Debi Hubbs Illustration

At sea in the summer sunshine
fresh bread maybe even some wine
She has dreams you see
for fish fricassee
While the cat thinks canned tuna is fine.

The Hooters
A new original and prints now available.

Now that I am designing fabric I feel a big desire to sew all the time. I have a charming machine sitting here. Tons of fabric. I see so many amazing quilts that inspire me all the time to put my sewing expertise to good use. Well maybe not “Good”, but to use. Let me tell you a bit about my sewing experience. Each summer my Mom took me to the fabric store and I would get to pick out an “SEW EASY” pattern. We both entered that state of “shoppers high” that only true gatherers can understand as we shopped the fabric store for patterns and fabric. I was full of anticipation as I would sew those draw-string shorts or stuffed animal, purse, etc. Later, as I pinned the fabric to the patterns I would get her annual uplifting speech…. “Sewing is like life… blah blah blah.” I never heard the rest because I was thinking about flooring that sewing machine into warp speed and putting on my new shorts. Still in a hurry, I chopped most of those triangle thingies off the pattern as I was cutting out the pieces. Oops, another one down! I ignored the iron completely (just as I still do). And then I sat down to the sewing machine and began. The glorious hum started which quickly turned into a whirl and whiz of machine sewing fabric until the horrible sound of thread becoming a birdsnest and the machine winding down to a solid buzz. Then a halt. The lovely speech from Mom again as I was removing the stitches while she tried to fix the machine. Or probably her doing both of those while I tuned out her speech. Over and over. Cut to a few hours later and I was probably riding my horse as my Mom sewed my shorts. It took a full year for us both to erase the misery of my yearly summer sewing lesson and then we would go back to the fabric store again pretending this would be the year I would learn to sew.

But now that I am beginning to grow up I figure it is time to learn to sew. This was the final nudge. I see these cute hoodie/sweater/coats by Katwise. Look how cool she looks.


And I really wanted to make one. But… I need a ton of sweaters, a serger, and lets be honest I needed to know how to use a serger. But does this stop me? NO. I have a bona fide brainstorm! I decide the next best thing is to make a Katwise inspired Hoodie but turn it into a Dogwise Doodie.

A Dogwise Doodie is a hoodie for a dog without the hood and instead has a turtleneck because thats what I have. And isn’t made of sweaters because I only have other fabrics laying around. And isn’t remotely like the Katwise sweater but I still call it that because “Dogwise Doodie” is kinda cute, especially since Pebbles is very wise and likes to dole out fortunes and advice.

And here is how it started. I went to buy sewing stuff. I bought some nice scissors. And I got one of these. Hoping I wouldn’t need it.

*Step one. Cut out strips.

*Step two. Sew strips with no plan. Now this is what I call sewing! La Dee Da!!! I am a seamstress!!! I even found reverse!

*Step three. Perform a fitting. Pebbles is not much help. I decide to cut a shirt down the middle so it fits her better and figure the rest out as I go. I keep sewing strips. I even put ends on some and called them sleeves.

*Step four. Become horrified as the bobbin runs out of thread. And I mean horrified because I don’t remember how to do all of that bobbin business. Truth be told I am using the exact thread that was in the machine and bobbin because I was too scared to try to change it.

*Step five. Find the manual. Look at this happy Bee giving me bobbin and threading directions. He is no help. After some coaxing, begging and threatening, I heard a click as the thread went down in the bobbin area somewhere. I took it as a good sign. Back in business! Sewing is like life. Sometimes threats work.

*Step six. Sewing strips is still fun but when I finish each row I have a few extra threads to cut. Instead of 2, I end up with 3. Sometimes 4. I just tugged those threads off the machine and pretended that was normal.

*Step seven. After a large birdnest size thread ball I admit I have issues below that hood there. I decide to call my Mom. Over the phone I swear I hear her excitement. She is so thrilled to be giving me sewing advice! ha ha! I kinda zoned out on her instructions so I got this guy to help me.

*Step eight. For some reason the machine is working. I have no idea why. And no extra threads. I attached the sleeves and had another fitting. Pebbles is impressed.

But she did say it was tight on her underarms. So I just cut the shirt in half again. And added a racing stripe.

*Step nine. I made some sort of bottom and used the bottom from the cut up shirt for the end of the doodie so I would not have to hem. I hate hemming. Same with the sleeves.

*Step ten. I realize the doodie is kind of ugly and decide I will worry about that tomorrow.
To be continued…

PS (The coolest thing I discovered about making the Dogwise Doodie was it gave me something to do while I wait for the sun to come up. I am such a morning person. But I cannot paint until the sun actually rises. I have no idea why. I have electricity so it’s not that. Just an odd thing. Anyway, this sewing is fun at dark so how nice to have something to do at 4 am besides going to the gym.)

Update. I caved and bought this. A 6 foot statue replica from the Easter Island Moai. Some people call him Gum Gum from the movie Night at the Museum.

I just love it. One of those purchases you never regret.

I have been redoing the back yard. At a snails pace really but some progress has been done.
Added a beach… which is so cool.

Fountain…

Still need the grass, palapa tops, and more landscaping. And tikis!

So, I saw some cute tikis at a nursery and the owner said a local man could make me some. I gave her my phone number and asked her to tell him to call me next time he made some. One day I got the call. “Yeah this is Bob. You can pick up your tikis. I live in Guatay.” (Eeks Guatay! The middle of no-where, and famous because this man lives there…

Also famous for being a remote town without laws and random body parts being found on occasion. Ok, a slight exaggeration on the body parts, but they probably just have not been found yet.)

Bob’s directions to his house sounded like a horror film plot. He said, Go to the liquor store, turn left down the road. I live in a cabin. If you get lost ask for Bob…….The Carver. The directions were vague but I guess I could just stop and ask Tiger Man where Bob the Carver lived if I got lost. I began to wonder how fast I could run. As I drove there I went over his directions again in my mind. Turn left on isolated dirt road,

ask for directions if needed,

and you are here….

But what actually happened was I met this nice guy Bob and he gave me these.

I have been working a lot doing things like this…

and some of this…

and more of this…

After working more than normal I usually like to relax for a day or two. The plan was to lay in bed, eat snacks and enjoy doing nothing. I would watch TV and read. It started out nicely as indulgence is my specialty but next thing you know I was watching Swamp People. When I caught myself beginning the 4th episode of that series I realized it was time to get out of bed and get myself some overalls. I mean why not just wear cutoff overalls everyday? Shoes and shirt optional. The highlight of the show is Theresa, who is Junior’s wife. What a woman. I am very fond of her. She cooks whatever they catch and that is some creative cooking. All of their food is caught from that swamp and she rarely gets to shop the Piggly Wiggly. I heard her saying something about Mud Hen for breakfast but they did not elaborate on that.

One night after Junior finished his dinner he TOLD her to get him some coffee. Well, Theresa was still eating her Swamp Turtle Stew over by herself at the table. And in a Cajun growl she let Junior know she was still eating and that was that. Junior just shut his mouth and shrank down a bit in his chair. I should record that show now that I think about it. Watch a bit of Theresa here. And get a pen and paper because you may want to write down her recipe for Swamp Turtle Stew. I think someone should put Theresa in Martha Stewart’s opening time slot for a hot new cooking show. And I am 100% serious.

http://www.history.com/shows/swamp-people/videos/swamp-stew#swamp-stew

Some of my recipes. Marinated Chicken…

I have been cooking some gourmet food myself lately. Beans. I just really like them.
I cook…
1 can of red beans (rinsed really well because what is that stuff?)
1 small onion
1/2 ish can fire roasted diced tomatoes (and I just waste the rest because I can’t find smaller cans and I’m too lazy to put the rest in a container.)
mushrooms or red peppers or zuccinni if they are easy to grab. If not, eh, no bother.
Brown the onion(and other veggies) in a TINY bit of olive oil. I mean a whisper of oil, you can add a tiny bit of water if you need to.
Add the tomatoes. Stir around.
Add the beans. Cook a few minutes while stirring. Add some some spices.
Then add feta cheese and hot sauce if you like it. I add Cholula.
This tastes great with eggs for breakfast. Or just eat this for breakfast. OK, I realize I am not as creative as Theresa from Swamp People. If you feel like you need to fancy these beans up just add turtle. Or some salad.

Back to my days of indulgence. After getting out of bed I accidentally got hooked on ….. finding my ancestors. I am on ancestry.com nonstop. Oh so interesting! I have started my family tree and cannot believe how cool that site is. It is very helpful and you will realize that complete strangers (but probably somehow related) have done most of your work. I will fill you in with some of my colorful relatives sometime.

Other obsessions:
Traveling. Reading about traveling, reading peoples traveling blogs. Well, this isn’t a new obsession but it is still going strong.
House Hunters International. Along with Big Bang Theory this is my very favorite show.
Dance Moms (Yeah I know, but I can’t stop watching it.)
And I kind of want to buy a house in Hawaii. On the big island. So I look at the homes there everyday and cannot decide on the wet side of the island or the dry side.
And lastly, I am obsessed with Space Bags. I am in love with them really. I redid my closet and space bagged all the clothes I don’t really wear. And I got those cool black velvet hangers. And now I smile when ever look at my closet. Space Bagging is underrated.

Donna Seegmueller sent me these images and I had to share them. How cute and what a great idea. Love it! Here is what she did…

Donna: I want to share with you a creation I made using Debi Hubbs design, The Picnic, which I purchased at the Quilt Loft in Albany Oregon during the “sew Oregon” event in October 2011. Using a pattern (Simplicity Quick& Quilted project, 1981) from something I made many years ago, I adapted the design to create a picnic map and two placemats.

I think it will make a perfect Christmas gift for friends who love crows and watermelon.

Recently I visited (with a family member who I am not allowed to discuss on this website but I will volunteer that this certain family member was mildly disgruntled over attending the garden with me but seeing as it was my birthday grumbled along which actually made the garden a bit more entertaining.) Anyway, I like a good plant and clever landscape but when I saw this I was really impressed. I don’t know who made these, or how, and am too lazy to look it up but here they are. Plant people…

A dancing couple.

A high stepping lady.

And I guess when those dancers get thirsty they have a cocktail waitress ready to serve them.

I was just going to show you my latest turkey that is one of the stars in my new ecards.  Tudfwich P. Thompson.  This is him here…

And this is him on a bad day…..

Anyway  while I was thinking of names I remembered my alias that I use in order to travel freely and not cause a big stir.  (Fame can be so taxing.)   I thought I would offer my special system I used to create my alias in case you too want to go about unnoticed.  Here is the formula so you can make yours…

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your NEW first name.    Mine is B.    Example: d e B i        B= Doombah

a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dink y
z = zippy

2. There will be two halves of your last name. For the first half  use the second letter of your last name: Mine is U.   Example: hUbbs = Chuckle

a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = sn ickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = g irdle

3. And for the last step. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name: For example: huBbs= boob

a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pan ts
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l =  tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

And now you see how I can go about without causing any attention.

Warmest Blessings,

Doombah Chuckleboob

I just can’t believe how glorious this quilt is! It’s hard to express how amazing it feels to see a painting of mine eventually turn into something as wonderful as a quilt. And to see so many of my patterns all together in one fabulous piece is so exciting. I really, really, love it. I was hoping it was for sale when I contacted Lorrie Hockett. But darn it, it sits on one of her beds.

Lorrie explained to me that she created it along with Carole Moseley. Fantastic job both of you!

Lorrie said:

My walls are full of quilts so rather than make yours into wall hangings I put them together as a quilt, with the bright colors it is a very fun quilt to have on the bed. I added the plastic eyes, embroideried the names of each block, used fur fabric for the cows and used some decorative stitches on each block for added interest, I like to embelish my projects to make them more unique/individual. your patterns are so fun to sew and quilt, keep them coming!I have entered it in 2 shows and will do some more with it. After the applique’, it was turned over to Carole Moseley to do the quilting.

Carole said about quilting:

I have been a longarm quilter for several years and love doing custom work with no restraints. When I received Lorries quilt I could not believe my eyes. It made me happy the whole time I was quilting it. She is a beautiful quilter and excellent at appliqués. She gave me permission to do what I would like on the quilt. Each block was quilted with what I saw in that block. It was hard not to smile each time I looked at it. Thank you Lorrie for letting me quilt this fantastic quilt.

Latest Obsessions…

1. Planters 5 Alarm Chili Peanuts. I have been putting them all over my nonfat cottage cheese, my salads, and soup. And in between this I eat them from the jar and then lick the spicy dust stuff off the palm of my hand like a 4 year old would.

2. Easter Island Giant Statue… Need I say more? I just want this really, really badly.

Ok, so it is $995. That is the rub. Also, I kinda want a few of them. Which really sounds expensive. I have unrealistically decided I just may make them myself. Seems like I could make some huge ones in paper mache, add a bit of chicken wire, and then add concrete. Or? That is where I get stuck. What do you put on the outside? Stucco? If you have any ideas I would love to hear from you.

3. Mermaids. Again.

4. My piano. I am becoming a self-taught pianist. I was a bit down the first day or two when I realized I am not a prodigy. And reading music is HARD. Getting my left hand and right hand to do two different things is like tapping the top of your head with one hand and rubbing a circle on your stomach with the other hand and easing on the gas pedal, while saying the alphabet backwards. In Italian. But, I keep practicing, and after 5 days I can now bust out Jingle Bells. I visualize this Christmas I am going to amaze my guests with first having a piano, and second, playing it. I see myself nonchalantly playing tunes like Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirates Life For Me and Song from a Secret Garden.
And the crowd will go wild.

My friend Traci showed me these cute napkins on Etsy. Of course I had to buy them. I love seeing my fabric used in cute ways. I was impressed by the packaging, the cute note and even a magnet too. I will be back to this store again.

This quilt makes me laugh. If I could quilt I believe I would quilt something like this. She used my painting The Sunday Stroll. With my permission which I appreciated. My painting…

And Melissa Wehrle’s adorable quilt.

A closer view.

Look how funny the animals are walking around especially this cow.
I just love, love, love the quilt!

Melisa’s letter to me…

Dear Debi,
A couple months ago I wrote for permission to show a quilt with your design featured in the middle and you asked for a picture when I was finished. This was a round robin quilt challenge by my quilt guild and I had never done one before. The rows with the triangles were part of the challenge where quilt guild members (only 5 participated) would do a specific assignment like half square triangles etc for their row. I added the plain borders to increase the size and then added more creatures to add interest. It was my first attempt at quilting it myself on a home machine which was very challenging but at least I think I’m improving.
I really love your designs. They are fun and whimsical. Thanks so much. Melissa Wehrle

Bigfork Bay Cotton Company is bringing out a new quilt pattern of mine. Look how cute it is. They do such an awesome job.

They had a contest to find a name for my giraffe. I had to choose from over 500 names.

I want to thank everyone for such wonderful names. I really could not decide. And I changed my mind over and over. I hope some of you won’t mind if I use some of those fantastic names for my future creations. I will give you credit of course. My biggest dilemma for choosing a name was this little giraffe’s gender. I made him/her and I still cannot decide if he is a boy or she is a girl.

Here is the name I have chosen. Zuri. Which means beautiful in Swahili. I have a strong love for Africa and its amazing landscape, and spectacular animals. And most of all the beauty in the women and children there and how they persevere over challenges with such grace. Zuri represents all of the loveliness that is Africa for me.

If you are interested in this new pattern contact Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. I don’t have any yet…
Turns out there is another Zuri. Look at this darling baby who was born in Ohio.

Click here for more sewing circle news…

What do I do all day?
Beats me. I do know most days start the same. I wake up. Then I mill around the house and eventually go upstairs to my office. I look at my list of things to do. Actually I have 2 lists. The Big List has the big ongoing projects on it.

Big List

1. Come up with 24 garden flag illustrations.
2. Blue Xmas line
3. Finish the forest line Canoodling for crying out loud you’re almost done!
4. Make discs and print sample copies of the Iguanas and Ponies for Timeless
5. Make the doctor appt.
6. Paint my bedroom, my bathroom.
7. Lay down the flagstone and get the little plants for in the cracks.

Here is a sneak Peak on my new Forest Line.(Canoodling.)

And then there is the Do This Today Or Else.

After looking at my lists I try to find something on them I am in the mood to do. These lists are currently whats going on around here. I may have removed a few things to protect the innocent.

Do This Today Or Else

1. Paint: Fox, Owl, Bears, Pine Cones, maybe a woodpecker or something, 2 red sleds, work on fisherman painting.
2. Walk at least 6 miles or bike or gym.
3. Lowes – paint samples for bedroom and get a dishwasher and plants and one pot for the lemon tree.
4. Stupid store and buy some stupid food.
5. Laundry and clean at least one bathroom, vacuum downstairs.
6. Make the doctor appt.

So I decide after reading my lists to go take a bath. I have some really cool bath salts with lemon oil in them. The bath idea probably happened after reading about the lemon tree needing a pot. While in the tub I’m thinking about drawing a fox for the forest line and then I get a brainstorm about a hen with a fox around her neck for a shall. “A Fashion Risk”. Har har! I keep a notebook and tracing paper on the side of my bath tub along with a few magazines and this really warped copy of A Midsummers Night Dream which I can never seem to get into even though one of my goals is to read classic junk. Anyway, I write down that awesome “Fashion Risk” idea to do later and then begin to draw some foxes and bears on my tracing paper. Yes, things get wet and warped if you draw in the bathtub but I’m used to it. I don’t want the bears too realistic but not too cartoony either. Next thing you know I’m drawing an alligator instead because I got offtrack and thought a hen with an alligator purse would be funny.

Out of the tub and I’m painting the alligator in the kitchen. I see a pincher bug. Also known as Earwigs because they go in your ear and eat your brains. This one is just sitting on the floor looking up at me like a jerk. Uhg. The bane of my existence! Every year they come around for about a month. And I begin my war with them. It also tends to start a diet because somehow I always find one in a bowl or like earlier this week in my dishwasher and I vow to never eat or drink anything ever again. This is why I’m getting a new dishwasher. If I ever consume one of those I will just die. I flushed this pincher bug down the toilet. Not to kill him but because I hear they like moisture. ha! Back to work. While the alligator is drying I remember I need to start drawing a few bears. I can’t remember if the ears are on top of their heads or more on the sides so I decide I need to look at some real bear pictures. And maybe a fox. I could go upstairs and look on the internet or I could just save myself a little time and go to the zoo. So next thing you know I’m at the zoo.

San Diego has such an amazing zoo. I don’t know why I don’t loiter there more often.

I got to see the Pandas while they were eating.

I love a good camel. More cute things.

Here is the extremely rare R.O.U.S. Also known as rodent of unusual size.

Oh look a reindeer!!! See right on track for my Blue Xmas line I’m designing.

A baby giraffe. Ahhhhh!

And an interesting fact about male lions. Just like some shady alley cat they spray things. Except they can spray you from 7-10 feet away. Here is a shot of one I took from about 40 feet away. Just in case.

Oh and a bad shot of some bear for my “research”. Looks like the ears are kinda set back. Not on top or the sides really.

Here are some Orangutans.

The highlight of my day today was when I met the most amazing girl. And here is Janey.

This zoo employee here who I met told me Janey was raised in a human family before moving to the zoo. She loves to socialize with the humans. She is beautiful and so intelligent.

I sat on the ground right next to this guy and became mesmerized. I was not 2 feet from her. Lovely. He played games with her through the glass. Pretending to put on chapstick.
She would mimic him. I could have sat with her all day and just hated to leave. Apparently she has a webcam and her own myspace page. Odd thing is I didn’t know she was also an artist. I didn’t know this until I just now googled her name to see if I could learn more about her. And the zoo sells her art and I’m 100% positive I will be buying something of hers when I’m done typing this.

Before I go to bed I try to make the list for the next day. My secret trick is to add things I did to it so I feel like I got more accomplished.

Do This Today Or Else

1. Zoo for research photos…..Check!
2. Paint A Fashion Risk….. Check!

Tomorrow’s list

1. Paint: Fox, Owl, Bears, Pinecones, maybe a woodpecker or something, 2 red sleds, work on fisherman painting.
2. Walk at least 6 miles or bike or gym
3. Lowes – paint samples for bedroom and get a dishwasher and plants and one pot for the lemon tree
4. Stupid store and buy some stupid food
5. Laundry and clean at least on bathroom, vacuum downstairs
6. Make the doctor appt.

Cheryl Crandall wrote me recently. Read it in full on my Sewing Circle page…

My first stop in Europe was Barcelona, Spain.
I don’t remember Barcelona very much because I was so tired. I also did not get a lot of sightseeing in this city as I planned on spending the majority of my time in France, Italy, and Croatia. Here are a few things that stand out to me now.
The mullet is alive and well in Barcelona. So many guys still wear a mullet. And here is a woman mullet with two kid mullets. I took this picture because of the interesting pets for sale in that cage but I honestly don’t remember what they were now. I’m thinking now they were not that interesting after all.

A really impressive thing I could not get over is the dogs are not on leashes but follow perfectly behind their owner. Even when the owner rides his motor scooter all around the city the dog would just follow calmly behind.
I did not see one insect. No flies, bugs etc.
The streets were very, very clean. I have not seen US city streets kept this clean.
Graffiti. I don’t like it in any country and it is all over Europe. People call it a form of art but I’m never going along with that.
I liked the coffee here better than any other country I went to. The food was spectacular.
Outside of Barcelona the landscaping is very lush. Almost jungle like. It was beautiful.

Here is the view from my room looking down. I loved the location. And I could keep my window open and not worry about bugs because I guess there aren’t any. OH! Small detail to note. When in a hotel in the US and someone says go up to the 4th floor we mean enter the elevator and hit button 4. The door will open and there you are. When in Europe and someone says go up to the 4th floor they actually mean WALK up 5 levels that somehow manage to hold at least 30 flights of stairs. They count the ground level as 0 not 1.

I stayed in the area Barri Gotic which is the old town quarter along La Rambla. Basically, the best part of the city where you can walk to everything. This area is full of awesome shopping, restaurants and unbelievable architecture. The very narrow, winding cobblestone streets were designed like a maze to get tourists lost. Ok, maybe not tourists since this area dates back to Roman times. I think I recall it was to keep the enemy lost while the locals could escape.

You just walk down any winding narrow street and then suddenly you will be in a new square or plaza. I loved the plazas. Music, restaurants, dancing, street shows. Each one is better than the next. So charming.

I would say the biggest surprise I learned about Barcelona, SPAIN was they do not speak Spanish. They speak Catalan. Catalan was not a language I had planned on. Here was my plan. I cannot sleep while flying so I had the brilliant foresight to use my time wisely on the airplane and attempt to learn 3 languages. Well, that is a slight exaggeration. I thought I would learn Spanish on the first plane to New York because I did take some Spanish in high school and still retain an impressive ability to count to 30 and say, “Me llamo Debi”. I figured a quick review in a travel book would cover the basic needed Spanish in about an hour. So this should leave me plenty of hours left over to start on French before I even landed in New York and I’d be ahead. Then I’d finish the complete French language from New York To Spain. Two languages down before I touched the ground of Europe! I could then learn Italian if I studied while on the trains touring around Spain and France. By the time I would get to Italy I would know 4 languages including English. Five if you include Pig Latin. And my emergency back up plan was to use sign language because I do know a tiny bit of that. But sometimes even well thought out plans are not successful. According to my travel journal (which I foolishly fantasized would be extremely interesting by the time my trip was over) this is what really happened on the plane…

Journal Update #1
Probably flying over Oklahoma. Hot guy in front of me.
Language progress going better than expected- Italian numbers mastered…
1,2,3,4,5,8,10

Looks like I jumped right past my plan and thought the most important part of my communication would be counting in Italian. I’m going to blame the hot guy in front of me.

By the time I landed in Spain I had another journal entry I won’t bore you with but it ends with… I can now count to 20, I think!
Arrived in Barcelona, only to find out their voices did not sound Spanish. And that was because they were not speaking Spanish. But the good news was I could count to 20 in Italian.

One famous place I did tour was Sagrada Familia. Construction started on this in 1882 and it still is a work in progress.There is so much history to this place, the construction and why it looks the way it does. Something about combining styles and religions. And nature. Inside there are giant tree like columns. The plan began with Architect Francisco de Paula del Villar and then one year later Antoni Gaudi took it over and spent 40 years on it. And I think he may have had A. D . D. He changed his mind and plan over and over. All I can say is when I looked at it I was overwhelmed. Sometimes it looked like a stalagmite, and sometimes it was glorious.

Overall I found it to be one hot mess. I hope I don’t get hate mail for that statement. But it was way too much for me to look at with no sleep.

This building next door was my favorite.

And this is where I will stop on Barcelona because I lost my camera.

He is in the limelight today because it’s been a year and it still feels like he is here. He had the best sense of humor. A quality everyone appreciates. This was a happy day he and I had so I love this picture.

Finished this…

Prevailing Poised Poppy Performers

And here is the lovely Piggy Longstockings.  She is in all kinds of things.

And here is The Christmas Goose. One of the stars from my newest Christmas Line.

Pebbles has grown so much. Last trip to the vet she weighed 36 lbs. This was a shock to me as I still carry her around. Speaking of vets. Ever notice the correlation between the amount you love a dog and the amount of trips to the vet? As everyone knows I really love Pebbles, and I’m guessing by his swanky car that my vet does too. Some of my horrible dogs in the past did not get a trip to the vet unless they could prove to me that those 2 puncture holes on their football sized, swollen leg was indeed a rattlesnake bite. (Or if someone from outside of the family pressured me into taking them. And only then because I knew they would follow up on it.) I have had some bad dogs. In fact, I could write a whole book. I could call it You Just Can’t Kill a Bad Dog. Or maybe, Don’t Bother Feeding A Bad Dog Chicken Bones They Just Live Longer. (No offense to all those bad dogs of my past.) But anyway, things are different when you own a Super model pet. If she wakes up looking like this you do something about it. Off to the vet, and fast!

Ok, I will be honest, this is what she actually looks like. I’m sure you are staring in complete horror at that giant tusk sticking out of her mouth. She just does that to get me riled up. We have an agreement that she will not stick out the tusks but she does it anyway. Usually just the one. Just enough to irritate me but not call the orthodontist. Ever since her brief stint as the Tooth Fairy she thinks it looks cool.

Her movie career is really taking off. Her performance with Johnny Depp was outstanding.

Johnny and Pebbles were both happy to receive this…

When she isn’t working she lives an average dog life.  We begrudgingly continue with the pet training. Once a week for 3 months now. And all she does is sit. And she will stay if no one else is watching so I can’t prove it. She is the only dog to repeat the Beginner course in her class. At home you can usually find her in the kitchen. Hanging around the stove. Rooting around.

Hoping.

Or showing me that tusk.

Gorgousosity! This is where I stayed.  You can see two white umbrellas on my veranda.

I took more photos of Dubrovnik than any other place on my trip to Europe.  I am not exaggerating when I say there is no ugly view from any where in that city.

First, you need to know I am a horrible photographer. I just hold out my camera and click.  Not much else. Sometimes I don’t even stop walking to take the photos, let alone aim.
If I messed with settings or pretended to search for an artistic angle it usually backfired. My camera appreciated it when I left it alone and let it do it’s job.  And in exchange it gave me some lovely shots.

Even though I took a great tour on the history and sites of Dubrovnik Old Town I didn’t retain much other than jokes and a few bits.  Everything I retained was visual images with a few interesting facts I could have imagined so take my historical information with a grain of salt.   I must report exactly how cute my guide was. He was perfectly groomed, with perfect posture, and he held an umbrella in a perfectly clever way.  His braces gleaming, as he dazzled me with information that left me very impressed with the Dubrovnik education system and not so thrilled with the education I have had. He could have been 18 or 28, I just could not figure it out. I would insert a photo of him but I did not take one unfortunately.

Dubrovnik is stunning in architecture and charm.

A fishing town and shops for trading.

I love how people still live a normal life here right here in the same old shops and old limestone streets. This is the place the people come to buy fabric, yarn, umbrellas etc.  This is the whole fabric store! Oddly, I did not see any of my fabric designs for sale here. ha!

People think the streets are marble but my guide said they were built from local limestone, polished by centuries of feet walking on them. That is romantic to me. The photo below shows rush hour.  When a cruise ship arrives there is tourists milling around.  But when they leave a few hours later it’s back to a lovely fairytale.

And a nice photo of some local pirates…

There are no cars, or scooters. Just people, hundreds of fat, well mannered cats and possibly 2 dogs. At least that is all I saw.

The walled port town has been inhabited since Roman times.  The walls were built to fortify the town around the 13th century. You can climb on the top of the wall and circle the entire city with a walk you will never forget. I think it was 2 kilometers long.

I love this next photo looking down on a rooftop.  They managed to build a soccer court and the local kids were playing.

This walk was so beautiful. And a bonus was being up at this angle fulfilled my snooping urges that I can’t seem to hold back. I tried not looking in every  single window but one eye would stretch over on it’s own and see what was going on inside.

I am probably related to this woman spying on the other’s laundry.

Speaking of laundry.  I found Europe’s entire life style of hanging out the laundry amazing.  And I now have tons of photos of people’s laundry.  Laundry is actually gossip in a rope. Those clothes lines usually stretch to opposite neighbors across the narrow alleys.  This  forces neighbors to be kind to one another or risk the end of your clothes line.

A disastrous earthquake in 1667 happened which crippled the city and also a large number of Gothic and Renaissance palaces were destroyed.  As the city was rebuilt they decided to create the new buildings with similar fronts so as to keep a sense of equality with the people who lived there.   As you walk down the main street you see this.

More pirates…

I also saw this… a woman urinating fountain…. and it was right outside  a restaurant.

The Franciscan Monastery was built near the front entrance so the monks could be the first to defend the city.  Apparently this was convenient as  as they have no wives or children to leave behind.  There is a Pharmacy at the Franciscan Monastery that creates hand creams and other toiletries based on ancient recipes. The pharmacy is one of the oldest in the world and it has been working from the time of its foundation.  And there is always a bit of gossip isn’t there… The old convent across the street is rumored to have an underground passage way straight to the monks.  I will leave the rest to your imagination but it brings me to another interesting fact.

I also remember they have the first or one of the first Orphanages. From 1344 on the women of Dubrovnik brought their children who were born out of wedlock here.
At night, the woman laid the baby on a specially built rotating platform, called the “ruota”, rang the bell and snuck off. They say that anyone who approached the mother and discovered her identity was severely punished, either by exile from Dubrovnik or death.

Dubrovnik was a successful city due to location.  A maritime trade city who tried to remain neutral with other countries.  Dubrovnik was heavily bombed during the Croatian War of Independence from 1991 to 1995. Almost all of the damage has been repaired.  You can tell which roofs had new tile and which were still original.

But as you look closely around the old town, mortar damange in the cobblestone streets and bullet marks in the stone houses are visible. I saw marks all over.  Even on the side of the house I stayed in. It made me sick to think of that bombing.  I just love that city and the people.

In the distance is Fort Lovrijenac. The monumental fort on high rock. It changed roles in the course of history. The main purpose of its construction was defense, and the main idea was to protect the freedom of Dubrovnik. And now it holds a famous annual Shakespeare play.

The people here speak perfect English. They are delighted with the tourists and let you know how happy you are visiting.  There is no crime.  Flip flops were the best anywhere I have ever shopped.  Just the cutest styles.  Some nice artwork.  There is a lovely market to get fresh fruit and vegetables daily.  In the evening the locals are hanging out in town. I saw a fantastic opera one night held in a church.  It is so great in Dubrovnik I believe I have to have a Part 3 so you can see what is outside of these Old Town walls.