Newest Commission..Molly Weasley!

Well the commission is complete and ready to be shipped off to her new home. This, for those that don't know the character, is Mrs. Molly Weasley ...wife to Arthur Weasley and Mother to several Weasley Children including Ron, Ginny, Fred and George. She is from the Harry Potter Stories and just happens to be one of my favorite characters... she is sweet and dear, and a wonderful Mother and wife...but what I love is she can be every bit the strong and forceful Witch when someone she loves is in harms way...

This doll setting is Miniature (1:12th scale) ..Molly stands approx. 5 1/2 inches tall ...so that gives you an idea of what size the chair is. The wonderful chair Richard made...I adore all the colors and patterns he chose...I know in the movies The Weasley Home is all comfy and down home basic...and the 'chairs' are covered with slip covers etc...but this is what 'we' imagine a favorite Weasley Home chair might look like under the cover...lol! Richard made the chair with a wooden frame and then covered with fine batt and then the fabric and trim....I want a Big one like this!!lol

The 'magical' knitting in the chair seat is the little tiny knitting I was ripping my hair out over...UGH!! although I must admit, by the time I got to the end of it...I think I was getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy it!! Molly's shoes are sculpted and painted to look like leather... her over apron is the 'mini' fabric I was working on...all trimmed in 1/8th inch silk ribbon. Her sweater is hand dyed and pieced together vintage tatted doilies I have had in my collection for years... there are about 8 different ones in each sleeve...

She was so much fun to work on...

Thanks for taking a peek...

Hugs,

Jodi

A Tail of Two Ears...

Happy Easter to one and all!!! Though I no longer received an Easter Basket after the age of 17...it did not stop me from still dressing the part!! This picture is Easter 1975 Richard and I are not yet married yet I still convinced him to 'hop' into one of those 5 shots for a buck fifty photo booths and don some paper rabbit ears and 'teeth' that I made...what a sport!! and Cute too!!!

Hugs,

Jodi and Richard

The Last Easter Basket...a tale of Woe!

At what point do you suppose that kids come to the realization that this is not just a Hormone Fed gigantic rabbit clutching them... but a sweaty dude in a furry suit just trying to make a buck. WHY do they have to make them so 'creepy' and dangerous looking...it is weird enough to think that a rabbit somehow makes it into YOUR Yard to 'hide' multi-color cooked eggs (when did he find the time to do THAT??) and then jimmies your locked door to violate the inner sanctum of your family home by placing more eggs on shelves, behind chair and other hard to find places that surely if not found that day...will be in a week or so when the smell emits... this furry dude has a bizarre sense of humor!! And then to make it all right he gives you a basket of sweets ...including a hollowed out chocolate likeness of himself ...who , when stared at long enough 'encourages' you to bite off the ears rendering the likeness mutated ...and then 'blinded' with the plucking off of the little candied eye!! OhhHhh the horrors of it all !!! But I must admit there is nothing quite like the finding of that last very stale sticky old jelly bean engulfed in layers of faux grass weeks later when you thought all were gone...and it's a RED ONE!!!! ...MAGIC!!

I did love the whole Easter Scene.... I remember sneaking a peek in the middle of the night draped in my Doctor Dentions watching my Mom feverishly coloring our breakfast food (eggs) with the smell of vinegar hanging heavy in the air.... and when she caught me peeking and realized the jig was up.. her knee jerk reaction was to say " Mr. Cottontale (he had a NAME???) asked if I would help out this year and color up some eggs for him....he will be by around midnight to pick up the eggs"... so of course I thought to myself...what a cool thing, Mr. C has singled out MY MOM for Egg Duty...I had a true moment of pride!! Of course that did not explain the loose grass and scattered jelly beans I saw on the table.... no matter, I was sure Mom had it all worked out with her new employer ..and as a reward I would be getting a swell basket of goodies in the morning....all was right with the world.

My very last Easter Basket that I received was at the age of 16 !! Seriously...!! The Rabbit Ritual all out in the open years earlier...I still would get the famous booty each Easter Morning ...made you somehow feel all cozy inside.... but alas on the 17th year...the counter was 'empty' ...no choco rabbit likeness, no sticky jelly beans, no peeps anywhere...sniff sniff.... that was a cold Spring Morning when I realized that the bunny would no longer be visiting and left me cold turkey ... seriously jonesing for that gooey marshmallow foil wrapped surprise...a day that will live in infamy....

How old were YOU when the bunny paid his last visit to YOUR humble abode??

Happy Easter All....

Jodi

Great Saying for the Day

Draggin my 'Bee-Hind' today...

Well Yesterday I proved to one and all that I am a mighty strong woman...something I already knew !!! Because of some pending street / new sewer work on our Bali Drive that will be starting shortly ...Richard and I had to 'lift that barge and tote that bail' yesterday ... which translates into moving VERY large boulders , removing very large bushes , removing fences, raking back gravel , uprooting bricks that are very firm and settled right where they are, replacing siding on our garage wall... wheelbarrowing dirt and then replanting some palms.... WHEW!!! Strong but VERY exhausted. It was a job that has needed to be done for quite a while now and it feels GREAT to at last get it all done... besides nothing feels better than to get outside and do some much needed yard work ...the physical properties alone are enough to lift the spirits and mental well being!! But in truth today, I don't know if it is all the physical labor of yesterday or the 2 hour 'knitting' session I did last night on 3/4 inch sized knitting needles that Richard made!!! First off...I DON'T KNIT...I mean it...I DON'T KNIT!! I never have been able to master the technique...oh, I can cast on and do the 'very basic' stuff ... but it is always left looking like 'Bo Bo the Saucy Chimp' had a hand in it!! And now...to do it this small...well, needless to say my body was so tense from grasping those tiny needles tightly in mortal fear of dropping a stitch ...I feel today like I was in a Knitting 'Smack Down' last night...and Lost!!!

My hat is tipped to all those that have mastered and thrived in the wonderful wacky world of Knitting..
By the by this is for a miniature doll we are doing and I am knitting with ultra fine Speed Cro-Sheen (SP) .... big question now...should I worry that there is a non-stop flow of drool coming from the left side of my mouth???

I have about 3 more inches to knit... by then I am sure I will be certifiable ...all I ask is that you kind people drop me a line once in a while...with just a few kind words and maybe an occasional box of Chocolates.... please send all correspondence to the 'Sunnydale Home for Rest and Mental Rejuvenation' ...do you think they will allow me to 'tie-dye' my straight jacket???

Have a Great Sunday All

Jodi (aka Bo Bo !)

When Irish Eyes are Smilin

Now I don't think I have one single ounce of Irish in me...well, maybe a smidgen ...But I do have a love for all things Irish...specially my darlin Irish Man ...Richard! His Mothers folks came from Ireland (McMillan Clan) ...and he is mighty proud... So even though we have but one in the household today that is Irish...today...all things be Irish!! I can smell my corned beef and potatoes cookin in the Slow Cooker, Irish soda bread is bakin we have the 'All Irish Music All Day' channel on cable ...he is wearin green and walkin around the house singin happy Irish Tunes.... of course it could be the fact that he finished off the rest of the stout that didn't go in the Corned Beef.... It's a Happy Day indeed and I just love those days....

So a VERY HAPPY St. Paddy's Day to one and All.... "May the clover comfort your feet as you walk through life...and may Rainbows End settle in your soul bringin a Blessed Future in that pot of Gold"

The Artistic Vortex!!

HELP...I am caught in the middle of an 'Artistic Vortex' ... this sucker hit me dead on and there was no time to step to the left or right of it....BOOM!!!...head on ...smack dab dead center it hit!! OUCH!!.. This I must admit happens to me every so often...so I am no stranger to this ' situation' ...the trouble is, I never know where or when it will hit!! Unfortunately it is not like Hurricane season that they can predict with some sort of certainty ...between this month and that month... it is a confusing little sucker as it comes from 'within' and when you least expect, it finds someway to 'ooze' out ...gather strength and then double back at you full bore

!!! I always know it will come...it always does...it always has... at different ages in different places brought on by who knows what!!!... and once again... this little emotion sapping... creative tapping... senses zapping entity found my address and is camped out on my doorstep...rap tap tapping at my Door!!! ...and I AM NOT falling for the Old "CANDY GRAM" bit this time!!!

My Artistic Vortex (as I like to call it) it when my fingers want to do something creative, but my brain can't make up it's mind on what to do, and then a sneaky side slips in with the voice of doubt that it can't be done anyway whatever I might decide... while yet another voice whispers "why bother" ...and then a mental note arrives about that time with overwhelming messages of 'reason and logic' "doubt and questionings'.... all coming back to my fingers that just wanna do something but they are held prisoner by volumes of mixed signal missages!

And on top of that Artistic Hell ...I am then pelted with a barrage of creative rockets that thrill and inspire ...only to hear that DAMNED little voice again... "Are you Nuts...it's been done, is being done, this is not your style, you have no style, stay within the lines, it will take too long, don't reach that far, reach farther....have another cookie"!!!

If you have not guessed already...my Artistic Vortex is my own inner self throwing up every road block it can to repress the natural flow of Art. My definition of Art has always been freedom of mind, spirit and emotion... ...the Artistic Vortex is like having 'clogged pipes' where nothing flows through ...ahhhhh to have a Brain and Soul 'Plunger' ...

My feet are stuck and my objective is 10 feet in front of me...just out of reach... and I swear it just stuck it's tongue out at me!!!

The Good News....this is always short lived... I will learn to curb the voices with ear plugs, pamper the soul with promises of understanding and let my fingers do the the creative dance they so enjoy doing...

Jodi