TGIF !!!

Good morning and TGIF Blogland Neighbor-hood! Well, sometimes you just want to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over your head (and take a little sewing project and a good magazine with you!). The reason?(this time....)? Well, unfortunately it seems "the city" has invaded our quaint little town of Jim Thorpe, Pa ......



.....2 days ago there was a drug bust (heroin) just a couple of blocks from both the high school (where Evan is in 10th grade) and the elementary school. If that wasn't bad enough, the 4 drug dealers from out of town got away from the police ....first by car, then on foot .... with GUNS !! We here at MBIAJ Headquarters were, as usual completely oblivious to what's going on .... Headquarters isn't in town, but on the outskirts right next to the State Park (translation: miles and miles of woods where armed criminals can hide from the State Police helicopters searching for them).....anyhow, Shadow and I were happily outside putting stale bread out for the birds and sort of noticed helicopters but didn't pay much attention to it (since there are occasionally search and rescue helicopters flying around looking for lost hikers in the State Park).....then Mr. Moonbeams called and informed us of the situation and that we should stay inside and lock the doors.....minutes later the school called with a recorded message informing parents that all Jim Thorpe schools were on a complete lockdown .... PANIC MODE here at MBIAJ Headquarters ..... THEN , looking out the front window there seemed to be an awful lot of SMOKE coming from down the street in the woods ..... UH OH! They just had a warning on the news the day before about how dry it has been (something we always pay attention to since, like we said before , we live in the woods and next to miles and miles of more woods!) .... well, due to armed criminals running around somewhere we couldn't run down the street to see what was on fire ....



.....luckily the fire dept from the other side of town came zipping over here and put out the brush fire before it turned into something major! Then, about 2 PM we got another call from the school informing us that the lockdown was over and the police got all 4 drug dealers and the kids would be coming home on the bus at the regular time ..... PHEW !! Crisis over .... but we want to know WHO INVITED "THE CITY" to our little corner of Mayberry !!

Anyhow, not much in the way of sewing was accomplished this week here at MBIAJ Headquarters what with armed criminals running loose and brush fires and all .... we hope to get a few more meesly little yo yo's made this weekend (we just thought we'd set our expectations low to start with and anything over and above will be icing on the cake....)

OH! speaking of yo yo's ......take a look at these .....




.....can you say "Super Size Me" !?!?!!?! Those things are HUGE !!! I think you could probably wear one on your head for a shower cap !!!












....those huge yo yo's were in this magazine ....




...Sew Hip ....lots of cute projects in this magazine from across the pond!















Well gang, it's time for us to crawl out from under the covers and go face the real world ...and we do have some good incentive today (in addition to the plan for some stitching time) ... today is opening day for Annie's Ice Cream (the local ice cream stand) !!! They open today after school at 3 PM !!! YAHOO!!! This is the social event of the month! Everybody and their cousin will be there today ! (makes me think I'm in the wrong business!!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy National Quilting Day !!

Happy Saturday and Happy National Quilting Day Blogland Neighbor
hood! This was news to us ....not that it's Saturday....although sometimes what day of the week it is IS news to us because we sometimes lose track....but not this time .... today we're on top of the situation and KNOW that it's Saturday .... what we did not know (until we read that Busy Little Quilter Amanda's blog) is that today has been declared National Quilting Day ! Now , of course this does not mean that , like other holidays eg. Christmas and Easter, we only participate in that activity on that specific day.....no... nope .... National Quilting Day is more like one of the many food holidays listed by American Food and Drink Days.....such as National Chocolate Brownie Day on Dec. 8th, and National Cupcake Day on Dec. 15th AND National Chocolate Covered Anything Day on Dec. 16th .....like quilting, we indulge in these FABULOUS pastimes all year round .... it's just that now we have a specific day to recognize that fact !

...so, to celebrate one of our favorite pastimes, we're gonna indulge in some chocolate (that's another pastime that ranks way up there in the "favorites" category) and then go on a little field trip to our local quilt shop and get us some fabric therapy !! What?...we don't need any more fabric ?(have you been talking to the Big Cheese Mr. Moonbeams? and whose side are you on anyway?!?!) ....ANYHOW we also don't need any more chocolate but that never stops us ! ....besides, Kitty has been hinting that she wants some fresh and pretty fabric for a new Easter dress and hat....so, the Sewing Dept has to go with her ....Right?

...HONK HONK HONK !!!! (Miss Impatient Kitty is out in the driveway laying on the horn).....gotta zoom!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Spring has Sprung !!! (or at least it's trying !!)

Good afternoon Blogland Neighborhood !! What a GORGEOUS day it is today here in northeast Pa !! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and it's 64 degrees !!! Well, here at MBIAJ Headquarters we just decided it's too nice of a day to be inside ....so, we're heading outside to GOOF OFF !!! SEIZE THE DAY as the saying goes .....cause tomorrow it's probably gonna be cold again !




We don't have the porch furniture out yet, so we'll just sit here on the porch steps ........ahhhhhh.....that warm sun feels GREAT ! We brought out our caffeinated beverage of choice for warmer weather ....diet coke (or iced tea is good when we're actually organized enough to make some.... ) and we brought out a stack of Mary Engelbreit Baskets of Flowers Charm Squares to make some yo yo's, AND 2 great books AND the latest Quilts and More magazine (which we finally found at Joann's this past weekend along with those 2 books.)



.....SO many cute projects in this issue !!! (for example, a mushroom by Miss Monica Happy Zombie and a piece of cake by Cindy Taylor Oates.





.....and this book by Glenna Hailey with page after page of fresh and pretty quilts with a nostalgic grandma's kitchen kind of feel....and ric rac .... LOVE that ric rac !!!





......oh !! and this book by Tone Finnanger ..... STINKIN' CUTE gasping for breath while drooling CUTE projects !!!











...and what are the rest of the MBIAJ staff doing while we're drooling over pretty projects and stitching yo yo's?.......


....soaking up the sun (that's Shadow)...


.....lounging on the porch (Daisy)...


....and enjoying a good stretch (that's Sam)








We hope you're all enjoying a sunny spring day AND some goof off time !

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy St. Patrick's Day !!

Top O' the mornin' to ya Blogland Neighborhood! Miss O'Kitty and the rest of the "staff" here at MBIAJ O'Headquarters thought we'd pop by for a minute while we're havin' a wee bit o' tea and wish you all the luck o' the Irish (hopefully that's GOOD luck !!)







Happy St. Patrick's Day !!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Pick a peck of pennie pockets with polka dot pegs (i.e. clothes pins)

Happy Sunday Blogland Neighbor-hood! Hope you all had a good weekend. The MBIAJ Painting Dept hasn't messed (literally) around with paint for awhile so they decided it would be fun to paint some wooden pegs (aka clothes pins) BRIGHT RED and then ....





....add some black polka dots....



....and why would we do that you might ask.....well.....



...to hold up our pennie pockets of course!


....and here they are lookin' jazzy, snazzy and pizzazy strung across the kitchen window!




The Window Decorating Dept here at MBIAJ Headquarters would like to thank the very very clever and creative Miss Monica Happy Zombie for this cuter than cute design!!!!(one of her many!!) You all should zip on over to visit her and see all the fun stuff she designs ... and take a box of tissues with you .... news around the neighborhood is she's got a nose that's dripping like a faucet due to "the common cold" that just will NOT go away! ......... aaaAAACHOOO!!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

"Cougar Barbie"

Good afternoon Blogland Neighborhood! As we reported in our last post, Barbie just celebrated her 50th birthday this past Monday. In honor of that milestone, we suggested some new Barbies that would more accurately reflect her age (Midlife Crisis Barbie, Hot Flash Barbie, and Mood Swing Barbie) ...... but today we came across one we overlooked ...
Cougar Barbie (WARNING: not meant to be viewed by youngsters under the age of 40 ).

We thought this was HYSTERICAL and just wanted to share a good laugh !!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy 50th birthday Barbie !! (Midlife Crisis Barbie is here!!)

Well happy Monday Blogland Neighborhood! Now this is just not any Monday ... it's a landmark day .....why? Well because today is Barbie's birthday ....and it's not just any birthday .... no, it's the big one ........the big Hawaii 5-0 .....yessir Barbie is celebrating her 50th Birthday today.

Barbie and I go WAY back ..... yep, we started out at about the same time ....only on March 9th 1959 I looked like a 4 month old baby (because that's what I was) and Barbie looked like ...well shall we say 36-24-36 ..... Anyhow, my sister and I had quite the Barbie collection ....Barbie (stiff legs and arms and standing constantly on her tippy toes .... so much that I'm sure her achilles tendons were forever shortened!) , Ken (stiff legs and arms and flat feet ), Scooter, & Skipper....a convertable AND a dream house.....then came Francie and Casey ..... and then Twist & Turn Barbie with bendable legs (but I think she was still up on her tippy toes....) Anyhow, that "I Love Lucy Barbie" in the picture above is the only Barbie left out of the whole bunch .... only because it was a birthday gift from my sister AFTER our mother was tired of all the Barbie stuff taking up space in her attic .... so a few years ago she contacted a toy auctioneer who paid her a pretty penny for all of our Barbie loot!

So, here we are on Barbie's 50th birthday .... just 4 months after I celebrated my big Hawaii 5-0 .....and I look like .... well definately NOT 36-24-36 !!! However, Barbie STILL DOES (have her girlish figure) !!! WHAT GIVES ?!?!!! I'm thinking in honor of all of us gals who have just turned the big one, there should be a Barbie that accurately reflects HER AGE!!! My suggestions are "Midlife Crisis Barbie" or "Hot Flash Barbie" or how about "Moodswing Barbie" ? She would be wearing sweat pants to hide the fact that she's sick and tired of trying to fit into her jeans, she'd also be wearing comfortable shoes because her arches are falling ..... oh, and let's not forget a pair of reading glasses on a chain around her neck to read the DANG FINE PRINT ON EVERY BLESSED THING !!! ....and I also think there should be a "Midlife Crisis Ken" to go with "Midlife Crisis Barbie" ..... he'd have a receding hairline and start to wear his pants up around his armpits, fart alot and also need reading glasses .... but in an effort to appear young and hip, he would come with a motorcycle .....

Anyhow , that's just our suggestion here at MBIAJ Headquarters ....

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

The Philadelphia Flower Show ......BELISSIMO !!! SPLENDIDO !! MAGNIFICO !!!!

Buon giorno Blogland Neighbor-hood! The MBIAJ Gardening Dept spent a MAGNIFICO day at the Philadelphia Flower Show yesterday hoping that some of that gardening magic would rub off on them.....anyhow, the theme was "Bella Italia". It was like a day trip to Italy!!(just click on any of the pictures to make them bigger )
First stop was Rome ...as shown in that first picture ..... fountains, and columns and GORGEOUS ....




...FLOWERS !!!




.....and, also in Rome ......



.....these (blurry) opera singers

now, her dress was very pretty, but let's get a better look at....




....this guy's outfit .....we're loving the tights & bloomers and Kitty is thinking seriously about that HAT !!! ....now we aren't complete hicks here at MBIAJ ... we do realize that this was probably quite the macho outfit back in the days of Chris Columbus , etc .... AND besides, this guy could really belt out a tune !!







....and here are a couple more pictures we took in "Rome"....


...we think this guy with the pitch fork is "Neptune"....


....we're not sure who this guy is but we're liking that physique !!!

















OK .....on to Venice and......



.....a gondola decorated for a wedding (Kitty is already saving up for this ..... even though she isn't even in a serious relationship right now ..... she says "who needs a groom!")

Next stop .....



....the Italian Riviera .....MAGNIFICO!


OK ... keep it moving ... we have to cover the entire country in one day....

Now, hold onto your hats gang because that's what we're going to see next ... HATS and SHOES and PURSES and DRESSES in ......



...Milan !!

Kitty hinted that Easter is just around the corner and she will be needing a new hat and she just happens to love these and....




....these




....and just LOOK at these shoes!!!


...and you know you're secretly wanting a pair of these !!

...and how about these....(if you get hungry, you could always put some ranch dressing on these and have them for lunch...)



...and of course we need an organic purse to go with the shoes and the hats....



....and some organic dresses ....

...this one looks like it would be itchy .... but that's a hum dinger of a hat! ...beam me up Scottie....




...we think this one would need alot of watering.....OK we've spent enough time in Milan ..... onward to....


...Tuscany



...wouldn't this be a nice spot to sit and chug some wine? ...but, sorry, no can do ... we've got a schedule to stick to .... next stop....



...Florence




...oh look! it's Mona Lisa and her twin sister .... Boop (aka my sister Karen)





OK...step it up .... we still have a few more stops on our whirlwind tour of Italy ...



...we are now in the Lake Region of Italy ....


...don't you just want to take a little stroll down that path? .... but you can't because we're moving right along .... back to .....




.....Rome for some more entertain-ment (a string triplet? ... there were only 3 musicians .... so it wasn't a quartet .....anyhow, there was a violin, a guitar and a mandolin .... BRAVO ! BRAVO !!! )

Now, besides all of those belissimo "cities" there were also a gazillion vendors .... here are a couple of pictures of our favorite (and we apologize because we can't think of the name of this vendor.....)






....but we LOVE their stuff !!! (can't afford it, but LOVE it !!)






Well, this concludes our little tour of Italy (via the Philadelphia Flower Show). As always, we hope you've enjoyed this whirlwind extravaganza and hope you'll come back often to visit here at MBIAJ .... where we subject you to our point of view whether you like it or not!

Be back soon!
Ciao bambinos!

Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Where oh where is spring ?

Good afternoon Blogland Neighbor-hood ..... this is Kitty reporting live for MBIAJ out here in the blustery FREAKIN' cold ! As you can see, it snowed .... again .......which is great, of course for the skiier and snow boarder types .... but not for those of us who are having a major case of SPRING FEVER !!! We even had to cancel our trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show because the weather and roads were so bad today .... but that's OK because we're going tomorrow instead .

Anyhow, back to today .... of course all that snow means the "Shoveling Dept" is busy ....


...they don't seem to be having too much trouble ... the snow seems light and powdery ... which is good because .....


....they have to shovel the sidewalk .... oh! lookie there .... it's finished already! ....and they also have ....


.....this loooooong driveway ..... which also seems to be finished !! GREAT!! that means I don't have to help!!(after all, I am Kitty the reporter , the gal on the scene , the chick wih the scoop .... I am NOT one of those people in the "Shoveling Dept" !! )

OK ..... time to head back inside to get warmed up with a hot cup of tea .... and to put my feet up and rest .... it's just exhausting standing around and reporting on other people shoveling ..... I don't know why it takes them so long .... I mean really .... I was freezing and did I mention how BORING it is to watch other people shovel?

OK! Thank you Kitty for that informative report. More tomorrow from the Philadelphia Flower Show (hopefully!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)