My bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

I'm heading out tomorrow to spend some time with my BFF. Earl calls her TFF (Trouble from Florida:>) He's just kidding, although she is one of those friends that you can really let your hair down with. Feisty, funny, a real stinker. That's what I love about her. So I'll be gone for the rest of the week. hopefully digging my toes into some sand and hitting Disney World for the first time ever!

Aren't these bags cute? You wouldn't have any trouble spotting them at the airport that's for sure. Oh and, you all want to know who won my give away don't you? Well, It's Sue from Rue Moufftard! Congratulations Sue!
I'll miss you the rest of the week but we'll all catch up later right? Have a great week!

End of Day...

It is 6:45 p.m. and I can't help but notice the light fading already. It has been a cool, grey day but even that doesn't account for the gloaming I see outside. I love Autumn, but summers light, oh how I will miss it! So I am getting ready to curl up and enjoy my Saturday evening. The bread is baked (6 loaves of honey wheat, I shared one warm with our neighbor:>),
Earl's favorite candle is lit. Cinnabon Caramel Pecanbon. Mmmm, it smells like a bakery!

The kitchen is clean and there is a pot of chicken stock simmering on the stove.

I have cut out some more heart and home pillows, although I just don't know if I will get them finished and listed before I leave for Florida tuesday. I hope you don't mind. I will try but the days are flying past! I will make time to announce the winner of the giveaway pillow Monday morning!

And now I have my mug of coffee on this chilly night (decaf of course!) and I am ready to get "Lost in Austen" with Victoria. She and I are huge Jane Austen fans. Earl, not so much. He has a book to read though so he will be cozy too:>)

And now I'm off to watch the movie. Work is finished and it's kick back and relax time. I hope you have a relaxing weekend too:>)

A little House

I sketched this design in Sunday School this week. Naughty me, I was listening, really I was, but I had a pen and paper in front of me and, well, there you have it. My gift to you. This is my give away and I think it is especially appropriate. The heart shape to symbolize love and the little house as a recognition of where most of our hearts lie. At home.
I thought Black and white would work in most homes and I love how it turned out. I put a band of the sweetest black and white Anna Griffin Toile on the side and used my own hand made cording to trim the front. I need to brush up on my embroidery skills, Lord, It's been years since I embroidered, another thing my dear grandmother taught me as a little girl, but I think I am happy with the way it turned out for now:>) I used some vintage buttons from grandmothers stash for the flowers too. Just a dash of my fave color to spark things up. So leave a comment, in fact if you are a follower, leave a comment telling me that too for another chance to win! I will announce the winner Next Monday the 24th.

Now I need to go make myself one of these, and maybe some for the shop?

Guess What?

I have reached my 400th post and today I finally decided what I want to give away. Here is a little peek :>) My goal is to finish it today. I hope you like it as much as I like you. That's a bunch! You have all been too much fun. You have spurred me on to push myself creatively. You have been there when I was down and laughed with me when I found something funny. So this is going to be just a little token of my appreciation.
Next post, I'm giving it away. Thanks for the comments, the emails, and the support. You all make me smile:>)

Yellow shafted Flicker

According to our bird book that's what it is. Earl was back in the woods cutting down a tree and heard something rustling on the path. We think it's a fledgling. It couldn't fly and he was afraid it's wing was broken so he picked the little guy up and brought him to the house. Victoria called some animal rescue people listed on the DNR website but nobody was licensed for birds. We ended up taking it back to the woods and hoping for the best. It can still climb a tree. Isn't it adorable? I LOVE seeing somehing like this up close. I wanted to hold it, but it was scared and as you can see Earl is gloved to protect him from that sharp beak. They are a member of the woodpecker family and you know you've been pecked if you get pecked by one of these!
Oh, but isn't it beautiful!?

Summer Sale

I'm working on new projects and fun things for fall and that means it's time to clear out some of the summer goodies. run over to Hens In Daisies and see if there is anything that strikes your fancy. I took some pretty great markdowns on these items! They won't last long:>) I also just listed some great old feed sack fabrics for anyone who sews or quilts. I'll be listing for Autumn soon and don't forget the upcoming give-away to celebrate my 400th post. I don't know what it will be yet but I'll make it sweet! Why, because you all brighten my day and I want to thank you. And because give-aways are just plain fun! See you soon!

Preserving the Harvest

I am not one to rhapsodize about the joys of canning. I did too much standing over a hot stove as a kid. Ours was a household that "put food up" out of necessity. When you do it to have food on the table (for up to 8 or 9 people) it can be grueling work. No air conditioning then and hours of cleaning produce, sterilizing jars and canning all day and into the night. We never went without food though and that made it worthwhile. After years of not canning anything I am ready to do a little bit more canning and preserving. This year, our small garden has been very productive and one of the few things I prefer to can is beans. These are yellow wax beans, Earl's favorites. After eating all we could fresh, I just couldn't bear to let the rest go to waste. We have just planted some green beans that I hope will have enough time to mature and can later.
Home canned beans aren't mushy or tinny. Sometimes I even pickle them and they are so good! It is a different chore altogether when it isn't something you "have" to do. I am planning some jams and sauces. We have jalepenos growing and I plan to can some salsas and relishes. Small batches that I can have fun with are key for me to enjoy this season. If you want to try your hand at canning, the Ball Blue Book is essential. It isn't hard to get good results and they have some fascinating recipes. For instance, how would you like glowing jars of Grapefruit Marmalade, Almond Pears, or Caramel Spice Apple Butter? I have the 1995 edition. I'm not sure if they carry the same recipes year to year. Are you a canner? What is your favorite thing to put up in a jar?

Edited to add: If you receive a note in your mailbox asking you to go see a photo I have uploaded at dailyflog.com don't open it! I made the mistake of opening it yesterday when I recognized the name of another blogger on it and it spams your contacts! I am so sorry if this has happened to you but I have NOT downloaded anything to dailyflog and I'm darn mad about their lying spam!

We're back!

We had a refreshing weekend away together at the prettiest B&B. Patrick House in Urbana, Ohio was beautiful! Our hosts thought of everything we could possibly need and did everything they could to make our stay wonderful. The room below was ours and I loved the quirky little peaked door to our bath. It is that kind of pretty detail that makes these old homes so fun to stay in. The entry was pink, with lots of beautiful details and a collection of old frames and mirrors lining the stairs. This wonderful old B&B is for sale if anyone is interested!
The garden was filled with black eyed susans and the last of the hollyhocks. Our host, Joe, mentioned that he would soon be cutting back some of the perrenials that were past and kindly shared some of the hollyhock and poppy seeds with me. I loved the color of these hollyhocks, a beautiful pink fading to a soft yellow in the center, so I was thrilled to glean some seeds. The garden cats kept us company :>) Earl and I dined at the little table tucked in the corner of the garden our first night there with a picnic we had packed earlier. SO peaceful and beautiful!

Our Sunday was spent floating down the Mad River in a canoe. It was a very hot day, in the upper 80's and headed for the mid 90's, but the river was at least 15 degrees cooler and almost completely shaded. The river is spring fed, crystal clear and quite shallow. As we floated in our canoe, we could look into the water and see schools of trout. The banks were populated by majestic sycamore trees and we were surrounded by irridescent, neon teal damsel flies with inky black wings. They were everywhere! The canoe trip was simply magical. We want to take the girls down for a camping trip some time. This was easily the most beautiful river we have ever been on. I so wished I had my camera, but since I was still borrowing Vicky's I didn't want to chance it getting wet.
We drove through acres of corn fields, saw barns with quilts squares painted on them, and that evening went to cool off in the theater and see Julie and Julia (LOVED it, but we are big Julia Child fans)

We ended it with a walk down the street where I took these photos of some of the most beautiful homes. Urbana is a beautiful little town and it was just the kind of relaxing little get-away we needed. I admit it, I used some of my "camera" funds to do this, but celebrating a marriage is more important than cameras. Don't you think? Thank you for all the sweet messages and well wishes. It was so nice to come home and read them all. I am coming up on my 400th post and I think in celebration of all the joy I have found through my little blog I will be having a give-away:>) Stay tuned.I have come back refreshed and ready to create.

Twenty-nine years....

Of pure bliss:>) We are out of here for a much needed weekend away. See you next week:>)

Cellulite and self-esteem

This is a bit of a departure for me. I was just over reading Designs by Gollum's post about cellulite and I had an epiphany. An honest to goodness epiphany. You see, her post is about cellulite and she says that even the stars get it. She has all the pictures (and I don't know about you but I love that, sorry, I just do) As a 51 year old woman I sometimes look in the mirror and wonder what is happening to me. My face, my body. I'm not an athlete, never have been, and I keep telling myself I need to walk, get on my bike, Don't eat that cake!
I can be a walking pile of self loathing at times. But I looked at these photos of the "beautiful people" with their cellulite and bellies and the thing that hit me is they don't care! They still squeeze into their stringiest bikini and shortest skirt, knowing there are photographers everywhere who can't wait to put their picture on the front page of some rag or tabloid. Lord, I would die a thousand deaths if I were wearing something like that and it ended up on the news stands! Maybe I'm too darn hard on myself. That doesn't mean I shouldn't be getting on my bike or taking that walk or not eating the cake. But maybe I shouldn't be so hard on this 51 year old imperfect body. Funny to think that we are hard on ourselves because of the glamour shots of these same people that we see every day isn't it? The glamour and perfection isn't real for them either.