Hot tea and milk chocolate

Monday, monday

2012-02-13T18:32:00.001-05:00

Today was cold, but sunny and beautiful!

No bread in the house, so I made some beer bread.

How do you like this action shot? Rocco loves to catch snow balls with his mouth. And then he eats them!

Happy Monday!

Happy birthday...

2012-02-13T06:39:00.001-05:00

to this girl ↓! (That would be my sister, Jodie.)

Look at you-showing off your new cardigan! Is that your beer in the background?

And to this boy ↓! (That would be my hubby, Larry.)

I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

We had a little party!

2012-02-11T18:48:00.002-05:00

Yes-it was VERY little, but it was nice. The birthday girl sent me this pin last week, so I made some of these heart shaped chocolate dipped krispie treats for her.

Her little cake came from The Roadhouse. It's one of the little cakes they used to bring out for free on your birthday. (I don't think it's free anymore.) She requested it.

She's grinning because she's a little embarassed to be getting her picture taken with her cake!

She blew out the candles and then we all suffered from smoke inhalation. That's a lot o' candles!

And just like that, she is 20!

2012-02-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my baby girl. I love her more than she will ever know!

Thursday

2012-02-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Today, I went around and took pictures and read the computer-when I had other things I should have been doing. I'm really good at that. Oh well!

Have a good day!

My little chickadee...

2012-02-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

is awfully cute!

Salvation Army shopping

2012-02-08T08:51:00.001-05:00

Last week on the long trip home from visiting a cousin, we (Larry's aunt and cousin and I) spotted and then stopped at a Salvation Army. I'm not sure I've ever been to a Salvation Army before, but it's pretty much like Goodwill.

I needed a new purse and I found this leather one in perfect condition. I thought, "Am I too old to be toting around a bright pink purse? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" So home it came with me.

I also found a pair of 'vintage' pillowcases in mint condition. Apparently I was thinking pink that day!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

It's time for me to get nostalgic

2012-02-07T12:34:00.002-05:00

Hope and Daddy

Hope and Mommy

Hope

Hope and Alex

Hope and Wilbur

Hope and Luke

Hope and Mommy

Saturday, my only child will turn 20 years old. It's is just so strange to think that 20 years have passed by already! Just so you know-it is very hard to wrap my head around this fact!

PS-I love that kid!

Mini crayon canvas

2012-02-05T21:12:00.001-05:00

My beautiful niece, Jess, stayed with me last night-so this morning I surprised her with a mini crayon canvas. I waited until she was up to melt the crayons, because I thought she'd like to see the melting action.

I spray painted a thrifted 8 x 10 Home Interior canvas that I got at Goodwill for 15 cents awhile ago. My stash of Crayolas was almost gone!

She was thrilled with the finished product!

Then tonight, my beautiful daughter dropped in with some 11 x 14 canvases (not really big enough to do a heart on-so we just went along the top with this one too) and crayons. She thought an umbrella under the melted crayons would look cute and I agree! I'm not sure if she's keeping this one or is giving it to a friend.

I have a feeling I'm going to have melted crayons on the brain soon!

Out and about

2012-02-03T18:30:00.003-05:00

Hey, there's a spaceship cloud. (And the moon.)

The shining

JD tractors

No lid

Reflecting

What is wrong with this picture?

**************************
Home now, thank goodness!

Have a great weekend!

Crayon heart art

2012-02-01T12:31:00.003-05:00

This all started a few days ago when my daughter emailed me a link to this pin. I told her I'd see what I could do.

When I painted her room years ago-I painted her a canvas with the colors of the room. I took a photo of it cause it was going bye-bye. It got repurposed.

So I spray painted the old canvas white. (The colors still showed through-but I didn't mind.) Then I got out the old crayons-I knew those would come in handy some day!

(I had everything here at the house for this project. It was free and I didn't have to step into a store. Now that's what I'm talkin' about!)

I traced a large heart cookie cutter onto the canvas. Then I sorted through the crayons and picked out all the Crayolas. ('They' say to use only Crayola brand because they melt better.) Then I arranged the crayons in rainbowish order and got busy hot gluing them to the canvas. I made sure that 'Crayola' was facing out, because that's what 'they' did.

Then I took the canvas and a hair dryer down to the basement, threw an old sheet on the freezer (work surface) and starting melting the crayons. This part was kind of fun! It's certainly not perfect, but I never claimed to be!

I cut a heart out of neon pink paper and just taped it in the center, because I thought it needed a little something. I'm not sure I really liked it there, so I took it out.

Hope Hope likes it-then maybe I'll get some more Mommy brownie points!

Have a great day, everybody!

Bird and sky

2012-01-31T19:35:00.001-05:00

A lovely little bird eating its suet upside down and awe inspiring skies-there's a lot of beauty in this world!

Today is Mom's birthday

2012-01-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

I saw beautiful skies again, on my way over to my sister's for a little birthday party.

Patrick's holding the delicious cheesecake that Jodie made for Mom.

Here it is again-I love cheesecake!

There's Jodie with the cupcakes for the cake lovers.

Jess slept through the entire thing-she was at a sleepover last night. They didn't sleep though.

Mom's coffee.

I *heart* this mug.

Beautiful poppy gift bag.

I did some French braiding. This is Kim's hair.

Happy birthday, Mom. We love you!

Country roads, take me home

2012-01-28T19:11:00.001-05:00

Country roads,

take me home

to the place

I belong.

Take me home,

country roads.

The cloud formations I saw on my way home this afternoon were stunning!

Have a great weekend!

Drive by (photo) shootings

2012-01-26T20:44:00.001-05:00

I rode to Pittsburgh, with a friend, on this very rainy day.

Well, this one wasn't drive by.

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I saw a quote about tea on another blog yesterday and I thought it was sweet.

"If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited, it will calm you." ~William E. Gladstone~

Have a great day!

From Tuesday

2012-01-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

I hope that male birds appreciate the color that they have been given!

This and that

2012-01-23T20:12:00.001-05:00

It rained again this morning-a good time for a nap!

He's waiting for Dad to come home.

Don't hate me cause I find good stuff at Goodwill. Six bucks. (Dawnie, is this exactly like yours, only a different color?)

The clouds parted for a bit this afternoon. It was good to see blue sky, if only for a little while!

Miscellany

2012-01-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

Who's your daddy (cardinal)!?

Have you ever seen a dog snowboard? Well, now you kinda have!

I see loveliness everywhere I go!

I hope everybody had a good weekend. :)

It's Friday, Friday

2012-01-20T18:03:00.001-05:00

Some pics from my day.

Formerly stray

2012-01-20T07:32:00.002-05:00

This beautiful little girl known as 'Kitty-kitty'-has clawed her way straight to my mom's heart.

I saw Santa on the side of the road

2012-01-19T17:26:00.002-05:00

For about six weeks I had seen this Santa on the side of the road on my way to town.

I was disappointed last week because I didn't see him anymore, and I hadn't taken the time to photograph him. Today, though, I found him. He had switched sides of the road and is now facing in the opposite direction.

Santa, you're looking a tad haggard. You really need to get back to the North Pole and get some rest!

Until we meet again...

It's January

2012-01-18T16:23:00.002-05:00

And this is January. Have you heard of the actress January Jones? Well, this is the rug, January. January is made from thrifted t-shirts. My daughter has already claimed January for one of her friends. That's right-not her friend's mother, her friend. Who's the cool mom now? (Ummm-probably still not me.)

Here's another birdie photo. I think this is a Dark-eyed Junco that I've been seeing at the feeder. God don't make no junk, but He does make Juncos!

Have a lovely day!

At night

2012-01-17T21:03:00.001-05:00

I lit my hollyberry candle tonight. That's not a gun, it's a lighter.

I was just playing with my camera settings.

*********************
Our snow is gone. It rained pretty much all day. Now, it's all gusty out there. It's a good night to be HOME! Good night!

Happy 3rd birthday...

2012-01-17T15:40:00.001-05:00

to my blog!

Three years? That's crazy!

(PS-That cake is looking mighty fine right about now!)

Monday, Monday

2012-01-16T17:52:00.001-05:00

Monday started out sunny.

Isn't he beautiful?

He's meditating!

By afternoon, it was rainy out. It would have been a good time to go back to bed-I didn't though. Although, I may or may not have taken a little nap on the recliner.

(Fabulous pink and orange sheets were given to me by Dawnie. Full size fitted sheet, top sheet, and two pillowcase are in mint condition. I think she found them at a yard sale. LOVE!)

Have a nice day!

A sunny Sunday

2012-01-15T18:47:00.005-05:00

Christmas finally got put away!

Crochet hooks or chopsticks? That is the question.

I'm seeing spots.

Blinded by the light.

...wrecked up like a douche...er, I mean

...revved up like a deuce

Thank you, Google!

(It's a song by Manfred Mann's Earth Band-just in case you're, well, young.)

Drivin' in a winter wonderland!

Curve ahead.

I hope everybody had a sunny Sunday too!

Winter wonderland

2012-01-14T19:50:00.001-05:00

Frozen flakes fell softly from the sky all day today. It was so peaceful and quiet, and I was thankful to be able to watch from indoors.

I think the birdies were thankful for the food we put out for them. They fluttered around there all day long.

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

Snow day

2012-01-13T23:04:00.000-05:00

The temps dropped overnight, and we had snow this morning. Oh, I love my snow, but I don't particularly like to drive in it. I went over to my sister's house, though. I thought I'd make a cup of coffee with her Keurig-I couldn't find any good K-Cups (all I could find were decaf)-so I used her My K-Cup. I had to google how to use it, though, because I couldn't figure out how to put that little contraption in. I watched a video on it and then it was easy as pie. You gotta love that google.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

'Blue' and birds

2012-01-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

I made 'Blue' yesterday. Isn't she pretty? You know Beyonce just named her baby girl, Blue, right? Well-I'm copying. Sorry, Beyonce!

Blue is made from thrifted t-shirts. If I counted correctly-15 t-shirts. I cut t-shirts and crocheted my little fingers to the bone yesterday! I didn't mind though-I watched Gilmore Girls all day.
***************************

This morning I took some pics of my birdies through the window. They weren't cooperating very much though!

Angry bird?

Have a non-blue day, everybody!

Yesterday's amazing sunset

2012-01-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

So I don't forget.

Fabulous finds

2012-01-09T12:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, between church and lunch-I stopped at Goodwill for a few minutes. I found this little beauty-it's a wool hooked rug/wall hanging. It was in the hoop still, but it had burlap hanging out around the edges. I brought it home, stretched it a little, tightened the hoop, and then trimmed the burlap. Taadaa! A beautiful wall hanging. Thank you for making this, whomever you are!!!

I tried putting it in my yellow dining room, but it didn't look right. Then, I tried the living room. I think I found the perfect spot!

See that cute little penny pot? My sister's boyfriend bought that for me. He bought it at Goodwill-I know, because I was there! Kim must have told him that Goodwill was my most favorite store ever!

Have a fabulous day, everybody!

Sunday, SUNDAY!

2012-01-09T11:29:00.001-05:00

My memory has been terrible lately. Really, really terrible. So I have decided that every once and while I'll just take some pictures of my day and put them on the ol' blog.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah-Sunday, January 8, 2012:

::Church

::Someone parked beside me had their car decorated for Christmas?!?!

::I ate lunch with my second family. That's Jodie, Dave, Patrick, and Jess. I had a club. (I almost FORGOT to take a pic before it was gone.)

::Peanut butter pie for dessert. If I would have known how good it was I would have skipped the club and just had two pieces! Oh, yeah!

::My engine light's been on for years!

::Almost home

The end.

'Justice'

2012-01-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

First there was Liberty. Now there is Justice.

Justice is the first rug I have made in several weeks and is made with thrifted t-shirts.

Liberty and Justice for all!

Happy Saturday. :)

Miscellaneous

2012-01-06T19:51:00.002-05:00

The sun came out today.

It brightened up this normally dark corner.

I stopped at Goodwill yesterday and found these pillowcases. Love!

On New Year's Eve, I rode with Mom and Dad to Ohio. Dad wanted to check out a camp he may rent for a few days this summer.

Buddy went with us!

I'm still having a hard time believing they have a house dog. He's their baby, that's for sure!

~maiden name~

We ate at Perkins. These are their bricks.

That's it, that's all! Have a great weekend!

Let it snow!

2012-01-03T16:54:00.003-05:00

We had our second snow of the season this morning. It's so beautiful!!!

I took these photos from inside, of course. You don't think I'm going out in that, do you?

Hey-do you see happy camper up there? Work on the happy camper has been delayed due to a leak and water damage. Happy camper ain't so happy right now. :(

Guess what I did the other day?! No, I didn't make a rug-this is an old picture. I scrubbed the grout on my kitchen floor. After scrubbing a dried spot of milk on the grout, I noticed how much lighter that spot was, so I just kept scrubbing. I ended up just using dish soap and a scrub brush. Can you say filthy???(Above photo-before.)

(After.) It's really hard to tell from the different lighting in these photos, but the grout WAS a dark brown, but NOW it's a grey cement color. It looks so much better now, I think, because there is less contrast. I honestly had forgotten what color it was originally. I knew it had gotten darker, but I thought it was 'stained' and aged-oopsy! Quite a few years ago I stopped hand scrubbing it, and now I just use a Mr. Clean mop that has a washable cloth. I guess maybe that's when the grout started changing colors.

Even my daughter noticed the difference, and that's saying something!

Clean grout-it's so exciting!!!

Have a good day!

Surprise scrapbook

2012-01-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

Here's yet another Christmas gift! My sister, Jodie, scrapbooked her little heart out. She made a scrapbook for me, Mom, Kim, and Hoper. (Anybody else, Jodie?) She even took all of the pictures. It had to have taken a lot of time and effort to make these and I so appreciate it! I love it and you!!!

Have a great day everybody!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012, friends!

I hope you have a wonderful new year!

It was a merry Christmas

2011-12-26T18:05:00.002-05:00

Focus, Holly, focus! (I loved this, by the way.)

There we go-all ready.

The stockings were hung by thumbtacks with care!

I played with my daughter's Instax before I wrapped it and bagged the film.

Food gifts are great, aren't they. The English muffin toasting bread and hot cocoa mix were made by my sister, Kim.

Lovely gifts from lovely people.

More lovely gifts from more lovely people.

Even more lovely gifts from even more lovely people.

Hoper sent me this pic of her first cup of Teavana tea. I asked her how it was and she said-very good!

Rocco had a blast!

I had a wonderful Christmas spent with loved ones and I sincerely hope you did too.

Homemade goodness

2011-12-23T18:29:00.003-05:00

I've received so much homemade goodness lately! My dear friend, Dawnie, gave me a bunch of adorable mitten sugar cookies! They're so cute and delicious. Another dear friend, Michaelanne, sent me her delicious peppermint bark (along with those noel candlestick holders, and also an adorable rottie mug). Then my dear friend, Tara, made and gave me the lovely little tree quilt (among other things) that everything is sitting on. Love it all!

I didn't make any Christmas cookies, but I did make some Christmas popcorn today. It's just popcorn, melted white chocolate chips, a dash of salt, and some nonpareils. It's delicious and addictive. I got the idea/recipe from Easie Peasie. (New plastic orange bowl from Goodwill!)

Have a great Christmas Eve eve, everybody!

I'm sending you a Christmas card...

2011-12-21T09:03:00.000-05:00

a virtual Christmas card-that is!

Merry Christmas, friends! You mean so much to me!

Love, Holly

Make a 'photo canvas' in just a few easy steps!

2011-12-17T11:24:00.002-05:00

I bought these Home Interior canvases a long time ago at Goodwill for 15 cents each (originally $4.99) with the intention of making something from them. I thought that someday I would cover them with fabric or paint or something! Well, today was that someday.

I decided to make a photo canvas from one of the pictures of my girlie that my sister had gifted me for my birthday. I wasn't sure if it would turn out-but I think it did. I'm very pleased!

First of all, I opened the basement door and then quickly sprayed the edges of the canvas white. After it dried, I brought it upstairs and got out the ol' trusty glue stick. I smeared the glue around the edges and a little in the middle. Then I stuck the photo on the canvas and positioned it the way I wanted it, then smoothed it down with my hands. (The canvas was exactly 8 inch by 10 inch, and the photo was a little bigger than that.)

So, I turned it photo faced down and trimmed the edges with an exacto knife.

I then flipped it over and filed the edges with a nail file to smooth them. (Also, because I think everything looks better roughed up a little around the edges.)

Taadaa!!! In just a few minutes I made a photo canvas-now my child's photo POPS off the wall!

Mmmmmmwwwwaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! I love that kid!

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Hot tea (and some milk chocolate with toffee and almonds)

2011-12-15T09:34:00.001-05:00

Oh, how I love hot tea! And mugs! I think I might have a problem.

See this mug? It's from Little Flower Designs. It's my birthday present to myself. Like I said-I may have a problem. This is a problem I can deal with though.

Oh, that niece of mine-she has me eating Hershey nuggets. The ones with toffee and almonds. I keep them in the freezer. I like my chocolate frozen! I need chocolate! (like I need a hole in the head)

Here's the other mug I bought earlier this year from Little Flower Designs. And I've decided to get out these beautiful journals that I bought years ago and start using them. Not for journaling really, but for notes and stuff. I think they are just so darn purty!

Here's the birthday card that my sister, Kim, gave me. Isn't it cute? She said that it reminded her of me and my phone!

I'm heading to my mom's in a little. Have a wonderful day, everybody! (And thank you for the birthday wishes!)

HI-JACKED, once again. Tis the season to be HOLLY!!!!! TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

2011-12-13T12:35:00.006-05:00

*a few more presents to Holly from Jodie

**never before seen photos of her love bug Hope! <3 taken by....ahem...me!!

Gorgeous....i love this girl so much!!

What a difference five years makes...for Jess!

*ahem...the soon to be 20 year old with the 14 year old(my girl, Jess)

this is funnnnn ...changing colors!!!!

HMMMMM....(getting the right tune ready....)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HOLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY (**singing really pretty)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUU......****hitting every note perfectly!!!

Happy Birthday Sister!!!!!

Love,

Your sisters
Jodie and Kimmie

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I'm hijacking the hijack to add these photos.

My first birthday. Old photo-has cracks!

My third birthday.

My fifth birthday. I'm on the left, Jodie's in the middle, and family friend, Stacia-is on the right. This was a snowman cake. If I remember right I wouldn't eat any because it had coconut on it!

My eleventh birthday. I thought it was my tenth, but nope-eleventh.

More gifts for her-this time for me!

2011-12-12T10:21:00.001-05:00

Yesterday after church, most of my family and I went out to eat at our favorite local restaurant. It was a lovely, little, early birthday celebration for me. Dad bought-thanks, Dad!

Anyhow-I received lots of gifties. I think I just might be spoiled.

Alright, so every once in a while I get a case of the I wanties. I mentioned to Jodie that I wanted some things from Anthropologie, but heck, I certainly didn't need anything, so I refrained and didn't order. Hehe-so she did it for me. I love this 'h' mug-it's so stinkin' adorable!

My girlie gave me a digital picture frame. Mom and Dad gave me a hoodie, some candy, and some money. Kimmie and Es gifted me some shirts and a little red bank. Jodie and family gave me a candle, the mug in top photo, and another Anthro item-a lovely ceramic berry basket. Also, she took some beautiful photos of my beautiful kiddos!

Thanks, everybody! I love you all, and not just because you buy me stuff!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

Gifts for her

2011-12-10T11:37:00.006-05:00

And that her is my daughter.

Here are a few things that I got my daughter for Christmas this year. Don't worry, she doesn't read here-that would be way too embarrassing!

Above is a canvas print from Artscow. I used one of her photos from her trip to New York City this summer. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Here's a gift she pretty much knows she's getting-since she had her Teavana wishlist sent to my email and then she told me if I was going to order her this-I should do it on black Friday, since they had free shipping and some free things to offer that day.

My girl wants tea for Christmas! Be still my beating heart!

Oh-I'm playing with this one before it gets wrapped. She has told me before she'd like an old Polaroid instant camera. While they can be found in thrift stores, the film is hard to come by and sometimes it doesn't work, so I've been told. So I thought I'd get her this Fujifilm Instax 210 instant camera. The reviews are good, and I know the film is fresh and not too terribly expensive. I ordered this from Amazon.

I have a few gifts for others, but they read here!

Now-I better get to wrapping so I can enjoy a few pretty presents under the tree. This year I'm going to try to use up some of the vintage, thrifted ribbon I've had sitting around for years!

Have a good weekend everybody!

Violet, Holly, and Dakota

2011-12-05T11:06:00.002-05:00

This is Violet-named for the purple she contains. This rug is for my niece Jess. She asked me make her a rug in purple, green, and blue and so I did. I think she's going to like her-she's even prettier in real life. Now, the question is-do I give it to her now, or wait till Christmas? I'll probably just give it to her now. Violet's made with thrifted t-shirts and some thrifted polyester fabric.

Oh, lookie! I found another Christmas decoration. My sister got me this hand painted (I can tell) sign a few years ago. I think she even got it at Goodwill. Is that right, Jodie? I found it in my bedroom on the floor, tucked between my hope chest and the wall. Now-it's in my living room.

Oh-I got a visitor for a little bit on Saturday. Yep-Dakota came for a little visit! Oh. my. word. What a beautiful, little, fluffy puffball! He has WHITE eyelashes! Have you ever seen anything so cute in your life??? He is precious!

I hope everybody has a good day!

This and that

2011-12-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

We had another glorious sunrise this morning-love it!

Speaking of love-my niece Jess stayed with me Saturday night. I picked her up at her house and we went and had pizza, visited the grocery store, and then came home and ate chocolate, Edy's coconut popsicles, and roasted garlic Triscuits. I found the above pictures on my ipod a few days later. L O V E-it's all you need. I LOVE that girl!

I pulled out some Christmas candles and that vintage can of snow (from Goodwill) (another Dawnie idea) from the bottom of my cupboard. My Christmas decorating is just about complete now-hehe!

Have a great Friday, everybody!

'Olive'

2011-11-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

This is Olive. She's named for olive green she contains. This rug was a request from my sister-she wanted it for a house warming gift for a friend.

Olive is made with thrifted t-shirts.

I really love Olive. I think she is pretty!

Today is another dear friend's birthday. Happy birthday, dear Dawnie!!! May your day be shiny and brite!

May everybody's day be shiny and bright!

Christmas corner

2011-11-28T13:19:00.002-05:00

I just don't have the patience to go all out in the Christmas decorating department-so this is just about it, folks!

My pencil tree was in the basement-so I carried it upstairs and decorated it with some Shiny Brite bulbs that I picked up at Goodwill. My Aunt Charolette had given me some old Shiny Brites and I used them too. See-I didn't feel like getting up in our little attic. Then I pulled the few decorations from the closet (that weren't put in the attic last year) and sat them around. Tadaaaaaaaa-I'm ready for Christmas.

I do want to buy some little candy canes and some other Christmas candy for those little dishes. I also want to pick up a small strand of lights. I might just lay them on that bare spot on the toybox. (Hubby wants me to unplug my lights before I go to bed-grrrrrr.) (Yeah-that's my girlie's toybox, which Larry's late uncle made us as a baby shower gift. It now contains old National Geographics.)

Oh, 'Grace' picture, how I love you!!!

Santa, please stop here! I've been a very good girl this year. (Not really!)

I also had some of the antique Christmas bulbs that my Aunt Nancy gave me that weren't buried too deep-so I displayed some of those.

Here's the poinsettia doily my mom made me long, long ago.

I hung the snowman sign that my cousin, Michelle, got me one year.

My neighbor and friend-the one that had been very sick (but she's doing alot better now!)-gave me the angel.

I just put these vintage boxes under the 'pencil' tree because I thought they were pretty. I got the idea for using things like pretty vintage boxes and packaging for decorating from my good friend, Dawnie. Her home is always beautifully decked out for Christmas-she's not lazy like me!

Ahhhh-my thrifted cross stitched Santa. It was destined for the dumpster, but I brought him home with me. I love him!

Today is my dear friend Rhonda's birthday. She is quite the shutterbug. Have a wonderful birthday, Rhonda!

Have a good day, everybody!

Sunday's sunrise

2011-11-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

This was the view from my front door yesterday. Wasn't it stunning?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T18:21:00.001-05:00

This is the extent of my Thanksgiving cooking (as usual), which doesn't include cooking at all-just peeling and chopping. And opening a can of olives and a jar of pickles. I made dip too-with fresh herbs.......no I'm lying-it's just sour cream and Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix. Can you say MSG???

I'm thankful for that!

I got to see my beautiful daughter today for a couple of hours-I'm thankful for that.

Hey-do you want to see my sink??? Too bad! I cleaned it up-you're seeing it.

PS-I had three cups of tea (six teabags) this morning-I'm so thankful for tea!

The SPOON wanted me to tell you Happy Thanksgiving and that he's thankful for you!!!

I'm thankful for you too! I hope you had a wonderful day. :)

Yer acting like a buncha animals!

2011-11-22T20:26:00.004-05:00

This is Dakota Jo and he's kind of my new grandpuppy. He's a Samoyed! Hoper's calling him Jo Bear, because she thinks he looks like a little polar bear. I think he looks like a baby seal! Well, anyway you look at him, he's a beauty-I know that for sure!

It was bear season here on Saturday, Monday, and today-so Rocco had to wear some red. (I didn't have orange.) I had to keep an extra eye on him too, so he didn't wander into the woods. Yes-I think he could very well be mistaken for a bear! Do you think so? I think he's very handsome in red, by the way.

Rocco brought my attention to this 'rafter' of turkeys running up the road this afternoon. I got a few camera 'shots' off, before they ran for their lives. Did you know there's a children's book called Run, Turkey, Run? There is! It's right here.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Happy birthday, Kimmie!

2011-11-20T08:39:00.001-05:00

Kimmie with our dear grandma-Atheline Hattie. Grandma's birthday would have been tomorrow. She passed away in 1998.

Happy birthday, pretty lady!

Kimmie with our beautiful niece, Jess!

Three sisters on Christmas morning in the late 70's-Holly, Kimmie, Jodie.

Happy birthday, Kimmie! I hope you have the most wonderful birthday and I wish you nothing but happiness always. I love you!

If you want to read some past birthday posts for Kimmie-they are here and here.

Have a great day everybody!

Hello!

2011-11-18T16:30:00.003-05:00

Hello! I hope you all are well.

This was the sky on Sunday morning, I think. Wasn't it pretty???

This is this morning's sunrise. I thought it was pretty too!

Speaking of pretty-this is my girlie's arm. She needed shots and a tb test for school. And yes-she let me photograph her arms-as long as I didn't get her face. :)

I think these are the first shots she's ever gotten without me! Waaaaaa!!! She is scared to death of needles. (That's probably why she has no tattoos or piercings, not even ears...yet. She wore magnetic earrings to the prom.) She was relieved to get them over with. They still use little kiddie bandaids. Awwwww!!!

November's harvest-these were growing really close to the house, so that must be what saved them from the freezing temps.

I was making a 2012 Rocco calendar and I came across some pics of my little wee puppy! Isn't he sweet? It's so hard to believe he was ever that little!

Have a good weekend everybody!

Handmade gifts, part two & Kimmie's Korners

2011-11-14T06:52:00.002-05:00

I was at my youngest sister's place yesterday and so, of course,
I took my ipod around and took pics. She lives in an apartment
which is the top floor of a house. It's really cute! Anyhow, she
got some new wall decals. I think she said this one is called
dandelion dance. Love it!

Here's a little stack of quilts I've made Kimmie over the years.

I ended up giving her the first beach blanket to go that I made-I
didn't use it anyhow.

This is a pillow I made Kimberly awhile ago. I made it from old
fake moleskin shirts. I think they were my middle sister Jodie's.

This is a pretty korner. (I'm going to be korny and use k's, k?)

A pillow I covered for her. I was in my frayed rosette phase.

Here's a potholder I made for Kimmie. I was in my dishtowel potholder phase.

Kim uses this clothespin holder to hold plastic bags.

Little cookbooks on a plate rack. Cute idea, don't you think???

Kimmie's other kookbooks.

Fall decor!

Here's the yarn wrapped wreath I helped make. Yep-more frayed rosettes.

I love those things!

Hello, Eartha!

Hello, No Name!

Hello, Oceana!

Hi, Skye!

Here are coasters from my criss-cross coaster phase.

Mom made us girls some crocheted coasters last year.

I'm loving the blue and brown!

Awww-little fake kitty in a crocheted bowl!

Lovely garland wrapped around Kim's railing-I think she got this at
Michaels.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Have a wonderful day!

'Noel'

2011-11-13T18:54:00.000-05:00

I had a request for red and green. I said-as in Christmas? Nope-as in apples. Oh, okay-well I guess it works for apples and for Christmas.

This is Noel. I LOVE the name Winter Noel-but I'm saving Winter for a different rug!

Noel is made from all thrifted t-shirts and she is heavy!

Hope you had a nice day!

'Blaze'

2011-11-10T09:42:00.000-05:00

Oh, this is Blaze. Isn't he nice? I got my color inspiration from the photo below of the trees all a'Blaze' with color from a few weeks ago. Blaze is a name too-there's a boy in our town named Blaze. Blaze is made from 100% thrifted t-shirts and he's a heavy bugger!

See-the trees were a 'Blaze' with color a few weeks ago. Not anymore-they are bare now.

Oooooo-yesterday the sun was shining in so prettily, I had to grab the camera. Parts of Blaze are in this photo.

That's not Blaze, that's Hope.

And anytime I find something heart-shaped, I just gotta snap a pic of it. Some things heart-shaped that I've taken photos of off the top of my head are: potato chip, tomato, rock-okay, that's not many but that's all I can think of right now.

I *heart* potatoes and my ample butt shows it!

Have a terrific Thursday, everybody!

'Novella'

2011-11-07T11:39:00.001-05:00

This is Novella. I was asked to make rug for Novella Carpenter by her sister for a trade and so I did!

So 'Novella' will be shipped to Novella who lives in the city on a farm. I'm sure she'll have a good life!

Novella is made from thrifted sheets and shirts and I sure do like her. :)

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

Handmade gifts

2011-11-04T19:33:00.003-04:00

I went over to my sister Jodie's house today to do a few things for her.(Because she works full-time and-well, I'm a bum.)

I delivered 'Candy'-the rug, because she said she would like to have it and my sisters usually get what they want. Isn't that right, girls???

Anyhow-I took my ipod around and took pics of some of the things I had made and then given as gifts. Also, one item that Dave's aunt made and gave to them and then something that Jodie makes and gives as gifts as well.

An unnamed rug!

'Ginger'

'Pinky'

There's the hankie blankie (or bandana blanket) I made Jess one year for her birthday.

There's a tied quilt I made Jess for her birthday another year and also another unnamed rug.

Here's a little lap quilt I made for Jodie (Kim got one too) for Christmas one year. And it's hand quilted-I doubt that's ever happening again! The hand quilting that is!

Jodie makes stuff too-she crochets washcloths to give as gifts. And I love that basket, it's made from paper.

There's Smokey-aka Mok or Mok Mok or Motor. He's lying on 'Davey' the rug!

This is a tiny quilty that I gave to Jess. I quilted it with my sewing machine. (I went through a tiny quilty phase-I made three and then the phase was over.)

Oh, I've always loved this basket. Dave's aunt makes these. It's made from pine needles and walnut shells.

There were quite a few more things (like Jess's rainbow rug, two shower curtains, etc.), but I didn't get pics. Phew! I didn't realize all the stuff I'd made and given over the years! There will be more in the future, I'm sure-'cause I sure LOVE to make and give. :)

Happy 23rd birthday...to our home

2011-10-30T11:48:00.003-04:00

On October 30, 1988 we officially moved into our home. Yes-we were married December 19, 1987-so that means I lived with my in-laws for nearly a year. It wasn't too bad-we both worked full time and I was young. (Now-I'm too set in my ways, I wouldn't be able do it.) But I couldn't wait to get into a space of my own! I was 20 years old.

Anyhow, the reason we had to wait is because we built this home (we-meaning my husband, me, family and friends, and our friend and neighbor who was a HUGE, HUGE help) with our own hands, and it wasn't ready yet. It took about a year and a half to complete.

I was thinking about what the date was today while I was coloring my hair this morning (go figure)-and thought-oh yeah, today is my home's birthday.

So I went around and took some unstaged (okay-so I picked up some dirty clothes and piled some things up, closed the toilet lids and such) photos of the clutteredness, bad lighting and all.

Above is our dining room-although we don't eat at the table. Never have and probably never will! The wall paper has changed (quite recently) and so has the floor (really recently).

Ahhhh-the downstair bathroom. I'm thankful for it-it's meant a lot less climbing of the stairs!

I've painted the top part, but the wallpaper is the same and so is the floor-vinyl.

There's my little kitchen(ette)! Sometimes I'd like to strangle the architect that designed this tiny kitchen for this home. Other times-I'm just grateful I have a kitchen. Mostly I'm grateful.

The floor is the same, but the walls have been repapered. I'm about ready for a change in here soon, stay tuned!

The living room-yep, a lot of living goes on in this room. I rocked my baby COUNTLESS hours in that spot where the Lazyboy is. That's our third Lazyboy. We're hard on them. This is where we eat too-a whole lotta eatin' has gone on in this room. And Larry sleeps here too-I guess living room is the perfect name.

The floor has changed-it used to be carpet. The walls are the same, they haven't even been painted. And now you know-I have a deer head hanging on my wall. The poor dear!

Our stairs-I'd like to know how many times I've climbed these over the last 23 years. A LOT, I know that.

My bedroom, my bedroom! You know how I love my bedroom!!!

Same carpet, same walls-the only thing that's changed over the years is the decor and I like it!

The upstairs bath-the place where I bathed my baby for so many years. The same room where the teenager took hour long showers. There hasn't been mold on the walls since she left!

The floor is the same, the paint is the same, but the wallpaper changed a few years ago.

Hoper's room-aka the junk room again. It started out as the junk room, then became a nursery, then became Larry's bedroom for seven years (as little Hope wanted to sleep with Mommy), then became Hope's room again as she decided sleeping alone was A-okay! Now back to a junk room. Man, time flies!

The carpet's the same, but the walls have been painted.

Happy birthday, Little Home-you've been so good to us!

This and that

2011-10-29T13:24:00.002-04:00

I didn't do any decorating for Halloween (or fall for that matter) (besides with the natural cobwebs, gnarly apples on branches, old birdie nests, pine cones, and acorn tops) this year, but this morning I moseyed on down to the basement to find the magic potions that I made last year.

(See that recipe box on the bottom-I bought it at a yard sale and it's filled with recipes. I think it was 50 cents or a dollar. The top recipe box came from Goodwill.)

They're none the worse for wear. They look exactly the same as they did last year.

That old spice rack that I bought at Goodwill a while ago really came in handy. I have a ton more bottles-I'll have to remember to get them out and use them for little vases. I think that would be sweet!

Oops! Guess what-I forgot to buy treats for Halloween. I found some Hershey bars that I had for smores and I have some Little Debbies in the freezer-so I think I'll be okay. We only usually get two Halloweeners anymore, anyhow!

Ohhhhh-here's my little Halloweener from Halloweens past.

Hoper just clowning around
My lil' pumpkin
P-p-power ranger
Calling nurse Hope!

Oh, those were the days!

I pulled another partial quart of grape sauce out of the freezer and made some more grape jam. The others that I made is gone. I gave three little containers away and we (or I should say mostly I) ate the other two. Can you say sugar coma?

Oh, yes! Today was the first snow of the season-bring it on, I say!

Oh, dear!

2011-10-25T11:47:00.001-04:00

Oh, dear-oh, me-oh, my-that's what keeps going through my head!

I have a neighbor (and friend) that is very sick and in the hospital right now-I don't really know what's going on at the moment and I'm fretting. I don't like to fret! Anyhoo-there's always hope! I'm praying for a miracle for sure!

Speaking of hope-I had supper with my daughter (Hope) and my mom, last night. Hoper wanted to go to Mexican (as we call it), so that we did. It was so nice to see and talk to her. I think I saw her for only 15 minutes last week!

I can't tell you how many times a day that I think about how quickly the last 20 years have gone. I don't know if it's because we have always lived in the same house-but I always am picturing scenes from the past in my head as I sit in this house and always wonder how the years of raising my child have gone by so soon! (I know I'm not the only one that wonders that!)

This morning Rocco and I went and picked some tomatoes-that's pretty much all we have left, with the exception of a few small green peppers. If I wasn't so lazy-I'd make Larry some fried green tomatoes-but I think I may just be too lazy for that. Poor Larry!

Oh, tea-how you comfort me! I need to go and make another cup. :)

Rocco-he always brings a smile to my face. (I love that sun spot there.) Of course-right now he has a sore front paw and he looks so pitiful as he stands there on three legs with his gigantic paw paw in the air. Poor guy! I know he'll be fine though.

Now, I'm going to try to be thankful for all the little things in life that make me happy. (They're the ones that are the most important, if you ask me!)

Hope you have a good day!

A corner, a doggie, a leaf, and a crocheted stone

2011-10-20T11:24:00.003-04:00

I snapped this pic of my happy corner the other day. I'm so glad I moved hubby's gun cabinet in Hoper's old room. I like my stuff much, much better!

I actually used my sewing machine the other day. My girl wanted me to make her a new corn bag. (Heat corn bag in microwave for three or so minutes, then place on area of body that hurts! Ahhh-relief.) So I took a tea towel, folded it in half, sewed up two sides, then I eyeballed the amount of shelled corn to add inside until it looked like the right amount, then sewed up the last side and repeated three more times. That way-I have extra for my girl when she burns hers up again!

Doesn't Mr. Rocco look a little guilty. Actually-I have his leaf and I think he wants it back.

Yeah-this leaf.

Rocco loves to play with the fallen leaves. We don't have tons in our yard, so he waits for the wind to blow one his way and then chases and mostly catches-it's very comical to watch. Today when I let him in he had this leaf in his mouth. I had to take a photo-it's quite pretty, I think-reminds me of a butterfly. (I gave it back to him and now it's in pieces on the floor-I'm glad I took this photo.)

This is my first attempt at a crocheted stone-I'm attempting to make some a little like this. Mine will never be as pretty or as awesome as Margaret Oomen's of Resurection Fern, but it doesn't hurt to try a new skill once in a while. Maybe I'll stick with it or maybe I won't-we shall see.

Have a good day, everybody!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

2011-10-16T18:04:00.001-04:00

Skies are gray
Tell me, I want to know why
Skies can't be like this every day!

This past week the skies have been ever-changing. I've seen more rainbows this fall than I think I have in my life-but I'm not complaining!

Rocco was watching the moo cows-wishing he could go out and play-yet not wanting to get wet. He's afraid he might melt.

I noticed some very lovely seed heads on my three sunflower stalks left standing in the garden. So I pulled them off and brought them in. I'm going to save them and then sprinkle them around next year and see what happens.

I finally made some grape jam. I thawed one of my quart jars of grape sauce. Since I was just freezing it-I pretty much winged it and I think it turned out great! It's delicious (very grapey!), I do know that!

I had about 3 1/2 cups of grape sauce when I thawed it. I added 3 1/2 cups sugar and one box of sure-jell and brought that to a rolling boil, then I let it cool some and then added it to my little freezer containers. Tadaaaa-grape jam!

I still have more grape sauce frozen-so now I can make more-yeehawwww!!!!!

Mmmmmm-it doesn't get much better than this!

Have a grape-I mean great-day everybody. :)

Candy

2011-10-12T13:15:00.000-04:00

This is Candy. Doesn't she look like Brach's neapolitan coconut sundaes candy? I thought so! Candy is made from thrifted sheets and shirts. Except the outer brown ring-it was a shirt from my closet because I ran out of brown. Believe me-it looks better on Candy than it did on me. Did you know-that if my sister would have been born one day later on February 14th instead of the 13th, my mom was going to name her Candy in honor of Valentine's Day? I have a Jodie for a sister, not a Candy. But I have a Candy for a rug!

Have a great day!

Autumnal

2011-10-11T07:24:00.000-04:00

The first five pics were taken with my ipod on Sunday morning on my way to church. They were taken out my side window and through the windshield. I went really slow (really, I did!) and was careful, but it was still kind of tricky. The last photo was taken last evening at dusk, after I noticed the moon above the beautiful trees. Goodness-I live in a gorgeous area, especially in the fall! Thank you, Lord, for autumn and trees, and leaves that change color and the moon and the sun, and I could go on forever!

I hope everyone has a beautiful day!

Mmm...cheesecake!

2011-10-09T16:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the first time I've ever been to The Cheesecake Factory! Jessie, Kimmie, Jess, and I went on a girl's afternoon out! Jessie, Kimmie, and even Jess had been there before, but not me. It's so pretty in there! and clean! (Don't think for a minute that I didn't have Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on my mind!) And my fettuccine alfredo was delish! I was so full from it though, I could not enjoy my red velvet cheesecake. So I brought it home and had it today for lunch-it was delish too! We had a really fun time! It was such a treat to go out with these lovely ladies and we'll have to do it again and soon!

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I'm having trouble commenting again-sorry!

Lily (and Gordon, Kim, and Aggie)

2011-10-08T08:53:00.006-04:00

I finally finished this rug! I've been working on it here and there all week. This is Lily. Yes-another flower name. There are yellow lilies and there are blue water lilies (I looked it up!), so Lily it is. Lily is, of course, made with thrifted sheets and shirts!

Here are all the named rugs so far:

Forrest, Liberty, Francie, Boris, Skye, Maisy, Daisy, Davey, Flora, Johnny, Apple, Eartha, Pinky, April, Rose, Autumn, Hyacinth, Linda, Americus, Oceana, Berry, Star, Thorne, Marina, Woody, Perry (Winkle), Rachel, Ever (Green), Mae (Flowers), Ricky Joe, Fern, Martha, Kathie Lee, Rusty, Sage, Jewel, George, Ginger, Hope, Willow, Poppy, Pansy, Greyson, Iris, Sapphire, Sunny, Crimson, Ivy, Viola, Goldie, Indigo, and now Lily. That's 51 named rugs if I counted correctly.

Here's what's been keeping me entertained lately-Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and How clean is your house with Kim and Aggie.

Gordon Ramsay goes into failing restaurants and tries to revamp them in Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon says the F-word in practically every sentence that comes out of his mouth, but I can overlook it! I've learned a few things from this show-never, ever buy a restaurant and think twice about where and what you eat! Some of those restaurant kitchens are disgusting! The American version of Kitchen Nightmares is on Fox at 8PM Eastern time on Fridays.

Oh, how I love How Clean is Your House! Kim and Aggie (they are hilarious!) go into dirty (and I mean dirty!) homes, reprimand the home owners about the filth and then give tips about cleaning. Then a cleaning crew comes in and cleans the house-top to bottom. Warning-some scenes will turn your stomach! Something I've learned from How Clean is Your House-no matter how dirty you think your own house is-there is someone else's that's dirtier! I don't think it's on TV anymore (but I'm not completely sure) but you can watch some of the episodes on YouTube. Just do a search.

Holy Cows! It's a gorgeous fall day here, today!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Natural (and free) decor

2011-10-05T11:23:00.002-04:00

First, you find some woods. Then, you gather goodies like gnarly apples on branches, old birdie nests, pine cones, and acorn tops. Finally, arrange items so that they are pleasing to the eye.

See-like this! Natural and free decor-sometimes it's the best kind. When you are sick of it-just chuck it out the window!

You know how stores sell fake cobwebs for Halloween decor? No, no, no-don't waste your money-let your spiders make them for you. Natural and free! After Halloween-tear them down with your Webster or your broom, and by next Halloween your spiders will probably have made you some more!

There you have it folks-my recommendations for natural and free decor!

I hope you have a beautiful October day!

I must like rainbows...

2011-10-03T18:44:00.001-04:00

because every time I spot one, I gasp, giggle, and grab my camera-like this afternoon!

And I make rainbow rag rugs!

And rainbow potholders!

I paint them on cement!

I line my clothespins up like a rainbow-although this is backwards!

And I LOVE rainbow cake-taste the rainbow! (This is Jessica's birthday cake from two years ago.)

I hope you're having a good Monday!

Today, she's 14

2011-10-02T08:37:00.001-04:00

Oh, yes-today my beautiful niece, Jess-turns 14! Last night was her family party and we had fun! Lots of laughs and good food-for example, the rainbow explosion cake! Yes-Jodie had some trouble with it falling over, but it was still pretty and soooooo delicious!

Above are a few scenes from the par-tay!
Row 1:: Aunt Kimmie and Jess, Jess and Poppy
Row 2:: Jess and Grammy, Mommy and Jess
Row 3:: Pretty snacks!, Daddy and Jess
Row 4:: Aunt Holly and Jess, Mok
Row 5:: Laiken and Patrick, The rainbow explosion cake!

My daughter is absent from the photos because she refused to get her photo taken!

I've said it before and I'll say it again-Jess is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, and that's pretty darn beautiful!

Happy birthday to my favorite (and only, so far!) niece. Aunt Holly loves you so, so much!!!

If you want to see Jessica's previous birthday posts go here and here.

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Also-right now I can't comment on my own blog and some other blogs too, for some strange reason and it's making me mad! So, if I don't respond to your comment, that's why!

This & that

2011-09-28T11:25:00.002-04:00

I visited my momma this week and was greeted with a bunch of beautiful morning glories that are climbing the lattice on her front porch. I had to get a pic of them, even though the pup (Buddy) started jumping on me and nearly sent me tumbling down the yard. That would not have been a pretty sight!

Here's Rocco at about a year and a half old. Isn't he a gorgeous rottie?

I found these mushroom salt and pepper shakers at Goodwill the other day. I certainly don't NEED more salt and pepper shakers, but they were so darn cute I couldn't resist. I (GASP) paid full price for them too-which was 99 cents a piece!

This mug is from Goodwill too. I loved it because it's handmade. It looks like they pressed flowers into the clay. I think this side is gorgeous-the other side, not so much. It says Northwestern PI CPA Chapter. I think I'll just use it for decoration only and just keep the pretty side facing outward.

And I don't think I've ever shown this bank. Larry's uncle (he's passed away now) gave a bunch of these to family, long ago. He had them made from old post office boxes. There's a slot in the top for your change. He wrote the combination to open it on a slip of paper and taped it on the bottom of the bank. I've always loved this bank, I think it's so cool!

My friend, Dawnie, (I say that alot on here) shared some of her yard sale finds with me! (Lucky me, right?)

(By the way, Dawnie's beautiful home is filled with wonderful antiques, mostly from Goodwill and yardsales!)

Welp, that's all for now-have a good day!

Rug washing day

2011-09-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful fall day here today! It didn't take long for these guys to dry. (And they smell so good!)

I hope you are having a beautiful weekend wherever you are too. :)

'Indigo'

2011-09-22T16:40:00.003-04:00

This is Indigo. Surely someone, somewhere, has named their child Indigo. Indigo is made from thrifted sheets and shirts.

Edited to add: I found an 'Indigo' as I was looking at a soap website. Kawinkydink, I guess!

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Today's haul:

I hadn't been to garden for a few days and that's what I found.

I'd say the garden has paid back the-I don't know-$15.00 I spent for seeds. I still have tons of seeds left, so next year-hopefully, I'll spend less than that!

Have a good day, everybody!

Miscellaneous

2011-09-19T17:13:00.005-04:00

My neighbor gave me more tomatoes and I had a few from my garden-so I made some more juice yesterday. I should have done it a few days earlier though-I had to throw quite a few rotten tomatoes out!

Isn't my prized watermelon beautiful? Tastes good too!

I thought I would share this VERY simple recipe for sour pickles. Mom's been making these forever! This recipe is in the little hand written recipe book that my mom gave me as a bridal shower gift-oh, so many years ago-the one I replicated last year and gave as a Christmas gift for my sisters, my mom (I think?), my daughter, and my niece.

I've always really loved these pickles and they could not be more simple to make. The dry mustard gives them zing! Oh, yeah-I used zucchini, not cukes because I had no cukes-but I did have zucchini. I just scooped all the seeds out and used the firm outer part. Worked like a charm.

Sour Pickles

2 Tablespoons of dry mustard
2 Tablespoons of salt
4 Tablespoons of sugar

Put above ingredients in quart jar. Fill with cucumbers (or zucchini) and then with vinegar. Keep in fridge. Make sure the lid is on tight and shake now and then. Enjoy in a few days!

Saturday afternoon-Larry and I went to a wedding reception. (It's very rare we go anywhere together and it's very rare that Larry would go to a wedding reception-but the groom was his buddy.)

What a perfect day for a fall wedding! The weather was beautiful! The colors were lovely and so were the bride, groom, and the wedding party. I loved the building the reception was held in-it was a coal loading building for trains back in the 1900's. I loved the architecture. Oh, and they passed out these paper 'hot air' balloons and lighters-the bride and groom lit the first one and then guests could light them and off they went into the sky. I wish I would have gotten a pic of a bunch of them in the sky together-but I was too busy talking!

I hope everybody has a great week!

'Goldie'

2011-09-17T23:13:00.001-04:00

The name 'Sunny' is already taken.

So this is Goldie, named for the yellow she contains. (I'm grasping at straws here!) Goldie is made with thrifted shirts and sheets.

I made three rugs this week-yeehaw!

I also made this cut and tie fleece blanket for my daughter's friend. Daughter asks, Mother makes!

Have a good weekend, everybody!

'Viola'

2011-09-14T10:19:00.003-04:00

I made another rug yesterday-oh, yes I did! I named this one 'Viola' for the blues and purples that I used. These rugs go pretty fast for me, when I have the fabric yarn all ready to go. My basket of rag balls has gotten considerably smaller already! Viola is made from t-shirts (some thrifted and some given to me by lovely friends and relatives-have a t-shirt that's ready for the rag bag-just give it to Holly) and thrifted sheets.

Ahhh-this isn't a viola, it's a dayflower (thanks, Mary!) that I found near the woods. Yes-I was in the woods again-only this time on the opposite side of my house. I also found apples, acorns, wild grapes, oak leaves, and pine cones-but daaa!-I didn't have my camera with me. I need to take it next time.

Oh, and doesn't Rocco look cute there? He's thinking that I am going to throw this tiny flower for him. Probably because I throw rotten tomatoes and weeds for him to go and fetch. In fact, as I was taking photos he started jumping at me so he could grab this wee flower. A 130 some pound pupper jumping at you-not good! I love him anyway, though.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everybody!

Watermelon!

2011-09-13T13:51:00.000-04:00

Ah, watermelon-we love you so!

I didn't grow this one. Larry's uncle gave us this BIG homegrown watermelon from his beautiful garden.

I ate the end. Hehe-I'm sneaky-hardly any seeds

Here are two of the watermelons from my garden, that I just picked this morning. The big striped one must weigh 15 pounds or so. When I cut into it-I'm sure I'll be taking photos of the momentous occasion. I know you're on the edge of your seat!

Speaking of watermelons-I decided to display this awesome watermelon rag rug that my mom made me about 16 years or so ago-again. I had it out for many years-I used to be really into watermelon decor. But I ended up putting it away because I kind of got out of that phase. But now she's out again, to be displayed in all her glory.

Afterall, in my opinion, there's no such thing as too many rag rugs!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

'Ivy'

2011-09-12T17:37:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've made a rug. I've been cutting t-shirts and ripping sheets (outside) here and there, but today was the day-I made a rug. This is Ivy-named for the green in her. Ivy is made from three thrifted sheets and it looks like five t-shirts. Some of the shirts were thrifted and a few were holey ones that were my beautiful niece, Jess's.

I thought about going outside to find some ivy and use it as a prop-but thought better of it, as I didn't want to get into any 'poison' ivy. I just used my little glass bunnies for props instead.

Here's a photo using the hipstamatic app.

And here's a photo using the shakeit app.

I'm still playing with my ipod touch. Why? Cause it's fun!

Have a wonderful day!

Yesterday's rainbow

2011-09-11T10:12:00.000-04:00

It's SuperRocco!

2011-09-10T10:51:00.001-04:00

It's a bird!

It's a plane.

It's SuperRocco!

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive,

able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

It's SuperRocco!

Have a nice day, everybody!

Grape sauce?

2011-09-07T18:34:00.001-04:00

I picked probably 10 or so pounds of grapes that I found on our property.

I picked them from their stems and washed them good. Then I threw them in a pot and cooked them up all hot and bubbly. Then I put them through my little ricer (food mill). The house smelled wonderful. It's pretty much the same process I used for my tomatoes. I just winged it.

I was left with about three quarts of grape sauce. It's really quite thick! I think it should make wonderful grape freezer jam. Now I need to get some sure-jell.

Here's the little ricer (food mill) that I used. It's now stained purple! My co-worker bought this for me at a hardware store in town, not long after I got married. She didn't want me to make lumpy mashed potatoes. I have yet to use it for that. In fact, I haven't made mashed taters in years!

I hope you are having a nice day!

Tomato, tomahto

2011-09-06T11:35:00.001-04:00

My lovely neighbor gave me a small box of tomatoes a few days ago. So with those and a few of my ripe ones, yesterday afternoon I got my butt in gear and made some tomato juice.

We *heart* mater juice!

I washed the tomatoes throughly, roughly cut them up, cutting out any bad spots. Then I cooked them up until they were hot and bubbly and smelled devine. I ran it all through the ricer, which took out the seeds and skin. Then I salted the juice to taste and voila-

four and a half quarts of tomato juice! I threw three in the freezer and one and half in the fridge.

Up next-grape juice!

Have a nice day, everybody!

Stuff I found in the woods

2011-09-04T13:18:00.002-04:00

The woods around our home are so very beautiful. I really have never appreciated HOW beautiful, but I'm trying to now.

I think this mushroom is very cool! So cool-I took many pics of it, as you can see.

I only noticed the bug after I uploaded these photos. I'm so thankful I didn't grab that berry and stuff it in my mouth!

Fungi can be fabulous!

I'm not sure of the name-but here are some pretty little wildflowers.

Here's another wildflower for which I don't know the name.

We have grapes (I call them concord grapes-but I'm not sure that's what they actually are) at the edge of the woods near the road and near our yard! This is the first year I've noticed them-but they've had to have been here for years.

I eat these seeds and all. They have such a wonderful flavor. I think I may make grape freezer jam with them.

Oh, look! I found this strange man, er-I mean my husband, in the woods too.

I hope you are having a good weekend!