The Crafty Lizzard

Unless you have grown up with me or spent a lot of time at my house, you might not know that I am a huge teddy bear freak! As I sit here and think about it, I believe the only room in my house that doesn't have a teddy bear in it is the bathroom.

I started as a little girl always asking for a bear for birthdays, christmas, any holiday really. In fact, I remember many birthdays as I got older that mom said (kinda like a can-we-please-do-something-different statement) "don't you want anything else?"

I had huge bears, tiny bears, bears that squeaked, figurine bears, posable bears, etc. etc. etc. I even threatened to have a small one (appropriately named Baldwin) on the piano when I did my recital in college.

So today I was downtown at Knitter's Connection shopping for some fun new yarn. I was peeking at about the 3rd alpaca booth when I turned around and, lo and behold, this guy was staring back at me.

So cute and when I reached to pick him up and my hand disappeared into his fur...'cuz this bear is made from Alpaca so he is incredibly soft and squishy!

And...he hugs well, a very important thing for a teddy bear to do!

I know, I know...I haven't been around for a while...

There is more to come - Very Soon!

But tonight I wanted to quickly share with you just how much difference a year makes.

Last year, the first fruiting year for my blackberry bush, this was about half the blackberries:

This year, they have exploded. A week ago, I picked the same amount as last year knowing that there were still tons left on the plant needing to ripen. Tonight, I went out to collect the berries and had to come back into the house for another bowl.

YUM!!!!!!I stuck the bowl I used last year in front just for size comparison.

Now, if I can only get the mosquitos to not pester me when I'm outside. I'm still itching!!