Valentino is Looking For Love

Meet 6.75" Valentino , my first mink bear of 2010. He was snatched up within minutes of appearing on my website, for which I am always grateful . Looks like he may be headed to Singapore for Valentine's Day.


An update to my Lily bear cam post earlier : I don't know if you've been watching, but I was so thrilled to be watching when Lily's cub was born on Friday. I got all teary when I heard those first cries and saw the little paw reach out to touch it's mom's nose. I have to admit I am somewhat hooked on that camera now. I'm like a mom checking on her newborn baby. I was equally excited to get a glimpse of the cubs head today before Lily put her big paw gently around it for protection and comfort. That baby sure is demanding and has an good set of lungs LOL.

Have you seen Lily ?

Incase you haven't seen this, I wanted to share as it is very interesting. A webcam has been placed near the den of a 3 year old black bear named Lily . It is believed that she will deliver her first litter of cubs soon. It appears that she has been in labour for several hours and is very restless at times. I've been watching all afternoon in hopes of seeing this miracle of birth take place :)

You can watch Lily here

A bear in the works

I have been working on a new mink bear this week from a new pattern that I drew up last week.
I am really happy with the way it is turning out. It always makes me chuckle though, no matter how I change a pattern the bears still look very similar. I guess that has a lot to do with the way I finish the face :)

I had hoped to have it completed by now, but I've been feeling a bit unwell for a couple of days. With any luck I'll get him/her completed soon.

Helping Haiti

I'm sure the world is well aware of the disaster in Haiti this week. I can't even comprehend what those people are trying to cope with when something so devastating happened so quickly.

I have friends who went there over a week ago with their 3 children, and a small team , to do some mission work in an orphanage. They certainly encountered more than they planned for in their 2 week trip . Praise God they are o.k . I got to chat online with them last night so I feel reassured that all is well. I was concerned how their young children might be handling this situation. It will be nice to see them home next week whenever they can get a flight .

They were about 150km outside of Port-Au-Prince, but still felt the earthquake and up to 30 aftershocks. Yesterday my friend's dad went into the city with other volunteers to help anyway they could. The area they are in is by no means prosperous, yet they were willing to share whatever they could to help those in more need. It always amazes me that those with so little seem to be the first to give.

It sounds like what they saw was unimaginable, and something they will never forget. They have posted their experiences on their blog . Haiti needs so much prayer and help right now, and God is there in the midst of it all. Look how the world is coming together so quickly to help our fellow man !

Mac & Cheese....good for the soul :)

I decided that 2010 was going to be a year that I found places to volunteer in my community. I have a few places that I feel draw to already. When my kids were younger I helped a lot at their school , and I miss that contact with the outside world. Working at home honestly does get lonely sometimes, and I feel like I've become a bit of a hermit . I need to fix that asap.

Today was my first time out and it was wonderful to meet new people and help some kids out. I spent the morning helping to prepare about 100 boxes of mac & cheese for a free lunch offered once per month to a local high school. This program started 3 months ago so this was the 3rd meal. It is prepared by church volunteers, and served by police officers, teachers and community members . I estimate about 350 kids came to the sports complex and enjoyed the hot meal. Wow, those teens can eat LOL. I didn't get to interact with the kids much , but had a wonderful time mixing , stirring, chatting, washing, mixing , pouring and more mixing.

So, today I can honestly say mac & cheese was good for my soul :) It is such a terrific feeling to give back to the community. I'm already looking forward to next month.

Now, I'm not telling you this to brag in any way. I just thought it might motivate someone to get involved in even the smallest way. You'd be surprised how "full" it makes you feel.

Felicity , my first bear of 2010

I am pleased to introduce Felicity . She is 8.5" of beautiful ivory and hand-dyed pink mohair . She is available for immediate adoption HERE.

Cranberry dye for a new bear

A few weeks ago I came across a bag of cranberries in my freezer. We had picked these a couple of years ago and never used them. I didn't want to be wasteful , so decided to experiment with them as a mohair dye .

So I gathered a pot, some salt and a little vinegar. I crushed the berries in the blender then boiled them in a pot of water on my woodstove. The fire was burning nicely so why waste electricity by turning on the stove :)

The color was very rich and vibrant . I had previously cut out the bear pattern and put the desired pieces in after it cooled a bit. I left it for about 30 minutes stirring often. I kept checking the pieces to see how much color they absorbed.

My son looked in the pot and thought I was making chicken balls with a cherry sauce LOL.

I then washed off all the liquid and put the pieces out to dry. I was a little disappointed that the shade was such a pale pink. It is pretty, but I had hoped for more of a deep cranberry tone. It was fun to experiment anyway.


Well, I spent the last few days working on the bear and she is now complete. I do like the soft tones now and think she looks pretty for my first bear of 2010. I'll get her photos done tomorrow and hope she finds a new home soon.

Back to the routine, or so I thought !

Here we are already the 4th day of the new year ! Today I woke up excited to get back into my routine with everyone headed out the door to either school or work. I was looking forward to quietly working on a bear, but alas MY plan went out the window LOL.

My upset mom called tell me that my uncle passed away unexpectedly in Ontario. Within 30 minutes she called me again to tell me she slipped on ice and fell down her stairs ! I rushed to her house , 10 minutes away, to make sure she was o.k. She was shaken up and is very sore, but I think she'll be o.k.

On my way home I stopped for some groceries and was nearly sideswiped in a parking lot ! So, I decided to come home where it was safe LOL.

Eventually I did attempt to start on the bear, but my sewing machine has other plans too. It just doesn't want to stitch properly. Now, school is over, the kids are home and I must plan supper so I'll have to put off bearmaking until tomorrow.

Funny thing is I found this whole day very humorous, and it didn't upset me in the least that my plan was foiled . Sometimes we need to be reminded that the world doesn't revolve around our plans at all. I was needed elsewhere and I am glad I was willing and able to be there for my mom.

My New Year's Resolution is to keep a positive attitude. Let's hope that plan works out :)