Mid-week

Today I have been doing errands with #2 dear granddaughter date with granny we had fun. When we got home we cleaned the play house she picked up the toys, and then we swept, I got the cob webs, and bees out,
she used her small child’s size broom it was very important to her to be able to use the red one!

I used to think it might be nice to live in the south where they did not get snow, and I have changed my mind about moving! At this point I think we have the best area to live tornados and earth quakes are rare here, we have 90 M.P.H. winds here occasionally.

We got our reservation conformation info. today and I had to call to straighten that charged us for the whole day instead of the dinner cruise, so I’m glad I opened that letter up and looked it over and called and got that taken care of on the phone. Yesterday was glued to the tube the news is riveting, my garden has provided a welcome stress relief for me from that I have watered the trees, shrubs, and grass, pruned some of the straggling branches off the back hedge and apple tree.

My mom is not retired any more she is working got a call to cook for the sr. center for twenty people every other day.

Getting Ready for School:

Our son checked on the bus schedule for our grand daughter and let us know when and where the bus comes here. He checked in to the hot lunch too. I saw on the news any info. a child gets helps to prevent anxiety for students starting school. The bus comes by twice here earlier for the jr. hi. students. Seems to be a bit better this year getting info. to us the week before the actual start of school. I called the district office and complained that we didn't have the info. we needed soon enough. So it seems that was effective or the teacher this year is better about getting info. to us in a timely manner.

Collage classes start today:

Our son is in the explorers group helping with new students and recruiting, through this group they set up tours and he and the other group memebers give families and prospective students tours of the campus, he has been involved in helping with warrior - orientation for the past three falls. They have helped to move students into their dorm rooms lots of stairs dear son said.

There is a "welcome" b.b.q. for the new students the first part of the week he is helping to get ready for that.

He works in the office at the collage for one of the profs. and is a teachers aid and has done some teaching when the prof. is gone. Rugby is going on and they have games and an out of town game or tourney in Montana next month.

Puppets and Costumes

I was at the fabric store with dear grand daughters, they had costumes out and the girls were enthralled with the princess type costumes, beads play shoes and other accents feather boas, crowns etc. Fun fun fun I got some long black gloves to go up to the elbow at the thrift shop washed them up and we have decided to make the treasure chest a place for dress up clothes.

Later the younger one came upstairs with one of the puppets I made last year out of sugar and cream yarn crochet the rest of the puppet are in a small childs suit case where we keep them and a few books for story time. This puppet had angel wings on it and she was having the puppet kiss us kind of like kissing a sox! Ha!

Date w/ granny & New read

I had a great day today, got the email’s working again with tech. support. Dear grand son is better after a bout with the flu.

“Date with granny day” today was good, these are the final days of summer and we are savoring the moments of them, we went shopping at the thrift shop and had a blast then to Costco, and to the $1.oo store, and to the fabric store, the girls were having a blast looking at the fabrics touching and feeling the different textures, and we got the groceries. Got home and unloaded the car, then girls picked up the mess they made the other day in the basement while I put things away.

Dear son came in to get the rugby uniforms, and said the fall registration at the collage went well he has done this for 2-3 years and knows the drill by now, they helped the students get things loaded in to the dorms lots of stairs, and he had ran 4 mi. at rugby practice earlier in the week and was sore.

Dh & I both had a good week. We went out for my birthday early this weekend so we could enjoy Labor day and miss the crowds.

New read:
I’m enjoying a new book I got today I’ve been wanting to read some thing back in the covered wagon days and I found Promiseland by Dawn Miller today.

Holilday Prep. Time Rolls Around Again!

I have been to Joann fabrics and they had their fall stuff out not just fall but Thanksgiving items were out too, a turkey that was for an entryway or front door greeting was great fun to think about. I had a blast just browsing while I was there thinking about the options around here of things I could do to spruce it up a bit while I was there to get ribbon for more gift bags I've been on a roll with making them this week. I have a few more recipes and things to think about, one new thing that will be fun is some plastic mayonnaise jars that are square it will be interesting to see what uses we can come up for these.

I’ve been in the sewing room and I have done another holiday festive table cloth I've been putting fringe on it I'd forgotten how long that takes! I put the bobbins in a clear container so they are not spread all over the sewing counter now. My holiday notebooks are in good shape and I have been working on tweaking my lists and reminders.

I’ve been in birthday mode here for the past two weeks and have been painting shelves, chests, filling gift bags, and getting ready for these occasions.

The red wheel burrow for the younger grandson is kid tested and approved by his cousins they found it in our bedroom and I had to tell them to stop playing with it! They were having too much fun! They love anything with some wheels on, they it to pick up toys and put them in it before putting them away, they can wheel them in to their room and it become part of a game and makes this chore a fun one. Mom’s and grandma alike love these too! We have discovered that shopping carts, small mini wagons also work for this.

Working with festive holiday prints this past month has really gotten me motivated and inspired to get going on the holiday prep. stuff. When I was at the store I noticed a new product cookie mixes by one of the cake mix companies "Betty Crocker" I think it was. You might want to give these a try and see how they work for you. We like the slice and bake or break and bake cookies I used to be the slice and bake cookie queen, and I was having a blast with that a couple of years ago but our waist lines grew too much so we had to focus on more healthy foods for snacks during the holiday season.

I still want to try some cake mix bread recipes, I have been thinking of the different ones I can do, lemon, apple sauce, date, pumpkin, cranberry cherry, pineapple coconut, and chocolate mint, to name a few. I like to experiment not all of my concoctions are a success but we have come up with some that are sure fire hits and keepers!

I still need to put the rest of the black berries in the freezer, and a cobbler topping mix might be just the thing to pun in a jar mix for those 1 qt. square plastic jars I can use the apple cobbler in a jar mix and use the topping recipe for these!

One of the gifts I ordered mid – summer came today an ugly stick gear bag, so we promptly filled it up with picnic stuff and tried it out and it worked great, they will be a hit for the guys when the rest of them come, but this on was mine! Now I’m thinking of other places that I can go picking black berries tomorrow maybe! I just love the challenge I think.

We've starting to might keep our eye out for camping gear and long fire place matches for some of the camping gift bags and baskets for loved ones on our lists that need these items they will be in stock now too for hunting season.

I think it’s time for me to make another trip to the bait and tackle shop to see what they have in that is new! I can’t wait that’s where I found my mini webber grill for the camper. Freeze ahead meals work great for camping too you can warm up things on the grill too! Hubby is already thinking of a bunch of places that we can go camping this fall now that the temps. have dropped below 100* here!

My apple tree is blooming again for a 2nd crop! I'm feeling SO blessed right now!

Four Point Buck & Crawdad

Four point buck & crawdads also known as black-berrying.

Yesterday I got an unexpected afternoon off so I went to the fabric store for more sewing machine needles and ribbon for sewing projects more gift bags, and table cloth I am fringing out from the fabric I got a box at a yard sale on Sat. I’ve been working on these projects and needed to get out of the house and getting a few supplies was my opportunity for this, I stopped at the berry patch on my way home. This was a wonderful break in my daily grind this week!

I picked about a half of a gallon of black berries. I have the biggest sweetest berries that I had to fight the spiders, yellow jackets, and even chase a deer off for. I used a stick I found to get the berries up where I could see them. This was refreshing and the wind gusts were not so bad in this protected spot by the fish pond. A lovely setting for thinking and picking berries! I caught a crawdad brought it home for the fish tank.

Crafting Fun

This weekend have been making progress in decluttering and filled loaded two more bags plus two more boxes to go for Pomery and got it loaded in to the trunk to be delivered to the drop off point here in town. The boxes were small so I could handle them myself. It's always good to get these out of the way in the kitchen. Dh I took old oil to his work to be disposed of properly, it feels good to get these out of the here! Decluttering is such a freeing experience! Then we stopped by for some sugar free ice cream cones on our way home, we begged out of water park birthday party it’s just too hot for us to do that today, with 103* record hi temps are in the forecast.

I got some new to me books at the thrift shop; Two cook books "Fix and Forget-it Recipes for Entertaining" and "Favorite Recipes from Quilters".
I’ve seen these at Costco and I've had the fix it and forget it one before and given it as a gift great crock pot cooking recipes in this one! The quilting one has those too and lots of others for pot lucks yummy! I got caught up in reading a cook book by quilters with loads of great recipes that I recognize lots of these recipes, they had quilt patterns they were working on listed very inspiring. I'm thinking how many kinds of bread could be made for the holidays! Not on my diet however so I’ll have to use it with caution! LOL!

And Friendship with God by Neal Donald Walsch.
Who also wrote conversations with God books 1, 2 & 3 which I have not read. Was at the bargain place at the grocery store This one reads fast like a blog which I enjoy! Have read half of this book over the weekend.

Yesterday I stopped at a yard sale on my walk hurried home to get purse & car for my finds! This motivated me to walk faster!

Off to the nice cool sewing room! I have added some fabric from a yard sale, kids prints that will be fun to work up! I've been playing with in the craft zone this weekend having a blast too! I got them cut out ironed and ready to sew yesterday afternoon, last night I sewed up a some more gift bags, and got the draw strings in them. I'm doing up the blues so I can keep the same thread on the machine, then I'll do up the ones that take white thread. I have a goal of and hour or fourty five minutes each day this gives me way to break it up into smaller chunks and I don't get overwhelmed! I did some more today so I have a dozen more done now! Yippie! I’m on a roll!!! Using the crock pot helps for a better flow to my days when I'm crafting! I saw a friend at the store yesterday from the motor cycle club we both used to attend. She showed me some fabric she had special ordered in for new curtians she was sewing up. That was fun.

Gotta Love Those Fridays

I am so excited about getting ready for the birthday, painting projects, assembling gift bags, and baskets, I even had some things that were left over in the gift dresser from the holidays last year and went through these for house hold items that were needed and dug in my closets for things I could share. This reminded me of when my grandmother had a box going of things for people that lost every thing in a fire she gave quilts and pots and pans. It was in my teens that this made such an impression on me.

As rounded up items for those that had lost homes in the wild fire in our area I remembered my grandmother. I was so blessed because they were so grateful to receive things, there has been such an out - pouring of clothes from the community they were no longer accepting clothes. (I hadn't put any clothing items in.) It feels good to have the outlet of giving. I was starting to feel stuck again, and giving always seems to get me out of that, so I was delighted to have this progress. I got some donations of craft items over for the kids at day care to use on my way to town.

It was fun to round up the birthday gifts and fill the treasure box, and I got a wheel borrow and got the joy of putting these items in for another gift giving occasion we have not far down the road.

I was able to find a bit of wonderful green fabric with gold stars on it and put that to good use in by sewing it in to two more gift bags! They turned out great and are festive. I realized I need to remember to not sew lace on all of them, and leave it off for the guys!

I found a recipe I’ve needed for banana bread from a cake mix in an old magazine today I was delighted to have that. I’ll be adapting it a bit for something other than bananas, like pumpkin, apple or cranberry! This is going to be fun!

Last year I did not like my recipes so I just gave up and bought these breads at holiday craft and bake sales! Even thou I think I’m a good cook we don’t starve. I like to craft better than cook, and dear daughter ask me “to not make the her wedding cake” mine tasted great but hubby can frost one better than I can! You did NOT hear that from me. Ha!

Birthday Season Here

It’s birthday season here, there are like 6 of them in 6 weeks, I’ve been painting wood crafts for gifts, mini tool box, and toy box I call a treasure box any thing can be put in it, toys, school papers, what every they want. It is amazing what a coat of paint will do! I still have a small mini shelf to paint or finish too.

The kitchen smells great! I consider my self a throw together cook a little of this and a little of that most of my recipes are in my head. I have dinner in the crock pot, some herbs I grow with meat and veggies and tomato sauce yummy! I just need to make a salad to go with it now.

I made up a big batch of chicken last weekend for a family reunion and the food did & I did not make it there so it’s been great I’ve had less cooking this week, and dh has had chicken in his lunches.

I do not really like freeze ahead meals because I like to cook but I have times I need some thing quick to prepare and those are the nights we have frozen burritos, or fish portions, or sandwiches, sausage dogs or chef salad. I have tried some mini pizzas and we like them I’ve made them in the past and will try to get some of those made up ahead of time. The grand kids like to help when we make those up. I think that it’s time for some of that again now I like to use “Bisquick” because it does not have yeast and I seem to do better with less yeast.


I’ve been trying to stay on track with my health and fitness program and it’s been extra challenging with the smoke and heat. I’ve been walking shorter distances and doing chores mopping, yard work etc. for my exercise that plan seems to be working I’ve dropped a few pounds and getting back down to what I was before the holiday goodie season happened last year I’ll have to rethink that this year!

Dress day

Back in the day went I was in grade school we could only wear dresses, even in below freezing weather, if we wore pants we had to have a dress on over them!

In high school my best friend and I decided that we were going to change things and wore pants to school we were seniors, and it was about three weeks before graduation, so even if they kicked us out we would still get our diplomas and we knew this. We got called in to the principals office and he talked to us, dress codes were no longer legal and we knew this and so did he, no one had challenged him on this yet so we decided that it was time to, in the end we were allowed to wear pants, soon all the girls were wearing pants or slacks to school.

I still had a “dress day” so Fri. I wore a dress made a dress up day for myself. It was nice!

The dear grand daughters were bemoaning the fact that they could not wear skirts or dresses to daycare so I just declared "Mon. is dress day here"; they looked at me with amazed looks, and asked if I could do that, and I said sure. We can have dress day here, so we did. Mon. is now dress day. Today they went to a birthday party and wore dresses! It’s great because we have been taking them to church and they know how to act in a dress too.

Weekend Notes

I have been sewing I did up another night gown for dear grand daughter #2, and a gift bag of the same fabric, that was fun. Hubby is in the oil changing mood. We rented DVD Miss Congeniality two and we are looking forward to seeing it.

I was looking for the yellow jacket nest and found that the white barn owl is back in our tree this year. I saw the squirrels sprawled out on a branch taking a nap too.

I’m been working on getting recipes in a file for the holidays this weekend. It was cooler here yesterday but has warmed back up again today.

I got a book bag at the thrift shop it’s the kind that expands and has wheels on it. I’m delighted with this find, I’ve been putting my planner, pens, journal, Bible sketch book and other daily reading books, and keeps the pile off the couch and chairs in the living room, and I can take the whole bunch of them to the kitchen to use at the table too. Like today when the grand daughters were drawing too.

New Pens & Bees

Free Food got a free squash today and squash for 10 cents ea. at the thrift shop found
I found a shelf to paint, and hat box set to paint, and pen case at the trift shop too.
a refill for my fav. fat pen, and another refill for my other pen that died last night. I got some school supplies I use for my art and a piece of luggage with handle and wheels at a great price our sone has one for a collage book bag. These are going to be fun projects. Got a basket with rust color in it and I can use a squash in it for a center piece.

At the office supply store it was busy I found a comp. note book with a yellow cover this will work great for spring. A steno book to go in the staples cover for it. (I found the cover at the thrift shop.) I found some more metallic gel in pens those use up quickly when I’m using them for my art! I had a blast!!! =D I had the rock and roll music on the way home blarin’! ;D Credence Clearwater Revival.

I’m in the peek of my craft season now, I'm very busy getting ready for the holiday sewing knitting weaving etc. I can't just produce stuff in two weeks before the holidays. Ha! Big projects need to be in the works now! I'm starting to plan what I'll be doing when school starts up again and I have a big more time. Guess I just answered that question with this paragraph.

I've had a blast doing a holiday journal and I've been illistrating some of it with these metellic gel pens, the grandkids and I have art time! They have been getting me to show them how to draw this and that, Pooh our nick name for the older one took an art book with her to draw at the sitters.

I've been hunting to find the yellow jacket nest there must be a pretty good size one for the amount of bees that we have here. No luck yet. Dad use to have bees so I'm not too afaid of them but I have been making the kids wear shoes throngs or something on their feet so they won't get stung. The bees are bad this year here!

What Stinks

What Sinks?

It’s been hot and after the guys went fishing Mother Nature cranked up the heat to 100+ degrees and there was this awful smell out side we looked under the tool shed where I found a dead cat one year. Nope nothing there this time, and I looked around the play house but the sink was not coming from there.

We looked around the house moved stuff and the stink just kept getting worse. I thought about awful crimes I’d seen on CSI as I helped to look for this putrid smell.

Yuck! I have a “nose” as they say in the perfume business. The stink seemed to come from the boat, I told the guys that. Then dear son looked under the boat, and under the camper, and hubby looked in the boat. No one found the source, the sink got worse.

Each night for several days running we looked with no luck. When we went out side the dear grand daughters said p-uwe what stinks you could smell it as soon as you stepped out side the door. Yuck!!! Not the way I want to great the day assaulted with this awful stink, as the day warmed up it just got worse!

Then it got a bit better. One day I decided to go have a look see in the boat for my self, fly’s were thick in it, so I opened up the window I knew I had to keep searching. I looked under the seat compartments and sniffed nope, it was not there. I looked in the over head seat compartments sniffed in trays no, it was not there. I lifted up the anchor rope sniffed yep it was there,

Bait fish sack and foil was there on the step yucky! I grabbed it after wrapping a rag around it a put it in the trash! Then hubby hear about it with one of those I told you it was coming from the boat well I looked in there was the response. Guess who’s cleaning the boat today. Hint: It’s not me!

Shopping in the City

It was an interesting time before we could leave on out of town trip last weekend we had to take our truck over to the shop for a new alternator so we got a late start we were able to get to the Corvette car show before it was closed and I enjoyed seeing a big book store three stories the biggest one I had ever been to that was fun one block away from the car show so I was happy. I got a few good pics.

The next day we were able to have our first crispy crèmes doughnut, they reminded me of the ones mom used to make when I was a kid!
Then we went to the Barnes and Noble I got the idiots guide to drawing 2nd edition illustrated version, this book is inspiring and I’m enjoying the chapter on sketch book journaling lots of great inspiration in it! When I got home found my artist’s sketch book mag. had come so I’ve been reading that and it’s wonderfully motivating!

We went to this large outdoor sportsman’s store and I noticed where you could register for weddings there and told dear son he was excited to learn about that.

The party at the park was great good food, and a cool breeze blowing off the water made it nice.

Stopped by to see my dear sis for a short visit on the way home.
While we were gone the grand daughters got to see where there dad is working and had some red wheat they had harvested.