The Mama Market and Children's TV Puppet Shows

I drove on down to Belleville this afternoon to drop off my creatures for The Mama Market at the Quinte Family Centre on MacDonald Avenue.  I am very excited as it promises to be hugely successful.  I'll let you know how I do afterwards.

I managed to get a new cat finished for the Market, but a new monkey mobile didn't make the cut.  But it will be ready for the next show which is Craft Fushion in Batawa on November 30th.

During the week we drove over the Kingston as I had an hospital appointment.  We had a wonderful lunch at the Mango restaurant on Princess Street (Thai and Pan-fusion) which I heartily recommend.  On the drive home our conversation edged into the absurd.  I think the 1970s must have had a truly ginormous number of children's television shows that used puppets.  We began naming them, indeed it was good fun as we remembered some of these shows.

Of course there were the Muppets, but do you remember Sooty and Sweep:

Basil Brush, whose catchphrase was "Boom, Boom":

 The Magic Roundabout.  I do love Florence's hair!

Rainbow.  Characters from left to right are George, Bungle and Zippy.

Stingray, with the silent mermaid Marina, and of course the dishy Captain Troy Tempest.

The list goes on and on, but I won't bore you to death, but it really did prove to be a very good car game. 

Finally, I'm really looking forward to The Day of the Doctor.  I've loved Doctor Who for years, well love is possibly a bit extreme, but I have memories of watching with my older sister Sarah and both of us would have a pillow to hide our eyes behind when it got scary! So, all in all, this should be a great weekend.  I hope your's will be great too.

Have a happy day!

I missed the last open day at Amazing Graze Alpacas as it was my birthday weekend, so knowing that they were open to the public on Saturday October 10th I was determined to go.  I had been feeling rather poorly for a couple of days, nothing mega or tangible, but I have MS and sometimes I become overly fatigued, so it was with money in my pocket and appreciation for the sunny, 20 degree weather that I headed out.

I drove over to Stirling then headed up Highway 14.  I glanced to my left at a farm and thought that the cows looked a bit strange.  They were very grey and I haven't come across any breeds with that colouration.  Then I looked again.

... and then I saw the name of the farm.  Ontario Water Buffalo Company.  Duh!  Water Buffalo!  I should have whipped my camera out, but this is a photo from the website of the Ontario Water Buffalo Company.  The area I live in really is wonderfully diverse.  There is an annual Water Buffalo Food Fest in Stirling-Rawdon, this year it was in early September and next year I'm definitely going. 

So I drove a short way on and came to Sine Road, and fell in love.

 

They are soooo gorgeous.

 

I love this face, and his colouring which owner Marj calls pralines and cream.

 

Steven the other owner of this wonderful enterprise told me that alpacas grow to about 180lbs about half the size of llamas.  Alpacas were not used as pack animals because of their small size, and their fibre, being so much finer than that of llamas was reserved for the Incan royalty.  The babies are called crias until they are weaned at 6 months. and their fibre is even softer.

My money was burning a hole in my pocket, so I had a great time cruising the produce displayed in the barn.  I wish I were a better knitter because they have some fabulous spun yarn, maybe another time when I've had a chance to work on my knitting.  In the meantime there were plenty of other things more relevant to my current work and below is my stash.

 

A pair of Canadian alpaca fibre socks.  My feet were feeling chilly this morning so I had to put them on.

The official line is that Alpaca fibre is truly elite - finer, softer, warmer and lighter than wool.  What I can tell you is that it is toasty warm.  My feet feel very comfortable - I am a convert. 

I also bought some roving.

 

How gorgeous is that!  Pralines and cream on the left and a dyed mix of blue, purple and green on the right.  Don't ask me what I'm going to make with them - I haven't a clue, but, I can tell you I am going to make an alpaca.  Its on the list now.  I'm not sure when I'll get around to it as I have a few things I want to have for the upcoming Christmas season.

 

Something I am enjoying making at the moment is mobiles.  I'm off to a One of a Kind show next Sunday in Maynooth Ontario so it will be interesting to see how well they are received, and then I have the Mama Market in Belleville on November 23rd.

 

The latest mobile is Weather, it has the sun in the middle, and a rainbow, snow cloud, rain cloud and thunder cloud spinning around it.

 

Have a happy day!

 

 

 

Monkeying Around

So, the evenings are starting to draw in.  First of all it was slowly, slowly, but now each evening it is getting dark earlier.  Some of the trees have a fine colour, but there is still a lot more to come for which I am very glad as I'm going to a One of a Kind Show in Maynooth Ontario on Sunday October 20, and we are anticipating a fine colour show on the drive up. 

 

This picture is across our road.  It doesn't capture the reds in the maple as much as the oranges.

 

The flowers on my wheelbarrow were past any pretension of beauty, so when Farmer Francis came to the door carrying a pumpkin for me I was presumptuous enough to ask for an additional three (he had a poor crop this year, only 200 - next year he plans to beat the birds who got many seedlings and I am promised a white pumpkin).  Fortunately Farmer Francis (Murray to his friends) has a partiality for carrot cake, and I took full advantage of this by offering him a cake in exchange for the pumpkins. 

Looking at the face of Miss Bea(have) you wouldn't believe butter could melt in her mouth.  However, we have been have issues!  She has been refusing to eat her dinner of chicken, carrots and rice, preferring to hold out in the hopes of getting more treats.  She is now on a treat-restricted diet whereby she's not allowed any until she eats her dinner.  I don't count the Snausages I halve and throw for her at breakfast time as I include them as part of her exercise regime.

I have been invited to participate in the Holiday Mama Market on Saturday, November 23rd : 900am - 300pm and  Sunday, November 24th : 900am - 300pm, at 301 Macdonald Ave, Belleville.  You can see more information on my Hetty Jean facebook page if this is local for you and you wish to attend.  So, with the Holiday Mama Market in my mind I started to think of what might be suitable products for me to show, and I am very happy with what the design I came up with.

 

A Monkey Mobile.  I'm thrilled with it.  There are five monkeys in different poses.  Leaves in different hues of green create a jungle feel, and there is a bird perched on the canopy top.

 

I researched mobiles, and found that very often the objects on mobiles are oriented for adult enjoyment.  So I have tried to orient my monkeys so they are looking down and their heads are oriented for viewing from below rather than on a level.

Pete took me out for my birthday to a lovely east-coast style restaurant in Belleville, Kalays, where we had a scrumptious lunch.  I had a Blackened Shrimp Po-Boy with crisp sweet potato fries (these have to be kept on ice and then dipped into a thin tempura batter to create crispness when they are fried), it was totally scrummy.  Pete had halibut and chips - the best fish and chips he's had in a long time.  Pete doesn't eat desserts, so I ordered a sampler plate of cheesecakes and two forks.  There was a New York style with berry coulis, Chocolate and lastly Lemon and White chocolate.  The last was my favourite and Pete (who doesn't eat desserts but always eats half of mine when we go out) liked the chocolate.  A nice cup of coffee rounded off the meal.  I took my camera with me but didn't think to take photos of the food, however I did get Pete to take a photo of me, just in case anyone was wondering what I look like.

Oh for a proficiency in air-brushing!

 

Have a happy day!