Voodoo Scrubs

Consider this post a follow-up.

 In my previous post, the inspiration for creating small cloth skullies and a brief description of how they were made was provided. Here my daughter models their first application in use. The skulls were appliqued to the pockets of these thrift store scrubs.




In the picture below you can see the bone skull bead that was sewn at the neckline of her scrubs.

She will be wearing these when she takes anatomy class later this summer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She starts classes for her graduate degree in Occupational Therapy tomorrow. As we did not have a scalpel handy she posed with an Exacto knife.

Carina

Oh-la-la Granny Panties

Sensible white cotton panties wear out. Sometimes they get tossed, sometimes they become rags and sometimes they find a whole other use. This is just such a tale.

 Scrolling through photos taken at the past, last Artfest this spring I was drawn to some of the clothing worn by the stuffed creatures made in Junker Jane's class.
 
        http://junkerjane.blogspot.com/2012/04/artfest-2012.html

When she is not creating ghoulish, monster dolls or intriguing journal bags, Jane goes by the moniker Catherine Zacchino

The clothing detail that drew my attention was these crude little skull appliques on several outfits. Outfits that the monster dolls were wearing.Gathering up supplies including the backside of worn, white, cotton panties, black lining material from inside a wool skirt and some cast padding I made a material sandwich and got the sewing machine humming. My own little skullies would be forthcoming.



After sandwiching my layers, I drew skulls by hand with a Sharpie marker. The marker lines were stitched by machine with black thread. With a small, sharp detail scissors the eye sockets were cut open to reveal the underlying black lining material. Small, black beads were sewn on by hand to represent nostrils.




The first two sullies to find use were appliqued to the pockets of a thrift store navy colored scrub top. My daughter takes human anatomy this summer at Virginia Commonwealth University and I gave her these as a gift to wear to her lab section, Voodoo scrubs.


Carina

Turtle Burgers

Yes, the idea originated on the internet, Facebook to be exact.

No, no turtles were harmed in the production of these turtle burgers.

Part of my fascination with Facebook is the pictorial images and those of turtle burgers grabbed me, intrigued me, even though I seldom eat items with protruding hot dogs.

 Recipe details were sketchy when blog sites referencing the actual preparation of turtle burgers were visited. The video linked here used ground turkey and turkey bacon.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLtfTm_ieTg

Other variables included oven vs. grill and the use of straight-up ground beef. I opted for a meatloaf-style beef mixture, as it was more likely to stay moist during oven baking. Near the mid-point if baking the appendages were covered with a little aluminum foil to prevent over cooking and becoming too dark.

Whole cloves were inserted at the end of cooking made turtle eyes.

A little over one pound of ground chuck mixed with breadcrumbs, egg, onion and grated cheddar cheese, 12 strips of bacon and 6 good quality hot dogs made for two very substantial turtle burgers.

The husband ate 1/2 a turtle at dinner and the daughter and I split the other 1/2. The remaining turtle got sliced and made into sandwiches later in the week. This is not a menu item destined to become part of our general meal options, but now I know how to make these odd burgers. They would be an interesting potluck choice for the right party.

Carina

Dignified Old Dogs

Old dogs know a thing or two about about dignity - and fake bunny ears are not part of the equation. Blame it on Facebook, all those Easter-time photos of dogs and cats sporting bunny ears. Blame it on digital cameras and the ease of photo processing.

 Yes, I gave in to peer pressure and my dogs suffered the consequences. I thought that pictures of our dogs in bunny ears would be a darling addition to the chocolates in the Easter basket, so I set about getting some. Levels of canine cooperation with this decidedly human venture varied.





Ranger, weighing in at 10 pounds and guessed to be a chihuahua and corgi mix seems genetically programmed to pose and wear adorable outfits. Just do not try to get little boots on his feet ( to prevent toe pad frostbite on frigid weather walks). He ain't having any part of that.

Greta, with a probable rottweiler and Australian herding dog heritage aims to please. While her look tells me she feels silly, if this is what her human wants, well then, she will do it.





Roxy, true to her terrier ancestry, just wanted to pull those ears off Greta's head and run around the dog yard shaking them, making sure they were dead, quite dead. Once they were on her head, it was a whole different story.





The dog aware of the dignity engendered in being the family's elder canine representative is Calypso (aka Butchie). She is your basic brown dog, with a family tree so interwoven with the various strains of dogdom that she identifies as nothing more specific than dog, a dog with dignity. At 14, she takes human foolishness with a grain of salt. While she will wear those preposterous ears, she will not look into the camera and pose.





After putting up with this whole business quite long enough..... thank-you.....she heads for home.

 



No use in calling her name, even if her deaf ears could hear me, she's done with this, done baby! No more photos and no comment!




Carina

Suffer not the flowers

Settling in on the sofa, the daughter spots the flowers on the coffee table and asks "What's with the roses?" She knows that not only does her papa not have a standing account with the florist, he probably would be hard pressed to name the nearest shop. If I purchased flowers for myself, 3 roses would be an unlikely choice.


These flowers grace our coffee table through unusual circumstances. Saturday evening, before going to bed, I took the 2 house dogs for their customary nighttime walk. About a quarter mile from home, near our left turn, the dogs took an avid and atypical interest in an something in the grass, extended sniffing by both alerted me to an object of interest. A flashlight pulled from my pocket revealed 3 tightly budded roses, leather-leaf, babies breath and at a slight distance a ribbon bow.


Walking the dogs Sunday morning I found the vase. It, being heavier, had traveled a bit farther after being thrown from the open car window and had been less evident in the dark. The exact circumstances will remain speculation. Who tossed those roses? Did the recipient think they were inadequate to make up for bad behavior? Did the giver get a cell phone call en route to delivery and have angry second thoughts?

A mystery it is likely to remain, but I am enjoying those roses.

Carina

Live - Love - Read - Repeat

This tale is as good as any to return to blog writing. I am just back from the Festival of the Book, a 5 day, 222 set of separate events that takes place in Charlottesville, Virginia. Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the festival is an annual celebration of reading and literacy, now in its 18th year.

Events take place at numerous locations throughout town and on the University of Virginia campus, so parking and logistics become an important component of developing your personal, book-loving itinerary.

On Friday the 23rd, I attended the 2pm event at New Dominion Bookshop entitled Fiction: Family Riddles, Secrets and Stardom with the authors Tayari Jones, Jael McHenry and Alan Shapiro presenting. Tayari Jones's current novel is Silver Sparrow, her third. In the latter part of the program, after each author had read a selected passage from their work, it was time for questions.In response to an audience question Tayari detailed her difficulty in getting her novel published.

Her previous publisher had been bought by a larger company and she was informed they were no longer interested in "quiet" novels.Sometimes it can be easier getting agents and publishers interested in your first manuscript. If it is good they can tout you as the next Danielle Steel or Mary Higgins Clark, but at novel #3 it is quite clear you are you and not anyone else.

Having been published previously, Tayari believed she could get and advance on her partially finished manuscript. Inquiries were made, no one indicated an interest. She considered abandoning the novel, leaving it unfinished. She thought about the advice she would give a student and soldiered on, completing her story. No publisher showed an interest in the completed book either.




A writer's conference had been on Tayari's schedule for a while. Without a new novel and somewhat frustrated and embarassed by her inability to secure a publisher, this was not an event she was eager to attend. Obligation and responsibilities being what they were she went. In between scheduled presentations at the writer's conference a woman approached Tayari and told her how much she admired her first two books.

As the conversation progressed, Tayari opened up a little about her publishing dilemma. The woman smiled and literally took Tayari by the hand, saying "I have someone you need to meet." She guided Tayari across the room and made introductions to the representative that would eventually become Tayari's publisher.

They started an encouraging discussion and the representative asked "How do you know Judy?"

"Judy?" Tayari responded with a blank look.

"Yes, Judy that brought you over here, Judy Blume."

Tayari was stunned. She had never met Judy before had no idea of her identity. Looking up Tayari saw Judy was gone, melting into the crowd.

I hope my repeat and retelling of this tale is fairly accurate and you liked the story as much as I did.

Carina

John Oates

You remember John Oates, don't you, half the duo of Hall and Oates, the most successful duo in rock history with 13 gold or platinum soul-infused albums and 26 Top 30 singles. Oates co-wrote three of their No. 1 hits -- "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Maneater" and "Out of Touch" - as well as top singles "Sara Smile," "You Make My Dreams," "She's Gone" and "Adult Education."

John and his band played at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Festival in September. My daughter and I caught John in performance at last event on the State Street stage, the last day of the festival - the All-Star Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers Revival. It was definitely a tribute to the origins of Bristol's musical heritage. The Black Lillies' Cruz Contreras led the assembled band. A band that included the likes of John Oates, Carrie Rodriguez on fiddle, Michelle Malone, Darrell Scott, Dale Ann Bradley, Robinella, Langhorn Slim and others. On time and in tune they loaded up and played the heck out of a batch of Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers songs.

Trying to give the 24 year old daughter some additional music history and background, I was explaining John Oates career trajectory, including Hall and Oates.

The daughter gave my a semi-incredulous look and explained that she had indeed heard of that band but had always thought that it was named

Holland Oats


Wonder if she ever saw this album cover?

Carina