Catching up a little and Fun mail

I've received addresses for the card recipients and I will  get cards made and mailed this weekend. I will start working on some goodies for BLD so when I get her address I will mail them out... may take me a couple weeks; but it will be so worth it. PROMISE!

I had a few pictures on the camera to share. This photo of Tesla trying to sleep under the watchful eyes of the Evil Penguin (on the arm of the chair). Tesla HATES this foam penguin and will beat it up and shove it off when ever he see's it "looking" at him. We aren't sure why he has such a hatred for this little harmless toy but he does.... absolutely despises it.

 Please note the blanket he is laying on; it was on the back of the chair until he jumped in the chair looked at the blanket and then looked at me and meowed. Of course I did as he wished and see how he settled right in... the spoiled little wretch.

 Today when I came in from work I looked out the window and saw this "writing spider" and decided she was worthy of a photo. It won't be long now until she lays her egg sac and dies. Their coloring changes  and they will keep and use the same web for several days.

Then I got a delightful package in the mail from a new friend from Nevada. Some beautiful stick pins and a beautiful quilt kit. I will make it up as soon as I catch up on everything I have going all ready.

I am ever so glad tomorrow is FRIDAY! TGIF!! Next week is going to be tough but we'll get through it. I was asked today if I could be in at 3 AM Monday and I said yes as it will mean I can head for home before all the people off from work for the Holiday will be out shopping. And it will give me the rest of the day to spend with Scott. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

It's Thursday ... ALL READY?

I can hardly believe that it's all ready Thursday. I guess time passes quicker when you have your noise to the grind stone. I've spent the last two days resetting the entire strung bead department... 30 feet! With 144 to 161 pegs per 2 1/2 foot sections. WHEW! Either the beads moved to a new location or there are new beads to put out today. I stayed 2 hours later than scheduled each day just to get it all done. I have one more strung bead end-cap to reset tomorrow but today will be shoving freight only. Next week we will be getting our first double shipment - 2 trucks in one week... The first delivery will be on Tuesday and that will be our "Seasonal" truck... HELLO CHRISTMAS! I'm scheduled a full 40 hours next week... YEAH! I'll be exhausted and will need Advil or Aleve daily with perhaps some Zyrtec mixed in to combat the scent of cinnamon but I'll be able to pay some bills off some more.

I'm hoping to get off on time today and will see about posting again later today...

EIGHTY FOUR!

EIGHTY FOUR! That is how many comments have been left so far this month. I want to Thank You all so much for finding Scott and I interesting enough to read about our adventures, my hobbies, our critters and yes... once in awhile a rant from my dark side. I went through and crossed off comments that either Scott or I had left in response to someone's question or a comment we felt added more info to a post. And I'm also looking at just my active followers so that brings the number down to 75 comments that I numbered and ran through Random.org. AND THE SURPRISE WINNER IS...... #22~!And OF WHOM DO I SPEAK???.... Wanna know what the winner will get... I'm not telling! BUT once BLD gets me her address again she will receive a surprise package from me! THAT'S RIGHT... Beth! You won my SURPRISE GIVE-A-WAY!

But wait thats not all my TOP THREE commenters  will get a hand crafted card - made by me if they email me their addresses to playsinsoil1ATyahooDOTcom...
Maria
Buttons
and Deana - Blessings

And thank you to everyone else that took the time to leave a comment every once in awhile. I think I will do this every once in awhile just for fun.

I'm Up... but so not feeling it!

Yesterday and today I've had the hardest time waking up and getting a move on. I'm thinking after work and lunch today I will catch a nap as I skipped one over the weekend and yesterday and my body is used to an afternoon nap. Saturday I over did it a bit in the yard and got too much sun and that has made me feel bad as well. So much more needs to be done out there - a friend asked the other day if anyone had a day they weren't using as she really could use an 8 day week to get everything done - boy do I know how that feels!

Things are definitely speeding up and piling up each week at work and I'm just exhausted by the time I get home each day. The whole Holiday Season is upon us to be sure.

REPOST - 10 ACRES FOR SALE IN WINNSBORO, SC

10 Acres in Fairfield County; Winnsboro, South Carolina - FOR SALE

This property is located on Old Douglas Road in Winnsboro, South Carolina. Just a few miles up the road from the Lebanon Mart (LM). There is an old run down small house toward the middle of the property but it is basically raw land. It's a gorgeous quiet piece of country property. It has a large open field at the front followed by a hedge row with an open area behind it followed by a strip of woods. At the back of the woods there is another open pasture area. We are asking $45,250 for this 10 acres.

Open area behind hedge row.

Another photo of the open area behind the hedge row.

A look back toward the hedge row and the front field beyond.

Back pasture area - red "X" is part of the 10 acres for sale.

The little old house.

Front field as we prepare to mow.

If you are interested in purchasing this 10 Acres please contact us via our contact info on this blog( ramcauleyATearthlinkDOTnet) . Or if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below and we will reply asap.

Butterflies and Spider

Two butterflies that were feeding heavy on the Lantana by the lamp post.

Most of the day today I was in the yard mowing and trimming on some plants. There is so much more to do out there before winter arrives and I will try harder to get outside more in the next few weeks. For all my hard work I was treated to several wonders of Nature... the butterflies above were "dancing" from flower to flower with their wings moving rapidly as they drank nectar. Another wonderful display of Nature was a couple "writing spiders" but I was only able to get one good picture as the sun just wasn't in the right spot at the time I took these photos. But I do believe I captured this one beautifully...

“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty.”
― Albert Einstein

 

Quote found at Good Reads. 

My Delightful Clown

Today our son turned 26... another year has passed and I'm once again wondering where that adorable little guy went and then I remember he has morphed into a fun loving joker! I made a simple cake and we tried to set the smoke alarms off with 26 candles. A small gift of some skull covered sleep plants was well received and we enjoyed hamburgers grilled by the birthday boy himself. He is definitely a "Grill Master".
Happy Birthday Son!

Nearly Forgot....

As we were coming home from the grocery store we both spotted this AMAZING moth on the side of the building and I HAD to let Scott out to take a couple pictures.

It's a Luna IMPERIAL Moth...

Isn't it stunning?

This, That and Another Thing

This was last week... BEFORE the Morning Glories had taken over the fence by the garage. And we decided that we better deal with them before they completely took over the garage. they are nearly as bad in the garden and we are hoping to start cleaning it out over the weekend.

AFTER...It looks better and the dogs can hear better when something is going on that shouldn't be in the yard and driveway and can alert us more easily.

And a pretty upset grasshopper.

Next a lovely package from a new online friend I've made South Africa. She made this table runner for me... isn't it gorgeous?

I've been working on some heart shaped yoyo's to send to my friend in South Africa - HI AMELIA! She makes the most beautiful cards and draws so beautifully.

I also crocheted this little flower and put a vintage button in the center. I will use it on a card that I will be making tomorrow after I get home from work.

I'll post a photo once I'm done with it.

I'm sorry I've been a way a good bit this week. Just a lot of new sets at work and LOTS of new products coming in ... gearing up for the Christmas push. I'm going to bed early tonight... good night everyone.

It's the Little Things

Things like this make me smile...

I'm making the Irish Scalloped Tuna Casserole for Dinner.

I had just put the potatoes over to boil for 10 minutes  and had walked away from the kitchen and when I came back I found this wonderful little note on the page. YES! HE IS A KEEPER! It's been 27 years since we said, "I DO" and we "STILL DO!"

Quick Update

I finished the little felted wool iphone case and I think it turned out adorable.

Front

Back

Open

I'm thinking about making a slightly larger bag for myself to hold just a few things for short trips out of the house so that I don't have to carry my HUGE bag all the time. It will have a nice long strap so that I can wear it across my body to keep my hands free. More on that at a later date as I need to get off to bed - back to my early mornings and my own store tomorrow.

I crocheted a loop and sewed on a button...

A Single Day

Today I finally get a day to refresh and perhaps play a little in my hobby room. Yesterday I worked 6 1/2 hours in another store and spent nearly 4 hours riding in a car to help a store in Anderson, SC. I will get paid for the nearly 11 hours so that will be good but boy was I exhausted. I came home showered and passed out. Of course that meant I was up at 2 AM this morning and OH LOVELY I have a head cold. I hate sneezing and Tesla hates hearing any of us sneeze so every time I sneeze he makes a funny cat noise of disgust.

I'm the only one awake of course at this hour on a Sunday morning - I haven't even seen the paper man yet. Perhaps I will clip coupons from the last couple weeks since I've been negligent in that department. Half of them have probably expired all ready but it would give me something quiet to do for awhile. I took some pictures of a Rose of Sharon last evening in between sleeping but can't locate the camera to share them with you all so perhaps I will write another post later today so I can share them and whatever else I get into today.

After going back to bed for 4 hours and then eating breakfast I decided to just add on to this post...

I found the camera in our bedroom; I must have laid it on my dresser when I went to sleep yesterday. So here are the pictures of the Rose of Sharon bloom that I spotted on one of my little bushes.

It was just a single bloom but oh so lovely. I was able to adjust color levels with Gimp to improve the shots immensely. I LOVE GIMP! You can see leaves behind the flower that have started falling from our trees so Fall is just around the corner.

FNSI update

I got a project started tonight but I've got to get to bed so I won't be able to finish it tonight. It's a iphone envelope.

I volunteered to work tomorrow in Anderson at the Michael's there as they need help getting caught up on plan-o-grams and that is why I need to get off to bed and won't be able to finish this little case.

OH MY... It's FRIDAY!

I tell you what - I am so glad it is Friday! I've had a good bit of pain this week in my leg muscles. Yesterday during processing the truck was the worst and that's when I got to thinking that I have not been getting enough fluids  (water) and started drinking; I'm feeling a lot better this morning and will drink several glasses of water before I leave for work.

My department has had quite the revamp this week so lots and LOTS and I mean LOTS of new papers in the scrap-booking department. Did I mention it was LOTS and do you know how heavy paper can get? OH MY! Another reason yesterday about did me in. I came home ate lunch and passed out and slept nearly all afternoon and we got Bojangles for dinner. Now the Bojangles trip really got us to laughing as I ordered 8 pieces of chicken and 4 biscuits as I had a coupon for that and then I ordered 3 large sides (coleslaw, pinto beans, mashed potatoes with gravy) and a gallon of iced tea. WELL... when we got to the window to pay and get our food we could barely get it through my window; just look at the "suitcase" they handed to me...

OH MY!!!! We had visions of the people behind us going on and on about "that's the reason they are fat"... "MY GOD... look how much they ordered" and such. Little would they know we have a 6 foot 3 eating machine at our house... aka son. I just ached so bad I didn't want to cook and we had enough leftovers to put together a lunch for Scott to take to work today between what I had made previous days and the Bojangle's leftovers.

The take out box has been set aside as it's big enough to make a bug out carrier for one of the cats in case a Hurricane has us hitting the road this year.... it was THAT big.

I better get some breakfast... I may post again later today but we will see how I feel after work. Lots of playing catch up today on some final projects.

Positive Message

I just came across this video on You Tube and thought it worth sharing here on my blog.

PUMPKIN!

Come on Fall!!!!! We had one little pumpkin that had ripened in the garden so I picked it and roasted it and tonight I put half in the freezer for later and turned the other 2 cups into this...

FRESH out of the oven!

And in the near future there will be a special surprise for those that have been leaving comments since the beginning of August! So be sure to leave comments!

JUST A NOTE..... IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Scott is taking a piece to work tomorrow to make all the other guys drool.

Friday Night Sew-In

Friday Night Sew-In (FNSI) is this Friday - August 17th. You can read more about it and join in at craftyvegasmom ' s blog. I've signed up to join in this week and hope to get several things made to put aside for Christmas gifts.

Today as I was walking to the office to get the plan-o-gram and labels for the rest of the 25 foot run of t-shirts and decals I saw that something I had been eying since they came in had gone to clearance - to just $1.99. I didn't want them to get away so I bought one for my own hobby room and one for a friend for her creative space. These are the sweetest little plates with a ribbon to hang them by and perfect for a hobby room.

Tomorrow they've changed my schedule to 7 AM start as the truck is delivering later than they thought so I will be there during lunch -trying to revamp the other side of the t-shirt aisle. Today I completed the 25 foot run of t-shirts and decals and did the 2 1/2 foot section of duck tape - several new selections have been added - fun stuff! Tomorrow I will do fabric paint, fabric markers and fabric surfaces (totes, aprons, hats, bandanas) and appliques. They want me to get it all done... I will try but being in there during the lunch hours means I will be getting interrupted a LOT. We'll see what magic I can work once I get there.

Scott is not feeling well and I am hoping he hasn't come down with another sinus infection. OH how I wish a job in a nice clean electronics lab would come along. Where he works is extremely dirty on one side of the business and the equipment is "sorta" cleaned up before it arrives on his workbench but it still contains rail crud that irritates his sinuses. He keeps applying for jobs but the age discrimination is absolutely horrible.

Next thing on my mind is Fall's arrival - I don't believe it will be long now. Nature is giving all the sign's that it's not too far off if people would pay attention. The weeds and grasses have full to bursting seeds, the Indigo Bunting population has drastically decreased so we are thinking a good portion has all ready left for South America. Leaves are tumbling from the trees and my red maple in the front yard is taking on it's Fall shades of reds and oranges. My son's birthday - the 24th of August usually signifies the start of Fall for me ever since he was born. When he was born I had bought an adorable light weight baby blue bubble suit to bring him home in and it turned out to be nearly freezing when we were finally able to bring him home a week after his birth. I had to bundle him up in layers as I had planned a "Summer" baby and that is not the temps I had to deal with when we headed home. But we made it and he will turn 26 this year! Where does that time go?

Kids

Today as I  was leaving the store I witnessed something that truly disturbed me. A child was walking along playing a hand held game system unaware of anything or anyone around him and his Mother was steering him by holding his head. I'm sorry but WHAT THE HELL?! Don't these parents worry about their children being totally disconnected? I would so worry that my child would get kidnapped simply because they weren't aware of the danger. How are they ever going to develop that inner voice that tells them something bad is about to happen?

Children are loosing their ability to be curious about the World that surrounds them because they are more connected to the make believe Worlds inside boxes.

So it started with a box....

A BOX! Yes... something most people would just walk to their trash can and toss out. But it was a sturdy box that deserved a second chance ... SO... I took this:

Sturdy little box....

Painted with Gesso...

A color chosen....

Feet painted... decided later to cover with some Gold...

Happy accident!

Creativity conquers!

TOO BRIGHT... sponged with a green distressing ink...

Applied a green velvet paper (should have paint the corners in a dark green).

Added some trim and lace.

NOPE... still not finished!

OK - Now we're done.

How did I do?