 

About a mile up from the trail head, there were these hairy moments where we couldn't even tell where the trail is and where it's just snow over vegetation. We thought about turning back (which would be a huge disappointment), and that's when Bryson the Snow Dawg Plow comes to our rescue!

Not only would he sprint/swim ahead and "plow" a clear path for us (seriously, he could get a job with DOT), he also somehow seems to know where the best footing is, leading us onto the safe path.

 

Good boy, Bryson!

Despite of Bryson's excellent canine/6th-sense guidance, we had to turn back half way as the snow was almost up to our knee cap and the hole in my sock was giving my big toe a tourniquet.

Even then, every step of this trip was totally worth it- not just for the fresh air and scenery, but also to watch Bryson thrive and flourish in what we've now discovered is his elements.

I dive! Jackie-Chan-style!

    

He's really shown us that even though he could be a couch potato at home, he's really a true corgi through and through- smart, loyal, determined, and one tough little guy who wouldn't let his vertically-challenged statute limit what he sets his mind to! Go corgis! :D

Day 5: Home Sweet Home

With every great roadtrip, there's the inevitable, long, weary drive home. Today's 7-hr drive was no exception. This is the part that I wish I could fast-forward like the stupid commercials that interrupt my shows on Tivo.

Now comfortably typing away at my oh-so-familiar computer at home, it seems a bit surreal that it was a mere 12 hours ago that we were 10,000 feet above sea level, tackling a grueling hike in knee-deep-snowed-in-bear-country in the high Sierras with Bryson.

Wanna know how Bryson did this time in chest-deep snow? Stay tuned! I promise a more detailed report of this epic hike as I'll (hopefully) acclimate back to reality at sea level over the next 24 hours.

Day 4: Election Day in Ansel Adams Wilderness

It was a very strange feeling as we found ourselves completely removed from civilization today, hiking in the remote and sublime Ansel Adams Wildnerness Area, while the rest of the country is busy voting for our next president.

We casted our absentee ballot before we left, and we've been glued to CNN on TV ever since we got back to our lodge, but somehow it still feels like we're missing out on this big, historic moment.

If you go on to read our account of the day, you'll see why we felt like we're no longer part of society for a few glorious hours today.

Driving up Parker Creek Road off Hwy 158 (June Lake Loop) towards the Ansel Adams Wilderness area, just about 20 min. away from our lodge. Looks a bit like a car commercial...

   

We were the only car at the parking lot. In fact, we did not meet a single soul on the entire 4.5 mile trail (unless you count the wildlife). We sort of lucked out with the weather, too- it was in the hi 20's/ low 30's (brrrr!!), but it was sunny and visibility was excellent.

 

Hiking up the Parker Lake Trail, a nice and relatively short (4.5 mile round trip) and easy (600-ft elevation gain) trail. But at around 8,000 ft, you get winded quite a bit faster than you'd expect- well, unless you're Bryson, who sprinted up like a midget gazelle, which is quite impressive considering his legs are only a few inches long...

 

Whoa, see how muscular those little legs are...

 

At the last mile or so, subalpine meadow gives way to a subalpine forest covered in about an inch of snow, which leads ultimately to...

 

Beautiful Parker Lake! Froze my tush off just sitting there for this photo, but totally worth it.

 

And this is how we all felt at the end of the day. Absolutely pooped!

 

Day 3: Bryson the Snow Dawg!

Hola! We made it safe and sound to wintry June Lake late last night. No accident despite of snow, whew!

As we got here after dark, we had no idea what our lodge looks like when we checked in. Imagine what a pleasant surprise it was this morning when we woke up to this from our balcony:

We snapped this photo below while taking Bryson out for this morning walk (we're in the 3rd building from the left, the balcony on the second floor is where the above photo was taken). Aren't the mountains gorgeous?

While we were totally taken in by the gorgeous view, Bryson's nose was in overdrive as he's mesmerized by the scents left by "wildlife" around here- we were told bears and coyotes frequent the area to scavenge. Bryson is leashed every second from now on so he doesn't become part of the food chain.

Oh, and if you're waiting to hear about how he did in the snow, here he is:

 
 
 

LOL!! Those poor short little legs!! But as awkward as he looked, he totally adored the white stuff! Despite the freezing temp, he just refused to leave and get back to the car (mind you it's in the 20's out). That double coat that's only been causing problems at home finally redeemed itself!

A couple more photos before I succumb to my falling eyelids:

    

P.S. We also celebrated hubby's birthday today. Happy b-day, hon!

Day 2: Winter Road Trip!

A mere 12 hours after the last blog post, here I am again (I really hope I won't be boring you to tears with this daily blogging thing...)

But today, I have a reason to blog early, coz we'll be leaving for a road trip (yup, another one) in a couple of hours! It wouldn't be as epic as this last one, but it'll mark another first for us- taking Bryson to snow country!

We actually don't know if he's seen snow before (remember we got him as a show dog retiree), so we'll try out best to keep him warm and safe, e.g. bringing his coat and doggles, feeding him plenty and often (which in itself should keep him happy), trimming his feet fur so snow wouldn't get stuck, and keep our fingers crossed that he'll have a good time :)

So where are we going? This will give you an idea:

We're staying in this mountain lodge in June Lake, CA, which is just east of Yosemite, close to the Mammoth Lakes ski area. We've been to Yosemite a few times, but never with Bryson and never after it started snowing.

I've marked San Francisco and LA with pink arrows so you have a rough reference of the distance we have to travel. The red route is the more direct route that we would have taken if it's not snowing, but due to winter road closures, we're now taking the blue route, which according to google map will take us around 6 hours.

I'm giddy with a mix of excitement and anxiety (the venti coffee this morning probably didn't help with this weird feeling in my stomach either). I know we'll have fun hiking and exploring, but after a flip-over accident in the snow with my family a few years ago (where miraculously none of us was hurt seriously), I've been apprehensive about driving in snow.

Plus last I checked it's snowing up there, with a forecast of a high of 31 and low of 14 tomorrow. Brrrrrrr!!

It really seemed like a good idea when we planned this a few weeks back when it was nice and sunny... now it can turn out to be either a blast or a complete disaster. Wish us luck!

(P.S. I'm bringing my laptop as there should be internet access at the lodge. If you don't hear from us tomorrow, either internet doesn't work there, or we've perished in the snow...)

Day 1: { Paper Elixir } @ Relish at Home

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first day of my month-long participation in NaBloPoMo!

Yep, that's that crazy blogging-every-day-deal for the whole month of November. But I'm real glad I have blog friends like JuLo and Lynn and flanthrower doing this with me! It's kinda like having friends to join the gym together, so we can give each others a virtual kick in the behind when we slack off (but hopefully I won't need one).

So, remember I told you earlier this week that another store in the area started carrying my goodies? Wanna know who it is? Well, wait no more! I'm excited to announce that my gocco/letterpress cards are now sitting on the pretty, pretty shelves in the store...

Relish at Home!
An uber chic boutique in Berkeley, CA (7th St and Pardee)
(Check out all their rave reviews on Yelp!)

I was so psyched when I discovered this little gem that carries the most unique handmade items when I first moved to neighboring Emeryville a couple years ago. Since then, many a friends (including myself) have received their birthday/ X'mas/ house-warming gifts from here ("one for you, two one for me...")

And ever since I started making greeting cards, I've squandered away many hours, standing in front of the beautiful card display, and entertained myself with daydreams (with harps and everything) about seeing my creations there along with all these other gorgeous handmade cards that I drool for... (and if I actually drool I plan to frame Bryson). 

So, many moons later, when I felt that my creations have progressed to a semi-decent level, I gathered my courage and chatted with the owner, Kelly. And after talking to her for just 5 minutes, I wondered why on earth did it take me so long to approach her?

It turns out that apart from being uber talented and tasteful, Kelly is also super-duper nice, and totally supportive of local artists and craftspeople, and embraced the idea of carrying my cards pretty much right away! I was psyched beyond words :)

And here's the result:

    

Notice the very cute card display on the left (don't you love the colors?). And there, squint a little harder, do you recognize something familiar in the photo on the right? (hee hee!) 
There they are, 5 of my babies greeting cards among the sea of fabulousness! (The Simple Baby card is not pictured). If you're due for an eye exam, you can test yourself to see if you can pick them out :)

 

And while taking these photos in the store and the card display (which Kelly was totally cool about, even though it's slightly dweeby and a tiny bit annoying, I'm sure), I caught this photo above with her in a brief cameo (yup, that's her in the cute red headband reflected in the mirror, and the weirdly amputated arms belong to me).

I don't know what it is, there's something about her warmth and presence, not to mention the cute stuff that overflows the store, that makes this place really special. And I'm so honored that my little creations are part of this wonderfulness now :)

Dogzilla!!!

It's been such a dreary day. It's cold (by San Francisco standards), it's wet, and it's dark by 6. I can feel my old friend SAD knocking on the door. I just feel drained and unable to operate normally. It's annoying but I really am that sensitive, you'd think I have a solar panel on my back. 

And these are the times I'm extra grateful of having a dog. I mean, short of advocating for Prozac in the city's water supply, I can't imagine anything else that can save me from a whole winter of depression.

Just look at these photos from last week. We were by the water front in the city, getting Bryson to do his usual pose-y thing, when we noticed he was up to something devious...

Was he really trying to eat a BEE mid-flight?!

   

 

 

I swear the way he was smacking his lips had us thinking he'd actually ATE that poor bee. But upon closer examination of the above freeze-frame slo-mo sequence, we're glad to see that the bee had deftly escaped the maw. Whew!

And this is probably what it looks like from the bee's perspective:

 

Whaaaa!!!

Seriously, you'd think we never feed him.

And here are a few more doses of anti-depressants from the day:

  
  

 

 

Think I feel better now :)

By the way, I've finally taken the plunge and joined NaBloPoMo at JuLo's urging! Nablow-what?! Well, it's basically a group of bloggers who'll dedicate a month of their time to daily blogging. Yup, that's one blog post EVERY DAY for a MONTH!

Lynn at Craftstew is also in this crazy deal. Well, it's not unlike having friends to go to the gym together- you know it's good for you but sometimes you're just too lazy for it, so it helps to have a friend motivate you kick your butt when you're being a slacker! We're gonna start on Nov 1, anyone else wanna join in the fun? ;)

Simple Baby: Gocco & Letterpress Card

If you have a keen eye, you'll notice in my side bar that I have a new item in my etsy store! Smells like another round of self-promotion? You bet! This is one project I'm so excited about, I'm not even ashamed to do that, tee hee!

I know it's been a while since I've written about my creative endeavors, not because I've been slacking in that department (although I'm guilty of doing so in others), but because I'm seriously spending every minute I'm not working or sleeping MAKING something these past few weeks... OK, OK, maybe minus a few hours playing Wii Fit (yup, hubby got it for me for my b-day- probably trying to tell me something, hmm...)

There are tons of things I've made that I haven't even had a chance to photograph or catalog yet, including a huge order of collage cards commissioned by Rita (aka Picasso's mommy aka owner of the beautiful home store, Make My Day) (Thanks!)

But this one I'm showing you here had me pretty excited from the minute it's conceived (*secret giggles*). And without further ado, here's one of my "new" project (well, I actually finished printing this a couple months ago), "Simple Baby":

 

A 4-Bar size (3.5" x 4.75") folded card on 100% tree-free cotton paper, with the background text printed with the gocco, and the birdie/nestful of eggs imagery letterpressed on the "trusty" vintage Vandercook press (who always choose to cough up blood when I'm trying to coax it to comply) .