Sometimes you just gotta drive!

Rhi gave up her job at the barn and I am loving having her back to run around with on Saturdays. Today we headed out early with the intent to visit Baker Creek Seeds. Started with breakfast at IHOP and yummy blueberry pancakes. Since we were so full we decided to walk over to the blind center across the parking lot.

We found a great old antique desk with book shelves on either side and a footrest on the bottom. Solid wood and an amazing $20 price tag. Score! We need to clean it up and sand it, then we're going to paint it in a fun color not sure what yet. We're going to use a different color and stenciling on the back of the shelves. This was discussed extensively while we were getting it loaded and brought back home.

So when we got back on the road we went East on 65, yes I was thinking Marshfield instead of Mansfield. Needless to say our navigator took us on an interesting route. But that was okay because we were seeing a lot of pretty scenery on the way and we have decided to dust off the camera so Rhi can get some black and white scenery shots to display on the new desk under glass. I'm thinking if we also paint the top with chalkboard paint we can write little notes about the photos and change them out when we get tired of them. I think photos of rock houses would also be interesting. We used to live across the street from a rock house when I was four and I kind of have a thing for them. Plus they're hard enough to find to make it interesting but there are enough of them in the area that it's doable. 

We ended up out in the woods on a twisty, hilly little dirt road in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Oh what, you want us to turn down that goat track navigator? What, make a U-turn in the cow pasture navigator? Some people don't have faith in the navigator but I have confidence in my little phone app - at least that was what I was telling myself as we inched over the crumbly concrete bridge with the sparkly little creek. It was all good though. Navigator was just taking us in by the back route to Baker Creek. Ta Da! There it was - not open of course. Apparently they're open Sundays but not Saturdays. We were into the drive by then though so really "eh", no big deal. That's when we discovered there was a front way out. So we reset the navigator and headed back to town. 

We got to see several Amish folk out in their horse and buggies as we went through Seymour. Crane, Seymour, outer Mongolia, I'm not sure where all we were today but we found an amazing flea market on the way back called " ComeOnIn" Antiques. 

We found an old cowboy tub in the front yard, there were benches and pots, wheels, and fountains made out of whisky barrels with old pump handles attached. Lot of bright sun in this picture. 

The inside was also amazing. We found this wooden salad bowl right off the bat and the owner (I assume he was the owner, nice old guy who followed us around a bit. I think he was really happy to show off his stuff. and he gave us a five dollar off deal when we asked about the price. Yep this lovely salad bowl set came home with us.

Every nook and cranny was full of interesting things, there were glass doorknobs, and steamer trunks, bowls of crystal chandelier pendents (oooh sparkly). Here are just a few of the things I liked...

Spinning wheels and vanities oh my!

Chandeliers and cupboards... which by the way I really don't know where I would put it but I want this turquoise cupboard. They have lay-a-way. Awsome!

When my spellchecker gave me options for mannequin one of the choices was manliness... maybe in a Dr. Who sort of way. LOL

Gumballs and Spartan helmets and whatever that mannequin is holding up there. I was a little bit frightened. But wouldn't a Beta swimming around in one of these gumball machines be cool. Wonder if they're waterproof?

You can't tell from this picture but Rhi really wanted the Spartan helmet.

There was stuff on the ceiling too. Check out the umbrellas...

The purple one is my favorite. We stopped to look at some old windows on the way out and I snagged a fresh blackberry or two off the bush next to them.




I think we will be checking this place out again real soon! I hope we can find it. We have a card that almost blew out of the truck on the way back. Rhi saw the top lifting off the box in the truck bed and I whipped over to the side of the road. She said "of all the areas along this highway, you had to stop in the one with the big pile of horse crap!" and it was fresh. What can I say - there were a lot of Amish out today.

There's something wrong with those cats!

One of my favorite old Disney movies was "That Darn Cat" with Dean Jones as an FBI agent chasing Hayley Mills' Siamese around the neighborhood in search of a kidnapped bank teller. The cat's name was DC but other names were implied. Names I've been known to hurl toward any of the three maniacs I live with.

Huge crash in the dining room a little while ago. The dogs were in the living room assuring me that they didn't do it whatever it was. Of course it was Petey. She had her dog food snack earlier and wandered off for a sprawl on my desk. The crash was her pushing my shredder off in the floor. She couldn't have just slid it off she would have had to stand up on it and push it over with her front paws.

Did she run away from the crash? No she planted herself in the large pile of shredded paper scattered all over the floor to investigate her handiwork. I think she did it in a fit of pique after searching my desk for pipecleaners (her latest obsession) which she did not find. She likes the new straight ones, not the three or four bent up ones she has scattered throughout the house.



Cleo is obsessed with hair ties. She ransacks Rhi's nightstand and dresser on a regular basis. She likes to throw them in the water bowl, the catfood bowl, the bathtub - hours of kitty fun. It must be an obsessive compulsive Calico thing. Also she can hear a sheet being fluffed from all the way across the house and runs to get under it before it hits the bed.



Of course Silver has a thing too. She's not a Calico but she does have one blue eye and one green eye. She is always looking for a warm spot and demanding that you hold your arm just the right way for her to achieve it. She's also been known to burn the fur on her tail trying to curl up on the pilot light on the stove. You'd think she'd only have to do that once to figure out that it was a bad idea.

I just went to check my laundry and Cleo was hanging upside down off the dryer watching the clothes spin.

Then there's the stray living on the porch... let's call her Giselle. She's found a spot under the bathroom floor where she can cry to be let in. Yes she is worming her poor pathetic little self in. She slept on my lap today while Dixie used her as a pillow.


 The dogs like her - the cats, not so much. I think they feel a shifting in the crazy!

New Years Resolution

I've never been much into the whole New Years resolution thing. It's always seemed more like wishing on a star than making a plan to me. Not a big planner, going with the flow, being spontaneous is more my style. But it's never too late to try something new. I think I'm going to start small though. My Christmas week off has been pretty well sidelined by a stupid cold and the energy level has been slow to come back. I need to get back into my exercise routine. I miss it and it's affecting my outlook. I'm also going to work on not letting things at work bother me. This one is difficult because it centers around the false belief that I can control anything in my working environment. Not gonna happen - so I will refocus on what I can control at work. I will clean my desk!


On the home front I have many daily examples of how to be unencumbered by worry or stress. Cleo has her hairtie tracking pursuit. There's one in the cat food dish as we speak. Silver has her single minded pursuit of the warmest place in the house. The dogs have their constant shifting search for the perfect snooze spot. Not going to be my bed, I'm going to win this one this year. Crap wait, where's Sage. Sage, get out of my bed!


As far as projects of late, there hasn't been much going on due to the lack of energy. I have found the medicine cabinet at the right price for my bathroom redo. My horrible, horrible little postage stamp bathroom is screaming for a makeover. But now that I've found the medicine cabinet and have purchased the white paint the bathroom's days are numbered. Cleo and Scruffy are determined to take up the stick on floor tiles to let Giselle come in. Giselle is the stray that is living under the house and crying to come in at night. Giselle would probably have already wormed her way in if it weren't for the fact that Silver and Petey have threatened to eat her liver everytime she's come in. The dogs could care less, what's one more strange little cat sister. If I can only get them to take up the rest of the tiles I could get busy on a painted floor. 


Meanwhile, baby steps till I get my energy back. Here's the cabinet before...

Loads of sanding ahead, then a nice white coat and some glaze. I've already found a little crystal knob for it. It's going to be beeoootiful when it's done. 






Until then the babies say it's time for a nap and apparently my leg is an integral part of their plan.

Nothing for it but to relax and finish my Anthony Bourdain marathon.

Feeding the Spirit

Yesterday was a good day. I am so lucky to have found something that nourishes my inner being and a lovely group of women to share it with. My ballet group met for coffee before class yesterday. Yeats was quoted, topics were varied, laughs and stories were shared and then we went back to the studio and danced. I came home with both mind and body stretched. When you feel good the creativity flows and crafting is the natural extension.

My list of things I would like to make is long and ideas that I can steal are abundant. Rhi and I were in JoAnns and I ran across a white feather boa. Naturally the only thing you can do when your imagination is captured during the Christmas season is make a sparkly. Of course I had plenty of help with this project.

You wouldn't think Petey has the energy to be helpful.




But you have to consider her nature.

Which is why I end up with so much help on my projects. She couldn't resist the feathers! I already had my handy dandy pipe insulation for the form. Just added some sparkly ribbon to cover it up and add a base for the fluffiness. You have to watch when you're hot gluing the form because the hot glue gun will melt it if you let it sit too long on it. This was a nice simple little project for an afternoon.

This is what you end up with. This is going to be office decoration. Hope I don't lose too many feathers carrying it to work!

I also found a little basket for a dollar at the flea market. Painted it bronze and threw some Christmas at it. I think I need some more balls. Oooh those would look really good in my little punch bowl that I see sitting up on the shelf. I may rethink the basket.

I love Doris Day.

There it is, I won't apologize for it. Here's what brought it up. There's a song that Marie has been playing in our ballroom class that I was pretty sure was Doris and I really feel the rhythm of it when I dance. I don't think anyone can truly appreciate big band 40's and 50's music unless you've danced to it. It soars is the best way I can describe it.

Anyway, back to Doris. Doris Day started out as a singer in Les Brown's band in the early 40's. They had a big hit in 1944 - Sentimental Journey. So, much as I love Doris the actress... I'm a sucker for old movies what can I say. Unliberated or not I still love The Glass Bottom Boat, and That Touch of Mink. It makes me smile.




I had it in the back of my mind that I've heard Doris Day singing the Bosa Nova. I didn't run across that on Youtube but I did discover that she did a Latin Album. Interesting. Here's a link to youtube to a couple of really great Doris Day songs from her Latin album.

How Insensative

Quite Nights of Quiet Stars

Now that I've got that out of my system. I've got to go run around with Rhi for the afternoon and then it's back to craft this evening. I've got a purse to bling up and a chandelier for the bedroom to make. So many projects so little time.

More to come.

Spanish Olive

What happened to this weekend? I had so many plans for things to do sigh... Well I did get one thing accomplished. My Waterfall furniture has been crying out for a new background since I got it. The mood to paint struck me at Walmart this weekend. I'm still annoyed with them for not carrying Kilz interior paint in the satin finish. I loved that stuff and I can't seem to find it anywhere else. Anyway I was going to get the Glidden but they didn't have any more of the base in the satin finish so I ended up trying the Better homes paint. I do love my satin finish. I'm not sure I would get that again. It's very thin which for a messy painter like me is a bad thing. However, I love, love, love this color. Spanish olive is a little outside of my comfort zone with more of a yellowish base than I'm used to. I tend to gravitate more toward cool colors like tourquois and blue greens. My bedroom was purple before this. My furniture says it likes it. So here's the first coat.

Now I have to find curtains - gold maybe? Or I could go radical and put up black curtains. Decisions, decisions. Now I have to find new artwork as well. This is why I don't redecorate often. I can't stop.




It wore the babies out helping. I had the gate up to keep them out while I was painting and Dixie surprised herself and leaped over it. I don't think she realized what she had done until I shooed her back out.

Poor exhausted babies.

The Barre

The ballet barre - my enemy, my friend. It supports me in times of need and taunts me with it's seemingly unobtainable goals. I'm coming to ballet late in life. There was one mild flirtation with toe dancing in kindergarten when I was six. I was the some sort of fairy in a pink tutu in a play. I remember liking to be on my toes then. The teacher had to explain to me not to konk the other children in the head with the wand quite so hard.

I've never felt particularly graceful, I started growing before everyone else in the fourth grade and was the tallest one in the class. One of the neighbors called me Jolly Green Giant. I was very awkward and shy. How is this fair, I'm not particularly tall now - just 5'6". I should have ended up model tall to make up for that right?

Anyway when Drury started offering Wellness classes I decided I liked variety and wanted to try different things. That's how I ended up in the ballroom class. After that it was just a matter of time before I was swept up into the fantasy of it all. Who knew I had this inner longing to be all girly and graceful.

So that brought me to adult ballet. Intimidating right. It turns out this may be the best exercise I've ever had to increase my flexibility and balance. There's just this one tiny thing.

There it is folks. The barre. Simple, elegant and oh sooo high. I love exercising at the barre and I am flexibility challenged. Right leg I can get up there and man does it stretch those muscles. Left leg, not so easy. I stand back, I contemplate, I try not to be too obvious. My leg and I we have talks together about why it really should go up there. Some days we have to talk longer than others. See I always wake up stiff and sore in the morning and ballet starts at 11:00. Limber is not my middle name. I continue to soldier on though because each time I get a little closer, a little stretchier.

I get to point my toes and glide across the floor with the other dedicated women in my class in a spirit of camaraderie that is meaningful and true. I may not be a swan but I feel connected to something rich. I feel like a dancer in my heart.

Thanks to my muse Marie who is teaching me what it is to love dance movement of all kinds. I couldn't have a more inspiring coach or a more wonderful group of women to share it with.

Plus, I get to wear the shoes...

Whenever I want!

Rhi's 26th

My baby turned 26 yesterday and it just happened that they were doing some repairs at work and I had the day off. Yesterday was absolutely the most perfect of days. Rhi decided she wanted to go for a drive for her birthday so we hit the road about ten o'clock and went where the wil-o-the wisp took us. The weather was wonderful with just a bit of a cool breeze. Just cool enough that Rhi could wear her Led Zepplin jacket. With the feathers in her hair and her jacket and sunglasses on she looked amazing yesterday. Not just her mother talking I'm telling ya.

We hadn't planned on doing any hiking but we came across a trail head that we'd never been on and had to stop for a few minutes. There were only a few people there so we had most of the trail to ourselves. We sat by the creek and listened to the laughing brook for a bit. Rhi said it sounded like it was chuckling.

I was ahead of Rhi on the trail and a snake slithered off in front of me. Of course I squeeled like a girl. What is this affinity I have for snakes, why do they always find me. Rhi was laughing her head off behind me.

Peaceful surroundings for a girl's birthday.

We could have stayed longer but the road was calling. So we left the trail and took off around the next bend. Finally figured out what that thump, thump, noise we'd been hearing was. It was cars going over the one lane bridge ahead.

An afternoon stop at Hood's truck stop, where we found a jar of the good beef jerkey that you pull out with the tongs for .99 cents, and we were refreshed and ready to continue our outing. Many turns later we found ourselves in Halltown where we discovered the Whitehall Antique Emporium. That may not be the actual name. I know it was Whitehall something or other. Rhi elected to leave the Led Zepplin jacket in the car.

This place is a treasure trove, complete with a creepy feeling attic stuffed with goodies. Milk cans, wooden boxes of various shapes and sizes. We're both itching to go back when we have more money. I found a yellow stoneware bowl for .50 and Rhi found some peacock feather earrings that were a must have.

A few more miles and we were ready to turn back and head for home where we had dinner plans with Grandma. We ran into a bit of school traffic in Republic but that forced us to make another stop. This time we ended up at Cato's where many outfits were tried on. We found a couple of really cute plaid shirts for Rhi. Score!

Our evening ended with a good dinner at Red Lobster for our traditional birthday outing. Of course we all stuffed ourselves silly and had a marvelous time.

Struck by the Craft Bug

I had a bit of a crafting attack last week, or was it the week before? I saw some pretty wreaths online and T. was telling me about someone who used pipe wrapping from Lowe's for a wreath form. That stuff was only .97 cents for enough to do two medium size wreaths. I had to try it out! So I gathered some leaves from the front yard at work and here's what I came up with.

This is the completed wreath right after I hung it on my office door. The color has faded on it since I first put it together, but now it has more browns and more of an organic feel which I like.

I also added a leaf flower for a little extra oomph.

We have a three day weekend while they're working on some repair issues at work (woohoo!) and I decided to bring home the little plants that I've been collecting in my office so I could re-pot them. I'd been thinking about all the lovely little hanging gardens I've seen on the web lately so using the stuff I had on hand...

I started off with three plants and I used some empty pots I had on the porch. I decided to put some broken clay pieces for drainage so I had to bust up an old clay pot. I set it in the birdbath and smashed it with a rock. That was fun! I think I've found the perfect use for the bird bath in the winter. I had a little bit of potting soil on the back porch so I got them into their new pots in short order.

The pots I had were different colors, and faded, so I decided to tie them all together with some blue paint I had out in the tent. I didn't want to lose all the character of the pots so I just added stripes to everything so some of it could show through. I had lots of help with this part.



I also had a new package of picture hanging wire that I didn't remember I had. Bonus! So I cut six pieces of wire and nested them around the pots. I also hot glued the wire to the bottom of the pots to hold them in place. Then I put a bead on the wires to pull it together and tied a knot and made a wire loop. That seemed a little loose so I had some decorative cord left over from the wreath that I tied around the pots. I didn't have enough for all three so I used pipe cleaners on one of them and draped a little of the cord on that. You can't tell unless you're up close, so not too noticeable.

I was thinking about how to hang them and I've seem some interesting things with sticks on the web - and man do I have sticks. I went out in the dark to get the stick and kind of found one by the feel. Cleo ran out the door when I was coming back in and I couldn't catch the rotten little monster. I had to go back in and grab my flashlight to search for her. I couldn't find her so I went out front to work on my stick. I had decided to whittle on it. I tried that with R's pocket knife awhile back and it took forever. This time I used a box cutter and man did that go quick. Two things... 1. cut away from the body and 2. don't sit the stick on your leg while you're taking off the bark. Just common sense. I had help with this as well.






Mama kitty just needs someone to love her.





I grabbed some steel wool and smoothed the stick down. I know I've got some sandpaper somewhere, but anyway that seemed to work pretty well. I ended up with a nice smooth stick. I went out back while I did that step and hollered for the cat again but couldn't find her. It was good but I decided to rub it down with gold paint. I took a paper towel and dipped it in the acrylic paint and rubbed it all over the stick. Gave it a little bit of luster.

Petey was keeping an eye on my craft drawer for me.

Then I wrapped my last piece of wire on either end of the stick and tied the pots on with pipe cleaners. I don't know how long it will stay up but I'm pleased with the results.



A new camera is definitely on my Christmas wish list. It really is prettier in person.




and why is this picture blue?








I went to put up my craft supplies and lo and behold...



Petey's mini-me, Cleo is back. Did I mention that I was trying to put my supplies away? The little rat must have snuck back in when I went out to polish my stick.

By the way, what's wrong with these two pictures...

Idiots!

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't hear any big crashes in the night.

Five Days of Joy Fest

Ahh the mini vacation! I'm parlaying a half Friday and a Monday holiday into my Five Days of Joy Fest by taking Thursday off as well. I ran around with Rhi yesterday until she had to go to class and then finished off the day by picking up my new Waterfall Chest. I got it all situated and found some bamboo looking shelf liner that I cut and fitted perfectly into my jewel. No kidding, I figured just right and only had about a 2x6 strip left over. Then of course I had to arrange all of my clothing into all of the various compartments. I can't believe how much more storage this thing gives me.

Three of the six drawers are divided









and it just fits into the spot that I planned for it.

I did some research online on Waterfall furniture. It was designed as inexpensive furniture for newlyweds back in the 40s and sold at places like Sears.

Young couples were broke back then too and many lived with their parents when they were starting out. So a bedroom suite was one of their first purchases as a couple and often held special sentimental value.

It generally was plywood covered with a nice wood veneer in interesting designs to make it pretty. You can't see it clearly in this picture but mine has pretty little bakelite medallions incorporated into the handles.

Bakelite is some sort of polymer resin used for decorative touches. My chest is surprising heavy for something made inexpensively and it does have dovetailed drawer construction. I love it already.

LOL! I cleaned off the dining room table just before I started writing this and I just walked by it to get supper and it's already covered in scrapbooking paraphernalia and cat. Seriously I don't think Petey could sprawl out any further. I'm going to join Rhi later and work on another necklace while she scrapbooks. I found a new pretty at the bead shop in Branson today. I have an idea about macrameing my wire that I'm going to test.

We had pizza at Mr. G's (awesome Chicago style pan pizza - pepperoni, onions and jalepenos. Yum!) Then we swung over to a resale store called Weezies in the old downtown part of Branson. Rhi found some blinged out jeans with rhinestones running down the outside seam. Lots of good stuff in there - I think we need to go back on a regular basis.

We also stopped by the Craft Mall for a quick tour. They were playing some great 70's music and Rhi had to tell me to quit dancing and pay attention several times. This started a trip down memory lane on the drive back. Rhi says "Remember how you use to tell me to cut it out and be normal when I was doing stuff in the stores?" I think that might have involved standing on her head or cartwheeling down the aisles but I don't really remember what she was doing at the time. She's been unable to provide concrete examples to back up her claim.

106.7 was playing good stuff on the radio for the drive back. I'd forgotten how profound the lyrics on this one are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqeSUAlI5u

I hope the link works. If not, it's "No Time" by Guess Who. Crank it and enjoy summer buddies!

Trouble Sleeping

I'm tossing and turning tonight. I don't have any friends or relatives in Joplin but after listening to stories all day and experiencing a range of emotions, I'm feeling on edge with nothing to be done in the middle of the night.

I dropped my glasses earlier and the lens came out so I have to run to get those fixed tomorrow. Bother!

It doesn't help that Petey has decided to perfect her Flying Walenda skills tonight. She fell off the bed with a loud crash, then she tried to scale the wall off my nightstand and fell. Then she finally landed in my laundry basket with a crash. I think that might have been the intended target all along. Unfortunately I'd finished laundry earlier tonight and it was further down than she thought it was going to be. There's something wrong with that cat.

Guess I'll try this sleeping thing again and see how it goes. My thoughts go out to all those folks who aren't in their own beds tonight. They've got a rough road ahead.

Phase III of summer tent fun

I started off the weekend with a bit of a disappointment - Seraphina was down again. Didn't get out to survey the damage until late Saturday, in between a weekend of rainy annoyance. The center section was down and filled with quite a bit of water. I couldn't reach the water to start bailing so I thought about it for a bit and then came up with a solution. I tied a string to a bucket and then, since my twine was pretty rough to the touch, I tied the other end to a small stick. This allowed me to toss in the bucket and then wrap the twine around the stick to reel it in. The first bucket worked but I found that it was a bit heavy to pull up. So I switched to a smaller bucket and used the same method. Interestingly enough it confirmed the idea that what I really like about fishing is the casting part. I found it to be quite a satisfying rhythm to toss in the bucket, reel it up, dump it, and toss it back in. It will be interesting to see if I can lift my arms tomorrow. Anyway, once I got that accomplished, I was able to get into the tent and assess the damage. I was afraid it would be much worse than it was. Of course there were puddles in the tent to clean up but not too bad. The chest had fallen over and it took a bit of propping up to get the roof back where it should be. My next grand plan involves six foot rebar on all four corners and bamboo across the top.Course I could use rebar across the top as well but I don't want it falling on my head. I wonder if lightning will be an issue? Probably not, it would be grounded after all. Off to the hardware store tomorrow evening. Rhi and I checked out rebar at Lowe's yesterday but I think I want to check out Ace Hardware as well. I'm really liking Westlake Ace Hardware on Campbell right now. Rhi wants some of those scary little lighted nomes that they have.

The next craft project for the tent is going to be painted floor rugs. I've always been intrigued by the idea and I've found that the tent floor holds paint very well. I think this would give me that layered rug look I want without having to actually do multiple layers of rugs. I'll have a couple of painted ones and then layer with a material rug. Still looking for the perfect garage sale find on that. Ooh and I can plant some flowering vines to grow up the rebar.

We had our ballet class Sunday instead of our usual Saturday to accommodate Marie's schedule. It was good. Still taking baby steps but I feel just a little bit more flexible and am following the steps just a little bit better. We worked on pretty arms today. If I keep at this I may someday be graceful which will be also be nice but the major benefit I expect to derive is that I will be more flexible. Ballet is awesome for increasing flexibility.

I'm watching River Monsters while I type. What is it about this show that is so fascinating. Maybe it's the guys accent or maybe just the excitement of the unknown. What could it be that killed those cowboys or what was it that ate that guy over there. Could it be piranhas, could it be giant stingrays, no it's giant electric eels. I'm not going in the water ever again. But I have a strange urge to be out there throwing out a line with that guy.

My Starry Night

I've just about finished tinkering with the chandelier for the tent. My camera is not taking the best of pictures - everything is much more sparkly in real life.

Not that the tent has anything to do with real life mind you. It's purely for relaxing and dreaming.

Twinklies without flash.

Twinklies with flash. You can see some of the draping here but not the way the drapery glitters. I think I need another couple of yards to be satisfied.

Lighted stars without flash - lighted stars with flash. This is the section over the table and I wasn't sure they were going to work.

Apparently they needed to be jiggled.

The table is a work in progress. I just finished my second coat of gold on the top and need to touch up in the daylight and think about which pattern I'm going to add. I have a couple of Morrocan furniture designs for inspiration but I think I have an idea. I may start with a sun to match the little lights overhead and build on that.

Yep, I'm liking this idea. 

Also, I'm giving some thought to some painted floor cloth rugs. They wouldn't be as tactile as a real rug hmmm. I'll have to give this some thought.