This Week's Blog Post

Black Wood Lanyard

It has been a while since I made a black wood lanyard. I love the chunkiness of these beads. Being wood, they are super lightweight so the lanyard is comfortable for the wearer! This one is available at Miss Val's Creations. 

Use for your ID badge, transportation pass, keys and more. I would normally add cruise card to that list but with so many cruise disasters in the past year I am guessing very few people are booking them these days!

Flowers

My garden areas are looking pretty! Here is the side of my driveway with irises and wegelia in bloom.

I love how irises stand tall and proud…

then blossom into something so fabulous!

It was breezy when I took this photo. I was amazed by how these buds glistened like silk.

These are the purple and yellow beauties.

I have this variety too which makes me think zebra. They are a little sad looking this year.

My yellow ones look a little sloppy but that is ok because the color makes me happy.

I took a picture of my favorite yellow weed before mowing the lawn. The buttercup!

Here are the wegelia buds.

They open into a pale pink flower covering the branches. So beautiful!

Surgery Week

My Lasik surgery is Thursday! This past Tuesday I had to go to my regular eye doctor for a super dilation. I knew it was supposed to be much more intense than a regular one. What I was not told was that my pupils would be cartoon large for 24 hours! So when my doctor told me this I freaked out because I had things to do that night and needed to go to work that next day. This freak out included nauseous! So she had to give me a few moments before continuing the exam. I felt silly having to wear my prescription sunglasses in the office for part of the day following!

I am so sorry for the nasty close up but I have a need to document the process. This was taken 12 hours AFTER the dilation drops! I did not think to take a photo when it kicked in. I was a bit blind the night before and in bed by 8pm since I could not do anything!

Nauseous is a big concern of mine for surgery day. Now I know I am prone to it and my doctor is sending this warning to the Lasik people. I need to work on deep breathing and happy thoughts so I can get through that appointment with no freak outs!

I used to be one of those people who got nauseous whenever blood needed to be drawn or I needed a shot. For the past 15 years or so I have gone through those things easily by looking away and giving the nurse a head's up that I do not want to see any needles. Eye exams have never been a problem but when I was 15 years old and got my first pair of contacts I did become very nauseous at the doctor's office as soon as they were put in. Apparently I still have issues with things happening to my eyes.

My biggest concern is keeping my eyes safe after the surgery. Poor Emmett and Alice will be locked in the basement for more than 24 hours. My doctor did tell me that 9 times out of 10 if there is an accident, it can be easily fixed (I am not sure what happens with that other 10%)!

Next week will be a scheduled post since I have no idea how my eyes are going to react looking at a computer screen. My shops will be closed from Wednesday afternoon and hopefully reopening on Friday. Although it will not be dangerous for me to look at the screen, it may be very uncomfortable so my time will be limited.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you all have marvelous flowers to admire nearby. Have a great week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Striped Agate Necklace
This huge teardrop is striped agate. It is black with blueish grey stripes. The strand is made up of onyx and manmade hemalyke.

So simple and beautiful! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Jim and I made stuffed butternut squash. We baked 2 pre-cut and de-skinned butternut squash halves at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

At the same time we cooked the following diced vegetables in the oven:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 3 parsnips (but agreed would have been better with turnips or carrots)
• 1 package of pre-sliced mushrooms

We seasoned these veggies with curry, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. The veggies were done before the squash so we left that in a little longer.

We cooked 1 cup of quinoa and seasoned it with orange zest, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, salt, pepper, spring onions and maple syrup to taste.

Once everything was cooked we put the quinoa in the squash cavities.

Then poured the veggies over it. I also had some leftover breadcrumbs in the freezer which we put on top (amazingly delicious addition). Then put it back in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes so it is all hot and ready to eat! 

Not only is this delicious and filling, it is also vegan and gluten free so anyone can enjoy it! This was inspired by a local chef if you would like to see his video tutorial.

Around Town Part I

I live in a city called Methuen (I call it a town since it feels more town like to me). While it is not a picturesque town, it does have some amazing historical buildings which I have decided to check out. So over the next several weeks I will be showing some beautiful bits!

Starting off with Town Hall.

I remember going here when I moved to the town for my business certificate and thought “how grand is this?”

It was built in 1904 as the high school and later used as the town hall. Architecture has become so bland in recent years. New schools look nothing like this!

Thank you for stopping by! It sounds like Hurricane Sandy will be affecting my area at the beginning of the week. It has been such a devastating storm in the Carribean! 

My fear is always losing power. A couple of weeks after moving into my house 4 years ago in November we had a wicked ice storm and my neighborhood (as well as all the surrounding neighborhoods) were without power for 3 days. Not fun, especially when I was trying to settle into my new home and had to stay at my parents house for those days (not to mention worrying about pipes freezing)!!! Mother Nature really loves having her evil fun.

Last year Trick or Treating was rescheduled due to a massive snowstorm at the time. It may be rescheduled again this year! Happy Halloween everyone!~Val

 

 

This Week's Blog Post

New Earrings
Just posted! Black onyx and blue lace agate earrings! Both are suspended from sterling silver leverback ear wires.

Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Nachos

Jim made me some nachos! I LOVE eating nachos but restaurant ones bother my stomach since I am sensitive to onions and garlic.

These were delicious without those additions.

He layered tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, black beads, corn and diced green pepper.

After baking them we added diced tomato and avocado on top! I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. I must have been too excited to dig in!!!

I love when my man cooks for me! This weeked we are attempting a harvest style stuffed butternut squash. The weather is perfect for it!

 Anniversary

Our anniversary was perfect as intended!

We have a pizza making system. I makes the gluten free crust and Jim does the toppings. This delicious beauty has artichokes, mushroom, red bell pepper and zucchini!

Jim gave a gorgeous dozen of red roses and a totally sweet card. J

We watched a French filmed named Angel-a.

It is a fantasy, romantic comedy and drama all rolled up in one! If you love a fun foreign film and have Comcast On Demand, this is where we found it (free too).

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend and week ahead! :) ~Val

 

This Week's Blog Post

Pyrite Bracelet

When I was a little girl I had a mineral collection. One of my favorite pieces was a chunk of pyrite. I love its brassy grey color!

The barrel shaped pyrite beads are accented with black onyx.  A perfect bracelet for fall and winter! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Portsmouth, NH Part III

Part III is very floral! There were more amazing flowers in Portsmouth this time than any other time we have visited here! So of course I had to take many, many photos!

There is a huge garden area near the water with a brilliant selection of flowers. So many different types and colors!

Each flower is labeled so if you want to take notes for your own garden you know what to ask for at the garden center!

There are beautiful flowers throughout the city too. This sweet hibiscus was in a doorstep pot. I have never seen one that was multi colored before!

This pretty pink one was in a beautifully landscaped bank parking lot.

This black plant is real! It is in the window of a wine bar titled The Black Trumpet. The plant choice must have something to do with their theme. You can see fresh baked bread cooling in the window. Oh how I wish I could eat regular bread again! Jim and I have not been inside this place yet…maybe next year!

At Prescott Park there is a pretty fenced in garden area with brick walkways and benches. 

There are many magnificent window and door photos on Pinterest so I started a new board this week. I added this photo since it has charm. I love the window barely showing behind the sunflowers and ivy.

Ending the post with a little street art! This one seems appropriate with all the shark sightings, close calls and one shark attack we had off the coast of Massachusetts this summer!

The guy who got attacked is fine. He had the bright idea of swimming out really far (with his son) to a sand bar knowing of all the shark sightings. Maybe he wanted 10 minutes of fame which he got! People are nuts.

I hope you enjoyed all these floral delights! Thank you for stopping by and have a great week ahead! ~Val