Patience...

Yesterday found the girls and I at the fabric store looking for some goodies to create with.

It felt like ages since we had been there, looking through all the gorgeous colors and prints.

It felt good to just go through the store, see all that eye candy and get our fill of things.

They girls have been pleading for a few summer dresses and as of yet, nothing.

So we looked through the patterns.

They both settled on the same pattern.

Something with gathers, layers and flowing summery fun.

Then we went looking for just the right fabric.

One had to have something purple.

And the other had to have something pink.

I think they made fine choices.  Of course I had to put my opinion in, just a wee bit, but still let them be independent with their choices.

Brenna went all pink, while Em decided to mix a couple of colors in her choice.

I could not resist making some choices of my own once I found these lovelies.

The two grabbed me and would not let go.  So off I was to find another color to go with them.

I think the blue will look great them for a second dress for each girl.

I have not sewn for the longest time and it really feels great in a way to dig every thing out to begin these new creations.

The long wait at the cutting area was so worth it.

And the girls were so good about patiently waiting for their picks to get cut.

There were some interesting little conversations going on amongst the 3 of us while waiting.

Especially from the wee one.  

You just have to smile and wonder how they come up with their thoughts.

I will be finishing this lovely today.

An absolute must.

Once I find just the right edging to put on it.

It's been washed and is waiting for the white edging that will make it just perfect.

I had to make sure that there wouldn't be any bleeding from the red onto the gorgeous crisp white when finished.

Then there will be some soothing, happy time with all those pretty fabrics.

I'm so glad that there are no plans to leave the house for the next few days.

Some good ole' sewing going on with some gorgeous fabrics.

I feel like skipping around from all the giddiness.

More pretties...

First off...

Thanks to all my bloggy friends for the birthday wishes!  You guys are awesome!
Absolutely wonderful!

Friday was a great day with the family.

Great food, 

simple family time 

and some pretty great cards from my crew.

Always heartfelt and some rather funny.

Case in point, the one from Brendon.

I swear he must have the ones he picks out special made.

Whenever someone in this family gets me laughing so hard that I can barely breath, I always tell them to stop before I pee my pants.  You know, laughing so hard tears are rolling down your face.

Brendon said he just couldn't resist this heartfelt piece of art just for dear ole' Mom once he saw it.

Both pies are gone.  There was nothing left after Saturday.

I must tell you that the recipe makes 2 pies.  The pic in the last post was the pic from the recipe site.

There is no way that mine would look anything like the recipe pic nor would I have the time to pretty things up like that with my crew drooling all over waiting to dig into them.

Just not worth the time you know.

We went to the antique "mall" again yesterday.

All of my "dream" pieces were still there, waiting for me to come up with large sums of cash so I could take them home.  I'm afraid they may have to wait longer than they think.

But there were a few little pretties that were much more reasonable that found there way into my hands and back at the house.

All together $12 spent.

The cute little colander is now a cute little planter out back, with some bright cheery blooms in it.

I was home no more than 5 minutes when I was placing coffee filters along the inside to keep the dirt in and putting the little plant in it's new home.  

Love it!!!

Then there was the small "child's chamber pot" that everyone was mortified that I even touched.  That soon will become a planter out back.  It will have to wait until the next trip to the garden center to find just the right plant to put in it.  Glenn and the kids think I'm a few sandwiches short of a picnic with all the ideas I have lately for planters.  Believe me, there is more to come.  Why keep using those boring, plastic things that just have no character to them.  Not for me anymore.  My crew is worried that I will clear out the kitchen and everything we use in there will be sitting out in the yard some where.

Then the last little find is the little white pitcher that is sitting in my craft room right now, patiently waiting for me to decide what kind of "job" it will be taking up soon.  I have to think about that one for a bit and see how it speaks to me.

There has been some pleasant hooking going on through out the weekend.

Some more dishcloths (24) were made to sell at Julie's shop and then a wonderful red piece was started so that it can find a home with a dear friend in a couple of days.

(red heart creme de la creme, bowl of cherries)

I'm kind of making it up as I go, so who knows how it will look in the end.

I will show pics though when it is finished.

Well, off to attempt to do my yoga this morning.  The ankle is feeling much better, so we will see how it holds up.  There won't be much outside stuff accomplished here today and tomorrow due to the intense heat we are suppose to have.  Near 100F!  Not happy about that one bit.  Dinner is even in the crock pot as we speak.  The windows are open for now to let in all the cool morning air in.  But that will end in about an hour.  Plus there are so many mosquitoes out right now that you can't go out anytime of the day without them swarming all over you.  It's so bad!

So inside things will have to do for now.

 I got a gift card from Joann's for my birthday that may have to be used tomorrow, early in the day.

Here's to a FAB week!

Toodleloo!!!

It all about me...

well at least today!!!

I'm going to enjoy a quiet, lovely day with the girls and then when Glenn gets home there will be some yummy bbq chicken, baked potatoes, veggies and then...

some yummy 

Creamy Lemonade Pie!

All for my birthday today!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Not taking things too seriously...

Since last weekend things around here have been pretty relaxed.

Trying not to take things too serious.

Just letting things happen.

There's been lots of creating with Ello sets,

picking the right pieces,

watching where you step in the bedroom.

Heavens knows you don't want to be "Godzilla" and completely trounce all over a town and all the little people you know.

There's been some "camping" going on around here with the girls and I.

Safely on the deck, away from sprinklers that go off in the middle of the night and other things that wander in the night.

There will be no more sharing one big air mattress for all three of us.

Everyone will have their own for now on.

You have to love little ones moving and shifting, making you feel like you are on a trampoline in the middle of the night.  Not.

It was nice listening to the frogs and bugs and hearing the girls talk about how beautiful the night sky looked with the light fading at night.  Feeling the light breezes go through the tent.

We will surely be doing more of that in the near future.

After it cools down just a smidge.

I was not happy about the 93 degrees F we had yesterday.

Awful!

I've been enjoying my flower boxes on the deck with all the wonderful yellow and purples blooming all over.

We are getting a second showing from the little yellow daisies, which are FAB!

There has been a few new dishcloths made with some really snappy colors.

Nothing like bright pretties to liven up dull kitcheny jobs you know.

I've finally been thinking about what projects I can do with these lovely little books I got back in February.  Can you believe they have been sitting around waiting for me to make up my mind.

Quite sad.

I've got some ideas.

I'm just waiting for some yarn that is backordered in 3 shades that are quite important to the creation I would like to attempt.

Hopefully it won't be much longer.

Not sure if I can be patient much longer.

Complete torture.

Em found a wonderful little book at the bookstore last weekend.

Very cute little critters in here.  I'm hoping she will get a few done.  Soon.

Sometimes she gets side tracked with new ideas and things don't always get done when she says they will.  We will see if I can keep reminding her to stay on track with her "schedule" for creating.  There may be a few (10) animals taking up residence here if Brenna has control over the "list".

My favorite little guy, for whatever reason, is this lovely little bit of brightness.

He would look awesome in all kinds of bright colors!

Well, off for some bits of yard work before the heat kicks in this afternoon.

Then it will be back inside where it is comfy.

And helping with a Creamy Lemonade Pie for tomorrow.

More on that...

tomorrow! 

Toodles for now!!

Bright and cheery days...

It's been pretty nice around these parts the past few days.

The weather has been great, although a bit cooler than usual.

I'm not complaining, no sir.

We are still able to have the windows open all day to enjoy all the fresh air.

No complaints here.

On Glenn's day off we went to one of our favorite little places in town to enjoy nature.

The MK Nature Center.

There were fishes to be seen, all sizes.

Beautiful trout.

(sorry for the flash)

There was even some new sturgeon that were added to the pond to look at.

Brenna seems to think she needs one of her own, and she would put it in the tub to swim around.

Yeah.  They have been known to get 20ft long.  Not sure that would fit.

She named the biggest one of the 3 we saw.  Freddy Joe is his name now.

Don't ask.

Then we moseyed over to the wildflower garden to enjoy all the colorful blooms.

There was one surprise visitor.

I didn't have time to run or jump to get away from the dude.

When you have a bum ankle one must just stand still and take whatever comes to them.

At least I didn't scream like a complete fool.

I was totally grossed out though.

There were two deer wandering around munching on leaves.  Only one stayed around for us to look at.  The other one was a scaredy cat and wandered off somewhere else.

It's kind of neat to see wildlife just wandering around in town, looking for tasty little munchies.

Then there was a quick detour to go see how high the river was flowing.

Fast and furious.  Way too dangerous.

But wouldn't you know that there have been some "real winners" who have already tried to float the river this year and nearly drowned.  Not too bright.

Back at the home front...

there was some major cleaning to be done in the craft room on the desk.

Simply awful.

It's all nice to share things with the girls, but there are times when things just get out of hand when two little people get a wee bit lazy about putting things back where they belong and then I get to where I don't want to be around it all.

I had to put the foot down and order an all out declutter and cleaning.

Then some things could actually get done.

Like a very quick sewing project.

To make a newly spray painted basket look great!

I'm liking the blue alot better than the dreadful dark brown it was.

Then there has been some bright little crochet bits created.

Loving that!

More of that happening the next few days as I'm keeping the daily schedule to an absolute bare minimum.

Today has a few extra special things planned on the girls schedule. 

They are making Glenn some yummy treats for his birthday today and planning dinner and helping with that.

He's pretty darn lucky because every year he gets two special days, right near each other, of his very own to enjoy.

Birthday and Father's day.

You can bet there will be some burgers and brats grilling on Sunday.

His favorite things.

Must be off to try to accomplish something today while I'm able to move around with no problem.

Here's wishing all the Dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day!

You deserve every minute of it!!!!

Some slowing down...

Again.

The weekend wasn't as quiet as I would have liked.

Errands were accomplished.

Like getting a few necessities from the grocery store, 

mailing Mom's birthday present off,

(I ran out of wrapping paper, so I used some bright, cheery fabric that was sitting around)

a quick stop at Julie's to pick up some flowers for the weekend.

Then after saying I wasn't going to go down the hill to watch the parade,

I got the puppy eyes from two little girls.

Then dear ole' Dad had to add to the guilt trip about memories of summer, yada, yada, yada...

So Saturday found us sitting along the road in town, in front of Julie's shop.

Eating sandwiches,

watching the old cars,

(Em's favorite.  It's purple.  Brenna wants a pink one.)

trying to spread the joy of flowers with others

and waiting for all those fire trucks and water trucks to hose "you" down and become one big wet mess.

Notice who wasn't right up in range of the water.

It wasn't happening.

At least the girls had fun hanging out with Julie's daughter, trying to convince whoever was on the trucks to soak them until they looked like they jumped in a pool.

It funny to watch and hear them squeal when the streams of water came their way.

Silly girls.

To say the least, everyone was tuckered out and called it a day early in the evening.

But then Sunday was a busy day again after we realized that there were some repairs to be made to the sprinklers in the garden area.  Apparently when preparing the garden, a few holes were poked into the line that feeds the garden.  One would think that the lines would be buried just a wee bit deeper, but not this one.  I just shook my head at another one of those moments of "did they know what they were doing".  I have to wonder at times about the people who did things around here before we bought the house.  I swear I have my moments when I think that buying a preexisting home is not a good idea.

So after a wee bit of digging, going to the hardware store to get a few more pieces of sprinkler parts, a wee bit of yard work, there was just some good ole' sitting on the back patio watching the birds and enjoying the breeze.  Then after a bit there were a few people calling an end to the day early again.

I'm hoping for a much quieter next couple of days here.  My ankle needs it and the poor little baby blanket needs some more attention paid to it.
Cross your fingers.

At a snail's pace...

I'm still moving slow around here.  Luckily there hasn't been too much to do around here the past few days. I was debating on if to show a pic of the 'ole ankle, but why in the world would you want to see the purpley bruised up mess.  It's gross.  It's looking better than yesterday, but still gross.  I'm still a bit bummed about not being able to work in the yard this week like I planned.  Crossing the fingers for next week though.  Glenn doesn't like that idea at all.

I have some errands that REALLY need to get done today so I'm trying to plan them with the quickest execution route so I'm not walking around too much.  It must be done today because there is NO way I will be leaving the house tomorrow and getting anywhere near town down the hill from the house.  It is Fun Days time again and I do not enjoy the mad house that it all becomes.  The wet 'n wild parade gets way out of hand and too many times parents get way out of control and start to push kids around to get at the fire dept's trucks during the water fights.  Insane.  There is no way that you can move around in town because of all the people.  And there is NO way you will find me anywhere near the rocky mountain oyster feed.  Beyond disgusting.

So we will wait patiently for the next weekend to enjoy the farmers market again.  Quiet and simple.  Just how it should be.

Remember good things come to those who wait.

:)

On more happy things, there is one little one who is just pleased as punch that she can read

Green Eggs and Ham all by herself.

She even had to call Mom last night to read to her.

We will surely have to go get our own copy instead of borrowing from the library again.

Who knows why we never did that before with the other two peeps.

She is getting to be a "big" girl way too fast for me at times.

Case in point...

Brenna went out with the camera the other day to take pics of things she liked in the back yard.  It was very interesting to see things (many pics) that caught her eye and to see them at her level.  It's nice to sit back and let your little ones "show" you how they see things so you can appreciate their look on life.

It just never dawned on me that this is how she sees the little bucket of flowers.  Hopefully they will bloom more so she can have some more color to look at.

She's been my little nurse around here the past few days.  She doesn't let me make a move without being right next to me.  Just in case I need to lean on someone.  The stairs are off limits without her also.  She also makes sure I've been wearing my ankle brace for support.  It's helped some.

You gotta love that little sweet pea.  

Love that little freckle face.

So while I was sitting around the desk yesterday (as I was told to do), playing around with the yarn, I came up with these...

Just a couple of new hot pads to brighten up the kitchen.

I'm still trying to decide which circle is best as far as how many stitches you start with.  It's a bit of a dilemma you know because you want the circles to lay flat without having to fidget with them all the time. Once again there are lots of ideas running around my head.

It's a complete mess up there.  :)

I have to get some blanket time in some time this weekend though.  So I think all those random ideas will have to wait.  There's been alot of note taking going on here so I don't forget what I came up with.  It's tough getting all befumbled up there.

Well, must be off.  Things won't get done unless I started hobbling around you know.

Here's to a FAB weekend and to temps being a tad warmer.  :)  It's going to be in the 70's with sun!!

Woo Hoo!!!!!

Hobbling around...

Thanks to everyone for all the warm wishes of getting better.

I'm starting to get around a little better today.  Yesterday wasn't too bad.  Alot better than Tuesday I must say.  Just picture me crawling up and down the stairs and everywhere in the house just to get somewhere because I couldn't put weight on my foot.

Interesting to say the least.  Not pretty by any means.

At least with all the kicking back the last two days I was able to get the shawl finished.

Pretty darn pleased with myself!

It turned out to be quite awesome as my model is showing it off.

I have a couple of orders in for one from two little people that reside with me.

That usually happens.

6 skeins of Red Heart Heart & Sole yarn

G hook

Half granny square pattern

That's all it is.  Very easy peasy!

I did change things a wee bit to my liking from the original pattern I was going to use.

Give me a couple of days and I will post pics and instructions on how I made it.

I was able to stand long enough yesterday in the late afternoon in the kitchen so that I could make some blueberry cobbler. It's the best!

Very easy to make.  You can throw it together in minutes!

Just make sure you have vanilla ice cream on hand.  :)

Here's what you need:

1/2 cup butter

1 c all purpose flour

1 c sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 c milk

4 cup fresh or frozen fruit, whatever you like

1 tbsp of lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

Here is what you do:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees (f).

Take a 13" X 9" pan and place the butter in it ( I cut it into pieces to melt faster) and then place pan in the oven to melt the butter.  It won't take long, so watch it.

While that is melting, mix the flour, 3/4c of the sugar, the milk, baking powder and salt together until everything is mixed together.

Then in another bowl, mix your fruit, lemon juice, 1/4c of sugar and cinnamon together.

When the butter is melted, take the pan out of the oven, pour the batter right over the melted butter.  Do not stir the batter and butter together. 

Take your fruit mixture and pour that over the batter.  Do not stir this into the batter either.

Just leave it lay on top.

Bake for 40-45 mins or until golden brown.

Eat it warm or cool.

I better get my tail moving.

I still have to work on the baby blanket after getting a few more chores done.

I must keep busy, even when taking it easy with the ankle you know.

Slowing down...

There won't be much going on around here for the next few days.

Late yesterday afternoon I thought it would be really great to go and sprain my ankle.

Yeah, I'm weird like that.

All I was trying to do was finish planting my onions and strawberries.  One wrong step coming out of the garden area and down I went.  Glenn was out there with me and he heard the pop.  Needless to say he had me inside in a flash putting my foot in a ice bath.  Good thing because just the minute that it took him to get me inside, it looked like I a had a tennis ball where my ankle should be.  Because of the ice bath, there is literally no bruising.  Thank goodness.  Just sore and tender.  Can't walk much without it aching afterwards. 

So you know what that means.  Some good 'ole yarn time with the foot up.  What an awful day it's going to be.  :)  No sense in wasting an opportunity I say!  I have to take advantage of all the yarn time I can you know.

Glenn has already called several times this morning to see how I'm doing because he knows I will probably try to over do things.  Not today.  Glenn and the girls made sure last night that my to-do list was taken care of.  I'd be in so much trouble if I didn't have my wonderful peeps.

  

 To tell the truth, I am bummed that I can't get out and work in the front yard like I wanted to.  I've got so much I want to do out there.

Maybe by the weekend when it warms up again.

Today we are suppose to be in the upper 70's with lots of sun

Awesome!

Tomorrow, low 60's and rain.

For the next 3 days.

More yarn time!

How could one complain?

I'm not.

Until I try to walk that is.

So far...

this weekend has been pretty good around this little place of mine.

Late Friday afternoon, not so much.

This is what we were dealing with, going over our house about 2:30 or so.  

Yes, funnel clouds.  Thank goodness the 4 or 5 that made themselves present around the area never touched the ground.

We never have that kind of weather here.  And better yet, there were no warnings at all.  

That's how prepared we are for them.  I had to call Glenn on his phone and ask him what things looked like from his vantage point on his route when things got a little weird at the house.  He can see the hills and area where we live.

To say the least, he said it didn't look good.  So the girls and I were waiting to make a move to hunker down if need be.  Luckily it passed quickly but it freaked us out.

The photo below isn't ours, off of the news channel site, but it is very close to what Glenn saw in our direction.

Anyways, on to more pleasant things.

Yesterday found the girls and I down at the farmers market looking for goodies to buy.

Not a lot of produce yet.

But the girls found their favorite honey stand and picked out lots of flavored honey sticks to enjoy.

I'd show you pics of those, but there are none left to take pics of.

Maybe next time I can remember to move faster and snap a few before the girls scarf them all down.

I had to pick up a big jug of the wonderful raw honey myself and then found a new bottle of bbq sauce that is made here locally.  YUMMY!!!

It was a wonderful 31/2 hours of just walking around and checking things out.  I'm so glad that we live just up the hill from where all this happens every Saturday.

Then there was a quick trip to Julie's shop for a few blooms.

Gorgeous!

I absolutely love these peonies!

I can't wait until I start seeing blooms on my plants.

Then after some grass cutting and a wee bit of other bits of yard work, painting the other two piggies, there was some yarn time after dinner.

The shawl is coming along just lovely, if I do say so myself.

Another day or two of work and it should be finished.

Well, off to have some breakfast and enjoy the wonderful morning we have here today.

61 degrees, windows open, listening to all the birds, fresh air after an early morning rain.

What else could I want.

Not much.

For now.  :}

Some "new" old stuff...

A few days ago while at the store, the girls found some polka dot plants for themselves that they could not live without.  After picking out just the right ones, not too green and just the right amount of pink on the leaves, the girls needed to get pots that they would fit in.  That was a whole new problem in itself.  Where do you find a pink and purple pots?  No where to be found.  And I'm not paying an arm and a leg for two small pots.  So this is what was decided...

You go pick out the right size, small plastic pot ($1).

Then you go and pick out a can of this, in the right color of course.($3 & some cents)

And after a few coats and a little waiting, this is what you have.

Ta Da!!

Perfectly colored pots for each girl.

Gumdrop purple and Fairytale Pink.

All is good now.

Then of course that got me thinking of a few things in the back yard that just totally creep me out.  So of course we went back to the hardware store for a few more colors for a few pieces of "junk".

A really gross chair, plus a few more like it.

And one crummy looking "white" table.

Now look like this.

Lots better!

I really like the colors!

Of course there is a Fairytale Pink chair.

One Gumdrop Purple chair.

One Blue Hyacinth chair.

And one Honeydew Green table.

Awesome!

There are a couple of more chairs to do.

But they will have to wait until we find just the right colors for them.

I saw on the Krylon site that they have a color called Watermelon.

That might be a possibility.  Now I just have to look for it or just have the hardware store order it for me.

I'm thinking it will just be ordered.  Don't want to run all over the area for one color that might not be there.  No.  Not happening.

So those chairs will have to wait to be seen.

Then after all that "new" stuff, there were a couple of wood table tops that were done a nice 

Buttercream Yellow.  You can see those in the pic with the plants.  

Then last but not least for the day,  there were a few critters that needed a face lift of sorts.

They were looking a little too shabby to be hanging around the yard.

So a couple of coats later...

And they are looking very dashing!

We have to work on the other two piggies that have small cracks on them.

Then they will be ready for their new look.

It's raining all day here today.

So for now everything sits under the patio so that the paint can cure a bit.

Don't want to ruin all that hard work.

Can't wait to have all that nice "new" stuff brightening up the yard soon!