Pictures without Santa

Traditions of your children's picture with Santa is always loads of fun.  Especially with babies and very young children who are afraid of Santa and are screaming and kicking while Santa is trying to hold them.  I have had my share of those fun memories.  It's like you really expect and have to have a picture of a child not liking Santa. 

I don't have any small children anymore to get pictures sitting on Santa's lap. Even though I am sure my adult kids would be more than happy to sit on Santa's lap if they would be guaranteed the gift they asked for!

But, I did have fun taking pictures of our "child-like" "house-pet" dog.  But, without Santa. Sorry they are blurry. But I'm holding cell phone camera with one hand and holding her down with the other.

This one she is barking at me.

  This one I was bribing her with a treat.

Here she is finally getting use to the idea. But she wouldn't look at me.

Merry Christmas!

gin

Happy Thanksgiving

God is good. God is great. Thank You for the food you give. Thank You for the birds that sing. Thank you God for everything. Amen.
This is the blessing we said as children at our table every meal. And we said the same blessing with our children as they were growing up.

Another blessing I repeat occasionally is:

Bless my little kitchen Lord, I love it's every nook.
Bless me as I do my work, wash pots and pans and cook.
May  the meals that I prepare be seasoned from above,
with Thy blessing and Thy grace, but most of all Thy love.
As we partake of earthly food, The table before us spread,
We’ll not forget to thank Thee, Lord, Who gives us daily bread.
Bless my little kitchen Lord, and those who enter in,.
May they find nought but joy and peace,
and happiness therein.

This blessing is one I memorized at a very early age. It was written on a plaque hanging in my grandma's kitchen.  I can't count the number of times I read it over and over and over. And it has been embedded in my memory. I even say it sometimes as the blessing at our table.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

gin

I must

..move on to fall. Have I ever told you that I love summer the best! Well, I must give it up, because Thanksgiving is here. I love Thanksgiving, so that"s when I start my fall.

I've said goodbye to my roses (even though they are still blooming) and saying hello to all the leaves that have fallen and to the cooler temperature. Not much has changed with the seasons, because there is still plenty of yard work to do.

The Thanksgiving Holiday - where you have family and friends over, and your go visit family and friends. Four days of travel for everyone to and fro.

A week to spend some time relaxing, playing, doing what you like to do best.

 

It's gonna be a good week!

gin

Giveaway

Like the best of both worlds --  dine and/or shop?  Go here and visit her awesome blog and sign up for her giveaway!!

gin

Enchanted Friends

These are my little enchanted forest friends Christmas ornaments that I made for an Enchanted Forest Christmas Ornament Swap. Can you quess what they are?

Notice the cute little ornamanet hangers they are hanging from. I made them for her too.

Even my wild holly trees in my enchanted forest were beginning to show their berries and made a cute place to hang them for their picture while they sport their little Santa hats.

gin

True Story

My exercise regimen consists of walking 3 miles a a day every morning or afternoon in this wilderness where the houses are few and far between.  There is a little country church down the road with 1 house between our house and the church. I walk past the church, turn around, and walk back to our house to make my 3 miles.

On one particular evening, I spotted something green lying on top of the tall weeds along the roadside. I am a fast walker. I made a quick turn around and went back and there was a 100 dollar bill laying on top of the grass/weeds. It was a crisp, un-folded, no creases in it bill. Of course I swiped it up, looked around, and put it in my pocket.  I began breathing harder, thoughts racing through my head "did any one see me?" " is this a counterfeit?" "could there be more?" O course there is no one around for miles, and no sound of any vehicles coming my way.  It could well be counterfeit. And hopefully there is a lot more.

Undoubtedly it had to have blown out of a car window as some one was counting their money as they were speeding down the road.  I just knew there should be more laying around. I enlarged my walk/search area to over in the ditch, thinking, rather knowing, some bills could have, must have blown a little further over.  I even went a little further down each way than my normal walk, trying to find MORE.

It was getting dusk, so I walked on home. I went in the kitchen door and locked it behind me. And began to whisper the story to husband.  I didn't know if someone had followed me and I surely didn't want any one else to know where my treasure spot is.

Husband was surprised that I even found one $100 bill. And just told me I was lucky. And there was probably no more laying around.  But, this could lead to my new job -- being a money finder.

Just think if I could find one of these every day or even one a week! That would be a pleasureable job to have.

gin

Some people are so sweet

There are so many wonderful people we meet thru blogs. And they all are so sweet. Their blogs are so interesting. If you are like me, you just can't wait to see what they are up to next. And some are so giving. They love to share and have giveaways. And Doris is all of this at crocheting in georgia.

Also check out her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SturmDM

I won this book on Doris' giveaway recently.

.

I enjoyed looking thru it and see so many things I can't wait to make. Like this:

This is roses and flowers out of lace.  How pretty.  And this:

Dainty tissue holders, pj holders, and soft pretty hangers.

There are also chirstening gown with lace for babies and other cute little things for children. And pretty other  pieces with lace. And last but not least, she sent a crocheted snowflake bookmark. Very pretty.

What great gifts I received.  Thank you so much Doris. I'm loving it.

gin

Remember when

We celebrated our 35 wedding anniversary last week. No picture because husband does not want his picture plastered all over www.

Just to pharaphase:
Remember when we were young. Thought all we needed ws love.
We lived and learned. There was joy and there was hurt.
Loved ones died and new ones born. Life was changed, dissasembled, rearranged.
The sound of little feet were music we danced to week to week.
Thirty seemed so old. Now lookin' back it was just a stepping stone to where we are, where we've been. We said we'd do it all again.
When the children grow up and mve away, we won't be sad, we'll be glad for all the life we've had.
Remember when.

I love this Allen Jackson's song Remember When. It's on my music playlist on my side bar.
It tells the story of us.  Even tho the words sound good, I still miss the good ole'days.  But these days are just as good, but in a different way.

gin

Happy Birthday Trent

Another year has flown by. Trent made 24 today.  And he's the baby.
We celebrated eating out at Don's, had Baskin & Robbins ice cream cake, a ton of presents, and a lot of fun.

Where does the time go!.

Wishing you a great day and many more.

Love, Mom & Dad, Jennifer, Brandon, Julie

Beautifully spooky

I don't know how else to describe this except beautifully spooky! I received a package today from Amy in the Spooks Rattles Pots and Pans Apron Swap.

The apron is a shimmery orange with orange and black plaid ties.


A spooky skull tote bag. A bag of candy corn. And she made some fabric note cards for me.
It is all so cute. Thank you Amy, I like it all.

gin

Safari Baby

A wild safari baby he's gonna be. A friend of Jennifer's at her work asked me to make a safari theme baby quilt for her sister-in-law's baby shower. She wanted greens, browns, yellows, and orange. I finally found some fabric after searching for 2 weeks.

With lions, tigers, girrafs, elephants, and monkeys.


And the backing is a match print to the front panel.

It's a perfect baby safari print!! And nice comfy cozy.

I have some extra fabric and extra time to make a few accessories for the new baby too. Like a hanging bag with pockets to hold baby stuff - powder, lotions, comb, brush, etc.

gin

Try these

Try these easy cake recipes. I'm going to make them this week.

Dump Cake
1 stick butter
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple
1 pkg yellow cake mix

Dump cherry pie filling in bottom of baking dish or pan
Dump crushed pineapple on top
Dump dry cake mix on top of fruits, kind of crumbling all over
Melt 1 stick of butter and pour over top
Bake 375 for 45 minutes
Cool Cut Serve

You can use an angel food pan or spring form pan -- then cool 5-10 minutes and Dump onto cake plate.

The Thing Cake
Preheat over to 350. Grease 9x13 pan
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter or margarine
1 egg

Mix together. Mixture will be thick. Spread into pan.

Then take
8 oz cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
2 eggs
Mix well and pour over cake mixture in pan.
Bake 45 minutes.

Courtesy of Sherry.
Enjoy!

gin

Happy Halloween #2

Also, I completed my project for the Spooks Rattles Pots and Pans swap. It was to make a halloween apron to send.
I used this pumpkin spice fabric (that's the real name of the fabric), really cute. Lined it with a tiny orange checked fabric. Made a double pocket all the way across the bottom and appliqued a whimsy witch cut from fabric. Added this so cute orange/black spider web ribbon. Sure to make any witch happy to wear.

And instead of a traditional witch's hat, this witch will be wearing a witch's black rose and ribbon hairband. And I sent her a flask of edible bones for her brew and a cute bat serving plate.
I hope she likes it.

gin

Happy Halloween

I participated in a Halloween witches cupboard swap
I absolutely love my package I received. Thank you Sherry.
Witch's stew mix. So clever -- candy eyeballs, suckers, and other halloween candy, and plastic skulls, rats, spiders and stuff.
And pickled people. Instructions -- add green colored water to jar of skeletons.
My own witch's cookbook. Sherry did a fanstastic job making the the recipe book. I'm going to try the recipes.
And there are witch's family photos -- a family of demons with green eyes!! And fall popouri included! And the crocheted spider web with a spider on it!!!

And to my person I sent this:
One black witch's cat. It's not your typical Hello Kitty who is usually pink, white, cuddly and cute. But a black, arched back, crooked tail hello kitty who's been hanging 'round out back. Yes I made the cat.
And some witch's spices for her brew. A dash of spider, pinch of bat, stick of bone, and crawly creatures. Some pumpkin stones, eerie hands, halloween candy, and a witch's dishtowel. I hope she likes it all.

gin

Something New

We had to do this today. We had no choice and couldn't think about it twice. So we are gone shopping.
We got up this morning and the fridge was on the blink. Constantly running, kept hearing a drip, drip, drip. Couldn't be fixed. I don't know if I was excited or sad. Excited to get a brand new modern 21st century refrig or sad to have to spend that much money.

But since we had no choice, here it is.Now, you are asking yourself why didn't she get the new stainless still look? Well, I was going too, then I changed my mind, then I chose the stainless still again, then not. Decisions, decisions -- didn't know which to choose. The pros would be 1) stainless still is the most popular, 2) stainless steel looks fabulous; 3) everybody has the stainless steel or wants it. The cons would be 1) all my other appliances are new and they are white, 2) stainless steel takes a little more money 3) my kitchen is not a stainless still match.

So, after a few phone calls to see what "they" would choose, I choose white. Even though my phone consultations were split between white, black and stainless.
Jennifer was there when we brought it home. So I insisted she help me load the new one up with the stuff from the old one. She didn't mind, she just said "tell me in advance when ya'll are in work mode around here." We kind of catagorized the shelves. Like in the freezer - one shelf for chicken, one for beef, one for pork, one for veggies, one for desserts. one for misc. And the same for the fridge side.

Now, I love home magazine pictures. They are just so "perfect". So now I want my refrig to always look like this:
Or this:

In the end it is a good investment and I do like it.

It's the side by side, fridge on one side, freezer on the other, ice and water dispenser on door, nice, nice. I know, I know it's just a fridge!

And I'm trying to keep up with Brandon and Julie. They got a brand new stainless steel fridge last weekend! Theirs is gorgeous (as gorgeous as a fridge can be).

gin

One True Football Fan ......

One lucky TIGER sent me this picture of the LSU game in person in Washington played this weekend.

I knew she was on vacation in Seattle, Oregon, and CA and she had shown and told a lot of the places they were going and what they would be doing. But she didn't even mention this. I was surprised to say the least when I got this picture via cell camera.

Just a picture. No text, no words, no nothing! But then, the picture says it all and I didn't need any text. I knew she was there and cheering on the tigers.

I did text her back "U lucky tiger, U!!!!!

See all the purple there. I thought there sure are a lot of LSU fans there. But I find out that Washington is also purple.

Go here to check out her vacation story before they actually left on vacation. Even though I know it was her husband's idea to attend the game. But why not, since you're already there, and your vacation was already scheduled around the date and location. Go figure! It couldn't have worked out better. Wish I was there!

And of course, LSU won!!!!!!!!
gin

Yarnigras' witches brew!

Join Yarnigras Witches Cupboard Swap and have some Halloween Fun.
Hurry up, sign-up ends September 5th. gin

The Destroyer

How does this sweet innocent little face . . . . . . .
turn into this destructive wild thing?

I see toilet paper scattered everywhere. . . hair equipment cord on the floor . . . and looks like that's not all. Molly is left alone all day while Jennifer is at work. She is usually put in her doggie house because she is known to be a destroyer at times. But some magical way she opens her doggie house door and escapes. And this is what Jennifer comes home to on occasion. Never really knowing what she will find when she gets home. And never really knowing if Molly escaped her doggie house during the day.

Memo to Molly: sometimes we just don't need to come home to a messy house at 5pm. We may have company, you know!


gin

It's a Party

Barb at Vista Bella is hosting
"Show Us Your Roosters" Blog Party.

So come on in and see my Roosters on display.

This pretty pair sit perched up on a top cabinet
in front of a magnolia picture.

I can even serve up some dessert
in my hand painted Rooster dessert plates.
There are only 2 but they make a cute dish
for serving up a morning breakfast
with a nice hot cup of coffee .

I took at look at my line-up of cookbooks.
Aand to my surprise I have a Rooster cookbook,
"Feeding the Flock".

Thank you for stopping by.
Go here to check out the other rooster parties going on.

gin

All washed up

A hot summer August day, working up a sweat, running here and there. We are drinking water, running water, using water constantly all day.

Trent's home. He's got a dirty truck, with a truck load of dirty laundry.
He's washing his truck inside and out. And I'm washing the laundry.

Molly also dropped by with Jennifer. She needs a bath, too. So in the tub she goes. She comes out so clean, fluffy, and smelly good!
We gotta eat you know. Then there's a sink of dirty dishes to wash.

Stop and think how much water a household uses in one day. It's just non stop, if you are actually doing something around the house. Our water is not measured by a water bill. We have a private water well. So I feel like "free" water all day. Even though Larry tells me it cost electricity to run the pump, that pulls the water from the ground, that fills the water tank that supplies the kitchen and the bathroom and the outside faucets. Ok, don't use the water unnecessary is the moral to this.

But, with the 3 hurricanes swirling out there, we should definitely have no shortage of water in the ground.

gin

Water globes

They really work! You've seen them on tv, you've seen them on coupon mailer advertisements, and in specialty catalogs. Well, I was gifted a set. And I must say I am impressed and I need more.

First, they are very pretty. Such a colorful. dainty, hand blown, glass object. I tried them and I liked them.
Since I only had 2 to begin with, I bought 2 more. I had to choose the plants to save thru this drought of a 101 degree summer. So I choose this plant as one. Don't know the name right off, but this plant is like 8 years old. I'm serious, it is that old. I worked at a plant nursery by my house for a couple summers 8 years ago and I salvaged this plant from the dumpster. Some winters it died really bad, but came back in the spring. I have taken runners off and started new plants from it.

So this is it during this hot summer with the water globe down in the plant. You can't even see the water globe now.

Just fill the water globe, carefully stick in the soil, and forget watering it for about 5-10 days, depending on the weather.

All the plants I used the water globes with flourished thru out the hot weather. I didn't even think about watering them. They never even looked droopy dry. I would just pass them up with the water hose and just water those that did not have a water globe. And practically everyday they had to be watered.

And none of my glass water globes are broken either. To me that is a miracle. I will definitely get more!!!

Fill it, Stick it, and Forget it!!

gin

Give away

Barb at Bella Vista is having a fantastic giveaway. Plus she has a great blog. Go visit and sign up. I'll try not to cry if you win instead of me. She also has a cute party coming up soon too. Her give-aways are in this picture I borrowed from her.
gin

Happy Birthday Dear Ol ' Dad

88 years young today! My what a good age that is. My what great health you have. My what a big family you have.

My dad, Dempsey.He is the oldest of 10 children. He has 4 children: Cheryl, Peggy, Me, and Travis. 6 grandkids, and extended family in the grandkids spouses and grandchildren.
He likes politics (local, state, and federal). He keeps up with all the news. He reads his Bible daily. And he has no end to entertainment from the kids and grandkids in and out. Sometimes he can have a pretty hectic day. Also a granddaughter has the same birthday, Happy Birthday Aimee'.

(me on the right in white)
gin