Life for us

Winter is still here!

2012-02-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

The temperature has steadily dropped all day long and the wind has been picking up as well. It's to get into the lower 20's tonight and the winds will gust up to 35 miles per hour. Tomorrow promises to bring even more cold air and tomorrow night it's supposed to get as low as 19*F. Scott and I were just talking today how so many flowers and trees have started to bloom and that we feared we would get more freezing temps that would knock some things back. I know that the peach farmers are worried about their trees; we are too, as we planned to buy a half bushel to make pickled peaches this year and with frost and freezes the price will sky rocket.

Yes - Bernadette needs a "hair appointment"

Amelia is going gray just like "Mom"

Before it started to get too bad outside I started cleaning up our back yard after years of neglect. I was able to edge the side walk and mow the entire back yard. And I started cleaning up after the dogs - that is going to take some time as it has not been done in awhile and they have been busy in the "doodie" department. They both seemed quite happy that I was back there working on it "for them". Amelia always barks with excitement when the mower comes out of the shed. What a mess it is back there - I'm going to try to work a little on it each day after I get off work so that we can enjoy it more and perhaps have some people over for some cookouts this Summer.

With it looking like an extremely cold day tomorrow I think we will be puttering indoors. In the morning I will work on some beading work as it's the only time of day I can get enough Natural light inside to see. Over 40 really stinks in the eye sight department.

Frustration and Looking Forward to FUN

2012-02-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

You would think that people wanting to save money would come up with a way to print coupons with Linux - a FREE OS. I am absolutely amazed that NO site uses Linux. We don't use coupons on pre-made stuff as it's cheaper and healthier to cook from scratch but we do buy OTC medications; pantry staples; basic body care items and some cleaners and it would be nice to take advantage of the coupons when they become available. I guess I will just have to be satisfied with the coupon offers I'm able to get out of the Sunday paper and as a walk in at the grocery stores.

I was up at 1:30 this morning; it's now 2:12 and in about 45 minutes my alarm will go off for me to "wake up". I guess my mind and body didn't want to wait this morning. I will have to catch a nap after work or it's going to be a LONG day.

I'm really glad it's Friday! The past couple of days at work have been exhausting to say the least and I'm looking forward to a trip to our property where I will be able to just sit and knit or crochet while Scott mows some more on our front field. I have a "yarn stash" about half of my fabric stash and need to use it up. I gave away a HUGE black bag on "Freecycle" awhile back and need to get the rest used up. Perhaps next Christmas everyone will get a hat or 2 or 3 dish clothes. I always love visiting these sites for FREE patterns knitting pattern central and Crochet pattern central . And the Lion Brand Yarn Company page also contains lots of FREE patterns for their members (it's FREE - you just have to sign up on the site).

I just stumbled onto this neat little site and thought others may enjoy it as well everything your mama made.

That should occupy you all for a little while... SMILE!

Beauty Between the light and the dark

2012-02-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

One of the "Scraggly" Oaks in our front yard.

I love that time of day between day and night when you can see the clear beauty between lightness and darkness.

Night before last we went out into the front yard to attempt to get a picture of the P3 that was doing fly overs our house but never could get a clear picture of it but I was able to take this lovely photo of one of the trees in our front yard. I love the darkness against the clear blue background.

I did not post yesterday because I worked 9 hours and was exhausted and in a lot of physical pain from too many hours on a concrete floor with only a 30 minute lunch break. But the wedding section now looks so beautiful with it's fresh new light blue paper backer paper and cleaned shelves and new locations. Today we will fill it all back up and add the new products. The entire store looks like Spring and Summer. Lots of fun stuff for the kids in the drive aisle; some SUPER fantastic rubber boots with stripes and dots! And so much yard fun activities to get kids out of the house and away from the TV.

I better get dressed for work... I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Robin! Seated in this family photo..

This Old Cook Book - #1

2012-02-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

I decided to share some of my old cookbooks as a weekly or bi-weekly Tuesday feature. Others may join in if they like and please link back up to this post and leave a comment here so others can visit your blog and read about your old cookbook as well.

I decided to pick my "newest" addition to my "old cook book collection; it was a gift from my Mother-in-law. It was her Mother's cookbook so it's something I will cherish always. It's seen a LOT of use and is "battle" worn but that just adds to the "old gals" character.

I've actually posted about this before when I talked about pickled peaches; this was before I knew I was going to get to keep this gem.

Something I really love about the old cookbooks are the advertisements. They are so much fun to read. This little cookbook has one at the front and one at the back...

"Just look at that pan SHINE!"

I can almost see this housewife "speeding" around her house in her dress and half apron; wearing bright red lipstick.

This copy of Rumford Complete Cook Book has a copyright of 1948 and it's FIRST edition came out in 1908 - that is the year my Grandma was born.

"Who would have thunk potatoes have problems?"

After the Preface it contains a list of "Definitions of Terms Used in Cookery" I know a LOT of young women that couldn't pass that vocabulary test. AH!!!! POP QUIZ TIME!!!! Here are 6 cooking terms; can you define them? 1. Aspic? 2. Bombe? 3. Farci? 4. Frappe'? 5. Roux? and 6. Salmi ? I'll post the definitions in a day or two for inquiring minds.

And it also contains a Weights and Measurements chart that beats ANYTHING in today's cookbooks..

OK... who knew what 1 gill was equal to? And how many of us would take the time to add 60 drops to anything?

Now just for fun I will flip through and list some of the recipe titles - let me know if you'd like me to share any of them with you here.

1. New York Clam Chowder
2. Planked Whitefish
3.Savory Potatoes
4. Fig Puffs
5. Maple Sauce
and 6. Pecan Sticks.

I hope some find this enjoyable. Next week I pull another treasure from my shelves... yes that is plural.

Weekly Specials

2012-02-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went over to Scott's Moms' and picked up the Sunday paper as well as the few previous days papers so that I could start making some seed starting pots. Well she gave me this weeks sale papers so I decided to see what I could maybe pick up at a GREAT savings.

CVS - I paid $20.74 for what you see pictured - without the sale prices and the coupons I printed off with their coupon machine it would have cost me $37.98. Savings = $17.24

Kmart - I paid 16.57 - without the sale prices I would have paid $29.93. The 3 Brita filters were a GREAT deal at $10. I saved $13.36.

Walgreens - I paid 27.65 - without the sales price and in-store coupons I would have paid $44.32. I saved $16.67. BEST DEAL HERE - A dozen eggs for 99 cents! limit 3

Rite-Aid - I paid $9.63 - without the sale prices I would have paid 12.59. I saved $2.96.

Bi-Lo - I paid $12.28 - without the Bonus Card Sale Prices I would have paid $23.90. I saved $11.62. PLUS I earned some more "fuel-perks" which brought me up to a savings of $0.15 per gallon the next time I fill up my car UNLESS I shop again before I need gas.

I just thought other people may like reading about my "sale shopping" to see what things are costing in our part of the United States. I could have saved even more if I'd had coupons on these items as well but I didn't have any this time. So for everything... at Regular Price = $148.72 - What I actually paid = $74.80 for a total savings of ==== $ 73.92. And I would not have earned more toward the furl-perks savings. Now before anyone says.... but what about the gas to get to ALL those stores... these 5 stores are basically all along my path home from work EVERY day so it's no big expense to just stop by them for the specials. I would have liked more of the frozen vegetables but our larger freezer died so until we can save up to buy another one I have to utilize the freezer on the bottom of our refrigerator.

Let me know if you found this interesting so I will know if it's worthy of being blogged about. Thanks!

FULL Sunday!

2012-02-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

I awoke at 4:31 AM and have been going ever since. I read a bunch of Blog posts and watched a couple shows on TV Links with the headset on so as not to disturb the others in the house that were still sleeping soundly. About 6 I did my best to "quietly" gather all the laundry and got it started. Scott got up at some point and made a wonderful breakfast. After breakfast I did our taxes - we are getting refunds! Our plan is to put it all toward the car loan so we won't have that hanging over our heads anymore.

Soon to be PAID OFF!

After the taxes were completed I decided to clean my car inside and out - it's a "yearly" thing for us; or so it seems. Cleaning it now will help us see when the pollen starts settling on everything... yellow shows up so much better on a nice shiny clean surface.

How about that Carolina Blue Sky?

When I was out taking the picture of my nice shiny car I noticed the very first bloom on our tulip tree. You can see all the buds yet to open and I am hoping this beautiful weather continues so I don't loose them to a frost.

I decided to walk out back and photograph Scott's gorgeous garlic in the garden. It's doing amazingly well this year with a good mulching.
You can see where we need to do some weeding and why we need another roll of rolled roofing for our walkways.

We are going to get some newspapers from Scott's Mom tonight so that I can make up some seed starting pots. I'll be starting seeds this week.; tomatoes, peppers and perhaps some summer squash and cucumbers. We are very much looking forward to fresh produce from our garden.

I started work on another quilt block; it's one of the two I have remaining to do for the FQ swap. This block will be "hopping the big pond" to England to Irene. What looks to be tan is really a golden yellow; the sun has started to go down so I have little natural light coming in through my sewing room windows. Hopefully she will forgive my horrible delay.

New Trail close to home

2012-02-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

This morning Scott and I discovered a lovely new walk not far from our home off the 12th Street Extension along 6 Mile Creek.

The trail is 1.5 miles long and completely concrete and wood so it's a smooth easy walk. We parked on the SCANA side and walked back under the 12th Street Extension bridge.

The walk contains gentle curves that
take you through the wonderful pine
forest with opportunities to catch views of Six Mile Creek along the way. We saw and heard so many woodpeckers of various sizes. It's a truly remarkable bit of Nature down there. In the Summer months we should be able to catch glimpses of the local alligator inhabitants.

If you've read my Blog for
awhile you know how crazy I am over fungi growth and flowers; well there were a lot of those as well. The tiny white and pink bell shaped flowers were so dainty and feminine.

I LOVE this orange fungi; it was so unique. Scott said he thought it was called "Witches Butter" - I'm going to look it up in the morning.

Almost back to the start!

Saturday Morning Link Up on Handwriting

2012-02-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

I am joining in on a bit of fun this morning with Jen R at Let it go... who has linked up to Edenland to share a bit of a dieing art - Handwriting.

I used to write tons of pen pal letters when our son was little and I was home full-time and we shared a car. My pen pal letters were my link to the outside world and I loved getting all those letters everyday. It was like getting to "visit" with other women and learning about their lives and reading about their children's antics.

Now my handwriting is either lists or quick notes to family. I will also write notes to myself to remind me of how something was made so that I can recreate it at home.

Blogland has replaced that feeling the pen pal letters used to give me for what I'm thinking is a LOT less money than the postage I was putting out everyday/week.

What a STORY teller

2012-02-03T17:44:00.001-08:00

Friday in the EARLY AM

2012-02-03T00:47:00.000-08:00

March 2010 - Hike at Clay Pits

Good Friday Morning everyone; it's a little past 3:30 AM here and I will soon be getting ready to leave for work. I'm thankful that Scott and I both have jobs and are able to pay our bills once more on time but I long to be at home - keeping my home, cooking and gardening. There is so much more to life that does not require any money and the enjoyment of these things in life outweighs all riches.

March 2010 - me next to a massive tree at the Clay Pits

Cooking Collard Greens

2012-02-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've had a request on how to cook collard greens. This works for any large leafed greens - collards, mustard or turnip greens.

The first thing I do is pull the leaves apart (if they are in a bunch) and place them in the kitchen sink and cover with water. I let them soak in the sink for about 30 minutes - this kills any unwanted protein (aka bugs).

Fold this side "in"

Then I strip the stem; fold the leaf in half so that it's smooth side is to the inside of the fold. Then grab the stem at the base and pull up; removing the stem completely and leaving only the "meaty" part of the leaf. Do this until they are all cleaned; place them in a large bowl as you work. Once they are all de-stemmed you will again rinse them in the sink.

Now the real secret to GREAT tasting greens. You will need to get a large pot (big enough for all the greens you just cleaned); in it you will fry up some hog jowls, fat back or any really good salted side meat or pork belly. (In a pinch I've even used bacon)

I bought this package today so that I can cook up some mustard greens this next week. I will cut this into thin strips before frying it up.

Once it's crisp remove the meat and keep to the side. In the pan - leave the grease and add the greens layering in some of the cooked meat; you want it's flavor throughout the greens. Be sure to add enough water so that when you look down in the pan it's about 1-2 inches deep AFTER you have added all the greens. The Greens will hold some of the rinse water but you may need to add a bit more.

Bring the greens to a boil. Give them a good push around to be sure none have stuck down to the pan and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Now comes the patience. Simmer an hour or two being sure to check on a regular basis so they don't cook down and burn. I stir with a large fork as the leaves wilt down. Once they've cooked down well you can cut them up in whatever size pieces you like. I cut through them in the pot about every 3" in each direction and that is it. GOOD EAT'N!

Love this Artist's work on You Tube

2012-02-01T15:40:00.001-08:00

LOVING ME some HUEY LEWIS!

2012-02-01T01:05:00.000-08:00

I'm joining Blessing the Elements Reflecting Good Vibrations

This is to help share our love of music

and Boost the Spirit of Others..

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!

Cooking and Baking

2012-01-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today I cooked those collard greens that we bought at the market Saturday. I still can't believe the size of those leaves! The outer most leaves went from my finger tips to my elbow and I couldn't resist snapping a photo as I was cleaning them up and prepping them for cooking. They were so good! I made a terriyaki pork tenderloin, corn and baked beans to go with the greens.

I also baked two loaves of English Muffin bread; I use the recipe that came with my Kitchen-Aide mixer and I've had requests for the recipe so here it is...

Just like English Muffins the slices of this bread are best toasted with something yummy spread over the top... cream cheese, jelly/jam, butter, etc...

More from the Springfield Flea Market

2012-01-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

"Chicken Joe" a very colorful character

"Chicken Joe" said, "Be careful... don't break your camera" "And don't look me up on America's Most Wanted". He was such a card.

Further into the market we came across these harsh reminders of the past and were shocked to see the Confederate grave marker on the table for sale.

Slave Manacles and a plantation lock.

Beautiful Collard greens - only $2 a bunch.

When Scott took this picture of the collard greens the little girl sitting in the back of the truck asked, "Why is that man taking pictures of Collard greens?"... I told her , "Because we're weird like that and enjoy taking photo's of interesting and beautiful things" and then we bought a bunch.

An Early Sunday rising

2012-01-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

I've been awake since a little after 1 AM; I can definitely see a nap in my future. I just woke up with that feeling of being late for something... not sure what since I am off from work today. So I got up and made a cup of tea and have been reading blogs. SO many people are having enjoyable weekends or are starting out on new endeavors and taking blogging breaks. I hope those seeking a new direction find much success and that they don't stay away from their blogs forever it'll be nice to read of their success.

Scott is sleeping deeply so I'm trying very hard not to make too much noise and wake him. He so needs the rest. The fat cat (Tesla) is begging for his breakfast even though it's no where near his usual breakfast time - hey "Mom's up... must be time for breakfast". If we fed him as often as he begs for it he'd weigh over 20 pounds instead of the 16 pounds he does weigh.

Once Scott is up and a bought I will start doing the laundry as we will require clean clothes for work this week and since we "played hookie" yesterday I will need to get it done today. I also have some sewing I want to do as well as working on the paper bag album. But for now I think I may try for a few more Z's...

More.... Doors and Windows of SC Back Country

2012-01-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

These first 5 photos were photos that I took in Blackville, South Carolina. We got a kick out of the shorts in the doorway - I guess someone was in a hurry for something. And the tile work of course caught my eye again - Did the same person lay all the tile in this small town? We think so - it's all amazingly crafted.

The large window was one in the old Shamrock Hotel . If you follow the link and read the article about it you'll be like me and wish you could still walk through the doors and see all that was described in the article. I bet it was magnificent.

Now for some of Scott's photos of doors and windows...
Swansea, South Carolina

Scott took these photos along the old Main Street in Swansea. I used to go through one of these to pick up our mail from the post office. It had those really old tarnished gold post boxes. I wonder what happened to them.

We were both intrigued with the old building that contained hay. So much character in these old doors.

Blackville, South Carolina

Door to the Mennonite school

Sorry about the graffiti on the one door... didn't see it until I had all ready posted it to the blog. Perhaps that tells a bit more about the shorts in the door way than we really needed or wanted to know.

Day 2 - a Day of what we call FUN!

2012-01-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

Scott and I hit the road about 9 AM and drove down HWY 321 through Swansea, SC; the town I moved to after High School Graduation in 1982. And then picked up #3 to Blackville, SC; on our way to Blackville we stopped at Healing Springs... lets do this by the photos I took. Scott took many and I mean many more and I won't be posting them all.

"Main Street - Swansea SC" it's really fallen into disrepair since the 80's

Interesting storage barn by the RR tracks in Swansea

Feed Mill in Swansea, SC

Cotton wagon with bits of cotton hanging from the sides

Close up of "raw" cotton hanging in the wagon

After we left Swansea and turned onto #3 we came upon the Springfield Flea Market. This was a real eye opener as it was a lot of really poor folks trying to scratch out a living in this rural setting.

South Carolina's OLDEST FLEA MARKET

We are planning another trip down to this flea market with more cash in hand - some REAL bargains to be found here.

This fella sold fishing rods.

I'm going to add some of Scott's photos from the flea market as well as he caught some interesting shots with the larger camera... I've decided to write a separate post for his photos as this is all ready going to be photo heavy enough.

HUGE head of Collards that I bought for $2

After we left the Springfield flea market we drove on to Healing Springs.


People come from miles away to get water in jugs.

Spanish Moss covered trees in a yard we past on our way to the Springs.

Where the tree's were in that yard they also had angels all around the lawn.

Scott took some wonderful photos of this yard as well as some photos of the Mennonite school that is located across the street from the "Angel Yard".

After we left Healing Springs we drove on to Blackville, SC.

Down the Center of the Main Street

A little history of Blackville. SC

I loved this tile border - made me think of a quilt border possibility.

Loved these green windows in this Antique store

This old wagon was across the street from the Antique store.

This window was HUGE! And BEAUTIFUL!

This is where we thought we'd catch lunch today but ended up eating down the street. Perhaps next time we will eat at this famous restaurant.

Blackville, SC Town Clock.

The beautiful bones of the old hotel.

The Shamrock Hotel


The final two pieces of THE BEST Pizza in South Carolina right before we consumed them. We ate at Russell's Pizza in Blackville, SC. We will definitely drive to eat there again.

Fun took over...

2012-01-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

Last night I pulled out my "small mountain" of 8 x 8 papers that I bought years ago when I still worked at Jo-Ann Fabrics and then sorted them into color families.

You can see my "helper" in the background.. he sticks pretty close to me when I am working on a project whether at the dining table or in my sewing room - he is always there.

In the early morning hours I started working on my paper bag album. And again... my "helper" was with me... perhaps a bit too helpful in this particular photo but I was sitting in "his" chair.

At 7 AM I ran out of adhesives... all types. So work on this fun project ended until I could get to a store and buy some more adhesives and some glue that will hold metal to paper. I was able to get a bit more done before I had to cook dinner.

This is where I was when I ran out of adhesives.

The dining room looks very much like a hobby store blew up inside it at the moment but thats ok - I'll clean up in the morning before Scott and I leave on our grand adventure... "back roading".

I did take a nap this afternoon as it was so nice today that we turned the heat off and opened up the windows. The house needed an "airing out" anyways with all of us feeling poorly the past week or so. I don't believe we will have to turn the heat on tonight either. I'm thinking we will sleep well with a window open a bit and fresh air coming inside.

Day One of my 3 day weekend over... time for some rest.

Three Days at HOME!

2012-01-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Fresh from the oven goodness.

I am so looking forward to the next 3 days as I will be HOME! It's where I long to be full time once more... one day. All my "homebody" inclinations are wanting to spring forth and take life by the horns. I have some deep cleaning in mind for tomorrow as well as a bit of crafting. And lots of cooking and baking! Tonight I made a smoked sausage fritatta ; I found the recipe on http://allrecipes.com/ It was delicious! I made ours in a small casserole dish and it turned out just fine. I just was not up to getting down and digging out an oven safe skillet after slinging freight all morning long.

After work I came home and took a nice nap and then ran a few errands - paid bills; bought some items for a craft project I have in mind and bought groceries for the week. If we had a separate freezer and extra money I'd buy up some of this weeks specials but they will have to wait until a later date. I know those items will cycle through the ads again in a month anyways. Perhaps by then we will be able to buy the freezer we have been looking at Lowes.

I've been watching a bunch of video's on You Tube on how to make a paper bag mini album and I have started one of my own tonight. This is one of my favorites...

This gal is AMAZING!!!!!

Reflecting Good Vibrations -The Bee Gee's

2012-01-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

I'm joining in with blessing the elements with Reflecting Good Vibrations with a song from the Bee Gees. My Grandma always called them the " HEE BEE GEE BEEs" - she said they sounded like women not men. LOL
Jive Talkin
Sorry embedding isn't aloud on this one but you can follow the link to You Tube to watch and listen.

Bits of....

2012-01-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Post Office so that I could mail the two blocks I had completed since I could use the self serve station. After that we decided to drive to the boat ramp and spotted these deer grazing under the power lines. They raised their heads when I whistled and then went right back to their dinner. It looked like they were all Does.

Well the FOR SALE signs have finally been put up in front of the house next door. Hopefully we will get some nice and friendly neighbors.

As I was walking back into the house I noticed these berries on the bushes that I had started from cuttings shortly after we moved into this house in 1996. I just thought they looked really interesting.

And for dinner I went with a simple and fast chicken stir fry... no recipe needed... just whatever vegetables I had on hand along with some chicken, soy sauce, garlic, ground ginger, a little salt and some red pepper flakes served over steamed white rice. Oh and we threw a hand full of dry roasted peanuts into it right before serving it up. OH IT WAS SO GOOD! Scott said it was delicious. I had it made and on the table in less than 30 minutes. And it was SO inexpensive to make too... SO much cheaper than ordering out.

Thinking about that I am going to evaluate our spending so far this year and see where we can cut cost even more... and eating out I think needs to be cut back to only once a month. It is just too expensive and you don't REALLY know whats IN the food you are eating in restaurants.

I'm thinking about starting seeds soon. Friday I will start making the little recycled newspaper pots. I may be rushing things a bit but I want to have a lot of vegetables on our plates fresh from our own garden this year.

When I went to work in the wee hours of the morning it was clear as could be but when I got off work I walked out into dense fog and it remained and then got REALLY heavy tonight. WEIRD! You can kinda see the fog in the photo of the neighboring house. Greg (son) said, "Mom it looks like Silent Hill out there". I have not seen that movie and don't care too especially after it scared him so bad when he went to see it. Me and scary movies just DO NOT get along at all.

I'm fighting the urge to go and have my hair whacked off the rest of the way. I've been burning up and it's not long enough to tie up in a pony tail or bun and it's just at the length to make my neck feel all creepy when I sweat and the curls go tight. I have had super short hair before and loved it. Here are a couple photos of me with the shorter style...

Here comes the turtle....

2012-01-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly but surely getting these FQ swap blocks completed. Today I made one for Lauraine in Maine; and she ended up with an eight inch bonus block made from the bits I trimmed away while making the twelve inch block. Hopefully she will be able to put it to good use.

I have just two more of these FQ blocks to make and then I can work on Diane's Crazy quilt block. I will probably mail that and her FQ block in the same envelope to save a bit on the postage.

FQ = Fat Quarter; each person in the swap sent a FQ to each participant and they in turn would create a 12" block to send back to the FQ's owner. We will all be able to make a "Sampler" quilt when we get all of the blocks back.

More tomorrow....

Quick Little Update...

2012-01-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

I finished Carrolyn's FQ block and made her a little bonus block from the "trimmings".

After that I pulled out the blocks that I have received back in this swap...

These are from Diane, Anne, Mary Lou and Lauraine IF memory serves me correctly. I'm just missing one from Carrolyn and Irene and myself. I'm glad that we are sending remaining bits from the FQ's back as I want to make more blocks using my funky green circle fabric. It will be quite the Sampler Quilt.

I'll pick up with the 3 remaining blocks I have to sew for others after I get off work tomorrow. For now it's good night all!

A rainy Saturday

2012-01-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

This morning Scott and I went and voted in the Republican Primary as the sun tried to make an appearance before the clouds completely won over. We voted even though we won't be voting Republican during the Election in November. Mostly to try to get someone on the ticket that Obama can beat... I know.. aren't we awful? But I just can't see any of the Republicans in that office... especially any of them that have come forward to run.

After we returned home I started working on the FQ swap blocks once more. This first one is Mary Lou's. I hope that she will like it.

Of course I had a bit of HELP!

This one is Carrolyn's but I still have a bunch of seams to sew together so it won't get mailed until Monday. I am hoping to get the remaining 3 completed so that I can mail that at the same time. Since Irene's has to cross the "Big Pond" it will need a custom slip that will require a trip to the service counter. I'm really enjoying this swap... finally! I'll post a picture of the ones that I have received from the other swapee's in my next post; as well as photos of the remaining ones I am putting together.

We need coffee so are going to World Market even though it's not Wednesday... no double coffee points today.

Fun Day~! Pictorial....

2012-01-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Took Nick's advice and "relaxed" a bit.

Miss Bernadette in her new get-up that makes her behave - YES she needs a trip to the salon

Our "good" girl - Amelia just as we arrived home waiting for her cookies.

Squirrel Antics - at one time there were 5 squirrels at the feeders today

And OH SO MANY birds!

And the neighbors...BAD KITTY

Squirrel ALERT!

SHHHhh... he left on a mission - more later - maybe...

While Mr Man was out on his mission I added two rounds of bricks to Anne's round robin

And I made Anne a 12" block using the light blue FQ she sent and the brown print from my stash. PLUS two little bonus squares - perhaps she can use them in a border for this sampler quilt.

An extra day at home

2012-01-20T04:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I received a text message from my Boss requesting that I stay home today. I believe they have over spent a bit on payroll this week. I'm absolutely fine with that; twas feeling the need for a break from work anyway. And since I did so much cleaning and laundry the other day; today can be strictly a "play day". I'll write another post later in the day reporting in on what I decided to do today.

Last night we decided to go to Carolina Wings for a "date night" just the two of us. We had a lovely meal and a wonderful waitress. She was really having to hustle around as the place was packed with more people coming through the door. As we were leaving and walking to the car Scott looks up and asks, "Is that Zenith?" Trying not to fall down laughing I said, "No... I believe that is Venus?" To that his reply was... "I'll name my own planets damn it"... I think that second "Tall" of yuengling may have been too much beer for him. Silly fella! We keep each other laughing all the time. I love being married to my best friend.

Until later....

OH So Photogenic

2012-01-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

Nick - striking a pose...

I spent this day off catching up on laundry, house cleaning, errands, laundry ... I know I all ready said that but BOY was there a LOT of it! And I had a lovely surprise... my sister-in-law , Jane called and came over to visit for a couple hours while her husband attended a seminar at his work place. They live in Tennessee and have recently sold their home and are having a BEAUTIFUL log cabin put on their 20 acres in the mountains. She showed me the floor plan at Blue Ridge Log Cabins ; they are having this Linville model built with a full basement that they will finish out themselves as their office and hobby space. She is so excited and I am for her as well. It's a beautiful home.

I do so enjoy cooking....

2012-01-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Pineapple Au Gratin, baked sweet potatoes, sliced tomatoes, pan fried ham slice and a pot of peas.

I love the brown bowl the peas are in - my sister, Robin made it for me and I love it!

Scott's plate just waiting for him to take the first bite.

And in case anyone wants to try the Pineapple Au Gratin here is the recipe...

Pineapple Au Gratin

2 large cans pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cups (1/2 lb) sharp cheddar cheese grated
1 cup sugar ( I only used 1/2 cup sugar and it tasted fine)
6 Tablespoons flour
3/4 stick margarine, melted ( I used REAL unsalted butter)
1 stack of Ritz Crackers ( I used Town House crackers as they were cheaper - tasted just fine)

Mix flour and sugar. Add pineapple and cheese. Put in a large casserole dish. Top with crumbs of crackers and melted margarine. Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes. Serves 10 to 12.

Lovey Doves

2012-01-15T17:39:00.000-08:00

When I arrived home from work at lunch time these two were on the bird bath out front basking in the sunshine. They just looked so beautiful I had to try to get there picture through the dining room window.

Reflecting Good Vibrations along with Belssing the Elements

2012-01-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

At Blessing's urging here is the theme song from my prom.

Just in Case You're Bored

2012-01-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

I came across this adorable dish cloth pattern today and have saved it to make later. Then I thought other folks may like to give it a try so am sharing the link to the pattern . It's done in simple crochet stitches so would be an easy beginner+ project that would be completed quickly and it would make a great take along project for those times when we are having to sit and wait someplace.

I've been looking through old magazines for a friend in search of a quilt block pattern for Butterflies with fan wings...no luck yet but boy have i found a lot of OTHER fun projects. One is a quilted duffle bag that I would love to make for myself - actually one for Scott and one for myself to take on weekend getaways - we are hoping to do that once again.

I've enjoyed looking through these while sitting in front of the heater here in the front room where I can also watch the birds come and go to the feeder that I filled with fresh seed last night as it was to be so cold. I think the squirrels eat the majority of the seed.

I also came across a delightful little bag to crochet for my new smart phone - time to dig in my "yarn stash" to make myself one of those. As I said.. I've found lots of fun projects in these old magazines.

I received these lovelies in a nice squishy today from Marlene in Maine. Aren't they lovely? I ADORE the cat potholder! The signature Star block will be a wonderful addition to the others that I received. It will be fun to put together.

BOY! Was I fragmented and all over the place in this one... sorry about that.

WOW! Blast from the past...

2012-01-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

I decided to go through the cedar chest for "memories" from high school... and I found SO many more but this post will focus on what I went looking for this morning.

For whatever reason I held onto these two progress reports from 1980. I think it had to do with the fact that these were two of my favorite teachers.

Mrs Shearer was my Home Ec teacher and Ms Cushing taught English. Both beautiful people inside and out as well. I hope life has been good to them.

I guess the next stop would be Junior Prom - YES I held onto these souvenirs...

Our Prom song was Keep On Loving You; The boys won the vote on the song choice... I think they cheated! You know whats really funny is I don't even remember what the girls wanted; perhaps the boys were just dead on with their choice. I went with my Cousin Heather and two friends as none of us had dates but wanted to go so we went "Stag". Oh well... some boys loss... I think I looked quite lovely.

I for whatever reason have held onto my cap and gown from graduation as well in that old cedar chest. It's badly stained now but it still brings back memories.

I love this photo of myself holding my youngest sister, Ronda right after the graduation ceremony. It was so wonderful having my entire family with me for that event.

I even found a graduation announcement and thought I'd share our class motto.

And to just peek back to where it all started here is the hand print I did in kindergarten.

Yes I have even a few mementos from THAT far back. I try not to hang on to everything but I do have a few choice items and I will share more at a later date.

Hey Gang!

2012-01-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

And I can just HEAR those North saying... HEY WHAT? It's just whet we say down here in the South to say "HELLO". I've not accomplished as much as I wanted this week; just feeling a bit under the weather. Just hoping it's not the stomach flu that our son just got over - BOY was he sick.

Spring and Summer are surrounding me at work. Valentines and St Patrick's are all over the place as well. Everyone at work wants me to attend tomorrow's Crop and show them how to make those never-ending-cards. Hopefully I will have a bit more energy by then.

I did want to write about the best $10 we have ever spent on a dog... it's a collar with a loop that goes over the dogs nose. It has made a WORLD of difference in our walking experiences with Miss Bossy Pants - Bernadette. She fights it a little when we first start a walk and then she just behaves so well for the rest of the walk as she knows that if she pulls any it will correct her immediately - no harsh words from us or any physical discipline required. Just a walk that we ALL can enjoy. Even Amelia; as Bernadette isn't able to puppy punch her in the face while wearing the collar. Perhaps we will take them to the River for a walk this weekend. We just haven't been taking them as Bernadette was so unruly and would jump on people. I walked the two of them around the neighborhood after lunch today and it went really well; perhaps we will make this a daily routine. I need the exercise anyway.

We are expecting some cold weather this weekend...
TONIGHT
MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING
THEN CLEARING. BREEZY
AND COLD WITH LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH
WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

FRIDAY
SUNNY AND BREEZY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S. WEST WINDS
15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT
MOSTLY CLEAR. COLD WITH LOWS IN THE MID 20S. WEST
WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH IN THE EVENING.

SATURDAY
SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 50. WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT
MOSTLY CLEAR. COLD WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S.

SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT
CLEAR. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 50S. LOWS IN
THE UPPER 20S.

I'm going to really hate getting up at 3 AM Sunday morning and getting in that cold car at 4:30.... BRRRrrrrr... I'm glad we hadn't made any plans for out of town this weekend. One minute..."oh you won't be working Sundays" and the next "Oh we scheduled you for Sunday but we gave you Wednesday off" . Oh well... for now we need the money so I'll do whatever. But I can't help but think how nice retirement would be right now.

"Reflecting Good Vibrations" with Blessing The Elements

2012-01-11T02:10:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone had this relationship.
Blessing the Elements

Another bedtime fast approaching

2012-01-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

I really should be in the bed asleep as I will get up at 3 AM even though I don't have to be to work until 8:30 tomorrow as sleeping in tomorrow and then returning back to the 3 AM start for Thursday and Friday would do me in I'm afraid. I was so looking forward to this week being a straight 5 to 10:30 shift but it's all changed as we are getting a super huge truck tomorrow - nearly the entire semi will be unloaded at our store tomorrow morning. Welcome the rest of Spring and Summer Seasonal merchandise with freezing temperatures in the forecast. Goodnight!

Some Fun at "Hand"

2012-01-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

I was able to add my bit to Mary Lou's crazy quilt square and it has been mailed off to Diane in Maine who will in turn add her bit.

This first photo is of her entire block and the next is a close up of what I added to her block.

The ecru lace was from my "lace stash" of purchased lace and I added the blue and green embroidery to my section. I also crocheted the 3 flowers and stitched them onto my section and then added some pearls from my "bead stash" for the centers. I hope that she will like it.

Next on my waiting list to be dealt with is Anne's Round Robin...

Isn't it lovely? I'm going to add 2 rounds of "bricks"; once I get them added I will post an updated photo so you all can see what I've come up with. I may add a narrow white tone on tone strip before I add my bricks but will wait and see; first I need to cut and sew the brick rows together.

I also have 7 Sampler blocks to get made up and mailed out; will share photo's when I get them accomplished AND we have another swap in the works for 12 1/2" log cabin blocks. I've asked them all to make my logs "wonky" and they want to see what I'm talking about so I need to make a "sample" of one to show them. This post is making me so glad that I will be home by lunch time everyday this week.

On a side note Scott and I have been putting off getting new phones for as long as possible and have finally broke down and stepped into "smart phones" - that's what it's feeling like - "we stepped in it"... hopefully we will be able to figure these things out. We had to take the phones over to the local store to get them to help us get them activated and move our contacts from our old phones to the new phones. We just knew when we left that they were talking about us... "AH that sweet "old" couple were so cute; they couldn't figure out those phones on their own". AH well one of us is in the 50's and the other close behind so I guess to all those 20-somethings we ARE old.

Penny Pinching Pots!

2012-01-08T10:13:00.001-08:00

I just found this You Tube Video and HAD to share...

We will be making these to save on starting our own seeds this year.

Cooking and Food Questionaire

2012-01-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Stuff about cooking and food

Paul tagged me to share some stuff about cooking and food.

1. What, or who inspired you to start a blog?
I just can't remember who it was... I was just reading several blogs and when I finally braved leaving a comment I just opened a blog account to leave the comment and started my own blog.

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?
My Grandmother and my Mother-in-law - both EXCELLENT cooks

3. Your greasiest, batter – splattered food/drink book is?
This one I have a hard time picking just one as I have so many... I especially love cookbooks put out in the 1950's and earlier as they came before the mix of this and the mix of that... I'm an "ingredients" cook - I like knowing whats REALLY in my food. One newer cookbook I do enjoy is The Joy of Cooking.

4. Tell us all about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?
I've not really been to any foreign countries... just the Virgin Islands. And I enjoyed the Rum ice cream on the cruise there.

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)? I would like my kitchen remodel completed but thats not really a gadget is it...lol. Let's see.. I would definitely LOVE some more Spoonula's!

7. Who taught you how to cook?
My Grandma - I was in the kitchen helping her VERY early in life and really got to start learning a lot of stuff at the age of 8 or 9 when she was ill and my Grandpa wasn't a cook at all but we both needed to eat. So I made boiled potatoes and they weren't cooked all the way through but he ate them anyway and said,"It's OK.. you are just learning". He died when I was 10 and she passed away when I was 28. But I learned a LOT from my Grandma when her health returned. I also took ever Home Ec course I could though High School - cooking and sewing.

8. I’m coming to you for dinner what’s your signature dish?
OH... another difficult one... lets see... Meatloaf is always good but I also make some wonderful Lemon Pepper Chicken or my Lasagna and mixed green salad.. ok I'd make the Lasagna and a beautiful mixed salad.

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?
Snicker ice cream bars

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
I can't seem to fry anything... so Scott is the "Fry Daddy" around here. So if I prepare fish it's baked (healthier anyway) but when Scott fries up some fish... OH MY! It melts in your mouth!

Finally…tag 5 other bloggers with these questions…like a hot baked potato…pass it on!

I nominate:
Tania
Tracy
Christine
FlowerLady
Ruth

FINALLY some rejuvenating powers!

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

After breakfast we went for a lovely walk along the river. It is a GORGEOUS day here... no hats or jackets required.

This is the view looking down river from the "beach area" below the locks. The water was gently lapping against the shore and it was so peaceful and beautiful.

We had a wonderful time and there were quite a few people taking in the day with their families or getting out for a beautiful run.

AH... Scott caught me!

Another Wonderful You Tube Video

2012-01-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

If only the World would listen and hear ... Peace and Love and helping each other would make this a beautiful planet to reside upon.

Tears of Enjoyment

2012-01-06T18:13:00.001-08:00

We came across this video on You Tube and I just had to share it here. I have sat and listened with tears streaming down my face. This is absolutely amazing...

Life's Funny Little Choices

2012-01-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

DECISIONS... DECISIONS!

Everyday I pass this strip Mall as I drive to my job and I find this entirely too funny; so this morning I took my camera to capture it...

I love Marble Slab Creamery's.. Double Dark Chocolate with fresh raspberries mixed in...YUMMY! I have never been tempted by the other choice. ; )

Dear Sweet Maria

2012-01-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

Maria over at The Next Stage gave me an award. The idea is that if you get an award, you too must select 5 blogs from your reading list and hand on the Liebster award. The blogs that you choose have to have less than 200 followers.

I ran into the same difficulties as Maria in choosing just five blogs. I went through and found the ones that met the requirement of less than 200 followers and then came the hard part - pick the 5....

1. Buttons Thoughts - I just love going on rambles through the "bush" with Buttons. And her photo's are always so beautiful as well as interesting; especially the fences she spies and captures on "film"... I mean "digits"... oh whatever... she captures them so well. She and her husband work as a real team to care for their part of this Earth.

2. Blessing The Elements always shares such great times spent with her precious grandchildren. The photos of them can just melt your heart. She shares such wonderful quotes and "reflections" each week/day. Her "attitude of Gratitude" is infectious. She always lightens my heart.

3. Smell the Roses Shares such absolutely wonderful recipes and is starting to share her methods for saving big on her grocery bill. I'm looking forward to reading what she does to "spread her pennies." Thanks Ruth! for doing this as we all need as much help with that as we can find.

4. Sister Sun - shares such wonderful posts of her family. Lots of acting goofy; crafty projects and garden updates. It's so fun reading about another families "goof ball(s)". I need to post a bit more of my "goof ball" I mean son. LOL

AND 5..... The World According to Paul - Paul reaches young minds through his music as a teacher and beyond. He'll take you on his "runs" and share his families adventures. It is so good to read about someone like him.

Now it's up to the above five to hand out the Liebster Award to just five blogs in your regular reading list and remember they have to have 200 followers or less.

A quick little Thank You!

2012-01-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Scott and I would like whoever stopped by from the Isle of Man to know that we just had to research your flag from our Feedjit feed to find out where you are located as hovering over the flag did not tell us the country of origin. It looks like a beautiful green island that we would enjoy visiting if we ever became millionaires.

This is the COOLEST thing I've learned so far this year....

2012-01-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

Front of never ending Valentine...

After opening once...

Twice....

Third time....

And final time has you back at the beginning...

SO ABSOLUTELY FUN AND AMAZING!!!! I am so happy I ran across that video on You Tube the other day.

New Years Day

2012-01-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we didn't do a whole lot - just took an easy day with as much rest as we could possibly fit into it as Scott is just recovering from an absolutely heinous sinus infection and I'm trying to recover from a full-time (40 hour) week last week... I am truly hoping they stick closer to a 25 to 30 hour week for me this week as I have garden prep and planning to do.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday...

We drive by this swampy area everyday and could see a Beaver dam from the road as we pass so yesterday we decided to park at the tractor dealership and walk around over there. We didn't spot any beavers but there was a flock of bluebirds; something we have never seen before and were quite curious about. There was much talk between the two of us about it and luck would have it Rudy Mancke came walking up our street and Scott was out in the front yard and he asked Rudy about it. Rudy said that male bluebirds will flock together in the off season as there is safety in numbers.

I love when I am in the right place at the right time. I captured this wonderful photo last night as we were coming back from a wildlife spotting trip to the boat ramp. I just LOVE IT!

And this was too precious not to capture... Tesla is looking like he is saying,"It's not what it looks like" "I don't really like Nick".

Shortly after I took these photos Tesla got up and left.

I am SO making some of these tomorrow!

2011-12-31T16:26:00.001-08:00

Aren't these the coolest cards?!

2011 - A Review

2011-12-31T04:13:00.000-08:00

January 2011 - Started with a walk by the river, followed by the start of a Mystery quilt called - Roll Roll Cotton Boll. It's completed segments are in a storage box with the remaining steps in a binder just waiting for me to pull them back out to complete - I have a LOT of projects like that - perhaps that could be a resolution - FINISH projects started in previous year or before. Perhaps I will finally attain the "stack of finished projects" that I had planned to have done in 2011. ( I had 27 posts total in January 2011)

February 2011 - A dinner out with the In-laws and a bit of Valentine card crafting began the month. Walks by the river and quilt swapping fun was to be had all month long. Talk of gardening began with high hopes of a lovely garden but that was not to be as the heat was just too much for everything - perhaps this coming year we should get an earlier start to beat the heat. Crocheting also filled this month with a sweater gift for Abby. And the month rounded out with finding a childhood treasure and making her some new clothes. (29 posts in total for Feb. 2011)

March 2011 - Spring arrived with some beautiful blooms in our yard. I celebrated another birthday - number 47. It was not celebrated the way I wanted to with a road trip to Mary Jo's in N.C. but it came and went just the same. March also brought "pollen season" and the beginning of taking a Zyrtec each morning to be able to breathe easily. More sewing/ crafting and I ended the month with a little give-a-way. ( 27 posts in March 2011)

April 2011 - More blooms and a report on Scotts' garlic began the month. We took a trip up to our property and several walks along the river. More wonderful swapping fun with my Quilty Friends. Some time to sit by the river and listen to some wonderful talent. I had a moment of reflection on the state of compassion in this world of ours and our garlic harvest. (28 posts in April 2011)

May 2011 - Cats on the Computer. And a very sick little nephew - Dougie was hospitalized for several days. More blooms and a few berries were to be found in our yard. I was ripping carpet up and out like a mad woman. We found our latest pet by the Guignard Clay pits - Bernadette came to live with us. Of course there were more wonderful walks along the river and another little give-a-way on my blog. ( 27 posts in May 2011)

June 2011 - Pets, baking and sewing filled the first part of the month. A few garden updates followed. Oh yuck! I was over an hour late to work one morning - I HATE THAT! Over sleeping is the pits! Bernadette was spayed and got a new hair-du and bath. Took a trip to The Old Mill Antique Mall and came home with goodies! More fun with my online quilting friends. More walks along the river we so enjoy. An introduction to my sewing machines. A bit of downsizing talk was to be had and more gardening updates. ( 30 posts in June 2011)

July 2011 - I was called for a Federal Jury pool but was not selected - maybe next time. More quilting fun. Cat antics! I made up a bunch of scrappy potholders and planted blackberries in our front yard. I listed out what I would do if I won the lottery. A visit to a friends farm for bean picking; followed by a day of processing said beans for the freezer. More blooms from our yard, walks by the river and pulling out an old project that I went ahead and actually completed. (31 posts in July)

August 2011 - Started with a bit of bad weather that created an accident that I had to make a u-turn to avoid and travel a different route to work. More gardening news. A trip to the Thrift Stores. More sewing and quilting fun. Wonderful walks by the river with lots of interesting pictures of all the plants and critters we came across. I shared some special photos of my childhood. Life with a nearly 25 year old is never dull! And I had to replace my rotary cutter. (30 posts in August 2011)

September 2011 - Oh gosh it started with a post called "Crap'o'la Day"... oh dear. Followed by "those that rule" wanting snacks. The waste in new construction is appalling. Walks by the river - OF COURSE. Injured my thumb at work pushing cardboard into the shoot to the compactor. Baking and more baking. A dress blues inspection for Greg. More sewing and quilting and a vent on how our life had been on hold for so long. ( 31 posts in September 2011)

October 2011 - Attended the Bluegrass festival here in Cayce - most enjoyable but COLD. The beginning of our Fall walks by the river. A look at my weekday mornings with arriving at work at 4:50 AM. Sewing, baking and felines - a typical day contains some or all three. A few gift ideas shared and a couple recipes as well. Picking green tomatoes and making chow chow were on my mind. (35 posts in October 2011)

November 2011 - Greg and Rachel thoroughly enjoyed handing candy out to the trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Made that huge batch of chow chow - YUMMY! More quilty stitching. A trip to our property that revealed that we need to get up and do some maintenance before the woods takes over. Mailing fun for quilting friends. Christmas crafting... trying to do too much for the time remaining until Christmas (typical). Baking and card crafting! (30 posts in November 2011)

December 2011 - WORK! the Holiday season demands it when you are in the Retail Industry. I developed a new recipe for biscuits and shared it on my blog. Thanks to Blogging I found a new friend (locally) that shares my interest. Decorated for Christmas. More sewing and crafting; baking and cooking. I sent a special box to England to a quilting friend there. Time with our families - happy memories made! Now I'm ready for the New Year! (only 18 posts for December 2011)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

WELCOME 2012!

Reminiscing "GROOVY"

2011-12-29T00:58:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken in the 1970's on the farm where I grew up in Upstate New York. I was fashioning the new school clothes that my Mom had sent to me holding our dog Katy at the side of the house where I lived for the first 13 years of my life. The large bush was a beautiful lilac that smelt so heavenly when in bloom. I had such HUGE pony tails back then. I miss the greenness of that farm and the hill side we would see looking out from the kitchen window (the double window in the left of the photo).

In the winter the snow would pile up so that we could ride the toboggan from near the swing set to the pasture below. We had to be careful to get stopped BEFORE the barbed wire fence though or risk injury or ripped snow suites. Such fun with my cousin Susie.

The last photo is of the road to my home place in New York; see how green it is? This was taken in September 2007 when I returned for my 25th High School Reunion.

Well enough reminiscing for this morning as I need to get ready for work. Perhaps I will drop in with another post later.

Non-Humans

2011-12-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

While at my parents we of course had to go out and communicate with some of the critters...

Buttercup "Pup"

Lucky the very "lovey" cat

The mini-goats

And ONE of the MANY roosters that patrol the property

Missed getting a photo of Fanny the white Ass and the bigger goats, bunnies and such. Mom has quite the menagerie.

Special Moments/ Special Gifts

2011-12-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

I received several absolutely wonderful books that I want to now have time off from work to read. Scott got me the book on mushrooms and the edible plants, Greg got me the Homesteading book and Rachel got me the knitting book and the Recipes for Roughing it Easy. We also received several gift cards to various restaurants and such and will enjoy using them. We received so much more and love it all and are thankful for the love that went into each and every gift.

We also had some special moments with the kids in our life yesterday and we absolutely adore all of them...

Abby with her "Bling"

I saw this hat awhile ago and it absolutely SCREAMED Abby! She is the Queen of dress-up and the more BLING the better!

The "K" girls - Kayla and Kandise sitting by my Mom

My Cousin, Pam and my Dear Uncle Lenny

Kennedy and Jessie with their Grandpa - My Uncle George

My sister Hazel

Double Trouble Cousins - Phoenix and Austin

Me with my little Romeo - Phoenix

My silly Dad - twas singing "If I were a rich man..."

It was a very full day yesterday... love and happiness to over flowing!

The tree at my parents home

2011-12-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

River Boat in front of our City Hall

Scott says these are Side Show Bob trees

On the 23rd we drove through the light display by Cayce City Hall. They have music playing this year and it's all so pretty. I may go back to get a few more photos; would especially love one of Cinderella's horse drawn carriage.

A gift of my own creation...

A gift for a Sister-in-law


Sunrise Christmas Eve morning

Mustard Greens - from our garden

Cherry Pie BEFORE... TESLA!

A few nibbles to take to my Mother-in-laws tonight

Holiday Cooking! The greens and the pie are to be taken to my folks' tomorrow and the nibbles will go with us tonight to Scott's Moms'. The pie... well I had it cooling on the counter with a kitchen towel laying over it and went out to the garage to lend Scott a hand and this is what the pie looks like now....

This pie will still be eaten tomorrow and I am ever so glad that I had put that towel over it or it would have gone in the trash. BAD CAT! Made my beautiful pie look so sad!

More fun to come!

Perhaps I went to bed TOO early

2011-12-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

I awoke at 12:45 AM - WIDE AWAKE! I have to be to work at 5 AM and it's just now 1:34 AM... going to make for a VERY long day. I turned the A/C on to remove some of the humidity in the house, started a pot of coffee and have read blog updates. So many are doing such creative things for the Holidays and are creating such fond memories with their families. I'm looking forward to creating some of my own. After work today I will be purchasing a few more little things for a couple projects using mostly items I all ready have here at home - things to make the end results more personal. I'm thinking there will be a lot more coffee in this day.

Our tree as it is today

I will be baking a cherry pie to take to my Moms' on Sunday but that will happen tomorrow - today will be strictly gift making after work. I will be picking the mustard greens from our garden and will also cook them ahead of time to take to my Moms' and we will be taking the fully cooked ham that Scott received from his work at Thanksgiving that we froze since his Mom had made a Turkey. I am also planning to make some of my sour cream biscuits once we get to Moms' on Sunday.

My Mom has put in a request for a new family photo so I will have to see if my sister-in-law can come over and take a few of the 3 of us in front of our Christmas tree tomorrow. I can print one off for my Mom before we leave and perhaps some for my siblings as well. Perhaps our Kitties will join us in the photo - I won't press my luck with having the 2 dogs in it as well... that could end looking like a creepy Halloween photo with all the blood that would be drawn by the cats. ; )

Talk about leaving a bunch to do until the last minute - SO ME!

A Lovely Thank You!

2011-12-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Received today   Christmas Swap

Oh Becky where do I start -    thanking you would be the understatement   for the magnificent things you,ve sent me in our Swap.
Oh wow, the bracelet - I,m wearing this on Christmas day, you are soooo clever making these , you remembered I love wearing bracelets and to choose the pearls and   sewing trinkets attached is really something personal which I adore. The magazine, the Fat quarters. etc. My only wish I cant just take hold and give you a wrap around hug.
Thank you so much for all your kindness.

Irene xxxxx

I am so glad that it got to her before Christmas and that she loved it all. Now back to my Elf job.

A day indoors

2011-12-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

It's been drizzling rain ALL day; so I spent most of it in my sewing room working on a quilt that will be completed and mailed to it's little owner in January. I have to make one for his brother and sister as well... so they'll get surprise packages later. I had hoped to have these done for Christmas but the sewing bug refused to bite so I've put it off until it's too late to have them ready in time.

The view out my sewing room window.

This morning the day started with an absolutely gorgeous sunrise that I tried to capture but the colors are just not as intense as they were in "real life".

I also started doing the laundry - the never ending task. And I pre-washed some fabrics that I will be using either later tonight or as soon as I get home from work tomorrow. I found a wonderful tutorial for a gift idea (I'll try to remember to share the link later - don't want to show too much just now).

I received some lovelies in the mail today and I have to share. First I received another block from one of the gals in the FQ block swap. I think it's fun to see how all the different people use the same fabric. This one is from Mary Lou...

LOVE IT!

Next I received my Christmas goodies from Carrolyn in Washington State and I am tickled to death with them...

A quilt pattern and a lovely Christmas Jelly Roll... and inside Santa?


A measuring tape and a Kanzashi Flower Maker.

LOVE IT ALL!!! Getting goodies in the mail is so much fun!

Today I also watched a man come and change the door knob on the house next door and install a Realtor's Lock Box; so it looks like the place is now up for sale. I hope we get some nice new neighbors - preferably someone crafty! I guess we will just have to wait and see. Well I've all ready tried to burn dinner up once so I better go keep a better eye on it.... Scott is home!

Swap Fun

2011-12-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

These are the blocks that I received from my swap partners in the "Pick Your theme" block swap - my theme was "Harvest". I think the gals did a wonderful job. I'm going to make a few more blocks and make a wall hanging to use in the Fall months. The group that I do all these swaps with is a yahoo group called Our Quilters family home . If you quilt and are looking for a fun little group to join feel free to stop by and join in the fun.

I've also received 3 blocks so far from the gals using the fat quarters (FQ'S) that I sent out to each of them last month. It's a swap that I've got to get to right after Christmas. Here are the blocks I've received so far... (sorry the colors are a bit off)

The gals sent back the remnants from the FQ's so that I can make more blocks with that print and I also bought 6 more FQ's that I can make more blocks from so that I can end up with a full size quilt.

I'm off tomorrow and will be finishing up my gift making and wrapping. Take care!

What planet am I from anyway?

2011-12-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Just feeling a bit... out "there" this week and thought it best to stay away from my blog. I'll be back when I'm more cheerful and upbeat. Didn't want anyone thinking I'd vanished.

New Man in my Life and Special Moments

2011-12-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

This is the new "man" in my life! A Woodland Santa to add to my collection. I've decided to make my Santa collection stictly of the "Woodland" variety. I just think they have the most character and fit "me" the best. Isn't he handsome? I just love him and I saved 50% PLUS another 40% using my Holiday Employee Discount yesterday. I had been hoping and wishing I could afford one and that special discount made it so that I could. Merry Chrsitmas to me!

I had today off and slept in until 6:30... woo hoo. Still made it up in time to watch the sunrise from my computer chair. After Breakfast the "Nap Lures" went into action and tried to pull us back into bed. But today they had competition for our attention as the two dogs were waiting for us to take them for a walk. Amelia and Bernadette had positioned themselves right by the back door where we put their leashes on them. I looked out the bedroom window and took this photo of them kind of waiting patiently. They were OH SO HAPPY to gather new smells from the neighborhood and to just be out of the back yard. Speaking of the back yard it is a wreck at the moment and I am hoping to remedy that in the New Year. I have 5 more gifts to make or buy before next weekend. If I make something I will post a peek or two.

Perhaps I will re-create this mess...

And make some more jewelry or perhaps I will make up some kitchen sets. THINK THINK THINK.

We've been receiving some lovely Christmas cards and today I got a VERY special card... it contained a family photo... LOVE FAMILY PHOTOS! I put it on our Christmas tree and will buy a little frame to put it in tomorrow. It's of my youngest brother and his wife and children. LOVE IT!

If anyone is traveling I want to wish you safe travels and much happiness this Holiday Season.

Observations

2011-12-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

This week I've found myself thinking a lot about the people that have been,are in and will be in my life. The memories of those in the past are a mix of good, bad and some ugly. I cherish the people that I was able to create a tether to; those that even after time or space has separated us I still feel that connection to them. I could call them today and we could chat away an hour or more "just catching up". I've decided that the bad and ugly are best left in the past and that those connection are just rotting roots that will return to the earth. Perhaps those fizzled relationships were just there to teach me to appreciate the ones that blossomed into full beautiful friendships.

People really are like planets in that we all float around each other with some connecting and forming glorious universes where beauty abounds. There will always be space junk but how we choose to handle that is up to us as individuals.

The people that are around me now are truly a mix. Some have just a thread that connects us as there hasn't been enough time spent together to understand one another. Some form walls around themselves and live in there own space not prepared to step out and understand someone different from themselves... so the connection has been halted. Some embrace me and enjoy spending time with me - those will be my friends forever - their tether of friendship has formed a solid connection with me. Some I have thrown my own wall up for whatever reason I haven't felt any connection what so ever and wonder if I ever will.

The most glorious thing about life is you never know who will travel close enough to form a real bond of friendship.

"The tethers of friendship are formed with love, understanding, compassion, joy, and laughter; they are like beautiful iridescent strands that capture all of the colors of the rainbow to shine through your soul." Becky McAuley - Me

Trying to decided...

2011-12-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

Well I was thinking about waiting until I heard from Irene that she received the package that I shipped today before posting picture's of the bracelet that I completed last night for her; but then I got to thinking about all the other little bits she will still have to unwrap....

And I decided that it would be OK if she sneaks and reads my blog and see's the bracelet. It will give her something to stalk the Mail Person over... HA HA. SOOOOooooo... here is the charm bracelet that I created just for her. I made the beaded charm drops and found the cute sewing and word charms to add to give it a more personal touch.

Irene's Charm bracelet

So it's been sent off to Merry Ol' England and I am hoping that she will get it in time for Christmas. The most beautiful thing was I didn't have to wait in line at the Post Office to mail it either.

Scott was amazed by the bracelet and thought it was GREAT! Hopefully Irene will enjoy it as much.

How Charming

2011-12-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

After helping our friend for awhile we came home and I decided to work on a few charms for a gift I am putting together as part of a Christmas swap. I need to buy just a couple things tomorrow after I get off work and I can put this together and get it in the mail. After work I'm also planning to work on the quilts for the kiddos - time is running out fast. I also have a bunch of ideas for the rest of the family as well... busy busy this next week so you may not hear much out of me. Take care and HAPPY CRAFTING!

A Little more Decor

2011-12-11T03:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas village on table runner.

The Village was a promo at a Furniture store years ago and the table runner was received in a swap last year.

Salt and Pepper sets - note to self get time changed to an hour earlier on radio.

My Santa Collection - would love to add more Woodland Santa's to this collection.

Decor and a snore....

2011-12-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I was awakened TWICE by something I believe most couples/partners suffer from.... a "snoring blanket hog." These beasts replace wives/husbands/partners and they work and work until they have successfully stolen all the covers so half or more of you is hanging out in the cold air and then they let out a snore to wake the dead... first at about 2 AM and then again about 6 AM. I did wrestle the beast for the covers long enough to sleep a couple more hours but after the second time I decided to just get up and clean a bit and get some Christmas decorations up. The den is nice and clean and the tree is up - of course the "Little Manager" had to Supervise the whole process. He even went and got the Beast - I mean "Scott" up to get his input on all the moving of furniture; cleaning and decorating.

The Little Manager; AKA - Tesla

On My Mind - A New Friendship

2011-12-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Down To Earth from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, go back to Down to Earth and add a comment below her On My Mind Post, with a link to your blog.

Tracy's Rum Apple Butter with Raisins

Thanks to Down to Earth I've met a wonderful gal here in South Carolina. Hopefully we will continue to build a wonderful friendship. We swapped canned items and chatted for an hour and a half. I'm willing to treat for lunch next time since Tracy was so sweet to buy this time. Perhaps we will make it somewhere closer to her home... I wonder if she'd be up for Shealy's BBQ?

I can hardly wait for breakfast... going to try some of her yummy apple butter on my toast.

PS... I know I'm early posting this but wanted to link it to Rhonda's Blog for this weekly feature since it was her doing that made Tracy and I meet.

Making Progress...

2011-12-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Still have a ways to go but I am making progress. Twelve blocks made and only 33 more to make and I can sew the blocks together to form one quilt top.

Sunday Morning - gathering all the items needed for a day of sewing.

Cutting 4 1/2-inch squares - tired me out so bad I had to take an hour long nap.

And today I have twelve pieced and trimmed blocks ready for the quilt top.

This quilt is for my little Romeo nephew; Phoenix - he LOVES green. I'm hoping he can handle the blues and tans as well since they have green prints on them. Just lots of fun little boy prints. This quilt is flannel; all super soft and warm. Gotta keep sewing and sewing.

Weekend so far....

2011-12-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Last night I made the most delicious biscuits....

Becky's Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour

Cut in -
1/4 cup Crisco (shortening)

Add -
A dollop of sour cream (about 1/3 cup)

Stir lightly then add enough milk to make a semi-sticky dough. DON'T OVER STIR!

Dump out onto a floured counter and kneed about 5 times; flatten to about 1/2 - inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter.

Bake in a 450*F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Our dessert was a biscuit with honey. We received this bottle of honey in a barter of sorts - Garlic for Honey. The Honey is AMAZING as well.

Speaking or barters - Wednesday I will be meeting Tracy from Our Simple Life in "REAL LIFE" to swap a jar of my Chow Chow for a jar of her Rum Apple Butter. We "met" because we connected through Rhonda's blog Down to Earth . So two South Carolinian's are meeting because of a blog out of Australia - small world huh? Should be loads of fun as we are meeting at Zesto's for lunch - good food and a new friendship - AWESOME! THANKS RHONDA!

This morning Scott and I went to the All Local Farmer's Market on Whaley Street in Columbia, SC - just across the Blossom Street bridge from Cayce. We took the camera but were having so much fun and were so enthralled with it all we forgot to take any pictures while there. We will definitely go again - hopefully next Saturday. I did take a photo of our "bootie" that we brought home...

Two types of humanly raised pork sausage; pimento cheese, two types of feta cheese, a mesculan mix, a head of lettuce and a half dozen of ginger snaps. The atmosphere was so much more fun than the local grocery store and the conversations that occurred were wonderful. No one will hardly speak to you in the grocery store. It was just so refreshing talking to the people that actually MADE the product(s) that we were buying. Next time I will take some photo's to share. And if you live in the central part of South Carolina you should attend one Saturday morning.

GOODIES!

2011-11-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

First I received a lovely "Harvest" quilt block from Irene in England. It will go nicely with the others that I have received from the other swap participants. I really enjoy doing these swaps; a little something special in the mailbox beside the bills.

After dinner I decided to go ahead and bake the butter cookies that I had mixed up a few days ago. this was the first time I've ever had any success with a rolled cookie recipe. I was so happy with the results. I started to fill a tin to take into work and realized the cookies were not going to fill the tin alone so I pulled out the candy melts and pretzels and went to work on making dipped pretzels to add to the tin to fill it up.

I'm sure these will be well received by my co-workers. And tomorrow is truck processing day so the entire replenishment team will be there to enjoy them. The day shift may not get any.

It was another busy day at the store; I even ended up on a register for about an hour as they didn't have a second cashier scheduled until 11. They need to have the second and/or third in by 10 from now until Christmas; but I'm keeping my mouth shut as I want NO PART of a Management position EVER again.

Me as a little girl at Christmas time.

And to end this post I've added a photo of myself at about 3 years old. Christmas really is for children and family togetherness.

WOOHOO! WINTER!

2011-11-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

OK.. it feels more like Winter than Fall this evening. It's 45*F and the wind chill is making it feel 39*F at 5 PM EST - here in South Carolina. It's actually warmer in my hometown in Upstate New York - and the cloud cover looks like it could start snowing at any moment.

I haven't put up any decorations yet and probably won't for at least another week; but I have my thinking cap on for what I would like to do. I want to do a bit more this year as we have a lot to be Thankful for and I think Greg and Rachel would enjoy the decorations as well. This is their 2nd Christmas dating.

Shoppers are piling into the stores daily; where I work we have a backed up line by 10 AM and we open at 9 AM - it's really crazy. I'm so glad I'm out of there by 10:30. My gifts will be handcrafted except for a few small things for Scott and Greg. On my side of the family we will have gifts for my parents and the younger children and on Scott's side we will have gifts for the members that we have the most contact with - adults. Funny how that seems to work out. Of course the items I make will be functional and useful with perhaps a little glitz added in along the way.

No photo's today - just wanted to pop in and leave a short message to let you all know we haven't fallen off the edge of the planet. Take care - stay warm!

Creating Day Sunday

2011-11-28T00:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made 3 more cards so I have just one more left to make. Of course I may make more before Christmas if the urge stikes.

Cookie Tray I'm taking into work today.

I also started baking goodies to have here at home as well as to take into work. I mixed up some Butter Cookies and the dough for those is in the fridge as it has to be well chilled before you roll them out to cut into shapes. I'll be baking those once I get off work this morning. I also made a double batch of Fluffo Brownies and a batch of Oatmeal Krinkles.

Today I am also planning to make some Chocolate Dipped Pretzels; they were a HUGE hit last year.

Then it will be sew, sew and more sewing so perhaps I will have some "peeks" of things I am working on as well.

Scott just served up an amazing breakfast so I better go eat. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Handcrafted cards

2011-11-27T04:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I worked on making the cards that I will be mailing out to friends and family. I have 4 more to make today and then I will switch back to gift making and perhaps a little baking. Here are the cards I made yesterday; sorry if they are a bit blurry.

What Scott Captured yesterday

2011-11-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

As you could see in the previous post Scott also had a camera and took a few photos that I thought I might share with you all today...

Me with our dogs.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

The best part of Thanksgiving Day besides the food was Scott and my walk along the river with the dogs before the meal. It was just so refreshing to mind body and spirit.

The old locks

Train on one of the trestles

Watching the bees work

Carolina Blue Sky

Scott with Bernadette and Amelia

Sun light on a Sycamore

A Gift for me?.....

2011-11-23T00:44:00.000-08:00

NO THANKS! Nicholas brought us a present this morning but I wouldn't let him in until he had taken care of it. The muffled MEOW gave him away. Cats are so funny sometimes.

After work today I will be stopping by my Mother-in-laws to pick up some canned cherries to make a couple cherry pies for tomorrow. And yesterday my boss asked when I was going to bring in my "FAMOUS COOKIE" tray(s) so perhaps I will be baking over the weekend as well as this afternoon so I can take a bunch of cookies in like I did last year; here is what I did last year.

Well its pouring rain so I better allow extra travel time as who knows what will happen along the way. I hope everyone has a GREAT day!

Looking for canvas....

2011-11-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

First let me explain a little something... I AM A "FABRICHOLIC"! Somewhere in these tubs I have some cotton canvas and I am determined to find it as my dear husband wants to make a pressing board for me as a Christmas gift. So I've pulled all these tubs out of the corner so that I can go through them and find said canvas.
BUT WAIT.... the above picture isn't ALL of the tubs....

There.. now that is all of the fabric "in" tubs... we won't talk about the fabric that's actually IN my sewing room. Keep in mind that this is a 6+ year accumulation from working at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I know that I really MUST get to using this up and have no need or reason to buy anymore in my life time. These tubs are mostly apparel and upholstery fabrics the quilting fabrics live in my sewing room and they are actually getting used.

Perhaps today as I am going through these I will decide to purge the fabric that I come across that makes me say... "WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING WOMAN?" I'm sure I could find someone to take them off my hands... Thank God for Freecycle! But I may not do that just yet as I do want to sew some time today and that could take days to accomplish.

I better get started!

Ready to Mail~!

2011-11-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

Mary Lou's Fall/Thanksgiving block

Carrolyn's Floral Block

I completed the remaining two blocks today and will be taking them to the Post Office in just a little while.

Tomorrow will be a gift sewing day and I will only be able to give little hints on here so as not to ruin any surprises.

I can hardly believe that I have just one more day home to sew... I'll have to make the most of it.

Scott and I cooked a delicious dinner together tonight... pork roast with whole cloves inserted, sprinkled with black pepper and thyme and then 1/2 cup white grape juice poured over the top and then slow roasted. Scott made some delicious seasoned collard greens that were simply wonderful and we had fresh steamed corn on the cob. I love when we cook together as the meal always turns out better than when one of us cooks alone. Must be the added love in it.

Scott has been trying to fix a computer for a co-worker this weekend and it's really given him a workout. I was sneaky and took this picture of him trying to get the front facing off the thing a few minutes ago. He says that one of the main problems it has is that it needs more memory so he has a call into a friend that sell's sticks of memory and with any luck he will get Linux installed.

A couple days ago I was in Jo-Ann Fabrics getting some stiff interfacing for some of the gifts that I will be making and I found a wonderful book that I just had to have... it helped that I had a 50% off coupon too so it only cost me HALF. I love that!

This book has some WONDERFUL gift ideas... bath cap, unique potholders, totes and bags and all sorts of other fun stuff AND it comes with full-size patterns! If you are looking for a gift resource I can definitely recommend this book.

I guess I better get over to the Post Office; I'm hoping the machine is working tonight or I'll end up having to go back tomorrow and I am trying to avoid THAT line again this week.

FINALLY!

2011-11-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to get set up in the dining room today and managed to get a little sewing done. Not as much as I wanted to but tomorrow is another day.

I made the block mentioned in the previous post but I'm not 100% satisfied with it and plan to make Diane another block in the future. This one just gave me fits and the colors weren't varied enough so you can hardly see all the points AND it turned out too small. I'm sending it on to her anyway in the hopes she will be able to use it in another sampler quilt.

Then I moved on to a "Fall" block for Mary Lou and this one is coming together much better. All I have left to do is sew the components together and then it can go into her envelope. Once hers is done I will have just one left to make for Carrolyn and she requested a floral theme. I have the fabric all ready chosen from my stash and a pattern for the block so I can just make it up in the morning. I will be so glad to have these completed so that I can move on to Christmas gifts.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I know I am!

Stir- fry and Shopping my stash...

2011-11-19T02:22:00.000-08:00

Night before last I made a quick beef stir fry and some steamed rice for dinner using a small round steak cut into narrow strips. My God that meat was chewy! Oh well it nurished our bodies and didn't cost a whole lot but a lesson relearned - simmer the meat longer before adding it to the vegeatbles. It looked pretty...

and tasted fine but was a lot of work chewing it up.

Yesterday I had planned to do a ton of sewing but it turned into a laundry mountain tackling day and errands. But TODAY we are staying close to home and I'm sewing! Scott brought a co-workers computer home with him to work on so he will be occupied with that while i am sewing. I did "shop" my stash and found a few more pieces for Phoenix and Dougie's quilts.

Tub of flannel prints

I was able to find a few more with green in them for Phoenix's quilt...

I have decided against using the Pooh bit since it has pink on it.

The first thing I'm going to try to tackle is a complex quilt block for one of the quilt block swaps I'm behind on...

I've been putting this one off as I don't have labeled Civil War reproductions in my stash so I'm going with what I can find in my stash that closely looks like these prints and hopefully it will look close enough to be satisfactory. I'm hoping the block will just turn out "so stunning" that the actual fabrics won't matter as much... finger's crossed.

So much to do... I better get started!

Continual Drama

2011-11-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

If it's not this...

It's an ambulance toting the 30 something Mother off to the hospital. This time I believe it's over the dog issue that they have going on with the lady across the street from me. OH! How I want to be on our 10 acres so bad. DRAMA DRAMA! I'm so thankful I'm living a much calmer life.

Which brings to mind.... I'M OFF FOR THE NEXT FOUR DAYS!!!! YIPPY SKIPPY! I can sew all I want and start wrapping gifts for Christmas. Perhaps I will actually decorate with a larger tree this year. HO HO HO......

Envelopes waiting...

2011-11-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

I've got to get three more quilt blocks made so that I can make a trip to the Post Office to get them all mailed out. I'm so late with these I hope the gals will understand. I'm taking a 4 day weekend this weekend and plan to get a lot of sewing done over those four days. I have decided to stop adding things to Carrolyn's beautiful block so that I can get it on to the next person. Of course that means Diane will be getting two at once since mine is sitting in the top fat envelope on my sewing table. Once I get her a Civil War block made it will be ready to mail. I'm trying to save as much as I can on postage by combining swaps.

Here is what I did to Carrolyn's Crazy Quilt block...

And a close up of the corner I added items...

I was thinking of adding some more to either side of the heart and roses but just couldn't come up with anything so I'm sending it on as it is.

I am SO looking forward to this long weekend and then next week I'm only scheduled to work 3 days - that is fine by me - more time to sew and craft. I may actually get something handmade done for everyone this year for Christmas.

"Reflecting Good Vibrations" with Blessing The Elements

2011-11-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Blessing the Elements has a weekly feature that I'm joining again this week. Sort of a "Blast from the past"...

Cat...Chilli both begin with "C"

2011-11-14T15:27:00.000-08:00

Mr Tesla on the Kitchen floor

Someone was waiting in the sunshine for me to arrive home from work. I was a bit late; doesn't he look a little miffed? To make matters worse I wouldn't dole out snacks until Nicholas came back home and he didn't come home until Scott came home after 5... the poor thing was just going to "STARVE".

I worked over 2 hours today because the system viciously added another two pages of "Negative on Hands" to this weeks totals AFTER I had finished the 4 pages and was entering them in when I noticed the skus weren't matching... UGH! Hopefully that will not happen again anytime soon. With those taking so long I wasn't able to accomplish anything on the other Inventory task that has been"given" to me - they are trying to make it sound like a "gift". I truly don't mind but I find it amusing how they word things sometimes.

After I came home and ate lunch I decided to brave the grocery and got that out of the way for this week. And I just put a pot of chili over to simmer for our dinner. We will have corn bread with it that Scott made last night instead of the rice we usually have with chili.

UGH! I've been up since 3 AM with no nap... I'm going to be out before my head ever reaches the pillow. Tomorrow I will be posting some crafting news.... I hope; depends on how the rat race goes tomorrow.

Another Day on the Land

2011-11-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO! Half of the front field done! Perhaps next weekend we will go back up and tackle the other half. We had a beautiful sunset to watch on our way home too.

Saturday Mowing - photo heavy

2011-11-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

After our last visit up to our 10 acres we decided that we had better get started on mowing it back to open fields before we loose it all to woods. So we loaded up the truck and headed through Columbia to get to the North side.

A view of our Capital City of Columbia from West Columbia; you can see the State House near the center. It's the one with the copper dome. And since we were crossing over a bridge with a nice view of the Gervais Street Bridge I took a couple photos of it as well.

A friend of ours calls this "the pretty bridge" and she is SO right. I wish I had been able to get photos of it tonight on the way home with all the beautiful old lamps lit. They were originally gas lamps and the thought of a man walking the bridge each night to light them brings a warm fuzziness to me.

This is a photo of Scott preparing to start his Gravely tractor; you can see how over grown the front field has gotten. It took him awhile to cut a path through the center and around the perimeter but once he had that done he could go around with a good bit more ease.

And OFF HE GOES.....

This was me... sitting, knitting and Supervising.

Making some progress....

OOPS... he caught me with my feet up.
I decided to walk around where he had all ready mowed and took so more photos from different vantage points.

Pine Forrest trying to take over

"The Driveway"

From the bottom of "the driveway"

From the Upper Corner by the Preacher's House - GIANT BECKY!

Of course I had to take some photos of things that caught my eye as well...

Old Fence posts...

The beautiful Carolina Sky

Gum Balls on a Blue background

Sometimes the beauty is in the shadow alone.

Weed seeds

Wicked Thistle!

And the best part was when Scott would hit one of these with the mower and give out an evil chuckle...

TAKE THAT FIRE ANTS!

And finally the sunset as we came back across the river from Columbia; looking back towards the Children's Museum...

On My Mind - Christmas for Little Boys

2011-11-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

On My Mind is two of my little nephews.....

A "little bird" (aka Grandma) told me that one little man is in love with GREEN.

Still collecting Shark fabrics but have had to op for "ocean" themed fabrics as I'm still having trouble locating fabric locally that has sharks on it.

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Down to Earth from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, go back to Down to Earth and add a comment below her post, with a link to your blog.

A Song that reaches my very Being

2011-11-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

I love this song and it speaks to my inner most being.

Supervisory Cat

2011-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

I heard the large trucks arrival and decided to take a few photos of them scooping up all our tree trimmings...

The workers had no idea they were under scrutiny by the always "in charge feline" - Mr Tesla!

It was almost like - "Whats all this then?"

I will have to go out and rake up all the bits they left behind as they never do that - just scoop and roll.

Body is Still on Daylight Savings Time

2011-11-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

I was wide awake at 2:16 AM and decided to just get up and start my day. Hopefully today will go better than yesterday as I had severe pain in my legs and my entire shift at work felt like torture. I still have some nagging pain this morning but nothing like yesterday. Knocking on wood here for a better day.

So I'm cooking dinner.....

2011-11-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love it when your husband comes in and says he needs your "input on safety" right when you are putting a meal in the slow cooker? To which I replied... "Can you give me about 15minutes and what are you doing anyways?"... "trimming on trees". So I quickly got everything into the slow cooker and turned it on and went out to see what he was up to; well he decided to deal with the Magnolia tree branch that has been hitting the roof above our bedroom and it was hanging half on and half off the tree... he didn't "WAIT". So I told him to get some weight off the branch before cutting anymore. We got it down and then decided to take some more branches off to open up the area so more sun can get to my hydrangea and camellia that I had planted near the fence to the neighbors in the hopes that they'd bloom better next year. I didn't get any "before" pictures because I had no idea what was going on when "it began". But here is what the area looks like now...

You can see the cut on the Magnolia where the huge branch came over and blocked the sun over the flower bed next to the neighbors. I trimmed the hydrangea back but left the camellia 'leggy' until after it blooms as I don't remember if it is a pink one of a white one as I started several types years ago and can't remember what was planted where. I guess I need to start keeping a Gardeners Journal so that I can know what is planted where.

We dragged all the trimmings to the street and the City will probably have to send out the large truck with the grabber on it to pick it all up.

Scott also trimmed a little on some of the trees in the front yard so the pile is quite high and long.

I just about got all the laundry tackled and that's about it - so much for house cleaning. I took a mid-morning nap and then made a trip to the Post Office to drop a few bills in the box and then I stopped at Jo-Ann Fabrics as they had notions on sale and I needed some more quilting needles for my machine as well as some hand embroidery and beading needles. I also picked up some tailors chalk as I am planning to sew some clothes over the next couple of weeks.

Fall Back time once more....

2011-11-06T02:58:00.000-08:00

I wish we would stick to one time and never have "Spring Forward" and "Fall Back". Just live in Standard time all the time and be done with it. I'm up before Dawn this morning and am looking forward to watching the sunrise in an hour or so. I've all ready started laundry and will do house cleaning today as well since we goofed off yesterday and I have to return to my job tomorrow.

Perhaps I will fit a bit of sewing in today as well. I've started working on Carrolyn's Crazy quilt block and plan to add some more to that today as well. Need daylight before I can do that though as I can't see well enough to work on it before the sun comes up. I hope that she will like what I've added.

I've also been thinking about how nice a couple of long full skirts would be to wear this winter and I have the fabric for several in my "stash". I'm very thankful for my fabric stash these days with the price of fabric going up and up. Not sure what I will do when I run out of it... but that's going to take awhile.

Greg found out yesterday that his Chief is retiring and that has saddened him as he greatly respects and appreciates his leadership. Hopefully their Division will get a good replacement. Life is all about changes.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Trip to Property

2011-11-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is the back field of our 10 acres in Fairfield County; we've got to take the Gravely tractor up and mow before we loose it all to the woods again. We drove back in since we had the pick-up truck as it's too overgrown to really walk in at the moment. About where I took this picture Scott scared a batch of Bobwhite Quail. They were so cute; wish I could have gotten their photo to show you all.

Since we were out that way we decided to drive up and check on a friend that we haven't heard from in awhile but she wasn't home. Hopefully she will call us soon and let us know she is OK. The drive was gorgeous...

I wish that our fields were this well maintained but living about an hours drive from our land makes it hard to keep it this beautiful. Hopefully within a couple more years we will be up there and able to stay on top of it - unless we sell it all and move somewhere else. We've learned that no matter what - life throws you curves and you just have to roll with it.

On the way back we were getting hungry and decided to stop at Five Guys for burgers. This one is located in The Village at Sandhills ... UGH!!! What a mess traffic wise! Then we got inside the music was so loud I couldn't hear what the cashier/order taker was saying and the other cashier/order taker kept hollering out his orders to the kitchen crew... UGH! Needless to say we were so happy to LEAVE that place. If you LOVE shopping I'm sure you'd love The Village at Sandhills but we hate shopping in places like that so have decided we will never return unless forced to at gun point. We stopped at Target - a LOT less stressful and more low key - right up our alley. We bought Scott a new outfit and some other things that we buy only from Target. All in all we've had a wonderful "goof off" day!

Exhausting week

2011-11-05T02:53:00.000-07:00

This week has just been exhausting and with "Christmas Season" just beginning there will be even more exhaustion in my future. The Christmas music has begun to play in the store and "STUFF" is stacked out EVERYWHERE! UGH! RETAIL! Oh well it's how I make a little money to help with the bills and I just have to focus on paying EVERYTHING off so I can just return home as quickly as possible.

Yesterday a friend came over and we did a bit of sewing together. Julia makes the neatest things! She was working on the cutest "cat" scarves; which I didn't get a photo of... see what exhaustion will do to me? I fixed that black and white block and put it in the envelope without getting a picture to share either. I also worked a bit on my little section on Carrolyn's wedding dress crazy block and I plan to add some more today once the sun comes up. So far I've added a bit of lace trim and pearls and made a couple "spider web roses". Once I'm done adding embellishments I will post a picture... PROMISE!

Greg has drill this weekend and is getting ready to leave for that. I got up and ironed his uniform for him - spoiled wretch that he is. Hopefully it will be a good weekend with some new things learned.

Scott just wants to veg as he has worked 10 hour days or more since he started the new job and is also exhausted. I'm hoping we can get a couple walks in by the river this weekend - that always rejuvenates both of us. If we do I'm sure I will have photos to share.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

AHHHH!!!! SQUISHIES!

2011-11-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

My mailbox was full of them today - SQUISHIES that is... wanna see whats inside 'em?

OK package one was from a quilting friend who is also a previous Jo-Ann Fabric's co-worker. Here are the goodies from her envelope..

She made me a delightful "Harvest" block as part of a themed swap we are in and she made the adorable coaster as well - I love Peanuts. The green fabric is an FQ (Fat Quarter) that is part of a "Sampler's Swap that we are doing as well. I will make her a 12 1/2" block using that fabric as well as some from my stash. She will get blocks back from each participant using her fabric plus fabrics from their various stashes so that she can make a a"Sampler Quilt". We will all end up with a special quilt in the end.

Next package was some fabric that I bought off Ebay. I had thought it was going to be ONE piece that I could make a blouse out of but it's 4 narrow pieces that I will use up in a quilt. I still love it and it won't go to waste but I was a little disappointed.

And to top all that off I got a package from Carrolyn out in Washington State and WOW! Lets start with her Crazy block that I will add embellishments to....

She attached a note : any embellishments (buttons,embroidery,laces, etc. are okay) Please keep colors to cream, white, beige, tan, gold, grey,silver - no colors.
This has pieces of lace from my wedding gown, my mom's, my daughters dance outfits, etc...

All I could think was WOW this will be something extra special. I didn't think to include a note like this but that's ok as mine is color wild to start with (the corduroy block in a few posts back). She also sent her FQ for the Sampler swap (the blue print) and another "Harvest" block for me. I wish the canning hadn't taken me ALL day but I knew it would in the back of my mind - perhaps one day I will get faster at it.

NOW for the cream on top of all this wonderful stuff. Do you remember the black, white and red block I sent out on a Round Robin tour awhile back? Well it came home today as well... and I was stunned... I mean JUST LOOK AT IT! WOW! The gals really blew me out of the water with this one....

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I LOVE IT!

Chow Chow recipe

2011-11-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes out of Kerr Home Canning and Freezing Book last copywright listed is 1982 and first 1958. I LOVE old cook books - the older the better; back when they used REAL ingredients not a box of this and a mix of that.

CHOW CHOW

1 peck (12 1/2 pounds) green tomatoes
8 large onions
10 green bell peppers
3 Tablespoons salt

6 hot peppers (chopped)
1 quart vinegar
(Just an FYI HERE - the spices go in a cheese cloth bag)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3 Tablespoons dry mustard
Few Bay Leaves
1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup grated horseradish (optional)

CHOP Tomatoes, onions and bell peppers together and cover with salt: let stand overnight. ( I grind the vegetables using my food grinder that fits on the front of my Kitchen Aide mixer and I put it in the refrigerator overnight.)
Drain, add the hot peppers (again I put them through the grinder) , vinegar, spices ( tied in cheese-cloth bag) and sugar; allow to boil slowly until tender (about 15 minutes). Add horseradish. Pack into sterilized jars to within 1/2-inch of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in Boiling water bath 5 minutes. (I did mine in a pressure caner for 5 minutes under 10 pounds pressure)

I'd definitely wear gloves when handling the hot peppers. This smells wonderful as it is processing!

I did remove ALL seeds from ALL peppers too.

I ended up using whatever jars I could find as I about fell over when I saw how much canning jars were selling for... $9.99 for 12. Just couldn't do that. I'll be checking the thrift stores and yard sales for jars from now on.

This took me all day so I didn't get to any sewing but I did get some lovely squishies in the mail and I will write a separate post about all that so as to not make this one into a novel. And Friday a friend is coming over to sew/craft with me.

Joining Blessing the Elements

2011-11-02T04:35:00.001-07:00

Sharing an oldie but a goodie....

Chow Chow in the Works

2011-11-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Green Tomatoes, bell peppers and onions

I ground the tomatoes, onions and bell peppers today and added 3 Tablespoons of Kosher salt and they will set in the refrigerator until tomorrow. Then I'll add more "good stuff" and cook it up and then can it in pint jars; last time I put it in jelly jars and it just didn't last long enough.

We decided to use 3 different types of onions and several types of hot peppers and some turning bell peppers to add a bit of fun color to this batch. I'll be adding the hot peppers tomorrow along with the spices, horse radish and vinegar. If anyone is interested I'll post the entire recipe tomorrow in case anyone wants to try making some themselves. This stuff is delicious on any beans and even on hot dogs.

I'm using Greg's GIANT cooking pot that Rachel bought for him to cook Lobster. When he moves out and takes it with him I will have to buy one for myself; that and a rice steamer. This huge pot is perfect for this process and we love this Chow Chow; so it will definitely be made for many years in the future. I just need to get horseradish to grow somewhere on this lot as $4.99 per pound is a bit outrageous. Everything I've read says it will grow anywhere and can actually become quite a nuisance but so far I haven't been able to get a plant started here.

They asked at work if I'd come in and work tomorrow on my day off and I thought about it and decided I needed a day at home to put up the Chow Chow, catch up on the laundry and I've got to get my quilt swaps finished up and mailed...so... I'll be home. I will work over Thursday and Friday is they still need me to but tomorrow is MINE!

SO... The first sewing I do will be to fix this mess...

I've got to rip out some seams and fix my mess up! I'll post a picture once I get it "fixed".

Last Nights Trick-or-Treaters

2011-11-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

Greg and Rachel had a lot of fun handing out candy to the kiddos...

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry but the kids were so fast grabbing candy and going it was hard to get really good pictures. When the teenagers saw the camera they would bolt immediately - wonder of it's because they thought they were too old to be out tick-or-treating.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T10:58:00.001-07:00

Monday has rolled around again...

2011-10-31T03:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to wait until tomorrow to grind up the green tomatoes , onions and peppers so that I could have all day Wednesday to process the Chow Chow. The vegetables have to set in the fridge over night with salt on them before you mix up all the rest of the ingredients and can it. I'm off Wednesday this week because they've decided to switch my schedule all around again and I'm not going in until 7 again this morning. I'll return to 5 AM starts on Thursday when my direct boss returns from his vacation. They have approved my long weekend off in mid-November and I've all ready found one thing I want to do that Friday. I want to go to the State Museum to see "Uncommon Folk". An Exhibit that is right up my alley!I'll take my camera and if photos are aloud I will take some to share.

Scott and I have also been talking about taking a weekend away to hike and see waterfalls in the Upstate as it has to be stunning in the Fall. And a couple days "out of Dodge" would be fantastic. Just have to make sure that Greg remembers to feed the animals while we are away.

And I'd love a day at the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens before it gets too cold to enjoy it. My sister gave me a Membership for Christmas last year and I need to use it. That would pretty much fill up those 4 days off. Lots of fun stuff!

Well it's time to get ready for work so I'll wish you all a wonderful day and will check in later today.

Wishing I could just stay home...

2011-10-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

I awoke just feeling all out crummy! I should have wore a hat yesterday while we were out and about in that breeze; I know better. If my ears get cold air in them I get sick. I wish I could just crawl back in bed and stay home today. But what I will do is see what we have in the medicine cabinet and press on as it's only a 4 1 /2 hour shift. Fall is REALLY here now - gotta pull out some warm hats to cover my ears.

Robitusin Cough and Cold and I'm out the door - be back later.