Crafting…

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here. I’m happy to be writing today and to tell you that we’re alive. After another epic craft fail by the Warden. She calls ME crazy….but trust me – she’s not the best role model sometimes.

So Halloween is almost here – and the stores are having a hard time fitting the festive fall foliage decor right alongside the Christmas stuff. Yup. They currently have ghost costumes, next to the singing Santas. As a result, it got the Warden thinking about Christmas. And about a Christmas craft project.

It seems she had a variety of pine cones that had been stored in the garage from before I was born. She does have squirrel-like tendencies sometimes- and these collectible cones were actually taking up room in what once was a dog run in our garage. It’s not used for a canine play station anymore, so it’s becomes a large closet of sorts.

Anyway, the Warden got it in her head that she should do something with those cones. First she decided to spray paint them – with the garage door wide open and without any canine supervisors. Safety first. Cough cough.

Then she sequestered herself in there one evening and after several hours, emerged with a wreath. I immediately tried to inspect her work. I actually inspect everything that comes in from the garage because it’s often food related – groceries or our meals as that’s where our food is stored. I didn’t find the wreath nearly as interesting as groceries but I did look it over. The other guys didn’t give it a glance. So much for positive feedback around here.

The Warden was pleased with her wreath and decided she should make another one. I suggested she use dog biscuits instead of pine cones but she didn’t go for it. Th only problem – she didn’t have quite enough cones. But not to worry – some friends dropped some off for her. Fresh off the trees.

Because they were so fresh, some were not fully open. And being the impatient crafter that she is, she didn’t feel like waiting for them to open on their own. So Mr. Googly told her she could put them in the oven….

The Boss and I watched with interest as she lined some baking sheets with aluminum foil. The Coyote didn’t care – he’s not much into baking. We were thinking this could be the start of something yummy….biscuits, dried sweet potato treats, some rolls, or a large chicken breast too big for her to eat all by herself. But no. The oven was filled with pine cones.

She was all pleased with herself the first hour. She had them at a very low temperature, and she could see that they were just starting to open. And she thought, “oh isn’t crafting fun.” We didn’t agree. We thought crafting was boring. Another half hour, and a bit more of a change, but not much.

I should also note that Mr Googly said the house would smell all Christmasy. And it did. Initially.

After two hours, the Warden decided the process was taking too long. And now, the initial Hallmark movie vibe was wearing off, and the smell was getting kinda nauseating. Sorta like a cheap Dollar Store evergreen scent candle that had been peed on by a cat. And it was permeating through the house.

Now she wanted the process over. She started worrying that the fumes might be toxic, but thankfully Mr. Googly said they wouldn’t kill us. She cranked up the heat in the oven, and opened every door and window in the house.

After another half hour, the cones opened up. Pretty much. At that point she didn’t care. She put us outside, while she took the hot cones into the garage. We watched through the deck door window, creating our own festive olfactory art. We were trying to make snowflakes, but they didn’t quite come out. More bad crafting.

At this point, the cones have been sprayed and are awaiting wreath creation. We are thrilled. Sure we are. Still think biscuits would have been better.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.